Nagato frowned in thought.
"Not only that, according to the intel I've obtained, that Blood Mist Faction that rose up inside the Hidden Mist Village back then seems to have had the Daimyo of the Land of Water pulling strings from behind the scenes, remotely controlling things."
"So this defection… is Kisame bearing a grudge against the Daimyo of the Land of Water for ruthlessly abandoning the Blood Mist Faction back then, and now taking revenge?"
Nagato quickly figured out the key point in all this.
In fact, it wasn't hard to imagine.
The matter looked complicated, but once you understood the cause and effect, it was no longer a mess; instead, it followed a clear chain of logic, leaving traces to follow.
The Daimyo of the Land of Water had secretly funded the Blood Mist Faction to help it grow, using it as a lever to meddle in the military power inside the Hidden Mist Village.
But the rise of the Blood Mist Faction, although it used bloody means to suppress many dissenting voices, also stirred up a strong sense of resistance among quite a few Hidden Mist Ninja.
The biggest opponent among them was Karatachi Yagura.
Thus, Karatachi Yagura launched a coup, purging the Blood Mist Faction's ninja from within the Hidden Mist Village, and used that to rise to the position of Fourth Mizukage.
After that, the Daimyo of the Land of Water abandoned the remnants of the Blood Mist Faction without hesitation, and instead turned to support the victorious Yagura. This act of kicking them when they were down, caring only about preserving himself, had undoubtedly enraged the remaining forces of the Blood Mist Faction.
And inside the Hidden Mist Village, although Mizukage Yagura had already let go of Kisame's past identity and even entrusted him with important duties…
The fact that he was a Blood Mist Faction ninja still caused Kisame tremendous inconvenience and trouble inside the Hidden Mist Village.
Even Yagura couldn't erase the villagers' rejection and resentment toward Kisame.
The villagers of the Hidden Mist Village would never trust a ninja who had once been a member of the Blood Mist Faction.
After enduring life in the village to his limit, Kisame, completely at his wit's end, made the irrational choice to defect.
He seized the great opportunity of Mizukage Shikura's meeting with the Daimyo of the Land of Water, and, by using his identity as the Mizukage's Guard, killed the Daimyo of the Land of Water—his way of severing all ties with the Hidden Mist Village once and for all, and also an act of revenge against the Daimyo of the Land of Water for kicking him when he was down.
As for what happened after that, Nagato knew it all clearly.
Having become an S-Class Renegade Ninja, Kisame was homeless, and could only rely on the Underground Black Market as a trading platform to earn the money needed to survive in the Ninja Realm. You could say it was an extremely miserable ninja life.
"It should be just as you guessed, Lord Nagato. Right now he's being hunted and assassinated from time to time by pursuit squads from the Hidden Mist Village. If we go now and help cover his tracks, help him escape the encirclement of the Hidden Mist pursuit units, he'll definitely be grateful to us. After that, we can take the chance to recruit him into the organization."
White Zetsu felt that recruiting Kisame into Akatsuki was a trivial matter.
Because no matter how glorious your past status was, once you become a Renegade Ninja, you have to start over from scratch.
Only by borrowing Akatsuki's power could Kisame evade the pursuit squads of the Hidden Mist Village.
Facing a complete state apparatus, even an S-Class Renegade Ninja could only prioritize strategy and retreat.
"Keep observing for a while longer, we can't rush to a conclusion yet. If he truly has no issues, it won't be too late to recruit him then. I'll leave this matter to you, White Zetsu."
Akatsuki's core members naturally couldn't be screened as casually as the outer members, who only needed a simple check to pass.
Without a personal recommendation from an existing core member, anyone wishing to become a core member had to undergo strict vetting before it could be decided whether they were suitable to be absorbed into the organization and contribute their strength.
"Understood. I'll continue scouting over there then. Just wait for my good news, Lord Nagato."
White Zetsu chuckled, and just as he was about to sink into the floor and leave, Nagato spoke again:
"How are the arrangements on Konoha's side?"
"Our cooperation with Danzo is, for the moment, still stable. Nothing unexpected has happened. Do you have any orders, Lord Nagato?"
White Zetsu thought for a moment and replied.
"When the time is right, provide Danzo with more assistance. We need him to pin down the Third Hokage's attention. Have Afei make more contact with Danzo, but remember, don't slip up in front of him. Mr. Madara's name still carries considerable deterrent force."
As long as that Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, kept his gaze fixed on Konoha and couldn't extricate himself from Konoha's internal situation to turn his eyes outward, that would mean a great success for Akatsuki.
And within Konoha, the only person who could constrain the Third Hokage was Shimura Danzo alone.
Therefore, the Root Leader Shimura Danzo was definitely a target worth Akatsuki's full effort to win over and collaborate with.
His burning ambition for the Hokage's seat was precisely something that could be exploited.
White Zetsu nodded to show he understood, then melded into the ground and vanished.
After White Zetsu left, Nagato walked out onto the rain-drenched platform outside the tower and, as always, overlooked from this height the village soaked in rain.
"Hoshigaki Kisame, I hope you won't disappoint me…"