It was actually Wood Release!

When he entered the meeting hall, he looked dazed, as though he had been completely drained.

Everyone was stunned speechless at the sight!

Kakuzu possessed the secret technique Earth Grudge Fear; even losing his head was hardly a problem. Yet now he was almost wrung dry?

What on earth had happened?

!

Orochimaru could not resist teasing him when he saw this.

"Kakuzu, what exactly did Uzumaki Shixia do to you?"

"Why do you look so utterly exhausted?"

"Or does even Earth Grudge Fear's Secret Technique have its limits?"

In his dazed state, Kakuzu did not hear Orochimaru's teasing at all.

Upon entering the meeting hall, he found a spot and sat down to rest without a word.

Working with Uzumaki Shixia lately had worn him out!

After Uzumaki Shixia and Kakuzu arrived, Pain spoke calmly.

"Recently, the organization's income has risen to ten times what it used to be!"

At Pain's words, astonishment spread across the faces of the Akatsuki members.

This news undoubtedly caught everyone by surprise.

After all, the organization's earnings had not increased by thirty or forty percent. They had risen tenfold!

Expressed as a percentage, they had climbed to 1,000%!

Kisame Hoshigaki bared his serrated teeth and spoke with a hint of puzzlement.

"Has the organization found another source of income?"

The Akatsuki's income model was the same as that of other Shinobi Villages.

When a Shinobi Village's ninja completed missions, the village took fifty percent of the commission fees.

The Akatsuki operated similarly, drawing its main income from cuts of its members' mission rewards.

Normally, the organization took half of each member's mission reward to fund its operations.

At Kisame's question, Pain shook his head and said,

"This happened because the team of Kakuzu and Uzumaki Shixia has completed an enormous number of missions!"

The expressions of the other Akatsuki members changed again at those words!

The pair's performance lately had been nothing short of outrageous.

Through their tireless efforts, the organization's income had increased tenfold. How frightening was that?

While everyone was still reeling in shock, Pain continued.

"Recently, more people have been coming to Amegakure to commission ordinary ninja missions."

"More people have also been posting missions at the Amegakure Black Market."

"However, Amegakure's ninja have encountered a rather troublesome problem."

"Many ninja can't find any missions to take!"

"Quite a few complain all day that they can't even afford to eat."

Amegakure was now under Nagato's control.

Further development in Amegakure would undoubtedly benefit Nagato.

At present, however, Amegakure was not developing any better.

A Shinobi Village could not sustain itself by relying on only a handful of powerful ninja.

The lower- and mid-ranking ninja were the foundations supporting the Shinobi Village, and they were vital.

On the one hand, they could generate considerable wealth for the Shinobi Village.

On the other, some of them would grow into elite ninja, or even become pillars of the Shinobi Village.

Once life became difficult for a Shinobi Village's lower- and mid-ranking ninja, they could easily flee in droves.

If that happened, the Shinobi Village would not be far from falling apart.

That was certainly not what Nagato wanted to see, nor was that the kind of Amegakure the Akatsuki needed.

Hearing what Pain had just said, Zetsu's mouth fell open in surprise!

What nonsense was Pain talking about? More people were posting missions, yet the lower- and mid-ranking ninja couldn't find any?

Utterly puzzled, Zetsu asked,

"Why can't Amegakure's ninja find missions when more clients are coming to the Shinobi Village to commission them, and more are posting them on the black market?"

"With more missions, shouldn't the village develop better and the ninja have an easier time finding work?"

After Zetsu voiced his questions, Pain gave Uzumaki Shixia a long look and said with considerable displeasure,

"You'll have to ask our newest member about that!"

At Pain's words, every Akatsuki member turned toward Uzumaki Shixia, who was counting money in a corner.

Faced with their questioning gazes, Uzumaki Shixia froze for a moment, then smiled sheepishly and said,

"It's only right, it's only right. I wholeheartedly support the organization's ideals!"

"To help the organization develop better and faster, completing missions nonstop is my ninja way!"

"Besides, if any of you have commission missions, come to me! Five percent off across the board!"

"If you don't have any commission missions yourselves, you can introduce me to clients who do."

"Once I receive payment, I'll give you a five-percent cut!"

At first, Uzumaki Shixia had been a little embarrassed.

The longer he spoke, however, the more serious his expression became!

Clearly, he took anything involving missions very seriously. He was not joking with them in the slightest.

As Uzumaki Shixia spoke, Karin could only cover her face helplessly.

Doing business with outsiders was one thing, but Uzumaki Shixia was even trying to do business with his own people!

At this point, everyone also turned puzzled gazes toward Kakuzu.

