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

Chapter 332 Each with their own ulterior motives (Combined Chapter)
Time passed slowly in the oppressive silence.

In the conference room, Xiao Nan, Wu Wei, and Xie sat in their respective seats, their attention seemingly fixed on the closed door of the "North" room in Kakuzu's room.

Behind the door, the chilling, inhuman wails and howls had completely subsided at some point.

Instead, a more subtle yet more unsettling voice emerged.

The sticky sounds, as if countless slippery flesh and blood tissues were rubbing and squeezing against each other, faintly penetrated the thick soundproofing layer and entered everyone's ears.

The sound lasted for a while, and finally, it faded into a chilling silence, with no further movement heard.

This unknown silence was even more oppressive and unsettling than the previous roars. No one knew what Kakuzu had become inside the gate.

Click!Click!
Almost simultaneously, two other tightly closed metal doors slid open with a soft thud, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

One door is marked with the word "empty," and the other is marked with the number "three."

The one who came out of room number three was Hanzo.

He was still wearing that purple bodysuit and a breathing mask, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the "wedge" mark on his palm had turned white.

Clearly, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki had replaced the Karma seal that originally belonged to the Kage within his body with his own.

"..."

Hanzo looked at the white mark on his palm, recalling the disappointed look in Isshiki Otsutsuki's eyes, and a strange chill lingered for a long time.

He originally wanted to tell the story of how Nagato had tried to extract his soul but was severely injured by a figure in the mark.

However, upon noticing the disappointed look in Otsutsuki Isshiki's eyes, a fear stemming from his very being silenced.

His intuition told him that the new leader seemed initially very interested in his body, but lost interest after examining him.

In fact, it does.

During the process of replacing the "Wedge", Isshiki carefully examined Hanzo's body, but the result left Isshiki somewhat disappointed.

He found no "data" of the Otsutsuki clan on Hanzo; the "Karma" on Hanzo's body seemed to be only used to bear the power of the Otsutsuki.

In other words, Hanzo's body can only serve as a vessel for power, not as a container for the "data" of the Otsutsuki clan, nor as a "vessel" for his own reincarnation and resurrection.

Pity.

Even so, a "vessel" like Hanzo, which can bear a portion of the power of the Otsutsuki, is already extremely rare, and Isshiki temporarily regards him as an important piece.

However, Yishi obviously failed to discover the "soul" that originally resided in the 'wedge' and belonged to Yunshi.

The person who walked out of the empty room was Hiruko.

Scorpion's empty eyes looked at him, and he said with a mocking tone devoid of any emotion, "Are you planning to completely wrap yourself up like a corpse?"

Hiruko wore a pure white turtleneck trench coat. Beneath the coat, layers of bandages wrapped around her body, covering even her mouth and nose, leaving only her eyes and hair exposed.

Upon hearing this, Hiruko glanced coldly at Scorpion. In that instant, the whites of his eyes were stained crimson, and his black pupils turned into a straight line, radiating an ominous aura.

"Do you want to die?" His voice sounded muffled through the bandages. "Although your body has no value, I can still satisfy you."

"Wait, your eyes..."

Before Scorpion could respond, Wuwei stared at Hiruko's blood-red dragon eyes, suddenly stood up from his seat, and said in a deep voice, "What did you do to Miyajo En's daughter?"

The Blood Dragon Eye is the bloodline limit of the Blood Pond Clan. After Miyajo En wiped out the Blood Pond Clan, only he and his daughter remained to possess the Blood Dragon Eye.

Now that Miyajo En is dead and his remains are nowhere to be found, his daughter is the only person in the ninja world who possesses the Blood Dragon Eye. So, what about Hiruko's eyes...?

"Any questions?"

The crimson in Hiruko's eyes quickly faded, replaced by a cold, mocking smile: "Speaking of which, we have to thank that guy, Miyajo En."

"He secretly raised quite a few materials with rare bloodline limits without the organization's knowledge."

Yuuyajo En is not only a ninja with considerable strength, but also a notorious "death merchant" and information broker in the black market. He is highly skilled at making money and has bases all over the world.

He secretly ran an underground gladiatorial arena, specifically recruiting children with special abilities or bloodline limits, and making them fight to the death in the arena for profit.

After his death, his vast underground network and accumulated resources were naturally taken over by the Akatsuki organization.

Otsutsuki Isshiki, however, was indifferent to the fate of these "inferior beings" and handed over the right to deal with these children to Hiruko, who needed to devour bloodline limits.

This can also be considered a way to win over Hiruko's heart. In addition to the Swift Release and Steel Release that Hiruko already possessed, he has now obtained the Blood Dragon Eye, Dark Release, Ice Release, and Hurricane Release.

And the fate of those children is, of course, predictable.

"You!" Wuwei, also a father, was instantly enraged, staring intently at Beiruhu as if he were about to attack at any moment.

Hiruko completely ignored Wuwei's anger and turned his gaze to the scorpion emanating an inhuman aura.

Noticing the lifeless body and cold texture of the scorpion, Hiruko subconsciously frowned, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"You..." He scrutinized Scorpion, "have completely transformed yourself into a puppet?"

"Would you like to give it a try?" Scorpion's face was expressionless, and his tone was indifferent.

Hiruko snorted coldly, not replying, a flash of apprehension crossing his eyes.

Just like Hashirama and Yamato, the same bloodline limit, but different users have different powers.

Although he has obtained several more bloodline limits, he still has to rely on himself for further development. At present, it is only a prototype.

His strongest ability right now is not his bloodline limit.

Compared to before, the reason he was able to devour bloodline limits so efficiently was naturally due to the secret technique "Earth Grudge Fear" he obtained from Takigakure Village.

After fusing Kakuzu's "Earth Grudge" with his own "Oni-Garra Technique", not only was his ability to seize and fuse bloodlines enhanced, but strange changes also occurred.

Those black lines can separate from his body like living parasites, parasitizing and manipulating the bodies of other living creatures, turning them into puppets or devouring them.

However, this parasitic manipulation ability is obviously ineffective against a puppet like a scorpion that is no longer made of flesh and blood, because the black threads cannot parasitize the brain.

This deprived him of an important tactic when facing scorpions.

"..."

The atmosphere among Wuwei, Xie, and Beiluhu became increasingly oppressive.

The superficial cooperative relationship that was once maintained under Nagato's command is becoming increasingly precarious as their respective powers evolve and their obsessive sides amplify.

Xiao Nan, who had been observing everything from the sidelines, watched with growing worry and dissatisfaction.

When Nagato was in charge of Akatsuki, he at least established an ironclad rule to strictly prohibit infighting among members.

However, the new leader seems unconcerned about this, and his attitude is more like tacitly approving or even encouraging a certain degree of competition, as long as it does not affect his plans.

In Konan's view, the Akatsuki organization has long since deviated from its original ideals and has become nothing more than a tool in the hands of Isshiki Otsutsuki.

呲!
A sharp, piercing screech as a chair leg scraped against the floor abruptly shattered the suffocating silence of the conference room.

It was Hanzo who remained silent throughout.

He walked to the conference table as if no one else was around, pulled out a chair and sat down, seemingly oblivious to everything around him, silently familiarizing himself with the new abilities that the "Wedge" had given him.

Unlike the previous "Karma" which primarily enhanced physical constitution and chakra.

The 'Karma' that Otsutsuki Isshiki imprinted on him also allows him to borrow some of Isshiki's abilities.

However, Hanzo is still figuring out how to use these abilities.

However, Hanzo now realizes that the two of them seem to be sharing the same alternate dimension...

"Have you had enough?" Taking advantage of Hanzo's noise to break the atmosphere, Konan said coldly, "If you've had enough, then sit down."

"Don't worry, you don't need to test your newfound power by fighting each other. Soon, ready-made 'targets' will be delivered to your door so you can experiment to your heart's content."

Upon hearing this, both Wuwei and Biluhu frowned, exchanged a glance subconsciously, and instantly understood Xiaonan's subtext.

Even Scorpion, who had always been expressionless, slightly shifted his empty eyes.

They all knew exactly what Xiao Nan was referring to.

The Akatsuki organization has now become the common enemy of the entire ninja world.

A joint expedition led by the five major powers is likely already on its way.

At that time, there will naturally be countless "opportunities" for them to prove their transformed power.

Of course, it's also possible that they will be killed outright.

Just like killing Juzo Biwa, Isshiki Otsutsuki clearly doesn't value them. He will most likely observe from the sidelines without taking action, using them to determine the strength of the Five Great Nations.

If they all die, we can simply replace them with a new batch, or even train them from a young age to ensure their loyalty.

Thinking of this, after a moment of silence, the three of them composed themselves and silently pulled out their chairs to sit down.

Click.

A soft sound drew the attention of several people.

Then, the heavy metal door, marked with the number "Zero," located at the deepest part of the circular corridor, slowly slid open inwards.

"Payne." Xiao Nan called out subconsciously, standing up from her seat as if by reflex, her eyes fixed on the door, with a hint of barely perceptible anticipation and nervousness.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows behind the door.

This is Nagato's true form.

He was still wearing that familiar black robe with red clouds, and beneath the robe was a biological cloak formed by swirling white Zetsu.

During the previous battle in Konoha, in order to use Planetary Devastation, he drained a lot of his life force from this outer garment, causing it to become shriveled and withered. Now, it has become full and plump again.

As for the price...

"Cough cough!"

Shennong followed Changmen half a step out and couldn't help but let out a few weak coughs.

