"W-Wait!" Yahiko stared, waving his hands in disbelief. "A ceasefire talk with the Hokage at the site of the First Summit? Are you serious, Kaguya Ren? If I remember right, Konoha and Kiri are still tearing each other apart on the front line!"
"Of course I'm serious." Ren spread his hands. "The invitation has already been sent to Konoha."
"War is started to fight over interests. When continuing the war no longer benefits either side, choosing to stop and sit down to talk—what could be more normal than that?"
"As an outsider, I won't ask what your real motive is for stopping the war with Konoha," Nagato said, eyes narrowing. "But why hire Akatsuki as guards?"
"First reason: to keep the other villages' pests from interfering."
Ren raised one finger.
"I agreed with Konoha that only the Kage and two guards may enter the host country. Setting aside the Hokage and Mizukage themselves—anyone qualified to serve as a guard is strong enough to contend for the next Kage seat. If we have to personally swat insects outside, doesn't that feel… beneath us?"
Nagato nodded, accepting the logic—barely.
"Second reason: to push Akatsuki to center stage and draw the other villages' attention—so Kirigakure can have time to develop."
Ren paused, studying their expressions. Seeing the 'as expected' look appear on all three faces, he continued.
"The holes left by the previous Mizukage are too many, too large. I need at least thirteen or fourteen years to build a foundation that can support my ambitions."
"Before that, I need the shinobi world to remain peaceful—no one starting wars every other day, no one constantly disrupting my attempts to reshape Kiri's ethos."
"And you, Nagato—your Rinnegan makes you the only person besides me who might be able to achieve that."
Nagato's gaze sharpened.
"But you don't have enough momentum yet. So I'll bring you to a higher stage early—let the entire shinobi world learn Akatsuki exists, and that you exist."
"Then, while they fear me and Kirigakure… they'll also have to spare thought for Akatsuki."
"So the wager," Nagato said, stepping closer and gripping the token in Ren's hand, "is built around this commission."
"Exactly." Ren let go of the token, smiling.
"If you complete the commission and Hanzo does not strike you out of fear for his position, you may use this token to claim all the funds I exchanged in the black market with Shimura Danzo's head."
Ren's smile widened.
"Ten billion ryō. For a small organization still in its early stages, that's a handsome reward, isn't it? After that, Kirigakure will continue to support you financially. We might even consider sending our promising young shinobi to train with Akatsuki."
Yahiko swallowed audibly, the sheer scale of the number making it hard to breathe. Konan tilted her head—money clearly less interesting to her than the safety of her comrades.
"And if we lose the wager?" Nagato asked, steady and calm. "If Hanzo strikes?"
"Then whoever survives gets only a quarter of the funds." Ren shrugged, showing teeth.
"And you, Nagato—will provide me some of your cells, so I can research the Uzumaki constitution and the source of their ability to restrain tailed beasts."
"If you can also provide Uzumaki techniques that can be taught to others," Ren added, "even better."
Nagato's mouth twitched.
"You're not going to make me go impregnate some Mist woman too?" he said dryly. "That's your end goal for researching my cells, isn't it?"
Ren blinked innocently.
"When you come to hand over the sample, I'll arrange a full Mist beauty honor guard to welcome you. But whether you leave behind a child is your choice~"
"You're my partner, not spoils of war," Ren said lightly. "I won't treat you the way I'm treating that Hyuga Main House captive… or the Uchiha prodigy. I'm not going to make you into a round-the-clock, never-resting breeding machine."
Nagato took several steps back in visible discomfort, then pulled Yahiko and Konan into whispered discussion for a long while. In the end, it was Yahiko who stepped forward and nodded.
"Fine. We'll accept your commission and your wager. When the Mizukage and Hokage meet, Akatsuki will mobilize everyone. We'll make sure no outside force interferes."
"Then… happy cooperation, Akatsuki." Ren smiled—perfectly satisfied. "I sincerely hope our partnership lasts a long time."
With the white snake that had delivered the scroll, Ren's clone disappeared from Akatsuki's hidden base.
…
Elsewhere in the Land of Rain, a white, plant-like figure surfaced in a silent alley and glanced around. Then, without a sound, it slipped toward the tower where the Shinobi Demigod Hanzo the Salamander resided.
"Tch. Finding an identity to approach Hanzo with was a pain…" White Zetsu muttered under his breath. "Damn you, Kaguya Ren. If you hadn't killed Shimura Danzo, we wouldn't even need to move ourselves. Danzo would've crawled over and teamed up with Hanzo to plot against Akatsuki all on his own."
"Hope Hanzo's brain hasn't rotted too badly. If he can't understand an obvious hint like this, finding another force to drag Akatsuki—and Nagato—into darkness will be a hassle."
"Actually… Iwagakure might be a solid option too? Their plan to ambush the Land of Fire border got ruined by Akatsuki. They're probably furious and digging into Akatsuki's origins…"
Muttering like that, White Zetsu used its ghostlike infiltration to slip into Hanzo's tower. It placed two scrolls on the most conspicuous part of Hanzo's desk—
One detailing Akatsuki's key members.
And another filled with hatred, fear, and a plan aimed at a certain someone.
Alongside them, White Zetsu left a mask stripped from a Root shinobi… and a Leaf forehead protector slashed brutally down the middle.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Inkveil_