Shiba Constitution

On the way back, Yahiko finally learned the whole story from Konan.

He could only press a hand to his forehead. "Seika really can't go a moment without stirring up trouble. How did he manage to provoke Konoha's next Hokage this time? Sigh!"

But Konan, who usually comforted him gently at times like this, had instead been hesitating for a while before finally speaking.

"Yahiko, maybe you should trust Shiba Seika a little more. He must have a good reason for doing this.

"His intelligence is vital to us and to Akatsuki. I'm afraid we can't achieve true peace by relying on ourselves alone."

Yahiko gaped in astonishment.

Konan had only been away on a mission for three days. How had things changed so much?

Before she left, hadn't Konan clearly said she would try to persuade Shiba Seika to understand their ideals? Why was she now speaking up for him? And the trust she showed in him was extraordinary!

At that moment, Yahiko even wondered if he'd somehow missed several months' worth of events.

Why had things turned out this way?

He would soon realize that Konan wasn't the only one who had changed.

Around them, the other members of the Akatsuki Organization were praising the miracle Shiba Seika had just brought about.

They passed around the special declaration written by Minato Namikaze, feeling as if their backs had straightened a little!

"Seika, you're incredible! You actually forced the Fourth Hokage to write a declaration like this!"

"That was amazing! Now we don't have to worry about Konoha's ninja barging in whenever they please!"

"That was the Hokage—the leader of Konoha, the strongest shinobi village! You walked away unscathed after facing him, and even secured this guarantee for the entire Land of Rain! Seika, you're incredible!"

Ever since the latter part of the Second Shinobi World War, when Hanzo the Salamander, the Demi-God of the Land of Rain, had gradually lost his ambition, these Rain ninja had gone far too long without being able to hold their heads high among the other villages.

Life had always been hard, but all they had to do was mention the Demi-God, and even a Rain Genin struggling to get by could proudly puff out their chest.

But in recent years, they had nearly lost even that last bit of glory.

Shiba Seika modestly replied, "Minato Namikaze isn't Hokage yet."

But the members of Akatsuki were even more confident than he was.

"It's only a matter of time!"

They held the scroll Minato Namikaze had left behind as if they were lifting the long-lost dignity of the Land of Rain.

"He'll definitely become Hokage! After all, Shiba Seika, your judgment has never been wrong!"

Quite a few of them had once been wary of Shiba Seika, believing he was too ruthless and extreme, and that he had little in common with Akatsuki's ideals.

But now, with the scroll to back him up, more and more of them remembered what was good about Shiba Seika.

They remembered how he always had a plan and how he could foresee what was coming.

They still respected Yahiko deeply. But his kindness and ideals meant that he could become someone they believed in, while it was difficult for him to uphold their pride.

In that regard, Yahiko still fell short of Nagato, the future second leader of Akatsuki.

For now, though, Yahiko hadn't yet noticed how people's feelings were changing.

He just had a headache. Afraid that the hard-won peace around their hideout would be broken, he couldn't help looking again at the troublemaker responsible for all this.

But at that moment, Shiba Seika had no attention to spare for Yahiko.

He was busy reviewing the system notifications he'd missed earlier.

Not long ago, the moment he'd decided to attack Team Kakashi, the system had dramatically updated his fated outcomes.

At the time, the chance that he'd die within a day had soared to a terrifying 78%! The cause of death was, unsurprisingly, "killed by a Konoha ninja."

Fortunately, through sheer caution, intelligence, and a little luck, he'd managed to turn the tables on that losing situation!

His death predictions had now returned to their initial state. The possible outcomes were still much the same as when he'd first arrived, though the odds of the death scenarios involving Konoha had fallen, while the chance of dying peacefully in old age had, for the first time, risen to 0.6%!

That meant he was moving in the right direction; he just hadn't yet touched the core events behind his death omens.

And this increase in his odds of survival had also earned him some rewards.

The system had plucked a little energy from the River of Fate and fished up some good things for him.

[Obtained: Slight increase in physical strength]

[Obtained: Slight increase in Chakra reserves]

[Obtained: Hatake Sakumo of Konoha's White Fang's Kenjutsu training insights (to be delivered later in the form of dreams)]

[Obtained: Uchiha Clan insights into resisting Genjutsu (to be delivered later in the form of dreams)]

[Obtained: Konoha Medical Team insights into training in Medical Ninjutsu (to be delivered later in the form of dreams)]

[Obtained: Uzumaki Constitution (Beginner)]

Unlike the previous rewards, which had spread the benefits evenly to help him build a solid foundation, this time the system's offerings were clearly more targeted. Most of them seemed to have been plucked from the four members of Minato Namikaze's team.

The last reward naturally caught Shiba Seika's attention the most: the Beginner Uzumaki Constitution.

He focused on it, and the system thoughtfully brought up a description.

[Uzumaki Constitution (Beginner): Effects include a passive increase in total Chakra, faster Chakra recovery, improved talent for sealing techniques, greater resistance to Genjutsu, better adaptability to Senjutsu, and an increased chance of compatibility with a Jinchuriki]

The effects were excellent, but since it was only a beginner-level constitution, it came with certain drawbacks.

[With this constitution, the host's total Chakra can easily exceed the amount they can control. The excess Chakra will linger beneath the skin. If bitten, it can easily be absorbed, producing a certain healing effect]

Seeing this note, Shiba Seika immediately thought of a girl from the original story, Sasuke's devoted fangirl: Karin.

At the same time, this system note answered a question that had puzzled him for a long time—

No wonder Karin and her mother were the only ones in the Uzumaki Clan with healing constitutions. Nagato, Kushina, and even Mito Uzumaki didn't have them. Their Uzumaki Constitutions must have been more advanced. An advanced constitution can control all of its user's Chakra, so it doesn't let any Chakra uselessly linger beneath the skin. He made this guess to himself.

The idea encouraged Shiba Seika, too.

I have to improve this constitution as soon as possible! he vowed silently.

He was a man. Getting bitten all the time was, naturally, more than he could accept!

But on the other hand, this system reward reminded Shiba Seika—

At this point in time, Karin probably hasn't been born yet, but her mother should have already fled to the Land of Grass, right?

He thought about it, and immediately felt the urge to make a move.

Konan, one of the original three pillars of Akatsuki, had already been swayed by him. Naturally, the next person to win over was Nagato!

Nagato was an Uzumaki, too!

Shiba Seika thought it through carefully and began planning a new scheme to talk him around!