Chapter 44 Vortex Suxia! Don't you even think about trying to trick me!

"What do you think about what I mentioned to you a couple of days ago?"

"I must decline!" Kakuzu answered firmly, shaking his head.

"Huh?" A look of utter disbelief washed over Sisha's face; he truly hadn't expected Kakuzu to refuse.

"Why?" he couldn't help but ask.

After a brief moment of silence, Kakuzu spoke slowly: "Based on my understanding of you, going to Takigakure is definitely a trap!"

"I have ample reason to suspect that you are trying to trick me into doing heavy labor again, so I am not going!"

Hearing this, Sisha silently muttered to himself that Kakuzu had grown smarter, actually possessing such discernment.

Even so, to pull off the mission to Takigakure, he still needed to trick Kakuzu into coming along.

As a living fossil of Takigakure, Kakuzu undoubtedly knew the village inside and out.

Taking Kakuzu to Takigakure would yield twice the result with half the effort.

After pondering for a moment, Sisha said, "Kakuzu, how can you look at it that way?"

"Think about it, ever since you partnered with me on missions, haven't your earnings multiplied countless times compared to before?"

"This trip to Takigakure is definitely not a trap!"

"Besides, those people in Takigakure back then spread rumors and wronged you, a hero and shinobi of the village, and even tried to execute you!"

"Can you really swallow that insult?"

"You should know that rumors are swirling across the entire ninja world right now."

"They say that when you assassinated the First Hokage back then, you just threw a couple of shuriken from eight hundred miles away and ran away."

Hearing these words from Sisha, Kakuzu's expression grew increasingly grim.

Those people in Takigakure, especially those old fogies from back then, truly deserved to die!

Seeing that Kakuzu was somewhat tempted, Sisha continued his enticement.

"Just say the word, and I'll take you back in a heartbeat to settle accounts with Takigakure."

Kakuzu still shook his head. "Takigakure has a good number of powerful jounin."

"Not only that, according to the intelligence I've received, the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki of Takigakure is a perfect jinchuriki."

"That person can utilize the power of the Tailed Beast extremely well!"

"Combined with the coordination of numerous capable jounin, launching an operation in Takigakure will face tremendous obstacles and create quite a commotion."

"Every ninja village has spies from other villages stationed within it to varying degrees."

"If what we do in Takigakure becomes known to other villages, we will find ourselves in a very passive position."

It seemed that when Kakuzu went back yesterday, he really had given serious thought to this matter.

Actually, there were some things Kakuzu left unsaid. When he previously accompanied Sisha to Kusagakure, he had met Mumaru, the de facto ruler of Kusagakure.

After becoming the supreme decision-maker of Kusagakure, Mumaru's expression had been filled with exhaustion, and the man seemed to have aged ten years overnight.

This was only natural; a ninja village had countless matters, big and small, to handle.

Therefore, becoming the Takerukage of Takigakure was definitely not a good thing!

Most importantly, he seriously suspected that Sisha had ill intentions and wanted to drag him along to do the dirty work and heavy lifting!

Having made up his mind to refuse Sisha no matter what, Kakuzu's train of thought shifted, and a terrifying realization suddenly struck him.

He looked at Sisha and asked, "Wait, all those things you mentioned happened decades ago."

"You weren't even born when those events took place."

"And Takigakure is completely isolated from the outside world—how could you possibly possess intelligence from decades ago?"

Sisha did not give a direct answer to Kakuzu's question.

He smiled cryptically, "Is intelligence like this really that hard to investigate?"

This time, Kakuzu remained silent. He had long known that Sisha possessed a deeply mysterious yet extraordinarily efficient intelligence network.

An intelligence network that surpassed even those of Orochimaru and the Akatsuki organization.

Therefore, while others might not know such secrets, it was entirely possible for Sisha to know them.

However, no matter what Sisha said, he would not be foolish enough to do heavy labor for him.

Disregarding any chance for Kakuzu to refuse, Sisha threw a friendly arm around Kakuzu's shoulder and said,

"Let's go, let's go, don't stand on ceremony with me."

