Uchiha Itachi first saw Zaraki Kita at dusk, less than a year after joining Akatsuki. The leader said that the organization had recently grown lax in carrying out missions and that it was necessary to straighten out its internal atmosphere. For that reason, members scattered across various regions were summoned back to Amegakure for what was essentially a group bonding event. Only then did Itachi finally have the chance to enter the Akatsuki headquarters in Amegakure after months of membership.
Unlike the rumors circulating outside, which claimed that Amegakure had been mired in constant warfare and that its people lived in misery, the village Itachi encountered was unexpectedly peaceful. The streets were lively. Even under the persistent drizzle, pedestrians came and went. As an outsider, he was treated with a surprising amount of respect. When he stopped to eat dango, the shop owner showed him unusual kindness. It was not free, but the price was at least half off.
Uchiha Itachi could not understand why. His partner could not figure it out either. Following the leader's instructions, they headed toward the tallest tower in the village, aiming for its highest floor. Itachi circled the building several times, staring at the structure that rose dozens of meters into the air, but failed to find an elevator. After standing at the only staircase entrance with Kisame for quite a while, the two finally started climbing.
The longest staircase Itachi had ever climbed in his life was in this tower of Amegakure.
After half an hour of climbing, Kisame idly counted the steps. There were more than six hundred. Even for shinobi, it was exhausting enough to leave one short of breath.
Naturally, both Kisame and Itachi were breathing heavily.
When Itachi reached the rooftop, he saw many figures dressed in black cloaks patterned with red clouds, just as expected. What surprised him was that two people were not wearing them. One was Tobi, dressed entirely in black and fooling around in a corner. The other was a woman.
A woman who made people feel at ease.
Among the sea of red cloud cloaks, her white clothing stood out starkly, just like her snow-white hair. She wore a white yukata with faint ink-painted bamboo patterns along the hem. The color suited her waist-length white hair perfectly. The blue scarf around her neck complemented her azure eyes just as well.
So blue that they reminded Itachi of the Fourth Hokage, whom he had met once long ago. Aside from those eyes that lingered in his thoughts, her features were not especially striking. Yet when softened and balanced together, they gave off a distinctly pleasant impression.
If the twin blades at her waist proved that she was no weak woman, then Amegakure's forehead protector hanging at her side confirmed her identity.
A rogue ninja of Amegakure? No. A shinobi of Amegakure.
What was a shinobi of Amegakure doing here during Akatsuki's so-called team activity?
This question clearly was not limited to Itachi alone. Kisame was wondering the same thing.
What made it even stranger was that this woman, who looked utterly out of place, was sitting on a wooden crate near the edge of the tower, holding a can of beer and chatting with one of the most ill-tempered men in the organization. The kind of man who would kill someone the moment he was displeased.
Kakuzu. Laughing and talking animatedly. Kakuzu, who was usually a man of few words. In Itachi's memory, during a previous mission together, Kakuzu had shown killing intent toward him at least three times. They had exchanged blows several times without a clear victor. If Itachi had not been clever and quick-witted, he doubted he would still be alive to climb those six hundred steps today.
"They're here." Sasori of the Red Sand spoke softly as always, his voice carrying a childlike quality. It was said that he had turned himself into a puppet at the age of fifteen, freezing his appearance and voice at that age.
Friendly? Perhaps not. Normal, at least. Probably.
The remark was no more than a casual greeting to juniors, not expecting any reply. Or rather, he simply did not care about the response of a thirteen-year-old kid. He walked over to Kakuzu and the woman, casually pulled a can of beer from a portable cooler, and popped it open. Judging by the condensation, it was cold. The cooler must have been packed with ice.
Itachi took a closer look at the platform. He had been so focused on the woman earlier that he had overlooked his surroundings. Rather than a rooftop, it was more like an unfinished top floor. All four sides were open, with only a few pillars supporting the thick overhead slab that blocked the rain. The area was roughly four hundred square meters, neither large nor small. Aside from shallow puddles, several wooden crates were stacked into makeshift seating. Kakuzu and the woman were sitting on one of them.
What stood in front of them was not a weapon or some ominous object, but a charcoal grill. Various meats and vegetables were sizzling on top. As Kakuzu talked, he occasionally flipped the meat with a pair of tongs.
So Akatsuki's team building activity is an open-air barbecue?
"Yo! Old man, I'm back! Hey, Kakuzu-san, is this kind of chili okay?"
Before the voice even faded, Deidara floated into the air on a giant clay bird. Itachi immediately recalled the six hundred steps he had climbed, and his expression darkened.
"Oh, you're here too. The last ones to arrive clean up afterward, yeah!"
Deidara greeted them enthusiastically. Itachi's mood worsened.
Kisame shrugged. To maintain the dignity of being a rogue ninja, he forced out a rather unpleasant, heavily sarcastic remark.
"This is quite a sight. Is Akatsuki always this laid-back?"
An open-air barbecue. Kisame would never have imagined that the infamous Akatsuki could be so… undignified. At the very least, they could have gone to a barbecue restaurant. It was not like they lacked money.
"Quit showing off. Eat."
The words were not exactly polite, but the action was friendly enough. Two bottles of beer were handed over.
Just as Itachi reached out to take one, the other person pulled it back, leaving only Kisame with beer. Itachi's face darkened. What was handed to him instead was a bottle of lime juice, a popular drink among shinobi. According to Itachi, it tasted exceptionally good.
