Thursday, May 1, noon.
After training all morning, Kitazawa rested with his head on Konan's lap, enjoying her massage as he drifted off to sleep.
He didn't know how much time passed before someone knocked on the door.
Kitazawa opened his eyes on instinct. The first thing he saw was half of Konan's face—the other half hidden behind her clothes.
"Do you want me to send him away?" Konan asked, meeting his gaze.
"At this hour, the only one who'd come looking for me is probably Iruka," Kitazawa said as he sat up and shook his head. "If he's here, it means something's up."
"Then I'll step out," Konan said, picking up her Anbu mask as if to leave.
But the next second, Kitazawa caught her wrist.
"Is there something else?" Konan looked at him, confused.
Kitazawa didn't answer. He leaned in and kissed her.
Konan froze for a beat, but she didn't protest.
Ever since the last time they'd kissed and crossed that line in their relationship, it had started happening more and more often. At first she'd instinctively resisted, but once she got used to it, she simply let him do as he pleased.
That was exactly what Kitazawa wanted.
Konan wasn't like Tsunade—this was the fastest way to close the distance between them.
"Come out after he leaves," Kitazawa said, watching her breathe a little unsteadily as he gently brushed her cheek.
Konan didn't say anything. She just looked at him.
Kitazawa let go and walked to his desk.
By the time he sat down, Konan had already vanished.
"Come in."
Kitazawa lifted his head toward the door.
"Kitazawa-senpai." Iruka Umino pushed the door open. "These are the midterm papers for next week. Please take a look."
"No issues." Kitazawa finished reading and handed them back. "Make copies according to the number of students in the Advanced Class."
"There's one more thing." Iruka took the papers and asked, "Shion has already learned the Leaf-Style body technique and the three basic jutsu. What should I teach her next?"
"You don't need to teach her anymore. Go focus on preparing for the midterms," Kitazawa said with a wave.
"Understood." Iruka had expected it, so he stayed calm. He gave a slight bow and left.
"Kitazawa, are you going to keep napping?" Konan reappeared and asked.
"No. Class starts in fifteen minutes. Come here." Kitazawa glanced at the wall clock and walked over to the sofa.
Konan stepped up in front of him.
"I'm just going to close my eyes for ten minutes." Kitazawa sat down, reached out, and pulled her into his arms.
Konan paused, then sat on his lap and let him hold her.
Kitazawa pressed his face into her hair and closed his eyes.
He didn't actually fall asleep. His thoughts drifted to next week's midterms.
He'd already promised Konan that he would go with her to find Oyashiro En.
He didn't care whether Oyashiro En joined the Akatsuki.
Even if Oyashiro En was strong, at most he was an elite jōnin—no real threat to Kitazawa.
In fact, by now, the only one in the Akatsuki who could truly threaten him was Nagato.
At most, maybe Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu as well.
Obito was mainly dangerous because Kamui made him hard to catch.
But Kitazawa knew Kamui's weaknesses well.
Obito's threat to Kitazawa himself was limited—his threat to the people around Kitazawa was the bigger problem.
Still, once Kitazawa learned the Flying Thunder God Technique, Obito would be a complete non-issue—nothing more than a stray on the roadside.
Black Zetsu was dangerous because of the unknown.
In the original story, it even managed to pull off a lethal betrayal against Ten-Tails jinchūriki Uchiha Madara.
With Kitazawa's current level, there was no way he could stop a sneak attack like that.
On the other hand, Black Zetsu probably didn't have much in the way of direct combat power.
Kitazawa came back to himself and started thinking about who to take on the mission.
The first person he thought of was Hinata Hyuga.
Because there was a good chance this would involve tracking someone down.
Kitazawa remembered that Chino trained at Oyashiro En's residence.
Oyashiro En's training style was similar to what Orochimaru did in the Hidden Sound Village—throwing a group of prodigies into brutal sparring against each other.
