Time passed.
This meeting of all Akatsuki's members concluded smoothly and quickly.
Just as Kyo had anticipated,
Kisame was indeed assigned to Itachi.
On the surface, it was to cooperate with Itachi to better execute various missions.
But in reality, Kyo naturally knew.
This guy Kisame, even before joining the group, was already completely loyal to the masked man.
And his true purpose in partnering with Itachi this time was simply to follow the masked man's orders and monitor him.
However, this pairing didn't cause any waves.
Itachi remained silent as always.
After all,
In the Akatsuki as it was now,
There weren't any particularly reckless or troublesome individuals yet, so no conflicts arose.
However,
Kyo did know,
That probably not long from now,
Two reckless troublemakers would be recruited by Akatsuki.
One was the cult-propagating enthusiast, Hidan, and the other was the explosion art enthusiast, Deidara.
Once those two idiots arrived, Akatsuki would probably become much livelier.
But,
Now wasn't the time to think about that.
Kyo walked forward, his eyes flickering slightly.
What he was contemplating was naturally the new system main mission.
Major Incident - Konoha Crush Plan.
This conspiracy, orchestrated single-handedly by Orochimaru, created immense chaos in Konoha.
And ultimately led to the end of the 'Strongest Hokage', Hiruzen.
Back then, Kyo had thought his actions might have caused some butterfly effect, leading Orochimaru to abandon his plan to cause trouble during the Chunin Exams.
Unexpectedly, the system mission had activated.
This meant that guy Orochimaru... ultimately chose the same path.
However,
Perhaps his choice to proceed with this plan was also related to his desire to collect forbidden techniques.
After all, in Konoha, there was the Scroll of Seals, which contained many forbidden techniques.
As of now, Orochimaru's mission to collect fifteen forbidden techniques wasn't complete, so naturally he wouldn't give this up.
And Kyo,
Certainly wouldn't miss such a grand spectacle either.
Rewards from system main missions were always extremely generous; missing one would be a tremendous loss.
Perhaps there would even be a chance to complete some of the previously pending side missions, killing multiple birds with one stone.
But... in what capacity should he go?
Kyo immediately began to deliberate carefully.
Transforming into the Kitsune Ogre was naturally out of the question.
Due to the restrictions of that Las Noches identity, many daily side missions would actually become harder to do, restricted in various ways.
And the Akatsuki identity was also unsuitable, of course.
After all, the reason Pain decided to send people to participate in the Chunin Exams this time was precisely to conceal the existence of Akatsuki.
That is to say,
At present, there was only one path-
To go as a person from Amegakure.
Thinking this,
Kyo's eyes suddenly lit up.
Wait.'
A person from Amegakure?'
'Right!'
'Am I not a swordsmanship instructor at the Amegakure Shinobi Academy?'
'Even though I'm a slacker, I still have an official identity.'
'Just taking those Genin to Konoha for the exams is completely reasonable and logical, right!'
'Since the main mission says "Participate in the Major Incident" in big letters,'
'Then, participating... it's the thought that counts, right?'
'As long as I join the battle, that should be fine!'
'It doesn't say I have to cause trouble like that guy Orochimaru either...'
Thinking this,
Kyo's eyes lit up, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile that showed the plan was a success.
'This move… It can be called exploiting a loophole.'
'Truly wonderful.'
'Then,'
Kyo hesitated no longer and directly headed back to the base to find Pain.
...
At that moment,
Inside the base,
Pain was already preparing to leave when he suddenly paused.
He saw that Kyo, who had already left, had inexplicably returned through the entrance.
He felt a slight confusion.
And at this moment,
Kyo walked over, speaking with a light smile:
"Leader, I have a suggestion."
"Regarding this... Joint Chunin Exams."
"Hmm?"
Pain was momentarily stunned, then raised his eyes slightly, asking confusedly:
"What suggestion?"
"Didn't you already decide just to send a few random people?"
"..."
Hearing this, Kyo was first slightly taken aback, then smiled helplessly and shook his head, saying:
"I changed my mind temporarily."
"For this Chunin Exam, I want to... personally lead the Genin from the Amegakure's Academy to go."
"...What?"
Hearing this, Pain was momentarily stunned.
'What's going on?'
'This guy... going personally???'
