When you can't defeat them, join them. For Orochimaru, this posed no psychological barrier whatsoever. After defecting from Konoha, he felt no more restrictions. He could now confront former comrades without hesitation, and joining a group with unknown motives was just another decision. Even if they wanted to destroy the world, so be it. His goal remained the same: the Rinnegan.

The issue now was figuring out how to get his hands on those Rinnegan eyes.

Pain's strength was apparent, making it impossible to take them by force. But now that he had joined this "Akatsuki" organization, he had ample time to scheme for the Rinnegan, so there was no need to rush. After mastering the "Living Corpse Reincarnation" technique, time was something he had in abundance!

However...

He couldn't afford to be completely without urgency.

He hadn't forgotten where he got his information.

"...Uchiha Sougen!" Orochimaru stood by the window, gazing at the fine drizzle outside, seemingly admiring the unique landscape of the Land of Rain. But in reality, his thoughts were far from enjoying the view.

After joining Akatsuki, he'd learned a bit more about the organization. Not counting the unknown number of peripheral members, there were only five core members, including himself. The leader was Pain, along with Konan and two others whose identities remained unknown.

This was a rather pitifully small number.

No wonder, despite the leader possessing the Rinnegan, the organization stayed hidden.

This also indirectly suggested that the Rinnegan wasn't invincible; otherwise, they would have long since swept through the ninja world. Of course, there could be other unknown factors, but based on the information he had gathered, Pain's power seemed to have its limits.

"Uchiha Sougen... Pain... Rinnegan... Mangekyō Sharingan..."

Which one was stronger?

As Orochimaru pondered, the ring on his left pinky finger warmed slightly. He raised his left hand and stared at the ring, which he had received less than an hour ago. He turned, sat down on a chair, closed his eyes, and channeled his chakra into the ring as Pain had instructed.

In an instant, his dark vision warped, as if a stone had been tossed into a calm lake, creating ripples. Amidst the flickering lights of those ripples, his consciousness arrived in an unfamiliar place.

A cave? Or a hidden chamber?

The dim lighting made it uncomfortable, revealing only jagged walls and a high ceiling in the faint glow.

He found himself standing atop a stone pillar.

Similar pillars surrounded him, with about ten in total. Most were empty, but counting his own, four of them held vague, ripple-like figures. Two of these were familiar faces he'd just parted ways with.

"Orochimaru, let me introduce the rest of the organization's members."

Pain pointed to a figure resembling a pitcher plant. "This is Zetsu, the organization's intelligence officer, responsible for gathering information."

Next, he pointed to a man with a Hidden Waterfall Village headband and a black mask covering most of his face. "Kakuzu, the organization's treasurer, handles the group's finances."

Orochimaru silently observed the two. He had never heard of anyone named Zetsu before, and there were no records of such a strange-looking individual in his memory. Kakuzu, however, was a name he recognized. After fleeing Konoha, Orochimaru had wandered through the black markets and underground exchange networks, where Kakuzu was a famous figure.

No one knew much about Kakuzu's exact details, but many were aware that he was the most feared bounty hunter, regularly bringing in bodies worth tens of millions in exchange.

"A newcomer? What's his bounty?" Kakuzu's concerns were far from ordinary.

"Ah, finally, a new member! Thank goodness! I was getting tired of being stuck with this guy who loves dealing with corpses. I swear, if I stayed with him any longer, he'd end up ripping out my heart," exclaimed one half of Zetsu—specifically, White Zetsu—excitedly welcoming Orochimaru.

"Hmph, I should be the one complaining. I can't stand teaming up with this pitcher-plant guy who has no concept of teamwork and always disappears on me."

"Hey, watch your tone! It's your previous teammate who got killed, and I had no choice but to pair up with you! I'm helping you! Get it straight, you bald freak!"

Kakuzu and White Zetsu bickered with each other.

Neither Kakuzu's insults nor White Zetsu's idiocy seemed to bother Pain.

However, Pain quickly grew tired of their argument and sternly coughed before commanding, "Enough! Kakuzu, Zetsu, I didn't summon you here to fight. Aside from introducing our new member, it's time to reassign partners. Kakuzu, since you don't get along with Zetsu, Orochimaru will be your new partner."

"Orochimaru? The one they call one of the Sannin?" Kakuzu's green eyes gleamed as the name jogged his memory.

"Yes."

"...Seems more competent than those useless guys who died. I've got no objections," Kakuzu said, his green eyes almost glowing. Orochimaru's bounty in the underground exchange was worth more than 100 million ryo.

"Nor do I." Orochimaru smiled in response.

Pain had already explained Akatsuki's rules when he gave Orochimaru the ring. Akatsuki members operated in pairs, not only to prevent individuals from acting alone but also to ensure mission success. Most importantly, it allowed for mutual surveillance, preventing any leaks.

Orochimaru had no objections.

Though he wouldn't feel guilty about betraying Akatsuki's information, he wasn't interested in selling minor details for pocket change. Losing a chance to acquire the Rinnegan would be an irreparable mistake.

Besides, Orochimaru suspected that Uchiha Sougen had spies within Akatsuki. The intel he could sell might not even be worth much.

As Pain had stated, today's meeting was simply to introduce Orochimaru as a new member and to reassign partners. Orochimaru and Kakuzu agreed on a rendezvous point, and then Pain ended the virtual meeting.

---

"Isn't this a bit too risky?"

