Naruto quickly followed Kakuzu into the Hidden Rain Village.
Since it rains here all year round, the village chief has a special technique that monitors every place the rain touches.
So before they arrived, Kakuzu warned Naruto not to reveal that he was a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
Of course, bringing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki into the organization was a good thing... but Kakuzu chose to hide it and instead introduced him as a new recruit.
Because, well—no matter how many hearts he had, it still wasn't enough to survive if the leader decided to kill him.
After hearing Kakuzu's instructions, Naruto patted his chest confidently.
"Relax, I got this."
And honestly, even if he was exposed, so what?
Rinnegan?
Pfft. Who doesn't have one these days?
He, Ichigo Kurosaki, possessed orange hair and the Rinnegan. From any angle, he was clearly leadership material.
"Kurosaki Ichigo..."
"We're here."
"Mm."
Naruto nodded, pulled out a scratched Kusagakure forehead protector from his cloak, and tied it around his neck.
This identity was flawless.
The Grass Village and the Grass Kingdom were long gone, so… no one could fact-check him.
Naruto even made up an entire backstory:
The evil Orochimaru destroyed the world and wiped out his village in the process, and then the noble Akatsuki swooped in and saved him...
Hmm...
Just imagining it, Naruto already felt immersed in his role.
At that moment, Sasori and Deidara had just stepped out of the base, walking toward them.
They didn't speak.
Not because they were feeling particularly cooperative—no, they had planned to leave the village to argue outside earshot of Pain.
But when they saw the young man next to Kakuzu, both of them stopped in their tracks.
Because...
That familiar energy was back.
The Grayl Stone—the one that had vanished two years ago.
Deidara instantly recognized it. That stone could reshape the very foundation of chakra itself.
And Sasori understood it even better.
Timothy, a member of the Mechanicus, had once explained the full extent of the Grayl Stone's abilities to him.
Although, when it came to the mineral veins' location, Timothy had remained oddly silent.
Considering who was present back then, most within the Mechanicus believed that the Bishop had taken possession of the entire mineral vein.
Which meant...
That orange-haired kid was the Bishop!?
Excellent!
The Bishop hadn't abandoned the Faith!
With that revelation, Sasori immediately stepped forward, raising both hands high in a Mechanicus-style prayer gesture, and said reverently:
"Long live the Adeptus Mechanicus."
Naruto: ...
Naruto nearly blacked out on the spot.
What in the Hydra-loving hell was this cultist nonsense?!
How the hell did Sasori recognize him before he even joined Akatsuki?!
Kakuzu's expression twitched. Without thinking, he pulled Naruto away from Sasori.
He was genuinely worried the cultist might scam his boss out of money or sell him a "spiritual tech" product.
But then, a ridiculous thought crossed Kakuzu's mind.
Wait a minute… could the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and Sasori actually know each other?
No way... right?
Could Sasori and Deidara have been acting weird all these years because they were—gasp—rebels?
Naruto, pretending he hadn't seen Sasori at all, continued following Kakuzu like nothing happened. Sasori and Deidara exchanged a look, then silently followed behind.
One of them wanted to confirm the Bishop's identity.
The other wanted the Gray Stone.
Before the four could step inside the village, Pain appeared at the gate, staring coldly at Kakuzu and Naruto with his Rinnegan.
"Kakuzu."
"Who is he?"
Nagato was in a mood.
It was bad enough he had slackers like Sasori and Deidara in his squad, but now even Kakuzu—usually the most dependable of the bunch—was bringing strangers into the base?
This was practically an invitation for a security breach!
"Chief, this young man wants to join the organization. I specifically—"
BANG—
Before Kakuzu could finish, he was blasted away like a rag doll.
"You're selling us out for money again, aren't you?"
Nagato was livid. His chest practically vibrated with fury.
He didn't even have to guess—Kakuzu clearly brought someone in exchange for payment.
And if word got out that their organization accepted pay-to-join members, it'd be a disaster!
God, why did it feel like the Akatsuki was becoming more of a mess with each passing day!?
Naruto ignored the flying Kakuzu and enthusiastically shouted at Pain.
"Hello, Chief!"
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, a ninja from the Hidden Grass Village who's been training for two and a half years!"
"The organization saved me two years ago..."
"Please allow me to join you in saving the world!"
"My dream is world peace!"
The moment he finished speaking, silence fell.
So quiet, you could hear the crows cawing in the forest.
Scorpion and Kakuzu nearly burst out laughing on the spot.
They both knew who this 'Kurosaki Ichigo' really was.
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... coming to join Akatsuki—the very organization hunting Jinchuriki?
It was insane!
Kakuzu felt utterly defeated.
He had specifically told Naruto not to use that line!
Because the moment their leader heard someone talking about "joining the righteous Akatsuki organization," he might just unleash Chibaku Tensei without a second thought!
And sure enough...
When Nagato heard the speech, he froze for a full two minutes.
His mind drifted back to the old days—Yahiko's death, becoming a god, gathering the Tailed Beasts, and trying to teach the world pain so they'd appreciate peace...
After all, Akatsuki was a just organization.
The world just didn't understand that yet.
But now, hearing this orange-haired kid talk about "world peace," Nagato suddenly found himself... curious.
That orange hair...
He looked oddly like Yahiko.
"We don't take in trash," Nagato finally said, maintaining his stern leader persona.
But in the next moment, he gave the newcomer a chance.
"But I can give you a trial mission."
"Kurosaki Ichigo, you'll follow Sasori and Deidara."
"Your task is to capture the One-Tailed Jinchuriki, Gaara."
Nagato glanced at Sasori and Deidara, disappointment written all over his face.
He hoped the newcomer would give these two slackers a little pressure.
Maybe even light a fire under their lazy butts.
Naruto twitched when he heard the mission.
He suddenly felt so, so bad for his senior brother.
I mean—Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu... all of them were traitors!
And now Pain wanted him—a fellow traitor—to team up with these two other traitors to go kidnap Gaara?
Naruto silently saluted his senior brother in his heart.
The guy had spent years trying to save the world... all while being surrounded by undercover agents.
Well...
Don't worry, brother.
I'll make sure I become a qualified member of Akatsuki!
As for how to kidnap Gaara... they'd figure it out later.
"Understood, Chief!"
"I'll do my best!"
﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌
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