Chapter 202: The Masked Man
With a few swift leaps, Kitahara Kaede landed in front of Pakura.
He was about to speak, but the words caught in his throat.
Her hair had changed.
The iconic orange-green dual-toned locks were gone, replaced by a sleek, pure black hime cut. The straight bangs rested neatly just above her brow, and the side locks framed her face, falling to her collarbones.
She looked like a completely different person.
Kitahara Kaede froze for a moment. To be honest, he hadn't expected Pakura to dye her hair. In the simulations, even when she had been betrayed by Sunagakure and lived in seclusion, she had never thought to change it. Yet now, for the sake of the mission he had arranged, she had done it.
A strange tightness gripped his chest, a feeling he couldn't quite name.
The rain continued to pour, growing heavier. The two exchanged a silent nod and moved instinctively toward the rock wall. He remembered an abandoned mine nearby—a remnant of an old quarry—that was dry and sheltered from the wind.
Once inside the cave, Kitahara Kaede shook the droplets from his coat and sat down on a flat stone. Pakura found a rock opposite him and sat as well.
Outside, the rain hammered down in a relentless roar.
Kaede didn't rush into the intelligence report; instead, his gaze lingered on her black hair. "Why did you dye it?"
Pakura clearly hadn't expected that to be his first question. She paused, tucking a stray black lock behind her ear and looking up at him with a hint of tentative curiosity.
"Do you think it looks good?"
Kitahara Kaede studied her seriously for a few seconds. "It does."
He was blunt. "The previous color was very distinctive. This one... how should I put it? It's cool, elegant. A completely different vibe."
Pakura let out a soft laugh. "Since when did you become so silver-tongued?"
"I'm just stating the facts."
Her smile faded, and her expression turned serious. "Two reasons. First, my natural hair color is too recognizable; I couldn't possibly go undercover without changing it. Second..." She paused, glancing down at the long robes she wore. "I want to make a clean break from Sunagakure. My hair, my identity—I don't want any of it anymore."
Kitahara Kaede nodded in agreement, though internally, he felt differently. However, he didn't allow himself to dwell on those emotions. He pointed toward her robes.
"Back to business. Did you get in?"
Pakura nodded. "I did. It went smoother than you might think. After I arrived in the Land of Rain, I spent a few days wandering around posing as a rogue ninja. Their people found me soon enough. They had likely been observing how I handled other rogues, and seeing that I had nowhere to go, they invited me to join."
Kitahara Kaede already had a sense of how this would go. At this stage, the Akatsuki were still recruiting and building their ranks; the barrier to entry wasn't that high.
"What are your impressions of the members?"
Pakura thought for a moment, her voice tinged with a hint of emotion. "Yahiko is exactly as you described—a true idealist. He's young, but there's a conviction in the way he speaks and acts that makes people want to believe in him. Nagato doesn't say much, but it's obvious his strength is immense. Konan handles intelligence and logistics; she's incredibly meticulous."
She paused. "The atmosphere of the entire organization is very pure. There aren't any of the convoluted schemes you find in the Great Village hidden villages. Everyone truly believes in Yahiko's vision—solving wars by talking and erasing hatred through understanding."
Kitahara Kaede remained silent. He knew that this purity wouldn't last long. Once Danzo and Hanzo joined forces, Yahiko would die right before Nagato's eyes. That atmosphere would vanish, Nagato would fall into darkness, and the Akatsuki would wear a completely different face.
"Aside from the three of them, who else is currently in the organization?"
"Two others joined before I did. One is called Kie, and the other is Daibutsu. Both are from the Land of Rain, the kind of people whose families were destroyed by the war. Their abilities aren't top-tier, but they make up for it with loyalty."
At this point, Pakura's brow furrowed slightly. "However, before those two, there was someone who joined even earlier."
Kitahara Kaede raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"I don't know," Pakura shook her head. "Since the moment I entered, that person has always worn a mask. He's never taken it off.
A masked man?
Kitahara Kaede's mind raced. He combed through his memory of the early Akatsuki members from the original story, but no such person existed.
"What does he usually do?"
"He doesn't interact with people much, and he doesn't participate in daily missions."
Kaede processed the information but didn't press further. There were too few clues to make a judgment based on a few sentences from Pakura. However, this was a variable that had to be monitored closely; he would have to find a way to investigate later.
With the report finished, silence fell over the cave. The sound of the rain poured in from the entrance, filling the gap between them. Pakura rested her hands on her knees, waiting for Kaede's next set of instructions.
After a moment, she realized the situation and couldn't help but laugh.
"What is it?"
"Nothing," Pakura replied, shaking her head with a smile. "I just find it interesting. In my memories, I was always the one giving the orders. Now, everything is reversed. I'm reporting for duty, and you're just sitting there listening."
Kitahara Kaede lowered his head slightly, his tone deadpan. "This is the intelligence report."
The tips of Pakura's ears turned visibly red. She looked away from him. "Fine, stop being a brat."
The atmosphere in the cave relaxed for a moment, but the smile soon left Pakura's face. She turned back, looking Kitahara Kaede straight in the eyes.
"Kitahara Kaede."
"Yeah."
"Why exactly did you have me infiltrate the Akatsuki?"