Talking!

After leaving the secret room where Nagato was staying, Uchiha You did not return to his own room.

He headed down the tower and arrived outside a dark puppet workshop.

Before he even got close, the mixed stench of poison and metal washed over him.

This was Sasori of the Red Sands's territory.

The door was not locked.

Or rather, Sasori simply was not afraid of anyone entering.

Uchiha You pushed the door open and walked in.

The room was filled with puppet parts.

Incomplete limb models hung from the walls.

Under the dim lights, Hiruko stood silently in the center of the room.

A hoarse voice rang out:

"Newcomer."

"Did no one teach you to knock before entering someone else's room?"

Uchiha You replied flatly:

"I am in a hurry."

Sasori sneered.

"Then this had better be important."

"Otherwise, I would not mind turning you into a new collectible."

Uchiha You glanced around.

"Your taste in collectibles is mediocre."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Hiruko's tail stinger lifted slightly.

Killing intent spread through the air.

Sasori's voice turned colder:

"Uchiha You, do you want to die?"

Uchiha You did not care in the slightest.

"Konoha."

The two words fell.

Hiruko's tail stinger stopped.

Uchiha You looked at Sasori and continued:

"I am preparing to make a move against Konoha."

"My targets include Danzo, Root, Konoha ANBU, and part of Konoha's upper ranks."

"Are you interested?"

Sasori did not answer immediately.

After a moment, he said hoarsely:

"Konoha's White Fang is already dead."

"You were not the one who killed him."

Uchiha You said:

"But Konoha still exists."

"Your parents died at the hands of Konoha ninja."

"The grudge between Sand Village and Konoha will not disappear just because White Fang committed suicide."

Sasori said coldly:

"You think you can persuade me with that?"

Uchiha You shook his head.

"I have no interest in playing on emotions."

"I am merely telling you that on Uchiha Massacre Night, I will open Konoha's gates."

"Root ninja, ANBU elites, the Shimura Clan, and a large amount of experimental material."

"You can pick them yourself."

Sasori fell silent.

Compared to hatred, he cared more about eternity and art.

But Konoha's bodies, especially the corpses of elite ninja, truly had value.

Besides, he was not entirely indifferent to the old grudge between Konoha and Sand Village.

A hoarse laugh came from Hiruko:

"Uchiha You."

"You are much more direct than Tobi."

"He always likes to spout boring nonsense."

Uchiha You said:

"Because nonsense cannot be traded for puppet materials."

Sasori chuckled.

"I can go."

"But the corpses are mine."

Uchiha You said flatly:

"There are restrictions."

Sasori's voice turned cold:

"You are negotiating terms with me?"

Uchiha You looked at Hiruko.

"Uchiha Clan members and civilians are off-limits."

"Root, ANBU, and the Shimura Clan are yours to do as you please with."

Sasori was silent for a moment.

"Fine."

Uchiha You turned and left.

Before walking out, he added:

"Oh, right."

"Danzo has research materials on Hashirama Cells."

"They might help your Human Puppet Technique."

Inside Hiruko, Sasori's expression finally changed.

"Hashirama Cells?"

Uchiha You did not look back.

"If you want them, come to Konoha and take them yourself."

The door closed.

The workshop returned to silence.

Sasori began laughing softly.

"Interesting."

"This newcomer is better at business than I expected."

The last person Uchiha You went to find was Kakuzu.

Kakuzu's room was easy to find.

There was no need to ask.

He only needed to follow the scent of money.

When he pushed open the door, Kakuzu was organizing his account books.

A stack of bounty lists lay on the table.

Seeing Uchiha You enter, Kakuzu did not even raise his head.

"If you are here to borrow money, you can get lost now."

Uchiha You sat across from him.

"I am here to bring you money."

Kakuzu's hand, which had been turning the pages, stopped.

He raised his head, his green eyes staring eerily at Uchiha You.

"Speak."

Simple.

Direct.

Effective.

Uchiha You appreciated this about Kakuzu.

Compared to people who never stopped talking about ideals, guys like Kakuzu, who put clear prices on everything, were much easier to work with.

Uchiha You said:

"I am going after Konoha's Root."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes.

"Konoha?"

Uchiha You nodded.

"Danzo's Root."

"There is an independent treasury inside, mission rewards, black-market transaction accounts, sealed ninja tools, and the wealth accumulated by the Shimura Clan over many years."

Kakuzu's eyes instantly lit up.

"How much?"

Uchiha You held up one finger.

Kakuzu sneered:

"Ten million ryo?"

Uchiha You shook his head.

"At least ten times that."

Kakuzu fell silent.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned serious.

Kakuzu slowly closed his account book.

"Are you sure?"

Uchiha You said flatly:

"Danzo has run Root for decades."

"Assassinations, intelligence, human experimentation, secret deals."

"Do you think he would be poor?"

