The Unanimous Vote!

The meeting was nearing its end.

"Those who agree to replace the current plan with the Shirozumi Plan, stay where you are.

Those who disagree, take half a step back."

Pain swept his gaze across everyone below.

After he finished speaking, not a single person moved.

It was fair to say that Shirozumi's words had convinced almost everyone.

The one who had the least favorable impression of Shirozumi was Sasori.

That was because Sasori had turned himself into a Human Puppet and had little desire or ambition left.

When it came to changing the plan, he couldn't be bothered to argue either for or against it.

The most important person to convince was naturally Black Zetsu.

Black Zetsu might have been evil, but it certainly wasn't stupid.

Shirozumi had laid out the pros and cons. The right choice was obvious.

As for whether Black Zetsu believed what Shirozumi had said,

it considered his claims highly credible.

First, if Shirozumi were lying, what would his motive be?

Second, according to Shirozumi, finding Ōtsutsuki Isshiki would inevitably be assigned to Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. They would be the first to learn whether it was true.

"Hey, what are we supposed to do now?"

Deidara asked.

"Kakuzu will prepare an economic development plan for Amegakure. Black White Zetsu will go collect 'materials.' The rest of you have no assignments.

You can help Kakuzu, or just keep doing whatever you normally do. Train or develop jutsu—do whatever you like."

Shirozumi knew that before Shippuden began, the Akatsuki Organization had no major plans in motion.

So there was no need to assign tasks deliberately.

But Shirozumi figured the others probably wouldn't help Kakuzu.

These people really didn't like working in teams.

They would most likely go off and study jutsu or train on their own.

After all, the Ōtsutsuki Clan was now a looming threat.

"Fine..."

Deidara seemed thoughtful.

Shirozumi's description of the Ōtsutsuki had made Deidara feel the danger all over again.

Deidara had already been training hard to overcome Itachi's Mangekyo, but now he felt his previous efforts hadn't been enough.

Wait, Itachi?

"Um, Itachi and Kisame weren't here today. Who's going to tell them what happened?"

Deidara asked again.

"I'll tell them myself. Their team is up for the next mission anyway, so I'll explain it to them on the way."

Shirozumi replied.

"You mean the mission in the Land of Waves?"

Kakuzu, who had been silently observing, spoke up.

When Shirozumi had said the others had no assignments, Kakuzu had been puzzled about why the mission in the Land of Waves that Shirozumi had mentioned earlier hadn't been given to him.

Before, Kakuzu might have wondered whether Shirozumi was contradicting himself to deceive him.

But now, Kakuzu was only wondering whether Shirozumi had said so much that he'd accidentally overlooked it.

He hadn't expected the answer to come here.

"The Land of Waves is a midway point between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire. If we only want Gato's money, then you can handle it, Kakuzu.

But if we want to make this sustainable, it'd be best to have people from both Konoha and Kirigakure go there."

Shirozumi gave a brief explanation.

"Konoha and Kirigakure? What a coincidence. That team has two... Never mind. Contact me if you need my help..."

Kakuzu trailed off, then thought of something and looked at Pain. "Leader, does he have a ring? How are we supposed to contact him otherwise?"

"Suzaku and Nanto, who will be working with him, can relay messages."

Pain answered coolly.

"Fine."

The meeting was finally over.

After everyone dispersed, Konan stopped Shirozumi.

"Since you already know Uchiha Itachi is a spy, you're still planning to work with them alone?"

Konan was deeply concerned for Shirozumi's safety.

Shirozumi's life was now the future of both Amegakure and the Akatsuki Organization.

"This was part of the plan from the beginning. With a spy, we either eliminate him or make use of him. We can't keep him hanging around, pretending we don't know.

If he finds out something, we'll be the ones at a disadvantage."

"So that's why you didn't ask us to kill him or drive him away?"

Konan furrowed her brow.

"As long as our interests align and we share an enemy, we can be 'allies.'

So don't worry about me. Even if I were an ordinary person with no Chakra and no knowledge of ninjutsu, I could still keep him in check."

Shirozumi smiled confidently.

What he was talking about wasn't just a theory. It was something that had played out countless times in the future of the Shinobi World.

It was the fundamental logic behind how people—and factions—dealt with each other.

The smarter and more level-headed someone was, the easier they were to get along with, and the less dangerous they were.

So far, the only one who had really tried to attack him was Hidan.

If Shirozumi truly were an ordinary person, he could get past Pain and every other member of the Akatsuki Organization. The only one who might have killed him was Hidan, whose brain didn't work right.

Even Kakuzu, who was a little unstable, could still weigh his options and think things through. He knew Shirozumi's "brain" was more useful than his "heart."

Besides, Shirozumi wasn't an "ordinary person."

"All right, then. Be careful. Nagato will give them a mission."

After saying that, Konan left too.

After flying some distance away, Konan raised her hand and drew a faded yellow paper flower from her sleeve.

She had taken it from the things Shirozumi had sorted and brought over two days earlier. He had "given" it to her.

The faint Chakra lingering on the flower made it clear that it had been left there by her.

Three days later, at the border of the Land of Fire.

Two figures wearing conical hats sat in a dango shop, eating dango.

"What's so good about these glutinous rice dumplings? Why does everyone like them so much?"

Shirozumi approached from the shop next door with a cup of oden in hand and sat across from them.

"You're the new Strategist the leader told us about?"

Kisame Hoshigaki stared at Shirozumi with his fish-like eyes.

"That's right. I assume you've also received the mission Zero sent you..."

"To assist you and meet any request you make."

Uchiha Itachi suddenly interrupted him.

Before Shirozumi had appeared, Uchiha Itachi had been wondering whether he should use Genjutsu to probe this "Strategist."

After carefully weighing it, he had abandoned the idea.

According to Pain's message through their rings, every other member of the Akatsuki Organization had unanimously approved of this Strategist.

If Itachi chose to attack without warning, he might expose himself as a spy.

For a ninja, Genjutsu was the simplest and most direct way to gather information, but it wasn't the only way.

Besides, they were going to spend some time together, so he would have plenty of chances to investigate gradually.

So Itachi spoke up to show a little goodwill.

Kisame respected Uchiha Itachi. Seeing Itachi's attitude, he didn't say much and also told Shirozumi that he would follow orders.

"Good."

"You two were on a mission last time, so you missed the meeting. Once we set out and there's no one around, I'll explain everything to you again."

When Shirozumi said he'd "explain everything again," he naturally meant he would choose what to include and leave the rest out.

Hearing him say that, the two grew curious.

After quickly finishing their dango, the three set off.