77: Chapter 77 ColleaguesAfter dealing with the Three-Tails, Naruto was in a great mood.His gaze swept over Deidara, who had a bruised and swollen face, and Suigetsu, who was still adjusting.
"Alright, we shouldn't stay here any longer."
He called out, "Pack up, we're getting ready to leave."
There's really nothing to tidy up.
The remains of Sasori's puppet were scattered all over the ground, and Naruto had no interest in retrieving them.
He simply walked up to the scorpion's body, which had lost its core and remained stiff, glanced at its exquisite, doll-like face, and casually tossed out a fire talisman.
Flames erupted and swiftly engulfed the body that yearned for eternity.
Deidara looked at the flames, his swollen lips moved slightly, but in the end he didn't say anything, and just silently lowered his head.
He understood the principle of "the victor is king, the loser is villain," but he still felt uneasy.
The three of them, along with a fresh-faced Jinchūriki and a recently surrendered artist, embarked on their journey back.
Throughout the journey, Deidara was unusually silent, no longer the loud and boisterous golden retriever he once was.
He would steal glances at Naruto every now and then, his eyes filled with complex emotions, his mind seemingly lost in thought.
Shuiyue spent most of her time looking inward at her own "code space," staring at the three-tailed creature inside that was still in a daze.
A few days later, in the warehouse area.
"Senior Afei!Where should we put these newly arrived training dummies?"
A young handyman asked in a loud voice.
"Okay!Place it in the third row of section F.Handle it gently and record the receiving number!"
Ah Fei held the list in his hand, still in the same tone, giving orders with composure.
After a period of "effort," he has successfully been promoted to a junior supervisor in the logistics department, overseeing several employees.
This made it easier for him to conceal his actions.
Just then, the warehouse door was pushed open, and Naruto walked in with Suigetsu and a.bruised and battered guy with golden hair like a bird's nest, wearing a tattered black robe with red clouds.
"President!" Afei immediately put on a fawning smile and went to greet him, his eyes quickly sweeping over Shuiyue and the pig-headed man.
He knew Shuiyue, but that idiot.
This terrible state must be from being beaten up by Naruto, right?
Wait… that outfit… the Akatsuki uniform?
Obito's single eye squinted beneath his mask.
Deidara also noticed the guy wearing an orange spiral mask and merchant guild uniform who seemed to be giving orders to others.
He frowned, thinking to himself: What kind of aesthetic does this chamber of commerce have?Do they hire people based on how bizarre they are?
Their eyes met briefly in mid-air.
Deidara: Whose mask is this?Huh?It looks kind of stupid.
Obito: Deidara?What's he doing here?And acting like this?
He was captured by Naruto Uzumaki?Wait.where's Sasori?
This place is practically becoming a re-employment base for laid-off workers organized by the Akatsuki!
Despite his turbulent inner turmoil, Obito remained outwardly composed, even displaying a perfectly measured hint of curiosity in his voice: "President, you're back!And who are these two?"
"Oh, let me introduce you."
Naruto pointed to Suigetsu, "This is Suigetsu, a long-time employee of our chamber of commerce.She just came back from a business trip."
Shuiyue, carrying the Exploding Blade, gestured with her chin towards Afei as a greeting.
Naruto patted Deidara on the shoulder again, the force making the latter grimace: "This is our new colleague, Deidara.He used to be an artist, but now he's abandoned his evil ways and joined our chamber of commerce."
"Afei, take him to familiarize himself with the Chamber of Commerce later, and while you're at it, get him some decent clothes; look at how tattered they are."
Deidara's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.
Ah Fei thought to himself: "Abandon darkness for light?I bet you've beaten him so badly he can't even take care of himself!Scorpion looks like he's in deep trouble."
His face lit up even more: "Leave it to me!Mr.Deidara, welcome, welcome!I'm Fei from the logistics department, nice to meet you in the future!"
He reached out his hand, wanting to shake hands with Deidara.
Deidara looked at his overly enthusiastic and silly appearance, then at his outstretched hand, and turned his head away in disgust."Hmph!"
