Chapter 119: Obito is Back on the Surface!

Although Konan did not quite understand why Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha—two people so focused on "wellness and self-care"—would run off to the black market hall to snatch missions with Kakuzu, she nevertheless decided to send Kisame and Itachi to the Akatsuki branch in the Kirigakure to serve as those in charge.

Konan looked at Kisame and Itachi.

"Kisame, Itachi, Amegakure and Kirigakure have formed an in-depth cooperative relationship. We plan to set up an Akatsuki branch in Kiri so that both villages can share resources and develop together."

"The organization has now decided to appoint you two—Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha—as the persons in charge of our Kiri branch. You'll be responsible for its establishment as well as everything else involved."

Hearing this, Kisame and Itachi were both dumbfounded.

Wow, so they were being shipped off from Amegakure to Kirigakure for work.

Itachi wanted no part of it. He was a traitor from Konoha—how could he possibly devote time and effort to helping Akatsuki grow? All he wanted was to stay in Ame, gather intelligence on the organization and on Amegakure, and while away the days.

Kisame likewise had no interest. He was busy making money so he could, as soon as possible, become sworn brothers with Senshi—part of Senshi's closest circle. No way did he have time to go off to Kiri to found some new Akatsuki branch, let alone oversee its development.

Shaking his head, Kisame told Konan, "I'm sorry, Konan, but I refuse. I need to stay in Ame to make money by doing missions. I don't have time to help build an Akatsuki branch in Kiri."

Upon hearing that, while Itachi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, he also couldn't help feeling that Kisame was…well…really honest. Other people would at least think up some plausible excuse for refusing a direct assignment from a superior, but Kisame just came right out and said he was staying behind to keep raking in cash!

Konan, however, knew Kisame's personality full well. She was not bothered in the least by him flatly rejecting her instructions. Rather, she just smiled faintly and said, "Kisame, Ame and Kiri are now partners in deep cooperation. We've established an excellent bilateral relationship."

"If you and Itachi go to the Kiri, you can still earn money doing missions there. Are you sure you don't want to go?"

Kisame: (⊙_⊙)???

At first, Kisame figured Konan simply wanted him to relocate to the Kiri to work. If that was the case, he certainly wouldn't go—he and Itachi had been making a killing from missions in the Ame, so why would he leave?

But if he could continue earning money by doing missions in the Kiri—well, that changed everything. Kiri is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, backed by the Land of Water, one of the Five Great Nations! Sure, the Ame is developing rapidly, things look promising, and it seems peaceful and harmonious. But compared to the Land of Water—a long-established power—Ame is still smaller and weaker economically. A large country like the Land of Water has a lot more tasks that need ninja to handle, i.e. more mission requests, whether through the Kiri's own mission center or black markets across the Land of Water.

Besides, if he stayed in the Ame, Kakuzu—who'd assembled a six-person team—would be hogging all the missions. Kisame and Itachi were barely getting a slice! Thinking about that, Kisame's face lit up. He looked at Konan eagerly and said, "Konan, why didn't you say so sooner? Itachi and I can leave for Kiri right this minute!"

Itachi froze. Seriously? Was Kisame really willing to travel all that way? Didn't he give in rather too quickly? Wasn't it better for them both to just continue their leisurely lives in the Ame—doing a mission here or there—rather than heading to the Kiri to set up a branch?

How would Itachi keep tabs on Akatsuki and the Ame once they were stationed in Kiri? How could he send intelligence back to Konoha? On top of that, with Kiri shinobi eyeing him, it'd be harder for him to sneak out and check on his beloved little brother. He really didn't want to go to work in the Kiri!

But his objections clearly made no difference, because Kisame was already all fired up. Konan was quite satisfied with the arrangement, and the leader—Pain—hadn't voiced any objections either, so there was no changing what was now more or less set in stone.

However, aside from Itachi, there was one more person who strongly opposed the arrangement: Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage! She'd gone to such lengths, laying out careful plans to "save her village" in a roundabout way. She'd directly invited Senshi to remain in the Kiri; Senshi had refused. She'd tried to lure him there through other means as well, to no avail. So after racking her brains, she'd come up with the notion of having Akatsuki set up a branch in the Kiri to foster joint development—and install Senshi as its leader. And what do they do now? They appoint Kisame Hoshigaki to run the new Kiri branch!

