Pain stood in the drizzling rain, his Rinnegan contracting slightly. He spoke expressionlessly.
"Gamasuke, you can tell Danzo that I will kill the Kyubi, and I will also kill Sandaime. Once this matter is concluded, he will get his wish."
Gamasuke was Sasuke's alias in Amegakure. When channeling Senjutsu Chakra, frog-like patterns would appear on Sasuke's face, and his features would change significantly.
He used this to disguise himself and avoid being recognized by Pain and Itachi. After his darkening, Sasuke had grown, learning patience and compromise, much like Naruto.
"Understood. I will relay Pain-sama's words exactly to Danzo-sama," Sasuke replied, his expression hidden beneath his Root's mask.
"Hmph."
Pain let out a quiet, cold laugh upon seeing him like this, his heart filled with disdain.
Sandaime Hokage, with his diligent governance and extremely strong political skills, was a major thorn in the side of the Akatsuki.
If it were Sandaime leading Konoha, even if Pain used the Kyubi as a threat, he might not obediently agree to Akatsuki's peace plan.
But Danzo was different. This man cared too much about power, and his concern for his own reputation and authority outweighed the village's interests. As long as they secretly assassinated Sandaime and installed Danzo in power, Akatsuki, who held all his secrets, could easily control him.
When the time came, Pain wouldn't need to lift a finger, and Danzo would actively cooperate with his plan to destroy country after country, making the world feel pain and bringing about peace.
At that point, Pain only needed to do one more thing to completely fulfill his mission: kill Danzo.
This was Nagato's entire plan, and the main reason he was willing to cooperate with Danzo and the Root.
"They're here."
With the sound of the rain, the duo in the distance gradually approached as Pain and Sasuke conversed. The blond-haired Deidara was chattering incessantly to a masked, dark-skinned puppet beside him.
"Hunting the Kyubi? I can handle it alone. Art is explosion! Only a momentary blast can perfectly subdue a Jinchuriki!"
"Boring."
Sasori, hidden within the puppet, emitted a cold, disdainful voice. His artistic view was eternity, while Deidara's was the instant. Their philosophies were fundamentally incompatible. If not for their highly complementary abilities, they wouldn't have been paired in the same team.
However, it must be said that Sasori's puppet techniques, acting as both tank and crowd control, combined with Deidara's wide-area explosive damage, made for a truly fearsome combination within Akatsuki.
In the original work, if the Art Duo hadn't been separated, exploited for their weaknesses and emotions, and picked off one by one, they would undoubtedly have played a significant role in the later great war.
"No need to argue over such trivialities. The urgent matter now is to first gather clear intelligence on Otogakure." Pain said, looking at the returning pair, his face still devoid of expression.
Nagato's strategic mind was not lacking, and he understood the importance of planning before acting. In the original work, he specifically chose a time when Guy was out on a mission to launch a large-scale attack on Konoha, nearly wiping out the village.
Hunting the Kyubi was supposed to be the final stage of the Biju Capture Plan. But the opportunity was too good to miss.
This was undoubtedly the moment when the defensive forces for Kyubi's Jinchuriki were at their weakest. If they could capture the Kyubi now, the remaining eight Biju would fall like dominoes, easily dealt with.
"Hmph, regarding intel, with Amegakure's Shinobi scouting everywhere, we can basically confirm these points." Although Deidara was talkative, he held a certain reverence for Pain.
Within Akatsuki, aside from Itachi, this man's strength was the most unfathomable.
"First, the Kyubi's Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, is indeed missing. Some insiders suspect it's a conspiracy, others say Sandaime Hokage simply miscalculated. Personally, I lean towards it being a conspiracy. That old fox, Sandaime Hokage... Hah." Deidara sneered, his words full of contempt for Sandaime Hokage.
In his view, that old fox's methods were too despicable, clinging to the Hokage seat at his age, which utterly conflicted with his own perfect artistic view of the instant explosion.
"Second, the one who defected alongside Naruto is the Uchiha remnant, Uchiha Sasuke. It's said he defected to Itachi's side. We might look into that." Deidara said softly, his expression turning grave when mentioning 'Itachi'.
Within Akatsuki, the person he both respected and most wanted to defeat was Itachi. This man had once toyed with his art using only Genjutsu, and his strength and cunning were terrifyingly deep.
"Itachi? No need to concern ourselves with him. I have an agreement with him, and he will not interfere in my affairs." Upon hearing the name, Pain shook his head, his face expressionless.
He was highly wary of Itachi and generally did not leak the organization's core intelligence to him. The reason for keeping him was that even Nagato couldn't gauge his strength and dared not act rashly.
Keeping him confined within Akatsuki had two benefits: first, it weakened Konoha's apparent strength, and second, it kept Orochimaru in check.
Orochimaru's strength was unfathomable, and his methods were numerous, but against Itachi, he was completely countered and had no means to fight back. Therefore, Pain's relationship with Itachi was one of mutual use and mutual vigilance. He didn't care in the slightest whether Sasuke was with Itachi or not.
"Mm, the third piece of news is also a significant piece of intel obtained at the cost of many Amegakure's Shinobi's lives." At this point, Deidara's expression became extremely serious. Even Sasori, standing beside him, took half a step back, as if guarding against something.
"The Toad Sage, Jiraiya, has volunteered to join the search team for the Kyubi, Uzumaki Naruto, and may become a primary combatant in this operation."
This statement caused Pain, who had remained expressionless until now, to sharply contract his pupils.
'Jiraiya-sensei?!'
Memories flooded Nagato's heart… scenes of him, Yahiko, and Konan learning Ninjutsu under Jiraiya.
They flashed before his eyes like film clips.
'If it really was Jiraiya-sensei... then the variables in this battle might increase somewhat.'
"Continue. In what capacity will Jiraiya participate in the fight? What is his exact attitude towards the Kyubi's Jinchuriki?" Pain asked in a deep voice.
He knew that Naruto was the son of the Yondaime Hokage, and the Yondaime Hokage was Jiraiya's student.
If... Jiraiya had also taken Naruto as his student, or even revealed the existence of Mount Myoboku, then he would have to reconsider this operation.
The toads of Mount Myoboku, while not overwhelmingly powerful, were notoriously troublesome. The slightest misstep could allow the target to escape.
Pain didn't want his long-prepared hunting plan ruined by such a complication.
"This is the final piece of intel I have. Jiraiya's attitude towards Naruto seems excessively protective," Deidara shrugged, speaking nonchalantly.
"He promised Sandaime at the meeting that he would find Naruto and voluntarily take responsibility for Naruto's ideological education. He guaranteed with his own life that Naruto would never defect again, which made many of the higher-ups quite unhappy."
"Of course, all of this could be an act put on by Sandaime, but Jiraiya might not be aware of it. That sentimental man probably isn't that good of an actor."