It's normal to get a kaleidoscope as a first deposit of six yuan, right?

He used the power of Yin-Yang Release to disrupt the flow of the Dragon Vein chakra, even concealing part of its path and altering its destination to several hundred years in the future. How did she still manage to break through?!

"Alright, besides the old members here, Kisame Hoshigaki and Deidara can get to know her properly later." As soon as Pain finished speaking, Konan's phantom form reappeared here, and a colorful ripple appeared in the empty space.

"I haven't had breakfast yet... Can't you wait a bit... I, I'll go..." Still a little sleepy, Zhi Xue was startled awake when she felt nine gazes directed at her from around her.

"Is it... this lively?" Zhi Xue blinked and looked at all the organization members around her.

Loquat Ten Treasures "..."

Looking at Shiki, who was still the same familiar height, Pipa Juzo felt like his brain wasn't working properly.

After seeing that it was indeed Zhixue, the person standing next to Zhixue frowned.

Looks like I should relocate my secret stash when I get back from the mission…

"Xu Tong, reintroduce yourself to the new member," Payne said, nodding to Zhi Xue, who was still a little dazed.

Hearing the term "Virtual Pupil," Zhi Xue was a little taken aback, but she still coughed and continued, "Hello, my organization code name is Virtual Pupil. You can also call me Xue. I like money and... cough cough casual games. I don't like slippery, sticky things." Glancing at Payne's somewhat dark face, Zhi Xue quickly changed "skipping work" to "casual games."

"Casual games? You mean those chess-like games? That's so boring. It's much more fun to play with explosions. That kind of instantaneous art will definitely make you fall in love with that feeling, hmm." Deidara subconsciously said when he heard about casual games.

“That’s not art. The Eternal Puppet is art,” Sasori retorted upon hearing Deidara’s address.

"Hey, this is fleeting aesthetics!"

"What meaning do things that are fleeting have? Only beauty that does not decay and endures forever has value," Scorpion said with a smile, stretching out his hand and watching the puppet's mechanisms change in his grasp.

"Hmph, one day I will research and create the ultimate art that will amaze everyone and leave you all in awe!" Deidara retorted to Sasori, seemingly in a fit of pique.

"It's up to you, I don't like watching fireworks anyway."

Seeing that Sasori still seemed indifferent, Deidara's forehead creased with a tic-tac-toe expression.

Seeing that the two seemed about to start arguing again, Payne gestured for them to be quiet before revealing another matter besides the return of Zhixue.

"Alright, since there aren't any suitable candidates for Xu Tong yet, he'll be on his own for now. But besides Xu Tong, there's something else I need to say..."

Upon hearing what Payne said, the scene fell silent, and Zhixue was also somewhat curious about what Payne wanted to propose.

It's only Konoha Year 60 now, it shouldn't be this early to be hunting down Tailed Beasts, right? But as for the Nine-Tails… emmm, they probably won't use her as a scapegoat, right?

Zhi Xue was thinking about the original course of the world, but unfortunately, she didn't know that the entire world's trajectory had been subtly altered by her "butterfly" actions. Yagura hadn't died, and the Akatsuki no longer needed to wait for the Three-Tails' resurrection...

Chapter 213, Payne's Mission

During the meeting, Payne's cold gaze swept over all the members present, pausing for a moment before he looked at Zhixue's position and solemnly began to speak—

"The wealth we've accumulated over the years is enough for our organization to carry out its final plan. We want to make the five great powers feel pain and understand the suffering caused by war. Those of you who haven't completed your missions recently, speed up and prepare yourselves. Next spring will be the time for us to confront the five great powers."

Wait a minute, the timeline doesn't seem right? Isn't capturing the Tailed Beasts a bit too early? Could it be the butterfly effect?

Hearing Payne's words, Zhixue was startled.

Hearing Payne's extremely arrogant remarks, no one present was surprised. Rather, they didn't care much about such things. As long as they did what their leader said and it didn't interfere with their own hobbies or purposes, that was enough.

"Hmm! Is the plan to cause a massive explosion on the battlefield and then watch their astonished expressions as they appreciate the art?" Deidara listened to Pain's words about fighting against the entire ninja world, and he could already imagine his giant clay clone exploding and illuminating the entire sky with white light.

