Naruto: Summoning System

The first thing Blake did when he woke up was go upstairs and knock on Yahiko's room. After a moment of silence, the door opened, revealing Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan within. Yahiko frowned slightly, his shoulders tense. "Listen, Blake, I really don't want to do this right now."

Blake's frown mirrored his, but he took a deep breath, pushed away all the negative thoughts, and stretched out a hand forward. "I'm sorry, Yahiko. I overreacted yesterday. I was just mad because it seemed like my opinion wasn't taken into account at all, especially considering that Nightmare is my summon."

Yahiko narrowed his eyes, studying Blake, but then sighed and took his hand. "I'm sorry too. How is Nightmare?"

Blake stepped inside, glancing at Nagato and Konan before taking a seat at the table. "He's alive. I unsummoned him and pushed all of my chakra into healing him yesterday. His limb seems to be regrowing." Relief colored his voice, though tension lingered in Blake's expression. He was happy for Nightmare, but not happy overall.

Konan smiled softly. "That's great news."

Nagato nodded, taking a sip of tea. "Your healing technique is unlike anything I've ever seen."

Yahiko's expression softened. "It's a relief. I'm sorry again, Blake. I don't want to go toe-to-toe with you all the time, but it's what I felt worked best in the moment."

Blake's smile was hollow. "Yahiko, I don't want to always fight with you either, but I stand by my opinion. Nightmare can't keep being used like this. I'm sure our enemies already know about him and are preparing. He's going to die at this rate, and you know it."

Yahiko's frown deepened as he glanced at Konan and Nagato. After a pause, he nodded. "I know. I was in a bit of a stupor myself yesterday. The attacks on the Rain Village have been growing more frequent, and it's getting harder to contain them. We've lost…many before your appearance. That's why I keep sending Nightmare as our front."

"Then let's work together to solve this." Blake's voice was steady as he met Yahiko's gaze. Konan poured tea for him, and he took a sip. "It can't keep going as it is now."

"I agree," Nagato added, his tone measured.

Yahiko exhaled heavily but nodded. "There is some good news, though. Hanzo the Salamander has commended our group. There's even a possibility of signing a peace treaty, uniting the Rain Village."

Blake almost dropped his tea. "Hanzo?"

"Yeah… Are you alright?" Yahiko asked, noticing Blake's sudden rigidity.

Konan glanced at him with concern.

"Everything's fine. I just pushed some chakra for Nightmare," Blake lied, his mind racing. So it was happening, at last. He wanted to warn them, to tell the truth, but he held back. He needed a plan first, a way to expose Hanzo without incriminating himself.

"Anyway, back to the topic." Blake's eyes hardened. "From now on, I want to attend the missions."

Yahiko's brows furrowed, and Konan and Nagato froze mid-sip.

"No," Yahiko said firmly. "When you came here, I expected you to have an actual plan in mind, not the same argument over and over. You're a liability, Blake. I know you're talented, but you won't keep up with us. It could bring disaster for both you and my team."

Blake had a cold expression on his face. "It's true. I might not keep up, but it's my decision. If I can't, then leave me. If I die, I die. But keeping me here won't make me stronger. I need experience. I can be useful to you. Konan, you know I am good at strategy."

Konan clearly didn't want to participate in this, as she averted her gaze.

Nagato interjected. "Respectfully, you don't even know any ninjutsu yet—"

Blake suddenly stretched out his hand, and within seconds, an ice dagger materialized in his palm. Nagato's eyes widened, and Konan gasped. Yahiko's gaze narrowed. "Ice?"

Konan spoke first, her voice awed. "I completely forgot to tell you, Yahiko, Nagato. Blake has a Kekkei Genkai of Ice, much to my surprise." She reached for the dagger, inspecting it closely. "Blake, did you learn to do this since yesterday?"

Blake nodded, his expression calm but resolute.

"That's incredible," Konan said, handing the dagger to Nagato, who inspected it with a mix of curiosity and reverence. He passed it to Yahiko, whose surprise was evident despite his effort to mask it.

"That's…a pleasant surprise," Yahiko admitted. "But it makes you even more precious. If creating this dagger is all you can do, it's not enough. I'm not letting you join the missions."

Blake's voice turned cold. "Then I'm not letting Nightmare join either."

Konan's eyes narrowed. "Blake—"

"We took you in when you were desperate, fed you and trained you."Yahiko's voice was sharp, almost a hiss.

"I know how it looks, Yahiko, but from my perspective, I'm in a prison. I'm not a kid. I'm older than all of you, yet I'm treated as such. My only summon keeps coming back injured, and one day he might not come back at all. IF we don't change how things work."

Yahiko glanced at Konan and Nagato, seeking support. Neither spoke.

