"Kakashi?"
Kakashi, leaning lazily against the wall, lifted his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan.
"Impersonating an Anbu without documents or a warrant is a serious crime, you know. Why don't we all go to the Hokage's office and verify this?"
At the same time, several more people emerged from behind Kakashi. They were all from the same class as Kurenai and Kakashi—Hayate Gekko, Ebisu, and others.
The few Root ninja were instantly silenced. Their leader, however, still tried to use his authority to pressure them. "Are you planning to defy a direct order?"
But this tactic had no effect on Kakashi. He was the student of the Fourth Hokage, the grand-student of the Third Hokage's student. His lineage was as pure as it got. In the same lazy tone, he replied, "Ah, we wouldn't dare defy an order. However, to prevent a potential spy from escaping, I plan to personally escort Kurenai Yuhi to the Hokage's office. Is there a problem with that?"
"Hmm? Unless... you weren't planning on taking her to the Hokage's office or the Anbu headquarters?"
The group was, of course, left speechless...
In the end, Kakashi and his classmates escorted Kurenai to the Hokage's office. The Third Hokage looked at the Root ninja and confirmed that it had been his order. He then had the Root members remove the chakra-sealing handcuffs and let Kurenai go to the Anbu for a routine interrogation herself.
This normal procedure, of course, wouldn't involve the methods used on spies, like Inoichi Yamanaka's technique of forcibly entering an enemy's mind to search for intelligence, as that would cause irreversible brain damage.
At most, it would involve hypnosis or genjutsu-based interrogation...
Konoha had its own set of procedures for investigating its own ninja that wouldn't harm them. But if it were an enemy, they would have no such scruples. They would dig the intelligence out of your brain even if it meant turning you into an idiot.
Seeing Kurenai go to the Anbu for questioning, the Third Hokage sighed. No matter how much he resented this vixen for causing his son's death, he couldn't touch her for the time being.
There are three great bonds in life. For kunoichi, graduating with their classmates and going to war together often forges the strongest friendships.
And Kurenai's peers—Kakashi, Ebisu, Might Gai—had already become the new pillars of Konoha.
No matter how much he hated her, no matter how much he wanted to get rid of her, he had to consider the opinions of these ninja...
After a long period of solitary reflection, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally hesitated, then made a decision. He pressed a button on his desk, and an Anbu squad leader appeared before him.
"Go to the black market. Bring back Asuma's body at all costs. At the same time, annihilate the place that dared to exchange Asuma for money..."
Bounties were usually issued by enemy nations, and these black markets were often just intermediaries who took a cut. But rats in the sewer were still just rats. Once a hidden village got angry, they could either run or be destroyed.
"Sir! Lord Hokage, should we send someone to hunt down Uchiha Nagi?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. Even with the burning desire for revenge for his son, he knew that right now, no one could deal with a person who had learned the Flying Thunder God technique.
"Find a way to get the information to Uchiha Itachi. See if he has a solution. At the same time, increase the bounty on Uchiha Nagi. Make it one hundred million..."
Attacking the black market and then posting a bounty on that same market was a necessary evil. The black market was like the cockroaches and rats in the sewers; you could never completely get rid of them.
He was the Hokage of Konoha; he couldn't bear to let the village's ninja die in vain. But the ninja world was full of desperate outlaws who valued money over their lives. Someone would always be willing to try.
The ninja world had many unknown powerhouses hidden away, some in small countries, some in the underground black market. Take Kakuzu, for example. Before being invited to join the Akatsuki, he had always been the most active bounty hunter in the black market.
A few days later, in the Land of Rain—
Uchiha Itachi had also received the intelligence, secretly sent by the Third Hokage. As for the method, there were many, such as summoning jutsu.
Or his crows. The summoning jutsu of the ninja world had always been a ridiculously overpowered tool, and it was tried and true for transmitting information.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique, is it?" Uchiha Itachi frowned, lost in thought. He knew a little about space-time ninjutsu. The technique wasn't without its weaknesses. As long as you knew the coordinates of the marked kunai, the jutsu wasn't unbeatable.
But the difficulty wasn't in countering the Flying Thunder God, but in killing the user. If they couldn't win, they could just run. You never knew where they had hidden a Flying Thunder God kunai...
In the tallest building in the Land of Rain, two people were discussing a problem.
"Nagato, this Uchiha Nagi is a survivor of the Uchiha clan, just like Itachi. He seems to have a grudge against Itachi. If we recruit him, I'm afraid he and Itachi will fight. The two cannot coexist."
Konan was holding a piece of intelligence from the black market, discussing it with Nagato. Judging from the fact that Konan had prepared 600 billion explosive tags for the finale and knew the specifics of Obito's abilities, it was clear they were not without their own preparations against him.
The Akatsuki was divided into two factions. One was Obito and White Zetsu. The other was Nagato and Konan. The two factions were more like collaborators than a hierarchy.
