Chapter 424: The Hokage's Funeral
"Leader, did you call us here today because of the mission jointly issued by the daimyo of the Four Great Nations?" Kakuzu licked his finger, his eyes shining with excitement.
As a mercenary ninja who frequently accepted missions, Kakuzu had seen plenty of bounties. However, very few offered such an astonishing reward.
"It must be that mission. I heard the reward far surpasses every other mission in the exchange office," another figure said with a nod.
Amamiya Kenichi glanced at him. Although the man's face was blurred in the phantom body space, Kenichi recognized him at once from his hairstyle.
Kisame Hoshigaki.
A rogue ninja from Kirigakure with enormous chakra reserves.
The sight of Kisame made Kenichi recall something rather amusing. In his previous life, he had once seen a greasy man cosplaying as Kisame and singing on a short video platform.
Of course, the Kisame in front of him was definitely not that man.
Kenichi looked around.
This time, the Akatsuki seemed to have issued a full assembly order. Almost everyone was present. Kenichi even noticed Obito standing opposite him, wearing a mask and seemingly still playing the role of Tobi.
Obito noticed Kenichi's gaze and exaggeratedly waved at him.
The movement instantly drew the attention of every member present.
Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Obito was definitely doing that on purpose.
Still, Kenichi had not expected Obito to continue maintaining his Tobi persona.
Aside from Obito, Sasori and Deidara were also present, along with two unfamiliar faces. Kenichi only glanced at them briefly and did not pay much attention.
Although he did not know who those two were, he assumed they were probably just cannon fodder.
Kakuzu's rate of consuming teammates was faster than the Akatsuki's rate of recruiting new members. Hidan, who had originally been the most suitable partner for Kakuzu, was still inside Orochimaru's laboratory.
Therefore, any Akatsuki member who partnered with Kakuzu and lacked sufficient strength could easily end up being killed by him.
As for their heads, they would naturally become money in Kakuzu's little treasury.
"Quiet."
Nagato, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
The members who had been discussing the matter instantly fell silent.
Obito's eyes were calm, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"I gathered everyone here today, on one hand, to assign the monthly missions. On the other hand..." Nagato glanced at Kenichi.
He had heard Kenichi's plan. Since Kirigakure in the Land of Water had already been destroyed, it meant Kenichi's plan had officially begun.
Because of that, the question of where the Akatsuki should go next had become the most troublesome issue for Nagato.
"Jade, what do you have to say about Kirigakure in the Land of Water?" Nagato looked at Kenichi.
If they wanted to pull the entire Akatsuki onto Kenichi's war chariot, then putting the matter on the table was necessary. It would also prevent the awkward situation of their own people fighting each other.
That was the main reason Nagato had called for this full-member meeting.
Orochimaru glanced at his disciple. Judging from the leader's attitude, Nagato did not seem surprised at all by the conquest of Kirigakure. In that case, his conjecture was probably correct.
The other Akatsuki members were not fools either. The moment they heard the leader's words, they realized that the hottest event in the ninja world recently, the conquest of the Land of Water, might have something to do with Heavenly Demon, a member of their own organization.
"That's right. I conquered Kirigakure in the Land of Water. It has now become my sphere of influence," Kenichi admitted frankly.
In an instant, the phantom body space fell silent.
Everyone looked at Kenichi in surprise, except for Nagato and Orochimaru.
Although Obito had known about it for a long time, he still put on an exaggeratedly shocked expression to maintain his persona.
"You... you conquered the Land of Water? So you were the one who destroyed Kirigakure?" Kisame was clearly shaken.
When he had first learned that Kirigakure had been destroyed, he had felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, he was a rogue ninja from Kirigakure.
As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, it was impossible for Kisame to have no sense of belonging to the village. However, because of Uchiha Madara's invitation, he had still joined the Akatsuki and worked toward the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Later, when he suddenly heard news of Kirigakure's destruction, Kisame had been greatly surprised.
