__________ POV Narration __________

Ken sighed as he sat down at the table of the Akatsuki.

Things had calmed down significantly now, Yahiko had to go and calm the other members of the Akatsuki down too, since they were all rather disturbed by the commotion.

They were currently waiting on him to continue their meet and greet.

Nagato seemed to be more than welcoming to Ken, though he was still acting a bit awkward.

Konan was acting quite guarded from the feel of things.

It was also surprising to hear that it wasn't Nagato who was the leader of the Akatsuki, but Yahiko.

It seemed that while Nagato was the strongest, he lacked the most basic qualities of a leader and hated public speaking.

Somewhat of an understandable situation to Ken. Nagato was still very much a child, a war orphan at that from what the Blind Monster understood.

'It's safe to assume no one in his family awakened the same ocular power... I doubt they would've become victims of war if that was the case.'

Ken couldn't quite put his finger on how Nagato's power actually worked. He had barely been able to resist the pull, it got stronger the closer he was pulled.

He didn't actually resist it in reality, he had only really readjusted his trajectory and used to pull to jump behind Nagato at that time.

He had done so smoothly, but he still almost broke Nagato's wrist by mistake.

'The power to attract people and objects... Why haven't I heard of such an ocular power before?'

Ken's information networks weren't really the best in the world, sure. But he still relied on rather reliable sources. The guild of information brokers he employed gave him updates on the ninja world and on its many clans.

But not once did he receive a report about a clan with such a power. It was similar to how he hadn't ever received a report about someone with powers like his...

Well, besides the Grey Fox. But that was also him so it didn't count.

'It must be some rare bloodline mutation of sorts... If that's the case, then it's unlikely that just 'pulling' things is its only ability.'

The thought was certainly concerning, but it was also very curious. After all, if its 'pull' was so strong as to actually have Ken barely breaking out of it, then how strong were the other abilities?

The Blind Assassin mused for a second before focusing all his attention on the matter at hand.

Yahiko seemed to have finally returned, and now all 3 teenagers seemed to be looking up at him to start the conversation.

'Hmm, I guess I shouldn't expect teenagers to be accustomed to political talks. Letting me control the conversation in their own territory doesn't give off a good first image.'

Yahiko seemed to be the most upbeat and would've likely started the conversation had things been different. But he was likely a bit stressed by the fact that he had just held a blade to his guest's neck.

Nagato seemed a tad too socially awkward to start up the conversation again, and Konan was still too guarded.

"Since we are all here, and there are no other distractions, I suggest we start with introductions." And so, Ken crossed his arms and decided to take the helm of the conversation.

"R-right." Yahiko seemed to finally recover, coughing into his fist before giving Ken a wide smile.

"I am Yahiko, leader of the Akatsuki! To my right here is Nagato, and this here is Konan!" Yahiko reintroduced everyone present, Nagato just smiled and waved, while Konan nodded towards Ken.

It seemed she decided to drop her somewhat hostile behaviour. At the end of the day, it was the Akatsuki who requested the Dark Brotherhood's assistance.

"It is a pleasure, my name is Ken, people call me plenty of things these days, but you may just use my name."

The Blind Monster nodded towards the trio before turning his attention to their table, where a parchment was laid out with a kunai stabbed somewhere on it.

"All three of you are quite skilled... Did you have any formal training?" Ken asked while scratching his chin.

"Well, we did have a master for a while..." Konan gave a short answer while looking away for a second.

"It was Jiraiya, one of the Three Sannin of the Leaf Village... He was our teacher while he fought in the Land of Rain." Nagato didn't seem to have any qualms about telling Ken the truth.

"Jiraiya? Huh, quite a funny coincidence..." Ken couldn't help but smile as he remembered the perverted sage.

"Oh?!? Did he also teach you at first?" Yahiko seemed excited at the prospect of having the same Master as someone of Ken's reputation.

"Hm? No way. I am his teacher in Senjutsu." Ken's answer was like a bucket of cold water dropped on Yahiko's head.

The trio blinked a few times, not quite sure how to react to the fact that someone a bit younger than them was the teacher of their teacher...

Ken didn't seem too interested in continuing that talk, however, so he decided to just jump onto the main point.

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"So... What is the reason for calling me? Is it just to establish contact, or something more urgent?" Ken tilted his head to the side and spoke in an even and monotone voice.

The three teenagers looked at each other and silently nodded to one another, seemingly coming to a silent agreement.

"W-well... It's more about gaining your cooperation for our future goals. We don't have much to offer, hell we are barely scraping by ourselves right now..." Yahiko sighed in regret as he looked at Ken and spoke out with honesty.

His tone was so truthful that it shocked Ken. There was no way that someone as inexperienced as Yahiko could've faked it, it was impossible to fake.

"In truth, I don't want the other members to hear this, but we may be in way over our heads here.

We want to bring peace to our Land of Rain, to give it a chance to thrive in peace... But it seems near impossible to do with what we currently have."

Yahiko continued speaking with honesty, even sounding regretful and slightly downtrodden.

Well, who could blame him? They sure had a lofty goal for a gathering of teenage War Orphans.

'... Yet, they have a noble goal... There really are more like him, huh?' It immediately reminded the Blind Monster of Minato.

Both Yahiko and Minato seemed to share those characteristics. Altruism and Honesty, both traits that Ken respected deeply.

These were the traits that Ken was shown from a young age in that world. Displayed by none other than the Samurai who had given their lives to raise him for nothing in return.

It was a nice reminder that there were still people like that in the world. That there were more of them than Ken had initially thought, and that they were fighting their own battles.

