"Why are you still standing there? Take her down!"
Ryosuke looked at Konan, who remained motionless in front of Yugito, and said.
"Yes, master!"
Yugito nodded with an aggrieved face.
Then she said coldly to Konan, "Come with me."
After speaking, she turned around and left.
Konan looked at her, feeling very angry inside. But after thinking about it, she still followed.
A Few Minutes Later
Ryosuke was sitting in the living room, drinking tea when Yugito brought Konan, who had finished changing.
Konan, now dressed in a maid outfit, exuded a different kind of temperament.
Ryosuke looked her up and down and, after a moment, nodded in satisfaction.
He said, "Yes, this suit suits you."
Konan gritted her teeth, wishing she could tear this hateful man apart.
Although she had guessed Ryosuke's intentions, she had never expected that he would make her a maid.
Damn it!!!
What is wrong with this man?
He used two Tailed Beasts to exchange for a maid??
Is he out of his mind?!!
Of course, Ryosuke wasn't crazy.
Even without Konan, he would have found an opportunity to hand over Matatabi and Kurama's chakra to Akatsuki.
So, Konan was just an extra—an unexpected bonus. But Konan didn't understand that.
So, she couldn't figure out why Ryosuke had done this.
Ryosuke said, "From now on, learn from Yugito. If you do well, I'll give you a salary increase."
'Like hell I care about your salary!'
'I was the financial officer of the Akatsuki!!'
Konan gritted her teeth angrily, but in the end, she still said, "Okay."
The realization made her feel utterly defeated. She could already picture her miserable future.
What made it worse was that despite her own frustration, the woman next to her—the former Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails—looked at her with jealousy.
When Yugito took her to change clothes, she even warned Konan not to try to steal the master's only personal maid position.
What?
Is she out of her mind?!
Why would she ever fight her for a maid position?!
Has she been brainwashed by Ryosuke?
Konan felt like everyone here was insane.
Ryosuke was not normal. And Yugito was definitely not normal either.
Were there no sane people in this place?
Just as Konan was drowning in despair...
The villa door suddenly opened.
Then, Temari and Karin walked in together.
"Ryosuke!"
While shouting, Karin ran up to Ryosuke, smiling as she kissed him on the cheek.
She said, "Do you want something delicious?"
She took out a pack of snacks from her pocket like a treasure and showed it to Ryosuke.
Temari also walked over. She glanced curiously at the unfamiliar woman, then sat down beside Ryosuke.
Ryosuke pulled her into his arms.
Temari was slightly embarrassed, mostly because there was a stranger present.
Karin, on the other hand, was far more carefree. She didn't care about Konan at all.
"Ryosuke, who is she?" Temari asked curiously.
"Konan, the new maid." Ryosuke said.
…
'AHHH!!!'
'I swear I will kill this damn man!'
'What do I do?!'
'I can't hold back anymore!!'
Konan was going crazy.
Her face even started twitching from frustration.
"Why does she look so angry?" Temari asked curiously.
Something felt off about this new maid.
Did Ryosuke steal her from somewhere?
Temari was highly suspicious.
After all, she knew Ryosuke.
And this was exactly the kind of thing he would do.
And it wouldn't even be the first time.
"Angry?"
Ryosuke shook his head with a smile and he said, "No, she's just too happy."
Temari: "…"
'You think I'm blind?!'
She rolled her eyes.
Meanwhile, Karin didn't care at all. Maid or not, it had nothing to do with her.
She opened the snack bag, took a bite, then handed another piece to Ryosuke.
"Is it good?" Karin asked with a smile.
"Yes, not bad!" Ryosuke nodded.
It was actually quite tasty.
Meanwhile, Konan had no vhoice but to accept her fate.
Though she was forced to become Ryosuke's maid, at least he didn't do anything excessive.
Like using her as a bed-warmer or something.
If that had happened, Konan didn't know how she would react.
Would she grit her teeth and endure it?
Would she resist?
Or would she kill herself to protect her dignity?
But… what if Ryosuke retaliated against the Akatsuki?
This uncertainty troubled Konan deeply.
Luckily, nothing like that happened.
Even though she had to serve tea, pour water, and occasionally give Ryosuke a massage—
At least she wasn't constantly living in fear anymore.
And after a while, Konan found herself getting used to it.
Somehow, this life didn't seem so bad?
The moment the thought crossed her mind, she nearly slapped herself.
What the hell is she thinking?!
...
Elsewhere, as Konan adjusted to maid life
Akatsuki was busy capturing more Tailed Beasts.
Since Three-Tails was wild, it was quickly caught by Kisame and Sasuke.
Why was Sasuke helping?
Because after Itachi's death, Sasuke took his place and officially joined the Akatsuki.
If this were before, Sasuke might have considered returning to Konoha after avenging his clan.
Even as a rogue ninja, he would have at least tried to go back.
But now—
After learning the truth behind the Uchiha massacre…
Sasuke hated Konoha.
Even though the ones responsible were Konoha's higher-ups, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to forgive the village.
If not for Konoha, his clan wouldn't have been wiped out.
So until he sorted out his feelings, he had no intention of returning.
So before he figured it out, he wouldn't go back to Konoha.
