After dealing with Hanzo and successfully occupying the Hidden Rain Village, the Akatsuki's next objective shifted toward recruiting members and stockpiling power.
The members of the Akatsuki organization, wearing their various colored rings, appeared once again before the Gedo Mazo.
Simu maintained an indifferent expression. Beside him, Hidan looked utterly bored; if it weren't for Simu, he wouldn't even want to participate in this "team building."
Yes, team building—that was the new term Simu had recently instilled in him.
As for White Zetsu and Black Zetsu, they remained hanging upside down above like bats. Tobi was absent for some unknown reason, and Konan, as usual, stood there quietly.
Pain's Rinnegan scanned the room before he spoke calmly. "The matters in the Hidden Rain Village have concluded for now. Our next goal will be to recruit members and expand the scale of the organization."
"Speak up. Are there any suitable candidates for recruitment?"
Konan seemed prepared. As soon as Pain finished, she spoke. "As far as I know, there is a bounty hunter in the underground exchange named Kakuzu. Known as the 'Undying,' he is a rogue ninja from the Hidden Waterfall Village. He is very powerful and would be a good candidate."
Konan clearly thought highly of this bounty hunter named Kakuzu. Pain, of course, did not object. To him, as long as a person possessed great strength and could help him capture Tailed Beasts, nothing else mattered.
"Kakuzu... that fellow is indeed strong. I will personally handle his recruitment when the time comes," Pain said slowly. He had evidently been paying attention to Kakuzu as well.
Seeing this, White Zetsu said lazily, "Since Konan recommended someone, I'll offer a name too. How about the S-rank rogue ninja of the Hidden Sand Village, the genius puppeteer Sasori of the Red Sand?"
Pain seemed to know of him and nodded. "Sasori's strength is indeed impressive. We can send someone to recruit him."
Seeing Pain staring at him, White Zetsu waved his hands hurriedly. "Leader, don't look at me. I'm just an intelligence officer. I'm not confident I could defeat a genius like Sasori."
Hearing this, Pain did not make things difficult for him. White Zetsu's point was valid; while his reconnaissance abilities were outstanding, he was indeed the weakest in a direct confrontation among everyone present.
"In that case, I suppose I'll have to be the one to go," Simu said, pushing up his glasses and taking the initiative to speak.
Of course, whether he volunteered or not wouldn't change the reality. The Akatsuki only had a few people right now. Pain was going after Kakuzu, White Zetsu lacked frontal combat capabilities, and Konan was busy managing the Hidden Rain Village. That left only the Jashin duo, Simu and Hidan.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Pain's voice was flat, seemingly devoid of emotion. Hidan picked at his nose and flicked it away casually. "A mere puppeteer? I can handle him by myself."
Seeing Hidan's arrogance, Konan felt compelled to warn them. "Sasori of the Red Sand is a genius Forbidden Jutsu puppeteer who can create Human Puppets. He can turn human bodies into puppets and use the ninjutsu they possessed in life. You had better be careful."
"Got it, got it! Piece of cake!"
Even though Konan had given a serious warning, Hidan remained boisterous. He shouldered his Three-bladed blood scythe and left the headquarters without a care in the world.
Simu took the intelligence scroll regarding Sasori from White Zetsu. Just as he was about to follow Hidan out, Konan called to him.
"Simu, stay for a moment."
"Oh? Does the Lady Angel have any instructions?"
Simu pushed up his glasses and, for the first time, made a joke with Konan. Facing Simu's jest, Konan was clearly surprised. "I didn't expect Mr. Simu to crack jokes with me."
Simu spread his hands. "It seems I usually appear too serious."
Konan gave a soft smile as well, then moved to the main topic. "I asked Mr. Simu to stay because I need your help with something."
"Please, speak."
Konan's expression turned serious. "Mr. Simu likely knows that the Land of Rain has harsh weather with year-round rain. Because of this, the citizens' food mostly relies on imports. However, since the coup ended, surrounding nations have begun to stop exporting grain to the Land of Rain. I wonder if Mr. Simu has any solutions?"
Simu was well aware of the weather in the Land of Rain. Ordinary crops simply could not survive in such harsh conditions. Without sufficient food, the people would go hungry, leading to inevitable riots and making it extremely difficult to rule the Hidden Rain Village.
This was why Konan chose to consult Simu, the organization's scientific research expert. However, just because naturally evolved crops couldn't survive didn't mean Simu's cultivated ones couldn't.
"If it's about this, you can rest easy. Lord Jashin has already bestowed a type of grain crop that can grow in the harsh environment of the Land of Rain."
Simu seemed to have been prepared. From the mouth-like opening in his palm, he spat out a bag of seeds.
Although they looked similar to ordinary rice, Simu had transplanted aquatic plant genes into them. Thus, these rice stalks were not afraid of rain and did not require much sunlight; they could thrive even in the Land of Rain.
Konan breathed a small sigh of relief. If Simu's words were true, the environment of the Land of Rain would undoubtedly become much more stable.
"And the compensation Mr. Simu requires?"
Konan looked at Simu. She wasn't naive enough to believe Simu would hand over something of such strategic importance for free.
Simu adjusted his glasses, a trace of a smile appearing. Trading with smart people was always convenient. "I would like to ask Mr. Nagato how his clone absorbs ninjutsu."
This was the thing Simu was most curious about during Nagato's war of revenge against Hanzo. He knew that almost all ninjutsu was converted through chakra, but how to convert that ninjutsu back into chakra to be absorbed was a very complex matter.
While Konan hesitated, Pain spoke from behind her. "I will compile the principles and key points of absorbing ninjutsu and give them to you. However, I must warn you: this method is only applicable to me because I possess the Rinnegan."
Simu nodded. He certainly didn't expect that he could simply apply the scroll to himself immediately, but as long as he knew the principles, he could potentially replicate or create a similar technique. Even if it didn't succeed, it would expand his knowledge and deepen his understanding of ninjutsu and chakra.
In short, for both Nagato and Simu, this was a win-win trade.
"In that case, I shall take my leave."