"Operation, huh..."
The masked man repeated slowly, his gaze flickering.
Then, he suddenly raised a hand, lightly rubbing his thumb and forefinger together as if contemplating.
After a moment,
he looked up again and asked:
"In the organization currently,"
"excluding you two, who are the ones temporarily not on a mission?"
At his words,
Konan answered immediately without hesitation:
"Currently... only Zetsu."
"Kyo should still be in Konoha, in the Land of Fire, tasked with investigating Jinchuriki intelligence under the guise of the Joint Chunin Exams."
"As for Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, although their mission is successful, they are far away in the Land of Water."
"Kakuzu is also currently handling a mercenary mission in the Land of Lightning; he definitely won't be able to finish in the short term."
"..."
Hearing this, the masked man lowered his gaze, somewhat surprised:
"Hmm..."
"It seems there are temporarily no suitable personnel available to dispatch."
As he finished speaking,
Pain looked up, his tone calm:
"How about this time, Konan and I personally go to the Land of Earth to extend the invitation?"
"...?"
At these words, the masked man slowly shook his head, saying:
"No,"
"You two have other missions to do later."
"A personal trip to the Land of Earth is unnecessary."
Saying this,
the masked man seemed to think of something, looked up again, and said calmly:
"Better contact Kyo."
"The Jinchuriki intelligence investigation mission shouldn't take that long. See how things are on his end."
"If he has already completed it, then,"
"have Zetsu depart immediately to rendezvous with him, and then the two of them can head to Iwagakure together."
"..."
Hearing this, Pain's gaze shifted slightly, then he nodded calmly.
As usual,
he raised his right hand, bringing his thumb, ring finger, and little finger together, forming a single "Ram" hand seal.
The technique began to activate.
After a moment, he successfully connected with the ring worn by Kyo.
Pain looked up slightly, then focused, beginning to communicate through the ring:
"Kyo, how is the mission progressing?"
He asked directly.
And after a moment,
Kyo's usual unhurried voice echoed in his mind, tinged with some confusion.
"Huh? Pain?"
"Why the sudden urgent contact? What's up?"
"I just left Konoha, the mission is complete, and I'm preparing to return to Amegakure."
Kyo spoke calmly and slowly.
Hearing this, Pain's heart stirred slightly.
'Oh?'
'It's already done...?'
He looked up at the masked man and Konan beside him, stating calmly:
"As usual,"
"Kyo has completed his mission and is on his way back to Amegakure."
"..."
Hearing this, Konan and the masked man's expressions shifted slightly,
but neither showed too much surprise.
After all,
over the past few years, Kyo had completed every mission with remarkable speed.
Whether it was eliminating enemies of Akatsuki or supporting other members, his operational speed held the record in the entire organization.
Except for the mission to pursue the traitor Orochimaru years ago, which was interrupted by the appearance of that Kitsune Ogre,
He had almost never failed.
Because of this, over the years, Pain and Konan had gradually come to trust him.
And the masked man,
although he still harbored some suspicion in his heart, no longer targeted and monitored him as persistently as before.
Now, hearing Pain's words, the masked man nodded, stating flatly:
"In that case,"
"have him find a suitable spot to wait. I'll send Zetsu immediately to meet him and bring him the intelligence files."
"Tell him he doesn't need to return to Amegakure; divert directly to Iwagakure."
"...Understood."
Pain nodded, then focused again to relay the message through the ring.
"..."
After a moment,
Pain released the hand seal and looked up calmly, saying:
"Notification complete."
"He said he would wait in a town in the Land of Fire called 'Ashina'."
"He told Zetsu to meet him on the highest peak in that town."
"..."
Hearing this, Konan couldn't help but feel a slight stir in her expression.
'Ashina?'
'Why did that name sound familiar… It feels like I had heard it from Kyo before...'
'Something about a game?'
'I didn't expect there to be an actual town called that in the Land of Fire...'
As she pondered,
the masked man beside her nodded,
then produced a brown scroll from behind him and tossed it over.
