Inside that massive, two-meter-tall safe lay a treasure trove of valuables—stacks of high-denomination bills, rows of neatly arranged gold bars, sacks of sparkling gems, plus random compartments stuffed with jewelry and property deeds.
Izayoi, in two lifetimes, had never seen so much money.
"So this is what top-tier wealth really looks like?" he muttered. "If Gato wasn't lying, this is just one of his hidden stashes. How loaded can that guy be?"
"Eh, who cares. It's all mine now," he said with a mischievous chuckle.
Pulling out two storage scrolls he'd prepared earlier, Izayoi loaded every last bit of cash, gold, jewels, jewelry, and deeds into them.
The safe itself was way too big, and neither scroll was one of those large or extra-large types—no way to store the entire thing. Fortunately, Izayoi had foreseen this and bought a couple of scrolls.
After scooping up all the loot, Izayoi returned from the basement to ground level. Forming a one-handed seal, he created a Shadow Clone packed with a hefty amount of chakra.
He looked at the clone and said, "I'll leave the rest to you, all right?"
"You really gotta ask? Why wouldn't I trust myself?" the clone shot back.
Raising its hand, the clone used gravitational force to yank Gato into the air, then hauled him out of the Land of Waves. Once that clone was gone, Izayoi grabbed Momochi Zabuza and Haku with another clone, then flew away as well.
Back on the main continent, Izayoi and his clone each carried one of the unconscious rogue ninjas.
They sped off toward the nearest black market. Thanks to his Tenseigan's ability to survey all of the Land of Fire, Izayoi already knew exactly where that black market was.
Aside from Konoha's Anbu and Root, underground black market types made their homes below the surface.
He had tried using the Tenseigan to locate Black and White Zetsu (or their clones), but it was futile—probably the Mayfly Technique letting them merge with soil and vegetation.
Though Black and White Zetsu weren't great at fighting, they had three incredible abilities—Spore, Mimicry, and Mayfly. Those three could be considered next-level versions of the basic Clone, Transformation, Substitution, and Hiding Jutsu. Even legendary figures like Hagoromo or Hamura never managed to sniff out "their third brother."
In under half a day, Izayoi and his clone reached the closest black market, disguised as a public restroom. Leaving the clone outside to keep an eye on Zabuza and Haku, Izayoi entered alone.
"Welcome, sir. Right this way," said a middle-aged man in a black suit, guiding him through a hidden corridor into a private suite.
Anyone wearing a mask obviously preferred to conceal their identity. Such people might be mere wannabes…or big names in the ninja world. The staff would figure out which after hearing the client's request—and only then decide how to respond.
Izayoi, of course, knew none of that. It was his first time in a black market, and there were no signs stating rules. He assumed everyone got the same treatment.
"What are you looking for, sir?" the man asked, once Izayoi was seated and suitably welcomed.
"Got any pen and paper? I need to buy some materials," Izayoi said.
"Certainly…" The man's eyes lit up, sensing a lucrative deal. He fetched pen and paper, and Izayoi carefully wrote down everything he needed for human puppets and chakra cores. Handing it over, he asked, "Can you get these?"
"Let me see…" The man scanned the list carefully. "These are basically Sunagakure puppet materials—some differ, but I can still get them."
"What's your rate here?" Izayoi asked.
Raising three fingers, the man replied, "We tack on thirty percent to the market price."
"Got it. Prepare thirty sets for me. How long will that take?" Izayoi nodded without bothering to figure out the normal price—he didn't want them thinking he was a newbie ripe for fleecing.
"Come back in three days," the man said, rubbing his hands in a slightly awkward smile. "But we do need a deposit—nothing huge, just two hundred thousand ryō."
Two hundred thousand—a typical B-rank mission's reward.
"Sure. I'll return in three days." Izayoi slipped out twenty ten-thousand-ryō bills from inside his roomy sleeve, set them on the table, and walked out. Soon enough, the black market's network began gathering these materials for him.
But in less than a day, word of his order leaked through certain clandestine channels and reached someone's ears.
"We've found the mystery man," White Zetsu said with a grin. "Just like you thought, Black Zetsu—he's buying supplies to build human puppets."
"That stuff could be gathered by hand, but it'd take forever. Right now, only Suna or the black market can quickly supply them. Picking the black market is normal," Black Zetsu replied in a low tone. "Tell 'Madara-sama' right away. Let's deal with this threat fast."
Before long, Obito Uchiha and Black/White Zetsu were standing atop a steel building, having a talk with Tendo Pain.
"So you found that mystery guy? Are you going to go personally?"
"Still not recovered from your injuries?" Tendo Pain asked, sounding him out.
"Not yet. Time isn't enough to fix that wound. And you know, that man ended the world's chaos." Obito's words would have instantly given him away if Nagato had ever met the real Madara, since the original Madara wouldn't explain himself to a kid. Even blinded, facing nine Tailed Beasts, he'd keep up that arrogant front.
Seeing Obito remain cryptic and unwilling to act, Tendo Pain said calmly, "Then I'll go. You provide backup in the shadows."
"Fine, but I'm bringing someone."
"Uchiha Itachi?"
"Exactly. His dōjutsu might come in handy."
"Deal. When do we leave?"
"Right now."
With that, the Six Paths of Pain and Obito sprang into action, no hesitation at all. Izayoi saw none of this—if he had, he'd probably have grimaced.
The overt and covert bosses of Akatsuki teaming up, plus an undefeated prodigy to assist—arguably the strongest three-person squad in the ninja world. All that effort just to take him down? Talk about overkill.
~~~
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