Chương 146

Then the eyes of Sasori went wide, as if a sudden realization dawned on him.

"You are the one who hurt Kisame and sent him to the infirmary.." This made Rei's smile much more wider, while Dajimu was confused.

"Seems like you guys aren't so dumb after all.." Rei replied. This made both Sasori and Deidara, who now got the gist shudder. They were the facing the man who took down Kisame quite easily and Kisame was one of the oldest among the members of the Akatsuki and one of the strongest. But that guy still got railed over. And now that both of them lost, they realized that the person who hurt Kisame was more powerful than what they thought he would be. This man was their nightmare.

"You hid yourself when you fought him. Now that you have shown your face, I presume you won't let us live.." Sasori said with the blank look on his face. He had lost his hands but if one saw him up close one would notice that his two legs were clattering a bit, a very minute movement but it was there nonetheless.

"Hahaha.. You are very perceptive.. It depends upon you if you want to live or want to throw your life here." Rei replied as he brought out two full contract for both of them. Two ancient-looking parchments materialized in Rei's hands before floating gently toward the defeated Akatsuki duo.

"Read them," Rei said calmly.

"After that, decide whether you wish to live... or die." Neither of them moved immediately. Sasori was the first to step forward. Though his severed puppet arms lay scattered across the battlefield, his crimson eyes remained fixed upon the parchment itself rather than Rei. His gaze rapidly moved across every line, every clause, searching for deception.

"... Interesting." He continued reading in complete silence. Deidara merely scoffed.

"What? Become someone's servant? I'd rather die! Hmm!" Rei looked at him without the slightest emotion.

"That can be arranged." The simple reply caused Deidara to stop talking.

"If you refuse, you'll die here." Rei slowly pointed toward the sword still pinning Deidara against the tree.

"If you somehow escape... your future doesn't improve. You'll eventually corner yourself. Your final masterpiece will be C0." Deidara's breathing suddenly stopped.

"And it will fail. You'll either face someone with Lightning Release.... or someone fast enough to kill you before your 'art' blooms."

"How the hell does he know about C0. I haven't even told another soul. Can he read our minds?" Deidara had those thoughts. Meanwhile, Sasori had already finished reading every line of the contract.

"This ability..." His voice remained calm, yet even he couldn't completely hide the fascination hidden beneath it.

"It allows the transfer of talents..... and bloodline abilities." He slowly raised his eyes toward Rei. He didn't ask but his eyes had already asked the question. Rei smiled and replied.

"Yes.. If I am getting all your techniques and abilities, then of course I should provide something in return. But don't misunderstand. You haven't earned a single technique from me. You'll receive nothing until you prove you're worthy of learning it." Sasori lowered his gaze once again. Instead of disappointment... He became thoughtful. To a man who had dedicated his entire life to surpassing human limitations... The contract before him represented something far beyond puppetry. It was a masterpiece.

It was better than his own puppetry, and he wanted his contract ability. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Heh.. He is just fooling you Master Sasori.." Deidara said.

"Really? You think this is a fool too?" Rei replied and then Rei's eyes slowly changed. Black tomoe spun into existence. Three tomoe. Sharingan. The entire forest froze. Deidara's eyes widened. His heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably. Itachi. The very eyes that had haunted every waking moment since his defeat. Rei looked directly into him.

"One day... maybe you don't have to run.." The hesitation disappeared, and Rei took out the sword that was lodge in him. Almost instantly after he came down, Deidara snatched the contract before signing his name across the parchment.

"... Damn you... Hmm." Sasori looked at the signature already drying upon Deidara's contract before returning to his own.

"... A fascinating ability." Without another word... He signed as well. The contracts dissolved. Neither Akatsuki member realized it... But from that very moment onward... Their destinies had completely changed. Rei watched the two contracts disappear before letting out a small sigh of relief. The invisible connection had already formed, though neither Deidara nor Sasori understood what had truly happened.

They only knew one thing, the man standing before them had completely overturned everything they believed impossible. Rei himself could see his mind filled with knowledge that wasn't there before. Deidara's forbidden technique was the one that truly fascinated Rei, something he would like to try someday. Then Rei slowly turned around. His eyes landed upon Dajimu. The Root operative instinctively stiffened.

"... Now it's your turn." A third ancient parchment materialized in Rei's hand before drifting toward Dajimu.

"Read it." Dajimu caught the contract almost mechanically. Unlike the two Akatsuki members, however, every line he read made his expression grow increasingly pale. By the time he reached the final clause, his hands had begun trembling ever so slightly. Years of Root training had conditioned him to recognize dangerous abilities, and this... this surpassed every classified secret he had ever learned.

"... I refuse." His answer came without hesitation. Rei wasn't surprised.

"Reason?"

"I serve Root." Dajimu replied firmly, lowering the parchment.

"I may have accepted death the day I joined, but I will never willingly become another man's subordinate." Before the final word had even left his mouth, Dajimu vanished. His kunai flashed toward Rei's throat with all the speed he could muster, hoping to exploit the briefest lapse in attention after the battle. Yet the attack never reached its target. Rei calmly caught the blade between two fingers, stopping it so effortlessly that it almost looked insulting. Dajimu's eyes narrowed.

Without wasting another moment, he released the kunai. His other hand instantly drew a second blade and reversed its grip, driving it toward his own neck instead. If capture was impossible... Then death would have to suffice. A firm hand seized his wrist before the blade could even graze his skin. The kunai stopped less than an inch from his throat.

"...!" No matter how hard Dajimu pushed, the blade refused to move another millimeter. Rei looked directly into his eyes.

"So this is Root." His voice remained calm.

"When you cannot win... You choose death. Your whole establishment is a blot to humanity." Dajimu struggled violently, attempting to break free, but Rei's grip didn't even tremble. A suffocating pressure filled the ruined battlefield. Rei leaned slightly closer.

"You have two choices." He pointed toward the contract still lying on the ground.

"Sign it..... or I'll show you a hell that will make you beg for the privilege of dying." For the first time since joining Root, Dajimu realized he possessed nothing. He still didn't understand what was going on, but the fact that such a young man was capable of so much destruction and still lurking in Konoha, meant something deeper was brewing. And he was in the eye of the storm.

"I will never betray Konoha.." Dajimu said.

"I don't know who you are, but I will never let anything happen to Konoha.."

"Then you should sign the contract happily without any guilt, because your favorite leader Danzo was behind the death of our Third Hokage. You should be working for the Fifth Hokage instead of kissing the boots of your leader."

"What? What do you mean behind the death of Third Hokage."

"Hehehe.. You think Orochimaru was able to enter Konoha without any help after he left Konoha like a snake?" Rei asked.

"I.. I wasn't there when the attack happened. I was in mission.."

"And yet I am sure you know perfectly well that the Root didn't interfere in the invasion at all. Don't you think it's a coincidence?" Rei asked.

"I.. I don't know.." Dajimu shuddered as he heard Rei. There was no point of Rei lying to him and though the methods of Root were very questionable but for him the ends always justified the means. But now he was hearing Root was responsible for the death of the Third Hokage. He wasn't that high up the ladder to know that Root had tried to assassinate Hiruzen. He had always been loyal to Konoha first, and though he had kill his friend in order to reach that point, he always believed on the "means" at the end.

Now, even his own death wasn't in his hands.

"It doesn't matter if you know or not. Just sign it and follow me from now on. I can promise nothing will happen to Konoha. The Root on the other hand, I can't guarantee." Rei said as he shoved the contract to him, while holding Dajimu down. There was nowhere for him to go.