At this moment.
In the valley outside Amegakure, on a wide river.
A small boat was slowly paddling forward.
There were only two people on the boat.
A mysterious masked man in a black robe.
And Uchiha Itachi, wearing the Konoha's Anbu uniform.
"Itachi, how are your injuries? Can you move freely?" the masked man asked flatly.
"If it's just walking, it's fine," Itachi replied.
During the previous battle against the fox-like ogre mask, Itachi's back had been deeply slashed by a Getsuga Tensho, so his current condition naturally wasn't great.
The masked man nodded and continued:
"In that case, I'll take you directly to meet the leader of the Akatsuki."
"However, before that, there's something you need to pay attention to—"
"..."
"In the Akatsuki, everyone calls me Tobi. I'm not a formal member, just a somewhat weak trainee."
"So, you need to be mindful of your attitude towards me in the future."
The masked man said flatly.
In front of Itachi, he had always claimed to be the Uchiha Clan's ancestor, Uchiha Madara.
Therefore, when Itachi spoke to him, he would unconsciously use some respectful language, which would easily expose things.
That's why the masked man specifically reminded him to pay attention to this.
Itachi slightly raised his eyes and asked:
"Why hide your identity?"
"..."
The masked man was silent for a moment, then pretended to be calm and said:
"Nothing much, just... if people knew Uchiha Madara was still alive, it would cause a lot of trouble."
"—Understood."
Itachi slightly lowered his eyes and stopped talking.
He naturally knew that the masked man in front of him was trying to conceal something,
However, as a spy among spies in Konoha, he himself was also hiding a lot.
...
At this moment.
Inside Amegakure.
In a dim cave, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from the entrance.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Very rhythmic, and also very relaxed.
Kyo, with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his Akatsuki cloak, strolled in with a very leisurely posture.
As a result, the moment he stepped in, he suddenly discovered that all the existing members of the organization had actually arrived.
From left to right, they were:
Leader of Akatsuki — Raining Expert · Deva Path Pain.
Akatsuki's Only Female — Rich Lady of the Shinobi World · Konan.
Akatsuki's Pitcher Plant — Special Intelligence Officer · First Oscar-Winning Actor · Zetsu.
Akatsuki's Worker — Threw a Shuriken from 800 Miles Away · Kakuzu.
Akatsuki's Traitor — Scientist · Orochimaru.
Akatsuki's Iron-headed Baby — Blocked a Bijudama with a Sword · Biwa Juzo.
And, Akatsuki's Small Fry — The Face Guy About to Be One-Shot by Kakuzu, Fujii.
Looking at this lineup before him, Kyo couldn't help but chuckle lightly. The difference from the standard ten-person dream team in the original work was quite significant.
And the moment Kyo stepped in, everyone's eyes immediately looked over.
The first to speak was Konan, who had always felt favorably towards Kyo. She slightly raised her eyes and said calmly:
"You've arrived, Kyo."
"Today, Akatsuki has a new member joining, and we might as well take this opportunity to formally divide everyone's action partners."
"After all, up until now, pairing has been random."
Hearing this,
Kyo immediately nodded, looked at Konan, and said with a kind smile:
"Understood."
As he spoke, he was about to step forward and enter the lineup of everyone. However, just as he took a step, a slightly noisy voice immediately came from the entrance—
"Waaah!!"
"What's this?! All the seniors who are formal members of Akatsuki have already gathered here?!"
"This is amazing! I've never seen such an exaggerated scene before!"
Before the words even finished,
Everyone's eyes simultaneously looked towards the direction the sound came from.
Two people entered,
Naturally, they were the mysterious masked man and Itachi.
Seeing this scene, Juzo immediately slightly raised his chin, looking impatient, and said:
"Hey hey hey... who is this noisy masked guy?!"
"He's way too loud, isn't he?!"
As the words fell,
The masked man suddenly made a frightened expression and quickly explained:
"Ahh, Juzo-senpai, good morning!"
"I'm Tobi! Akatsuki's trainee! But only temporarily, though!"
"Because this time, I've recruited a very powerful member for the organization, so I'll definitely be promoted to formal member soon!"
The masked man gestured excitedly as he spoke.
Although everyone found him very noisy, they naturally immediately grasped the key point.
'This guy... brought a new member for Akatsuki?'
In an instant,
Everyone's gaze simultaneously focused on the figure behind the masked man, the one wearing the Konoha's Anbu uniform.
Just then, the masked man seemed afraid that everyone wouldn't know, and immediately said with a giggle:
"Do you seniors know who the person behind me is?"
"Hehe, although he looks a bit younger than that Kyo-senpai over there, his strength might even be stronger than Kyo-senpai's!"
"If you ask why... hehe——"
"This Uchiha Itachi, he personally killed the entire Uchiha Clan of Konoha with his own hands!"
"??!"