"We do have stories about gods," Sasori answered, turning a mask over in his hands.
He could feel there was something inside it—like something breathing behind thick fog—but he couldn't quite grasp it.
Still, when Kenichi asked, he replied without hesitation.
"What kind of god?" Kenichi was genuinely curious.
Konoha's tales almost never mentioned gods—just the Sage of Six Paths, who was already treated like a semi-mythical figure.
"The God of the Desert," Sasori said calmly. "They say the deserts of the Wind Country were created as punishment—because humans were too greedy, so the desert god cursed the land."
Kenichi's expression went strange.
For a second I thought you meant the Desert Reaper… you know, that dog-headed guy who calls sniffing XP a win condition.
He glanced around the chamber.
All they had here was a wall of Shinigami masks. No scrolls, no altars, no murals. Just a secret storage room for masks.
Which meant: no handy "How to Cast Shiki Fujin (Idiot-Proof Edition)" manual lying around.
Pity. He'd actually hoped to "borrow" the method.
"Any temples or shrines to this desert god in Sunagakure?" he asked.
"There's one temple," Sasori replied. "But almost no one goes. The desert god is just a legend. The Sage of Six Paths is more believable."
He had a point—there were records and stories about the Sage.
The desert god, on the other hand, was basically a campfire ghost story.
Then Sasori seemed to realize something, and looked back at Kenichi.
"Kenichi… do you actually think gods are real?"
"Yeah," Kenichi nodded. "I've heard there are places in the shinobi world that worship a 'heretic god.'
People blessed by that god gain immortality."
Like a certain scythe-swinging maniac.
Gods existed, all right.
They just weren't the all-knowing, all-powerful, one-punch-everything type from his previous life's theology.
In this world, they were more like…
Top-tier NPCs with broken stats—but still NPCs.
If they were truly omnipotent, what business would the Ōtsutsuki clan have planting god trees here?
Honestly, Kenichi was 80% sure most of these local gods would get stomped by the average Ōtsutsuki.
"There's really something like that?" Sasori was visibly intrigued.
Kenichi, however, wasn't in a rush.
Finding that particular "heretic god" wasn't easy, and right now his schedule was already packed:
Chakra thermobaric bomb
Crop modification
Sasori's "Unit-01" puppet project
Researching the Shinigami masks
Future research into the heretic god and Hidan
In terms of priority?
Crop modification – time sensitive. People in Amegakure were literally eating dirt cakes.
Chakra thermobaric bomb – important, but could wait a bit.
Unit-01 upgrades – Sasori could tinker on his own.
Shinigami masks – high value, but no immediate deadline.
Heretic god – future side quest, to be tackled once a certain immortal idiot joined Akatsuki.
So for now, his plan was simple:
Go back
Test the thermobaric bomb
Then officially start on modified crops
"World's big," Kenichi said with a grin as they stepped out of the chamber. "Of course it's full of weird things."
They left Uzushiogakure.
The recruitment of Jūzō Biwa had been a complete failure.
His strength was decent, but if he couldn't survive a joint assault from Kenichi and Sasori, he clearly wasn't Akatsuki material.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist… but still only so-so.
Kenichi didn't head straight back to the Fire Country, though.
He had something else in mind:
A field test for his thermobaric bomb.
And what better proving ground than the front lines between Kumogakure and Konohagakure?
He just didn't want to toss it away for nothing.
If he was going to light up the sky, someone should be paying the bill.
So he rubbed his ring between his fingers and consciously reached out.
"Jade, what is it?" Nagato's voice came from the ring a moment later.
Technically, he could've pulled Kenichi into the phantom projection space…
but Nagato really didn't want to see this guy's face more than necessary.
Voice-only was safer for his sanity.
"Leader Pein, I wanted to ask—has the organization taken any war contracts from Kumo or Konoha?" Kenichi asked, tone perfectly polite.
His real thought:
If I'm going to blow someone up, I'd like to get paid for it.
In his memory, Akatsuki took a lot of contracts, including war jobs.
They were essentially a high-end mercenary group in the early days.
"…We accepted a contract from Konoha," Nagato finally said. "They put out bounties on Kumogakure shinobi. Payment is per head."
Kenichi smiled.
Just as he'd thought—bounty hunting during wartime was very cost-effective.
If you could spend money to erase enemy elites, it was a good trade.
Ninja were consumables.
Whoever had more consumables to burn generally set the rules.
"If you're going to take war jobs," Nagato added, "remember to secure proof of kills."
It was rare that Jade wanted to do something that actually benefited the organization.
Nagato wasn't about to dampen that enthusiasm.
"Got it. I'll head to the Land of Lightning and stir things up a little," Kenichi replied cheerfully, then cut the link.
Time to make some money.
If he wanted his own lab up and running soon, he needed a serious cash infusion.
Turn in some proof, skim off the top for equipment—everyone wins.
"We're going to the Land of Lightning?" Sasori asked. "Kenichi…"
His tone said the rest:
Are you insane? That's their home turf.
"Yup. We drop it, confirm the damage, and leave," Kenichi said, patting the seal scroll at his waist.
Originally he'd planned to hit the main battlefield between the two sides.
But there were too many ninja there—and then a deliciously evil idea popped into his head:
If I bomb the middle… could I claim bounties from both sides?
It was a beautiful thought.
But then he sighed internally.
Akatsuki had already accepted Konoha's contract.
If he blew up Konoha shinobi too, that'd be crossing the line even by his standards.
"…Forget it," he muttered to himself.
Bombing both sides for double pay was tempting—
but being a mercenary group still meant keeping at least one principle.
For now.
Note: If you're interested, you can read up to Chapter 105+ at patreon.com/nakai01.