However,
Before he could ask, Kyo began to explain with a smile:
"Actually,"
"On the way out just now, I thought it over carefully."
"Currently, our Akatsuki's fund collection is basically complete, and the mercenary plan is more or less in place."
"Perhaps soon, once our personnel are replenished, we will begin the work of collecting the Tailed Beasts, right?"
"...That's correct."
Pain nodded, his expression calm with a hint of confusion.
What Kyo said was indeed true.
Currently, Akatsuki's funding preparations were essentially finished. As long as they didn't squander it, it would be sufficient for a long time.
In other words, they just needed to wait for the key ten members to assemble, and they could begin preparing to capture the Tailed Beasts of the various countries at any time.
However, he couldn't figure out why Kyo suddenly brought this up.
And at this moment,
Seeing Pain nod, Kyo continued to speak methodically with a smile:
"Barring any unexpected events,"
"During this Joint Chunin Exam, perhaps the core members, even the high-ranking officials, of various Shinobi Villages will appear."
"Then, I might be able to use this opportunity, employing some special means, to gather detailed intelligence from them about the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki of each country."
"This way, wouldn't it perfectly prepare us for future plans?"
"-?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Pain's eyes flickered.
'Wait.'
'Gather intelligence on the Tailed Beasts?'
'Right...'
'Come to think of it, up until now,'
'The intelligence Akatsuki possessed on the Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki wasn't actually that much.'
'For several of them, their status was completely unknown.
'To capture them later, they might need to gather intelligence on the spot, which would be far too troublesome...'
'And this time, if Kyo could truly gather some intelligence from this,'
'Perhaps it could really play a key role!'
Thinking this, Pain's mind stirred, and he began to waver.
And at this moment,
Konan, not far away, naturally heard these words as well.
After pondering for a moment, she raised her eyes to look at Pain and said carefully:
"Pain,"
"I think... Kyo's plan might be feasible."
"After all, Konoha doesn't know about his identity in Akatsuki, and he isn't a Missing-nin from any village."
"Even if he participates, no village would notice anything special about him."
"..."
Konan's words faded.
Pain's eyes flickered, and the last hesitation in his mind also faded.
Then,
He raised his head, looked at Kyo, and said seriously in a deep voice:
"Alright."
"Then... I'll leave it to you, Kyo."
"Treat this like before, as an Akatsuki mission, and execute it perfectly."
"As for the personnel to send to participate in the exam, you and Konan can go together and select them carefully."
"However, remember this-"
"Even if you don't obtain intelligence on the Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki, absolutely do not expose Akatsuki."
"Understood?"
Pain stared at Kyo as he spoke, his tone very calm.
In fact,
Although he said this,
He was still extremely confident in Kyo.
After all, for such a long time, every mission Kyo was responsible for had been completed perfectly.
There was no reason for this one to go wrong either.
Hearing this,
Kyo grinned and said with a light laugh:
"Don't worry."
"Just like that mission to intimidate Sunagakure back then, I'll execute it properly in the name of Amegakure."
"From now on,"
"I'm just an ordinary Amegakure teacher."
As he spoke,
Kyo suddenly smiled faintly,
Then, from somewhere, he unexpectedly produced a pair of black-rimmed glasses and put them on directly.
The next moment, he suddenly raised his hand, and with a single brush over his tied-up brown hair, directly changed it into a looser, down hairstyle.
Instantly, his entire aura transformed completely!
It shifted directly from the style of a dashing young man to a steady and gentle style.
Commonly known as... an honest man!
Seeing this change,
Even Pain and Konan were momentarily stunned.
'This...'
'What kind of act is this?'
An on-the-spot costume change, of all things?'
'Come to think of it, what's with this strange feeling?'
'Why does putting on those black-rimmed glasses make him seem like a completely different person...'
'Not only did his appearance change, but even his own aura became much more restrained and steady.'
This change immediately left Pain and Konan in awe.
At this point,
Let alone Konoha's people.
The two believed that even if an Akatsuki's member stood before Kyo, relying solely on his aura, they might not be able to immediately recognize him...
That being said,
If they stared intently at his face, of course, they could still recognize him.
After all, those blazing golden eyes of his were simply too distinctive.
Anyone who had seen them couldn't possibly forget.