'If I quit then, Commander Takeshi will definitely go crazy.'
At this moment, there was a slight noise from the room behind. Logan knew that Sasuke should be done showering and was changing clothes.
After thinking about it, Logan understood that resigning from ANBU wasn't as simple as quitting a regular Ninja job. The process would be different.
Although the ANBU under the Third Hokage's leadership was different from the Root under Danzo, they wear masks during missions and live normal lives without it. The restrictions and supervision on their members are not that great, and many ANBU proposed to withdraw due to psychological reasons and other factors.
After confirmation, they signed a confidentiality agreement, and they all went back to their previous lives. However, Logan, as a Captain in ANBU, was somewhat different. He was considered a core member of the organization, so resigning would be a bit more troublesome for him.
Either he would retire like Hyuga Aida, who retires after his term was up, or like Kakashi when he left ANBU, it would require intervention from the higher-ups like the Third Hokage.
"Hattori-sensei..."
Hearing Sasuke's voice, Logan turned his head. Sasuke had neatly dressed, his hair with some water droplets, and a short-sleeved shirt with his clan's emblem.
"Oh, you're done?" Logan stood up. He was also dressed casually. He had already changed out of his combat gear back in the Land of Rice Fields due to concealment needs, "Then let's go and eat barbecue."
"Okay."
"Ah, it's been so long since I had barbecue. The one on Jolly Road. Sasuke, do you like spicy food..."
Sasuke followed behind Logan's tall figure, listening to his younger-sounding muttering. Since they met, the scars in Sasuke's heart caused by the death of his relatives and the cruelty of his brothers seemed to have become less painful.
…
There is a well-reputed barbecue restaurant on Jolly Road. Logan has accumulated a lot of money over the years. Without hesitation, he ordered dozens of servings of barbecue, and they only stopped eating when both of them couldn't finish anymore.
During the fulfilling dinner, the boss owner who kept bringing them barbecue couldn't help but take a few more glances at the combination of Logan and Sasuke. After all, the fact that the Uchiha Clan was reduced to a single orphan was well known in the village.
Sasuke sensitively felt the occasional scrutinizing gazes from passersby, but Logan, who was sitting opposite him, didn't care at all. He would eat when it's time to eat, drink when it's time to drink, and shout loudly when you feel like it. This kind of behavior gradually made Sasuke more relaxed.
After chatting about various things, Sasuke, who was still wearing a lot of plasters, asked about the teaching content after climbing the tree.
"We'll talk about it later. Let your injuries heal first!" Logan immediately gave the kid a meat upon hearing that, "There is no need to train any more during this period. Just rest after school."
Sasuke has a strong competitive spirit. After Logan saw the big tree with kunai marks on it, he knew how Sasuke had been training during this period. Being able to climb to the highest level in a week not only shows the other party's extremely strong talent, but also the intensity of training in order to climb a tree, which is very unscientific for an eight-year-old kid.
The most important thing for a child of this age is to ensure healthy growth, so Logan told Sasuke not to think too much and focus on recovering from his injuries first.
In addition, climbing trees and treading water is nothing more than exercising fine Chakra Control, which is closely related to the Chakra used all the time in battles between Ninjas.
He believed that Sasuke's strength would increase significantly with this training, but greedily biting off more than one can chew is not a good thing, so it's better to rest first.
After dinner, Sasuke, who didn't receive any other tips and was informed that he didn't need to come to Logan's house anymore, felt a bit downcast and returned home with a cool expression on his face. Logan also returned home.
After cleaning up and training as usual, Logan took a shower and studied Orochimaru's Forbidden Techniques in the room.
He copied the Summoning: Rashomon, the Five Elements Seal, and the Double Illusion Killing Technique separately and wrote them into a blank scroll for safekeeping. Then, Logan began to read the contents of Orochimaru's scrolls carefully. Although he couldn't use these techniques himself, the handwritten notes of one of the Sannin, a highly skilled Ninja, still had significant value for learning and reference.
With the chorus of frogs in the yard, the time quickly approached dawn. Logan stretched lazily, breaking free from the chaotic scrolls.
"As expected of Uncle Snake who is a pervert, a scientist, and a human trafficker all in one..." Logan joked. There was a lot of insights in the scrolls, and he didn't realize how late it had gotten after he read it.
After exhaling deeply, Logan released a little bit of Fire Attribute Chakra and burned all the scrolls he had read.
After doing this, a feeling of exhaustion surged up. Logan, who had originally planned to continue studying the Forbidden Techniques, gave up and decided to wash up and sleep first. However, at this moment, the 'Sky' ring placed on the table flickered.
"Hmm?" Logan was stunned for a moment. Walking closer, he saw that the ring was indeed faintly flickering.
Thinking of something, Logan picked up the unremarkable ring and muttered to himself, "They're contacting me so soon? It hasn't been long since the incident in Otogakure. Are they so sure I can get it?"
As soon as he put it on, the sensation of Space-Time Ninjutsu working became even stronger. Logan took a deep breath and, without much hesitation, immersed his consciousness into it.
Magic Lantern Body Technique.
Logan's consciousness suddenly traveled back and forth, as if crossing countless distances in an instant. When he could feel again in the next moment, the scenery in front of him had completely changed.
'Rinnegan, Kekkei Genkai, Space-Time ninjutsu...' Logan couldn't help but sigh at the power of these overpowered abilities. He found himself in a dimly lit place, seemingly inside a massive hollowed-out mountain, deep and quiet, with ten stone pillars standing abruptly in a circular formation.
He looked down at himself, physically the same, with all his limbs intact, but his whole body was like an ethereal shadow, faintly colored and shimmering. If there were a mirror, he would see that the eyes of his mirage body were exceptionally bright.
"Sure enough, you got it from Orochimaru, Hattori." A very familiar voice came from the left. Logan looked over calmly, and saw there were two similar mirage bodies standing on the other stone pillars, wearing the red clouds on a black background cloak.
The one speaking is Obito. His face is still covered with a vortex mask, which Logan recognized at a glance.
Facing Obito's words, Logan just nodded and then focused more attention on another mirage body standing on the first stone pillar. The other person stood at the top of the stone pillar with a cold expression. What was most strange and captivating about the figure were his eyes, with concentric ripples spreading out, even more conspicuous under the relatively clear face of the mirage body.
'Rinnegan, the apparent leader of the Akatsuki organization, Pain.'
'It seems that they estimated that I had obtained the ring, and the organization's leader chose to officially meet the new member.'
"This is the leader of the organization, codenamed 'Zero'." Obito saw that Logan didn't pay attention to him, but he wasn't angry and continued the introduction.
"Hello." Logan said to Pain, the person who stirred up storms in the Ninja World.
Pain nodded slowly, his Rinnegan overlooking all things without any emotional fluctuations, "You performed well in Otogakure."
"Haha, just so-so..."
"This kind of gathering for a meeting is quite unique." Logan pretended to be interested and patted his mirage body up and down. After a while, seeing that the two of them were still not speaking, he asked directly, "So, why did you call me here?"