It was definitely not Momochi Zabuza he was interested in.
Zabuza was just a wandering missing-nin, a sword for hire. How much money could a broke, wet, bridge-stalking swordsman really have?
No—Amamiya Kenichi's sights were on the man who hired Zabuza in the original story.
Gatō.
One of the wealthiest businessmen in the world at his peak.
Shady. Loaded. Squishy.
A walking, talking, premium-grade wallet.
That was a problem for later, though. Right now Kenichi didn't even know if Gatō's business empire had fully taken shape yet. When the time came and he needed a lot of money fast, he'd go "visit" the man and his company.
For now, he still had a different job.
With the sky ring tucked away, Kenichi left Amegakure behind. Konan had said they'd take his measurements later and provide a custom Akatsuki cloak.
Tailor-made crime robes. This organization really was serious.
After handing off the ring, Nagato and Konan returned to their tower in the heart of the Rain Village.
"Nagato, are you really sure about this?" Konan asked quietly. "Letting two Konoha missing-nin join us so easily… and giving them rings?"
Akatsuki's rings were limited. They weren't meant for random grunts. Rings meant core members—pillars of the organization.
"They're strong," Nagato replied, coughing softly. "But they're not a threat I can't handle. And right now… Akatsuki needs strength more than it needs pride."
Only after becoming an actual leader do you understand just how exhausting it is to run an organization.
Manpower.
Information.
Infrastructure.
And above all—
Money.
Even god-tier eye powers didn't pay the bills.
"That bounty hunter… Kakuzu," Nagato said, eyes narrowing. "He'll be useful. But until he joins, we'll have to rely on people like Orochimaru and that boy."
Konan nodded slowly.
So the first generation of Akatsuki's "idol group" had finally started forming.
On the road back, Kenichi barely stopped at all.
He sprinted through forests and over ridgelines, riding his enhanced stamina and three-tomoe Sharingan vision, until the air changed and the trees thickened again.
The border of the Land of Fire.
He slowed down, instincts sharpening. One misstep and he could literally run into an ANBU squad.
A bit of cautious observation later, he slipped past the border patrol line into Fire Country.
"…Huh."
As he moved deeper in, Kenichi noticed something off.
There were fewer shinobi patrolling than before.
That was wrong.
Border security wasn't something a Great Nation casually cut back on—unless they were forced to shift manpower somewhere else.
"So either some other village is poking at Konoha…" Kenichi's eyes narrowed, "or something big is brewing."
Fourth Hokage dead.
Nine-Tails rampage.
Two high-level defectors—Orochimaru and himself.
Konoha might look calm on the surface, but underneath?
It was bleeding.
"Yeah… if I were another hidden village, I'd absolutely be poking the bear right now."
He leapt from branch to branch, leaving the border behind.
"…Wonder how Yuki is doing."
Once that thought surfaced, it wouldn't leave.
His newly awakened Sharingan spun lazily as he moved, his speed clearly better than before. He could feel the improvement. With this visual boost, even Minato's Flying Thunder God didn't seem as impossible anymore.
One step at a time.
Right now, first priority:
Report to his teacher.
Deliver the ring.
Explain Akatsuki.
Start phase two.
And, you know.
Check on his "project" in the basement.
Yuki, the girl in the cell.
The future Orochimaru-vessel.
The one he'd been carefully conditioning with a mix of fear, pain, and habit.
If everything went according to plan, then one day—when Orochimaru took this body—certain reaaally interesting subconscious reactions would come along for the ride.
Just imagining casually patting his teacher's pretty blond head and watching "her" instinctively flinch gave Kenichi a deep, sincere sense of artistic satisfaction.
Two and a half days later, a familiar rocky slope came into view.
The hidden entrance to their lab base.
Kenichi approached the carved stone, pressed his palm to a specific spot, infused the right amount of chakra, and waited.
Click.
The concealed door slid open.
He stepped inside. The stone door rumbled shut behind him, sealing away the outside world.
"Mission complete—"
"Back already?"
A clear, crisp voice floated out from deeper inside the base.
Kenichi froze.
…That voice was… familiar.
He frowned.
Wait.
That pitch. That tone. That slight tremor under the words—
He'd heard it before.
In the underground cells.
From a trembling girl.
The kunoichi named Yuki.
"Sensei?" he called.
Somewhere in his mind, gears clicked into place.
Had Orochimaru… finished Living Corpse Reincarnation while he was gone?
A small figure stepped into the dim light of the corridor.
Slender frame.
Loose prisoner clothes.
Delicate, pale face.
Wide eyes.
Soft, golden-blond hair falling around her shoulders.
"Did you finish the investigation?" the girl asked.
Her expression was calm.
Her gaze was cold.
Her aura was terrifyingly familiar.
Orochimaru.
In a cute girl body.
Kenichi swallowed.
Yup. There it was.
The infamous technique: Living Corpse Reincarnation.
Apparently, while he'd been running around the Rain, Orochimaru had quietly completed the jutsu—and moved into his new body.
"Yeah," Kenichi coughed lightly, forcing himself back into character. "About that… there's been a major shift in the Land of Rain. Hanzō the Salamander is dead."
The golden-haired Orochimaru—no, Yuki-maru—tilted her head slightly, eyes glinting.
"So. Someone finally killed that old fossil."
Her voice was higher, softer, but the contempt was the same.
Kenichi, meanwhile, was struggling with a different problem:
He remembered the original story. Orochimaru normally used disguise techniques to go back to his usual pale, snake-like face after taking a new body.
But this time…
No disguise.
No snake-face.
Just… Yuki's original appearance.
Under the faint lamplight, Kenichi could see her clearly:
Big, bright eyes.
Small cherry-red lips.
Soft-looking skin.
Delicate features.
And that hair—
Fluffy, golden, and gently wavy, making her look… unfairly cute.
Kenichi's throat went a little dry.
…So this was his teacher now.
A legendary S-rank criminal.
A mad scientist.
One of the Three Sannin.
In the body of a petite, blond, pretty girl.
He took a slow breath.
All right.
Time to update the plan.
Blond Orochimaru, huh?
This world really was much more magical than any novel.