Nagato wasn't confident he could take down Obito with his mysterious space-time ninjutsu. But the adult Nagato, who had mastered the use of the Rinnegan, was someone Obito wasn't confident he could defeat either.
"It doesn't matter. It's fine to choose one of the two. The important thing is that this person knows space-time ninjutsu. This will increase our strength and can be used to keep 'Madara' in check," Nagato said, his face a mask of indifference.
On the surface, Pain was the leader, but in reality, Obito was his equal. Itachi was recruited by him. Kisame was also brought in by him, defecting from Kirigakure.
Even Black and White Zetsu were brought in by him when he joined the Akatsuki.
You could say that half the members of the Akatsuki were recruited by Nagato and Konan, and the other half by Obito. The two sides were evenly matched.
But Nagato was not afraid. His Rinnegan suppressed all who defied him. And were those S-rank rogue ninja really so obedient to Obito? No. Strength was king.
In the Akatsuki, there was no loyalty, only power. Nagato used the power of his Rinnegan to command the loyalty of these S-rank rogue ninja.
Konan had reminded Nagato many times to be wary of Obito. This person could not possibly be Madara; the ages didn't match up. Madara should have died of old age long ago. Although Nagato didn't seem to care, supremely confident in his Rinnegan, he wasn't completely without his guard up.
This time, in order to avenge his son Asuma, the Third Hokage had not only raised the bounty to one hundred million ryo but had also leaked all of Uchiha Nagi's intelligence. As a result, everyone in the black market now knew that he could use the Flying Thunder God.
This led to Nagato and Konan of the Akatsuki finding out as well. Konan didn't fully trust the White Zetsu that Obito had brought into the organization, so she also had her own intelligence network.
"Should I go?" Konan asked.
"Kakuzu already found out about Uchiha Nagi's bounty and left a message saying he's already on his way," Nagato said with a hint of helplessness.
"That money-grubbing fool..." Konan rolled her eyes. "I'm afraid he's not going to recruit him, but to cash in his head for money."
"Heh, that's fine too. If he can't even beat Kakuzu, he's not worth shedding a tear over if he dies," Nagato said with a laugh.
Uchiha Nagi had no idea that a man who valued money more than his own life was now heading for his head...
"Old sir, you can't forge a sword like this either?"
"Honored customer, this old man is truly powerless. Please seek another craftsman."
"Old sir, I can add more money—"
In a blacksmith's shop, a master smith in his fifties, with bulging muscles, was apologetically showing Uchiha Nagi the door.
"Customer, this isn't a matter of money. This meteorite, with its powerful energy, is no ordinary metal. It's incredibly difficult to melt with high temperatures. And even if you could, preserving the energy inside without damaging it while you shape the blade... that's much harder than forging with ordinary chakra metal."
Hearing the old blacksmith's explanation, Uchiha Nagi understood the reason.
This meteorite from Hoshigakure, having fallen from the atmosphere to the earth, was itself the core part left after being burned at high temperatures. But simply melting it down and forging it into a sword wasn't beyond the skill of the ninja world's blacksmiths. The difficult part was preserving the massive energy within while melting and shaping the meteorite into a sword. That was the key.
This was the third famous master swordsmith he had sought out in the Land of Iron, and they had all said they were powerless to help. Many master swordsmiths in the Land of Iron could make a sword from the meteorite, but preventing the energy from dissipating was the most difficult part.
"I understand. Thank you, master. May I ask if there are any other masters in the Land of Iron who might be able to forge this meteorite into a weapon?" Uchiha Nagi took out several stacks of cash-power and placed them in the man's hand.
The old man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted the money. It wasn't uncommon for people to bring meteorites to the Land of Iron to be forged into weapons. Many meteorites fell to the earth in the ninja world every year, but one with such powerful energy was truly rare.
"Actually, it wasn't impossible many years ago. There was once a very skilled master swordsmith who was invited to Kirigakure. There, he forged a pile of heavenly materials, treasures that seized the very essence of creation, into seven swords. They are the famous Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist. Unfortunately, after he succeeded, Kirigakure, not wanting any more strange and powerful swords to appear in the world, killed him," the old man sighed.
"The craftsmanship that master possessed was simply miraculous. He could even shape a living creature into a sword. The famous Samehada was forged by him, without harming the material itself. With his death, his craft was lost forever."
Uchiha Nagi: "......"
"However, if the customer searches diligently, it might be possible to find a master swordsmith with such skills. After all, the ninja world is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. The Second Hokage's Sword of the Thunder God in Konoha, and the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths that were once lost in the Land of Lightning, were all forged by someone."
"So where can I find such a master swordsmith now?"
The old man thought seriously for a moment. "Perhaps you could post a mission on the black market. If you offer enough money, someone will always be able to help you find a master who can forge your sword..."