Chapter 85: The Teacher Actually Grew Taller

Though the incident at Hidden Cloud Village stirred quite a commotion, the lack of further attacks eventually allowed the situation to calm down. However, the attackers in this case were now being referred to as "Heaven's Wrath."

Since the attack on the village came from the sky, the name gained recognition. Kenichi, however, was still unaware that he had earned such a strange nickname. At this moment, he had already arrived at the Akatsuki headquarters with Sasori.

Initially, Kenichi had planned to leave, but after failing to recruit Zabuza Momochi, he needed to explain the situation to Nagato. So, he came along.

Unexpectedly, upon arrival, he bumped into his teacher, Orochimaru.

"Kenichi, how did your mission go?" After not seeing him for several days, Orochimaru appeared just the same—unchanged. Yet, Kenichi noticed something peculiar. His teacher seemed taller. Previously, Orochimaru had been shorter than him.

Now, Orochimaru was almost the same height as Kenichi. This made him curious—was his teacher's body still growing naturally, or had Orochimaru done something to disguise himself?

"Teacher, Zabuza Momochi wasn't strong enough. Sasori killed him," Kenichi replied cheerfully, showing no sign of concern, while Orochimaru also seemed uninterested in the mission's outcome.

"Mm, go report then. I'll wait for you at the barbecue restaurant," Orochimaru said with a smile. Sasori, standing beside them, couldn't help but glance at the legendary Sannin, then at his friend, Kenichi.

He recalled his friend once saying that Orochimaru wasn't actually a man, but a woman... No, to be precise, a girl. Sasori had been struck by the distinction between "woman" and "girl" at the time.

But Orochimaru was quite old, wasn't he? Why did Kenichi refer to him as a girl? This made Sasori curious. Yet, as he looked at Orochimaru now, there was nothing that suggested femininity. Could this be a disguise too?

"Got it, teacher," Kenichi said, not noticing Sasori's thoughts. If he had, he would have told him that it was all due to the power of ninjutsu.

Orochimaru, even in a world without chakra, could have been a scientist, or perhaps an outstanding master of disguise. He'd even force a rewrite of the "Four Dark Arts of Asia" into the "Four Heavenly Kings," because as everyone knows, the Four Heavenly Kings are actually five people.

Orochimaru noticed Sasori's gaze but had no interest in him. Puppet jutsu was intriguing, but it didn't capture Orochimaru's attention at the moment.

Kenichi followed Sasori into the room, just as Kakuzu pushed the door open from the other side, looking quite pleased.

Kenichi couldn't resist giving Kakuzu a second glance.

If anyone in the Akatsuki had money, Kenichi thought Konan and Kakuzu would top the list, followed by Sasori and Itachi.

Konan, of course, had her mysterious Paper Release ability, and Kenichi suspected she could mass-produce explosive tags—a veritable gold mine.

As for Kakuzu, he was a notorious miser and had accumulated quite a fortune. If Kenichi could somehow get his hands on Kakuzu's money, his research lab would have no funding problems.

Sasori, on the other hand, relied on the Third Kazekage's abilities, while Itachi might have taken some of the Uchiha clan's wealth when he left the village. As one of Konoha's two great dojutsu clans, the Uchiha were undoubtedly a dominant force. Itachi could live comfortably with whatever he managed to take.

"Kenichi, how did your mission go?" Nagato, controlling Pain, stood in the dimly lit room, his Rinnegan eyes fixated on Kenichi.

"It failed. I don't think Zabuza Momochi was fit to join us," Kenichi shrugged indifferently. After all, Zabuza was a joke compared to him and Sasori.

"And afterward? Didn't you ask about missions involving Konoha?" Nagato asked with a hint of displeasure. He had expected Zabuza to fail, but he was more concerned about the money. The organization needed funds to grow, and they were currently short.

"Yeah, I asked, but how do we get Konoha's money without proof?" Kenichi scratched his head. Could they really get paid without evidence?

"What did you do?" Nagato's interest was piqued. Kenichi's tone suggested he had done something, but lacked proof.

"Oh, I blew up Hidden Cloud Village earlier. I don't know how many ninjas died, but it was probably a lot," Kenichi said casually.

"Ah, so it was you," Nagato nodded absentmindedly. But then, he froze. 

Wait—what?

Nagato lifted his head, his normally impassive face now showing rare astonishment.

Kenichi wanted to take a picture to study how Nagato had made Pain's face show that expression, but reconsidered, knowing Nagato might beat him up in embarrassment.

"You blew it up?!" Nagato almost jumped out of his seat, slamming his hand on the table. The force sent the table flying, repelled by his Shinra Tensei.

"Yeah, Sasori helped too. I just don't know how to collect the payment. The Fourth Raikage was furious, so I didn't dare stick around," Kenichi said, nodding as if it were the most natural thing.

Nagato sat back down, stunned. Kenichi had just casually dropped a bombshell on him—literally.

The incident at Hidden Cloud Village had caused quite a stir recently. Meanwhile, Konoha and the village had intensified their conflicts, with rumors that the AB Combo (A and B, referring to the Raikage and Killer B) were joining the battlefield.

Because of this, both Konoha and Hidden Cloud had been issuing bounties to various factions. Kakuzu and Orochimaru were tasked with taking on war-related missions to earn money for the organization.

Nagato hadn't expected Kenichi to have blown up the Hidden Cloud Village without anyone realizing it.

"If you can prove you did it, you could claim quite a reward," Nagato said, massaging his temples.