Nagato generally relied on the power of the Rinnegan, while Yahiko utilized some Water Style ninjutsu. As for the others in the Akatsuki, they were either commoners born of wild paths or Ame ninja who had joined the organization later. None of them possessed any high-level ninjutsu.
Shimizu came from the renowned Uchiha Clan of the ninja world. Konan didn't think he would even look twice at B-rank ninjutsu. Her Paper Ninjutsu might have met his requirements, but unfortunately, it was a technique almost no one else could learn. She had tried teaching it to Nagato and Yahiko, but in the end, it was fruitless.
"Miss Konan, this puts me in a very difficult position."
Shimizu stood up and brewed a pot of tea. These were high-quality tea leaves he had retrieved directly from Konohagakure using the Flying Raijin Technique.
"Mm... thank you."
Konan felt troubled; after all, Shimizu had no interest in anything she currently possessed. She thanked him softly and accepted the teacup. She took a gentle sip. Once her lips were slightly moistened, she took the initiative to speak.
"Is there really no other requirement?"
"Miss Konan, you are very beautiful," Shimizu said, taking a sip of his own tea.
Hearing Shimizu's sudden jump in topic, Konan's heart skipped a beat. Her hand trembled slightly, causing the tea to splash over the rim of the cup.
"Careful."
Shimizu helped Konan steady the cup. He used his hand to cover Konan's warm, small hand, stabilizing her grip. He began to look her over. Her skin was fair, the bridge of her nose high and straight, and her lips were thin and tightly pursed. Under her eyes, beneath the light purple eyeshadow, there was a faint redness, suggesting she had been crying earlier.
This unique expression only added a touch of resilience to Konan's demeanor. With her curvaceous figure highlighted, she looked like a blue lotus blooming in the darkness—beautiful, yet dangerous. It was a kind of bewitching temperament that many women lacked. Yet, looking closely, it seemed almost like an illusion.
"As expected of a wildflower growing in the wilderness," Shimizu sighed.
The charm of a wildflower was far more fragrant than those women who had never endured hardship.
"Mr. Shimizu, please let go of me."
Konan added the formal "Mr." but her tone was unkind. This was entirely because Shimizu's hand was still covering the back of hers. From a distance, it looked as though Shimizu was warming her hands.
"Miss Konan, didn't you say beforehand that any compensation would do?"
Not only did Shimizu not let go, but he also rubbed his thumb against her skin a few times.
Smooth. Tender.
That was Shimizu's sensation. It was hard to imagine that a woman who fought day in and day out could have such delicate hands.
Konan's face flushed with anger, and she forcefully pulled her hand away.
Clatter...
The teacup fell to the floor and shattered. Tea mixed with leaves spread across the wooden boards. The atmosphere between the two turned frigid.
Angry, traces of paper began to surface on Konan's body. Her feet gently lifted off the ground as a pair of massive wings made of piled paper sheets sprouted from her back, suspending her in mid-air.
Rustle, rustle...
Paper sheets flew chaotically, overturning various objects in the room.
"Nagato and I promised to give you compensation, but you cannot go too far."
Seeing Konan's posture, ready to strike at any moment, Shimizu's expression also turned cold. He scoffed, "In that case, please leave, Miss Konan. Since you do not accept my transaction, I believe there is no room for further cooperation between us."
With a frosty expression, Shimizu opened the door.
Konan hovered in mid-air, biting her lower lip. Her reaction just now had been out of shock and anger. Who knew Shimizu would be so tough as to immediately cancel the deal? What about Nagato and Yahiko's injuries?
Konan descended from the air, her ninja sandals touching the floor as she retracted her Dance of the Shikigami, and chased after Shimizu.
"Nagato, you are not welcome here. Please leave. Consider the black rods you gave me earlier as payment."
Shimizu opened the living room door and stood at the entrance. Nagato looked confused and surprised. What had happened inside the room? Why was Shimizu taking this attitude?
Seeing Shimizu storm out in anger, Nagato instinctively assumed Konan had offended him somehow. If Shimizu had offended Konan, surely Konan would be the one storming out.
