Chapter 176: Two Tasks

Byakuya didn't believe the group's excuses and walked over to grab the letter.

After quickly reading its contents, his face immediately twitched as he found himself unsure where to even start criticizing it.

It really was a distress letter from Jiraiya...

The letter was very straightforward, Two days ago, Konoha's supply line encountered an issue. The military supplies purchased from Amegakure were intercepted by Kumogakure ninjas within the borders of the Land of Fire, causing tension on Konoha's battlefront.

The Kumogakure ninjas responsible for the ambush were well off with strength, which led Jiraiya to request protection from Amegakure to ensure the safety of the supplies.

There was nothing wrong with the letter's content, but the irony was that Byakuya had just mentioned Jiraiya would probably seek help.

Faced with Yahiko and the others' subtle glances, Byakuya wanted to explain but couldn't find the words. Just moments ago, he had been mocking the old toad Gamamaru as a fraud, and now, he found himself in the same position.

In a flash, he had gone through the stages of doubt, understanding, and becoming one himself.

After clearing his throat, Byakuya spoke, "It seems that Jiraiya-sensei has sent a distress letter quite quickly. The conflict between Kumo and Konoha must be more intense than I had imagined. I believe it won't be long before the war between Konoha and Kumogakure comes to an end."

"Really?" Konan asked with anticipation, as in her mind, Byakuya's words were not speculations or analysis but rather predictions of the future.

Feeling awkward, Byakuya set the letter down.

At this moment, Yahiko, noticing Byakuya's discomfort, quickly chimed in, "When the war ends is still unknown. For now, let's focus on Jiraiya-sensei's request for help. Do you guys agree or disagree with his request?"

Konan and Nagato exchanged glances and then nodded, saying, "We both agree to support Jiraiya-sensei."

Byakuya slowly added, "It's fine to support Konoha, but that comes with an additional price. Aside from the task of escorting supplies, we should ask if he needs ninjas to assassinate Kumogakure's top fighters."

Seeing that everyone was in agreement to support Konoha, Yahiko nodded slightly and then asked Byakuya, "Byakuya, do you really plan to send our people to assassinate Kumogakure ninjas?"

Byakuya, unconcerned, responded, "Of course. Over the past few days, I've recruited quite a few strong rogue ninjas under my command. This war is the perfect opportunity to test and sharpen them, allowing them to prove their worth."

After thinking it over, Yahiko said, "Be cautious. I know you're very powerful, but remember, there are always stronger people out there. In the ninja world, you never know when a new Kage-level powerhouse might emerge."

"I'll be careful. You can respond to Konoha, and I'll go back to make the preparations."

With that, Byakuya left Amegakure's office.

---

After returning to the Akatsuki base, Byakuya used his ring to summon the outer members.

Currently, there are not many outer members. Aside from Byakuya, who was the leader, there were only Hanzo, Kakuzu, and Sasori.

The reason the group was limited to just four wasn't because Akatsuki lacked enough Jonin-level members.

It was because Byakuya held a philosophy of preferring quality over quantity. The outer members would eventually be tasked with capturing the Tailed Beasts, so if they didn't even have the strength of elite Jonin, they'd be better off doing logistics work.

However, recruiting ninjas at the elite Jonin level was no simple task.

At that level, these elite Jonin were just a step away from Kage-level strength. After all, both Kages and Elite Jonin fell under the Jonin classification.

In Byakuya's memory, the original Akatsuki members had almost all been recruited.

Nagato and Konan, being Akatsuki's top leaders, were already accounted for. Kakuzu and Sasori had also been recruited. As for the others like Itachi Uchiha, Hidan, Deidara, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Zabuza Momochi...

Some of them were likely still under ten years old and might not have even graduated from their ninja academies.

Others were still quietly serving in Kirigakure's ANBU, which was under Tobi's control, and would eventually become part of his team. Byakuya didn't have the time or inclination to meddle in that right now.

If Byakuya wanted to recruit strong ninjas in a short time, he might have to consider alternative methods.

Shisui is a good option, and wandering ninjas like Shinnō and Hiruko, who move between various countries, are also solid choices. Their abilities should be around the Jonin level, and with a bit of training, they could become reliable combat forces.

Two days later, Byakuya received two pieces of information.

The first was from Amegakure Tower—Konoha had decided to hire Akatsuki's ninjas to deal with Kumogakure's ninjas.

The second message came from Kabuto Yakushi. After a few months of training, Kabuto had become a Root ninja and had left Konoha to officially begin his missions.

Both pieces of news were extremely useful, especially the one from Kabuto, which pleased Byakuya immensely.

Although Kabuto was a war orphan, his talent wasn't any less than Kakashi's, particularly in medical research. His abilities were acknowledged by both Tsunade and Orochimaru.

With such potential, whether Kabuto eventually rose to the upper ranks of Konoha or was taken away by Orochimaru, he would be an excellent spy candidate, allowing Byakuya to continuously gather intelligence.

After destroying the intelligence scroll, Byakuya went to Akatsuki's training ground.

Hanzo, Kakuzu, and Sasori had been waiting for quite some time, their eyes fixed on Byakuya as they awaited his orders.

Without any small talk, Byakuya directly said, "The village has accepted Konoha's request for two tasks, escorting supplies sold to Konoha and assassinating Jonin from Kumogakure. This mission is very difficult and will have to rely on skilled fighters. So to get to the point. Do you want to take on the task of escorting the supplies, or will you join me in hunting Kumogakure ninjas?"

After hearing the mission details, the three of them pondered for a moment.

Hanzo smiled as he walked over to Byakuya's side, saying with a chuckle, "I'm getting old and don't want to stray too far from the village, so I'll take the task of escorting the supplies."

Without hesitation, Kakuzu and Sasori went for the other option, "We choose to assassinate the Kumogakure ninjas."

Their reasons for choosing the assassination over escorting supplies varied.

Kakuzu, being a true bounty hunter, didn't care about the specific mission details. Aside from the mission targets and ninjas who stood in his way, he rarely dealt with other ninjas.

Compared to escorting supplies, which didn't have much profit, Kakuzu preferred assassination missions.

The reason was simple, killing people paid much more than escorting.

Sasori's reasoning was even more straightforward. His parents had been killed by Konoha ninjas, so he could never help Konoha, even if it was just escorting supplies.

By comparison, participating in the mission to hunt down Kumogakure ninjas was more appealing. At the very least, he could collect materials for making puppets.

Byakuya had no objections to their decisions and nodded in agreement.