Chapter 15: The Dawn Organization’s Monthly Meeting

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Kakuzu’s proposal was swiftly dismissed.
Uzumaki Shika continued to examine the mission list in his hands without looking up and said,
“No, I believe that would be a desecration of life!”
“Besides, Lord Kakuzu, after this month, don’t you think we have gained a great deal?”
“Whether it’s the rewards earned from missions or the progress in our ninjutsu, these are the very things most shinobi yearn for!”
Upon hearing this, Kakuzu immediately retorted, “What I yearn for is at least one day off each week!”
Uzumaki Shika laughed heartily, “Ahahaha, Lord Kakuzu, it’s wonderful that you completely agree with my philosophy!”
Kakuzu, hearing this, nearly stood up to strike—how could Shika possibly think he agreed with him?
Of course, Shika hadn’t actually heard Kakuzu say anything of the sort; he was simply forcing a consensus.
Taking Kakuzu along on missions proved to be twice as effective with half the effort.
And since Kakuzu couldn’t beat him, Shika could easily impose his will.
While Shika pondered these thoughts, Karin, who had been playfully teasing him moments before, had unknowingly fallen asleep leaning on his shoulder.
After a brief hesitation, Shika held this fragile little follower in his arms.
After all, they were in the wilderness; it would be troublesome if Karin fell ill.
As the month drew to a close, an important matter arose.
…
Hidden Rain Village, the tall tower.
This was one of Akatsuki’s key strongholds.
The Akatsuki’s monthly meeting was usually held here.
Raindrops continuously fell across Hidden Rain Village, a persistent drizzle that lasted year-round.
This was actually a kind of sensory ninjutsu: if any dangerous intruders entered the village, Nagato would be alerted.
Members of Akatsuki gradually gathered at the usual meeting place.
But this time, they did not see Nagato; instead, they saw Pain.
Nagato’s body had been deteriorating.
This forced him to remain behind the scenes, continuing to lead Akatsuki through Pain’s control.
When Orochimaru saw Pain, a strong curiosity flickered in his eyes.
He had never lost interest in the Rinnegan.
However, the difficulty of seizing the Rinnegan had tempered his greed for the time being.
Not far away, Itachi Uchiha’s expression remained impassive, his gaze calm and steady.
Sasori was even more expressionless than Itachi, since Sasori’s true form was a puppet.
Therefore, his expression was naturally no more varied than Itachi’s.
When Jūzō arrived, he glanced around and finally fixed his gaze on Konan, asking,
“Where is Nagato?”
In the past, whenever they came here, they would see Nagato sitting in his wheelchair.
But this time, Nagato did not appear.
Others were equally curious about Nagato’s whereabouts, so after Jūzō’s question, their eyes also turned toward Konan.
Konan’s gaze was indifferent as she looked at them, her tone very calm as she said,
“Nagato needs time to train. For a long period to come, Nagato will continue to lead Akatsuki through him.”
After speaking, she fixed her eyes on the former comrade Yahiko’s body.
Even more calmly, she continued, “From now on, you may call him Pain.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s gaze fell upon Pain.
Pain’s figure was vivid and lifelike, with black chakra rods embedded all over him.
Nagato used the Rinnegan and these chakra rods to control Pain.
At that moment, Pain spoke.

