Amegakure.
"Leader, we have another job offer for Akatsuki from the underground black market," Black Zetsu emerged from the ground in his Akatsuki cloak, looking at Pain's puppet.
It had to be said—Nagato really had a mental issue. Black Zetsu had spoken to him in person several times, yet he insisted that for anything related to Akatsuki, he be addressed through the puppet of his dead best friend.
What a weirdo…
"Is that all? Give the job to Kakuzu, as usual," Pain replied coldly.
Though, considering he was a corpse that had been dead for years, expecting a warm response was pure delusion.
"I'm afraid the nature of the job is a bit… bigger this time," Black Zetsu did what he did best—manipulate gullible fools. "It also involves a jinchūriki and two of the Great Villages."
"Hmm?" Pain's puppet deigned to slightly turn its head, shifting its gaze from the rain outside to acknowledge Zetsu. "Continue your report to God."
If Black Zetsu had eyebrows, they would've twitched.
This whole "divinity" act was really starting to get on his nerves!
Who put all that nonsense into his head?
Ah, right—Obito. While being manipulated by him. Just like Madara.
No matter…
"I don't know if you've heard, but the Lightning Daimyo is no longer satisfied with his current territory. For some reason, he's grown bold and wants to expand the Land of Lightning," he began, giving some context about events outside Ame. "As you can imagine, he's delegated the task to Kumo…"
"Get to the point. God's time is precious."
Zetsu: …
You spend hours staring silently at the rain like an emo lost in the past, and now suddenly your time has value?
Is your time even worth a fraction of mine?
Though he felt like kicking the corpse off the tower, he forced himself to stay calm.
He was good at that—far too much time to practice.
"In short, Kumo is planning a major move against Kiri and the Land of Water," Black Zetsu suddenly felt tired. He didn't even know why he had spent three hours carefully preparing and modifying information to convince him.
He was talking to Nagato—the guy with a god complex who liked playing with corpses—not to the perceptive Konan!
Then again, following this insane Uzumaki required a kind of insight held together by reluctant friendship and plenty of unhealthy codependency…
"They expect our mercenary organization to send some capable members to stir trouble in the capital of the Land of Water," he continued. "I'll give the finer details to Konan later—for now, I just need to convince you. I think it's a good opportunity to capture the rogue Six-Tails jinchūriki, Utakata, without anyone noticing during the chaos," he added casually, laying out the bait. "Ah, Madara has already agreed—he believes it will be profitable."
Without knowing where the Three-Tails would reappear, Kiri was like Suna—a village with only one tailed beast.
Worse yet, their remaining jinchūriki had defected!
"Hmm…" Pain frowned at the idea of involving the organization with the nobles—not out of fear, but because a unified response from the rest of the world would be troublesome.
Still, they were talking about obtaining the Six-Tails without anyone knowing. Securing it would bring them nearly a tenth closer to their final goal. They could drug the host into unconsciousness—keeping him alive but defenseless would be easy.
And Black Zetsu knew the new Mizukage intended to bring him back once the village stabilized—he had already informed him of that. If sending a few members to exploit the chaos secured the jinchūriki before his return, it was hard to find reasons to refuse.
"You told me the new Mizukage was… capable," Pain refused to give credit to what he saw as an insignificant ant. "With her level of strength, sending just a couple of members won't be enough. What exactly is the task?"
"That's the best part," Black Zetsu let out a conspiratorial chuckle. "One of the White Zetsu overheard details of Kumo's attack plan and obtained insider information. Kiri is about to lose its head—we just need to cause some chaos in the capital of the Land of Water to draw Kiri's ninja there."
"Oh? They seem confident."
Clashes between Kumo and Kiri weren't new, but they usually ended inconclusively.
"Both sides will meet in an attempt at negotiations. The Water Daimyo intends to order the Mizukage to attend in person. Meanwhile, the representative from the other side will be Chad—the Dodomeki of Kumo."
"Chad?" Pain slightly lifted his eyelids upon hearing the name. "You mean…?"
"That one," Black Zetsu nodded seriously.
"Doesn't ring a bell."
Zetsu: …
Hold it together—don't kick him!
"Maybe if I tell you he's the one who took down Jiraiya, one of Konoha's Sannin, it'll sound more familiar?"
Though he said it neutrally, the intent to cause emotional discomfort was absolutely deliberate.
"…Jiraiya?" Now Pain was paying attention. "Tell me the details—leave nothing out."
Jiraiya had taken care of their group for a time—something that, even now, still puzzled Nagato despite his quiet gratitude.
Again… why hadn't Jiraiya been declared a rogue ninja back then?
Oh, right—his teacher's teacher was the Hokage.
Typical favoritism from those in power.
"It goes like this…"
…
"I see," Pain nodded with melancholy.
Or maybe he just nodded—it was hard to tell with an expressionless corpse whose face was covered in chakra rods.
Silence filled the room for several minutes.
"So… are we taking the job?" Black Zetsu asked, unsure whether Nagato was lost in memories or if the connection to the puppet had simply failed.
Wait—wouldn't Yahiko's corpse have collapsed by now?
Then again, with all the modifications… maybe it would stay upright?
Suddenly, he felt like testing that theory.
"This Chad… will he participate in the war?" Pain asked quietly.
Uh oh—bad sign.
"He will," Black Zetsu didn't want Nagato confronting Chad—not before they dealt with Obito. "But I don't recommend making a move against him. He's well-known and has a strong reputation. Doing anything to him would basically turn all of Kumo against us," he explained quickly. "They wouldn't just put bounties on our heads like usual—we're talking about direct action."
"To reach here, they would have to cross the Land of Fire first," Pain scoffed, turning his gaze back to the endless rain.
"No—Chad could show up here alone and slap your real body to death," Black Zetsu countered mentally. "With you dead, the rain detection would disappear, and who knows what Konan would do when she finds you while stepping out to buy bread."
Black Zetsu was well aware of Konan's massive purchases of explosive tags—he didn't want those used against Chad.
"The bonds of the past will remain in the past. Only when the world understands pain can true peace be achieved," Pain shook his head, discarding the idea of avenging his teacher without hesitation.
He knew they might have to face him eventually to obtain the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki. If anything, he felt slightly grateful to Chad—for sparing him that uncomfortable confrontation where he might have become the student who kills his own master.
"Send the details to Konan. Akatsuki will move to seize the Six-Tails during the chaos," Pain ordered, before once again becoming still, staring at the rain.
"That went better than expected," Black Zetsu thought, secretly relieved as he left. "Obito was even easier to convince!"
Although Obito felt dissatisfied upon learning the new Mizukage wouldn't die during the war, when he heard she would switch sides due to some Kumo plan—and imagined the look of betrayal from her people, the broken hearts, the shattered faith drowning Kiri in absolute despair…
Obito actually thought it wasn't so bad!