Akatsuki.
One figure after another flickered into view.
At the center, a man with the Rinnegan open spoke in a low voice.
"Akatsuki has received a commission…"
"They want us to kill the ninja attacking Liancheng Mine, along with the merchants and nobles behind them. The reward is equal to three standard S-rank missions."
"Killing a few ninja and some merchants and nobles isn't worth that kind of pay. The reward is pretty generous," Sasori said in a hoarse, aged voice. "But for such a small matter—something any one of us could handle—there's no need for you to gather all of us here, Leader, right?"
Everyone's gaze turned toward the owner of the Rinnegan.
Nagato didn't hide anything.
"Liancheng Mine is an Uchiha property. This is a commission from the Uchiha clan. Their businesses have been harassed badly by some ninja lately, so they came to hire us."
"The Uchiha clan?"
The group was briefly stunned, then instinctively looked toward Uchiha Itachi at the side.
Itachi lowered his eyelids slightly, and his pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
But his expression didn't change at all, as though none of this had anything to do with him.
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"So even the proud Uchiha know how to ask for help… Though they probably don't know that the very culprits who brought the great and famous Uchiha to this state are right here in Akatsuki."
The others laughed as well.
The Uchiha clan had always been arrogant, famous since the Warring States era for relying on their own strength to deal with enemies.
Who would have thought they'd actually commission outsiders?
And not only that—they'd come to them of all people?
That really was…
"Speaking of which, I heard the two remaining Uchiha have completely thrown away the clan's pride. They've apparently gone crazy taking concubines and turned themselves into breeding studs."
"I heard that too. The grand noble clan of the ninja world has fallen this far. What a pity."
"Heh, don't put it like that. That current Uchiha clan head's plan is actually pretty solid. According to my intel, he had a child not long ago. For the growth of the Uchiha clan, that contributes a lot more than what a mere Chūnin could accomplish on his own."
The group joked and laughed without the slightest restraint.
Nagato, however, remained expressionless the entire time. He quietly glanced at Itachi.
"Itachi, what do you think?"
Akatsuki was still not at its full peak. They were still gathering funds and were in need of large amounts of money.
Normally, for a mission with such a high reward and such low difficulty, Akatsuki would never refuse.
But this time, it concerned one of their own.
It wasn't that Nagato had any real affection for the people in Akatsuki. Aside from Konan, he didn't approve of the way the others operated.
But Itachi's value to his plan was obviously worth far more than a mere bit of money…
"I have no objection." Itachi's voice was as calm as ever. "A mere Uchiha clan is no longer worthy of my concern. The Uchiha are the Uchiha. I am me."
"For the sake of our greater plan, I don't mind the organization's actions."
Nagato nodded.
They were all ninja. There was no need for empty formalities.
If Itachi said he didn't care, then he truly didn't care.
"In that case, we'll take it," Nagato said. "Orochimaru, this mission is yours."
"I don't mind." Orochimaru gave a cold smile. "Though if I remember correctly, Kakuzu usually loves high-paying jobs like this the most."
"Hm? Come to think of it, he's not here for this meeting. Did something happen?"
As he spoke, he looked around, confirming that Kakuzu really wasn't present.
Kakuzu's partner, Hidan, said carelessly, "Nothing much. A while ago, when Kakuzu found out how much the Uchiha family was offering in that high-paying childbearing scheme, he couldn't help glancing at Konan a little too long. Then the Leader beat the hell out of him. He still hasn't gotten out of bed yet."
Uh…
Everyone's expressions instantly turned strange.
They all knew Kakuzu's personality.
That look of his…
He probably really had some idea in mind!
Like packaging up a Kage-level expert like Konan and sending her over?
He probably wouldn't act on it—but he definitely had the thought!
To even entertain ideas about the Rinnegan Leader's teammate… old man Kakuzu really was fearless.
For money, did he not even care about his life anymore?
"Fine, then I'll go," Orochimaru said with a cold smile. "I'm fairly familiar with the Land of Fire anyway… Though since this was done by ninja clans, it was handled pretty discreetly. Finding out who the culprits are this time may be troublesome."
"Itachi, if you don't mind, how about taking a trip with me?"
"You should be fairly familiar with the Uchiha clan's assets too, shouldn't you?"
His snake-like tongue slid out, and his eyes toward Itachi were filled with greed.
Itachi gave a slight nod.
His expression remained calm, as though he hadn't noticed Orochimaru's gaze at all.
But inwardly, he let out a faint sigh.
"Uchiha Kuro…"
…
Of course, Uchiha Kuro knew that Itachi was currently in Akatsuki.
But he also understood something even more clearly—
Itachi had acted against the Uchiha for the sake of Konoha.
Or rather, he believed it was for Konoha.
But one thing was one thing, and another was another. To say Itachi felt no guilt at all in his heart would be a joke.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, when facing Yakushi Kabuto, he had openly admitted his own failure and deeply regretted the rash decisions he had made back then.
Although it was still early now, the guilt in his heart had never disappeared because of that.
So forget Itachi making Akatsuki reject the Uchiha clan's commission—
He would absolutely do everything possible to complete this commission perfectly and thoroughly!
"Hopefully Itachi handles it cleanly and scares those ninja clans a little more," Uchiha Kuro said with a light chuckle.
Then he turned to look behind him.
During this period, more high-quality female ninja had joined the great Uchiha family.
Several of them were already pregnant.
And of course, what made Uchiha Kuro even happier was…
Yugao and the batch of female ninja from her group—
had given birth!