"The kid's an adult already, right?" Kakuzu remarked casually as he moved the cooked meat to a cooler part of the grill. Deidara immediately grabbed a piece, stuffed it into his mouth, and said through a mouthful of food, "Nope. He's a year older than me. Mm, hot!"
"Is that so? You two eat spicy food?"
Kakuzu directed the question at Kisame and Itachi. Kisame did not care. Grilled meat was neither a favorite nor a dislike. Itachi thought it best to stay low-key and replied, "Doesn't matter."
He regretted it immediately. Deidara, his former defeated opponent, dumped half a container of chili powder onto the grill. Compared to spicy, greasy barbecue, Itachi preferred lighter flavors. Fortunately, he had eaten dango before coming.
They called it taking seats, but there were no real seats to speak of. A few wooden crates were passed around, and everyone sat tightly packed around the grill. Otherwise, there would not have been enough room. The only noticeable gap was next to the woman seated beside Kakuzu. There was a bit of space on her right side, but she did not seem particularly inclined to have anyone sit there.
Itachi noticed that when everyone gathered like this, they did not seem fierce or sinister at all. They hardly resembled rogue ninja. They rarely talked about missions, which made sense. Each pair worked in different countries, and even mentioning details could be considered confidential. Instead, they spoke of amusing incidents, interesting battles, and activities that sounded terrifying yet oddly entertaining. Perhaps terrifying was the more accurate word.
As his mind wandered, Itachi felt someone looking at him. When he raised his eyes, he met the gaze of the woman who seemed so comfortable to be around. She set down her beer and began gesturing at him. It did not look like any secret signal. It was more like sign language. Itachi prided himself on understanding many codes, but sign language was not one of them.
"By the way, who are you?" Kisame asked on Itachi's behalf. He had met all of Akatsuki's members and had never heard of a mute trainee.
"Right, I haven't introduced you yet." Kakuzu looked at the woman, then said, "Hoshigaki Kisame, shinobi of Kirigakure. Uchiha Itachi, shinobi of Konoha." After that, he gestured again. "Amegakure shinobi, Zaraki Kita. You can think of her as an intern."
Zaraki Kita… Zaraki. Not exactly a pleasant surname.
Itachi nodded slightly, lowered his gaze, and said calmly, "Nice to meet you."
"Interesting," Kisame said casually, then asked, "Can a Zaraki really become a shinobi?"
Zaraki Kita froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded. She began gesturing again, then remembered that neither of them understood sign language. Just as she was about to take out paper and pen, Kakuzu spoke up.
"I'll translate."
Zaraki Kita nodded. After a series of gestures, Kakuzu conveyed her meaning faithfully.
"It was a coincidence. A lot happened. But now Amegakure is different."
As he spoke, Kakuzu looked at Itachi and asked, "She's asking if you have no appetite. Why aren't you eating?"
Itachi froze. He had not expected the question. He told a poorly executed lie.
"No, I'm just waiting for it to cool down."
The meat had already been moved off the heat. If it cooled any further, it would lose its flavor.
There was a subtle change in Zaraki Kita's expression, fleeting and brief. Itachi knew he had misspoken and did not dare look into those Fourth Hokage-like blue eyes. He missed the strange emotion that flashed across her face. Still, he could not ignore the many gazes around him. The feeling of being watched was unsettling.
"Hm? Where are you going?" The question came from Zaraki Kita. She shook her head and lifted her beer, gesturing simply.
You eat first. I'll eat later.
Kakuzu and Deidara exchanged glances. Deidara's sign language skills were nowhere near good enough to interpret one-handed shorthand. He asked in confusion, "What does that mean, old man? North sis, where are you going?"
"It's nothing," Tobi said casually. He had not eaten at all, just sat there holding a can of beer. Whenever he drank, he turned his head away, as if he did not want anyone to see his face.
Zaraki Kita smiled, waved her hand, and shook her beer, signaling that there was nothing more to say.
Deidara still did not understand. He turned to Kakuzu and pressed, "What did that mean just now? You can even do sign language with one hand? I've never seen that."
"She said she'll eat later."
Kakuzu glanced at the silent Itachi but said nothing more.
Itachi had expected to be questioned or pressured, but none of that happened. Kakuzu merely said while tending the grill, "Does Konoha care about things like that?"
"Who doesn't?" Kisame replied.
He had wanted to mention Amegakure, but after glancing at Zaraki Kita standing at the edge of the rooftop, leaning against the railing and watching the rain, he swallowed those words and said something else instead.
"Did the Kirigakure have that too?"
"A few," Kisame said, took a couple of gulps of beer to wash away the spiciness, then asked, "What about your village?"
"Yes," Kakuzu answered succinctly, then added, "No other meaning. Just being fair. It's nothing but a boring worldly notion."
The topic had grown heavy, clearly unsuitable for a barbecue. Realizing this, Kakuzu shook his beer can.
"Forget it. Drink."
"Hey, should we grill vegetables first or seafood?"
"Seafood. Kakuzu-san is really good at cooking," Kisame said. Tobi nodded enthusiastically.
"Kakuzu-san is a man who's cooked for decades!"
What Itachi wanted to say was that he meant nothing by it. That he did not discriminate against commoners. That Konoha did not have such a concept. That all life was equal.
But this was an open-air barbecue, far removed from such heavy topics. He did not have the heart to drag that oppressive atmosphere back again.