But they were unfortunately such positive traits that could be easily taken advantage of in the world of Shinobi...

"That's why we need the backing of a force like the Dark Brotherhood... Even if it's in the future, with your help we may be able to finally allow our Land to breathe.

To give its people the peace they so badly need and deserve... I know I am asking for support while providing little to nothing in return, but please... Please help us!" Yahiko bowed his head as he spoke out with raw emotion.

Ken couldn't help but smile underneath his mask as he felt both Nagato and Konan bow by their friend/leader's side. It was a rather heartwarming scene.

At that point, Ken had a few options.

But in the end, no matter the motives, it all came down to two distinct choices...

'Either to help the Akatsuki or not...'

There were many things to consider for the Leader of the Dark Brotherhood at that point. Ken was no longer making decisions just for himself after all.

'Should the Dark Borthehood really be getting involved in another Nation's struggles at this stage?'

It was a tricky question. They were about to go to war after all, they needed all the resources they had.

But at the same time...

'This war should get rid of most of our enemies, both hidden and not-so-hidden. After that, we will be able to do as we please.'

If the Dark Brotherhood could repel such a powerful force, not one of the Leaders in the Elemental Nations would dare to even get close to it with bad intentions in the future.

Besides, there was also another rather important point...

'They aren't asking for immediate support... They just want some help and to have our backing...'

Yahiko and the Akatsuki weren't exactly asking for anything in particular either.

Even if Ken just said 'Sure we'll support you.' and then left without any further contact they wouldn't even be able to complain.

In the first place, Ken had made the mistake of thinking that some type of negotiation was going to happen when he had first arrived. He wanted to treat it as a usual diplomatic discourse.

But that wasn't what was happening at all. It was just a heartfelt request for aid from a group of orphans in need.

And how could Ken ever face the children in the Dark Brotherhood if he turned down such a request?

'I don't want to live this life of mine with any regrets... So the answer is obvious.'

The silence had stretched for a good minute, and during that entire time, the three teenagers in front of Ken hadn't raised their heads.

They were clearly growing anxious.

They hadn't expected Ken, someone their age, to have such a heavy atmosphere. To them, he seemed even more intimidating than Hanzo the Salamander.

They had hoped to be able to speak freely with the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, to approach him on even ground.

But it seemed that the rumours about him being a cold and callous man in the body of a teenager were true to some extent.

Or at least that was where their thoughts were going before Ken opened his mouth again.

"Alright, raise your heads! I'll be honest with you brats..." Ken kept his arms crossed as he addressed the three of them with a straightforward tone.

The three of them raised their heads finally, all looking at him with a mix of anxiety and hope.

"The Dark Brotherhood is going to be busy in the following months, we won't have much time to receive your requests for help if they do happen during this time...

But we can certainly provide you with the backing you need. Food, clothing, money, we can spare some resources."

Ken sighed as he tilted his head to the side, not caring for the rollercoaster of emotions he was putting the 3 teenagers through by phrasing his response in such a way.

However, they seemed beyond elated when hearing the last part.

Gaining the support of the Dark Brotherhood and Ken was about the same as gaining the support of an entire Hidden Village to them. It was monumental.

To the point where Yahiko and Nagato were even tearing up a bit. Konan seemed to be holding it in, but she was also certainly moved.

But Ken didn't even give them time to recover before he reached his hand into his cloak and took out three scrolls.

"These should contain enough money and food to last you for a while. If you need more feel free to reach out, but again, we will be busy."

At that point, the three teenagers all got up with smiles and teary eyes and started thanking the Blind Monster while bowing even more.

"Thank you! T-thank you..." "W-we were so worried..." "Thank god..."

All of them seemed to be having different thoughts, but for the most part, all of them felt a deep sense of gratitude.

And as a rare occasion for Ken, he didn't plan to exploit that gratitude in any way.

Instead, he remembered the words of another man that he had grown to respect.

"From now on, you don't have to be worried anymore... If you are ever in trouble, know that you may find safety in the Dark Brothehood's shadow."

Just like the Daimyō of the Land of Iron had told him once. Certainly a poetic way to look at it, but Ken liked it that way.

Yahiko, Nagato and Konan seemed to like it as well, their eyes shined with happiness as they seemed to be growing more and more excited, likely thinking of how the rest of their members would react to the news of their new sponsor.

"Now then... I should pack up and take my leave now. Here, you can take this." He threw another small scroll on the table.

"You can use it to summon a bat, her name is Kaya, and she likes carrots. She will be our point of contact from now on."

Ken gave the teenagers an okay sign, ignoring the flabbergasted looks they were giving him.

"O-ok... But are you leaving already? You can stay for a bit more, get to know the others as well..." Nagato decided to speak up this time.

His nature certainly seemed more timid, but he seemed to want to befriend Ken nonetheless.

Unfortunately for him, Ken had other plans.

"I can't stay for long right now, I have to return to the Brotherhood soon... It has been a pleasure speaking to you all..." Ken cracked his neck and waved at the three of them as he turned away.

The teenagers seemed a bit overwhelmed by this, and in the end, they only did one last thing.

"Truly... Thank you for everything, Ken!"

They waved at him as he disappeared from their eyes, leaving them just as quickly as he came.

In the end, the Blind Monster had left quite an impression on the youngsters, their meeting was short but memorable for all three of them.

And Ken also now had a good impression of the Akatsuki. He hadn't expected to meet such a good bunch.

He smiled as dashed away, his mind focusing on the road ahead.

'Now then... I guess it's time to wage war.'