"Hmph, as long as it's not just throwing money away, it's acceptable if it's for planned expenses." Kakuzu nodded in agreement.

"This organization is quite interesting. It seems I didn't come to the wrong place, Senior Juzo." Kisame grinned, revealing a set of sharp teeth.

"Hahaha! So I'm the only one wondering when I'll die? Looks like my training isn't enough." Kisame laughed as he listened to Kisame's words.

Going against the five great powers? As the weakest fighter in the organization, he should be more careful... He would be very regretful if he didn't see the organization's final outcome.

"Alright, the meeting is over. Remember what I said, you must be back in the organization before next spring." Payne gave this final reminder before dispelling the illusionary body technique.

As her consciousness returned to her body, Zhi Xue straightened her headband, then poured herself a glass of cold water and drank it all in one gulp.

Feeling the cool taste, Zhi Xue's body shuddered, and she instantly felt her body and soul become much clearer. At the same time, a surge of energy filled her entire body.

"Hmm... Alright, time to go get the mission from Pain. The illusion ended too quickly. But if it's the Tailed Beasts Project, regarding the Nine-Tails..."

Zhi Xue frowned, but quickly put on her Akatsuki robe. Then, looking at the pattering rain outside the window, she used the Body Flicker Technique to disappear from the spot.

……

In the Land of Fire, within Konoha Village…

Dressed in a black night outfit, Obito placed the flowers in front of Rin Nohara's portrait, gently stroking the still clearly visible photograph. Obito seemed to have returned to the past, seeing that girl who was as lovely as Shizuru...

"Lin...don't worry, once the Eye of the Moon Project succeeds, the whole world will enjoy lasting peace, and you will be resurrected in the Infinite Tsukuyomi! Wait for me, you must wait for me..."

Just as Obito was feeling down, a commotion from afar alerted him, and he teleported himself into the Kamui dimension.

Kakashi, who was running laps around Konoha, frowned as he looked at the flowers in front of Rin's grave.

Today doesn't seem to be a very important holiday, so who could have sent the flowers?

"Kakashi, don't let your youth stop! It's early morning now, and if you don't work harder, I might overtake you by two points, hahaha!"

Upon hearing Guy's call, Kakashi shook his head and then abandoned his current doubts.

Perhaps it was a patient Rin had treated? As a medical ninja, Rin had also treated many ninjas, but why did he always feel like someone was avoiding him here before…?

"Ah, I'm coming." Kakashi took a cluster of bright flowers from the summoning scroll and placed it in front of Obito's flowers before leaving with Might Guy.

After Kakashi left, Obito also teleported out of the Kamui dimension. Then, seeing the bright flower bushes that had completely covered the flowers he had given him, Obito's eyelids twitched, and he threw Kakashi's flowers away.

Kakashi, that annoying guy, shouldn't bother him and Rin catching up!

Just as Obito was about to whisper something to Rin, Zetsu, who emerged from the ground, choked him back to his words.

"You... how did you get here?" Obito asked, somewhat displeased, as Zetsu poked his head out.

"Something big has happened within the organization, Uchiha Tomo..."

"Xu Tong is back, I know..."

Black Zetsu was also somewhat angry at Obito's complete lack of awareness.

"The plan is right in front of us, but the Nine-Tails issue hasn't been resolved yet. You know that Xu Tong has returned, aren't you worried?"

Obito stood up from the ground, stared into Zetsu's eyes, and said in a deep voice, "This is not the place to talk. We'll discuss this in detail tonight." Obito then absorbed himself into the Kamui dimension, while Black Zetsu also felt somewhat suffocated.

The chess piece isn't actively working to remove the obstacles; it seems he'll have to put in more effort...

In Amegakure, Pain looked at Shiseido with a strange expression.

"Hasn't the meeting over? Do you have any more questions, Xu Tong?"

"Boss, aren't you planning to give me any tasks? I'm super capable," Zhi Xue said confidently, hands on her hips, looking at Payne.

Payne: ...

To be honest, there are missions, but they don't seem that important in the overall plan. If we're talking about vacancies, there is a shortage of ninjas to go to Konoha to investigate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but sending the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to investigate Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki seems a bit...