After Chino awakened the Ketsuryūgan, he took her to a fighting arena to temper her.
In other words, Chino was either at Oyashiro En's residence, or at the arena.
The second person he thought of was Uchiha Sasuke.
Because the Uchiha clan and the Chinoike clan had a long history.
But thinking carefully, "history" was a polite word—what they really had was a blood feud.
To avoid accidents, Kitazawa ultimately dropped the idea.
If it made Konan's recruitment fail, it wouldn't be worth it.
After a moment's thought, he settled on the remaining two trainees: Haku and Ino Yamanaka.
There wasn't any deep reason for choosing Ino—he picked her on a whim.
As for Haku, Kitazawa had a system task tied to him. On the road, Kitazawa could teach him Water Release.
Ten minutes passed quickly.
Kitazawa lifted a hand and patted Konan lightly.
Konan stood up and slipped out of his arms.
"I'm heading out. You don't have to follow me this afternoon—you can go rest at the Anbu base," Kitazawa told her, then left the office.
Lunch break ended, and the Advanced Class trainees resumed their training on the field.
"Shion." Kitazawa found her and said, "Today I'm teaching you fūinjutsu. We'll start with the Finger Carving Seal."
The training path he'd prepared for Shion—her growth route—was modeled after Karin's: first sealing techniques, then medical ninjutsu, and finally taijutsu.
[Current Mission: Teach Shion five sealing techniques within one year.]
[Mission Reward: Five Elements Seal.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa thought: That's a nice surprise.
Learning five sealing techniques in a year would normally be very hard.
But Shion had studied sealing techniques her whole life. Her fundamentals were solid, and she learned quickly.
For example, the finger-etched seal.
It wasn't that difficult to begin with—Kitazawa estimated she could master it within half a month.
And with his careful guidance, five sealing techniques in a year might actually be possible.
Besides, the system didn't specify the rank of the sealing techniques. If needed, they could start with simpler ones.
The reward was the Five Elements Seal, an A-rank technique—reasonable.
Its effect was to disrupt the target's existing sealing structure.
In the original story, Orochimaru used the Five Elements Seal to interfere with the Four Symbols Seal Namikaze Minato had placed on Uzumaki Naruto.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
He'd already learned most of the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts.
But if you asked what he wanted most, it would obviously be Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Unfortunately, from what the original story suggested, it was less a "technique" and more an innate ability—something like a bloodline trait of the Uzumaki.
Karin, for example, burst it out in a desperate moment without anyone ever teaching her.
"I wonder how to trigger a system mission related to Adamantine Sealing Chains," Kitazawa thought.
He suspected it would be extremely hard for someone outside the Uzumaki to learn—so he could only leave it to the system.
He didn't dwell on it. After teaching Shion, he left a shadow clone to guide her.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Just then, Haku walked over.
"What is it, Haku?" Kitazawa asked.
"I learned Water Release: Wild Water Wave," Haku replied.
Kitazawa nodded.
Haku's talent in Water Release really was rare—one in a hundred, at least.
If Haku learned four more Water Release techniques, he'd complete his system task.
"Then today I'll teach you Water Release: Water Formation Wall," Kitazawa said, forming hand seals and splitting off a shadow clone.
A week passed in the blink of an eye. Thursday came again.
The Advanced Class midterms arrived right on schedule.
Just like before: Thursday was the written exam, Friday was the practical exam.
Kitazawa didn't go to the training academy. He went to the Forest of Death to practice his Wood Release ranking-display technique.
That afternoon, Konan appeared in front of him with the written exam score sheet.
Kitazawa glanced over it—nothing had really changed.
Iruka's exam difficulty was about the same every time.
Under those conditions, the written rankings were usually stable.
Of course, once in a while, a few trainees would slip due to various factors.
"By the way, the Akatsuki didn't push you?" Kitazawa asked Konan.
Normally, she should've gone to find Oyashiro En the week before last.
"No," Konan said. "Our leader won't care about small issues like that."
To Nagato, the Akatsuki's value was ultimately tied to one thing: the Demonic Statue's Nine Dragons Sealing Technique for extracting tailed beasts.
Besides, he trusted Konan completely and didn't micromanage her.
"We've already waited half a month. That's long enough. We leave tomorrow," Kitazawa said, putting away the score sheet.
"Okay." Konan hesitated, then asked, "Anything else?"
Kitazawa shook his head.
Konan put on her Anbu mask and left.
The next day—Friday, 9:00 a.m.
"…Team Six will be led by me. The members are Hyuga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, and Haku."
Kitazawa smiled. "That's it for grouping. Go find your respective instructors."
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino rushed up and hugged his arm.
Hinata instinctively bit her lip.
She wasn't as bold as Ino, so she was a step slower.
"You're that happy to go on an outside mission?" Kitazawa asked, glancing at Ino.
"I'm happy because I get to do a mission with you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino beamed.
"Well, I'm honored." Kitazawa pulled his arm free. "No time to waste. We're leaving now."
"Kitazawa-sensei." Hinata moved to his left and asked, "What's the mission?"
"We're going to the Land of Lightning to find a merchant named Oyashiro En." Kitazawa patted her head.
Hinata's expression softened into a small smile.
The Land of Lightning lay northeast of the Land of Fire, with the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of the Moon in between.
At a normal shinobi pace, it would take about two to three days.
More specifically: two days to enter the Land of Lightning, three days to reach Kumogakure.
Night fell.
Kitazawa and the others left the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Rice Fields.
This time, he didn't build a wooden house in the wilderness. Instead, they stayed temporarily in the Hidden Sound Village.
After Orochimaru left, the one in charge of the village was Guren.
She received Kitazawa and the others and asked many questions about Orochimaru's situation.
Orochimaru's pull really was something.
Even after he was captured, Guren remained utterly loyal.
After dinner, Kitazawa went to the room they'd prepared for him.
The door closed, and Konan appeared in front of him.
Kitazawa extended a hand and offered her a boxed meal.
"Thanks." Konan didn't open it right away. Instead, she took out a scroll.
"What's this?" Kitazawa asked, accepting it.
"Oyashiro En's situation." Konan sat across from him, picked up her chopsticks, and began eating her dinner.
Kitazawa opened the scroll and read.
Oyashiro En had spent a fortune building a massive estate. With it as the center, he'd turned the surrounding area into his own domain.
As for location, it was in the north of the Land of Lightning.
From the Hidden Sound Village, they could reach it by tomorrow night.
After reading, Kitazawa noticed the report didn't mention that Oyashiro En possessed the Ketsuryūgan or that he was tied to the Chinoike clan.
Kitazawa guessed Oyashiro En hadn't fought publicly in a long time, so even White Zetsu didn't have a clear read on his true strength.
Kitazawa shook his head.
If Konan had gone alone, she really might've gotten burned.
The Ketsuryūgan wasn't on the Mangekyō Sharingan's level, but it wasn't much weaker than a three-tomoe Sharingan either.
"Is there a problem?" Konan asked. She was eating, but her attention never left Kitazawa.
"Not detailed enough," Kitazawa said casually. "But it's fine. We're here—he's not getting away."
Konan nodded, but hesitation crept onto her face again.
"With how close we are, you're still being that polite?" Kitazawa looked at her. "Just say what you want to say."
"This time we're recruiting in the Akatsuki's name." Konan met his gaze, then quickly looked away. Her voice softened. "I hope you'll wear the Akatsuki uniform."
"Sure." Kitazawa smiled. "That's easy."
"Thank you."
Konan took out another scroll.
This one was a storage summoning scroll.
She opened it and pulled out a black cloak embroidered with red cloud patterns.
"I never thought I'd get to wear the Akatsuki cloak someday." Kitazawa stood and slipped it on.
He looked himself over—it fit surprisingly well.
"How did you know my size?" he asked, curious.
"I could tell from watching you," Konan said, staring at him as if lost in thought.
If Kitazawa really were Akatsuki, she wouldn't have to wrestle with anything anymore.
"Is that so?" Kitazawa sat back down, then added lightly, "If Oyashiro En joins, give me this cloak as a gift."
"If you want it, you can just take it," Konan said, pulling her gaze away. "There's no need for conditions."
"Thanks."
In his previous life, Kitazawa had always thought the black cloak looked great.
Now that he had the chance to keep one, there was no way he'd miss it.
"I'm done eating. Get some rest," Konan said as she stood.
"Your room is on the left," Kitazawa teased. "You could stay and sleep here too. The bed's big."
Konan froze, actually considered it for a second, then shook her head.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, they ate breakfast and continued their journey.
By around five or six in the evening, they finally arrived at their destination: Oyashiro En's estate.
"What a huge place!" Ino said, eyeing it. "It feels bigger than the Hokage Tower!"
"A merchant's ability to make money is often way better than a shinobi's," Kitazawa said offhandedly.
"Kitazawa-sensei, now that we've found Oyashiro En, what do we do next?" Ino asked.
Kitazawa activated his Byakugan and scanned the estate.
There were indeed plenty of young trainees inside training—but he didn't spot anyone matching Chino's traits.
Chino's hair leaned toward blond.
"Come with me." Kitazawa expanded the Byakugan's range and quickly located the fighting arena from the original story.
Under his lead, the four of them entered the arena.
"Welcome." A young woman approached with a bright smile. "Sir, this is today's match schedule."
Kitazawa took it casually.
"If you're interested in a match, you can buy a ticket for it," the woman continued, then suggested, "I recommend the Typhoon Warrior, Fūshin. I guarantee it'll be worth your time."
Kitazawa recalled Fūshin's file.
He was the arena's ace, possessing a kekkei genkai called Typhoon Release.
From what it looked like, Typhoon Release resembled an enhanced Wind Release—terrifying power.
In the original story, after Fūshin lost to Chino, he became her subordinate.
The two of them later formed a group called the Lightning Group and went around acting like vigilantes—kind of like the early Akatsuki.
"I'm not here to watch," Kitazawa said, shaking his head. "I'm here to challenge."
"Challenge?" The woman blinked. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Kitazawa pointed at Hinata and the others. "These three will sign up."
"Sir, please don't joke around," the woman refused. "They're still inexperienced. If the fights aren't exciting, we lose money."
"Just register them," Kitazawa said, no longer interested in arguing. He opened his three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Yes." The woman's expression went slack, and she nodded immediately.
Kitazawa thought: Sharingan is ridiculously convenient.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Ino asked curiously, "is our mission to conquer the arena?"
"Besides Fūshin, there's another ace here named Chino," Kitazawa said with a smile. "Your mission is to find her. But if you get eliminated midway, you won't get to meet her."
"It's just an arena! We've got this!" Ino said confidently.
Normally, arenas like this wouldn't have jōnin-level fighters.
A true jōnin had plenty of ways to make money—they didn't need to come here to be entertainment.
"I'll leave a shadow clone to protect you," Kitazawa said, patting Ino's head. "Anyone who loses doubles their homework when we get back."
"Huh?!" Ino instantly went stiff.
Kitazawa formed seals and created a shadow clone.
Based on the original situation, the strongest two here were Fūshin and Chino.
They were no pushovers—if they went all out, they could threaten a jōnin.
For Hinata's group, it was a solid training opportunity.
Kitazawa's job was to pose as an Akatsuki member and recruit Oyashiro En with Konan.
After leaving the arena, Konan appeared beside him.
She had changed into the Akatsuki red-cloud black cloak and wasn't wearing her Anbu mask anymore.
"This outfit suits you," Kitazawa said, looking her over.
After that, he pulled out his own cloak and slipped it on.
