The Embryonic Form of an Organization

Chino spoke quietly, her tone gradually calming into a numb expression. She had cried before, had despaired before, but now her tears had run dry, leaving only the flames of hatred burning within her.

Zi Xu's face grew colder with each word, his desire to leave Konoha weighing heavier in his heart. Though he had mentally prepared himself beforehand, constantly telling himself, "Konoha is a terrorist organization—nothing should surprise me," he still couldn't fully control his emotions when faced with the reality unfolding before him.

"Doesn't openly opposing the Main House cause trouble for you? Won't the Branch Family members who choose the Independence Faction be eliminated by the Main House?" Zi Xu asked Chino, his tone carrying a hint of coldness. His deep red short hair fluttered in the wind, giving him an imposing presence.

Chino put her forehead protector back on, clearly hating this mark of slavery. Hearing Zi Xu's words, she gently shook her head, brushed back her slightly messy blue-black short hair, and explained:

"The Main House doesn't dare act so blatantly. Openly killing a fellow villager is a major taboo—after all, the village's foundation is built on a false and fragile equality and peace..." Every place has its rules, every place has its bottom line. You could call Konoha a demon's den that devours people without spitting out bones, but it still has its red line: you cannot kill someone from the same village.

Saying this, Chino glanced at Hatsumi, who wore an angry expression, and opened her mouth as if to say something. Looking at the innocent and naive Hatsumi, she seemed to recall her former self. After hesitating, she finally spoke, her tone carrying a sense of shared suffering.

"The Aburame Clan also has its own methods of controlling its members..." This revelation hit like another bombshell, striking Hatsumi with a shock no less than when Chino had been branded with the Caged Bird Curse Seal. But the more Zi Xu listened, the more something felt off.

"Wh... what?" Hatsumi stood frozen as if struck by lightning, like a petrified statue, or a person on the verge of death, utterly hopeless.

"After all, the ability to freely control insects is extremely dangerous. Insects with stealth capabilities can kill people without them noticing, or strike from a thousand miles away... How could the higher-ups not impose restrictions on such people?" Zi Xu spoke up slowly, voicing his own thoughts.

Chino nodded and added:

"The Pot Poison Technique was classified as a forbidden technique by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Once the poison activates, it's a death sentence with no antidote. Before that, there were many other techniques deemed forbidden, though I don't know the details. But every member of the Aburame Clan has a Gu worm placed in their heart at birth. The mother worm was jointly kept by the clan head and successive Hokage, but in this generation, it's entirely in the Hokage's hands..."

Chino paused here, glancing at Hatsumi, who was still in a daze, her eyes filled with complex emotions. But Zi Xu wasn't entirely convinced. To him, this might just be a tactic to bind them to her side, since there was no way to verify the truth of her words.

"The mother worm serves the same purpose as the Caged Bird—to control the clan members..." Chino left some time for Hatsumi to think, but seeing her nearly frozen state, she walked directly in front of Hatsumi and shook her firmly, snapping her out of her shock.

"Let me guess—is there something in my body too, some method Konoha left behind?" Zi Xu pointed at himself knowingly. He had a vague feeling about this. How could Konoha not give "special attention" to an orphan of the Uzumaki Clan?

Chino set the now-awake Hatsumi aside, looked up, and replied naturally, "That's right. Mm... orphans or people from outside the village are screened by Root members. According to their protocols, all outsiders are injected with a toxin."

"This toxin doesn't activate normally, but if Root members believe your actions might harm Konoha's interests, they release another agent. The two combine to create a lethal poison..." Chino rarely spoke so much at once.

When he heard "lethal poison," Zi Xu wasn't too worried at first. But when he remembered that he hadn't even fused a tenth of Kaido's Physique yet, he started to feel a bit uneasy. Kaido wouldn't fear it, but Zi Xu himself? That was uncertain.

"System, scan my body. Is there really an unknown toxin?" He didn't fully trust Chino's words and decided to verify on his own.

"Host's body is currently healthy. No damage detected. No signs of poisoning."

"Is there a toxin in my body like the one Chino described?" He asked again to be safe.

"Three detected." The system's cold voice echoed in his ear, and he couldn't help but feel grateful for his caution.

"How much of Kaido's Physique do I need to fuse to become immune to this toxin?"

"25% grants immunity to this toxin and most common poisons."

Zi Xu calculated silently. The reward for establishing an organization was 10,000 points. Raising fusion by 1% cost 500 points. After training, he was now at 6% fusion, meaning he'd need 9,500 points to reach 25%, leaving only 500 reward points. He still didn't know what it would take to unlock Devil Fruit Ability and the Haki System. The outlook wasn't optimistic.

