Chapter 382: The Establishment of the Akatsuki Organization
In front of the central tower in the Land of Rain, a massive, newly built conference hall hosted the assembly meeting of various countries.
Attendees included Daimyos, officials, and their guards from various countries, numbering nearly a hundred people. The atmosphere was very harmonious, radiating a "you're good, I'm good, everybody's good" vibe—but most people secretly hoped Masahiko wasn't doing good...
Masahiko felt greatly wronged by this.
From the moment he entered, apart from a few simple replies when others greeted him, he hadn't said a single word, playing the role of a quiet, handsome man to the end.
But facts proved that when someone is handsome, they will be targeted everywhere they go.
It was also because he wasn't quiet enough.
After obtaining the Soccer-Truth-Seeking Orb, he found that no matter how he played with the thing, it just felt right.
Just now, when an official from the Land of Earth was speaking, Masahiko was feeling drowsy listening. With a sudden flash of inspiration, he expended some effort to mold the surface of the Soccer-Truth-Seeking Orb into the face of that Land of Earth official, and then controlled its mouth to flap open and closed in a 'blah blah blah blah' motion...
The Land of Earth official completely lost his train of thought as he spoke and sat back down with a wooden face.
From then on, Masahiko found his joy in participating in the meeting. If he felt someone was talking too much, he would mold the Soccer-Truth-Seeking Orb's surface into their face. If they were thick-skinned and didn't care, he would 'pinch their cheeks'; if they were even thicker-skinned, he would 'slap' their mouth. The atmosphere of the meeting instantly became harmonious. No one jumped out anymore to fight for power or benefits, and everyone actively discussed how to deal with the 'Dark Akatsuki'.
Among them, the Hidden Cloud Village had it the worst. The Fourth Raikage's secretary, Mabui, was originally a strategic ninja, similar to Shikaku, and wanted to fight for more benefits for the Hidden Cloud Village. But the young lady was only eighteen years old this year and not thick-skinned enough. Her dark face flushed red several times, and she hadn't dared to speak up until now...
As for now, it was the turn of the young lord of the Land of That, Shu, to speak. This boy, who looked like a little girl, had grown a lot in the past half year since experiencing the tragic annihilation of his country. Because he had learned sword jutsu, his features had become somewhat heroic, and his courage had grown significantly. Facing the gazes of the crowd, his voice, though immature, was methodical and organized. He was currently bitterly denouncing the 'Dark Akatsuki', personally exposing their crimes as a direct victim.
Since the child was so pitiful, Masahiko felt too embarrassed to 'pinch his face'. As he listened, he got bored, turning slightly to glance at Kimimaro's trio behind him...
Kimimaro expressed that he was very 'interested'. Haku shrank back, trying hard to erase 'his' presence. Karin had a pleading look on her face, pressing her hands together in a begging gesture.
Masahiko chuckled. You sure have a lot of drama, Nun Karin. Seeing her amusing reaction, Masahiko temporarily spared her. They weren't the only ones he could use to relieve his boredom today. Masahiko shifted his gaze to the trio of Obito not far away.
Rin was sitting upright in her seat, rapidly scribbling on paper with a pen, detailing every matter at the meeting, everyone's speech, and even everyone's actions. Because of Masahiko, her hand was almost writing until it was sore... Kakashi and Obito stood on her left and right.
The three of them had also not said a single word. The Land of Fire and Konoha Village had not yet made a clear stance; they were only here this time to record the meeting's proceedings.
Noticing Masahiko's gaze, Obito's face turned bitter. He tilted his head to look at Kakashi for help, only to find Kakashi looking at him with dead-fish eyes in mutual understanding...
Their eyes met, they both snorted softly, and turned their heads away.
Masahiko smiled and shook his head. He controlled the Soccer-Truth-Seeking Orb, simultaneously shaping it into both of their faces, creating a Soccer-Truth-Seeking Orb version of 'left snort, right snort'.
The tip of Rin's pen paused. She turned to Masahiko and revealed a sweet smile, clearly having guessed his identity as 'Hagoromo'. Obito's face was full of 'disbelief', so Masahiko smiled and gestured a fist at him, signaling that he would show him some tough love with his fists after the meeting...