Her once thick, black hair had turned gray, and her face was covered with wrinkles, giving her an obvious air of exhaustion.

Clearly, this was to repair Nagato's damaged body during the battle of Konoha, especially to replenish the life force lost from that White Zetsu cloak.

Shennong used his "Forbidden Medical Technique: Body Transformation Technique" and also borrowed Zero-Tails' chakra.

The Body Transformation Technique is a forbidden technique based on the "Body Activation Technique" and the "Body Regeneration Technique," combined with the dark chakra of the Zero-Tails.

It can not only reverse the cells in the body and achieve instant rejuvenation, but also regenerate the damage to the body, thus enabling the practitioner to obtain the ultimate physical body.

Shennong, at the cost of overdrawing his own life force, forcibly brought Nagato back to his peak condition.

For Shennong, this was a last resort.

Most of his aerial ninja were killed by Hyuga Kumokawa, and his aerial fortress was also destroyed. He had no choice but to rely on the Akatsuki organization.

"Pain?" Hiruko's gaze immediately locked onto Nagato, lingering on his Rinnegan for a moment, a hint of greed flashing in his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked tentatively. "You seem to be recovering well?"

Nagato did not respond. The swirling white Zetsu surrounding his head slowly unfolded like a flower bud, revealing his complete true form.

His face was pale from not seeing the light for a long time; one eye was a deep Rinnegan, while the other was an ordinary eye.

The Rinnegan that was forcibly dug out by the "Shadow" has been replaced.

Although his vision was restored, the eye was in stark contrast to the Rinnegan, adding to his sense of incompleteness and sorrow.

"It seems everyone is almost 'prepared'." Nagato's voice was hoarse, but his tone was very calm. "From now on, call me Nagato."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the meeting room froze. Others probably just thought it was a change in address and didn't think much of it.

But Xiao Nan, who was standing to the side, suddenly narrowed her eyes slightly.

The name Payne is actually a transliteration of the word "Pain," which means pain or punishment.

Konan understood all too well what this name meant to Nagato; it represented how he transformed the pain he endured into power, symbolizing that he would become a "god" and bring punishment upon the world.

Now, he has voluntarily abandoned that name and reverted to his original name.

This means that Nagato no longer sees himself as a "god".

Does this even mean he's abandoned his long-held plan? What exactly did he learn from Isshiki Otsutsuki? And what is his next move...?

Noticing Konan's gaze, Nagato looked at her with a subtle, meaningful look in his eyes.

Seeing this, Xiao Nan suppressed the pounding emotions and questions in her heart, quickly regaining her usual calm and showing no sign of abnormality.

Click.

The last tightly closed door, marked with the character "North," finally slid open.

Otsutsuki Isshiki was the first to slowly emerge from the shadows, his expression indifferent. The invisible pressure emanating from his body instantly froze the air in the conference room.

Kakuzu followed behind Isshiki, walking out silently with steady steps and restrained aura, a stark contrast to his previous near-death and berserk state, leaving Wuwei and the others in a state of surprise and uncertainty.

He walked straight to his seat, but did not sit down immediately; instead, he stood still like a statue.

Seeing this, everyone else in the conference room, whether they liked it or not, stood up from their seats one after another.

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki walked to the head of the conference table, his gaze calmly sweeping over his "subordinates," each with their own ulterior motives.

"The Akatsuki organization remains the same in name and structure," he said calmly. "The core members are you all."

"If we find a suitable candidate in the future, we can recommend them, but whether they can ultimately join the team depends on my approval."

"Your mission is to search for all traces of the Otsutsuki clan, pay attention to those with diamond-shaped marks on their palms, and at the same time continue to develop your biotechnology."

As soon as he finished speaking, Nagato asked, "The joint invasion of the five great nations is coming soon. How should we deal with it?"

Ōtsutsuki Isshiki glanced at him, knowing what he was thinking, and said calmly, "I promised you that I would not let this country become a battlefield, and naturally I will not break my promise."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "The Land of Hot Water is the battlefield where you confront the Five Great Nations."

Upon hearing this, Nagato and Kakuzu seemed to realize something, and their expressions changed slightly.

"The Land of Hot Water?" Hiruko asked. "Why the Land of Hot Water?"

"Because Kakuzu told me about that so-called 'underground palace'."

Otsutsuki Isshiki's tone finally lost its calmness and turned cold as he said, "Those are the relics left behind by the Otsutsuki clan."

"I want you to take the Tailed Beasts, open the fourth level behind the underground palace, and bring out what's inside!"

During this time, the words of that 'shadow' kept echoing in his mind, making him increasingly uneasy and angry.

No one knew the Otsutsuki clan's strange abilities better than him.

He suspects that his memories and perceptions have been altered without his knowledge!
(End of this chapter)