Entering this area resembling a steel wasteland, Logan sensed a considerable amount of Chakra fluctuations. It seemed that, just like last time, there were many high-level Ninja hidden as scouts for the actual leader of the Amegakure.
"Sir, I won't accompany you any further. The leader is waiting for you on the top floor." Under a dilapidated tall building, the steady man bowed and said.
Logan glanced up at the towering building tens of meters high, with rainwater forming continuous lines in the air. He couldn't help but wonder how this strange structure, shrouded in darkness from the outside, was constructed using the peculiar technological advancements of the Ninja World. He nodded, "I understand."
The steady man simply left the way he came.
The dark night became quiet as the footsteps moved away. The streetlights sporadically dotted the area, casting dim light through the rain curtain, with Logan being the only figure wearing a raincoat. The imposing building in front, devoid of any light, seemed like a monstrous beast ready to devour anyone who approached.
"This office environment is terrible. I'll definitely spend most of my time outside in the future." Logan muttered to himself as he entered the building.
Once inside, the air was noticeably warmer and drier, surprising Logan. Despite the gloomy silence from the outside, there was still some liveliness within.
With enough light to see, Logan noticed that while there were few Ninja on this floor. In addition to Amegakure's Ninja who can be seen standing steadily from a long distance, there are also a small number of patrolling people filling the floor.
'It seems they've used some sort of camouflage.'
When Logan went to work in the new company, he still had to show the kind of employee attitude that his boss liked. He took off his raincoat, shook it out, and put it on a row of shelves specially designed for placement.
As Logan walked in, the Rain Ninja on this floor could see him, but everyone acted as if they hadn't. It was as if they had been briefed in advance. No one even asked where he came from.
After standing still for a moment, feeling a bit awkward, Logan remembered what the man who led him had said about the leader waiting for him on the top floor. So, he immediately headed upstairs.
By the time he reached the third floor, Logan couldn't help but ask one of the Amegakure's Ninja standing guard, " Excuse me, brother, is there an elevator?"
"..." The Amegakure's Ninja pointed in a direction without saying a word.
"Thank you."
With that, Logan headed in the direction indicated. There were very few Amegakure's Ninja on the first floor, and as he went higher, there were almost none. He figured that Pain was just going through the motions; after all, the real focus of his plan relied on the core members of the Akatsuki. As for actual defense against infiltration, these Amegakure's Ninja were basically cannon fodder.
He remembered from the original series that when Jiraiya infiltrated and fought with Pain, there were all sorts of sewers. Perhaps there was even an Akatsuki base underground.
Deciding against taking the elevator, Logan continued to ascend the stairs, intending to explore and observe more. However, he was met by someone before he could reach the top.
"Long time no see. What are you looking at?"
A figure all in white suddenly appeared from the corner of the wall. It was White Zetsu.
"Could you appear in a more normal way?" Logan glanced at White Zetsu approaching, "Nothing in particular, just curious."
He never let down his guard, nor did he panic by White Zetsu's sudden appearance.
"'Zero' is waiting for you. Let's go up." White Zetsu said with a smile, and then led the way, "How was it in Konoha?"
Logan caught up with the other party, his speed suddenly increased, and he calmly asked the question: "What are you referring to?"
"How else could it be that the quality of the intelligence you submitted when you were lurking in Konoha was so low? Of course it was about how you left the village without being exposed?"
When the story about the spies handing in information and going crazy was exposed, Logan didn't blush and said, "I'm not exposed, and just leave the village normally."
"Tsk, tsk, then you have to be careful about the possible tail behind you. It wouldn't be a good idea to know that you are also working for other forces." White Zetsu warned in a tone that hardly conveyed concern.
"You're so good at gathering intelligence. Do you really need to ask me how I left the village?" Logan replied casually.
White Zetsu shrugged as they walked, "How can the secrets of the largest Ninja Village, Konoha Village, be so easy to find out? If I am discovered once, it would be even more difficult to infiltrate next time."
Logan remained silent while listening to White Zetsu's chatter.
Unlike Black Zetsu, who was serious and reserved, White Zetsu was quite the opposite, always talking. Even if Logan fell silent later on, he could still talk about a lot of things, 'I really wonder how such a loquacious character could be effective at gathering intelligence. Perhaps it was to compensate for the isolation during his undercover missions?'
Amid White Zetsu's incessant babbling, Logan finally reached the top floor. Entering a large hall, he saw Pain standing by the window, gazing out at the landscape. The black cloak with red clouds pattern was unmistakable, even from behind.
White Zetsu fell silent at this moment. After bringing Logan here, his task was completed and he stood aside quietly.
'There was no sign of Konan or Obito, nor any other members. But this was not unusual, given the elusive nature of the Akatsuki.' After a brief moment, Logan cleared his throat.
"Hello, Leader."
Pain moved slightly, then turned to face Logan. Those Rinnegan still make people throb no matter how many times they look at them, "Welcome to the Akatsuki."
There was no need for formalities, as they were already familiar with each other from previous interactions through the Magic Lantern Body Technique.
"White Zetsu will take you to get your cloak. If you need a place to stay, any vacant room here is available."
"Okay." Logan nodded, pretending not to notice White Zetsu winking at him.
"Your mission now is to make money for the organization and prepare for the next stage of our plan. All other members are engaged in similar activities." Pain walked to the main seat and sat down.
"What exactly is the mission?" Logan frowned.
Pain tossed over an ordinary scroll and said, "It's very simple. To quickly acquire wealth, we just need to incite wars between small nations. Then, we offer our services to one side. If we're lucky, we can play both sides multiple times."
Hearing this, Logan was speechless. This method, just as he remembered, was shameless and relied heavily on the members' individual strength.
"Do I have a partner? I heard the organization usually operates in teams of two." Logan asked the more concerned question. He hoped it wouldn't be White Zetsu, Obito, or Kisame, whom he had previously fought.
Of course, it would be best to be with Itachi, with whom he had a long-standing relationship. Speaking of which, the two haven't seen each other for a long time, and Logan wondered how Itachi is doing now. If he has the chance to meet, he wanted catch up on old times.
"No." Pain fell silent for a while and gave an answer that Logan didn't expect, "You will temporarily work alone. You can wait for the organization to send you one, or you can recruit someone yourself, but they must be approved."
"What are the requirements for recruiting someone into the organization?" Logan wasn't too pleased about working solo. After all, involving himself in war between small nations sounded very exhausting.
"Someone at Kage level or close to it, with sufficient Chakra." Pain said.
"Okay." Logan rolled his eyes internally. However, upon opening the scroll, he fortunately found that the amount of money he was tasked to gather wasn't too overwhelming, 'It seemed the workload for a solo operative was reduced accordingly.'
Check out my new novel, the title is: In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy.
Just click my profile, and look for my uploaded novel..