The Capital of the Land of Water was in chaos.
The ordinary armed forces — samurai, police, and the like — were falling in droves while awaiting reinforcements from Kirigakure, swept aside like insects by unknown individuals wearing black cloaks patterned with red clouds outlined in white.
The civilians, in the profound wisdom born of ignorance, decided they could only rely on themselves and joined the looting to gather whatever they needed to flee the capital and survive, likely intending to start over somewhere else or simply wait out the storm engulfing the city.
Several minor nobles did not even lose their lives to a kunai or ninjutsu, but to a well-placed hoe embedded in their skulls.
Meanwhile, just before the attack, Kumo's forces that had been slowly infiltrating the capital for days acted in unison against the ninja and representatives of other villages, delaying the transmission of information regarding what was happening there.
"So much money lost…" Hibui bit her lower lip hard as she watched Kakuzu target the most profitable locations and loot them with a skill almost comparable to her own. "What do they even need all that money for with so few members?!"
It would be far better if all of it ended up in her family's coffers, especially considering she apparently would be quite fertile.
"Focus, sister," Kiyui said as she wiped a drop of blood from her cheek with her thumb while stopping beside her, a blood-dripping kunai held in her other hand. "Stick to the plan. The last thing we need is for these Akatsuki people to take 'creative liberties' during their job and end up causing problems for us instead."
"Kiyui-san is right," Samui said from the rooftop beside them, one hand resting on her hip. "Several members of the organization have some kind of disorder. It's best to avoid them whenever possible."
"I know," Kiyui sighed, turning her head toward Samui. "How's the situation at the Daimyo's palace?"
"That red-haired Akatsuki guy entered a few minutes ago." Samui pointed toward the castle, where occasional explosions were blasting flames and smoke through the windows. "According to the sensors, he should finish clearing the palace shortly."
The Water Daimyo apparently possessed a panic room for situations like this, though it was more of a bunker in practice. As a result, Sasori was spending more time and effort gaining access to the interior than gathering materials, which represented a significant waste of time.
Sasori hated wasting time, so the Daimyo's death was likely going to be particularly unpleasant…
"And Kirigakure's reinforcements?" Kiyui asked. "It's been half a day since we allowed the distress message to be sent. They shouldn't be far now."
Although the Land of Water's territory was smaller than the Land of Fire or the Land of Lightning, there was still considerable distance between the capital and the hidden village. Taking only half a day to arrive was already an extremely fast response!
"We confirmed with the lookouts that they're a little over ten kilometers from the capital. They'll arrive any moment now," Samui reported after briefly speaking with a subordinate to confirm the details. "Our actors are already mixed in with the civilians fleeing and hiding. As soon as Kiri enters the capital, the rumors about how they 'betrayed' the Daimyo and caused this whole disaster will begin spreading."
Good. Everything was falling into place so far.
"Do we have numbers?" Hibui watched Kakuzu emerge from another noble estate with a satisfied expression and gritted her teeth. "Will we be enough?"
Although Akatsuki was responsible for causing chaos and drawing enemy fire while Kiri's ninja would shoulder the blame, Kumo had still brought a decent number of ninja to help steer the operation in the desired direction.
"A modest force of four hundred," Samui said, shaking her head. "We don't know if Kiri suspects something, but it's a very small number for the current situation."
Conservative to the extreme, really. Like trying to extinguish a forest fire by splashing water with your hands. If they truly intended to take the matter seriously and secure the Daimyo and nobles at minimum, the number should have been at least double that.
But Kiri simply could not ignore the Daimyo's rescue order, even if they were wary of Kumo's actions.
"The numbers match Chad's information," Hibui thought while nodding.
There should be around twenty jonin leading the group, a hundred chunin serving as subordinates and actual combatants, while the rest were genin intended to visually bulk up the rescue force and act as labor for evacuation and extraction operations.
In fact, considering the time of year, those genin were probably fresh academy graduates…
Bad luck for them.
"Do we proceed?" Samui asked.
"We stick to the plan." Kiyui looked around seriously while once more relaying and confirming the orders. "Once we confirm the deaths of the Water Daimyo and his associates, leave Kiri's jonin and chunin to Akatsuki so they can put on a show. As for the numerous genin, make sure to eliminate them quietly as much as possible before they can react. Ideally, they shouldn't even know we exist by the time the last of them dies."
The Kumo ninja clenched their fists, nodded, and dispersed to carry out their orders.
…
"Couldn't we do missions like this every day?!" Hidan laughed ecstatically as he tore the sacrificial spike from his chest once again, shuddering from the exquisite pleasure that could only be understood through pain. "Jashin-sama will be truly pleased with the number of sacrifices today!"
It was a complete buffet!
People everywhere he looked, and whenever he grew tired of ordinary civilians, some ninja would appear to reignite the excitement and let him resume the sacrifices with renewed enthusiasm.
Hidan had joined Akatsuki to make it easier to find worthy sacrifices for his god Jashin, but he was beginning to feel an entirely new kind of enlightenment.
Perhaps he should leave the organization and begin a pilgrimage instead?
Revive the cult of Jashin. Those who joined would spread his lord's glory, while those who refused would merely serve as sacrifices for Jashin.
"The best part is that the leader didn't come here, so I don't have to worry about him stealing my kills."
Pain had made it clear that his priority was the jinchuriki, so he was likely dealing with that at this very moment, far away from the Water Capital.
…
"So boring…" Deidara felt like everyone else was enjoying themselves while he was stuck following that old geezer Kakuzu around helping him loot the capital.
Normally he boasted about his "art" in the form of his explosive clay creations, but who could have imagined the day would come when he had to use them as pack mules…
Still, the organization had been amassing enormous amounts of money ever since he joined, so what did they even need more money for?
He had even asked that Konan woman once, but she had only replied: "It's for Akatsuki's future."
Very enlightening.
"And you, old man, couldn't you just use storage scrolls?!" Deidara protested while glaring at his clay turtle-carts, whose shells acted like wagons carrying the looted riches.
So many pieces unable to display their true art made him want to vomit blood in frustration!
"No!" Kakuzu shot him a murderous glare, though his hands never stopped moving for even an instant. "They cost money. We're — and by we, I mean the organization — far too poor."
Because Kakuzu certainly was not going to spend his own money on something like that!
"Then ask the blue-haired woman for the money!"
They had already collected tens of millions of ryo. What was the cost of a handful of scrolls if it let them make even more money afterward?
That was investment! An investment!
"You think I didn't try?!" Kakuzu snapped irritably, the tendrils of Earth Grudge Fear writhing with annoyance.
It was precisely because funding had been denied that he was focusing on collecting anything valuable enough to sell through the black market. The things Deidara carried were bulky, shiny, and looked valuable, but their actual worth was average to low at best.
Everything else Kakuzu had obtained so far?
Small, high-value items, easy to sell without a trace, and highly profitable.
They belonged to him and nobody else.
…
Again, why the hell had he joined this organization?