Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 157 Sasuke is really both weak and superfluous.

"Uehara Naraku, what on earth is going on?!"

Sasuke Uchiha surveyed the crowd and finally decided to focus his attention on Naraku Uehara, because he believed that Naraku Uehara was the weakest of the three.

"Let me introduce you."

Uehara Naraku extended his hand to Uchiha Sasuke in a friendly manner and explained, "Uchiha Sasuke, on behalf of the Akatsuki organization, which is dedicated to maintaining peace in the ninja world, I formally invite you to become one of our trainees."

"None of you look like good people!"

Sasuke Uchiha stared at Naraku Uehara with a grim face and said, "I thought you were a good person, but it turns out you're in cahoots with Itachi Uchiha!"

"I have always been a good person."

Uehara Naraku's smile remained unchanged, even tinged with smugness: "You'll understand once you spend more time with me... Now tell me, are you willing to join? While the Akatsuki forbids internal strife, it doesn't forbid fratricide!"

"..."

Sasuke Uchiha was silent for a moment, then turned to Itachi Uchiha: "What is Itachi's position in your organization?"

"Itachi-san is a full member of Akatsuki!"

Uehara Naraku chuckled, pointed to himself, and then to Uchiha Sasuke: "We two are just interns in the organization. When we are strong enough, the leader will allow us to become full members."

This explanation is very easy to understand.

Sasuke Uchiha instantly understood the difference in their status. He couldn't help but sneer at Naraku Uehara, "You were so arrogant during the Chunin Exams. I thought you were some kind of amazing guy. I didn't expect you to be just a trainee."

"..."

Uehara Naraku's smile froze on his face.

Sasuke Uchiha's words clearly touched a raw nerve.

Over the years, Uehara Naraku has applied to become a full member quite a few times, but each time he has been rejected by Konan, and even Nagato's pleas for leniency have not been accepted.

Whenever Uehara Naraku sees that red-cloud-patterned black-robed school uniform, he can't help but think of that rewarding side quest.

However, the side quest to become a full member of Akatsuki was just as difficult as betting against Tsunade or turning Naruto to the dark side, and it became a real worry for Uehara.

This is absolutely ridiculous!

Where exactly did the problem lie?

Despite his own hard work, Uehara Naraku would put on a show of diligent training almost every day in order to show Konan that his strength was getting stronger and stronger.

No matter what Xiao Nan asks him to do, he will do his best to complete it.

As a result, every time he mentioned becoming a formal member of Akatsuki, Konan would only coax him to obediently train in the village and learn how to govern Amegakure with her.

It's just like coaxing a child.

Uehara Naraku's smile returned, but he turned to Uchiha Itachi and asked softly, "Itachi-san, may I discipline your younger brother for you? So that he doesn't speak recklessly in the organization and offend the other seniors."

"random."

Itachi Uchiha turned his head away casually.

Click!

A crisp sound of bone cracking rang out!

Uehara Naraku suddenly twisted Sasuke's arm off with great force!

"Ugh..."

Uchiha Sasuke couldn't help but scream in agony.

Sasuke's cries of pain were so intense that Itachi involuntarily turned around, looked at Sasuke's wounds, and frowned slightly.

A green light emanated from Uehara Naraku's palm as he treated Uchiha Sasuke's wounds, chuckling as he advised, "Although I'm also an intern, you joined Akatsuki after me, so remember to call me senpai from now on, understand?"

"..."

Uchiha Sasuke simply gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Just as Uehara Naraku was about to continue his attack, a large sword covered in bandages landed beside him, stopping him.

Kisame Hoshigaki smiled and said softly, "After all, we have to give Itachi-san some face. Although they are mortal enemies, they are still brothers after all..."

"..."

A hint of gratitude suddenly appeared in Itachi Uchiha's eyes as he looked at Kisame Hoshigaki.

Uehara Naraku's gaze towards Kisame Hoshigaki suddenly held a hint of danger. What's wrong with this spy? Has he gotten a little carried away since we've been so far apart?

Uchiha Sasuke, however, was completely unmoved, even coldly retorting, "Who's his brother? Ever since he killed my parents and all my clansmen, he's been my enemy, someone I'd love to chop into mincemeat!"

"Mr. Itachi, look..."

Kisame Hoshigaki immediately put on a helpless expression.

Itachi Uchiha shook his head and said in a low voice, "Ignore him. Sasuke Uchiha has been weak since childhood, only good at talking big and showing off. I've said it before..."

Itachi Uchiha suddenly stopped talking because he felt that if he continued to say that Sasuke Uchiha was not suitable to be a member of Akatsuki, Kisame Hoshigaki and Naraku Uehara would probably say something like, "If Sasuke is not suitable, then kill him."

This is truly worrying.

Uchiha Itachi didn't know what to say.

Uchiha Itachi slowly pulled his collar tighter and said softly, "Alright, let's go. Let's hurry back to the organization's base to avoid being pursued by Konoha again!"

Now that things have come to this, Itachi Uchiha can only find joy amidst his misery.

After Sasuke Uchiha joined the Akatsuki organization, he was able to see Sasuke frequently and personally protect Sasuke's safety, so things didn't seem too bad.

The only pain was Sasuke's hateful gaze.

However, this time will not be long. Just now, when Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto fought their final battle, Sasuke's Sharingan had evolved from two-tomoe Sharingan to three-tomoe Sharingan.