Kakuzu was sitting in a corner of the meeting hall, resting, and still looked completely drained.

Within the Akatsuki, Kakuzu had always been the king of overwork.

Just how much harder did Uzumaki Shixia work to have reduced even him to this state?

Zetsu looked at Kakuzu slumped on the floor, then at Uzumaki Shixia sitting there counting money.

"Does Uzumaki Shixia really tackle missions more enthusiastically than Kakuzu?"

Pain nodded very seriously at that.

"Yes. According to the information I've gathered,"

"Ever since Uzumaki Shixia joined the organization, he has been carrying out missions day and night."

"He also uses clones to complete some easy and moderately easy missions."

"On top of that, he clears out the black market three times every day."

"Once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once at night."

"As a result, he and Kakuzu take the vast majority of the missions on the black market."

"People there have even dubbed the two of them the Mission-Killing Machines."

"Their current record appears to be a total of 171 missions, large and small, completed in a single day."

"This has directly left Amegakure's lower- and mid-ranking ninja unable to find any missions at all."

Once Pain finished, the looks everyone gave Uzumaki Shixia and Kakuzu immediately became filled with shock and disbelief!

Were these two even human? They had spent an entire month carrying out missions without a break!

Not only that, but they had even sent Wood Clones on missions so they could complete more.

Uchiha Itachi had thought no one could top his use of clones to attend school.

Only now did he realize there was always someone who could outdo him!

While the Akatsuki members were reeling inwardly, Uzumaki Shixia smiled shyly and said, "Serving the organization is only right. Only right."

Then he handed Karin a cash box and said, "Karin, count the payment from that last mission."

"We were rushing to get here for the meeting, so I didn't have time to count it."

At his words, Karin took the cash box with practiced ease and began counting the money.

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Shixia pulled out a thick stack of mission slips, as hefty as a dictionary.

Kisame Hoshigaki was completely dumbfounded at the sight of those mission slips!

His mouth fell open, and he turned uncertainly to Uchiha Itachi beside him.

"Itachi-san, are those all mission slips he's holding?"

Kisame Hoshigaki's heart raced at the sight. Uzumaki Shixia might have been holding fifty or sixty missions!

Under everyone's gaze, Uzumaki Shixia even cut the stack of mission slips like a deck of playing cards.

Then, with a series of cracks, branches sprouted from Uzumaki Shixia's body and turned into his Wood Clone.

Without the slightest hesitation, Uzumaki Shixia handed a mission slip to his Wood Clone and sent him off to carry it out, then continued studying the slips in his hands!

"It's actually Wood Release!"

Orochimaru shot to his feet in astonishment, his mind thrown into turmoil!

Impossible. No one besides the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, could learn Wood Release.

"He's actually using Wood Clones to do missions?"

The sight naturally left everyone speechless with shock.

The looks they gave Kakuzu grew even more sympathetic.

They were in the middle of a meeting, yet Uzumaki Shixia was still sending Wood Clones out on missions!

As he noticed their sympathetic gazes, Kakuzu suddenly remembered something.

He had come to today's meeting with something very important to say!

Kakuzu wasted no time and hurriedly spoke.

"I haven't been in good shape lately. For a while, I won't be fit to take missions from the black market!"

"The organization needs to make an adjustment and assign Uzumaki Shixia a new partner."

"If that won't work, he can be a team of one and carry out black market missions alone."

After speaking, Kakuzu looked at Pain and Konan.

He had joined the Akatsuki very early on and knew a little about Pain's situation.

Right now, he desperately hoped Pain and Konan would find Uzumaki Shixia another partner.

If he kept working with Uzumaki Shixia, he would split right down the middle, just like Zetsu!

Ideally, the Six Paths of Pain should work alongside Uzumaki Shixia.

The former were already dead, and the latter couldn't be worked to death. A match made in heaven.

Kakuzu's request for a different teammate was not approved.

Under Kakuzu's earnest gaze, the blue-haired beauty wearing a Black Sky, Red Clouds Robe shook her head.

Although Kakuzu's previous partner had been Orochimaru, pairing him with Uzumaki Shixia was undoubtedly better.

Konan's cool voice soon reached Kakuzu's ears.

"So far, you and Uzumaki Shixia make the most suitable team."

"Besides, you're extremely efficient at completing missions. No other member of the organization could likely keep up with your pace."

"The two of you performed very well over the past month. The organization's income has risen tenfold, and we've never been this well-off."

"If you keep bringing in money at this rate, we can put our plan into action ahead of schedule."

Konan's words were sound and well reasoned.

Kakuzu could do nothing about it.