"One time. That's all I ask," Blake said, raising a single finger. "I have analyzed all of the member of the Akatsuki, their weakness and strengths, and I know that I can devise a good plan in most of the situations you have faced so far. If I fail, I'll stay here until I'm ready. But I can't stand this anymore. Let me try and lead the Akatsuki. Just once. Trust me."

Yahiko's jaw tightened. "I'm the leader of the Akatsuki. I can't just leave their lives in your hands."

Blake's gaze was unyielding. "A true leader is someone who listens to their subordinates. Otherwise, he's just a tyrant. I know that you have grand plans and I am sure you will be successful, but in this world, there is always a person better than you at something. What a leader does is recognizes that talent and employs it under himself, instead of being ignorant of it."

"You really think that you can devise better strategy than I do?" Yahiko sighed, seemingly yielding. He glanced at Konan and Nagato, who both shrugged. What Blake said was arrogant, and Blake knew that, but without arrogance and confidence in yourself, achieving your goals is impossible.

"Just once," Blake repeated, his tone resolute. "Let me lead."

Yahiko stared at Blake for a long time, not breaking the eye contact, until Yahiko finally broke in and smiled. "If only I had as much confidence as you…" Nagato and Konan smiled too, as they nodded at Yahiko. Blake returned a smile as well, relieved that it had worked out. Slowly, but surely, he was getting a foothold into the Akatsuki. Now, it was the difficult part, where he actually had to produce results that he had promised.

"Today, you shall lead, then. You know the danger." Yahiko said the last part in a heavy way. Then Yahiko took out the map of the Rain Village and its surroundings and spread it open along the table. "We have been informed of a group of at least 30 Stone Shinobi ravaging around the village and ravaging the lands. Farmers and civilians dead…in a cruel matter."

"Around 30?"

Yahiko nodded. "A large group. This mission…has a lot of unknown factors. The strength and intention of the enemy is unknown. Their exact numbers fuzzy. Are you sure you can handle this, Blake?"

"Perhaps it would be better for you to try after this mission?" Nagato asked, yet Blake was not answering, as he stared at the map with concentration. His eyes fell on the red dots, which were his targets, and the surrounding vicinities. Blake put a hand on his chin, registering the forest nearby.

"It's a trap." Blake smiled. "I can do it."

-

At first, some protested against his command, but Yahiko reassured them that he trusts Blake. Whilst everyone was preparing, Blake was devising a plan that would shatter the enemies, completely shock them.

It was clear to him that the Stone Shinobi were waiting for the Akatsuki to come for them. What Blake noticed from analyzing the plan was that despite ravaging different farms, they never strayed too far away from the forest that was in the south of the Rain Village. The reports said their number were around 30, but it was, in fact, probably more. It was substantially larger than their group, though Akatsuki was individually stronger.

However, it was up to Blake to make sure everything went smoothly, and, for some odd reason, Blake felt confident. He liked being in control, enjoyed allocating people and devising plans. In this case, Blake was making sure that there would be no slip ups.

Fear is death.

-

Daichi Ishimaru, the co-leader of this expedition, was starting to feel impatient. They have ravaged at least 5 farms already, yet there was no response from the Akatsuki. Having been paid quite heavily by that guy from the Hidden Leaf, they couldn't afford to fail this mission. Yet, what could they do if those bastard weren't going to show up?

Cowards.

Daichi made a mental note to himself to talk with the boss once they come back. Perhaps there was a need to change the tactics. As Daichi thought about this, the sight of the 6th farm came into view. Daichi stared at the empty streets and abandoned crops. Yet, despite that, Daichi could feel the people hidden within the houses.

They had heard of the nearby ravaged farms, yet what could they do? Run away? Run away where? They would die of starvation or would just be killed off by some bandits. This place was war-torn and Daichi hated it with his entire soul. Yet, this was a place that earned money, and Daichi never got betrayed by gold.

Looking at his comrades, who looked nothing like proper shinobi, but rather like some hunting dogs, Daichi smiled. "Kill them all, leave no on alive. Take the crops, steal all the food and anything shiny that catches your eyes. Have fun, friends."

It didn't take long for the shinobi to start running. Daichi remained standing, overlooking the expanse as he took out a cigarette from his pocket. Lighting it up, Daichi started walking towards the farm with a carefree expression. Once he came closer, he expected shouting, yet he heard none of that. The blood was in the air.

As Daichi inhaled the nicotine, he began to notice the fog. It didn't take him long to realize that it was artificial, as he spat out the cigarette immediately, grabbing his kunai. Daichi realized that it was silent, not a single sound in the air. Sweat began to build up on his brows as he began to wonder what the hell was going on.

Daichi tiptoed to one of the house, opened it, and, to his horror, he saw two Stone Shinobi laying on the ground, their throats slit. Blood was everywhere, making Daichi's stomach churn. He looked around wildly, as he run out of the house and then entered another one, being presented with an even more horrible scene.

