After Deidara helped destroy the used "PPTs," Hidan was called back into the cave.
Hidan noticed that everyone else's attitude towards Bai Mo had changed. It was as if Bai Mo had genuinely proposed a convincing strategy.
Hidan scratched his head, very curious.
Before Hidan could say anything, Bai Mo spoke again: "Besides the plan I just mentioned, there's another one that can also achieve deterrence, but it's relatively more troublesome to implement."
"Quick, tell us! Who's the next victim... uh, I mean, who's the next one to have the honor of deterring the ninja world?"
Deidara was exceptionally excited, seemingly eager for chaos, almost blurting out his true feelings.
"Lady Konan..."
Bai Mo's gaze had just turned to Konan. His form of address had also subtly changed.
Konan's heart skipped a beat. Before Bai Mo could finish, she walked up to him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and with a cool expression and complex look, uttered four words: "I beg you."
Bai Mo acted as if he understood. "Since Lady Konan is begging me, then I'll just make my plan public."
"No..."
Konan looked conflicted. She wanted to stop Bai Mo from proposing some outrageous strategy with her as the protagonist. But she also clearly understood that everything Bai Mo proposed was beneficial for Akatsuki and the Hidden Rain Village.
"Lady Konan, your jutsu's disguise ability should be quite good, right?"
Bai Mo asked.
"...It's decent."
Konan's heart tightened. To guard against Madara, she could disguise exploding tags as an "ocean." Her Paper Person of God technique could even fool Madara's Mangekyō Sharingan. She hadn't expected Bai Mo to bring this up. She couldn't be too explicit, but for the sake of the village and Akatsuki, Konan still gave an affirmative answer.
"That's good then, Lady Konan. You can disguise your exploding tags as toilet paper and mix them in to sell to the Five Great Shinobi Villages. When they use the toilet paper to wipe their butts... let the world feel Pain! Art is an explosion!"
This time, Bai Mo's explanation didn't use "PPTs"; instead, he gave a passionate performance himself.
"How do the last two sentences sound a bit familiar?"
Hidan, lacking in intelligence, made a remark that made everyone smile in relief while others were speechless and shocked.
Deidara heard his exclusive, cool catchphrase being stolen by Bai Mo and used in such a context, and instantly felt as disgusted as if he was halfway through stirring something and realized he was holding the wrong stick.
"I beg you..."
Deidara also couldn't help but utter these four words.
"Even for begging, you have to wait in line. I'm currently talking about a plan exclusively for Lady Konan."
Bai Mo pointed at Konan.
Konan's expression was a mix of helplessness, resignation, and a hint of admiration. This was indeed something she could do but had never thought of.
"No! This can't be done!"
Kakuzu suddenly roared in a deep voice, startling everyone. The Akatsuki members looked at him in surprise. They hadn't expected Kakuzu, a potential candidate for the most perverse member, to actually oppose this plan? Had everyone misjudged him?
"Why?"
Bai Mo and Konan strangely asked Kakuzu at the same time. After realizing the other had also spoken, they exchanged glances.
"How much does an exploding tag cost? How much does a roll of toilet paper cost? How much money will be lost by disguising exploding tags as toilet paper? Have you calculated it?!"
Kakuzu's green eyes stared angrily at Bai Mo.
His indignant questioning made Konan secretly sigh in relief. —It seems the cat's not out of the bag yet. She knew it; if even Uchiha Madara couldn't see through her disguise, how could Kakuzu possibly notice?
"Kakuzu, your perspective is too narrow."
Bai Mo shook his head.
"My perspective is narrow?! Do you know how long I've lived?"
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes.
"A thousand years?"
"..."
"It seems not. You haven't lived a thousand years, so it's better not to act like an old man trying to teach the young. Besides, I'm not scolding you; I have a reason. I heard Hidan once asked you why you don't just kill the people in the bounty station. Wouldn't that earn more? Your answer was that bounty missions allow for sustainable development. That concept of economics is very good. However, in this matter, you are still only looking at immediate profits and not long-term development."
Bai Mo spoke, and Kakuzu listened. Even though Bai Mo's comment about "acting like an old man" annoyed him, he held it in. What came next was crucial. Bai Mo's previous plans had already proven his strategic prowess; he wouldn't speak aimlessly, and Kakuzu already trusted him completely in this regard.
"Firstly, there's a saying: you can't save money on military expenses. The military expenses you save for yourself will eventually turn into reparations for others. Secondly, have you forgotten the Hidden Rain Village development plan I showed you earlier? Once it develops steadily, the profits gained will be enough to support more than a dozen such loss-making plans. What's more, we can also produce toilet paper. Toilet paper produced elsewhere might explode, but only ours can be used safely. This is a monopoly. The Five Great Shinobi Villages will all have to use our toilet paper. At that time, we can print patterns and slogans on the toilet paper. It's common knowledge that people like to read something when they're pooping. At that time, the ordinary people of the Five Great Shinobi Villages will be subtly influenced by us..."
"Of course, they can also choose not to use paper and go back to using twigs and grass to wipe their butts as before. But in that case, it will be even easier to damage their delicate skin. You know what happens next."
Bai Mo suddenly stopped. Everyone instantly understood that this was because Hidan had returned. This matter couldn't be stated explicitly.
"Your strategy is so interconnected from top to bottom? Unbelievable, hmm!"
Deidara's complaint voiced everyone's thoughts.
"I still have questions."
Kakuzu spoke again, "What do you mean by printing things on the toilet paper, as you said last? Do you want the Five Great Shinobi Villages to accept Akatsuki's ideals? I think you're being too fanciful. Setting everything else aside, as soon as we start capturing Tailed Beasts, we and the Five Great Shinobi Villages will become mortal enemies, no matter what."
The others also silently agreed. Even those like Pain, Konan, and Deidara, who quite hoped their ideals (or art?) would be recognized, didn't believe the people of the Five Great Shinobi Villages could understand them.
"This is the last thing I want to say. I have decided that the Akatsuki Organization will abandon the plan of capturing Tailed Beasts to create the Ten-Tails for deterrence."
Bai Mo's expression was serious.
"..."
Pain, who had been standing silently in the corner, stirred. However, compared to Nagato, the one with the greatest emotional fluctuation was Black Zetsu below. The moment those words were spoken, in Black Zetsu's mind, Bai Mo had already sealed his fate. Just as Black Zetsu was thinking about when to inform Obito to get rid of Bai Mo, Bai Mo's next words completely stunned him.
"Our new plan is—to revive Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."