Naruto: From Fake to Real, Deceiving the Ninja World.

Immediately afterwards, eight beams of pale blue light rippled gently like water, lighting up one after another at the fingertips of the other eight fingers, quickly condensing into eight semi-transparent humanoid phantoms.

Although these phantoms are blurry in appearance, their outlines are clear, and their movements are completely synchronized with the original body.

Ten phantom figures stood silently on their respective fingers, and the entire space was filled with a solemn and cold atmosphere.

Nagato's Rinnegan, with its layered rings, slowly swept over every phantom present.

Ten characters appeared on the ten fingers of the demonic statue: Zero, White, Mysterious, Vermilion, South, Void, Jade, Green, North, and Three.

First, naturally, are Nagato, who is known as 'Zero Burial', and Konan, who is known as 'White Tiger'.

There are also Kakuzu, who is the "Northern Dipper" just like in the original work; Sasori, who is the "Jade Maiden"; and Juzo, who is the "Southern Dipper".

The 'Santai' that originally belonged to Hidan became Hanzo, the 'Suzaku' that belonged to Itachi Uchiha became Oyajo En, and the 'Seiryu' that belonged to Deidara became Muwei.

The remaining 'Kong Chen' and 'Xuan Wu' originally belonged to Orochimaru and Zetsu, but now belong to Hiruko and Shennong respectively.

"I have gathered you all here to announce two things."

Nagato's deep voice broke the silence, saying, "First, welcome to the new members Hiruko, Shennong, and Sasori."

"..."

No one responded; they were all observing each other.

Especially the newly added Scorpion, Shennong, and Beiliuhu.

Feeling Nagato's oppressive aura, which was almost tangible, and the other phantoms exuding a dangerous aura, even those who were initially somewhat dissatisfied couldn't help but feel a chill.

Are the members of Akatsuki really all such powerful beings?

“From now on, Sasori and Hanzo will be in one team, Shennong and Miyajo En will be in another team, and Hiruko and Hiwa Juzo will be in yet another team,” Nagato continued.

As soon as the words were spoken, the three of them instinctively looked in the corresponding positions.

"Shennong?" Miyajo En smiled as he looked in Shennong's direction, his dark red dragon eyes gleaming. "Nice to meet you."

Sasori and Hanzo exchanged a glance without speaking, as did Hiruko and Hiwajuzo.

Hanzo didn't care who he was with, but Sasori felt that Hanzo was worthy of being his partner.

"Joining 'Xiao' means accepting the organization's rules and will."

Seeing that they had no objections, Nagato said in a cold tone, "Everything else is irrelevant. There is only one rule, and that is that internal strife is prohibited."

"All forms of private fighting and vendettas are strictly prohibited among members of the organization. Do not take any chances. Any behavior that harms members of the organization will only result in death."

As the word "death" fell from his lips, the chill seemed to solidify into a tangible form.

Under the gaze of those Rinnegan eyes, all the doubts, resentment, and ambitions of the three were forcibly suppressed.

This power was beyond their ability to resist, but of course, this did not prevent two of them from developing a lustful desire for Nagato's eyes...

"Nagato," Hanzo, arms crossed, suddenly spoke, "aren't we missing one person?"

Knowing that Hanzo was referring to the 'Kage', Nagato subconsciously frowned, about to say that the 'Kage' wasn't a formal member...

"I am here."

A smiling voice suddenly reached their ears, and everyone instinctively looked up in the direction of the voice.

Suddenly, a dark figure sat atop the Outer Path Demon Statue, looking down at the ten people below and chuckling, "Please continue, ignore me."

Completely unaware of when 'Shadow' appeared, a hint of vigilance flashed across Xiao Nan's eyes.

She wouldn't trust anyone except Nagato.

Of course, 'Shadow' didn't care whether she trusted him or not, and he didn't care whether Nagato trusted him or not either.

A "cooperative" relationship is actually equivalent to a "utilitarian" relationship.

However, Nagato was not at all wary of the 'Shadow's' appearance. If the 'Shadow' really wanted to harm him, it could have done so long ago.