"Your forehead protector," Konan reminded him.
Kitazawa put away his Konoha headband.
He didn't bother using a transformation technique—there was no need.
Oyashiro En had never met him and wouldn't know his real identity.
And once Oyashiro En joined the Akatsuki, it would be even harder for him to run into Kitazawa.
Of course, if Kitazawa stayed with the Akatsuki long-term, they'd eventually meet again.
But by then, everything would be different.
The two returned to Oyashiro En's estate.
With a casual sweep of Kitazawa's hand, the gate swung open.
"Who are you?!" Oyashiro En's guards instantly surrounded them.
Byakugan: Pressure.
Kitazawa's eyes sharpened.
An invisible weight surged outward, and the guards collapsed one after another.
Konan reflexively looked at him, surprise flashing in her eyes.
What kind of Yin Release secret technique was that?
She felt something similar to ocular Yin Release power, so she misunderstood and assumed it was a Yin Release technique.
But even if she realized it was the Byakugan, it didn't matter.
Konan wasn't a Konoha shinobi—she wasn't going to run to Tsunade and "report" him.
And an accusation that outrageous would probably just get her arrested for slander.
A sharp gust cut the air.
A figure appeared in front of them.
He looked to be in his thirties or forties, wearing glasses—Oyashiro En.
He swept a glance over the downed guards and felt a jolt of alarm.
These guards weren't jōnin, but they all had chūnin-level strength.
To drop that many chūnin in an instant—even most ordinary jōnin would struggle.
"I don't remember meeting either of you, and I don't think we have a grudge," Oyashiro En said in a low voice. "Why attack my guards?"
"Do you know the Akatsuki?" Konan asked calmly. "We're from the Akatsuki. We're here because we want you to join."
"Never heard of it," Oyashiro En said, shaking his head. "And I'm not joining."
After the Chinoike clan was wiped out, he had abandoned the shinobi life and lived comfortably as a wealthy man.
The Akatsuki sounded like a shinobi organization.
He had power and money here—why would he go somewhere else to be someone's workhorse?
"We defeat you, you join," Konan said after being refused. "Or you defeat us, and we leave."
Kitazawa couldn't help but smile.
Normally, recruiting like this would just breed resentment.
But the Akatsuki had a "god" named Nagato, and he didn't care about people's feelings.
In his view, even if someone only submitted temporarily while plotting revenge, it wouldn't matter to him.
And in practice, that was true.
In the shinobi world, strength ruled. If you were strong enough, you didn't need to care what others thought.
"Hah—your Akatsuki is really arrogant!" Oyashiro En snapped, anger rising. "Fine! Then I'll beat you!"
He threw off his glasses and activated the Ketsuryūgan.
It resembled the Sharingan in some ways: black pupils, but blood-red sclera. Both eyes radiated a deep crimson.
Invisible ocular power spread outward, and blood seeped from his eyes.
With the Sharingan, you only bled if you overused it.
With the Ketsuryūgan, bleeding happened the moment you released its power.
Ketsuryūgan: Genjutsu!
Konan took it head-on and froze in place.
That was the value of intelligence.
She had never expected Oyashiro En to possess an eye like the Ketsuryūgan—something akin to the Sharingan—and she fell into the genjutsu immediately.
But her reaction was fast despite the shock. She tried to break it at once.
Kitazawa was faster.
He slapped Konan lightly, fed chakra into her to dispel the genjutsu, and stepped in front of her.
"You didn't get caught in the genjutsu?!" Oyashiro En stared at Kitazawa like he was seeing a ghost.
It was the first time he'd ever seen someone ignore his Ketsuryūgan.
"What eye is that?" Konan asked reflexively.
"Ketsuryūgan," Kitazawa said casually.
"You know the Ketsuryūgan? Who are you?" Oyashiro En's heart lurched. He frowned hard. "Who exactly are you?"
"Let's finish the fight first," Kitazawa said with a smile. "If you're willing to join the Akatsuki, I'll tell you."
