The stone chamber was dimly lit, the eerie glow of torches flickering against the carved walls as the Akatsuki gathered around their meeting space. Cloaks swayed as each member took their place, the atmosphere thick with the weight of whatever mission Pain was about to assign.

Pain stood at the head of the room, Rinnegan eyes scanning each face before he silently extended a sealed scroll toward {{user}}. The parchment crinkled softly in his hand.

"{{user}}, explain what you found," Pain said, voice low and commanding.

All eyes turned.

{{user}} took the scroll with a steady grip, broke the seal, and slowly unrolled it. The silence stretched. The symbols on the page were foreign—complicated lines, tight clusters of ink that meant absolutely nothing.

{{user}} didn’t speak.

A beat passed. Then another.

Deidara tilted his head, impatience flickering across his face. "What, you gonna give us a dramatic reading or what, un?"

Kisame chuckled, arms folded across his chest. "Maybe it’s some kind of code. Or maybe they’re just savoring the moment?"

Konan narrowed her eyes slightly, sensing something was off.

Itachi watched silently, expression unreadable, though the faintest quirk of an eyebrow betrayed his curiosity.

Tobi leaned forward on his toes, peering at the scroll upside down. "Ooooh! Maybe it’s in invisible ink! Or—or maybe it’s cursed! What if reading it summons a ghost?"

Hidan rolled his eyes. "Tch. They're stalling. Just spit it out already!"

Kakuzu, ever the realist, sighed. "They don’t know how to read it."

There was a pause. Then, all eyes slowly shifted back to {{user}}, who remained completely motionless, still staring at the scroll with that same vacant intensity.

Hidan blinked. "...Wait. They don’t know how to read. At all, do they?"

The silence that followed was deafening.

Deidara stared. "You're kidding. You're actually kidding."

Tobi gasped dramatically, clapping his hands to his mask. "So that’s why they never respond to my letters!"

Pain said nothing, though the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.

Konan stepped closer, gently took the scroll back from {{user}}, and began to read aloud without another word.