Itachi Uchiha began to plan in his mind what opportunity he should choose to enable Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, at which point he could die peacefully.

Itachi Uchiha was even willing to sacrifice his own life to help Sasuke resolve his inner conflict.

However, before he died, he had to make arrangements for Sasuke's life. If Sasuke had stayed in the Akatsuki organization at that time, he would probably have been bullied all the time.

Unfortunately, this was just Itachi Uchiha's wishful thinking.

While passing by a dessert shop, Kisame Hoshigaki suggested having lunch there, but Sasuke Uchiha immediately expressed his displeasure: "I hate natto and sweets."

"But Mr. Itachi really likes sweets."

Kisame Hoshigaki smirked as he looked at Sasuke Uchiha with a wicked grin. It seemed that he especially enjoyed bullying Sasuke in order to help Itachi Uchiha.

Uchiha Itachi, watching from the sidelines, felt rather helpless and could only turn to an outsider: "What would Uehara like for lunch?"

Uehara Naraku glanced at Hoshigaki Kisame casually: "My tastes have been a bit unusual lately; I'm craving shark fin."

"..."

Upon hearing Uehara Naraku's words, Kisame Hoshigaki's expression immediately turned sour, and he became noticeably more docile.

After the group had eaten and drunk their fill...

Seeing Itachi take a sip of water, Sasuke suddenly unleashed a bolt of lightning from his hand, charging towards Itachi: "Chidori!"

Bang!

Sasuke Uchiha was kicked to the ground by Itachi Uchiha!

After Itachi Uchiha firmly stomped on Sasuke's wrist again, he slowly said, "Uehara, this injury shouldn't be a problem, right? I don't want to turn Sasuke into a complete waste before I've squeezed out all the remaining value from him."

"rest assured."

Uehara Naraku chuckled and waved his hand to heal Sasuke's wound: "As long as you don't twist Sasuke's head off, I can heal him."

On their journey back to the Land of Rain, before they had even left the border of the Land of Fire, Sasuke Uchiha launched sneak attacks on Itachi Uchiha more than three times a day, but Itachi easily defeated them each time.

Sasuke Uchiha's assassination attempts were unsuccessful once along the way, but instead resulted in Kisame Hoshigaki's estrangement and Itachi Uchiha's unease.

Itachi Uchiha felt that Sasuke did not know how to be patient.

Kisame thought Sasuke was both incompetent and troublesome.

While the Akatsuki organization was utterly disgusted with Uchiha Sasuke, another ninja in the ninja world who liked to adopt orphans was furious.

Inside the Hidden Sound Village.

Having sacrificed the Sound Four, yet still receiving no news of Sasuke, Orochimaru's temper flared considerably: "What on earth is going on? My body is nearing its limit, and Kidomaru and the others still haven't brought Sasuke back!"

"Perhaps our plan has deviated somewhat."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, offering a helpless suggestion: "Lord Orochimaru, why not try the Reanimation Jutsu first? Besides, Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan bloodline limit might not be the best option for you..."

"But he's the most suitable right now!"

Orochimaru slammed his fist on the lab table, and due to the excessive force, he could only slump unsteadily onto the chair next to him: "Go and prepare for this Reanimation Jutsu! A new body can last for three years, which is just the right time for me to capture and study White Zetsu..."

After speaking, Orochimaru slowly turned his head, his snake eyes filled with a hint of danger and gratitude: "Kabuto, I must thank you for bringing back a White Zetsu corpse, which has given me a new possibility."

As Kabuto turned to leave, he suddenly stopped, his face becoming even more respectful: "No, it is Orochimaru-sama who I should thank. It is because of your existence that I have seen the path most suitable for a ninja."

"Hehehehe..."

Orochimaru slowly chuckled, rubbing his forehead, and whispered, "Not bad, I've discovered a new path. As long as we can capture enough White Zetsu, the Impure World Reincarnation... the Undead Reincarnation... can be further perfected!"

Orochimaru slowly turned his head, looking at a coffin beside him engraved with the character "初" (first/first) on it. A hint of obsession flashed in his eyes: "As long as I obtain White Zetsu, I will soon possess the power of the First Hokage!"

Since Orochimaru began studying the White Zetsu's corpse, he quickly discovered the creature's peculiar structure. These creatures were nothing like ninjas; their bodies seemed to be able to accommodate any chakra.

This is truly amazing.

As long as it is compatible with chakra, it means it can accommodate any bloodline limit. For Orochimaru, the bloodline limit he hopes to obtain can be integrated into the White Zetsu body.

As long as he obtains a living White Zetsu, and as long as that White Zetsu can accommodate the Wood Release bloodline limit, Orochimaru believes that he can completely establish himself in the ninja world with the power of Wood Release!

Most importantly, White Zetsu's body structure is very unique.

Orochimaru discovered that White Zetsu might be a suitable vessel for the Impure World Reincarnation technique, allowing the dead to unleash powerful abilities. The only problem was that powerful Impure World Reincarnation users were not easy to control.

And where exactly should we look for White Zetsu?

Orochimaru tapped his fingers lightly, his cold pupils narrowing slightly. He murmured slowly, "I remember Zetsu has always been an Akatsuki intelligence agent. These White Zetsu should all be its clones. But Zetsu's whereabouts are usually unpredictable. It seems I'll have to find a way to extract information about it from an Akatsuki member..."

(End of this chapter)