Reincarnation Paradise Park-Chapter 539 - 27: New Mission

At the border of the River Country, in a raging river.

A patch of green emerged from the river, and a half-meter-sized frog poked its head out of the water, its bulging eyes observing the surroundings with a gleam of intelligence.

After confirming no danger around, the frog opened its large mouth, and a hand emerged from within.

Jiraiya crawled out from the frog’s mouth, standing on the water’s surface, blood soaking through the clothing on his chest, where the intense battle earlier had caused the wounds on his chest to rupture.

"Is this what Akatsuki Organization members are like? Not to be underestimated."

Jiraiya had been investigating the Akatsuki Organization worldwide, and today, he had encountered its members, the result was not optimistic; the lack of intelligence put him at a disadvantage in the initial encounter.

"It’s a pity not to have captured any prisoners, but getting the valuable intel is crucial; this intelligence must be relayed back to Konoha as quickly as possible."

Hands forming seals, white smoke rose, and a toad was summoned by Jiraiya.

This toad had a peculiar appearance, with a slender body and a deep yellow head, and except for the upper torso, its lower body was rolled into a scroll over a meter long.

"Jiraiya."

Gamaten crossed its arms; the scroll on its body held important information, including the key to unlocking the Nine-tails’ seal.

Gamaten knew that Jiraiya would not summon it without something important.

"Gamaten, help me relay a message to Tsunade."

Jiraiya summarized the information about Su Xiao and the other two and conceived a strategy to counter them.

After a long while, Gamaten nodded.

"Got it. You’re so seriously injured because you faced those three?"

"Yes, if I’m not mistaken, these three are just Akatsuki Organization members, not the leader; if the members are this powerful, the leader will be even more difficult to deal with. I already have some intelligence; Akatsuki Organization frequently appears near the Hidden Rain Village. I plan to recover first and then head directly to the Hidden Rain Village after meeting Tsunade back in Konoha."

Jiraiya had long thought of infiltrating the Hidden Rain Village, but there’s always been a bad feeling in his heart.

"You’re going to infiltrate the Hidden Rain Village alone? It’s isolated from the outside world, known only for its constant rain and internal turmoil, with very little other information."

"Yes, I’ll go later. A ninja village sealed off to such an extent is very unusual. I suspect it is the Akatsuki Organization’s headquarters. This is just a suspicion; the exact situation needs further investigation to confirm."

"Alright then, I shall take my leave now, and I’ll get the intelligence delivered to you."

"Thank you."

With a puff, the white smoke rose, and Gamaten disappeared.

Jiraiya walked onto the riverbank, recalling that there was a village nearby suitable for him to tend to his wounds.

...

In the Land of Rain, inside a sealed cave, an oil lamp faintly flickered, and several shadows stood around it.

"That’s how it went, the assassination of River Country’s daimyo succeeded, and Jiraiya was driven back; the Three Ninja aren’t much."

Deidara’s shadow yawned; it was the middle of the night, and he had been sleeping before Pain made contact.

"Jiraiya."

The Heavenly Dao murmured, showing no significant emotional fluctuation.

"Were your positions exposed?"

Konan’s shadow looked at Su Xiao. This matter seemed suspicious as Su Xiao had just joined the partnership with Sasori and Deidara when Jiraiya appeared.

"Yes, we were exposed. It’s likely that the Sannin Jiraiya just happened to pass by. He didn’t act when we ambushed our target; he only appeared later using stealth tactics. The position he ambushed from was hastily chosen, and he wasn’t well-informed about our details."

Sasori understood Konan’s intent and said a few words of fairness for Su Xiao. During the previous battle, Su Xiao’s actions were clearly observed; a spy wouldn’t behave that way.

"Jiraiya is investigating us." Su Xiao suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

Both Heavenly Dao and Konan looked at Su Xiao.

"How do you know?"

"He recognized our outfits."

Su Xiao recalled something Jiraiya had said earlier.

