11. Implementing Tobi's Birth

"I see..."

After hearing these words, a flash of profound, strange light suddenly flickered in the Masked Man's eyes as he muttered in a low voice:

"A mysterious eye technique with golden pupils?"

"It seems the situation is far more complex than I had imagined..."

At this moment, beneath that orange mask, Brother Obito's expression turned grave for the first time, looking even somewhat unsightly.

He had never expected that there might be an eye technique he was unaware of...

After a long silence, he finally raised his head again. His gaze swept over the faces of Pain and Konan before he spoke slowly in a deep voice:

"Regarding this guy,"

"There are too many strange things about him; he requires further observation."

"As it happens, I have a mission here. Why not... let him be the one to complete it?"

"For this mission, I will observe him personally—accompanying him as an intern of the Akatsuki."

"..."

As the words fell, Konan's gaze shifted slightly as she asked:

"What mission?"

The Masked Man slowly rose from his chair. In the darkness, his blood-red Sharingan shimmered with a bewitching light.

A moment later, he spoke slowly:

"To hunt down the man who was once one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha..."

"Orochimaru."

Hunting Orochimaru...

Upon hearing the Masked Man's words, Konan and Pain exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.

They could not understand why he would suddenly propose such a mission.

However, the Masked Man seemed to see through their doubts and explained indifferently:

"After receiving your message,"

"I made a trip to the Land of Wind, where I had a conversation with one of Sasori's subordinates."

"From his intelligence, I learned that the Konoha rogue ninja Orochimaru seems to be investigating the situation of the Akatsuki."

At this point, the Masked Man paused slightly, narrowed his eyes, and said:

"However, the Orochimaru I know is a very suspicious person; he shouldn't have obtained that information so easily."

"In other words... he is likely revealing his whereabouts on purpose, with ulterior motives."

"Since that is the case, let us play along with his scheme."

"Let me see for myself: between this wielder of the mysterious eye technique, Chen Xiaoxi, and that treacherous Orochimaru, who will emerge victorious..."

As he spoke, the Masked Man stood up.

His figure began to vanish into the air like a vortex, leaving behind only a cold, indifferent sentence.

"Convey the order to him."

"I will meet him in the guise of Tobi, an intern of the Akatsuki."

As the voice faded, his figure had completely entered the vortex before his right eye and vanished entirely.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Amegakure, inside Chen Xiaoxi's residence, he was sitting by the windowsill, leafing through a book.

The title of the book was simple—Tales of a Gutsy Ninja.

However, the author was anything but simple.

It was the work of the renowned Legendary Sannin of Konoha, the heroic ninja known as the Toad Sage, Jiraiya.

Half a day later, Chen Xiaoxi finally finished reading. He closed the book and let out a soft sigh.

"Whew..."

"Although the content is positive and uplifting, it seems to lack a bit in entertainment value. No wonder it ended up being a commercial failure."

Chen Xiaoxi shook his head with a helpless smile.

If it weren't for the need to complete the side quest assigned by the system, he might not have been able to read it at all.

"Ding, congratulations to the host, side quest completed!"

"Collected one novel by Jiraiya, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja (1/1), completed, reward: Reiatsu +1!"

"Fully read one novel by Jiraiya, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja (1/1), completed, reward: Reiatsu +1!"

"Promote Jiraiya's novel, Tales of a Gutsy Ninja, to any five ninjas of Kage-level or above (0/5), not completed, reward unknown."

As he listened to the series of voice prompts, Chen Xiaoxi immediately felt a slight increase in the Reiatsu within his body and showed a satisfied smile.

It wasn't a wasted read, then.

However, this last mission was indeed a bit tricky.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, you can try searching for the author, maybe it's just renamed!

Chen Xiaoxi helplessly closed the system panel.

Asking me to promote this book to any five powerful individuals of Kage-level or above...

I'll probably be treated like a lunatic...

"Sigh, it's a shame that I can't buy Icha Icha Paradise at the bookstore in Amegakure..."

"It seems I'll have to buy it from outside."

Chen Xiaoxi sighed lightly.

Of course.

He was only doing it to complete the side quest.

As for the content of the book?

He, Chen Xiaoxi, had always been a gentleman, how could he be interested?

After all, a certain 'Kaka' brother from Konoha became useless from reading this book all the time, and his kidneys would be overdrawn every time he used chakra...

"Hey, newcomer."

Just as Chen Xiaoxi was thinking, a voice suddenly sounded from the ground.

Then, a pitcher plant-like creature poked its half-black, half-white head out of the ground and said in a low voice:

"You have a mission."

"Leader Pain wants you to gather at the base now."

"?"

As the words fell, Chen Xiaoxi's gaze immediately shifted. However, before he could ask anything, Zetsu had already burrowed into the ground and slipped away.

"The first mission has come so quickly..."

Chen Xiaoxi stood up, a faint smile appearing on his face.

It would be good to go on a mission, perhaps he could even buy other works by Jiraiya in foreign countries.

A moment later, Chen Xiaoxi arrived at the familiar cave meeting room again.

However, The moment he entered, Chen Xiaoxi's expression immediately froze.

An unexpected situation had occurred.

In the cave, besides Pain and Konan, there was also a man not wearing the Akatsuki Uniform.

He wore an orange Spiral Mask, his right eye seemed to be lost in darkness.

This attire is...

Chen Xiaoxi was instantly stunned.

He had never expected to see his debut at this time, and so early.

The mysterious masked man--

The mastermind behind the Akatsuki!

The moment Chen Xiaoxi saw him, the masked man also immediately noticed Chen Xiaoxi.

However, in the next moment, He immediately leaped high into the air, rushing directly to Chen Xiaoxi's side, quickly looking around Chen Xiaoxi while letting out a very comical shout.

"Waaah!"

"Is this the senior Chen Xiaoxi who killed Sasori of the Red Sand?"

"I didn't expect him to be so young! Damn it! To become a formal member at such a young age, I'm so envious!"

He gesticulated wildly while shouting, making a great commotion.

However, in the distance, Pain and Konan, who witnessed this scene, remained expressionless, as if they were already accustomed to it.

A moment later, Pain looked towards Chen Xiaoxi and said faintly:

"He's here, Chen Xiaoxi."

"Let me introduce him for now—"

"His name is Tobi, he's an intern for the Akatsuki, and at the same time, he's your temporary partner for this mission."

"He will assist you in successfully completing this mission."

"...Huh?"

Hearing this, Chen Xiaoxi raised an eyebrow, realizing something was amiss, and deliberately said:

"What's going on?

You're getting an intern to be my partner?"

As his voice fell, the Masked Man, Tobi, beside him seemed to deflate, then clenched his fist and said somewhat indignantly:

"Wow! Senior Chen Xiaoxi, don't talk about me like that!"

"Although I'm still an intern now, I will definitely become a formal member in the future! I'm very strong, you know!"

By the end, the Masked Man, Tobi, made a gesture of brandishing a kunai.

He seemed to be putting on a show, as if he were about to perform on the spot.

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