"If I beat you, I'll get the answer anyway!" Oyashiro En's expression darkened. He formed hand seals.
Ketsuryūgan: Blood Dragon Ascension!
A heavy stench of blood spread.
Blood materialized out of thin air, flowing like water and forming five massive blood dragons.
Each was nearly ten meters long. The moment they formed, they opened their cavernous jaws and lunged at Kitazawa and Konan.
Konan lifted both hands.
Countless paper sheets turned into all kinds of weapons and shot forward.
They collided with the blood dragons—but did no damage at all, completely blocked.
Konan's gaze sharpened. This was going to be troublesome.
Paper fluttered and formed wings behind her.
She planned to take to the sky and use the aerial advantage to defeat Oyashiro En.
But the next second, she paused.
Summoning Technique: Triple Rashōmon!
Kitazawa bit his thumb and slammed his hand to the ground.
Boom!
A massive gate dropped from above and crashed down on the blood dragons.
The dragons roared and thrashed, shaking the gate violently.
Boom!
A second gate fell right after it.
The crushing weight pressed down. The blood dragons shuddered and sank into the ground.
Almost instantly, the third gate dropped.
All five blood dragons were pinned, unable to move.
Normally, the Triple Rashōmon was used as a defensive barrier in front of the caster.
But the gates themselves were absurdly heavy—using them like a hammer was just as effective.
"How is that possible?!" Oyashiro En's eyes widened.
His invincible Blood Dragon Ascension—how could it be shut down so easily?
Kitazawa understood why he felt that way.
Oyashiro En's true strength was elite jōnin level.
And because he'd never faced a genuine monster, he'd grown confident—convinced he stood among the very top tier of shinobi.
But he didn't.
"What else have you got?" Kitazawa asked evenly.
"Damn it!" Oyashiro En felt humiliated.
Water Release: Falling Rain Needles!
Large water droplets formed around him.
With a sharp swing of his arm, he hurled them at Kitazawa and Konan.
Konan leapt up and took to the air.
Kitazawa shifted his body and dodged the droplets.
They struck the ground, soaking it.
"This is the real Ketsuryūgan: Blood Dragon Ascension!" Oyashiro En roared, pressing a hand to his eye.
A huge volume of blood poured into the ground and mixed with the rainwater. In the blink of an eye, it formed five even larger blood dragons.
Rumble!
Oyashiro En's estate finally gave way, collapsing around them.
He didn't care. He drove the blood dragons straight at Kitazawa.
Konan immediately swept both hands down.
A dense storm of paper drifted and, the moment it touched the blood dragons, detonated.
Flames burst skyward, fire spreading like a tide in every direction.
Konan's paper technique wasn't overwhelmingly strong by itself, but paired with explosive tags, she could leap into elite jōnin territory.
In the original story, she once used six hundred billion explosive tags and nearly killed Uchiha Obito outright.
Oyashiro En's pupils shook.
He'd assumed Kitazawa was the real threat—but Konan was no joke either.
Under that rain of explosive tags, most of the blood dragons' bodies were already blown apart.
"Damn it!" Oyashiro En poured out even more ocular power.
The blood dragons flipped and surged forward, accelerating as they slammed toward Kitazawa.
Kitazawa stayed where he was, considering which jutsu to use.
In the end, he chose an Ice Release technique he'd been theorycrafting.
The blood dragons, wreathed in flame, reached him.
The scorching heat made the temperature spike sharply.
In the air, Konan's heart clenched and she instinctively lunged toward Kitazawa.
Ice Release: Ice Age!
Cold mist exploded outward from Kitazawa as the center. Everything it touched froze solid.
The ground, the flames, even the blood dragons—everything locked in ice.
Konan halted midair and finally exhaled.
She knew Kitazawa was stronger than her, but in that moment, she couldn't stop herself from worrying.
Oyashiro En was fully focused on sustaining the blood dragons.
