Chapter 22: What Kind of Trouble Could One Possibly Find in the Village Hidden in the Grass?

Wui moved his body to the side of Elder Guima and delivered a palm strike.

"Hum—"

Two intersecting black seal formulas instantly appeared on Elder Guima's body. From this moment on, including the Grass Village leader Chenye, all high-ranking officials of the Grass Village were under Wui's control.

"What now?" After subduing Elder Guima, Wui turned to look at Uzumaki Sica and asked.

He and Uzumaki Sica had joined forces to rapidly seal all the high-ranking officials of the Grass Village using the Fire Style: Heavenly Prison. The Grass Village could now be said to be in his hands, or perhaps in Uzumaki Sica's.

Uzumaki Sica thought for a moment and said to Wui, "For now, keep these high-ranking officials of the Grass Village under watch. You don't need to worry about the cooperation I promised you. You should know my reputation in the Rain Village black market."

"I will lead my team back to the Rain Village tomorrow. You handle the affairs here in the Grass Village."

Wui nodded slightly. He was willing to trust Uzumaki Sica's reputation and strength; for the time being, he could not find a better partner.

After concluding the conversation, Sica returned to the inn in the Grass Village to rest. The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

Uzumaki Sica took Karin and went to knock on Kakuzu's door.

"Swish—"

To Sica's surprise, the moment he raised his hand, Kakuzu slid the door open from the inside. Compared to the constant, back-to-back missions they had previously executed, this mission to subdue the Grass Village had been much more leisurely for Kakuzu. After signing the relevant agreements with the Grass Village leaders yesterday, he had returned to his room to rest. It was a rare, good night's sleep for him since partnering with Uzumaki Sica.

Seeing Kakuzu, Uzumaki Sica greeted him with a smile. "Morning, Kakuzu. Everything in the Grass Village has been settled. We are heading back to the Rain Village to turn in the mission, and then we'll start on the next one."

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu really wanted to tell Uzumaki Sica that the last sentence was completely unnecessary. His good mood from waking up naturally vanished instantly along with Sica's final remark.

At the entrance of the Grass Village, the trio arrived shortly. Unlike when they arrived, the high-ranking officials of the village were all waiting at the gate to see them off. Leaders like Chenye and elders like Guima and Gumon were certainly not there of their own volition; their presence was entirely at Wui's behest.

Though Kakuzu hadn't participated in last night's operation, he was well aware of what those officials had endured. Karin, however, was a bit surprised. She had fallen asleep early the previous night and, seeing these powerful figures from the Grass Village coming to see them off, she assumed that since the village had become a vassal to the Rain Village, these normally arrogant bigwigs were now voluntarily bowing their heads.

Before leaving the Grass Village, Uzumaki Sica thought for a moment and said to Wui, "Come back to the Rain Village with me to establish contact with the high-ranking officials there."

...

In the high tower of the Rain Village, inside a room equipped with life-support devices, the true forms of Nagato and Konan were present. After a brief exchange, Konan asked, "Will Uzumaki Sica's plan succeed?"

Nagato nodded. "His plan is sound, and he has the ability to execute it. If he and Kakuzu fail this mission, I will have the Six Paths of Pain carry it out instead. Collecting Tailed Beasts and creating Tailed Beast weapons will inevitably put us in opposition to the Five Great Nations. Drawing numerous small and medium-sized ninja villages into our camp, and selecting elite ninjas from them to cultivate into our core subordinates, is an excellent idea."

Although he had great confidence in Uzumaki Sica and Kakuzu, Nagato did not believe they could have already completed the mission to subdue the Grass Village at this very moment.

Just then, Nagato's expression shifted slightly. Noticing the anomaly, Konan asked, "What is it?"

Nagato looked utterly perplexed. "They are back."

The entire Rain Village was under Nagato's surveillance. Seeing the four of them—Sica, Karin, Kakuzu, and Wui—striding openly through the rain, Nagato had naturally spotted them immediately.

Konan asked uncertainly, "Returning so soon? Did the mission fail, or did they give up?"

