Fusion

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

After leaving the cave, Chen Xiaoxi followed Zetsu's lead and picked out a house in Amegakure that suited him.

As the Akatsuki's main headquarters, Amegakure was naturally a place they would visit often,

so assigning homes to the members made perfect sense.

And after spending ten years in the System Secret Realm, Chen Xiaoxi was more than ready for a change of scenery and a decent place to enjoy himself.

He quickly came up with an excuse to send Zetsu, who had shown him the way, packing.

"Phew..."

Lying on the soft tatami, Chen Xiaoxi felt, for the first time, as if he had come back to life.

"Sure enough, there's no way to experience this kind of comfort in the System Secret Realm!"

Chen Xiaoxi smiled as he marveled at the feeling.

Suddenly, the system's virtual panel popped up. A rapid string of notifications rang out in his mind.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. The sign-in task is complete! One draw awarded."

"Start the draw!"

Reward: Flash Step basics +1; Kido basics +1; Reiatsu +1."

Hearing the notification,

an unsurprised smile appeared on Chen Xiaoxi's face.

"Defeat the Undying Ninja, Kakuzu (1/1). One draw awarded!"

"Start the draw!"

Reward: Flash Step basics +1; Kido basics +1; Reiatsu +1."

Hearing the notification,

an unsurprised smile appeared on Chen Xiaoxi's face.

When Kakuzu provoked him in the cave, Chen Xiaoxi had accepted the challenge for a reason. He hadn't done it just because he was bored.

He'd done it to complete the task triggered by defeating a Kage Level fighter and claim its reward.

Sure enough, just as he'd expected, the system had rewarded him with experience in Flash Step and Kido, along with the usual Reiatsu boost—just like when he'd defeated Sasori of the Red Sands.

However, perhaps because he had used two Kido spells in that battle, the Kido experience reward was greater this time.

"So... as long as I use a certain skill in battle, I can earn experience for it?"

Chen Xiaoxi quickly spotted the pattern.

It seemed he could raise his strength by deliberately using the four techniques—sword, fist, movement, and Kido—in battle to farm experience.

As Chen Xiaoxi pondered this, the system panel popped up again, followed by another series of notifications.

"A new side quest has been triggered—"

"Destroy Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear mask: Fire Release (1/1). Complete. One draw awarded~!"

"Destroy Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear mask: Wind Release (1/1). Complete. One draw awarded~!"

"Destroy Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear mask: Water Release (0/1). Incomplete. One draw awarded~!"

"Destroy Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear mask: Earth Release (0/1). Incomplete. One draw awarded~!"

"Destroy Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear mask: Lightning Release (0/1). Incomplete. One draw awarded~!"

"Destroy all five of Kakuzu's elemental Earth Grudge Fear masks (2/5). Incomplete. One draw awarded~!"

The notifications ended.

Chen Xiaoxi froze.

Good grief!

Destroying Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear masks counted as side quests too?

And here was an even nastier one: destroy all five?

Kakuzu only had five hearts, didn't he?

So the system wanted me to kill him outright?

Wouldn't that make me a traitor?

Looking at the rows of quests on the system panel, Chen Xiaoxi could only laugh helplessly.

He'd never imagined that Kakuzu would be turned into a source of side-quest experience just like that.

He'd already been the Akatsuki's workhorse, practically the only member of the entire organization who took making money seriously.

And now he'd become an experience farm.

By evening,

Chen Xiaoxi's new house in Amegakure had its first visitor.

Konan.

She was holding a bag.

As soon as she came in, she wordlessly handed it to him.

Chen Xiaoxi had no idea what was going on. He took the bag and asked in confusion,

"What's this?"

Konan looked at him calmly and replied,

"The Akatsuki Uniform."

"Once you put it on, you'll officially become a member of the organization."

"From now on, you must wear it on every mission, to show the Ninja World the strength of the Akatsuki."

Konan's tone was perfectly calm.

Clearly, this was a rule that had been laid down long ago.

However,

when Chen Xiaoxi heard that, his eyebrows shot up.

The Akatsuki's Red Cloud Black Robe was here!

The uniform rumored to carry the "take it off and die" curse?

Chen Xiaoxi gave the serious-looking Konan an odd look and forced a smile. "Uh, do I have to wear it?"

"Yes."

Konan answered coolly, rejecting him outright.

Then she simply turned and headed for the door, speaking calmly as she walked,

"You may be sent on a mission in the next couple of days. Be ready."

With that,

she turned into a flurry of paper and disappeared.

Chen Xiaoxi could only shake his head with a wry smile. He opened the bag, and sure enough, a neatly folded Red Cloud Black Robe lay inside.

Unexpectedly, though, there was also a bottle of nail polish.

"Huh?

Nail polish?"

Chen Xiaoxi took it out of the bag. Under the light, it showed a faint shade of blue-green.

Chen Xiaoxi had been puzzled,

but then he suddenly paused.

Only then did he remember that, in the original story, every Akatsuki member really did wear nail polish in a different color...

What was that supposed to be?

Some kind of group performance art?

Chen Xiaoxi shook his head helplessly and tossed it aside.

Then he picked up the clothes. But the moment he lifted the Red Cloud Black Robe, a system notification rang out.

"Ding! The Host has acquired [Akatsuki Uniform] x1. Would you like to fuse it with your [Shihakusho]?"

"After fusion, the Akatsuki Uniform will inherit all of the Shihakusho's abilities."

"?"

Was this really possible?

Chen Xiaoxi's eyes lit up as soon as he heard the notification!

He'd been worried that wearing the Akatsuki's uniform would cost him the Shihakusho's abilities, but he hadn't expected the two to be compatible!

The Shihakusho wasn't just an ordinary outfit.

Ten years ago, when Chen Xiaoxi had gained basic Reiatsu and a Zanpakuto, a black Shihakusho had appeared on him, covering his entire body.

According to the system, the Shihakusho was fundamentally just like a Zanpakuto: it was also a special manifestation of a Shinigami's Reiatsu!

In other words—

the higher a person's Reiatsu, the stronger the Shihakusho's defense!

That one feature alone made it far superior to the Akatsuki's ordinary Red Cloud Black Robe!

So Chen Xiaoxi barely hesitated.

"System, fuse them!"

"Ding!"

As soon as he spoke, the Red Cloud Black Robe vanished from Chen Xiaoxi's hands. The next moment, white light began to shimmer around him.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host—"

"You have obtained a brand-new item: Shihakusho [Akatsuki ver.]!"

"This item perfectly inherits the Akatsuki Uniform's appearance and all the Shihakusho's abilities!"

The notification ended, and the light faded.

Chen Xiaoxi had changed from his black outfit into an Akatsuki Red Cloud Black Robe.

Just as the system had said, its appearance was almost indistinguishable from everyone else's Red Cloud Black Robe.

Only Chen Xiaoxi knew its properties were nothing like those of ordinary clothes.