"Ah? Wait a moment."
Just as the staff member was about to leave through the door, Mr. An finally noticed the small figure behind Uchiha Jie.
"Who's this?" He bent down slightly, trying to look as kind as possible.
"This is my new student. Come on, say hello to Uncle An."
Uchiha Jie's voice was full of pride as he reached out and pulled Hinata over.
"You're incredibly well-informed. You should know who she is, right?"
"Uncle An..."
Hinata called out cautiously. Mr. An's face lit up. Though he was bald and burly, with a face full of rough features, Hinata could still tell he was trying hard to seem less frightening.
"Hyuga Hinata, don't be afraid. Your master and I aren't brothers by blood, but we're closer than real brothers."
Mr. An held out his right hand, and Hinata clasped one of his fingers. They counted that as a handshake.
"Your uncle will have to think hard about what gift to get you."
He stood up and turned to give an order:
"Bring some more freshly squeezed juice."
After the staff member left, Mr. An pulled Uchiha Jie over to sit with him on the sofa. The sofa was certainly well-made. It didn't collapse under his weight, though it sank deeply beneath him.
Mr. An leaned heavily against the back of the sofa, just as Uchiha Jie had a moment earlier. He pulled out the cigar he usually smoked, but when he saw Hinata sitting on Uchiha Jie's other side, he quietly slipped it back into his pocket.
"Good thing you showed up before I'd saved enough money. Otherwise, I really would've hired someone to kill Uchiha Itachi." He gazed at Uchiha Jie's mask and grinned.
"Who were you going to hire? Tell me," Uchiha Jie said, leaning back against the sofa. "Let's see who'd dare take that job."
"His real name is Kakuzu, but he's got a very impressive nickname."
"What nickname?" Uchiha Jie chuckled.
"Pseudo-First Hokage. He claims he fought the First Hokage and lived to tell the tale," Mr. An explained. "And he really is powerful. He's proficient in all kinds of Ninjutsu, and his mission completion rate ranks near the top of the Money Exchange's list."
"The rogue ninjas got together and gave him the name Pseudo-First Hokage."
"More importantly, he loves taking missions. He doesn't ask for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu in exchange, just money. It seems that as long as you pay him enough, he'll take on any job."
"It's just that he rarely operates in the Land of Fire. Otherwise, I'd have found him long ago." Mr. An shook his head, then looked at Uchiha Jie and asked, "What do you think? Could this Pseudo-First Hokage kill Uchiha Itachi?"
"If he could kill Uchiha Itachi, he'd be at the top of the bounty list hanging outside."
Uchiha Jie shrugged and said, "Besides, he and Uchiha Itachi have both joined the same organization. You've probably heard of them."
"Akatsuki."
"In a place where rain falls all day and the sun never shines, in the Land of Rain, ravaged by the wars between the Five Great Nations, someone founded an organization with the goal of letting that crying country see the dawn."
"That's a good name. It's got real depth," Mr. An said with a laugh. "But I remember that organization keeping a low profile. There's hardly any information about them."
"Ever since Hanzo of the Salamander died, the Land of Rain has been in constant turmoil. Even the Money Exchange would have a hard time setting up shop there."
"I never expected Mr. Kakuzu to be hiding in an organization like that. Uchiha Itachi joined it too."
"I still have a use for Uchiha Itachi, and he's not someone just anyone can kill."
Seeing Mr. An already itching to act, Uchiha Jie tried to dissuade him.
"As for this so-called Akatsuki, I suggest you rein in your curiosity. I've already saved you twice, and I don't want to have to save you a third time."
Though Uchiha Jie wore a mask, Mr. An could still hear how serious he was. Even so, he slung an arm around his good friend's neck.
"You shouldn't have said that. Now you've got me curious," Mr. An said, scratching his bald head. His gaze passed over Uchiha Jie and settled on Hinata, who was sitting quietly on the other side.
"You're curious too, aren't you, little girl? Why don't you ask your master to tell you, then secretly tell me?" he said with a grin.
"I can tell you what I know about Akatsuki, but you can't put it up for sale."
Uchiha Jie glanced at Hinata, who was starting to get curious too, and shook his head. His good friend was great in every way, but he was especially curious about all kinds of information—a man who'd risk his life for it. He couldn't let him lead his student astray.
"Akatsuki's leader possesses the legendary eyes," he said with a smile.
"There are plenty of legendary eyes. To some people, the Sharingan and Byakugan are legendary too." Mr. An grinned, but when Uchiha Jie said what came next, his eyes widened until they looked like two giant lamps.
"They're the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, the ancestor of the shinobi world."
But two seconds later, Mr. An seemed to calm down again. He said,
"If Akatsuki's leader really had the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, the Land of Rain wouldn't be in that state."
"Of course, just like I could give you a pair of Sharingan right now and you still wouldn't be able to use them, not everyone can wield the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. But they're still the Sage of Six Paths' eyes. Even with all those limitations, they're incredibly powerful."
"For instance, the rain in the Land of Rain has already taken on a trace of the power of those eyes. The moment you set foot in the Land of Rain, those eyes will sense you."
"No wonder we haven't had any information from the Land of Rain for so long."
Mr. An nodded. His voice suddenly turned serious. He sat up, looked solemnly at Uchiha Jie, and thumped his sturdy chest.
"Old Jie, we're friends. You've always been the one giving—sharing all kinds of information with me, helping me build this Money Exchange from the ground up, and saving me twice."
"When something so terrible happened to your clan, my first thought was to avenge you. But now it seems you intend to do it yourself. So I want to ask you, my friend: is there anything you need me to do?"
"Hahaha, that's why I came here, Old An." Uchiha Jie laughed. He looked at Mr. An's serious face and patted his burly frame.
"Bring out every bit of information about the Land of Water you can find. Especially anything about a Jonin named Ao."