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â° Resets Monday!
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In the afternoon, Yahiko emptied his coin pouch to order matching long robes for everyone who'd joined them.
Inside the small inn, Yahiko gave a spirited speech.
"This organization of ours exists to save this miserable world!"
"We will curb the suffering in this world and usher in a life free of shadows for everyone!"
"We will let all children live under the sun and have happy childhoods!"
"âŠ"
As Yahiko spoke, the people below, thoroughly brainwashed by Qianyu, firmly believed they were saviors. They cheered in agreement, their faces shining with resolute light.
Standing beside Yahiko, Qianyu took it all in and couldn't suppress a shiver.
Wasn't this just a massive marketing rally from his past life?
And this 'Akatsuki' organization⊠a marketing scheme?
Qianyu glanced at the impassioned Yahiko next to him, his lip twitching.
Yahiko was the CEO of this marketing pyramid.
"We should give our organization a name!" one of the robe-clad ninja below suggested.
"Yeah!"
The words 'cannon fodder' were practically written on each of their faces.
Yahiko grinned brightly. "To be honest, I've already thought of our name!"
"We are the DawnâAkatsuki!"
"The dawn that breaks against the rising red sun, tearing through this eternal night!"
Yahiko raised a fist. The cheer that followed was immediate.
Downstairs, the innkeeper listened to the noise coming from Yahiko's room and hid in his own quarters, too scared to come out. Fear of cult-like organizations was instinctual for ordinary folks.
The eventual failure of Akatsuki was proof enoughâthe path of a pyramid scheme was a dead end. The only way to save the organization was to become legitimate, government-sanctioned mercenaries.
A development blueprint began to form in Qianyu's mind.
Next came the self-introductions. Using sleepiness as an excuse, Qianyu got himself carried off to bed by Konan. She gently tucked him in, her expression soft.
Qianyu had zero interest in sitting around with a bunch of angry youths debating the future.
He was out the moment his head hit the pillow.
The next morning, their operations expanded.
From handing out flyers, they'd moved to public speeches.
Watching Yahiko standing on a makeshift platform in the middle of a crowd, Qianyu's eye twitched.
Are you trying to make sure Hanzo has nothing better to do?
Or do you just have a death wish?
That old bastard Hanzo tolerated free factions developing in Amegakure, sure. But if the scale got out of control, if Hanzo felt threatened⊠it was lights out.
Judging by the current turnout, though, Hanzo probably couldn't be bothered to spare them a glance. Still safe for now.
But damn, Yahiko was being way too flashy about it.
Qianyu sat in a nearby restaurant, stuffing his face while watching Yahiko's speech from the second floor. Nagato was gazing at Yahiko with worship. And KonanâŠ
Konan was also gazing at Yahiko with worship.
The spicy stir-fried squid in Qianyu's mouth suddenly became hard to swallow. He quickly looked away, letting his shattered heart recover.
Just then, he nearly spat out his food.
"Why is Hizashi-sensei listening to Yahiko's speech too?"
"What kind of weird crossover is this?"
Qianyu immediately spotted Hiashi Hyuga, cloak pulled tight, standing in the crowd. His expression turned strange.
"Now that I've found Hizashi-sensei, I can't stick around Yahiko's crew much longer."
He hadn't forgotten his actual mission. A ninja with great ambition shouldn't forget his primary objective!
"Wasn't it Konan who broke your heart?" The System's voice cut in, sudden and cold.
Qianyu, flustered and angry, shot back, "What nonsense are you spouting! Am I the kind of man who gets heartbroken over a woman?"
The System stayed silent. That silence felt more insulting than any retort.
To prove his resolve, Qianyu snorted. "Women only slow down my draw."
"Is that so?" the System replied flatly. "Where's your ShinsĆ then?"
His spear?
HIS SPEAR!
Qianyu patted himself down frantically. He even turned his storage space inside out. No trace of the spear.
He plopped down onto the tatami in despair, experiencing his first existential crisis.
Mother of god!
He'd actually lost his spear!
He always kept it at his waist!
Where the hell did it go?!
See!
"Women really do slow down my draw!"
"No, waitâ"
"Konan made me forget the blade even existed!"
âŠ
Qianyu began testing his clone ability in earnest.
"Corona Mode Clone!"
Plop!
A tiny Qianyu lay sprawled on the floor, looking half-dead.
Skill Progress: 0.01%.
"âŠ"
He tried again.
"Corona Mode Clone!"
Qianyu stared at the empty floor, lip twitching. This time, the clone didn't even materialize fully.
