Chapter 1270: Operation

“It seems you didn’t win easily.”

The speaker was Deva Path of Pain, a puppet corpse made from Hanzo of the Salamander, maintaining Hanzo’s appearance during his lifetime, with a voice indistinguishable from Hanzo’s.

The only difference is that the eyes have transformed into the unique form of the Rinnegan.

The eyes are dark, resembling a pool of stagnant water, lacking the emotions one would expect from the living.

The entire body exudes an oppressive aura of death.

It also carries a smell unique to the dead.

This aura is generally imperceptible to regular ninja, but to the Wandering Witch proficient in medicinal ninjutsu, she can still sense a slight difference between the puppet and the living.

Deva Path of Pain saw the Wandering Witch’s severed right arm. Although the bleeding had been stopped, suppressing the injury, such a sacrifice to kill Aburame Ryuma was indeed significant.

Facing Deva Path of Pain’s inquiry, the Wandering Witch answered with an unchanged expression and a smile: “After all, he’s the Deputy Commander of Root. Being able to resolve him at the cost of an arm, I’d say I’ve made a huge gain.”

“How is Funato’s injury?”

Deva Path of Pain continued to ask.

He wasn’t concerned about the specific battle between the Wandering Witch and Aburame Ryuma. Despite losing an arm, the Wandering Witch bore no other scars, implying she resolved Aburame Ryuma right after sacrificing an arm?

He wasn’t interested in exploring the secrets behind this.

Compared to these, the safety of Hidden Rain Jonin Funato was more worthy of his concern.

Currently, there are too few ninja in Hidden Rain who can stand on their own. Among the Jonin, Funato’s strength isn’t particularly impressive, but for a ninja village like Konoha, his status in Hidden Rain was exceptional. One might say every Jonin is a precious resource in Hidden Rain.

“Rest assured, I’ve stabilized his injuries. After resting for a period, he’ll recover. The woman controlled by the Illusion Technique isn’t in life-threatening danger. I only won this time due to sheer luck.”

The Wandering Witch replied with utmost humility.

“Luck?”

Deva Path of Pain’s lips curled slightly, revealing a stiff yet cold smile.

To have resolved the Deputy Commander of Root, Aburame Ryuma, in such a short time was anything but sheer luck.

Either there was a leak in the opponent’s information, leading to a targeted tactical strike, or the Wandering Witch’s raw power far exceeded Aburame Ryuma, killing him without question.

But judging from the Wandering Witch’s severed arm, it’s likely the former.

For a ninja, keeping ability information confidential is particularly crucial.

Though some ninja, even with revealed information, prove difficult to defeat, such ninja are exceedingly rare.

For example, the three strongest forces in the Land of Demons, and similarly, his Rinnegan abilities.

Even with ample intelligence, without sufficient raw power, victory is impossible.

Perhaps the current Five Kage also possess such abilities.

“I’ve resolved the trouble for Hidden Rain, so I’ll take my leave. I have other tasks at hand, and for a long period, I won’t resurface. Additionally, I want to take Aburame Ryuma’s body.”

The Wandering Witch stated firmly.

Deva Path of Pain was unfazed by the Wandering Witch’s firm tone, casually nodding as if considering it a trivial matter.

“You killed him. As the representative of the Land of Demons, you naturally have the right to take this spoils of war.”

No matter what secrets Aburame Ryuma’s body may hide, for someone with the Rinnegan, it’s of little importance.

Moreover, there’s no need to antagonize the Land of Demons over a corpse.

Even though Orochimaru might feel regret upon knowing this, lamenting the lost opportunity to dissect the body of a ninja from the Aburame clan.

“Furthermore, Master Hakushi has another request for you as the Leader of Akatsuki.”

The Wandering Witch gazed directly into Deva Path of Pain’s Rinnegan, showing no fear.

Deva Path of Pain, upon hearing this, displayed a rigid smile of interest.

“So the deal is not with me as the Leader of Hidden Rain, but with the Leader of Akatsuki who harbors renegade ninja? Interesting, let’s hear. What does he wish to negotiate?”

Every move by Chiba Hakushi has profound meaning, never an action of randomness.

Hence, this transaction likely harbors significant underlying meaning.

“Regarding the renegade Uchiha Itachi responsible for the Uchiha Clan extermination.”

“Itachi?”

Deva Path of Pain furrowed his brow slightly.

“Yes, Master Hakushi hopes that in the future, Akatsuki will abandon Uchiha Itachi and let the Land of Demons handle him. After all, Uchiha Itachi joined Akatsuki with malicious intent, something that Mr. Nagato is aware of.”

“Itachi was an espionage agent planted by Konoha’s Third Hokage and Danzo.”

Deva Path of Pain nodded, implying no need for pretense or ambiguity among the wise.

With the intelligence network of the Land of Demons, although not directly involved in the Uchiha Clan extermination, they can deduce the correct outcome through intelligence gathering.

After all, there were too many irrational elements in Itachi’s clan extermination act.

Moreover, the timing of joining Akatsuki was too coincidental, leading the Land of Demons to suspect Akatsuki’s involvement behind the scenes in the Uchiha Clan massacre.

Although Nagato didn’t personally participate, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu did, and allowing Tobi to confuse Itachi and Danzo did indeed obtain his consent.