148. The Fall of Akatsuki?

"Who are you..."

Yahiko and the other two looked at the man standing before them. With his golden, serpentine pupils, purple eyeshadow, pale skin, and an air as cold and chilling as a snake, he seemed somewhat familiar.

Finally, Konan gasped in surprise and blurted out, "You're Orochimaru!"

"Orochimaru? Orochimaru, the leader of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha?"

Hearing this, the members of the Akatsuki organization standing behind the trio began to whisper amongst themselves. After all, that name resonated like thunder throughout the shinobi world.

"Indeed, it is me."

Orochimaru maintained his smile, walking toward the three of them as he slowly spoke, "Jiraiya misses you all dearly. He has been inquiring about your whereabouts for all these years, but he received false information and believed you had perished. If he knew that you founded the Akatsuki organization, he would undoubtedly feel immense joy and pride."

Upon hearing Jiraiya's name, both Konan and Nagato let their guard down. Subconsciously, they stepped forward to meet Orochimaru, eager to ask about their former teacher's recent well-being.

However, right at that moment, Yahiko extended his arms, blocking his two companions.

With a frown and a stern expression, he interrogated Orochimaru:

"May I ask why you have appeared here, and who are the people behind you?"

To save face, Konoha had kept Orochimaru and Danzo's defection a tightly guarded secret, refusing to let word spread.

Consequently, Yahiko and the others had no idea that the Orochimaru standing before them was no longer one of the Legendary Sannin, but a wanted criminal.

Moreover, Yahiko remembered very clearly that when Orochimaru first met the three of them, he had proposed killing them, claiming under the guise of mercy that it would spare them from suffering.

For such a cruel and cold-blooded creature, Yahiko held not a shred of goodwill.

"Yahiko, do not be tense. I bear no ill intent."

Faced with Yahiko's interrogation, Orochimaru stopped in his tracks to offer reassurance, explaining calmly, "The people behind me are all Konoha Anbu shinobi. We are here in the Land of Rain on a mission ordered by the Third Hokage."

"What mission?" Yahiko pressed on.

"It is like this."

Orochimaru, having prepared his story long in advance, recounted it smoothly:

"Back then on the battlefield, Hanzo spared the lives of myself, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, bestowing upon us the title of the Sannin. In a sense, he is a benefactor to us. Now that he has fallen and the Land of Rain has plunged into civil war, we could not bear to watch this country suffer through such devastation. Therefore, we petitioned the Hokage and led a force here to pacify the turmoil."

"What about Teacher Jiraiya? Why didn't he come with you?" Yahiko continued to question.

Hearing this, Orochimaru sighed and said softly, "You must have heard whispers of Konoha's current situation. Tsunade was taken away by Hoshigaki Kisame and has become a hostage of Kirigakure. Meanwhile, Jiraiya must remain in the village to assist the Third Hokage and manage various affairs. Thus, I am leading this detachment alone. In short, I am willing to help you make Akatsuki the masters of Amegakure, thereby restoring peace to this nation."

His words were delivered with utmost sincerity and contained no glaring flaws, making it difficult for anyone to doubt him.

"That's wonderful."

Hearing this, Konan and Nagato shed their remaining suspicions, while the members of Akatsuki broke out in joyful expressions and began to converse excitedly.

In their eyes, with Konoha's assistance, Akatsuki would undoubtedly gain wings like a tiger, allowing them to easily become the rulers of Amegakure in the near future.

Faced with such a temptation, only Yahiko remained unaffected by the joy, maintaining the highest degree of rationality.

He fell silent for a moment, but ultimately shook his head slowly at Orochimaru, refusing firmly:

"Lord Orochimaru, Akatsuki has its own philosophy and methods. We will achieve peace in the Land of Rain using our own path, so we will not trouble Konoha for assistance."

As the leader of Akatsuki, he had to consider the entire organization and all of his subordinates at every moment, forcing him to exercise the utmost caution.

To Yahiko, Orochimaru's sudden appearance was simply too bizarre, and the underlying motives were highly suspect.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

He still intended to persuade Yahiko further, but Danzo behind him grew impatient. With a cold snort, Danzo stepped forward from the crowd.

"Stop wasting your breath on them, Orochimaru. They are merely brats; just take them by force."

Danzo said with displeasure, making a hand gesture. Immediately, the Root shinobi under his command sprang into action, surrounding the members of Akatsuki in a tight circle.

"As I thought, I knew from the start you harbor malicious intentions."

Seeing this, Yahiko let out a cold snort as well, turning to shout at Konan, Nagato, and the others, "Prepare for battle!"

The moment the words fell, the enemy on the opposite side charged forward, plunging into a fierce clash with the members of Akatsuki.

In an instant, the clashing of ninja tools, the explosions of explosive tags, and the battle cries of both sides merged into a chaotic roar.

The shinobi brought by Danzo were elite members of Root, significantly superior to the Akatsuki organization in both sheer numbers and individual strength.

