Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"As I said, let them choose their own opponents. I won't interfere with their specific actions. I'll only look at the final result. That's the rule of Akatsuki," Pain said calmly.

The Akatsuki organization is not a hierarchical organization.

The leader's orders must be carried out, of course.

Payne doesn't concern himself with the specifics of how to do it; he only cares about the final outcome.

If he had to interfere with even their basic needs like eating, drinking, and relieving themselves, the Akatsuki would have fallen apart long ago. Just getting these unruly guys to accept the two-person team system took a lot of effort; Kakuzu and Orochimaru, for example, had to change partners several times.

"If you have a way to order them to act together, I will have no objection."

Payne glanced back at Zetsu, his icy gaze capable of freezing one to the bone.

Jue this guy,

Not trustworthy!

This guy joined the Akatsuki organization at the same time as Obito Uchiha. According to Obito, he was left to him by Madara Uchiha... Like Orochimaru and Sasori, these guys are not trustworthy and can only be used.

But it doesn't matter anyway.

In the current Akatsuki organization, apart from Konan, everyone else is just a tool to be used. He never expected to achieve anything great with these tools. If he wants to realize his dream, he can only rely on himself and Konan.

As long as these other tools can be of some use, it will have been worth the effort he put into recruiting and managing this group of mentally unstable thugs!

"Alright! It's good enough that they join forces... and they don't stab each other in the back anymore. I misunderstood." Black Zetsu realized that he was being too hasty. He wanted to eliminate Uchiha Munen, this unstable variable, as soon as possible and take control of the out-of-control future order once again.

Unfortunately, he made assumptions.

The Akatsuki members weren't the obedient White Zetsu; putting them in pairs was already the limit. Putting them all together... that's like pouring accelerant into a pile of explosives and then throwing in a lit match. It's no wonder it exploded!

The pitcher plant-like shape slowly sank into the ground.

About five or six seconds passed.

“Pain, although Zetsu made a foolish mistake, Konoha’s division of forces is indeed an opportunity. We can defeat them one by one.” Konan, who had been watching Pain and Zetsu’s conversation from the air, couldn’t help but speak up at this moment.

You're right.

Pain blinked. "However... unless I take action myself, it would be difficult for either Kakuzu or Orochimaru's group to take down any Konoha ninja team. Of course, if Kakuzu and Orochimaru could join forces, it would be possible, but getting them to join forces... is something I can't do either."

"Then, Payne, you..."

"I can't make a move; the Sixth Hokage has already set his sights on me." Pain narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the moment when his summoning beast, Yatagarasu, was crushed by that fleeting, deep crimson katana. The Rinnegan's vision is shared.

So he witnessed that devastating blow firsthand.

Pain, who had concealed his whereabouts, deeply realized that the Sixth Hokage was no ordinary person. He was an enemy worthy of his attention, completely different from Hanzo the Salamander, who had aged and lost his ambition when he killed him, and whose fangs and claws had even degenerated.

"My Yata no Crow was destroyed by him with a single strike. If I'm not mistaken, that should be the Susanoo of the Uchiha clan... It feels even more domineering than the description in the report. Even I would probably have to put in some effort to win, not to mention that Jiraiya-sensei was also involved. I have to admit, he's quite a troublesome opponent."

"So... as I said before, what we need to do now is wait patiently. If possible, I hope to see more of the power of the Uchiha clan's Mangekyou Sharingan. Besides, wasn't the purpose of recruiting Kakuzu and Orochimaru to be useful in similar situations?"

Payne looked up at the sky.

Another Yatagarasu spread its wings in the sky and flew towards the southwest corner of the village.

"Is this sending Kakuzu and the others to scout ahead? Will they... agree?" Konan asked.

"They won't refuse until these Konoha ninjas demonstrate enough strength to kill them, but don't expect them to obey my orders and fight to the death with the Konoha ninjas. So my order is not to leave empty-handed. Even a single head is enough to satisfy me."

With the help of the Yatagarasu's vision in the sky,

Payne,

I saw Zongxian walking on the water once again.

Then--

Zongxian looked up at the sky, and the sword flashed once more.

Like a deep crimson shooting star, it flashed by in an instant.

The speed was so fast that Pain didn't have time to undo the summoning jutsu and teleport Yata no Crow back, and it was once again crushed into a bloody mist by Sogen.

However, before he was crushed, he was 100% certain that the Sixth Hokage was coming for him. The killing intent he felt when the Yata no Crow was killed was clearly directed at the Heavenly Path clone standing outside the window... He remembered what Orochimaru had said back then. It was Uchiha Sogen who told him about the Rinnegan in Amegakure.

"Was rescuing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki just a pretext? Your target... is me? Orochimaru is also your pawn?"

Payne muttered to himself.

They calmly speculated on the truth behind it all.

He was not flustered at all, and there was not a trace of fear in his heart.

So what if we're being watched?

The power of the Rinnegan is absolutely invincible. Even if he could not completely suppress Uchiha Sogen with just the Deva Path clone, victory would ultimately belong to him. Just as he said to Konan, Uchiha Sogen was nothing more than a 'troublesome opponent' to him.

He was just curious, and a little bit cautious.

That's why they choose to wait.

He waited for Kakuzu, Orochimaru, and Obito Uchiha to gather enough intelligence for him, and then... he would wipe out all the top ninjas in Konoha with overwhelming force. If this worked well, once Konoha was defeated, he could deal with the other ninja villages one by one.

The task of collecting the tailed beasts was not too difficult.

