"Boss, why did you suddenly call for me?"
Darui pushed open the office door, looking as listless as ever.
The Fourth Raikage sat behind his desk, his expression unusually grave.
"I have an important mission for you."
"No problem."
Darui casually shut the door behind him.
"What mission?"
"It concerns the Akatsuki."
Darui's languid gaze sharpened slightly.
The Akatsuki was riding high these days.
With two swords in hand, Kambara Sogetsu had single-handedly smashed through Sunagakure's defenses and defeated even the Fourth Kazekage on the spot.
Now, virtually all the leaders of the Five Great Nations were reassessing the organization.
"What do you need me to do?"
The Fourth Raikage stood and walked over to Darui.
"Join the Akatsuki."
"Find out their true objectives and whether they pose a threat to Kumogakure."
Darui fell silent for two seconds.
"Boss, you mean you want me to go undercover?"
"That's right."
The Raikage had already gathered basic intelligence on the Akatsuki.
It was a mercenary organization made up of missing-nin from various nations. As long as the pay was sufficient, they accepted almost any mission: assassination, warfare, escort duty.
In the past, he would never have taken those missing-nin seriously.
No matter how many worthless lowlifes gathered together, they were still worthless lowlifes.
But things were different now.
Kambara Sogetsu's emergence had proven that the Akatsuki possessed the power to destroy a major hidden village head-on.
The Raikage loudly insisted that Kumogakure was nothing like Sunagakure, yet he had never stopped keeping tabs on the relevant intelligence.
Strategically, one could disdain the enemy.
Tactically, one had to take the enemy seriously.
Besides, the Akatsuki's members came from four of the Five Great Nations.
Konoha had Uchiha Itachi and Kambara Sogetsu.
Kirigakure had Kisame Hoshigaki.
Iwagakure had Deidara.
Sunagakure had Sasori of the