Chapter 74: Senshi's Proposal...

"Mercenary Corps?"

Kakuzu echoed the words almost reflexively.

The Akatsuki organization was rather free-form. As long as one didn't betray the group or jeopardize its interests, it tolerated quite a lot from its rogue-ninja members. After all, if it weren't so tolerant, it never would have allowed the likes of Orochimaru to linger around causing trouble, nor would it have let Sasuke form Hebi/Taka later on. Furthermore, everyone in Akatsuki had secrets, and Nagato never pried into them.

So, whether Senshi started his own mercenary group or Kakuzu decided to join it was not an issue in itself. The only thing that puzzled Kakuzu was why Senshi had suddenly decided to create such a group. Was there some sort of business he couldn't handle alone?

Senshi's expression turned serious. He spoke slowly:

"I believe that a single person's power is limited. Even if you and I keep going around the clock, we can only handle all the black-market requests in one place at a time. But with a mercenary corps, it's different. We'd be acting as a united whole. We could have ninja members stationed across the shinobi world, each of them taking on different bounties and jobs.

"Not to mention, we could share resources, share intel on different areas' bounties, that sort of thing. My plan is to build a big-name brand—the strongest mercenary corps in all the shinobi world, bar none.

"Whereas the Akatsuki moves in secret, we could be as high-profile as we like. One day, the entire shinobi world will know of our corps, and whenever they want to post a mission request, they'll think of us first!"

Listening to Senshi's impassioned vision, the old "fossil" Kakuzu couldn't help but feel a hint of excitement. If the corps turned out as strong as Senshi hoped, then they could pick and choose high-paying bounties at will. Sounded pretty tempting.

So he asked, "Who else is in this mercenary corps of yours?"

Senshi replied matter-of-factly, "Karin Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki."

"…"

Kakuzu was speechless. Senshi had talked it up with grand phrases like "the strongest mercenary corps in the shinobi world" and "absolutely guaranteed mission success," yet aside from Senshi himself and Kakuzu (who hadn't joined yet), the rest were all a bunch of little kids?

"All I see are a few brats. Don't tell me this is just you and Karin playing house?" Kakuzu grumbled, sounding unimpressed.

Senshi shook his head. "I'm always serious when it comes to missions. You should know that by now, Kakuzu."

After a moment's thought, Kakuzu shrugged. "Fine. I'll join."

Hearing this, Senshi broke into a grin and clapped Kakuzu on the shoulder. He'd guessed that out of all the shinobi in the Akatsuki—indeed, in the entire ninja world—Kakuzu was one of the few who both qualified and met the conditions for joining his mercenary corps. He wouldn't disappoint.

"All right, then. Take it easy for now."

With that, Senshi activated his "Kāma" ability and vanished from the spot. Kakuzu froze in place, baffled. "Take it easy"? Did Senshi just say that?

Wasn't the usual routine for Senshi to immediately drag him off to some black-market hub for round-the-clock bounty runs? Kakuzu had already prepared a bunch of excuses—like how he was partnered with Hidan, or that he had other tasks on his agenda. He'd even rehearsed plausible scenarios in his mind for how to fend off Senshi's mission spam.

But now Senshi's "take it easy" left him with nothing. He'd zipped right off, without even a backward glance. Kakuzu felt…conflicted. Shouldn't I be happy? I was worried he'd throw me back into non-stop missions at insane speed, and now he's not. Why do I feel kind of disappointed?

…

Senshi's departure, however, wasn't born of kindness to let Kakuzu rest. Far from it—he would've loved nothing more than to keep Kakuzu working 24/7. After all, now that Kakuzu had joined the corps, every mission Kakuzu completed would kick back some of its profit to Senshi. Classic unscrupulous capitalist!

Telling Kakuzu to "take it easy" was mostly a throwaway line—given Kakuzu's workaholic nature, he wouldn't idle for long anyway. Meanwhile, Senshi had something more pressing to deal with.

He strode through Amegakure, following his "Mantra" sense, and came before Pain. "Pain," he said directly, "I believe the Ame should set up a ninja academy."

