"Uchiha Raizen, the uncle of that guy Itachi."
"Tsk, what a pity! If I had known, I wouldn't have killed those female Grass ninjas back there."
"If we kept them alive, we might have made a fortune!"
Looking at the reward listed on the scroll, Kakuzu's eyes sparkled. The only reason they had come to the Land of Fire was that they had seen this mission posting.
Hidan chimed in, "Kakuzu, I've been thinking. It's not a good idea to just find women from the Land of Fire."
"What if they already know him? Once the job is done, they might claim they were already 'in love' and refuse to pay! Then we'd have worked for nothing."
"I think we should find women from outside the Land of Fire, use a mix of threats and bribes, and make them bear children for Uchiha Raizen."
"That would be much safer."
Kakuzu stared at Hidan with wide eyes. "Hidan, since when did your brain start working so well?"
Hidan laughed triumphantly. "Lord Jashin be praised! My brain has always been this sharp."
Kakuzu let out a dismissive snort, then looked back at the mission scroll and sighed. "It's a shame Leader Konan isn't willing. With her Kage-level strength, she could earn thirty million Ryo in less than a year."
Hidan immediately warned him, "Do you want to get thrashed by Konan again and spend another half-month in bed? If you want to die, don't drag me with you!"
Recalling the image of Konan brutally beating Kakuzu, Hidan felt a lingering shiver. When they first got this scroll, Kakuzu had excitedly approached Konan about it; she responded by blowing up two of his hearts and crushing one of his legs, leaving him bedridden for over two weeks.
Having his embarrassing past brought up, Kakuzu glared at Hidan, then began to analyze their options seriously.
"Aside from Leader Konan, what other female Kage-level experts are in the villages?"
"In Konoha, there's Tsunade of the Sannin. But she left years ago and her whereabouts are unknown."
"In the Mist, there's Mei Terumī—near Kage-level, soon to take the Mizukage seat."
"In the Cloud, there's Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki. Kage-level, and she often sneaks out to play."
"Let's go for her—Yugito Nii. I hear she's a beauty; that Uchiha kid will definitely accept her. Besides, we're preparing to capture the Tailed Beasts anyway. We'll kidnap her, have her give birth for a few years, and once the preparations are done, we'll extract the beast."
Hearing Kakuzu suggest traveling all the way to the Cloud Village to snatch Yugito, Hidan couldn't help but interrupt. "Look, Kakuzu, instead of traveling across the world for one Kage-level, why not just grab a bunch of Jōnin? A female Jōnin is still worth fifteen million! There are more of them, and we can make up the difference with quantity."
Kakuzu thought about it. "You have a point."
"Let's go back to the Grass Village then! We just hit them, so their numbers are down and the threat is low. The great hidden villages have deep foundations; a hidden master might pop out and kill us. But the small villages have nothing—their best are barely Jōnin. They're no threat to us."
"Not just Jōnin. Genin, Chūnin—as long as they look good, we grab them all and send them to have kids."
"I'm going to make that Uchiha kid reproduce until he goes bankrupt!"
With that, the two turned back toward the Grass Village.
Meanwhile, Raizen returned to the Uchiha compound with the three women.
"Welcome back," the other wives greeted Reiko. Having joined in the same batch and lived together for a while, they had developed genuine affection for one another.
Raizen led Keiko Uzumaki and her daughter to a nearby vacant house. "Sister Keiko, you and Karin will live here from now on."
Keiko knelt before Raizen. "Thank you, Lord Raizen. Your kindness to Karin and me is a debt I can never repay. I can only offer to serve you as a servant to make amends."
Raizen shook his head. "Don't be so formal. It was just a small favor. Karin has just recovered from a severe illness and needs nutrition. You are also malnourished, Sister Keiko. From now on, you'll eat with my family. Once you've recovered your health, I'll find you a job. Later, I'll arrange a Konoha identity for Karin so she can attend the Academy."
"Thank you... thank you, Lord Raizen." Keiko was moved to tears. No one had ever been this selfless toward them.
"Thank you, Lord Raizen." Karin stared at him with wide, tearful eyes. This handsome man had saved her life; she would remember him forever.
"It's almost dinner time, remember to come over," Raizen said as he turned to leave. "Make sure you come! Don't be shy; treat this place like your own home."
"Mhm!" Karin nodded happily.
Two days later, Raizen took Karin to complete her enrollment paperwork. From then on, Karin became a student at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
Standing at the school gates, Raizen instructed Sasuke seriously, "Sasuke, you're older than Karin. She is your sister now. You must protect her and make sure no one bullies her at school, okay?"
Sasuke patted his chest. "I understand, Uncle! I'll protect Sister Karin."
"Go on then."
"Bye, Uncle!"
"Goodbye, Lord Raizen!" Karin looked at Raizen, her eyes full of light.
As they walked in, Sakura Haruno blocked their path, looking suspiciously at Karin. "Who are you? Why are you following Sasuke-kun?"
"What are you doing?" Sasuke stepped coldly in front of Sakura, shielding Karin behind him. "Get out of the way. Don't block my sister's path."
"Sister?" Sakura's eyes widened in shock. This red-haired girl was Sasuke's sister? That was unheard of!
"Karin, let's go. Ignore her." Sasuke found Sakura increasingly annoying.
"Hi, Sasuke's sister! My name is Ino, nice to meet you!"
"Hi! I'm Shizuka, nice to meet you!"
A swarm of girls who usually surrounded Sasuke now buzzed around Karin like bees. Sakura stood dazed for a moment before realizing she needed to join in. She squeezed into the crowd, shouting, "Hey, Sasuke's sister! I'm Sakura Haruno, your future sister-in-law! It's so nice to meet—"