But now—
Let's hang out in the Akatsuki first.
After all, the goal of the Akatsuki is to collect the Nine Tailed Beasts and then use their power to suppress all ninjas in the world to achieve peace.
This would inevitably make them hostile to Konoha.
Therefore, Sasuke felt that staying in the Akatsuki should be a good choice.
Plus, Menma-sensei was there too. So, he agreed to take Uchiha Itachi's place and became the new Suzaku of Akatsuki.
After Kisame and Sasuke captured Three Tails, the other members of Akatsuki also took action.
For a while, the Akatsuki appeared everywhere in the world, and several major ninja villages were "cared for" by them.
Especially Kumogakure.
Pain personally descended upon Kumogakure with the Six Paths of Pain and captured Eight Tails Jinchūriki, Killer Bee, with his own hands.
Killer Bee wasn't so lucky this time.
He failed to escape the claws of Pain's Six Paths and was captured.
And this time—
The previous seven tailed beasts had already been sealed in the Gedo Statue.
Only the last two, Eight Tails and Nine Tails, remained unsealed.
After Pain brought back Eight Tails, the members of the Akatsuki immediately began sealing it.
Meanwhile—
The major ninja villages, which had been successively invaded by the Akatsuki, had mobilized a large number of ninjas and were now heading toward the headquarters of the Akatsuki—Amegakure.
This was thanks in part to Sasuke.
Because Sasuke had mentioned to Naruto that Akatsuki's base was in Amegakure.
As a result, after Akatsuki's repeated attacks on the major hidden villages, Konoha received a joint invitation from Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure after their Jinchūrikis were captured.
As the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade communicated in writing with the other village leaders.
Then she informed them of Akatsuki's base's location, which she had learned from Naruto.
It was precisely because of this that the other village leaders now knew the location of Akatsuki's base.
...
Amegakure
In the forest—
The figures of ninjas rushed forward quickly, silently sneaking into Amegakure's perimeter.
At this moment—
Nagato, seated atop the central tower of Amegakure, sensed the presence of these intruders.
"They're here."
Nagato opened his eyes, his Rinnegan glowing with cold determination.
He knew that Akatsuki's plan to capture the tailed beasts wouldn't go so smoothly.
But now, all nine tailed beasts were within their grasp. The only thing left was the sealing process.
Seeing that the seal on Eight Tails was almost complete, all that remained was sealing Nine Tails.
Once that was done, the Gedo Statue could be activated, unleashing the power of the Nine Tailed Beasts to make the world feel true pain.
"Have the others stall them first. It's time for them to fulfill their final role." Nagato muttered to himself.
At this point, the remaining members of the Akatsuki were no longer of any real use to him.
Nagato didn't care whether they lived or died.
If they lived, they were still part of the Akatsuki.
If they died—
Then so be it.
The dead were worthless.
For a group of criminals and rogue ninjas, Nagato believed that death might actually be their best fate.
Inside the cave
Pain, who was overseeing the sealing process, opened his eyes.
Then he turned his head and looked at the members of the Akatsuki standing nearby.
"Intruders have arrived. Go stop them. Don't let them interrupt the sealing."
Several Akatsuki members silently nodded.
Immediately, a few of them disconnected from the Gedo Statue.
Although this would slow the sealing process, it at least freed up manpower to handle the intruders.
"Haha~! I can't wait to swing my scythe!"
Hidan laughed loudly, glancing at Kakuzu beside him.
"Kakuzu, why do you look so grim?" He asked.
Kakuzu shot him a glance, then turned toward the cave's entrance.
A bad feeling crept over him. He turned to Sasuke, who stood not far away.
"Sasuke-kun, where's Menma?" Kakuzu asked.
Hearing this, Sasuke shook his head.
"Menma-sensei left two days ago for something urgent, but he hasn't returned yet."
Upon hearing this, Kakuzu's ominous premonition grew stronger.
Menma, second only to the leader in strength, was missing at such a critical moment?
If this was a mere coincidence, Kakuzu wouldn't believe it even if he were killed.
"Something's wrong." Kakuzu muttered to himself.
"Huh? Kakuzu, what are you mumbling about?"
Hidan didn't catch what he said.
Kakuzu shook his head, keeping his suspicions to himself.
Outside Amegakure
Naruto looked up at the gloomy sky and thought, 'I wonder if Sasuke is here.'
This time, the Five Great Hidden Villages had joined forces to annihilate the Akatsuki.
Everything was done in secret, and their efficiency was unprecedented.
There was no other choice.
Out of the nine known tailed beasts, seven had already been captured by Akatsuki.
(They don't know that Ryosuke has also given them Two Tails and Nine Tails.)
Only Konoha's Two Tails and Nine Tails remained free.
Although they didn't know Akatsuki's exact intentions, allowing a rogue organization to control the power of seven tailed beasts was an unacceptable threat.
Therefore, the Five Great Hidden Villages displayed unprecedented unity, reaching an agreement in just a few days.
The Kages of the four villages, along with Sunagakure's elders, didn't even need to meet in person.
They all agreed to launch an attack on Amegakure together.
Naruto and the Konoha ninjas around him represented Konoha's forces.
Leading them was none other than Naruto's teacher, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku—Jiraiya.