Pain stood atop the right thumb of the Gedo Statue, his Rinnegan sweeping over the gathered members. In a voice that was still cold but carried a rare hint of fervor, he began, "Now that most of Akatsuki's members have been recruited, it's time I reveal our ultimate goal."
Ultimate goal?
This statement caught the attention of even the most stoic members. Uchiha Itachi, perpetually enigmatic, Sasori, usually indifferent, and Kakuzu, calm and calculating, all visibly reacted, turning their gazes toward Pain.
After all, this mysterious leader, possessing the legendary Rinnegan—the eyes said to belong only to the Sage of Six Paths—was a living myth. Such a figure naturally commanded their attention.
Pain continued, "Akatsuki's objective is divided into three stages.
"The first stage was to amass wealth. Thanks to years of effort, this phase is essentially complete.
"The second stage is to use that wealth as a foundation to establish a mercenary organization that dominates the shinobi world..."
"Hold up!" Hidan, ever the irreverent one who feared nothing but his god, interrupted with a scoff.
"What's the difference between that and just being another shinobi village? Taking on missions for money? You trying to be the leader of some lame, broke little village? Boring."
Pain let out a cold chuckle. "No nation willing to hire us? You couldn't be more wrong."
He elaborated, "Let me explain. In the current system of shinobi villages, mission fees make up a large portion of a village's finances. To maintain their scale, these villages depend on a constant level of conflict.
"However, in this era, small skirmishes happen frequently, but large-scale wars have vanished. This has forced villages, especially smaller ones, to downsize due to a lack of funds. But downsizing compromises their ability to respond to emergencies.
"This is where Akatsuki comes in. By undercutting the smaller villages with lower rates and leveraging the power of tailed beasts, we will gradually monopolize warfare. When the larger villages can no longer sustain themselves, they too will crumble."
Pain's voice grew colder as he concluded, "This leads to our third stage: world domination."
Deidara couldn't help but muse privately.
Is he not revealing his true goal of world peace because he doesn't trust us? Or does even he doubt the likelihood of success and feels embarrassed to admit it?
Regardless, if Deidara didn't already know the plot's future developments, he might have applauded this speech. At the very least, the blueprint was ambitious, enticing, and surprisingly feasible.
However, judging by the reactions of the others, it was clear they weren't entirely convinced. The sinister Gedo Statue, in particular, raised suspicion—what was its true purpose? Pain's grand vision sounded impressive, but what would they, the members, gain from it?
Pain, unfazed by the skepticism, appeared to view the group as mere tools. After all, Zetsu wasn't truly his subordinate, and Itachi had his own hidden agenda. The rest were proud and unruly, not the kind of people who could be controlled with mere words. Pain was no Naruto or Orochimaru—he lacked the gift of persuasion.
"Now, let's proceed with the sealing of the Seven-Tails," Pain declared. "The process will take three days. The sealing technique will be transmitted to everyone shortly. During this time, ensure your physical forms are kept safe."
Through his ring, Deidara received the sealing technique—Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals. It had looked so imposing in the story's early chapters but felt increasingly ridiculous in retrospect. After all, Madara and Obito later managed to seal tailed beasts almost instantly.
"Three days?!" Hidan grumbled. "I still need to pray to Jashin-sama!"
"Shut up, Hidan," Kakuzu snapped.
"Hey, Kakuzu, you think I want to do this? It's the doctrine! Do you know how annoying it is to pray every day?!"
"One more word, and I'll kill you."
"Yeah, good luck with that," Hidan replied nonchalantly.
Deidara, eager to make use of the downtime, activated his system.
[Ultimate Artist System]
Host: Deidara
Shock Value: 2750/4000
Skill Points: 2
Unlocked Skills: Explosion Mastery Level 1, C2 Enhanced Dragon
Sealing the Seven-Tails had brought significant gains: the shock value from Sasori and the Seven-Tails had earned him two levels. The bad news? Each new level required an additional 1,000 shock value, meaning progress would soon slow. No point worrying about it now, though—better to decide how to allocate his skill points.
Deidara reviewed his options:
C1 Special Mines
High-Temperature Explosives
Extended Detonation Range
The High-Temperature Explosives branch was particularly tempting, leading to a sprawling skill tree. However, Deidara decided that his current C2 dragon was sufficient for now. Instead, he considered investing in other categories, like the Ninjutsu branch's Chakra Reinforcement.
At only 12 years old, his chakra reserves were still limited. He'd nearly run out during the fight with the Seven-Tails' Jinchūriki.
In the end, he split his points, unlocking Advanced Clay in the Materials category and Chakra Reinforcement in Ninjutsu.
"Huh? Why doesn't my chakra feel stronger?" he muttered.
[Host, chakra enhancement works gradually. From now on, all natural chakra growth will double until you reach your physical limit.]
Not bad. While it wasn't an instant boost, the long-term benefits were undeniable.
"And what about Advanced Clay ?" he asked the system.
[Improved Clay is an optimized version of your original clay, offering increased resistance, reduced material consumption, and slightly enhanced explosive power.]
Deidara noticed a skill labeled Lightning-Resistant Clay in the next tier.
"Wait, does this mean I can finally overcome my weakness to lightning techniques?"
[Correct. Lightning-Resistant Clay provides significant resistance to lightning, eliminating its disabling effect on your bombs. However, it requires both a skill point and the Lightning Blades from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to unlock.]
That settled it. Once the Seven-Tails was sealed, Deidara would set his sights on the Lightning-Resistant Clay.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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