Excluding their travel time, they had been in the Grass Village for less than three days. Subduing an entire village in under three days was simply impossible. Under normal circumstances, it might have taken Sica and Kakuzu two or three days just to gather intelligence.

Nagato could not answer Konan's question, but he mused, "Looking at their expressions, it doesn't seem like they failed or gave up. They are about to reach the tower; we will know soon enough what happened."

Uzumaki Sica, Kakuzu, and Karin were currently heading toward the Akatsuki stronghold in the tower. As for Wui, the envoy of the Grass Village, Sica had not brought him into the stronghold but instead arranged for him to stay at an inn in the Rain Village.

There were many people in the Akatsuki stronghold. Sensing Sica and Kakuzu's return, everyone was surprised. Everyone knew why they had left the village, and no one expected them to return so quickly.

As Sica and Kakuzu went to find Pain, other Akatsuki members gathered in the open space of the tower, curious about their early return. Beside Itachi Uchiha, the pale-skinned Kisame Hoshigaki glanced at the trio and asked, "Itachi-san, why are Kakuzu and that newcomer back so soon? I recall their mission was to subdue the Grass Village. Has it become that easy to conquer a ninja village these days?"

Kisame's face was filled with confusion. Itachi shook his head; he was just as baffled.

Orochimaru, Sasori, Zetsu, and others also appeared on the scene, casting curious gazes at the trio. They had just arrived before Pain.

Seeing Sica, Pain asked calmly, "Did you encounter trouble?"

Uzumaki Sica blinked, then replied casually, "Trouble? No, what kind of trouble could I encounter? What trouble is there in dealing with a place like the Grass Village?"

Pain, Konan, Orochimaru, Sasori, Kisame, and Zetsu all stared at Uzumaki Sica in shock. Even a simple camping trip would have taken longer than that! If Sica wasn't talking nonsense, their efficiency in executing the mission was simply too high.

Pain looked at Sica intently and said seriously, "Tell me about the mission process."

Sica spoke concisely, recounting every detail of their operation in the Grass Village. After finishing, he took the agreement signed by Kakuzu and the village leaders out of his system space. Many in Akatsuki knew that Sica possessed space-time ninjutsu, so they were not surprised to see him use such an ability.

After hearing the report and seeing the signed agreement, Pain was fully convinced that the mission had been completed. His expression remained stoic, but Nagato, who was controlling Pain from within the life-support device, was internally reeling with shock.

The Grass Village might be a small or medium-sized village, but it was not something easily subdued. Yet, Uzumaki Sica had swept through it with the force of a storm. Even to Nagato, this was incredible.

The other members of Akatsuki were equally stunned. Orochimaru's reptilian eyes examined Sica with interest, thinking to himself, "This guy seems to be hiding quite a bit of strength. Furthermore, his unknown intelligence network must have played a significant role in making this operation so smooth. There was no mention of an information-gathering phase in his report. He seemed intimately familiar with the situation in the Grass Village, which is why he and Kakuzu could settle it in less than two days."

Orochimaru had already been interested in Sica, but after witnessing his incredible Lightning Style talent and abilities, he had decided to make Sica his perfect vessel. Now, he was even more intrigued by Sica's intelligence network. He had tried to investigate it secretly, but the results suggested the network didn't exist at all, which only made Sica's sources seem even more unfathomable.

Itachi Uchiha felt increasingly wary of Uzumaki Sica. While every ninja in Akatsuki was an exceptionally capable rogue, Sica's performance was simply too outstanding.

Zetsu, initially just as shocked as the others, quickly realized that the mission had been *too* smooth and suspected a catch. He spoke up, voicing his doubts: "Is it possible that Wui and the Grass Village leaders are working together to put on a show? They knew they couldn't stand against Sica and Kakuzu, so they coordinated this performance. Perhaps they have already reached out to the Hidden Leaf or other forces for reinforcements?"

It was no surprise that Zetsu would think this way; his level of cunning was legendary in the ninja world. Even Madara Uchiha had been betrayed by him in the end. As the saying goes, "Judge others by one's own standards." Zetsu naturally assumed the people of the Grass Village were merely pretending to submit.