Pain, the Deva Path, stepped forward, seemingly preparing to give a speech.
"We, Akatsuki, are an organization that exists for peace. All members are now in position. In six months, we will begin the plan to capture the tailed beasts, starting with the One-Tailed. Two members per group. You, newcomers Lixing and Karin, will first go find the traitor Orochimaru and kill him. I will have Zetsu accompany you to observe your strength before you participate in the tailed beast capture plan."
"True peace is about to arrive. Let the world feel pain. That is all. Disperse!"
After saying this, Pain, the Deva Path, and Konan vanished together. Following this, the other members also dispelled their illusions.
Opening their eyes again, Lixing and Karin were back in their rooms. They walked out together and saw an aloe plant slowly rising from the ground, with a half-black, half-white humanoid creature in its center.
"I am Zetsu. We've met already. According to my intelligence, Orochimaru is suspected to be in the Land of Sound, north of the Land of Fire. There is a Hidden Sound Village there. You need to investigate."
Lixing already knew Orochimaru was there, but it seemed too early. If he and Karin went, Orochimaru probably wouldn't escape.
But now that they were members of the Akatsuki, they had to do the mission. He immediately agreed.
...
On the way to the Hidden Sound Village, Lixing and Karin went sightseeing and enjoyed the scenery, seemingly forgetting about the mission. Zetsu followed behind watching. This was arranged by Uchiha Obito, also known as Tobi, the masked man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara externally. Zetsu needed to monitor Lixing and his wife for a while, as such a mysterious powerhouse capable of directly extracting tailed beasts from Jinchuriki could potentially interfere with his plan.
"Lixing-kun, Zetsu has been following us. Can we send him away? Our atmosphere was so good, but then there's a third wheel."
Karin naturally felt dissatisfied with Zetsu constantly monitoring Lixing and her. They were on their honeymoon, and suddenly an ugly guy kept following them. Who would be happy about that?
Lixing patted Karin's hand. "Alright, I'll go drive him away."
Zetsu looked at Lixing approaching him with some confusion. "Lixing-kun, what's wrong? Are you going to fight me? I'm an intelligence operative, my combat strength is very weak."
"It's not about fighting you. I want to have a word with Black Zetsu." Lixing pointed to Black Zetsu beside White Zetsu, and then the black and white Zetsu were enveloped in an illusion.
"I'll just lay it all out for you. I won't interfere with your plan. I also want to see how beautiful the legendary Goddess Kaguya is. You go back and report to Uchiha Obito, tell him I have no major issues, I just like to have fun."
Hearing this, Black Zetsu was greatly shocked. How did Lixing know about this? Even the Sage of Six Paths didn't know about its existence, yet this Lixing knew everything.
"You bastard! What exactly do you know?"
"I told you, you can carry out your plan as you wish. After you revive Kaguya, just let me see her. Understood? So you don't need to monitor me anymore. I won't affect your plan. Let me make this clear, I'm not discussing this with you. In this genjutsu world, you can't escape!" Lixing pressed his face close to Black Zetsu, his eyes filled with killing intent.
Since Lixing said he wouldn't affect his plan, he would agree. After all, once the Infinite Tsukuyomi was activated, Lixing would turn into White Zetsu and eventually become nourishment for Mother.
"Alright then. I hope Lixing-kun can keep his promise and not go back on his word. Let me out quickly, I need to report to Obito."
After that, Lixing released Black and White Zetsu from the illusionary world. Next was a pleasant journey without the disturbance of a third person, or rather, without the presence of Liyun.
...
Although they were sightseeing with Karin, the mission still had to be done. Lixing had now taken Karin into the Hidden Sound Village and infiltrated Orochimaru's research base without anyone noticing.
Passing by a training ground, Lixing and Karin both saw a black-haired, white-clothed teenager practicing with a Kusanagi sword, his eyes were red.
Karin recognized him at a glance. This was the person who had saved her once when she went to the Leaf Village for the Chunin Exams from the Grass Village.
"Lixing-kun, I've met him before. He saved me from a bear."
Lixing couldn't be bothered with this. He knew this was Uchiha Sasuke, who always wanted to improve his strength for revenge but was always on the losing end.
"Don't mind him. You are my wife now, just follow me."
Hearing this, Karin's heart leaped with joy. "Lixing-kun, are you jealous? Don't worry, ever since I met you in the Land of Grass, I've been yours!"
Lixing didn't know what to say, he was speechless. The young girl liked to imagine things so much.
Thus, the two of them, laughing and joking, infiltrated the deepest part of the secret base. Orochimaru was lying on his bed recovering from his injuries. After the plan to destroy Konoha, Orochimaru was in this state every day, which made him even more irritable. Fortunately, Sasuke was by his side, and he would be able to transfer his body soon.
"Orochimaru, long time no see!"
Lixing suddenly walked into the room with Karin. The somewhat familiar voice startled Orochimaru.
"Lixing-kun, why are you here?"
When Orochimaru saw Lixing's face, he couldn't help but become a little nervous. Three years ago, Lixing could repel Manda. Now, his strength was probably no less than his own at his peak.
Lixing casually found a place to sit. "This is quite obvious, isn't it? Look at my clothes, what do you think I'm here for?"
Seeing this, Orochimaru suddenly laughed. It seemed everything could still be negotiated.
"Lixing-kun, since you didn't kill me immediately, you must have another purpose, right? Oh my, I never thought that Lixing-kun, who once spoke of respecting his teachers, would join a rogue ninja organization."
However, when he saw the girl beside Lixing, Orochimaru became somewhat unsettled.
"Isn't this girl one of my former targets? So Lixing-kun took her away. No wonder I couldn't find her later. How about Lixing-kun, you leave this girl with me? It's much safer here than in the Akatsuki."
Karin looked at the disgusting Orochimaru, who was eyeing her and trying to poach her. Before Lixing could react, Karin directly activated her Mangekyo Sharingan and cast a genjutsu on Orochimaru, tormenting him in the illusionary world.
"Hahahaha, Orochimaru, Orochimaru, you really haven't changed. How dare you poach my people? Suffer here! Karin, let's go. Someone will deal with him later."
After Lixing and Karin left, Orochimaru finally woke up from the illusion, immediately breaking out in a cold sweat. If he wasn't mistaken, that girl had Sharingan, and it was the Mangekyo Sharingan, just like Uchiha Itachi.
"Lixing! How did you do it! Answer me! I saw that girl first. Give her back!"
However, Lixing had already left. It couldn't be blamed on Orochimaru. After all, the Sharingan he yearned for was right in front of him, and it was such a pity to miss it. He did all this to become an Uchiha! To obtain this kekkei genkai!
After working hard for so many years, suddenly someone easily achieved what he couldn't do for years, which almost drove Orochimaru to madness.