"Phantom Projection Technique!"
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village, Aoi sat cross‑legged.
A long, steady wave of chakra‑based thought traveled across mountains and rivers, reaching the mind of Pain thousands of miles away.
"Hmm? I've never felt a signature like this before…"
Bzz… bzz… bzz…
With a soft hum, a translucent image of Aoi suddenly materialized right before Pain, coming face‑to‑face with the few remaining members of the Akatsuki.
"Who are you? And how do you know this technique?"
The Deva Path of Pain remained expressionless. As the avatar of Nagato, it was less like a living person and more like a lifeless puppet…
This was exactly the kind of situation that called for a convincing story!
"Hidan told me about it," Aoi said with a grin. "I dug him out from under the ground, and in return, he taught me this jutsu."
"Hidan…"
Zetsu frowned slightly from the side, but said nothing. Hidan was immortal, so being buried alive and then rescued was a plausible enough explanation.
"What do you want?"
Aoi rested his head in his hands and smiled. "Nothing much — I greatly admire the Akatsuki, so I'd like to join your ranks."
"Join us?"
Pain narrowed his eyes. The organization had suffered heavy losses lately, leaving very few active members — but that did not mean they would accept just anyone.
"I hear the Akatsuki are hunting the tailed beasts?" Aoi shrugged casually.
"I happen to be near one right now. I'll capture it and bring it to you — consider it my entry token."
At this, Pain finally gave a slow, reluctant nod. "If you deliver a tailed beast, you will be counted among the Akatsuki."
Seeing him agree, Aoi cut the connection and dismissed the projection.
He grinned to himself: "Now I'm at least a provisional member of the Akatsuki. Surely the Sage of Six Paths won't strike me down out of hand now…"
As for which beast to go after — the choice was obvious.
The Six‑Tails, Utakata!
He traveled alone, with only a young girl named Hotaru tagging along. If there was an easier target than him, it would be the Three‑Tails — nothing more than a giant turtle.
"So this is their stronghold?"
Looking toward the isolated peak built against the mountainside, Aoi chuckled. "Defenses like this will only hold ordinary people and low‑level ninja — nothing more!"
The story of the User of the Sealing Jutsu was also quite an interesting one…
As for the traps scattered across the plain below…
Aoi activated Serpent Sage Mode. Kunai and shuriken triggered by hidden mechanisms struck his scales only to bounce off harmlessly, not even leaving a scratch.
......
"Someone is breaking through the outer defenses!"
Even so, Tonbee remained calm, shaking his head with a faint smile. "The barrier around this stronghold is not so easily breached…"
"Serpent Thousand Birds!"
A sharp spear of lightning tore through the barrier with overwhelming force, shattering it completely and proving him wrong.
"Whoever this is, they are no ordinary ninja."
Tonbee resolved to give his life to stop the intruder. He took out the forbidden technique scroll of the Tsuchigumo clan and turned to Utakata.
"Protect Lady Hotaru, no matter what."
Just as in the original story, Tonbee sent Utakata and Hotaru into the secret escape tunnel, then turned back alone to face the enemy.
Unfortunately, this time his opponent was not bandits or wandering shinobi — but Aoi, whose power far exceeded that of any Kage. The gap between them was like the difference between clouds and mud.
Once the barrier was down, Aoi ignored Tonbee completely and flew straight toward the hidden passage in the mountainside.
"If all goes as expected, the Six‑Tails and Hotaru will be right here."
"Now let's see how lucky I am with this new body of mine."
Dressed in the Akatsuki's black cloak embroidered with red clouds, fluttering in the night wind, Aoi raised his arm with a smile.
"White Lightning Armor!"
A layer of brilliant white lightning wrapped around his entire body.
Under his control, it stretched and extended until it formed a massive blade hundreds of meters long — the Sword of the Thunder God.
"Sword of the Thunder God — SLASH!!!"
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