Konoha's Tatsuya

Shunkei Town was an obscure little town in the western part of the Land of Fields, with a population of less than two thousand residents. However, the residents of Shunkei Town often saw quite a few ninja passing through. The reason these ninja frequented Shunkei Town was the presence of a relatively large underground black market outpost.

The black market base was located on the southern street of Shunkei Town. Besides a couple of scattered inns offering lodging, the entire street consisted solely of that lone black market outpost. The building constructed alongside the street was merely the entrance to the outpost; most of its structures were built underground.

At the entrance to the base, two men wearing black cloaks with red clouds entered the underground black market. Both men were tall and burly. One carried a large sword strapped to his back, while the other casually carried a corpse.

The one carrying the corpse was the Akatsuki member, Kakuzu. The other was Iwamoto, a recent recruit to Akatsuki, codename: San (Three). In the original storyline, Iwamoto was that unnamed cannon fodder character who was burned to death by one of Kakuzu's fire techniques.

"Well now! Lord Kakuzu, completed another big job, have you!" Inside the underground black market, the person in charge of this outpost immediately came forward with a beaming smile upon seeing Kakuzu and his companion arrive. Kakuzu was a regular customer of the black market. This 81-year-old monster was already a registered celebrity in the underground network. The quantity and quality of black market missions he completed could be said to be unsurpassed in the entire shinobi world. Furthermore, according to intelligence gathered by the black market, Kakuzu had joined an organization called Akatsuki over three years ago. This was an extremely dangerous ninja organization; even with the black market's information-gathering capabilities, they couldn't uncover detailed information about it.

"Verify the body, quickly." Seeing the outpost manager, Kakuzu wasted no words, directly handing over the corpse for processing.

"Right away, Lord Kakuzu, please wait a moment." The manager quickly ordered his men to handle the body, preparing to pay out the bounty immediately upon confirmation.

Ten minutes later, Kakuzu and Iwamoto walked out of the underground black market. Just as they stepped out of the base, both men simultaneously felt a slight tremor. They sensed the thought waves emanating from the rings on their hands. It was the Akatsuki leader, Pain, summoning them.

They exchanged a glance, then flickered and vanished from the spot simultaneously. After a few leaps, they reappeared on a stretch of mountainous terrain outside Shunkei Town. They sat down and began forming hand seals.

In an instant, the consciousness forms of Kakuzu and Iwamoto appeared in a mystical space. This mystical space was a giant cavern where the husk of the Ten-Tails, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, was stored. The consciousness forms of Kakuzu and Iwamoto materialized on one of the fingers of the Demonic Statue.

At this time, more consciousness forms than just theirs were present in this space. The consciousness forms of Deva Path Pain, Konan, Orochimaru, Sasori, and Zetsu also appeared, each on a different finger of the Demonic Statue. This was the Magic Lantern Body Technique employed by the Akatsuki leader, Deva Path Pain—one of the abilities of the Rinnegan. It could gather the consciousness forms of Akatsuki members wearing the rings over long distances, ignoring space and distance, facilitating meetings for the organization.

"I've gathered you all today to announce something. News has come from the Land of Fields: Ansei Hall has established a hidden village there, named the Village Hidden in Medicine." Deva Path Pain's voice resonated through the space. "Ansei Hall's strength and financial power cannot be underestimated; they might impact our plans in the future. I intend to send someone to investigate their true capabilities. Kakuzu, Sasori, report your current locations."

Currently, Akatsuki had only seven members. The only pairs available for missions were Kakuzu and Iwamoto, and Orochimaru and Sasori.

Hearing Deva Path Pain's words, the Akatsuki members present all showed surprise. A minor nation establishing a hidden village—such news was normally beneath the concern of the powerful Akatsuki members. But the involvement of Ansei Hall made it worthy of their attention! According to rumors, Ansei Hall was backed by a powerful individual who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. They had never witnessed the true strength of that Mangekyō Sharingan user. But judging solely from his audacity to claim the name Madara Uchiha and his feat of defeating the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki in its Tailed Beast form, his power absolutely could not be underestimated.

"We are currently in the Land of Fields," Kakuzu answered first. Since being subdued by Deva Path Pain, Kakuzu had been diligently focusing on his money-making work.

"We are in the Land of Frost, not far from the Land of Fields," Sasori added from another finger.

"Good! Sasori, Orochimaru, you two will head to the Land of Fields. Secretly investigate the situation regarding Ansei Hall and that Village Hidden in Medicine. Kakuzu, Iwamoto, continue with your original mission. The organization urgently needs financial support," Deva Path Pain instructed after a brief pause.

Hearing Pain's arrangements, the four members nodded silently, and their consciousness forms, created by the thought waves, began to slowly fade from the space.

High atop a tower in Amegakure, Deva Path Pain and Konan also retracted their thought waves one after another.

Konan turned to Pain, puzzled. "Kakuzu and his partner are already in the Land of Fields. Why did you send Orochimaru and Sasori to investigate instead?"

Deva Path Pain replied, "Iwamoto's strength is too weak; Kakuzu holds him in contempt. Ansei Hall is not weak. If that pair were sent, the organization would likely lose another member."

Konan frowned. "But Orochimaru clearly harbors ulterior motives. Won't sending them put Sasori in danger?"

Pain shook his head. "Don't worry. After joining the organization and modifying his body, Sasori's strength has greatly increased. The reason he lost to you back then was simply because your abilities happened to counter his. If the other Paths of Pain were sent against him, it would likely be difficult to capture him."

Konan fell silent.

Kirigakure, in a hidden underground chamber. Two figures clad in black robes were gathered here. One sat in the main seat, while the other knelt on one knee before him, clearly indicating a master-subordinate relationship.

The kneeling figure spoke. "My Lord, after much effort, we have successfully contacted several major families. They all agree with our plan."

Hearing his subordinate's report, the person in the main seat asked, "Have these families been confirmed as reliable?"

The black-robed subordinate replied, "Confirmed reliable! During the era of the Third Mizukage, their families were victims of that policy. The current Mizukage now wishes to restart that policy, targeting them directly. They must rise up in resistance."

Hearing this, the person in the main seat fell into deep thought. After a long pause, he finally said, "Good! Then continue cautiously contacting other families. When the time is right, we will immediately launch the coup d'état."

"Yes! Your brilliance is unmatched, my Lord!" the black-robed subordinate replied with fervor.