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One month later, not far from the outskirts of Konohagakure.
Itachi and Kisame, clad in their Akatsuki robes, stood there, silently observing the village in the distance.
Kisame grinned, revealing his shark-like teeth. "So this is Konoha, the village you defected from, Itachi. And it's our next target, huh."
Izumi stood behind Itachi, looking at him with concern. "Itachi..."
Itachi turned and began walking eastward, away from Konoha. "The leader has sent word. Kagaya is currently in the Land of Waves. We'll go meet up with him first."
Kisame took one last look at Konoha before following Itachi.
"No problem."
****
Otogakure (The Hidden Sound Village).
Orochimaru received a letter that displeased him greatly. Frowning as he read it, he complained, "Kagaya-kun, poaching right from under my nose, are you? Karin's exceptional sensory abilities and sharp intellect were hard-won assets. Well, whatever. In the end, she can't compare to Sasuke. As long as I obtain Sasuke's body in the end, nothing else truly matters. Speaking of which, Konoha's Chūnin Exams are approaching soon. We should be setting off as well. Let me think... The first target should be the Fourth Kazekage."
A few more days later, at the inn in the Land of Waves.
For the first time in a while, Kagaya left his room with Karin and Haku. The purpose of this outing was to rendezvous with Itachi and the others. Pain had just notified Kagaya that Itachi's group had arrived in the Land of Waves and instructed him to meet up with them.
"Karin, pay attention and sense if there's anyone around with an abnormally large amount of chakra."
Kagaya gave the order. This wasn't Earth, with mobile phones allowing instant communication and location sharing.
Contact between Kagaya and Itachi could only be facilitated through Pain. Even knowing they were both in the Land of Waves, they still needed to find each other to meet up.
Of course, they could have agreed on a specific meeting place, but Kagaya hadn't done that. Firstly, Kagaya had spent almost all his time in the Land of Waves holed up in his room studying the Flying Thunder God, barely stepping outside. He was completely unfamiliar with locations in the Land of Waves; even if he wanted to arrange a meeting spot, he wouldn't know a good one.
Secondly, with a living radar like Karin by his side, was it really necessary to set a meeting place? Impossible. With a human radar like Karin, they would quickly locate Itachi and the others.
Itachi himself would be hard to identify through sensing, as Karin didn't know his chakra signature and couldn't confirm if someone she sensed was indeed the person Kagaya was looking for. But sensing Kisame would be incredibly easy. With that immense chakra volume, and given the Land of Waves had no tailed beasts, it was safe to say Kisame likely possessed the largest chakra reserve of any living being in the entire country. In the Land of Waves, he would stand out like a firework in the night sky—impossible to miss.
Karin spoke impatiently. "Who are we looking for this time?"
Seeing her annoyed expression, Kagaya asked, "What, you don't want to come out? If you really don't want to, you can wait for us back at the inn. It's fine."
While having Karin would speed up the search, as mentioned, Kisame's chakra, if not deliberately concealed, was so conspicuous that even without Karin, finding him wouldn't be too difficult.
Kagaya didn't want to force Haku or Karin, who followed him, into doing things they disliked. They all bore similar burdens of fate; he had no desire to compel them.
To his surprise, upon hearing this, Karin immediately jumped up."How could that be?! I have to stay with Kagaya at all times! Otherwise, wouldn't someone else get their hands on you?"
As she spoke, she shot a hostile glare at Haku, who stood quietly beside Kagaya.
Kagaya was momentarily taken aback. He looked at Karin, then at Haku, his brow furrowing in thought. Finally, he couldn't help but say, "Karin, Haku is a boy."
"Huh?"
Karin stared blankly for a second, then let out a sigh of relief. But in the next moment, her guard went up again as she scrutinized Haku.
"How is that possible? He looks nothing like a boy!"
"Why would I lie to you?"
"Really?"
"Really! Haku is indeed a boy. Actually, it's been almost a month; you didn't know this?"
"But... but if he's a boy, isn't that even more dangerous? What if... what if Kagaya starts liking boys in the future?!"
"Hah?!! So, Karin, can't you stop filling your head with these nonsensical thoughts every day?"
"Then promise me, Kagaya. Promise me you won't start liking boys in the future."
"I promise you my big head! What kind of strange request is that?"
"I'm being serious!"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure!"
All along the way, Kagaya engaged in this painfully awkward banter with Karin. He couldn't quite understand why Karin's mind always wandered to such bizarre places.
