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What truly shattered Nagato's defenses, however, was the fact that Kisame had defected of his own volition – not after being captured by the Leaf Village. This was what made it so utterly, infuriatingly unbearable. Obito had ordered Kisame to capture Kakashi, and the man had simply gone and defected instead! And the Leaf Village, with meticulous care, had publicly announced the news, broadcasting it far and wide, and had given Kisame a thorough public relations makeover in the process.
Terms like "abandoning darkness for the light" and "proactively contributing" were bandied about, with overt and covert hints that Kisame had already sold out the Akatsuki completely. Although the information was heavily laced with exaggerations and fabrications, it was more than sufficient to ignite Nagato's fury.
The consequence of Nagato's anger was the convening of an Akatsuki meeting. The atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive. Within the Akatsuki's new base, the Deva Path, controlled by Nagato, said nothing. He simply stared at Obito with an unnervingly calm expression. Obito, unwilling to show any weakness, stared right back. He understood Nagato's intention perfectly, but this was precisely the moment he couldn't afford to bow his head. If he did, Nagato would only press his advantage relentlessly. Damn you, Kazuki!
In the past, cloaked under the guise of Madara Uchiha, even when Nagato was displeased, he could still maintain a measure of restraint. Ever since his true identity had been exposed, Nagato no longer treated him as an equal partner, but as a subordinate. Their alliance had been forged as a cooperative partnership, yet you think you can act as my superior?
Your ambitions are truly vast, Nagato! If not for the fear of jeopardizing the plan, Obito would have dearly loved to seize control of Nagato directly and show him just how brutal his methods could be.
The Akatsuki couldn't afford to continue this internal turmoil any longer – that was Nagato's conviction. He felt Obito had crossed the line. Conversely, Obito felt Nagato was the one with the problem. Ever since his identity was exposed, Nagato had been trying to dominate him, to transform him from a partner into a subordinate. The icy atmosphere was unbearable, not just for the other members, but even Konan found it difficult to endure.
"The matter of Kisame is entirely your responsibility."
"It is my responsibility. So what? How much intelligence can the Leaf Village truly extract from Kisame?" The standoff between the two was ultimately broken by Nagato first. After all, he was the leader of the Akatsuki, while Obito was merely a member. Faced with Nagato's accusation, Obito remained unruffled.
"Kisame was not a member of the organization for long, and the classified intelligence he had access to was limited. Even if he divulges everything he knows, it will have no significant impact on the organization. At most, the war among the Five Great Shinobi Villages will end prematurely. Although somewhat regrettable, our objective has already been achieved."
From the very moment the wars had erupted, the Akatsuki's mission had already been accomplished. It would have been ideal if the Five Great Villages suffered severe losses, but even if the wars ended hastily, it posed no real problem for the Akatsuki. After this wave of upheaval, both the Mist Village and the Sand Village had suffered grievous damage to their foundations.
The Stone Village was in no better shape and wouldn't recover in the short term. Even the Cloud Village had stepped into a massive pitfall – though this was one they had willingly jumped into. Only the Leaf Village had incurred minimal losses and had instead reaped considerable benefits. But could the benefits reaped by the Leaf possibly offset the losses of the other villages? Absolutely not. Therefore, the Akatsuki had profited immensely. Your Leaf Village might not have lost out, but we have gained overwhelmingly.
"I said, this is the final time. I hope similar incidents will not occur again in the future. The Akatsuki was established to accomplish our ultimate goal, not to become a tool for you to carry out your various personal missions." In the past, even after Obito's identity was exposed, Nagato couldn't have been bothered to interfere.
On the surface, the Akatsuki seemed to care about its members, but in truth, Nagato couldn't care less. Because he had absolute confidence in himself. He was God! An omnipotent god! Even if only he and Konan remained in the Akatsuki, no one could obstruct their path.
Whether Obito's true identity was exposed or not didn't matter. However, after the battle in the Rain Village, Nagato's stubborn decision to unleash a devastating ultimate technique against the combined forces of the Five Great Villages had exacerbated his injuries. His life force was draining too rapidly, his body growing increasingly frail. Nagato had become a man whose eyes could tolerate no speck of sand. This was a warning from Nagato – aimed at Obito and at everyone else present.
Obito shot the Deva Path a chilling glare, then vanished directly into the Kamui dimension and left. Other than Konan and Black Zetsu, the remaining members of the organization instinctively shrank their necks back, not daring to meet the Deva Path's gaze. Once the others had departed, Konan spoke with a hint of worry, "Nagato, are we being too extreme?"
"No," the Deva Path replied coldly. "If we don't do this, Obito will only grow more and more out of control. Kisame is the perfect example. He's obtained his complete Mangekyo Sharingan and is at the peak of his arrogance. This is precisely the time when he must be suppressed." If Nagato had known that what Obito had actually obtained was a counterfeit Sharingan, he probably wouldn't have even bothered to lift an eyelid. It was precisely because he believed Obito had acquired the complete Mangekyo Sharingan that he felt compelled to suppress him – to prevent Obito from truly becoming inflated with hubris.
In an underground chamber far from the Akatsuki's new base, Black Zetsu emerged from the earth, revealing only his head. "Kakashi has remained within the Hokage building for the recent period. Kazuki is aware of your desire to target Kakashi. There is no favorable opportunity for us." Black Zetsu had not failed to attempt close-range observation and intelligence gathering. He simply discovered that the moment he approached the Hokage building, he felt as if someone was watching him. This had left Black Zetsu feeling deeply stifled for a time. Throughout the ages, he had rarely been forced to swallow his pride like this. Only after several probing attempts did Black Zetsu finally settle down and behave.
"Continue searching for an opportunity!" Obito ground his teeth. "Nagato is merely using the excuse of Kisame to suppress me. He believes I've acquired the complete Mangekyo Sharingan, which is why he's acting this way. If he discovers the Sharingan I obtained is a fake, he might very well decide to strike first against us."
"..." Now you're getting anxious? Who was it that caused all this mess in the first place?! Black Zetsu's face betrayed no reaction, but inwardly he was cursing up a storm. If not for fear of jeopardizing his own grand scheme, he would have dearly loved to show Obito just how terrifying the vengeance of an ancient being could be.
One Madara Uchiha, and now one Obito Uchiha – neither of them treated him, Black Zetsu, as a person. They ordered him around as though he were a mere servant.
"I will continue." Leaving those words behind, the inwardly fuming Black Zetsu departed the chamber. You two sure have it easy! In the end, it's me, Black Zetsu, who suffers all the misery!
What Nagato and Obito remained completely unaware of was that the secrets of the Akatsuki that had been leaked went far beyond the scant bits Kisame knew. Kazuki had been frantically diluting the information with his own additions, stopping just short of stripping the Akatsuki completely bare.
Upon learning that Yagura had been controlled by the Akatsuki and reduced to a puppet, the Daimyo of the Land of Water was scared out of his wits. Alongside his terror, he cursed the Akatsuki with every fiber of his being, unleashing countless tirades that dragged the eighteen generations of the Akatsuki members' ancestors through the mud. Regarding the village's internal purge, the Daimyo of the Land of Water supported it with all four limbs raised. He even went so far as to specifically instruct Mei Terumi not to show any mercy and to simply finish Yagura off directly.