Consequently, shortly after the battle began, Akatsuki was suppressed by the enemy. Members were continually struck down, plunging the organization into a steady retreat.

Whoosh.

Orochimaru leaped backward, swiftly withdrawing from the battlefield.

He had no intention of joining the fray; instead, he observed the performance of the three youths from the sidelines, silently evaluating each of them in his heart.

He sought to pick the most suitable candidate to serve as a vessel for the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique.

Naturally, the one who interested him most was Yahiko, the leader of Akatsuki. The youth's leadership abilities and mental fortitude had left a deep impression on him upon their very first meeting.

However, as it turned out, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Orochimaru soon discovered that Yahiko's combat strength was not particularly high. The only thing he excelled at was Water Release, and even then, he could only execute basic techniques such as the Water Severing Wave.

Given that he was a disciple personally trained by Jiraiya and the leader of Akatsuki, this level of skill was entirely unexpected.

Orochimaru felt a sense of puzzlement.

Suddenly, Yahiko was swarmed by two Root shinobi and beaten to the ground.

Swish, swish, swish.

At this critical juncture, Konan stepped in to rescue him, throwing a barrage of paper shuriken to force the enemies back.

Yet in the next second, Yamato covertly intervened from afar, manipulating several Wood Release vines to burst forth from the ground. They bound Konan tightly like a zongzi, growing tighter and tighter by the second.

Just as Konan appeared on the verge of being crushed to death, her physical form abruptly dissolved into numerous sheets of paper, slipping free from the constraints of the Wood Release and scattering in all directions.

Seconds later, those paper sheets reconvened elsewhere, reassembling into Konan's true body.

*Paper Clone Technique.*

Witnessing this scene, a glimmer of genuine interest finally flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.

"A ninjutsu created by utilizing the unique properties of paper... quite creative indeed. At least she is more capable than that Yahiko."

He muttered inwardly, his interest shifting to Konan.

Although she was a girl, Orochimaru did not mind claiming Konan's body. To him, occasionally living as a woman along his long path to immortality might even prove to be a novel experience.

Besieged by the Konoha shinobi, Konan could not hold out indefinitely either.

Her Paper Release ninjutsu had not yet undergone later modifications; once drenched by the Water Release techniques of the Konoha shinobi, she would become entirely unable to cast them.

"Eliminate them!"

Danzo pointed a finger at Yahiko and Konan, issuing a deep command.

In the next instant, more than a dozen Root shinobi moved in unison, hurling a massive storm of kunai and shuriken that rained down upon the two like a torrential downpour.

"Wait."

Orochimaru wished to avoid the destruction of his potential "vessel" and hurriedly cried out, but it was already too late.

Just as everyone assumed Yahiko and Konan were destined to die, Nagato suddenly unleashed a formidable surge of chakra from within the crowd on the other side, breaking through the encirclement and rushing forward.

He appeared before Yahiko and Konan, raising a single hand as intense ocular fluctuations radiated from his Rinnegan.

With a loud *bang*.

Every single incoming kunai and shuriken was deflected by an eerie, inexplicable force, clattering uselessly to the ground in a chaotic shower.

Normally, Nagato preferred to keep his head lowered, his thick, long bangs sweeping down to shroud his eyes. But now, whipped up by the surge of air currents, his red hair flew back, exposing that pair of Rinnegan eyes completely.

Both Danzo and Orochimaru were startled upon noticing Nagato.

Those eyes... something was deeply amiss with them.

Danzo frowned, a suspicious look crossing his face. He could sense that Nagato's eyes possessed extraordinary power, yet he remained entirely ignorant of their origin.

In stark contrast, Orochimaru experienced a profound jolt. His golden, serpentine pupils constricted violently as he recognized the Rinnegan.

He finally understood why Jiraiya had insisted on staying behind to tutor these three children—it turned out everything had been for the sake of these very eyes.

Jiraiya's true disciple was this red-haired youth named Nagato. Nagato was the true leader of the Akatsuki organization.

At this realization, Orochimaru's eyes blazed with a blinding brilliance, resembling a python that had starved through an entire winter before finally stumbling upon exquisite prey. He stared fixedly at Nagato, unblinking.

This boy's body... he was going to claim it, no matter what.

Danzo struck faster than Orochimaru.

"Capture him! Remember, do not damage his eyes."

At Danzo's command, the cluster of Root shinobi launched a final wave of assault toward the three of them.

"Konoha shinobi again... these damned things..."

Watching the murderous enemies charge forward, Nagato felt as though he had been thrust back into the past, reliving the scene from his early childhood when he had witnessed his parents murdered by Konoha shinobi with his own eyes.

In that instant, the hatred he harbored toward Konoha rekindled violently, surging to an unprecedented peak.

"Summoning Technique: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"

With an enraged roar, Nagato slammed his palm against the ground, unleashing the infinite, boundless fury pent up within his heart.

Rumble.