Kakuzu began to think.

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

A man like Danzo could not possibly lack his own financial pipeline.

Root was not fully bound by public finances, so it surely had a vast amount of hidden funds.

If they could plunder Root...

Kakuzu's heartbeat quickened slightly for the first time in a long while.

He looked at Uchiha You.

"I want thirty percent."

Uchiha You said directly:

"Twenty percent."

Kakuzu sneered.

"You think I am joking with you?"

Uchiha You said calmly:

"I will give you the location of Root Treasury, the chance to enter Konoha, and a safe escape route."

"You are only responsible for taking the money."

"Twenty percent is already a lot."

Kakuzu's gaze turned grim:

"Thirty percent."

Uchiha You looked at him.

"Besides money, I can give you something else."

Kakuzu asked:

"What?"

Uchiha You said:

"Operational intelligence on Konoha ninja with high bounties."

"Including lists of ANBU members that should never have circulated on the black market."

Kakuzu fell silent.

This thing had value to him as well.

Its long-term value was even greater.

After a moment, Kakuzu said:

"Twenty-five percent."

Uchiha You rose to his feet.

"Deal."

Kakuzu looked at him.

"You agreed too quickly."

Uchiha You said flatly:

"Because I was prepared to give you twenty-five percent from the start."

Kakuzu: "..."

He suddenly felt like he had been played by this brat.

Uchiha You walked to the door, then turned back and added:

"Kakuzu."

"Don't think you can take the money and do nothing."

Kakuzu sneered.

"No one has ever dared threaten me."

The Mangekyo Sharingan flashed in Uchiha You's eyes and vanished in an instant.

"Now there is."

Kakuzu's green eyes narrowed slightly.

The two stared at each other for a moment.

In the end, Kakuzu gave a low laugh.

"Uchiha brat."

"You'd better really show me that much money."

Uchiha You smiled.

"Don't worry."

"Danzo will pay for me."

When he returned to the room, Kisame was leaning against the doorway.

He looked at Uchiha You and grinned.

"Done talking?"

Uchiha You nodded.

"More or less."

Kisame asked:

"And the result?"

Uchiha You entered the room, his tone calm.

"Pain will go."

"Konan will go."

"Sasori will go."

"Kakuzu will go."

"You'll go too."

Kisame froze for a moment.

Then he could not help laughing.

"You've only been in Akatsuki for one day."

"And you've already dragged half the organization into attacking Konoha?"

Uchiha You poured himself a glass of water and said flatly:

"Let me correct you."

"We're not attacking Konoha."

"We're cleaning out Konoha."

Kisame looked at him, his smile growing broader.

"I finally understand why you dared say you were going to change this organization."

"You didn't come to join Akatsuki."

"You came to take over Akatsuki."

Uchiha You took a sip of water and did not deny it.

Outside the window, the rain continued to fall.

In the shadows in the distance.

A White Zetsu clone silently sank into the wall.

A moment later.

Atop another tower in Hidden Rain.

Tobi stood in the rain, listening to the intelligence brought by White Zetsu. Behind his mask, his expression darkened completely.

Uchiha You had met Konan alone.

Then he had met Nagato.

Next, he had persuaded Sasori.

Finally, he had struck a deal with Kakuzu.

In a single day.

On his very first day after joining Akatsuki, he had already begun bypassing him and directly influencing Akatsuki's core members.

This was not a pawn.

This was someone who wanted to seize the chessboard.

Tobi said quietly:

"Uchiha You..."

"How much do you really know?"

White Zetsu poked half his body out of the ground.

"Should we get rid of him now?"

Tobi fell silent for a moment.

Rainwater streamed down his mask.

"No."

"If we kill him now, Nagato and Konan will become suspicious."

"Besides, Konoha still needs him to stir things up."

White Zetsu asked:

"Then what do we do?"

A cold gleam flashed in Tobi's lone eye.

"Let him return to Konoha first."

"Let the Uchiha Clan and Konoha's higher-ups slaughter each other."

"Once he and Konoha have both been crippled, we'll deal with him."

White Zetsu giggled.

"What if he wins?"

Tobi did not answer at once.

After a long while, he said coldly:

"Then it proves he is more dangerous than I imagined."

"At that point, we can no longer treat him as just a pawn."

The rain grew heavier.

Meanwhile.

Uchiha You stood before the window, gazing at Hidden Rain's dark nightscape, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

He knew White Zetsu had come.

He also knew Obito would definitely receive the news.

But so what?

He wanted Obito to know.

From the moment he stepped into Hidden Rain, the Akatsuki chessboard was no longer Obito's alone to command.

Uchiha You slowly raised his hand.

In his palm, a wisp of black-red chakra pulsed slowly like a virus.

"Danzo."

"You sent me out of the village."

"I'm bringing Akatsuki back."

"I hope you like this gift in return."