After recruiting all four ninjas, Charles looked at his ninja roster.
At this moment, there were quite a few ninjas not currently integrated or deployed, including: Naruto Uzumaki (Shippuden), Jinin Akebino, Jinpachi Munashi, Kushimaru Kuriarare, Pain (Asura Path), Neji Hyuga (Shippuden), Hayate Gekko, and Kosuke Maruboshi, making a total of eight ninjas.
Among them, Naruto could be left to play for a while without rushing to fuse him.
Neji didn't need additional battle positions.
Considering the three spots vacated by the sound ninjas who had perished, Charles would only need to unlock three battle slots to have enough.
Taking a glance at his remaining gold, he felt no concern and directly clicked the plus sign next to the battle slots.
Ding! Would you like to spend 56,000 gold to unlock a battle slot?
Yes!
Charles spent a total of 174,000 gold to unlock three battle slots.
Looking at the gold consumption, it was clear that recruiting ninjas was no longer the primary expense; instead, it was the tailed beasts and battle slots.
Luckily, when recruiting important ninjas, there were title rewards that could grant free battle slots, and with his stash of infinite gems, he could afford it.
With the battle slots sorted, the next step was to summon his ninjas and plan the next actions.
In the next moment, Charles's figure vanished from the room as he used Reverse Summoning to arrive in the Summoning Realm.
Upon reaching the Summoning Realm, Charles directly placed the cards for Jinin Akebino, Jinpachi Munashi, Kushimaru Kuriarare into the battle slots.
Ding! Please select the summoning position.
Charles chose not to place them elsewhere but summoned them within a three-meter radius around himself.
Soon, the figures of the three slowly materialized before him.
As they regained consciousness, they opened their eyes and, upon seeing Charles, all knelt down on one knee, saying, "Thank you, Lord Charles, for giving us life."
Clearly, these three were different from the other ninjas he had recruited earlier. These three had died at the hands of Might Duy, and their memories of death had just replayed in their minds.
In contrast, the other ninjas Charles had recruited were still alive and well.
Seeing the three kneeling, Charles nodded.
"Get up."
Once they stood, Charles took out Mei Terumi's outfit, the fifth Mizukage's hat.
"I have brought this hat for the fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi. Your next task is to deliver this to her and remain by her side to serve her."
Upon hearing that the fifth Mizukage was Mei Terumi, the three were taken aback, surprised that she had become the Mizukage, as before their sacrifice, she was still unknown.
"Yes, my lord."
Jinin Akebino stepped forward and took the hat representing the Mizukage's identity from Charles's hand.
Charles then pointed to the building he had previously constructed for Kumo ninjas and said, "Inside, there is information about this world and some actions of Kiri after arriving here."
"Once you understand the intelligence inside, you can execute your mission."
"Yes, my lord!" *X3*
The three then entered the building to begin learning about the world and understanding the information.
After arranging for the Kiri trio, Charles's gaze turned to Pain (Asura Path).
When he had recruited him, he had only received chakra without any additional gains.
As he placed Pain (Asura Path) into a battle slot and chose a three-meter summoning radius, the figure of Nagato's puppet slowly appeared before him.
Under Charles's watch, Asura Path gradually opened its eyes.
"Is this Asura Path-Pain, or is it Nagato?"
In response to Charles's question, Asura Path adapted to the body and slowly replied, "I am Asura Path, and I am also Nagato."
"Tell me the details."
Asura Path-Pain spoke, "I am Nagato; my will controls this body, but I cannot sense my original self, nor can I return to it. The other five bodies also cannot be sensed."
Then, Asura Path pulled out a black rod from his body and said, "This thing seems to have lost its function here."
Upon hearing this, Charles understood.
This meant that Pain's Six Paths could exist independently in this world, with Nagato's consciousness residing in them.
However, at this moment, he only had this one puppet body to control. If he recruited other Pain's Six Paths, they could operate in conjunction without needing the original body for remote control.
This way, without distance limitations, Pain's Six Paths would even be stronger than in the original story.
"Currently, I have only brought you back as this puppet body."
"But in the near future, your other puppet bodies, and even your original body, will be brought to this world."
At this moment, Charles thought of the ninja card for young Nagato, along with Konan and Yahiko.
He wondered if conflicts of ideology would arise between the Six Paths of Pain and young Nagato once he emerged or whether young Nagato would control Pain's Six Paths.
However, since he didn't have young Nagato in hand, he chose not to dwell on this but continued speaking:
"Apart from this puppet body, several core members of the Akatsuki organization have also come to this world."
Upon hearing that core members of the Akatsuki were present, Nagato's initially indifferent demeanor shifted to interest.
"I wonder which members of the Akatsuki you have brought, my lord."
In that moment, Nagato thought of his friend Konan, as well as Yahiko, who had already died.
Charles raised a finger and listed off, "Black Zetsu, Kisame Hoshigaki, Deidara, Itachi Uchiha, and Hidan."
Upon hearing these five names, Nagato's reaction was minimal. None of them had been recruited by him, and in his eyes, they could all potentially be traitors if they weren't held in check by strength.
It was only when Charles mentioned one name that Nagato became excited.
"Konan!"
Nagato exclaimed, "My lord, you brought Konan too!"
Charles nodded, "Not only Konan, but all core members of the Akatsuki will eventually arrive in this world."
"This world is not at peace either."
Upon hearing that this world was also not peaceful, Nagato immediately thought of war.
It seemed that no matter where one was, war had not faded away.
"My mission is to bring peace to the world, my lord. What do you need me to do?"
Charles smiled and casually took out an Akatsuki cloak made of vibranium from his storage space.
"This is the new attire of the Akatsuki, which has very strong defensive capabilities. I believe even if you were hit by a Rasengan, your body wouldn't be completely destroyed."
Upon hearing this, Asura Path stepped forward and accepted the cloak from Charles's hand.
Using his claws, Asura Path scratched the cloak but left no trace on it.
"Thank you, Lord Charles!"
Asura Path didn't hold back and directly put on the black cloak with red clouds.
"I imagine you are missing Konan the most right now. Let me take you to her."
Charles focused his thoughts and changed his appearance to the one he used to command the Akatsuki against the Ten Rings Gang, also wearing a mask.
Then, he placed a hand on Asura Path's shoulder and, using Hiraishin, pinpointed the location of the Akatsuki members, instantly leaving the Summoning Realm.