Rain Village, Root Organization Leader Tang Ya

Tianming City.

This was a mid-sized city located on the border of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Though it could not compare to the prosperity of Heaven Dou City, as a satellite city of Heaven Dou City, it had convenient transportation and a mixed population, making it ideal for concealing one's tracks.

Inside an inconspicuous little inn.

Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya had long since removed their disguises as "Menma" and "Zetsu," returning to their original appearances.

After a night of rushing about and tying up loose ends, Huo Yuhao had not been idle.

Using Shadow Clones and Genjutsu, he consolidated the resources held by the wealthy merchants and lords he had controlled in Heaven Dou City over the past few days.

While reviewing one lord's memories, he discovered an unexpected surprise.

It was an ungoverned territory located at the junction of the Heavenly Soul, Sun Moon, and Star Luo nations.

The terrain there was complex, with unending rain throughout the year. It was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

More remarkably, deep within that territory was a village with an incredibly coincidental name: Rain Village.

Rain Village?

Huo Yuhao looked at the map in his hand, a teasing smile curling across his lips.

That was far too much of a coincidence.

It had exactly the same name as the Akatsuki organization's headquarters in Naruto.

In that case, my Akatsuki organization would be built there.

It lay at the intersection of three nations, with an excellent strategic location, far from Shrek and the core surveillance zones of the major empires. It was practically a heaven-sent base.

Huo Yuhao withdrew from his thoughts and looked at Tang Ya, who sat across from him.

Tang Ya had changed back into ordinary clothes. Although she still looked somewhat exhausted, her eyes shone more brightly than they ever had before.

It was the relief of having avenged her great hatred, as well as the resolve of having found a new goal.

With a turn of his wrist, Huo Yuhao took two items from his storage space.

One was an exquisite ring engraved with a red Xuan character.

The other was a brand-new black robe embroidered with red cloud patterns.

"Teacher Xiao Ya."

Huo Yuhao spoke solemnly, his tone carrying feigned respect:

"Lord Madara just sent me a message. He said he personally witnessed your battle of vengeance and was very satisfied with your performance."

"Your decisiveness, ruthlessness, and understanding of Root's will all meet the organization's standards."

"So, from this moment onward..."

Huo Yuhao handed the ring and black robe to Tang Ya:

"You are no longer an outer member. Like me, you have officially become a core member of the Akatsuki organization."

"Codename—Black Tortoise."

Tang Ya looked at the ring, her breathing quickening slightly.

With trembling hands, she accepted the ring and put it on the little finger of her right hand without hesitation.

The cool touch reached her skin, yet it made her feel incomparably secure.

An official member...

She stroked the red-cloud black robe, and the terrifying scene from last night surfaced in her mind: Huo Yuhao summoning the Nine Masked Beasts and destroying several sects with a single blow.

Was that the power of the Akatsuki organization?

A casually dispatched member possessed such world-destroying strength. Then how powerful were the other members...?

Tang Ya's heart was filled with awe and yearning.

However, she clearly had not expected this.

At this very moment, the grand-sounding and unfathomably mysterious "Akatsuki organization" was actually an empty-shell company with only two people.

"Um... Yuhao."

Tang Ya raised her head and looked at Huo Yuhao with a complicated expression:

"From now on... just call me Tang Ya. You don't need to call me Teacher Xiao Ya anymore."

"Within the organization, we're comrades of equal standing."

Huo Yuhao nodded and readily agreed. "All right. Then just call me Yuhao."

Being called "teacher" by someone with Obito's template who claimed to be Nagato's descendant was not a good thing.

Teachers were a high-risk profession in the Naruto world.

Look at Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Orochimaru, and even Naruto, who adopted Kawaki. Which of them had a good ending?

Tang Ya had no idea that she had narrowly escaped a disaster without realizing it.

Resting her cheek on one hand, she quietly stared at Huo Yuhao's cold yet handsome profile, her gaze gradually becoming somewhat dazed.

Yuhao...

I'm so lucky to have met you.

If I hadn't met you that day in the Star Dou Great Forest, if I had continued foolishly trusting Beibei and those hypocrites from Shrek...

Would I have spent my whole life living in lies, never having the chance to avenge Father and Mother?

It was this young man who had reached out a hand when she was at her most desperate, shown her the truth of the world, and given her the strength to take revenge.

This bond had long surpassed that of teacher and student, even that of ordinary companions.

"Um..."

Feeling creeped out by Tang Ya's stare, Huo Yuhao touched his cheek and asked in confusion:

"Is there something on my face?"

"Ah?!"

Tang Ya snapped back to her senses, her little face instantly flushing crimson as she hurriedly waved her hands in explanation:

"No... no! I just think..."

Her voice became softer:

"When you don't activate your martial soul or wear a mask... your blue eyes are actually quite beautiful."

Huo Yuhao: "..."

He nodded speechlessly, directly ignoring the somewhat suggestive compliment and steering the conversation back on track.

"Tang Ya, let's talk business."

"I remember you said before that you'd already applied to withdraw from the academy, right?"

Tang Ya's expression turned serious, and the tenderness in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by coldness:

"That's right. There is no need to stay in such a hypocritical place any longer."

"Shrek can't teach me anything. Instead, it would only bind my hands and feet. The Akatsuki organization and the Root Organization are my future."

"Good."

Huo Yuhao spread out the map and heavily pressed his finger onto the location at the junction of the three nations.

"Lord Madara's next mission for you is—to establish an Akatsuki organization outpost here."

"Rain Village."

Huo Yuhao looked at Tang Ya, his tone grave:

"This place has treacherous terrain and rain all year round. It is a natural barrier."

"At the same time, Lord Madara said that he would fully support you in developing the Root Organization as an affiliated covert division of the Akatsuki organization."

"The organization will provide you with sufficient funding, facilities, and cultivation resources."

"And what you need to do is use those resources to recruit wandering soul masters who have despaired of the world and crave strength, training them into death warriors who obey only us."

"They will serve as our scouts and assassination force."

Listening to this grand plan, Tang Ya was overwhelmed with excitement.

Her great vengeance had been fulfilled, her future now had direction, and even the Tang Sect she had always wanted to rebuild—now the Root Organization—had received powerful support.

Everything was so wonderful that she scarcely dared believe it.

"Gasp—"

She hurriedly pinched her thigh. Only after feeling the pain did she let out a long breath and pat her chest.

"That's great... I'm not dreaming."

Huo Yuhao: "..."

He looked at the girl before him, cold and merciless one moment yet somewhat adorably foolish the next, and helplessly shook his head.

Was this woman... really reliable?

Forget it. I'll be watching over her from behind anyway.