Naruto: Shinobi Payday-Chapter 43: Zeldris... Wanted by the Five Great Villages

Land of Lightning – Kumogakure

The mood in the Raikage's office could've curdled milk.

Papers lay scattered across the desk, windows fogged with tension, and the Fourth Raikage, Ay, was doing what he did best: trying not to punch through solid objects while reading disturbing intel.

It wasn't going great.

"Zeldris..." he muttered, eyes scanning the report for the third time like it might magically start making sense.

"One guy. Just one. Are we sure this isn't an exaggerated rumor from a genin who forgot their glasses?"

Samui stood beside him, perfectly composed. As usual.

"No, Raikage-sama," she said calmly. "The report's been verified across three nations. Zeldris wasn't just sightseeing. He was targeting Sunagakure's tailed beast."

Ay's brow twitched.

"The tailed beasts," he repeated slowly. "Right. So someone finally decided to poke the hornet's nest wearing meat-scented armor."

He growled, his muscles tensing. Then his gaze drifted sideways to a nearby couch.

A certain someone was sprawled across it, sunglasses tilted, limbs splayed out like he was sunbathing indoors.

Killer Bee.

Snoring.

Unbothered. Completely missing the part where someone just put a hundred-million-ryo price tag on his head.

Ay's eye twitched again.

Then he moved.

BOOM.

Bee shot upright with a yelp, a crater now embedded in the floor where his head had been lounging.

"OW! Bro, what's the fuss?! I was just chillin', dreamin' of beats and—OUCH, my skull is split!"

Ay pointed an accusing finger so hard, it looked like chakra was leaking from it.

"That Zeldris is after you, you moron!"

Bee blinked, scratched his head, then broke into a grin.

"Yo, don't sweat it—he can bring the flame, but the Eight-Tails and me? We're untamed!"

Ay looked like he might throw another punch. Possibly through the continent.

He turned to Samui instead, trying not to rupture a blood vessel.

"Double the guard. Lock down the gates. I don't care if someone just wants to deliver sushi—check them."

"Yes, Raikage-sama."

"Oh—and gather the elders. Emergency council. If anyone's got a clue how to fight a Zeldris, it's those dusty fossils."

Ay glanced back at Bee one last time.

"You're not leaving the village. Not even for a freestyle battle. Clear?"

Bee grinned, spinning his shades.

"Guess I'll stay in and train my rhymes—maybe even drop a beat so divine!"

Ay groaned audibly as he stormed out, the door slamming behind him.

"...I should have been an only child."

Meanwhile – Land of Rain, Amegakure

Rain dripped steadily over the metallic rooftops of Amegakure. Inside the headquarters of Akatsuki, however, things were... damp in a different way.

Dark room. Dim light. Unsettling vibe.

At the long obsidian table sat three figures.

To the left: Konan, serene, poised, folding a tiny origami shuriken for stress relief.

To the right: Pain, silently radiating dread like it was an aura.

And in the middle, like he owned the place (he didn't), a masked man leaned back with all the smug energy of someone who just knew he was the villain in everyone's story.

Obito.

"Well," he said casually, "Zeldris actually pulled it off."

Konan didn't flinch. Pain didn't blink. The room, however, seemed to get colder.

"I thought he'd cause some chaos, not bulldoze an entire Hidden Village," Obito added, half-impressed, half-mentally updating his backup plans.

Pain finally spoke, voice low.

"What do we know?"

Konan answered, calm as ever.

"Zeldris was once part of Konoha. A prodigy. Expelled under unclear circumstances."

Both men blinked.

Obito even tilted his head. "Expelled?"

He paused, then chuckled. "Typical Konoha. Toss out a prodigy and then wonder why their buildings keep exploding."

Pain didn't even smirk.

"We don't want him as an enemy."

Obito's tone dropped an octave.

"We can't afford him as an enemy."

There was a beat of silence.

Then Pain asked the question floating in the air.

"You've seen him fight... is he really that powerful?"

Obito's voice lost all amusement.

"He's not just strong. He's... inconvenient. The kind of inconvenient that rewrites war plans, topples alliances, and ruins your five-year domination strategy."

Konan raised an eyebrow. For her, this was basically yelling.

"Are you suggesting we... recruit him?"

Obito shook his head.

"Zeldris doesn't join anyone. He might work with you. Might work through you. But not for you."

Konan nodded. That was fair.

Obito stood and stretched slightly.

"Still, I'll handle the One-Tail retrieval personally. Consider it a gift. Use 50 million ryo from the Akatsuki fund."

Konan wordlessly left to retrieve it.

Cue: Kakuzu.

He appeared in the doorway with all the grace of a tax auditor at a ramen stand.

"Did someone say fifty million?"

"Yeah," Obito said without looking back.

Kakuzu's face contorted like someone had insulted his financial planner.

"That's my money. I skimmed fifteen years' worth of mid-tier bounties for that fund."

"You'll live," Obito replied dryly.

"I better," Kakuzu muttered, then stomped off toward the black market like a man about to commit capitalism-induced war crimes.

--------------------------------------

Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters!