"Hello."
Toward someone who might be his lifesaver, Kakashi maintained a certain degree of respect.
"This is our first meeting, so I'll introduce myself. My name is Konan, a member of the Akatsuki organization."
Kakashi's brows moved slightly.
He had heard another new term.
Akatsuki organization.
"You saved me?"
"That's right."
"Thank you."
Konan waved a hand.
"There's no need to thank us. We did not save you to obtain your gratitude. We saved you because this is something we wanted to do. It is our dream—for the sake of this world."
"This world is far too terrible right now."
"Greed, authority, profit… because of these things, all kinds of wars break out. Countless people are displaced by war, lose their families, and suffer in pain."
"And we want to end all of that."
"For that, we are willing to give everything and fight with all our strength."
"That is the Akatsuki organization."
"Kakashi, are you willing to join us?"
Outside, when Sasori of the Red Sand heard Konan's words, he felt somewhat disdainful.
Why had they not said such pretty words to him back then?
Instead, they had directly used force.
Who knew how many puppets he had painstakingly created had been smashed apart.
Kakashi's first reaction was suspicion.
An organization he had never heard of before existed for the purpose of saving the shinobi world?
Was saving the shinobi world such a simple thing?
The Four Great Shinobi Villages were like four towering mountains.
Only between themselves could they be called opponents. Few other forces could contend with them.
To save the shinobi world, to eliminate war—how exactly could that be done?
Kakashi thought for a moment and found that he could not imagine it at all.
"Can you really end all of this?"
"We can!"
Konan looked at Kakashi and said seriously, "It is precisely because there is hope that we are willing to give everything."
"Even if your dream is not the same as ours, Kakashi, we have also learned about your situation."
"Your father, Konoha's White Fang, gave so much for Konoha, yet ended up with such a fate. And you have also given much to Konoha, yet Danzo tried to kill you."
"Most likely, under the orders of Konoha's Hokage."
"Do you not want revenge?"
"Join us, and you will have the strength to take revenge."
Kakashi fell silent.
Saving the shinobi world?
Ending war?
Those two goals were too great and too distant. Kakashi found them difficult to imagine.
But revenge…
Kakashi wanted that.
Whether for himself or for his father.
"I'll join."
A smile appeared on Konan's face.
"Welcome. From today onward, you are officially one of the members of our Akatsuki organization. Tomorrow, I will take you to meet the other members."
After Konan finished speaking, she turned and left.
Kakashi remained there, digesting the enormous amount of information Konan had brought.
An organization that suddenly appeared wanted to save the world?
Was this a joke?
The next day.
Konan brought Kakashi, who had already regained basic mobility, to an underground meeting room.
Opposite them stood several figures.
All of them wore black robes with red clouds.
Their tall collars covered half their faces. Coupled with the dim lighting, it was difficult to see their appearances clearly.
Kakashi increasingly felt that this was not a proper organization.
At that moment, the person in the center spoke.
"Kakashi, welcome. My name is Pain. I am the leader of the Akatsuki organization."
Kakashi looked over.
He was a young man with short orange hair and a resolute face. There were strange ornaments on the bridge of his nose and beneath his lower lip. His eyes bore ring after ring of patterns, completely unlike the eyes of an ordinary human.
An extremely oppressive aura radiated from him.
"A Kekkei Genkai?"
A guess flashed through Kakashi's mind.
He stepped forward.
"Kakashi greets the leader."
Pain nodded slightly.
Then he pointed to the people beside him.
"We already know what happened to you. This shinobi world is rotten and fallen. The existence of shinobi villages is like parasites gnawing at the world. They are the root of all disasters."
"All of us here have suffered misfortune."
"This is Sasori of the Red Sand, formerly of Sunagakure."
Kakashi quickly looked over.
Kakashi understood very clearly what Sasori of the Red Sand meant to him.
Because Sasori's parents had died at his father's hands.
His father was the murderer of Sasori's parents.
And a father's debt should be repaid by the son.
Sasori had suddenly disappeared before, and no one knew where he had gone. Konoha had even used that matter as leverage, claiming that Sasori of the Red Sand had actually been murdered by Rasa. But because of Chiyo's clarification, the effect had been extremely poor.
Now that Kakashi saw Sasori of the Red Sand here, he understood even more clearly that Konoha's claim had been a rumor.
A self-mocking smile appeared at the corner of Kakashi's mouth.
"Rasa didn't kill Sasori of the Red Sand. But Danzo tried to kill me."
Then Kakashi looked toward Sasori of the Red Sand.
"I'm sorry."
Sasori of the Red Sand pretended to wave his hand magnanimously.
"No need. That was war. People dying in war is only natural."
To say he had no thoughts about Kakashi would be false.
But Sasori of the Red Sand had already figured it out.
Within this Akatsuki organization, the treatment he received and the treatment Kakashi received were on completely different levels.
Compared to Kakashi, he was practically a stepchild.
The moment he attacked Kakashi, the other members of Akatsuki would definitely help Kakashi.
"By comparison, Senior Rasa is still a little better."
Previously, Sasori of the Red Sand had carried quite a bit of resentment toward Rasa.
But now, in comparison, Sasori of the Red Sand felt that if he truly had to rely on a force, Rasa would be the better choice.
"And Senior Rasa also possesses several kinds of art."
Sasori of the Red Sand was very interested in the Sun Disk.
"I really hope I can take one apart and examine it."
Sasori's magnanimity moved Kakashi slightly.
At that moment, Pain pointed toward two others.
"This is Kakuzu, formerly of Takigakure."
"This is Zetsu."
"In addition, there are two other members who are absent for special reasons. You will have the chance to meet them in the future."
"With you included, this is the current full membership of the Akatsuki organization. Eight people in total."
"Starting today, you will act together with Zetsu."
Kakashi looked toward Zetsu.
Aside from the red-cloud black robe, he was wrapped in an enormous green plant. Half of his face was exposed—one side deathly white, the other black as charcoal. He looked extremely strange.
"As for your missions, there are two."
"First, improve your personal strength."
"Second, collect information and intelligence regarding the Tailed Beasts."
"This is the key to our salvation of the shinobi world and the end of war."
Not far away…
A masked figure stood high above, looking in their direction.
"Kakashi, you owe me once again."
"This time, let us work together and create a world where Rin exists!"
Beneath the mask, Uchiha Obito's expression gradually twisted into madness.
"Even if we must make the entire world our enemy!"