As Konan's words faded, the gazes of Deva Path and Zetsu simultaneously fell upon Kyo and the short blade hanging at his waist.
Immediately following, the same doubt arose in both of their minds.
'How could such a short blade have managed to pierce through a puppeteer like Sasori?'
'Could it be some kind of special ninja tool?'
'If he truly possessed the power to manipulate such a tool, then he certainly would have the strength to join the Akatsuki...'
Just as the two of them were pondering this,
suddenly, another unfamiliar voice appeared within the cave.
"Hey, hey..."
"When you say you're recruiting people, you ended up finding a brat this weak and frail?"
As the voice trailed off,
a man wearing a wide black robe with red clouds and a black mask appeared behind Pain.
His eyes exhibited an eerie green hue.
Seeing him appear, Konan's gaze narrowed slightly. From his appearance alone, she could already tell that this seemed to be the other person the masked man had instructed Pain to recruit —
the Missing-nin from Takigakure, the immortal Kakuzu.
At this moment, Kakuzu's face had an expression of impatience.
He casually strolled over and stopped in front of Kyo,
Looking down at Kyo from his elevated position.
In front of his burly frame, Kyo naturally appeared very slender.
Nevertheless, even so, Kyo showed no sign of fear. He simply smiled faintly at Kakuzu and said lightly:
"Looks like... you're that immortal Shinobi, the Akatsuki's working man, Kakuzu?"
"A pleasure."
With that familiar appearance, there was no way Kyo wouldn't recognize him.
However, upon hearing his words, Kakuzu's eyes narrowed slightly as he said:
"Tch, you little brat..."
"The faint Chakra on your body makes me seriously doubt whether you have the strength to fight alongside me."
"So weak... it makes me want to crush you directly."
As these words were spoken, the atmosphere within the cave instantly became somewhat tense.
But Kyo's expression remained unchanged as he calmly gazed at Kakuzu, his mind at ease.
He had long known that this Kakuzu was a bastard who liked to kill his teammates.
Apart from that religious fanatic Hidan, who managed to survive thanks to his immortality, almost everyone else who had partnered with him had been dealt with by him.
And now, it seemed he was planning to make a move on him...
Just then,
Pain spoke up from the side, saying flatly:
"Kakuzu, stop. The Akatsuki does not allow internal conflict."
"Besides, now is not the time for you to indulge your desire to kill."
Hearing this,
Kakuzu slightly turned his head, looking at Pain, and said coldly:
"Desire to kill?"
"I don't have any boring things like that."
"However, I just think this guy is simply too weak... What if he ends up hindering our future missions?"
"And obviously... you have doubts about his strength too, don't you?"
"So why not let me help you test him out? What's the harm?"
"..."
As his words fell, Pain fell silent.
He certainly believed Konan's words.
But, he also genuinely wanted to see for himself just what kind of strength this guy, who seemed to have hardly any Chakra, actually possessed.
So, his gaze shifted towards Konan.
He saw that Konan's expression remained calm. She merely glanced at Kakuzu before saying flatly:
"Kyo, remember to hold back."
"Kakuzu is also an indispensable member of the Akatsuki. Don't kill him."
Having said that, without looking at the expressions of the others nearby, she directly stepped forward and walked over beside Pain, clearing the space in the middle.
And upon hearing these words,
Kakuzu gritted his teeth slightly, an impatient expression appearing on his face.
'That purple-haired woman actually thought I would be killed by this brat?'
'Utterly ridiculous.'
"Hey, brat..."
"You'd better enjoy your last moments while you can!"
Kakuzu stared at Kyo before him, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes. Then, he suddenly raised his right hand.
Thump!!
Completely unexpectedly, his right arm shot forward, countless black threads erupting from it, hurtling directly towards Kyo!
He had launched his attack without warning!
On Kyo's side, his expression was calm. After glancing at Pain and the others in the distance,
he casually raised both hands, clapped them together in a single motion, and said flatly:
"Hado #33: Sokatsui!"
Boom!!!
The moment the words fell, a blinding white light suddenly appeared before his joined palms.
Immediately after, that light directly transformed into a violent surge of blue-white flame, engulfing Kakuzu ahead!
The vast, blazing light completely illuminated the entire dim cave, seeming to evaporate even the pervasive dripping water!
In both scale and oppressive force, it completely overwhelmed Kakuzu's attack!
"?!"
'So fast!'
Everyone's mind jolted simultaneously!
But at this moment, Konan's expression couldn't help but shift slightly.
'Hmm...?'
'Another one of those strange technique names?'
'Just what... system of secret techniques is this?'
She felt like, as long as he clapped his hands together, anything he called out would just appear...