Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 191

"The time has come..."

Madara reopened his eyes, a complex and enigmatic light flashing within his Eternal Kaleidoscope: "I will tell him myself."

After saying that, he ignored Kurama and Minato, crossed his arms again, and closed his eyes.

It seemed as if it had fallen asleep again.

This time, however, the heavy weariness emanating from him made the entire sealed space seem somewhat oppressive.

Minato looked at Madara's soul, which had fallen silent again, his brows furrowed, and his azure eyes filled with worry.

He looked at the Nine-Tailed Fox, and the Nine-Tailed Fox looked back at him, its huge beast eyes also filled with solemnity.

An ominous premonition, like a dark cloud, quietly enveloped this crimson space.

Meanwhile, Naruto, lying in the warm guest room of Sasuke's house, was completely unaware of all this.

Still deep in sleep, a relieved smile lingered on her lips.

Chapter 215 Akatsuki's Movements

Somewhere in the ninja world, there is a huge cavern hidden deep beneath the earth's veins.

The air was cold and damp, filled with the scent of rocks and ancient chakra.

In the center of the cave, a colossal, breathtaking wooden golem stands majestically—the Golem of the Outer Path.

It resembles a withered giant, sitting cross-legged, with ten enormous fingers stretching upwards, as if supporting the dome of the entire cave.

At this moment, seven of the ten fingers raised by the golem were emitting a faint glow.

Each point of light projects a blurry, distorted, and differently colored humanoid phantom.

These illusory figures are in various poses: some have their arms crossed, some are leaning lazily, and some are standing upright.

Together, they create a bizarre and oppressive scene.

The members of Akatsuki are gathering here using the Illusionary Body Technique.

A solemn and cold atmosphere enveloped the cave until a voice broke the silence.

The calm, serene voice of Pain, seemingly emanating from the heavens, echoed through the cave.

With an unquestionable air of authority: "Let me introduce you, this is our new teammate."

As he finished speaking, the tip of the ninth finger of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path suddenly shone brightly.

A figure quickly materialized.

They are completely different from the other members, who are either cold, wicked, or lazy.

The new guy seemed extremely...eccentric.

He wore an orange swirling mask with spiral patterns, revealing only his right eye.

His eyes were darting around, and his head was swaying from side to side like a rattle.

They curiously observed the enormous golems around them, the dim environment, and the phantom images of the other members.

He even exaggeratedly stood on tiptoe, trying to see the top of the golem's head.

He even pointed his finger at the direction of Kisame's shark-faced phantom next to him and made a point in the air.

He made a series of "tsk tsk" sounds of amazement, looking exactly like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world who had stumbled into a temple.

"Cough! Cough!"

Standing next to Payne, Zetsu, who was made of pitcher plants, couldn't stand it any longer and coughed deliberately.

The man with the vortex mask seemed to wake up from a dream and suddenly stood up straight.

He waved his hands exaggeratedly in front of him, then pointed them towards the other phantoms.

He gave a deep 90-degree bow, his voice clear and resonant, carrying a deliberate air of youthful energy.

"Hi everyone! My name is Fei! Nice to meet you all! You can also call me Little Whirlpool!"

He dragged out the last three words and shouted them with extra force.

The cave was deathly silent.

The phantom of Scorpion hidden inside the Scarlet Amber Puppet seemed to stiffen slightly.

Deidara's phantom tilted its head noticeably, as if to confirm that it hadn't misheard.

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, revealing a half-smile.

Xiao Nan's paper-like phantom remained aloof, but a hint of speechlessness seemed to flash in her eyes.

Even the pitcher plant, which was extremely sensitive to noise, swayed slightly.

An atmosphere of awkwardness and unease, as well as a sense of "Is this guy serious?", silently permeated the space between the slides.

The same thought popped into everyone's mind: Where did Leader Payne find such a clown?

Pain seemed to completely ignore Tobi's eccentric behavior.

He immediately moved on to the next topic: "Orochimaru, how's the situation on your end?"

The voice was as cold as ever.

