"Raiden Hattori, are you interested in joining Akatsuki?"
When Obito said this, Logan was really surprised, 'Obito invites me to join Akatsuki? At this time, Pain is still the leader of the Akatsuki, which means, this proposal was approved by Pain?'
Akatsuki is a superstar of Naruto World, extremely popular among fans, and the 'entry threshold' is also very high.
Even S-Rank Missing-nin would hesitate to say they are part of it. In his memory, the presence of the Akatsuki organization had more or less influenced Logan, which was also the reason why he was exceptionally wary when he received the mission to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki in Amegakure.
This influence also caused him to overlook his own strength, but now, he has already reached a higher level.
"This is the intelligence's chief officer of our organization, Zetsu." Obito pointed at Zetsu, who was half exposed to the moonlight and half merged into the darkness, "Our organization has been paying attention to you for the past two years. Your performance exceeds that of Elite Jonin in various A-Rank and S-Rank missions."
Obito paused for a moment and glanced at Logan's right hand, the place where the Chidori bloomed in his memory, "And your Lightning Release is already at the Kage-level, right? The speed and power you got from it have long surpassed what an ordinary Jonin can achieve."
"Your low-key approach may have prevented those old fogies in Konoha from paying too much attention to you, but the organization is well aware of it."
After Logan snapped back to the news of being recruited into the Akatsuki, Obito's next words made him look a bit serious.
'I was actually being watched by the Akatsuki all along... and they knew my strength in detail.' Logan didn't know whether to feel honored or scared.
He glanced at Zetsu, who was standing next to him. Black Zetsu coldly observed him, while White Zetsu shrugged innocently...
'It seems that he went a little too far when my Lightning Release broke through in Amegakure. Fortunately, Akatsuki's intention didn't seem to be malicious.'
'But does Pain really want to recruit me? I caused quite a stir in their territory back then.' Logan didn't speak, but pondered internally. He was forced by the situation back then and killed many Amegakure's Ninjas.
'However, since Itachi could also join Akatsuki, for the sake of the illusory peace in his heart, Pain might just regard the previous incidents as small matters.'
...
Seeing Logan remaining silent and not even uttering a word, Obito felt a little unhappy in his heart, 'Damn it, I've said so much and you haven't even reacted.'
However, Obito could see that Logan's silence meant there was still a chance, because the lack of direct opposition meant there was still hope. of Logan's hesitation, a curve formed at the corner of Obito's mouth beneath the vortex mask, 'Konoha, oh Konoha, a registered 'Elite Jonin' actually hesitates at the olive branch thrown by external forces.'
Obito thought of the three Root's members who were lurking around at the beginning and continued, "And I see that your days in Konoha aren't going so well. The famous assassination department 'Root' is actually monitoring you, heh... Danzo isn't easy to deal with."
There was a hint of gloating in Obito's tone, and Logan pursed his lips, not having much to refute.
To be honest, after seeing the corpse, he realized that ever since he drove away two people from Root that day, they had started monitoring him. Even though their surveillance was extensive enough to only know roughly where he was to avoid detection, it still made him very annoyed.
Now, hearing Obito sarcastically said so from an outsider's perspective, Logan felt quite embarrassed to have been working for Konoha for so many years.
"So what? I'm in Konoha, naturally, I can live well." Logan cursed Danzo and his whole ancestors in his heart, but didn't show much on the surface. He sneered, maintaining his momentum.
"Is that so?" Obito asked lightly.
Logan's eyes flashed with doubts, but after a few seconds, he suddenly reacted, 'Those Root's members!'
'There were three Root's members who disappeared without a trace during the mission of monitoring me...' Logan suddenly fell silent. Obito and Zetsu's uninvited visit, although coincidentally resolved his trouble, but it would also cause the blame for killing the three Root's members to fall on him.
Logan rubbed his forehead, feeling somewhat helpless.
He and Root had never seen eye to eye, but they had always kept things behind the line. But this time, the disappearance of three Root's members would be pinned on him, which is not a small matter.
Even though Zetsu's way of handling the aftermath would likely be fine, Root would definitely throw the blame at him.
Raiden Hattori discovered signs and decisively killed three Root's members... It would be a completely convincing and well-founded conclusion. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to openly resort to violence in the future, and there would definitely be trouble.
"Thank you very much." Logan said with a fake smile. Now, he really felt unsettled to stay in Konoha.
"It's really just a coincidence." Obito said sincerely, and it was indeed true, but Logan felt uncomfortable upon hearing it, "Would you consider joining Akatsuki?"
Obito asked again, "We are not afraid of Danzo at all, and we're usually very free as long as you complete the tasks assigned by the organization."
After saying that, he paused for a few seconds, as if waiting for Logan's answer.
Obito took a step closer, and Logan could vaguely see the Sharingan under the hole of his mask.
"And, are you really satisfied with staying in Konoha, bound by the status quo?"
Logan's expression froze.
Obito thought he had hit a crucial point with his verbal barrage, and became even more convinced in his heart, "It doesn't matter if I tell you. Although our organization is hidden in Amegakure and tries to avoid the eyes of Great Countries, we are well-prepared and will stand in the forefront sooner or later. Then…"
"We'll unify the entire world, change the status quo of the Ninja World, and achieve peace!" Obito's expression under the whirlpool mask revealed a hint of invisible fanaticism. Although what he said was the path Pain wanted to take, he inherited Madara's will, so the path taken was different from Pain.
Listening to this, Logan's eyelid twitched. If the atmosphere allowed, he really wanted to criticize that Obito's lines were too cheesy.
However, Logan, who has read the original work, understands in his heart that the originally innocent Pain and Obito have distorted idealism.
It's a pity that Obito had ultimately misunderstood, both in terms of his own goals and Logan's thoughts.
The night was getting deeper, with only occasional rustling of leaves. At this moment, in front of Logan, different paths emerged. When Obito left, a slaughter unrelated to him would begin its bloody performance.
A lot of things suddenly flooded Logan's mind. Logan had already figured it out now. He didn't need to flip a coin, as what he needed was firm belief. He didn't have any thoughts of lingering in the ANBU, and the Root incident added another layer of reasons, although that is what he does not want to see.
'Do I really need to join Akatsuki?' Inevitably, some unrelated things appeared in his mind. The joy of walking on tree and water for the first time, the wonderful feeling of holding the lightning and moving forward at an extremely fast speed, the sudden loss of his high school life, how old is Logan and still watching anime…
Obito's verbal barrage was completely ineffective on him, but it was no surprise. Perhaps, he could really settle down.
However, although Obito was wrong, in another direction, Logan also had reasons to leave here. He hadn't really thought about joining the Akatsuki, but given the circumstances, with so many experts in the Akatsuki, it might be a good choice, right?
"...It doesn't matter whether you agree with the principles or not, it's about mutual benefit..." Obito was still earnestly speaking.
After a long time, Logan exhaled and said, "Masked man, I have a question for you."
"Ah, what?" Being suddenly interrupted, Obito said unconsciously.
"How is the salary calculated?"