As a ninja of Kirigakure, he naturally understood his village very well. In his opinion, although Kirigakure had become somewhat weak, even Konoha of the Land of Fire should not have been able to annex it so quickly.
And yet, Kirigakure had truly been destroyed just like that.
"It was me." Kenichi nodded.
There was no need to hide such a thing, and it could not be hidden for long anyway.
The reason he had tried to block the news before was only to buy himself some time to develop. But since the matter had already been exposed by the Four Great Nations, Kenichi naturally no longer cared.
After all, this incident was already known throughout the ninja world. Trying to suppress the news now would be a fool's errand.
"The Land of Water must be rich, right?" Kakuzu looked at Kenichi with envy.
He did not care about the destruction of a ninja village. He only cared about money.
In Kakuzu's opinion, since the daimyo of the Four Great Nations were so wealthy, the Land of Water must also possess a great deal of money.
"Quite rich." Kenichi looked at Kakuzu with a half-smile.
Kakuzu only cared about money and nothing else. As long as there was enough money, everything could be negotiated. He was much like someone who would always ask for more, no matter the amount.
"But now..." Kakuzu frowned as he looked at Kenichi.
Since Kenichi had occupied the Land of Water, did that not mean the mission was impossible to complete?
The Akatsuki could not possibly accept that mission and then attack its own sphere of influence.
That would be far too stupid.
Judging from the leader's expression, Kakuzu knew Nagato probably had no intention of doing that either.
"Then can't we go to the Land of Water?" Obito suddenly said in an excited tone.
Kenichi glanced at Obito.
What exactly was Obito thinking?
However, Kenichi was indifferent to Obito's suggestion. Whether Obito came or not made little difference.
After all, even if Kenichi refused to let Obito enter, Obito could still sneak in anytime he wanted. Black Zetsu was extremely troublesome as well. Although the thermal imaging device developed by Orochimaru worked well, Kenichi was skeptical about whether it would be effective against Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu seemed capable of emerging from underground, which proved that he possessed some kind of earth-burrowing ability. Thermal imaging would naturally be blocked by soil, so it would be impossible to see Black Zetsu if he hid beneath the ground.
"I plan to move the Akatsuki's base to the Land of Water and incorporate the Land of Water into our organization's territory," Nagato said.
Everyone was stunned.
Even Obito could not help looking at Kenichi.
Was Nagato trying to seize Kenichi's spoils?
That made Obito very happy.
He had been worried that Kenichi might have reached some form of cooperation with Nagato. If those two had joined hands, Obito would have to kill Nagato at all costs, or at least retrieve his Rinnegan.
With the help of Nagato's Rinnegan, who knew how much more trouble Kenichi could cause him?
If it reached that point, Obito might have no choice but to use Edo Tensei to summon Uchiha Madara as quickly as possible and have Madara take action himself.
Kenichi narrowed his eyes.
He naturally saw everyone's reactions, but what he cared about most was Obito's response.
He caught the fleeting surprise in Obito's eyes.
"Leader, if I remember correctly, the Land of Water is my territory, right?" Kenichi said with a gloomy expression, his tone full of hostility.
Nagato paused for a moment.
There should have been no need to say this. He and Kenichi had already...
But then Nagato realized something.
"Yes. But you are also a member of the Akatsuki. If you refuse to accept this, then you will become an enemy of the organization," Nagato said calmly.
His tone did not invite suspicion. Everyone knew this was the leader's usual way of speaking.
"So I'm supposed to work for the Akatsuki for free?!" Kenichi's tone grew even angrier.
Among everyone present, Sasori and Deidara looked at Nagato at the same time.
Orochimaru seemed to be considering something, his gaze constantly shifting between Kenichi and Nagato.
As for Kisame and Obito, they were simply watching the show.
"...The Akatsuki will give you compensation," Nagato continued.
Even if they were truly planning to take Kenichi's spoils, the organization naturally could not give nothing in return. That would dampen the enthusiasm of the members present. It was also the right time to offer a compromise.