The purple snake eye phantom representing Orochimaru flickered, and a hoarse, cold voice rang out.

With a hint of barely perceptible weakness: "I've already made contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He... is 'normal'."

Orochimaru deliberately emphasized the word "normal," seemingly hinting at some unexpected anomaly.

Deidara immediately let out a mocking snort, his golden phantom turning towards Orochimaru: "I heard some self-proclaimed powerful guy went to destroy Konoha, only to be beaten half to death by an old man with one foot in the grave? Hmm? What a disgrace to the art world! Hmm!"

He habitually added his own catchphrase.

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes instantly contracted, and his chilling killing intent was clearly conveyed even through the Illusionary Body Technique: "Kid, watch your mouth."

"I remember last time you were doing 'art' in Iwagakure, you were chased to the brink of death by your stubborn old man using Dust Release, and you were almost reduced to ashes, right? Hmm?"

He imitated Deidara's tone perfectly, capturing the "um" sound with a sarcastic tone.

"you……!"

Deidara's phantom leaned forward suddenly, as if about to pounce.

Pain's voice suddenly rose in pitch, like a cold iron hammer striking down, instantly drowning out all other noises.

An invisible, powerful pressure spread out, causing all the illusory figures in the lantern to tremble slightly.

"I called you here not so you could fight!"

Pain's Rinnegan swept over Deidara and Orochimaru with a warning.

Both fell silent, but their animosity towards each other remained undiminished.

Pain shifted his gaze to another location: "Kisame, have you investigated the cause of death of Kakuzu and Hidan?"

The phantom image of Kisame Hoshigaki's deep blue shark face flickered.

A deep, hoarse voice rang out: "No clear clues have been found regarding the murderer."

“I searched the entire battlefield of the Land of Waves carefully, especially the area near the bridge at the Valley of the End.”

"Only in a very hidden corner beneath the bridge pier was a remnant of a highly powerful sealing technique."

Kisame's tone was somewhat solemn: "That technique is extremely complex, containing powerful binding and annihilation forces."

"I tried to undo it, but... I failed. The chakra circuits it constructed were extremely precise and stable, far surpassing ordinary sealing techniques."

"Aside from this technique, almost no other valuable clues were left at the scene."

He paused, then added, "If my perception of chakra weren't quite sharp, I probably wouldn't have even noticed this technique."

"A sealing technique that even you can't break..."

A hint of solemnity flashed in Pain's Rinnegan.

"This is probably the key reason that led to their deaths."

"To be able to subdue Kakuzu and Hidan in an instant and leave such a powerful seal... the opponent's strength and methods are extraordinary."

He paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to Orochimaru's phantom: "Orochimaru, you have the most in-depth research on sealing techniques and forbidden techniques."

"You will go to the Land of Waves and carefully study that technique. You must find its origin and how to break it."

"Yes, sir."

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes gleamed with interest. He licked his lips and gave a hoarse reply.

Investigating powerful sealing techniques also aligns with his research interests.

Pain surveyed the room, his voice regaining its usual cold, all-encompassing authority: "The Tailed Beast capture plan cannot fail. The vacancies of Kakuzu and Hidan need to be filled, but the plan's progress cannot be delayed."

"There are only three years left."

"Everyone, you all have the ability to capture your respective target Jinchūriki within the time limit, right?"

Scorpion: "No problem."

Deidara: "Of course! My art is the perfect means of capture! Hmm!"

Kisame: "I can't wait for Samehada."

Xiao Nan: "We can act at any time."

Jue: "Intelligence support is ready."

Afei: "Hey! Little Whirlpool guarantees to complete the mission! Seniors, please rest assured!"

Orochimaru: "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki can't escape."

Pain took one last look at the masked head of the new member, Tobi, which was still swaying slightly.

"Then, dismissed!"

One after another, the illusory figures of the phantom lamps vanished from the fingers of the demonic statue of the heretic as if the candle flames had been blown out.

The enormous cavern returned to its deathly silence.

All that remained was the unchanging, withered outline of the Outer Path Statue, casting a huge shadow in the dim light.