Outside the Hidden Mist Village, within an unnamed forest.
Sasuke had Haku sit down to rest nearby. He then turned his gaze towards Ao, who was already completely immobilized.
A fierce internal struggle raged within Ao. He knew exactly what awaited him. If he refused to give Sasuke the information he sought, torture was inevitable. But could he truly withstand this man?
He looked up, his eyes meeting Sasuke's Sharingan. The moment he saw those eyes, realization seemed to dawn on Ao. Even if he could endure physical torment, he knew he likely couldn't resist the genjutsu held within those depths.
After a moment's thought, he decided against pointless defiance.
"What do you want to know?" Ao asked, his voice resigned. "I'll tell you everything I know."
Sasuke was momentarily taken aback. He had already been contemplating what methods of persuasion he might need to employ to make this veteran shinobi talk. Ao's immediate compliance actually made Sasuke feel slightly awkward.
He's being quite cooperative, Sasuke thought.
"Since you're being so cooperative, let's get straight to it," Sasuke stated, his tone shifting back to business. "Tell me about Kara. Start from the beginning."
"When did you join the organization?"
If he were to truly start from the beginning, there would be a great deal to recount. Ao managed a wry smile. "What you really want to know is the specific situation within Kara, isn't it..."
"Ao! Don't forget, I've personally fought Isshiki," Sasuke interrupted flatly. "I'm well aware of Kara's general circumstances. There's only one thing I need to know right now: has Kara made any significant moves recently?"
He leaned in slightly. "For instance, have they sent anyone to infiltrate Konoha and retrieve Urashiki's remains?"
Hearing this, Ao froze. What connection did Kara have with Isshiki? Wait... could it be...?
A spark ignited in Ao's eyes. Had Kara truly been founded by Isshiki, a member of the Otsutsuki clan? It suddenly made sense. That explained why Sasuke had traveled to this era – it was because of the Otsutsuki. The entire shinobi world knew that Sasuke Uchiha possessed the power to dominate the world, yet chose instead to journey alone into the stars, hunting down members of the Otsutsuki clan. Thanks to Konoha's deliberate efforts in shaping the narrative, Sasuke's reputation across the shinobi nations had long since transformed.
However, as time marched relentlessly onward, the newer generation of shinobi naturally remained largely unaware of the deeds of Sasuke and his contemporaries. After all, crises involving threats like the Otsutsuki were best left to the older generation to bear.
"There was indeed some intel," Ao admitted slowly. "I was instructed to cooperate in transporting something to the Hidden Rain Village...!"
"But I don't know the specifics of what it was." He paused, then added, "Urashiki's body... are you referring to the Otsutsuki who invaded Konoha during the Chunin Exams?"
Sasuke offered a slight smirk. "Right now, I'm the one asking the questions, not you."
Ao gave an awkward chuckle. If the item transported earlier truly was Urashiki Otsutsuki's corpse, then the relationship between Isshiki, Kara, and that event, as Sasuke implied, became clear. Kara's purpose was to achieve god-like power, a goal seemingly shared by the Otsutsuki clan. The transport of Urashiki's body, therefore, held undeniable importance for the organization.
Damn it! Ao cursed inwardly. Why didn't I realize this sooner? If I had known that was the body of an Otsutsuki! He would have done anything, found some way to secure a sample for research. An actual Otsutsuki!
"Has Kara been involved in anything else noteworthy recently?" Sasuke pressed suddenly.
Just as Ao was about to shake his head in denial, his eyes caught Sasuke's intense gaze, and he froze mid-thought. A flicker of something unusual shone in his eyes. After a moment's hesitation, Ao spoke again.
"Actually, there is one other peculiar development. It seems Kara members have also been contacting shinobi from the past!" His voice lowered slightly. "And these people... I suspect they might be the former Akatsuki!"
The words hit Sasuke, causing him to pause for a beat. But just as quickly, he conceded that it seemed strangely logical. After all, both organizations, from different eras, had sought to overturn the shinobi world order. Now, amidst the chaos of the current times, their paths were somehow intertwining.
The thought of these two groups – one representing the pinnacle of ninjutsu, the other the forefront of scientific ninja technology – merging their efforts sparked a disturbing thought in Sasuke's mind.
Could this trigger some dreadful butterfly effect?
Meanwhile, in the Hidden Rain Village, the members of the Akatsuki undergoing modifications by Amado had essentially been reborn. Amado himself was ecstatic about this project; he had stumbled upon the kind of research material he had only dreamed of.
That material was Hidan.
Indeed, it was Hidan, often considered one of the less remarkable members of the organization. His immortality made him the absolute perfect subject for modification. Hidan's key weakness had always been his inability to regenerate severed limbs, but for Amado, overcoming this limitation was laughably simple.
In fact, this led to the creation of an incredibly potent new ability. Because Hidan's entire body possessed the property of immortality, even severed parts, when combined with Amado's regeneration technology, could effectively duplicate themselves, akin to cellular division. Each resulting duplicate was Hidan. However, due to limitations in mental energy, splitting beyond twelve Hidans resulted in the thirteenth becoming little more than a mindless husk, incapable of normal movement, let alone combat.
While this exponentially increased Hidan's combat potential, it also presented a unique problem: each split Hidan was, in essence, the real Hidan. To manage this, Amado integrated a special modification allowing the split bodies to fuse back together. He also added a limiter to control the splitting, preventing duplicates from emerging uncontrollably outside of battle, which would obviously be highly problematic.
Beyond Hidan's rebirth, Kakuzu also received significant enhancements. Originally relying on the forbidden technique Earth Grudge Fear (Jiongu) to possess five hearts and thus five lives, Amado's modifications transformed the dark tendrils of the technique into a special metallic substance, granting far greater combat strength. Furthermore, Kakuzu was freed from the limitation of needing human hearts; he was integrated with new, artificial cores. He could now simultaneously possess ten cores.
As long as a single core remained intact, Kakuzu could survive and regenerate the others. Although he could only restore one core per minute normally, having two intact cores allowed him to restore two damaged ones simultaneously within that same minute. If only one core was destroyed, regeneration could take as little as ten seconds. With ten cores, Kakuzu not only possessed vastly more chakra than before, but his overall combat power had increased dramatically.
Kisame Hoshigaki was also remodeled. His Water Release ninjutsu became significantly stronger, and his core was fused directly with his great sword, Samehada. As long as Samehada remained intact, Kisame could regenerate indefinitely. Samehada itself gained true sentience and autonomy, capable of fighting independently. Its defensive capabilities were astonishing, and it now amplified Kisame's Water Release techniques. He could effortlessly induce water-nature transformations, making the "Tailless Tailed Beast" even more akin to a true Jinchuriki.
The Akatsuki!
Empowered by scientific ninja technology, the entire team had been reborn, stronger than ever. This even included... Nagato!
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin