Rei nodded, "Go." He said, giving Temari and Gaara an answer to their unasked question. Nodding back, the two turned around and rushed to quickly end this small distraction.
Temari was quite annoyed by these would-be assassins. She could have enjoyed her time near Rei but because these two dudes showed up, she was forced into a fight. Could anyone blame her for being extra brutal with them?
"A pity there is an observer. I haven't stretched my muscles in quite a while." Tsunade quietly complained, contently leaning on Rei who sat next to her.
"You just want it to end quickly so you can go shopping." Rei rolled his eyes.
Inwardly he agreed though. Zetsu being around was indeed annoying.
'Anything you can do about that?' He mentally asked Kaguya but got a negative impression from her. 'Well... not like I expected much.' He sighed.
'What's that supposed to mean?' Kaguya poutily asked. 'I am sealed. It's not like I could just go and tell him to stop.' She complained.
'Why not?' Rei's eyes gained a peculiar glint.
'Eh?' Kaguya let out a confused sound, 'Wha...' And before she could even ask her follow-up question, she found herself outside as Rei created a clone and infused a bit of her chakra into it to draw her consciousness out of her seal through their mental connection.
Both Kankuro and Fuu almost jumped out of their skin as a pale-skinned, horned woman just popped into existence right next to Rei and Tsunade.
"You..." Kaguya gave Rei a speechless look before rubbing her forehead in exasperation. "Fine. What exactly do you want me to do?" She resignedly asked, longingly thinking about the plate of cookies she was so abruptly taken away from.
She knew this was one of Rei's subtle schemes. His 'I just got this awesome idea so let's make it come true' act did not fool her at all. The second he spotted Zetsu nearby, this was most likely bound to happen. It wouldn't help at all for her to complain as, in the end, she would be doing this anyway. Better to just roll with it than pointlessly argue.
During her time with him, she understood at least that much. He was the guy who from the shadows controlled villages that controlled their countries from the shadows. He was the guy behind the creation of the Biri-Biri company and the Uzushio Trading Company, the two international giants that influenced many Daimyos on a day to day basis. He had influence over many things. Influence he seldom used simply because he didn't really need to.
He might have seemed like the spontaneous kind of guy and it might have seemed that he was just the lucky sort that had everything going to his benefit for an outside observer but...
That was just pure bullshit.
He was simply that good at all this subtle plotting and making people do things he wanted them to without them even noticing most of the time or him having to move a finger. Kaguya would know. She had some very minor access to his memories.
For example, Pakura. When Rei saved her all those years ago, he already knew he would one day use her to take control of Sunagakure. He had no idea how or when but it was already in his plans.
He did not save her because she had pretty eyes, after all.
As for pity... yes, he pitied the woman for being betrayed by her village after she gave her all to them but that was something that happened to many ninjas. Was he supposed to save them all just because they were poor pitiful sods stupid enough to let themselves be squeezed dry to the benefit of their villages only to be then betrayed?
'Heh, as if he was that kind.' Kaguya mentally scoffed. Rei was kind only to the people he cared about and those that could bring him some kind of benefit. He was no bastard nor pointlessly ruthless but he would not go out of his way to save others just because they suffered.
In fact, Kaguya marveled at his cavalier attitude to the suffering of others. In Rei's mind, it was simply background noise. People suffered. No biggie. Shit happens. As long as it was not 'his' people, he was totally fine with that and found no reason to intervene.
While he did not foresee himself falling in love with Pakura, that honestly just helped his plans, rather than hindering them. What Kaguya found extremely endearing was that Rei was prepared to completely discard his plans for Pakura once he started caring about her. If she was unwilling to participate in them, he would drop them in a heartbeat.
Fortunately for him, that didn't happen. Not in Pakura's case.
In Mei's case, however, that was exactly what happened so Kaguya knew Rei was not just assuring himself he would stop his schemes for his girls if it came to that. It was not just empty talk. He actually already did it. He had Konan secretly grooming Mei for the position of future Mizukage. Lessons in politics, diplomacy, and bureaucracy... In hindsight, it was obvious what they intended for the girl.
And yet, all it took for Rei to discard his designated plans for making Mei into the fifth Mizukage was him seeing how she acted and realizing she would not like it in the slightest. She was happy in the Village on the Other Side. She was happy making friends and helping Rei directly by mingling with his ninja force, training them, participating in various projects all over Rei's village, and helping it to develop with a hands-on approach. On the other hand, she absolutely hated paperwork and sitting in a chair for long periods of time.
For such a simple reason, Rei decided to make Ringo the Mizukage instead of Mei.
Sure, he might have presented the situation differently to his girls but deep down, he did it for their benefit as much as his. He just cared too much for them to simply use them. That was why Kaguya didn't mind going along with his schemes. He believed Ringo could and would make the best of her time as Mizukage despite her grumbling so he put his foot down.
And now... Ringo was the Mizukage, she had an entire village utterly devoted to her, not even she really knew why or how, and her dream of making the best swords in the world became a reality thanks to her ability to just push the advancement of forging techniques in her village. She literally had a village full of grunts she could just send on material-gathering missions. A dream come true for a person such as her.
Yes, she had to deal with being the leader of a hidden village and all it entailed but frankly, it was pretty obvious that Ringo was happy in her current position.
The same went for Tsunade. While her impromptu surprise take-over of Konoha was a shock for Rei and he had to re-evaluate a lot of his plans, he didn't dwell long on it nor did he admonish her for it. Instead, he simply adjusted his plans.
And the sheer quantity that needed adjusting was mind-boggling. In his position, Kaguya would have screamed herself hoarse at Tsunade. The woman still had no idea whatsoever just how many of Rei's schemes she totally and utterly crushed with that little revolution of hers.
As long as Tsunade was happy, he could live with a headache-inducing month-long replanning session.
That's why Kaguya trusted Rei and wasn't afraid of messing up. That's also why she would try her best though.
"Hm... Let's see. I'd really like to have an informer in Akatsuki. What do you think?" Rei jokingly asked, really not expecting Kaguya to just go and try to talk Zetsu into switching sides.
Zetsu was the driving force behind Akatsuki, after all. Obito could lie to himself that he was the guy in control but unfortunately for him, he was just a puppet of a puppet of a puppet. In fact, the guy was pretty pathetic in Rei's opinion.
"Okay." Kaguya simply shrugged and started slowly walking towards Zetsu's direction.
'Wait, what?' Rei blankly blinked at her back, his mind trying to comprehend what just happened. 'Did she take my joke seriously?'