บท 126: Chapter 126: Konan, you're still alive!
Just as Akihara Kagura predicted, Jiraiya was indeed thinking along those lines.
Because he felt he couldn't obtain information about the Akatsuki organization through normal channels, Jiraiya simply decided to find a way to hire the Akatsuki.
Jiraiya inquired about a noble who had hired the Akatsuki before and found that such a person really existed. He then gathered some intelligence about the Akatsuki from that noble and took the opportunity to invite the noble to help hire the Akatsuki again.
Late at night.
Jiraiya was lurking nearby, waiting.
Under the moonlight.
Suddenly, sheets of folded paper flew through the sky, converging into a woman with light blue hair, who landed in the courtyard of that noble.
This was the contact person for the Akatsuki.
The clients in the ninja world are quite important.
Even the Third Hokage of Konoha, for most of the time, would discuss and distribute missions with clients at Konoha's mission assembly place.
The notion that "the customer is king" is the same in every corner of the world; no one would ignore the benefits that clients bring.
Therefore...
Konan personally came here.
Konan was wearing a robe adorned with auspicious clouds, with a folded paper flower inserted in her light blue hair, her face painted with thick makeup, and wearing a slightly large ring on her hand, looking coldly at the noble in front of her.
"This time, who do you want us to eliminate?"
Clearly.
The Akatsuki's attitude towards clients was not up to standard.
After all, it's not a formal organization, and their service attitude couldn't be that good.
"Eliminate..."
The noble raised his head to look at Konan and shakily mentioned a name: "Jiraiya! One of the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha!"
"..."
Konan's brow furrowed, seemingly feeling that this name had been appearing too frequently in her life lately: "Eliminating Jiraiya will cost a lot of money..."
Konan thought to herself about how much she should charge for the task of eliminating Jiraiya, considering he was one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, and moreover, he was her teacher...
From any perspective...
It seems that a significant amount of money should be added.
Moreover, from the perspective of the Akatsuki organization, eliminating Jiraiya, who has been pursuing Orochimaru and even the Akatsuki organization itself, would actually be beneficial for them.
However...
Konan has never been one to make decisions on her own.
This matter still needed to consult Pain's opinion.
"This task, for now..."
Just at this moment, as Konan looked up to say something, she suddenly turned her gaze towards something fluctuating in the room of the noble!
"Who's there!"
Konan's expression changed drastically!
Sheets of paper began to float from her body, transforming into a myriad of shurikens, swiftly piercing through the window and shooting towards the room hiding someone inside!
A tall figure with white hair rolled out in a sorry state!
It was Jiraiya, who had been lurking inside!
Konan's expression turned ugly.
Konan had never expected to encounter Jiraiya at this time. Based on the events that had occurred recently, she immediately realized that this hiring was a trap set by Jiraiya!
"It's a trap!"
"Konan, I didn't expect it to be you..."
A complex look flashed in Jiraiya's eyes.
A disciple who was long thought dead in his memory, why was she here, and even a member of the Akatsuki organization? This was a significant shock to Jiraiya!
All along, Jiraiya had trusted the intelligence from Mount Myoboku, believing that the messenger toad from Mount Myoboku had told him that Konan and the others had died, so he never thought about these disciples again, only feeling it was a pity.
Unexpectedly...
Konan, his disciple, wasn't dead!
And even staying in the same organization as Orochimaru!
Jiraiya, observing his maturely dressed disciple, still complimented, "The technique has become more fierce than before, and you've turned into a fine woman..."
"..."
Konan remained silent without answering.
"What exactly is going on?"
Jiraiya's expression immediately became serious, as if seeing a child who had gone astray, "The news I received was that you all had long died. How could you be in the same organization as Orochimaru? What about Yahiko and Nagato?"
"..."
Konan's body gradually turned into paper.
Without Pain's command, Konan didn't know how to respond to her teacher or whether she should answer these questions. Giant paper wings grew beside her, propelling her body, wanting to flee towards the distance!
"Lion's Mane Technique!"
Jiraiya quickly brought his palms together!
Strands of hair flew towards Konan's body!
