Chapter Forty: Codename

The sky was overcast, everything around was damp, and water kept dripping from the leaves onto the ground. The atmosphere was tense, like swords drawn. Pain watched Kakuzu with icy indifference; Kakuzu remained on guard. Zetsu, with a look of amusement, glanced between Kakuzu and Haruka Higashino. Haruka rested his hand on the hilt of the katana hanging at his waist.

Pain’s voice rang out, “The immortal shinobi, Kakuzu... I’d like to invite you to join—”

A sharp gust of wind swept in, cutting his words short, for Haruka had moved.

Like the surface of still autumn water, the long blade slid from its sheath, and as the sword flashed, an indescribable aura rose from Haruka. Instinctively, Kakuzu glanced at him—there it was again, that feeling, the sense that he might die.

Pain and Zetsu’s gazes grew grave, but only just—Pain was merely surprised that Haruka seemed more formidable than he’d imagined, and Zetsu was simply astonished that such a person had emerged in the shinobi world without their knowledge. Neither had any inkling of what would happen next.

The katana came free, and with it, Haruka’s presence seemed to break through a seal, surging suddenly to a new height.

Whoosh! The wind seemed to grow stronger, converging from all directions upon Haruka. The trees in the forest shook and rustled, and the garments of the assembled figures billowed furiously.

Pain and Zetsu’s expressions became even more severe, but there was no time left to think further.

Haruka had gathered his sword energy; his blade was locked onto Zetsu, and he was already moving forward.

The wind seemed to freeze, or perhaps it had simply gathered, swirling only around Haruka. Time itself appeared to halt, or perhaps Haruka was simply too fast to follow.

Pain, Zetsu, even Kakuzu—all of them lost track of Haruka’s movements. All they saw was a single arc of steel.

The blade’s light was not dazzling, but rather dim, much like the day itself. It was a gray, oppressive day, as if the sky itself foreshadowed death with its color.

So too was that arc of steel.

At last, Zetsu realized something was wrong. The blade’s path was aimed straight at him. He tried to evade, but he could not—not because he was too slow, but because the sword’s speed was overwhelming, or perhaps because its oppressive aura, so like the day’s, weighed him down and rendered him immobile.

Or perhaps it was because... he was already dead.

By the time Pain realized what had happened, he heard only the metallic “clang” of a blade returning to its sheath. He turned to look; it was the sound of Haruka sliding his katana home.

Was it over with just that one stroke? Pain found himself wondering.

He glanced at the figure beside him—Zetsu was still standing there, seemingly unharmed, but his eyes had lost their luster, duller even than the cloudy sky, filled to the brim with death.

Thud! Only then did the body collapse to the ground, the sound making Pain suddenly doubt himself. Would his own eyes be able to withstand such a blow?

He thought himself a god—then what was that sword technique? A stroke that could slay a god?

“Who are you?” Pain shifted his gaze to the swordsman, who now stood with his back to him.

Haruka turned around. “Luffy Wang, a wandering shinobi.”

Pain was silent for a while, then spoke: “Luffy Wang, Kakuzu, I wish to invite you both to join Akatsuki.”

“Certainly.”

Haruka’s swift reply took Pain by surprise.

“You don’t even want to ask what Akatsuki is?”

“I know. An organization with lofty ideals, isn’t it?”

Kakuzu was startled as well. He recalled Haruka asking him earlier if he had ever considered joining Akatsuki.

Could that have been his goal all along? Did he know Akatsuki would come to recruit me, and so sought me out in advance? Kakuzu couldn’t help but wonder.

On the other side, Pain, hearing Haruka’s answer, couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you want to join Akatsuki?”

Haruka laughed softly. “Weren’t you the one who invited me?”

That was a reason, though not the only one. What truly intrigued Haruka was this: after killing Zetsu, he began to wonder—without Zetsu, the manipulator behind the scenes, what would happen to Obito? To Madara Uchiha? To Nagato? What would become of Akatsuki?

Haruka was curious about the outcome.

For him, curiosity and interest were reason enough. He was here under a pseudonym to gather inspiration; if he found things interesting, he’d continue the game. If he became bored or felt impeded by something, he could always vanish without a trace.

“That’s true,” Pain replied coolly, then turned to Kakuzu.

“I’ll join as well.” After some thought, Kakuzu gave his answer.

His reasoning was simple: Luffy Wang was much stronger than he was, and since Luffy had already joined, if Kakuzu refused, he’d probably be beaten into submission regardless.

“Very well. From now on, your code name within the organization is Ursa Major. This is your ring.” Having finished with Kakuzu, Pain tossed him a ring, then looked to Haruka.

“He was slain by you, so you shall inherit his code name.”

Though Pain felt a twinge of emotion at Zetsu’s death, it wasn’t particularly strong. After all, Zetsu was the one brought by that self-proclaimed Madara Uchiha; Pain had never fully trusted him.

In fact, with the exception of Konan, he didn’t truly trust anyone. After all, Akatsuki was a gathering of individuals united only by their own interests. Nagato didn’t care about their goals, as long as they furthered his own.

That was how he treated the man who called himself Madara Uchiha—and how he now regarded Haruka Higashino as well.

At this point, Haruka responded to Pain’s earlier words.

“What was his code name?” He vaguely recalled it from the original story but couldn’t remember exactly.

“Genbu.”

“That doesn’t sound good. How about something else?”