The dim, damp cavern echoed with silence as the Gedo Statue stood motionless in the darkness.
Suddenly, a ripple of chakra surged through the air, and several colorful, flickering silhouettes appeared atop the fingers of the colossal statue.
At the center of them stood a figure whose eyes constantly emitted a faint, otherworldly purple glow.
Sweeping his gaze around the gathering, he finally spoke in a cold, detached tone: "Kakuzu and Hidan still haven't attended the meeting?"
Hearing this, Sasori of the Red Sand let out a disdainful scoff.
"Those two must be dead by now."
"Eternal life? What a joke."
"If they had agreed to my proposal back then and let me turn them into human puppets, they wouldn't have vanished so silently from this world."
"True eternity lies in puppetry!"
As Sasori spoke, Kisame Hoshigaki chuckled darkly. "This world is full of lies and deception. For all we know, they could've just betrayed the organization."
"A bounty of a hundred million ryo is enough to tempt most people—especially a money-obsessed shinobi like Kakuzu."
Hearing their discussion, Pain's brow furrowed slightly as he turned his gaze toward Zetsu.
"Zetsu, do you have any information on them?"
Zetsu shook his head. "No. They disappeared as if they never existed."
"But based on what happened in the Land of Iron, I'm inclined to believe that they were killed by Uchiha Mirai."
Zetsu's response was evasive.
Ever since the last incident in Kirigakure, where Mirai had detected its presence, Zetsu had been avoiding any direct encounters with him.
Black Zetsu didn't particularly care, but White Zetsu adamantly refused to appear anywhere near Mirai again.
Even using a clone was out of the question...
As for Uchiha Obito?
That child wasn't even worth mentioning.
A coward, forever running from reality—it was no surprise that he awakened a dojutsu like Kamui.
Both Zetsu and Obito had withdrawn from direct involvement, leaving Akatsuki without any recent intelligence on Uchiha Mirai.
Pain fell into a long silence.
In shinobi warfare, intelligence was paramount.
Sending Kakuzu and Hidan to the Land of Iron had been a calculated move—using their so-called immortality to gather as much intel on Mirai as possible.
But now, with both of them likely dead, they were still no closer to learning anything new about him.
Two Kage-level shinobi had perished without yielding a single piece of useful information, which irritated Pain.
After a moment of thought, he shifted his focus and turned toward Sasori and Kisame.
"Have you gathered intelligence on the Tailed Beasts?"
Noticing Pain's displeasure, neither of them dared to provoke their leader, who wielded absolute power over the group.
Sasori spoke first, his tone serious. "Based on our findings, the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Five-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails have all been sealed within Uchiha Mirai."
"The Four-Tails is in your possession, leader."
"That leaves only the One-Tail, Six-Tails, and Seven-Tails unaccounted for."
"The One-Tail is sealed within Gaara, the son of the late Fourth Kazekage."
"Although I have an informant inside Sunagakure, extracting Gaara from their grasp would be exceedingly difficult."
"The Six-Tails Jinchuriki is highly elusive. Ever since defecting from Kirigakure, his whereabouts have remained largely unknown."
"That leaves the Seven-Tails of Takigakure as our most viable target."
"Though the location of Takigakure is secretive, based on intelligence Kakuzu left behind, we should be able to pinpoint its exact location soon."
After hearing Sasori's assessment, Pain nodded. "Then you two will handle the operation in Takigakure."
He then turned his gaze to Zetsu. "Accompany them and gather intel."
"Do not disappoint me this time."
Pain's gaze was piercing, leaving Zetsu with no room to argue. "Understood."
"Dismissed."
...
Land of Waterfalls
Sasori slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Kisame beside him.
"Kisame, we might end up facing Uchiha Mirai this time. If you don't want to end up like Kakuzu and Hidan, I could turn you into a puppet."
Aren't you thoughtful…
Kisame scoffed internally but merely hoisted Samehada onto his shoulder.
"Fighting strong opponents is what I live for. If I get to face Uchiha Mirai, Samehada will be thrilled."
Seeing Kisame's refusal, Sasori sighed in mild disappointment. "Then I suppose I'll just have to wait until you die before making you into a puppet."
Kisame bared his teeth in a grin. "No pressure at all~"
...
Konohagakure
Hokage's Office
Anko Mitarashi winced as she rubbed her sore backside.
She had successfully moved in with Yuugao and the others as planned, and she even got her long-awaited bone blade.
But her poor backside had suffered for it.
Just thinking about that day's punishment made her blush.
"Hmph! That scumbag senpai is such a perv."
"It's been three days, and it still hasn't stopped hurting. I'm so mad!"
"But I won't give in that easily."
Muttering to herself, Anko smirked mischievously.
If he wanted her to behave, he'd have to spank her every day.
Hehehe…
Just as Anko was lost in thought, a commotion erupted outside the Hokage Tower.
"Let me in! I must see Mirai-sama!"
"I'm a shinobi from Takigakure! Someone is trying to steal our Tailed Beast!"
The man then yelled at the top of his lungs, "Mirai-sama! Takigakure is willing to submit to you—please save our village!"
Before he could finish, an Anbu knocked him unconscious.
Anko frowned before vanishing in a flash, reappearing at the scene below.
"Lady Anko!"
The Anbu operatives saluted as she arrived.
Anko waved them off. "Don't take any action yet. I'll report this."
"Understood."
As a member of the Imperial Guard, Anko's words carried weight.
No one in Konoha dared to defy.
After ensuring that the unconscious man was properly restrained, Anko vanished again, appearing inside the Hokage's office.
Before she could speak, Uchiha Mirai, without even looking up, said calmly, "Anko, bring him to me."
"Yes."
As Anko left, a slight smirk played at the corner of Mirai's lips.
Takigakure coming to him for help?
That would certainly save him a lot of trouble.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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