Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 330 The Metamorphosis of the Akatsuki Organization
Deep underground in Amegakure lies the lair of the Akatsuki organization.

The entire base has a huge ring structure, and the air circulation system emits a low hum, which adds to the oppressive feeling of the enclosed space.

Ten tightly closed metal doors were evenly distributed, each engraved with a code: Zero, White, Vermilion, Green, Pig, Empty, South, North, Three, Jade.

At the very center of the circular structure formed by the rooms is an even larger decagonal hall, which is now the Akatsuki's meeting room.

The conference table was placed in the center, and at that moment, there were only two people in the conference room.

Xiao Nan's hair fell loose, and her usual calm was replaced by a hint of barely concealed anxiety. Her fingertips unconsciously tapped lightly on the table.

Sitting in another seat was Wuwei, his hands clasped in front of the table, his brows furrowed.

Click.

A clear metallic scraping sound broke the deathly silence of the conference room.

The two of them looked up instantly, their gazes falling on one of the doors marked with the character "玉" (jade).

The heavy metal door slowly slid open, and a figure stepped out from the shadows behind it.

It's a scorpion.

However, at this moment, Scorpion still retains the appearance of a young boy, with short red hair and delicate features.

But there was no trace of human emotion on that face; its eyes were empty, carrying a strange mechanical quality.

"How are you feeling?" Xiao Nan asked first.

Scorpion did not answer immediately, but raised his hands, looked down and stared, slowly clenching his fingers into fists.

Kaka.

Two crisp, unusual sounds, far beyond what human bones could produce from rubbing together, came from his knuckles.

“I feel…” Scorpion’s voice was flat, without any intonation, “better than ever before.”

With the help of Isshiki Otsutsuki, he modified his body far beyond anything he had ever done before.

The material of this human puppet body is no longer ordinary metal, but has been replaced with a substance made of black rods.

This endowed him with near-perfect chakra conduction and extremely high resistance to most physical and ninjutsu attacks.

His regeneration core is hidden inside his torso and can be moved freely, greatly increasing his survivability.

More importantly, this means that the bottleneck that bound his puppetry skills has been completely broken.

He no longer relies solely on physical attacks and poison; through this new body, he can directly condense chakra and unleash ranged attacks similar to chakra cannons.

The number of puppets he can control at the same time will no longer be several hundred, but more than a thousand.

As long as Yishi can provide enough materials, the puppets he controls will no longer be individual entities that fight separately and break at the slightest touch, but a unified whole.

Specialized defensive puppets can form a chakra shield, reconnaissance puppets provide a global field of vision, and even special puppets capable of performing ninjutsu can be developed.

He himself only needs to remain in the safe rear, acting as the central strategist.

After hearing Scorpion's explanation, Xiao Nan frowned slightly, feeling a little awkward.

The Akatsuki organization has now been subdued by Isshiki Otsutsuki. Although Konan did not want to agree, it was Nagato's decision, and Isshiki promised to find a way to help them strengthen their respective abilities.

Otsutsuki Isshiki's request was for the Akatsuki organization to help him find his own kind and humans who could serve as his "weapons," while also gathering intelligence on the ninja world.

Konan didn't know what Otsutsuki Isshiki's purpose was in doing this, but Nagato seemed to have learned more secrets from Isshiki.

Regarding the Rinnegan, the Gedo Mazo, and the Otsutsuki clan...

Then, like everyone else, he stayed alone in his room, never going out.

In fact, Isshiki Otsutsuki only had two goals. First, he wanted to find a "vessel" that could be used to revive himself. His current body was not suitable for revival, and he would die soon once he fully unleashed his power.

Secondly, one must find an Otsutsuki clan member who can feed the ten-tailed larva in one's possession, which is the so-called "sapling" of the divine tree.

The Ten-Tails larva can only become a divine tree after consuming the body of an Otsutsuki clan member.

The Ten-Tails that Akatsuki currently possesses was obtained by Kaguya Otsutsuki after she ambushed Isshiki and fed him to the Ten-Tails' larvae.

The stronger the bloodline of the Otsutsuki clan members who were eaten, and the more prosperous their planet, the better the fruit that the Divine Tree would produce.

"Where are the others?" Scorpion asked, his empty eyes sweeping over Xiao Nan and Wu Wei.

Xiao Nan opened her mouth, about to say something.

"Roar!!"

A scream, unlike anything a human could make, filled with pain, suddenly came from the next room.

The voice was distorted and hoarse, more like the sound of some dying beast, which was terrifying. Xiao Nan and Wu Wei couldn't help but frown.

The one uttering this terrifying wail was none other than Kakuzu, who had been brought back by Muwei.

When Kakuzu was brought back, his condition was beyond description, not just "miserable".

His limbs and spine were completely broken and twisted, and most of his body was blasted to pieces by the Fourth Raikage, like a rag doll that had been played with and then discarded.

Such injuries would have killed most ninjas long ago.

However, Kakuzu managed to cling to life by using "Earthly Grudge".

However, even in his critical state of life and near-death experience, when his consciousness was scattered, he was unable to suppress the black lines of resentment and wrath within his body.

The eerie black lines sensed the host's impending death, and their self-preservation instincts were fully activated. They began to twist wildly and even tried to escape.

When Wuwei brought him back to the base, Kakuzu's body was already in a mess, with black lines raging like out-of-control parasites.

At this moment, the scene in his room was like a nightmare.

Countless thick, black, tentacle-like lines emerged from Kakuzu's shattered body, crawling and intertwining across the walls, ceiling, and floor.

The room didn't look like a dwelling; it looked more like a lair teeming with terrifying monsters.

Moreover, those black lines are highly aggressive and will instinctively attack any living being that gets close.

"Kakuzu's vitality is truly terrifyingly tenacious." Wuwei looked at the door from which the howling sound came from, his tone filled with a heartfelt emotion.

He had only just learned that the Earth Grudge Black Line within Kakuzu's body was a living organism.

Physiologically speaking, Kakuzu can no longer be considered a 'person'.

His human body was basically devoured and replaced by these black lines; his blood vessels, internal organs, chakra meridian system... were almost entirely occupied by these living black lines.

Only the core brain, a skin that barely maintains a human form, and a few hearts that serve as the source of power remain, thus still belonging to the category of human.

“How annoying.” Scorpion said coldly, “Rather than let him live in such agony, I’d rather hand him over to me and turn him into an eternal work of art.”

Upon hearing this, Wuwei glanced at him, a cold, sarcastic smile curling at the corner of his lips.

“Sure,” he said. “You can go in now and ask our ‘new leader’ for instructions.”

"See if he'll agree to let you turn Kakuzu into his collection."

Upon hearing this, Sasori choked for a moment and turned his gaze toward Kakuzu's room.

Is that Otsutsuki Isshiki in this room?
Kakuzu has become such a horrible sight, how can he be saved?
(or2 Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes. I will make up for the update I missed yesterday when I have time.)

(End of this chapter)