"That guy..."
Tobi gritted his teeth while hiding in the shadows.
He had known for a long time that Shinji had been eyeing Akatsuki members, but he never expected him to be so blatant about poaching them, coming up with such a ridiculous sales pitch.
"Is it possible... people will actually fall for this?"
Tobi wasn't so sure anymore.
To be honest, even he felt a tiny bit tempted after hearing those benefits. What was going on?!
"Nope, I have to tell Nagato about this. We can't keep exploiting these members like tools anymore. We need to improve their welfare and benefits too. Otherwise, everyone might actually leave."
Tobi's worries weren't unfounded. After all, Akatsuki's treatment was notoriously terrible.
No salary, no holidays, endless overtime, and every penny earned had to be handed over...
This wasn't just a shady company; it was practically a criminal organization!
In the past, there was no comparison, so they could keep people loyal just by painting a pretty picture of the future.
But now that there was a rich competitor trying to steal them away, things were getting risky. Comparison really is the thief of joy.
So why did they have to make things so difficult for themselves?
However, bringing Itachi and Kisame here this time wasn't a complete loss.
At least he had confirmed a few things.
Five years ago on that night, Akagi Shinji definitely wasn't present. Otherwise, neither he nor Itachi would have acted the way they did.
Another thing that bothered Tobi was how Akagi Shinji was completely immune to both Itachi's Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu!
That night, he hadn't been sleeping at all; he had been secretly watching from the shadows.
And that was when he witnessed this astonishing fact.
Furthermore, the longer he spent around Akagi Shinji, the more confused he became.
Every time he thought he had finally figured out the full extent of Shinji's strength, reality would slap him in the face.
It seemed Shinji always only revealed the tip of the iceberg.
Tobi was even starting to forget his original purpose for infiltrating this group in the first place.
Besides, he didn't want to see the Five Great Nations getting too close to this guy.
Yet Shinji was somehow on good terms with both Kirigakure and Konoha. That just wasn't right.
That was why he had manipulated Sasuke earlier. He wanted to plant a time bomb. Once Sasuke exploded, it would be almost impossible for the Jashin Church and Konoha to ever reconcile.
But that wasn't enough!
"I need to find a way to make the Jashin Church the enemy of the entire shinobi world. Then, even if Shinji doesn't want to ally with Akatsuki, he won't have a choice."
Tobi plotted silently, then warped space and vanished.
...
"ITACHI!"
Sasuke woke up screaming as if from a terrible nightmare, covered in cold sweat.
His head was throbbing violently, like a thousand needles were stabbing into his brain.
When he finally recognized his surroundings, he breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately tensed up again and scrambled out of bed.
In the next room, Shinji looked at the pale-faced Sasuke and mumbled indistinctly, "Oh good, you're finally awake. A few more days and I was gonna leave you behind. Damn it! Pass! Thirteen cards? Thirteen cards! I refuse to believe you can beat me in one move! If you can, I'll... I'll shave Sasuke's head bald!"
Hidan, with his slicked-back hair, grinned mischievously. He slammed his cards onto the table and spread them out.
"Sequence! Hehe, sorry about that. Want me to lend you a razor? I'm worried you might not get it clean enough otherwise."
"Gambling God! Gambling God!"
Tobi clapped enthusiastically from the side, acting like a total sycophant.
Looking at the three of them: Shinji's face was plastered with countless strips of paper, Tobi had quite a few too, and Hidan... it looked like he hadn't lost a single round.
Sasuke was speechless. He had been lying here unconscious God knows how long, and these bastards were just next door playing cards? And using him as the stakes?!
Shinji paled slightly. He looked at the solid wooden table, then at Sasuke, desperately trying to figure out a way to back out.
Strangely enough, he couldn't understand why the side effect of the [Unfortunate Microphone] had triggered like this.
Since this morning, no matter what game they played, he hadn't won a single hand.
It was ridiculous, like just now—getting beaten instantly with thirteen cards left in his hand, even his bomb cards were useless.
"Sasuke, take over for me."
"Huh? But I don't know how to..."
"Win this, and I'll teach you how to defeat that person within a year."
"OKAY!"
Hidan patted his big hair, not caring who the opponent was. However...
"Switching players is fine, but a bet is a bet. It needs to be honored first, right?"
"Hehehahaha~"
Hidan and Tobi looked Sasuke up and down with malicious grins, looking more villainous than actual villains.
Sasuke quickly threw a pleading look at Shinji.
Shinji sighed, avoiding eye contact. "Shave it off... it's useless now. To be a true ninja, you have to keep your word."
"But why do I have to suffer just because you guys kept your word?!"
"I'm done playing! I'm leaving!"
Sasuke turned to run, but Shinji grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up effortlessly.
The Snake-Scale Sword was quietly pressed against Sasuke's lower back. "You have two choices. Either we do it for you, or you do it yourself. Pick one."
"Put me down! I... I'll do it myself!"
Sasuke shouted in despair.
But as he touched his handsome hair, living by the ninja way of "Head can be broken, blood can flow, but hair must stay perfect," he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
Just then, Hidan grinned wildly. "Wanna raise the stakes? If you win, we forget everything. If you lose... every single hair on your body gets shaved off."
Sasuke looked at his precious hairstyle, gritted his teeth, and said, "YOU'RE ON!"
"Alright, rules stay the same, but one more thing: one person draws the cards, the other plays them. No switching once the round starts."
"Deal."
Shinji tried to object, but Sasuke nodded confidently.
Sigh!
They played a few practice rounds, and Sasuke picked it up quickly. It wasn't that hard. And during practice, he didn't lose once.
This was going to be easy!
Sasuke smiled confidently. "Let's go!"
"Want me to play the first round?"
"No need! Brother Shinji, you draw the cards. I'll crush them!"
Seeing Sasuke so confident, Shinji nodded and said nothing.
But the moment Shinji handed over all the cards he had drawn... Sasuke's face turned green.
What kind of garbage hand was this?!
Single cards, pairs, no sequences, no bombs, nothing!
"Hehe, I'll be the Landlord!"
"Pass."
"Pass too."
Hidan gathered the hidden cards and laughed. "One 2!"
Sasuke was speechless. "Pass."
"Last chance, kiddo."
Hidan slammed his cards down arrogantly. "BOMB!"
"ANOTHER BOMB!"
"KEEP GOING!"
"ROYAL BOMB!"
"THREE CARDS AND A PAIR!"
"GAME OVER!"
Poor Sasuke got completely destroyed without even playing a single card.
Second round. Refusing to give up, Sasuke decided to draw the cards himself and let Shinji play.
Sasuke's luck was actually pretty good this time; he drew an amazing hand.
But the moment Shinji took over... everything fell apart!
Landlord Shinji: "One 3."
Farmer Tobi: "I BOMB!"
"WHAT THE HELL?! You bomb a single 3?! Do you even know how to play?!" Shinji roared, looking at his own Royal Bomb in his hand but not daring to play it.
And that was it.
"Sequence... that's all." Tobi scratched his head innocently.
Indeed, that was all. And Shinji and Sasuke's will to live were completely blown away along with it!
This is absolutely ridiculous!
Damn it!
____________________
For more advance chapters visit my patreon
patreon.com/kane45
Tier: 10$ Casual Reader - +20 Advance Chapter
20$ Intermediate Reader - +40 Advance Chapter
40$ Expert Reader - +80 Advance Chapter
Update: "Monday to Friday - Update 3 Chapters a Day"
"Saturday and Sunday - Off"