Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 144 Yesterday I killed Danzo, today I'll kill Hiruzen! (Fourth update! Bonus chapter for donations!)

Rock Lee's intelligence is clearly incomprehensible.

Just as Uehara Naraku thought another exhilarating battle was about to begin, Rock Lee suddenly gritted his teeth and knelt down on the ground: "Uehara-senpai, I don't want to hurt you, please stop!"

Does this guy kowtow first when he meets someone?

Uehara Naraku remained strangely silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "We are all from our own villages, Li, you should know that I have no way out."

Looking at Lee, who was sobbing with his head down, Uehara Naraku gently advised, "Lee, stand up! I know you are now able to reopen the forbidden technique. Only by fighting to the death for our respective villages can we live up to our original aspirations as ninjas."

Uehara Naraku glanced at one of his side quests and shouted, "Li, if you hold back, I'll think you're looking down on me! Stand up! Stand up now, or I'll look down on you!"

Rock Lee slowly raised his head, gritted his teeth, and his chakra exploded as if it were solid, his aura instantly scattering the seats in the audience: "I'm sorry, Uehara-senpai, I will grant your wish... Fifth Gate, Gate of Closure - Open!"

This time, after Rock Lee opened the Eight Gates, he was clearly well-prepared and trained, and his condition was much better than it was a month ago.

At least for now, his body is able to withstand the power of Du Men.

Unfortunately, Rock Lee can only open the fifth gate, the Gate of Closure. If he could open the sixth gate, he might be able to put up a fight with Naraku Uehara. Right now, he's not quite up to par!

"Konoha Power Cyclone!"

A strong gust of wind suddenly swept towards the upper plain!

Uehara Naraku suddenly clenched his arms, activating his spiked defense mode. An orange mesh-like shield protected his body, allowing Rock Lee to kick him!

The immense recoil force sent Rock Lee flying backward!

Uehara Naraku curled the corners of his mouth, leaped up, and slammed his arm into Rock Lee, using the momentum to send him flying even further away. Rock Lee crashed into half of the audience seats and landed on the ground.

Rock Lee in his Du Men state only possesses Jonin-level strength, and against Uehara Naruto, he has virtually no chance of putting up a fight...

"I'm sorry, Lee."

After defeating Rock Lee in two moves, Uehara Naraku flew towards the Four Purple Flame Formation. If he didn't get there soon, the Third Hokage would perish together with Orochimaru!

Side Quest: Defeat Dumbo Lee Rock (1/1). Quest complete. Reward: Tough Hands skill.

Strong Wrist: Increases the strength and attack speed of the right hand by accumulating chakra. Skill cooldown time is 1 second, minimum chakra consumption is 100 points.

Uehara Naraku really doesn't know how to comment on this.

Is this skill really called "Tough Hands" instead of "Single for Twenty Years"? Besides, he can already use chakra to enhance his power!

It's just that the skill control isn't as precise.

Uehara Naraku flew up and landed above the Four Purple Flame Array, raised his right arm, and smashed his fist down on the Four Purple Flame Array with a white light on it!

Click!

A clear crack appeared on the Four Purple Flame Array!

The next moment, the entire Four Purple Flame Array exploded!

The Sound Four were defeated and coughed up blood because the Four Purple Flame Formation was broken!

Orochimaru raised his head with a furtive look, staring at the young Rain Ninja who had shattered the Four Purple Flame Formation with a single punch, and gritted his teeth in hatred: "That bastard Uehara Naraku!"

Orochimaru was still beating up Hiruzen Sarutobi, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju and the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, who were being controlled by Edo Tensei. Just when it seemed that the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to give up, Uehara Naraku came to disrupt his plans again!

"Orochimaru, I'm here to help you!"

Uehara Naraku slowly lowered his head, looked at Orochimaru, and said, "Someone has offered a very high price to help you kill the Third Hokage."

"I don't need it."

Orochimaru shook his head, pointed at the helpless Hiruzen Sarutobi, and said coldly, "Can't you see that I'm about to kill him?"

"This isn't a question of whether you want it or not."

Uehara Naraku looked at Orochimaru and calmly said, "Orochimaru, you should understand what I mean. No one dares to refuse my help."

