Of course, it wasn't Zabuza.
Zabuza was just a Missing-nin, a Rogue Ninja. How much money could he possibly have?
Amemiya Kenichi had his sights set on Gato, the man who had hired Zabuza for the mission. Gato was one of the world's wealthiest individuals at the time, and he undoubtedly had a substantial fortune—a very promising asset.
But that was for later. Kenichi wasn't entirely sure if Gato had reached that level yet. He could check when he needed the money.
Holding the empty ring, Kenichi left. Konan said his clothes would be provided later, and they even needed to take his measurements—surprisingly thorough.
After Kenichi departed, Konan and Nagato returned to Akatsuki's tower.
"Nagato, are you truly comfortable letting these two Konoha Missing-nin join us?" Konan asked, handing him the two rings.
Akatsuki planned to implement an elite strategy, so the number of rings was limited. Now, two were gone in an instant.
"Cough, cough. It's fine. They're strong, but I'm not worried," Nagato said, shaking his head. The Akatsuki organization was currently just a handful of members. They couldn't even think about their grand plans yet; just expanding was a struggle.
Only someone who's actually run an organization knows how hard it is. Most of their future plans would require money, so they had no choice but to recruit powerful Missing-nin and send them on missions.
"I've heard of a bounty hunter ninja named Kakuzu," Nagato said, turning to Konan. The Akatsuki needed time and money to grow, and Kakuzu had been the first target Nagato had set his sights on.
But unexpectedly, those two Missing-nin from Konoha had approached them first, wanting to join. They'd become the Akatsuki's first members by chance.
"I understand," Konan said, understanding her friend's meaning. It seemed things were about to get lively for the Akatsuki.
Meanwhile, Amemiya Kenichi was running. The Land of Rain had nothing else to worry about besides the Akatsuki, so he planned to return to his teacher as soon as possible to report on his mission.
Amemiya Kenichi didn't stop running until he reached the border of the Land of Fire. There, he slowed down, carefully checked for patrolling ninja, and then slipped across.
It had been half a month since Kenichi had left to carry out the mission his teacher had assigned him.
The Ninja World remained unchanged, but Kenichi noticed that the number of ninja patrolling the Land of Fire's border seemed to have decreased.
This was unusual. Border patrols were crucial, and they wouldn't be reduced unless something urgent had come up.
"Could it be that other ninja villages, seeing the Fourth Hokage's death and our defection, are testing Konoha's strength?" Kenichi stroked his chin, considering the possibility.
It seemed likely. The opportunity was too good to pass up. The Fourth Hokage had fallen in battle, Konoha had suffered attacks, and now Kenichi and his teacher had defected. The village was at its weakest.
"I wonder how Yuki is doing," Kenichi thought as he moved swiftly through the forest. With his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, his speed had increased significantly.
Amemiya Kenichi even felt he had a good chance of learning the Flying Thunder God Technique, now that his dynamic vision had improved so much.
Still, he decided to return to base first to check in and tell his teacher about Akatsuki.
He wasn't worried about his teacher's reaction. After all, mentioning Pain's eyes—the Rinnegan, the legendary Sage's eyes—would definitely pique his interest.
So Amemiya Kenichi wasn't concerned about his teacher refusing to join Akatsuki. Besides, there were plenty of benefits to joining.
For starters, those incredible ninjutsu, those bizarre bloodlines, and even Hidan's Evil God cult—they all fascinated Amemiya Kenichi.
But he knew better than to bite off more than he could chew. He decided to study them one by one. Later, he could learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique from his teacher to speed things up.
Honestly, the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was a god-tier skill. In Amemiya Kenichi's opinion, it was far superior to any other ninjutsu.
How much time could he save with several clones perfectly in sync with his will? And after the clones dispersed, their experience and memories would flow back to his main body—it was simply incredible!
To put it plainly, even back in his previous life, with this ninjutsu and a bit of disguise, he could have juggled dozens of jobs solo, raking in cash like crazy.
Of course, identity issues and fatigue management would still be a problem.
After another two or three days, Amemiya Kenichi finally reached the long-awaited entrance to his laboratory. Following his teacher's instructions, he opened the door and quickly stepped inside, the door closing behind him.
"Mission complete?" A crisp voice rang out. Amemiya Kenichi paused, startled. Why did that voice sound so familiar?
He stroked his chin, then remembered: it was almost the same tone he'd used when provoking Yuki earlier.
"Teacher?" Amemiya Kenichi's mind raced. Could it be that while he was out on his mission, his teacher had perfected the Immortality Reincarnation technique and successfully transferred his soul into this female ninja's body?
"How's the investigation going?" A petite figure emerged from the dim light, wearing Yuki's face, yet Amemiya Kenichi felt a strange sense of familiarity.
This had to be his teacher, Orochimaru. It seemed he had truly mastered the Immortality Reincarnation technique and had reincarnated while Kenichi was investigating the Rain Ninja Village.
"Um, something happened in the Land of Rain. Demigod Hanzo is dead," Kenichi said, his expression odd. Though he knew this was his teacher, Orochimaru, the contrast was honestly too jarring.
Besides, Kenichi remembered his teacher usually disguised himself with his own face. Why wasn't he doing that now? Why had he chosen to keep this female ninja's original appearance?
In the dim light, Kenichi could see the female ninja's large eyes, cherry-like lips, fair skin, and delicate features.
Kenichi swallowed hard. Yuki had been a girl with soft golden hair, which only made her even more appealing.