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His voice was extremely cold.
“You need not concern yourselves with trivial matters. From now on, everything in Akatsuki will continue as usual.”
“Our mission remains the same: to amass vast wealth, capture tailed beasts, and create tailed beast weapons!”
“The shinobi world needs pain—it must grow through suffering!”
The voice coming from Pain was completely unfamiliar; it was unlike Nagato’s voice.
However, the tone was indeed Nagato’s.
He spoke of bringing pain to the world from this moment onward.
Yet how many within Akatsuki truly accepted this ideology now was hard to say.
“Where is that Kakuzu guy?”
“And what about that newcomer who’s always with Kakuzu? Why haven’t they come?”
After Pain finished speaking, Jūzō looked around curiously and asked.
Though Jūzō’s eyes were small, his gaze was undoubtedly sharp.
Upon arriving, he first noticed Nagato was absent, replaced by the Six Paths of Pain.
Now he also noticed Kakuzu and the newcomer had not shown up.
When the others heard Jūzō’s second question, many displayed strange expressions.
Kakuzu’s duo had long been known as the “Deadly Duo.”
Kakuzu had caused the deaths of more than one teammate during missions.
The newcomer partnered with Kakuzu had not come—most likely dead.
Jūzō hadn’t considered this at first.
Moments later, he realized the truth.
Then, on his eerie black-and-white face appeared a sinister smile.
At that moment, three figures arrived, fashionably late.
They were Uzumaki Shika and Kakuzu’s duo—the last group to arrive.
Next to Shika was the adorable little Karin.
As for Kakuzu, he dragged his weary body, falling behind.
Seeing everyone gathered, Shika apologized awkwardly.
“Sorry, sorry!”
“Thank you all for waiting!”
“On the way here, I stopped to complete a few missions, so I’m late.”
Many in Akatsuki looked surprised at Shika’s bright smile.
No one expected that after a month, the newcomer teamed with Kakuzu was still alive.
Kakuzu’s group was truly called the Deadly Duo for a reason.
For a long time, he had indeed caused the deaths of many teammates.
Now, the members of Akatsuki raised their estimation of Shika!
After nearly a month working with Kakuzu, he was still safe and sound.
This newcomer was something special!
Nagato had initially held little expectation for Shika.
Among many Akatsuki members, only Shika had negotiated many conditions when joining the group.
Nagato hadn’t expected that after a month, Shika would not only survive but also contribute greatly to the organization.
It seemed Shika deeply hated this world and was eager to make it feel pain!
Konan’s impression of Shika was not bad.
His personality resembled that of the youthful Yahiko.
Only Shika was not just lively and cheerful like Yahiko; he was excessively unpredictable.
Recalling the various reports about Shika over the past month,
Konan’s cold and beautiful face could not help but show a strange expression.
Compared to others’ surprise, Orochimaru remained calm.
He thought to himself, “That guy isn’t so easily killed.”
“His mastery of lightning style is already to an incredible degree.”
“The ninjutsu he used that day even forced me to use the triple Rashomon just to barely block it.”
Orochimaru did not know that now Shika could no longer play nicely with him.
If they fought again, Shika might just impale him outright with Hell Stab: Single Piercing Hand.
Sasori had few thoughts on Shika.
He merely thought that since Shika was still alive, he could remain Kakuzu’s partner for a long time.
Elsewhere, Kisame Hoshigaki did not dwell so much and directly asked Itachi,
“Sevensan, what do you think of the newcomer?”
Itachi was silent for a moment before replying,
“Uzumaki Shika is very strong.”
“From what I’ve learned, he easily broke two of Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear masks.”
“And on the night he joined the organization, he displayed an unbelievable talent for lightning style.”
“His control of lightning style is comparable to the tailed beasts themselves, which are chakra conglomerates.”
Itachi gave a relatively objective evaluation of Shika based on the information he had.
However, since Shika had yet to use his full strength,
Itachi did not know exactly how powerful Shika truly was.
Kisame smiled upon hearing this.
“In that case, I look forward to sparring with the newcomer to build camaraderie.”
Kisame had yet to experience the power of Hell Stab: Single Piercing Hand.
When he suffers from that technique, he will no longer entertain such thoughts.
Itachi had expressed his view on Shika’s strength but withheld his personal opinion.
His identity was special—he was a Konoha spy embedded within Akatsuki.
His personal view of Shika was that he was another dangerous element!
Itachi’s face was still expressionless, but his mind had begun to contemplate.
“Shika has been frequenting the Hidden Rain Village black market recently.”
“And in a short time, he has completed many black market missions.”
“For such an outstanding shinobi to join Akatsuki, the organization’s danger level has undoubtedly increased!”
“For the foreseeable future, we must quietly keep an eye on this shinobi and gather intelligence.”
Of course, Itachi didn’t know that he had no reason to add more work for himself.
Shika’s goal was always clear: to become invincible.
As for destroying a ninja village or inciting a ninja world war—Shika would never do such things.
At that moment, Kakuzu, lagging far behind, dragged his exhausted body into the meeting hall.
Upon Kakuzu’s arrival, all eyes fell on him.
They were horrified to see that Kakuzu had undergone a tremendous transformation!
Deep dark circles rimmed his eyes, his whole demeanor was that of utter exhaustion and overextension.

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