Orochimaru: "..."

If it weren't for the critical moment, Orochimaru would have loved to teach Uehara Naraku a lesson using the impure world puppet bodies of the First and Second Hokage!

Unfortunately, he was afraid of encountering the same situation as four years ago... What if Uehara Naraku summoned that giant shark that could devour souls again? Wouldn't he have to fail again?

Orochimaru bit his lip in frustration and said coldly, "Uehara Naraku, just tell me, what exactly do you want?"

"You don't understand what I'm saying?"

Uehara Naraku frowned, then looked down at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was desperately trying to fight in the distance, before his figure vanished into thin air.

The next moment, Uehara Naraku's figure appeared behind Sarutobi Hiruzen with a Shunpo, a chakra broadsword appeared in his hand, and he was about to pierce through Sarutobi Hiruzen's chest with a fierce sword!

However, this elderly man, who was already in his twilight years, was remarkably sharp!

No, he simply ducked to avoid the attack, then gripped the Vajra Staff, the weapon of the Monkey Demon, to block Uehara Naraku's attack!

"What you're doing seems to be completely pointless..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Naraku Uehara, his brows furrowed, and said in a deep voice, "These past few days, I thought you would be a friend of Konoha."

"I apologize, Hokage."

Uehara Naraku sighed and said in a low voice, "Out of consideration for the Hokage's impending death, I will tell you. It is because your village's Lord Shimura Danzo has offered some conditions that our Amegakure cannot refuse!"

"Danzo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened instantly as he recalled his old friend's ways.

Many years ago, Shimura Danzo began to covet the position of Hokage. Now, that shameless bastard launched the Konoha Crush Plan to assassinate him, the Hokage, in order to get Sunagakure, Orochimaru, and Amegakure to join forces. Just how much of Konoha's interests did he betray?

But now is not the time to think about these things.

Hiruzen Sarutobi needed to stabilize the enemy first. He dodged the encirclement of the First and Second Hokage and spoke up to Naraku Uehara: "Don't you know that Danzo disappeared or was even killed last night?"

As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, he swept his Vajra Staff horizontally, temporarily forcing Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju to retreat!

However, taking advantage of this opportunity, Uehara Naraku once again used Shunpo to appear behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, and his chakra broadsword suddenly pierced through his chest!

With the Four Purple Flame Formation broken, Uehara Naraku has no time to waste!

"Of course I know that Shimura Danzo was murdered."

Uehara Naraku leaned close to Hiruzen Sarutobi's head and whispered, "Shh, don't tell anyone, because I killed him last night!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to look at Naraku Uehara with an incredulous expression, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked puzzled and asked, word by word, "So what exactly is your purpose in doing this now...?"

"I just want to kill you."

Uehara Naraku stood behind Sarutobi Hiruzen and said with a light laugh, "For the sake of a greater goal, Amegakure cannot be an enemy of Konoha for the time being, so I need to think of a way to kill you without letting Konoha hold me accountable."

"you…"

"Alright, Shimura Danzo isn't moving very fast yet, so go find him in peace!"

Uehara Naraku abruptly drew his purple broadsword, staring at the large pool of blood on Sarutobi Hiruzen's chest, and whispered, "Oh, and forget about that stupid talk about the Will of Fire. I've prepared a special gift for your funeral arrangements!"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi bulged out his eyes and stared fiercely at Naraku Uehara.

However, in such a severely injured state, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer able to retaliate, and could not even utter a word. He could only stare at Uehara with hatred in his eyes.

A moment later, his hand gradually loosened, and he fell silent.

The Third Hokage, who held power in Konoha for over forty years, leading the village to its peak and then witnessing its fall, died here.

The Monkey King's Vajra Cudgel on the ground trembled, revealing one eye that glared fiercely at the ruthless Uehara Naraku before dissipating into a puff of smoke...

While others didn't know what Uehara Naraku said, it heard it all clearly!

However, a fist gleaming with white light slammed into the Vajra Ruyi Cudgel!

This supposedly indestructible Vajra Ruyi Cudgel shattered instantly, turning into countless fragments; it was utterly dead.

