A ninja of unbending integrity, ready to sell out his village for a mission

When he heard Uzumaki Shixia shamelessly declare to his face that his mission success rate was one hundred percent.

Kakuzu wanted to blast a Searing Migraine straight into Uzumaki Shixia's face.

If Uzumaki Shixia hadn't interfered, his last mission wouldn't have failed.

Once he heard that Kakuzu and Orochimaru hadn't come to hire him.

Uzumaki Shixia put away his smile and straightened his back.

"Ptooey!"

Uzumaki Shixia spat right in front of Kakuzu without the slightest courtesy.

"No mission? Then why the hell are you blocking your daddy's way?"

He shook off Kakuzu's right hand, then grabbed Orochimaru's sleeve to wipe his own hand.

"What a waste of time!"

Those actions made even Orochimaru's mouth twitch several times.

"You little bastard!"

He wanted to whip out the Kusanagi Sword that very instant and drive it straight through Uzumaki Shixia's head.

Kakuzu raised a hand, signaling for Orochimaru to stay calm.

Uzumaki Shixia wasn't some small fry they could push around. There was no need to clash with him over something so trivial.

Kakuzu looked at Uzumaki Shixia and said, "We don't have a mission to hire you for, but..."

To his surprise, Sixia turned around and walked away.

Clearly, he couldn't even be bothered to listen.

If they weren't going to hire him, why stick around and waste time?

Time was missions!

Until he became strong enough to survive an alien invasion without fearing for his life.

He would prioritize commission missions and keep grinding them to grow stronger!

The most absurdly powerful feature of the mercenary system was that it allowed him to develop ninjutsu almost without limit.

Many ninjutsu might not have a high rank.

But with the system's help, continual development and refinement could make them immensely powerful.

Not only that, his chakra reserves and physical strength could also keep increasing.

He felt that as long as he ground hard enough, he would eventually grind his way to becoming a sage.

Not the kind of sage from Mount Myōboku, of course.

As Uzumaki Shixia led Karin away, Kakuzu stepped in front of Sixia again.

Sixia stopped, his expression turning cold once more. "Don't push your luck when I'm being nice."

Kakuzu glanced at Karin, whose hand he was holding, and said coldly.

"You can leave. The little girl stays."

"She has nothing to do with your mission. She's my target."

At that, Uzumaki Shixia turned slightly sideways and tilted his head. "Oh?"

That "oh" meant: With your pathetic skills, you think you can take someone from me?

Bzzzz!

Streaks of blue lightning instantly coiled around Uzumaki Shixia's entire body.

He was bathed in powerful lightning release chakra, ready to strike at any moment.

Tap!

Without hesitation, Kakuzu quickly retreated to create some distance while forming hand seals, preparing to unleash ninjutsu!

The last time he had encountered Uzumaki Shixia, he had underestimated him far too much and suffered badly at his hands!

This time was different. The moment Uzumaki Shixia attacked, he would go all out.

Whoosh-

Orochimaru instantly raised both hands, ready to form hand seals and cast a jutsu.

Uzumaki Shixia's behavior just now had shown utter disregard for him, one of the renowned Sannin.

If Kakuzu hadn't stopped him, he would have already taught Uzumaki Shixia a lesson.

In Amegakure's black market, the nearby ninja saw the impending confrontation and didn't hesitate.

They immediately hurried away from the area.

Any ninja who had spent years in the black market without recognizing these two had been wasting their time.

Either of those two was difficult to handle alone. With both involved, even watching was dangerous.

Uzumaki Shixia was a commission mission fanatic. He was either carrying out a commission mission or on his way to accept one.

The most terrifying thing was that, after all this time in the black market.

His mission success rate was still one hundred percent.

He could complete virtually any commission mission flawlessly.

With a fight about to erupt, the surrounding ninja kept a safe distance while secretly looking forward to it.

Unlike the other ninja, Kakuzu now regarded Uzumaki Shixia with even greater wariness.

His mask concealed his expression, but inwardly, Kakuzu was reeling.

How is that possible?

It's only been a few days. How has his lightning release chakra become so much stronger?

Kakuzu watched Uzumaki Shixia, poised to strike, and felt deeply alarmed.

Sensing the astonishing lightning release chakra surrounding Uzumaki Shixia, both Kakuzu's and Orochimaru's expressions shifted slightly.

Kakuzu kept his gaze fixed intently on Sixia while thinking rapidly.

This guy is extremely dangerous!

The bounty for this mission isn't particularly high, either.

There's no reason to fight someone this dangerous over such a small bounty!

Beyond that, a brilliant idea occurred to him.

