Even though Ryosuke knew that Tsunade was a big spender, he never thought she would be so reckless.
In about half a year, she lost nearly 300 million.
When it comes to money, Tsunade is definitely the most extravagant Hokage ever.
No one can compare to her, not even the biggest gamblers.
But the reason Tsunade lost so much is because Ryosuke has been lending her money.
If he hadn't lent her money, Tsunade wouldn't have lost so much.
So...
Is this Ryosuke's fault?
"Don't, don't. I'll pay you back when I win the money next time." Tsunade quickly waved her hand and said.
Regarding her words, Ryosuke didn't believe even a single punctuation mark.
It's not that he doesn't believe Tsunade will pay him back if she wins. It's that he doesn't believe Tsunade will win at all.
This is Tsunade!
Winning a bet?
It's impossible in this lifetime.
And winning back 270 million ryos?
That's even more impossible!
Ryosuke said, "Forget it, it's more practical for you to charge more rent."
Hearing this, Tsunade became short of breath.
How much does Ryosuke look down on her gambling skills?
She has been practicing hard but her luck is really bad.
What can she do?
Tsunade asked, "Ryosuke, you didn't come here just to ask about my debt, did you?"
Ryosuke nodded, explaining Temari's situation to Tsunade.
Tsunade didn't care much about the fact that a Suna ninja named Temari had come to Konoha.
Based on her understanding of Ryosuke, this girl was almost trapped and couldn't escape his influence.
However, the fact that people from the Akatsuki had taken away One Tail caught Tsunade's attention.
Tsunade asked, "Ryosuke, you fought that Uchiha face to face before, what do you think of his strength?"
Hearing this, Ryosuke responded bluntly, "If you don't include me, the whole Konoha is no match for him, even if they all teamed up."
Tsunade: "..."
Brother, do you have to be so direct?
Do you know how hurtful this is?
"What if you are counted?" Tsunade asked.
"He is no match for me." Ryosuke glanced at her and said lightly.
"But you just said that Uchiha Menma is not the leader of the Akatsuki, right?" Tsunade said with a serious face.
"A ninja as strong as Uchiha Menma is not the leader of the Akatsuki, so how strong is their leader?"
If it's just Menma, then Tsunade was confident the opponent wouldn't dare to come to Konoha.
After all, Ryosuke had said that Menma was no match for him.
Tsunade had confidence in Ryosuke.
In the past year, Ryosuke's strength has improved significantly.
Previously he was able to repel Menma. So now, it's normal for him to be able to suppress the opponent.
What's scary is the possibility of the other party not coming alone.
If they appeared with the leader of the Akatsuki, how would Konoha handle them?
Tsunade frowned, feeling uneasy.
The other party had gone to Sunagakure and taken the tailed beast.
It was hard to say whether this was a personal grievance or if the Akatsuki was collecting tailed beasts.
If it's the latter, then Konoha, with two tailed beasts now, would certainly become the Akatsuki's target.
If it's the former...
Forget it!
No matter how much Tsunade deceived herself, she wouldn't naively think this was some personal dispute.
The opponent is obviously after the tailed beasts.
What exactly is the Akatsuki trying to do by collecting tailed beasts?
Just then, another knock sounded on the door of Hokage's office.
"Come in."
Tsunade said.
The next moment, the door opened, and an Anbu walked in from outside.
Anbu knelt down on one knee and said, "Lord Hokage, Jiraiya-sama has returned with Uzumaki Naruto."
"Oh~! Jiraiya is back!"
Tsunade's eyes lit up.
During this time, Jiraiya had taken Naruto out to train.
Apart from training Naruto, Jiraiya had another goal.
That was investigating the Akatsuki!
This Akatsuki is too mysterious, and this organization is full of powerful rebels.
A group of rebels like this gathering together and creating an organization—who knows what their purpose is?
Therefore, Jiraiya had been investigating this organization.
But unfortunately, Jiraiya didn't know that Itachi was Sarutobi Hiruzen's undercover agent in Akatsuki.
Otherwise, he could have directly contacted Itachi and maybe gotten some important information from him.
For example, the strength of the Akatsuki leader, or his Rinnegan.
"Naruto is back."
Ryosuke smiled slightly upon hearing the news from the Anbu.
"Sister Tsunade, I'm going to see Naruto. By the way, don't forget to arrange a registration certificate for Temari."
After speaking, Ryosuke used the Flying Thunder God Technique and disappeared in an instant.
"He just left!"
Tsunade muttered in dissatisfaction and then ordered the Anbu in front of her to call Jiraiya.
At the same time, Nara Shikaku and Kakashi were also invited to discuss matters.
Jiraiya has definitely brought new information about the Akatsuki.
