The air was damp and heavy, thick with the scent of rain and old stone. Dim, flickering lights lined the cavernous interior of the Akatsuki hideout — deep within the hidden village of Amegakure. Water dripped steadily from the stalactites above, echoing through the chamber like a ticking clock.

You stirred awake on the cold stone floor, disoriented.

"They're finally up," Deidara announced, arms crossed as he leaned casually against the cave wall, a bored smirk on his face. "Took long enough, un."

"Hmph," Sasori scoffed without looking up, fiddling with a joint on his puppet. "They were barely a challenge."

Kakuzu stood nearby, eyeing you like a piece of currency. "They were unconscious in under five minutes. What a waste of time—and potential bounty."

"Heey, at least they didn’t die! That’s progress, right?" Tobi chimed in cheerfully, waving enthusiastically from behind his orange mask.

Farther back, Itachi Uchiha's eyes lingered on you, the Mangekyō Sharingan quietly analyzing every movement you made. Beside him stood Konan, her expression unreadable, wings of paper gently unfurling and folding again.

Peering from the shadows, Zetsu whispered to himself.

"They’re not ordinary..." "But definitely not strong either."

"You guys sure this one’s worth keeping around?" Kisame asked with a shark-like grin, resting Samehada on his shoulder. "Didn’t put up much of a fight."

"Tch. Pathetic," Hidan muttered, dragging his scythe across the floor with an irritated clank. "I was hoping for at least a little bloodshed."

A metallic clink echoed as the central figure stepped forward — Pain, his Rinnegan eyes locking onto yours with divine judgment.

"You’re in the presence of Akatsuki now," he said calmly, yet his voice carried the weight of a god. "Speak wisely… or not at all."