Chapter 251: Akatsuki Leader

Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 251: Akatsuki Leader

Amegakure, inside a secret hideout situated below the city center.

A humanoid figure wearing a black cloak emerged from the ground like a plant and observed his surroundings.

His half-black, half-white body stood tall and domineering, but it quickly relaxed when he saw the female ninja standing next to a large wooden door, staring at him with her intense amber eyes.

"You seem to be in a bad mood, Konan," Zetsu commented in a jovial manner.

Her eyes turned sharper than any blade. "You disappeared for much longer than usual this time. What have you been doing, Zetsu?"

"Oh, I assure you that I had something very important to do… I had to meet with a very crucial person for the success of our plan," Zetsu told her.

"A new member?" She was aware of the two new openings in their ranks, but she didn't expect Zetsu to take any initiative in recruiting members.

They first lost Sasori, and a bit later, Itachi defected from their ranks, almost taking out Kisame on his way out.

"I had hoped for… but alas," Zetsu said, glancing at the closed door. "How is our dear Leader doing? I would like to speak with him directly. We have much to discuss."

"He is…" Konan looked down to hide the sadness in her eyes. "He is not feeling well today."

"That's unfortunate. But I must insist on seeing him today. This info-"

The wooden door opened by itself.

"Come in…"

"Nagato, but today…" Konan wanted to say more but not in front of the other person.

"It's fine… I also wanted to speak with Zetsu," the voice of Nagato sounded tired, but there was still a great deal of power contained within it.

Zetsu made a happy gesture and ventured inside the room.

Once in there, he found Nagato sitting at the back of the dimly lit space.

Other than the man himself, the only other objects in this room were the dark metallic rods stabbed into his back.

Most members of Akatsuki only knew the powerful and imposing side of Nagato, the one that went by the name of Pain. What they didn't know was that the person they saw was nothing more than a puppet being controlled by the power of the Rinnengan.

Zetsu was one of the few who had seen his weak and sickly side. If he didn't know any better, he would say that this man had one foot in the grave already.

Although his state was particularly bad because of the events that had occurred earlier that day.

"I'm very sorry about the loss of your sensei, Lord Jiraiya," Zetsu commented casually.

There was a clear change in Nagato's expression...a mixture of sadness and anger. "How did you know?"

Zetsu shrugged. "My specialty is being sneaky and observant… When I arrived in the city, I traveled through the sewers to avoid being seen. There was a particular section that caught my attention by the pungent scent of blood, so I went to check it out. I didn't find any bodies there, but there were signs of a fierce battle that had taken place there very recently."

"How would you guess it was Jiraiya-sensei? Did you leave one of your clones here to spy on me?" Nagato glared at him.

"Oh, please… the 'Great Pain' would know immediately with those 'godly' eyes," Zetsu chuckled. "No, no… this was merely a work of deduction. The toad clan members tend to leave behind a very particular trace of chakra that has been mixed with natural energies. There are currently only two human members in that clan… and I just so happen to have been speaking with the other one in the meantime."

"Naruto Uzumaki… you went to speak with him? Why?" Nagato demanded to know.

"Why not? He was already our enemy. We had nothing to lose by speaking to him, even if the chances of him coming to our side were very low."

"He would never have joined us," Nagato said.

"Perhaps that's for the best. Had he joined us, it would have been short-lived. I mean… from what I have discovered about Naruto Uzumaki… you just killed one of the few people close to him."

Nagato frowned. "He was also…"

"Your sensei, and Konan's too, I know. That's why I said sorry when I came in," Zetsu commented casually. But there was no emotion in his voice, so it was impossible to tell how much of that he truly meant.

"Do you think the plan can still work?" Nagato finally asked what he wanted to know.

" We do," Zetsu responded without hesitation and used the 'We', so Nagato would know this wasn't just his idea.

Nagato stopped for a moment to consider. "What does Lord Madara want to do next?"

Zetsu did not skip a beat at the mention of 'Madara,' since, as far as Nagato was concerned, that was the real identity of the 'orange-masked man' who went by the code name Tobi. "He believes that you are the most indicated person to visit Konoha and take on Naruto Uzumaki."

"When?" Nagato didn't say a word of complaint. He would not admit it, but the idea of destroying Konoha was something he was looking forward to.

Zetsu smiled, as he already knew it would be easy to convince this man to destroy the village that had once ruined his life.

Of course, Nagato didn't know that the one behind all of that suffering had been the sole work of Lord Danzo, who had been acting independently at the time, and it had nothing to do with any of the village leaders.

"As soon as possible. There is a war approaching Konoha, and you must arrive before that happens. Your main goal is to capture Naruto Uzumaki alive and pull all of his chakra into the Gedo Mazo statue. Even if he has absorbed the Bijuu with that peculiar technique of his… the energy from the chakra beasts must still be somewhere in there. We just have to take it, and our plan will succeed."

A smile appeared on Nagato's face. "Finally… we are getting closer now."

"Yes! Very soon, the Eye of the Moon will bring peace to the Elemental Nations," Zetsu said.

"We will bring peace to this chaotic world," Nagato muttered.

Zetsu had to use all his will to keep his expression unchanged. 'This foolish boy… you don't know what's coming to this land. But it is definitely not peace.'

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