For Amegakure, a monumental day was approaching.
First, the village would officially be renamed to the Village of Heaven. Then, Nagato's inauguration as the First Ten Shadow would take place.
After all, Amegakure had essentially unified the entire shinobi world. The Five Great Villages had been absorbed into it, leaving only a few small villages and rogue ninjas scattered on the outskirts of the map. But if the Akatsuki had the time to spare, bringing them under control would be no more than a trivial task.
Since they had effectively become the undisputed rulers of the shinobi world, it was only natural that the core members of the Akatsuki should be rewarded for their contributions.
"I want to be the village's Minister of Finance," Kakuzu stated bluntly. He had been eyeing this position for a long time.
Nagato nodded, unsurprised by the request. The rest of the group also expected it—who would dare compete with the old man for control of the village's treasury?
Wouldn't even dare think about it unless they wanted their heart stolen.
"I want to be the headmaster of the ninja academy!" Hidan declared next, shocking everyone into silence.
"Oi! Hidan, you're joking, right? You? A headmaster?" Deidara was completely speechless.
Faced with everyone's skepticism, Hidan scowled.
"Deidara, what the hell do you mean by that?"
"Why can't I be the headmaster of the ninja academy?"
"You just want to spread your Jashinist religion in the school, don't you?" Kisame hit the nail on the head.
"So what if I do? Are you looking down on the teachings of Jashin-sama?" Hidan shot back, raising his voice.
"You said it yourself. Yes, we are," Sasori chimed in from the sidelines, clearly enjoying the drama.
"Oi! Sasori! What the hell do you mean by that?! I'll fight you right now!" Hidan slammed his scythe onto the table and leaned forward aggressively, glaring at Sasori.
"Alright, alright."
"Hidan, you should know that's out of the question," Nagato sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Then at least let me build a Jashinist church! That way, I can get promoted to high priest!" Hidan bargained.
The group exchanged knowing glances. Hidan, do you even realize what you're asking? Who in their right mind would allow you to spread your dangerous cult here?
Nagato could feel a headache coming on as Hidan continued to rant. How was he supposed to deal with this?
In the end, it was Deidara who came up with a solution. "Hidan, I think you should consult Kakuzu about building your church, considering he's now the Minister of Finance."
"Building a church would cost a fortune, wouldn't it? So you'll need Kakuzu's approval."
Deidara deliberately emphasized the words 'cost a fortune.' Sure enough, the newly appointed Minister of Finance, Kakuzu, immediately looked alert.
"Shut up, Hidan!"
"The village's funds are extremely valuable! There's no way we're wasting them on your nonsense!" Kakuzu snapped.
"How is it nonsense?! I'm completely serious about this!" Hidan protested.
But as they say, every strong force has its counter. Though he and Kakuzu were back to bickering, at least Hidan wasn't insisting on his church anymore.
Phew!
Nagato let out a sigh of relief. Hidan was probably the hardest one to deal with. Now that his issue was settled, the rest should be much easier.
"Deidara, what about you?" Nagato turned to him next. Of everyone in Akatsuki, Deidara's contributions to their expansion were among the greatest.
Deidara rubbed his chin thoughtfully before replying,
"I have a simple request. I want to be the Minister of Economics."
Minister of Economics? What the hell was that?
Given the current state of the shinobi world, no one could quite grasp the concept of an economy minister.
"An economics minister is responsible for developing business projects and promoting the village's economic growth," Deidara explained.
The group still looked confused, but it didn't seem particularly important.
"Well, if that's what you want, we'll establish an Economics Department," Nagato decided without hesitation.
"Sasori, what about you?"
Sasori sat with his arms crossed. Unlike before, he no longer remained inside Hiruko all the time. This was a sign that he had gradually opened up and was no longer as reclusive.
"I want to be in charge of the corpse retrieval division."
Everyone was speechless. Wasn't that the equivalent of putting a monkey in charge of a fruit orchard?
Nagato coughed. "Sasori, don't you have any other requests?"
Fortunately, Sasori wasn't the type to be unreasonable. He knew exactly what the others were worried about.
"Fine. I'll be the Minister of Science instead. There are plenty of research projects we acquired from Konoha and Orochimaru that still need to be continued."
That was a reasonable choice. While Sasori wasn't quite on Orochimaru's level in scientific research, he was certainly ahead of most shinobi.
"Alright." Nagato nodded, sealing the decision.
"Kisame, Itachi, what about you two?"
"Ara, ara, finally my turn?" Kisame grinned, baring his sharp shark-like teeth. "Now, what should I ask for…?"
He thought about it but suddenly felt at a loss.
"I have no idea. Itachi, what about you?" Kisame turned to Itachi.
The two exchanged glances. Though Itachi's expression remained cold as usual, his eyes showed the same uncertainty.
"Heh, why not just grant Itachi a few wives? The Uchiha clan's revival depends on him and Sasuke, after all." Deidara smirked mischievously.
"True, the Sharingan is such a powerful bloodline limit. It'd be a waste if it disappeared," Kisame agreed.
Kakuzu added, "Well… why not have him marry someone from the Hyuga clan? Maybe his eyes will evolve into something even stronger."
"A new eye technique? One that combines the Sharingan and the Byakugan? That would be insane!" Hidan exclaimed.
Sasori took it further. "Wouldn't it make more sense to marry someone from the Senju clan instead? The Sharingan clearly thrives with a strong body like the Senju's."
"That way, his descendants would have both Uchiha and Senju blood. They might surpass even Hashirama and Madara!"
"Yeah, but there's only one Senju left… and she's an old lady now," Hidan said, wrinkling his nose.
Kisame, looking worldly, commented, "That doesn't matter. No matter how old she is, she still looks young."
"Tch, as if she'd even be interested in Itachi. What if Tsunade refuses?"
It was then that someone dropped a bombshell.
"Itachi still has Kotoamatsukami, doesn't he? He could just use it on her."
"That's enough!" Itachi finally snapped. This conversation had gone completely off the rails.
Kotoamatsukami, his ultimate trump card, and they wanted him to waste it on this nonsense?
"Shh!" Deidara hushed them, pressing a finger to his lips as if preparing for a grand reveal.
"You've all talked about this at length, but has anyone considered another possibility?"
"Another possibility?"
The group looked at Deidara in confusion.
"Itachi never actually said he likes women."
A collective shiver ran through the group.
Was the truth really that terrifying?
"Deidara! Go to hell!"
"YAMERO!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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