This was not at all the result she wanted!

She wanted Senshi to be the one in charge. As of now, Mei felt rather helpless. She did not wish for Kisame to head that branch—but it wasn't her decision to make. Besides, thanks to Senshi, both Akatsuki and the Ame were undergoing rapid expansion. Even if Kisame was the one establishing the Kiri branch, it could still bring many benefits to the village. Kiri could send some of its own shinobi to join, and the others could collaborate and exchange ideas with them in various ways. Also, with an Akatsuki branch actually in the Kiri, they would naturally have tighter links to Senshi—albeit not the exact arrangement she'd hoped for. She was disappointed that Senshi wouldn't personally be leading the branch, but that didn't mean the cooperation was over.

Most crucially, Kisame might not remain the one in charge forever. When the right time came, she could always talk to the Ame leadership about switching him out for Senshi. And there were still plenty of ways to bring Senshi over to Kiri's side. No need to rush. She just had to look at the bigger picture and stay patient. First let Kisame and Itachi go lay the foundation for Kiri branch—doing the heavy lifting. Then, when the time was ripe, she could bring Senshi in to reap the rewards. Getting Senshi to do manual grunt-work would have been a waste of his talents anyway.

With that line of thought, Mei's perfect features lit up again in a sweet smile.

Sitting across from Mei in the meeting room, the other beautiful woman—Konan—was also quite pleased. From her viewpoint, it was better to send Kisame and Itachi out to help both Akatsuki and the Kiri grow, rather than let them lounge around the Ame not doing much of anything. And Kisame seemed very motivated; that was a good sign.

Soon afterward, Konan and Pain—along with Mei Terumi—formally signed their bilateral partnership agreement, in which the Ame and the Kiri would do all they could to expand cooperation between the Land of Rain and the Land of Water in every domain for mutual benefit.

Once that was done, Mei did not leave immediately but stayed to discuss some supplementary terms with Konan and Pain—laying groundwork to replace Kisame with Senshi as the future leader of the Kiri branch, when an opportunity should arise.

Most people start as the shiny new toy that everyone is excited about, only to later become the forgotten old trinket collecting dust on a shelf. Kisame, however, had never been anyone's shiny new toy in the first place.

Mei's willingness to have him set up Kiri branch was purely a matter of expediency. But that didn't trouble him in the least. Having grabbed the formal paperwork, he couldn't be bothered to wait for Mei to depart; he immediately dragged Itachi off and set out for Kiri. Unlike their usual leisurely pace, the two quickly headed out this time.

However, after traveling for a while, Kisame frowned and said, "Itachi-san, I feel like I'm forgetting something important. Anything comes to mind for you?"

He recalled how, whenever he'd done missions with Senshi, they never had to go anywhere on foot. But whenever he traveled with Itachi, it was always just the two of them walking everywhere.

Itachi simply shook his head. "It's a long way from the Ame to the Kiri. Let's take it slowly. The leader and Konan didn't give us a deadline." As a Konoha spy, Itachi wasn't about to hurry on an assignment for Akatsuki; he'd naturally seize every chance to dawdle.

Of course, he also knew they could pick up a "bodyguard/escort" mission along the way, hitch a ride, and earn extra cash—like Senshi often did—but he saw no point. He didn't need money, nor did he want to arrive too soon. Kisame had assumed that Itachi always had some grand reasoning for making them walk, but the truth was simpler: Itachi wanted to kill time.

As a result, they walked for an entire day yet only covered half the distance. Kisame was exasperated. "We've only covered half the route after walking all day. If we keep this up, how am I supposed to earn enough money to bribe Senshi with a huge stock of gold—and become his sworn brother?"

But Itachi shook his head again. "We've already gone quite far. We should look for an inn and rest properly. That way we'll have plenty of energy to continue tomorrow." In other words, he was simply taking advantage of Kisame's easygoing temperament. Kisame could only nod, and the two spent some time finding a shabby little inn and checked in for the night. Itachi didn't mind it being rundown—his objective was just to procrastinate.

