Nagato said yes.
But deep down, he thought, 'There's no way someone like Mufasa should be allowed to conquer the world. That guy's a loose cannon.'
Maybe if he stalled long enough, Mufasa would get distracted by something else.
What Nagato didn't realize was—he still underestimated how shady the world could be.
When Mufasa heard Nagato agree, his face lit up with a smug grin.
"Nice! Then hand over the Six-Tails and Four-Tails chakra first."
Nagato's expression froze.
"How do you know we have those?!"
Back in the Rain Village, in his underground chamber, paralyzed Nagato nearly leapt out of his mechanical frame in shock.
Mufasa chuckled.
"Come on, you think I'd miss something like that? Look outside. I came prepared."
He pointed down the mountain.
A line of tank-like vehicles, slick with custom armor and chakra-powered engines, sat parked below.
Behind them, massive transport trucks carried chakra containment tanks glowing faintly blue.
Mufasa never showed up empty-handed.
No matter what, he always took something home.
Nagato stared, wide-eyed. 'You really came ready to collect...'
Then another thought hit him. 'How the hell does he know so much? Do we have a spy?'
Now, with Mufasa applying pressure from the outside and the thought of betrayal on the inside, Nagato's nerves were shot.
Mufasa raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Don't wanna share? C'mon, we're doing business here—gotta be honest."
Nagato clenched his teeth.
"Fine. Just drive your tanks into the village. We'll extract the chakra and bring it out."
"That's the spirit! Cooperation is key," Mufasa said, grinning.
Konan folded her arms. "One Tailed Beast is 10 billion ryo. Two means 20 billion. Pay up."
Mufasa blinked innocently. "Pay what now?"
Konan nearly flipped a table.
(/‵Д′)/~╧╧
"You trying to skip the bill?! You said you'd pay us!"
Mufasa shrugged. "Oh that money. Yeah, about that—"
His expression shifted into mock sincerity.
"The 80 billion I promised? That's already earmarked for critical infrastructure—roads, railways, power grids... all for the benefit of the Amekagure."
"You guys don't have construction experience. You'd just blow it all on paper bombs or something. So I created a Special Construction Fund to handle it. Trust me—it's for your own good."
Nagato and Konan stared at him in disbelief.
'This guy just pulled a parent-taking-your-New-Year's-money move on us.'
Konan's eye twitched.
"Didn't you say 30 to 40 billion was enough?! Where's the rest?!"
Mufasa smirked.
"Relax. Young people need patience."
"Patience my ass!" Konan fumed.
She was seconds away from detonating 10 billion worth of explosive tags in his face.
Mufasa suddenly shielded his eyes and looked to the sky.
"They're here. Right on time."
Nagato and Konan looked up.
Two small shadows grew larger as they descended.
It was none other than Tsuchikage Onoki and his granddaughter Kurotsuchi.
'No way... this guy set up another Kage summit right in our village?!'
Mufasa turned to Nagato. "Told you Amegakure was a good spot. Everyone's coming here these days."
Nagato's soul left his body for a second.
Onoki floated in using his own jutsu.
Kurotsuchi trailed behind him, riding a weird propeller gadget Mufasa had given her—something between a bamboo dragonfly and a hover drone.
They landed with a thud.
"Haha, old man Onoki! Still kicking? You look sharp as ever."
Onoki grumbled. "Sharp? My back's killing me. Thanks to Kurotsuchi, I hear about ore shipments and infrastructure every single day."
He glared at Kurotsuchi, who giggled and stuck her tongue out.
Mufasa gave her a secret thumbs up. 'She's got spunk. Knew I picked a good one.'
"Alright, what do you want this time? I flew all the way here. My spine better not crack."
Kurotsuchi quickly started massaging his back.
Mufasa beamed. "Big news, old man. Huge."
Onoki raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Spill it."
Mufasa grabbed Payne by the arm and pulled him forward like a prize-winning cow.
"The great leader of Amegakure—Pain—has just agreed to drop billions into building roads and railways connecting our three countries."
"The Land of Rain will fund everything on their side. No need to go through the Land of Bears or Birds. The Rain path is rich, direct, and ready to roll."
"Isn't that amazing?!"
Onoki stood there, stunned.
╭(⊙o⊙)╮
Kurotsuchi froze mid-massage.
Amegakure has that kind of power?!
Onoki looked at Pain.
"You're really paying for all this?"
Nagato's soul left his body again.
Bastard... ●﹏☉
'What money?! I never agreed to any of this!!'
Mufasa laughed and clapped Pain on the back.
"He was so moved by my vision for economic unity, he volunteered 80 billion to the cause! Can you believe it? The guy's got heart!"
"He wants to boost the livelihood of all three countries. Rain, Earth, and our shared future!"
Onoki nodded solemnly.
"You young people... have guts. And I won't let this old man fall behind. The Land of Earth is in. Our roads and rails will connect through Rain."
Mufasa and Kurotsuchi applauded.
"Wonderful! Glorious!" Mufasa cheered.
Paine and Konan stood frozen, hollow-eyed.
What... just happened?
'Did we just give away 80 billion... and didn't even get to blink?!'