After bickering for a good while, Karin suddenly stopped, closed her eyes to focus her senses for a moment, then pointed to Kagaya's right.
Following her direction, Kagaya saw a village. It seemed Itachi and the others hadn't remained in the forest but had entered a settlement.
Without further ado, Kagaya led Karin and Haku swiftly towards that village.
Eventually, Kagaya spotted Itachi, Kisame, and Izumi at a small food stall. Itachi and Kisame wore their Akatsuki cloaks and conical hats. Izumi wore casual clothes and no hat. The three of them sat at the stall, leisurely eating.
Kagaya smiled slightly, walked over with Haku and Karin, and directly sat down at their table.
Izumi gave Kagaya a happy, welcoming smile. Itachi and Kisame continued eating without any visible reaction, their composure unshaken. They had naturally sensed Kagaya's approach long before he reached them, so his arrival was no surprise.
"Care for some?"
Noticing Kagaya's arrival, Itachi allowed a faint, almost imperceptible smile to touch his lips as he offered.
"No, thank you."
Kagaya declined politely. He wasn't hungry.
However, Kisame beside him grinned widely.
"Kagaya-san, when do we get to the main course?"
Kagaya was momentarily confused. He'd just said he wasn't eating, so why was Kisame asking about the main course? And even if he were to ask, it shouldn't be directed at Kagaya... Unless this "main course" referred to Konoha.
Realizing this, Kagaya thought for a moment. "Soon. Right now, I believe a certain snake should already be preparing the ingredients."
The timing was approaching. If Orochimaru wasn't a fool, he should have begun his preparations.
Kisame chuckled lowly.
"This main course... I wonder what Kagaya-san plans to use to consume it? More to the point, does Kagaya-san even have the capacity to digest it?"
Kagaya lowered his head. While those around couldn't see his eyes, Kisame, sitting directly across from him, saw clearly: a pair of crimson Sharingan eyes with three tomoe, slowly spinning.
"Do you want to test that for yourself?"
Kisame remained unfazed, continuing to eat.
"With just this? With only this, I'm afraid Kagaya-san might not be able to handle the main course. I believe Kagaya-san should bring out something... more advanced."
Kagaya raised an eyebro. "Oh? It seems Kisame-san is quite knowledgeable."
Kisame's suggestion for Kagaya to bring out something more advanced undoubtedly referred to Kagaya's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Kisame looked at Kagaya with anticipation.
"I wonder... does this Kisame have the honor of requesting a demonstration?"
The three tomoe in Kagaya's eyes began to spin once more.
"First, you must prove yourself beyond the grasp of these three tomoe. Only then will you be worthy of witnessing what lies beyond."
This time, Kisame did not reply. Silence fell over the table. No one spoke. A tense atmosphere enveloped the small group.
Karin wanted to break the stifling quiet, but the sheer pressure emanating from Kagaya and Kisame was overwhelming. They weren't doing anything overt, yet it made Karin and Haku feel utterly unworthy and afraid to utter a word.
Izumi felt much the same.
"Kisame."
Finally, Itachi spoke. His single word shattered the chilling, silent tension, and the oppressive feeling instantly dissipated.
The three tomoe in Kagaya's eyes slowly faded, returning to their normal dark color.
Kisame's hand, which had been reaching for the handle of Samehada, stopped and withdrew.
The confrontation that had been on the brink of erupting was thus prevented.
This also reinforced a truth for Kagaya: indeed, most members of Akatsuki were arrogant and unruly. None were easy to get along with. Mere talk held no weight here. Unless one possessed persuasive skills on par with Naruto's, within Akatsuki, strength was the only true currency.
Kisame, upon meeting him, couldn't resist testing Kagaya. The reason was clear from Kisame's earlier questions. He was essentially posing one issue: You plan to invade Konoha? On what grounds? With the Mangekyō? Then show me.
Strength was the universal language here; everything else was secondary.
If possible, Kagaya would prefer not to fight Kisame. After all, in the upcoming invasion of Konoha, they would be comrades-in-arms. Fighting among themselves made no sense.
However, if Kisame challenged him, Kagaya couldn't back down no matter what. Faced with such doubt, he had to respond with firm resolve. Otherwise, he would only earn Kisame's contempt.
In that case, whether Kisame would heed his orders later would be uncertain.
Of course, this was merely Kagaya's perspective.
