Chapter 397 Peace-loving Sosuke

Aside from having a Shadow Clone openly impersonating his main body to lead the team, Muzuki also had another Shadow Clone secretly protecting his disciples.

After discovering the Akatsuki Organization Ninja, the Shadow Clone providing secret protection directly dispelled itself, allowing its memories to return to the main body.

Upon receiving the memories, Muzuki immediately rushed over, created a new Shadow Clone to protect Kakashi and the others, and then his main body followed the Akatsuki Organization Ninja to find the Akatsuki Organization base.

Since he wanted to test the Transformation Technique’s concealment ability, Muzuki used Transformation Technique to give himself a face that somewhat resembled Aizen’s.

The reason it only somewhat resembled Aizen’s face and wasn’t directly Aizen’s face was because Muzuki had previously used Transformation Technique to transform into Aizen during a mission, and Uchiha Madara might have this information.

Even if he couldn’t see through Muzuki’s Transformation Technique, he might become suspicious if it was an exact match.

If it was only somewhat similar, coupled with the inability to see through the Transformation Technique, then there would be no problem.

Muzuki activated Transparent World, reined in his aura, and quietly infiltrated the Village where the Akatsuki Organization was located.

“Leader Yahiko, today we helped a Village repel three rogue Ninja,” the tall, thin Ninja said excitedly to Yahiko, who was practicing Taijutsu.

“The two of you alone repelled three rogue Ninja, that’s very good,” Yahiko praised with a hearty laugh.

Although he was considerably older than Yahiko, the tall, thin Ninja showed a heartfelt smile upon receiving Yahiko’s praise.

As a Ninja Organization, the Akatsuki Organization’s conditions were not good; their base could only be in small Villages, and they had no benefits. Most Ninja who joined the Amegakure were basically inspired by Yahiko’s charisma and wanted to change the Land of Rain with him.

“How could we have that much strength? A passing Konoha Ninja helped us out,” the tall, thin Ninja explained.

It is a very terrifying thing for a Ninja to lack self-awareness. If he truly became arrogant and took all the credit, he might take on missions beyond his capabilities in the future.

Hearing the words Konoha Ninja, Nagato, who was beside Yahiko, subconsciously glanced at the tall, thin Ninja.

“Those Konoha Ninja are really strong. Although they all look to be only around ten years old, they are very powerful. They dealt with three rogue Ninja in less than a minute, and there’s also a very skilled Medical Ninja. After being treated by her, not even a single scar is left.”

The tall, thin Ninja recalled Kakashi and their battle with amazement.

“As long as you train hard, you can also become stronger,” Yahiko encouraged with a smile.

“Mm.”

The tall, thin Ninja now really wanted to train.

“Are you the Akatsuki Organization?” Muzuki jumped down from the rooftop and slowly walked towards Yahiko and the others, asking.

Several Akatsuki Organization Ninja quickly took up combat stances, looking cautiously at Muzuki.

“We are the Akatsuki Organization. What, do you want to entrust us with a mission?” Yahiko gestured with his eyes for the surrounding Ninja to put down their Kunai and said with a smile.

In Yahiko’s view, although Muzuki had infiltrated, Muzuki dared to show himself openly, so he shouldn’t be here to cause trouble.

If he wanted to fight, a sneak attack would have been a better choice, as no one from the Akatsuki Organization had discovered Muzuki.

“Nothing much, I just heard that the Akatsuki Organization is a Ninja Organization dedicated to peace, so I wanted to come and see,” Muzuki replied to Yahiko’s question while continuing to walk towards Yahiko and Nagato.

Most of Muzuki’s attention was focused on Nagato’s face.

Nagato had seen Muzuki’s main body in the Land of Rivers before. If Nagato’s Rinnegan had seen through the Transformation Technique, he would definitely be surprised.

“That’s right, our Akatsuki Organization’s goal is Ninja World peace. Before that, we will first make the Land of Rain peaceful,” Yahiko, thinking Muzuki was a Ninja coming to join the Akatsuki Organization, excitedly spoke of his ideals.

As he spoke, Yahiko also walked towards Muzuki, preparing to explain his peace plan in detail.