Then, abruptly, he realized he'd been frozen in place in the space of a blink.
Kitazawa didn't want to kill him, so only Oyashiro En's legs were sealed in ice.
"One last time," Kitazawa said, raising a hand. The ice on Oyashiro En began creeping upward from his legs. "Are you joining the Akatsuki or not?"
It would take one second to freeze his entire body.
"I'll join!" Oyashiro En shouted immediately.
Not joining meant death.
He wasn't afraid to die—but he didn't want to.
He still had a daughter.
"Welcome to the Akatsuki," Kitazawa said with a smile.
He snapped his fingers, and the ice released.
"…" Oyashiro En looked like he wanted to say something.
Is this how you recruit people?!
He'd already decided: join first, then find a way to escape.
The Akatsuki wanted him to work for them? In their dreams.
Konan descended from the air.
She glanced at Kitazawa and thought: He really was born for the Akatsuki.
This recruitment routine—he did it exactly like she would.
Then her eyes moved to the frozen blood dragons.
Since when did Kitazawa have Ice Release this powerful?
Konan had learned by now that even if she stayed by his side every day, Kitazawa still somehow kept revealing powerful techniques she'd never seen before.
At this rate, she wondered if even Nagato might not measure up.
No—that was impossible.
Konan immediately forced the thought out of her head.
Nagato was a "god" with the legendary Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths.
No matter how strong Kitazawa was, he couldn't beat him.
"This is your ring." Konan walked up to Oyashiro En and said, "The character on it is your Akatsuki codename."
Kitazawa glanced at it.
The ring was marked with "朱."
In the original story, this ring belonged to Itachi Uchiha.
"What do I need to do?" Oyashiro En asked, taking the ring.
"What you'll do specifically—I'll tell you after we return to the Hidden Rain," Konan said, shaking her head.
"The Hidden Rain?" Oyashiro En froze. "Are you Hanzō's men?"
"You'll understand when you get there," Konan said coolly.
Oyashiro En didn't press further.
"Do you have a daughter named Chino?" Kitazawa asked once they finished talking.
"You… no." Oyashiro En denied it.
"Relax. As long as you do your job properly for the Akatsuki, she'll be fine," Kitazawa said, smiling faintly.
"You bastard!" Oyashiro En finally snapped. "If anything happens to her, I'll kill you!"
"I'll be waiting," Kitazawa said, unconcerned.
To cooperate with Konan, he didn't say that bringing Chino along was for her to join the Advanced Class.
Konan felt something twist inside her.
She hadn't expected Kitazawa to go this far for her—far enough to threaten Oyashiro En like a villain.
With his status, he didn't need to do any of this.
Konan felt a flicker of guilt.
She hadn't told Kitazawa the truth about the Akatsuki.
In reality, the Akatsuki didn't need Oyashiro En's loyalty.
"You still have time. Go handle your affairs," Kitazawa said after a pause. "Don't try to go looking for Chino. If you do, you'll bear all the consequences."
Oyashiro En clenched his fists, but in the end he turned and walked into the house with a defeated expression.
If he was going to the Land of Rain, he needed to put his estate under the management of someone he trusted.
Kitazawa told him not to look for Chino—but he could always have his subordinates do it.
Kitazawa didn't stop them, because they'd be searching in vain anyway.
After all, Chino wasn't here—she was in Konoha.
"Thank you," Konan said seriously.
If Kitazawa hadn't been here today, she would probably have gotten hurt.
She hadn't known what the Ketsuryūgan could do.
"It's nothing," Kitazawa said, pinching her cheek lightly.
"What is the Ketsuryūgan, exactly?" Konan asked, curious.
"A kekkei genkai similar to the Sharingan," Kitazawa said, then explained the Chinoike clan's connection with the Uchiha.
"No wonder you knew so much about him," Konan said, assuming Kitazawa knew because of the Uchiha.
In a way, that was a good thing.
