Chapter 64: Because I Have Been Rained On, I Wanted to Hold an Umbrella for Others
"Sasori, are you a puppeteer?" Kenichi asked with open curiosity as he looked at him.
They were on the way to Amegakure. With nothing else pressing to do on the road, Kenichi decided to talk. Building a working relationship first made future communication far easier.
"Mmm." Sasori nodded.
He was not talkative. Most of the time he stayed silent, but at least he answered when spoken to.
Kenichi stroked his chin. From what he remembered, Sasori pursued a kind of eternal beauty, the complete opposite of Deidara's future obsession with fleeting explosions.
"Speaking of puppets," Kenichi continued, "don't you think they're almost an eternal form of art? If you perfect them, they can exist for a very long time without changing, without rotting, without growing old."
Sasori's eyes sharpened. A trace of life returned to that dead calm.
Kenichi smiled.
As expected, if you understood someone's personality in advance, it was easy to speak to their interests.
By the time they neared Amegakure, Kenichi and Sasori could already communicate normally.
Konan walked beside them, not interrupting. If anything, she quietly admired Kenichi's ability to talk to people. She was not good at building rapport. Between her and Sasori, there had been almost no conversation at all.
"Kenichi, did you finish your mission?" Konan asked as the Hidden Rain drew closer.
Lately, Nagato frequently controlled Pain, the Deva Path, personally to carry out missions and increase Akatsuki's funds. After Orochimaru and Kenichi joined, Nagato's first order had been simple: make money. Now that Sasori had joined, he would probably be doing the same.
"It's done," Kenichi replied with a smile. "We raised about 180 million ryo this time."
If you split it evenly, that meant he and Orochimaru each brought in about 90 million. That was not a small amount.
Still, it was ultimately a shortcut. Use it too often and it would attract attention from the major villages. They had to be careful.
Konan was not surprised. She only nodded and led Kenichi and Sasori into Amegakure.
For once, the Hidden Rain was not living up to its name. There was no rain.
Under Konan's guidance, Kenichi and Sasori met Pain, controlled by Nagato as always. What concerned Kenichi was that there were two other people beside Pain.
One of them had a man eating flower like growth rising from his neck.
Kenichi recognized him instantly.
Zetsu.
The other wore a mask that covered most of his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.
That could only be Obito.
"A newcomer?" Zetsu, dressed in the Akatsuki cloak, asked with an expression of practiced surprise.
Kenichi scoffed internally.
This man was a master actor. There was no way he did not already know Kenichi and Sasori had joined. Their identities had probably been investigated down to the last breath they took.
"Heh." Obito let out a cold laugh as his gaze landed on Kenichi's three tomoe Sharingan. It clearly interested him.
"These are Jade and Gyoku, who joined recently," Nagato said briefly. "Ku has not arrived yet."
At the same time, he introduced Zetsu and the masked man to them. When it came to the masked man, Nagato only said he was a member of the organization, but he did not have a ring yet.
No further details.
Kenichi already knew who they were anyway.
"Oh my, Senior Gai is definitely something else," Kenichi said brightly, stepping forward and grabbing Zetsu's hand. He shook it with excessive enthusiasm. "That look is unique. Very cool."
"…." Zetsu stared at him, expression strange.
He knew the person in front of him was a rogue shinobi from Konoha. If Nagato had granted him a ring, then he was certainly capable. Zetsu simply had not expected him to be this enthusiastic.
But seeing that Nagato and Konan looked used to it, Zetsu could only assume this was just Kenichi's personality.
"And even though this senior is wearing a mask," Kenichi added, turning smoothly, "those eyes are distinctive."
He extended his hand toward Obito as well.
Obito did not move.
"You are not an Uchiha," Obito said, voice flat.
Kenichi immediately gave a thumbs up, smiling as he explained, "Correct. I transplanted this three tomoe Sharingan from the Uchiha clan."
Obito gave him a long look, then said nothing.
He only had one obsession now. As for the Uchiha name and whatever family remained behind it, he did not care.
Kenichi did not look embarrassed by the rejection. He simply withdrew his hand.
And with that motion, a thin sliver of skin came away from Zetsu's hand.
Material acquired.
"All right, Jade," Nagato said, clearly wanting to push things forward, "I heard from Haku that you came to hand over the mission funds you and Ku collected."
Nagato wanted Kenichi out of the base as soon as possible.
If Kenichi stayed, Akatsuki's headquarters would turn into a vegetable market.
Kenichi handed the sealing scroll to Nagato without hesitation. Seeing the satisfaction on Nagato's face, Kenichi smiled too.
Eat it now.
Sooner or later, you will have to spit it all back out.
As long as you still care about the civilians in the Land of Rain, as long as you truly want to hold an umbrella for others after living through the storm yourself, then this money will return to them in the end.
If things went far enough, Kakuzu would probably have to work himself half to death for it.
"All right," Nagato said, already dismissing him. "You can go. The task remains the same. Collect funds."
"Actually," Kenichi said, rubbing his hands together with a grin, "there's something I'd like to discuss, Leader."
Nagato's feelings turned complicated.
Here it comes again.
Worse, Kenichi's sudden politeness felt unnatural. This man had always been carefree and shameless. Respectful now meant only one thing.
Ulterior motives.
Zetsu and Obito watched with interest, curious what the new member was about to say.
Only Sasori looked mildly impatient, already thinking about when Kenichi would be free so they could talk about art again.
"Leader," Kenichi said with the same smile, "I have a way to make sure the people of the Land of Rain can eat enough every day."
The entire base fell silent.
Kenichi only watched Nagato.
Nagato, who had once been a refugee, who had once nearly starved, who had built Akatsuki with his comrades in the name of changing the world.
What choice would he make now?
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