Clear skies, gentle wind.
Because Uchiha Itachi had been performing so well, his squad finally got a C-rank escort mission—guarding a merchant caravan.
Normally, this kind of job is low-risk. No ninja involvement means ordinary bandits get handled easily.
But this time…
They ran into the mysterious masked man—the one everyone secretly calls "Obito."
The Caravan Massacre
After a brutal clash, the caravan was basically wiped out.
Their jōnin instructor Mizunuki was swallowed into Kamui's space. Two genin teammates, Tenma and Shinko, were killed without mercy.
Itachi, furious, forced open a two-tomoe Sharingan—and the masked man, suddenly interested in talent, let him live.
When the report reached Konoha, the Third Hokage only ordered a brief investigation… then pressed the matter down.
The investigation's conclusion was simple:
That masked man's strength was bottomless.
And Konoha was already in chaos—Hiruzen didn't want to invite more trouble.
Yusuke Takes It Seriously
Uchiha Yusuke received the news too.
Unlike the Third, he treated it as a major threat.
In the original timeline, that masked man would eventually help Itachi carry out the Night of the Massacre.
Danzō was gone, but the shadow behind the village was still moving.
Kamui's space-time ability—appearing and vanishing at will—made him perfect for sabotage.
Yusuke's rule was simple:
If you don't touch me, I won't touch you.
If you do—no matter how far you run, I'll kill you.
Kamui was troublesome, sure…
But Yusuke had something equally unreasonable: a time-based Mangekyō ability.
As long as the masked man wasn't purely running away, Yusuke was confident he could make him pay.
Even inheriting Madara's "legacy" didn't make him a god.
At best… he was a tragic pawn being used.
Yusuke wasn't naïve enough to think he could "talk-no-jutsu" him either—if even Minato and Kakashi couldn't stop him, clan ties wouldn't magically work.
Akatsuki Doesn't Rest
While the masked man went hunting opportunities near Konoha, Nagato (Pain) and Konan pushed Akatsuki's expansion hard.
They began locking in recruits.
1) Kakuzu Recruited
At the border of Takigakure, the bounty hunter Kakuzu finished another assassination job.
Money. Money. More money.
That was his religion.
Two figures in black cloaks with red clouds approached:
Tendō Pain
Zetsu
Zetsu mocked his reckless style.
Kakuzu flipped back into position, cautious.
"Who are you?"
Pain's aura was pure pressure.
"Immortal ninja Kakuzu. We're inviting you to join Akatsuki."
Kakuzu frowned.
"Akatsuki? What's that?"
Zetsu explained:
"A group created to build true peace."
Kakuzu laughed.
"Peace? I'm not interested."
"Only money interests me."
Pain didn't negotiate.
"Whether you're interested or not, you must join."
Kakuzu's face sank.
Arrogant words. So he decided to collect their heads for cash.
Pain calmly replied:
"Challenge me then. If I win—join."
Kakuzu attacked.
Pain used Shinra Tensei and slammed him into the ground like trash.
"It's your loss."
Kakuzu's eyes shook.
What kind of power is that…?
Pain, fully committing to the act, declared:
"I am a god who guides this world."
Zetsu piled on the sales pitch.
Kakuzu finally calculated it in his head:
With monsters like this around, high-value targets would be endless.
Akatsuki…
might actually be profitable.
So Kakuzu joined.
2) Sasori Recruited
In a dust-choked sea of sand, Sasori of the Red Sand had just used puppets to wipe out a small hidden village.
He complained there was no good "material."
Then Konan appeared, floating like an angel of paper.
She described the massacre… and invited him into Akatsuki.
Sasori sneered.
He didn't like being talked down to.
He pulled out a scroll—his trump card:
The Third Kazekage puppet.
He wanted to make Konan his next "collection."
He cut her body apart—
and she instantly reformed into paper.
He used Iron Sand techniques—
she scattered, then rebuilt again.
Poison and magnet-style weren't landing.
Konan's paper jutsu naturally countered him.
After a fierce fight, Sasori realized he couldn't easily pin her down.
Konan pressed the point:
"You don't need to understand my ability."
"Just know your puppetry is useful to us."
In the end, Sasori—curious, irritated, and cornered—accepted.
Back at the Akatsuki base, Pain issued their rings:
Kakuzu received the codename "Hokuto"
Sasori received the codename "Gyokujō"
Two major killers added.
Akatsuki's next target?
A Konoha rogue even more dangerous than both:
Orochimaru.
Orochimaru and Akatsuki: Mutual Hunting
Orochimaru wasn't like the others.
Akatsuki was watching him—
but he was also studying them.
The masked man only gave a brief warning to Pain and Konan:
"Orochimaru is a dangerous double-edged blade."
"Recruit him or kill him—your call."
Pain decided to recruit.
He brought Sasori and confronted Orochimaru.
Sasori and Orochimaru immediately clashed—pure bad chemistry.
Sasori accused him of spying.
Orochimaru smiled:
"So what? Are you here to silence me?"
Then Orochimaru revealed he knew Sasori's secrets:
"You hide in that ugly Hiruko shell… but your real trump card is the Third Kazekage, isn't it?"
Sasori's eyes narrowed.
He hadn't leaked that.
Orochimaru casually explained:
"I like truth."
"When I'm interested in something… I dig to the root."
Then his gaze shifted to Pain's eyes.
And the temperature dropped.
"Those eyes… hidden inside Akatsuki."
"I failed to obtain the Sharingan…"
"But the Rinnegan has delivered itself to me."
Killing intent exploded.
Sasori wanted to strike—
but Pain calmly stopped him with a simple nod.
"Go ahead. Fight him."
Sasori stepped out, unleashed puppets, the Third Kazekage, and pressed Orochimaru hard.
Orochimaru was knocked down.
Sasori declared it finished—
but Orochimaru shed his body like a skin and slipped around him, rushing straight for Pain.
"The Rinnegan is mine!"
Pain's face didn't change.
"Shinra Tensei."
Orochimaru was blasted away—stunned.
Pain's voice turned cold:
"Orochimaru. Enough games."
"State your real purpose."
Orochimaru smirked, as if the failure was expected.
"I thought my luck was good."
"But of course… the Rinnegan isn't that easy."
Then he finally spoke plainly:
"Let me join Akatsuki."
"I'm interested."
"My strength should qualify."
Sasori hated it.
"He lost to me and still talks big."
Orochimaru waved it off.
"I wasn't serious."
"Letting me in won't be a loss."
And that's where the chapter leaves the tension:
Akatsuki grows rapidly—
and even Orochimaru is stepping into the cloak…
not as a loyal follower, but as a predator waiting for a chance to bite.
Want More? Get up to +60 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ https://www.patreon.com/aureliusstudios
➤ +300 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
Thanks for the support!