Juzo Biwa glanced at the faint dawn breaking on the horizon, a smirk tugging at his lips. "It's dawn!"
"Mm," Itachi nodded.
"Let me go! Release me now!"
Beside them, a demon trapped in a Water Prison Technique roared hysterically, its face contorted with terror as it stared at the rising sun.
Juzo, maintaining the Water Prison with one hand while leaning on his Decapitating Carving Knife with the other, closely examined the trapped demon. "This guy doesn't have 'Upper' or 'Lower' etched in its eyes. Could it be a fake?"
Itachi mused, "Perhaps just a defective one."
Juzo said, "The leader ordered us to capture monsters with 'Upper' or 'Lower' in their eyes. I wonder if the other teams had any luck."
Itachi replied, "Don't worry about the others."
Juzo continued, "If even this one is just a defective product, these monsters could be trouble."
At that moment, sunlight spilled over.
"Aaah!"
Bathed in sunlight, the demon trapped in the Water Prison let out a gut-wrenching wail.
Itachi and Juzo turned to look.
Under their gaze, the demon, previously impervious to taijutsu and ninjutsu, melted away like thin ice under a blazing sun.
Juzo chuckled, "Tch, these monsters really do fear sunlight!"
Itachi withdrew his gaze.
The demon's glaring weakness brought him a quiet sense of relief.
Juzo scanned their surroundings, then pointed to a distant grove. "It's about time to report. Let's find a spot over there to rest."
"Mm," Itachi nodded.
The two soon reached the grove, found a secluded spot, and began forming hand seals.
Moments later, their spiritual forms appeared as phantoms within the Akatsuki's base.
Itachi surveyed the area, noting that the other teams had also connected to the leader's technique, their spiritual forms manifesting as phantoms here.
Undoubtedly, this was Nagato's Rinnegan technique, the "Projection Technique." The caster could use the Rinnegan's power to create a vast thought-wave network. Anyone within the network could connect by forming the corresponding hand seals, their spiritual forms appearing as phantoms around the caster.
This technique was Nagato's primary method for remotely coordinating with each team.
Their current location was the underground base housing the Gedo Statue, and their phantom forms stood atop the statue's towering, outstretched fingers.
Hidan was the first to speak. "Oi, did you guys get anything?"
Deidara shrugged. "Just ran into an ordinary monster. Didn't see any of the high-grade ones with 'Upper' or 'Lower' in their eyes."
Juzo said, "Same here."
Hiruko chimed in, "Our team hasn't encountered any targets yet."
Hiruko's partner was Raiga Kurosuki, formerly of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, but their team had been unlucky, encountering no demons since entering the Land of Grass.
The group then began sharing their gathered intelligence about the Land of Grass and the demons' traits and weaknesses, reporting everything to Nagato.
Nagato, appearing as the Deva Path Pain, swept his cold gaze over the group. "Continue advancing toward Grass Village!"
"Got it!"
"Mm."
"What a hassle!"
The members nodded, grumbled, or muttered before their phantoms gradually vanished from the Gedo Statue's fingertips.
Once everyone had disconnected, Konan said to Nagato, "The situation in the Land of Grass is more complicated than we thought. Nagato, maybe you shouldn't go."
Nagato shook his head. "I have a feeling these monsters will greatly hinder our future plans. I must deal with them."
Konan, worried, said, "But the five great villages' shinobi armies are also converging on the Land of Grass. We might run into them!"
Nagato replied coolly, "Then we'll use this opportunity to eliminate them!"
Nagato was the kind of man who would single-handedly destroy Hidden Leaf if the plan required it. For him, as long as the goal demanded it, he harbored no fear or hesitation.
In the serene Jikibi Space, Shinji sat at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over the projections seated around the ancient round table.
Clearly, while Nagato held his meeting, Shinji was conducting his own.
The Land of Grass was vast, and to ensure rapid intelligence sharing, Shinji had reluctantly activated the long-unused Jikibi Space, pulling everyone's spiritual forms into it.
Among his subordinates, some had been to Jikibi Space before, while others were entering for the first time.
Sasuke was a first-timer.
When his spiritual form entered Jikibi Space, he remained tense, his gaze warily scanning his surroundings.
He found himself in a mysterious space, with only a rustic round table before him. The surroundings were a hazy gray, filled with an ethereal quality.
At the round table, including himself, seven figures were seated.
Except for the figure at the head, clearly the leader 'A,' the others were blurred projections, their appearances and even shapes barely discernible.
The eerie environment unsettled Sasuke, and he couldn't hold back. "What is this place?"
Shinji, seated at the head, said calmly, "No need to worry. This is a spiritual space I created. Your appearances, voices, and even chakra natures are masked here, so you can speak freely and exchange intelligence."
Sasuke glanced at the others. "Everyone here is an organization member?"
"Correct," Shinji nodded lightly.
Sasuke thought to himself, Their concealment is so strong that even my Mangekyo Sharingan can't see through it. Is it because of this mysterious space?
Ido, also entering Jikibi Space for the first time, was secretly gleeful. Haha, the boss brought me here but not Yakumo. He clearly values me more!
Kimimaro, suppressing his shock, mused, So the Akatsuki has seven members total. It seems some, like me, are also entering this mysterious space for the first time.
Haku and Karin, having been to Jikibi Space before, skipped the adjustment phase.
Haku spoke first. "I spotted a massive monster in Grass Village. Its size rivals a tailed beast, and it can fly!"
Shinji's brow furrowed, guessing the identity of the monster Haku had seen…