"Who's the target?" Kisame asked bluntly.
His voice was rough and hoarse, carrying an almost bloodthirsty anticipation.
Samehada trembled faintly behind him, as if it, too, were looking forward to a satisfying fight.
Pain didn't answer right away.
His gaze swept over everyone before settling, at last, on a silent direction among the projections.
Itachi's eyes remained lowered, with no reaction at all.
Kakuzu suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse and dark.
"Don't tell me… it's that guy?"
"Huh?" Hidan tilted his head, crimson eyes full of confusion.
"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of silent code is this? Which guy?"
He looked at Kakuzu, then Sasori, then Pain, irritated.
"Who does Iwagakure want to deal with? Say it clearly!"
"Oh, wait, are they trying to get the Kazekage killed? Then I'm all for it!"
"That guy almost crushed me with a mountain last time. Jashin-sama is definitely going to love him!"
"…"
Kakuzu's mouth twitched.
He very much wanted to remind Hidan that last time it was the three of them who got smashed by a mountain.
And if they hadn't run fast enough, this idiot would already be visiting his precious Jashin-sama.
But after thinking about it, he decided to let it go.
Explaining things to an idiot only turned you into an idiot.
Deidara got even more impatient.
He shoved forward, lowering his voice.
"Hey, hey, hey! Who are you talking about?"
"How come I'm the only one who doesn't know?"
"Who does the old man want to blow up? I can help! My art…"
"Your art is too noisy," Sasori cut in coldly.
Deidara glared at him, about to snap back, when Pain's voice sounded again, pressing down all the chatter.
"The target…"
His Rinnegan swept over them.
"Sunagakure's Sixth Kazekage…"
"Teizawa."
Dead silence.
A deeper silence than before.
Even the drip of water in the cave seemed to pause for a beat.
Hidan's mouth opened, then snapped shut.
Kakuzu's green eyes flickered once. He said nothing.
Sasori narrowed his eyes slightly.
Kisame's grin froze, then slowly split wider, showing rows of sharp teeth.
"Heh… interesting."
Itachi finally lifted his gaze.
In the red of his Sharingan, three tomoe turned once, slowly, then stilled again.
Deidara stared for several seconds, and then…
"Huh?"
He almost jumped out of place.
"You mean… that guy who drops mountains on people? The one Hidan's talking about? The old man wants him blown up?"
"That's the Kazekage! I just heard he wiped out over a thousand Iwa-nin. Is that for real? No wonder the old man hates him…"
Kakuzu finally couldn't hold back, his voice edged with wariness.
"Otherwise why wouldn't Iwagakure do it themselves?"
Deidara blinked, then nodded as it clicked.
"Oh… yeah. Fair."
He paused, scratched his head again.
"But a billion is still cheap, isn't it? That's a village's Kage! Why isn't the old man paying more?"
"…"
For once, Kakuzu had to admit Deidara's point actually made sense.
That was the Kazekage.
A Kage, one of the Five Great Nations' top combat assets.
A billion?
He frowned, but didn't say it aloud.
Either way, if the money wasn't enough, he could always make the client raise the price… and if they refused?
Then he'd kill the client too and take double.
He'd done it more than once.
Pain's voice sounded again.
"Mission content: assault Sunagakure, eliminate Sunagakure's Kazekage Teizawa."
"The client's requirement: you must act during the ninja delegates' summit Sunagakure is about to host. Create chaos in Sunagakure… and attempt to kill the current Kazekage."
Sasori asked, "Wouldn't it be easier to draw him out of Sunagakure and strike elsewhere?"
"What 'ninja delegates' summit'? You're a missing-nin from Sunagakure and even you don't know, and you expect us to?" Deidara complained.
"Iwagakure demanded it," Konan cut in, interrupting the bickering. She spoke at last. "They suspect Sunagakure is looking for something…"
She paused, then added, "It may be related to Ōnoki's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, going missing."
"Huh," Deidara said in surprise, "Kurotsuchi disappeared? Did Sunagakure grab her? What an idiot…"
The others' expressions didn't change.
No one cared about Kurotsuchi.
What they cared about was invading Sunagakure, and striking Teizawa.
Pain's voice remained flat.
"The target recently annihilated Iwagakure's infiltration unit with overwhelming force. Initial assessment: extremely strong."
"And he is proficient in Earth Release, Magnet Release, and unknown large-scale ninjutsu… danger rating… S+."
"Recommendation: operate in a team, at least three members."
He paused.
"Who's taking it?"
Silence.
A few seconds later…
"Me."
Kakuzu spoke first. A feverish glint flashed in his green eyes.
"His heart… is mine."
Last time that bastard destroyed two of his hearts. This debt had to be repaid.
He added the rest silently to himself.
"I'm going too."
Sasori's voice was hoarse and calm, as if he were stating something ordinary.
"The Third Kazekage puppet… needs maintenance. And while I'm there, I'll see whether the new Kazekage is worthy of becoming a new piece in my collection."
That was how he said it.
But in truth, as long as it involved Sunagakure…
Sasori wanted to be there.
"Interesting."
"And me, me, me?" Hidan shoved forward anxiously.
"I'm going too! Last time I almost got crushed by a mountain. This time I'm going to offer his blood to Jashin-sama!"
"You can," Kakuzu said coldly.
"But if you get buried again, no one's digging you out."
Hidan: "…"
"I'll go take a look too," Deidara said, scratching his head.
"It's work the old man's paying for. Feels wrong not to take it."
"And besides… dropping mountains on people? How strong is his Earth Release, really? I want to measure my art against him!"
He paused, then added,
"My art is way better than his, yeah."
Sasori let out a quiet, mocking snort and said nothing.
Itachi stayed silent.
He didn't say he would go, and he didn't say he wouldn't.
Pain's gaze lingered on him for a heartbeat, then shifted away.
"Then it's decided."
"Kakuzu, Sasori, Hidan, Deidara. Four-man team. You'll execute."
"Everyone else is on standby."
"Target intel will be synchronized through the rings later."
"Dismissed."
The projections began to waver, dispersing one by one.
Hidan was the last to vanish. As he went, he was still shouting:
"Hey, hey, hey, wait, I'm not done! Remember to save his blood for me…"
The voice cut off abruptly.
The cave fell back into dead silence.
Only the massive statue remained, watching over everything in the dark without a word.
The dripping continued.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
(End of Chapter)
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