Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 53: Movements in Akatsuki

The orange-haired Pain, once speculated by conspiracy theorists to be the Fourth Hokage, appeared before Uchiha Obito and calmly asked, "Madara-san, what do you know about Hagoromo Gengetsu?"

Obito's expression faltered momentarily, though the spiral mask concealed everything. He quickly responded in his usual profound tone, "An old acquaintance."

Pain continued, "Is there any chance we could recruit him into Akatsuki?"

Black Zetsu subtly shook its head at Obito. Understanding the gesture, Obito replied, "Unless you’re willing to hand over everything you have to him, it’s unlikely."

"I see," Pain said, his expression unchanging. As one who now considered himself a "god," it was inconceivable for him to hand over everything to another.

"Since he’s an acquaintance of Madara-san, we’ll leave him for you to handle. Don’t let him disrupt our plans."

"You needn't worry; I am quite interested in meeting this old friend," Obito replied deeply.

Pain nodded. As his projection began to fade, he asked one last question, "By the way, Madara-san, do you know how Hagoromo Gengetsu was resurrected?"

"That’s something I’m very eager to find out myself!" This time, Obito's response was genuinely earnest.

"Then I leave it to you, Madara-san."

With one last look at Obito, Pain's projection vanished. Afterward, Obito turned to Black Zetsu, who looked back at him. Obito's gaze sharpened as he instructed, "I need to know everything about Hagoromo Gengetsu's movements. It’s unsettling to have such a formidable individual appear out of nowhere."

"I understand," Black Zetsu nodded in agreement and then sank into the ground, leaving Obito alone, muttering, "Resurrection... Rin... Even if it’s possible, in this flawed world, it would only lead to another tragedy!"

"Therefore... no one can stop me from completely changing the shinobi world!"

Elsewhere, atop the ten fingers of the Gedo Statue, six projections were chatting casually. The blond-haired Deidara complained, "What’s the deal? Why does the leader like holding meetings as much as the old man? I was in the middle of creating a new art piece. This disrupts my inspiration, hm."

"Art, what’s so great about it? Deidara, my young friend, why not join me in worshipping the god?" Hidan, never missing a chance to preach, enthusiastically tried to recruit talent into Akatsuki.

"You jerk!!!"

Deidara immediately turned his anger from the leader towards Hidan, glaring at him fiercely. "You talentless cult leader! How dare you insult art! I’d like to see your so-called god face the greatness of art, hm!"

Hidan, equally enraged, shouted back, "Ah, you brat! How dare you blaspheme the great god! Where are you? I’m going to purge you, you heretic!"

"Bring it on!" Deidara taunted, "What kind of god is that? A joke compared to the grandeur of art! Hm!"

Hidan retorted, "What a joke art is! Ask anyone outside; how many people believe in that nonsense? Art is a joke!"

These words infuriated not only Deidara but also Sasori, who had been quietly indifferent. Sasori suddenly opened his eyes and coldly threatened, "Hidan, if you dare insult art again, I’ll turn you into a human puppet! I’ve always been curious whether an immortal would retain consciousness after being converted into a puppet."

Despite their differences in artistic perspective, Sasori was as passionate about art as Deidara and couldn’t tolerate Hidan’s insults.

Seeing Deidara had backup, Hidan quickly turned to Kakuzu, "Kakuzu, your partner is being targeted! Help me out here!"

Kakuzu glanced at him and calmly replied, "I’d also like to see if you’re truly immortal."

Hidan: "..."

Not far away, Kisame, who had been observing everything, grinned and said, "Such a lively organization! Unlike Kirigakure, where everyone’s constantly ready to stab each other in the back. What do you think, Itachi?"

Uchiha Itachi didn’t respond; his Sharingan seemed to be focused on the group, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Kisame, understanding his usually silent partner, continued, "Still thinking about the Nine-Tails? The leader won’t blame you for not capturing it under those circumstances."

"Or... are you thinking about your brother?" Kisame’s shark-like face twisted into a peculiar smile. "It’s curious how someone who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan spared his brother, not once but twice."

At this, Itachi’s expression finally shifted, and he slowly spoke, "I’m thinking about someone else."

"Oh? Who?"

"Hagoromo Gengetsu."

"That guy~~~" Kisame habitually touched the absent Samehada on his back, reminiscing, "The Hidden Mist has a deep impression of him. I remember, during the Academy days, many teachers would gnash their teeth at the mention of his name, as if all of Kirigakure’s misfortunes over the years were his doing."

"They never look at their own flaws, always blaming a dead man."

"It’s... laughable!"

Kisame scoffed.

Itachi gave him a deep look and calmly remarked, "So, that’s why you betrayed your village?"

"There are many reasons," Kisame responded with a grin.

"Speaking of which, with the legendary Hagoromo Gengetsu returning, it seems the shinobi world won’t be peaceful for long! I’d love to see what’s happening in the Hidden Mist now."

"Do you enjoy chaos?" Itachi asked lightly.

Kisame replied, "It’s not that I like it; it’s what the organization likes."

Itachi nodded in understanding. Just then, Pain and Konan’s projections appeared before the group. Wasting no time, Pain decisively issued orders, "The shinobi world is about to become quite unstable. It’s time for Akatsuki to expand its operations further."

As Kisame mentioned, Akatsuki’s initial mission was to amass substantial funds. To achieve this, Akatsuki acted as a mercenary organization, deliberately instigating small wars, monopolizing the commissions at low costs, and then escalating the conflicts to reap greater profits.

With the entire shinobi world focused on Hagoromo Gengetsu's resurrection, now was the perfect time for them to exploit the chaos and rise.

Pain outlined a series of tasks to accelerate Akatsuki’s ultimate plan.

Before the meeting ended, Itachi specifically asked, "How should we deal with Hagoromo Gengetsu?"

Pain glanced at him indifferently, "Ignore him."

"Disperse!"

In an instant, the area around the Gedo Statue fell silent again as the projections vanished.