Chapter 154: A Shadow Over Akatsuki

Deep within the Land of Rain, hidden in the bowels of Amegakure, a clandestine meeting was taking place. Projected onto the cold, stone fingers of a massive Golem were the spectral images of the Akatsuki organization’s core members. Their physical bodies were elsewhere, but their consciousnesses were gathered here through their shared technique.

The composition of the group had shifted. The space once occupied by Sasori of the Red Sand, who had fallen during the mission to capture the One-Tail, was now filled by a new, enigmatic figure. A man with a single eye visible through a swirling orange mask. To the world, he was known as Tobi, a replacement member of questionable competence. Only a handful knew his true identity as Uchiha Obito, the organization’s true puppeteer.

“Hey, Leader,” growled Kisame Hoshigaki, his shark-like features twisting into a grimace. “This better be important. We’re in the middle of tracking the Four-Tails.” Beside him, Itachi Uchiha remained perfectly still, his eyes closed, betraying no emotion.

The figure at the head of the Golem, the Deva Path of Pain, spoke with a voice devoid of inflection. “The mission to capture the Two-Tails Jinchuriki… has ended in failure.”

A snort came from Deidara’s projection. “Huh? Failure? That was Kakuzu and Hidan’s job, un! If they can’t handle it, maybe they should stick to counting money, yeah! Leave the real art to me!”

“Hmph. You should watch your tongue, bomber boy,” Kakuzu retorted, his multiple masked entities seeming to glare. “Weren’t you and Sasori humiliated by a Konoha team? I heard the Copy Ninja and the Nine-Tails brat sent you running, and got the Scorpion killed in the process.”

At this, the masked man—Tobi—waved his arms comically. “It was super scary! Deidara-senpai was totally beaten up! Boom! Yeah!”

“Tobi, you idiot! Don’t make fun of me! My art is explosive and transient, un! It’s not about winning or losing!” Deidara shrieked, his image flickering with rage.

“Explosive? More like you just explode and that’s it, poof!” Tobi continued, tilting his head.

“You bastard…!”

“Enough, Deidara,” Pain’s voice cut through the bickering, cold and absolute. Deidara fell silent with a frustrated click of his tongue. “And Tobi. Silence. Show respect to your seniors.”

“S-sorry, Leader!” Tobi slumped dramatically.

From the ring finger, Zetsu’s dual-toned voice sighed. “Oh dear… Are we sure it was a good idea to let him join? Can someone like this really help us capture the remaining Jinchuriki?”

“His utility remains to be seen,” Pain replied dismissively. “The point is, Hidan and Kakuzu did not fail their mission. They were preempted. Someone else captured the Two-Tails Jinchuriki from Kumogakure before they could.”

This news brought a momentary silence.

“Preempted?” Kisame was the first to break it, his interest piqued. “By who? And for what purpose?”

“We do not know their ultimate goal. But we have identified them. They are a team known as ‘The Eagle,’ a small but formidable group that has emerged in the underworld over the past few years. They specialize in high-risk bounty missions. The leader is a name you will recognize, Itachi.” Pain paused, his Rinnegan eyes shifting. “Uchiha Ren.”

At the mention of his brother’s name, Itachi’s eyes snapped open, though his expression remained a carefully schooled mask of indifference.

Kisame let out a low chuckle. “Heh. Itachi’s little brother? The one who sent you packing back in Konoha? I’m not surprised he’s causing trouble. But a bounty hunter? Did he snatch the Two-Tails for a paycheck, un?” Deidara interjected.

“You think it is that simple?” Pain’s voice was flat. “If you knew what they did next, you would not be so dismissive.”

Kisame’s grin widened. “Oh? Did little Ren-chan do something else surprising?”

“Surprising is an understatement. What he did has sent shockwaves across the entire shinobi world.” Pain’s next words landed in the chamber like a series of explosive tags. “After capturing the Two-Tails, Uchiha Ren single-handedly laid siege to Kumogakure. He razed the village to the ground, inflicting catastrophic casualties on its shinobi forces. The Fourth Raikage lost his left arm and was left on the brink of death. As of now, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages is functionally destroyed.”

The spectral chamber fell into a stunned silence, broken only by Zetsu’s whispering murmur.

“What? Destroyed… Kumogakure?” Deidara finally gasped, his flippant tone utterly gone. “By himself? That’s… that’s impossible, un! Even with me and Brother Sasori together, we wouldn’t dare attack a great village head-on!”

A faint, almost imperceptible tremor ran through Itachi’s projected image. His Sharingan swirled to life, not with menace, but with sheer, unadulterated shock. *Ren… what have you become?*

“Impossible or not, it is fact,” Pain stated, his Rinnegan eyes scanning each member. “Do you still believe his motive was a simple bounty? What client could possibly afford the price of annihilating a great village? No. Uchiha Ren and his Eagle team are not mere mercenaries. They are a wild card, a variable of immense power with an unknown agenda. An agenda that, given their actions, appears to be targeting the Tailed Beasts… just as we are.”

The weight of the revelation settled over the Akatsuki. Their carefully laid plans, their belief in their own invincibility, had been challenged not by a village or an army, but by a single, vengeful Uchiha.

“He has made himself the enemy of the entire world,” Pain concluded. “And in doing so, he has become a direct obstacle to our goal. From this moment forward, the Eagle team is to be considered a significant threat. We will continue our operations, but we must now be prepared for the possibility of crossing paths with Uchiha Ren. And if we do… extreme caution is advised.”

In the silence that followed, each member of the Akatsuki was left to grapple with the new, terrifying reality. The world’s balance of power had not just shifted; it had been shattered by the brother of one of their own.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep