"How about I just blow up Konoha too?"
Amamiya Kenichi scratched his head and tested the waters.
He really wanted that Konoha war bounty.
Right now, he was painfully, desperately broke.
Experiments burned money.
Building a thermobaric bomb burned mountains of money.
After the last one, he didn't even have the resources to make a second unit.
If he tried to, the materials bill alone could completely empty his savings.
That old saying—"Every cannon shot is gold burned by the ton"—wasn't a joke.
"For now, there's no such bounty," Nagato replied. "If you're really interested, I can ask Kumogakure. I'm sure they'd be delighted to put out a contract."
He almost clapped.
He hadn't fully revealed the Akatsuki's true goal yet, but anything that created headaches for Konoha was basically a good thing.
War missions were war missions.
Let the great nations bite each other; Akatsuki would just collect the money.
"…Maybe ask Konoha first," Kenichi muttered, rubbing his chin.
If he walked into Kumo right now asking about a "blow up Konoha" bounty, he was pretty sure what would actually show up was a furious Fourth Raikage charging at him with a Liger Bomb.
Given how badly the thermobaric blast had mauled the village, "furious" was probably an understatement.
Then again, it was normal.
Before nuclear weapons appeared in his previous life, the average person had no concept of them either. Only after getting hit did people start thinking about how to defend.
Same here.
Once the ninja world understood that this kind of weapon existed, they'd definitely begin to adapt.
But as long as his research evolved faster than their defenses, the pressure would always be on their side.
Besides, a thermobaric bomb was already the most terrifying weapon you could build short of a nuclear strike. That alone was enough to make the Five Great Villages choke.
"All right. I'll sound Konoha out for you," Nagato nodded.
Kumogakure had lost a quarter of its village. If they didn't charge Konoha a massive fee for that kind of result, it would be an insult to Akatsuki's labor costs.
"The rest is your own business for now," he added with a wave of his hand. "I'll handle this matter and contact you if there's news."
He truly didn't want to talk to this guy for too long.
Yes, Yu had finally done something extremely useful…
But he also had a talent for raising Nagato's blood pressure.
Kenichi was more than happy to leave.
He didn't like staying in this underground base too long anyway, and he hadn't eaten lunch yet. If his teacher was calling him out, then obviously it was time to freeload a meal and reward himself.
I should really invent some kind of self-heating hotpot one of these days, he thought. Travel missions are suffering without decent food…
Sasori had already gone inside the base—he and Kenichi split up at the entrance.
Kenichi didn't mind.
It wasn't like he had anything to hide; even if someone found the Shinigami masks, they'd have no idea what they really were for.
A village as small as Amegakure didn't have many good barbecue places.
But knowing Orochimaru, Kenichi was sure he'd pick the one closest to the base.
Sure enough, he soon spotted his teacher sitting inside a somewhat shabby barbecue shop.
"In a small village like this, the grilled meat is unexpectedly good," Orochimaru said, posture elegant, like someone who'd been formally trained in table manners.
Kenichi had seen that act enough times not to blink. He plopped down opposite him without hesitation.
"Sensei, I—"
He'd meant to start talking about the trip to Kumo and Uzushio, but before he could get more than two words out, Orochimaru picked up a slice of beef and dropped it into his bowl.
"Eat," his teacher said with a soft smile, neatly cutting off his report.
Kenichi paused, then obediently picked up the meat.
…Good god, this was delicious.
Whatever else you could say about Orochimaru, his grilling skills were legit.
Kenichi couldn't help wondering if it was his imagination, but his teacher genuinely seemed hopeless at cooking normal food and amazing at barbecue.
The beef was seared just right, char-kissed on the outside, still tender and juicy inside. One bite and warm fat and umami flooded his mouth.
Did Sensei get this good from grilling experimental samples or something…?
Knowing his teacher's personality, it wasn't impossible.
Orochimaru was one of the very few genuine "scientists" in the ninja world.
His ideas were often… bold, to put it mildly.
Like that time he'd casually mentioned wanting to build an enormous ship and sail out to see what lay beyond the known continents—whether this world really only had these few lands.
Kenichi had been this close to watching Orochimaru sail off into a completely different manga.
Luckily, his teacher had dropped the plan.
There was still too much left undone on this continent—too many jutsu to learn, too many experiments to conduct.
If Orochimaru had actually sailed away back then, the original Naruto plot probably wouldn't have had room left for itself.
They chatted as they ate, but only about surface-level things: recent missions Akatsuki had taken, how the organization was operating, a few tidbits about Rain.
Nothing heavy.
Nothing important.
Kenichi knew why.
Orochimaru didn't want to discuss serious topics inside Amegakure.
With Nagato's Rinnegan, who knew what sort of surveillance he might have laced through the village?
It wasn't until they had left the village, walking along a quiet road in the rain country outskirts, that his teacher's expression cooled and the real conversation began.
"From now on, our main base of operations will shift to the Land of Rice Fields," Orochimaru said calmly. "I intend to build a more complete research facility there."
Kenichi had already guessed that.
Rice Fields had no powerful ninja village of its own, which made it an ideal place to set up shop. The geography was good, hiding was easy, and material procurement was more convenient.
"Got it, Sensei," Kenichi nodded without argument.
"Kenichi," Orochimaru stopped, turning to look at him with a small, chilly smile. "After so long… how about a spar?"
Kenichi blinked.
Ah.
So that's what this was.
"Sensei, isn't that unnecessary?" he laughed lightly. "I still like doing research with you the most."
He knew exactly what Orochimaru was thinking.
His teacher wanted to see if his little fledgling was already thinking about flying off on his own. To see how "hard" his wings had gotten.
Orochimaru folded his arms, quietly looking at him.
Kenichi met his gaze head-on, not dodging.
Because yes—he did want his own lab.
He did want his own projects.
But he wasn't planning on cutting ties and running.
"…Very well," Orochimaru said after a long silence. "When the time comes, if you provide the money, I can arrange for someone to build your lab."
"Huh? You're not going to sponsor me a bit, Sensei?" Kenichi walked up eagerly.
Orochimaru narrowed his golden eyes at him.
Kenichi instantly straightened, coughed, and took half a step back.
Right.
He'd almost forgotten—
His teacher was broke too.