Amegakure,
Although it was in a perpetual state of closure and rarely interacted with the outside world,
Danzo, Konoha's foremost schemer, was certainly not ignorant of them.
After all, years ago, he had conspired with the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo the Salamander, to orchestrate the elimination of a large portion of the Akatsuki operating within the Land of Rain.
Although there were some unexpected developments in the end,
a close collaboration with Hanzo had nonetheless been established.
Therefore, he possessed a certain understanding of the Amegakure's Shinobi.
But now, he was instantly perplexed.
Were the people of Amegakure now accustomed to fighting with swords...?
Moreover, wearing a sword at the waist – wasn't that the hallmark of Mifune, the samurai leader of the Land of Iron, and his men...?
Thinking this, Danzo halted, furrowing his brow, preparing to observe further.
But then, he suddenly froze.
Ahead, upon seeing Danzo, Kyo's face immediately lit up with a surprised smile.
Then, strolling leisurely towards him, Kyo chuckled lightly:
"Oh my,"
"What a surprise,"
"If it isn't Shimura Danzo-san, the leader of Konoha's Root, the King of Blames of the Shinobi World?"
"Have you come to see us off?"
"???"
At these words, Danzo and the several Shinobi beside him were instantly stunned.
'Huh?'
'Wait.'
'Wh-what's going on?'
'King of... Blames???'
'Where the hell did THAT nickname come from?!?'
'No,'
'that's not the main point!'
'The main point is...'
'How did this guy from Amegakure recognize me at a single glance?!'
'Furthermore, Konoha's Root always operates in the shadows; people from other villages shouldn't possibly know about it...'
At this moment, even Danzo's train of thought was completely derailed.
Everyone was bewildered by this sudden, unexpected remark.
However, at that moment,
Kyo, while walking towards them, smiled and began speaking:
"I forgot to introduce myself."
"I am an Academy teacher from Amegakure."
"Once before, I had the honor of witnessing firsthand your magnificent, heroic stance when you collaborated with Hanzo-sana to ambush the Akatsuki."
"...?!!"
Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present shifted drastically.
'Wh...what!?'
'Wait!'
'Danzo-sama actually collaborated with Hanzo the Salamander from Amegakure...?'
'And pulled off a sneak attack???'
'That... can be called "magnificent, heroic stance"???'
As soon as these words were spoken, all the surrounding Shinobi were dumbfounded.
And at this point, Danzo was also momentarily taken aback.
Then,
his expression darkened instantly.
'This...'
'Why the hell do you have to bring THIS up right now...?!'
'Even if you want to introduce yourself, there's no damn need to expose the things I've done!!?'
Danzo's face turned iron-green instantly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
Of course, he couldn't forget what he had done in Amegakure back then...
But this was indeed his secret.
Not to mention ordinary Konoha's Shinobi, even that old fool Hiruzen probably didn't know about it.
But now,
this brat from Amegakure, like some kind of idiot, just blurted it out publicly...
Danzo's expression was naturally sour.
If before, he still had some suspicion and curiosity about this oddly-dressed Amegakure Shinobi,
now, he wished this person would just leave quickly!
'If he kept talking so recklessly like this, pretty soon all of Konoha would know about my activities in Amegakure!'
'If that happened, my approval rating for the Hokage election would probably drop again!'
Thinking this, Danzo's gaze hardened. He forcibly composed himself and said flatly:
"Hmph,"
"The old man does not recall such an affair."
"If it's merely baseless rumor, there's no need to pay it any mind!"
"Since the Joint Chunin Exams have already been interrupted, you Amegakure Shinobi should also leave Konoha immediately."
"Do not hinder Konoha's recovery plans."
As he finished speaking,
Danzo, his expression grim, turned abruptly and said to the nearby Mitarashi Anko and others:
"Let's go,"
"To the group from Takigakure."
With that, before anyone around could react, he fixed his gaze forward and strode off.
Thus, he rapidly fled the scene.
At that moment,
the assembled Konoha Shinobi exchanged glances, their expressions odd.
