The original plan should have been to recruit enough powerful subordinates to capture the tailed beasts and the Jinchūriki in secret.

This was certainly not the purpose of establishing the Akatsuki organization, but since Yahiko was killed and Uchiha Obito and Zetsu joined, it became a pure rebel ninja organization, and then started the plan to revive the Ten-Tails.

Unexpectedly, there were setbacks at the beginning. So far, only the Five-Tails has been caught, and it was the leader who did it himself. Pain, who possesses the Samsara Eye, should have been the final force to make the final decision, but he had to be exposed early.

No matter how powerful the Samsara Eye is, as long as there is some preparation, the difficulty of the next action will inevitably increase dramatically. Deidara is a lesson learned from the past, and Hidan and Kakuzu are not much better. Only Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame are still capable. However, the only thing they can be trusted with is their strength. If Hoshigaki Kisame is still reassuring, Uchiha Itachi has no idea what secrets are hidden under his calm face.

The most regrettable thing is the deaths of Sasori and Deidara. They were originally short of manpower, and they lost their generals one after another. Even the five major ninja villages would feel sad about this kind of loss.

Speaking of the difficulties faced by the organization, Payne remembered something...

"Did you get any results from recruiting people?"

Xiaonan replied with some regret:

“I’m sorry!”

Those who can become official members of the "Akatsuki" organization are all masters who have the strength and potential to become the Kage of the five major ninja villages.

There aren't many people of this strength in the ninja world, but they're not rare either. The problem is that there are very few masters who can be recruited. For example, Uchiha Itachi, if it weren't for some special circumstances, he would never have been able to join the Akatsuki organization.

There are also senior ninjas like Mizuki, Jiraiya, and even Hatake Kakashi. It would be great if they could join, but unfortunately there is no possibility of such a thing happening.

Being able to recruit the current number of people is already extremely rare. It took the Akatsuki organization many years to reach its current size. Unexpectedly, there have been constant accidents. First, Orochimaru rebelled and died in battle with Biwa Juuzou, then Scorpion and Deidara were killed, and there was also his former partner who was plotted against by Kakuzu. In short, none of these guys are worry-free.

"There's no progress in the search for Orochimaru?"

"We're almost there, but the enemy is very alert and always evacuates ahead of us. Our people can't keep up with his pace."

"Got it, hurry up!"

In about a year and a half, the three-tailed beast will be resurrected, and we will have to assign people to look for it by then, which will be another troublesome matter.

"Speaking of Orochimaru, I have made some unexpected gains recently. I found two good gems in the rough."

"Great potential?"

To be able to receive the evaluation of Xiaonan Pu Yu is already very impressive. Not only must the strength not be too bad, but the potential must be great enough!

Xiaonan nodded.

"These two toys of Orochimaru are now quite strong, barely comparable to a newly promoted jonin. The most rare thing is that they have great advantages in secret techniques and specialties."

Although the overall strength of the two is not that good, the actual combat ability of ninjas fluctuates greatly. As long as there is a suitable environment and their advantages can be fully brought into play, Hozuki Suigetsu and Jūgo can also be good helpers. The key is that they still have considerable potential.

"Transfer them to the reserve members!"

The substitute for the official member is the backup when there is a vacancy. Before Scorpion was killed, Uchiha Obito replaced the title of Afei and was active in the "Akatsuki" organization as a substitute member.

These two people combined may not be able to defeat a tailed beast, but if it is a Jinchūriki like the Two-Tails Yubokujin or the current Uzumaki Naruto who is unable to control the power of the tailed beast, perhaps they can come in handy.

We can still look forward to the future. The most important reason is the shortage of manpower. If there are no suitable candidates, we can only let these mediocre guys give it a try.

As for whether these two people are willing to join, that is not Payne's concern. It is enough for Xiaonan to help deal with it.

…

In Konoha Village, Uchiha Sasuke, who had been lying in the hospital for two days, finally woke up. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see that it was not the underground cave where he had been resting. After he calmed down, he was relieved to find that it was the familiar ceiling of Konoha Hospital.

"You're back already? Looks like you're saved!"

During this period he had no idea what was going on. He had been in a coma the whole time and didn't know how he was rescued, but at least he was safe now.

"Sasuke, you're finally awake."

Sakura's joyful voice came from the bedside.

"Sakura? It's you!"

Sasuke struggled to sit up, and Sakura, who was beside him, walked up and helped him.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"This is already the third day. The day you were brought back, I thought you were going to die."

If Shuimu hadn't promised that nothing would happen, the little girl would have been scared to death.

Sasuke's qualifications are much better than Mizuki's, and he has a good adaptability to the curse seal. In addition, the dosage of the almighty potion he used is less than Mizuki's. Although his physical strength cannot be compared with Mizuki's, he is young and his cell activity is far greater than Mizuki's. So when he came back, although his condition looked serious, he was not actually in danger of life.

From the Bear Country to the Konoha Village, even if one travels at full speed at the speed of a senior ninja, a round trip of three days would be a bit difficult, so Tenzang sent a message back quickly, and then Mizuki went to rescue with the Flying Thunder God Technique. In these important places in the ninja world, there are always some strongholds that Mizuki left as retreat routes and arranged with the Flying Thunder God mark.

In less than a day, Mizuki sent Sasuke to the Konoha Village Hospital that night.

"Hey, you awake?"

Outside the door, Xianglin, wearing white doctor's clothes, bright red long hair, and brown-rimmed glasses, walked in.

"Your name is Xianglin? I remember you. Thank you for taking care of me these days."

Xianglin waved her hand.

"I didn't do anything. The one in charge of the treatment was Shizune-senpai. I just helped a little. And the one who took care of you was Sakura."

At least until now, these three people have not staged a story of two women competing for a husband as in the original work, so Sakura and Karin get along well.

…

On the rooftop of the hospital, while Hatake Kakashi and Mizuki were chatting, they heard some noise coming from the ward below.

"The prediction was accurate. Sure enough, I woke up today."

"Why don't you go check on your students?"

"Wait a minute. Let's talk about Sasuke's problem first."

Kakashi said in a serious tone.

"For any troubles other than injuries, I can only ask for your opinion."

The curse has erupted again, and the danger brought by this hidden danger is becoming more and more serious. If we delay too long, we may not be so lucky next time.