Late that night, moonlight draped the land in silver, and the solitary hoot of an owl rang out just outside Kisame's window. Hearing that call, Kisame's eyes flew open. He looked a bit astonished. A moment later, that same familiar cry sounded again. This time, Kisame was sure it was the signal from someone who had been missing for some time. He wondered why that person had suddenly shown up. But without delay, he left his room to rendezvous.

The one waiting under a tree near the inn was none other than Obito Uchiha—Madara's successor. Of all the people in Akatsuki, Obito trusted Kisame the most; Kisame was one of the few who'd seen his true face. Kisame had heard Obito (alias "Madara") had gone missing. He never thought that, the moment he left the Amegakure, Obito would appear. That made him suspect something big must have happened with Obito.

Indeed, Obito wanted to gather intelligence—mainly on Senshi. Although he had Zetsu helping, he distrusted Zetsu, believing it to be a creation of the original Madara. Plus, lately Zetsu had been skulking around with a big sack, frequently disappearing. As a result, Obito had little information flow. He was desperate to learn about Senshi's recent movements.

The best way would normally be sneaking into the Ame to investigate directly or to find Kisame, but Senshi's clones were everywhere in Ame, making it dangerous for him to approach. Sure, he had Kamui, but that dimension was no longer safe for him—Senshi might be hiding there, waiting. So Obito didn't dare risk it. Instead, he lingered around Ame's borders. As soon as Kisame and Itachi left, he noticed, but waited until Itachi was asleep and everything was quiet to use their secret signal.

When Kisame found the masked Obito under the tree, he politely greeted him, "Lord Madara, why are you here so suddenly?"

Obito had no interest in small talk. He got right to the point: "Kisame, I need information on Senshi."

Kisame blinked, unsure why Obito was so concerned about Senshi, but he asked, "What exactly do you want to know?"

Knowing Kisame's straightforward nature, Obito was concise: "First, is Senshi currently in the Ame?"

Kisame nodded. "Yes, he's been in Ame all this time."

At that, wariness flickered in Obito's eyes, and he continued, "Where was he before that?"

Kisame replied, "He went to Kumo, then Kiri, but I'm not sure what business he had in either place."

Obito nodded again, then asked more specifically, "Do you know if Senshi has fought recently, or if there's anyone who's seen him fight lately?"

He wanted to gauge how far Senshi's strength had progressed so he could plan accordingly. At first, Kisame answered obediently. But when Obito started asking a lot about Senshi's true power, Kisame sensed that something was off: Madara-sama seemed far too obsessed with Senshi's capabilities.

Kisame couldn't help asking back, "Lord Madara, is your absence from the Ame lately somehow connected to Senshi?"

Obito, unaware of the terror Kisame used to feel toward Senshi, simply admitted the general situation: "Yes. Not long ago…"

Kisame's heart sank; cold sweat broke out on his back. Was Obito actually crossing swords with Senshi? Then he remembered how not long ago, he himself had misunderstood Senshi—thinking Senshi was a ruthless tyrant who'd driven Kakuzu and Hidan insane. After a little insight from Itachi, plus his own subsequent observations around the village and his minor run-ins with Senshi's clones, Kisame finally realized Senshi was nothing like the menace he'd once imagined.

Thinking perhaps Obito was in a similar boat—misjudging Senshi—Kisame tried to talk him down, almost like a support group for "people who are freaked out by Senshi."

"Lord Madara, did you provoke Senshi by accident? Really, you don't need to worry so much. Senshi's pretty casual if you ask me. If you're imagining him as some vengeful, hyper-reactive shinobi, then you're misunderstanding him. Based on what I've seen, he barely pays attention to most things unrelated to his own missions."

"In other words, even if you'd had some minor clash with him, you don't need to stress over it. He might not even remember or care. He's not that petty."

Obito: (O_o)???

He was stunned. He'd always known Kisame to be a straightforward, honest "shark." But now Kisame was sounding like a clueless fan singing Senshi's praises. Obito decided not to argue; he simply said in a cold voice:

"Kisame, let me be blunt: Senshi did something utterly unforgivable to me. I will never let him off. He hurt me severely, and I intend to pay him back a hundred times over. Right now, I need every shred of information you have on Senshi. Tell me everything."

~~~

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