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"So you're the infamous Reaper of the Shinobi World."
Sasori looked at Shin. He had heard countless stories about Shin; the Suna Shinobi were terrified of him—afraid to even mention his name.
Sasori, a genius in his own right, had once scoffed at Shin's reputation and even considered turning him into a human puppet—But he had abandoned that idea now.
He had been with Kakuzu long enough to know Kakuzu's strength was comparable to his own. Even with his trump cards, he wasn't sure he could defeat Kakuzu.
And Shin had effortlessly crushed Kakuzu. Sasori knew he wasn't a match for Shin—there was no point in provoking him.
Though Missing-nin were notoriously arrogant, Sasori wasn't stupid!
"Leader, has Uzumaki Shin joined the Akatsuki?" Sasori asked the Deva Path. If their leader had recruited Shin, then he would have to reassess the leader's strength.
The Deva Path glanced at Sasori and nodded. Shin had indeed joined, at least in name.
The Deva Path didn't say Shin was a 'Collaborator'. It would be better if Sasori and Kakuzu misunderstood.
Sasori and Kakuzu did misunderstand. They were even more wary of the leader now, thinking his strength was comparable to Shin's.
If Shin knew their thoughts, he would probably laugh.
"I have a mission. Orochimaru of the Sannin has defected from Konoha. I want to recruit him into the Akatsuki." The Deva Path said.
"That kind of mission? I don't have time. I have somewhere to be," Kakuzu said, then left. As he passed Shin, he shuddered involuntarily.
He was eager to get away from Shin, whose presence made him uncomfortable. He also needed to replace the four hearts Shin had destroyed. He felt vulnerable without them.
The Deva Path didn't try to stop him. He wouldn't force Akatsuki members to take missions, especially not an S-rank Missing-nin like Kakuzu—He didn't want to create friction.
"Are you interested?" The Deva Path looked at Shin. If Shin didn't go, then he would have to go himself.
He didn't think Sasori alone was strong enough to recruit Orochimaru. If Kakuzu had been willing to go, the two of them together might have succeeded, but Kakuzu had already left.
"Orochimaru, huh? I'm interested." Shin wasn't busy; he might as well go.
"Sasori, come with me."
Sasori was surprised, but he didn't refuse.
"Zetsu, tell me where Orochimaru is." Shin hadn't placed a Flying Thunder God formula on Orochimaru, so he didn't know his location.
"As always, Shin-sama, your perception is impeccable," Zetsu said, emerging from the ground.
The Deva Path's eyes narrowed. He hadn't noticed Zetsu's presence. Though He acknowledged Zetsu's skill at concealment, Shin's ability to detect him so easily was impressive.
"Get to the point. You know where Orochimaru is, right?" Shin asked.
"Of course. No one in the Shinobi world has better intel than me," White Zetsu said confidently. It wasn't useless like Black Zetsu.
"Just tell me his location," Shin said impatiently.
White Zetsu quickly relayed the information.
"Let's go," Shin said to Sasori, then left the Akatsuki's hideout. Sasori followed him silently.
Shin was bored on the way because Sasori didn't say anything.
"Sasori, you seem afraid of me." Shin looked at the Hiruko puppet, his gaze seemingly piercing through it to see Sasori within.
"Why would I be afraid of you?" Sasori's voice came from the puppet.
"You sound unsure of yourself," Shin said with a smile. "Relax, I'm not that scary. I'm actually quite approachable. I won't look down on you just because you're weak."
Shin patted Hiruko's head. Hiruko creaked, and a part fell off.
"Oops, sorry. I was just testing its durability. Didn't expect it to be so fragile."
Shin looked at the fallen part. He was disappointed.
If Sasori could hit Shin, he would. But recalling how easily Shin had defeated Kakuzu, he held back his anger. It was just a small part—he could fix it later. Sasori told himself he didn't care.
"Sasori, can I see your strongest puppet—the Third Kazekage?" Shin asked with a smile.
"How did you know?!" Sasori was shocked. No one besides himself should know about that.
"I know many things. And don't worry, I'm not interested in stealing your puppet."
Shin wanted to know how strong the puppet was compared to the living Third Kazekage. He was curious and wanted to research puppetry in his spare time.
Sasori hesitated for a moment, then agreed and summoned his most prized creation, the Third Kazekage puppet.
Shin had Sasori demonstrate its abilities. The puppet could still use the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release—And after Sasori's modifications, it had other abilities as well. Shin estimated the puppet had about 90% of the Third Kazekage's original power.
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