Amegakure.
Deva Path Pain stood atop a high tower, watching the torrential rain outside.
He wasn't idling—he was using the Rain Tiger at Will Technique to monitor the village.
In simple terms, Rain Tiger at Will infuses chakra into raindrops and uses Amegakure's ever-present rain for sensory detection.
In the original story, Jiraiya was detected by this very technique the moment he snuck into Amegakure.
Suddenly, Pain's eyes flickered.
He sensed a familiar chakra signature—Konan.
Back at last?
Konan had left for the Land of Earth in late December. It had been two months now.
She'd gone there to sell silver jewelry.
To be honest, Pain—Nagato—didn't think silver jewelry would make that much money.
In his view, the quickest way for Akatsuki to earn was still taking underworld commissions and bounties.
After all, everyone who could join Akatsuki was a powerful jonin.
After a moment, Konan descended from the sky.
She folded away her white paper wings and walked up to him.
"Nagato."
Konan took out a document. "This is the sales report for the silver jewelry over the past two months."
Pain glanced at it, and his pupils tightened.
Were there two extra zeros on that number?
He instinctively accepted the file and read through it.
"You're sure these figures aren't wrong?"
After finishing, Pain paused for two seconds and asked.
"They're accurate."
Konan thought of Kitazawa and said with a hint of wonder, "I didn't expect we'd make this much either."
Pain held his tongue.
In just two months, Konan had earned as much as Akatsuki made in a year.
Even if he called himself a god, he couldn't help being surprised.
"But there's a problem," Konan said, frowning. "The silver mine in the Land of Rain won't last long."
"Send every Akatsuki member out to prospect," Pain said without hesitation as he closed the file.
"We're not doing commissions and bounties anymore?" Konan asked, surprised.
"The point of commissions and bounties is money," Pain said firmly. "If silver jewelry makes more, then we change Akatsuki's strategy."
Konan quietly exhaled.
He hadn't said it before, but it was clear from his attitude he hadn't been keen on selling jewelry. Fortunately the profits were real, and he'd changed his mind.
"If the Land of Rain runs out of ore, we'll look in neighboring small countries," he added after a moment.
"Mm."
Konan nodded, then asked, "Nagato, do you still have your medicine?"
"In a month, Kitazawa can treat my legs," Pain said, rare emotion touching his voice. "I'll be able to stand and walk again."
"I'll make sure he's notified on time." Konan was genuinely happy.
Nagato was her only true friend now, and his legs were blown apart because of her. If she hadn't been captured by Hanzō, Yahiko wouldn't have died, and Nagato wouldn't have been crippled.
Thinking of that dimmed her eyes.
"Use part of the jewelry profits to build up the Land of Rain," Pain said, thinking of Yahiko. "That was his dream."
Konan fell into thought.
It rains all year in the Land of Rain; there's almost nothing you can develop. Right now the most profitable work for locals was ore separation and silver-jewelry processing.
An idea flickered—she could go back to Konoha and ask Kitazawa.
Kitazawa gave her the feeling he knew everything.
At least when it came to making money, she hadn't seen a ninja better than him.
"I'll leave the jewelry to you," Pain said after a pause. "If the Akatsuki members won't follow orders, come to me."
Akatsuki's members were traditional shinobi, just like he had been. He worried they wouldn't accept a change in strategy.
It didn't matter. He was god; strength ruled. If they didn't accept it, they would.
"Okay," Konan answered, then asked, "Has Uchiha Madara done anything lately?"
"No." Pain shook his head. "He's doing the same as the others—bounties and commissions."
"In that case, keep him on that," Konan said after a brief thought. "Don't let him get his hands on the jewelry side."
She still didn't trust Uchiha Madara—or rather, Obito.
"Fine," Pain said, and left it at that.
"I'm heading back to Konoha tomorrow," Konan continued.
Pain looked at her; she did seem changed. But he believed that whatever changed, Konan would stand with Akatsuki.
Two days flashed by.
At sunset, it was dismissal time at the Academy again.
Kitazawa had just stepped out the gate when he sensed her—Konan standing in a distant corner.
She wore an Anbu mask and stood there quietly; if you didn't look closely, you could easily overlook her.
"Welcome back to Konoha," Kitazawa said with a smile as he walked up.
Konan was taken aback.
It sounded like Konoha was her home.
"Thank you," she replied coolly.
Then she handed him a file.
"Looks like my promo campaign worked," Kitazawa said after a quick scan, nodding in satisfaction.
Not as big as the Ocean's Heart boutique, but not bad either.
"Very effective," Konan said, a little impressed as she looked at him.