A gigantic hand burst upward through the earth, instantly swatting several Konoha shinobi away. Following a violent tremor of the ground, amidst the horrified gazes of Danzo and his men, the colossal form of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path fully emerged.

"Roar!"

The Demonic Statue let out a heavenward cry, radiating a terrifying pressure akin to a rampaging Tailed Beast that chilled the blood of everyone present.

"What is that?"

Danzo retreated dozens of meters in a panic, eyeing the statue with fearful uncertainty. The oppressive aura emanating from that monster bore a striking resemblance to Hoshigaki Kisame's sage-like transformation.

"Nagato, you cannot use that technique!"

Konan cried out in absolute terror, attempting to dissuade him, but Nagato had already lost his reason, consumed solely by the desire to slaughter these Konoha shinobi.

From the body of the Demonic Statue, several thick black receivers extended, piercing straight into Nagato's back in a unified motion.

"Ah!"

He let out a pained scream as the massive reservoir of chakra within his body was continuously funneled into the Demonic Statue through those receivers.

Moments later, the Demonic Statue wrenched open its gaping maw, expelling a purple dragon of chakra.

Swish.

The chakra dragon plummeted from the heavens, sweeping through the crowd at terrifying speed.

The Root shinobi caught in its path lacked even the time to react, collapsing one by one as their bodies went completely limp.

This occurred because the chakra dragon devoured the life force and chakra of its enemies; anyone who made contact with it would be sucked dry and left to die.

In the blink of an eye, Danzo's subordinates were virtually wiped out by Nagato single-handedly, leaving only a few survivors such as Yamato.

In a desperate bid to protect his master, Yamato pushed himself to his absolute limits, casting a Wood Release technique in an attempt to seal the Demonic Statue. However, facing the insurmountable gulf in power, he was batted away by a single sweep of the statue's hand, leaving his fate unknown.

Danzo finally panicked, gripped by profound dread as he assumed he had encountered a second Hoshigaki Kisame.

Too terrified to duel Nagato directly, he turned to flee, only to find that the Demonic Statue had suddenly fallen silent.

As it turned out, Nagato had exhausted his chakra reserves simply trying to pilot the Demonic Statue, pushing his physical limits to the absolute brink.

"Hah... hah..."

The red-haired youth panted heavily, sweat streaming down his cheeks. Within such a brief window of time, the statue had drained him dry, leaving him gaunt and emaciated.

Crack.

As the black chakra receivers snapping off his back one by one, the Demonic Statue lost Nagato's chakra support, settling back down into a dormant, soulless shell of the Ten-Tails.

"Nagato!"

Konan rushed to Nagato's side, supporting Yahiko as they reached him. The Akatsuki organization they had worked so hard to build had lost every single comrade in the blink of an eye, reducing their number back down to just the three of them.

Right at that moment.

Swish.

A razor-sharp white gale resembling a sickle surged toward them at blinding speed, aiming to slice all three of them clean in half at the waist.

Wind Release: Vacuum Wave.

Danzo had made his move.

Almighty Push!

Nagato mustered his remaining spirit, raising his right hand once more to unleash a repulsive force that forcefully deflected Danzo's attack.

Instead of being alarmed, Danzo felt a surge of elation.

He turned his gaze toward Orochimaru not far away, rolling up his sleeve to reveal his right arm—which had been grafted with Wood Release cells—and instructed the scientist:

"Once I kill this brat, you will immediately harvest his eyes and transplant them onto my arm."

Orochimaru did not refuse, nor did he explicitly agree; he merely offered a profound, enigmatic smile.

Without giving it further thought, Danzo launched another assault on the three youths.

Vacuum Sphere!

This time, he unleashed a far more potent Wind Release technique, continuously spitting out rapid-fire bursts of compressed air from his mouth like a machine gun, seeking to riddle the three of them with holes.

Almighty Push!

Nagato utilized the technique to defend once more, but against Danzo's sustained barrage, he could not maintain it to the end, finally collapsing from sheer exhaustion.

Thud, thud, thud.

All three of them were struck by the wind projectiles, sustaining varying degrees of injury.

"Next comes the final blow."

Danzo stepped forward toward the trio step by step, raising his hands to forge two massive shuriken composed of Wind Release chakra within his palms before hurling them forward.

Swish, swish.

The wind shuriken spun at breakneck speeds toward the three. Yet this time, Nagato's ocular power was completely depleted, rendering him utterly incapable of invoking the Almighty Push to shield his companions.

"Konan, take Nagato and run!"

Yahiko suddenly shouted, channeling his final reserves of strength as he threw himself forward to stand before his two companions. He transformed himself into a human flesh shield, desperate to buy an opportunity for his comrades to escape.

However, someone else moved even faster than Yahiko.

Whoosh.

A figure materialized in a flash, wielding a massive war fan taller than a man. With effortless left and right sweeps, the newcomer batted the wind shuriken away with casual ease.

Hoshigaki Kisame—no, more accurately speaking—"Uchiha Madara" finally made his grand entrance at this very moment.