The Akatsuki’s new base was located in the northern region of the Land of Fields, bordering the Land of Frost, a decision arranged by Nagato.

He had previously listed several criteria for the new base’s location, foremost was concealment, but another key demand was that it not be too close to the Land of Fire.

While the Land of Fields borders the Land of Fire, its southern area was deemed too close. By establishing the base in the north, they were better insulated.

As for Nagasawa, Nagato still wasn’t entirely confident. He wanted to keep the base far from the Land of Fire to avoid detection. If Nagasawa ever discovered the Akatsuki’s plans and began searching the continent for them, distance from Fire Country would make discovery less likely.

Since Nagato was the last member to relocate, he traveled at full speed, quickly arriving in the Land of Fields.

Shortly after crossing the border, Zetsu appeared.

"So fast, you must’ve just left recently," Zetsu said with a chuckle.

"How’s the base?" Nagato asked flatly.

"It’s pretty much complete. The barrier’s set up, too," Zetsu replied.

Truthfully, the base wasn’t complicated, this was the official members’ base, only open to full Akatsuki members, meaning only ten people total. Very few would actually live there.

Still, the base had to be large, after all, it needed to house the Gedo Statue.

Otherwise, it didn’t require extensive facilities. No need for refined rooms or amenities.

Nagato nodded slightly. "Good. Take me there."

The two sped off toward the new Akatsuki base.

The northern region of the Land of Fields was far colder than the south, similar in climate to the northern Land of Fire.

But temperature was irrelevant to the Akatsuki’s top-tier shinobi. No one among them would feel discomfort from mere weather changes.

Especially not Hiruko and Sasori, who had long since abandoned humanity. Hiruko’s Shinra Grimoire Technique intrigued Sasori. In exchange for some of his puppet tech, he got Hiruko to help modify several puppets, he wanted to see if the technique could work on puppets.

It did. Hiruko fused a summoned beast with one of Sasori’s standard puppets. The puppet’s body transformed, swelling to twice its size, sprouting fangs and bestial features.

The puppet grew stronger, but harder to control. Sasori lacked experience operating something so inhuman.

Meanwhile, Hiruko coveted Sasori’s Human Puppet Technique. If he could mass-produce powerful puppets using the Shinra Grimoire, he’d be unstoppable.

Not knowing puppet-jutsu didn’t bother him. He had better plans, why bother with strings when you can make puppets move on their own and simply issue commands?

According to Hiruko’s technique, some species possess natural kings. By absorbing one of them and imbuing a puppet with their traits, he could theoretically build an autonomous puppet army.

That was the theory anyway, he still needed to test it.

Nagato and Zetsu arrived at the new base quickly.

Zetsu led him deep into the forest and up to a towering stone wall.

Raising his finger, Zetsu performed a jutsu. A red light glowed at the wall’s center, and with a rumble, the stone wall lifted to reveal a dark entrance.

Nagato didn’t enter. Instead, he levitated to a higher vantage point and released Pain, who descended slowly, landing at the entrance.

"Let’s go," Pain said emotionlessly as he stepped inside.

The base was bare, no lavish décor. Natural stone walls, dirt floors in places. A few tables and chairs had been added so meetings wouldn’t be held standing.

By the time Pain reached the inner sanctum, every other Akatsuki member had gathered, except Zetsu and himself.

Pain had notified the Land of Fields group in advance, so everyone assembled here for the meeting. Normally, the base was empty.

Kakuzu was out bounty-hunting. Kurohige Raiga hadn’t wanted to go but relented under Kakuzu’s force. He knew his place, Kakuzu ranked among the strongest members, while he was average.

Musashi wandered looking for fights. Jūzō Biwa usually got dragged into those fights by him.

Hiruko and Sasori conducted experiments.

As for Zetsu? Who knew what he did.

Kisame was fairly free and often dropped by the base to check in.

Pain stepped forward and announced,

"A new order will soon descend upon the shinobi world. The time has come for the Akatsuki to move."

"What’s the current status of the Land of Fields?" he asked Konan.

"Our people have infiltrated the feudal lord’s ministers. We’ve secured control over them. Many key officials are already ours. We’ve basically taken over," Konan reported.

When a ninja targets regular people, it’s not even a challenge. Those so-called ministers might have guards, but no guard can compare to an Akatsuki-level shinobi.

The Akatsuki could now defeat even a Great Village head-on.

At its height, even the Land of Rain, strongest among the small nations, couldn’t match them.

The Land of Fields didn’t even have a ninja village. It was hardly worth mentioning.

"Good. Tomorrow, mobilize our people to make the daimyo support the founding of a new ninja village in the Land of Fields. Call it, Hikarigakure (Village Hidden in the Light)."

"I’ll arrange it immediately," Konan replied.

"A new ninja village?" Kurohige Raiga raised an eyebrow.