The more time she spent with him, the more she felt how different Kitazawa was. She really wanted to know how he came up with those marketing tactics.
"Who's running the jewelry operation now?" Kitazawa asked, putting the file away.
"An Akatsuki member," Konan said. "Don't worry—he's very experienced when it comes to money."
Kitazawa understood at once.
She almost certainly meant Kakuzu.
In the original story, Kakuzu loved money; his hobby was hoarding it. After joining Akatsuki, he devoured bounties—and even sold out teammates for cash. Inside Akatsuki, infighting was tacitly permitted. Not until he paired up with an immortal teammate, Hidan, did he stop the worst of it.
"Kitazawa, I have a question," Konan said after a moment's hesitation. "If we want to develop the Land of Rain, where should we start?"
"I'm Akatsuki's consultant, not the Land of Rain's," Kitazawa said, meeting her gaze with a smile. "So what's my fee?"
"What do you want?" Konan asked, briefly stunned.
Kitazawa reached out and took off her Anbu mask.
He studied her beautiful face for a moment, then put the mask back on.
"Haven't decided yet. Put it on my tab," he said lightly. "As for where to start—it's actually simple."
"Simple?" Konan was startled.
She, Nagato, and Yahiko had all thought about it, as had the Land of Rain's nobles and officials—no one had found a path. How could it sound so easy when Kitazawa said it?
"What resource does the Land of Rain have the most of?" Kitazawa asked in return.
"The Land of Rain doesn't really have resources," Konan said after thinking it over, shaking her head.
"Rainwater," Kitazawa said with a small laugh.
"How is rainwater a 'resource'?" Konan asked, puzzled.
"To people in the Land of Rain, rainwater is worthless—because it's everywhere," Kitazawa reminded her. "But what about the Land of Wind? It's deserts end to end and desperately short on water."
"You mean…?" Konan's eyes widened as she caught on.
"Collect your rainwater, filter it, then ship it to the Land of Wind and sell it," Kitazawa said plainly.
Konan was stunned.
The idea was obviously highly feasible.
So why had no one thought of it before?
"As for transport, two options," Kitazawa continued. "One: use the summoning beasts you're already using to move ore and jewelry. Two: pipelines—Earth Release shinobi dig the lines, Water Release shinobi direct the flow."
If Kisame were still around, Akatsuki would have it even easier. But Kitazawa had already killed him. Still, Akatsuki had plenty of Water Release users—Kakuzu, for one; Jūzō Biwa, for another.
Konan came back to herself, at a loss for words.
She couldn't help imagining—if Kitazawa were in Akatsuki, maybe the Land of Rain would already be thriving.
But he was a Konoha shinobi. Too bad.
"I need to head back to the Land of Rain," Konan said, suddenly eager.
"See you in a couple of days," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Thank you," Konan said sincerely, then turned to go.
Kitazawa watched her and shook his head.
How to put it?
In his view, building up the Land of Rain wasn't really necessary for Akatsuki. Once the Eye of the Moon Plan rolled out, any development would be for nothing.
Real development needed a peaceful environment—especially in a world where strength ruled.
If it were Kitazawa, he'd topple Uchiha Madara and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya first, then remake the shinobi world on a grand scale.
By then, no one would dare object.
Still, helping Konan didn't cost him anything—and it let him rack up some goodwill.
Kitazawa was a practical man. With a system as his cheat, he didn't have to hide it.
Konan returned to Akatsuki.
"Back so soon?" Pain asked, surprised.
"Nagato," Konan said, taking a deep breath, and told him about selling Land of Rain water to the Land of Wind.
"You can do that?" Pain asked.
It sounded simple, but the simpler an idea, the easier it is to overlook.
"Seems your consultant really is competent," he said with a nod.
Konan hadn't mentioned Kitazawa by name—she'd only said she'd hired a new consultant. She'd described him as an experienced businessman. With Pain's temperament, he wouldn't bother about an ordinary person.
"We've got business ties with some nobles in the Land of Wind," Konan said, thinking aloud. "If we approach them, they won't refuse."
The Land of Wind lacked water. If the Land of Rain could deliver it to their door, of course they'd be eager. In the desert, water was worth more than gold. Akatsuki might make a killing.
"You handle it," Pain said, agreeing.
"I want to give the job to Jūzō Biwa. He specializes in Water Release," Konan said, shaking her head.
Kakuzu would run the jewelry; Jūzō Biwa would oversee water; she would go back to Konoha as Anbu. Kitazawa had helped her so much—she had to repay him.
"That works," Pain said, thinking nothing more of it.
Three more days passed—Saturday.
