Chapter 38: Orochimaru Defects from the Akatsuki!

Chapter 38: Orochimaru Defects from the Akatsuki!

"Sigh!"

This sigh from the Elder carried more weight than a thousand words, reflecting his extremely complicated feelings and clearly indicating his stance.

The facts were clear to everyone, what more could he do to defend you?

Make a feeble attempt to justify the unjustifiable?

How would that convince anyone?

Although there were too many suspicious elements about this incident that didn't hold up under scrutiny, the Elder had no evidence to prove that Kizukami Roku was framed.

After all, he was just an old man past his prime.

The situation clearly showed that the Fourth Mizukage was determined to kill Kizukami Roku, and the Elder dared not speak up for him.

Without a valid reason, intervening would only draw fire upon himself.

"The Fourth, I am not well, I will take my leave now!"

"I will not involve myself in this matter!"

Ignoring Kizukami Roku's pleading eyes, the Elder stood up, glanced at the Fourth Mizukage, and spoke slowly.

"Okay! You may leave."

The Fourth Mizukage didn’t look at the Elder, his expression stoic as he responded tersely.

Little did he know, the Elder, with eyes narrowed to slits, was closely observing his every move, as if trying to detect any issue.

Seemingly finding nothing, the Elder bowed slightly and left.

Watching the Elder’s departing figure, Kizukami Roku felt his heart turn cold.

Even the Elder had abandoned him, who else could help him?

With no other options, he placed his last hope on the Fourth Mizukage, hoping for a fair and just leader to vindicate him.

However, Kizukami Yajura didn’t even glance at him and abruptly closed the case.

"Let this be the end of it!"

"Kizukami Roku has been found guilty of colluding with Konoha! The Kizukami clan is also suspected of treachery against the village!"

"Therefore, according to the village's shinobi regulations!"

"Kizukami Roku is to be immediately detained in the maximum-security prison and subjected to interrogation by the Torture and Interrogation Force!"

"The Kizukami clan will be placed under village surveillance!"

"If any suspicious activities are detected!"

"They will be executed without mercy!"

As the Fourth Mizukage finished speaking, everyone’s gaze turned cautious towards Kizukami Roku, ready to subdue him if he showed any sign of resistance.

Clearly, Kizukami Roku understood that facing so many elite Mist shinobi, escape was impossible.

Even if he could escape, what about his clan? His family?

Thus, with no other choices, Kizukami Roku let the ANBU take him away compliantly.

At that moment, his view of the world turned grey as if he had fallen into an abyss of despair.

"Meeting adjourned!"

With his goal achieved, Uchiha Obito, controlling the Fourth Mizukage, quickly dismissed everyone.

"What a show!"

"Who knew Tobi had such tricks up his sleeve!"

"Is this the same guy who used to be rated as the least intelligent?"

"It seems I mustn’t underestimate Tobi anymore!"

Having watched the whole scene unfold, Uchiha Yi’s perception of Uchiha Obito was completely updated.

He had always thought Uchiha Obito was straightforward and not too bright.

However, reality was not as he had perceived.

Perhaps it’s the rule that turning dark adds three points to one’s abilities, while whitewashing removes seven.

Thinking this, Uchiha Yi planned to probe further into Uchiha Obito’s future schemes.

Unexpectedly, his ring engraved with the Kanji for 'Fire' vibrated.

It was a signal from Pain, summoning all Akatsuki members for a meeting.

This forced Uchiha Yi to abandon his current task and quickly find a secluded and safe place to connect to the video call initiated by Pain.

The scene shifted, and Uchiha Yi found himself in a dark and mysterious place.

Illusory figures rapidly solidified on the fingers of a gigantic statue.

Simultaneously, other members of Akatsuki began to appear as illusions on the other fingers of the statue.

"Damn it, I was just about to kill that guy and claim a bounty of 10 million!"

"Just when this meeting had to be called!"

Everyone heard Jūzō Biwa complaining right off the bat.

"Hahaha!"

"Are so many of you interested in joining the Cult of Jashin?"

Following him, Hidan inappropriately started preaching again.

The rest weren’t as lively as these two, quietly waiting.

"Silence!"

"I have something to inform everyone!"

"Orochimaru has defected from the Akatsuki, and his whereabouts are unknown!"

"If you find him, kill him on sight!"

Pain didn’t bother with any unnecessary preamble and immediately delivered the news.

"Rest assured, Leader Pain!"

"I will certainly sacrifice Orochimaru to Lord Jashin!"

Hidan declared, patting his chest confidently.

"Orochimaru’s bounty is pretty high!"

Upon hearing Pain’s words, Jūzō’s eyes lit up, mumbling to himself as if calculating something.

"Heh!"

Sasori couldn’t help but let out a few cold laughs.

Those familiar with Sasori and Orochimaru’s relationship within Akatsuki knew what his laughter implied.

As for Uchiha Itachi, the one who instigated Orochimaru’s defection, he looked indifferent, unaffected by the situation.

With a gaze that others found hard to notice, he stealthily observed Uchiha Yi.

"Now onto the second matter."

"Orochimaru’s defection, and Momochi Zabuza’s death!"

"The organization is now short-handed!"

"Tobi, how’s your progress with recruiting Kisame?"

Pain didn’t wait for the members’ reactions and turned directly to Uchiha Obito for an update.

"Uh… It will be successful soon!"

Having been busy causing trouble in the Hidden Mist Village recently, Uchiha Obito had forgotten about this task and replied somewhat sheepishly.

"Too slow!"

"From now on, Yi will take over this task, Tobi will assist!"

Uchiha Obito’s response displeased Pain, who, disregarding his disguised identity as Uchiha Madara, reassigned the task.

"Alright!"

Uchiha Obito hadn’t expected the task to go round and round and finally land on him again.

But considering the logic, it made sense.

Initially, Momochi Zabuza handled it and died, and Uchiha Itachi failed, clearly making it unreasonable to reassign Itachi.

Everyone thought Uchiha Obito would smoothly complete it after taking over.

However, months passed with no progress, casting doubt on whether Uchiha Obito was slacking off.

With Akatsuki suddenly down two members, Pain made such an arrangement.

Perhaps knowing he hadn’t handled it well, Uchiha Obito stayed silent throughout, seemingly accepting Uchiha Yi as the new lead on this task.

"The third matter!"

"Deidara has found a promising candidate named Deidara, a talented shinobi from the Hidden Stone Village!"

"His abilities meet the requirements for joining Akatsuki!"

"However, he hasn’t yet defected from his village, making recruitment difficult!"

"This task will be carried out by Sasori and Uchiha Itachi!"

"The rest, Jūzō and Hidan, continue with bounty missions!"

After assigning Uchiha Yi’s tasks, Pain continued to delegate responsibilities to the other members.

"Yes!"

Members assigned tasks responded in unison.
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