Chapter 112: Kakuzu's Surprise

Yahiko was long accustomed to Byakuya's flippant remarks.

Byakuya lacked sufficient respect for the demigod of Amegakure and even the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages. However, given Byakuya's displayed strength, he did have the right to be somewhat irreverent.

After pondering for a moment, Yahiko continued,

"Minato is a disciple of Jiraiya-sensei, which technically makes him our senior. Now that he has become the Fourth Hokage, I plan to send an envoy to congratulate him and also probe for the possibility of deeper cooperation."

With that, Yahiko looked at Byakuya, waiting for his opinion.

Byakuya nodded indifferently, saying, "This minor matter can be handled by you, Yahiko. Cooperation between our village and Konoha is beneficial. At least, I don't oppose it."

"Byakuya, do you truly not oppose it? You are serious this time?" Yahiko squinted his eyes, somewhat disbelieving.

Other villagers might not know, but the few of them were aware of Byakuya's identity. Byakuya carried the Uzumaki clan's bloodline, one of the last ninjas of the clan.

Unlike Nagato, who grew up in the Land of Rain, Byakuya still harbored thoughts about the Land of Whirlpools.

When the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, Konoha chose to stand by idly. Given this, it was almost impossible for Byakuya not to hold a grudge against Konoha.

Byakuya sighed lightly, somewhat helplessly saying, "The market in the Land of Rain is too small. Cooperating with a large nation like the Land of Fire is naturally beneficial. The ideals of the Akatsuki also need to be communicated externally to spread. Yahiko-senpai, have you forgotten our ideals since becoming the leader of Amegakure?"

Faced with Byakuya's soul-searching question, Yahiko found himself speechless. But wasn't this line supposed to be his? Why did it sound so strange coming from Byakuya?

Konan and Nagato also wore peculiar expressions.

Could it be that the ideals and will of the Akatsuki were some kind of inherent secret technique of the leader? Once one became the leader, they automatically acquired the relevant abilities.

Nonetheless, this also indicated that Byakuya did not oppose cooperating with Konoha.

At this moment, Byakuya seemed to notice their thoughts and continued,

"Of course, my primary reason for not opposing it is that if we strengthen cooperation with Konoha, we can justifiably spread our ideals to neighboring countries without worrying about military interference from Konoha. I've had enough of the Kusagakure next door, a bunch of fickle little people... We need to find a way to let them bask in the light of the Akatsuki's ideals."

The familiar tone and words brought Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato back to reality.

Byakuya was still Byakuya, with a strong sense of crisis, believing in preemptive strikes. All other reasons were just excuses.

However, after experiencing so much, they understood that every village and organization needed such a ninja.

The Five Great Ninja Villages may seem glamorous on the surface, but there's plenty of darkness beneath. They're not just ruthless towards their own people but are also merciless towards the smaller neighboring countries.

Even Yahiko, who believes in the ideals of the Akatsuki, has started to accept that not everyone can understand each other.

Those who can understand each other are naturally allies, but someone like Danzo will never reciprocate genuine intentions, only using them to create conspiracies.

"Byakuya, hold on for a moment..."

Yahiko interrupted Byakuya and continued:

"I know you have grievances against the Land of Grass, but the timing isn't right. We haven't yet fully consolidated our control over the Land of Rain. Let's wait until we have enough strength before considering this."

Yahiko actually didn't want to take action against the Kusagakure but could only delay things like this. Otherwise, he suspected Byakuya might act on his own, executing a decapitation strike on Kusagakure and forcing the Land of Rain to annex the Kusagakure without proper justification. This would leave them vulnerable to subsequent public backlash.

After all, the war between the Akatsuki and Hanzo was a civil war, whereas the Kusagakure is an independent nation. The ninjas of the Land of Grass would find it hard to understand the ninjas of the Amegakure—this was the reality.

In the subsequent meeting, the leadership of Amegakure continued their discussions.

The core issues remained the reform of the ninja school and diplomatic relations with the Five Great Ninja Villages.

This time, Byakuya took on the role of an observer, listening without speaking, quietly watching the trio's performance. After several months in high-level positions, they finally looked the part, shedding much of their former naivety.

After leaving the Amegakure Tower, Byakuya received a message from Black Zetsu.

Sending Shiro underground, Byakuya, accompanied by Kakuzu, headed towards the Akatsuki base. Soon, they met Black Zetsu and Obito in the woods near the base.

Black Zetsu's appearance was the same as before—a black-and-white, yin-yang humanoid.

Obito's gaze had become sharper, and the tiger-striped mask on his face gave him an air of unfathomable depth, indicating a significant increase in both strength and confidence since their last meeting. He now exuded an attitude of, 'I've been walking on thin ice all my life, can I really realize the Eye of the Moon Project?'

Kakuzu also took note of the two, his instincts telling him they were both very powerful, on par with himself. Byakuya's Akatsuki organization was even more profound than he had imagined.

Obito glanced at Kakuzu and then asked Byakuya, "Who is he? A new member of the organization? Is he reliable? Will he leak our plans?"

Three rapid-fire questions left Byakuya momentarily speechless.

"Masked man, correct your attitude..."

Byakuya frowned and coldly said, "This is Kakuzu, an esteemed senior who has dominated the underground black markets of various countries for decades. He even battled the First Hokage for dozens of rounds and survived."

Kakuzu's expression shifted slightly. While it was true he boasted about surviving a fight with the First Hokage to inflate his value and secure more lucrative contracts, it wasn't meant to draw enmity in this context.

Moreover, the fact that a group of elite Jonin were here discussing plans indicated some significant conspiracy.

"Kakuzu?" Obito was visibly displeased. He glanced at Black Zetsu beside him and asked, "Do you know this person? Have you gathered intelligence on him?"

Black Zetsu sighed inwardly before replying, "I've heard of him. Kakuzu is indeed a powerful ninja. With his addition, our future operations will be much easier."

Hearing this, Obito finally shed his dismissive attitude, activating his Sharingan to scrutinize Kakuzu seriously.

Kakuzu naturally noticed the Sharingan and felt a pang of apprehension. How could the Akatsuki already have an Uchiha, and not just any Uchiha, but one with a Mangekyo Sharingan?

What exactly was the Akatsuki up to? Could it really be just a subordinate organization of Amegakure?