From Kisame's point of view, he simply wanted to see for himself the true strength of this individual daring enough to invade Konoha. He also wanted to see how this person's Mangekyō measured up against Itachi's.
Kisame had never underestimated Kagaya's strength. That would be a joke. With the Mangekyō, how weak could he possibly be?
Furthermore, during previous Akatsuki gatherings, Kisame knew full well that Kagaya was someone who never backed down. Anyone who provoked him was met with equal force. If that were all, Kagaya might just be a reckless fool. But the truth was, over time, fewer and fewer people actively provoked Kagaya.
Why? Simple. Everyone had come to realize this guy wasn't to be trifled with. That's why they stopped picking fights.
Otherwise, given the temperament of the hot-headed individuals in Akatsuki, someone with Kagaya's never-back-down attitude would have long been "accidentally" killed by one of those hot-tempered idiots.
They were all rogue ninjas. Killing someone was practically routine.
Thus, Kisame had never dared to look down on Kagaya. His provocation was simply because he had encountered a strong opponent and felt the urge to clash.
From Itachi's perspective, regardless of the reason, a fight between these two would be far too troublesome. If things escalated and both got serious, unleashing their full power, it might very well end with one of them dead.
Such an outcome was naturally unacceptable to Itachi, hence his intervention to stop them.
Kisame spoke with a tone of regret.
"It seems I'll have to wait until the main course is served to appreciate Kagaya-san's prowess."
Kagaya offered a faint smile.
"It won't be long."
"I certainly hope so."
Their exchange ended there. However, at that moment, Karin suddenly stood up and pointed at Kisame.
"Hey, you! You were trying to pick a fight with Kagaya just now, weren't you? Watch it, or I'll make you pay!"
Kisame was taken aback. He looked at this young girl who had been too intimidated to speak moments ago. Not taking her seriously, he simply smiled and said nothing. He had interest in the strong, but little for the weak. Towards someone like Karin, with limited combat ability, unless she attacked first, he wouldn't bother with her—out of respect for Kagaya.
Kagaya couldn't help but massage his temples. Noticing the stares from other patrons in the stall, he quickly placed a hand on Karin's shoulder.
"Karin, enough. Sit down."
Earlier, Kisame and Kagaya had been speaking in low tones, audible only to those at their table, and their conversation was cryptic to outsiders.
But Karin's outburst was loud and drew immediate attention from everyone around.
Karin protested unhappily. "But, Kagaya, this guy was provoking you earlier. I can't stand it!"
Kagaya rolled his eyes. "Alright, it's nothing to get worked up about. Just sit down."
Pouting with frustration, Karin finally relented.
"Fine... fine."
Kisame's shark-like eyes shifted from Kagaya to Karin.
"Oh? Little girlfriend?"
The next second, Karin and Kagaya spoke simultaneously.
"Exactly!"
"No!"
The first was Karin's eager reply. The second was Kagaya's firm denial.
After speaking, they both turned to look at each other.
Karin's face fell with disappointment. "Huh? W-wait, we're not?!"
A slight twitch tugged at the corner of Kagaya's mouth. "Why would you think we are?"
Itachi, sitting nearby, glanced at Karin, then at Kagaya. He said nothing, merely lowered his head with a subtle smile and continued eating.
After Itachi and the others finished their meal, Kagaya led the group away from the stall.
On the road.
Itachi addressed Kagaya.
"Do you have a plan?"
Kagaya nodded.
"Yes. Orochimaru and I previously outlined a general strategy. Once Orochimaru arrives from Otogakure, we can discuss the detailed plan."
A bitter smile touched Itachi's lips. "Is that so? Invading Konoha... I had imagined you might eventually take this step."
Kagaya fell silent for a moment. He knew Itachi still held lingering attachments to Konoha. He would always be Konoha's Uchiha Itachi.
"My target is Danzō."
Kagaya made this point clear. His goal had always been Danzō. The reason for invading Konoha was simply because Danzō was there.
From Orochimaru's perspective, Kagaya was an ally in the invasion, a helper who could undoubtedly assist in dealing with forces like Danzō.
From Kagaya's perspective, Orochimaru was an ally in killing Danzō, a helper who could undoubtedly assist in dealing with forces like the Third Hokage.
Their relationship was less of a partnership and more of mutual exploitation.
Although both aimed to invade Konoha, their underlying objectives were entirely different.