Chapter 330: A New Member of the Akatsuki—Hiruko!
At dawn, Haneda returned to Konoha after a sleepless night on the moon.
The spatial transfer array connected directly to Naka River, just outside Konoha. From there, Haneda used Flying Thunder God to instantly transport himself to his office.
It was still early morning, and Shikaku was already hard at work in the office. His desk was piled high with documents, resembling a miniature mountain range. Among the paperwork sat three steamed buns and a bottle of milk—an improvised breakfast for a man too busy to eat properly.
One glance at Shikaku's setup was enough to fill Haneda with a fleeting sense of guilt.
But he quickly rationalized his absence: while he had indeed avoided handling government affairs for a while, all responsibilities had been delegated to the most capable people.
And honestly, with the looming threat of the Fourth Great Ninja War, Haneda had no choice but to allocate his time toward improving his strength.
As for Shikaku? Well... the capable are always burdened with more work.
"Ah, a rare guest, Lord Hokage," Shikaku remarked without even looking up. He had heard the distinct sound of a teleportation technique and instinctively knew it was Haneda.
If it were Kakashi using Flying Thunder God, he would've appeared outside the office and knocked before entering. Only Haneda ignored such formalities, directly teleporting inside without a second thought.
"Lord Hokage," Shikaku said with an air of exaggerated grievance, "you came back yesterday but didn't stop by the office. Do you know what happened next?"
"Let me guess," Haneda interjected with a smirk, "Asuma abandoned his work again, and Tsunade and Jiraiya decided to follow his lead?"
"Exactly," Shikaku replied with a weary sigh. "I've been left to shoulder the entire load. Couldn't you, you know, spread the suffering a bit more evenly?"
"Ah, capable people like you are invaluable, Shikaku," Haneda said shamelessly. "Hang in there for a little while longer. Once your son Shikamaru grows up, he'll be the perfect assistant for you."
Shikaku's mouth twitched in irritation. Not only was he being overworked, but now Haneda was planning to rope his son into this mess? Truly, Haneda was the epitome of a "people's entrepreneur"—profiting off others without breaking a sweat himself.
But then Shikaku thought about how much easier things would be with Shikamaru's help in the future. He sighed internally, deciding it wouldn't be the worst idea to train his son for the role.
At that moment, Shizune walked into the office carrying another stack of documents, which she unceremoniously added to Shikaku's already mountainous workload.
Shikaku's face twitched as he glanced between the papers and Haneda.
"What are you looking at me for?" Haneda asked innocently. "Do I have something on my face?"
Shizune quickly excused herself, claiming she had urgent matters to attend to at the hospital. She practically fled the office, leaving Shikaku to fend for himself.
With no one else to take his frustration out on, Shikaku got down to business.
"Lord Hokage," he began, "we've received a formal protest from Sunagakure regarding the disappearance of their One-Tails Jinchūriki. They've strongly condemned our actions and are demanding an explanation."
"Should I issue a public statement?" Haneda asked casually.
Shikaku hesitated for a moment before smirking. "You could, or... we could 'investigate' rumors of Sand Village developing weapons of mass destruction near the border. It would certainly send a message."
Haneda waved the suggestion away. "There's no need for that. For now, Konoha's focus should remain on economic development and improving living standards. Suna is too impoverished to pose a real threat."
"I'll visit the Rain Village soon to strengthen relations and address the situation indirectly. While I'm there, I'll also check on the railway construction progress."
Shikaku nodded in agreement. Both men knew Sunagakure wouldn't dare take military action against Konoha. The might of Haneda alone was enough to deter any aggressive moves.
Once the conversation about Sand Village concluded, Haneda shifted the topic.
"Shikaku, have you heard of a man named Hiruko?"
"Hiruko? Wasn't he a classmate of Lady Tsunade and the others in the academy?" Shikaku recalled. "A mediocre shinobi who later became a rogue ninja after delving into forbidden research?"
"That's right," Haneda confirmed.
Shikaku pulled out an old dossier from the archive, flipping through its contents. "Hiruko was originally a Jōnin of Konoha but fled the village after being caught experimenting with forbidden techniques. The Sannin—Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—were sent to track him down but failed to capture him. Since then, he's remained under the radar."
After a pause, Shikaku added, "Though... I seem to recall some recent activity related to him."
He rummaged through a separate stack of files and produced a report. Handing it to Haneda, he explained:
"Hiruko recently joined the Akatsuki. He was spotted in the Rain Village shortly after the direct rail line to Konoha was completed. His codename is 'Blue.'"
Haneda's eyes narrowed. "And who's his partner?"
"Akatsuki paired him with Sasori of the Red Sand," Shikaku replied.
Hearing this, Haneda's expression darkened. Sasori had been a thorn in his side for some time, and now, with Hiruko in the mix, the situation had become even more pressing.
"Do we know why Hiruko joined the Akatsuki?" Haneda asked.
Shikaku shook his head. "The Akatsuki's inner workings remain highly secretive. Even with our current collaboration, there's little information available. However, we do know that Pain—both the leader of the Akatsuki and the Rain Village—maintains a cooperative stance toward Konoha."
Shikaku smirked. "If you want more details, you could always ask Deidara. He's been on missions with the Akatsuki and might know something."
Haneda nodded, deciding to follow up with Deidara later.
After delegating some agricultural development plans to Shikaku, Haneda left the office and used Flying Thunder God to teleport to Deidara's location in the mines.
As expected, Deidara was surrounded by miners, who were lavishing praise on his "fleeting but eternal" art.
Deidara had even begun teaching his Explosion Release techniques to a select few miners—actually undercover operatives planted by Haneda to boost Deidara's morale.
Of course, none of them had managed to master the technique, but Deidara seemed content to continue his artistic evangelism.
"Deidara," Haneda called out, getting straight to the point. "What do you know about Hiruko from the Akatsuki? He's partnered with Sasori. Have you met him?"
…
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