Konoha's Mission Master

The leader of the caravan from the Land of Fire, Yakumo, looked very familiar.

This person used to follow Shinichi around the Daimyo's residence; in other words, he was Shinichi's subordinate. Yakumo remembered that Jiraiya had rejected Shinichi's offer at the time.

However, the merchant caravans exclusive to the Daimyo Prefecture still established trade relations with the Akatsuki organization, thus gaining control of the economic lifeline of the Land of Rain. It is just unknown what methods Shinichi used in this process.

If we set aside his stance, Shinichi is a very competent daimyo, and everything he does is based on the interests of the Land of Fire.

Unfortunately, the man went mad.

After the Akatsuki members confirmed that the goods were correct, Yahiko paid for them, turned around and left with the storage scroll containing the goods. He then went to the civilian district to find talented orphans and preach the Akatsuki's ideology.

A few hours later, Yahiko returned to the Akatsuki headquarters.

At the Akatsuki headquarters, several new recruits who wanted to join the Akatsuki were interviewed. The strongest among them was close to a Jonin in strength, while others had only recently extracted chakra.

After confirming that there were no rogue ninja, Yahiko asked them a few simple questions before letting them join the Akatsuki. As the de facto rulers of the Land of Rain, the Akatsuki could not openly accept rogue ninja from the other major nations.

Another busy day has come to an end.

Ten days later, the mission came to a complete end.

During this time, Yahiko's life was not threatened in any way, as if the life-or-death crisis mentioned in the quarterly reward mission was just an empty rumor.

But Yakumo dared not let his guard down.

During this time, Elder Chiyo continued to treat Sasori, but she still couldn't regain her memories. On the contrary, because the medicine was too bitter, Sasori even became somewhat afraid of Chiyo.

In the past two months, Yakumo has challenged Enel many times and pushed him to the brink of defeat several times. Yakumo is confident that he can take down the first floor of the arena within five days!

The last day of October.

The group huddled around the fire, leaning against chicken wings. Chiyo's eyes remained wary, even though they had been living under the same roof for two months, they could never become friends because of their differing stances.

"Does Konoha really refuse to agree to my conditions?"

"Elder Chiyo, I really can't agree to this," Jiraiya said, shaking his head.

"Does it have to be this extreme?"

Jiraiya simply shook his head.

"Elder Chiyo, please don't say that..."

"Does Konoha Village not worry about disrupting this precious peace... or is it that Sasori's current state was orchestrated by you?!"

"Elder Chiyo, at present, Sunagakure and Konoha are still allies, so it is impossible for them to plot an ambush against your grandson. But it is a real pity that we cannot contact... Tsunade."

Jiraiya answered very sincerely.

"Hmph!" Chiyo snorted coldly.

"Oh dear, Chiyo, please tell the elder to calm down."

Chiyo stood up and left immediately. Yakumo watched her retreating figure, sensing a chilling killing intent.

When negotiations failed to achieve the desired outcome, the use of force became the only viable option.

The atmosphere suddenly became oppressive and tense.

Yakumo kept his head down, gnawing on a chicken foot.

During this period, his presence was extremely low, like Jiraiya's little follower, and he never participated in any discussions.

"Mom, I'm scared."

Scorpion sensed the lingering killing intent in the air. The somewhat timid Xiao Nan leaned closer, and the latter immediately reached out and hugged her, gently patting Scorpion's back.

"Little Blue, don't be afraid... Mommy is always here."

"Mmm, Mom's here... I'm not afraid."

"..."

Two hours later, the crowd dispersed, but it was clear to everyone that the peace of Amegakure would be shattered in the coming days, turning it into a battlefield between Konoha and Sunagakure.

Why bother...?

"At such an old age, her temper is still so bad."

Jiraiya's face was flushed, clearly from drinking a lot of beer. He walked unsteadily, as if... he might fall down at any moment.

Yakumo had no choice but to support Jiraiya, and the two gradually walked towards the bedroom, with most of Jiraiya's weight resting on Yakumo.

*Hiccup*... Jiraiya exhaled a breath of alcohol.

Creak... The two pushed open the door.

"Alright, stop pretending... they're all gone."

"Judging from Chiyo's old woman's expression, she's probably planning to use force. Unfortunately, her plan is bound to fail. After all, she could never have imagined that you are the trump card for this trip to Amegakure."

Jiraiya sat on the bed, his face calm and composed, showing no trace of drunkenness, and clicked his tongue as he spoke.