"We're going to ask the leader for a mission."

"This time, I'm going to help you vent this pent-up grudge!"

Kakuzu wanted to shake his head to show that he only cared about making money right now and had no desire to run all the way to Takigakure.

But he was given no room for refusal. Sisha activated his space-time transportation ability, Karma, and instantly vanished along with him and Karin.

High atop the tower in Amegakure, on the open-air rooftop platform where the Akatsuki organization usually held its gatherings.

The figures of Sisha, Kakuzu, and Karin suddenly materialized in this space.

Not long after their arrival, the figures of Pain Tendo and Konan descended from the sky.

Through the eyes of Pain Tendo, Nagato saw Sisha and felt a slight headache.

As for the other members of the Akatsuki organization, whenever they were assigned organizational missions, they were entirely unenthusiastic.

They generally walked everywhere, not even riding in carriages, let alone using the Body Flicker technique to travel quickly.

Sisha, on the other hand, was an anomaly within the organization; he was far too enthusiastic and overly obsessed with stirring up trouble.

When there were missions, he tackled them with immense zeal.

When there were no missions, he would create missions of his own and execute them just as eagerly!

The crux of the matter was that when Uzumaki Sisha undertook missions for the Akatsuki, they were rarely small-scale affairs.

Furthermore, he always handled things brilliantly, but his price tag was truly exorbitant!

First, he subjugated Kusagakure through sheer force, and then he captured Kirigakure's Tailed Beast!

Now, seeing Sisha appear here alongside Kakuzu and Karin with the air of someone about to do something monumental made Nagato feel somewhat uneasy.

On the rooftop platform, after Pain Tendo and Konan descended from the heavens.

Pain asked, "Uzumaki Sisha, what are you doing here?"

Without missing a beat, Sisha replied, "Leader, I am prepared to build on our success and subjugate another small or medium-sized ninja village."

Nagato's mouth twitched involuntarily upon hearing this.

He thought to himself, "As expected, whenever this kid makes a move, it's either capturing a Tailed Beast or subjugating a village."

"Which village?" Pain Tendo asked impassively, his voice devoid of sorrow or joy, though it seemed perhaps slightly less absolute than usual.

Sisha casually dropped the name: "Takigakure."

Not far away, Nagato, who was controlling Pain, froze for a moment before Pain slowly spat out two words: "Reason."

In Sisha's mind, a drafted argument was already prepared. He spoke clearly and methodically:

"There are many benefits to subjugating Takigakure."

"First, Takigakure possesses a great waterfall and is an isolated village cut off from the rest of the world."

"Once we control Takigakure, we can establish a secret stronghold there."

"Second, Takigakure has a specialty known as Hero Water, which can drastically increase a shinobi's chakra."

"I'm not sure if any remains, but it's certainly worth checking out."

"Third, among all small and medium-sized ninja villages, Takigakure's shinobi likely possess the highest overall caliber."

"Their numerous jounin can reinforce Amegakure's high-tier combat strength."

"Fourth, and most crucially, despite being a small village, Takigakure possesses a Jinchuriki!"

"An innocent man is guilty of possessing a treasure; if we can capture them, we might as well!"

"There are many more advantages to subjugating Takigakure, but these four should be more than enough."

While Sisha spoke, both Pain and Konan listened intently.

His arguments were logical and well-founded; subjugating Takigakure would undoubtedly benefit both the Akatsuki organization and Amegakure.

Yet, after a brief silence, Pain still shook his head.

"No."

Puzzled, Sisha asked, "Why?"

Having already tasted the sweet success of subjugating Kusagakure, he was hooked.

Although his main body was currently here, leisurely discussing missions with Pain, his Wood Release clone had actually been lingering around the Amegakure black market and various locations in Kusagakure, accepting and executing missions.

Furthermore, his summon, Kuromaru, hadn't rested a single day since signing the summoning contract with him.

The benefits of doing this were also glaringly obvious.

