At War Again

Why had they chosen Sunagakure as their next intelligence-gathering destination? Naturally, it was because they had already visited three of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. With Kirigakure crossed off the list, Sunagakure was the only one left.

Gaara, a popular character in the anime, came from there. His mastery of sand was extraordinary, and he later even became Kazekage, though Anyo did not remember him having any particularly impressive battle achievements.

Along the way, the two walked and stopped, chatting from time to time. Clearly, they had grown familiar with each other.

Once they became acquainted, Anyo found Kakuzu was not that difficult to approach. Sometimes he even paid for Anyo, which was quite something for a miser.

Right now, the two were eating at a restaurant. Anyo happily finished his last mouthful of soup, burped, and said, "Uncle, I want to start an organization someday. Would you join?"

Kakuzu had already grown immune to Anyo calling him that. As for the invitation, he gave a cold laugh. "Brat, you aren't strong, but you certainly scheme big. You want me as your subordinate? Talk to me when you can beat me."

"No," Anyo denied. "Not a subordinate. I just want to create an organization of like-minded people who can do things together that none of us could do alone. We'd all be companions, as equals."

"Companions? Heh. Naive." Kakuzu's words were full of disdain and mockery.

Anyo replied without the slightest concern, "Isn't that what we are now? You love money, and so do I. You like killing, and I don't dislike it either."

Those words left Kakuzu silent, but, accustomed to working alone, he still shook his head. "Don't get any ideas about me. I won't join."

Anyo did not push him. "All right. I'll pay for this meal."

After settling the bill, Anyo stepped outside and saw two characters written on a building. Something stirred in his mind, and an idea began to form.

Kakuzu clearly noticed. "What, you want to gamble?"

"Do you play?"

Kakuzu shook his head. "I never gamble."

Anyo understood. Fair enough. If you got furious over losing, there probably wouldn't be a casino left.

Gambling was actually quite widespread in the Naruto world. Slot machines, mahjong, pai gow-they had them all. This time, Anyo entered a place where they played cards.

He had gambled plenty during his past life as a master thief, usually winning more than he lost. With such nimble hands, casually learning a few cheating tricks was easy. Of course, he could not take things too far. Anyone who could open a casino had backing.

Here, he did not need to worry about that. For backing, he had Konoha behind him. For strength, he had Kakuzu beside him. Anyo watched from the sidelines for a while, then joined the game once he understood the rules.

Standing nearby, Kakuzu stared as Anyo turned a single chip into a mountain of chips, one win at a time.

Unable to resist, he quietly bought a few chips himself, but soon lost every last one. He was so angry that veins nearly bulged on his forehead.

Naturally, Anyo knew nothing about any of this. Once he felt he had won enough, he cashed in his chips and left the casino. Looking at his bulging wallet, he could not help sighing. He should have thought of this way to get rich long ago. He had really been an idiot before, actually thinking of making money through missions. Apparently, being a ninja had made him stupid, leaving such a wonderful source of income unused. It seemed he would no longer need to worry about money.

While pleasantly imagining the life of a rich man, Anyo noticed Kakuzu looked rather sour and asked, "Uncle, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kakuzu replied darkly. "Aren't we going to Sunagakure? Let's pick up the pace. We've wasted too much time on the road."

After several days of travel, the two reached Amegakure, Sunagakure's neighboring country.

It rained here all year round, and the air smelled damp. Combined with the gloomy weather, it would probably leave even the most optimistic visitor feeling down.

Anyo could not help remarking, "This place is so desolate!"

Kakuzu agreed. "I smell war. Most villages engulfed in fighting are like this."

"Let's go."

They had barely taken two steps when a brown-haired boy carrying a basket on his back suddenly ran out. "Excuse me, do you have anything to eat?"

"Huh, a beggar?" This was Anyo's first time encountering one, though it made sense when he thought about it. In wartime, orphans were probably the most common sight. He was one himself, but Anyo had an adult's mind, after all. Having no parents actually meant far fewer restrictions for him.

Before Anyo could react, Kakuzu's gaze turned cold. "Get lost."

Frightened by Kakuzu's presence, the boy backed away several steps, then stumbled as he turned and fled.

Anyo sighed. "Uncle, you scared him badly."

With that, he flicked a finger, sending some of the banknotes he had won a few days earlier through the air and into the basket on the boy's back.

Kakuzu could not help snorting. "Giving money to strangers. Foolish."

"It's only money I won. It came too easily. I'll donate a little and call it a good deed."

Anyo's utterly unconcerned words reminded Kakuzu of the money he had lost at the casino, making him even more depressed. He walked on without a word. Anyo was puzzled, not knowing what was wrong with him. Shaking his head, he followed.

The boy who had left reached the back of a rock, where a red-haired boy and a blue-haired girl were waiting for him.

The brown-haired boy panted heavily. "Nagato, Konan, that man wearing a mask was so dangerous. I thought he was about to kill me."

The blue-haired Konan said worriedly, "Yahiko, don't rush out so recklessly again. It's too dangerous."

The red-haired Nagato said, "That boy seemed to throw something into your basket. See what it is."

"Okay, I'll look."

Yahiko felt around in the basket and pulled out a handful of banknotes. His eyes immediately lit up. "Wow, money! That boy actually gave us money. He must be a good person."

"He is." Konan smiled happily too. "We can buy something to eat now. Nagato, tell us, what do you want?"

"Anything is fine." Nagato did not know why, but when he thought of that boy, he kept feeling that darkness shrouded the inside of his body, making even these eyes of his uneasy. This was the first time he had encountered anything like it since awakening the Rinnegan.

At that moment, Anyo had no idea what he had missed. Had he known the Rinnegan was so close, there was no telling what he might have done.

As the two were partway through Amegakure, several Rain Ninja stopped them.

"Halt. Who are you, and why have you entered the battlefield?"

"Battlefield?" Anyo asked in surprise. "I remember Amegakure signing a peace treaty with Konoha, didn't it?"

"It's not with Konoha. It's with Sunagakure. Lord Hanzō will lead us to break the Five Great Nations' monopoly."

Anyo was left speechless. This Demigod really was a battle maniac. Seeing that Konoha was too powerful and well-established to beat, he had immediately turned around to bully Sunagakure. But breaking the Five Great Nations' monopoly would be incredibly difficult. It would most likely end dismally.