The two only differed in their goals and ideologies; Nagato was not going to harbor hostility towards him at this point.

"Continue, the second thing."

Nagato withdrew his gaze, swept it over all the members, and said calmly, "The time has come. The Five Kage have left the village. The Tailed Beast Capture Plan shall commence immediately."

As the final order was given, the newly joined Scorpion, Hiruko, and Shennong all displayed different expressions on their faces.

Akatsuki's target is actually the Tailed Beasts?!

However, after realizing this, the three of them had different ideas.

Ambitious, greedy, cunning, and restless...

These lunatics, however, showed no fear.

One requires a large number of powerful materials to create human puppets, another needs to fuse with more bloodline ninjas to gain power, and the third originally wanted to replace the five great nations and rule the ninja world.

It's fair to say that the people recommended by the 'Kage' to Nagato were perfectly suited to join the 'Akatsuki' organization.

Chapter 212 Naruto and Sasuke's Gradual Reversal

The night sky had not yet completely faded.

A thin, hazy morning light quietly emerged, tinging the night with a deep blue hue.

In the bedroom, Naruto Uzumaki lay sprawled on the bed, wrapped in a blanket, a silly, unguarded smile on his lips, emitting soft, even snores.

Just then, on the bedside table, a simple alarm clock clicked, its hands precisely jumping to 5:30.

Ring ring! Ring ring!

The deafening, piercing ringing of the bell abruptly shattered the tranquility of the early morning!

Naruto was abruptly dragged from his sweet dream, and sat up abruptly. He looked around the still dimly lit room in a daze, and then turned to look out the window.

The sky outside the window was still hazy; it was still some time before dawn.

"Well……"

Seeing this, Naruto covered his face and said in a mournful voice, "What's going on? Why are you up so early on the weekend..."

I studied until very late in the sealed space yesterday, and now, a strong wave of drowsiness is washing over me again.

Naruto let himself fall back onto the bed like half a piece of pork, and was embraced by the soft, warm blankets.

"call!"

Naruto let out a satisfied sigh, his eyelids, which seemed to be filled with lead, slowly closed, ready to immediately drift off into the gentle embrace of a second nap.

However, just as his consciousness was about to drift back into sleep.

"Kid." Kurama's deep voice suddenly rang out in the depths of Naruto's mind, slowly saying, "Use your pig brain and think carefully about what day of the week it is today."

"..."

Naruto suddenly opened his eyes wide and sprang up from the bed with a "whoosh," the movement so forceful that it even created a gust of wind.

But his toes slammed hard against the hard edge of the bed, and a piercing pain shot from his toes to the top of his head.

"Hah!"

Naruto gasped instantly, clutching his unfortunate toe with both hands, his face contorted in pain, hissing and gasping for air.

In the shadows beside his bed, a slender cat eye slowly opened, looked up and saw Naruto's foolish appearance, and a human-like disdain appeared in the cat eye.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! I'm going to die, I'm going to die..."

Naruto mumbled incoherently, and as soon as the excruciating pain subsided slightly, he jumped off the bed and shouted, "Monday, Monday, today is Monday!"

Today is the first day of the new semester, and we'll be assigned to new grades and new classes.

He didn't even bother to put on slippers, and went barefoot on the cold floor into the bathroom.

A moment later, a lithe black figure followed behind him, taking light, lazy cat-like steps, tugging at Naruto's slippers as it slowly walked into the washroom.

It was a black cat with jet-black fur and glossy coat. With a light leap, it jumped onto the edge of the sink and sat down steadily, looking at Naruto.

"Glug glug glug—Pfft!"

Naruto spat out the toothpaste foam, looked down at the slippers at his feet after seeing the black cat, put them on, and then grinned at the black cat, saying, "Thank you, Blackie!"

This cat is very special; it is entirely black without a single stray hair.

Only on his left eye, there was a hideous scar running vertically through his tightly closed eyelid, as if it had been slashed by a cat's claws, clearly indicating that he was blind.

It stared intently at Naruto with its only remaining amber-colored right eye, its gaze unwavering and scrutinizing.

