"Sasori, you're a puppeteer, right?"
On the road toward Amegakure, Amamiya Kenichi walked at an easy pace, hands behind his head, eyes drifting toward the red-haired man beside him. With nothing else to do on the way, he decided it was the perfect time to… build connections.
Once you had a bit of rapport, everything got easier. That was just common sense.
"Mn."
Sasori gave a small nod. He wasn't talkative—most of the time his expression was blank, his presence quiet—but at least if you asked, he answered.
Kenichi rubbed his chin, thinking of the information he remembered. At this time, Sasori should already be that guy who chased "eternal beauty" with a scary level of obsession.
"Speaking of puppets," Kenichi said casually, "don't you think they're almost… eternal works of art? As long as you maintain them, they can exist forever. No aging, no decay."
Sasori's eyes, which had been dull and half-lidded, suddenly lit up a fraction.
Kenichi noticed the shift and smiled.
As expected—if you knew a man's settings in advance, hitting his soft spot was easy.
In just this short walk toward the Rain Village, the atmosphere between the two had already gone from awkward silence to normal conversation.
Konan watched them from the side, arms loosely folded, but didn't step in. She was quietly impressed by how quickly Kenichi could close the distance with people.
She herself wasn't good at this.
Between her and Sasori, there had been barely any casual conversation at all.
"Gyoku," Konan suddenly spoke up as Amegakure's silhouette appeared in the distance. "Did you complete your mission?"
Now that Nagato frequently used the Deva Path Pain to take missions personally just to raise funds, money had become the organisation's lifeblood.
That was why, right after Orochimaru and Kenichi joined, the very first assignment handed to them was simple: go make money.
And with Sasori now onboard… his first assignment would likely be the same.
"Completed," Kenichi said with a grin. "This time we only managed to pull together around a hundred and eighty million ryō."
If you split it evenly, that was about ninety million each for him and Orochimaru. Not bad at all.
Of course, it was a bit of a cheesy method—use it too often and every village would start paying attention. You had to be careful not to overfarm a money source.
Konan just nodded slightly. That number didn't shock her, but it satisfied her.
She led Kenichi and Sasori onward into Amegakure.
Today, there was no rain.
Under her guidance, they entered the tower and soon stood before the Deva Path Pain. What drew Kenichi's attention, though, was not just Pain—but the two extra figures standing nearby.
One had a huge Venus-flytrap-like "collar" blooming around his head.
Kenichi recognised him at a glance—Zetsu.
The other wore a mask, only a single eye visible through the hole.
Also familiar. Very familiar.
Obito.
Kenichi's fingers twitched. That eye… he was pretty sure it was the Kamui Mangekyō.
"So we've got new members?" Zetsu's strange, dual-toned voice drawled, his gaze flicking over Kenichi and Sasori, his expression exaggeratedly "curious."
Kenichi snorted inwardly.
This guy could act.
There was no way Zetsu didn't know about him and Sasori joining. Their details were probably already filed, cross-checked, and archived in whatever black mud database he had.
"These are our recent recruits—Gyoku and Ao," Pain said flatly. "There is also Ku, but he hasn't arrived yet."
He gave Sasori and Kenichi the short version on Zetsu and the masked man. When it came to Obito, he only said he was a member without a ring yet—no codename, no background, nothing.
Kenichi, of course, knew exactly who he was.
"Ah, Senior Gen! The design is incredible—you really have a… unique style. Very cool!"
Kenichi stepped forward enthusiastically, grabbed Zetsu's hand, and shook it hard, smile bright enough to rival Might Guy's.
"…"
Zetsu stared at him strangely.
He knew this guy—Konoha's A-rank missing-nin, Amamiya Kenichi. Anyone Nagato trusted enough to give a ring to had to be at least somewhat competent.
But this level of enthusiasm still threw him off.
He sneaked a glance at Pain and Konan, then relaxed when he saw how calm they were. So… this was just how this guy was.
"And this senpai—" Kenichi turned toward Obito, eyes curving. "That mask is great, and that eye hole has such personality!"
He stuck his hand out again.
Obito did not take it.
"You're not from the Uchiha," Obito said coldly, his normal Sharingan hidden behind the mask.
Kenichi instantly gave him a thumbs-up.
"Right, right. This is an implanted three-tomoe from the Uchiha clan," he explained cheerfully.
Obito stared at him for a long moment, then said nothing.
His heart had long since hardened around a single obsession. Former clan, former village—none of that really mattered anymore.
Kenichi didn't look embarrassed at the refusal. He just retracted his hand with the same easy smile.
And in the same motion, hidden in that retreat, he pinched off the tiniest flake of Zetsu's "skin."
Alien sample: acquired.
"Enough. Gyoku," Pain finally cut in. "White tells me you're here to turn in the funds from your and Ku's mission."
He didn't bother hiding the impatience in his tone. He wanted this walking disaster generator gone from the base as soon as possible.
If Kenichi hung around too long, Akatsuki was going to turn into an open-air market.
Kenichi didn't drag it out. He pulled out the storage scroll and handed it over.
Watching Pain's expression soften just the slightest bit in satisfaction, Kenichi's smile deepened.
Go ahead and take it.
Everything I feed you now… you'll spit back out in the future.
As long as you still care about the people of the Land of Rain.
As long as you still remember what it feels like to be a starving kid in a warzone, soaked to the bone, shivering with your friends under a broken roof—
Then one day, all this money is coming back to me. Maybe with interest. Maybe carried by Kakuzu, working overtime.
"All right. You may leave," Pain said. "Your current mission remains the same—continue gathering funds."
He was already in "dismissal" mode.
"Actually, Leader," Kenichi said, rubbing his hands together with an almost shy smile, "there's something I wanted to discuss with you."
Pain's mood grew… complicated.
Here we go.
And the way Kenichi suddenly sounded respectful made him even more wary. A guy who usually acted carefree and cheeky, suddenly bowing and scraping?
That only meant one thing—
he definitely wanted something big.
Zetsu and Obito looked on with interest.
They both wanted to see what this new member was going to pull.
Sasori, meanwhile, was thinking something else entirely:
When is he free? We should talk more about art.
"Leader," Kenichi said softly, eyes locking onto Pain's. "I have a way… to let the people of the Land of Rain eat their fill every single day."
The base went utterly silent.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Only Kenichi kept his gaze calmly fixed on Pain's face.
To him, only Nagato's answer mattered.
So, Nagato…
You who once wandered as a starving refugee…
You who almost died from hunger and fear…
You who founded Akatsuki with your companions, just to change this country…
What will you choose now?