Looking at the string of figures on the scroll, Aoike could no longer stay calm. He forced himself to sit up and leaned against the headboard.
His trembling finger pointed at one of the items on the list of debts.
"You're making me pay three hundred million ryo for a little hill?!"
Was your hill made of gold and silver?
"The hill itself was worth twenty million ryo, but you smashed a lot of precious materials inside it. Those were worth another two hundred and eighty million."
"I don't believe it. I want to see the evidence..." At that, a flush rose in Aoike's pale face.
"You smashed it all. There's nothing left."
Pain's expression remained impassive. His calm tone made it impossible to tell whether he was telling the truth.
Aoike's face shifted through shades of green, red, and white as he stared at Pain's serious expression, falling into self-doubt.
Could it be true? Had I really smashed something that expensive?
"I am a god. I would never cheat you or make false claims..." Pain spoke with complete confidence, especially when he called himself a god.
"Phew..." Aoike let out a long breath. Though he wasn't sure how much he owed, Pain had undeniably saved his life. Besides, Aoike didn't look like he had much money. It was obvious they had some other purpose.
After a moment of silence, the inarticulate Pain finally raised a hand...
At the crucial moment, Konan stepped forward and placed herself between them.
After exchanging a look, Pain kept his deadpan expression and left the room. If Aoike hadn't been useful, and if he hadn't still been injured—making a victory feel a little dishonorable—Pain would have already subdued him with force.
Konan was better at dealing with people.
Once the imposing figure had left, the tension in the small room finally eased a little.
"We looked into your background," Konan said, secretly watching Aoike's expression.
Seeing that he didn't seem to mind, she breathed a sigh of relief. He was the easiest person she'd ever dealt with among their prospective members.
As the Cloud's Hokage, Aoike already knew some important information.
For instance, Zetsu of the Akatsuki was one of the old hands in the organization, and gathering intelligence was his specialty.
It was only natural for them to investigate someone of unknown origins like Aoike.
Even with only a face to go on, Zetsu had managed to dig up fairly detailed information on Aoike, thanks to the Mayfly Technique, which let him travel freely.
"Let me introduce myself properly. I'm a member of the Akatsuki. My codename is White Tiger."
"All right, Konan."
"..."
"The technique you used when you descended from the sky was Susanoo, wasn't it?"
Her cool voice carried a note of certainty.
A hint of just the right amount of surprise flashed through Aoike's eyes.
Konan continued her analysis without showing any reaction.
"You were a prodigy, but you were forced to join Root. After you defected, you disappeared for several months, then showed up again by descending from the sky..."
"Did your eyes mutate? You also broke the Caged Bird Seal, and you can use Susanoo..."
As Konan looked at Aoike, who was much younger than her, the cold reserve she'd maintained while they were alone finally softened a little.
When she had been his age, she'd been lucky enough to meet Jiraiya. She'd escaped hunger and misery, learned ninjutsu, and discussed her dreams with Yahiko and Nagato.
Later, the First Generation Akatsuki had failed, and Yahiko had revealed the truth of the world in the cruelest way possible.
She hadn't known how to move forward. All she could do was join her former companions in the plan devised by the man who called himself Uchiha Madara.
All she could do was protect Nagato and prepare to deal with "Madara."
She didn't fear death. She was simply suffocated by the way fate had arranged things, like the rain falling over the Land of Rain.
Then, yesterday, she'd received the intelligence report on Aoike. The ten-year-old boy who had lost his parents, suffered his clan's oppression, defected from Root, and finally descended from the sky and broke the Caged Bird Seal had caught her interest.
Konan was curious how someone so young had managed to escape the whirlpool again and again instead of being swallowed by darkness.
Listening to her questions, Aoike's thoughts swirled. He'd spent only ten years in this world, but in the blink of an eye, he'd experienced more than he had in his previous life combined.
Without the talent of this body and the crucial information he possessed, escaping the whirlpool of Konoha would have been nearly impossible, let alone getting through what came next.
In the end, he smiled calmly and met Konan's eyes.
"It was just a bit of luck."
No one knew what else the two of them talked about, but a month later, Aoike joined the Akatsuki.
Before his formal introduction, the three of them met at a secret base.
Since the two of them had witnessed his Susanoo, it was no longer a secret that Aoike could use both the Byakugan and the Sharingan.
To show his sincerity, Aoike revealed some of his abilities. Aside from the Mangekyo Sharingan's techniques and his Tenseigan Mode, he held nothing back about his ninjutsu or the Tenseigan's gravitational manipulation.
The Tenseigan, which was beyond the Rinnegan, certainly surprised Nagato and Konan.
But what they really cared about was the information on the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Looking at Aoike's gray eyes, Pain sorted through what he'd learned.
"So using the Mangekyō Sharingan too much causes blindness?"
Aoike's eyes instantly turned blue again, becoming the Tenseigan.
"That's right. Aside from the legendary Eternal Mangekyo, an ordinary Mangekyō has a limit to how much it can be used."
"So that person really is Madara?"
"Pain, his identity doesn't matter. But he definitely has an ulterior motive."
"And..." Aoike took a deep breath. "In exchange for a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, the Uchiha's forbidden technique, Izanagi, grants power capable of rewriting reality."
After he revealed some of the Uchiha's secrets, the mood grew heavy.
Even for Nagato, who now stood near the pinnacle of the world, an opponent like "Madara"—who might possess the Eternal Mangekyo, could turn intangible, and could use Izanagi—was undeniably troublesome.
Aoike's candor brought them closer, laying a solid foundation for accepting him into the group later.
In this Second Generation Akatsuki, where so much was hidden beneath the surface, most members merely used one another. The only one who could truly be considered one of their own was Aoike, who had only just joined.
After all, their bond was built on the debt of a life saved. Aoike was young, immensely talented, and had a "clean" background. To Nagato, he was extremely valuable.
Nagato had even considered having Aoike take over for him once the plan succeeded.
But first, he needed to choose a reliable partner for Aoike, someone who could guide him.