The death of Gari in battle utterly terrified the remaining survivors on the battlefield. His body lay broken in the rain-soaked earth.

The plump middle-aged noble was now slumped on the ground, his expensive robes stained with mud and blood as he clung desperately to the tax official's leg, begging, "Take me with you! Take me with you!"

His pudgy fingers dug into the fabric like claws, panic stripping away all dignity.

The tax official struggled fiercely, and his foot slipped in the mud as he pulled away, cursing, "Let go of me! Such weak ninjas!"

The last surviving Iwa jonin heard the insult but had no strength to refute it. Gari... dead? How could this happen?

His abilities weren't even on par with Gari's, who was a notable figure during the Fourth Shinobi War in the original series. He, however, was just an average Iwa jonin.

With Gari dead, what was he supposed to do now?

Another Iwa jonin had been sent to call for reinforcements at the start of the battle. Now he was the only one left, facing the enemy's approach.

Even though he was significantly older than Shin and hailed from one of the Great Shinobi Villages, he felt a chilling sense of dread under Shin's intense gaze. He's just a kid from Ame...

The jonin's hands trembled slightly as he formed seals.

"Damn it!"

"Earth Style: Fissure!"

But regardless of fear, he had to keep fighting. He struck the ground with his palm, chakra pulsing through the earth. Shin dodged with agile jumps and performed hand seals mid-air.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The instant he split into three clones, all of them disappeared in unison.

"Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears!"

The jonin's hands slammed into the mud, and deadly spikes of stone burst from the ground in rapid succession. Just need to pin one down, find the real one!

The three Shins closed in, their acrobatic movements carrying them effortlessly between the stone spears.

Wait a minute!

He suddenly realized something was wrong. Three clones attacking from the front?

The formation was too obvious, too clean. Just as he understood the trick, he heard the whistle of a blade slicing through the air from his side. No! The clones weren't just distractions—they were leading my eyes away from the real threat!

The blade sliced down the jonin's shoulder, steel parting flesh and bone in one clean stroke. Blood sprayed in an arc, mixing with the falling rain.

"Aaaargh!"

He screamed in agony, staggering backward as his severed arm hit the ground. Without one arm, he could no longer perform hand seals, so he clutched a kunai with his remaining hand, struggling to defend himself against the attacks.

Blood poured from the wound as his vision blurred from pain and blood loss. You won't walk away from this alive. I'm taking you with me!

"Die!"

He ignited an explosive tag at close range.

Boom!

The explosion ripped through the air, scattering mud and debris everywhere. Shin retreated to avoid the blast. The injured Iwa jonin staggered away, each stumbling step leaving a trail of blood in the rain.

Shin felt nostalgic. Just months ago, he would have hesitated against even an Iwa chunin. Now here he was, watching an elite jonin scramble away in terror.

He smiled, shaking off the memories as raindrops trickled down his face. The enemy's desperate retreat was almost pitiful to watch. As the jonin attempted to escape, Shin calmly ensured his path was already blocked.

Casually tossing a shuriken at the trembling noble clinging to a leg, he asked coldly, "Abandoning the mission, are we? Pathetic."

A fundamental rule of the shinobi world: those who cannot complete their missions are worthless!

In that moment, despite the blood gushing from his severed arm, the jonin's body moved as if pulled by magnetic force. His training kicked in, overriding his survival instinct. He turned toward the noble who had issued the mission, intent on protecting him.

"Wow, he must really like being a dutiful shinobi. A shame that the price for dedication is death," Shin muttered, glancing at Yahiko, who had grown pale watching his methodical brutality.

A shuriken lodged into the noble's thigh, causing him to howl in pain like a wounded animal. Shin had done it deliberately, calculating the exact force needed. If he killed the noble right away, the jonin might escape.

Soon, the one-armed jonin arrived, ruthlessly shoving the tax official aside as he hoisted the noble onto his shoulder. Blood from his severed arm painted the noble's expensive robes a darker shade of crimson.

The weight almost made the wounded jonin stumble. Just need to reach the treeline. Just need to survive.

The tax official, left sprawled in the mud, was stunned. "What about me? I haven't boarded yet! Hey! I haven't boarded yet!" His cries grew more desperate as he watched his last hope of escape literally shoulder past him.

But the jonin ignored him, hoisting the noble higher and attempting to flee. Unfortunately, as he turned to escape, several new figures blocked his path.

Tanaka, Kazuya, and a recently peculiar Sanda, who now fought shirtless, wielding a single blade on his back, had all arrived.

Only then did the jonin realize how foolish he had been to return for the noble.

"You're... Akatsuki?" he asked hoarsely, stalling for time. His remaining hand gripped the noble tighter, causing the fat man to whimper. Please, let the reinforcements arrive in time. Just a few more minutes...