Daichi was prepared to fight at a moment's notice. He run out of the house, looking around the annoying fog, until making a few hand signs and opening his mouth. A burst of air escaped from his mouth, dispersing the fog in front of him. As it disappeared, though, Daichi saw a huge monster rushing towards him on all fours, quickly crossing the distance towards him.

He immediately understood who was the creature. Nightmare, a member of the Akatsuki.

Daichi promptly made a few more hand signs, pressing his hands against the ground. The ground beneath Nightmare suddenly convulsed and stone spike rose from underneath, penetrating the monster's body in multiple locations. However, the Minotaur suddenly puffed into smoke, leaving a chunk of wood.

At the same time, a roar engulfed the entire farm, forcing Daichi to widen his eyes as he felt danger from the right. He turned his eyes side-ways, seeing an axe slicing towards his head. Daichi ducked promptly, yet a kick followed immediately that connected with his nose, sending him flying away as he rolled on the ground.

He stood up promptly. The fog had engulfed the entire expanse again, blocking his vision. The monster was no longer visible, yet Daichi could see shapes standing on top of the houses, staring at him. Daichi stood, his nose bleeding, looking at the enemies that were surrounding him.

To hell with this. Daichi turned around suddenly and began sprinting out of the farm, not looking back. A few ninjutsu fell on him as he advanced but Daichi maneuvered through them, until he was on the field. The ominous rain kept falling down from the sky, and he kept running, his face hurting. Daichi run and run, until he was in the forest, searching for his teammates that were waiting in ambush.

He spotted them, rushing towards his boss.

The man spotted him, running towards him.

"What the hell happened, Daichi?! Where is everyone?"

Daichi's was shriveling.

"The Akatsuki! They ambushed us, we have to retre-"

Suddenly, the boss's eyes widened, as he stared at Daichi's body. Only then did Daichi look down on himself. His heart leapt out of his body. There were explosive papers stuck to his body, and, not just one, but multiple. Before the boss could get away, the papers ignited and a huge explosion resounded throughout the forest.

Daichi exploded into dust, whilst the boss was repulsed away, half of his body missing.

The 40 Stoni Shinobi came out from behind the trees, their eyes wide as they stared at the remains of the their leaders. Yet, they had little time to think. The ground beneath them, which was already muddy due to rain, turned into an earth swamp. Almost all of the shinobi got stuck within the mud, when they felt a gust of wind surrounding them.

And…then it was all ablaze.

A huge fire tornado materialized out of nowhere, burning everyone within the forest. The shinobi tried to build a stone wall around themselves, yet they simply trapped themselves, unable to breathe. The few that managed to run away were promptly killed off by Akatsuki in close melee, ganged 3-1.

The forest burned, mixed with the cries of the burning men.

Until, suddenly, it was quiet. The fire tornado disappeared, leaving only burned bodies and blazing trees behind. All was ash. The rain pouring from the sky forced the fire to disappear, but the battlefield remained black.

Blake came out from behind the tree, followed by Nightmare.

He stared at the bodies, the blackness of it all, of what he had done.

His stomach churned. He had killed so many, so ruthlessly. They burned alive, not even knowing what had happened. Yet, Blake's triumph overcame his feelings of regret. It was the only way to survive in this world.

He had done it.

Bending down, Blake grabbed a pack of cigarettes laying on the ground,

He took one out, lighting up on one of the burning trees. Nagato, Konan and Yahiko came out from behind him, staring at his back as a puff of smoke escaped his lips. The trio trained by Jiraya exchanged glances, as they stared at Blake's back.

It was a flawless mission. Cruel perhaps, but not so much more cruel than what they had done. Blake had predicted where the Stone shinobi were going to loot next, evacuated the civilians and easily coordinated the attacks to kill them.

Then he forced one of the shinobi to retreat, whilst Konan planted some explosives on him. Since the man was in dissaray, he hadn't noticed it. Then, the man brought straight them to the camp, and, under Blake's command, Nagato and a few other Akatsuki members created that vortex.

Zero casualties. No, rather, zero injuries. And they were barely tired. Yahiko didn't even participate in the battle, except of creating that fog. Yahiko stared at the dead bodies. He wanted peace for the Rain Village, and he wanted it done diplomatically, but the world only understood battles and pain.

And, Blake was, clearly, capable of invoking both with grace.

It was scary.

"From now on," Yahiko stepped forward, making eye contact with the Akatsuki who revealed themselves behind the trio. "I name Blake the Strategist of the Akatsuki. Everything involving plans and battles will be under his jurisdiction."

The Akatsuki nodded without thinking. They had seen what he had done.

Everyone knew that Blake wasn't that strong, yet they…would not want him to be on the other end of the battlefield.