"Tsk, tsk, tsk, who would have thought that the Akatsuki would follow the rules so well one day."
Despite being suppressed by Shishou, the Akatsuki organization no longer appeared openly, but they never stopped secretly recruiting combatants.
Uzuki Yugao knew that when the Akatsuki recruited members, they usually just showed up and forced the issue.
Sending an invitation for a duel first was something Yugao had never heard of.
Hearing this, Uchiha Izumi scoffed, "It's because the Ninja Union is now a well-known organization in the ninja world. If they don't follow agreements or rules, Shishou will hunt them down!"
"Hahaha, that's true."
Hearing Uchiha Izumi's words, Pakura and Uzuki Yugao couldn't help but laugh.
They all admired Shishou for his ability to single-handedly suppress the Akatsuki.
Then, Uchiha Izumi looked at Pakura and asked, "So, which members of the Akatsuki are coming to recruit us?"
Pakura handed the letter to Uchiha Izumi and Uzuki Yugao, saying:
"The letter doesn't specify who exactly, but they will send two people to a temple outside Fire Source City this afternoon."
"I plan to meet them and test my current strength."
Shishou had already detailed all the information about the Akatsuki members to Pakura and her group.
In Pakura's view, as long as it wasn't the leader of Akatsuki, Obito Uchiha, or Itachi Uchiha,
She was confident she could escape unscathed from anyone else.
"In that case, I'll come with you."
Hearing Pakura's decision, Uchiha Izumi also prepared to go and observe.
She wanted to test her own strength as well.
Since awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Izumi hadn't truly fought anyone yet.
"I'm going too!"
Seeing that both Pakura and Uchiha Izumi were going, Uzuki Yugao was naturally eager to join.
Pakura glanced at Yugao, "If you go too, what about the headquarters?"
Uzuki Yugao shrugged and said, "Isn't Hyuga Natsu and Anko there? They both have Shishou's clone scrolls."
To prevent any sudden attacks from the unpredictable Obito, and to protect his women from any danger, Shishou had prepared a scroll with his clone sealed inside for each of them.
Even Ino, Hinata, and Tenten had received one of these "emergency plans" from Shishou and were instructed to carry them at all times.
Although Hyuga Natsu's strength was the lowest among the women in Fire Source City, she had reached the level of an elite Jonin after two years of training with Shishou and Rimei Hyuga.
Moreover, Anko, having just awakened the Senjutsu bloodline of the White Snake Sage, though unable to fully enter Sage Mode, was still much stronger than Hyuga Natsu.
And most importantly, both of them had Shishou's clone scrolls.
If anything went wrong, they could simply release Shishou's clone.
Even a single clone of Shishou was enough to suppress any incoming threat.
"In that case, let's disguise ourselves and head to the temple outside the city."
Pakura agreed with Yugao's reasoning.
The three of them picked up the masks on the table, returned to the mansion, and had Hyuga Natsu help them with their disguises.
Uchiha Mikoto's makeup skills had been perfectly inherited by Hyuga Natsu, making her the ideal person to disguise Pakura and the others.
Meanwhile,
Near an ancient temple outside Fire Source City,
Carrying two Thunder Blades on his back, Kurosuki Raiga followed Kakuzu, curiously asking:
"Kakuzu, is it true that someone from the organization is planning to recruit those women from Fire Source City's Ninja Union here?"
Although Kurosuki Raiga had just joined the Akatsuki, he had noticed that the organization was divided into three factions.
One was led by the leader, Nagato, another by the masked man, and the last was neutral.
He belonged to the neutral faction, while Kakuzu was with the leader's faction.
Kakuzu replied expressionlessly, "It's true. The leader sent me to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't cause too much trouble and attract the attention of the Flying Thunder God user."
Nagato was currently in a critical phase of increasing his power and didn't want to engage Shishou in a fight now.
He didn't want the Akatsuki members to cause too much trouble and disrupt his plans, giving Shishou a reason to retaliate.
However, while Nagato didn't want any trouble, Obito Uchiha didn't share the same sentiment.
When Obito transplanted Hashirama's cells into Nagato, he didn't expect Nagato to gain the true power of the Rinnegan.
Nagato's sudden surge in power made Obito feel pressured.
Thus, after retrieving his eye from Kakashi, Obito continued to recruit fighters to strengthen his faction within the Akatsuki, increasing his influence.
The number of Akatsuki members had grown from seven or eight to over ten.
In this situation, apart from those like Kakuzu and Sasori who stayed by Nagato's side, and those neutral like Itachi and Zabuza,
Most of the remaining members were under Obito's control.
As Kakuzu and Kurosuki Raiga arrived near the temple, the space in front of them distorted, and a figure in black blocked their way, asking in a deep voice:
"Why are you here?"
Kakuzu stared coldly at the masked man in front of him, "The Ninja Union is well-known in the ninja world. The leader doesn't want you breaking the rules, so he sent me to watch you."
Kisame's figure emerged from behind a large tree, looking at Kakuzu with disdain, "Just you?"
Though Kisame's Samehada had been taken by Shishou, his chakra had increased significantly due to the Hashirama cells transplanted by Obito.
His strength had not decreased but increased, and he no longer regarded Kakuzu and the others highly.
Seeing the tension, Kurosuki Raiga took a few steps back to distance himself from the three.
Being only an elite Jonin, he didn't want to get involved in the conflict among the three in front of him.
Hearing Kisame's taunt, Kakuzu took out a scroll from his pocket, sneering, "You aren't the only ones who have grown stronger these past two years."
Due to the immense pressure from the Flying Thunder God user, everyone in the Akatsuki had been frantically increasing their power over the past two years.
Having accepted Nagato's task to keep an eye on Obito's faction, Kakuzu naturally had his own confidence.
"In that case, how about we have a match?" Kisame looked at Kakuzu with a cruel smile.
He hadn't forgotten Kakuzu's previous taunts and now wanted to teach him a lesson.
Obito glanced at the scroll in Kakuzu's hand, frowned slightly, and stopped Kisame, saying:
"Kisame, don't cause trouble."
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This fanfiction is complete on my P@treon. If you want to read it, you can find it at p@treon.com/Betek. change @ to a