After staying in the Land of Rain for a few days, Kakuzu finally adapted to life in the Akatsuki.
Contrary to his expectation of daily missions involving murder and robbery, Byakuya spent his days wandering around, inspecting various enterprises while Kakuzu acting as his prime bodyguard.
But considering Byakuya's strength, did he really need a bodyguard?
What was clear, though, was that Byakuya was indeed very wealthy, alleviating any concerns about payment. As long as Kakuzu obediently followed Byakuya's orders, he would receive a substantial salary.
At times, however, Kakuzu felt uneasy about earning his salary without doing much and wished he could kill a few more people for Byakuya.
Standing outside the Amegakure Tower, Kakuzu straightened his posture at this thought.
Inside the Amegakure building, Byakuya sat in a recliner, looking at Yahiko and the others. He yawned out of boredom, waiting for others to speak.
Since he became the leader of the Akatsuki while Yahiko became the leader of Amegakure, they had clear divisions of responsibility.
Yahiko, being gentle and willing to strictly implement the Akatsuki's will, was responsible for economic development and diplomatic work. Under his governance, the Land of Rain was well-organized.
Byakuya was responsible for military affairs, in a role similar to the head of Konoha's Anbu, overseeing espionage activities.
Other tasks, such as training regular ninjas, building ninja schools, and infrastructure development, were handed over to Nagato and Konan, each responsible for a significant sector.
On the first and fifteenth of every month, the four of them would gather to report on their work and discuss the future development plans for Amegakure.
"This past half month, the infrastructure department completed the plan to build a road from Amegakure to the capital, but encountered difficulties with reservoir construction. We need support from ninjas proficient in Earth Release," reported Nagato.
"The orphanage is as usual, with no incidents. However, the ninja school lacks qualified Chunin instructors. The ninjas you recommended are strong but too fierce, scaring the children," reported Konan.
After their reports, both glanced at Yahiko before focusing their gaze on Byakuya.
Feeling awkward under Konan and Nagato's stares, Byakuya said, "Why are you looking at me? Yahiko is the village leader. Ask the dear leader to solve your problems."
Konan and Nagato remained expressionless, continuing to stare at Byakuya, as if saying:
"Guess if we discussed it privately while you were away. If there were any results, would we delay solving it until now?"
After a moment, Byakuya spoke with a look of resignation:
"Understood. I have ninjas skilled in Earth Release. I'll send them to support the water engineering project right away. But as for Chunin teachers, I really can't help. My subordinates are more adept at killing. If I sent them to teach at the ninja school, they might make the students more efficient killers than the ninjas from the Sand or Mist villages."
Hearing this, Konan's expression shifted before she sighed, "Let's not do that. I don't want our new generation to become ninjas who only know how to kill. Their lives should be more colorful."
Despite her words, Konan still looked at Byakuya with hopeful eyes.
Byakuya sighed lightly. He had a golden finger for development, but now it seemed he had become the golden finger for Yahiko's trio, almost like Doraemon, a universal helper.
After pondering for a moment, Byakuya suggested that Konan recruit some knowledgeable ordinary people to serve as teachers at the ninja school.
In his previous life, he had never held a high position, so he wasn't sure how to properly develop an organization, a village, or a country.
But he knew that a mercenary group like a ninja village was abnormal.
Ninjas, with their superpowers mastering core productivity, shouldn't be used solely for killing; it was too extreme.
During their time at the ninja school, ninjas didn't necessarily need to focus too much on combat abilities.
Compared to shuriken throwing and the use of the Three Basic Techniques, basic knowledge dissemination was more important, so that after graduation, they could be allocated to suitable positions.
After all, training a thousand Chunin cannon fodder couldn't compare to nurturing one Kage-level strongman.
Moreover, chakra technology was advancing with the times. As long as the technology was adequate, even ordinary Genin students could possess combat power comparable to Anbu ninjas.
This was why he suggested Konan take charge of the ninja school and implement reforms there.
After addressing Konan's question, Byakuya turned his gaze to Yahiko and said calmly, "Yahiko, did you get into any trouble in your work?"
Yahiko shook his head slightly, "During this period, I didn't encounter any diplomatic troubles. Communication with other countries went very smoothly, and they agreed to trade and open their borders. Even some foreign envoys who wanted to cause trouble changed their minds after seeing Hanzo's puppet. Your idea of having Nagato create the puppet was indeed good. Amegakure still needs the deterrence of the demigod."
"Well, I'll be off then."
Byakuya wasn't particularly interested in Yahiko's words and was about to leave the Amegakure Tower when Yahiko slowly pulled out an intelligence report and said, "Recently, a few significant events have occurred in the ninja world that you all need to know about."
Yahiko flipped some pages of the report before continuing,
"The first is that Minato Namikaze has become the Fourth Hokage."
"The second is that Yagura has become the Fourth Mizukage. In just two months, both Konoha and Kirigakure have new leaders."
"Is that all?"
Byakuya was not surprised by Minato becoming the Fourth Hokage.
Although Orochimaru was a competitor, his sinister nature meant he could never win against Minato. Minato's achievements were no less than Orochimaru's, and his warm personality, coupled with the approval of the Third Hokage, ensured Orochimaru never had a chance.
This situation was somewhat similar to the Uchiha's plight.
The Uchiha didn't even have the qualification to run for Hokage. Danzo and his recommendations had the qualifications, but the outcome would always be the same.
In a sense, both Danzo and the Uchiha were sore losers.
Striving to become Hokage like moths to a flame, they were ultimately consumed by the Will of Fire.
Danzo's Shimura clan and Sasuke's Uchiha clan both eventually vanished into history, barely making a ripple.
However, Byakuya was somewhat surprised by the news of Yagura becoming the Fourth Mizukage.
It wasn't surprising that Yagura became Mizukage, but rather that it happened so early. Obito seemed to be active in Kirigakure during this period, suggesting that Obito had a hand in this.
Once Obito finished with Kirigakure, he would likely turn his attention to Konoha. Another spectacle was about to unfold.