Of course, Mikawa didn't mean to give up on the mission and returned to Konoha.
Instead, he wanted to take the opportunity to draw out the enemy in the dark. If it really existed!
To put it bluntly, it was a bluff!
Because if someone really had their eyes on them, when they saw them retreat to the Country of Grass, they would definitely follow them.
Then it was time for Gekkou Hayate to play his role!
On the surface, Gekkou Hayate, who seemed to go with the team, actually had not left for even a moment. It was actually Shadow Clone Technique.
As long as he was not attacked, he would not be exposed!
Therefore, when Gekkou Hayate, who was hanging far behind them, discovered the enemy that had followed them, he immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. At the same time, he was also amazed by Mikawa-sensei's experience!
......
Mikawa, who was escorting the caravan, slowly retreated as he heard a soft voice. He quietly nodded his head and then suddenly ordered them to rest here.
This contradictory order caused the person in charge of the caravan to be stunned. If they wanted to leave now, they shouldn't rest now… What was he doing?
However, after experiencing the previous attack, he had already treated Mikawa as a life savior, so he did not dare to ask any more questions and directly stopped outside the Country of Grass.
After waiting for a while, Mikawa and Itachi looked at each other, then immediately turned around.
According to Gekkou Hayate's information, the three of them were enough to deal with this little tail enemy.
And Aoba was left behind to protect the caravan so they would not fall into the enemy's trick.
—This arrangement was exactly what Aoba wanted!
Because when they were leaving the Country of Grass, the Vermilion Ring that he kept on his body released chakra fluctuation, which was the signal sent by Nagato for a meeting!
And [Crimson Swordsman], this vest, had not appeared for three months, so he was ready to go and see what the situation was that made Nagato suddenly gather the members of Akatsuki.
Therefore, he called out [Civet Cat Prince], so that he could change his appearance and blend back into the caravan.
Apart from not having any combat power, [Illusion Transformation]'s ability was simply a perfect version of the Transformation Technique. In addition, he and 'Prince' could communicate mentally at any time regardless of distance. Therefore, it was almost impossible to see through it unless he participated in the battle.
When 'Prince' turned into Aoba's appearance and returned to the caravan, Aoba himself changed directions to stay away from the crowd. Then, he put on the scarlet mask, changed into [Crimson Swordsman]'s skin, and put on the standard outfit of Akatsuki's members.
After doing all this preparation, he unhurriedly put on the Vermilion Ring and at the same time injected chakra into it, activating the Illusion Light Body Technique sealed inside!
Therefore, in an instant, his Thought Body once again came to the cave where the Gedo Statue was stored.
....
"Looks like I was the last one."
Aoba looked around and then calmly said.
Moreover, this time, apart from Pain and Konan, who did not even look at him, he also saw the 'Undying Duo', a man who he did not know but carried a broadsword on his back, Sasori—who still looked like a teenager—and, Konoha's rebel, Orochimaru.
And it looked like he and Orochimaru were in the same group?
Aoba is really not impressed by this aspect. After all, Orochimaru, who failed to obtain Sharingan in the original book, was directly beaten by Itachi and defected to Akatsuki. Of course, his impression of Sasori is the 'art duo' he formed with Deidara. And the ugly sand puppet Hiruko….
But what he didn't know was that Sasori had been with Akatsuki for not much longer than him.
Because after secretly assassinating The Third Kazekage, before Sasori could change himself into a puppet, he was found by Konan. After being easily suppressed by Konan, he was persuaded to join Akatsuki.
Right now, it could be said that apart from Obito, who was disguised as Tobi, who was not present, everyone was in a well-behaved manner!
What's happening here?
Could it be that Bijuu's arrest plan was brought forward?
Aoba was a little confused, but at this time, Pain directly said after seeing him, "I thought you would be absent from this meeting."
"But it's good that you come. You can get to know each other, and then I will explain the reason why I gathered you here."
The members of Akatsuki present were all proud and arrogant masters. It could be said that no one cared about anyone, and they all had their own plans.
Therefore, after stiffly reporting their code names, they all chose to stand by and watch.
And Aoba finally knew who the guy whom he didn't have any impression of but was carrying a broadsword was.
It was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the time —the user of Kubikiribōchō, Biwa Juzou.
He was also one of the three people who were lucky enough to escape in the end when Guy's father, Might Duy, opened the Eight Gates in the third shinobi world war.
The other two lucky people were Suikazan Fuguki and Kurosuki Raiga.
At the same time, this guy was also the most unlucky member of Akatsuki, who died the fastest after being killed by the enemy!
He was also the partner of Itachi.
In terms of strength, compared to the other members of Akatsuki.
Well, Aoba understood everything anyway….
Pain had long been accustomed to the indifferent attitude of everyone. He directly cut to the chase. "I have been secretly controlling the Country of Grass during this period of time, but Kumogakure's people suddenly intervened. Which of you is closer to that place and is willing to take a trip?"
Because the location of this base was still unknown to the others in Akatsuki's group, Nagato controlled Pain to change the way he said it.
After all, no one could guarantee that these people standing here today would not betray the organization in the future, so they had to be wary.
In addition, although he could do it himself, Rinnegan was a matter of great importance. Nagato did not want to expose himself too early, so he could only keep it as a trump card.
And once he forced him to do it himself, it would not be as simple as killing dozens of people, and everyone who saw him would have to die!
That was why he had asked this question.
When the others heard this, they were obviously not interested.
However, when Aoba heard about the Country of Grass and Kumogakure's intervention, his heart immediately skipped a beat!
He could not help but wonder if the people they had killed before were Kumogakure's people.
After all, if it's just wandering ninjas, even if they had the courage, they would not dare to attack Konoha's people.
Not to mention the fact that not only did they dare to attack, but after discovering that they could not defeat them, no one wanted to escape. This did not make sense!