Konan stood by the window, gazing out, even though she knew standing there wouldn't give her a glimpse of Orochimaru's shadow as he left. "Letting Orochimaru go like this... if he leaks any secrets, we'll be at a disadvantage."

"He's a smart man."

Pain replied with an indifferent expression.

"None of these rogue ninjas are truly trustworthy. It's all about interests. Kakuzu is in it for the money, and Orochimaru... when he looks at me, the greed in his eyes is as obvious as a bonfire in the dark. He's probably after my eyes. He won't bring others to compete with him; at most, he might cooperate with Uchiha Sougen."

Moreover, Uchiha Sougen knew about the Rinnegan even before Orochimaru did, so there's no need to worry about any leaks.

"Pain, Uchiha Sougen... where exactly did this guy learn about the existence of the Rinnegan?" Konan frowned even more at the mention of him. Orochimaru was a rogue ninja, and even though he had some forces under his command, it couldn't be too large.

But Uchiha Sougen was different.

He was the leader of the Uchiha clan, a Konoha advisor second only to the Hokage. Such a person had the power to mobilize Konoha's resources to trouble them in Amegakure.

"For now, there's no need to worry. According to Orochimaru, Uchiha Sougen has known about the Rinnegan for a while, and so far, he hasn't taken any specific action against us. Whatever the reason, he likely won't be a problem for us anytime soon."

Pain reasoned thoughtfully.

He wasn't just trying to comfort Konan.

His conclusion was based on the current situation and available intelligence.

As for how the information about the Rinnegan leaked... even Pain wasn't sure. Was there a spy among them? It seemed unlikely. As the "God" of Amegakure, Pain rarely showed himself. Most of the announcements were made through Konan, his representative.

After thinking it over, he considered Danzo. Back when Yahiko died, not only was Hanzō involved, but so were the "Root" operatives under Danzo. Although all of those Root members had been killed, after witnessing the forbidden Edo Tensei technique from Konoha, he realized that even the dead couldn't keep secrets.

So, to be honest, there were quite a few possibilities. Dwelling on it would only give him more headaches, so he decisively stopped his train of thought.

"Uchiha Sougen is busy with some reform work right now!"

Leaning against the wall, Uchiha Obito finally spoke up, "Don't be fooled by Konoha's recent victories over the Mist and Cloud villages. Internally, they're full of conflicts. Because of lingering issues from the past, the Uchiha clan's position in Konoha has always been terrible. Uchiha Sougen is currently working to change that."

"Besides, most of last year was spent at war. Even though they won, the losses were significant. Konoha is now filled with anti-war sentiment. And forget that Uchiha Sougen is just a Hokage advisor — even if he were Hokage, he wouldn't be able to mobilize a large force to attack Amegakure in this climate."

"And most importantly, I won't give him any chance to mess with us!"

Uchiha Obito declared firmly.

Pain looked at him in confusion, "Madara, didn't you say Uchiha Sougen was difficult to deal with, and it wasn't wise to confront him directly for now?" Even though he had once mocked this man who called himself Uchiha Madara for losing to his descendants, he had accepted the decision to avoid direct confrontation with Sougen for the time being.

He believed the Rinnegan was invincible.

But his real body's slow movement, due to the unrecoverable injury to his legs, was a weakness that couldn't be erased. Until he could control the Six Paths of Pain from a much greater distance, he was still vulnerable to large-scale attack ninjutsu or forbidden techniques that could reach his true body.

"I didn't say I'd fight him head-on. I just plan to give him something to deal with."

Obito clarified, "Pain, remember I mentioned two targets besides Sasori of the Red Sand? One was Orochimaru, and the other... well, to be honest, this person isn't as strong or famous as Orochimaru. But their value to us might even surpass Orochimaru."

"Who is it?"

Pain was intrigued.

"Have you ever heard of the Twelve Guardian Ninja?"

"The Twelve Guardian Ninja... if I remember correctly, they're the twelve elite ninjas who protect the Fire Daimyo?"

"That's right. The Twelve Guardian Ninja are the Fire Daimyo's personal guard, a private force of elite ninja. The members come from various backgrounds — some are from Konoha, others from small clans in the Land of Fire, and there are even monks from the Fire Temple."

"Is the target a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja?"

Pain understood.

He was beginning to see what Obito was planning.

"You intend to stir conflict between Konoha and the Fire Daimyo?"

"Exactly."

Obito nodded. "The relationship between the Fire Daimyo and Konoha seems harmonious, but in reality, there has always been a power struggle between them. From what I know, there's an ideological divide within the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Some believe the current system of one village per country is ideal for the ninja world, while others believe the Fire Daimyo should be the true leader of the Land of Fire, and the Hokage's command over Konoha's ninja should belong to the Daimyo directly, not just in name."

"I see... so there's definitely an opportunity here."

Pain nodded, showing his understanding.

Back when Hanzō ruled Amegakure, he had not only been the leader of the village but had also almost entirely controlled the government of the Land of Rain. The Rain Daimyo had been nothing more than a puppet. After Pain killed Hanzō, he had not only taken over Amegakure but also the entire country.

"So, you're planning to go to the Land of Fire next?"

"This is a great opportunity. I don't plan to miss it. If I do, once Uchiha Sougen consolidates Konoha and the Land of Fire into a unified force, it'll be a much bigger problem for us. Believe me, my descendant isn't someone to be taken lightly. What I failed to accomplish because of Hashirama's interference, he might actually succeed in."

By now, Obito had fully immersed himself in the persona of Uchiha Madara, speaking and acting with complete confidence, showing no cracks in his facade.