Chương 147

"Please don't kill the Root..." Dajimu couldn't help but say those words. He couldn't believe himself while saying that, but in his heart he knew that this young shinobi had all the firepower to ruin nations, let alone their organization.

"Death comes for all of us either way... It's just a matter of time," Rei replied. Dajimu was speechless with horror because it implied that Root would be uprooted one day, and he would just add himself to their destruction. But there was nothing he could do. His own life didn't belong to him anymore. Very reluctantly, he signed the contract, giving away his rights as a Root shinobi forever.

"Though... I signed, I can't speak anything about Root," Dajimu said.

"Do I look like I care? I know more about Root than your whole Root combined. Be at ease. Just carry on with your work, without hurting any innocent people. You will do fine," Rei said. Dajimu gulped, not because he would get to hurt innocents, but because it implied that Rei would go after those who had hurt innocents, regardless of the orders in the future. And the fact that Rei proclaimed that he knew more about Danzo than anyone meant he had been spying on him for a long time, and soon Danzo would be gone.

But he was confused too. He had heard whispers about Akatsuki and saw them with his own eyes for the first time. Rei seemed to know about them too. So how was this guy, who was not even half his age, able to know so much about their own village and even the outside world, while also having this amazing power? Did his kekkei genkai, which he had just signed away, become so powerful that it could read others' minds? Was this even a kekkei genkai?

He had so many questions, but he knew he would probably never get the answers to those.

"Oh! So, from the looks of it, a faction from your village wants to kill you?" Sasori asked, as he found the interaction amusing. Rei, meanwhile, didn't reply and let Dajimu's contract fade away. It had been some time since he accepted such a huge load of chakra at a time and that many techniques. Including one kekkei genkai. A useful one at that too, and also two forbidden techniques. So that much information and chakra did take some toll on his body, though it would only be momentary.

As Rei sat and digested all the information, he replied.

"That faction isn't a problem. Its leader, though, is quite a different story. The reason your Akatsuki has the leader it does is because the leader of this guy's faction once attacked him and killed his best friend. Then your leader went berserk and formed the Akatsuki faction, though there are other circumstances which led to the formation of the faction, but this is the raw gist."

"What?"

"Wait... What?"

"Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I am joking? I oversimplified, of course, but Danzo is one of the primary reasons why Akatsuki was formed. His pursuit of Konoha's greatness has brought nothing but ruins. But that is a story for another day. I guess you wouldn't need any help finding some new arms, right?" Rei asked. While Rei casually spat out that information, the brains of Deidara and Sasori just exploded.

Though Dajimu didn't understand how big the Akatsuki was, if their members were so powerful, he wondered how powerful their leader would be. And again, how the hell did Rei know so much about another organization? He was too young to know. Was his real age what he was showing? Meanwhile, Sasori was more curious, but it seemed Rei wasn't in the mood to talk about their history and the Akatsuki.

"I can take care of my hands. I will just need a powerful human to sacrifice and make my next puppet," Sasori said, and as he said that, he looked at Deidara, which gave him all the creeps. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Hey... Master Sasori... Are you thinking of something nasty again? Hmm," Deidara asked.

"Maybe..."

"What do you mean, maybe? You are looking for death?" Deidara shouted.

"Enough. You both will behave... And continue with your work. Since you have been badly defeated, you can announce to the Akatsuki that the one who attacked Kisame had attacked you and tell them that the mission I had given them had better be finished fast, as I am running out of patience," Rei said.

"You mean the mission of finding this man named Jigen?" Sasori asked. After Rei took care of Kisame, everyone around had gotten the mission to search for someone named Jigen, and though they didn't pay close attention to it, it didn't mean they overlooked it entirely. Now that they faced the man himself, they knew that they would have to step up the search for this person, as it involved Rei.

"Yes. You guys need to find him before I have any bad days."

"Got it... Boss," Deidara said. His brain was already working fast now. Since he got to know that he could become a Sharingan user, he would do anything to get in the good books of Rei and get that bloodline, which he was so amazed by. Anything for art. Sasori just scoffed at Deidara even though he was thinking the same thing.

"You guys should leave. The others wouldn't be far, as it is close to the borders of the Land of Lightning," Rei added. Both of the Akatsuki nodded, as it wouldn't be good for them if they hung around. Both Akatsuki members nodded in understanding, yet neither immediately moved. The battlefield had already fallen silent once more, broken only by the occasional crackle of burning trees. An awkward stillness lingered between the three of them, as though something remained unsaid. Rei noticed it immediately.

"What?" he asked flatly. Deidara instinctively looked away while Sasori's crimson eyes remained fixed upon Rei. The two exchanged a brief glance, but neither of them spoke. The contract had promised rewards worthy of legends, yet both understood a simple truth—they had been completely overwhelmed. After such a humiliating defeat, neither possessed the courage to shamelessly ask Rei to teach them anything. A faint chuckle escaped Rei.

"If you're wondering about techniques..." he said while turning his back toward them, "... earn them first. Strength isn't given away because someone asks nicely. You lost today. The next reward you receive will depend entirely on your own efforts." Neither Deidara nor Sasori argued. Their injuries alone were proof enough. Deidara's shoulder still throbbed violently from the lightning-infused stab, while Sasori had already begun planning how to reconstruct both severed puppet arms.

Compared to Kisame, they had escaped lightly, but they would still require considerable time before returning to full strength. As Rei began walking away with Dajimu following behind, he stopped only once before looking over his shoulder.

"And remember one more thing." His voice became noticeably colder.

"I never came looking for either of you. You accepted a bounty, tracked me across countries, and attacked me first. Everything that happened today... happened because of your own choices. So make the story accordingly and don't mix me up with the one in the mask." Neither Akatsuki member could refute those words.

"I still have use for Akatsuki," Rei continued calmly.

"So continue your organization's work, recover from your injuries, and find Jigen before my patience runs out. The next time someone from Akatsuki comes after me without thinking..." A dangerous smile appeared beneath the mask.

"... don't expect me to be this merciful." The warning lingered long after Rei disappeared into the forest alongside Dajimu. Deidara quietly removed the shattered remains of his clay from the battlefield while Sasori stared toward the direction Rei had vanished, both realizing they had just encountered someone capable of changing the entire shinobi world.

Several uneventful days later, after avoiding every major settlement and patrol route, Rei and Dajimu finally arrived before the familiar massive gates of Konohagakure. The guards immediately recognized the Root operative and stepped aside without question, completely unaware that the mission they believed had merely recovered intelligence had quietly altered the fate of Akatsuki itself.

"You look exhausted..." Tsunade said as she read the reports. Rei was back and submitted them under the eyes of Danzo and the other council members. Danzo, who had approved the hit, didn't seem fazed at all that his strategy to take down Rei had failed. It was as if he didn't know anything. In hindsight, he never showed emotions, not until the end when he was about to die at the hands of Sasuke. And Rei didn't care much about him in the beginning and just avoided him. But it seemed the gesture wasn't appreciated.

So it was time for him to go on the counterattack.

"It was a long mission. I hope I didn't commit any mistakes," Rei replied.

"You did well by recovering the reports and also bringing back a live asset from deep inside the enemy lines."

"Thank you," Rei said.