I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

Kisame dared not be careless. The moment blood tears streamed from Sasuke's eyes, alarm bells rang in his mind. He quickly formed hand seals, and a wall of water rose directly in front of him.

A ball of black flame appeared out of thin air above the water wall. The flame, which was originally countered by water-style techniques, was now being devoured continuously, and the black flame grew more and more numerous.

A bead of sweat trickled down Kisame's forehead, whether from the heat or panic, it was hard to tell. Having partnered with Itachi, he knew all too well the power of this technique and immediately called out Sasori's name.

sand iron wall

Sasori also didn't have the habit of betraying his teammates. He manipulated the Third Kazekage to create a thick wall of sand and iron behind the water wall to block Sasuke's attack.

Not finished

Kagutsuchi activated immediately, and the gathered black flames formed sharp spikes that pierced through the defenses of the two, launching a fierce attack on the nearest Kisame.

Kisame sensed something was wrong and immediately used Samehada to defend himself. Samehada, whose blade had been burned by Amaterasu, began to thrash around as if it were alive.

Kisame felt a chill run through him. Most of his skills lay in his sword, and now, before he could even unleash his true power, his sword was gone. What was he going to do?

As for Ye Lan, just as he was about to approach Xiao Nan, a vortex made of paper pieces appeared in front of him. When he rushed over, the vortex disappeared, and Xiao Nan's figure vanished without a trace.

"Accept your judgment, Uchiha Yoran."

Xiao Nan's figure appeared from behind Ye Lan, and the paper pieces that had just broken through formed Xiao Nan's image again.

Ye Lan remained expressionless, and a red light emanated from the cross-shaped kaleidoscope.

Without any hand seals, Ye Lan's entire body burst into flames, transforming him into a human torch. The flames soared into the sky, and even Xiao Nan's paper, which was immune to fire after being wet, could not get close.

Xiao Nan quickly left Ye Lan's side. Since their last encounter, the group had analyzed Ye Lan's Kaleidoscope ability, which was that he could perfectly use escape techniques without forming hand seals.

Whether it's storms, flames, or water, Ye Lan can use them perfectly after activating his Kaleidoscope, coupled with his abnormally strong swordsmanship.

It's a nightmare for any ninja in close combat, so no matter what, you must keep your distance when fighting Ye Lan and never let him get close.

As for Ye Lan's other kaleidoscope ability, Zhi Bi Huo Jin seems to be a passive skill, and his opponents have not yet been analyzed.

Konan wanted to create distance, but Yelan wouldn't let her have her way. Every ninja knows the best way to fight, and if I'm strong in close combat, then I'll maximize that advantage.

Even if he is using fire-style techniques at this moment, it doesn't mean that Ye Lan's speed will decrease significantly. On the contrary, he is still considered extremely fast by most ninjas.

Xiao Nan kept exploding paper in front of Ye Lan, but it couldn't hurt Ye Lan in the slightest. The flames left by the explosions made Ye Lan's attacks even more fierce, and Xiao Nan became more and more passive.

Konan not only turned her gaze to Sasuke's battlefield, but upon seeing it, her initial displeasure turned into disappointment.

Can you believe that Sasuke can fight Kisame and Sasori to a standstill?

Kisame, having lost Samehada, dared not rush forward, and the Sharingan's suppression of puppeteers was too sharp, allowing him to clearly observe the chakra threads that Sasori used to control the puppets.

In addition, Sasuke's swordsmanship is not bad, and he can often cut off one or two chakra threads while the Third Kazekage is stunned by his attacks.

For a time, Sasuke was helpless against Sasuke.

A flame flashed through the air

Ye Lan's ninja sword directly shattered the flying paper in front of him, which fell like countless moths to a flame.

No matter how much water has soaked the paper, it is still just paper. After repeated exposure to fire, it has lost its moisture and no longer possesses the property of being unafraid of flames.

The distance between the two closed once again. Flames emanated from the raised ninja swords, eventually forming a fire dragon that slashed head-on at Konan.

Xiao Nan once again turned into a piece of shredded paper, escaping the attack. However, this time most of the paper was cut off by the flames, with only a small portion scattered around.

Xiao Nan, whose body had been reassembled, looked unwell and was short of breath, a stark contrast to her usual aloof demeanor.

Ye Lan turned around, his expression hidden by the flames. Xiao Nan felt a pang of regret; Xiao's men were all there, and she had only called these two, and it seemed they hadn't had any effect. She couldn't help but feel a little overconfident.

What's more, I didn't expect that in such a short time, Ye Lan's strength has improved to another level, and he's become even stronger than last time.

Ye Lan strolled towards Xiao Nan, her face showing no resentment or submission; even if she regretted it, she wouldn't show it in front of her enemy.

Just when she thought Ye Lan was about to press his advantage, the flames on Ye Lan's body disappeared, and his eyes turned black.

"Now, can we have a proper conversation?"

Looking at Xiao Nan, who had transformed from an angel into a mortal, Ye Lan said with a hint of sarcasm.

Chapter 122 An Unexpected Meeting (Part 4)

"Stop!"

Xiao Nan may be a little foolish, but she's not stupid. She knows that her goal of giving Ye Lan a hard time is not going to be achieved, so she won't ask for trouble anymore.

Sasori and Samehada stopped when they saw this. They were usually obedient to Konan's orders, otherwise they wouldn't have been called on.

Sasuke turned to look at Ye Lan, who then nodded slightly. Sasuke then sheathed his ninja sword.

Sasuke glanced at the still-burning Amaterasu and withdrew it all. Samehada was also freed from the black flames' corrosive influence, though the blade had some pitted burn marks that would probably take a while to heal.