He had not only acquired a massive amount of wealth but also reaped numerous system rewards.

If Takigakure were also to join the ninja alliance centered around Amegakure, he would receive even more missions.

In any case, his chakra reserves were more than sufficient, and he could dispatch a multitude of Wood Release clones to carry out tasks!

Naturally, Pain had his reasons for refusing Sisha.

In a calm tone, he stated, "Takigakure is different from other villages. The Land of Waterfalls maintains close ties with the Land of Fire, and communication between Konoha and Takigakure is quite frequent."

"We cannot handle Takigakure the same way we handled Kusagakure; the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire will not sit idly by!"

"The Akatsuki organization is not yet prepared to expose itself to the Five Great Nations."

"Our manpower is still far from sufficient!"

The rings hadn't even all been distributed yet!

"We cannot make a move against Takigakure."

Though Nagato was physically frail and his body grew weaker by the day, his mind remained sharp.

He was no fool; his decision-making and cognitive abilities had not declined.

If the Land of Rain were to turn a vassal of the Land of Fire into its own vassal, how could the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire possibly let it go?

Upon hearing this, Sisha instantly grew displeased.

With a statement that startled everyone, he declared:

"You and the organization may not be ready, but I am ready!"

"Just say the word, and I'll go annex Takigakure right this second!"

"As for the pressure from the Land of Fire, there's no need to worry."

"Just say the word, Leader—uh... provided the funding is sufficient! I'll go straight there and kidnap their Feudal Lord for you!"

Uzumaki Sisha genuinely loved watching the world burn.

If anything, he hoped Konoha would rush to trouble the Akatsuki organization—the more and stronger they came, the better, because that meant more missions for him.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Inside his life-support apparatus, Nagato was choked into a fit of continuous coughing by Sisha's words.

He knew Sisha wasn't talking nonsense; this guy feared neither heaven nor earth.

While possessing formidable personal strength, he was also progressing at a terrifying speed, meaning he truly didn't care much about the pressure originating from Konoha.

Still, after careful consideration, Nagato decided against agreeing.

Sisha had actually captured a Tailed Beast last time, which had already caused him considerable trouble.

To launch another move against Takigakure would be equivalent to dragging the Land of Fire—one of the Five Great Nations—into the fray prematurely.

The Akatsuki organization and Amegakure absolutely could not afford to do such a thing at this stage!

Therefore, controlling Pain Tendo, Nagato spoke in a earnest, advisory tone:

"The organization requires a certain amount of time for preparation."

"Once the organization completes its preparations, whether it's annexing ninja villages or capturing Tailed Beasts,"

"There will be no shortage of massive commission missions for you."

Nagato dangled a giant carrot before Sisha, though it was a carrot that could actually be realized.

Even without Sisha, the Akatsuki organization would eventually capture all the Tailed Beasts.

Now, with the addition of Sisha—a powerhouse surpassing even the Super Kage level—the organization's plans would proceed even more smoothly.

Seeing that Nagato's attitude was resolute, Sisha understood that this matter was a no-go for the time being.

Seeing Nagato decline, Kakuzu felt a heavy burden lift from his chest, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

He always felt that Sisha was full of malicious schemes and ill intentions, and that this trip would surely have ended with him being scammed.

Now that Nagato had rejected the proposal, he wouldn't have to run all over the place with Sisha and could finally rest for a few days.

Of course, this monster Uzumaki Sisha grew at a terrifying, defying speed.

He was already capable of using Wood Release clones to handle the vast majority of missions.

Unless they encountered high-difficulty assignments, Sisha didn't even need to drag him along for the ride.

That being the case, could he look forward to a slower-paced lifestyle for the foreseeable future?

Just as Sisha returned home sighing in disappointment, an uninvited guest came looking for him.

Sisha's Mind's Eye of Kagura had already perceived this individual.

The uninvited guest was none other than Orochimaru, a member of the Akatsuki organization.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

The pale-skinned Orochimaru arrived at Sisha's doorstep and rapped casually three times on the door.