Uzumaki Shixia was also a famous mission fanatic in the black market, and supposedly, he was unusually obsessed with payment.

Thinking of it that way.

The two of them seemed to be truly like-minded comrades.

In that case, why not invite Uzumaki Shixia to join the Akatsuki?

At that thought, Kakuzu coughed twice.

"Uzumaki Shixia, I acknowledge your strength. Interested in joining our Akatsuki?"

"Once you join, you'll receive a substantial monthly payment, provided you complete the missions assigned from above."

Uzumaki Shixia rolled his eyes and led Karin away, tossing out a dismissive remark as he went.

"Little organization, big organization, whatever. Not interested. Stop getting in the way of my mission grind!"

Money didn't mean much to him.

He already had nowhere to spend the money he earned from missions.

What would he do with that much money?

Strength was the foundation of survival.

But then something happened that Uzumaki Shixia never could have anticipated!

[Long-term commission mission detected!]

[Employer: Kakuzu]

[Mission objective: Kakuzu has acknowledged your strength on behalf of the Akatsuki.]

[Mission reward: Successfully accept the mission to receive one Super Draw! When the long-term commission mission is settled, the commission points earned based on payment will be doubled!]

Uzumaki Shixia had already decided to ignore Kakuzu and Orochimaru.

Yet the moment he lifted his foot, the system sent him a whole string of notifications!

When he saw the reward the system offered this time, Sixia was completely stunned!

Holy shit, this is insane! A Super Draw?

This was a Super Draw that guaranteed an SSS-Rank reward.

His talent, Heavenly Thunder, had come from the Super Draw included in the Novice Gift Pack when he first bound the system.

It had directly raised his lightning release chakra affinity to S-Rank.

It had also greatly increased his chances of drawing Lightning Release techniques. Its power spoke for itself.

Now I get a second Super Draw?

And on top of that, this so-called long-term commission mission doubles the commission points at settlement?

Who could resist that?

Without the slightest hesitation, Uzumaki Shixia performed a full 180-degree turn on the spot.

Beaming, he walked up to Kakuzu and clasped both his hands.

"Brother Kakuzu! I knew I could count on you! From now on, you're my big brother!"

"Please, you absolutely have to let me join the Akatsuki!"

Afraid Kakuzu might change his mind, he leaned closer, winked at him, and patted his shoulder.

Uzumaki Shixia's abrupt change in attitude was simply too drastic.

Karin, Kakuzu, and Orochimaru all stared in disbelief.

Karin held a hand to her forehead and looked at Uzumaki Shixia speechlessly, not knowing what to think.

Kakuzu and Orochimaru were every bit as confused and shocked as Karin!

This made Kakuzu study Uzumaki Shixia carefully once again.

Uzumaki Shixia was an erratic man who did whatever he pleased.

His mind worked in such peculiar ways that ordinary logic couldn't explain him.

His abilities were exceptional. Even among the Akatsuki, he would stand out.

And his personality-"a ninja of unbending integrity, ready to sell out his village for a mission"-made him an excellent fit for the Akatsuki.

Now he was actively asking to join the Akatsuki. For the organization, the benefits would certainly outweigh the drawbacks!

After a brief hesitation, Kakuzu said to Uzumaki Shixia, "Come with me. I'll take you to meet our leader."

Orochimaru had no objection to Kakuzu's decision. He had always had plans of his own and little interest in anything else.

Previously, Kakuzu had worried that Uzumaki Shixia might refuse to join the Akatsuki.

In Kakuzu's view, the Akatsuki needed talented people like Uzumaki Shixia right now.

Yet at this moment, Kakuzu couldn't help feeling a headache coming on.

The Akatsuki had always operated in deep secrecy. Outsiders generally knew nothing of its bases.

Its leader was even more of a mystery to the outside world.

Yet Uzumaki Shixia was utterly absurd. Not only did he know that the Akatsuki's current leader was Nagato.

He even knew that its nearby base was the Amegakure Tower.

Uzumaki Shixia was already openly leading a bewildered Karin toward the Amegakure Tower.

Kakuzu couldn't help wondering: was he the Akatsuki member here, or was Uzumaki Shixia?

Did the Akatsuki really have no secrets at all from Uzumaki Shixia?

The answer was yes!

Everything Kakuzu knew about the Akatsuki, Uzumaki Shixia knew too.

And what Kakuzu didn't know, Uzumaki Shixia still knew.

As Orochimaru watched this unfold, an intrigued look appeared in his eyes.

The ever-mysterious Akatsuki apparently held no secrets whatsoever for Uzumaki Shixia.