The new colleagues were very enthusiastic

[New boast recognition detected]

[Trait formation complete]

[Green trait: Flame and Thunder Swordmaster]

[Effect: When equipped, increases the overall attributes of the Flame and Thunder Swords by 30%]

Cangyue's gaze sharpened slightly.

A new trait had appeared.

And it wasn't white. It started at green.

Its effect was even more straightforward.

A 30% increase in the Flame and Thunder Swords' overall attributes meant their strength, speed, chakra conductivity, and the power of their violet flame and lightning would all receive a boost.

But why had it happened so quickly?

Pain and Konan alone clearly couldn't provide enough support for a green trait.

Cangyue thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

It wasn't just those two.

There were also over a hundred ninja in Amegakure.

He had charged into Amegakure riding a sword beneath his umbrella, advancing through ninja tools, Explosive Tags, and all manner of ninjutsu.

The Rain Ninja's attacks had never breached Heavenly Guardian Calamity. The whole of Amegakure had witnessed the power of the Flame and Thunder Swords.

In those Rain Ninja's eyes, he was a swordmaster who had arrived wielding violet flame and lightning.

He had only meant to harvest some extra valor points, yet he had unexpectedly formed a green trait.

An unintended windfall.

This feels amazing.

Cangyue didn't hesitate.

"Equip."

[Green trait "Flame and Thunder Swordmaster" equipped]

[Current traits: Eternal Dream, Flame and Thunder Swordmaster]

A powerful connection instantly surged into his consciousness.

The Flame and Thunder Swords hovering beside him hummed in unison.

Humm-

The arcs across the Thunder Sword suddenly brightened. As its edge trembled, an invisible sharpness sliced apart the tiny stones around it.

The flames on the purple Flame Sword also became more concentrated.

The violet flame didn't spread outward, but its temperature rose sharply.

Cangyue could clearly feel that the two swords were more responsive than before.

They responded to a mere thought.

Their power had risen by a considerable margin.

Excellent.

I haven't even officially joined the Akatsuki, and I've already received a welcome gift.

Just then, several Holographic Projections in the hall gradually took shape.

Pain and Konan stood at the front.

Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, Sasori, Kisame, and Uchiha Itachi were scattered throughout the hall.

Everyone was standing.

Only Cangyue scanned the room and directed the Thunder Sword to lift a reasonably clean cushion from a corner.

The Flame and Thunder Swords crossed in midair.

The cushion settled steadily onto the two blades.

Cangyue lay on his side atop it, propping his cheek on one hand and even adjusting his position.

"How shabby. You hold meetings without even a single chair?"

The hall fell silent.

Several Holographic Projections turned to look at him in unison.

Konan was silent for a moment.

"They're only Holographic Projections. They don't need seats."

Cangyue patted the cushion beneath him.

"I'm here in person."

"So I need one."

Konan found herself unable to argue.

When facing the entire Akatsuki for the first time, a normal person should at least remain sufficiently wary, even if they weren't nervous.

Cangyue, however, had made himself a bed.

Judging by his posture, he might even fall asleep right there if the meeting went on much longer.

[Valor points +20]

"I object to letting this bastard join!"

Hidan was the first to lose his patience.

He pushed his way forward and raised the right arm Kakuzu had just sewn back on.

Coarse black threads ran through his shoulder, making the wound look like a hideous centipede clinging to it.

"See this?"

"He did this!"

"Pain, kick him out!"

Cangyue's gaze fell on Hidan's right shoulder.

The Thunder Sword abruptly vanished.

Humm!

A blue streak of sword light shot across the hall, passing precisely through the severed joint of Hidan's right shoulder.

Hidan stiffened and instinctively retreated half a step, his left hand instantly clamping down on his newly reattached right arm.

Only a moment later did he realize.

He was only a Holographic Projection.

The Thunder Sword couldn't possibly hurt his actual body far away.

Hidan looked at his perfectly intact arm, then noticed everyone watching him. His face rapidly flushed red.

"Bastard!"

"I just wasn't ready!"

The Thunder Sword flew back to Cangyue's side.

It was faster than before he had equipped the trait, yet it stopped without the slightest wobble.

Cangyue gave it a satisfied glance.

"Nice job reattaching the arm."

"Too bad your courage is still missing."

"You!"

Hidan angrily stepped forward.

Kakuzu reminded him coldly, "Your right arm was only just sewn back on."

"If you move too violently and snap the black threads, you'll be paying for the repairs yourself."

Hidan stopped short.

"We're partners, and you're charging me to reattach an arm?"

"The black threads are mine. So is my time."

"Then why the hell did you stitch it up so ugly?"

"Because that's the only style you can afford."

Hidan looked down at his shoulder, then raised his head to glare at Cangyue.

He couldn't hit him.

He couldn't win an argument.

And he even had to pay to get his arm reattached.

Ever since meeting this brat, not a single thing had gone his way.

[Valor points +30]

"Your swords got stronger, hmm."

Deidara suddenly spoke.

His gaze rested on the purple Flame Sword.

The violet flame had abruptly contracted just now, yet it felt far more dangerous than before.

Even the Thunder Sword's speed as it passed through Hidan's Holographic Projection had caught his eye.

"I heard you burned through Hidan with purple flames."

"When those flames explode, they must be quite artistic, right?"

Cangyue raised a finger.

The purple Flame Sword flew in front of him.

A wisp of violet flame rose from its edge, forming a firebird with outstretched wings in midair.

Deidara's attention was immediately drawn to it.

The next instant, Cangyue snapped his fingers.

The firebird swooped at the cushion beneath him, precisely burning away a patch of mold in one corner.

The violet flame went out.

The cushion was completely unharmed.

