After the meeting, Konan took Cangyue to the Akatsuki hideout and assigned him a room.
"This is your room."
Konan pushed open the door.
The room was small, but very clean.
It had a bed, a table and chairs, and a wardrobe. There was even a separate wash area in the corner.
Aside from the poor lighting, it was already much better than the missing-nin hideout Cangyue had imagined.
Cangyue guided the Flame and Thunder Swords into the room.
The Thunder Sword stopped beside the wall.
The purple Flame Sword slowly descended, bringing him to the bed.
Cangyue reached out and pressed the mattress.
It was neither hard nor damp.
He nodded in satisfaction.
"At least one of Akatsuki's benefits is decent."
Konan stood in the doorway, expressionless.
"Your daily necessities are in the wardrobe."
"If you need anything else, you can collect it from the hideout's storeroom. Anything not essential for missions will be deducted from your future pay."
Cangyue opened the wardrobe.
Inside were two changes of clothes, a spare set of bedding, and basic toiletries.
He then looked at the desk.
Paper, pens, maps, and basic medicines had also been prepared.
Although every Akatsuki member was a missing-nin, their logistics were not as chaotic as he had imagined.
"What about meals?"
"There's a communal kitchen on the second basement level."
Konan added, "But no one here is specifically responsible for cooking."
Cangyue paused.
"So when you said meals were included, you meant ingredients."
"You can also eat soldier pills."
"That's not a meal, lady."
Cangyue closed the wardrobe.
No wonder the organization's members were all more abnormal than the last.
With soldier pills for every meal, it would be a miracle if they were mentally healthy.
Konan could not be bothered to argue with him.
"Stay in the hideout for now."
"Someone will notify you once your probationary mission has been decided."
With that, she turned to leave.
"Wait."
Cangyue suddenly called her back.
Konan turned around.
Cangyue took a bundle of scrolls from his mission pouch and set them on the desk.
He had put these scrolls together after the meeting.
Besides heights and weights, they clearly listed the Akatsuki members' names, physical descriptions, and basic intelligence.
He had known all this so-called intelligence perfectly well in his previous life. His questions had merely been for show; he had simply written down whatever came to mind.
Hidan: suspected to possess immortality.
Kakuzu: multiple hearts inside his body.
Sasori: uses the Hiruko puppet.
Kisame: carries a living ninja blade capable of devouring chakra.
As for Itachi, Deidara, and the others, he had avoided excessive detail, recording only what he could reasonably have observed during the meeting.
Cangyue held the scrolls out to Konan.
"Deliver something for me."
Konan did not take them.
"Where?"
"The Land of Fire's border."
Cangyue pulled a map out from beneath the scrolls and tapped the previously agreed dead drop location.
"Just leave them here."
Konan glanced at the map, then at the scrolls.
"What is this?"
"Intelligence I'm sending back to Konoha."
The room fell silent.
The corner of Konan's mouth twitched.
She had put up with Cangyue joining Akatsuki as a Konoha spy.
She had also put up with him asking for everyone's height and weight in front of Pain and all the members.
Now, after compiling his intelligence, this man actually wanted an Akatsuki executive to deliver it to Konoha for him?
[Valor Points +30]
Konan stared at Cangyue.
"You want me to deliver intelligence on Akatsuki to Konoha for you?"
"Yes."
Cangyue nodded.
"You can fly. You're fast."
"And you're unlikely to be stopped by guards along the way."
For the first time, Konan realized that this man's logic actually formed a complete closed loop.
The only problem was, why should she help?
"Deliver it yourself."
Konan turned and walked away.
Cangyue sighed softly behind her.
"Can't you do even this little favor for a colleague?"
His tone carried unmistakable disappointment.
"I've only just joined, and I don't know anyone or anything here. I never thought I'd experience such indifference from my colleagues on my very first day."
"I might as well go back to Konoha."
Cangyue began packing his things.
Konan stopped.
She knew perfectly well that Cangyue was deliberately playing the victim.
Yet most of the intelligence consisted of superficial information Pain had permitted him to pass to Konoha.
Even if it was delivered, it would not truly threaten Akatsuki's core plans.
Instead, it would convince Konoha that Cangyue had successfully infiltrated Akatsuki, giving him a plausible reason to remain in the organization.
Judging by Pain's arrangements, this was part of their mutual exploitation all along.
Konan turned around and snatched the scrolls from him.
"Just this once."
"Find your own way next time."
"Okay."
Cangyue agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Konan put the scrolls away and strode toward the door.
"Oh, one more thing."
Cangyue's voice rang out again.
"Whatever you do, don't open them."
Konan turned her head.
Cangyue leaned against the desk, smiling brightly.
"They have anti-tampering measures."
