Deceiving a ninja with less than a middle school level of education? Easy.
Keikou Sanmoku's proposal contained nearly a hundred renovation plans. While more than half of them were essentially just money grabs with no real effect, anyone unfamiliar with the field wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
If you lack strength, you get beaten. If you lack knowledge, you get deceived. That was the reality of the shinobi world. Even with a so-called godlike friend, Konan had no way around it. Did her divine comrade, Nagato, even understand civil engineering blueprints?
"Konan-san, modifying the Land of Rain requires installing twenty large-scale air blowers along the path of the humid airflow. This path is fixed and cannot be changed. Each blower, along with its corresponding equipment, costs 150 million ryo—already at a discounted rate. The Keikou Trading Company has even waived other fees for you."
Keikou Sanmoku smiled as he handed over a detailed list to Konan while displaying a simulated animation of the proposed renovations on a computer.
The equipment appeared quite large, but the blowers also included many additional components, such as satellite signal transmission, data storage, and monitoring systems.
Konan frowned slightly as she took the proposal, carefully reading through it. However, much of it contained technical jargon she had never encountered in her twenty-plus years of experience.
In the shinobi world, Keikou Trading Company was considered the authority in this field. Unless Konan sought expert craftsmen from the Land of Craftsmen, she had no way of verifying any inconsistencies in the proposal.
The animation presented a clear process—excavating mountains, erecting air blowers, and redirecting the humid air that perpetually shrouded the Land of Rain. Theoretically, this would prevent the formation of continuous rain clouds over the region.
While Konan could understand the basic concept, she still found the renovation plan hard to accept.
"As for the cost..."
Konan began to speak in a low voice, but her words trailed off. First, because ever since Yahiko's death, she had maintained a cold and distant demeanor and had never engaged in negotiations. Second, because Keikou Sanmoku's ever-smiling expression seemed to be waiting for her to ask for a discount.
"If the Village of Rain cannot afford it, we also accept other forms of collateral."
Keikou Sanmoku cheerfully pulled out a pre-prepared scroll, listing items from the Land of Rain that could be used as collateral along with their respective valuations by Keikou Trading Company.
Steel was at the top of the list. The Land of Rain's ironworking industry was relatively well-developed—perhaps the only valuable asset the country had. Other options included allowing Keikou Trading Company to build factories and roads, granting them commercial privileges within the Land of Rain, or even accepting missions from the Akatsuki to repay the debt.
In short, Keikou Trading Company would bleed the upper echelon of the Rain Ninja Village dry while giving only a small fraction back to the common people.
Konan read through the document carefully, focusing primarily on the mission commissions rather than the other terms.
Keikou Trading Company offered generous payouts for missions—undoubtedly the highest in the shinobi world. Given that they monopolized several industries, the money they spent on hiring ninja was negligible compared to what they earned immediately afterward.
After finishing her review, Konan spoke coldly. "I need to discuss this with the others."
"Of course. A project of this scale requires preparation on our end as well," Keikou Sanmoku replied with a smile. "We also need to negotiate mountain-moving operations with the Sand Federation. If the Rain Village is concerned about potential conflict once the natural barrier between your nations is removed, a peace agreement could be arranged."
Konan's expression remained indifferent. "That won't be necessary. We don't trust so-called peace agreements."
"That's true. Those agreements are nothing more than meaningless scraps of paper to pacify civilians and lower-ranked ninja. To those in power, they're worth less than toilet paper."
Keikou Sanmoku nodded in agreement before shifting the conversation.
"Konan-san, there are other matters we need to discuss. These should be minor concerns for you. First, we ask that the Akatsuki refrain from disclosing any information about Sasori of the Red Sand. Second, during negotiations with the Sand Federation, we request that Akatsuki members remain out of sight. If you must attend, we ask that you wear different attire. It would be best to avoid unnecessary conflict before the renovations are complete."
Konan stared deeply at Keikou Sanmoku before speaking. "So, you really do have ties to Sasori. That means his appearance that time was intentional."
She suddenly recalled that when she first sought out Sasori to recruit him into Akatsuki, Hyuga Mirai—the rogue ninja from the Hyuga clan—had already beaten her to it. He had taken Sasori under his wing first.
Now, thinking it over carefully, it was clear that Keikou Trading Company wanted to keep Sasori's whereabouts hidden. Their only reason for doing so must have been to return him to the Sand Village. After all, the only thing valuable enough to warrant such secrecy was that puppet in Sasori's possession.
Hyuga Mirai...
A truly terrifying individual, hiding in plain sight. If he hadn't chosen to reveal himself this time, Konan might never have suspected his involvement.