"Shimizu... we can still talk."
Konan ran out. Nagato cast his gaze toward her. Both their clothes were intact, and he hadn't sensed any fluctuations of a battle. Only Konan's chakra had flared briefly before settling down again.
"There is nothing to talk about. Please return. Yahiko simply needs to rest and recuperate," Shimizu said, glancing at Yahiko. "As for whether he can continue being a ninja, that depends on his own fortune."
Shimizu issued the eviction order once again.
Nagato and Konan looked at each other. Both of them were currently low on chakra. Moreover, it was impossible for them to attack the benefactor who had just treated Yahiko. In the end, Nagato, without saying a word, carried Yahiko on his back and walked away, trembling.
Before leaving, Konan's eyes flashed with a mixture of anger and self-blame.
Shimizu watched them leave with a blank expression. The first step was merely to test Konan's bottom line. To put it plainly, getting the Black Chakra Receivers meant he had already profited.
Currently, in the entire ninja world, only Obito and Nagato possessed these Black Chakra Receivers. One could also count Jigen, who was hiding among the ordinary populace. These items were rare commodities worldwide. They could transmit chakra remotely and disrupt an enemy's chakra. If he could understand their principles, perhaps he could create a means of long-distance communication or learn to create puppets like Nagato did.
That was the first use.
The second point was that they were incredibly convenient in combat, suitable for temporarily restraining enemies. In battle, using Sealing Jutsu consumed chakra. However, the Black Chakra Receivers essentially functioned as weapons; no matter how many times they were used, they did not consume the user's chakra.
"Time to go see Orochimaru."
Shimizu tidied up the messy room, left the house, and headed toward Orochimaru's base. Danzō Shimura was currently preparing his route back to the village. Orochimaru, however, could stay a while longer due to his experiments. On the surface, it was legitimate research; in private, he was experimenting on the people of the Land of Rain. In a country plagued by endless civil war, no one would notice a few people going missing every day. However, Orochimaru had not yet let Shimizu participate in human experimentation, limiting him to biological gene research. He was likely assessing whether Shimizu was trustworthy.
Ten minutes later, Shimizu arrived at Orochimaru's base. His own house was very close to the base, a deliberate arrangement by the Sannin.
"Heh, Shimizu-kun, you're here early."
"En." Shimizu nodded.
Orochimaru loved that gloomy, sinister smile; he resembled a venomous snake extending its tongue. Shimizu went about his familiar experiments. He was secretly stealing many of Orochimaru's techniques; on the path of scientific research, Shimizu absorbed knowledge hungrily.
"Shimizu-kun, you really are eager to learn," Orochimaru asked while conducting his own experiment. "Eternal life... do you believe it exists in this world?"
"Of course it exists." Shimizu nodded.
Regarding the legitimate Ōtsutsuki clan, he had never seen one die of old age. The Sage of Six Paths' brother didn't use Karma, or perhaps didn't know how, so he died. Even so, the Sage of Six Paths' soul and his sons' chakra continued to flow through this world. Whether the Sage would exist forever or eventually die of old age was an unknown variable.
"Oh?" Orochimaru cast a surprised look. He had asked many people this question, but no one had answered as readily and unthinkingly as Shimizu.
"I once heard Jiraiya-sama tell legends about Mount Myōboku. According to him, there is an old toad living there that has survived for a thousand years. It might have been alive since the time of the Sage of Six Paths." Shimizu fed a white snake a dose of adjusted serum. "So, why can't we stretch that scale further? A thousand years, ten thousand years, a million years?"
"And how do you think one should achieve that, Shimizu-kun?"
"I heard that after death, people enter the Pure Land and exist in that paradise. This implies the soul has an extremely long lifespan. If there were a jutsu that could continuously seize the bodies of others as containers, perhaps one could achieve eternal youth and immortality."
"Heh heh... we truly are birds of a feather."
A brilliant light burst from Orochimaru's eyes. He fully approved of Shimizu's concept. In fact, that was exactly what he was doing. Orochimaru already had a prototype for that jutsu in his mind. He called it "Living Corpse Reincarnation."
