As Uchiha Shinji walked slowly towards the shinobi academy, lost in his own thoughts, he noticed that the atmosphere in the classroom felt strange.
Haku quickly informed Shinji about Sasuke's previous defeat and, with some concern, said, "Shinji-kun, you should be careful!"
"Why should I be careful?" Shinji asked, puzzled.
Haku explained, "Everyone's speculating that Kimimaro's next target for a challenge is either you or Neji-kun!"
Shinji smiled, "Don't worry. I'm not someone who easily accepts challenges."
After sitting down in his seat, Shinji began processing the information he'd just received from Haku.
"Kimimaro? Isn't he supposed to be with Orochimaru? Why has he suddenly come to the shinobi academy? Could it be that Orochimaru wants to provoke Sasuke through Kimimaro?"
Kimimaro's immediate challenge to Sasuke upon arriving at the academy was too blatant to be a coincidence.
While others might think Kimimaro was simply seeking fame by defeating Sasuke, Shinji knew better. Kimimaro didn't care about reputation. The only thing that mattered to him was whether he could be of use to Orochimaru. He was even willing to sacrifice his body for that purpose.
Thus, Kimimaro's presence at the school was undoubtedly on Orochimaru's orders.
As for provoking Sasuke, it was likely a way to push Sasuke to grow stronger.
It seems Orochimaru is already eyeing Sasuke's body.
Shinji dismissed the thought.
He had no intention of interfering with Orochimaru's plans for Sasuke right now. Sasuke's growth would far exceed everyone's expectations, and in the end, Orochimaru might end up sabotaging himself, just like in the original timeline.
Besides, Shinji had his own problems to deal with.
For days, he had been on guard against Danzo's assassination attempts, but strangely, Danzo seemed to have gone quiet. There were no assassins, and even the Root shinobi, who used to linger in the shadows, had disappeared from sight.
Still, Shinji didn't lower his guard. During his medical ninjutsu training, he stayed within the core areas of the village, always prepared for an attack.
"In about a week, I should be able to perform simple eye transplantation surgeries on my own. Now I need to quickly select someone to nurture the half-damaged Mangekyou Sharingan, before it deteriorates further."
Having made up his mind, Shinji covered his eyes with his hand, activating his Mangekyou Sharingan.
Then, he silently activated his Mangekyou dojutsu, Jikibi, marking Haku, who sat in front of him, and Karin, who sat near the podium.
Once the marking was complete, Shinji quietly deactivated his Mangekyou.
He had come to school today specifically to mark the spiritual bodies of Haku and Karin. For this, he had even switched to a different pair of Mangekyou Sharingan.
After school, he declined Haku's offer for a sparring session and returned to his apartment alone.
That night.
While reviewing medical books, Shinji put down the book and glanced at the clock on the wall.
The hour hand pointed to 11:00.
It was late at night, and Haku and Karin were likely in their respective apartments, getting ready for bed.
Seeing that the time was right, Shinji donned his red cloud cloak and mask, then sat on his bed and activated Jikibi.
Unlike the marking he had done during the day, this time, he activated the link.
In an instant, his spiritual projection appeared before a round table.
This was the projection space of Jikibi, where the spiritual projections of those linked by Jikibi would gather.
Soon after, the spiritual projections of Haku and Karin appeared in the other seats at the table.
"Where is this?!" Haku and Karin, finding themselves suddenly seated at a round table surrounded by an endless void, were both startled.
However, upon seeing Shinji's projection sitting calmly at the table, they both sighed in relief.
Although they couldn't clearly see the facial details of the projections, the outline of the red cloud cloak was recognizable enough. They quickly understood that this was a meeting summoned by the organization.
Once Haku and Karin calmed down, Shinji spoke slowly, "We'll be meeting like this often from now on. There's no need to panic."
Haku curiously asked, "Sir, where are we? Is this some kind of space-time ninjutsu?"
Shinji shook his head, offering a brief explanation, "Your physical bodies are still in your apartments. What's here is just a projection of your souls, and this place is a virtual projection space."
"Amazing!" Karin exclaimed as she looked at the round table, the stone platform beneath her feet, and the endless abyss surrounding them.
Everything related to the organization always seemed so unique.
Shinji continued, "In the future, unless something unexpected happens, we'll meet weekly in this way to share information."
Noticing that only the three of them were present, Haku asked, "Sir, where's Deidara?"
Shinji paused, surprised by the question, then casually replied, "He's on another mission and won't be joining us for now."
Karin timidly asked, "Sir, did you summon us because the 'demons' have appeared again?"
Haku, too, looked toward Shinji, clearly anxious.
"This meeting has nothing to do with the demons." Shinji got straight to the point, "Report your recent activities."
Believing that their leader wasn't in the Hidden Leaf Village, Haku and Karin reported their activities over the past few days.
Clearly, neither Haku nor Karin had been idle.
The experience of narrowly escaping death had instilled in them a strong sense of urgency, and they had both been training diligently.
Haku had secretly been practicing the body technique he obtained during their last encounter, Rapid Step, and had already mastered it to the point where it could achieve the effects of the Body Flicker Technique.
Karin, on the other hand, had been honing her Kagura's Mind Eye.
After hearing their reports, Shinji nodded, "The demons' invasions are unpredictable, so always be ready for battle."
"Yes!" Haku and Karin responded in unison.
At that moment, Shinji snapped his fingers, causing Haku's spiritual projection to vanish, leaving only Karin at the table.
Karin looked at Shinji, puzzled, "Sir, you…"
Shinji said, "I have something else to discuss with you."
He then explained that he had a pair of half-damaged Mangekyou Sharingan that needed to be nurtured by a living host. He detailed the situation to Karin.
Surprised, Karin asked, "You want me to transplant those eyes?"
Shinji nodded slightly, "You're the best candidate. But this isn't a command—you can refuse if you want."
Karin, initially inclined to refuse, hesitated, fearful of her leader's authority. Carefully, she asked, "Sir, what about my own eyes?"
"I'll preserve your eyes. You don't have to worry about that," Shinji reassured her. After a brief pause, he added, "This is a personal request, so if you agree, I'll grant you a favor in return."
Realizing that her own eyes could be returned, Karin felt less resistant, though she was still unsure. "Can I think about it?"
Shinji tapped the table, "I'll give you a week to decide."
With that, he severed Karin's projection.