Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 113 An Old Friend Arrives in Konoha (Fifth Update! Please Subscribe!)

Hattori Hirakawa.

A diligent and conscientious tool.

After Hanzo the Salamander was killed, Hattori Hirakawa, being the first to surrender, gradually began to be entrusted with important responsibilities by Konan and Uehara Naraku.

Today, he received another special mission: to act as a Jonin leader, guiding Uehara Naraku, Kaguya Kimimaro, and Haku to participate in the Chunin Exams.

This task left Hattori Hirakawa almost bewildered.

Does the future leader of Amegakure need to participate in the Chunin Exams?

However, Hattori Hirakawa was merely a tool; his only responsibility was to carry out tasks.

Aside from Uehara Naraku's team, there were no other ninjas from Amegakure participating in the Chunin Exams, because Uehara Naraku knew that this Chunin Exams would not be peaceful.

Even if the Fourth Kazekage is killed by him, the Konoha Crush plan is very likely to proceed as scheduled, after all, Uehara himself was the mastermind behind the Konoha Crush plan!

When Uehara Naraku made a deal with Ebizo under the guise of Shimura Danzo, he specifically reminded Ebizo that the Konoha Crush plan was an operation to push Danzo to become Hokage.

Add to that Granny Chiyo's hatred for Konoha...

No matter who wants to bring Konoha to its knees, Granny Chiyo will definitely lead the Sand Ninja to help them out; this is a debt left by Kakashi's father.

"This is your Genin registration certificate."

Konan handed Uehara Naraku a registration certificate and helped him adjust his Rain Ninja headband: "How did you convince Nagato to let you participate in the Chunin Exams?"

"Well."

Uehara Naraku patted his forehead and explained softly, "Lord Nagato told me that he would keep the Six Paths of Pain on standby at any time, so that he could summon the Six Paths of Pain directly whenever he encountered an insurmountable danger."

This is also related to Nagato's gradual recovery.

Six Paths of Pain requires Nagato to provide chakra, but now, thanks to Uehara Naraku's treatment, Nagato can fully support Six Paths of Pain's long-term actions, so there is no longer a need to put Six Paths of Pain in a secret room to reduce chakra consumption.

Hearing Uehara's words, Konan nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.

However, she still complained, "Nagato has been spoiling you more and more lately. If this continues, he'll spoil you rotten. Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, developed bad habits because she was pampered by her elders when she was young..."

"Teacher, I've grown up now."

Uehara Naraku glanced at Konan, somewhat speechless.

Over these four years, as Uehara Naraku grew up, his relationship with Nagato gradually improved. He would usually go directly to Nagato if he needed anything, and if he wanted to sneak out to play for a while, he would need Nagato to cover for him.

How should Uehara explain this to Minami?

Generally speaking, younger boys are more curious about women and prefer to play with girls; as boys get older, they realize that they prefer to play with other boys.

Nagato rarely bothered Uehara Naraku; he would only call Uehara Naraku to come to him when he had something happy to share.

For example, when it comes to weapon modifications in the Asura Path, Nagato likes to drag Uehara along to test the actual combat effects every time he successfully modifies a weapon. Guns and cannons are, after all, a man's romance.

So Uehara was always quite happy whenever he saw Nagato.

It's a pity I can't share these with Xiao Nan.

Konan is a woman who likes to fold different paper flowers and place them in Uehara Naraku's room as decorations, but Uehara Naraku doesn't even understand the meaning of each flower.

Compared to those beautiful paper flowers, Uehara actually preferred that Minami make him a simple grenade using explosive tags to play with.

If all else fails, you can make a bomb.

This wish is, of course, impossible to fulfill.

Uehara Naraku sighed and glanced at his ninja registration certificate. The photo inside showed him smiling with his eyes narrowed, looking very approachable. He really seemed like a good person.

Career Advancement Quest: Become a formal Genin (1/1). Quest completed. Reward: 100 Life Energy and 100 Chakra.

"..."

Uehara Naraku wasn't feeling well. He was already sixteen years old this year, so why did he still have an advancement mission? Had he been losing out big time these past few years?

