Chapter 157: Self-Introduction

This is a female member of the organization!

Almost instantly, Shisui and the others came to this realization.

However, due to a current lack of intelligence, apart from knowing that everyone present was a member of Terra, they had no idea of each other's true identities.

Consequently, the atmosphere remained somewhat heavy and silent, with no one choosing to speak first.

Watching this scene through the perspective of Uchiha Jun, whom he was controlling, Uchiha Li felt quite satisfied.

He had personally and secretly recruited Shisui and the others into Terra.

Naturally, none of the members of such an organization would want their true identities to be exposed to too many people.

Uchiha Li himself also preferred that everyone not recognize each other directly so early on, as this would be detrimental to his control over them.

Therefore, Uchiha Li established a secretive tone for the Council of Terra Apostles.

In fact, having Shisui and the others wear cloaks and apostle masks was merely the most basic safeguard.

Earlier, when invoking the authority of Terra, he had already distorted the "rules" surrounding the entire Apostle Hall.

At this moment inside the Apostle Hall, upon closer inspection, a faint layer of white mist could be seen hovering over everyone's bodies.

This mist could not be penetrated by sensory abilities, meaning that when anyone looked at another person, they would only see an indistinct figure.

Of course, relying on this alone was not enough.

After all, all the current members of Terra hailed from Konoha, and some were even close friends in reality.

Under such circumstances, the moment anyone spoke, their identity would inevitably be exposed.

Therefore, the function of the white mist went beyond merely blocking line of sight; it also possessed a "filtering" effect on voices.

If someone spoke, even without any personal disguise, the white mist would help mask their voice, rendering it indistinguishable.

The silent atmosphere persisted. Feeling that the time was right, Uchiha Li returned his consciousness to his main body.

Accompanied by a swirling surge of mist, he stepped into the Apostle Hall.

Hearing the footsteps, everyone instinctively turned to look in the direction of Uchiha Li.

"Caros is unable to attend today. Today's meeting shall now commence."

Gazing at the crowd, Uchiha Li spoke while gently waving his hand.

The white mist throughout the Terra space surged once again.

The white conference table from the previous meeting with Kakashi, accompanied by fourteen chairs, instantly took shape.

Facing this sight, the three individuals below fell into different states of contemplation.

Shisui and Kakashi had both witnessed the leader use this technique before, so their focus was primarily on the leader's words.

Namely, Caros, represented by Uchiha Li, was not among them.

"Li isn't even here. I wonder what he's busy with?"

Shisui and Kakashi harbored very similar doubts inwardly.

Itachi, on the other hand, had initially been thinking about Uchiha Li, but the sudden appearance of creation out of thin air startled him.

"Oh no..."

Itachi quickly collected himself and forced his expression back to calm.

However, under these circumstances, everyone was attentively observing one another, so this reaction was naturally noticed.

"He has never seen the leader use this trick before," Shisui thought, fixing his gaze on Itachi and arriving at a judgment.

Kakashi also turned his head toward Itachi, thinking, "His reaction is identical to mine the first time I witnessed this power, so he must be a newcomer."

Giving it some thought, Uchiha Li also directed Uchiha Jun to observe Itachi.

In an instant, the gazes of all three swept over Itachi, each making the same observation.

Itachi's expression turned slightly grim as he realized his reaction had exposed some information.

At that moment, Uchiha Li took the seat at the head of the table first. Without giving them much time to think, he directly commanded, "Everyone, please take your seats. There's no need to be nervous; there will be many meetings like this in the future."

With that, Uchiha Li first controlled Uchiha Jun to sit in the seat engraved with the statue of Hilder, setting an example for the others.

Seeing the female member act with such familiarity, Shisui, Kakashi, and Itachi all mentally tagged her as a veteran member.

Following suit, they each took their respective seats as best they could, trying to remain poised and minimize the amount of information they might leak.

None of them wanted to make a blunder and expose themselves like the new member had.

If their real-world identities were guessed, unexpected complications would inevitably arise.

Witnessing this scene, Uchiha Li nodded inwardly with satisfaction.

Thus far, everything was unfolding essentially within his expectations.

Every single apostle successor he had carefully chosen was an elite among elites, naturally understanding the importance of keeping their identities confidential.

"Due to the addition of new members, according to the rules of the Apostle Council, everyone shall state their titles to avoid any cases of mistaken identity."

Having said this, Uchiha Li gestured toward the motionless Uchiha Jun.

The persona he had built for Uchiha Jun was that of a "founding elder" of Terra, capable of handling certain guiding duties that were inconvenient for him as the leader.

Controlling Uchiha Jun, a somewhat cold and indifferent voice emerged, filtered by the white mist: "The Second Apostle, 'Crying Eye' Hilder."

Having spoken briefly, he returned Uchiha Jun to a standby state.

Meanwhile, hearing this hazy and peculiar voice, Shisui and the other two roughly understood the function of the white mist surrounding them, while also memorizing the name.

"Judging by her actions, this entity named Hilder must have joined Terra quite a long time ago," Shisui subconsciously analyzed.

"Crying Eye... judging by the codename, perhaps her ability is related to emotions?" Kakashi silently pondered.

Finally, there was Itachi. After listening to Uchiha Jun's speech, while thinking, he felt a twinge of internal conflict.

Perhaps the others hadn't realized anything yet, but once he spoke...

Contemplating the name and gender of the apostle assigned to him, Itachi could only comfort himself by thinking it would be fine.

After all, apart from Uchiha Li, no one else knew his true identity.

Returning his consciousness to his main body, Uchiha Li nodded at his clone and signaled for Shisui to speak.

Seeing this, Shisui took a subtle breath and spoke softly, "The Tenth Apostle, 'Explosive Dragon King' Bakal."

"It's him—the author of *The Legend of Terra*!"

The moment Shisui finished speaking, Kakashi and Itachi quickly focused their attention on him.

Both of them had heard of the name Bakal, especially Kakashi, who was intimately familiar with it.

Among his book collection was a copy of *The Legend of Terra*, rumored to be autographed by Bakal himself.

Kakashi had long wished to meet the talented individual capable of writing such a masterpiece.

Although Itachi hadn't personally read the wildly popular book over the past two years, Bakal's name had already become famous shortly after its publication. Combined with his joining Terra, Itachi had naturally taken the time to look into it.

Therefore, he was well aware that a figure named Bakal existed within Terra, and that he was also an author!

Noticing the sudden concentration of gazes upon him, Shisui recalled the events of the past and let out a silent sigh.

He had known that once certain things happened, they would become indefensible...