Uehara Naraku glanced at the shattered Vajra Staff and sneered, "Sometimes I wouldn't even spare a dog, let alone a monkey..."

Advanced Quest 5: Kill the Five Shadows (3/5), quest incomplete, reward unknown.

Side Quest: Defeat the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi (1/1). Quest complete. Reward: Unlock the Synthesis Furnace feature.

This is getting a bit complicated!

The skill synthesis feature is practically a lottery!

Uehara Naraku glanced at the system panel. The Synthesis Furnace was supposed to fuse three skills or summoning contracts together and then randomly generate a skill.

Side Quest: Defeat the Ape Demon King's Spirit Beast (1/1). Quest complete. Reward: Spirit Contract with the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong (Samadhi True Fire).

Summoning Contract: Summon the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong (Samadhi True Fire), consuming 3000 Chakra points.

Uehara Naraku frowned, somewhat puzzled. This was a summoning contract with a skin? So how strong was it really? Perhaps he could try it out when he captured the Four-Tails Son Goku of the ninja world in the future?

"Uehara Naraku, what exactly is your purpose?"

Orochimaru manipulated Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju to stand in two different positions, wary of Uehara Naraku summoning the shark to devour their souls, so that at least he could retain one of his fighting forces should something go wrong.

"Are you really unable to understand human language? I'm not here to target you."

Uehara Naraku shook his head. How could he possibly target Orochimaru now?

He had already planted Kabuto Yakushi next to Orochimaru, just waiting for Orochimaru to start fighting Black Zetsu in order to obtain White Zetsu. How could he possibly weaken Orochimaru's fighting power?

One of the reasons Uehara killed the Third Hokage was because he was worried that Orochimaru would be affected by the Third Hokage's counterattack before his death.

After all, he'd been tricking Orochimaru for so long, now he had to be a good guy!

Uehara Naraku turned to Orochimaru and said, "Leave this place! Or are you planning to take the Third Hokage's corpse with you and use the Impure World Reincarnation technique?"

"Hehehehe... How could this be?"

Orochimaru licked his lips with a sinister smile and said softly, "This is my teacher. How could I disrespect him? I only wanted to kill him so that Danzo could succeed him..."

The original purpose of the Konoha Crush Plan was to kill the Third Hokage while other suitable candidates for Konoha were away, so that Shimura Danzo could smoothly succeed to the throne.

In this way, Danzo Shimura could secretly support Orochimaru's research using all of Konoha's resources.

Now that his goal has been achieved, Orochimaru has no reason to stay here. He plans to betray his ally, Sunagakure, and leave Konoha.

Uehara Naraku gave Orochimaru a strange look and said softly, "Didn't you hear what I was saying to the Third Hokage just now?"

"What?"

"It's nothing!"

Uehara Naraku gave Orochimaru a strange look. This guy has a strong mentality; he shouldn't break down when he learns of Danzo's disappearance.

The Konoha ninjas in the distance surrounded them from all sides, clearly not intending to let the two murderers who killed the Hokage go.

Orochimaru's eyes flashed with a cold light as he commanded the Sound Four, Hashirama Senju, and Tobirama Senju to take to the air and escape the scene.

Uehara Naraku seemed to have thought of something and shouted, "Wait, Orochimaru, you haven't given me what you owe me yet!"

Uehara Naraku almost forgot that Orochimaru hadn't given him the scrolls for the Reanimation Jutsu and Impure World Reincarnation yet!

"Naraku-kun..."

Orochimaru chuckled and shook his head in mid-air, replying, "Next time I can demonstrate how to swallow a thousand senbon needles... As for now, you'd better pray for yourself!"

"..."

Uehara Naraku sighed. Orochimaru had no idea that the blame for killing the Third Hokage would ultimately fall on him and Shimura Danzo.

As for Uehara Naraku himself, he was just an innocent, kind-hearted Rain Ninja who was deceived.

Even if Konoha wanted to blame them, they would have to see if they had the power to do so!

So even if Uehara wanted to unleash his Oscar-worthy acting skills, he had to fight first.

If things go wrong, after Uehara Naraku defeats everyone, he can turn around and hold the Konoha higher-ups accountable for the Root leader's deception of Amegakure!

Might makes right!

(End of this chapter)