The Village Hidden in Rain.
Konan accepted the vial of Hashirama cells that Deidara had brought back, her face still showing a hint of doubt. "Deidara, are you sure this thing is safe?"
Her concern wasn't due to distrust in Deidara, but rather her lack of trust in Orochimaru.
"It's fine."
"If anything goes wrong, Leader, don't worry. I'll personally go and take revenge on Orochimaru for you!" Deidara said with a smirk.
Konan shot him a sharp look, clearly unimpressed with his lack of seriousness. But the tension in the room eased slightly thanks to his interruption.
"It's alright, Konan."
"A god fears no challenge!" Nagato declared dramatically. If these words had come from the Deva Path, they might have sounded more convincing.
"Fine."
Konan twisted off the cap of the vial, revealing a syringe, and injected it into Nagato's left arm.
"Hiss!"
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
Konan sighed helplessly. "Deidara, can you stop providing sound effects?"
"I'm just helping the Leader express his pain since he's too proud to cry out himself," Deidara shrugged.
As the Hashirama cells were injected, Nagato's right arm, starting from the injection site, gradually turned white. His muscles slowly filled out, becoming more robust.
However, the whiteness didn't spread indefinitely. It stopped at his chest, where a face resembling Hashirama Senju formed before halting entirely.
"Ah!"
"This feeling!" Nagato exclaimed with a deep sigh.
About half an hour later, as the flow of life energy within his body stabilized, Nagato slowly freed himself from the machine's restraints, leaving only the black rods on his back. Step by step, he walked down on his own.
"Nagato, how do you feel?" Konan approached him, her voice full of concern.
For the first time in ages, Nagato smiled. Although his body still appeared thin, he no longer looked as frail and skeletal as before.
"Don't worry, Konan. I feel great," Nagato said, gently pushing away Konan's supporting hand as he reveled in the joy of being able to walk independently.
"And it seems I've gained a little bonus."
Nagato extended his right index finger, from which a small branch slowly grew. It extended to the floor and sprouted into a tiny tree.
"Wood Release?" Konan was surprised, but upon remembering that the injection involved the First Hokage's cells, she quickly understood.
"Leader, can't you remove those black rods on your back yet?" Deidara asked with a frown. The Hashirama cells hadn't achieved the miraculous results he had imagined.
"Not yet, not at this level," Nagato said, shaking his head slowly.
"But it doesn't matter. With my body's recovery, my Six Paths' power has increased by at least fifty percent, and my ability to sustain combat has greatly improved."
"Even the range of my control has expanded."
"Excellent! Truly excellent!" Nagato smiled once again.
Although the results weren't perfect, Nagato had undeniably gained significant benefits. Deidara decided it was acceptable for now. Progress could be gradual—after all, in the end, the real main force would undoubtedly be himself.
"Alright, now that this matter is settled, I'll be heading back," Deidara said.
Kurotsuchi had already sent multiple reminders. Women were truly troublesome.
"Wait!" Nagato suddenly called out.
Both Deidara and Konan turned to look at him.
"Just now, Gozu Hozuki reported that the Four-Tails Jinchūriki has been spotted in the Land of Grass. It seems he's currently in a rampaging state."
"It looks like another Tailed Beast will soon be collected."
Deidara: "Leader, why are you looking at me?"
"Your body has already recovered. Can't you handle this yourself?"
"You're no longer the frail man who couldn't even walk!"
"True," Nagato paused, then smiled excitedly.
"This time, let me and Konan handle it."
Now that's more like it, Deidara nodded in approval. Stop overworking your subordinates. Among the Akatsuki, he and Kisame were the most overburdened, constantly running around.
"But there's still a pile of documents in the office. Deidara, I'll leave them to you!"
"Hey! Leader!"
"You're strong enough to leave one of your Six Paths here to handle the paperwork!"
Watching Nagato leave at lightning speed, Deidara felt like crying but had no tears.
In the central tower's office.
Deidara sat at the desk with a sour expression, staring at the documents in front of him.
"To the esteemed Pain-sama:
I would like to build a small bridge in front of my house to make it easier to get to work on the other side. However, Lord Shūetsu rejected my request, citing concerns about the village's appearance. Please, I ask for your judgment."
Deidara pulled out a map and checked. Your house is five steps away from the village's bridge—why on earth do you need another one? And why does the design for your bridge look so bizarre?
Denied!
"To the esteemed Pain-sama:
The other day, I went to the shrine to pray. The shrine maiden told me that my future son would become famous across the shinobi world. However, I don't even have a wife yet. Therefore, I request a loan of 100,000 ryō to get married and have children. My son will repay the village 1,000,000 ryō in the future. Please approve my request."
What the hell! Are the villagers this shameless now? Denied!
Also, send a warning to that shrine maiden. She needs to tone down her nonsense predictions. Next time someone hears, "I see the aura of a king in you," they might actually believe it and start a rebellion!
"To the esteemed Pain-sama:
I wish to open an entertainment establishment, but Lord Shūetsu has denied my application, saying it would have a negative influence. I ask for your judgment. Additionally, I've attached a promotional brochure. If you're interested, we would be honored by your visit!"
Why would an entertainment business be denied? It seems Shūetsu is a bit too rigid. Everyone knows that competition breeds progress. Two such establishments would be better than one!
Deidara eagerly opened the promotional brochure, only to find it filled with images of handsome men.
Why would this villager think Pain-sama would be interested in something like this?!
Deidara slumped in his chair, utterly defeated. He finally understood why Nagato always looked so despairing. Anyone would feel hopeless dealing with this nonsense every day.
As for Shūetsu, a true warrior on the front lines of bureaucracy, he deserved recognition.
While Deidara still had some authority in the Village Hidden in Rain, he decided to grant Shūetsu six months' salary as a bonus. It was a small token of appreciation, but he hoped it would encourage Shūetsu to keep up the good work.
"Deidara-nii, why are you sitting here?" At that moment, Kurotsuchi entered the office, finally tracking down Deidara.
She was shocked to see him processing paperwork.
Dammit! The position of the leader of the shinobi world should belong to me, Kurotsuchi! Deidara-nii should just stay home and leave the public affairs to me!
Seeing Kurotsuchi enter, Deidara's eyes lit up.
"Come here, Kurotsuchi."
"Didn't you always want to be the next Rain Kage?"
"Now's the perfect chance to practice."
"Deidara-nii, you're the best!" Kurotsuchi ran over excitedly.
Half an hour later, Kurotsuchi was slumped in the chair, her earlier enthusiasm replaced by despair and exhaustion.
Being the leader of the shinobi world? No, thank you!
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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