"Is there a lack of missions? It just so happens that the Hydrangea team is short one member for their mission to Konoha, so perhaps..."

Konan, who was completely unaware of Shisue's identity as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, spoke up upon hearing Shisue's request.

Hearing what Konan said, Pain was also a bit troubled. As a major ninja village, Konoha would be very difficult to invade. Sending a few genin to spy on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was not feasible, but it was too difficult to find people who were the right age and strength.

Looking at it this way, sending Xu Tong isn't necessarily a bad idea; we can only hope she can understand the organization's perspective.

Chapter 214, The Plan to Infiltrate Konoha

"It's not impossible to send Xu Tong, but I have some secrets I need to discuss with her."

Under Xiao Nan's puzzled gaze, Payne pulled Zhi Xue to the watchtower in the distance and began to talk about something.

"Boss, is there some special mission you're assigned?"

"Sort of, but not really. Although you joined the organization, you haven't spent too long in Amegakure, so you probably don't know much about the organization's true purpose."

Seeing that Payne seemed to want to say something, Zhixue nodded in agreement.

At this point, playing dumb is the right thing to do; showing off that you know too much is actually not good.

Payne looked into Zhixue's clear eyes and closed his own, saying, "Although Akatsuki is ostensibly an international mercenary organization, with others providing the money and us responsible for infiltration, attacks, occupations, or bounty missions, our true purpose goes far beyond that."

"The ninja world is a world full of conflict and war. The evil consequences of the wars launched between various countries are the displacement of ordinary people and the tragic lives of families being torn apart. Therefore, the new Akatsuki was born. Its mission is to take a more realistic approach than the old Akatsuki."

"Is the goal of the New Akatsuki to subdue the entire ninja world?" Zhixue asked, looking at Pain's expression.

"What you said is somewhat similar, but not entirely. The ninja world needs a revolution, but this revolution requires powerful support, and the tailed beasts are the key to it."

Seeing Payne's gaze directed at her, Zhixue pointed to her chest.

"Should the Nine-Tails inside me be included too?"

"If there is still a Nine-Tails in Konoha, then you won't have to sacrifice yourself. Of course, it depends on what that big guy is like. If he doesn't need the Nine-Tails or only needs a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra, that would be best."

Zhi Xue was still quite surprised to hear Payne's confession to her.

I didn't expect Nagato to still care about his own people. However, as for the Nine-Tails' chakra, perhaps neither Naruto nor she need it. But she should go find Orochimaru. It seems she should talk to him during the Chunin Exams.

"So my mission is to go to Konoha to gather information about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

“That’s right. This is not only for the organization, but also for yourself, so it depends on you.” Payne tried to place his hand on Zhixue’s head and rub it.

He was actually reluctant to sacrifice such a lovely child, but Akatsuki needed a Ten-Tails that could intimidate everything to save this sick world.

"Leave it to me with confidence, I will complete the mission well..."

After receiving the mission from Pain, Shiyuki and Konan went to the mission hall where the Rain Ninja were located to get to know the Hydrangea.

"Master, Lord Xu, Lord Xu Tong..." Zi Yang Hua said, somewhat unaccustomed to seeing Xiao Nan and Zhi Xue dressed in black robes with red clouds.

After Xiao Nan nodded to the hydrangea, she introduced Zhi Xue.

"This is a member of the Akatsuki organization. You can call her Xu Tong or Xue. You've both met her before. Soon, she will be with you to plan the Chunin Exams in Konoha and gather information on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. With her, I believe your success rate will be much higher."

"Really? Lord Xutong is going too?" Upon hearing that Zhixue was also going, Ziyanghua's eyes widened instantly.

I never imagined that she would one day be on a mission with the higher-ups of Amegakure. And she's the kind of person who's really cute.

"Of course, this is also for the sake of the mission. I won't bother you for the time being. I will let you know when the operation begins."

After taking one last look at Zhixue, Xiaonan turned into sheets of paper and vanished from the spot, leaving the two little girls standing there looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Haha, I never expected to have such a coincidence with Lord Xu Tong," Zi Yanghua said, scratching her head awkwardly.

"Ah, I guess this is a kind of fate. But you can just call me Xu Tong or Xue. Adding 'sir' after me just feels a bit strange."