"Down here! I'm here!" a tiny voice squeaked.
A finger-sized little man was clinging to Qianyu's robe, yelling.
Skill Progress: 0.02%.
"âŠ"
He refused to give up.
"Corona Mode Clone!"
A palm-sized little man sat in Qianyu's hand, looking up at him with an unnervingly sultry gaze.
"Master~"
Qianyu couldn't comprehend why such an abominable clone existed in the world. The little man, wearing his own face, gazed at him with a lustful, spring-like expression. It was like looking in a mirror and seeing himself make that face.
Skill Progress: 1%.
Pop!
He crushed the figure in his palm, letting the dissipating gas drift away, face utterly blank.
"What the hell was that?"
Wasn't Ultraman Cosmos the Compassionate Warrior?
Since when did he become a sultry minx?
Qianyu's expression teetered on the edge of fury.
"Clones adjust based on the host's personality," the System explained.
"You're saying I'm a sultry minx?" Qianyu's face finally snapped into full-blown rage.
"The System implied no such thing. That is the host's own inference," the System stated blandly.
Qianyu almost lost control of his primordial fury. He refused to believe he couldn't produce a clone with a normal personality and size.
"Corona Mode Clone!"
"So hungry! So hungry! I need food!" A little man about the length of Qianyu's forearm screeched. The noise was nearly enough to blow the top of his skull off.
Skill Progress: 1.5%.
Pop! Another one gone.
"Corona Mode Clone!"
"What happened? Where is this? I'm so scared~!" A clone as tall as Qianyu's shin trembled, face full of panic, the picture of a nervous wreck.
Skill Progress: 2%.
Qianyu crushed it, expressionless.
"Corona Mode Clone!"
"Who are you? You look⊠kinda decent! Only a little bit more handsome than me, of course!" A clone up to Qianyu's thigh tilted its head back proudly, looking at him with disdain.
Skill Progress: 3%.
A vein throbbed on Qianyu's forehead. He mercilessly popped the clone.
"âŠ"
Dammit!
It's like opening blind boxes!
Qianyu wiped sweat from his temple, mood thoroughly depressed. He flopped onto the tatami, spread-eagled. He needed time to soothe his wounded little heart.
The sky darkened. Finally done with his speechifying, a parched Yahiko came up for water.
Thanks to a whole day of Yahiko's tireless, food-and-drink-free efforts, they had recruited⊠three more members.
What an achievement.
Qianyu watched Yahiko guzzle water. Even with just three recruits, Yahiko was ecstatic. He believed Akatsuki was successfully on the right track.
After dinner, Yahiko started discussing future plans with the group again.
"We'll keep recruiting willing members while also taking on ninja missions to earn funds for the organization," Yahiko declared. He could barely feed himself, let alone the twenty-eight new mouths.
"Tomorrow, we register at Amegakure's Mission Assignment Hall!"
Yahiko wore a huge smile.
"Mission Hall?" Qianyu, sitting in Konan's lap, asked curiously.
Konan explained, "The Mission Hall is an institution Lord Hanzo established to support Amegakure's ninja groups. We can receive commissioned missions there."
"Wow! Lord Hanzo is such a good person!" Qianyu praised.
"Yes!" Konan agreed sincerely. "If not for Lord Hanzo, our Amegakure might still be at war!"
The title 'Hanzo the Demigod' was renowned, and it was true Amegakure had avoided a worse fate because of him. In the early days, at least. Later, the aging Hanzo lost his youthful ambition, becoming like DanzĆâscheming against Amegakure's talented ninja for personal power and control.
The next day, Yahiko took them to the Mission Hall.
The hall's plaque bore Amegakure's symbol. Ninja came and went in a steady stream. This was one reason the Five Great Nations didn't declare war on Amegakure lightly or drag conflict into its borders. Not only was the demigod Hanzo in residence, but this Mission Hall harbored a large number of ninja from all over. They saw it as their sanctuary.
Destroy their only refuge, and the collective force that would retaliate was not to be underestimated.
Qianyu also spotted familiar figuresâShisui and Kimi. He couldn't approach them yet. Luckily, Konan, worried he'd get wet, had put a wide-brimmed rain hat on him.
After completing the registration formalities, Yahiko was itching to take a mission. Not for lofty reasonsâtheir pot was literally empty.
Qianyu: "âŠ"
"It's an assassination mission," Yahiko said, his expression grave. He hadn't expected their first mission to be so difficult.
Nagato unrolled the scroll and summarized, "Eliminate Kirigakure missing-nin, HĆzuki ShĆ«getsu."