"The violet flame is mainly for burning things."

Cangyue settled back down.

"Art isn't its job."

The anticipation on Deidara's face froze.

"You use flames that beautiful to burn mold?"

"Yep."

"Explosions are art!"

"Fireworks."

"Explosions!"

"Louder fireworks."

A vein throbbed at Deidara's temple.

"You don't understand art at all, hmm!"

Cangyue rolled over.

"At least I know how to clean a cushion."

[Valor points +30]

"Boring."

Hidden inside Hiruko, Sasori spoke in a low, raspy voice.

"Gathering everyone for this sort of argument is a waste of time."

"Either let him join or turn him into a puppet."

Hidan immediately chimed in.

"Let me sacrifice him before you turn him into a puppet!"

With Samehada resting on his shoulder, Kisame bared a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"He can get Hidan this angry and make Deidara forget what he's here for."

"The Akatsuki's meetings have been far too quiet lately."

"I think he'd fit right in."

Hidan whipped his head around.

"Whose side are you on, bastard?"

Kisame laughed. "I'm in the middle. Though I could also side with whatever's more entertaining."

Cangyue looked over.

Oh, Kisame's quite the diplomat.

Or, in plain terms, a shit-stirrer.

The atmosphere of the meeting grew increasingly strange.

Pain had called the meeting so everyone could assess Cangyue.

Instead, the newcomer was lying on flying swords.

Hidan was busy protecting his newly reattached right arm.

Deidara was insisting that explosions weren't fireworks.

And Kisame had become nothing more than a spectator enjoying the show.

Konan finally understood why Hidan had been so furious when asking for help.

The most troublesome thing about Cangyue might not be his swords after all.

[Valor points +20]

Uchiha Itachi hadn't spoken a word the entire time.

Scarlet Sharingan watched Cangyue calmly.

Twelve years old.

A Konoha Ninja.

Wielded the Flame and Thunder Swords.

Every detail matched the intelligence received not long ago.

He had helped the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki master tree climbing overnight.

He had proposed something he called training in dreams.

He had also made Sasuke practice with a sword while blindfolded, trying to reduce his reliance on sight.

Itachi had initially thought the intelligence agents had been misled by absurd rumors.

Now, it seemed the intelligence might not have been false.

Someone who could break into Amegakure, withstand Shinra Tensei head-on, and lie around at an Akatsuki meeting as though nothing had happened might indeed be capable of all those things.

But why would someone like that approach Sasuke?

And just how much did he know about the Uchiha?

Noticing Itachi's gaze, Cangyue turned his head toward him.

Their eyes met.

Cangyue knew perfectly well why Itachi had really stayed in the Akatsuki.

But he did not expose him.

A Konoha undercover agent planted in the Akatsuki would be valuable to his upcoming plans.

Besides, Itachi was strong enough to provide plenty of emotional value.

Cangyue wore the hint of a smile.

"Hey, handsome. Do you dream?"

Itachi's gaze sharpened slightly.

The question had come out of nowhere.

Yet dream training happened to be connected to Sasuke.

Did Cangyue know he was still keeping an eye on Konoha?

Kisame also turned to look at Itachi.

Not long ago, Itachi had asked him whether any technique in the world allowed someone to train by sleeping.

Now, the man who had proposed dream training had asked Itachi whether he dreamed at their very first meeting.

"Mr. Itachi."

Kisame smiled. "Looks like you two have plenty to talk about."

Itachi ignored him.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing."

Cangyue rested his head on his arms.

"Someone asked me to say hello to you."

Itachi's Sharingan abruptly turned cold.

Cangyue paused briefly.

"He misses you back in Konoha."

The temperature in the hall seemed to drop a few degrees.

Itachi naturally knew who that person was.

Sasuke was still alive.

He was still thinking of him.

But that longing had long since turned into hatred.

Itachi could not tell whether Cangyue's claim that someone had "asked" him was true.

Would Sasuke bring him up to this man of his own accord?

Or had Cangyue already seen through certain secrets?

Cangyue offered no explanation.

The less he said, the more Itachi would think.

[Valor Points +50]

Pain finally spoke, bringing the increasingly off-track meeting to an end.

"Enough."

Hidan reluctantly shut his mouth.

Deidara also stopped arguing for the moment.

Pain looked at Cangyue.

"Your strength has passed the test."

"But you've only just made contact with the Akatsuki. The organization won't give you access to all its intelligence right away."

"For now, you can only be an associate member."

"You won't have a ring, and you won't be allowed to participate in our core plans."

Cangyue had no objections.

Having no ring meant the Akatsuki could not summon him to a Holographic Projection meeting whenever they pleased.

It would also make it easier to maintain his Konoha identity.

"Fine."

"Complete a trial mission first. Then we'll decide whether you can have long-term access to the organization's bases."

Konan took out a registration form.

The sheet flew to Cangyue on its own.

"Fill in your name, age, background, abilities, and your conditions for joining."

Cangyue caught the form and briefly filled in his details first.

Kambara Sogetsu.

12 years old.

Konoha Ninja.

Proficient in swordsmanship, Flying Sword, Lightning Release, and violet flame.

As for the Valor System and his traits, he did not write a single word about them.

After filling it out, Cangyue did not hand the form back.

He turned the sheet over, took out a pen, and drew several neat rows of fields.

Name.

Background.

Height.

Weight.

Abilities.

Preferred tactics.

Weaknesses.

As Hidan looked at the back of the form, a sudden sense of foreboding rose within him.

"What are you writing now?"

Cangyue looked up and surveyed everyone, finally pointing the tip of his pen at Hidan.

"Before I start the job, I should get to know my coworkers."

"Let's start with you."

"Height and weight."