Survival is an instinct etched deep into the DNA of every intelligent being.
Pushed by this instinct, even a shut-in who had never killed a chicken in his past life could erupt with terrifying determination once thrown into a new world.
Thus, after transmigrating, the new Shinra adapted to life in the shinobi world with astonishing speed.
And then, he began to plan his path to survival.
First, according to the system's predictions, he was most likely to die in the Land of Rain, and most of those outcomes were tied directly to the Akatsuki.
So, a few months back, his first thought had naturally been to leave the organization.
But the very night he slipped away without saying goodbye, the probability of "death by retaliation from rogue shinobi of the Land of Rain" on the system's interface instantly shot past seventy percent!
Worse, the system began to generate brand-new death scenarios killed by Iwagakure shinobi, slain by Konoha shinobi, cut down by Sunagakure shinobi.
The "death by old age" entry flickered faintly, as though it was on the verge of vanishing altogether.
What a painful realization: the Akatsuki was his lifeline.
He understood then that leaving the organization would only hasten his death.
So, at dawn the next morning, he crept back to the Akatsuki's base, looking sheepish.
To outsiders, it was after that night that Shinra had begun to "blacken."
Since he couldn't escape, there was only one option left: change himself.
Rather than being crushed by conflict within, it was better to unleash madness on others.
After successfully manipulating his fellow Akatsuki members into going against Yahiko's orders and wiping out a group of rogue shinobi who had it coming, Shinra was delighted to see the system adjust again. The probability of his "death by retaliation from rogue shinobi in the Land of Rain" dropped by four percentage points compared to the start.
Most of that risk was redistributed into later outcomes deaths in Konoha, years down the line. And, for the first time, the chance of dying of old age actually rose, climbing to 0.2%.
A qualitative breakthrough his survival rate had doubled!
He also received the system's first reward.
It included slight physical enhancement, a small boost to chakra reserves, beginner proficiency in Ninjutsu Throwing, the Three Body Technique, Taijutsu, and Swordsmanship. In total, more than ten improvements.
Though he hadn't suddenly turned into a monster like Kizaru or Purple Dog from the games he loved in his previous life, he had finally shed the skin of a fraud and become a real shinobi.
Soon, he even rose to the rank of captain within the Akatsuki, which had only been founded a few short years ago.
More importantly, this gave Shinra a sense of direction.
Based on his own analysis, the root cause of Akatsuki's future downfall lay with its leader Yahiko.
This first-generation leader of the Akatsuki was too kind. Kind to the point of naivety.
He also held an unwavering attachment to his homeland.
Yahiko's dream, above all else, was peace across the shinobi world, and mutual understanding among people.
But second to that was always the rise of his homeland the Land of Rain.
The original history often noted his hope of lifting the Land of Rain out of endless suffering.
This blend of naivety and attachment left Yahiko indecisive whenever it came to internal struggles within the Land of Rain.
Against shinobi from other nations, the Akatsuki could act clear-headed, rational, even ruthless.
But when dealing with enemies from within their own country, Yahiko could never help but think too highly of people.
In Shinra's eyes, Yahiko's defenseless attitude toward Hanzō in the future was simply the natural continuation of what was already happening now.
Yahiko had indeed succeeded in preventing people of the Land of Rain from harming each other.
But when it came to others harming him, there was no mercy at all.
Once Shinra understood the root of the problem, he naturally began to change his own approach.
Over the past few months, the ideological clashes between him and Yahiko had grown sharper. The two had quarreled publicly many times.
Yahiko always wanted to grant the people of the Land of Rain another chance, believing his ideals could inspire them to change.
Shinra, on the other hand, wanted only to eliminate every potential threat that might kill him in the future.
Yahiko accused him of being too extreme. But Shinra thought Yahiko was the one who was far too conservative.
After all, the Akatsuki's second-generation leader would eventually be a madman who believed in the "theory of deterrence through overwhelming pain." If that man thought nothing of killing countless people to force the world to understand suffering, then Shinra hardly felt his own methods were excessive by comparison.
But Yahiko knew nothing of this future.
So when the latest mission report reached him, Yahiko was, unsurprisingly, furious.
"Damn it! Not a single prisoner captured, and then suddenly coincidentally a group of Iwagakure spies just happens to be wiped out completely on the way back? Not a single survivor?
That Shinra does he really take me for a fool?"
At that moment, Konan appeared, having stayed at the base to handle logistics. She asked softly,
"What's wrong, Yahiko? Is it about Shinra again?"
At this time, Konan was only fourteen no longer the sorrowful, elegant woman she would become, but still a budding beauty, gentle as a lily just beginning to bloom. Her kindness often acted as a salve, soothing the rifts that opened within the Akatsuki.
But this time, even in front of Konan, Yahiko could barely contain his anger.
"Yes, it's Shinra again! He found another excuse to kill all the surrendering captives. This is the fourth time this month!
Why does he have to be so extreme? Why can't he understand our ideals?
People can understand one another. Even if they go astray for a while, if they grasp our ideals later, they can still become our comrades. Wasn't that how all of us gathered together in the first place?"
Konan fell silent for a long while before finally offering comfort.
"Maybe Shinra is just rebelling for now. Remember, he wasn't like this before. With time, I believe he'll come to understand Sensei's ideals again."
The ideals of Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato and by extension, the Akatsuki itself had not been born from nothing.
They all traced back to their shared teacher, Jiraiya.
The tragedy was that Jiraiya had only passed on his ideals, but not the methods to achieve them.
Because he himself had no concrete answers for peace, he could only entrust his hopes to the vague prophecies spoken by the Great Toads.
Konan tried again to ease Yahiko's anger.
"Give Shinra a little more time. We still need his wisdom, don't we?"
For the Akatsuki, which lacked both a clear methodology and guiding principles, a strategist was invaluable. They desperately needed someone clever to chart a course and advise them.
That was the reason Shinra could still serve comfortably as a captain of the Akatsuki, despite his constant disputes with Yahiko.
No matter how questionable the "losses" during his missions, one fact could not be denied: over the past few months, not a single mission assigned to Shinra had ever failed.
Shinra had even stepped in to support other teams' missions on several occasions, offering solutions that, while morally questionable, were undeniably effective.
So, even as Yahiko simmered with anger now, he had to admit Konan was right.
"He… sigh…"
The room fell into a heavy silence.
After a long pause, Konan finally spoke in a careful tone.
"How about I join Shinra on the next mission? Maybe I can persuade him."
Yahiko thought it over for a moment. At last, he gave a weary nod.
"Very well. I'll leave it to you, Konan."