However, Konan's body seemed exceptionally agile while flying, quickly soaring high to avoid Jiraiya's attack, her body beginning to turn into pieces of folding paper and disappear!
"Konan!"
Jiraiya leaped, attempting to follow!
However, he could not see any trace of his disciple, only pieces of folding paper scattering in all directions, making it impossible for him to determine which direction Konan had escaped to!
Under the bright moonlight.
A window of a hotel room was open.
Akihara Kagura stood by the window, looking at the folding paper fluttering in the night sky.
"That is Konan."
White Zetzu Awei's body emerged from the floor, softly introducing this member of the Akatsuki organization: "Her technique is a secret art that involves the use of folding paper..."
"Teacher Jiraiya mentioned this name."
Akihara Kagura, aware of Konan's identity, softly said: "It seems my teacher has more people to retrieve... My teacher always tends to attract a lot of trouble."
"But..."
White Zetzu Awei hesitated, asking with some confusion: "If it wasn't for us leading Jiraiya to her, he probably wouldn't have found out about Konan, right?"
"Some things are destined."
Akihara Kagura shook his head, refusing to take the blame: "It's not our fault. We just made the inevitable result happen earlier, giving them more time to deal with each other."
"Think about it..."
"If they don't meet now..."
"When they meet in the future, the Konoha ninjas and the Akatsuki are destined to fall into a fight. How should they handle it? They might not even have time to deal with it, no chance to communicate, and have to start killing each other."
"Now that they have met..."
"When they meet again in the future, they will already have had plenty of time to understand each other's positions, to figure out how they should treat each other, even if it leads to mutual killing, they won't regret it."
"Letting them meet is beneficial for both sides."
After finishing, Akihara Kagura concluded that what they did was good: "Actually, what we did was a good thing, we did it for their sake."
After summarizing, Akihara Kagura added: "But this world is twisted, we do good deeds, but we can't make a name for ourselves, so they won't be grateful to us."
"What you said... makes sense."
White Zetzu Awei felt that what Akihara Kagura said made a lot of sense.
No matter who it was here, they couldn't find any fault in what Akihara Kagura said; indeed, they were considering the well-being of Jiraiya and his pupil Konan.
"Are you going to make a move?"
White Zetzu Awei took the initiative to ask, "Do you want to help Jiraiya or help Konan? I think it's better to help Jiraiya. I heard that Konan's attitude towards Obito has worsened..."
"It's not yet time to help."
Akihara Kagura shook his head and said softly, "Even if we capture Konan, what then? What we aim to do is never about capturing Konan. Our goal is to keep Teacher Jiraiya constantly troubling the Akatsuki organization..."
"Only by doing this..."
"When we return to the Akatsuki in the future, if someone refuses to let us take charge, we'll find a way to have that person pursued by Teacher Jiraiya."
This plan was a quadruple win for Akihara Kagura.
Firstly, it would allow Jiraiya to discover the Akatsuki organization earlier, and in the future, they could eliminate the disobedient members within the Akatsuki with the help of Jiraiya or Konoha, thus keeping Akihara Kagura's hands clean and avoiding internal dissatisfaction within the Akatsuki;
Secondly, it would complete Orochimaru's mission.
Thirdly, the Akatsuki constantly encountering troubles investigated by Jiraiya, even to the point of being destroyed by Jiraiya and his disciples, would definitely demand Uchiha Obito's attention. He would inevitably come forward to issue commands, and the mission to save the Akatsuki would surely offer significant rewards, right?
Fourthly, when Jiraiya takes him to investigate or even destroy the Akatsuki, there might be other missions, like sparing his disciple, and Akihara Kagura couldn't be blamed for exploiting this.
Of course.
Akihara Kagura was not a selfish person.
Akihara Kagura was also considering his teacher Jiraiya, fearing that the teacher would be too shocked in the future, so he leaked the identities of Orochimaru and Konan to Jiraiya in advance.
Akihara Kagura, watching Jiraiya standing at the highest point of the town, had a smile on his lips: "I really did you a big favor, Teacher Jiraiya..."
"..."
White Zetzu Awei nodded deeply in agreement.
