Konoha

Aoki Tsuki did not know how the discussion between Pain and Kakuzu went after that.

In any case, Kakuzu disappeared without a trace from the Land of Rain from that day on.

Aoki Tsuki had resolved the difficult problem perfectly, earning an S-rank mission rating and 2.5 million ryō on top of it.

Graveyard of Mountains.

Obito had just returned from outside when Aloe White Zetsu emerged.

"Obito, you're back? There's something I need to tell you. Nagato has already recruited Kakuzu into the Akatsuki ahead of schedule."

"Huh? When did that happen?" Obito asked in surprise.

He had been planning to give Nagato information on Kakuzu after a while, so Nagato could approach him with an offer.

His intelligence-gathering ability was his greatest advantage in dealing with Nagato.

It was that advantage, combined with his elusive space-time abilities, that had allowed him to bluff Nagato.

"It happened while you were in Konoha. They found an extra helper to take care of it. Nagato didn't make a move."

"A helper... Where did they find a helper? Didn't I kill all the people who used to be in the Akatsuki?"

"He seems to be an Amegakure Jonin. He had made a few private weapons deals with the Akatsuki before, so they probably bought him over. Nagato may be about to make a move against Hanzō."

"Is that so? Looks like Nagato has plenty of ideas of his own, huh? Hmph!"

Obito gave a cold laugh. They had clearly agreed that he would find suitable recruits, demonstrating his advantage in intelligence gathering.

Now Nagato had actually bypassed him and recruited someone directly, even if that someone was the very person Obito had intended to recommend.

The feeling of having control snatched away was awful.

The two were partners, but someone always had the final say in an organization. As time passed, whoever maintained the upper hand would eventually gain the authority to call the shots.

Obito's goal was to make Nagato gradually dependent on him until he obeyed his every command. It was a process of taming an eagle.

"What do we do next?" Aloe White Zetsu asked.

"There's no rush. I have plenty of time and methods. Keep gathering information on suitable candidates for now. I'll contact Nagato once I've dealt with what I have on my hands."

Since you're so damn capable, I'll just have to leave you hanging for a while.

Without his intelligence, Nagato was nothing with those crippled legs of his.

Black Zetsu spoke up at that moment. "What are you planning to do to Konoha?"

He was more worried that Obito would fail to follow Madara's plan and go off doing whatever he pleased.

Obito had changed a great deal, and he seemed to be slipping out of their control.

"My teacher has become Hokage. As his student, I have to prepare a big gift for him. It'll take a lot of thought and time."

"Do you need our help?"

"No need. This is my personal business. I'll take care of it myself. You just keep a close eye on Nagato."

Obito waved a hand, then turned and went back to his secret room to tinker.

Watching him leave, Aloe White Zetsu said, "That guy has really changed."

"Yes. I understand him less and less myself," Black Zetsu said helplessly.

Spiral White Zetsu sat to one side, propping up his chin in boredom. "Being human really is such a hassle," he complained.

That morning, Aoki Tsuki got up early and finished his training, then began sorting out his equipment.

The window opened from outside, and a flutter of paper butterflies flew in.

Aoki Tsuki pointed to a box in the corner of the room. "That's your share. If you'd come any later, you'd have had to wait a while."

Konan looked at the bundle on the bed. "Are you going on a long trip?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah... Konoha's 'Yellow Flash' is becoming Hokage. Our Amegakure and Konoha are allies, aren't they? We ought to send someone to show our support, right?

"I may not look it, but I'm the face of Amegakure now."

"The Yellow Flash?"

"Right, Minato Namikaze, a disciple of Jiraiya of the legendary Sannin. You must have heard of him."

He had first driven back Kumogakure's vanguard, the A-B Combo, then gone on to kill dozens of Iwagakure elites on the Konoha-Iwagakure battlefield and take Kakashi with him to blow up Kannabi Bridge.

He was the legendary figure who had brought the Third Shinobi World War to an end.

Anyone making a living in the Shinobi World knew the news: if you ran into him, you ran.

Konan's expression tightened, then returned to normal. "Yes, I've heard a little about him."

"Man, I've never left the Land of Rain in my whole life, and my first trip abroad is to Konoha. I couldn't even sleep last night."

Aoki Tsuki was beaming.

"I'm going to see just how different Konoha is from our home. It's getting late, so I have to get going. Bye."

Without waiting for Konan to respond, he picked up his bundle, opened the door, and walked out.

Konan stood silently in the room, watching Aoki Tsuki leave. The word "Konoha" was both familiar and unfamiliar to her.

As Jiraiya's disciples, Nagato, Yahiko, and she should have felt close to Konoha, but Yahiko had now died in a plot by Hanzō and Danzo.

Nagato's parents had also died at the hands of Konoha Ninja.

Those feelings were too complicated to put into words.

At the village entrance, Shioame, Ryōta, and Shinichi were already waiting. For this mission to Konoha, Aoki Tsuki had decided to bring his subordinates along to broaden their horizons.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. Let's get going. We have several days of travel ahead of us."

"Haha... Captain, we don't get to go out often. It should be fine if we take it a little slow, right?" Ryōta said happily.

