The person who injured Itachi had already run away.
This was the first thing the trainee Tobi said after returning to the cave.
It was noticeable.
His mood seemed very dejected, far less excited than before, his head constantly hanging low.
The Akatsuki's members in the cave, upon hearing this news,
Immediately looked at each other in bewilderment.
Huh?
That's it?
The person he just said he was going to bring out, and he let him escape in just that short time?
Juzo and Fujii beside him immediately showed somewhat disappointed expressions.
Kakuzu, with his arms crossed, glanced at the masked man, his gaze slightly sharp, and flatly uttered a few words.
"Tch, boring tricks."
Orochimaru beside him had a flickering gaze, it was unclear what he was thinking.
However, at this moment,
Pain, Konan, and Itachi were all very surprised and puzzled in their hearts.
After all, only they knew the masked man's true ability. Logically speaking... the enemy shouldn't have been able to escape.
'Could something have gone wrong in the middle...?'
After a moment of silence,
Pain finally set aside his thoughts and spoke flatly:
"In that case, let's end the topic about the enemy here for now."
"We will now officially hold Akatsuki's first pairing meeting."
"Everyone, follow me."
As he spoke, Pain turned and walked towards a deeper part of the cave.
Obviously, that was the most confidential meeting location.
Kyo and the others immediately followed.
The masked man wisely stayed put and didn't follow.
After all, his identity now was just a trainee, and he wasn't qualified to participate in the meeting.
…
Upon entering this cave,
Kyo immediately saw a huge gray monster in its very center.
Its appearance was ferocious and ugly, its size enormous.
It raised its hands, extending ten fingers, making a strange gesture as if begging for favor.
It was still, seemingly completely devoid of any signs of life.
The moment he saw it, Kyo's gaze flickered slightly.
The other Akatsuki's members might not yet know what this thing was or its purpose.
But he knew very clearly.
This was the shell of the Ten-Tails, a special existence called the "Outer Path Statue."
Kyo looked up towards the top,
And couldn't help but feel emotional inside.
Unexpectedly, up close, it was even bigger than he had imagined.
Just then,
A familiar prompt sound suddenly rang out in Kyo's mind—
[Beep! Congratulations, host, Side Mission completed!]
[Closely observe the Ten-Tails' Shell · Outer Path Statue once (1/1), Completed! Reward: Spiritual Power +1000, Shop Points +100!]
'Hmm?'
As the prompt sound fell, Kyo's expression shifted slightly, a pleasantly surprised smile appearing on his face.
'This works too?'
'Unexpectedly, just by taking a couple of looks, I got a reward? And even shop points?'
After a moment of surprise, Kyo immediately understood.
It seemed that after the system shop was unlocked, all future side missions would probably come with a certain amount of point rewards.
This was quite good, saving him the trouble of specifically doing extra missions to earn points in the future...
He could also start considering buying some items from the system shop.
Just as Kyo was pondering,
Pain's voice rang out.
After sweeping his gaze expressionlessly over everyone, he spoke flatly:
"From today onwards, Uchiha Itachi officially joins Akatsuki."
"He will be our partner, jointly acting for the future plan to conquer the world."
"However, here..."
"I need to remind everyone once again."
"Akatsuki's absolute prohibition: Absolutely no private fights or malicious attacks between members."
"Violators will be regarded as traitors of Akatsuki, expelled from the organization, and hunted by all Akatsuki's members!"
"Does everyone understand?"
Saying this, Pain's gaze seemed to intentionally or unintentionally glance at Orochimaru beside him.
"?!"
Feeling this gaze, Orochimaru's expression shifted slightly, then he immediately withdrew his thoughts and said with a sinister smile:
"Oh my, this is really strange..."
"When the leader says this, it sounds like he's talking to me, doesn't it?"
"Don't worry,"
"I'm not stupid enough to do something like that."
"..."
Hearing this, Pain slowly withdrew his gaze and said flatly:
"It's best if you don't."
Then, he continued speaking:
"Well then, next—"
"Is Akatsuki's first formal grouping."
"This will probably be the partners everyone needs to act with for a long time to come."
"So, please be sure to remember—"
"First group, consisting of me and Konan."
"Second group, Kakuzu, Fujii."
"Third group, Uchiha Itachi, Biwa Juzo."
"Fourth group, Orochimaru, Zetsu."
"Fifth group, due to a lack of personnel, for now... consists of Kyo alone."
'Huh???'
Kyo was momentarily stunned.