"Let me see just how powerful the Sixth Hokage of Konoha, known as the 'Flame Demon' and the strongest ninja in the world, really is!"

[Chapter 367. The Top Boss with 900 Million Taels]

Zetsu informed the Akatsuki members of the information that the Konoha ninjas were splitting up and faithfully relayed Pain's orders. There was no need for him to run all over Amegakure to find them. In order to prevent the sensory ninjas from locating their true forms, apart from Hidan, even the young Deidara used the Shadow Clone Technique to confuse the audience and conceal their true forms under Obito Uchiha's guidance.

and,

They also dispatched shadow clones to move towards the central tower.

The message I received from Konan was a bit too brief, and it seems that something has changed in Konoha. It would be safer to send a shadow clone to confirm the details.

Without much effort, they gathered everyone's shadow clones on an iron bridge beneath the tower: Uchiha Obito, Deidara, Kakuzu, Orochimaru, and Sasori. Hidan was not among them, but that wasn't surprising. Hidan, aside from the Jashin cult's secret techniques that allowed him to achieve immortality, didn't use any other ninjutsu.

Of course, it doesn't matter if he's missing one.

As long as there are horns, it's fine.

Anyway, Hidan is definitely acting with Kakuzu.

"...That's the situation now, everyone. Make your choice!" Zetsu looked at everyone, a malicious smile appearing on his yin-yang face. "Konoha has chosen to split its forces into three groups. Now we can defeat them one by one."

It was Black Zetsu who spoke.

He still hadn't given up.

Konoha is now in a precarious situation, and this is a rare opportunity to severely damage it. Naturally, he is unwilling to let it slip away, even though he knows that the possibility of getting these guys to cooperate is very small. He still can't help but want to give it a try.

The scrutinizing gaze swept over everyone, lingering particularly on Obito Uchiha for a full second.

Then--

“Uchiha Shisui has mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique. If we don’t eliminate him beforehand, the Konoha ninjas can unite at any time. If we choose the tactic of defeating them one by one, we must deal with Uchiha Shisui’s group first.”

Obito Uchiha said very sincerely.

This wasn't entirely in response to Black Zetsu's suggestion.

It's more about stating a fact.

The Second Hokage was active too far removed from the present, and his reputation as a master of forbidden techniques far surpasses his mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique. In contrast, during the Third Shinobi World War, Minato Namikaze, the "Yellow Flash," truly demonstrated to everyone just how terrifying the ultimate application of space-time techniques can be!

Its strength lies not only in actual combat,

It also has great strategic significance. During the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha was severely short of troops. The situation was so serious that the front-line troops were almost annihilated by the Iwa ninja due to insufficient manpower. It was Minato Namikaze who provided timely support with the Flying Thunder God Technique and single-handedly reversed the situation that was almost completely annihilated. Instead, the Iwa ninja were defeated.

This is just one example.

Similar situations occurred many times during the Third Shinobi World War.

Obito Uchiha himself has accomplished many things by relying on the space-time technique Kamui, so he is now very eager to get rid of Shisui Uchiha. As for Mugen Uchiha... he is not so anxious about it.

Precisely,

There's no use in rushing.

Having lost to Uchiha Sogen several times, his confidence had been severely damaged. Although his dream had not changed, he no longer expected to be able to defeat the monster Uchiha Sogen on his own.

That guy,

Let Payne handle it!

Now he only wants to kill Uchiha Shisui, who is also a very dangerous guy. His eye technique can distort the will of others, and his top-notch space-time technique... These two form a very dangerous combination, a combination that even Uchiha Obito feels deeply threatened by.

"I have no interest in prey that I can't catch. [Fierce Eye] Uchiha Fugaku... should be able to be made into a decent puppet."

Scorpion's words shattered Jue's delusions.

He admitted that the Flying Thunder God Technique was very powerful, but it was precisely because of this that he understood the difficulty of space-time techniques. He did not believe that he and his group could pose any effective threat to Uchiha Shisui by working together. In the face of space-time techniques, numbers were the most useless thing.

It's better to spend time with Uchiha Shisui than to waste time with him.

Why not give it a try?

"Fugaku-kun?"

Orochimaru chuckled, sticking out his long tongue to lick his lips. "If I remember correctly, Kimimaro was on this journey too, wasn't he? I also want to see how Kimimaro has grown. It's been so many years, I wonder if he still remembers me. This reunion after so long is truly something to look forward to!"

Kaguya Kimimaro.

Despite his young age, he is an outstanding figure among the younger generation of Konoha Village.

His fame is so great that it even surpasses that of Itachi Uchiha by a significant margin.

Because Kaguya Kimimaro possessed the bloodline limit of [Shikotsumyaku], and was the last surviving member of the Kaguya clan, which was one of the oldest clans in the ninja world, having had many interactions with clans such as the Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, and Uzumaki, the Kaguya clan was later incorporated into the Land of Water after the establishment of the one-country-one-village system.

Unfortunately, due to various internal problems and interference from external forces, the Kaguya clan, which once had a glorious history, was wiped out of the Land of Water.

Only Kaguya Kimimaro, the last survivor, eventually joined Konoha.

but,

Few people know that Kaguya Kimimaro once followed Orochimaru.

Even the members of Akatsuki were hearing for the first time that Orochimaru and Kaguya Kimimaro were related... Fortunately, at this time, no one seemed to intend to delve into such a trivial matter. Kaguya Kimimaro was nothing at this point. Only Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha became more suspicious of Orochimaru.

As for scorpions,

Ok!