With the young lord of the Land of That's emotional narration, the conference room gradually became noisy.
Hearsay was ultimately not as impactful as the victim's personal account. The Land of That wasn't considered the smallest among these countries. For a nation of nearly a thousand people to be reduced to just one child in an instant—this indeed terrified many Daimyos of the small countries.
General Mifune of the Land of Iron immediately stood up. He first bowed deeply to Masahiko, then shared his thoughts: "I hope all the countries in the ninja world will unite and jointly eradicate the unpardonable Dark Akatsuki."
Masahiko was stunned for a long time before he understood that Mifune was just hoping Masahiko wouldn't pinch his face...
After Mifune finished speaking, there weren't many left who hadn't spoken. Most people expressed their agreement to jointly deal with the 'Dark Akatsuki' and share intelligence on them, but no one was willing to mention taking it a step further.
In the end, Yahiko couldn't hold back and stepped forward, unwilling to just be a quiet host anymore. "My original intention for proposing the establishment of the Akatsuki organization was not just to target the 'Dark Akatsuki', but to hope that the ninja world will no longer have wars and displaced orphans. I hope that in the future, when conflicts arise among you, you won't resort to violence over a single disagreement, but can use the Akatsuki organization as a stepping stone to negotiate and resolve the conflicts."
After Yahiko finished speaking, the conference room fell silent again. Gradually, everyone's gaze turned toward Masahiko, who was quietly playing with his ball.
Masahiko smiled, stopping his 'fooling around'. Since he came personally, it was unlikely he could let everyone ignore him, a legendary senior. He always had to make his stance clear.
Lightly patting the ball, the face on the Soccer-Truth-Seeking Orb quickly transformed into the young man with twin hair buns. Masahiko sat in his seat and spoke directly, "This is what the leader of the Dark Akatsuki looks like, everyone remember it clearly. After the meeting, Yahiko, find someone to draw dozens of portraits of him and distribute them."
Seeing Yahiko nod in agreement, Masahiko continued, "After everyone returns to their home countries, actively search for him. Once found, notify me immediately, and I will handle it personally."
Having said this, Masahiko looked at Yahiko's pleading gaze and shook his head slightly. "I won't force peace, but I hope each country can have at least one person permanently stationed in the Land of Rain to facilitate the transmission of intelligence on the Dark Akatsuki. Besides that, it would be best for the Great Nations to dispatch one or two sufficiently strong ninjas to join the Akatsuki organization to verify the authenticity of this intelligence, so you don't go throwing fake intel at me all the time."
Masahiko didn't make any 'excessive' demands, which made many heave a sigh of relief. The Daimyos of the small countries agreed almost without thinking; they were the ones most urgently hoping to resolve the Dark Akatsuki.
"We agree with Senior's proposal." Chiyo spoke to state her position, while Sasori remained expressionless...
"The Hidden Waterfall Village also agrees to join." Kakuzu closely followed.
Masahiko smiled and shook his head. These two old acquaintances really give me face...
In the end, the Hidden Mist, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Stone villages didn't dare to reject him either, agreeing one after another.
Rin turned her head slightly and gave Masahiko an 'apologetic' look; she didn't have the authority to make the decision.
Masahiko nodded to indicate it didn't matter.
Besides the Land of Fire, all the countries gradually stated their positions, all officially joining the Akatsuki organization. Reaching this point, the meeting was almost coming to an end. Afterward, some people still had to relay the message back to their home countries to finalize the resident candidates.
Seeing this, Masahiko rubbed his wrists, preparing to take Obito out to receive some Iron Fists of Love, but suddenly paused. A line of Chinese characters flashed across his eyes:
*"Witnessed and completely altered the main plot of the Naruto world: The Establishment of Akatsuki, obtained 20 (10) Witness Points."
"Why did this happen?" Masahiko furrowed his brows deeply. "Is it because Sasori and Kakuzu joined, so this Akatsuki was recognized by the system?"
He immediately turned to Kimimaro's trio: "From today onwards, your three-man squad's name will be Hawk (Taka)!"
"Hawk?" The three exchanged looks of complete bewilderment.
Masahiko sat quietly for a moment, but the system prompt didn't appear again. "Why? I clearly have Karin here, what... exactly is this pattern?"
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