“Don’t go over there, this person is very strong,” Nagato grabbed Yahiko, who was about to walk towards Muzuki.

He could see the powerful Chakra within Muzuki’s body, so Nagato was uneasy about Yahiko getting too close to an infiltrating Ninja like Muzuki.

Yahiko froze, then smiled and patted Nagato’s shoulder, saying, “Isn’t Nagato, you still here? I trust you.”

Then Yahiko and Nagato walked together to a spot 1.5 meters away from Muzuki.

“You said you want to make the Land of Rain peaceful, so how do you plan to do that?” Muzuki asked with a smile.

“Protect villagers from rogue Ninja, spread the ideals of our Organization, attract more Ninja with the same ideals to join our Organization. As long as we become strong enough, even the Five Great Nations wouldn’t dare to wage war on the Land of Rain,” Yahiko answered quickly.

The first three Ninja to join the Akatsuki Organization were those who had been subdued by Yahiko and Nagato, then inspired by Yahiko’s ideals to join.

“During the Second Shinobi World War, the Amegakure had thousands of Rain Ninja and the Rain Ninja leader Hanzo, known as a ‘demigod,’ but they still couldn’t escape war. When do you think the Akatsuki Organization, with your plan, can surpass the Amegakure during the Second Shinobi World War?” Muzuki asked calmly.

In Muzuki’s view, the only possibility for the current Akatsuki Organization to realize its ideal lay with Nagato, but Nagato had Uchiha Madara’s arrangements on him, which might instead lead to the Akatsuki Organization’s demise.

“It will be in…” Yahiko stumbled for a moment.

Including himself, Nagato, and Konan, the Akatsuki Organization now only had twenty Ninja. Let alone the Amegakure during the Second Shinobi World War, they were still very far from the current Amegakure.

“What advantages do you think your Akatsuki Organization has compared to the Amegakure or other Ninja Organizations, that would make those Ninja choose to join the Akatsuki Organization rather than the Amegakure or other Ninja Organizations?” Muzuki continued to ask.

Reality is cruel. Without sufficient benefits, even Uchiha Madara, when he left, not a single Uchiha was willing to go with him.

Because in Konoha, they could enjoy unprecedented peace, and everything was unknown if they went with Uchiha Madara.

“We…” Yahiko wanted to say something, but found that the Akatsuki Organization didn’t seem to have any special advantages; they had neither money nor training resources.

“The Akatsuki Organization is a place where everyone strives for peace together!” After a while, Yahiko finally said.

“It’s undeniable that many Ninja yearn for peace, but how do you make them believe that the Akatsuki Organization can achieve everything you say?” Muzuki seemed somewhat disappointed in Yahiko.

Yahiko fell silent for a moment, because he realized that besides talking about dreams and everyone working hard together, he had no other answers.

For the first time, Yahiko so clearly felt how far they were from their ideal.

“Leader Yahiko is a genius Ninja. If he continues to grow, he will definitely become a powerful figure who will shake the Ninja World,” an Akatsuki Organization Ninja spoke up for Yahiko.

“Yes, although our Akatsuki Organization has only been established for a short time, its reputation is no less than some Ninja Organizations that have been around for more than ten years. This is enough to show that we are on the right path,” the tall, thin Akatsuki Organization Ninja said.

As Yahiko’s followers, they firmly believed that Yahiko would succeed.

“This only shows that you are unique among Ninja Organizations,” Muzuki retorted.

Most Ninja Organizations are about making money and making more money. For a Ninja Organization that shouts about love and peace to emerge and gain some fame, that’s very normal.

“You are currently useless except for your ideals. Even if you can continue to grow, have you considered the attitude of the Amegakure, or the attitude of other Ninja Organizations?

Have you thought about how to earn enough funds to keep the Organization running? Twenty or thirty Ninja can make do together, but what about a hundred Ninja, or more?

Have you considered how to maintain peace if it’s achieved? If the peace you worked so hard for falls into war again after a few or ten years, what will you do?”

Muzuki’s continuous questioning directly stunned the Akatsuki Organization members, and Yahiko even showed an embarrassed expression. He indeed hadn’t considered many things.