"Come with me to see Payne."

Xiao Nan left behind a final sentence and turned into a piece of paper before Ye Lan could react, indicating that she had remembered what had just happened.

Ye Lan didn't seem to care and kept his pace at a moderate speed, simply telling Sasuke to keep up with him so they could meet the leader of Akatsuki. He didn't intend to hide anything from Sasuke.

"Pain..."

Only then did Ye Lan learn the name of the Akatsuki leader. He had always referred to himself as a god, and she didn't know his real name.

The pronunciation of Payne also means pain and punishment to some extent, so it's very likely another fake name. But that doesn't matter, as long as we see it.

If Payne still has his original ideals, Ye Lan believes he will be moved by her proposal.

Watching Ye Lan and Sasuke's figures gradually disappear into the distance, Kisame wrapped his Samehada and said.

"What do these two want with the leader? Could they actually become our teammates?"

"Ye Lan's strength has already surpassed that of many of us. Even Sasuke could become a full member. It all depends on what the leader plans to do."

Sasori turned and left. He wasn't interested in anything except puppets. His purpose in joining Akatsuki was to have an environment where he wouldn't be disturbed.

"These are not things for us to worry about; we just need to do our own thing."

Scorpion didn't care whether Ye Lan would become his teammate; aside from completing the mission, he wasn't particularly concerned about the organization's objectives.

Kisame's expression was somewhat conflicted; Sasori's words were indeed correct.

However, Itachi Uchiha was his teammate, and the conflict between Ye Lan and Itachi was absolutely irreconcilable. If Ye Lan really joined Akatsuki, then there would inevitably be a battle between him and Itachi.

As a former member of the Anbu before Kirigakure, Kisame shouldn't have such extraneous feelings, but after spending a long time together and having his hands stained with the blood of those close to him, Kisame developed a strange sense of identification with Itachi.

He didn't want to be enemies with Itachi as long as it didn't affect the organization.

"Kisame, there are some things I don't need to tell you, right? The angel instructed that Itachi must not know about this."

Seeing Kisame preparing to leave, Sasori said in a low voice. He was reminding Kisame that Kisame was one of the more reliable members of Akatsuki, and Sasori was just trying to be helpful.

"Mr. Sasori, no matter what, I am a ninja, and I know the duties of a ninja..."

Kisame walked into the rain, letting the raindrops lash his face, and he had a bad feeling.

...

"Uchiha Yelan".

Nagato was well aware of Konan's every move, but out of trust for his friend, he did not interfere. In Amegakure, nothing could escape his eyes.

Reincarnation eye

Even though they had met once before, seeing Ye Lan again would still put pressure on them, but now that their strength has improved, that pressure hasn't lessened much.

Konan glanced at Sasuke, who was following Ye Lan, pursed her lips slightly, and said nothing more, silently retreating to Pain's side.

"Payne?"

Ye Lan tried using this form of address, and sure enough, a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in Tian Dao's eyes, though Ye Lan quickly caught it.

"If you remain obsessed with the title of God, your ideals will ultimately remain unrealized."

Before the Heavenly Dao could speak, Ye Lan spoke directly.

The words that Tiandao originally wanted to say were swallowed back. After a moment of silence, he spoke directly.

"Explain why you're here."

Seeing that Tiandao was no longer concerned about the issue of address, Ye Lan nodded.

"You already know that Itachi Uchiha is a spy for Konoha, right?"

"If it's just unsubstantiated information, then don't say anything more. Itachi has made great contributions to Akatsuki."

The Heavenly Dao remained calm; he wouldn't directly persecute Itachi over something like this.

"Heh, Akatsuki, I didn't expect you to have grown to this level after being attacked by Danzo and Hanzo together. Hanzo is probably long dead. The real controller of Amegakure now is your Akatsuki."

Ye Lan seemed to be saying something trivial, but it made Konan's eyes widen. How could Uchiha Ye Lan know about Akatsuki's predecessor? He wasn't even born back then.

"It's just a coincidence of names. I just admire that organization, which is why I chose that name."

The Heavenly Dao spoke calmly, as if this matter had nothing to do with them.

"I learned about this from the records left by Danzo back then, and it mentioned that there was a red-haired boy in the Akatsuki organization who possessed the Rinnegan."

Ye Lan pretended to be deep in thought, and after a while, she spoke.

"If I remember correctly, his name is Nagato. There was an orange-haired guy with him who is dead, and there was a blue-haired guy, which must be you."

Ye Lan pointed directly at Xiao Nan, having already figured out Xiao Xiao's past and present lives through Danzo's intelligence.

The only thing that doesn't match up is that the one with the Rinnegan isn't the red-haired one, but rather someone who looks somewhat like Nagato's deceased comrade.

Xiao Nan's expression was already somewhat panicked, then her expression turned somewhat sinister. She absolutely could not let Ye Lan leave Yu Yin alive.

"Interesting speculation, but these are just your deductions, and no one will believe you."

Tiandao raised his hand to stop Xiaonan. No matter what, Tiandao still did not show any expression. He did not care about the past.

"What if we add this?"

Ye Lan pulled out a record, which was the one he had seized from Danzo's house, and it even had Danzo's handwritten signature on it.

Tiandao took it. He didn't know what kind of record it was, but he started looking at it one by one.

“This record was written by Danzo himself. Some things are rather one-sided, but it is enough to prove the facts.”

The records mostly start with events in Konoha, but if you turn a page or two, you can see Danzo's plan to team up with Hanzo to deal with Akatsuki.

Moreover, the events mentioned above made his already negative feelings towards Konoha even more disgusted.