Kitazawa arrived at the Anbu base to meet Kabuto.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Kabuto said, taking out a scroll. "After extended surveillance, we found the problem with the Takumi Village."
As expected, Kitazawa thought.
He opened the scroll and read.
It was pretty much what he'd guessed: they were cutting corners. They'd skimmed off half the Box of Ultimate Bliss's materials for themselves, then mixed the remainder with other stuff to forge his four bows.
"Seems Konoha's reputation still isn't enough," Kitazawa said with a small laugh.
"Should we retrieve the materials?" Kabuto asked calmly.
From his perspective, a little village like the Takumis trying to cheat Konoha was suicide. Kitazawa wouldn't even need to move—Anbu could erase them in a night.
"No rush," Kitazawa said after a brief thought. "Give it another half month."
Half a month later was the Advanced Class's second monthly exam. He planned to take Hyūga Hinata and Hyūga Neji to the Takumi Village.
The Four Celestial Symbols Men were said to be jonin, but most of their strength came from their ninja tools—unusual weapons that could be infused with chakra to unleash matching jutsu. And "jonin from a minor village" often meant "high-chunin" in practice.
He remembered their gear: three swords and one suit of armor.
Those three swords could be seized and given to his students.
The Weaknessless Soaring Shortswords could reduce Wind Release chakra consumption and boost wind-style power.
The Garian Sword could lengthen its blade—and transform into a dragon to attack.
The last was a Fire Sword that fired beams like the Sword of Kusanagi's lightning variant.
They'd need to test them to know the exact effects.
As for the armor—too ugly. He didn't want it. And he didn't need it. Something that bulky would just slow him down.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
With those three swords, plus the Sword of the Thunder God, Samehada, and the twin Yin-Release bows, he could form Konoha's own Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Distribution would be the issue.
Yakumo could take one—she'd learned Leaf-Style Kenjutsu. Among the others, only Naruto and Sasuke had learned Leaf-Style swordplay.
Then he remembered the Weaknessless Soaring Shortswords' wind affinity—they'd only suit a Wind Release user. Among his students, only Kabuto used wind.
Which meant he only needed to allocate the Garian Sword and the Fire Sword.
"Since you're back, you don't need to go to Takumi Village again. I'll send someone else," Kitazawa said to Kabuto, coming back to himself. "Go get some rest."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Kabuto said, turning to leave.
Kitazawa leaned back, thinking about who else to bring besides Hinata and Neji.
There were Four Celestial Symbols Men, so he could take two more students to toughen them up. Given their level, quite a few would do: Sasuke, Naruto, Aburame Shino, Kurama Yakumo, Aburame Torune, Kimimaro, and so on.
After a moment, he decided on Yakumo and Tenten—he planned to give them the Garian Sword and the Fire Sword.
Just then, his brow lifted.
Footsteps approached.
He felt a pair of warm hands on his forehead.
"I'll give you a massage," Konan said in her cool voice.
"Hold on," Kitazawa said, an idea striking him. He took her wrist and led her over to the sofa.
Konan blinked, then understood.
She sat down with her legs together and looked at him.
Kitazawa lay down with his head in her lap and closed his eyes.
Breathing in her faint, clean scent, he drifted into a nap.
Half an hour later, he sat up.
"Akatsuki has already reached out to the Land of Wind about the water trade," Konan said, looking at him. "If it works, I can split it with you the same way as before—half the profits."
In this deal, it was practically pure margin for both the Land of Rain and Akatsuki. Rain fell from the sky, after all.
"Thanks," Kitazawa said, stretching. "You don't need to shadow me this afternoon. Go rest at the Anbu dorm."
After saying goodbye to Konan, he headed to a nearby training ground.
After mastering Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees, he'd chosen his second wood-style technique: Wood Release: Four-Pillar House.
Yes—the signature jutsu Yamato used.
Its effect was simple: in an instant, it created a complex wooden house.
His reason for learning it was simple too. On future missions, instead of pitching tents, he could just pop up a house—super convenient, especially since he often took students out on assignments.
There was also Wood Release: Serial Pillar Houses Technique, which could produce multiple wooden houses at once. In theory, as long as he had enough chakra, he could conjure hundreds or thousands of homes.
If something like Pain's invasion ever happened again and he dropped a Full Throttle Shinra Tensei, this Serial Pillar Houses technique could be a lifesaver.
Of course, as things stood, that invasion likely wouldn't happen—by then, with the system, Kitazawa should be able to stop Nagato.
Anyway—the system allocates the points. Let's see what this system can really do!
Kitazawa smiled, shook off the stray thoughts, and started practicing Wood Release: Four-Pillar House.
~~~
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