"How do you know so much?" Hatsumi, who had been zoning out, spoke weakly, looking like she'd been thoroughly broken. Everything Chino had said today shattered her worldview. So-called freedom was just a gilded cage of slavery. So-called equality was just violently silencing dissenting voices. They were living in an era where evil was exposed to the light of day...

"I heard all this from my father. At this point, I won't hide anything from you. The three of us are all under Konoha's control. Zi Xu was right earlier—the Inheritance of the Will of Fire has already become twisted. Konoha might have been good in the past, but at least now, it doesn't deserve to be called a successor of the Will of Fire..."

Listening to Chino's speech, Zi Xu felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Was this little girl about to...

"We can start an organization—just a rough framework. One that practices the true Will of Fire and brings real peace and equality to the world."

Sure enough. Zi Xu pressed a hand to his forehead. The situation was both amusing and exasperating. The mission had asked him to establish an organization, but before he could act, Chino had already started. Still, if he participated, he'd count as one of the original founders, which should fulfill the mission. With that thought, he spoke up in support of Chino.

"I think Chino is absolutely right. If you can't even control your own life, what's the point of talking about freedom and peace? It's just a false facade propped up by power and violence—no different from a terrorist organization. Only by acting under the right principles can we achieve the right results. I fully agree with Chino's idea."

"I knew you'd understand me." Chino gave Zi Xu a look that said, "I knew I could count on you," making him feel a little guilty.

After going through the initial shattering and rebuilding of her worldview, Hatsumi accepted the reality before her. People are most easily influenced when their worldview is being reshaped. After thinking it over, she nodded and grasped the hands extended toward her.

"Alright, I trust you both!" As the three of them clasped hands, the system prompt appeared.

[Task Updated]

[Task Name: Initial Organization]

[Task Details: Form an organization before the end of this semester. Members must number at least three, be loyal to the organization, and identify with its principles.]

[Task Status: Completed]

[Faction Module Unlocked. 10,000 Reward Points, Random Item Draw ×3 delivered to System Space. Host may check at any time.]

[First Phase of Task Completed. Second Phase can be initiated at any time.]

Zi Xu paused. So it was a chain mission. But thinking about it, it made sense. They were still just ninja academy students. The organization they'd formed was only a rough framework. They wouldn't be able to carry out any real operations until after graduating from the Ninja Academy. For now, their so-called "organization" was just a concept to attract like-minded people.

"What should we name our organization?" Hatsumi quickly accepted the situation, acting no different from before—though what was really going on inside, they couldn't tell.

"A name... Our goal is to spread the new Will of Fire. Konoha will be the soil for our growth. How about 'Jin'? From the ashes of Konoha, reborn anew..." Zi Xu suggested. Chino and Hatsumi accepted the idea.

"Now that we've picked a name, picking a leader shouldn't be too much to ask, right?" Zi Xu said with a smile. The two girls naturally assumed he wanted to be the leader, but Hatsumi thought the stronger Chino would be more suitable.

"I think..." Hatsumi started to speak, but Chino interrupted.

"I support..." Chino's words were cut off by Zi Xu waving his hand. He smiled sincerely.

"I think the leader has to be Chino. She's the strongest among us, knows the most, and has a lot of intel. The leader position is hers and hers alone."

"Huh?"

"What?"

Both girls were surprised. Zi Xu wasn't some hot-headed youth. Though his body was that of a child, his soul was that of a jaded young man who'd weathered over twenty years of hardship. Besides, Chino wasn't easy to fool. The way she'd tied their fates together showed she was no simpleton.

A leader needed not only strength but also political cunning. As much as he hated to admit it, someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi—a politician—was well-suited for the role.

Right now, their small-scale organizational prototype is fine, but once it grows and develops, it will inevitably be tested by other organizations or villages. Chino is better at handling these situations than Zi Xu.

"Besides, it's not like you have to be the leader forever. Watch out, or I might surpass you—if I end up stronger than you, then the leader's position will be mine." Zi Xu said with a smile.

"Ah, okay." Chino had originally planned to hand the leader's position over to Zi Xu anyway. After all, compared to herself, who only wanted to focus on training, Zi Xu—though average in various abilities—had a sense of responsibility and was more suited for the role. But since Zi Xu didn't want it, she wouldn't refuse either.

And so, an organization that would one day hold a pivotal position in the ninja world was born amidst casual conversation.