Very quickly, someone was already kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy.
"Spare me, spare me!"
"I'm a villager from the nearby area."
"I was forced to come here!"
Kimimaro hesitated for a moment, discussed briefly with Gaara, then gathered the remaining people together.
Everyone else was dead. Now, only seven people were still alive.
They all knelt together, trembling in fear.
"Sensei, how should we deal with these people?", Kimimaro and Karin, along with the others, walked up to Rengoku.
Rengoku glanced at Karin and the others, "What do you all think should be done?"
Karin curled her lips, "Of course, kill them all."
Shion was seeing this many corpses on the ground for the first time, and at the moment her expression showed some hesitation.
Yakumo's face had gone a little pale. The intense bloody stench made this girl, who had never seen blood before, struggle to breathe.
Still, she forced her expression to remain firm as she said: "Since it's the mission, then we have to kill them all."
Rengoku looked at Kimimaro, "Kimimaro, what do you think?"
Kimimaro's emotions didn't waver much, he only answered calmly, "I'll go with whatever Sensei says."
Rengoku understood everyone's reactions clearly.
He spoke, "For us ninjas, the mission is the number one priority."
"But for you personally, doing missions isn't just about earning money, it's also about training your abilities."
"These people are weak, but this is for your sake."
"Dragging them off to prison would just be wasting food."
"If we let them go, we can't prevent the possibility of them doing evil again."
"What I want to tell you here is. When you make any choice…"
"You must be able to bear the consequences of that choice."
"Shion, can you bear the result if you let them go, and they continue to kill, burn, grape, and plunder?"
Shion looked at them with disgust, then shook her head.
Rengoku looked at Kimimaro again, "And you?"
Kimimaro also shook his head.
Rengoku nodded, "Good, then you all do it."
Kimimaro didn't hesitate. He flicked his hand, and senbon instantly pierced through the throats of two men opposite.
Karin's expression was cold, and with a kunai in her grip, she went forward.
Shion, although the descendant of a shrine maiden, leaned more toward Rengoku's teachings.
She formed a few hand signs, and several talismans flew out, embedding themselves into the bandits' heads. The bandits quickly stopped breathing.
Yakumo had already sent Ido out, and easily pulled out one man's soul.
Rengoku could only sense the soul-body's attack vaguely, unable to see it with the naked eye.
In just a short moment, all the bandits here were annihilated.
By procedure, proof should be brought back to confirm all the bandits were wiped out.
But Rengoku couldn't be bothered to cut off their ears or fingers.
A simple word from him was enough.
At the same time, his clone on the other side also sent a message to this body of Rengoku.
———
Over in River Country, Rengoku's clone and Orochimaru had already collected the Water of Life.
"Next time, bring a camera to serve as mission proof."
"This time, we'll head back to Konoha directly."
This mission was over, just in time to return and improve himself.
And with the fighting between Sunagakure and Iwagakure, the Uchiha could make their move.
———
In these two days, Rengoku used his authority to assign some missions to Nagato and Konan.
Although they were no longer in Amegakure, they often used the Demonic Statue's projection technique to issue tasks to members, looking like they were stockpiling strength.
Obito and Zetsu also gradually let down their guard.
Even if Nagato suspected them, as long as Nagato still worked toward the plan, it was fine.
But a huge crack had already formed in their alliance.
Akatsuki had in fact split into two camps.
One camp: Pain, Konan, Sasori, Kakuzu.
The other camp: Obito, Zetsu (Black and White), Kisame.
But Kisame was actually lurking within Obito's camp.
Of course, in private, Obito also recruited people under the name of the "Tsukuma" organization.
But these were only those connected with Obito or Zetsu.
Even Kisame didn't know exactly who they were.
What was certain, though, was that Yomi and Moryo definitely had ties with Obito.
———
Inside the Demonic Statue projection space.
Rengoku's shadowy figure appeared. This time, he had taken the initiative to contact Nagato and Konan.
Pain opened his eyes, "Rengoku, do you have another mission for us?"
"Heh… no, I've got some good news for you," Rengoku deliberately kept them guessing.
Pain's eyes flickered. This was the first time Rengoku had ever spoken like this, "Could it be you've found what you were looking for?"
Rengoku nodded slightly, "The Water of Life has been found. Orochimaru has already tested it."
"Just as the records said, it contains an immense power of life."
"Your body can be saved."
Normally, this Pain body was a deified persona, showing no emotional fluctuation.
But hearing that the Water of Life had been found, Pain's emotions and eye power surged.
"Great!"
Even the illusionary body of Pain flickered like static on a snowstormed TV screen.
Rengoku said, "You and Konan should come to the Uchiha right away, and restore your body first."
"The ninja world has been quiet too long. It's time for us to stir up some waves."
Pain calmed his heart, "Now Sunagakure and Iwagakure are fighting fiercely at Iwagakure. Should we intervene?"
Rengoku nodded lightly, "Since Akatsuki acts as mercenaries of war, of course we must intervene."
Sensing Rengoku had another meaning, Pain asked curiously, "What are you planning?"
Rengoku smiled, "Now that Sunagakure is at a disadvantage, naturally it's the perfect time for us to make money."
———
[Amegakure]
After Konan and Nagato left, the village had fallen into chaos for a while.
But after Konan brought Kakuzu over, it barely stabilized.
Though Kakuzu had no experience managing a village, he was very sensitive about money.
So he always had men stationed at the black market. Any little rumor or any lucrative mission, he made sure to take it.
In addition, Pain occasionally issued missions that came with a lot of profit, and Kakuzu was quite satisfied with that.
Recently, in the Land of Stone, Iwagakure and Sunagakure were fighting fiercely.
Both sides had issued missions to assassinate the other's commanders.
Kakuzu was preparing to join the fun.
At that moment, the ring on his hand pulsed.
'Hm? Contact from the leader?'
'Could it be about the battlefield in the Land of Stone?'
Over the years, Kakuzu had grown strongly attached to the organization, and still respected Pain greatly.
He didn't dela, immediately using the Demonic Statue's projection technique.
His consciousness drifted far, soon arriving at the usual meeting place.
Pain and Konan were already waiting there.
"Leader."
Pain nodded slightly, "Take Sasori with you, and head to the Land of Stone."
Kakuzu understood. After all, this was their livelihood. Now that the Five Great Nations were at war, of course they had to get a share.
"No problem. Which side are we serving this time?"
Pain's answer was somewhat unexpected, "No, we must control the battlefield, only then can we gain the greatest profit."
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