Soon, Nagato and Kenichi began arguing about what compensation should be given.
In the end, they did not reach a clear conclusion.
Nagato ended the group meeting, merely stating that the Akatsuki's base would soon be moved to the Land of Water and that Kenichi would receive proper compensation.
Of course, this compensation could not be discussed openly, so Nagato still had to pull Kenichi aside for a private meeting.
This did not make the others suspicious.
Although Obito felt somewhat worried, after thinking about the recent dispute between Kenichi and Nagato, as well as their performance during this period, he relaxed considerably.
"First, I need to gather enough corpses of powerful individuals. I hope Black Zetsu can be more efficient..." Obito sighed.
Black Zetsu had already gone around the ninja world digging up corpses.
Edo Tensei was powerful, but there were still some areas that needed improvement.
The experimental "Uchiha Madara" from before had completely failed to meet Obito's expectations. Although it had possessed some strength, it was still far too weak. It could not be used as a basis for summoning the real Uchiha Madara through Edo Tensei.
Before this, Obito had still hesitated over whether he should reincarnate Madara.
But as the pressure Kenichi placed on him continued to grow, Obito gradually stopped worrying about those concerns.
As for Orochimaru, before leaving, he glanced at his student and the leader, then smiled.
This was truly interesting.
—-
"...Here, with our deepest respect, we offer our most profound condolences for the passing of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi."
At the same time, in Konoha, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, was attending a funeral.
Tsunade had attended many funerals recently.
The attack on the Allied Shinobi Forces had caused many Konoha ninja to sacrifice their lives. Although the Third Hokage had protected most of Konoha's forces by himself, some unlucky people had still died beneath that terrifying explosion.
Those who miraculously survived also died while waiting for Tsunade to arrive and heal them.
When Tsunade finally began treating the wounded, she discovered that their organs and bodies were in a deeply abnormal state, as if a deadly bacterial toxin was constantly stealing away their lives.
Because of that, even when she did everything she could, many people still died.
Therefore, the first funeral had been a joint funeral for those ninja.
After that came the internal funerals held by the various clans.
Finally, it was the Hokage's funeral.
Because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's status, his funeral was the most solemn and special of all.
Under Konoha's cloudy sky, sobs rang out from time to time. Occasionally, low murmurs could be heard as well.
"Hokage-sama, may you rest in peace."
As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been an old leader who had sat in the Hokage's seat for a very long time. The villagers had their own understanding of his worth.
Moreover, the ninja present who had survived that terrifying explosion also shared a close bond with the Third Hokage.
It was the Hokage who had sacrificed his own chance to live in order to protect them, the embers of Konoha.
"Third Hokage, rest in peace!"
Someone could not help shouting.
Then more voices followed, one after another.
The people vented the fear and anger in their hearts, and their cries rose into the sky.
Tsunade gripped the railing tightly as she watched the scene before her.
She knew that this was Konoha's Will of Fire.
Although the old man had done many things that went against his conscience, at the very least, he had truly upheld everything a Hokage should do.
Where the leaves danced, the fire burned on.
"Elders, I wonder if you still have any objections to my proposal?" Tsunade asked softly as she looked at the flames before her.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, who stood behind Tsunade, silently exchanged glances.
Then both of them sighed.
The die was cast. What else could they do?
Now, Tsunade only needed to rally the people, and everything would become irreversible. Moreover, if Tsunade were ruthless enough, she could even use this opportunity to completely strip them of their power.
"We will follow the Fifth Hokage's decision," Homura said, lowering his head.
At this moment, there were no other dissenting voices in Konoha.
Tsunade nodded.
Then it was time to implement that plan.
Ninja would not be allowed to sacrifice themselves in vain.
Someone would have to pay the price.
"Orochimaru, the next time we meet, we will be mortal enemies," Tsunade murmured to herself.
Below, at the funeral site, the people were still shouting with emotion, sending off Hiruzen Sarutobi.
.....
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