Kakuzu, lying on the ground, stared at Sasuke with eyes full of fear.
Uchiha... This is the power of the Uchiha.
Whether it's Itachi or this brat in front of him, their power is overwhelming.
It seems that provoking the Uchiha is never a wise choice.
"Ha ha! Kakuzu, you've got what's coming to you! Beaten down so easily by someone else!"
"So, want my help? Beg me, and I might lend you a hand!"
Hidan, seeing Kakuzu severely beaten, didn't feel anger or frustration; instead, he seemed thrilled, as if energized.
Kakuzu bit his lip harshly and glared at Hidan before struggling to stand up.
Hidan, ignored, felt a bit awkward and coldly snorted in frustration.
"All right! Everyone can disperse now. Sasuke, we await your good news!"
"From the look of you, it seems you don't need any teammates, right?"
Sasuke looked at Pain and replied, "Yeah, I don't. I can handle this alone."
Everyone present turned their gaze to Sasuke. Alone?
While the current Sand Village isn't at its peak, it's still one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
Even though the Fourth Kazekage has died, leaving the Sand Village weaker than ever, it doesn't mean it's an easy target.
To attack the Sand Village single-handedly and capture its Jinchūriki is no small feat.
Still, since the leader has given the order, no one dared to question it.
They were also curious to see if this Sasuke Uchiha could successfully capture the One-Tails' Jinchūriki.
"Everyone else, be prepared. You might be summoned to seal the tailed beast at any moment!"
"Understood!"
"Got it!"
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving now."
Deidara, Sasori, and Kisame left swiftly.
Sasuke also wanted to leave quickly for the Sand Village.
However, Konan stopped him and handed him a ring with the character "Kūjin" on it his Akatsuki codename. She also gave him an Akatsuki cloak.
Sasuke hesitated about the cloak. It was said to be cursed.
He thought he could avoid wearing it, but it seemed inevitable.
As long as it didn't tear during combat, there shouldn't be any problems.
The cloak, seemingly tailored to Sasuke's build, fit him perfectly.
Without much else to say, Sasuke accepted the items and departed from the Akatsuki base, heading toward the Sand Village.
Once Sasuke left, Konan returned to Nagato's location. "Why did you agree to let Sasuke Uchiha go?"
Hearing this, Nagato coughed lightly a few times before raising his weary face.
"His power is formidable."
"I can sense it. Capturing the One-Tails won't be an issue for him."
Konan was surprised that Nagato held Sasuke in such high regard.
"Really? He doesn't seem that much stronger than Kakuzu."
Nagato smiled slightly. "Haven't you noticed? In the earlier fight, that boy wasn't even serious. Even so, he effortlessly defeated Kakuzu. Capturing the One-Tails from the Sand Village will be a breeze for him."
Nagato then looked off to the side. "Moreover, advancing the tailed beast capture plan serves another purpose to test the reactions of the Shinobi Nations."
This made Konan uneasy.
"Nagato, do you truly intend to start a Shinobi World War?"
Nagato didn't answer immediately. The words spoken by Tobi had indeed shaken him. However, Nagato wanted a world without war.
Starting a war would lead to countless civilian casualties, even if the deaths of shinobi didn't matter as much.
This decision weighed heavily on Nagato. The current tailed beast capture plan was meant to test the waters or perhaps...
Nagato wanted the Five Great Nations to become aware of Akatsuki's presence, ensuring they wouldn't dare spark a global conflict.
Yet his actions seemed to imply he was provoking such a war.
Nagato's silent smile left Konan believing he truly intended to ignite the Shinobi World War.
For a moment, Konan didn't know what to say.
She simply felt Nagato had changed too much. Since Yahiko's death, Nagato seemed like a completely different person.
Meanwhile, Sasuke reunited with Kimimaro, and the two began heading toward the Sand Village.
"Capturing the One-Tails' Jinchūriki? Is the Akatsuki finally making its move, Lord Sasuke?" Kimimaro asked.
Sasuke smiled faintly. "No, not exactly. In fact, I'd say Akatsuki likely won't make any moves for the next few years."
Kimimaro looked puzzled. "But aren't they already capturing tailed beasts?"
Sasuke didn't bother to explain further.
Instead, he pulled out a scroll containing Wind Release techniques.
'Only three more Wind Release techniques to complete the system's task.'
It wouldn't be difficult to finish this task before reaching the Sand Village.
Sasuke pondered which techniques to learn.
'Wind Release: Great Vacuum Sphere, an air cannon-like attack. This technique seems good.'
'Wind Release: Pressure Damage. Oh, isn't this Kakuzu's technique? Orochimaru managed to collect such powerful Wind Release techniques?'
'This one not only has decent power but also clears areas effectively. Combined with Fire Release, it becomes even more destructive. Definitely worth learning!'
'Wind Release: Shuriken. Danzo's technique? Not bad either!'
Having chosen the final three Wind Release techniques, Sasuke began practicing.
During the journey, Sasuke found time to practice and quickly mastered all three techniques.
He easily brought them to a proficient level by repeatedly using them.
The only time-consuming part was refining them to mastery.
But with Sasuke's talent, it only took ten minutes per technique thirty minutes in total to perfect them.
[Congratulations to the host for successfully learning Five Release techniques and mastering Chakra Nature Transformation.]
[Reward: All Chakra attributes increased by one level.]
Sasuke: 'With all attributes raised by one level, my Lightning Release will now reach Level Three. I wonder how powerful Level Three Nature Transformation will be...'
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