"…Uchiha, Uchiha, come on, just say yes already. I know so much about the Exaltists—if you want the info, I'll tell you everything. But first, you gotta form an alliance with me!"
After Zhong Yan eliminated one of the Twelve Shields, a brand-new problem emerged.
Her name was Airi.
This woman had posted the Proxy Network commission with the express purpose of forming an alliance. Now that he had wiped out a Twelve Shield, her determination to recruit him had only grown stronger.
If he wasn't convinced she wasn't dangerous, Zhong Yan would've left without a word. But she held something he wanted.
Intel on the Exaltists was valuable—no matter how small, as long as it was real, it could be of use to him.
The biggest problem? To get that information, he had to ally with Airi. And this woman had no intention of sharing a single word otherwise.
It was giving him a headache. He wasn't comfortable forming an alliance with someone he'd only met a few hours ago. It just didn't feel safe.
If only the Exaltists weren't immune to genjutsu—then he could've just read her mind with his Sharingan and skipped all this.
That reminded him… hadn't he once thought about starting a group of his own? He just hadn't had the chance.
Well, maybe now was the time. And Airi could be its very first member.
As for things like matching uniforms… yeah, not right now. Zhong Yan didn't have time to design those.
The question was—would Airi even be willing to join? After all, there's a big difference between being an ally and being a subordinate.
"I'm planning to establish a group," he said after a pause. "If you're willing to join as a member under me, then I'll help you."
As a subordinate, offering intel to the leader was totally normal. The ball was in Airi's court now.
"I agree! Starting today, you're my boss!" Airi declared without hesitation, giving him a big thumbs-up and a cheerful grin.
Zhong Yan blinked, stunned. It took him several seconds to process what had just happened.
That's it? She just… agreed? That fast?
He hadn't expected someone who rejected the Exaltists to so easily pledge herself to him.
"You…" He wanted to ask why, but figured it wasn't worth getting sidetracked. The Exaltist intel was still top priority. "Alright. Then tell me everything you know."
"Got it!" Airi nodded enthusiastically and immediately began listing every bit of knowledge she had—focusing especially on what he hadn't already asked.
As Zhong Yan had expected, most of her remaining intel wasn't particularly groundbreaking. The only part of real value was related to the Exaltist leader.
Each "Slice" represented a different stage of the leader's life, with drastically different appearances and personalities. Depending on which Slice was in charge at the time, the Exaltists' behavior would also change dramatically.
Unfortunately, she didn't know which Slice was currently leading, nor what abilities they possessed.
As for the location of their headquarters—her memory was fuzzy at best. The world was vast, and New Eridu and Zero Hollow were just tiny specs within it.
That part was disappointing. If he had their HQ location, he could've cut straight to the source.
"Oh! Boss—does our group have a name?" Airi asked, eyes sparkling. "I've seen a ton of movies and books, and all the powerful, mysterious groups have cool names!"
Now officially under Zhong Yan's command, Airi seemed even more energetic—as if they were longtime friends.
In truth, they'd known each other for less than two hours.
"A name, huh…" Zhong Yan scratched his chin. He hadn't thought that far ahead. It wasn't until Airi brought it up that he realized—his group didn't have a name.
Thinking of his Uchiha identity… and what kind of name would convey power and mystery…
After a moment of hesitation, he spoke: "Let's call it... Akatsuki."
Akatsuki—the legendary organization from the Naruto universe. Powerful, elusive, and unpredictable. Its name echoed through the story's beginning, middle, and end.
Most importantly, it was founded by someone from the Uchiha clan. Though their goal would be different here.
There were no tailed beasts in this world. And Zhong Yan wasn't interested in "world peace." Everything he did was for himself—and the people around him.
The group didn't need a mission statement yet. But if they had to have one, it would be: destroy the Exaltists. They were Zhong Yan's greatest enemy—Akatsuki's greatest enemy.
"Akatsuki, huh… It sounds kinda simple, but it totally fits the whole powerful and mysterious vibe! Not bad, Boss! You're even good at naming stuff!" Airi said with zero hesitation, throwing him another enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Zhong Yan was now completely convinced—she just wanted to recruit him. All the stuff about calling him Boss and joining the group was just a convenient way to do it.
She truly hated the Exaltists. Possibly even more than he did.
Still, "Boss" had a nice ring to it. Zhong Yan didn't mind it at all.
He just wondered if future recruits would be like her. If they were all this unpredictable… things could get messy.
But it might be fun.
…
Not long after they left, back at the spot where Zhong Yan had defeated the member of the Twelve Shields—
A figure stepped out of a spatial rift that appeared from thin air.
He looked around at the obliterated landscape, his expression calm and unreadable.
Moments later, the ether in the area began gathering before him, forming a glowing screen.
The screen displayed footage of Zhong Yan's battle—specifically, the moment he destroyed the Twelve Shield.
"…Uchiha, huh? Interesting."