"If you open them carelessly, the intelligence will automatically destroy itself."
Konan glanced at the scrolls in her hands.
Of course she could not believe such a blatant warning.
But no one could be certain whether he had really placed some special measures on the scrolls.
Konan looked away and walked even faster.
[Valor Points +10]
"Make sure you leave them in the right spot."
Cangyue reminded her from behind.
The only answer he received was the door slamming shut.
Bang!
Cangyue's smile widened.
Having an Akatsuki executive personally deliver intelligence on Akatsuki for a Konoha undercover agent.
Even Uchiha Itachi probably never got treatment like this, did he?
Meanwhile, in the Temple Hall.
Space twisted silently.
A man wearing a Swirl Mask slowly emerged from the shadows.
Deva Path Pain stood before a shattered stone statue, seemingly unsurprised by his appearance.
"I investigated that brat."
The Masked Man's voice was low.
"Kambara Sogetsu, twelve years old, a graduate of the Konoha Ninja Academy."
"Until very recently, his performance was entirely ordinary. He showed no particular excellence in theory, ninjutsu, or taijutsu."
"But in an extremely short time, he suddenly acquired the Flame and Thunder Swords, and his strength leaped through several levels in succession."
Pain turned around.
"What's the source of his power?"
The Masked Man fell silent for a moment.
Naturally, he had investigated that question.
But all the intelligence gathered from Konoha pointed to an utterly absurd answer.
"The story circulating in Konoha is..."
"He trains by sleeping."
Pain looked at the Masked Man.
His Rinnegan remained impassive, but that brief pause was enough to convey his skepticism.
The Masked Man also found that statement utterly ridiculous.
"He once fell asleep in public on the Riverbank."
"After waking, his swordsmanship suddenly improved, and he used sword intent to part a torrential downpour."
"After undergoing his so-called Dream Training, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's chakra control improved rapidly."
"Sasuke Uchiha is also receiving his guidance at present."
"Some students and teachers at the Konoha Ninja Academy have already begun believing that Dream Training truly exists."
Pain was silent for a moment.
"So you think he can grow stronger by sleeping?"
"I'm merely repeating Konoha's intelligence."
The Masked Man's tone was calm.
Whether he believed it himself was another matter.
[Valor Points +20]
Pain recalled their earlier clash.
Cangyue had adapted to Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in extremely quickly.
His physique, swordsmanship, and combat judgment were also nothing like those of a newly graduated student.
It was certainly difficult to believe that he had gained all that power simply by sleeping.
But the shinobi world had never lacked abilities that defied conventional explanation.
"How he acquired his power doesn't matter."
Pain said, "As long as Akatsuki can make use of him."
"He isn't under our control." The Masked Man deeply disliked variables like this, which kept him from controlling everything.
"Akatsuki doesn't need perfectly obedient tools, either." Pain looked at the Masked Man.
"Capturing tailed beasts requires sufficient strength. His value alone already exceeds that of many ordinary squads."
The lone eye behind the mask narrowed slightly.
For Pain to allow someone who openly passed intelligence to Konoha into the organization, he clearly thought highly of Cangyue.
And Cangyue had already begun making contact with Sasuke.
This was a variable he could not ignore.
"I'll approach him."
The Masked Man said, "For now, as a probationary member of the Akatsuki."
"A probationary member?"
"Since he sees the Akatsuki as an ordinary organization, that status will make it easier to lower his guard."
Pain did not object.
"Suit yourself."
Space warped again.
The Masked Man's body slowly vanished.
Silence returned to the hall.
Meanwhile, Cangyue had just laid out his bedding when someone suddenly knocked on his door.
Knock, knock.
He looked up.
Konan had only just left, and his trial assignment could not possibly have been decided so quickly.
Cangyue controlled the Thunder Sword to lift the door latch.
The door slowly opened.
A young girl stood outside.
She had short brown hair, wore an Amegakure Forehead Protector, and held a small flowerpot in her arms.
As Cangyue got a clear look at her, his gaze turned slightly odd.
Wasn't this Ajisai, whom Pain later turned into the Animal Path?
She was still alive now.
Ajisai was also studying Cangyue.
She had just seen Konan personally escort this boy past and even arrange a room for him.
To her, Cangyue was most likely a child just like herself, rescued by Lady Konan after losing his family in the war.
Ajisai hugged the flowerpot tighter and spoke first:
"Hello."
"My name is Ajisai. I live nearby."
"Hello, my name is Kambara Sogetsu." Cangyue stepped aside.
"Come in and sit for a while. My room's pretty spacious. If you get tired from playing, you can rest here. It's no problem."
[Total Valor Points: 3726] [Currently available Valor Points: 1871]
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