The one-eyed black cat that Naruto named "Kuro" was an "accident".

One morning a few months ago, Naruto had just opened his door when a dark figure darted in from beside his feet and brazenly took over the most comfortable spot on the sofa.

No matter how Naruto coaxed or chased him away, he stubbornly refused to leave, acting as if "this place is now my territory."

In the past, Naruto himself often went hungry, so there was absolutely no way he would have taken in this "uninvited guest".

However, ever since he met Hiruzen Sarutobi, the so-called subsidy gold has been in his hands. Although it's not very rich, it's more than enough to support himself and a cat.

So, Naruto softened and kept it.

But he later discovered that the cat was incredibly smart. It would go outside to use the litter box and hunt for food by itself every day, and it would come back to sleep on time every night, so he didn't have to worry about it at all.

Sometimes, when Naruto does something stupid like he did just now, it will lie in its cat bed and look over with a human-like look of disdain in its eyes.

Naruto didn't care at all; he had long since gotten used to its presence.

Naruto quickly finished washing up, went to the kitchen, stood on a small stool, and began to work clumsily but earnestly.

Chop vegetables, crack eggs, turn on the stove...

sizzle.

The eggs sizzled enticingly in the pan, releasing a delightful aroma.

The black cat jumped onto the cabinet next to it, looking down at Naruto's busy figure, its tail swishing leisurely.

Although the movements are still a bit clumsy, it's much better than the initial chaos and near-burning down of the kitchen.

Naruto doesn't know how to cook. Even if he has extra money and restaurants refuse to serve him, he has no intention of cooking for himself. He just buys instant ramen and other food.

One day, during a class in the sealed space, the 'teacher' suddenly said that eating ramen all the time is unhealthy and not suitable for human growth, and that you need to learn to cook for yourself.

So Naruto started learning to cook for himself, and now he makes simple dishes.

Fried eggs, toast, miso soup, or simple rice balls...

Although they were all simple things, Naruto had a huge appetite.

After eating the equivalent of three normal adult men's meals, Naruto returned to his room to change. He stood in front of the full-length mirror, carefully looking at himself.

Wearing a short, white-on-the-outside, red-on-the-inside stand-up collar coat with clearly defined shoulder lines and fitted cuffs, she looked clean and sharp. The sleeves were embroidered with the red spiral family crest of the "Whirlpool Clan," and the front of the coat was open, revealing the white lining underneath.

A pair of loose-fitting black capri pants, tapered at the knees, revealing a section of calves clad in dark red ninja leggings.

He wore a pair of black ninja shoes with slightly high ankles, and a wide belt around his waist with a metal buckle in the center.

"Teacher, big fox, is this outfit okay?" Naruto asked tentatively in his mind.

The teacher made him change into these clothes as well.

He has completely said goodbye to those faded, garish yellow coats he used to wear.

"Hmm," Yun's calm voice rang out.

"Nonsense, the old man and I picked out the clothes for you." Nine-Tails' words were still sharp. "It's impossible for them to be uglier than that yellow outfit you wore before."

Naruto in the mirror was still somewhat thin, but he was much more upright than before, and his brows were less somber than they used to be.

He casually ruffled his slightly long, tousled blond hair a few times. Although it was still a bit messy, it looked much better than his previous "hedgehog" hairstyle.

However, the six lines on his tender little face, resembling a cat's whiskers, were still clearly visible.

"Okay! Let's go!"

Naruto grinned at his reflection in the mirror, picked up the prepared lunchbox from the table, and took one last look at Kuro, who had already jumped back into its cat bed, curled up in a ball, and closed its eyes to rest.

"I'm leaving, Xiao Hei!" he shouted, and without waiting for Xiao Hei to respond, he yanked open the door.

The pale blue sky in the distance had been tinged with a warm golden edge, and the golden light pierced through the morning mist, coating the whole world with a warm halo.

Naruto Uzumaki took a deep breath and ran towards the Ninja Academy, bathed in the bright morning light.

Inside the closed door behind them, the black cat curled up in its cat bed opened its eyes.