Konoha was already roiling with undercurrents.
Quite a few clan leaders and high-ranking figures from other villages were practically drooling as they stared at the Uchiha.
There was no helping it.
Uchiha Kuro's lavish spending had ignited the passion of Konoha's high-quality female ninja—but it had also drawn the covetous gaze of countless others.
In truth, there were plenty of clans as wealthy as the Uchiha.
But as ninja, how could they possibly throw money around this openly and this publicly?
Naturally, it attracted endless attention.
And with the Uchiha's current condition, it was practically like a child carrying a gold bar through a crowded marketplace…
Danzō was tempted!
Money, in many cases, was powerless.
For example, the Uchiha had all that wealth, yet it couldn't buy back the lives of their clansmen. Konoha had so much money, yet it still couldn't withstand Nagato's overwhelming assault.
But in many other cases, money was a mighty weapon!
If Danzō could get his hands on the Uchiha's wealth, he could expand Root by an entire fold!
And once his strength increased, his power would naturally rise as well…
Not only Danzō—even Hiruzen Sarutobi was tempted.
Back during the Uchiha massacre, if he hadn't been wary of how the village's great clans would react, he would have already begun making his move.
Or rather, if Uchiha Kuro hadn't handled things so well, Hiruzen would have finished moving already!
But now, one year had passed.
The vigilance of the major clans had gradually faded.
It was time to act!
And just as Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer resist ordering the Sarutobi clan to begin moving—
Suddenly!
A piece of news entered Konoha.
In the capital of the Land of Fire, three noble families with centuries of inheritance had been wiped out overnight.
Seven powerful merchant families had been slaughtered to the last man.
The ninja various clans had sent to target Uchiha industries had all vanished without a trace.
Among them were even jōnin-level experts…
In an instant, the owners of all those greedy gazes were shocked. They hurriedly withdrew their outstretched hands, and the way they looked at the Uchiha now carried a trace of fear.
"As expected of a great clan passed down since the Warring States era. Even reduced to this point, they can still pull off something like this…"
The Uchiha…
Truly terrifying!
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō, however, understood immediately.
"It was probably Itachi," Hiruzen thought to himself. "As expected, he still can't let go of the Uchiha."
Danzō's eyes were full of dread.
"Itachi… is this the power of the Mangekyō?"
Those great clans and merchant families all had strong guards protecting them!
…
Itachi Uchiha's show of force had succeeded.
Including Danzō, many ninja clans quickly drew back their hands.
A lot of people wanted money.
But they wanted to stay alive even more!
Of course, aside from Kakuzu, top-tier experts and major clans didn't care too much about money.
Even Itachi himself hadn't treated it as a big deal. Killing a few people was nothing to him.
The only troublesome part was probably how to explain things to Akatsuki.
"Itachi, you really made quite a mess of things," Zetsu said, shooting him an odd look.
"Indeed." Nagato's expression remained calm. "You killed too many people this time. It wouldn't be hard for capable ninja clans to trace it back to Akatsuki. Exposing too much of our strength will make others wary."
"That's not my problem." Uchiha Itachi's expression was flat, almost on par with Pain's corpse-puppet-like impassiveness. "Orochimaru did it."
"Orochimaru?"
Everyone was stunned.
"Yes." Itachi nodded. "After failing in his sneak attack on me, perhaps he was worried the Leader would go after him. By the time I arrived and figured out the targets, Orochimaru had already killed them all."
"Perhaps he wanted to use that as a way to earn Akatsuki's leniency?"
"As for why he killed so many… perhaps because he was in too much of a hurry, and wanted to move ahead of me, someone familiar with the Uchiha's assets. So he chose to kill a thousand by mistake rather than let one slip through."
"Of course, it's also possible he wanted to expose Akatsuki, draw others into besieging us, and avoid being hunted down himself."
"As for the exact reason, I don't know."
In short, it was all Orochimaru's fault!
It had nothing whatsoever to do with Uchiha Itachi.
And if anyone had questions, they were welcome to go ask him directly.
Everyone felt Itachi was feeding them nonsense, but they had no proof.
Uchiha Itachi remained expressionless. Although this incident increased the risk of his cover being exposed, in truth, when he and Obito made their deal—"I will join Akatsuki, in exchange for you not laying a hand on Konoha"—the other man had already understood that Itachi was most likely a spy for Konoha.
In fact, given Itachi's intelligence, he still failed to dig up any truly crucial secrets before his death.
That alone showed how little practical value this "spy" role really had.
So carrying a little more suspicion now didn't matter much.
"Then we'll treat it as Orochimaru's doing," Nagato said at last, bringing the topic to an end. He continued, "In any case, your employer for this mission was extremely satisfied."
"At the same time, they have added another commission—hiring Akatsuki's experts to protect the members of the Uchiha clan…"
"This is a long-term guard mission. The pay is calculated at the equivalent of three S-rank missions per month."
Again?
Everyone's expressions turned strange once more.
Even Itachi's face changed slightly.
Nagato, however, remained expressionless and continued, "Who wants to take it?"
"I do!"
A slightly weak, yet extremely resolute voice rang out.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
"Oh, it's old man Kakuzu."
"I knew you'd never pass up a mission with a reward like this."
"By the way, Kakuzu… what happened to your current state?"
Everyone's expressions gradually became even stranger.
Everyone else was standing.
Only Kakuzu was sprawled on the ground like a puddle of mud.
Why was he maintaining that posture?
Hadn't the injuries the Leader beat into him last time already healed?
"Oh, it's like this," his ever-thoughtful partner Hidan said with a grin. "This time, the channel through which the Uchiha contacted Akatsuki actually went through Kakuzu."
"The Uchiha wanted to add another mission—capturing Kage-level female ninja. Ten billion ryō for a Kage-level female ninja capable of bearing children."
"So Kakuzu couldn't help stealing another glance at Konan… Anyway, now he's back to being bedridden. He can't even get up."
Everyone: "…"
Good lord.
The old man was still the old man.
"But even so, there was no need to attend the meeting while injured," Sasori said, sounding utterly drained. "Akatsuki isn't so oppressive that it squeezes employees this hard, is it?"
"If I didn't attend this meeting, would this mission still have a share for me?"
Kakuzu's eyes burned with intensity, his voice ringing with conviction.
"Leader, I want this mission. I already missed the last one. Don't even think about taking this one from me!"
"Whoever tries to take it—I'll kill them!"
Clearly gravely injured and flat on his back—
And yet Kakuzu still raised one arm in a trembling but unwavering motion, like an elementary school student raising a hand to answer a question, his face full of utter seriousness.
Everyone: "…"