...
Amegakure
Akatsuki base
Pain also gathered everyone from the Akatsuki to discuss how to capture the Two-Tails.
Menma also participated in this meeting.
While the others were discussing how to capture the Jinchūriki in Konoha, Menma was getting in touch with Ryosuke.
After a while, Menma, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, "It seems that we can't reach any conclusion after all this discussion. Why don't you listen to my idea?"
Hearing this, the others turned to look at him.
"Menma, do you have a solution?" Pain asked indifferently.
In the entire Akatsuki, only Menma was not under his control.
Though Pain had won the short fight previously, he knew in his heart that Menma had not used his full strength.
Of course, Pain had not used all his strength either.
But even so, he wasn't as sure about Menma as he was about the other Akatsuki members.
Not to mention, Menma was still connected to Madara. With Madara involved, Paim wasn't sure at all.
So, when Menma claimed to have a solution, Pain wondered what this man was plotting.
Menma said, "I have fought against Ryosuke before. His Wood release is incredibly strong. If we engage him directly, we will fail. Not only that, but the entire Akatsuki could be exposed to the entire world. I don't think the leader wants that, right?"
Menma looked at Pain with a smile.
Pain remained cold and expressionless, staring at him.
"So my suggestion is simple. Why don't we try negotiating? I believe we can strike a deal. We could exchange something valuable to him for the tailed beasts he holds."
Menma's gaze never left Payne.
"Is that your plan?" Pain asked coldly.
Menma said, "If you have a better idea, leader, then just pretend I never said anything."
Menma shrugged and smiled.
The others watched the two big shots facing off, afraid to speak. After all, these were people they couldn't afford to challenge.
After a pause, Pain said, "Alright, since you've had dealings with him before, you can represent the Akatsuki in this discussion."
Menma smiled and said, "No problem, I happen to have something to talk to him about."
"Then the meeting is over."
Pain turned and walked away, with Konan following closely behind him. The two of them quickly vanished.
"Hehe~!"
Menma smiled a few more times before fading from the scene, disappearing as well.
The others, seeing that the big shots had left, also left one by one.
Among them, Itachi's eyes gleamed with a strange light.
Why does Menma want to negotiate with Ryosuke?
Itachi thought, 'And he seems very sure. Could it be that they have made a deal before?'
He pondered whether he should report this back to Konoha, but he was unsure if the new leadership would accept him.
After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen, his past connection, was gone, and the Sarutobi clan had been branded as traitors.
Most of the clan was arrested, and the rest were struggling.
But compared to the completely wiped-out Shimura clan, the Sarutobi clan's situation wasn't as bad.
Still, Itachi wondered if the new leadership in Konoha would trust him.
Or... how could he prove his identity?
Deep in thought, Itachi continued walking toward his room, when he saw Sasuke returning from training.
Seeing his eyes flickered.
Maybe he should tell Sasuke the truth. This is a rare chance.
In the past, Itachi had never acted impulsively.
But now, with Menma absent from the base, this could be his last opportunity.
Determined, Itachi decided to meet Sasuke tonight and tell him the truth.
Perhaps he could even give him his eyes to help him awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Of course, he would have to use the Kotoamatsukami first.
...
Konoha
Ichiraku Ramen
"Pain agreed?"
"Hehe~! He's testing me, but it doesn't matter."
Ryosuke listened to Naruto's stories about his experiences while also communicating with his Wood Clone.
Normally, the main body and the clone can't communicate over long distances, whether it is a Wood Clone or Shadow Clone.
But Ryosuke could use the power of his Rinnegan to communicate directly with his clone, even if it is far away.
Before this, Menma had proposed to make a deal with Ryosuke. That suggestion had actually come from Ryosuke himself.
The reason was simple: Ryosuke needed the Akatsuki to gather all the tailed beasts.
On one hand, it would help him collect biological pheromones from the Ten Tails.
On the other hand, he had his eyes set on Kaguya, the last target.
To help Akatsuki gather the tailed beasts, Ryosuke would play along with their mission.
As for how he'd give Matatabi and Nine Tails to Akatsuki?
It was easy.
In the sealed space within his body, Ryosuke held both Two Tails' and Nine Tails' chakra.
He could extract some of it and create two new tailed beasts to hand over to the organization.
Would they have consciousness?
It didn't matter!
As long as it could merge into the Ten Tails, it was irrelevant.
And as for the trade?
Of course, Ryosuke could hand over the tailed beasts freely, but Nagato would certainly be suspicious if there was no exchange.
So, Ryosuke would ask for something in return.
What did he need from Akatsuki, aside from Konan?
Two Tails + Nine Tails = Konan
Nagato should agree to this, right?
***
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