"In principle, we should arrive on time, but it's normal to lose some time on the road."

The group exchanged smiles and set off in high spirits.

Along the way, they saw a natural environment completely different from the Land of Rain. The people of the Land of Fire lived in great abundance and had hardly been affected by war.

They could not help feeling envious.

Five days later, after being questioned several times, the group arrived safely at Konoha Ninja Village.

The large-scale war had ended, but sporadic fighting continued in local areas, with new conflicts liable to erupt at any moment, so outsiders who were ninja were still viewed with considerable suspicion.

The Amegakure group was taken to the guest reception lodge, where ninja leaders from quite a few countries were already staying.

They all belonged to ninja organizations that were allied with or on friendly terms with Konoha.

In the Land of Fire alone, Konoha Ninja Village was the only military organization on the surface, but that did not mean there were no other ninja forces.

For example, the daimyo's Twelve Guardian Ninja, the most prominent example, came from different ninja organizations in the Land of Fire.

Chiriku came from the Fire Temple.

There were others from the Land of Grass, the Land of Rain, the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Rice Fields, and so on. Even Sunagakure had signed a peace treaty with Konoha.

They were all strangers to one another and remained wary. Konoha was also a place that valued harmony, so whether they meant it or not, everyone was polite on the surface.

They could not come to Konoha without visiting Ichiraku Ramen.

So Aoki Tsuki brought his squad to the landmark, ordered miso ramen, and dug in.

"As expected of Konoha's ramen. It's delicious!" Ryōta praised.

Shinichi said irritably, "Have some principles, will you? Is Konoha's water sweeter than ours too?"

"Ryōta, if you like it here so much, you can stay when the time comes," Shioame added.

Ryōta hurriedly shook his head. "I'm joking. I just wanted to try something new. There are so many powerful people here; it must be hard to make a name for yourself."

"You're right about that. Konoha may be big, but it's not easy to live here," Aoki Tsuki said.

With the Shinobi World constantly in turmoil, who knew how many people had come here to settle because of its reputation? Housing prices were bound to be high.

Even Heavenly Sakura, who later became an Uchiha wife and Konoha's head of medical services, had needed a loan to buy a house, and had even fainted from distress when it collapsed.

After finishing their ramen, the group went to a hot spring bathhouse for a soak.

It was a public expense. Not spending it would have been a waste.

After making the rounds, the four squad members felt refreshed and began strolling around Konoha. Compared with the monotony of Amegakure, Konoha was indeed several times more prosperous, brimming with a modern atmosphere.

There was a dazzling variety of shops. When they came to a mask shop, Aoki Tsuki bought a panda mask for his collection.

It was standard gear for Konoha's Anbu, which was quite interesting.

Before they knew it, evening had fallen. The group stopped outside the Akimichi Clan's barbecue restaurant, and Aoki Tsuki waved his hand.

"Barbecue for dinner."

"Wise choice, Captain! I've never eaten at such a fancy place in my life," Ryōta said happily.

"Tch, it's just barbecue. Who hasn't eaten it before? It's nothing special."

Shinichi had always harbored deep hostility toward Konoha.

Shioame picked up the menu on the table and glanced at it. His expression changed at once. "Is everything in Konoha this expensive?"

"Look how scared you are. Let me see how expensive it is..."

Aoki Tsuki took the menu and looked it over. It was indeed expensive, but he said unconcernedly:

"Order whatever you like. Lord Hanzō said we can't disgrace Amegakure's reputation. Whatever others can afford, we Amegakure ninja can afford too."

"The captain is absolutely right. We can't let the people of Konoha look down on Amegakure," Ryōta agreed.

They bought not the best, but only the most expensive.

An hour later, they had eaten until their mouths were greasy and spent tens of thousands of ryō.

"Let's go, let's go. Back to the lodge. We still have to attend the ceremony tomorrow."

Only after the squad had entered the inn did a white-haired figure wearing a cat mask emerge from the shadows nearby.

"Are Amegakure ninja really that loaded?!"

Kakashi made the remark, then vanished into the darkness again. His mission was to keep watch on the Amegakure group until they left Konoha.

The night passed without any activity, and Kakashi yawned.

By then, envoys from the various villages were coming out one after another, preparing to attend the Fourth Hokage's inauguration. Aoki Tsuki and his group followed the crowd toward the Hokage building.

The area around the Hokage building was a sea of people. More than eighty percent of Konoha's villagers had come.

Minato Namikaze was extraordinarily popular in Konoha. Everyone was looking forward to the new Hokage leading Konoha into a new era.

Kakashi hid in the shadow of a rooftop, keeping a close eye on his targets.

At one moment...

"Wait, why is one of them missing? Where did the blue-haired guy go?"

Kakashi was certain the man had been standing with his teammates and chatting just a second ago, but he had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Could it be... a clone? Damn it...

In an instant, Kakashi thought of a possibility: the Water Clone Technique. The clone could not stray too far from the original body, or the technique would fail.

The person who had emerged from the inn in the first place was a clone, while the original had taken advantage of that time to go off and act.

At that thought, Kakashi hurriedly turned and raced toward the inn, though he knew it might already be too late.