"So slow, why aren't they here yet?"
Konoha, inside a barbecue restaurant.
Takemi, Naruto, and Sasuke were waiting in a private room. Naruto grumbled, he was truly hungry.
Apparently, Kakashi and Jiraiya hadn't arrived yet.
"You'll get used to it. Besides, they have a lot of things to do themselves."
Takemi didn't think there was any problem. He turned his head and smiled at Sasuke, who was beside him.
"Relax, you need to balance work and rest. Even a 'diligent genius' needs to rest."
Sasuke pouted. He hadn't wanted to come. He still needed to get stronger, after all, he had revenge to exact.
But he couldn't resist Takemi dragging him over, and for some reason, he felt a very peculiar sensation from him.
Shaking his head, Sasuke stopped thinking and asked curiously, "Takemi-senpai, I heard you went on another mission recently?"
Takemi nodded, and Naruto, who was beside him, interjected, "This guy was out for almost two months, and I had to water his plants for him. It's infuriating, but I'm also really envious. I haven't even left the village yet."
Sasuke was a bit dazed. He wasn't Naruto. He knew very well what it meant to be out on a mission for almost two months.
It was either continuous missions or a large-scale mission.
Although Sasuke mused that a large-scale mission was probably unlikely, given that Takemi was still a Genin.
But continuous missions were enough to show how much his instructing ninja valued him.
"Can you guide me in my training?"
After a while, Sasuke suddenly asked in a low voice, a question that bewildered Takemi.
"Hey, that sounds good!"
Naruto immediately got excited. He jumped up and laughed.
"You've tricked me so many times, it's about time you made it up to me. Besides, you'd be guiding the future Hokage."
Sasuke couldn't hold back. He had asked first, so why was Naruto, that idiot, joining in?
"You two, settle down."
Takemi was a bit exasperated. He thought for a moment before speaking, "I'm too busy right now, I don't have the time. And Naruto, you idiot, did you forget what I told you before? If you two get Jiraiya-sama on your side, you'll both be fine."
Sasuke pursed his lips, while Naruto mumbled with a look of disgust, "Tch, that perverted old man…"
"Didn't you say last time that you were almost ready?"
Takemi seemed to sense something. He blinked and said with a smile, "Come on, come on, show me a performance."
"You're a pervert too!"
Naruto reluctantly began forming hand signs, while Sasuke turned his head away, unwilling to watch. He had a general idea of what was coming.
Accompanied by a swirl of smoke, a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl quietly appeared in the hazy mist.
"Takemi, we're here."
But just then, the private room's door was suddenly pushed open, and Jiraiya, along with Kakashi and Guy, walked in.
At this moment, however, all of them had their eyes wide open, and the entire private room was exceptionally silent.
The heavy rain continued. In this country, it seemed as if the rain would never stop.
And amidst the rain, White Zetsu was leading Kisame, who carried the samehada, towards a building.
"There are no daily requirements for joining this Akatsuki, but currently, you need to complete missions to earn enough money." White Zetsu explained to Kisame as he walked.
Within the Akatsuki, Obito played the role of Tobi, an intern, which allowed him to remain hidden behind the scenes.
Black Zetsu naturally handled the front-end matters. He wouldn't refuse such a role as he didn't trust some of Obito's decisions.
For instance, Obito lost the Land of Water.
Black Zetsu no longer wanted to comment on his previous trip to Konoha, but he had watched the entire battle this time.
He couldn't understand how he still had a Flying Thunder God mark on him.
Why didn't he remove it?
If the mark couldn't be removed, he could at least dig out a piece of flesh.
A little digging isn't shameful.
At worst, he could just replace it with White Zetsu.
Now, things were messed up. He was found, defeated, and couldn't even maintain the Genjutsu controlling the Fourth Mizukage.
Whenever he thought of these things, Black Zetsu sighed inwardly.
He had already reminded Obito to be careful, as they had previously suspected that someone from Konoha was spying on them. But he realized that his efforts were still in vain.
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Kisame didn't know what Black Zetsu was thinking. He simply nodded to show he understood.
He asked, "By the way, how is the one who recruited me doing now? Is he in this organization…"
"He has recovered. That level of attack won't affect him at all. He just needs a few days of rest." Black Zetsuimmediately snapped back to attention, replying calmly.
"As for his role in this organization, you can think of him as the actual controller hidden deep within the organization."
Kisame smiled, his shark-like face looking somewhat eerie.
"No wonder he could control the Fourth Mizukage. Without some tricks, it wouldn't work. But why doesn't he use his own name? Is he worried that his name isn't intimidating enough, or is he worried about Konoha?"
Black Zetsu was a bit relieved that Obito wasn't here, otherwise he definitely wouldn't be able to stand it.
Shaking his head, he was about to explain when Kisame suddenly spoke, "But being wary of Konoha is right. I never thought that someone in Konoha would learn the Flying Thunder God Technique again, and a kid at that."
Thinking of Takemi, Kisame couldn't help but purse his lips. That elusive ability made him particularly alarmed.
Not only him, Black Zetsu was also incredibly emotional.
And incredibly confused.
"What exactly is going on with that kid? His aura…"
Recalling the moment he saw Takemi while observing the battle from a corner in Kirigakure, he felt a slight tremor in his heart.
That familiar yet strange feeling seemed to grow stronger, and he couldn't figure out what was happening.
But he knew very well that he definitely hid some secret.
"What exactly is going on…"
For no reason, Black Zetsu felt a little flustered. This kind of uncertain factor was truly deadly.
He felt that he absolutely had to find an opportunity to investigate, otherwise he couldn't rest easy.
Silently leading Kisame towards the sewers of a building, which was an Akatsuki base, Black Zetsu no longer thought much and began to explain, "I'll take you to meet the Akatsuki's leader first, the one on the surface. He is very strong."
"Also, don't mention his real name, and don't talk about Kirigakure. Understand?"
"Oh, it seems this leader is quite powerful." Kisame immediately understood something.
He asked with a smile, "Not relying on Madara's reputation? Are they worried they can't handle the consequences?"
"Don't think too much, someone's coming."
Black Zetsu truly had a headache. Kisame was extremely capable, highly professional, and also very smart.
But it was precisely his intelligence that bothered him. Why ask so many questions? Just do your job well.
As he pondered, a figure was already walking towards him.
This person was wearing the Akatsuki uniform, with a black cloth over his face, and a Takigakure headband. A clear slash on it indicated his identity, a rebel ninja.
His green eyes scrutinized Kisame, then looked at Black Zetsu.
He said, "A newcomer, and from Kirigakure, with the samehada. Looks like a formidable fellow."
"He is indeed very formidable." Black Zetsu nodded.
"Kakuzu, where are you going? Another mission?"
"Recruiting a newcomer."
Kakuzu shook his head, speaking indifferently, "I heard there's an interesting guy in the Land of Hot Water. Our leader told me to check him out. They say he's also immortal."
Kisame raised an eyebrow at that, while Black Zetsu seemed to recall something.
Immortal, could it be those cultists?
"By the way, you're in charge of intelligence, so I have a question for you." Just as they were thinking, Kakuzu suddenly spoke again.
Black Zetsu was startled, then nodded.
"Konoha recently issued a new bounty. I saw it in the black market."
"Is that so? Who is it?"
"It's a guy named Obito. It's incredible that there are still Uchiha alive."
"The bounty Konoha is offering is very generous. Have you heard of this guy?"
"No? I suggest you investigate quickly, find this guy, and kill him. We could make a huge profit!"