"Why did I join the Akatsuki? Of course, to pursue the beauty of art!" Nagato woke from a dream with a start in the middle of the night. Wearily, he pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been a long time since he had last had a nightmare.
Yet tonight, he had somehow had another strange dream. In it, Sasori, the man Konan had recruited, had also joined Kenichi Amamiya's troublemaking group, turning the Akatsuki upside down.
"Those two... If they can't even handle this, then I should find a cha— No, they probably can."
Nagato shook his head. If Konoha's S-rank and A-rank Rogue Ninja could not even raise funds, then Konoha had no right to be considered the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Still, whenever he thought of Kenichi Amamiya and Orochimaru, Nagato's feelings became somewhat complicated. Sasori had now joined the Akatsuki, so they would definitely need to hold a small meeting later. He just hoped those two would not cause trouble.
Especially Kenichi Amamiya.
Meanwhile, the Kenichi Amamiya on Nagato's mind was standing in an open area within the Land of Fire, jotting something down in an experiment notebook.
"...Number Three's explosive power has improved somewhat compared to before, but it still hasn't met expectations. The fireworks do look quite nice, though." Kenichi Amamiya shook his head as he looked at the shattered stones before him.
After adjusting the thermobaric explosive in the lab, he had brought eight prepared test samples outside. Naturally, to ensure accurate records, he had specifically used Ninjutsu to create several earthen houses.
The explosions from Number One and Two had both succeeded, but the results had not been particularly impressive. Three, which he had just tested, had instead produced deep violet flames.
The reason fireworks came in different