"Alright, the weather's getting cooler, be careful tonight..."

Konan kept reminding Uehara Naraku of the precautions, and after they arrived at the meeting point, the gentle look on the woman's face vanished instantly.

Konan glanced at Kaguya Kimimaro, Haku, and the Jonin leading the group, Hattori Hirakawa, at the assembly point, and said coldly, "In this Chunin Exam, protect Naraku, understand?"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

"..."

Uehara Naraku couldn't help but pat his forehead. If something really happened during the Chunin Exams, he would have to protect these guys!

The tall tower in Amegakure Village.

Pain, pushing Nagato's wheelchair, appeared at the window, looking down at Uehara Naraku and his group as they left Amegakure. His gaze held a heavy, expectant weight: "Little one, you bear the future of Amegakure and Akatsuki on your shoulders. Fly away!"

Pain stood behind Nagato, calmly beginning to form hand seals and unleashing the Illusionary Body Technique to summon two Akatsuki members active near the Land of Fire.

Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha.

The two were somewhat puzzled when they received Pain's summons, but Pain explained their next mission directly.

"Uehara went to gather information for the Chunin Exams."

Pain's gaze slowly settled on Itachi Uchiha, and he said softly, "Your mission is to infiltrate the Land of Fire. If anything goes wrong during the Chunin Exams, immediately escort Uehara out of danger."

If Uehara is in danger, Pain shouldn't expose himself to Konoha right now.

Then we can only send one team.

Kisame Hoshigaki was a little speechless.

If Uehara Naraku were in danger, what use would he and Uchiha Itachi be?

Are they going to get themselves killed?

Kisame's teeth ached a little. Was his boss really that good at hiding? Four years had passed, and Pain still thought that intern in the organization was weak and frail?

"clear."

Uchiha Itachi nodded nonchalantly, since he also wanted to take this opportunity to return to Konoha and secretly meet Sasuke, who had become a ninja.

A while ago, Zabuza Momochi was injured by Kakashi Hatake. That guy claimed that the next time he encountered Kakashi Hatake and Team 7, he would kill them all.

Itachi Uchiha was somewhat worried about his younger brother.

Kisame Hoshigaki nodded, then his gaze shifted slightly to Itachi Uchiha, clearly indicating that he knew Itachi's thoughts.

Kisame Hoshigaki wouldn't expose Itachi Uchiha's true colors.

Amegakure is in the open, while Akatsuki is in the shadows.

Under the protection of both the overt and covert forces, Uehara Naraku crossed the border of the Land of Fire and arrived at Konoha Village, where the Chunin Exams were being held.

This was also his first time visiting Konoha Village.

Whether in terms of environment or scenery, Konoha Village, located in the most prosperous region of the ninja world, is clearly much better than Sunagakure, Amegakure, and Kirigakure.

"The air quality is pretty good."

Uehara Naraku leaped onto a boiler in a tall building, gaining a panoramic view of the entire Hidden Leaf Village. Below the Hokage Rock stood a small red Hokage building.

Side Quest: Arrive at Konoha (1/1), quest completed, reward 100 gold coins.

Side Quest: Find the best viewpoint in Konoha from Shippuden (1/1). Quest complete. Reward: 500 gold coins.

"This kind of task is so appealing!"

Uehara Naraku clenched his fingers. As expected of the most popular place in Naruto, just how many treasures are waiting for him to discover here!

Just as Uehara was in a good mood, Haku suddenly jumped up following Uehara's footsteps and whispered, "Uehara, the ninjas from Sunagakure have arrived too!"

"I see."

Uehara Naraku glanced down at the large number of Sand Village ninja.

The leader of the team was still Maki, and it seems that Maki's status has not declined much after Granny Chiyo took over the reins.

Following behind Maki were still Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, the three little guys, and the rest were just some unimportant people.

Uehara Naraku stroked his chin, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Tsk, looks like I should say hello to my old friend, lest he say something wrong and ruin my peaceful trip!"

(End of this chapter)