Obito's hand froze in mid-air, his face beneath the mask darkening: This golden-haired pig, he's been beaten to a pulp and he's still acting all high and mighty?
Naruto took in the "friendly" first interaction between the two and was secretly delighted."Alright, Tobi, you can go ahead and get busy.Deidara, come to my office and we'll complete the onboarding procedures."
President's Office.
Naruto took out the familiar "Apocalypse Contract" scroll and pushed it in front of Deidara.
"Look, this is the Chamber of Commerce's rule.Once you sign it, you're one of us."
Deidara looked at the scroll that was clearly not right, feeling extremely unwilling.
But then he remembered Naruto's abilities and touched his still slightly aching cheek.
For art!
He took a deep breath, picked up the pen, and signed his name on the scroll.
The instant he put pen to paper, Naruto saw a similarly low, outrageously red number appear above Deidara's head:
Deidara: 2 (-)
Loyalty level 2!Only 1 point higher than that guy Afei!The trend is flat too!
Naruto almost burst out laughing.
Goodness, this plastic smell is exactly like Ah Fei's.
He smiled and nodded, putting away the scroll: "Very good!From today onwards, you are the director of the Apocalypse Chamber of Commerce's Explosion Art Research Institute!"
He snapped his fingers and instructed Shizune beside him, "Shizune, allocate the first batch of research funding to Director Deidara, 20 million taels."
"Approve another piece of land by the sea for him to build a research institute, with the highest defense standards, so he doesn't blow up his house."
Silently, she recorded everything without any expression.
When Deidara heard "twenty million taels" and "highest defense level," his swollen eyes lit up slightly.
Twenty million.twenty million?
They even have their own research institute?
This.this bastard is really generous!
Fine!I'll let him taste his power once I've used his money to create the ultimate art!
After arranging Deidara,Naruto also didn't forget to "take care" of another veteran employee.
He specifically instructed, "Sister Jingyin, from now on, you should personally oversee the institute's material requisition and expense reimbursement, especially the procedures handled by Afei.Make sure every single transaction is verified."
Shizune pushed up her glasses, her face serious: "Understood, President.I will conduct a thorough review."
Thus, Obito quickly learned what "happy troubles" meant.
He did indeed use his position to gain access to more information and resources, but Silent seemed to have transformed into a human censorship machine!
Every time supplies are allocated, Jingyin personally checks the quantity and specifications against the list.
She meticulously verifies the purpose and receipts for every single transaction, asking extremely detailed questions.
"Director Afei, this research institute's application for 'Chakra-conducting metal powder' states its purpose as 'optimizing clay structure.' Could you explain the optimization principle and expected effects in detail?We need to assess its necessity and the appropriateness of its dosage."
"Manager Afei, could you please provide the supplier's qualification documents for these purchased materials again?I need to confirm that their source is legal and their prices are in line with market standards."
"Manager Afei."
Obito was completely overwhelmed by Shizune, feeling like he wasn't doing infiltration but taking a logistics qualification exam!
He wanted to do something, but it became extremely difficult.
This is muting!Damn it!
Obito's headaches from Shizune increased dramatically.
Meanwhile, in Amegakure, Zetsu's pitcher plant form slowly seeped out from the moss-covered, damp walls.
"Payne."
"Scorpion, confirmed dead.Deidara.betrayed us and joined the Apocalypse Merchant Guild."
Pain, sitting in the shadows, had no thoughts revealed by his Rinnegan.
"Scorpion.failed too?"
"Hehe, Deidara actually surrendered?"
Bai Jue chuckled, "Looks like you got beaten pretty badly!But the Apocalypse Merchant Guild really doesn't discriminate; they'll take in anyone!"
Payne was silent for a moment, then his cold voice echoed, "It doesn't matter, it's just a pawn.We can discard it and find another one."
His gaze was directed toward the Land of Waves.
"When the time is right, I will go there myself and let the world know.what the wrath of God is."
"clear."
Jue's figure slowly sank into the ground.
Outside the window, the wind howled and the rain pattered, the two sounds mingling together as if playing a silent dirge for the departed members.
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