Chapter 527

Successfully joining Akatsuki, though the world's difficulty has increased dramatically, is not without other benefits.

【Prompt: Hunter has joined the Akatsuki faction; faction shop has been unlocked.】

【Faction shop unlocked; current contribution points: 0.】

【Hunter may exchange items at the faction shop using contribution points.】

【As Akatsuki is a neutral chaotic faction, reputation is friendly neutral, with no possibility of improvement.】

【Hunter must act with caution; any suspicious behavior will trigger attacks from Akatsuki members.】

……

A series of prompts appeared; as a major power in the Naruto world, Akatsuki naturally had a faction shop, similar to CCG's contribution shop in the Ghoul world.

The faction shop is located within Rain Village; Su Xiao already knows its exact location. As for how to earn contribution points, it should be by completing missions issued by Akatsuki.

After Su Xiao joined Akatsuki, Konan left the room and returned shortly after, holding a black cloak with red clouds and a ring.

"Akatsuki has few rules: you must wear this attire during missions, and you must never remove this ring under any circumstances."

Su Xiao took the black cloak with red clouds, draped it over his shoulders, and examined the ring in his hand.

The ring was unremarkable, its face the size of a dragon's eye, inscribed with the character "Kū."

The previous owner of this ring was Orochimaru; he joined briefly before being "persuaded to leave" by Itachi, so the ring remained vacant.

【Ring of Kū】

Origin: Naruto World

Quality: Purple

Category: Ring (this is a plot item; does not conflict with equipped gear)

Durability: 40/40

Equipment Requirement: Official Akatsuki Member

Equipment Effect: Tsukuyomi no Jutsu (active); after use, constructs a phantom duplicate at a designated location.

Hint: The phantom duplicate lasts a maximum of 36 hours.

Hint: Each use of Tsukuyomi no Jutsu (active) consumes 100 chakra.

Rating: 101

Description: Standard issue item of Akatsuki.

Price: Ownership not acquired; cannot be sold or removed from this derivative world.

……

Akatsuki members are scattered across the world; they rarely stay in Rain Village. Pain uses Tsukuyomi no Jutsu to summon phantom duplicates of all members.

It's not just for assembly—Konan also uses this technique to issue daily missions.

Moreover, this ring allows one to sense Su Xiao's location, and he can sense the locations of other Akatsuki members, enabling them to find each other.

This ring functions as both a long-range communication device and a locator; without it, Akatsuki would be a disorganized mess, with communication far too inconvenient.

"Understood."

Su Xiao slipped the ring onto his right hand; his left hand was encased in crimson metal bracers, making it impossible to wear a ring there.

"Then… what do I do now?"

Having just joined Akatsuki, the organization would surely demand a "token of loyalty"—meaning he must commit some "evil act" to prove his allegiance.

"Find your partner."

"Partner?"

Su Xiao was puzzled; Akatsuki currently had three teams, each consisting of two members.

Itachi and Kisame, Sasori and Deidara, Kakuzu and Hidan.

"Yes, they're in the Land of Rivers."

The Land of Rivers lies between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sand; it's a mid-sized nation, neutral and uninvolved in conflicts. Due to its position along the Land of Fire's border, it blocks the Land of Sand, and the Land of Fire will not permit any other nation to invade it.

Su Xiao asked no further questions; if there was an Akatsuki member in the Land of Rivers, he could sense them through the Ring of Kū. He was curious—who would his unknown partner be?

The negotiation ended. Su Xiao appeared to have become a full Akatsuki member, but in truth, he had not; Konan assigned him to a two-person team as the third member, clearly intending for the other two to monitor and observe him.

Although Akatsuki had already investigated Su Xiao's background, a period of observation was mandatory.

Konan rose and left the room; at the doorway, she suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, do not reveal any organization secrets. Also, be careful with your two partners—don't let them kill you."

Konan sighed and left the room. Akatsuki originally had many candidate members, but after formal team assignments, many candidates were killed—Kakuzu and Sasori made significant "contributions."

Especially Kakuzu; several members assigned to him were killed in succession, until he met Hidan, that oddball. After multiple attempts, Hidan remained unharmed, while Kakuzu lost two hearts.

After Konan left, Kisame also departed, leaving only Su Xiao and Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang in the room.

Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang lay on the floor, expressionless on the surface, but internally had already given nicknames to Kisame and Konan: Kisame was "Dried Fish," and Konan was "Tall-Legged Biological Entity."

Su Xiao lit a cigarette; blue smoke curled upward, his eyes half-lidded, as if deep in thought.

The first phase of the main quest was complete. As for destroying Konoha, Su Xiao would not participate in that event anytime soon.

Pain would eventually attack Konoha, but as long as one person lived, he would not destroy Konoha—that person was Itachi.

When Itachi joined Akatsuki, he made a pact with Pain: he would serve the organization in exchange for Pain's promise not to attack Konoha or capture the Nine-Tails.

Given Itachi's current physical condition, he could survive a few more years, but soon he would choose death for his brother, before his eyes went completely blind.

Itachi's combat power has drastically weakened; while his Mangekyō Sharingan is powerful, its use continuously erodes his vision and body.

Now, even objects ten meters away appear blurry; anything farther is completely indistinct.

Between clan and village, Itachi chose the village. Between brother and village, he chose his brother.

So long as Itachi lives, Pain will not attack Konoha; even Pain fears the wrath of a furious Itachi.

Su Xiao need not consider these matters now; Pain will attack Konoha within two months, or the quest's difficulty will rise further.

Before the attack on Konoha, Su Xiao must eliminate rule-breakers and capture jinchūriki.

Of these two tasks, he chooses to capture the jinchūriki first—it will greatly boost his power, making it easier to deal with the rule-breakers.

Before capturing the jinchūriki, Su Xiao must first gain Akatsuki's trust.

He mentally outlined the sequence of events: gain Akatsuki's trust → capture the tailed beasts → kill the rule-breakers → assist Pain in destroying Konoha.

Outside this sequence, there was another matter: the hunter's internal battle royale, and the Demon Hunter Set.

After weighing his options, Su Xiao decided not to actively participate in that event; if he happened to encounter it, he might attempt to seize it—provided he wasn't surrounded by the three major adventuring guilds.

Even being surrounded by one of those guilds could kill him; previously, had the three guilds not been fighting each other, he would never have considered joining. He had planned to take advantage of the chaos, but Gulu had already seized the opportunity, so he abandoned the idea outright.