"Wait, wait, wait—Nagato told us to recruit him."
Kenichi quickly grabbed Sasori's arm before he sent Unit-01 charging in.
This wasn't one of those brain-dead hot-blooded manga where everyone has to fight first and talk later—
…Then he thought about it more carefully.
On second thought, in the original series they did always beat each other half to death before sitting down to talk about peace and dreams. So, technically, fighting then recruiting wasn't completely wrong.
But either way, the noise they'd already made was more than enough.
Jūzō Biwa, no matter what else you said about him, was still an elite swordsman of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen. There was no way he wouldn't notice.
So Kenichi and Sasori simply walked out openly.
"Kenichi Amemiya, Konoha's A-rank missing-nin.
Sasori of the Red Sand, Sunagakure's S-rank missing-nin."
Jūzō squinted at them, apparently recognizing both faces.
"What are you two doing here?"
"Jūzō Biwa," Kenichi answered easily, "our leader thinks you've got what it takes to join our organization. So we're here to invite you to Akatsuki."
"Akatsuki?" Jūzō frowned, clearly unfamiliar with the name. His posture stayed wary.
"Yeah," Kenichi shrugged. "Our goal is to collect the tailed beasts from all the villages and use them to bring peace to the shinobi world."
He repeated Nagato's speech almost word for word, tone casual as if he were reading from a brochure.
By his side, Sasori had already gone into combat mode.
Akatsuki's objective might sound naïve or crazy, but there was no denying the leader with those "sage eyes" had the power to back that ambition.
And if the recruitment target refused?
Then the safest option was to kill him and erase any trace of the organization.
"Collect the tailed beasts, huh…"
Jūzō's eyes narrowed even further.
A group he'd never heard of, talking about capturing bijū like it was nothing—
the arrogance alone set off alarms in his head.
Seeing that look in his eyes, Kenichi could only sigh inwardly.
So we are fighting first after all.
Fine. At least this way he could see for himself if Jūzō was Akatsuki material.
And honestly, just because Jūzō never appeared in the future lineup didn't mean he couldn't have once been a member and died early.
"Kenichi, that sword of his—you know what it is, right?" Sasori asked quietly.
"Yeah. The Executioner's Blade," Kenichi nodded. "They say it absorbs the enemy's blood to repair itself. Some rumors even claim it can restore stamina by drinking blood."
He'd never been a hardcore lore nerd back in his previous life, but after coming to this world, he'd made sure to at least learn the basics about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Those guys were too famous not to be studied by every major village.
As one of Kirigakure's elite squads, their intel had been dug up again and again by foreign spies.
If you wanted to keep their secrets, you'd basically have to kill every witness on every battlefield.
"Good," Sasori said bluntly. "I want that sword. I need it to upgrade my Unit-01."
Kenichi wasn't even surprised by his directness anymore.
This was just how Sasori was right now—still far from the calm, puppet-obsessed monster he'd later become. He was blunt, straightforward, and not particularly interested in social niceties.
At that very moment, thick mist began to rise around them, swallowing Jūzō's silhouette.
He wasn't stupid.
The moment he heard Sasori's intentions, he knew things wouldn't end peacefully.
So he did exactly what a veteran from Kirigakure would do—
strike first from behind a veil of mist.
"Alright then. We'll just take it for you," Kenichi said easily. "Nagato didn't say we had to recruit him. If he doesn't measure up and dies, that's on him."
Senjutsu chakra surged in his mouth, pressure building.
He opened his jaws and unleashed a roaring torrent of flame straight into the fog.
The scorching heat instantly turned the mist into rolling clouds of steam.
At the same time, a water dragon roared toward him from the haze.
Fire and water collided mid-air.
Steam exploded outward and spread, turning the battlefield into a boiling white cloud.
Sasori didn't just stand there watching.
This was his first time fighting side-by-side with Kenichi. He wasn't about to slack off.
He flung open his scrolls, and puppets spilled out in a clatter of joints and metal.
The numbers weren't as overwhelming as the future "Hundred Puppet Performance"—
but even so, there were a solid twenty-plus puppets swarming forward.
Nobody shouted jutsu names.
Nobody wasted breath on taunts.
Kenichi watched Jūzō hack into Unit-01 with the Executioner's Blade. The giant metal puppet shuddered, a deep but not catastrophic gash carved into its armor.
"Looks like your Unit-01 still needs some work," Kenichi remarked, seeing Jūzō being harried by puppets from all sides.
He could use more senjutsu techniques—
the Flame of Majestic Annihilation earlier had cleared the mist nicely.
But that was a wide-area attack.
If he used it again now, he'd incinerate Sasori's puppets right along with the enemy.
"Yeah," Sasori agreed, watching closely. "I need better metals."
Unit-01 was just a test platform. The real killing power was still in the Third Kazekage puppet.
Kenichi's Sharingan spun in his eyes, observing every move Jūzō made, copying any ninjutsu that looked useful.
But after a while, he frowned.
Jūzō's fighting style was mostly close-quarters—
blending water-style support with swordsmanship and physical prowess.
Not much in the way of rare or interesting ninjutsu to steal.
"Let's wrap this up," Kenichi decided. "I still want to search this place for the Shinigami mask."
He had zero interest in wasting time.
"Sasori, leave me an opening," Kenichi called.
As he spoke, he gathered lightning chakra into his hand.
It crackled and condensed, but this time the lightning was a deep, ominous red-black.
Sasori's eyes flicked to the glow, pupils tightening.
He'd seen that color once before.
It had left quite an impression.
Before Sasori could even ask, Kenichi vanished.
"So fast—"
Jūzō's instincts screamed, and the Executioner's Blade was already coming up in a guard when Kenichi appeared in front of him.
The red-black Chidori smashed into the broad blade with a shrill screech.
"Your reaction's pretty good," Kenichi admitted as sparks flew.
But the Executioner's Blade was left with a fist-sized hole punched straight through it. The metal around the wound glowed red, edges softened and warped by the heat.
And in that same instant, Sasori seized the opportunity.
The Third Kazekage puppet's Iron Sand surged, forming a cluster of triangular spikes that slammed into Jūzō's abdomen.
"—gh!"
Jūzō spat blood violently.
Even so, he was no fool.
He let go of the Executioner's Blade on the spot, trying to pull back and escape the encirclement.
"Hey now, don't be in such a rush to leave."
Kenichi's voice sounded almost cheerful.
He drew in another surge of lightning chakra, forming a second Chidori in his hand.
Red-black arcs snapped and hissed.
Working in perfect tandem with Sasori's puppets, he flashed forward again—
—and this time, the Chidori punched cleanly through Jūzō Biwa's chest.
P/S: If you're interested, you can read up to Chapter 104+ at patreon.com/nakai01.