A common enemy brought them closer.
Before she knew it, Pakura no longer looked at Shiba Seika with such wild hostility.
She wasn't stupid. She could guess what Shiba Seika was after. "You have a grudge against Konoha's Root, too, don't you? You're using me to deal with them!"
But Shiba Seika didn't care in the least that she'd seen through his intentions. He replied with easy confidence.
"'Using' is such an ugly word, Miss Pakura. I prefer to call it mutual benefit—a win-win partnership."
Win-win, meaning I win twice and you lose. Nothing wrong with that.
Pakura snorted, but she'd already calmed down and didn't argue.
Her resolve had undoubtedly begun to waver.
Just as Shiba Seika had said, this was her only way out.
Returning to her village was a dead end. She had no other choice.
"Kid, do you have any more information on Sasori and Konoha's Root?"
"Not for now, but we can exchange contact information so we can share intelligence in the future.
"If you ever kill an important member of Root, Miss Pakura, you can seal the body and send it to the Land of Rain. Our Akatsuki Organization would be willing to buy it. We can negotiate a good price."
He had two reasons for doing this. First, it would further encourage Pakura to go after Root. Second, it was an indirect way to support her and gradually grow closer to her.
Who knew? Maybe one day they really would manage to recruit Pakura into the Akatsuki Organization.
Shiba Seika looked forward to the day when the tall beauty would grit her teeth in hatred and yet submit to serve him.
After a brief exchange, Pakura left.
She promised to leave the Land of Rain as soon as possible. She wouldn't linger or target the Akatsuki Organization again.
Shiba Seika was cautious. He didn't take her at her word; instead, he waited quietly for another ten minutes within the safety perimeter he'd set up.
Only after repeatedly confirming that Pakura was truly gone, and hadn't stayed behind to ambush him in a fit of madness, did he set off to rejoin Konan and the others.
As soon as they met, Konan hurried over and anxiously looked Shiba Seika up and down. Her eyes brimmed with concern.
"Are you all right, Seika? Are you hurt?"
Compared with just a few weeks ago, Konan's attitude toward him had changed tremendously.
"I'm fine, Konan. Pakura isn't reckless, and the Exploding Tags you gave me were crucial. They helped a lot."
Konan breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled gently. "The Exploding Tags I gave you were just a precaution. You accomplished all this through your own intelligence, Seika."
Konan's admiration for Shiba Seika had only grown.
They'd run into Pakura, the famed kunoichi of Sunagakure, and he'd come up with a solution in just one day.
Konan didn't know exactly how he'd done it, but the result was clear: they'd just managed to take out the two remaining Sunagakure squad members without suffering a single casualty!
To them, it was nothing short of a miracle.
Ajisai pouted, disgruntled as she watched the angelic big sister she admired fuss over Shiba Seika.
But when she remembered that he'd just handled Pakura all by himself, she lost her nerve and didn't dare interrupt.
How had he dealt with Pakura? The more Ajisai thought about it, the more curious she became. The more curious she was, the more she imagined. And the more she imagined, the more frightened she got.
So when Shiba Seika looked her way, she blurted out what was on her mind.
"I'm sorry, Seika! I used to talk so loudly to you! Please don't use that hypnotic witchcraft on me!"
Shiba Seika was speechless.
Where had this idea about hypnotic witchcraft come from?
Did this girl think he'd controlled Pakura with hypnosis?
If he really had that kind of ability, would he still need to go through all this trouble?
Konan went over and gave Ajisai a light rap on the head, exasperatedly stopping her from imagining any more nonsense.
"Don't be ridiculous. Seika doesn't have any evil techniques like that. He relied on his brains and intelligence."
Ajisai muttered, "Konan, why do you trust him so much now?"
You weren't like this before. Ajisai added the words silently in her heart.
Konan paused, then smiled with a sense of relief. "Because he's never let us down. And because he's one of our companions."
Without anyone noticing, trust and bonds had taken root.
All of Shiba Seika's recent efforts had paid off!
After tidying up, they headed back.
Once they returned, Shiba Seika took the initiative to write to Hanzo the Salamander again, reporting the details and results of the mission.
Of course, he concealed the alliance he'd made with Pakura against Root.
He also generously sent Hanzo the two Sunagakure ninja corpses that Konan and the others had brought back.
A ninja's brain could be mined for information, but Shiba Seika didn't need that. He knew more than anyone else.
He might as well do Hanzo a favor by giving him the bodies as a gift—and show his loyalty in the process.
Hanzo's reply arrived much faster than last time. His words made it clear how pleased he was with the Akatsuki Organization's recent changes.
For a leader who'd lost his ambition, the loyalty and submission of his subordinates were far more gratifying than lofty aspirations or ideals.
Shiba Seika wasn't surprised by this outcome.
Yahiko, on the other hand, seemed not to have grasped the point. After getting the reply, he excitedly went on about some naive ideas.
"Wonderful! Lord Hanzo has finally accepted and understood us! I'll write to Lord Hanzo again right away and explain our ideals! If people can understand one another, then surely we can make it happen in the Land of Rain!"
Shiba Seika watched him and silently shook his head.
You can explain all you want to Hanzo—what the hell will he understand?
Still, he didn't stop Yahiko.
It was good to keep Yahiko occupied. That would make it easier to sideline him, after all.
At that moment, a rather ridiculous thought crossed his mind: Was what he was doing now a case of holding Yahiko up as a figurehead to command the Akatsuki?
Meanwhile, Shiba Seika was also quietly waiting.
He was waiting for the system to update his simulated ending.
His last trip to the Land of Grass to implant a weakness in Nagato might have counted as a side quest, but after returning this time, he'd first stabilized Hanzo and then sent a gift to Danzo. Those were obviously main-quest actions, right?
He was waiting for the system to update his ending so he could confirm whether the path he'd chosen was the right one.
Perhaps because the signals of Hanzo the Salamander's trust had to be released bit by bit, the system took two days to update his ending.
This time, after reading it, Shiba Seika finally let out a long breath of relief.
The simulated ending showed that the direction of his efforts was right!
His odds of dying peacefully in old age had risen to 1.7%, and the probabilities of the other endings had shifted further into the future.
The odds of him dying within a year and a half had fallen to just around 60%. The remaining 40% or so meant he had a chance of surviving in Konoha for at least another five or six years.
He'd greatly delayed his fated death!
His efforts were slowly changing the course of the River of Fate!
This change also allowed the system to steal more of the power of fate, hooking a new reward and sending it to him.
[Obtained: Fire Release Ninjutsu Training Insights (to be delivered later in dream form)] [Obtained: Wind Release Ninjutsu Training Insights (to be delivered later in dream form)] [Obtained: Summoning Technique Training Insights (to be delivered later in dream form)] [Obtained: Lost Summoning Technique Scroll (to be delivered later as an event)]
Before you continue