Chapter 53 Probation Period

The wind blew, lifting a few leaves from the ground.

The courtyard was already deserted. Logan stood in the wooden corridor facing the courtyard, surrounded by silence. Obito and Zetsu's visits seemed to be just an illusion, as they left just as quickly as they came.

Logan controlled his Chakra flow meticulously, feeling the 'foreign objects' deeply hidden on his body. These were the spores left by Zetsu. In this way, his actions reflected in Akatsuki's view will be clearer.

Logan agreed to join the Akatsuki at Obito's invitation, and Obito, who had completed the task, took Zetsu with him and immediately went to the more important Uchiha's side.

The slaughter unfolds as in the original work. It is only some Uchiha Clan's members who were plotting to rebel, but the remaining innocent people, old and young, will also die tonight.

After Logan finished washing up, he was not sleepy at all. He lay on the tatami mat for a while, thinking about the events of the night. A lot had happened tonight.

…

Not long ago, when he asked, 'How is the salary calculated?' the atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Although Logan couldn't see Obito's expression under the vortex mask, it was definitely amusing. Not to mention the stunned White Zetsu, even Black Zetsu, who had been silent from the beginning, had a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Obito and Zetsu even exchanged glances, 'What's going on? Was the salary treatment in Konoha so bad?' Obito even couldn't help but doubt his life, 'Was it really necessary to go through so much trouble to recruit an S-Rank expert before? We can just pay them directly instead?'

This was just a joke after all. Obito understood what Logan meant, but he also explained in an extremely awkward manner. Although he was straightforward when recruiting people, he had no idea how to talk about work benefits, salary calculation, and the like.

"Th-the organization will pay monthly... and the commission for completing missions is also high..."

"Oh, do you have insurance and benefits, as well as accommodation and meals when you're not going out?"

"..." Obito was stunned on the spot, speechless.

"Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything." Seeing Obito's frozen look, Logan felt secretly happy. Then, he put on a look of disgust and reluctance, "That's more or less the same."

"..."

After he no longer wanted to tease Obito, Logan ended this topic for the time being. The real focus was on what was to come.

…

"You're going to the Uchiha Clan's settlement?" After confirming he would join Akatsuki, Obito and Zetsu had finished giving instructions and were about to leave, when Logan suddenly spoke up.

Obito turned back with a meaningful look, "It seems like you know too. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just asking." Logan felt complicated inside. He might be a bit worried about Itachi, but then he thought about how he might become Itachi's teammate in the future, 'Sigh, it seems like I didn't need to say something sentimental like that 'take care' that night.'

White Zetsu laughed at the side, "It seems that you know a lot of information in Konoha, Hattori, and you also know that Uchiha Itachi will exterminate his clan. Our work will be smoother if you cooperate with the organization in intelligence matters in the future."

Obito nodded on the surface, but inside, he was more interested in Logan's calmness after knowing this news.

"Alright, you two can go now." Logan seemed a little annoyed with White Zetsu. Not only was he ugly, but he also always seemed annoying when speaking.

"Don't forget the organization's tasks." After leaving his spores on Logan, White Zetsu said so and left with Obito, disappearing into the night with a few jumps.

…

Logan lay on his back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He joined Akatsuki. He originally thought that he would follow Itachi and leave Konoha after tonight and start participating in the organization's current 'accumulating wealth' phase.

Logan even wondered if he would team up with Itachi, but unfortunately, what Obito said next was different from what he expected.

"You need to stay in Konoha for now. No one knows your identity at the moment. Carry on as usual and just send the intelligence on time."

Obito intended to use Logan's current identity as Konoha's Ninja to gather more information about Konoha. Logan couldn't help but roll his eyes at this. In the end, he still had to deal with Root's troubles. Of course, there was absolutely nothing Root could do to him in the village. He was a qualified and powerful ANBU after all.

As for whether it was Pain or Obito who ordered him to stay in Konoha, Logan could only comply, and Obito didn't even specify how long he would stay.

'Send some confidential matters of Konoha to Akatsuki...' Logan rolled over, realizing that he would have to do some uncomfortable espionage work.

Personality doesn't change overnight. Although he had joined the Akatsuki, Logan was aware that central authorities have little influence over local affairs. There are policies from above and countermeasures from below.

Logan was not a blind fan and knew about reality, so he wasn't enthusiastic about the tasks assigned by the Akatsuki.

Konoha had many good things, and if the Akatsuki saw Konoha as a future opponent, there was no need for Logan to perform exceptionally well. The romantic idea of sacrificing oneself for the organization's great cause didn't exist.

This might also be the Akatsuki's 'probation period' for him, but Logan didn't mind. After all, he wasn't a fresh graduate applying for a job at a company.

"Missing-nin." Logan muttered softly, but regardless, his identity was no longer the same as before. One day, he would have to walk with this title.

While Logan was still tossing and turning in his bed, Konoha Village became faintly noisy in the second half of the night. With his excellent hearing, Logan heard many people moving around, and there were also sounds of Ninjas jumping around on the rooftops.

Something big was happening with the Uchiha Clan, and soon, many people knew about it.

When the next day began, when ordinary people and ninjas returned to their daily routines, a piece of news spread like the wind throughout the entire Konoha Village.

Although the higher-ups deliberately suppressed it and no one dared to publicize it wantonly, the news that nearly all the Uchiha Clan's members died overnight, leaving only one survivor, gradually became known to the public. After all, it was impossible to hide the empty and desolate settlement.

Uchiha Itachi, this genius youth, will also bear all the blame, become a severely heinous Missing-nin. He escaped from Konoha and live in another way.

Regardless of the discussions among those who didn't know the truth (which made up 99% of Konoha's population), a few days later, as Logan passed by the once magnificent Uchiha Clan's settlement, he saw white cloth hanging at the entrance, wreaths laid out, and the ground was unusually messy.

Those who had been friendly with the Uchiha had all come to pay their respects in the past few days, with cries of both genuine and false grief lingering. What was ridiculous was that several higher-ups of Konoha, who had caused all this, also came to pay their respects.

Nowadays, the gate of Uchiha Clan's settlement has become deserted, losing its former vitality. Coupled with Konoha's deliberate efforts, people would eventually stop caring about this once sensational event.

Except for the only surviving boy.

'Uchiha Sasuke was probably still kneeling in front of the memorial, right?' Logan didn't know if he should go in. After all, he let these deaths happen.

The scene he saw with his own eyes was more impactful than the black-and-white pages of the manga and the anime on the screen.

Itachi chose a path he thought was a compromise for both sides, and indeed it was. The Uchiha Clan wasn't a traitorous clan. They still had glory and honor, and Konoha's peace continued to be maintained, with no opportunities for neighboring countries to take advantage of.

'What was the name of the author of Naruto again?' Logan clenched his fist, lowering his eyelids.

Taking another look before leaving, Logan remembered promising Itachi to guide Sasuke, 'But now, Sasuke was still immersed in grief and despair. You wanted your brother to grow up with hatred.' Logan sighed, feeling speechless and sympathetic, 'Itachi, you're really twisted.'