Orochimaru stared at Shimizu—that handsome face, the perfect physique, and the faint fluctuations of chakra radiating from him. Everything indicated that Shimizu's body was the vessel he had been pursuing. If he used this body, he would surely step into a higher realm and go much further.
What a pity, Shimizu-kun. If you didn't possess the Sharingan, perhaps we could have been like-minded friends.
Orochimaru did not say this sentence aloud. He simply recited it in his heart, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. Shimizu, working beside him, was already used to this. He continued to guard against Orochimaru while stealing his knowledge. By the time he had squeezed all the value out of Orochimaru, he would let this venomous snake know what things should absolutely never be coveted.
The Akatsuki Base
Konan looked at the devastated architecture, the scattered limbs, and the blood-soaked headquarters, hanging her head in silence.
"Konan, let's rest here temporarily. Any surviving comrades will return here."
Nagato set Yahiko down. Currently, Hanzō of the Salamander likely considered the Akatsuki an organization on the brink of collapse and wouldn't send too many pursuers. It was unlikely they would double back to the headquarters they had just slaughtered. As the saying goes, the darkest place is under the candlestick. The most dangerous place was the safest.
"Mm." Konan murmured a response, her voice devoid of emotion, faintly depressed.
The two fell silent. Only the sound of three people breathing rose and fell in the room.
Clang.
Suddenly, a noise rang out. Konan and Nagato looked warily toward the source of the sound.
"Konan, I'm so glad you're okay."
Kyūsuke walked over, clutching the wound of his severed arm.
"Kyūsuke!" Nagato and Konan cried out urgently.
Kyūsuke leaned against the wall, walking over step by step. His black robe was soaked in blood, his face pale and the light blue markings on his face dim. He looked to be on the verge of death. Nagato endured the severe pain in his legs and helped Kyūsuke to a chair to rest.
"Thank you, Nagato. How is Yahiko?" Kyūsuke looked at Yahiko, who was lying on a makeshift bed of pushed-together chairs.
"He's fine. He just needs rest," Nagato said after a moment of silence. He didn't want to cause panic within the Akatsuki. Yahiko was everyone's backbone; he couldn't let everyone think there was something wrong with him.
"Is that so? But Daibutsu..." Tears fell from Kyūsuke's eyes, his face twisted in pain. "We encountered an attacker. Daibutsu died there protecting me. I survived by luck, but I lost my right hand."
His right hand was his dominant hand; he was effectively half-crippled. Nagato didn't speak, silently watching the weeping Kyūsuke. After a long while, he looked around blankly. The smell of blood permeated every corner. The severed hands and heads remaining on the ground belonged to masters who, just yesterday, had been celebrating with him. Celebrating that Hanzō had finally acknowledged the Akatsuki, that they were one step closer to their ideal.
Now, it had ended like this.
Finally, he said, "Everything will get better."
Konan nodded along. Yahiko was still here. Although many had died, they could certainly rise again, find Hanzō, and avenge their fallen comrades.
"By the way, Konan, how did you get into a conflict with Shimizu Uchiha?"
Nagato, who hadn't pressed the issue during their journey, finally asked. He had thought about it a lot just now. Pulling Shimizu to their side was definitely more viable than alienating him or making him an enemy. He hated Konoha people himself, but looking at Jiraiya-sensei, not all Konoha people were bad. Shimizu Uchiha hadn't done anything out of line. His only request was for them to gather some intelligence on orphanages; other than that, he asked for nothing. He had even healed Yahiko, and all he paid were a few black rods. Nagato could create those anytime.
Honestly, he didn't understand why Shimizu wanted those things. Nagato felt Shimizu might know something; after all, the Sharingan was one of the Three Great Dōjutsu, implying a potential connection between them.
"He..." Konan found it difficult to speak.
What should she say? That she fell out with Shimizu because he touched her hand, damaging their relationship and potentially jeopardizing Yahiko and Nagato's follow-up treatment?
"He didn't hurt you, did he?!" Nagato asked urgently. Seeing Konan hesitating, he wondered if there was a hidden story.
