244. Akatsuki’s Online Meeting

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Outside the Hidden Mist Village (Kirigakure), five individuals stood, visibly troubled. They wore robes of red, yellow, green, blue, and purple, each with a monkey tail tied to their waists, dragging behind them.

They were known collectively as a mercenary group infamous for hunting ninjas. Their reputation was nearly as notorious as the Akatsuki. Like the Akatsuki, they cared only for money, not people. Pay them enough, and they'd take down a Kage.

The squad relied on a secret technique involving explosive insects, even once forcing the Raikage into a tough spot.

Currently, they were targeting the Jinchūriki of the Hidden Mist Village not to join the Akatsuki, but because the Akatsuki offered them a handsome sum for the task.

The Akatsuki's original plan required each member to capture one tailed beast (Bijū) as quickly as possible. Ideally, it would mirror the raid on the Hidden Stone Village (Iwagakure), where the Bijū was taken before the village even realized what had happened.

But there was a problem: the Akatsuki was running out of manpower.

The duo of Kisame Hoshigaki and Tobi (under the alias of Madara Uchiha) was the most efficient team, successfully capturing the Four-Tails (Son Gokū) and Five-Tails (Kokuō) with ease.

Most of the heavy lifting was done by Kisame. Tobi, on the other hand, merely provided Fire Style Jutsu (Katon) as a backup essentially relegated to the support squad.

It wasn't that Tobi didn't want to help more; his signature technique, Kamui, had become unusable. For some inexplicable reason, every few days, a certain blonde-haired Jinchūriki (Naruto Uzumaki) would barge into the Kamui dimension, marking the place like a dog claiming territory.

Every time Tobi checked on his Kamui space, he was left wondering if Kakashi's student was actually a Jinchūriki or secretly one of his own ninja hounds (Ninken).

Worse still, Naruto's appearances were infuriatingly unpredictable. Sometimes he'd be gone for days, only to show up multiple times in a single day, never sticking to a schedule.

Tobi had given up trying to use Kamui entirely, too terrified that he might pop into the dimension one day and get greeted by a Rasengan.

As the saying goes, "Better safe than sorry." After all, Tobi's entire Uchiha Clan had been ninjas for generations he had learned when to cut his losses.

Thankfully, Kisame and his Samehada blade made up for the slack, completing their missions efficiently.

Another duo with progress was Kakuzu and Hidan, who had successfully captured the Two-Tails (Matatabi). While they took some detours for Kakuzu's "extra-curricular money-making," Nagato (Pain) allowed it since funding the organization was a priority.

Kakuzu and Hidan were now en route to capture the Seven-Tails (Chōmei). Since the Hidden Waterfall Village (Takigakure) was Kakuzu's home, the Seven-Tails was assigned to him.

Similarly, the One-Tail (Shukaku) was assigned to Sasori since he was from the Hidden Sand Village (Sunagakure).

Sasori and Deidara were supposed to capture the One-Tail before taking on another Bijū, but their mission ended in disaster leaving Sasori dead and Deidara severely injured.

When the Akatsuki convened for a full meeting, Pain, acting as the organization's CEO, and Konan, its HR manager, realized they were critically short-staffed.

Zetsu, one of the shareholders, suggested outsourcing. "There are plenty of skilled mercenaries out there. Kakuzu isn't the only one who works for money."

However, Kakuzu, acting as the CFO, immediately opposed the idea. "I'm not slaving away to make money just for you to hand it to someone else! If you're that desperate, I'll just work overtime to fill the gap myself Hidan can help me."

Hidan readily agreed. As a workaholic dedicated to his faith, he was more than happy to work overtime for his ritual sacrifices to Jashin.

The newest recruit, Tobi, chimed in cheerfully, "Wow, you seniors are amazing! Your dedication is inspiring, but if we keep this up, we won't make any progress!"

Kisame, a loyal employee, remained silent. Convinced by "Madara's" promises of a bright future, he had joined the Akatsuki without hesitation.

Pay and bonuses didn't matter to him as long as he could follow his boss.

As for Deidara, he was still on probation. His arrogance and obsession with his art had led to mission failure, costing the organization a valuable member. Until he fulfilled his quota, he had no say in the matter.

In the end, Pain made the final decision. "We'll outsource. Negotiate the price down."

After careful consideration, they selected a small but reputable group in the mercenary industry.

Kakuzu was initially furious but calmed down after Zetsu reassured him. "We're not exactly a legitimate company. Worst case, we delay payment, make excuses, or even betray them. Promises mean nothing in this line of work."

Placated, Kakuzu grinned and dragged Hidan back to continue their money-making ventures.

The Mercenary Squad, despite being small, was bold. Upon receiving Akatsuki's offer, they eagerly accepted, confident that with proper planning, capturing a Jinchūriki wouldn't be too difficult.

Thus, they had been staking out the Hidden Mist Village for over ten days. Thanks to their strong stealth and reconnaissance abilities, they remained undetected.

However, their plan had one glaring issue: neither Jinchūriki had left the village.

The leader, clad in red, sighed and gathered his team for a discussion.

The green-clad member, who specialized in Fire Style Jutsu (Katon), was the first to speak. "Boss, you know I'm impatient. Why don't we just attack them directly?"

The purple-clad member, a Water Style (Suiton) user, countered, "Boss, you know I'm cautious. We should prepare thoroughly before acting."

The yellow-clad member, skilled in a shadow-based assassination technique, shrugged. "Boss, you know me. I'm great at killing, but thinking isn't my strong suit."

The blue-clad member, a master of Earth Style Jutsu (Doton) and camouflage offered, "Boss, you know I'm good at infiltration. Let me sneak inside and take a look."

The red leader sighed. "I know you're all talented, but we're dealing with one of the Five Great Nations. Even with explosive insects, we're unlikely to escape unscathed."

Explosive insects were their signature weapon. These microscopic larvae could be inhaled through breathing and would remain dormant in the body until chakra was used, at which point they would grow and eventually detonate. A mere 0.1 chakra could trigger an agonizing explosion.

However, against an entire village of ninjas, the tactic wasn't foolproof. Most shinobi relied on taijutsu before using chakra-based techniques, and the Hidden Mist Village had plenty of sword experts.

"Let's gather more intelligence first," the leader decided, releasing reconnaissance insects. Like the Aburame Clan, his techniques included various functional bugs. These insects, equipped with oversized compound eyes, allowed him to share their vision.

The bugs flew directly into the Mizukage's Office.

Perhaps the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, should consider commissioning Naruto to create an anti-insect barrier.

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