After all, he was just a fourteen-year-old boy who hadn’t gone to school.

Although he was asked in a very difficult way, Yahiko wanted to invite Muzuki to join the Akatsuki Organization even more. He felt that Muzuki could bring a leap forward in the Akatsuki Organization’s development.

“You are very right. Our Akatsuki Organization indeed has many shortcomings, so I want to invite you to join us. Let’s work together to change these shortcomings and bring peace to the Land of Rain and the Ninja World!” Yahiko said earnestly.

“If you are willing to join the Akatsuki Organization, your status will be equal to that of the leader!” Yahiko offered the biggest chip he could.

Actually, he wanted to say he would give the leader position to Muzuki, but the Akatsuki Organization was, after all, the result of his and his companions’ efforts. Giving it so easily to someone he had just met would make it seem like he didn’t value his like-minded companions in the Akatsuki Organization.

If Muzuki could truly solve all the problems he mentioned, Yahiko would willingly let Muzuki become the sole leader.

Yahiko yearned for peace. If the Akatsuki Organization could truly bring peace to the Land of Rain and the Ninja World, then it didn’t matter who the Akatsuki Organization’s leader was.

“Leader Yahiko, isn’t this inappropriate?” The surrounding Akatsuki Organization members all looked at Yahiko with surprise.

“There’s nothing inappropriate. Everyone is fighting for the same ideal. Having a leader is just to lead everyone forward better,” Yahiko said with a smile.

“This doesn’t attract me. If I wanted to, finding dozens of Ninja subordinates wouldn’t be difficult,” Muzuki rejected Yahiko.

“Then what would it take for you to join the Akatsuki Organization?” Yahiko asked, not giving up.

He didn’t doubt that Muzuki was boasting, after all, even Nagato said Muzuki was very strong.

It was indeed not difficult for a powerful Ninja to establish a Ninja Organization with dozens of Ninja based on strength.

Muzuki smiled and said nothing, then turned and left.

“At least tell me your name,” Yahiko shouted, asking.

Muzuki paused but didn’t turn back, “Sōsuke.”

After speaking, Muzuki quickly left the Village where the Akatsuki Organization was stationed.

Looking at Muzuki’s receding back, Yahiko’s eyes held a trace of regret.

He felt that Sōsuke was also a Ninja who yearned for peace, otherwise why would he go to such lengths to find this place.

However, their performance had dissatisfied Sōsuke, which was why he didn’t join.

“Everyone must work harder from now on, so that more excellent companions will join us,” Yahiko encouraged the Akatsuki Organization Ninja.

The Akatsuki Organization Ninja nodded and began to work hard individually. That scene might be something they wouldn’t forget for a long time.

“The Rinnegan is still not enough,” Muzuki checked the information scanned from Nagato’s body.

He wasn’t too disappointed. The Rinnegan was considered a top-tier existence in the Ninja World. Black Zetsu had worked for over a thousand years, and only Uchiha Madara successfully awakened the Rinnegan.

Muzuki didn’t have too many expectations for the Rinnegan, because even if he could replicate it, he couldn’t use it now. This thing wasn’t meant for ordinary people. Nagato, with so much Chakra, still felt weak using it, and Obito, who had a large amount of Hashirama cells in his body, only dared to transplant one.

After looking at Nagato’s data, Muzuki directly deleted Nagato’s information.

Nagato had a lot of information, and much of it overlapped with the Third Hokage’s information. Nagato also knew many Ninjutsu.

“The concealment ability is still quite good; it wasn’t seen through by the Rinnegan,” Muzuki recalled Nagato’s performance just now and confirmed the Transformation Technique’s disguise ability.

Given his identity as a Konoha Ninja, Nagato should have had some impression of him, but looking at Nagato’s performance just now, it was clear that he didn’t recognize him at all.

After achieving his goal, Muzuki returned to the team, replaced the Shadow Clone, and continued the mission.

Although Nagato was very important to him, representing an opportunity to gain a massive amount of Chakra, his current disciples were more important.

Moreover, Muzuki had already thought of a specific plan. If all went well, besides taking Nagato as a disciple, he could also earn quite a few rewards in the Land of Rain.