HTP: Ch. 46

The conversation could no longer continue, and Jiraiya could only leave helplessly, his figure gradually disappearing into the torrential rain.

Pain and Konan stood silently in place, cold rainwater sliding down their outlines, staring in the direction Jiraiya had vanished for a long time before snapping out of it. The next time they met, it might very well be a matter of life and death.

Konan spoke in a low voice, "That sneaky guy is definitely not Madara."

Their long-held suspicion was right.

From the beginning, they never trusted him. Now, with Jiraiya's intel exposing him, the identity of "Madara" was stripped away. With that, Tobi, always acting in the shadows, no longer had the qualifications to stand on equal footing with Pain.

Even if he was a villain trying to join Akatsuki, at best he could only be a nominal member. His strength wasn't that impressive. Who was he pretending to be Madara for?

"Mm." Pain's voice remained emotionless. "If the masked man isn't truly Madara, then Zetsu's position is extremely suspicious as well."

"You're right. If that guy is just Obito, then why is Zetsu so obedient to him?"

Even more bizarre was the fact that, as a former disciple of the Fourth Hokage, he would willingly join their plan. These were things that couldn't be easily explained. The two exchanged a glance and came to a conclusion: There was definitely a conspiracy involved. They were being used, and Zetsu and Obito clearly did not agree with Nagato's plan.

These two scheming individuals had to be eliminated.

Despite being on opposing sides, their fundamental trust in Jiraiya remained. He might withhold information, but he would never lie to them about something like this.

"Konan." Pain suddenly spoke. "Call a meeting. Block Zetsu's channel. The plan is entering its final stage."

Konan looked up in surprise. "You mean—?"

"There's only the One-Tail, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails left. Gather everyone. Capture the Eight-Tails first, then attack Konoha."

Since they no longer trusted Obito or Black Zetsu, there was no need to let them handle the Eight-Tails. If Obito succeeded in capturing it, they'd take it and kick him out. If he failed, they'd kick him out anyway.

As long as Pain existed, Akatsuki remained invincible.

Konan understood Nagato's intent. Her figure turned into paper and scattered: "Alright, I'll prepare the technique."

Her figure gradually faded into the rain.

Pain remained standing there, rain sliding down his cheeks.

---

Obito was screwed!

After receiving intel from White Zetsu, who had been monitoring Pain, he rushed to inform Black Zetsu, who felt a headache coming on as soon as he heard.

He knew that without the "Madara" disguise, Obito could no longer talk about cooperating with Nagato as equals. Either he obediently became a subordinate, or he got lost.

As for Pain's suspicion of himself, Black Zetsu had seen it all over the years and wasn't worried, he could always make up another story if needed.

What worried him was Obito.

At that moment, Black Zetsu cautiously asked the hurrying Obito: "What if the whole world finds out your true identity? Like Pain for example?"

Obito thought for a moment and calmly replied, "Then I'll temporarily play nice. Achieving the goal is what matters most."

He was just a crippled puppet. Once all nine tailed beasts were collected, his death would come soon after.

Black Zetsu let out a breath of relief and added, "And then there's Kakashi and the others…"

Obito paused for a few seconds.

"Doesn't matter. After the Eye of the Moon Plan, everything will be reset," his voice was icy cold. "No one can stop me. Whether it's my family, my teacher, or even my best friend, if they threaten the plan, I won't show mercy."

Black Zetsu relaxed completely, letting out a full sigh of relief. "Good, good."

Obito glanced back at him, slightly puzzled. "Why are you asking about this?"

"Haha, it's just… Jiraiya just told Nagato your true identity. I'll go apologize on your behalf now," Black Zetsu said casually as he turned to leave.

He continued talking as he walked, "Don't worry, Nagato still needs our strength. As long as I explain patiently… Wait, Obito, where are you?"

The space in front of him suddenly warped, and Obito's figure had already vanished into the vortex.

Only Black Zetsu remained, shouting into the empty rain-soaked landscape.

"Obito! Obito! The Eye of the Moon! True peace!"

…

In the background of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, phantom images appeared one after another atop the statue's fingertips.

In the dim, flickering light, the empty positions stood out starkly.

"Short on members?" Deidara looked at the vacant spots, surprisingly pleased. "Itachi is finally dead!"

After the last battle, Hiruko was destroyed, and forced to reveal his true form, the red-haired Sasori scanned the space calmly. "Looks like hunting the tailed beasts really is an interesting mission."

That dangerous duo of Itachi and Kisame actually fell. And Zetsu was gone too.

Kakuzu's green eyes gleamed, and then he declared proudly, "One team dead, one failed. Only I and Pain succeeded in capturing a tailed beast."

Hidan casually picked his ear, thinking to himself, Here it comes, he's about to brag.

"Only someone like me, who once fought the First Hokage, and Pain, who possesses the Rinnegan, could successfully capture a tailed beast," Kakuzu said, raising his eyes to the high-up illusion of Pain.

"Recruiting me really was your wisest investment," he added, giving Hidan a side glance.

Hidan picked up the cue and shouted, "Yeah! We're so awesome, how about a pay raise?"

Deidara got annoyed and shouted, "Why are you bragging again? Aside from the One-Tail, Sasori and I also had to fight several elite Konoha teams! You two had a two-on-one!"

"Excuses," Kakuzu retorted. Of course he knew, but raising his own value was more important.

Deidara got even more irritated. "You guys are hopeless! Just tell me your location, I'll come settle this now!"

Sasori thought those two lunatics would make excellent puppets, but since he might need to request research funds from Kakuzu later, he stayed silent for now.

"Enough." Pain finally spoke, cutting off the friendly exchanges. All eyes turned to those Rinnegan.

"Itachi and Kisame were defeated in Konoha. Zetsu is a traitor."

They were discarding him anyway, and since everyone had been suspicious about the leaked intel, it didn't matter if Zetsu was truly the culprit, he'd take the fall.

It was about maintaining morale.

The Akatsuki members were stunned.

After a brief silence, Deidara burst out laughing. "Haha! I knew that freak was shady!"

He even slapped Sasori on the shoulder. "Told you my analysis was spot on. That guy was shady from the start, and his jutsu was so weird!"

Pain continued, "Also, the plan has changed."

This time, Konan spoke, "Three days from now, we launch a full-scale assault on Kumo to capture the Eight-Tails."

Hidan, who wasn't happy unless people died, instantly got excited and swung his triple-bladed scythe. "Praise Jashin-sama! This time I'll sacrifice a hundred victims!"

To Deidara, such grand-scale operations were artistic masterpieces. He gave a thumbs up. "Watch closely, I'll give them a massive firework show."

Kakuzu was already pulling out his abacus, calculating how much Kumo ninjas heads would be worth.

Sasori remained silent, clearly thinking about how his puppet collection was about to grow again.

Pain's voice continued, "Once this is done, we march on Konoha."