After Itachi Uchiha, Nagato skipped over Zetsu entirely and turned his attention to Sasori of the Red Sand.
"A strong organization naturally requires capable subordinates," Sasori replied succinctly, clearly expressing his opinion. As someone who had numerous subordinates scattered across the shinobi world, he deeply understood the importance of having reliable underlings.
Following Sasori, Hidan was also skipped, as he had already spoken earlier. Asking him again would likely result in more rude remarks, and Nagato didn't feel like dealing with that.
"Kakuzu, what do you think?" Nagato's tone softened slightly when addressing Kakuzu. After all, Kakuzu had diligently contributed to Akatsuki for many years and was even acknowledged by Nagato himself as the organization's de facto treasurer. In a way, Kakuzu was the only "officer" aside from Nagato, the leader.
Of course, this treasurer role was rather pitiful in reality—Kakuzu had the title but never saw a single ryo of Akatsuki's funds. Most of the money was secretly funneled into purchasing explosive tags.
"If we want to amass wealth more quickly, capable subordinates are indispensable," Kakuzu replied, also expressing support for the proposal.
"Kisame?"
"I don't have much of an opinion," Kisame replied with a grin. "But if someone could help lighten my workload, I'd be delighted."
In the end, aside from Itachi's abstention and Zetsu being ignored, the proposal to expand Akatsuki's peripheral forces was almost unanimously approved. Of course, the final decision lay with Nagato. If he chose to veto it, there would be nothing anyone could do.
"Alright, I'll consider this matter," Nagato concluded.
"Leader, what about the Xuanyuan Group? We've already captured them," Deidara asked hurriedly after the meeting adjourned.
Nagato pondered for a moment before speaking through the Deva Path. "Bring them to the Bird Country base to meet me. These individuals will be temporarily accepted."
After disconnecting from the video conference, Deidara turned to the five captive members of the Xuanyuan Group.
"You've got some nerve attacking Akatsuki," he said mockingly.
The Xuanyuan Group remained silent.
We didn't know that a low-tier organization with just a ten-million bounty had two of you terrifying big shots behind it! This is just bad luck. We were merely going after a bounty, and we ended up provoking such a fearsome group. What rotten luck.
"So, what's it going to be? Will you fight to the death, or will you surrender obediently?"
"Big brother, you must be joking. Who wants to die if they can live?" Bug Man, the leader, replied.
"Alright then. Since you're surrendering, you're one of us now. Don't try anything funny, or we won't go easy on you," Deidara said as he untied the five members of the Xuanyuan Group.
"We wouldn't dare! We wouldn't dare!" The Xuanyuan Group quickly shook their heads.
"Trust me, you won't regret this. After all, you're joining an organization that's destined to rule the world."
"But since you're joining the organization, there's something I'd like to ask you," Deidara said, noticing the group still looked a bit tense.
"What is it?"
"You're the one I fought earlier, right? Water Man?" Deidara pointed at one of the Xuanyuan Group members dressed in a half-purple outfit.
"Yes, that's me," Water Man nodded.
"Then why are you wearing purple instead of blue?" Deidara asked, then turned to another member wearing a half-blue outfit—Earth Man.
"And you, an earth-type, why are you wearing blue instead of yellow?"
"And you, Shadow Man, why are you wearing yellow?"
"And Bug Man, why are you wearing red? Shouldn't Fire Man be wearing red?"
This was the most baffling issue Deidara had with the Xuanyuan Group. Couldn't they wear clothes that matched their elemental attributes? Fire Man not wearing red, Bug Man wearing red; Water Man not wearing blue, Earth Man wearing blue; Earth Man not wearing yellow, Shadow Man wearing yellow. This was driving his obsessive-compulsive tendencies crazy!
"Change your outfits immediately!"
After a round of chaos, Deidara and Sasori brought the five members of the Xuanyuan Group back to the secret base in the Bird Country. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the imposing sight of Pain's astral projection, with his Rinnegan radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"Rin... Rinnegan!" Bug Man stammered in shock.
"Does this legendary eye really exist?!" This was likely the first reaction anyone would have upon seeing the Rinnegan—a feeling akin to witnessing a sword-wielding immortal flying through the sky on an ordinary street.
"Regret joining yet?" Deidara patted Bug Man on the shoulder.
"Not at all!" Bug Man replied firmly. This wasn't just about not regretting; it was like hitting the jackpot! No wonder they had been told this was an organization destined to rule the world. To Bug Man, this was like falling into a pot of gold!
It seemed that the ten-million bounty incident wasn't bad luck after all—it was a stroke of fortune.
Joining an organization like this meant a secure future, akin to the shinobi of the great villages. They could even look forward to a stable and relatively happy retirement, unlike rogue or missing-nin who lived on the edge of survival every day.
"Don't get too excited just yet. Our leader is a vampire. Working here means no salary, and you'll even have to earn money for the organization. Are you ready to be exploited?" Deidara glanced at the Xuanyuan Group, who were still in a state of euphoria, and couldn't help but sigh at their naivety.
Nagato: "..."
Xuanyuan Group: "..."
"You five will be responsible for rebuilding the peripheral forces in the Bird Country," Pain instructed.
"Wait, we're only peripheral members?" Bug Man asked hesitantly.
While they were far from the level of the two big shots who had captured them, the Xuanyuan Group considered themselves fairly reputable in the underground world. Their best achievement had nearly led to a change in leadership in Kumogakure. Surely they deserved to be core members, right?
"Do you know who this is?" Deidara pointed at Hiruko.
The Xuanyuan Group shook their heads.
"Sasori of the Red Sand, the greatest puppet master in history, an S-rank rogue ninja," Deidara replied.
"And do you know who I am?" Deidara pointed at himself.
The Xuanyuan Group shook their heads again.
"I'm the disciple of the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. If I hadn't become a rogue ninja, I would've been the Fourth Tsuchikage. I'm also an S-rank rogue ninja."
"Still think you're qualified to be core members?"
The Xuanyuan Group shook their heads once more. Alright, these were indeed big shots. It was better for them to stay in their lane as peripheral members.
"If there are no objections, this meeting is adjourned," Pain said, disappearing instantly.
At this point, Sasori spoke up. "I need Water Man to come with me."
"Huh? Sasori, what's going on?" Deidara asked curiously.
"The back of my puppet Hiruko is missing a defensive component. I've heard that there's a rare turtle in the outer seas of the Land of Lightning with a very tough shell. I've always wanted to catch one," Sasori explained.
"But the ocean is vast, and the turtle's whereabouts are hard to track. Water Man's abilities will be perfect for this task."
Deidara suddenly understood. He remembered that in the original series, Hiruko's back did indeed have a tough shell, but during recent battles, he hadn't seen it. It seemed Sasori had also realized this issue and wanted to reinforce it. However, judging by the original series, Sasori likely never found the rare turtle and had to settle for a less durable shell, which Sakura later shattered with a single punch.