Just an Intern, That's All

"..."

At that moment, the expression beneath the Masked Man's mask—Obito Uchiha's face—looked even worse than Orochimaru's.

If Orochimaru had fallen for it because he didn't know Chen Xiaoxi existed, then that was understandable. It made sense.

But when had Brother Obito been tricked?

He'd been on his guard the whole time.

Damn it...

How many more unknown abilities did those golden eyes called the "Wicked Eye of the Tyrant" hide?

So a hundred wouldn't be enough?

Obito gritted his teeth slightly, his gaze complicated.

He'd originally come to take part in this mission as an intern so he could investigate Chen Xiaoxi.

Who could've expected that, after this mission, he'd end up with even more questions...

At that moment,

Orochimaru, pinned to the ground below, was also watching closely, his expression shifting rapidly.

Suddenly, he remembered something.

When that masked guy had jumped down just now, he seemed to have mentioned something about a "senior" and the "Wicked Eye of the Tyrant"...

It was clear now that the so-called senior was the boy the Masked Man had called "Chen Xiaoxi."

Then the Wicked Eye of the Tyrant... meant his golden eyes?

Could they be some kind of entirely new Kekkei Genkai?

"Tsk..."

"I really let my guard down."

"As expected, anyone who can join the Akatsuki is far more complicated than they seem..."

Orochimaru managed a strained grin and spoke hoarsely to the figure above him.

As soon as he finished speaking,

the silver blade in his abdomen began to retract. At last, it pulled free of the ground and disappeared back into the sky.

Clearly, Chen Xiaoxi had withdrawn his sword.

And only then

did his figure truly descend from the sky.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Chen Xiaoxi looked toward Orochimaru with a faint smile and said:

"Orochimaru, how was it, trying to outsmart thin air?"

Chen Xiaoxi chuckled softly.

He couldn't use genjutsu, of course.

Nor could he use the Substitution Technique or Shadow Clones.

But he did have an item far more powerful than the Substitution Technique—

the Portable Gigai.

An item created by Kisuke Urahara in the world of Bleach.

All he had to do was pour his Reiatsu into it, and it would create a convincing clone that could act freely.

Since the disguise was made from Reiatsu, even the Sharingan and Byakugan couldn't see through it.

Back when he was in the treetop high above,

after the Masked Man went down, Chen Xiaoxi had immediately used the Portable Gigai.

Meanwhile, his real body had kept his Reiatsu suppressed and watched everything from above.

That was how the whole scene had played out.

"..."

Looking into Chen Xiaoxi's eyes,

Orochimaru paused for a moment, but didn't answer.

The next moment, though, he suddenly opened his mouth wide again, repeating his earlier trick!

He used the Orochimaru-Style Body Replacement Technique once more, sending out an Orochimaru with a snake's tail to launch a sneak attack on Chen Xiaoxi!

This time, he had only one target—

to take Chen Xiaoxi's eyes!

With such powerful abilities, wouldn't it be a waste not to take the Wicked Eye of the Tyrant?

Orochimaru raised his hand and charged at Chen Xiaoxi at incredible speed, a sinister smile on his face.

"Heh... I'll be taking those golden eyes of yours!"

Orochimaru was a master of underhanded tricks.

Of the things he was best at, launching sneak attacks was near the top of the list.

And just now,

the instant he saw Chen Xiaoxi's real body, he'd noticed those powerful golden eyes!

It felt no different from the first time he'd seen the Sharingan.

So

he'd decided to get his hands on them first.

But just as he finished speaking, with his hand less than thirty centimeters from Chen Xiaoxi,

something suddenly changed. Chen Xiaoxi spoke calmly:

"Way of Destruction No. 58: Tenran."

A powerful white gale suddenly appeared and slammed into Orochimaru's face with tremendous force!

"?"

BAM!!

Caught in the raging wind, Orochimaru had no chance to dodge. The attack hit him squarely!

"Puh!"

As he spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flew backward like a kite with its strings cut, sailing dozens of meters away!

Every tree, bush, and flower along the way was smashed to pieces!

Once he landed, Orochimaru stared in astonishment, his face full of confusion.

What just happened?

At this close range... when had this guy made the Hand Seals?

Beside him, the Masked Man saw what had happened and immediately understood. His eyes narrowed slightly.

Tsk... That strange eye technique had appeared again?

First the hand-seal-less golden Lightning Release and the azure Fire Style, and now Wind Release...

"Orochimaru,"

"that's enough of your pointless tricks."

Chen Xiaoxi remained calm, simply looking toward Orochimaru with a faint smile as he said:

"Now, tell me what you really came here for."

"..."

Orochimaru got to his feet, grinned at Chen Xiaoxi, and gave a low chuckle.

"Heh... You're right."

"I wanted to try my luck just now, but it looks like it won't be that easy."

"As for why I'm here—"

Orochimaru paused, then smiled.

"I noticed the Akatsuki is recruiting members, right?

"So... how about letting me join?"

"I've always been very interested in your organization."

"If I joined, I'd be able to make you stronger, wouldn't I?"

"..."

"Besides, I have plenty of intelligence from the various nations. I could provide your organization with a lot of useful information."

"Don't you think?"

Orochimaru stared at Chen Xiaoxi, speaking with a knowing smile.

He really had set up a lot of intelligence networks across the major nations over the years. Otherwise, he wouldn't have learned of the Akatsuki's existence.

Hearing this, Chen Xiaoxi's lips curled slightly.

At last, the snake had offered himself up—

that bastard really did want to join the Akatsuki.

Chen Xiaoxi glanced at the system panel. A new series of side quests was displayed:

Recruit one member for the Akatsuki (0/1), incomplete, reward unknown.

Recruit two members for the Akatsuki (0/2), incomplete, reward unknown.

Recruit three members for the Akatsuki (0/3), incomplete, reward unknown.

There were three quests in total.

That meant he could recruit three members and earn three rewards,

and now, as long as he completed a system quest, he'd receive a reward outright in addition to the draw.

Of course, Chen Xiaoxi would never turn down a reward.

And Orochimaru was practically a freebie. Why would he refuse?

So, after hearing Orochimaru out,

Chen Xiaoxi smiled and replied without the slightest hesitation:

"I see."

"It looks like you really would be a good fit for the Akatsuki."

"Then, on behalf of our leader Pain, I'll provisionally welcome you into the organization—"

"?"

At that, Orochimaru and the Masked Man both reacted.

Orochimaru was naturally pleased. He hadn't expected to get such an easy acceptance...

But the Masked Man beside him wasn't happy.

Still, he hadn't forgotten his current role, so he spoke in Tobi's usual tone:

"Hey, Senior Chen Xiaoxi?"

"I, I don't think this is a good idea."

"If Orochimaru really joins the Akatsuki, he might steal our intelligence or something..."

"I think we should turn him down!"

Hearing this,

Orochimaru frowned slightly, ready to argue.

But before he could get a word out, Chen Xiaoxi looked toward the Masked Man, rolled his eyes, and said coldly:

"You're just an intern. Why are you worrying about this?"

"..."

Chen Xiaoxi fixed his gaze on Obito's Spiral Mask and spoke with an amused smile:

"Could it be... you think you're the Akatsuki's true leader?

"That you have more authority than Pain?"

The moment he said that,

Obito's throat caught beneath the mask, and he froze.

I...

What did he mean by that?

I really am the Akatsuki's true leader.