[Akatsuki Organization Base]
"...The location of the Three-Tails' revival has already been locked. Kakuzu, Hidan, Itachi, Kisame, you four go and bring it back."
The ninja world was in turmoil, and Pain did not want any other unexpected changes to happen midway. He directly dispatched four Akatsuki members in one go, simply to make sure the first shot of the Tailed Beast Capture Plan would be fired solidly.
Uchiha Itachi and Kisame both nodded, accepting the mission. Pain looked toward Kakuzu, only to see him raise his hand.
"Pain, this time send someone else. I have another commission."
As soon as these words came out, all the Akatsuki members turned their eyes toward him, expressions all different.
'Another commission?'
Just a few days ago, Pain had said it loud and clear, requiring everyone to put down whatever they were doing.
Akatsuki would no longer take war commissions, and as individuals, they were not to take side jobs either. The money would be supported by the Five Great Nations' conglomerates, and the entire focus of Akatsuki would be put onto the "Tailed Beast Capture Plan."
"Don't look at me like that."
Feeling everyone's gaze, Kakuzu calmly said, "It's the conglomerates that contacted me privately, giving me this commission."
Don't be fooled by Kakuzu's always-businesslike, zombie-like, emotionless demeanor. If you really calculate it, he's actually the one among everyone here who has lived the longest, and when it comes to the ways of the world, he understands them better than anyone.
The conglomerates had given Akatsuki a huge sum of money to support them in carrying out the Tailed Beast Capture Plan.
Now, if that client's side encountered some small problem and privately asked them for help, Kakuzu couldn't exactly say, "Sorry, that matter isn't written in the contract, we won't bother with it," right?
Pain looked deeply at Kakuzu, "I understand. Deidara, Sasori, you replace Kakuzu and Hidan for this mission to capture the Three-Tails."
Once things were arranged, the projections of Akatsuki's members scattered.
Konan came to Pain's side, "I've checked, it was the conglomerates of the Land of Water and the Land of Fire who contacted Kakuzu. But why didn't they contact you directly, and instead chose to approach Kakuzu privately?"
"Because of you."
"Me?"
"That's right, because you once listened to Ryosuke's creed. Do you know? Out there now, rumors are spreading that Ryosuke is not human at all. He's a demon from hell, with the power to bewitch people's hearts."
Konan let out a speechless laugh, "That's just a rumor..."
Her words suddenly stopped.
She realized it. "You mean, the conglomerates of the Land of Water and the Land of Fire have asked Kakuzu and Hidan to deal with Ryosuke?!"
Pain walked step by step toward the Gedo Statue, raising his head to look at this frozen monster.
"Who knows? It's just my guess."
Ryosuke's ideology had gradually begun spreading across all the great nations, and among them, it spread fastest in the Land of Water and the Land of Fire. In various places, "believers" of Ryosuke were starting to appear.
Within companies belonging to those two nations' conglomerates, workers were asking for breaks, demanding wage increases, and even just a few days ago, small-scale strikes had broken out.
For now, it was still only individual cases in small areas, but anyone who wasn't blind could see this was a storm about to sweep across the entire nation, a heart-bewitching ghost drifting through the world.
Pain stood with his hands behind his back, "Most likely, they just can't hold it in anymore."
Konan naturally knew who he meant by "they."
"Then you're still letting Kakuzu and Hidan go… to their deaths?"
"Kakuzu has close ties with the conglomerates, and Hidan has a blood feud with Ryosuke. If I don't let them go, do you think they won't go anyway?"
The reason Akatsuki could gather a band of madmen who committed all sorts of evil was not only because it could serve as a shelter for them, but more importantly, the core reason was, by joining Akatsuki, they could "be themselves" even more than if they acted alone.
"And besides, it may not necessarily be to their deaths. Don't underestimate the power of 'money,' and don't underestimate those aristocratic conglomerates that have lasted for centuries. Also…"
Pain thought of that head raised high in the Hidden Mist Village, the head of the Daimyō.
"I also want to see whether Ryosuke's fantasy can resist the cruelty of reality."
———
This time, the group heading to Kyoto was not large. Excluding some Hidden Mist clerical staff who had to coordinate with Kyoto officials, the core members were only four and a half people, Ryosuke, Terumi Mei, Hayato Kamihara, and Zabuza.
As for the remaining "half a person," it was Chōjūrō, who had just graduated from the ninja academy.
Originally Sasuke and Rei also wanted to go, to see what a big city was like.
But after Sunagakure's teaching team left, there weren't enough people left in the Hidden Mist Village. After discussing, Sasuke and Rei decided to stay behind to help with the night classes and to take care of Amber, who was still undergoing rehabilitation treatment.
"Brother Ryosuke! Whatever good food and fun things there are, you must bring some back for us!" Sasuke and Rei said eagerly.
Ryosuke readily agreed, waved farewell to everyone, and set out on the journey.
With Ryosuke and the others' speed, if they ran at full power, they could reach Kyoto in less than three days.
But considering the dozens of clerical staff, and the massive amounts of documents and supplies that couldn't even fit inside the haunted mansion, they had no choice but to travel slowly by carriage and boat.
Fortunately, the Mizuen Festival would not be held until a month later. Even if they traveled slowly, they would still arrive in Kyoto before it began.
As for their food and lodging along the way… the wooden box marked with the Oda family crest was the best travel pass. Every town they passed through would do everything to help them along.
"This is 'absolute power.'"
Ryosuke rode on his horse, hooves clopping.
Terumi Mei glanced sideways at him, "You don't like it?"
Ryosuke shook his head, "It just reminded me of someone."
Terumi Mei froze for half a second, then realized, "You mean… the governor of Snowy Village?"
"Yeah."
Back then, that guy squeezed the people dry, everywhere were harsh taxes. Everything he did was to please the Daimyō. He was like a mountain pressing down on the heads of the people in his domain.
Now, just a little wooden box could make countless governors bow and scrape.
This contrast felt absurd to Ryosuke.
Absolute power, when held in the hands of a wise ruler, was the height of prosperity.
When held in the hands of a foolish tyrant, it was hell on earth.
While he was thinking, a can of iced green tea pressed against Ryosuke's cheek. He turned to see Terumi Mei grinning, tilting her head slightly, leaning closer and softly saying, "That's why we'll change it together."
"Since the evil in this world has no bottom line, then we will hold the bottom line for this world."
Ryosuke met her gaze. Her bright eyes shimmered with an unpredictable light, like the moon rippling gently at the bottom of a well.
He quietly gazed at the moonlight, until a cry interrupted him.
"Lord Ryosuke! Lady Mizukage! Something's wrong, we…"
Chōjūrō jumped down from the carriage, holding a map as he ran over, "We seem to be lost!"
'Lost?'
Ryosuke looked around.
Indeed, about ten minutes ago, the fog around them had started thickening, and now visibility was less than ten meters.
But what kind of mist could make a group of ninjas who lived their whole lives in the Hidden Mist Village get lost?
Ryosuke flew up into the sky, breaking free of the fog. From above, he looked down.
He saw a huge stretch of thick fog covering a radius of several kilometers. Water vapor spread everywhere, and as sunlight fell, the colors shifted in rainbows, dreamlike and illusory.
A town was buried within the mist, only its outline faintly visible.
Ryosuke landed back on the ground.
"Something's not right. Let's go into the town and see."
"But… how do we even get through?" Chōjūrō pulled out a compass. "This fog seems to have the ability to confuse direction."
"Then we don't need direction… Stand firm."
"Huh?"
Ryosuke waved his hand, Ripple merging with natural energy, gathering into a straight howling gale. From behind, it roared forward, ripping the fog apart, charging like ten thousand horses.
Carriages and ninjas all swayed under the storm. A few seconds later, the wind dispersed, and at the far end of their vision stood a prosperous county town.
Chōjūrō gaped, realizing, since they could see it already, they naturally didn't need direction anymore.
"Let's go."
Ryosuke gave a reminder, tugged the reins, and rode his horse toward the county town.
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