Even Pain's typically expressionless face showed clear surprise at this. A ninja academy…in Amegakure? How did that mesh with the Akatsuki's style?

Inwardly, Nagato was full of question marks. "Amegakure is just a small village. Why a ninja academy here?"

Senshi didn't reply right away. He'd come up with the idea of founding a ninja school after the mercenary-corps feature unlocked in his system. This was no whim; he had deeper plans in mind. The system's new module gave him a fresh channel for recruiting potential mercenary talent. Now the key was figuring out how to expand the corps with people who weren't some random rabble.

He also had to maintain quality. After all, he wasn't just blowing hot air with the claim of building the "strongest mercenary corps." If they failed missions left and right, nobody would trust them with high-paying requests.

Moreover, not everyone could be recognized by Senshi's system as recruitable. Judging from the fact that so far only Kakuzu, Karin, Sasuke, and Naruto qualified, personal trust in Senshi seemed to be a critical factor. (Hence why Nagato, despite working with Senshi for some time, still wasn't recognized by the system as a candidate.) The trick, Senshi reasoned, was that trust is hard to build among battle-hardened adult rogues—but children, on the other hand, were simpler to guide.

While Pain (Nagato) was still frowning, Senshi gave a light cough. "Think about it. The Five Great Shinobi Nations have so many ninjas—tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands—whereas the Akatsuki is just ten-odd people. On the battlefield, one of us might have to fight ten thousand of them. That's like having to wrangle over ten thousand pigs, except these 'pigs' are actually skilled ninjas—like Kumo's A-B combo, Kiri's rising star Terumi Mei, Konoha's Sannin Tsunade and Jiraiya… None of those are easy targets. Even we need time and effort to beat them."

Hearing Jiraiya's name, Pain's body stiffened for a moment. That was exactly the reaction Senshi was hoping for.

He continued, "Every Great Nation has its own hidden village and ninja academy. It's their established educational system. If Amegakure wants to get stronger—strong enough to stand against the Five Great Villages—then we need to make some changes.

"Do you know what struck me the most during my time in Konoha?" Senshi paused a second before answering his own question. "I realized that Konoha's younger generation is extremely talented. They're well-trained by the time they're even out of the academy. Once they mature, they'll keep fueling Konoha's military power. If one day we truly go to war with the Five Great Nations, these kids will become the new troops.

"Meanwhile, Amegakure has no future generation! If something should happen to the Akatsuki, or if our veterans die off, everything we've built goes with them. Don't forget, we still have to capture the Tailed Beasts."

Nagato found Senshi's viewpoint surprisingly reasonable. Senshi pushed on:

"If we raise our own ninjas from scratch, they'll be loyal; we can trust them. Even if they're mere genin at first, that still helps. If we find any prodigies—well, that's even better. Compare that to our current Akatsuki members—how many of them follow orders without question? Most are disloyal rogues."

And indeed, Nagato couldn't deny it. Before Senshi came along, the only truly reliable Akatsuki member had been Kakuzu. The rest, like Sasori or Orochimaru, did pretty much whatever they wanted and barely participated in missions unless it was related to capturing Tailed Beasts. If they cultivated their own ninjas, those new elites could eventually outshine the older, more uncooperative members. That really could solve a lot of problems in one fell swoop.

As Nagato thought it through, he realized Senshi's idea wasn't just a random notion. Since Senshi's arrival, even Orochimaru had found motivation to complete a few tasks. If even "that snake" could be convinced, surely loyal homegrown talent could surpass him, right?

So Nagato showed interest. "You make a good point. But where do we get the teachers and the students? That's a problem in itself."

Amegakure was tiny, and it rained constantly thanks to Rain Tiger at Will, making the climate uninviting. They were already caught between the Five Great Nations, barely scraping by. Even if they built a school, would there be anyone to attend?

Of course, Senshi wasn't about to let Pain dismiss him. "That's the thing—this world is never short on refugees. The endless wars leave countless uprooted from their homes, wandering as orphans and exiles. Amegakure can take those people in and train them, turning them into our most valuable weapons against the Great Nations. For example, take the Uzumaki Clan as a case."