Gari's last hope was for his teammate to call for reinforcements, to arrive with backup. If the other two squads could just make it here and mount an attack, maybe they could turn the tide. He tried to reassure himself, even as blood continued to pour from his wound.

But the conversation he overheard shattered his final hope.

Shin asked, casually wiping blood from his blade, "Why did you all appear so early? Has the blockade been lifted?"

"Yes, Nagato-sama has finished on that side," Tanaka replied, gesturing east. "No Iwa ninja survived, and we've disposed of the bodies. No point maintaining the blockade there."

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The Rinnegan truly was unstoppable; it seemed Nagato had finished up even faster than he had.

"What about Konan?"

There were a total of three Iwa squads, and Shin had ordered that none should escape.

This time, Kazuya answered, adjusting his grip on his weapon, "Ayumi sent word that they're still in pursuit. She's tracked their scent through the rain—says something about their chakra leaving traces in the water droplets. She's quite adamant that none will escape her hunt."

"You know how she gets when she's on the trail."

"Excellent."

Though he didn't understand all the details, the Iwa jonin could already sense it: they were done for, utterly done for.

The noble on his shoulder had gone limp with fear, becoming dead weight. Why? How could Ame produce shinobi like this?

He couldn't comprehend it.

Before the Iwa jonin could gather more thoughts, Shin issued his command. "Capture this last one alive if possible."

"Move!"

They quickly captured the last Iwa jonin alive.

Sanda struck the enemy's knee, shattering it, while Shin placed a simple seal on him using the newly acquired sealing technique he'd recently received from the system.

"Be careful not to let him commit suicide. If needed, knock out his teeth as well. Keep a close eye on him—he's one of our bargaining chips for future negotiations," Shin instructed.

He watched as blood trickled from the jonin's mouth where he'd already tried to bite his tongue.

The Iwa jonin lay face-down on the ground, his body occasionally twitching from pain.

He never imagined he'd be captured in a backwater like the Land of Rain. His good knee scraped the ground as he searched futilely for a position that wouldn't send agony through his shattered joint.

As he restrained the captured jonin with rope reinforced with chakra wire, Kazuya chuckled sheepishly, whispering, "Captain, aren't you overthinking this? We took out that squad of Konoha ninja before without any issues; maybe this time will be just as smooth."

His hands worked quickly despite his casual tone, checking the bindings twice.

But Shin shook his head, immediately correcting his team's overly optimistic attitude.

"This time is different."

The last time, killing Torune hadn't caused any significant turmoil. Firstly, it was because Danzō's team was covertly dispatched without official village sanction, as confirmed by intelligence from the Uchiha clan in Sora-ku.

Secondly, Konoha's precarious situation, combined with the conciliatory nature of the Third Hokage, worked to their advantage.

Hiruzen's weakness was our strength. But Ōnoki is cut from different stone.

And the statement Shin had once tricked Minato into signing—Kumo wouldn't have recognized it. They likely would've immediately demanded retribution.

Yet, despite his repeated provocations with that statement, Hiruzen had chosen to overlook it, and this passivity hindered Danzō from taking any action. One could argue that Hiruzen's compliance contributed significantly to that statement's effectiveness.

However, none of these advantages applied to Iwa.

During this period leading up to the Kannabi Bridge Battle, Iwa remained in a strategic position of advantage on the frontlines, unlike Konoha. And Ōnoki wasn't the type to back down like Hiruzen. The Tsuchikage was known for his stubbornness, not his mercy.

Shin was fully aware: the other side would not swallow this bitter pill. They'll come for blood. And we need to be ready when they do.

The real test, he knew, was only beginning from this moment forward.

"Stay vigilant. We don't need to fear the great ninja villages excessively, but don't mistake them for being as lenient as Konoha. That village is an exception."

Sanda nodded grimly, while Kazuya's earlier smile faded into serious attention.

Shin lightly admonished his subordinates for their growing complacency, then turned towards the noble paralyzed with fear on the ground.

"Before anything else, let's deal with our own matters."

The overweight noble was visibly terrified, sitting on the ground screaming as Shin approached. His pudgy hands clawed at the earth, trying to push himself backward.

"Stay back! Don't come near me! I was personally appointed by the daimyō! Do you understand the his status?!"

Shin merely smiled, striking the noble across the face, knocking out several of his teeth.

"The daimyō? How many divisions does he command?"

Though the noble didn't understand his sarcastic remark, the disdain in his eyes was unmistakable. Blood dribbled down his chin as he stared up in shock. His hand trembled as it touched his swollen face.

A ninja showing such disrespect towards the daimyō? He couldn't comprehend it. In his world, such an act was unthinkable—like the sun rising in the west.

Without bothering to explain, Shin turned to his team and said, "Tie him up and take him with us. Tomorrow, we'll set up a gallows near our base and make every villager from the surrounding villages come to witness his hanging."

