The duty of a Shinigami is to harvest souls.

But for someone to die, they must first obtain the approval of the Shinigami.

Pain is a necessary process.

The long knife continued to slash across Orochimaru's body.

Qingchuan didn't know how Itachi had tormented Orochimaru in the Genjutsu space in the original story.

He wasn't very skilled at Genjutsu.

So he could only exert himself physically.

But it didn't matter.

After all, he had long wanted to take a swing at Orochimaru...

Finally, when Orochimaru's aura completely faded away, Qingchuan stopped his blade.

"Calculating the time, Konan and the others should be back by now, right?"

With a raised brow, Qingchuan sheathed his knife, feeling in high spirits as he prepared to return to the Akatsuki base.

Just in time to announce the news about Orochimaru's "defection."

"Sigh..."

As he walked along the path, Qingchuan suddenly sighed.

"First, I helped Sasuke deal with Danzo,

"Then I forced Orochimaru to defect with Itachi's help.

"Truly indebted to you two brothers!"

Qingchuan felt somewhat helpless.

Had he unknowingly become a laborer?

Sigh... what a hard life.

No choice.

"Sooner or later, I'll make Sasuke learn Kido too, or else it would be such a loss."

Qingchuan glanced at the system interface.

Naruto seemed to be progressing quite rapidly recently.

At this rate, by the time Naruto graduated from the ninja academy, he would be able to harvest a hefty bundle of leeks.

However, the slots were still limited to just one.

His plan to turn little Sasuke into leeks also had to be put on hold.

But.

Before Qingchuan could close the system interface,

The tasks that suddenly popped up startled him!

[Side Quest: Revive Orochimaru. Reward unknown.]

[Side Quest: Defeat Rain Ninja. Reward unknown.]

[Side Quest: Shinigami's Inheritance 2.0, maximum inheritance slots increased to: 3.]

[Side Quest: Accumulate 200 billion explosive tags. Reward unknown.]

The first task, reviving Orochimaru, Qingchuan could somewhat understand.

After all, this guy wasn't dead yet.

Just the Heaven Curse Mark left within Anko was sufficient for his revival.

He just needed some methods, which should be available in the experimental data at Orochimaru's Akatsuki base.

The second task... wasn't too difficult either.

After all, it was the last mobilization before collecting the Tailed Beasts!

Nagato and Konan had started collecting the Tailed Beasts diligently; he could pitch in as well.

The third one required no further explanation.

With Naruto working so hard, it was only reasonable to find more leek seniors for him.

But the key was this fourth task:

Is that you, Kakuzu-san!

A strange feeling stirred within Qingchuan.

He felt like someone with a deep obsession had been watching him.

Always watching him!

It was ridiculous!

200 billion tags? Where am I supposed to find those?!

Konan could accumulate 600 million tags, but apart from Kakuzu helping with the funds, it was largely due to her own abilities!

She could create explosive tags herself!

Kakuzu's money was just a cherry on top!

And even if Akatsuki wanted to buy explosive tags, the Five Great Countries might not even sell them!

200 billion tags...

That was probably more than what had been used combined in several ninja world wars!

Qingchuan's expression darkened.

The system gave so many tasks at once.

This was indeed a good thing.

Tasks meant rewards, and the system's rewards had never disappointed him.

He now wielded a tenfold training buff, but he was still far from his peak power.

He couldn't use Shikai and Bankai freely without a sufficient level of spiritual pressure.

As a Shinigami competing with the Sage of the Six Paths,

He was still quite the junior.

Far from enough.

However, the difficulty of these tasks was indeed high.

The first three were manageable. With some wit, some technique, and a little professional pretense to fool the young ones, it wasn't hard at all.

But this 200 billion explosive tags task...

Ugh...

Qingchuan sighed helplessly.

He could only decide to take it one step at a time.

Feeling somewhat dejected, he returned to the Akatsuki base.

However, perhaps because he'd spent some extra time "communicating" with Orochimaru,

Konan and Nagato arrived back even earlier.

His frustration escalated once again, and riding that wave, Qingchuan immediately entered a serious state.

Seeing the girl's expression, they exchanged a glance, breathing a sigh of relief, while their gazes softened significantly.

"How was it, Haruko... was it, smooth?"

It was still Konan speaking.

As the only other female aside from the girl in Akatsuki,

Konan had clearly taken on the responsibility of an older sister.

Her gaze and tone were filled with concern, even...

a hint of heartache.

Beside her, Pain maintained his usual indifference,

but the unwavering gaze also revealed his care.

"Mm." Qingchuan responded softly,

his head lowering even further.

"Konan-sister, I completed the mission, but..."

He hesitated, wanting to articulate how Orochimaru had "defected."

But Konan apparently misunderstood something.

She reached out, stroking the girl's long hair, her voice incredibly gentle...

"It's okay... they were a bunch of damned scum; countless innocent lives were lost at their hands."

"Killing them will grant those innocent souls peace."

Nearby, Pain's eyes flickered with a hint of softness.

Having the girl deal with an enemy base,

he understood the feeling all too well—

he had experienced it himself.

But joining Akatsuki, she would face such things sooner or later.

Although her time in Akatsuki was short,

in Nagato's eyes, this girl who had killed Danzo and was forced to leave Konoha

rightfully belonged to Akatsuki.

She needed to grow quickly.

With his head bowed, Qingchuan froze for a moment.

He had never expected...

that someone would dare to touch his head?!

And this feeling—

why did it seem so similar to when he'd pat Naruto, Sasuke, or even Hinata?

A thousand thoughts flooded his mind.

In a stroke of luck, he decided to abandon any excuses and simply confessed.

"Konan-sister...

"Orochimaru attacked me, and then...

"He left!"

———— 🌟🌟 ————

ps:Support and join my Patreon

patreon.c@om/chenc11 [Remove @]

You can read up to 40 premium chapters.