HĆzuki ShĆ«getsu?
Never heard of him.
But with that name and clan, he must be a real character.
"Eliminate?" Yahiko looked hesitant. He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Maybe we can convince him to join us instead!"
"âŠ"
Brother!
What about your integrity?
You take the mission but don't follow the client's request?
You're damaging the Mission Hall's reputation and credibility!
No wonder Hanzo wanted you dead!
Qianyu blinked, his smile stiff.
As he'd hoped, Qianyu was left behind at the inn. In everyone's eyes, he was just a helpless little girl.
He nodded obediently. "I don't want to be a burden to my big brothers and sisters. But you must come back safely! Hualong will wait for you!"
"Mm!" Everyone nodded solemnly.
His words successfully raised their affinity by another few points.
Watching their figures disappear, Qianyu vanished from the inn room as well.
He reappeared in a corner of the Mission Hall. His Six Eyes instantly locked onto Shisui and Kimi. They were still there.
"Shisui! Kimi!"
"Qianyu!"
Their eyes brightened. They rushed toward him immediately.
"Qianyu! Where have you been these past few days? Were you treated badly? Are you hungry? Where are you staying? Did you see the others?" Kimi's questions came rapid-fire like machine-gun bullets, without a single pause for breath.
Qianyu glossed over it with one sentence and asked instead, "What about you?"
Shisui answered, "Kimi and I met yesterday. We're staying at a small inn. Might Dai-san is with us."
"Why are you at the Mission Hall entrance?" Qianyu asked.
Kimi beat Shisui to it. "We posted a missing persons mission."
Qianyu was stunned for a second. He looked at Kimi, then at Shisui.
How could he forget?
These two were loaded.
Posting a mission to find people.
Brilliant!
Money really could make ghosts turn millstones.
Or make ninja do the work!
"How did you meet Might Dai-san?" Qianyu asked as he followed them toward their inn.
Kimi's face twisted slightly. "He was working at a restaurant. We ran into him when we went to eat."
"âŠ"
Qianyu was silent for a beat.
Working at a restaurant because he was broke⊠yeah, that sounded exactly like something Might Dai would do.
Seeing the luxurious inn in front of him, Qianyu recalled Shisui's description: "a small inn."
Unbelievable.
Qianyu wiped his face.
He was a third-generation rich kid too. He couldn't embarrass himself like this.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Hah! Hah!"
Hearing the panting sounds coming from behind the door, Qianyu turned his head, giving Shisui and Kimi a deadpan stare.
Shisui and Kimi looked embarrassed. "Might Dai-san is⊠training!" they explained.
Qianyu tilted his head innocently, looking at them with confusion. "I know. I just wanted you to open the door. I don't have a key. What were you thinking?"
"âŠ"
"âŠ"
Shisui looked up at the eaves at a forty-five-degree angle. Kimi fumbled with the key, avoiding eye contact.
Qianyu narrowed his eyes and stepped inside.
Might Dai, with nowhere else to expend his youthful energy, was huffing and puffing through push-ups. Sweat had pooled into a small puddle beneath him.
"Qianyu!" Might Dai's eyes gleamed. He executed a perfect backflip, landing steadily, and charged toward Qianyu.
Shisui and Kimi immediately blocked his path. Might Dai-san's enthusiasm was still a bit⊠overwhelming.
They had lunch together, then discussed how to find Hizashi-sensei.
"Let me go! I can run through the entire village!" Might Dai raised both hands.
Qianyu believed he could run through the entire village. He also believed Might Dai could get himself utterly lost in the process. No point losing the troops while searching for the general.
Kimi rubbed his chin. "Should I post a bounty at the Mission Hall?"
A bounty required several times the money of a regular mission, but its efficiency was also several times higher.
"No," Qianyu shook his head. "Hizashi-sensei's Byakugan is too conspicuous." They'd end up making Hizashi a target instead of finding him.
"Then there's no other way. We'll just have to split up and search every street," Shisui said, resigned.
"That works." Qianyu figured the street where Yahiko had spoken yesterday had a high probability of success. Plus, it was a good excuse to slip away from Shisui and the others and return to the Akatsuki inn alone.
"We'll regroup at this inn."
"Okay."
They divided the streets and set off.
Qianyu's figure flickered, vanishing from the spot.
He reappeared inside the empty Akatsuki inn room.
His body suddenly froze.
He sensed another presence in the inn.
And familiar chakra.
A voice spoke from behind him, laced with lethal intent.
"Who are you, really?"
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