Clearly not everyone knew Nagato’s full plan. Only Konan had been told everything. The rest just knew they were shifting operations to the Land of Rain. The details had been withheld.

But they were used to it. The Akatsuki wasn’t a strict organization. Most just did their own thing unless a mission came up.

"Yes. A new village. Do you have a problem with that?" Nagato asked calmly.

"Why form a ninja village in the first place? Isn’t our current form, an independent organization, already good enough?" Raiga replied.

His experience with Kirigakure left him with a distaste for the ninja village system. Akatsuki’s freedom suited him. Well, aside from Kakuzu, everything was great.

"If we make a village, won’t the Five Great Nations crush us? We’ve got a lot of missing-nin from their ranks," Sasori said coolly, his expression unchanged.

Raiga nodded inwardly. The Akatsuki really was full of talent.

Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage, then made him into a human puppet.

He, Jūzō, and Kisame were all missing-nin from Kirigakure, each holding secrets from the Mist.

If they stayed low, fine, but founding a ninja village openly? Kirigakure would definitely retaliate.

Hiruko was a missing-nin from Konoha.

Musashi wasn’t officially branded a missing-nin, but he was on Kirigakure’s wanted list.

So if Hikarigakure launched, at least two great nations would strike.

Sunagakure would never forgive them, especially Sasori. Killing their Kage was one thing, but turning him into a puppet and using him daily?

The Kage represents the entire village. Turning one into a puppet was a direct insult, unforgivable.

Kirigakure had three S-rank defectors and a wanted criminal in the Akatsuki. They’d treat Hikarigakure as a mortal enemy.

Konoha, though, might not bother. Hiruko had been just a jōnin, not an important figure. His defection didn’t cause any major damage. Konoha might not prioritize hunting him.

"Why would we fight for the Land of Fields? Are any of us even from there?" Jūzō scoffed. "What, we’re supposed to live and die for them now?"

He didn’t leave the Mist to join some backwater ninja village. He clearly didn’t like the direction things were heading.

"I don’t care either way," Hiruko said with a smile.

His focus was on finalizing his Bloodline Collection System and building a powerful puppet army.

Once that was complete, he’d return to Konoha to prove his worth. The Third Hokage had been blind not to take him as a student, only choosing the Legendary Sannin.

He’d prove to the Sannin that he, Hiruko, had more talent, more power.

Kisame remained stoic and silent. He was different from the others, he had been sent by Obito, a plant within the Akatsuki.

Of course, Kisame didn’t know Obito had already abandoned his "create a new world without lies" dream and reformed.

"A ninja village, huh? Would samurai joining cause political fallout?" Musashi muttered.

He wasn’t a ninja, but a samurai. He worried joining a ninja village would hurt relations with the Land of Iron.

That country had strict treaties with the other nations, no interference, mutual non-aggression. And their code prohibited samurai from learning ninjutsu.

Visually, samurai and ninja were easy to tell apart. Their gear and style differed.

Samurai used chakra too, but not for jutsu. They enhanced their strength to unleash sword beams.

In battle, samurai only wielded katana. Ninja, by contrast, used all kinds of tools and jutsu.

Even sword-focused ninja used ninjutsu during battle, unlike samurai, who used none at all.

"Silence."

Pain’s voice cut through the debate. A crushing aura exploded from him.

The Akatsuki members fell silent, especially Kakuzu and Musashi, who had fought Pain before. Their eyes sharpened.

Is it just me... or has the leader gotten stronger? Musashi thought.

He’d requested to test Pain’s strength before joining, so he likely understood it better than anyone.

Back then, Pain’s chakra felt consistent each time, leading Musashi to think he’d hit his ceiling.

But now... something had clearly changed.

Once the room quieted, Pain spoke,

"While we’re founding a ninja village, that does not mean Akatsuki is becoming Hikarigakure.

Hikarigakure is merely a subsidiary unit. The Akatsuki remains the core."

"Not all members will join Hikarigakure. Just a few. Its purpose is to strengthen Akatsuki and fits into the broader plan."

"Also, members joining Hikarigakure won’t use real identities. They’ll be in disguise."

Nagato wasn’t stupid. Founding a village full of missing-nin would be a slap in the face to the Five Great Nations.

Even though conflict with them was inevitable later, he didn’t want to start a war now.

His plan required time.

With Pain’s intimidating aura and clear reasoning, most members accepted the idea, it was like forming a new division, not changing the whole organization.

But not everyone was reassured. Some had already sensed danger, and began plotting escape.

The Akatsuki is getting too dangerous, thought Kurohige Raiga. If this continues, the outcome will be worse than Kirigakure. I need to get out.

He had stayed this long because of familiar faces like Jūzō, and because the Akatsuki was free and loose. He could even build his own power base.

But lately? It was too risky. The freedom was fading. It was better to bail now.

Find a small corner of the world, rule it alone, that was the path to survival.