Hearing the Deva Path finally intervene, both Orochimaru and Shinnō—who had been at daggers drawn—secretly breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.
Both of them leaned more toward being researchers and were not particularly skilled in combat. Orochimaru was in poor condition after being schooled by the Deva Path. Neither of them actually wanted to fight; it was just that the atmosphere had escalated to this point, and neither could back down first.
Now that the leader had stopped them, they could use it as an excuse to stand down, avoiding battle while preserving their own face.
"Since the leader has said so, let's forget it this time. In the future, pay more attention to your attitude."
"Hmph, that's exactly what I wanted to say to you."
"From the sound of it, you seem quite unconvinced. How about we find a chance later for a friendly spar?"
"That would be exactly what I want. Leader, a little spar between us shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Although both had very sensibly withdrawn their abilities, neither Orochimaru nor Shinnō was willing to show weakness verbally. It was as if whoever backed off first would lose.
"A spar is naturally fine, but you must also mind the limits. Do not use the name of a spar to do things that violate organization rules."
"Of course, Leader. When the time comes, I will control my strength to avoid any issues with my companion, hehe."
"I'd like to know what counts as within limits. For example, if I accidentally break his arms and legs, would that be going too far?"
"..."
Seeing that neither the Deva Path nor Konan had any intention of acknowledging them, Orochimaru and Shinnō tacitly stopped talking to avoid annoying the other side with too much noise.
Only after the two finally quieted down did Konan slowly speak.
"The Akatsuki generally does not interfere with members' actions when there are no missions. I know you both have your own experiments, and those can be conducted freely.
Additionally, in the future, when there are missions, you two will act as a pair. So I hope you do not make your relationship too strained."
"Don't worry. If he's also a researcher, we should have some common topics. Right, Orochimaru?"
"Hehe, of course."
Orochimaru only responded with that and said no more. In his view, judging from Shinnō's earlier performance, he did not look like a researcher at all.
Instead, he seemed like a muscle-brained idiot. But these words Orochimaru only mocked inwardly and did not say out loud.
After all, Shinnō had already taken the initiative to show goodwill. Continuing to mock him in front of the leader would make him seem immature. He was not that kind of low-EQ fool.
"Don't worry. I guarantee you will not regret joining the Akatsuki. The organization can provide you with a lot of conveniences for your experiments. And also..."
"We will let you meet the other members of the organization to prevent any unnecessary conflicts in the future."
Hearing the Deva Path's words, both Shinnō and Orochimaru became interested. They were also curious about the members of this Akatsuki organization, which had recently risen to fame in the ninja world.
Not to mention the ones who attacked the Land of Iron earlier, just these two in front of them already proved a lot. Leaving aside the Deva Path's crushing defeat of Orochimaru as the leader.
Konan alone, as an organization member, was quite impressive. Whether it was her earlier standoff with Shinnō or her handling of Orochimaru's assault, she had remained completely at ease. She was definitely a top-tier expert in the ninja world.
In that case, the other members of the organization were likely also formidable experts not to be underestimated.
If they turned out to be just ordinary people, their evaluation of the Akatsuki would drop accordingly.
As for how they would meet the other Akatsuki members? Neither Orochimaru nor Shinnō doubted that question. Since even the legendary Rinnegan existed in someone's possession, what could be impossible?
While Konan used Paper Release to create a temporary enclosed space, Nagato also contacted the other Akatsuki members through the rings, informing them to prepare for consciousness transfer.
Using the specially made rings as a medium, under Nagato's control, the consciousness of other Akatsuki members far away could be brought to another location in the form of projections.
This ability was not only useful for gathering power to seal tailed beasts but also served as a very convenient means of communication.
"Oh~ Leader, what's the matter? Is the plan finally starting? Heh heh, that's great. I can't wait to let the whole world see my art, un."
"Can't you look a little longer before speaking? It seems there are new members joining, hehe."
Not long after Nagato performed the ninjutsu, the first to appear were the projections of Deidara and Sasori. They had been idly wandering when they received Nagato's message, so they were the first to respond.
"Oh oh, Sasori-danna, you're as observant as ever. But weren't our members already enough before? Why are we recruiting new ones again? Could it be someone died without us knowing? Haha."
"You'll have to ask the leader about that."
Seeing that the first two Akatsuki members to appear had no intention of paying them any attention, Orochimaru and Shinnō exchanged a glance and understood each other's thoughts. Neither took the initiative to speak up.
Although they were new members, outside they were both people used to giving orders. Lowering themselves to curry favor with cold faces was something they could not do.
"Orochimaru, you heard that too, right? He called him Sasori. That should be the genius puppeteer from Sunagakure, correct?"
"By the Akatsuki's standards, it's most likely him."
Seeing Sasori and Deidara discussing them, perhaps to avoid awkwardness, Orochimaru and Shinnō—who had nearly come to blows earlier—ended up clustering together to chat instead. The key was adaptability.
As they spoke, the projections of Kisame, Itachi, Kakuzu, and Hidan appeared one after another. After they arrived, the originally somewhat quiet atmosphere gradually became lively.
"You're late, Hidan. When I heard the leader recruited new members, I thought you had died in some corner. Didn't expect you to still be alive."
"What are you joking about, Deidara? With Lord Jashin protecting me, how could I possibly die? It's just that after killing someone, that guy Kakuzu had to cash in the bounty first. Otherwise, I definitely would have arrived earlier than you."
"Hidan, it looks like you really do want to die. It was obviously you who insisted on performing your boring ritual, or else we wouldn't have been delayed this long."