If Jiraiya did not have a disciple like Akihara Kagura, he could only wander aimlessly in the taverns of the town, gathering a group of hostesses to drink with him; instead of pursuing this or investigating that, and even having a clear goal in life.
"Get ready."
Akihara Kagura chuckled, slowly closing the inn's window: "This time, we are definitely going to the Land of Rain."
"The Land of Rain is not peaceful at all!"
White Zetzu Awei recalled the country where the Akatsuki organization's base was located and actively mentioned the situation in the Land of Rain: "The Land of Rain is still in a civil war! The Third Great Ninja War has ended, but this civil war has not yet concluded!"
The entire Land of Rain is indeed still engulfed in civil war.
White Zetzu Awei is very familiar with the history of the Land of Rain and even knows the entire timeline of the civil war within the Land of Rain, including the grudge between the Akatsuki organization and Hanzo of the Salamander.
After all...
The Third Great Ninja War had not been over for long.
During the late period of the Third Great Ninja War, there was a brief encounter between Yahiko, the previous leader of the Akatsuki, and Hanzo of the Salamander, which resulted in heavy losses for the Akatsuki.
Hanzo of the Salamander and Shimura Danzo schemed against the Akatsuki, leading to Yahiko's death in battle and the majority of its members dying in that war.
Of course, Uchiha Obito was not clean in this matter. At that time, Obito had just awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan and took the opportunity to eliminate the weak within the Akatsuki, shifting the blame onto Shimura Danzo and Hanzo.
White Zetzu Awei is clear about these matters, recounting the history from a few years ago: "Taking this opportunity, Obito guided Nagato to create the current leader of the Akatsuki, Pain, who utilized the body of the previous leader, Yahiko..."
After the Third Great Ninja War officially ended, Pain and Konan went into hiding, developing a new Akatsuki with Obito's guidance on one hand, and on the other, recruiting rogue ninjas from the Rain Village, without forgetting to establish a new Rain Village.
Many ninjas from the Rain Village, unwilling to be governed by Hanzo's corrupt rule, marked their foreheads with a line and joined Pain and Konan, challenging the rule of Hanzo over the Rain Village.
Perhaps because Pain and Konan did not have enough ninjas under their command to take over the Rain Village, the civil war was not very intense;
Perhaps they were worried that eliminating Hanzo without a strong ninja reputation would attract the covetous eyes of other major countries' ninja villages; coincidentally, they also failed to locate Hanzo's hiding place.
Even as the civil war in the Land of Rain gradually intensified, Hanzo remained detached from worldly affairs, hiding within the Rain Village out of fear of being assassinated by Pain, no longer possessing the demeanor of a demi-god ninja.
"Is Hanzo of the Salamander still alive?"
Akari Kagura raised an eyebrow, asking proactively: "I heard that Hanzo is considered a demi-god ninja, I wonder if there's a chance to meet him..."
"He is still alive!"
White Zetzu Awei nodded and continued: "However, besides us, no one knows his whereabouts, not even Pain can find out where Hanzo is."
Yes.
Hanzo of the Salamander is quite afraid of death.
The whereabouts of this demi-god ninja were unknown to many ninjas of the Rain Village, let alone the enemy, Pain. Only the likes of White Zetzu could find out through the Art of the Mayfly.
"When going to the Rain Village, we must take a good look at him."
Akihara Kagura smiled and said softly, "The reputation of Hanzo of the Salamander as a demi-god ninja is quite impressive. Perhaps we could even make use of it…"
"Make use of it?"
White Zetzu Awei didn't quite understand how this reputation could be used for anything.
"How about stepping on him to ascend?"
Akihara Kagura stretched lazily and continued nonchalantly, "The ninja world calls him a demi-god ninja, which means he is only slightly inferior to the Ninja God, the First Hokage..."
"Is this... to use his head?"
White Zetzu Awei frowned, feeling that Akihara Kagura did not intend to "borrow" in a normal sense.
"What's wrong?"
Akihara Kagura shrugged, showing no avoidance of the topic and even finding a reason, "Hanzo of the Salamander once had a pact with Lord Danzo. The fact that he has never visited Konoha is practically ignoring Konoha's dignity. I was once under Lord Danzo…"
~~~
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