"These guys have some decent abilities. Killing them outright would be a waste. Why not recruit them into the organization instead?" Deidara suggested as he eyed the five members of Nokizaru Group tied up in front of him.
Sasori sighed inwardly.
Does everything you see need to be brought into the organization? Every time you go out, you bring back something.
"I'll contact the Leader about this. I forgot to mention it earlier," Deidara added, activating the ring on his finger. It really was a convenient tool.
Nagato, as the wielder of the Rinnegan and someone who considered himself a god, wasn't always as invincible as he seemed. His true body had been severely weakened by the Rinnegan, leaving him too frail to even walk. This led to certain inconveniences in his daily life.
Take eating, for example. He could only manipulate the Six Paths of Pain to feed his true body. If anyone saw this pitiful scene, his divine image would be utterly ruined.
Today was one of those days. Konan had gone to retrieve the orphan from the Uzumaki Clan, leaving Nagato to fend for himself in the kitchen. Predictably, the food turned out subpar—even he found it barely edible.
Damn that brat Deidara, always causing unnecessary trouble.
Hmm? A signal from the ring again? Already irritated, Nagato found his mood further souring as his meal was interrupted.
"Leader! Are you there? Leader!" Deidara's voice echoed in Pain's mind.
It's him again? Didn't we just talk earlier? What is it this time?
"What do you want?" Nagato asked coldly.
On the other end, Deidara scratched his head, sensing that the Leader might be in a bad mood. Still, his tone remained as aloof as ever.
"Well, Leader," Deidara began, "I was thinking that the Nokizaru Group members have potential. Why not recruit them into the Akatsuki?"
"No," Nagato replied curtly.
Hearing the outright rejection, Deidara realized the Leader had misunderstood. He likely thought Deidara was suggesting adding them as core members.
"Leader, I meant as outer-circle members. Our peripheral forces are too weak. We could use a couple of strong recruits to strengthen them," Deidara clarified.
Nagato fell silent, contemplating the suggestion. After a pause, his voice returned.
"I'll call a meeting to discuss this. I want to hear what the others think."
Thus, the second full meeting of the Akatsuki since Deidara's recruitment was convened.
Nagato manipulated Pain's body to summon the others via their astral projections. Somewhere in one of the organization's many bases, the eerie gathering began.
"Didn't we just have a meeting not too long ago? What's with the sudden summons?" Kisame grumbled.
"Where are Kakuzu and Hidan? Why aren't they here yet?" Sasori asked impatiently.
"They're in the middle of a fight. We'll have to wait," Pain replied.
"Tch, I hate waiting," Sasori said with an audible hint of irritation.
After about thirty minutes, the astral forms of Kakuzu and Hidan finally appeared on their respective finger positions.
"You two are late," Sasori complained.
Kakuzu's green, expressionless eyes glanced at him, his heavily wrapped face betraying no emotion.
"You'll have to ask Hidan about that."
"I hate it too, alright? But rituals are rituals. Disrespecting Jashin-sama is out of the question!" Hidan retorted in his usual loud and brash manner.
"Enough," Pain interjected, cutting off the bickering.
"The Akatsuki meeting is now in session."
The group fell silent, focusing on Pain.
"So, Leader, what's this meeting about?" Kisame asked curiously.
"It's about expanding the Akatsuki's peripheral forces. Deidara proposed recruiting members from the Nokizaru Group. I'd like to hear your thoughts," Pain explained, glancing at Deidara.
"Deidara, explain your reasoning."
"Isn't it obvious?" Deidara said, hands on his hips, his tone as matter-of-fact as ever.
"Leader, we're all S-rank missing-nin, with reputations that precede us. Yet we're running around doing menial tasks. It's beneath us!"
"Think about it: the Akatsuki is still relatively small. If you actually plan to dominate the world someday, how will we manage it? Five Great Shinobi Villages and countless smaller nations—you think we can handle all of that alone? Are we going to be stuck doing D-rank missions, like catching cats and pulling weeds? That's absurd!"
"On top of that, our outer-circle forces are laughably weak. We're supposed to be the strongest organization in the shinobi world, yet our peripherals can't even compare to third-rate factions. It's embarrassing."
As soon as Deidara finished, Hidan nodded vigorously.
"Damn right! You sit there giving orders, while we're out there running ragged. I barely have time to pray anymore! Jashin-sama is not happy!"
Pain didn't respond immediately, instead turning to the others.
"Konan, your thoughts?"
"I agree with Deidara," Konan replied pragmatically. Unlike Nagato, whose idealistic vision aimed for world peace, Konan was more grounded. Her priority was Nagato and their shared memories of Yahiko.
While Nagato believed in achieving peace through domination, Konan understood that such control would bring countless administrative burdens, conflicts, and unresolved issues. Even in a peaceful society, crime and dissent wouldn't simply vanish.
"Itachi, what about you?" Pain turned to the Uchiha.
Itachi remained silent for a moment, his face calm as ever. What opinion could he have? He was a spy, and the Leader knew it. All he cared about was passing his Mangekyo Sharingan to his little brother. Everything else was irrelevant.
"I have no opinion," Itachi said coolly.
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