Two days later.
In the Land of Rain, within Amegakure.
Dark clouds surged across the sky like a tidal wave.
A continuous, unrelenting rain fell, striking the iron-clad buildings.
At that moment, inside a certain gloomy, tall building.
Two Shinobi clad in black robes with red clouds stood silently.
The one at the rear was a woman with light blue-purple hair.
Beneath her purple eyeshadow, her light orange-yellow pupils seemed devoid of emotion, and a pale purple paper flower adorned the right side of her head.
The one in front was a young man with short orange hair, wearing the forehead protector of Amegakure on his head. His pale face was pierced by dozens of black studs.
Naturally, they were Pain and Konan.
At that moment, they were silently watching the relentless downpour outside.
Just then, the air behind them began to distort.
An invisible, eerie spiral suddenly appeared, and then a figure wearing an orange mask instantly emerged from within.
This person was naturally the Akatsuki's trainee, Tobi.
However, at this moment, he was no longer the goofball he had been in front of Kyo; instead, he appeared very solemn.
He stepped forward and spoke in a low voice:
"Has that Orochimaru been dealt with properly?"
"Yes."
Konan nodded slightly and replied calmly:
"The "Void" ring has already been sent to him, and the uniform has been delivered by Zetsu."
"Good. Then from today onwards, let him temporarily operate in a team with Kakuzu. At the same time, Kakuzu will be responsible for monitoring all of Orochimaru's actions."
The masked man spoke without emotion, issuing the command decisively.
"...Understood."
Pain responded flatly.
He naturally understood what the masked man meant.
A man as cunning and scheming as Orochimaru was indeed too dangerous to be left completely unchecked.
Therefore, having a sufficiently capable member monitor him constantly was the best solution.
This would allow him to work for Akatsuki without worrying too much about his betrayal.
After a moment of silence,
The masked man spoke again, his voice low:
"Honestly,"
"I gained a lot from this mission."
"Just as you two said—"
"This man named Kyo indeed possesses a mysterious Dojutsu!"
"Based on my investigation,"
"His Kekkei Genkai is called the "True Eye of the King", truly the eye of Genjutsu and variation-type transmutation techniques!"
"He can release elemental techniques of various natures at extreme speed without hand seals, use bizarre Genjutsu, and... some kind of ability similar to gravity manipulation."
"In short, it might be a power as complex as the Rinnegan."
"..."
When the words fell,
Pain and Konan exchanged glances.
Both saw a hint of unsurprised recognition in each other's eyes.
'So,'
'Kyo's golden eyes were not so simple!'
Now, their earlier speculation had been completely confirmed.
But before they could ponder further,
The masked man continued:
"However, compared to these confirmed facts,"
"There's one matter now that I need you to personally verify, Konan."
"Oh?"
Konan hummed softly, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
The masked man didn't seem concerned and continued in his usual low tone:
"When we were completing our mission, that guy went out for personal reasons. Subsequently, from a commercial street in the Land of Fire, he acquired a mysterious book."
"When I asked him about it, he deliberately took out a completely irrelevant novel to try and hide it."
"Unfortunately, I saw it all."
The masked man revealed a knowing smile and continued:
"So, I want to know if there's anything suspicious about that mysterious book in Kyo's possession."
"Konan, since you were the one who recruited him,"
"You should go and investigate personally."
"I remember the book cover was yellow, I think..."
...
A few minutes later.
On the other side of Amegakure, inside Kyo's residence.
At that moment, feeling rather bored, Kyo was continuing to flip through the copy of "Icha-Icha Paradise" he had obtained from Kakashi, striving to complete his side mission.
"Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder it's the best-selling book in the Shinobi World..."
"No wonder Kakashi likes it so much."
Kyo muttered with a smile as he quickly turned the pages.
The story inside wasn't just exciting, it was downright thrilling.
Just then,
The door to his room suddenly opened.
Click.
Immediately, countless pieces of paper fluttered in, instantly entering the room and finally coalescing into a human form.
'Huh?'
Kyo turned his head and immediately saw Konan standing beside him.
'Whoa?'
'Why is she here?'
Kyo's expression froze for a moment.
Konan, meanwhile, subtly glanced at the book in Kyo's hand and began:
"Kyo, I'm here to... Huh?"
Her words were only half-spoken when she suddenly stopped, frozen in place.
Because, in that brief moment, she had clearly seen the contents written in that book...
At that instant, Konan's expression stiffened.
She was utterly dumbfounded.
'This... this was the mysterious book that masked man had been so curious about??!!'
'Was his mind malfunctioning?!'