Sisha immediately opened the door with a casual wave and asked, "Orochimaru, what brings you here?"

The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled up into a cold, eerie smile.

Slowly, he produced a long-term mission commission agreement.

Upon seeing this long-term mission agreement, Sisha was startled for a moment, followed by a slight sense of awkwardness.

Not long ago, Orochimaru had tried to buy Karin from him for research purposes, but he had refused.

Then, he had proposed that since he possessed elementalization and other special abilities, he could let Orochimaru study him instead.

After a bout with Orochimaru, he had earned himself a long-term mission commission agreement purely on his own merit.

However...

When he secured that long-term mission agreement back then, his goal was simply to trigger the super lottery draw.

He had no intention of genuinely doing hardcore research alongside Orochimaru in his laboratory.

Ever since accepting this long-term mission, he seemed to have only provided Orochimaru with two drops of blood and two strands of hair.

Gazing at the long-term mission agreement in Orochimaru's hand, Sisha asked out of curiosity:

"Orochimaru, what kind of research materials do you still want?"

Sisha prepared to gloss the matter over.

After all, the rewards from the super lottery had already been secured.

Naturally, Orochimaru was not so easily fooled. He looked at Sisha and said:

"Ever since we signed the long-term mission agreement, you've only provided me with a total of two drops of blood and two strands of hair."

"That's a grand total of four research samples. Don't you think that's a bit too few?"

Hearing this, Sisha laughed out loud and said,

"Hahahaha..."

"Orochimaru, isn't your perspective a bit too narrow?"

"Doesn't a single drop of mine easily outweigh dozens or hundreds of other research samples?"

"Besides, my strength is growing rapidly; there's a huge difference between the blood samples from before and now."

"By the way, have you figured out the four research samples I provided?"

Sisha rambled on, trying to steer the conversation and brush past it.

In truth, a multitude of thoughts had already flashed through Orochimaru's mind.

*The research materials provided by this guy are indeed extremely precious and exceptionally unique.*

*His cells can rival those of Hashirama.*

*In certain aspects, they might even be more flawless than Hashirama's cells.*

*His affinity for Lightning Release is filled with wonders that have allowed me to touch the bottleneck of modern science.*

*A single drop of his blood is enough to kick off a dozen or more research projects.*

*And the two batches of blood samples he provided before indeed show a world of difference.*

*I simply haven't been able to devote all my time and energy solely to research.*

*Which is why neither of these two blood samples has been thoroughly analyzed yet.*

Despite these thoughts running through his mind, Orochimaru would never voice them aloud.

He looked at Sisha and said earnestly, "Let's discuss this in my laboratory; I have a new mission commission for you."

Hearing this, Sisha instantly perked up!

"You got it."

The moment the words left his mouth, he activated the space-time transportation ability of Karma.

Accompanied by Orochimaru and Karin, he instantly appeared within Orochimaru's research base.

Privately, Orochimaru felt a tremor of shock.

This type of space-time ninjutsu used by Sisha was undoubtedly on a higher tier than the Flying Thunder God technique developed by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

The Flying Thunder God was restricted by its special markers, whereas Sisha's space-time ninjutsu allowed him to go wherever he pleased.

Although Sisha and Karin had visited this place several times before, stepping into Orochimaru's research base this time still left the two of them somewhat surprised.

During this period, Orochimaru seemed to have moved a good number of experimental apparatuses to this location.

Many new items had been added to this research base.

Naturally, some items had also been transferred to other bases.

For reasons unknown, Orochimaru appeared to be in the process of moving.

Sisha briefly reminisced, guessing that Orochimaru was likely plotting something in the Land of Rice Fields.

In his memories, Orochimaru eventually established the Village Hidden in the Sound.

He just wasn't sure if Orochimaru was already making preparations for that endeavor.

Sisha's train of thought was quickly interrupted as Orochimaru pulled him back to reality.

Orochimaru casually picked up a scroll and slammed it onto the ground.

"Release!"