The two-meter-tall, wide safe brimmed with riches.
Stacks of ten-thousand-ryo bills, neatly arranged gold bars, bulging bags of gems, and jewelry and land deeds casually tossed into a compartment…
Izayoi, across two lifetimes, had never seen so much wealth.
"Is this what being one of the world's richest tycoons looks like?" he marveled. "If Kado wasn't lying, this is just one of his stashes. How loaded is this guy?"
"Whatever—now it's all mine, heh."
Izayoi pulled out his prepared storage scrolls, loading them with the cash, gold, gems, jewelry, and deeds from the safe.
Unfortunately, the safe itself was too big, and his scrolls weren't the large or extra-large kind, so he couldn't take the whole thing.
Good thing he'd planned ahead and bought two scrolls.
After stowing the treasure, Izayoi returned from the basement to the surface and formed a single-handed seal, summoning a Shadow Clone with a massive Chakra reserve.
"Handle the rest," he told the clone. "Got it?"
"You're asking me if I can handle it? Who do you think I am?" the clone shot back, using gravity to scoop up Kado and leaving the Land of Waves.
Watching it go, Izayoi and another Shadow Clone took Zabuza and Haku, flying out of the Land of Waves.
Back on the shinobi mainland, Izayoi and the clone each carried one of the unconscious ninja, using the Body Flicker Technique to head for the nearest black market.
With his Tenseigan able to surveil the entire Land of Fire, Izayoi knew exactly where the black market was.
Aside from Konoha's Anbu and Root, only black market folks lived underground.
As for Black and White Zetsu, Izayoi had tried tracking them with his Tenseigan but came up empty.
No surprise—likely the Mayfly Technique, blending them with the earth and plants.
While Black and White Zetsu lacked combat prowess, they had three godly skills: Spore Technique, Impersonation Technique, and Mayfly Technique.
These were like ultimate versions of the Academy's Three Basic Techniques, plus Body Flicker and stealth.
With those skills, even Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki never noticed their "third brother."
In less than half a day, Izayoi and his clone reached the black market's entrance—a public restroom.
Leaving the clone outside to watch Zabuza and Haku, Izayoi entered alone.
"Welcome, sir. This way, please."
As soon as Izayoi stepped through the secret passage, a middle-aged man in a black suit ushered him into a private room.
A masked figure clearly wanted anonymity.
Anonymous types were either pretenders playing mysterious or shinobi with some fame—or infamy.
Their requests would reveal which.
Then came the time to adjust the attitude.
Izayoi, oblivious to the man's calculations, was a black market first-timer.
The Tenseigan offered far-sight and clairvoyance, not eavesdropping, and with no signs posted, he was clueless about the rules.
Seeing the man wordlessly lead him to a private room, he assumed it was standard.
"What does our guest need?"
After seating Izayoi and laying on the hospitality, the man rubbed his hands, eager.
"Got paper and pen? I need some materials," Izayoi said.
"Right away!"
The man's eyes lit up, sensing a big order. He hurried to fetch paper and pen.
Izayoi listed the materials he'd memorized for crafting human puppets and Chakra Cores.
Handing the list over, he asked, "Can you get these?"
"One moment, sir."
The man scanned the paper closely, then said something that impressed Izayoi. "These are Hidden Sand puppet materials. Some are different, but we can get them."
"What's the price here?" Izayoi asked.
The man held up three fingers. "Thirty percent above market."
Meaning their prices were thirty percent higher than standard.
"Fine. Prep thirty sets. How long?" Izayoi nodded, not asking the market rate—he didn't want to look like a rookie.
No way he'd let them fleece him as a mark next time.
"Come back in three days," the man said, rubbing his hands with a sheepish grin. "But we'll need a deposit. Not much—just two hundred thousand ryo."
Two hundred thousand ryo—a B-rank mission's reward.
"Deal. I'll be back in three days."
Izayoi's hand emerged from his wide sleeve, placing twenty ten-thousand-ryo bills on the table before leaving.
The man set the black market's network in motion to gather the materials.
Within a day, the news reached a certain someone's mind through special channels.
"We found the mystery man."
White Zetsu grinned. "Just like you thought, Black Zetsu—he's buying human puppet materials at the black market."
"Puppet materials can be scavenged, but that takes time. The fastest places to get them are the Hidden Sand or the black market. Him choosing the latter makes sense," Black Zetsu said gravely. "Tell 'Lord Madara.' We need to eliminate this threat fast."
Soon, Obito Uchiha and Black and White Zetsu met with the Heavenly Path of Pain on the steel building's rooftop.
"We've located the mystery man. You want to handle it yourself?"
"Your injuries still not healed?" the Heavenly Path probed.
"Not yet. It's not something time can fix. You know that man was the one who ended the Warring States," Obito said.
Good thing Nagato had never met Madara Uchiha, or that line would've exposed Obito as a fake.
The real Shinobi World's Asura wouldn't bother explaining to a junior.
Even eyeless, facing all nine Tailed Beasts, he'd still sneer with arrogance.
Seeing Obito stay cagey and refuse to act, the Heavenly Path said flatly, "Then I'll handle it. You back me up from the shadows."
"Fine, but I'm bringing someone."
"Itachi Uchiha?"
"Exactly. His dojutsu could be a game-changer."
"Agreed. When do we move?"
"Now."
With a few curt exchanges, the Six Paths of Pain and Obito sprang into action, decisive.
Izayoi didn't see this, or he'd have clicked his tongue.
The Akatsuki's two bosses—one open, one hidden—teaming up with an undefeated filial son as backup? That was the shinobi world's ultimate trio.
Sending that lineup after him? Overkill much?
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