The shinobi world was shaken. The news of the battle in Iwagakure spread rapidly across the entire shinobi world.
Three individuals wielding the Rinnegan had appeared, a fact that terrified everyone. Even in Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure—the major shinobi villages—a sense of profound change had settled in.
The Five Great Shinobi Nations had once been the undisputed pillars of the world. But now, multiple people wielding the Rinnegan had surfaced?
The Rinnegan was the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths. And now, so many had appeared?
The shinobi of the major villages were stunned, but none more so than the Akatsuki.
They had believed themselves to be the only organization seeking the Tailed Beasts, only to discover that there were others vying for the same objective. More astonishingly, these competitors also wielded the Rinnegan.
In the dark cave where the Akatsuki often gathered, the members assembled one by one.
"This is getting ridiculous. There are too many Rinnegan in the shinobi world now," Deidara, always the lively one, exclaimed in disbelief.
"Indeed. And even Akira has awakened the Rinnegan now. His power must have increased significantly," Sasori of the Red Sand added, sharing his thoughts.
"The most alarming part is that besides Akira, there are two others with the Rinnegan."
"One of them is rumored to wield both the Byakugan and the Rinnegan simultaneously."
"And the other one—his eyes consist of one Mangekyo Sharingan and one Rinnegan."
"When did such powerful figures start emerging in the shinobi world?"
With Deidara and Sasori voicing their astonishment, the other Akatsuki members soon joined in, their voices filled with shock.
Akira's strength was well known to the Akatsuki. But these other two individuals—where had they come from?
The Akatsuki had always operated from the shadows. Yet it seemed that there were others who hid even deeper in the darkness than they did.
"Leader, what should we do next?" Kakuzu eventually spoke up, addressing the Deva Path Pain. Now that there were others collecting the Tailed Beasts, directly clashing with the Akatsuki's mission, what should they do next?
Despite the amount of time that had passed, the Akatsuki had only succeeded in capturing the Two-Tails, and most members were dissatisfied with this slow progress.
"So what if they're powerful? It's just a single Rinnegan. We have six pairs of Rinnegan here. There's nothing to fear," Tobi, disguised as Madara, boasted arrogantly, showing no concern for Urashiki.
But his words earned him strange glances from many. Was Tobi genuinely unaware, or was he pretending?
The Akatsuki members knew very well that the leader's Rinnegan and the others couldn't act separately. It was highly likely that only one pair of Rinnegan could be used independently.
"Sigh..." Hidden in the shadows, Nagato let out a sigh.
The Deva Path Pain was the public leader of the Akatsuki.
However, this was not the same Deva Path Pain as before. Ever since Uchiha Akira had captured the original, a replacement had to be made, albeit one that looked exactly the same.
But now, aside from himself, there were two and a half more Rinnegan users in the shinobi world? This news weighed heavily on Nagato.
Was his Rinnegan no longer unique in the shinobi world?
And Akira possessed the Rinnegan too? Could it be that Nagato had misunderstood him?
Had Akira's abilities, like Shinra Tensei, come from him actually having the Rinnegan and not from stealing Nagato's power?
But that couldn't be right. During their previous confrontations, Nagato had not seen Akira display the Rinnegan.
And more importantly, Akira had demonstrated Konan's techniques as well.
"So, could it be that Akira's Rinnegan abilities were also stolen, and they aren't actually his?" Nagato wondered to himself.
It seemed improbable, but after some consideration, it appeared to be the most likely explanation.
However, it wasn't just Akira—there were also two others wielding the Rinnegan. And one of them was Akira's ally. This situation was far from ideal.
"Everyone..." Lost in thought, Nagato's mind whirled as the Deva Path Pain spoke up, capturing everyone's attention.
"There's a saying—'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"
"We are at odds with Akira. He supposedly possesses the Rinnegan, and his ally wields both a Mangekyo Sharingan and a Rinnegan."
"Considering Konoha's strength and the results of the Five Kage Summit, it's clear that Akira is a greater threat than the other mysterious Rinnegan user."
"So, even though that mysterious person is our rival, we can attempt to ally with him."
With Pain's words, the Akatsuki members pondered deeply.
The leader's proposal seemed logical. On the current battlefield, the Akatsuki and the mysterious figure had the weakest combined power, whereas Akira's side was the strongest.
When faced with a three-way standoff, the two weaker factions teaming up to avoid being defeated individually by the strongest was a basic strategy.
"Zetsu, find the whereabouts of that mysterious figure, and then notify me. I will personally speak with the Rinnegan wielder," Pain instructed, seeing no opposition from the Akatsuki members.
None of the Akatsuki objected to this decision.
Indeed, the progress in capturing the Tailed Beasts had been slow, and Akira's strength seemed to grow more formidable each day. Forming an alliance with another Rinnegan wielder was necessary at this point.
And so, the Akatsuki set their plan in motion.
Zetsu's tracking abilities were formidable, and more importantly, Tobi also agreed with this decision. With Tobi's support from behind the scenes, finding Urashiki wasn't a particularly difficult task for Zetsu.
Within just half a month, White Zetsu discovered Urashiki's location and reported it to Nagato.
Nagato then mobilized the Akatsuki members, leading them all to confront Urashiki.
Nagato's thoughts were simple: if Urashiki was willing to cooperate, that would be ideal. But if he refused? Then today would be the day he died.
With his pair of Rinnegan and the entire Akatsuki behind him, Nagato couldn't believe that even if Urashiki possessed the Rinnegan, he could withstand the combined might of the Akatsuki.
With Deva Path Pain leading the way, the Akatsuki arrived at a valley.
Pain entered first, deciding that it would be best to talk to the other side alone.
"I didn't expect such powerful shinobi in this era," Urashiki mused aloud.
"A pair of crimson Rinnegan? Who exactly is this Akira guy?"
"I suffered a significant setback this time, but my injuries have healed about seventy percent. Once I'm fully recovered, I'll settle this score with him."
Urashiki's tone was filled with hatred towards Akira.
Tap, tap, tap!
Just as Urashiki was seething with anger, the sound of footsteps echoed, growing closer. At the same time, a voice rang out, "You seem to have quite the grudge against Akira. Coincidentally, I have some deep conflicts with him as well. Why don't we have a chat and work together?"
"Work with you? Are you even qualified?" Urashiki scoffed dismissively.
However, as the figure drew nearer, a pair of violet Rinnegan became clearly visible, which caught Urashiki off guard.
Rinnegan?
There was another pair of Rinnegan in this shinobi world?
"A Rinnegan, huh? Alright, I admit you have the qualifications to speak with me," Urashiki said as he nodded at the new Deva Path Pain approaching him.
But no sooner had he finished his sentence than Urashiki lifted his hand, bringing down a rod of crimson light that seemed to transform into a sword, slicing directly into Deva Path Pain, cleaving the puppet body in two.
"If you want to talk to me, why not come here yourself instead of sending a puppet?" Urashiki sneered.
"My apologies. If you wish to speak to me in person, then follow my chakra trail and find me," replied Deva Path Pain, still expressionless, even as his body lay split in half on the ground. His voice still calmly invited Urashiki to follow the chakra to his real location.
Urashiki concentrated and soon felt Nagato's chakra signature...
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POWER STONE!!!
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 50+ at patreon.com/Emik01.