Such a person couldn't simply be killed. Like the infamous villain in films, one had to break the villagers' awe and fear of him first. Otherwise, even if weapons were handed to them, they'd be too scared to resist.

More importantly, if everyone witnessed the execution, they'd all become complicit in it. From then on, only one force would reign over the villages nearby—Akatsuki.

Give them no choice but to follow us.

Shin wouldn't allow anyone an easy escape now. "Whichever village dares not to attend tomorrow will be deemed disloyal."

As Tanaka stepped forward to bind the noble, he noticed another person cowering behind the noble's round frame—it was the tax official who had come to the village to collect taxes.

The man's ledger lay forgotten in the dirt, its pages fluttering in the wind.

"What about him?" Tanaka asked Shin, his hand already moving to his weapon.

This official immediately dropped to his knees. His forehead touched the ground as he pleaded, "I had no choice before, but now I want to do the right thing! Please, give me a chance! I've admired Akatsuki for a long time!"

Sweat dripped from his brow onto the dirt, forming small dark spots.

It was clear to everyone that he had only just heard of Akatsuki a few minutes ago.

Sanda was about to draw his blade, but Shin stopped him after a moment of thought.

"Let him stay. We don't have many people who understand arithmetic in our organization; he might be useful." Knowledge is a resource like any other. We can't afford to waste it.

For a tax official to serve nobility, he must have some math skills, making him a relatively high-education individual in Akatsuki's ranks.

Tanaka hesitantly asked, his voice low enough that only Shin could hear, "Should we ask for Yahiko-sama's opinion?"

Shin laughed. "Am I not also a leader now?"

Tanaka fell silent immediately. He had a strong premonition that it wouldn't be long before this phrase became, "I am the leader."

Later that evening, Nagato and Konan returned with their respective teams.

Konan returned last, visibly tired, her clothes dusty from travel. But she looked at Shin with excitement.

"Shin, Ayumi was amazing!" she said as she cradled Ayumi in her arms. "If it hadn't been for her, we would have lost the trail of the last Iwa ninja."

She looked eagerly at him, "Is there room left on your summoning scroll?"

Not long ago, when the organization was actively pursuing a contract with Sora-ku, Konan had been uninterested, preferring to focus solely on her innate paper-style jutsu.

Now, her sudden interest in summoning spoke volumes about the help and impression Ayumi had made.

A smart, capable, perceptive, and combat-ready elephant—who wouldn't want that? Especially one who could shrink to the size of a cat and transform when needed for stealth.

At that moment, Ayumi leapt from Konan's arms to Shin's shoulder. The miniature elephant extended her trunk expectantly toward Shin's pocket where he kept her treats.

"Overtime has been serious today~" Her trunk curled playfully. "Pay up with triple the mango pieces!" She swayed her tail imperiously, looking more like a demanding cat despite her elephant form.

Shin chuckled, scratching behind Ayumi's ears as he handed over a piece of mango. She delicately plucked it with her trunk.

He reached into his pouch again and pulled out the contract scroll, passing it to Konan.

"Here's the scroll. Though remember, it's still a cat contract—Ayumi is... something of a special case"

Ayumi hummed in agreement as she savored her mango.

"Thank you," she replied casually, accepting it.

The next day, everything went as Shin had arranged.

A prominent gallows was erected, drawing over half the residents from neighboring villages and towns, willingly or otherwise, to the clearing before Akatsuki's base to witness the grand trial.

At first, the crowd looked panicked, huddling together like sheep before a storm. Their eyes darted between the gallows and the bound noble, who had been positioned where all could see his fall from grace.

"My god, we're judging a noble?" a villager whispered, his hands trembling as he clutched his hat.

"I...I didn't want to come! Can I go home now? I was passing through!" another called out, already backing away until Sanda's stern look froze him in place.

But as Shin stood on the prepared platform, everything changed. He began recounting the Land of Rain's injustices, each word chosen to strike at old wounds and awaken fury.

The crowd quieted, their fear turning to something else—something stronger.

"In summary, our past struggles and survival had nothing to do with the daimyō or nobility! Every effort, every act of resilience was our own doing! So why should we let these parasites return to rob us of everything?"

The noble flinched at each word. Several villagers spat in his direction, their old fear already transforming into contempt.

"From this day on, Akatsuki will protect you!" Shin raised his fist, and the crowd leaned forward as one.

"From this day on, I will acknowledge you."

"I will bear this burden."

"I will be your shield."

"I am Shin, leader of Akatsuki, and the daimyō has no right to grant me titles!"

After a brief silence, the crowd exploded into cheers. The sound rolled across the clearing, drowning out any remaining doubts.

Tanaka sighed quietly among them, watching history unfold before his eyes. The premonition he'd had not long ago seemed to be approaching even faster than he'd anticipated.

He glanced at Shin's commanding figure on the platform and knew: Akatsuki would never be the same.