They were all somewhat bewildered...
'What's going on?'
'Before coming, didn't Danzo-sama say he wanted to display the grace of a Shinobi from a great village...'
'And this?'
'Is THIS what he call the grace of a great village's Shinobi???'
A moment later, Mitarashi Anko, with an awkward look, scratched her head and said to Kyo:
"Probably..."
"Danzo-sama was feeling rather pressed for time, cough cough cough..."
After speaking,
they too quickly followed suit.
Clearly,
judging by this, they didn't intend to continue seeing Kyo and his group off either.
...
Watching the Konoha Shinobi depart,
a faint smile appeared on Kyo's face. Glancing back at the three behind him, he chuckled lightly:
"Let's go,"
"Time to set off, return to Amegakure."
With that, he started walking, leading the three behind him towards Konoha's main gate.
Just then, a notification chimed in his system.
[Ding! Congratulations, host! Side mission completed!]
[Publicly expose one piece of King of Blames Shimura Danzo's dark history (1/1), completed! Reward: Spiritual Pressure +1000, Shop Points +200!]
As the notification faded, a look of amusement appeared in Kyo's eyes.
The reason he had taken the initiative to speak to Danzo just now wasn't just to prove his identity.
It was for this side mission.
This kind of side mission, achievable with just a few words, was essentially free; it would be a waste not to do it.
Danzo might not have suffered, but Kyo had definitely come out ahead.
The gains from this trip to Konoha almost surpassed all his earnings from the previous six months combined.
Naturally, he was in an excellent mood.
So much so that his walking pace became even lighter and more rhythmic.
...
Meanwhile, far away in the Land of Rain.
Within the familiar tall building, several figures stood inside.
As usual, it was the Akatsuki meeting trio-
Konan, Pain, and the mysterious masked man calling himself Madara.
At that moment, the masked man had his back to them, gazing at the distant rain, speaking flatly:
"How is the handling of that small country's mercenary group progressing?"
"...Completed."
Pain's gaze was indifferent, his voice calm:
"I have already contacted Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame."
"Last night, they annihilated the entire group; no one escaped. They are currently on their way back to Amegakure."
"Mm... good."
The masked man nodded, his voice low:
"The Akatsuki's plan cannot be obstructed by such insignificant insects."
"Eliminating them is the most effective method."
Having said this,
the masked man slowly turned around and stated flatly:
"It seems,"
"Itachi and Kisame, although it's their first time teaming up for a mission, possess a considerable degree of synergy."
"Then, we should not slack off either."
"Continue recruiting members for the organization."
"The remaining members also need their respective partners to maximize the success rate of future missions."
"..."
Hearing this, Konan looked up, her tone flat:
"Madara, who is the next person to recruit...?"
"A guy from Iwagakure."
The masked man replied calmly:
"His name is Deidara."
"He is a talented young Shinobi from Iwa, possessing a powerful Kekkei Genkai called 'Explosion Release'."
"I'll recruit him to be Kyo's partner."
"...Huh?"
At these words, Pain and Konan were simultaneously taken aback.
"What?"
"The partner is not Kakuzu? But... Kyo?"
They were naturally puzzled.
After all,
based on the current situation,
Kakuzu's strength was clearly several levels below Kyo's.
So,
when they heard about recruiting a new partner, they instinctively thought it would be for Kakuzu.
After all, currently, only those two lacked partners.
But they hadn't expected the masked man to intend for him to partner with Kyo...
"...Mm."
Hearing their confusion, the masked man merely nodded slowly, then explained in a low, calm voice:
"Deidara and Kakuzu don't have good compatibility."
"With Deidara's explosive temper, if he were to partner with that guy Kakuzu, they'd probably be in constant conflict."
"It's not conducive to mission execution."
"However,"
"Kyo's unflappable personality precisely complements him."
"Therefore,"
"pairing them together maximizes efficiency."
The masked man stated flatly.
After hearing this,
Konan and Pain slowly nodded.
"Understood."
"Then... when do we begin the operation?"