Nagato looked startled. He hadn't expected Senshi to mention something like that. But indeed, 'war orphans' was a term he himself was all too familiar with—he had once been one. Though it sounded cruel, if you looked at it from the orphans' perspective, a stable living environment was exactly what they longed for. If only there'd been a ninja academy for Nagato and his friends…

After a few moments of reflection, Pain's expression turned grave again. He spoke in a measured tone. "That's actually not a bad idea."

Senshi shrugged lightly. He didn't have any particular 'clan pride' just because he bore the Uzumaki name, but if he had the resources, helping out the scattered remnants of his clan didn't seem so bad. After all, in the original story, both Naruto Uzumaki and Karin Uzumaki had heartbreaking childhoods. And those two were in Konoha, which was already somewhat safer. Just imagine the desperation for the scattered clan members who might still be out there. Red hair was far too eye-catching, ensuring they had a hard time hiding.

What's more, the Uzumaki Clan possessed massive chakra reserves, making them an ideal ninja lineage. Some, like Karin and her mother, had healing blood. And the clan had formidable sealing arts—Adamantine Sealing Chains, Mind's Eye of the Kagura, and more. Powerful abilities that Senshi was keenly interested in. If he gave the Uzumaki survivors shelter, in turn they could lend him their might. Fair exchange.

Still, Nagato looked troubled. He took a breath, deciding to be frank. After all, Senshi was now a core member they could rely on, at least in Nagato's eyes. Only that "Uchiha Madara" kept trying to badmouth Senshi, and Nagato considered that old fossil a hindrance to true peace.

"Taking in refugees and building a school—both great ideas, but… they're very costly," Pain said flatly, face expressionless. "The organization doesn't have enough money."

If he could make a helpless gesture, he would have, but Nagato was too proud for that. Everyone knew Senshi was the Akatsuki's biggest earner. Since he joined, the group's income had skyrocketed. Yet still, Akatsuki wasn't here just to make money—it had a larger goal: bringing about peace through force. They couldn't just dump all their funds into this schooling idea. Besides, Nagato had another unspoken thought: Senshi himself was also expensive to hire. Whenever they needed a top-notch job done, they had to pay Senshi's steep fees.

But Senshi merely gave a mysterious grin. "If I suggested these things, obviously I'll pay for them. Just make me the principal, that's all I ask!"

He waved his hand expansively, as though money was nothing to him. Oddly enough, it wasn't entirely an act. His system missions had rewarded him with huge piles of cash—'leftovers' from all his black-market jobs. His day-to-day expenses were minimal; even his food and clothing often came from the system's random draws. In essence, he was a money magnet: it only went in, never out. If he poured this wealth into Amegakure, it would circulate and reinvigorate the local economy. That, in turn, meant bigger payouts for future bounty missions, and more mercenary points for Senshi—another cycle of "double benefit."

And on top of that, he was actively seeking new recruits for his mercenary corps. Investing in education here lined up perfectly.

Nagato was instantly suspicious—this was too big and too kind of a gesture from the famously mercenary Senshi. It would cost a fortune to build a school in Ame and take in so many refugees, yet the direct benefit to Senshi personally seemed unclear. Senshi wasn't exactly known for saintly altruism.

Could it be that he'd suddenly become charitable, viewing money as worthless and wanting nothing more than to do good? Absolutely not—Senshi being "good" was laughable. He was the very definition of "no pay, no mission." Did that mean he was wholeheartedly devoted to the Akatsuki's cause, ready to help them for free? Also unlikely. Senshi might be one of their better members, but he was definitely an outsider, not someone who shared Nagato's grand vision of ending war through universal "pain."

So how did Senshi plan to profit from all this? Nagato was stumped. With his experience, he simply couldn't imagine how "investing in education" might yield returns.

Schools in the shinobi world were typically like Konoha's Academy, where someone like Iruka taught future generations that the Third Hokage was "the strongest Hokage" ever—passing down authority through the teacher-student lineage.

After pondering for a moment, Nagato looked at Senshi and said, "Senshi, what are you really after?"

~~~

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