Senju Chen stayed comfortably in this "Akatsuki" organization stronghold that was transformed from an abandoned factory for two days. During these two days, he was like an ordinary traveling ninja, except occasionally telling Yahiko about tactics and politics, or discussing some theories about Chakra Shape Transformation with Nagato.
Of course, most of the time, I stay with Konan.
Under the dim oil lamp, Konan was crouching in front of the desk sorting out the messy information gathered from all over the place. The rustle of paper turning was particularly clear in the quiet room. Senju Chen leaned on the edge of the table, playing with a Shuriken in his hand, but his eyes wandered unscrupulously on that cold and white cheek.
"This road map for Amegakure's material mobilization is too rigid for you." Senju Chen suddenly came closer, his upper body almost pressed on the table, one hand rested on Konan's arm, and the fingers of the other hand accurately landed on a coordinate on the map.
The distance between the two people instantly shortened, and Senju Chen's scent, which was mixed with the freshness of rain and the faint fragrance of herbs, penetrated into Konan's nostrils without any hindrance.
Konan's breathing was slightly irregular. She subconsciously wanted to retreat, but found that her escape route had been blocked by the back of the chair. Senju Chen's fingertips slid slowly on the parchment, intentionally or unintentionally grazing the back of her hand. The warm touch was like a weak electric current, running along the skin to the bottom of her heart.
"Hanzo of the Salamander is suspicious by nature. You see, this road seems safe, but in fact it is a bait he throws out. The real luggage will definitely take this dangerous road in the canyon that seems to be muddy and difficult to walk." Senju Chen's voice was very low, and his warm breath brushed against Konan's ears, causing the fair ears to be instantly dyed with a layer of attractive crimson.
Konan bit her lower lip, suppressing the throbbing in her heart, and stared at the map, but she didn't even read a word. She knew that this guy did it on purpose, and there was clearly a trace of a joke that was successful in the depths of those clear and innocent eyes.
"I... I know, I'll go take a closer look." Konan rolled up the map in a panic, stood up like a frightened rabbit, and fled Earth Flow to the file cabinet in the corner, leaving only Senju Chen with a slightly cramped back.
Senju Chen looked at her fleeing appearance, and the corner of her mouth curled up with a hint of pleasure. Playing with this future "angel" these days was indeed one of the few pleasures he had in this boring base.
The heavy iron door of the factory was pushed open from the outside, and with a gust of cold wind and rain, two figures walked in.
Walking in front was a man wrapped in a large raincoat and wearing a mask on his face. Only his eyes were shining with greedy green light. He was holding a cloth bag that was still dripping with blood. With every step he took, a pool of dark red marks appeared on the ground.
Following him was a tall, silver-haired man carrying a short sword on his back. He was also wearing a mask, and his whole body exuded a cold and murderous aura that kept strangers away from him, as if he had just returned from a walk in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
These two people were Kakuzu and Hatake Sakumo who had just returned from performing a mission outside.
"Oh, you are finally back!" Yahiko immediately stepped forward upon seeing the two returning, with a warm smile on his face.
"Come and let me introduce you to a friend." He immediately pulled over Senju Chen who was wandering around the base, patted his shoulder, and said as if he was offering a treasure, "Little Chen, come on, let me introduce you to you! These two gentlemen are the top experts that our 'Xiao' organization has recently recruited!"
Yahiko pointed at Kakuzu, his tone full of pride. "This is the top bounty hunter who owns Five Basic Nature Transformations, Mr. "Jiao". He single-handedly took down a secret team of Hanzo of the Salamander!"
Then, he pointed at Hatake Sakumo: "There is also this swordsman with superb swordsmanship, Mr. Ya. Let me tell you, his speed is so fast that even Hanzo of the Salamander's elite Anbu can't react!"
Senju Chen looked at Kakuzu and Hatake Sakumo, and smiled slightly at them, "Hello, I'm Senju Chen, I'm Yahiko's friend. I've admired his name for a long time, and when I saw him today, he is indeed extraordinary."
Kakuzu's pair of green eyes looked up and down Senju Chen. Looking at his boss's pretending to be well-behaved, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. He threw the cloth bag containing the human head in his hand on the ground with a dull sound.
"Young kid, stop being so vain." Kakuzu snorted coldly, his voice hoarse as if it were being rubbed on sandpaper, "I only care about money. The reward for this mission, as well as the cost of buying the informant, must not be less..." He deliberately prolonged the tail tone, with a fierce look in his eyes.
Yahiko quickly smoothed things over. "Haha, don't worry, Uncle Jiao, our 'Xiao' organization will never treat our own people badly! The funds will be in place soon!"
How did he know that Kakuzu was not talking to him at all, but was asking Senju Chen for the "life money".
Hatake Sakumo maintained his usual silence. He nodded slightly, responding to Senju Chen's greetings. But the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. Acting with his boss was indeed a very novel and awkward experience for the "Wood Industry White Fang" who was once famous as Shinobi World.
Two days passed in a blink of an eye.
In the early morning of the next day, the rain stopped, and a gray light appeared in the sky.
Senju Chen stood at the factory gate of the temporary base and said goodbye to Yahiko and the others.
"Little Chen, do you really not want to stay for a few more days? Land of Rain is in such a mess right now." Yahiko looked at him with some worry.
"No, there are still tasks in the village, so we can't delay for too long." Senju Chen put on a bamboo hat and hid his handsome face in the shadows. He patted Yahiko on the shoulder, "Remember what I said before, stay dormant and win the hearts of the people. Don't worry about Hanzo of the Salamander and the spies of those big countries, let them eat dog by themselves."
Nagato stood aside and nodded silently. He touched his eyes and remembered Senju Chen's many advices in the past two days, and he felt a deep fear of "Summoning Jutsu" in his heart.
Konan stepped forward and put an oil paper bag into Senju Chen's hand. It contained dry food made by her own hands.
"Be careful on the road." Her voice was very soft, and there was a trace of imperceptible attachment in her cold eyes.
"Don't worry, I will come to see you again when things calm down here."
Senju Chen reached out without hesitation and gently pinched Konan's soft cheek. Before the other party could attack, he turned around and walked into the rain with a smile.