"Over these years, Pakura-kun and I have traveled all over the ninja world and have recruited nearly a thousand ninja and samurai who share your ideals."
"The exact number is nine hundred and twelve. Most of them are wandering ninja and wandering samurai."
"The majority are of Genin strength, forty-five are of Chunin strength, and five are of Jonin strength."
Kageyama Kogetsu smiled and praised, "Well done. Even a small ninja village of this strength would be no match."
"Besides the wandering personnel, some are from small ninja villages, and a very small number are from the great ninja villages. All five great ninja villages are represented," Kakuzu said, his expression unchanged, but his heart was joyful as he continued to report.
"Oh? There are people from all five great ninja villages? How did you manage that?" Kageyama Kogetsu asked with interest, picking up a bird leg.
"First, we beat them up. While we were beating them, we talked."
Pakura raised her hand and smiled, "I beat them up first, and then we talked."
Kageyama Kogetsu nodded in approval. Even the Talk-no-Jutsu had to follow the basic rules. For Naruto's Talk-no-Jutsu to be effective, he often had to beat them up first.
Kakuzu said with a serious expression, "Don't worry. They have all been carefully selected and tested by us."
"If we were to recruit without restraint, the number would at least double."
Kageyama Kogetsu nodded slightly, "I trust your judgment and methods."
He wasn't afraid even if those people had problems. Even if they all had problems, it didn't matter. He was the decisive factor.
He had just made a casual move, given the two of them something to do to avoid boredom, and at the same time, added another chip for the future.
"By the way, how do they make a living?"
"Do you pay them wages?"
Pakura chimed in, "They mainly rely on themselves to earn a living. We give them some subsidies."
"In addition, we have given them a compilation of our own training insights."
"For those who perform outstandingly, we either give them a promotion in status, a monetary reward, or high-level training insights and high-level ninjutsu."
"It's given in the name of the leader, that is, in your name."
Kageyama Kogetsu smiled and served Pakura some food, then refilled Kakuzu's wine.
"Well handled. I will also reward you."
"This is my insight into chakra nature transformation and ninjutsu. It's for you."
The contents of the scroll were not simple. It was a combination of Kageyama Kogetsu's own insights and the training insights left behind by some of Konoha's ancestors.
If a ninja could fully grasp the contents of the scroll, he couldn't say much, but it would be enough for them to be comparable to Sarutobi Hiruzen in the five basic nature transformations, or even surpass him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was not very prominent in the later god-level battles, but he was definitely one of the pinnacles of ordinary ninja.
Pakura did not stand on ceremony and directly took the large scroll and put it away.
"You, as the leader, are extremely mysterious. I think it's time for you to make your presence felt."
"The scroll you gave can be split and become one of the rewards."
"I know you're not short of money. You can give them a sum of money to improve their living conditions."
"Finally, I think you should give them a mission."
Kageyama Kogetsu nodded, and after a moment of thought, he said, "Since they are scattered all over the world, let them collect information on the nobles, officials, and wealthy merchants of various places."
"Don't be too deliberate in collecting it, and don't be in a hurry. Just collect it in the course of their missions or travels."
"Ordinary people have no secrets in front of a ninja. Collecting it in advance is just to save some trouble and time."
Kakuzu nodded, "I understand."
"Developing strong individuals is more important than developing ordinary ninja. Are there any candidates for recruitment in the Akatsuki?"
Kakuzu smiled with confidence, "There are!"
"Who?"
"Hoshigaki Kisame!"
Then, Kakuzu recounted Hoshigaki Kisame's background, experiences, basic abilities, and which faction he belonged to in the Akatsuki.
"In my experience, Hoshigaki Kisame is a ninja with a very empty and confused heart, a bit like me in the past when I was only focused on money."
"Your theory is enough to fill the void in Hoshigaki Kisame's heart, but the premise is to first clean out the filler that the Akatsuki has put in."
Pakura added with a smile, "Actually, Kakuzu-senpai and I already have a plan."
"We plan to team up with Uchiha Itachi to set a trap for Hoshigaki Kisame. With the three of us working together, there is absolutely no chance for him to escape."
"After we beat him up, if he sincerely agrees with your theory, then so be it. If not, we will kill him and destroy his body."
"With Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu, it's not difficult to confirm whether he sincerely agrees."
"You mentioned that the White Zetsu Spore Technique can be revealed with Senjutsu chakra. If Kisame has it on him, he won't be able to send out any information."
Kageyama Kogetsu smiled, "A good plan. But what if the White Zetsu is monitoring in secret?"
"I think the masked man doesn't trust Itachi and is monitoring him along with the others."
Hearing this, Kakuzu and Pakura frowned slightly, feeling that it was quite tricky.
They really had no way to deal with White Zetsu's long-distance monitoring. In the past, whenever they met and there was a White Zetsu, it was always Kageyama Kogetsu who took action.
Not to kill it. If he killed it too many times, even a fool would notice that something was wrong.
Kageyama Kogetsu secretly used a jutsu to make the White Zetsu lose its concentration and lose track of the two of them.
With White Zetsu's intelligence and character, if no strict or deadly orders were given, it was not too strange for problems to occur.
"Don't worry. Since I know about this, I'll lend you a hand."
"Kakuzu, you contact Itachi later and have him tell you the location. We'll go over tomorrow."
"Alright," Kakuzu's brow relaxed, and he smiled.
"Alright, business is over. Let's eat and drink."
After a pleasant lunch, Kakuzu went to contact Uchiha Itachi, and Kageyama Kogetsu accompanied Pakura to wander around the vicinity.
In the evening, he naturally had to have a good intimate time with Pakura.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Pakura was an exceptional woman, especially her overall figure, which was even better than Tsunade's or Mabui's.
Because she was alone outside, Pakura had a sense of crisis, so she would often spice things up. It would never get boring.
...
The next morning at nine o'clock, the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill.
Kageyama Kogetsu took Kakuzu and Pakura, tore through space, and directly descended into a lush river valley in the central part of the Land of Rivers.
The two of them went straight for Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, who were walking on the road at the bottom of the river valley...
Kageyama Kogetsu flew up to a high altitude. Using his Tenseigan and chakra sensory technique together, the entire river valley and its vicinity could not escape his detection.
"It seems Uchiha Obito trusts Kisame a lot. There's no White Zetsu monitoring Itachi..."
"That's right. Kisame's performance in the original story is also worthy of Uchiha Obito's trust."
"Summoning a shark to devour himself alive... what a savage!"
"This is the one thing I admire most about Kisame."
The next moment, Kageyama Kogetsu's figure rapidly descended and gradually became transparent...
On both sides of the river valley road, Kakuzu and Pakura jumped out from the front.
"What are you two doing here?" Kisame, with his shark-like face and wearing a black robe with red clouds, grinned.
Uchiha Itachi, who was standing next to Kisame, did not launch a sneak attack on the wary Kisame, but directly flashed back, blocking the escape route.
Hoshigaki Kisame had grown up amidst killing, betrayal, conspiracies, and schemes. Seeing this, how could he not understand?
"So you're all in this together. You've really hidden it well. No one noticed a single sign."
The smile on Hoshigaki Kisame's face disappeared. He drew Samehada from his back, turned his body to the side, and guarded against both the front and the back.
"Kisame, surrender. You have no chance of winning," Uchiha Itachi advised.
"Whether I have a chance or not, we'll know after we fight!"
Before his voice had even faded, Hoshigaki Kisame had already charged towards Uchiha Itachi...
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