Naruto: Talent Analyst-Chapter 119: Akatsuki’s Reaction

Land of Rain

Inside a dark cave

Two massive hands stretched out from the ground as if some giant had been buried beneath that was desperately reaching upward.

A series of colorful phantoms suddenly appeared on the fingertips of the hands. There were eight figures in total.

"What's the matter? I've been very busy lately." Sasori said in a low and annoyed voice.

Orochimaru, who was standing nearby, echoed his sentiment.

He had his own experiments to conduct and had little interest in these constant, and tedious meetings.

Thinking about it now, Orochimaru regretted joining the Akatsuki.

When he had defected from Konoha, he had heard from Yuta that the leader of the Akatsuki possessed the Rinnegan.

After some searching, he found that it was true.

And Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki even seemed to be one of the three Amegakure orphans that Jiraiya had once saved.

Unfortunately, he was no match for Pain.

Orochimaru had joined the Akatsuki out of curiosity about the Rinnegan and because Pain had personally invited him.

But after joining, he rarely ever saw Pain in person.

The organization's operations were mostly conducted through this ninjutsu called the Magic Lantern Body Technique.

If not for the Akatsuki funding his research, Orochimaru would have left long ago.

Pain ignored Sasori and Orochimaru's impatience and instead scanned the gathered members, and frowned.

There were nine people in the Akatsuki.

But there were only eight people here.

Him, Konan, Orochimaru, Sasori, Itachi, Juzo, Kakuzu, and Zetsu.

After scanning the group, he noticed something.

"Kakuzu, what happened?" Pain asked with displeasure.

"He was too slow to dodge my ninjutsu during the mission." Kakuzu answered without hesitation.

A teammate who slowed down his money-making efficiency would be better off dead.

After eliminating the mission target, he had even collected the bounty on his fallen partner.

"This isn't the first time." Pain's face darkened.

Time and time again, Kakuzu's partners had not died at the hands of their enemies but at his own.

Nagato was growing tired of this. But he couldn't just kill Kakuzu as his Kage-level strength made him a valuable asset.

And truthfully, Kakuzu's teammates were usually way weaker than him.

After a brief pause, Pain spoke, "There is a rogue ninja named Hidan in the Land of Hot Water. He is rumored to possess an immortal body."

"Kakuzu, Juzo, and Itachi, you three go find him. If he's suitable, recruit him into the organization."

Itachi and Juzo nodded in acknowledgment.

"Really? You called us all here for something so trivial?" Sasori said, his voice filled with irritation.

He had far more important things to do.

Paim ignored his complaints and said, "The reason I gathered everyone is to inform you all that the war between Konoha and Kumogakure, as well as Iwagakure is over."

The Akatsuki members were stunned.

It was over already?

They had heard about Kumogakure's downfall, but Iwagakure had deployed thousands of troops.

How could it end so quickly?

"It was because of that guy, Yuta."

Zetsu explained, "He single-handedly destroyed the Iwagakure army."

Zetsu then proceeded to explain the details of the battle.

Silence filled the chamber.

A Susanoo taller than a mountain?

The third Tsuchikage Onoki barely managed to escape?

He was unable to even damage the Susanoo's arm?

One swing of the sword split an entire mountain?

Was he even human?

"We don't know exactly how he did it. But based on the strength Yuta displayed, he is already comparable to Hashirama and Madara." Black Zetsu stated in a raspy voice.

Kakuzu's green eyes flickered. He remembered his humiliating defeat at the hands of Hashirama long ago.

Pain's expression remained unreadable, but internally, he wondered how his Rinnegan would compare to the strength of the legendary Hashirama and Madara?

Meanwhile, Itachi's face became grim.

That damned Yuta!

He has grown even stronger.

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If this continues, when will he ever get his revenge?

"Itachi, you seem troubled,"

Orochimaru observed Itachi with interest, licking the corner of his lips.

"I thought you hated war. Shouldn't you be pleased that it's over?"

He still recalled their past conversations.

Back when Itachi was only four or five years old, he was shaken by his first battlefield experience.

They had spoken about the meaning of life back then.

Orochimaru believed that he understood Itachi quite well.

Even later, when Itachi turned his back on his clan and agreed to Konoha's orders to massacre them, Orochimaru could still predict his thoughts.

To Itachi, it was all about sacrifice. Giving up his family for the so-called greater good.

It was pathetic.

He turned into nothing more than a tool for Konoha without even realizing it.

"I don't care about any of that,"

Itachi said flatly, "I only want to kill Yuta."

In his mind, the war had started because Yuta had staged a coup.

And it had ended only because Yuta had slaughtered thousands of Iwa ninjas.

Brutally ending the war in such a way was nothing to celebrate.

Sasori interjected with a hint of mockery, "Speaking of which, Orochimaru, didn't you have some history with Yuta?"

"I heard that when you defected from Konoha, an eight year old boy stopped you. You were almost killed back then."

Orochimaru's expression darkened. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing.

Even though Yuta was powerful now, the fact that Orochimaru, one of the Sannin had been stopped by an eight-year-old...

It was still humiliating.

Pain commanded, "In that case, Orochimaru and Sasori, go to the Land of Fire. Gather intelligence on Konoha and keep an eye on the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki."

"Try not to provoke Yuta. If you two encounter him, you might not survive." Black Zetsu warned seriously.

These Akatsuki members were crucial to the organization's plans and losing them now would be a waste.

"Tch! As if I need your warning," Sasori scoffed, unimpressed.

A mere intelligence-gatherer dared to talk down to him?

Orochimaru merely chuckled, agreeing internally.

Besides, even if he did run into Yuta, he wasn't entirely without options.

Perhaps, if the opportunity arose, he could finally test out that interesting Forbidden Technique.

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