Sasuke recalled his childhood memories.
The appearance of his elder brother who always cared for him in his memory seemed to be very blurred.
"It turns out that you have already embarked on the path that is opposite to mine." Sasuke muttered to himself.
"..."
Itachi looked at his younger brother with complicated eyes.
He may not care what outsiders like Menma think of him, but his dear brother also...
This made Itachi feel quite difficult in his heart.
Saduke coldly said, "Stop talking, you are no longer the brother who loved me in the past."
Sasuke, who saw the truth of the matter, realized that the brother in his memory had actually "died" a long time ago.
The person who is still alive in front of him is just a fool wearing his brother's "cloak".
What else is there to say to a fool?
Itachi opened his mouth but didn't say a word in the end.
Sasuke's attitude has already explained everything.
And it's useless for him to say anything now.
The next second!
Puff~!
Sasuke gouged out Itachi's two eyes.
Menma's face showed a little surprise at the decisiveness of Sasuke's actions.
This kid... is a talent!
Watching Sasuke gouge out Itachi's eyes and then press them against his eyes, Menma used medical ninjutsu to connect the nerves of Sasuke's eyes.
After all, not everyone is Madara.
They cannot just insert an eye an be done with it.
Madara has Hashirama cells.
What does Sasuke have?
Nothing!
So, he still needs Menma to help.
"Try to close your eyes these two days." Menma said.
Sasuke nodded.
At this time, Menma reached out and brushed the pair of Mangekyō that Sasuke had pulled out.
A burst of pupil power was instantly swallowed by him and devoured at the same time.
There were also two pupil techniques, Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.
After thinking about it, he decided to plunder these two pupil techniques.
"Will you do it or should I do it?"
Menma looked at Sasuke, who had his eyes closed, and asked after finishing plundering Sasuke's Mangekyō's pupil techniques.
"I'll do it!"
Sasuke said.
He swiped the sharp kunai in his hand.
Puff~!
A piece of scarlet blood splashed out in the air.
Itachi fell to the ground with a plop.
He died at the hands of his own brother, and he wasn't even forgiven or understood by his brother before he died.
So, Itachi was unable to rest in peace.
Itachi could imagine that after his death, Sasuke would definitely take revenge on his beloved Konoha.
This made Itachi feel even more pain in his heart.
He has worked so hard for so many years, what is it for?
Before dying, Itachi suddenly felt regretful about his original decision.
The next day
Menma, played by a Wood Clone, brought Sasuke back to the Akatsuki base.
Not long after he came back, Pain came to the door.
"How did it go?"
Pain asked indifferently.
Menma nodded and said, "Well, it's over."
Pain looked at him with his purple Rinnegans and asked, "What does he want?"
Menma said, "He can provide the Akatsuki with Two Tails and even Nine Tails, but he needs someone from the Akatsuki."
"One person?"
Pain frowned, feeling a bad premonition in his heart.
"Who?" He asked.
"Konan."
Menma said.
"This is impossible!"
Pain refused without thinking.
If Ryosuke had wanted someone else, even everyone else in the Akatsuki, Pain might think about it.
But Konan is the only one he can't let go of.
Because Konan is a partner he truly recognizes, a friend who grew up together with him.
There's no way he could trade Konan for two tailed beasts.
"Then there's nothing to talk about."
Menma spread his hands and said.
Pain frowned, looked at him, and said, "Except for Konan, I can agree to everything else he asks."
"But he only wants Konan."
Menma said, "I talked to him, and he said that unless the Akatsuki hands over Konan to him, we would never get Two Tails and Nine Tails."
"Who does he think he is?"
Payne gritted his teeth and said.
"God of Shinigami?"
Menma said lightly, "Anyway, the deal is like this. You can decide whether to agree or not, but if you decide to force Konoha, I will not accompany you."
Hearing this, Pain narrowed his eyes and stared at him coldly.
He said, "You want to betray the organization?"
Menma sneered and said, "If you think so, I can't help it. Anyway, I won't go to die."
"Go and die on your own."
"Of course, maybe you can also ask other people to see if they are willing to go to Konoha to give away their heads."
"Oh! I forgot to remind you, now Konoha not only has Ryosuke, but also Two Tails and Nine Tails Jinchūriki, as well as two of the legendary Sannin. I heard that even the copy ninja Kakashi already has Kage-level strength.".
"So, what we have to face is at least five Kage-levels, and one Shinigami!"
Hearing this, Pain became silent.
With such a configuration, even if he personally leads the Akatsuki, he may not be able to win the fight.
Not to mention, as Menma said, it's hard to say whether the rest of the Akatsuki would like to go to Konoha.
Although he is the leader of the Akatsuki, it is impossible to order other members to follow him to die.
"I see."
Pain said something coldly, then turned and left.
"Heh~!"
Menma smiled faintly, turned around, and went back to his room.
Amegakure
On a tall tower
Pieces of white paper flew, forming the figure of Konan in the tower.
"Nagato, how is the deal with Menma going?"
Konan walked into the tower, looked at Nagato, who was sitting on a chair with a haggard figure, and asked.
"I didn't agree. I plan to use other methods." Nagato said.
He wasn't going to tell Konan about Menma's request.
Because Nagato knew that if Konan knew the request of the other party, for the dream of himself and the dead Yahiko, Konan would definitely want to sacrifice herself to fulfill their dreams.
