章 102: Ch.102 Recruiting New Members
Asuma and the others quickly followed Kakashi to the battlefield.
While they spread out to inspect the area, they exclaimed, "Where did they go?"
Kurenai looked toward Yamashiro Aoba.
In their squad, Aoba was responsible for surveillance using his ninja crows, but the confusion on Aoba's face was no less than anyone else's.
With confidence, he said, "No one exited the fog. Uchiha Itachi and Zabuza Momochi only fled just before the fog cleared."
His ninja crows had been circling over the town all along. They had seen the townspeople evacuate, as well as Uchiha Itachi and Zabuza escaping earlier. So, he was certain that no one had left the fog.
Asuma was puzzled. "They couldn't have just vanished into thin air, could they? Or maybe one of them knows a space-time ninjutsu?"
Kakashi crouched near a scorched patch of ground, touching the burned marks. He mused, "Even the stones were reduced to fragments. What kind of Fire Release could do this?"
Kurenai approached Kakashi. "What now? Should we pursue them?"
Even though the two Akatsuki factions had seemingly vanished, they could still track Uchiha Itachi and Zabuza.
After a brief pause, Kakashi nodded. "Let's move!"
...
Outside the town.
Itachi and Zabuza were moving swiftly.
"Today was insane!" Zabuza grumbled.
Their mission was to eliminate the impostors pretending to be Akatsuki, but before they could act, a group of masked individuals showed up, throwing everything into confusion.
Seeing that Itachi remained silent, Zabuza asked, "What are we going to report when we get back?"
Itachi replied calmly, "We tell the truth."
Unlike Zabuza, who had no idea what was happening, Itachi had recalled something from the past, leading him to a new suspicion.
He remembered how Deidara had once asked him, "No mask?"
At the time, Itachi had dismissed it as one of Deidara's eccentricities. But now, thinking about the three masked individuals in red-clouded Akatsuki cloaks from the town, he began to reconsider.
"Could there be a faction within the organization that I'm unaware of?" He wondered. "Are they aligned with the leader or that man who calls himself 'Uchiha Madara'?"
Considering how the supposed "Uchiha Madara" also wore a mask, Itachi began to suspect that the three masked Akatsuki members were likely connected to him.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Zabuza pulled out a kunai and threw it behind them.
Caw caw!
Moments later, a crow fell from the sky, pierced by the kunai.
After dealing with the ninja crow that had been following them, Zabuza glanced back. "Looks like someone's tailing us."
Itachi didn't bother looking back and simply said, "Ignore them."
"Fine!"
Zabuza loosened his grip on his Executioner's Blade.
Not long after, Kakashi and the others arrived at the spot where the crow had fallen.
Looking at the dead crow on the ground, Yamashiro Aoba shook his head, looking frustrated.
"Sorry, they're too cautious!"
"Let's head back to the village and report to Lord Hokage," Kakashi sighed.
With their tracking bird eliminated, continuing the chase blindly would be pointless.
Before long, the news of the battle in the town spread through various channels.
The major shinobi villages received the information almost immediately, although none of them had as complete a picture as the Hidden Leaf or Akatsuki, who were directly involved.
As a result of this battle, Akatsuki's name began to resonate across the shinobi world.
Previously, the major shinobi villages hadn't considered Akatsuki much of a threat. But now, they were shocked to discover that the organization had quietly recruited so many S-rank rogue shinobi.
Akatsuki's strength far surpassed that of a typical shinobi organization, causing concern among the villages.
...
At the Hidden Rain Village.
Pain stood in the rain, high atop a tower, gazing over the entire village.
At that moment, Konan approached him. "Uchiha Itachi and Zabuza have returned. According to their report, the ones impersonating us are likely the same group that attacked you before—the mysterious organization with markings in their eyes."
Pain asked, "Have they uncovered any background on them?"
Konan shook her head. "There's something else you should be aware of."
"What is it?"
Konan relayed the detailed report from Itachi and Zabuza. "I suspect that the three masked individuals who helped us track down the impostors are secretly working for 'Uchiha Madara.' He might be up to something behind your back."
Pain's voice turned cold. "So, he has his own group in secret."
Konan nodded. "I'm worried we don't have enough manpower."
"Don't worry. I'm here." After a pause, Pain added, "But you're right to be concerned. Go find more recruits."
"Understood."
Konan nodded lightly.
...
Meanwhile, in a dark cave.
Zetsu emerged from the ground, speaking to Tobi. "The intel brought back by Itachi and Zabuza seems reliable."
A flicker of gloom crossed Tobi's eyes. "Those three masked individuals—are they members of our organization or not?"
Zetsu shook his head. "I've never seen them before."
"Hmph, looks like Nagato's been hiding things from me. Where did he find an Uchiha capable of using Susanoo?"
Tobi's brows furrowed slightly.
From his perspective, there was no way an Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan, capable of using Susanoo, would be faking their identity within Akatsuki.
The Uchiha's pride wouldn't allow it!
So, those three masked individuals wearing Akatsuki's red-clouded cloaks were almost certainly genuine Akatsuki members.
With this in mind, Tobi naturally suspected that Nagato was secretly recruiting more people behind his back.
As for why, Tobi's imagination ran wild, especially since he had personally buried the original Akatsuki that Yahiko had founded.
He was feeling rather guilty!
Zetsu voiced his concern. "What if Nagato slips out of our control?"
Tobi pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "He won't turn on us just yet. He still needs our power. But we should start making preparations."
Zetsu asked, "What kind of preparations?"
Tobi instructed, "We need to start recruiting some manpower too."
Tobi was deeply wary of the secret recruits Nagato had been gathering.
Especially the mysterious Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan—that individual was a source of great unease.
Every pair of Mangekyō Sharingan possessed unique abilities, and when dealing with one, extreme caution was always warranted.
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