*Chapter 117: Pain's Attention*

"No," Aizen refused without hesitation, speaking seriously: "Not only that, even if you become Hokage in the future, for your sake, and for our daughter's sake, you must never tell anyone that you know me, not even Jiraiya."

"This shinobi world is far deeper than you realize, and I've encountered far more than you could ever know."

"If our relationship gets exposed, many people will die."

"Does that mean... it's over between us?" Even the strongest women have their vulnerabilities, and upon hearing this, tears welled up in Tsunade's eyes.

"Don't worry, within five years, everything will be over. And during that time, I’ll frequently visit Konoha to see you and our daughter," Aizen gently caressed Tsunade’s face and spoke softly.

Tsunade nodded slightly and leaned tightly into Aizen’s arms.

At that moment, Tsunade no longer resembled the strong, carefree woman she usually appeared to be. Instead, she looked more like a wife, worried about her husband. She seemed so vulnerable.

This made Aizen sigh internally, marveling at the power of love.

After all the effort he had put in, he had finally won over the most troublesome woman in the Hokage world.

The next morning, under the reluctant gaze of Tsunade and their daughter, Aizen bid them a sorrowful farewell.

Before leaving, he made sure to leave a large sum of money for them.

Of course, he didn’t hand it directly to Tsunade but entrusted it to Shizune instead, instructing her to give Tsunade the money in weekly installments.

Otherwise, with Tsunade’s reckless spending habits, she would gamble it all away within a few days.

As long as Tsunade didn’t increase her betting amounts, the money should be enough to last her.

Back at the inn where Pakura was staying, after more than a week apart, the two met again.

As Aizen put on his Akatsuki cloak, he asked Pakura, "How have you been? Did you have fun?"

"Mm, not bad. And you, Lord Aizen? How’s your ninjutsu training going?" Due to the effect of "Kyoka Suigetsu," despite both of them being in the same town, Pakura had no idea that Aizen had been spending the past days with Tsunade.

"It went smoothly." Thinking back to Tsunade’s passionate embrace, Aizen licked his lips with lingering desire.

That tigress of a woman almost wore him out—definitely a strain on the waist.

"Shall we head to Konoha now?" Pakura walked up to Aizen and thoughtfully straightened the wrinkles on his clothes.

"Of course," Aizen smiled.

"Do you have a plan? The Copy Ninja Kakashi has already seen us in these uniforms. If we enter recklessly, we might face an ambush from the Konoha ninjas," Pakura said hesitantly.

Just then, a pull from their rings interrupted them. Aizen and Pakura exchanged glances, sat on the bed, and entered the holographic projection mode.

In a dark, enclosed cave, a dimly lit lamp emitted a faint glow. The phantom forms of all eleven official Akatsuki members began to appear one by one.

"We’re meeting again pretty often lately," Hidan complained, clearly annoyed.

"Shut up, Hidan, or I’ll kill you," Kakuzu’s green eyes glared at Hidan, warning him.

"Yeah, yeah, come try and kill me," Hidan scoffed, unconcerned.

At that moment, Pain's hologram appeared. Ignoring the usual bickering between the Immortal Duo, Pain turned to Aizen and asked, "How's it going on your end?"

"All is going well. That brat Rasa has been taken care of. We’re about to head to Konoha," Aizen shrugged.

Hearing this, Deidara couldn’t help but exclaim, "As expected of Brother Aizen! To kill a Kazekage from one of the Five Great Nations just like that—it’s pure artistry. One day, I’ll kill a Kazekage myself, just like you and Brother Sasori."

"Don’t worry, your chance will come," Aizen smiled. "I gave the skin to that creep Orochimaru to impersonate the Fourth Kazekage for an assassination. I kept the body for myself."

Aizen then looked over at Sasori, "Hey Sasori, you like collecting the bodies of strong ninjas for your human puppets, right? It’s rare to find a ninja with a Magnet Release kekkei genkai. I’ll give you the body later, in exchange for more puppet toys for my daughter."

"I understand," Sasori replied indifferently, his voice emotionless.

"Do you have a plan for infiltrating Konoha this time?" Pain asked.

Aizen responded, "That’s exactly what I was about to discuss. I’m planning to disguise myself and sneak into Konoha. Otherwise, with our Akatsuki's distinctive black cloaks with red clouds, I’d probably be swarmed by Konoha ninjas the moment I step inside."

"Since this involves the First Hokage, I’ll allow an exception. You’re permitted to act without the Akatsuki cloak for this mission," Pain said. "But the First Hokage’s Edo Tensei could pose a massive threat to our organization. If he regains his full strength, it would severely jeopardize our future plans."

"So in addition to gathering information on Konoha’s Jinchuriki, your mission is to ensure that the First Hokage’s Edo Tensei is completely destroyed, just like how you disabled Danzo’s arm, preventing its regeneration."

"Also, Orochimaru is a considerable threat. Although I know it’s difficult to kill that snake, don’t miss any opportunity to eliminate him if you can."

"No problem. Stabbing people in the back is my specialty. I’ll play it by ear," Aizen smirked to himself, thinking that Tobi must be growing anxious after hearing about the First Hokage’s resurrection.

"Do you need any assistance from the organization for this mission?" Pain asked.

Aizen replied seriously, "The upcoming Chunin Exams are co-hosted by Konoha and Sunagakure, and they’ve invited many smaller shinobi villages. The Rain Village, which you control, is one of them."

"Orochimaru plans to use skin-stripping techniques to disguise himself as a ninja from Kusagakure to infiltrate Konoha ahead of time."

"I don’t want to disguise myself like Orochimaru. To better monitor him, I’d like the organization to arrange for me to take on the identity of a Genin from the Rain Village. Thanks to Hanzo, the Rain Village ninjas still wear heavily masked uniforms, so I should be able to blend in without being recognized."