Konan asked, "The deal fell through? Then we can only think of other ways."
Konan had a troubled look on her face.
"But Konoha is so strong, what can we do?"
"!"
Nagato said, "When that Ryosuke leaves Konoha, we can capture other Jinchūrikis first, and Two Tails can be let go for now."
"It seems that this is the only way for now." Konan nodded and said.
For the time being, Akatsuki really has no way to deal with Konoha.
It's simply because Konoha's current strength is too overwhelming.
There's no comparison to the time when the Third Hokage was in power.
How many Kage-levels did Konoha have when Sarutobi Hiruzen was in charge?
Not counting Ryosuke, who was still under the radar at the time.
It was just one and a half.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage, counted as one.
That Shimura Danzō, known as the Darkness of Konoha, could be counted as half.
And then?
There was no one else!
But what about the current Konoha?
Fifth Hokage Tsunade—one!
Jiraiya, one of the Sannin—one!
Two Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii—one!
Nine Tails Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto—one!
Once an elite Jōnin, now a Kage-level powerhouse, Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi—one!
That's already five!
Not to mention, there's still a God of Shinigami whose strength far surpasses Kage-level.
How are they supposed to fight?
Smash their heads against them and hope for the best?
It seems like waiting is the best option for now.
After capturing the other Jinchūrikis first, Two Tails and Nine Tails will be left for last.
Konan chatted with Nagato for a while, concerned about his physical condition.
Then she left the tower.
On the other side
Zetsu found Obito and informed Obito about the conversation between Pain and Menma.
"He wants Konan?"
Obito sneered and said, "That Ryosuke is really bold. Giving up two tailed beasts for a woman. And he dares to call himself the God of Shinigami?"
Zetsu thought, 'Acting like you're above doing things for a woman?'
'In the whole world, you're the least qualified to say that.'
Of course, Zetsu didn't say this aloud.
After all, he still wanted to save Obito some face.
"Obito, what are you going to do?" Zetsu asked.
"Let me handle it!"
Obito said coldly, "Since Nagato doesn't want to tell Konan the truth, then I'll tell her myself."
"I believe that with her bond with Nagato, she'll definitely be willing to sacrifice herself."
Hearing this, Zetsu nodded in agreement.
He had been in the Akatsuki for a long time, so of course, he understood Konan's personality.
As soon as she learns about Ryosuke's request, she will definitely agree.
Zetsu said, "Alright, let's do this. Once Two Tails and Nine Tails are dealt with, the rest of the tailed beasts won't be a problem at all."
Right now, the only real obstacle was Konoha.
Are there any other forces that the the Akatsuki fears?
Even Kumogakurr, as powerful as they are, aren't a real concern.
To be honest, if it weren't for Ryosuke, Nagato wouldn't have even considered making a deal.
Now the deal has fallen through.
Nagato has decided to put off capturing Two Tails and Nine Tails for now.
But obviously, Obito and Zetsu didn't see it that way.
After all, tailed beasts need to be sealed into the Gedo Statue in a specific order.
Without Two Tails, the later-sealed tailed beasts would have to be temporarily contained.
And that could lead to accidents. Obito wasn't about to let that happen.
So...
Sorry, Konan.
"No, you go tell Konan the news."
Obito ordered Zetsu.
Zetsu: "???"
Didn't you just say you'd tell her yourself?
Now you're dumping it on me?
Heh~!
Men!
...
Inside the Akatsuki base
Konan was walking through the corridors, troubled by thoughts of Konoha.
At this moment—
A shadow emerged from the wall in front of her.
"Zetsu, what is it?" Konan asked lightly.
Zetsu casually asked, "Konan, I heard the boss rejected Ryosuke's deal? Is that true?"
Rejected?
But we agreed on it, didn't we?
Wait, what was Ryosuke's request?
She said, "Pain said the deal fell through. You knew about it too?"
Zetsu nodded, pretending to be indifferent.
He said, "Yeah, I happened to overhear the conversation between the leader and Menma. I didn't expect Ryosuke to make such a request."
"No wonder the boss rejected it."
That request?
What request?
Konan asked, "Zetsu, what was Ryosuke's request?"
Zetsu asked, "Huh? Konan, you don't know?"
Zetsu feigned surprise and said, "He wanted Pain to hand you over in exchange for Two Tails and Nine Tails. But Pain refused immediately."
"!!!"
Konan had never expected it to be such a request.
But why?
Konan didn't understand. She had never even met Ryosuke.
Why would he want to trade her for two tailed beasts?
That was Two Tails and Nine Tails.
Was he insane?
Konan didn't understand.
Then, she turned around and walked back the way she had come from.
She was going to talk to Nagato.
If that was the request, Konan thought they could agree.
Nagato had previously told her that negotiations hadn't worked out.
She had assumed it was because Ryosuke was unwilling to hand over Two Tails and Nine Tails.
But if he was willing—
Even if the request was her, Konan felt that they should accept.
For Nagato and Yahiko's dreams, Konan was willing to sacrifice herself.
Soon
Konan returned to the tower and found Nagato.
Konan asked, "Nagato, Ryosuke's request was to trade me for two tailed beasts, right?"
Nagato: "!!!"
Which bastard told Konan?
Nagato was furious.
***
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