After Deidara helped incinerate the used "PPT," Hidan was called back into the cave.
Hidan immediately noticed that the others' attitudes toward Senya had shifted. It seemed the brat had actually proposed some kind of convincing strategy or plan. He scratched his head, dying of curiosity.
Before Hidan could ask anything, Senya spoke again. "Besides the plan I just mentioned, there is another way to establish deterrence, though the operation is relatively more troublesome."
"Spill it, spill it! Who's the next victim—er, I mean, who is the next one honored enough to be used to deter the shinobi world?" Deidara was abnormally excited, appearing to delight in the chaos as he nearly let his true thoughts slip.
"Konan-san..."
Senya's gaze shifted toward Konan. Even the way he addressed her had subtly changed.
Konan's heart skipped a beat. Before Senya could finish, she stepped in front of him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and with a cold yet complex expression, squeezed out four words: "I beg of you."
"Since Konan-san is begging me, I'll just make this particular scheme public." Senya looked like he completely "understood."
"Wait, that's not..." Konan looked conflicted.
She wanted to stop Senya from proposing some ridiculous strategy with her as the protagonist. Yet, she also clearly understood that the things Senya proposed were genuinely beneficial to Akatsuki and the Hidden Rain Village.
"Konan-san, your technique's camouflage ability is quite good, isn't it?" Senya asked.
"...It's decent," Konan replied, her heart tightening.
To prepare for "Madara," she had managed to disguise a literal ocean of explosive tags. Her Dance of the Shikigami was a technique that even "Madara's" Mangekyō Sharingan could not see through. She hadn't expected Senya to bring this up. She couldn't reveal too much, but for the sake of the village and the organization, she gave a nod of affirmation.
"Then it's perfect. Konan-san, you will disguise your explosive tags as toilet paper and sell them to the Five Great Shinobi Nations. When they use that toilet paper to wipe... Let the world feel pain! Art is an Explosion!"
This time, Senya didn't use a "PPT." He gave a passionate solo performance.
"Why do those last two sentences sound so familiar?" The intellectually challenged Hidan spoke up while the others were either speechless or shocked, offering a comment that made everyone want to facepalm.
Deidara, hearing his own cool catchphrase stolen by Senya and used for this, felt as disgusted as someone who realizes halfway through a meal that they've been eating with a dirty spoon.
"I beg of you..." Deidara couldn't help but mutter those four words as well.
"You'll have to wait in line. I'm currently explaining Konan-san's exclusive plan," Senya said, gesturing toward her.
Konan's expression was a mix of helplessness and resignation, though there was a flicker of admiration deep down. This was indeed something she could do, but something she had never once considered.
"No! We cannot do this!" Kakuzu suddenly barked, his voice booming and startling everyone.
The Akatsuki members looked at Kakuzu in surprise. They hadn't expected Kakuzu—a prime candidate for the title of Akatsuki's biggest pervert—to oppose this plan. Had they misjudged his character?
"Why?" Senya and Konan asked simultaneously, their voices tinged with a strange synchronization. They glanced at each other briefly after realizing they had spoken at the same time.
"Do you have any idea how much an explosive tag costs?! And how much a roll of toilet paper costs?!" Kakuzu's green eyes glared at Senya with fury. "How much money would we lose disguising explosive tags as toilet paper? Have you even done the math?!"
Kakuzu's indignant questioning allowed Konan to breathe a secret sigh of relief.
It seems my secret isn't out, she thought. She knew it—if even "Uchiha Madara" couldn't see through her camouflage, there was no way Kakuzu could.
"Kakuzu, your vision is too narrow," Senya said, shaking his head.
"My vision is narrow?! Do you have any idea how long I've been alive?" Kakuzu narrowed his eyes.
"A thousand years?"
"..."
"I'll take that as a no. If you haven't lived for a thousand years, you should stop trying to pull rank based on age. Besides, I'm not insulting you; I'm being logical. I heard Hidan once asked you why you don't just kill everyone at the Bounty Station to take all the money. Your answer was that only by completing bounty missions can there be sustainable development. That economic concept is quite good."
Senya paused as Kakuzu listened. Even though the "pulling rank" comment annoyed him, he endured it. What came next was crucial. Senya's previous plans had already proven his strategic brilliance; he wasn't someone who spoke without cause. Kakuzu had already begun to trust him.
"First, as the saying goes, one cannot skimp on military expenditure. The money you save today will only become reparations you pay to others tomorrow. Second, did you forget the development plan for the Hidden Rain I showed you? Once we develop steadily, the profits will be more than enough to support a dozen 'loss-leading' plans like this. Furthermore, we can manufacture the toilet paper ourselves."
"Think about it. If toilet paper from everywhere else has a chance of exploding, but only ours is safe to use, that is a monopoly. The Five Great Nations will have no choice but to use the toilet paper we produce. We can even print patterns and slogans on the paper. It is common knowledge that people like to have something to look at while they're on the toilet. Over time, the common people of the Five Great Nations will be subconsciously influenced by us..."
"Of course, they could stop using paper and return to using twigs or grass. But doing that is far more likely to injure their delicate backsides. And as for what happens after that... well, you all understand."
Senya suddenly cut himself off at the end. Everyone realized it was because Hidan had returned, and this particular detail couldn't be said aloud.
"You actually managed to link these two strategies together? That's insane, hm!" Deidara's comment echoed the inner thoughts of everyone present.
"I still have a question," Kakuzu spoke again. "What did you mean by printing things on the toilet paper? Trying to make the Five Great Nations accept Akatsuki's ideals? I think you're being far too idealistic. Regardless of anything else, the moment we start capturing Tailed Beasts, we will become the mortal enemies of the Five Great Nations."
The others remained silent, signaling their agreement. Even those like Pain, Konan, and Deidara, who hoped their ideals (or art) would be recognized by others, didn't believe the people of the Five Great Nations would ever understand them.
"That leads to the final thing I have to say," Senya said with an air of absolute seriousness. "I have decided that Akatsuki should abandon the plan to capture the Tailed Beasts and create the Ten-Tails for deterrence."
"..."
Pain, who had been standing silently in the corner, shifted slightly.
However, the person with the most intense psychological reaction wasn't Nagato, but Black Zetsu hiding below. The moment those words left Senya's mouth, Black Zetsu decided that Senya was on a path to certain death.
Just as Black Zetsu was wondering when to notify that Obito brat to take Senya out, Senya's next words left him completely stunned.
"Our new plan is—to resurrect Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."