"Any evidence?"

Heavenly Dao was, of course, not inclined to believe Su Xiao just by his words.

"When Jiraiya first met us, he muttered to himself, ’Clothes with red cloud on black, it can’t be wrong; these are Akatsuki Organization members.’ Though he spoke quietly, I was close enough to him to faintly hear it."

Su Xiao wasn’t making things up; before the fight began, Jiraiya did murmur such a sentence.

Heavenly Dao looked at Sasori and Deidara. Both shook their heads. After pondering a moment, Sasori said, "We were very far from Jiraiya. Only Bai Ye was close and even injured Jiraiya."

Su Xiao had just recently joined Akatsuki, so suspicions were only natural.

"It is possible we have a mole among us, but such a possibility is unlikely."

Su Xiao’s words slightly surprised Konan. She had a fleeting suspicion that Su Xiao might be Jiraiya’s mole, but then dismissed such thoughts from her mind.

"What do you mean?"

Heavenly Dao looked at Su Xiao, signaling him to continue speaking.

"Firstly, Sasori and Deidara had already been there waiting for two days. If Jiraiya had prior intel, he wouldn’t wait until my arrival to hastily choose a spot for his ambush.

Of course, it’s possible that I’m Jiraiya’s mole; such suspicions cannot be excluded. You can investigate or suspect me, considering I’ve only been with Akatsuki for a few days."

Su Xiao said no more; Heavenly Dao looked at Konan. If the information had indeed leaked from within Akatsuki, they already had suspects in mind.

Itachi, yes, Uchiha Itachi. The day he joined the Akatsuki Organization, Nagato guessed that Itachi might be a spy for Konoha. But Itachi was of value, and there was a mutual agreement in place, which Itachi dared not overstep.

Looking back after Itachi’s death, when Nagato went solo against Konoha, it was clear Itachi had been holding Nagato at bay, indirectly protecting Konoha.

Heavenly Dao, after contemplating for a moment, felt this incident didn’t seem like it was Itachi leaking information.

Thus, it seemed the three did indeed encounter Jiraiya by chance during their mission, and as for Su Xiao, Nagato never doubted him from the start. Even the most reckless spies wouldn’t act so soon after joining Akatsuki.

Is it really just bad luck? Perhaps. After all, among the three-man squad, there was a chieftain, and Sasori and Deidara would always end up involved.

"Let this matter end here. I’ll handle the follow-up. All of you still have other tasks, Konan."

Su Xiao and the other two turned to look at Konan.

"A relatively dangerous commission has come in recently regarding the settling of the civil war in the Land of Water. Someone doesn’t want the Land of Water to cease its internal conflict so soon, so..."

After listening to Konan’s description of the mission, a smile appeared on Su Xiao’s face.

"This mission is not bad. Can we kill the Mizukage?"

Su Xiao hadn’t expected he’d return to the Land of Water so soon, and in charge of stoking its internal conflict, no less.

"If you can kill him, it doesn’t matter. Just don’t delay the task, that’s all."

The shadow of Heavenly Dao vanished, and Konan also disappeared.

"It’s all busy work, time for sleep."

Deidara also vanished, leaving Su Xiao and Sasori to disappear together.

Within the borders of the River Country, at a wind-sheltered harbor formed by rocks, two people were resting against the rock; not far away, there was another figure keeping watch.

Scorpion was the one on night watch, his proposal, as he could no longer be considered human and didn’t require sleep or food.

"When do we set out?"

Deidara yawned and threw a few pieces of firewood onto the campfire; it was cold in the River Country at night.

"Tomorrow morning, I’ve lost too much blood."

Su Xiao, lounging lazily against a large stone, seemed to be having a bout of laziness.

"Okay."

The voice of Sasori came from nearby, as his Scarlet Stream Tiger was shattered, revealing himself in his true form as a handsome red-haired boy.

Su Xiao glanced at Deidara, then at Sasori. With their looks, they could totally form an idol group.