I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

Chapter 432: Relocation

Recently, the rapid changes in the world have been hard to adapt to, not just for the shinobi villages but also for the members of the Akatsuki organization. Initially, the Akatsuki’s main base was in the Land of Rain. Apart from Kakuzu, who loved earning bounties, and Musashi, who loved challenging strong opponents, the other members would often rest at the base for considerable periods after completing their missions, which Pain allowed, given the difficulty of their tasks.

However, the Akatsuki members have been frustrated lately. Despite the clear skies and calm weather, their leader, Pain, insisted they move the organization from the Land of Rain to the Land of Fields. Most members, except those within Amegakure, were to relocate to the Land of Fields.

Both external and official members of the Akatsuki couldn’t understand Pain’s reasoning. It seemed inexplicable to abandon their stronghold in the Land of Rain and move to the Land of Fields.

The external members didn’t dare to question, but the official Akatsuki members were bold and unruly. They were in the Akatsuki because they found such an organization that dared to gather so many S-rank missing-nin to be interesting.

Today, all the official members gathered in the secret base of the Akatsuki base in the Land of Rain.

"Leader, are you serious about relocating to the Land of Fields?" Black Hoe Leiya asked with a somewhat hoarse voice.

Not all Akatsuki members knew Pain’s power; they knew their leader was influential. After all, Pain rarely took action himself, except in the early days when recruiting members.

However, anyone qualified to be an official member of the Akatsuki was not foolish. Even if they hadn’t seen Pain fight, seeing the strength of their comrades made it clear that their leader was extraordinary.

The leader of a shinobi village must be at the top in terms of strength, let alone an organization like Akatsuki, where the leader is the strongest. If the leaders weren’t strong, they wouldn’t have lasted; they would have been killed long ago.

But for a shinobi like Black Hoe Leiya, even knowing Pain was intense, he had his pride and wouldn’t grovel. He didn’t love the Akatsuki but stayed because it offered freedom. As long as he completed missions, they left him alone.

Having such a powerful and free organization as a backing, Black Hoe Leiya was reluctant to leave. He had already used the Akatsuki’s power to establish his influence in the Land of Rain.

That’s why he questioned Pain about the relocation. His influence was growing, and leaving now would mean abandoning all his hard work and starting over in the Land of Fields, losing the benefits here.

Despite Black Hoe Leiya’s questioning, Pain’s expression remained unchanged. He replied without any emotion, "Yes, the relocation is definite. We will move our base from the Land of Rain to the Land of Fields."

"Why so suddenly?" Black Hoe Leiya asked, puzzled.

"Is it absolutely necessary? One of my experiments is at a critical stage," Hiruko chimed in.

Kakuzu, on the other hand, didn’t speak. It didn’t matter where the base was for him as long as he could keep earning money.

Sasori also spoke up, "My experiment is also at a crucial point. If we can avoid moving, I’d prefer not to."

Sasori was researching how to transform himself into a human puppet without losing consciousness, achieving true immortality.

Kisame quietly observed the others, saying nothing. He was an ideal subordinate who would follow orders without question.

"Moving isn’t so bad. It rains here all the time, making me feel damp and moldy," Juzo Biwa said, stretching and becoming the first to support the move.

"Moldy, huh? How about a fight to warm up?" Musashi grinned, challenging Juzo.

"No way," Juzo bluntly refused Musashi’s request.

Although any shinobi code of honor didn’t bind Juzo, he didn’t want to keep losing. Unless he felt he could beat Musashi, he would decline.

As Musashi’s teammate, Juzo knew that if he didn’t want to be pestered for a fight, he had to refuse cleanly the first time. Any hesitation would make Musashi think there was a chance, leading to more persistent requests.

Seeing Juzo’s firm refusal, Musashi didn’t push further, only making a brief complaint.

Pain maintained his calm demeanor, with Konan beside him equally composed.

"Due to certain circumstances, our base location might have been discovered by Konoha. They might know our purpose here and possibly the exact location of our base. For the organization’s safety, we will relocate most of our forces to the Land of Fields. There’s no ninja village there, and we have cooperative officials, making it suitable for our development," Pain explained.

Usually, Pain wouldn’t bother explaining to this group of renegades, as Nagato only used them for his plans. He knew some members would question his decisions, but he couldn’t kill off any dissenters, as so many influential members had already been recruited, and the plan was underway. He chose to explain a bit to balance things out.

His explanation could have been more specific because he didn’t know how much Konoha knew about Akatsuki. But his intuition sensed a threat, making the relocation necessary.

Akatsuki couldn’t match the five great ninja villages head-on. Their main advantage was operating in the shadows while the great villages were exposed. Losing this advantage would complicate their plans.

If they could defeat the five great villages in open combat, there would be no need to gather the Tailed Beasts; they could just dominate the world directly.

"Konoha? Aren’t they busy with the Chunin Exams, involving three Kage? How could they know our base’s location?" Black Hoe Leiya was even more puzzled.

Akatsuki avoided stirring trouble in the great nations, operating mainly in smaller countries and hiding their tracks. Under these circumstances, they shouldn’t be on the great villages’ radar.

"Konoha discovered our base location?" Hiruko’s pupils shrank in surprise. As a Konoha defector and former Jonin, he knew the village well. Konoha only acted against severe threats to their interests. Knowing their current strength, they shouldn’t be focusing on Akatsuki.

Hiruko knew Konoha had a super-strong ninja named Fujiwara Nagasawa, rumored to be on par with the legendary Senju Hashirama.

But Hiruko hadn’t fully believed it. Nagasawa’s record was sparse: defeating a giant monster and possibly beating the Fourth Raikage, leading to Konoha’s swift victory over Cloud. There were no solid details on the Nine-Tails incident.

However, Nagasawa was undoubtedly formidable. Hiruko placed him on the same level as Pain, realizing Konoha’s overwhelming strength.

If Konoha attacked Akatsuki full force, they would be hard-pressed to survive.

"Given this, we must relocate. Konoha is too powerful a threat," Hiruko agreed with Pain.

"Konoha..." Sasori’s smile faded. He rarely showed emotion, but Konoha was an exception. His parents were killed by Konoha’s White Fang during the war, leaving him orphaned. This fueled his desire for vengeance, though the White Fang’s death by suicide deprived him of his target. Now, his goal was to achieve eternal art.

"The fragile nature of life is far from true art. Only eternity is genuine art."

"Konoha, the head of the five great ninja villages, must have many strong fighters," Musashi said excitedly. He had only visited Kirigakure, but he sensed many powerful presences even there. He could only imagine Konoha’s strength, feeling thrilled at the thought.

"Heh, Konoha indeed has many powerful ninjas, some hidden very well. Never underestimate any Konoha ninja who charges at you, even if they’re just a Genin," Juzo said, showing deep apprehension.

He recalled the day when the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist rampaged through the battlefield, mowing down foes until they encountered a team of young Konoha ninjas. They toyed with them until a green-clad Konoha ninja appeared, exploding with energy they couldn’t comprehend. Four of the Seven Swordsmen died, and Juzo was one of the few survivors.

The terrifying red aura of that ninja was something Juzo never wanted to face again. He knew he survived purely by luck, not skill.

"Never underestimate any Konoha ninja who charges at you, even if they’re just a Genin. That’s quite an exaggeration," Musashi thought, growing more intrigued by Konoha.