Hearing Ooka Shin's breakdown of the political landscape, Yahiko's eyes lit up brightly. He tapped the side of his head with a grin.
"Shin! You really have a talent for this! I was dreading this meeting; my head felt like a tangled mess of fishing line. But hearing your plan, it's like a fish taking the bait—the line just straightens out into a beautiful, smooth arc. It makes perfect sense!"
Konan brought out a fresh pot of tea. Hearing Yahiko's analogy, she didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.
"Why is fishing the only metaphor you ever use? Having you as our leader is exhausting."
Yahiko waved his hand dismissively. "You only say that because you don't understand the profound joy of fishing. Besides, don't you happily grill and eat every single fish I catch?"
Nagato finished wiping the table and sat down beside them, looking at Shin. "So, how exactly do we execute this?"
"First and foremost, Nagato's Rinnegan cannot be exposed under any circumstances," Shin stated firmly. "If Hanzo sees them, it will trigger his immense greed and paranoia. Nagato, grow your bangs out longer, or start wearing sunglasses."
Drawing on centuries of human diplomatic history, Shin laid out the strategy clearly.
"Secondly, we play Good Cop, Bad Cop. The leader—Yahiko—will play the Good Cop. You express our absolute willingness to cooperate and maintain peace. The rest of us will play the Bad Cops, constantly testing Hanzo's bottom line and pushing back against his demands."
"Of course, we must actively look for an opportunity to create a minor, controlled conflict. We need to use that clash to demonstrate our raw combat strength. This is the only way to secure an equal, cooperative status. If we look weak, he will just swallow us whole. We must manage the degree carefully so it doesn't trigger an all-out bloodbath."
"Thirdly, Hanzo's attitude toward us will shift constantly based on the Ninja World War. Even if we secure an alliance this week, we must remain vigilant and prepare for him to betray us the moment it becomes convenient."
"Lastly, to avoid suspicion, we cannot appear too ambitious. We shouldn't talk about saving the entire Land of Rain. In front of Hanzo, we must act a bit selfish—focused only on protecting our own small territory. If we act too righteous, Hanzo will immediately assume we are gunning for his throne."
"Men in power are inherently narrow-minded and paranoid. Truly selfless people terrify them. We cannot harbor beautiful, naive fantasies about this negotiation."
Oh.
Wow.
So that's how the world works!
Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato sat completely mesmerized. Initially lounging casually, they found Shin's words so profound and logical that, by the time he finished, all three were sitting bolt upright in formal posture.
Shin had effortlessly connected brutal political facts with logical human psychology to form a flawless roadmap.
Whether the plan would actually survive contact with the Demigod remained to be seen, but Yahiko knew with absolute certainty that he could never have come up with something this brilliant.
Yahiko's original, naive plan for the meeting had looked something like this:
Yahiko steps forward and says, "Hanzo! War brings suffering to everyone. Let's hold hands and bring peace to the Land of Rain together!"
And Hanzo would tearfully reply, "You're right, Yahiko! That's exactly what I've always wanted! With your help, peace is finally here!"
Then, they would hug.
Yahiko was a deeply kind and simple soul. He wasn't stupid, but his heart lacked the dark, cynical machinery required for political scheming.
Comparing Shin's ruthless masterclass with his own embarrassing fantasy, Yahiko's face flushed bright red. He desperately fanned his face with his hand, pretending the room was just stuffy.
"Wow, it's hot in here. So, Shin... how exactly should we write the reply?"
Ooka Shin stared at him in deadpan silence. You're the leader, aren't you? Why are you asking a ten-year-old to write your diplomatic decrees?!
"Are you treating me like your military strategist?" Shin complained. "I'm legally a child! Exploiting child labor for geopolitical warfare is something you should be deeply ashamed of."
Konan covered her mouth, her eyes crinkling with amusement. "You're wrong, Shin. We haven't paid you a single ryo in salary. Technically, it's not child labor if it's volunteer work."
Wait. If there's no money involved, it's not employment... That actually makes a terrifying amount of sense!
Shin glared fiercely at Konan before looking back at Yahiko. "Hanzo is the undisputed boss of this country. We can't demand he come to us. Set a date, prepare some flashy but cheap gifts, and we will march to his stronghold to meet him."
Yahiko nodded sagely, slapping Shin heavily on the shoulder.
"Brilliantly spoken, Shin! In that case, I will bravely leave the drafting of the letter entirely in your capable hands! Ensure it projects our desire for peace while firmly establishing our boundaries for equal cooperation. It must be perfectly polite, yet completely unyielding!"
Remarkable, Yahiko! You literally just regurgitated my exact words and assigned me the homework!
This shameless, delegating style of yours—you truly were born to be a CEO!
"Fine. I know how to write it," Shin grumbled. "However, since this concerns the grand diplomatic future of the Akatsuki, I need absolute silence to focus. Do not come looking for me for mundane things like perimeter patrols anymore."
"Ahahaha! Shin is truly amazing!" Yahiko laughed, standing up and leading Konan and Nagato out the door. "Now that this headache is resolved, I can go back to fishing in peace!"
"Hey! I said I'm exempt from patrols! Don't pretend you didn't hear me!" Shin shouted at their retreating backs.
All he got in return was Yahiko drastically quickening his pace to escape earshot.
Sitting alone in his room, Shin fell into a spiral of deep self-doubt.
Somehow, he had become the ultimate, unpaid wage slave for the Akatsuki Organization.
"Before transmigrating, I clearly just wanted a system cheat so I could relax. Why am I doing corporate paperwork for a terrorist organization?"
"I was a wage slave in my past life, and I'm a wage slave in my next life. Doesn't that mean my transmigration was entirely pointless?!"
That night, in the shared dream space, Shin bitterly unloaded his grievances onto the others.
His complaints were met with a heavy, collective silence.
Kyosuke stroked his chin. "I'm currently working for the Konoha military. The kind of job where I actively risk being stabbed to death daily, and I don't even get decent health insurance or a pension."
Chisuke nodded grimly. "Same here. I'm working for the Sand Village. As a Jinchūriki, not only do I lack social security, but I'm literally imprisoned, hated by my coworkers, and isolated. It's a miserable gig."
Mishu thought about his recent life roaming the bloodstained underworld and sighed. "I'm a Rogue Ninja working gig-economy jobs for the Bounty Exchange Office. Forget social security, I don't even legally exist. There's zero worker's comp if I get my head chopped off."
Simultaneously, the four avatars turned to look at Kiichiro with expressions of pure, unadulterated envy.
"Kiichiro... you're the only one who doesn't have a boss. You are the boss!"
"Hey tycoon, let's be best friends."
"Hurry up and write a will, man. Put my name down as your sole heir. Otherwise, when you inevitably get assassinated, all that sweet cash will go to the state."
"You definitely have the best reincarnation RNG out of all of us. Teach us your ways."
Hearing his avatars ruthlessly tease him, Kiichiro's nose almost went crooked with sheer rage.
"You ungrateful bastards! I'm out here working my fingers to the bone for you guys! If I wasn't funding our secret base and intelligence network, I would have taken all this money and been out carousing with pretty ladies months ago!"
Kyosuke looked him up and down and sneered mercilessly.
"Carousing? Please. You're physically ten years old. You don't even have the required hardware for the job yet!"
Chisuke, Mishu, and Ooka Shin all nodded in solemn agreement.
"Exactly. Kyosuke speaks the truth."
Kiichiro let out a furious roar and lunged at the group. "Don't any of you run! Tonight, I'm getting a quadra-kill!"