"You're so hypocritical! You were calling her Elder Chiyo just now."

"There are no outsiders here now."

Jiraiya chuckled... revealing his cunning.

"Chiyo... isn't the problem. Sasori is the real issue. Given the current situation, if we make a move, Konan will probably become our enemy."

"So...you're letting me decide?"

"Of course...it's your decision...you're in charge."

Jiraiya remained silent, stood up, and went to the window. Gazing at the rain outside, his eyes gradually darkened.

"Kill if necessary!"

With a loud bang.

Purple lightning ripped across the sky, and leaden clouds churned as if hiding unknown beasts. The rain in Amegakure suddenly intensified and became torrential, threatening to pour down.

Yakumo put on a raincoat, opened the door, and disappeared into the rain.

The gale whipped up trees and leaves with a piercing howl, while large raindrops pounded against the steel tower with a sharp, thumping sound.

The entire Rain Village was plunged into darkness, devoid of any light.

Yakumo crouched quietly by the outer wall closest to Yahiko, like a ghost in the night, and put on a mask.

Today is the last day of the quarterly feedback period.

This environment is perfect for murder.

Lightning flashed through the darkness, followed by a deafening roar of thunder.

Yakumo formed hand seals and created shadow clones, beginning to gather the surrounding natural energy in preparation for entering Sage Mode.

In the distance, a dark shadow approached in the darkness.

“Kakuzu…?” Yakumo murmured.

This money-grubbing bounty hunter was once again hired by Madara Uchiha to take someone's life in the dead of night.

But why is he heading towards... Xiao Nan's house?

No, it should be scorpion!

If Sasori dies here, then Chiyo's primary suspect will be Jiraiya, which would completely push the relationship between Konoha and Sunagakure to an irreconcilable point. However, why wasn't a White Zetsu sent for such an assassination?

White Zetsu...more secretive...more effective.

"To save or not to save."

As Yakumo pondered, a sage's mark appeared on his forehead.

"Don't save him! But we can't let him hurt Xiao Nan."

Yakumo began to stealthily move along the side of the tower, preparing to strike, with the Jade-cutting Short Blade in his hand.

Akatsuki's stronghold.

Inside the bedroom, Xiao Nan, dressed in a light purple gauze dress, held the trembling Scorpion in her arms. This was a symptom that appeared after Scorpion was rescued, specifically an extreme fear of thunder.

"Little Blue...don't be afraid...Mommy's here."

The scorpion trembled even more violently.

Countless fragmented images flashed through her mind: a black-cloaked figure chasing after her white-haired uncle, a black-cloaked figure running wildly in the rain as if fleeing in panic.

She is five years old and cannot understand who the black-cloaked figures in her mind are. She doesn't even dare to tell her mother about her dream because she is afraid of being seen as a monster.

Actually, she has another secret: she can manipulate wooden puppets. Manipulating puppets is as natural as an instinct for her.

But she was afraid of this instinct…

She hid this secret well; Scorpion would always be the genius of puppetry, only temporarily concealing his venomous stinger for maternal love.

Because... Little Blue isn't a monster!

With a loud boom, thunder roared.

The door quietly opened a crack, and two black threads spread from the floor toward the bed. Over the decades, Kakuzu had honed his skills in all aspects to perfection.

The Earthly Grudge's silk threads only need to lightly wrap around the girl's neck, and then exert force to easily complete the task.

Her black hair spread out, and suddenly the ground where the black threads touched rose slightly, turning into paper. Xiao Nan, who was holding Scorpion, exerted force with her legs and leaped up like a carp leaping out of the air.

"Who are you?!" Xiao Nan shouted sharply.

"What a pity... I only intended to kill her."

Kakuzu answered with a sinister smile, as black threads swarmed into the bedroom. Konan immediately shielded Sasori behind her.

The next second, a black spear pierced through Konan's shoulder.

From the outside world, Yakumo observed with great interest.

Sasori, who had been trembling behind Konan, suddenly stopped trembling. She stared at Konan's bleeding shoulder, her eyes gradually turning angry. Powerful chakra spread outwards from her body inch by inch.

The next second, more than a dozen puppets rushed towards the door!

"hiss…"

Kakuzu's black lines were severed by the weapon on the puppet.

He abandoned the mission almost without hesitation, after all, there were still two Kage-level figures, Chiyo and Jiraiya, around him, and the little lamb he was targeting had suddenly turned into a wolf, which was no more terrifying than a wolf.