A noble lineage with a history spanning centuries, secretly tied to a rogue ninja from Konoha—what an ironic twist.
"If that's the condition for cooperation, then we will agree."
With that, Konan left to gather the Rain Village's leadership. Though she was known as the "Angel of the Rain," she was, in practice, the village leader.
Nagato had always been physically weak and preoccupied with controlling the Six Paths of Pain, leaving the governance of Amegakure to Konan.
The plan to reform the Land of Rain was an enormous undertaking, requiring over half of Amegakure's manpower and a staggering investment of three billion ryo. While Konan was determined to improve the country's conditions, she had no choice but to inform the village's leadership.
When she presented the plan to the village officers—many of whom were former Akatsuki members who had fought alongside Pain and Konan to overthrow Hanzo—they unhesitatingly pledged their support. The reform would undoubtedly benefit Amegakure, and they were willing to contribute however necessary. However, Konan deliberately withheld the actual cost of three billion ryo, knowing that Amegakure simply could not afford it. There was no need to burden them with concerns they couldn't address.
If she didn't tap into Kakuzu's funds, she would have to agree to the demands of the Keikou Trade Association.
It was a difficult choice. Though Kakuzu had a reputation for eliminating comrades, he was highly efficient in completing missions and managing the organization's finances. Konan, however, understood his nature well—while he had no issue safeguarding deposits, requesting money from him, especially a sum as astronomical as three billion ryo, might push him to defect on the spot. Not even Pain would be able to dissuade him.
After much deliberation, Konan decided she had no choice but to accept the Keikou Trade Association's alternative repayment terms.
"Lord Mirai!"
Ayaka Uzumaki had barely returned to Roran when she called out before even stepping into the Dragon Vein's sealed palace.
Using her Kagura Mind's Eye, she quickly located Hyuga Mirai and, without hesitation, activated Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. In a flash of golden light, she shot toward him.
Mirai, having just received a notification from Unit 18, set aside his research and stepped out of the lab, only to see a golden streak hurtling toward him.
If he hadn't recognized it as Ayaka returning after a long absence, he might have instinctively struck her down.
Running at such speeds near the lab—what if she crashed into his experiments?
With a loud thud, Ayaka crashed into Mirai's chest, clinging to him as she spoke in a wounded tone.
"Lord Mirai, on my way back, I encountered an unbelievably powerful opponent. Even in Nine-Tails Mode, I couldn't match him. I had to activate Sage Nine-Tails Mode and rely on my armor's defenses just to escape with injuries!"
Mirai blinked in surprise. "Ayaka, are you sure you're not exaggerating? There shouldn't be many people in the ninja world with that level of strength."
"It's true! If you don't believe me, look at my armor, Lord Mirai."
Ayaka, still looking aggrieved, pressed a button on her wristwatch, instantly summoning her T1 combat armor.
Upon seeing the damage, Mirai frowned. As she claimed, the armor was over forty percent damaged, with many functions completely inoperative.
"Unit 18?"
"Data loss, sir."
A holographic screen extended from Mirai's wristwatch, displaying Unit 18's digital face.
"Ayaka Uzumaki was out of satellite range during combat, and the storage unit in her armor sustained damage. Only a small portion of the recorded footage was preserved."
With that, Unit 18 played the available video feed.
The footage showed Ayaka activating Sage Nine-Tails Mode, clad in her armor, engaging an unknown opponent in battle.
As Mirai analyzed the video, Ayaka continued explaining.
"This is him, Lord Mirai. He was incredibly fast. If it weren't for my sensory abilities in Nine-Tails Mode and the Kagura Mind's Eye, I wouldn't have even been able to track him. He knew right away that I was a Jinchuriki and tried to capture me."
"Ayaka, you're safe now—can you let go of me?"
She was holding on so tightly that he could barely focus on the footage. The constant movement of her red hair in front of him was distracting.
Even after he spoke, Ayaka whimpered and feigned injury, clearly unwilling to let go. Mirai, seeing through her act, casually pried her off with one hand.
"Is this… Jigen?"
Mirai replayed the brief three-second clip four or five times before voicing his suspicion.
Ayaka tilted her head in confusion. "Lord Mirai, who is Jigen?"
"A very powerful individual—a 'suit' for an alien," Mirai murmured, deep in thought. Then he turned to Ayaka. "How did you escape?"
"I didn't," Ayaka admitted. "That guy seemed wary of my Adamantine Sealing Chains. In the end, he withdrew first."
Thinking back to the encounter, fear still lingered in her eyes. If her opponent hadn't retreated, she might never have made it back.
(End of Chapter)