Land of Water.
Qingchuan looked suspiciously at the ring in his hand and then cast another doubtful glance at Kisame.
"Are you sure this seal is correct?"
Kisame's expression was blank.
With a small wound still bleeding on his thumb, he paused before forming hand seals.
"Summoning Technique!"
Poof.
A puff of white smoke erupted, and a small shark suddenly appeared.
The little shark flopped around, gasping for air.
Poof.
Another puff of white smoke, and the little shark disappeared without a trace...
Kisame spread his hands, devoid of any expression.
"Do you want me to demonstrate it again?"
"While my wound hasn't healed..."
This was already the fifth time.
It was hard to imagine that this girl didn't know the seals for the Summoning Technique!
If not for the serious look on her face, he would almost suspect she was playing with him.
"Shut up!"
Qingchuan glared at Kisame with a dark face.
He ignored him and formed another set of hand seals.
However...
Aside from adding to the awkwardness in the air, the ring that Nagato had given him remained completely unresponsive.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Didn't you say you can summon at will?"
"Could it have gotten damp? That shouldn't be the case!"
Qingchuan stubbornly continued to experiment.
Though he was now in a death state, he still had a solid amount of chakra.
Not a huge amount, but certainly sufficient.
Using such a Summoning Technique should definitely work.
The problem was that no matter how he tried, that damned ring simply refused to respond.
This was really troublesome.
His pride didn't matter so much.
The little guy was honest; Kisame could take care of any hostile thoughts he had.
The critical point was that summoning Nagato could be of great use.
The Three-Tails had to be captured.
Whether Nagato and Konan agreed or not, a ready meal shouldn't fly away at the last minute.
But after taking action...
Once he harvested most of the will of the Three-Tails, he still needed to deal with the remaining body.
So, it was indeed necessary to give Nagato a heads-up.
There was no way he could drag such a huge creature back to the Akatsuki... and he wouldn't want Nagato to know about this operation.
However...
It was fine to have Jūzō and Itachi come to pick up the pieces...
But it was incredibly annoying that he wasn't picking up the call!
The more Qingchuan thought about it, the angrier he got.
"Damn it."
"Why don't you just wait another ten or eight years before going to find the Three-Tails again!"
Qingchuan cursed in his heart.
In the original story, the Three-Tails indeed had a similar fate.
A Tailed Beast Bomb created a hole in Jūzō's stomach, and then Itachi roasted him with Amaterasu.
Then, after being revived at great cost, he was beaten down by Deidara and Hidan consecutively.
In the end, although the Akatsuki successfully captured the Three-Tails, the plan had been delayed by nearly ten years.
"Don't blame me for not informing you..."
After yet another failed attempt, Qingchuan pouted and finally prepared to give up.
However...
Just at that moment.
The vast chakra hidden within the ring suddenly surged.
Qingchuan's eyebrows shot up.
He quickly glared at Kisame beside him and then seamlessly switched back to a smile; his actions were fluid...
Kisame was taken aback.
But soon, as the white smoke rose, an expressionless man with swirling purple patterns in his eyes appeared.
The overwhelming pressure instantly shocked Kisame!
So strong.
Just the aura alone indicated he was no ordinary person.
Pain stood before the girl.
His cold gaze swept across the area before finally landing on Kisame.
"I see. The mission has been completed, Haruko."
His tone was as chilly as his gaze, making Pain seem like a merciless deity.
He noticed the little guy beside him, who was clearly frightened and scooting closer to the girl.
Pain couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
As expected.
This kindness remains unchanged.
Fortunately, there hadn't been any dangers...
Worry leads to chaos.
Konan had prepared for a full minute; next time, it couldn't be like this.
"Yes, Lord Pain."
Qingchuan said slowly, all the while stroking Haku's head.
The little guy was clearly terrified, trembling all over, his little face pale.
"Mr. Kisame has been very cooperative. He was just teaching me how to form seals quickly!"
Kisame's face twitched.
"The little sister's talent is quite good."
"She learned in no time; I didn't use much effort…"
As Kisame spoke, he also tended to his still-bleeding thumb.
Although his boss was just a little girl...
She certainly didn't seem simple at all...
As for cooperating with his new boss's operations, Kisame was more than willing.
"I understand... but please don't recklessly learn ninjutsu."
Pain said coldly as he extended his hand, delivering a stack of white paper imprinted with Explosive Tags to the girl before him.
He didn't care at all about Kisame's expression.
"These are the Explosive Tags Konan prepared for you."
"They should be enough for you for a while. Konan asked me to relay to you… don't hold back."
"One hundred sixty million."
Qingchuan received the stack of white paper, his eyelids twitching.
However, he didn't let the material goods cloud his judgment.
Silently accepting the Explosive Tags, he discreetly shot a glare at Kisame.
"Lord Pain, there's something else I need to report...
Qingchuan said slowly, as if mentioning something insignificant.
"It seems that the Mizukage of the Mist Village is not in very good condition."
"I heard he's close to death."