How could Mufasa, who had just pulled a fast one on everyone, really give Nagato 80 billion?
Of course not. The 80 billion was charged straight to Akatsuki's account.
Supposedly for infrastructure development in the Hidden Rain Village.
Mufasa clapped a hand on Nagato's shoulder.
"Relax. Our Sand Village engineers are top-tier. No sloppy work. No cutting corners."
The Sand Village made the money, spent the money, and somehow managed to take it all home.
Like a classic mega-corporation boss, Mufasa even factored in that the Hidden Rain Village didn't know jack shit about roads or rails.
So he offered a full package deal.
Now the Sand Village had a fat new contract, Hidden Rain had new highways, the Land of Earth had a way to export goods, and Akatsuki had a mountain of debt.
Debt meant drive.
Debt meant goals.
Mufasa gave Nagato a friendly pat.
"Sixty billion in debt isn't the end of the world. Just do your thing. I trust you'll pay it off soon."
Nagato and Konan just stood there.
(ಠ_ಠ)
How… how did this happen?
They still didn't fully grasp the dark magic of economic manipulation.
They started out thinking they were about to rake in 80 billion.
Now, in a blink, they owed 60.
Pain and Konan walked away quietly.
Mufasa looked at their backs and grinned.
"Too young. They didn't even offer the old man a drink."
Onoki scoffed.
"Hmph. Like you're any better. Last time you ghosted me at the banquet."
Mufasa chuckled.
"Haha, come on. Drinks are on me this time. Let's go."
Onoki and Mufasa kicked back, chatting over sake.
Kurotsuchi served drinks with a slight roll of her eyes.
Meanwhile, back at Hidden Rain...
The mood in Akatsuki HQ was as cold as the night arrives.
Everyone was present, standing in a circle.
Pain broke the silence.
"We have a traitor."
Everyone's eyes shifted.
Obito stayed deadpan behind his mask.
Itachi's stare was steel.
Kisame scratched his chin and glanced around.
Hidan made the biggest fuss.
He dramatically gasped.
"WHO?! Who the hell is the traitor?!"
The rest were all too sharp to give anything away.
No weird expressions. No obvious tells.
Paine and Konan watched everyone carefully.
No use. Nothing suspicious showed.
Obito laughed behind his mask. "Heh. What makes you think there's a traitor?"
Paine narrowed his eyes.
"Because Mufasa, the Kazekage, somehow knew we captured the Four-Tails and Six-Tails. Our missions are supposed to be classified."
Itachi spoke up.
"Should I use genjutsu? Probe everyone's minds? Find the rat?"
Everyone stared. No one volunteered.
Kakuzu crossed his arms.
"Planting seeds of doubt will tear us apart. If we're going that route, I'm out."
With over 90 years of life behind him, Kakuzu knew how fast mistrust could burn everything down.
Obito and Black Zetsu exchanged uneasy glances.
They needed Akatsuki. This wasn't part of the plan.
Black Zetsu tried to play it cool.
"Mufasa's clever. He's got all kinds of weird tricks up his sleeve. He probably figured it out without a leak."
Obito added, "Could be psychological warfare. Maybe he wants us to doubt each other."
Nagato sighed.
"Maybe so. But we've come too far. We're all rogues. There's no turning back. We either stick together, or we fall apart."
Obito asked, "So... why does Mufasa want Tailed Beast chakra?"
Nagato answered without hesitation.
"He wants to conquer the world."
Silence fell. That hit harder than the traitor line.
Hidan nearly tripped over himself.
"WHAT?! That psycho Kazekage wants to take over the ninja world?! For Jashin's sake, this is... I got no words!"
Obito froze.
Mufasa wasn't just a nuisance anymore—he was competition.
But Black Zetsu's gears were turning.
He didn't care who ruled the world, as long as it helped him bring back his mother.
Maybe Mufasa could be useful.
Maybe... he could send a test subject to reach out.
Heh.
His splinter self—Byakuya Kuchiki—was starting to think he had free will.
He didn't realize Black Zetsu could control him anytime.
Fine.
Let him try talking to Mufasa first.
Meanwhile, Hamura, hearing Mufasa's ambition, blew up.
"I knew that guy had delusions of grandeur! We need to expose him to every daimyo out there and get the world to shut him down!"
Everyone in the room stared at Hamura.
Seriously?
This dude forgot they were literally the bad guys. Who was gonna believe anything they said?
Mufasa had a pristine public image—like some noble hero straight out of a fairy tale.
...
Nagato groaned.
"Forget it. We're postponing the Tailed Beast plan. Focus on paid missions. Build up the Hidden Rain's defenses."
The cannon tanks Mufasa left parked outside the village walls were a loud reminder:
Reality is just a blast radius away.
Without knowing who the traitor was, diving back into the tailed beast hunt would just serve Mufasa's game.
Better to fortify their own.
Nagato's Six Paths had tech, and they weren't about to let Sand Village outshine them.
The 'traitor bust' meeting ended in confusion and silence, with no answers.
Just one truth:
Mufasa was always five steps ahead.
_______________________________
Word count: 1692
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