Oyashiro En's strength exceeded her expectations and would significantly boost the Akatsuki's overall power—it was like striking gold.
She'd originally expected to recruit an ordinary elite jōnin. Instead, she'd brought in an elite jōnin with a kekkei genkai.
[Current Mission: Defeat Oyashiro En.]
[Mission Reward: Ketsuryūgan, can be fused into the Sharingan.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa stood there and felt a noticeable change in his three-tomoe Sharingan.
The most obvious was the increase in ocular power—about one-third more than before.
In short: a very nice upgrade.
Eye-based bloodlines depended heavily on raw ocular power.
Kitazawa's Sharingan now—judging by ocular power alone—felt like it was half a step into Mangekyō territory.
Stronger than ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan, but still not equal to a Mangekyō.
Besides the boost in ocular power, he gained another ability: blood control.
But it came with two prerequisites.
First, the target had to be trapped in Ketsuryūgan genjutsu.
Second, the target had to be injured by a blood technique derived from the Ketsuryūgan.
Once chakra made contact, the target would automatically fall into genjutsu—and their blood could be controlled.
In truth, this was the Ketsuryūgan's real killing move.
Oyashiro En hadn't used it earlier because Kitazawa hadn't fallen into the genjutsu and hadn't been hurt by the blood techniques.
Konan had fallen into the genjutsu—but Kitazawa broke it instantly.
If Konan had been even a second slower, Oyashiro En could've controlled all her blood and detonated her from the inside.
Kitazawa's gaze fell on the blood dragons.
The Blood Dragon Ascension used blood as its medium.
From what he'd just seen, water provided a strong amplification.
"Konan, wait a moment," Kitazawa said, then went inside and found Oyashiro En.
"What do you want—" Oyashiro En started, but Kitazawa's three-tomoe Sharingan seized him with genjutsu.
Oyashiro En had the Ketsuryūgan, but his ocular power wasn't close to Kitazawa's. He couldn't resist in time.
Kitazawa immediately extracted the precise method for using Ketsuryūgan: Blood Dragon Ascension.
"What did you do to me?!" Oyashiro En snapped back to himself, stunned.
He couldn't understand how someone who seemed to have neither Sharingan nor Ketsuryūgan could use genjutsu this absurdly well.
"Nothing," Kitazawa said lightly. "You've got half an hour. Finish your affairs."
Then he walked out.
Oyashiro En looked furious and humiliated—but helpless.
Kitazawa returned to Konan.
His behavior was villain-like, sure—but Oyashiro En was even more like a villain: a shinobi whose clan was wiped out, who didn't even treat his daughter well.
He acted like he cared about Chino, but in reality, Chino didn't even know she had a father.
Either way, Kitazawa had achieved his goal. The rest was Konan's problem.
They didn't wait long before Oyashiro En came back out.
"Let's head to the Land of Rain first," Kitazawa said after thinking it through.
It wasn't safe for Konan to escort Oyashiro En alone.
As for the arena, his shadow clone was enough.
That shadow clone would persuade Chino to join the Advanced Class.
And honestly, there wasn't much persuading needed—Chino escaped the arena on her own in the original story anyway.
As long as Kitazawa and Hinata's group showed goodwill, she probably wouldn't refuse.
"Thank you." Konan paused, then understood what he meant.
She looked at Kitazawa, genuinely moved.
"Let's go," Kitazawa said.
His plan was to escort Konan to the border of the Land of Rain—not the Hidden Rain Village.
He wouldn't enter the Land of Rain.
The moment he touched the rain, Nagato would sense him.
But once Konan entered the Land of Rain, she wouldn't have to worry about Oyashiro En ambushing her.
And Oyashiro En would finally understand why the Akatsuki recruited people this way.
With an invincible Nagato, and White Zetsu spread across the entire shinobi world, joining the Akatsuki basically meant you could never leave—
Unless you had Orochimaru-level escape skills.
~~~
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