"You two are saying this is the rare item you brought back from Konoha?"
As the leader, Deva Path looked suspiciously at the several boxes of cigarettes Kisame was holding.
If it weren't for the fact that Deva Path couldn't make a doubtful expression, his face would undoubtedly be questioning when Kisame, the honest man, had learned to lie.
Itachi blushed when he heard this.
There was no other reason. Kisame thought the cigarettes were so amazing that he specifically brought a carton to offer to the leader.
However, as a corpse, Deva Path wouldn't be able to taste anything even if he smoked them.
In the background, Nagato, watching Kisame's earnest expression, twitched his mouth, not knowing where to start criticizing.
Seeing the situation going south, Itachi quickly presented the phone, "Leader, this is what everyone in Konoha is playing with. It's called a phone."
Deva Path took the phone, and the screen suddenly lit up, startling Nagato, who is behind Deva Path.
---
After Itachi set up a new phone and entered the game, he handed it to Deva Path.
Following Itachi's instructions, Nagato proceeded step by step.
When it came to setting up the fingerprint, Nagato didn't hesitate.
However, instead of the usual [Setup Successful], the message that popped up after Deva Path pressed his finger was...
[Please set up a valid fingerprint. No vital signs detected.]
In other words... "Whose corpse is this?"
At this moment, the expressions of the other members who had gathered around suddenly froze.
Fortunately, Konan reacted quickly, took the phone, and set up her own fingerprint.
"Konoha's products really lack quality control. It must be a mistake."
Meanwhile, Sasori, hiding inside his puppet, lowered his body.
Although he couldn't see the Chakra Threads, it wasn't the first time he felt that this leader... didn't seem alive.
As the most outstanding puppet master of his time, his achievements even surpassed his grandmother Chiyo.
This vague feeling had occurred more than once.
But he just never had the chance to investigate.
After entering the game, the Akatsuki's members continued to gather around and watch.
It didn't take long to complete the storyline.
And then... everyone fell silent.
According to the intelligence, these storylines had appeared before the events actually happened.
At this moment, everyone was wondering if their plans might also be exposed in advance, just like these storylines?
---
As they were all deep in thought, Itachi spoke up, "This isn't the full extent of the game. According to Konoha, the points earned in the ranked matches can be exchanged for items that make Ninja stronger."
After hearing this, everyone was shocked.
At this time, Deva Path nodded and said, "I've heard about this... It's confirmed by Konoha after testing, and it's not a smokescreen. The intelligence is accurate."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's start!"
"There are just enough phones for everyone in Akatsuki."
Itachi said, taking out the other phones and distributing them to everyone.
However, when Kakuzu received his, he muttered, "How much did this trip cost?"
"By the way, Leader, there's also this set of books... brought back from that shop in Konoha. They're very popular there."
Nagato was quite satisfied with Itachi's performance this time. Deva Path nodded and said, "Good, leave them here. I'll read through them when I have time."
---
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, the Young Master Sasuke had so much money in his account that he couldn't spend it all.
Currently, apart from Tsunade [Byakugou] and Jiraiya [Sage Mode], who weren't available for direct purchase, the only new Ninja he hadn't bought was [Uchiha Itachi].
Sasuke glared at Itachi's illustration with hatred, "Why? Why is he an A-Rank? And I'm just a C-Rank!"
Sasuke's refusal to recruit Itachi was mostly influenced by personal grudges.
A while later, Sasuke started a ranked match, leading with Orochimaru [Indestructible].
When he saw the opponent had chosen Itachi as their lead, he couldn't help but smirk.
"Heh, daring to pick Uchiha Itachi in front of me? Interesting. I'll teach them a lesson with my nickname."
Sasuke glanced at his nickname, [The Strongest Uchiha], and felt very confident.
Although he wasn't sure what Itachi's skills were like, how could an A-Rank compare to an S-Rank?
Currently, there were only four A-Rank Ninja: the original Kakashi and Zabuza, as well as the newly released Itachi and Kisame.
But the strength of Kakashi and Zabuza was clearly inferior to S-Rank Ninja, while many B-Ranks were weaker than A-Ranks, and C-Ranks weaker than B-Ranks.
This fit the label positioning perfectly, of course... except for Dosu.
Now, if someone saw Dosu in the Arena, even a god would tremble.
---
At the start of the match, Sasuke had planned to use Orochimaru [Indestructible] to sneak around the bottom lane to the opponent's side.
But as soon as the match began, a clone rushed over...
Clone Explosion!
Orochimaru [Indestructible] was blown into the air.
Sasuke's eyes widened, 'How could this skill have such long range? And it was released so quickly?'
Seeing that the opponent didn't follow up, Sasuke decided to greedily hold onto his substitution.
Then... just as Sasuke was about to activate his substitution, Amaterasu hit!
Watching the black flames of Amaterasu engulf his character, Sasuke couldn't help but recall his recent confrontation with Itachi.
'You dare to use Itachi's Amaterasu to burn me, huh?' Sasuke immediately activated his substitution and followed up with his first skill!
But to his surprise, he didn't end up behind the opponent!
When he regained his senses, Sasuke realized that the opponent's Itachi had already run far away.
"You coward, all you know how to do is run, huh?"
Seeing his substitution wasted, Sasuke was furious!
He decided to wait for the next opportunity.
But just as he was about to retreat to the corner to play defensively...
Clone Explosion.
Watching his Orochimaru [Indestructible] get blown into the air again, Sasuke's jaw dropped in shock.
Then, in a mix of panic and anger, he pressed his second skill, using Orochimaru's substitution to close the gap and attack the opponent.
But the opponent's Itachi just circled around a couple of times, and just as Orochimaru was about to bite, he preemptively cast Amaterasu.
Although Amaterasu couldn't affect Orochimaru during his substitution, the black flames were still active when Orochimaru's grab ended!
After Orochimaru's bite, Sasuke's character was slightly grazed by the lingering Amaterasu.
Sasuke was stunned, 'What kind of ridiculous crowd control duration was this?'
Both characters fell to the ground and got up at the same time.
Sasuke didn't have any skills ready, so he decided to retreat first.
Then he heard another explosion behind him.
Having experienced it twice already, Sasuke dodged it successfully.
Relieved that he had avoided it, Sasuke felt a bit more at ease.
Now that his first skill was off cooldown, he was about to look for an opening.
But then he saw Itachi's clone...
'After reaching its destination, it started walking back on its own?!'
Sasuke wanted to use his first skill to grab Itachi, but the opponent's Itachi was sticking so close to the clone that Sasuke couldn't find an opening.
Though he didn't know why, Sasuke could guess that touching the clone would probably trigger an explosion.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Sasuke had no choice but to wait for the clone's duration to end.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the clone disappeared. Sasuke was about to move in.
Clone Explosion.
"Damn it!"