The so-called "Public Knowledge" program was a classic strategy of cultural propaganda fused with ideological warfare—an approach long overused and twisted by powerful foreign entities on Earth. Many nations had suffered under it.

But that's beside the point—this is the ninja world, and here, the effect was even more devastating.

Because in this world, most villages never even considered information warfare as a serious threat. For them, destruction could only be brought through force. Everything else—diplomacy, media, culture—was just noise.

That's why the "Public Knowledge" journal was met with virtually no resistance when it launched. It started in the Hidden Leaf Village, but soon spread to all corners of the ninja world wherever the Leaf's Game Merchants had reach.

Most villages didn't even have regulations for vetting literature, so books like this were freely circulated. Sure, occasionally a local authority might get offended and ban a specific issue, but the Leaf had anticipated that.

They'd already approved generous budgets to ensure their regional reps could smooth things over with the local powers. With enough coin on the table, most leaders—who still had no grasp of how dangerous cultural influence could be—simply gave the magazine their blessing. Some even read it themselves and found it amusing.

Even if it occasionally pointed out flaws in their own countries, it did so with evidence and with a tone that seemed like constructive criticism. So… they didn't mind. Not really.

What hit the hardest were the little stories tucked in the pages—tiny glimpses of why the Hidden Leaf was such a powerful village.

One story said even kunai had to be washed three times before reuse.

Another described a modest ramen shop where people treated each other with surprising kindness and warmth.

These little things, which readers learned to call "human warmth," deeply moved many. Though most would sigh and then go about their day, not everyone brushed it off.

Because for those who could read, those with enough knowledge to understand some nuance—but not enough to improve their lives—the damage hit different.

To them, the Leaf Village began to seem like a promised land.

An ideal village they imagined over and over in their minds, fed by the imagery in those stories. That yearning gave birth to a new kind of person:

The Spiritual Leaf-Nin.

Not everyone became one out of admiration for Leaf's so-called warmth or unity.

Some were moved by more... practical factors.

Take one example: a man named Kakuzu.

Yes, *that* Kakuzu—the infamous bounty hunter of the Akatsuki. The man obsessed with money.

Of course, this was before he joined the Akatsuki. Back then, Kakuzu was still a freelance rogue ninja, highly feared and well-known in the underground world.

He was the kind of man always on a job. If he wasn't out collecting a bounty, he was on his way to collect one.

The underground world was used to his methods. People feared him, sure, but as long as there wasn't a bounty on their heads, he wasn't a threat.

But recently… something strange had happened.

Kakuzu had stopped taking jobs.

This was unthinkable.

A man like him suddenly going quiet? Everyone feared the worst. Maybe he was preparing something massive. Maybe *they* were the target.

But the truth was... Kakuzu had a dream.

"I want to become... a proud citizen of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

Yes. That was his actual thought at the time.

Why?

Because everyone knows Kakuzu loves money. Watching his wealth grow gave him the kind of satisfaction most people can only dream of.

He used to earn through murder—taking on assassination jobs from the black market. After he defected from Takigakure, he became one of the most infamous bounty hunters alive.

But it's not that he *couldn't* make money another way.

In truth, Kakuzu was a financial genius. He understood business. He just couldn't openly engage in it, because he was a wanted criminal.

If he built a business empire, it'd be like painting a target on his back.

He couldn't even hide behind proxies. Not with his reputation. The moment the big villages caught a whiff of his involvement, they'd crush him.

Partnering with smaller villages wasn't safe either. They had no power to protect him. Eventually, some major nation would come knocking and take everything away in the name of justice.

That's why he never tried.

Until the Leaf's Game Merchants approached him with an offer.

They wanted to make him a licensed distributor. A business under their name. Selling their products. Running arcades.

Kakuzu thought it was a trap.

But they were persistent. And they seemed... sincere.

Eventually, he decided to test the waters. He invested a small amount to set up a storefront. And to his shock, the deal was legit.

They gave him stock. Gave him territory. Gave him support.

They treated him like a partner.

He couldn't understand it. Was this some kind of ploy?

It wasn't until Minato Namikaze—the future Fourth Hokage and the Leaf's Golden Flash—personally visited him that Kakuzu began to relax.

Minato explained: they wanted him as a black-glove operative. Someone who could move goods the Leaf couldn't openly deal with.

In short: use his bad reputation to their mutual advantage.

Kakuzu liked that. Because if they needed him, they wouldn't kill him. Not yet.

And if both sides were using each other? That was fine.

He built his business. It exploded in success. And he started making more money than he ever did as a bounty hunter.

For the first time in his life, Kakuzu could *use* his talents.

He found it exhilarating.

If not for the need to maintain his notoriety, he might've quit the bounty life entirely. That's why he'd been taking fewer and fewer missions lately.

He was happy. He was satisfied. He was… a *Spiritual Leaf-Nin*.

And he owed it all to Lord Kei.

Yes—Uchiha Kei.

Minato had told him plainly: it was Uchiha Kei who recommended him as a first-level agent.

So naturally, when Lord Kei sent him a personal message one day, Kakuzu dropped everything.

He respectfully accepted the scroll from a Leaf shinobi and read it carefully.

What it asked was simple: help a group of youths from the Land of Rain by selling them goods at cost. Let them resell those items back home.

It was smuggling, essentially. Something the official Leaf Game Merchants couldn't touch.

But for Kakuzu, this was child's play.

Still, since it came directly from Lord Kei, he decided to take it seriously.

He even met the group in person.

And that's when he learned the name of their organization:

Akatsuki.

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