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The List of The "ANBU" mber:
-ar4ngel
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-Splendid
-Jacob Mooe
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At this point in ti, Kakashi was in a dark phase of his life.
He treated everyone coldly, and avoided speaking unless absolutely necessary.
Who would have thought he could find common ground with Shisui?
anwhile, Utatane was negotiating with the team responsible for transporting supplies.
Kazuki, however, turned out to be the last to arrive.
After concluding her discussions with the transport team, Koharu glanced at Kazuki with a mix of worry, concerned he might cause trouble for her on purpose.
Surprisingly, noticing her gaze, Kazuki smiled faintly and nodded.
"Advisor, are we ready to depart?"
Koharu, who had braced herself for confrontation, paused for a mont before replying slowly.
"I’ve already coordinated with the transport team. Since everyone is here now, let’s head out."
Kazuki was well aware of what was going through Koharu’s mind.
The group left the village following the transport team, with Koharu leading at the front, while Kazuki, Shisui, and Kakashi stayed at the rear.
Although dical supplies were valuable, they were relatively easy to transport and didn’t slow the team down significantly.
Still, the team moved slower compared to traveling light.
"Elder, does sothing seem off about this shipnt?"
Shisui, noticing Kazuki keeping an eye on the transport team, asked curiously.
Even Kakashi looked over with interest.
"No, there’s nothing wrong with the people or the supplies," Kazuki replied, keeping his pace steady. After so thought, he added.
"I’m just curious. dical supplies are so valuable and compact; it seems unnecessary to involve a transport team. A few sealing scrolls could handle it just as well."
Using sealing scrolls to transport the supplies would be far more efficient. Setting up an entire transport team for such a simple task seed excessive.
Perhaps because Kazuki had spoken up or appeared cooperative, Koharu’s mood improved slightly. She glanced over and explained.
"While it’s true that many dical supplies are transported using convenient sealing scrolls, the scrolls themselves are extrely expensive. Since our route takes us through the Land of Iron and on to the Land of Lightning, we opted for a transport team instead. It may be slower, but it saves a significant amount of money."
In other words, the village was cutting costs. Compared to the price of sealing scrolls, the pay for a transport team was negligible.
Hearing this, the mbers of the transport team wore awkward expressions.
While Koharu’s words were factual, they carried a dismissive undertone, as though implying that ordinary shinobi were worth less than sealing scrolls.
Unfortunately, Koharu, who had long operated from a position of authority, didn’t bother considering the feelings of lower-ranking shinobi.
In her view, the village issued missions, and shinobi who accepted them to serve as transport teams were simply doing their jobs for the village. There was no need to sugarcoat anything.
If every decision had to cater to the emotions of lower-ranking shinobi, the village wouldn’t be able to function.
Such is the bluntness of those in power.
Kazuki glanced sympathetically at the mbers of the transport team and tactfully steered the conversation away from the awkward topic.
anwhile, on the roads near the Fire Country’s border, Kakuzu was grumbling incessantly.
"Those bounty exchange idiots are charging higher fees every year. Even inaccurate intel cos with a ridiculous price tag!"
For soone like Kakuzu, who cared only about making money, losing even a bit of it felt like losing a piece of himself.
"If we didn’t waste ti arguing about this nonsense, we might have completed more missions and earned even more money by now," Juzo Biwa quipped, carrying his Executioner’s Blade. Kakuzu was great in many ways, but his obsession with money was exhausting.
"Hey, Sasori, how about switching partners? You team up with Kakuzu," Juzo suggested, half-jokingly.
Sasori, who had temporarily joined Kakuzu’s team after Orochimaru’s defection, remained silent. His new partner, an ex-shinobi nad Dai, was also under evaluation.
Orochimaru’s defection had left Akatsuki short-handed, prompting Black Zetsu to scour the world for new recruits.
Unfortunately, qualified candidates were scarce. Even among S-rank defectors, skill levels varied greatly. Many didn’t survive Akatsuki’s dangerous missions long enough to pass their evaluation period.
Sasori coldly glanced at Juzo but said nothing.
Kakuzu, however, smirked and said, "If you can convince the leader, I wouldn’t mind."
Juzo shivered at the thought of Pain and quickly shook his head.
"Never mind. We’ll stick with the current arrangent until more mbers join."
"By the way, who’s our target this ti?"
"A shipnt of critical dical supplies being transported from Konoha to the Land of Iron. These are highly valuable resources needed by the organization."
The world of "Naruto" was a bizarre one, with stark inequalities in developnt.
For powerful shinobi, obtaining precious equipnt and dical supplies was trivial. But for ordinary people and low-ranking shinobi, such items were prohibitively expensive.
Akatsuki might not need the supplies for itself, but Agakure certainly did.
"It seems Konoha has plenty of spies," Juzo remarked, laughing smugly.
Recalling prior intel, Juzo’s laughter grew louder. Konoha had already been shaken to its core by two leaks of information from the bounty exchange.
Now, with spies in Konoha still active, even critical information like this had been uncovered.
"Hmph," Sasori snorted, his displeasure evident.
The ntion of Konoha irritated him. Due to Orochimaru’s betrayal, Sasori’s mission had failed, and his partner had defected. To make matters worse, the organization had reduced his supply of puppet materials as a form of punishnt.
Sasori simred in frustration while Juzo remained cheerfully indifferent. At least Kakuzu had so principles—he wouldn’t harm his teammates unless they interfered with his money or his "collection."
Sasori, on the other hand, could silently kill soone for even the slightest offense.
The transport team made steady progress. Despite their slower pace, they reached the Fire Country’s border after two days of uneventful travel.
Once they crossed the border into the Land of Iron, it would take just half a day to complete the mission and proceed to the Land of Lightning.
However, the group soon encountered unexpected trouble.
"Who would’ve thought we’d run into such formidable opponents during a simple escort mission?" Kazuki remarked, intrigued by the figures blocking their path.
Standing boldly in the middle of the road were mbers of Akatsuki, their deanor unmistakably threatening.
"Akatsuki!"
Due to Orochimaru’s betrayal, Konoha now had detailed intel on Akatsuki. They knew about the organization’s attire and so of its mbers.
The tension in the air grew as Koharu imdiately ordered the transport team to retreat.
"Fall back now!"
Coldly eyeing the Akatsuki mbers, she addressed them directly.
"You’re with Akatsuki, aren’t you? Kakuzu? Juzo Biwa? And Sasori?"
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