Adventure of the Ninja World's Savior

Meanwhile.

Across the crowded street, on top of a distant building, a figure watched everything intently.

It was the Masked Man, Obito Uchiha, who had secretly followed them.

After Chen Xiaoxi left,

he had seized the chance to leave White Zetsu "Fei" behind, disguised as Tobi, to deal with Orochimaru.

Then, after changing his clothes, he had secretly followed Chen Xiaoxi.

He wanted to know

what this mysterious man was really up to.

However, when he saw Chen Xiaoxi head to the commercial district and walk straight into a bookstore, he was immediately confused.

"Could this guy really have come to buy a book...?"

"Did I read too much into it?"

A moment later,

Chen Xiaoxi went into a noodle shop.

A few minutes after that,

he saw Chen Xiaoxi reappear using some kind of Body Flicker Technique, apparently holding a book with a yellow cover.

"Hmm..."

"Could that be some kind of special ninjutsu scroll?"

Beneath his mask, Obito narrowed his eyes slightly and made a bold guess.

He decided to use his Tobi identity to subtly investigate what it was.

After all,

a book that someone as powerful as Chen Xiaoxi had gone out of his way to retrieve couldn't be anything ordinary.

Obito didn't believe it was just a regular book, either.

A moment later,

Obito returned and fused with White Zetsu again. Then he put on his mask and once more became Akatsuki's intern, Tobi.

The moment his transformation was complete, he saw Chen Xiaoxi return.

"Let's go. We're heading back to Amegakure."

Chen Xiaoxi wore a faint, warm smile, looking to be in a very good mood.

As soon as he arrived, he spoke directly to Orochimaru and the Masked Man.

Orochimaru naturally had no objections. He simply nodded and followed along.

After all, he had plenty of grand plans to think over and no time to worry about such minor details.

But the Masked Man, Tobi, suddenly rushed over and cried out in an exaggerated voice:

"Hey, Senior Chen Xiaoxi!"

"What did you go off to do just now?

Were you on a date?

Or did you go buy something tasty?"

"Come on, tell me!"

Tobi immediately went full-on goofy otaku, hovering beside Chen Xiaoxi and chattering away.

Chen Xiaoxi frowned.

This guy... what a pain. No wonder that artistic genius Deidara wanted to blow him up with bombs every day. He deserved it.

"Nothing much. I went to buy a book."

Chen Xiaoxi decided to be honest. It didn't matter, after all.

But

when Tobi heard that, he seemed even more excited.

"Wow! A book?"

"I love reading! What kind of books do you like, Senior Chen Xiaoxi?

Can I see it?"

Tales of a Gutsy Ninja.

"Hmm... Huh?"

The Masked Man froze.

That title... why did it sound familiar?

Just then, Chen Xiaoxi suddenly gave him a strange smile. Then he reached into his roomy black robe and pulled out two books with brown covers.

They bore the title:

—Tales of a Gutsy Ninja: Adventure of the Ninja World's Savior!

—By Jiraiya.

The moment they saw the books, both the Masked Man and Orochimaru beside him were stunned.

Uh...

Wasn't this Jiraiya's debut novel?

A famous flop in the Ninja World.

Chen Xiaoxi had such awful taste?

He actually liked reading this kind of trash?

However,

Chen Xiaoxi paid no attention to their dumbfounded expressions.

Instead, with a smile on his face, he abruptly shoved one book into Orochimaru's hands and the other into Obito's.

Then he held out his hand with a smile and said:

"I'll give you a discount."

"Ten taels each. Come on, pay up."

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Are you seriously trying to sell us books?

Why did you suddenly start selling books without a word?

Orochimaru and the Masked Man were both completely baffled by Chen Xiaoxi's bizarre stunt.

Still, they instinctively each took out a ten-tael bill.

What they didn't know was that

as soon as their money reached Chen Xiaoxi's hands, a system notification rang out in his mind—

"Side Quest:"

"Sell Jiraiya's novel Tales of a Gutsy Ninja to any five Kage Level or higher shinobi (2/5). Two people have been persuaded; three more to go. Reward unknown."

Chen Xiaoxi smiled. He was a little closer to his goal.

Heh heh,

forcing the sale still counted as selling, after all.

However, after Tobi took the book and flipped through it, he furrowed his brow beneath his mask.

No, something was wrong—

How could this be...

When he'd left that shop, he definitely hadn't been holding this book!

Tsk... was this guy trying to hide something?

Indeed,

no matter how he looked at it, the whole thing was too strange.

Beneath his mask, Obito's eyes flickered as an obsession gradually took root in his heart.

He decided that once they returned to Amegakure,

he'd have Konan personally investigate what that mysterious yellow book Chen Xiaoxi had picked up really was!

Two days later.

In Amegakure, in the Land of Rain.

Clouds rolled like a tide, covering the sky.

Relentless rain beat against the iron buildings.

At that moment, inside a gloomy high-rise,

two shinobi in black cloaks patterned with red clouds stood silently.

The one in the back was a woman with pale blue-purple hair.

Beneath her purple eyeshadow, her light orange eyes seemed devoid of emotion. A pale purple paper flower adorned the right side of her head.

The one in front was a young man with short orange hair. He wore Amegakure's Forehead Protector, and dozens of black metal rods were embedded in his pale features.

They were, of course, Deva Path Pain and Konan.

At that moment, the two of them silently watched the torrential rain outside.

Just then, the air behind them rippled.

A strange, invisible vortex appeared. A moment later, a figure wearing an orange mask emerged from it.

This person

was, naturally, Akatsuki's intern, Tobi.

But now he was nothing like the goofball he'd been around Chen Xiaoxi. Instead, he was deeply serious.

He strode forward as he spoke in a low voice:

"Has Orochimaru been settled in?"

"Yes."

Konan nodded slightly and replied calmly:

"We've given him the 'Sky' ring, and Zetsu has delivered his uniform."

"Good.

Starting today, have Kakuzu work with him for the time being.

Kakuzu will also be responsible for monitoring all of Orochimaru's movements."

The Masked Man spoke without a hint of emotion, issuing his orders decisively.

"...Understood."

Pain gave a calm reply.

He knew what the Masked Man meant.

A cunning man like Orochimaru was too dangerous to leave entirely unsupervised.

So the best solution was to have a capable member keep an eye on him at all times.

That way, Orochimaru could work for Akatsuki without them having to worry too much about him betraying them.

After a moment's silence,

the Masked Man spoke again in a low voice:

"I have to say,"

"this mission has been very rewarding."

"Just as the two of you said—"

"this man named Chen Xiaoxi really does possess a mysterious ocular technique!"

"Based on what I observed,"

"his Kekkei Genkai is called the 'Wicked Eye of the Tyrant.' It's an eye that grants genuine genjutsu and mutated nature transformations!"

"He can unleash nature transformations of every type at incredible speed, without hand signs. He can also use strange genjutsu, and... some kind of ability that seems to control gravity."

"All in all, its power may be as complex as the Rinnegan."

"..."

When he finished,

Pain and Konan exchanged a glance.

They both saw the look of confirmation in the other's eyes.

As expected,

Chen Xiaoxi's golden eyes were no simple matter!

Their original suspicions had now been completely confirmed.