Becoming the leader of the League of Shadows brought power.
Influence.
Resources.
Control over one of the most ancient and effective covert organizations on Earth.
But it also brought something far less exciting.
Paperwork.
An enormous amount of it.
Financial reports.
Intelligence summaries.
Operational briefings.
Asset distribution plans.
Political infiltration updates.
Assassination contracts waiting for approval.
Normally this kind of workload would overwhelm most leaders, forcing them to rely heavily on advisors or subordinates.
But for me, it was surprisingly manageable.
My intelligence had already been enhanced several times through the system. Combined with natural aptitude and battle-hardened strategic thinking, my cognitive ability sat around an IQ of roughly 170.
That level of intelligence made pattern recognition, strategic planning, and information processing extremely efficient.
Stacks of documents that would normally take hours to analyze only required minutes.
I quickly began reorganizing many aspects of the League's operations.
Historically, the League of Shadows focused heavily on destruction.
Cities judged too corrupt were wiped out.
Governments that grew too unstable were eliminated.
While that philosophy had maintained balance for centuries, it wasn't the most efficient long-term strategy.
My version of the League would shift toward something more controlled.
Instead of destroying systems, we would infiltrate them.
Political manipulation.
Economic pressure.
Information warfare.
Shadow influence.
Entire governments could be steered without ever revealing who held the reins.
That approach allowed control of the world without constantly rebuilding it.
And the League's global intelligence networks were perfect for that kind of strategy.
As I reviewed the reports, I issued several new directives.
Expansion of financial fronts.
Placement of operatives within key political institutions.
Increased surveillance on emerging superhuman threats.
And careful monitoring of the Justice League.
They were currently the only group capable of seriously disrupting my long-term plans.
Understanding their movements was essential.
While my mind handled administration, my power development continued relentlessly.
Deep inside the League's mountain base, hundreds of my shadow clones were still working.
Chakra control training continued with fifty clones pushing precision to its limits.
Tiny chakra spheres.
Thread-level manipulation.
Micro-adjustments in flow patterns.
The earlier increase in chakra reserves had disrupted my control, but steady training was gradually correcting that imbalance.
Meanwhile, the other clones focused on ninjutsu development.
Fire.
Wind.
Earth.
Water.
Dozens of experimental techniques were being refined simultaneously.
But the most dangerous work was happening in another section of the training chamber.
Kekkei genkai experimentation.
Combining elemental chakra natures was incredibly difficult.
Even in the shinobi world, most people who possessed kekkei genkai were born with them.
Creating them artificially required perfect chakra manipulation and precise balance between two elemental energies.
Still, with the talents I had acquired, the attempt was possible.
Fire and wind combinations were tested repeatedly.
Lightning and water combinations were explored.
Earth and wind mixtures were attempted.
Most experiments failed.
Violently.
Several clones exploded when unstable chakra reactions spiraled out of control.
Others simply dissipated when the elemental balance collapsed.
But that was the advantage of shadow clone training.
Failure carried no real cost.
Every failure provided knowledge.
Every experiment refined my understanding of elemental interaction.
Eventually, I might succeed in creating artificial kekkei genkai.
Dust Release.
Storm Release.
Lava Release.
Even one successful combination would dramatically increase my combat potential.
Because kekkei genkai techniques often possessed destructive power far beyond normal elemental jutsu.
At the same time, Kabuto had already begun setting up a research laboratory within the League base.
Medical equipment.
Biological analysis tools.
Chakra monitoring devices.
Kabuto's mind worked quickly once he had access to resources.
Within a short time, he would begin researching ways to enhance shinobi physiology, possibly even adapting some techniques for non-chakra users within the League of Shadows.
If successful, the League's assassins might eventually gain abilities far beyond ordinary human limits.
The Akatsuki continued operating across the world.
Kisame and Itachi were already analyzing their recent battle with the Justice League.
Obito had begun studying the structure of this new world.
Deidara seemed more interested in testing how explosive clay would interact with modern cities.
Sasori was modifying his puppets using metals and materials found in this universe.
Each member was adapting.
Evolving.
Preparing.
And every mission they completed increased the reputation of the Akatsuki.
Which meant more system points.
More power.
More expansion.
Late that night, I stepped onto the balcony outside my room in the League base.
The mountains stretched endlessly beneath the moonlight.
Quiet.
Still.
But beneath that calm, an enormous organization was now moving according to my will.
The League of Shadows.
The Akatsuki.
The ANBU.
Elite operatives.
Superhuman shinobi.
Scientific research divisions.
Political infiltration networks.
And hundreds of shadow clones still pushing my personal strength higher every hour.
The world didn't know it yet.
But the balance of power had already begun to shift.