"No, that didn't happen." Konan shook her head. Shimizu hadn't shown any hostility. His actions were limited to touching her hand; it didn't reach the level of harm.
"Then what exactly..." Nagato was confused. Every time he asked, she was evasive, yet she claimed it was nothing. Could 'nothing' cause a scene like that?
"I will go talk to Shimizu next time. Kyūsuke also needs treatment, and other comrades should be returning soon."
Nagato shouldered the responsibilities of the leader. With Yahiko incapacitated, he was the acting leader of the Akatsuki!
"Alright." Konan sighed. Actually, it wasn't a major issue. Since Nagato said he would negotiate with Shimizu Uchiha, let Nagato go. It was better for her to avoid Shimizu anyway.
The next day.
A knock came from Shimizu's small house.
"Nagato, I've already told you, there's nothing to discuss. Please leave."
Opening the door and seeing Nagato, Shimizu immediately moved to close it.
"Shimizu-kun." Nagato added the honorific to show respect. "Our Akatsuki organization needs you. If you want those black rods, I can give you as many as you want. Whether it's money or anything else, I can satisfy you, as long as you are willing to treat our Akatsuki ninja."
Nagato spoke very sincerely. Last night, more comrades had trickled in. Everyone had injuries, and a few were critically wounded, essentially clinging to life. The news that the Akatsuki was being targeted by Hanzō had already spread today. Many formerly neutral factions began to draw a line, unwilling to provide aid.
The Akatsuki truly had nowhere to turn. Even though he possessed the powerful Rinnegan, he couldn't heal his comrades.
"Please leave. I don't need the black rods anymore. What you can give me is too little unless you can bring out something I actually value."
Nagato knocked on the door, asking, "What is it?"
However, the only response Nagato received was the sound of footsteps walking away. Shimizu left the first floor and went up to the second. Outside the door, Nagato was speechless for a moment, clenching his fists. A thought instantly rose in his mind to force Shimizu into submission with martial power. But immediately, he recalled that Yahiko had woken up and instructed him before he left that he absolutely must not use force.
"Akatsuki... where do we go from here?" Nagato murmured, leaving the premises.
Listening to the pitter-patter of the rain outside, Shimizu glanced out the window. Nagato was gone.
Shimizu patted a slightly rain-dampened envelope. It was a letter delivered by a courier ninja this morning; he hadn't had time to open it before running into Nagato. Opening it, he saw it was a new letter from Nono Yakushi, sent to the Uchiha settlement. Shimizu had notified Guren beforehand that if any letters arrived, they should be forwarded to the Land of Rain.
Inside, it was unsurprisingly about the orphanage lacking money. It had only been a short time since the last aid.
"This time, thirty thousand ryo."
Shimizu reduced the amount once again, stuffing thirty thousand ryo into the envelope to pressure Nono Yakushi. He gave the letter to the courier ninja to deliver to the orphanage.
Turning around, he walked into the rain and jumped into a lake.
Hiss...
White steam rose from his body. A long serpent of flame encircled Shimizu's form. Crimson chakra light emerged from Shimizu's exterior, looking like a piece of magma dropped into the pitch-black lake bottom. Bubbles appeared one after another around him, and the weeds in the lake wilted from the high temperature.
Next to the corner of his mouth, a tube formed of rotating white chakra extended upward, causing the water to churn as it reached beyond the surface of the lake. This was Shimizu's breathing tube, used to obtain oxygen from the lake bottom. Fish and insects scattered, daring not to approach.
He was training. He was making his fine control over chakra even stronger.
Fire Style: Chakra Mode.
This mode caused high temperatures to rise from the body's surface. What Shimizu needed to do now was to maximize the temperature of the flames in this state, constantly boiling and evaporating the surrounding water. Whenever the lake water cooled his body surface and extinguished the flames, Shimizu would timely replenish his chakra, maintaining a balance.
"When I have time, I should go to the coast. The deep-sea pressure there should help me train every muscle in my body," Shimizu thought to himself.
He continued his ceaseless cultivation.
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