"Here are Deidara's details. Have Zetsu take them to him."
"Alright."
Pain took the scroll,
and immediately saw on it the smug, youthful face of a blond boy.
He had a ponytail, a wide, unrestrained grin, and held two lumps of white clay in his hands.
Behind him on the wall, there was even a line of scribbled text.
Though crooked, it was barely legible.
It was a three-word phrase infused with his very soul-
"Art is Explosion!"
Seeing this image,
Pain fell silent momentarily, speechless.
'It seemed,'
'this guy was indeed not the calm and collected type...'
'With this personality...'
'Could he and Kyo really get along...?'
Pain deeply doubted it.
However,
since the masked man had spoken, he naturally wouldn't object.
After all, regarding the future plan,
Pain was willing to trust the masked man's choice.
So,
after putting away the scroll,
he began contacting Zetsu, preparing to dispatch him.
...
...
Meanwhile, on the other side in the Land of Fire.
After leaving Konoha, Kyo and his three students walked down a bustling city street.
This city was called Ashina.
Although the name sounded like some perilous place filled with samurai and Shinobi,
in reality, there were no Dragon's Heritage here, no Genichiro, no Sword Saint or Wolf.
Quite the opposite,
the environment was as beautiful as a fairyland.
Fragrant grass, beautiful blossoms, fallen petals scattering everywhere.
It was a feast for the eyes.
Yet,
despite this,
Kyo currently had no mood to enjoy the scenery.
He lowered his hand from the ring, letting his arms fall, a helpless smile on his face.
"Sigh-"
'I hadn't expected that just as the Konoha mission ended, the next one would begin immediately.'
'And it was...'
'to recruit that Explosion Maniac Deidara?'
What a surprise.
Kyo's gaze flickered slightly.
In his memory of the original work, Deidara should have been recruited by a team led by Itachi, but now, it had clearly changed.
Because from what Pain said, the only ones going to Iwagakure this time were him and Zetsu.
Just as Kyo was pondering this,
the three students from Amegakure all looked towards him. Then, the girl among them spoke:
"Kyo-sensei,"
"Was that just now Lord 'God' contacting you...?"
Hearing this, Kyo was momentarily taken aback.
'Uh?'
'What the hell? Lord God?'
'Oh, it seems like she means Pain...'
'Never mind then.'
Recovering, Kyo sighed helplessly, looked at the three, and chuckled lightly:
"That's right,"
"That guy suddenly came up with a new mission."
"Looks like I have to head straight to Iwagakure in the Land of Earth."
"You three shouldn't come along; return to Amegakure first."
"Eh...?"
"Ah... understood!"
The three students were momentarily surprised,
but then quickly recovered.
Subsequently, they all answered promptly and earnestly.
They knew, of course,
that this Kyo-sensei was not just an ordinary Amegakure's Academy teacher, but also a member of the same organization as Angel-sama, Konan.
And Konan seemed to respect him greatly.
Now that Lord God, Pain, himself had personally issued a mission order to him, it was likely highly confidential...
Therefore, they naturally wouldn't hesitate or be curious about the mission's content.
...
Shortly after,
Kyo gave the three students some instructions and had them return to Amegakure alone.
However,
before they left,
Kyo also gave each of them a white scroll.
He told them,
to only unfold it in times of critical danger.
This scroll was naturally the same type as the ones given to Orochimaru and Kabuto-
containing the sealed technique, the Sentan Hakuja's transportation formula.
Once the scroll was unfolded, Kyo could instantly sense the formula's presence and quickly teleport there.
It was merely a preventive measure.
After all,
before departing, he had promised Konan to bring these three safely back to Amegakure.
As a man,
a promise must be kept.
So,
Kyo gave them this ultimate lifeline to ensure no accidents happened.
It wasn't Kyo's Shinobi Way,
but his basic moral adherence.
"Well then..."
"Next, I just need to wait for the number one filial son of the Shinobi World to arrive."
Kyo started walking,
heading leisurely towards Ashina's highest peak.
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