Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 161 Isn't this just like throwing dirty water on someone?

Uehara Naraku is very busy.

Uehara Naraku is currently crouching on the outskirts of this secret base, eagerly waiting for the White Zetsu clone to appear so he can capture it, while also using his rather crude drawing skills to sketch the base's map.

The map that Uehara Naraku drew himself was even more abstract than the maps he bought in some small shops. Basically, he just wrote down the general location data and drew a few landmark hills.

While mapping out the geographical locations, Uehara Naraku would occasionally switch between Hunting Rhythm and Fate to check if any White Zetsu had appeared.

Much later, a White Zetsu clone emerged from beneath the hidden base. Using the Mayfly Technique, it swam away into the distance, and based on observation, its destination appeared to be a nearby town.

Just as the white zeolite emerged from underground and transformed into a normal human, someone patted it on the shoulder and placed a hastily drawn map in front of it: "Friend, can you find your way home with this map?"

"Um?"

White Zetsu frowned immediately. It turned its head to look at an unfamiliar face, so it lowered its head to look at the map with peace of mind.

"What is this painting?"

"A map!"

"I'm asking where this sign depicts?"

Bai Jue glared at the stranger behind him with displeasure and began to berate the hastily drawn map: "What is this? A mountain? What is this? A lake? What is this, a forest? What kind of mess is this map? Who can find a small hill in a forest? And it's marked with approximately several kilometers..."

As White Zetsu spoke, its voice gradually lowered. It seemed to have figured out where this place was. This was the secret base where it and Uchiha Obito had hidden!

Bai Jue instantly turned to look at the stranger, only to see a mysterious smile on the stranger's face, which sent a chill down its spine!

White Zetsu immediately sensed something was wrong. The next moment, it was about to break free and escape back to the base to report the news when its body was bound by vines!

White Zetsu's expression suddenly changed, and he asked in a deep voice, "Wood Release? Who exactly are you? How do you know Hashirama Senju's Wood Release?"

"Oh, I'm just an illustrator."

The stranger's face changed again, reverting to Uehara Naraku's original appearance. He chuckled and said, "Hmm, it seems there's nothing wrong with the map I drew..."

"Uehara Naraku!"

This white Zetsu immediately recognized the person who was frequently mentioned in the base. It had even secretly monitored Uehara Naraku in Amegakure for a period of time. It was said that every time Black Zetsu and Uchiha Obito argued, it was because of this guy.

This person should be their ally!

This White Zetsu had personally witnessed Uehara Naraku speaking well of Obito Uchiha in front of Konan and Nagato several years ago, but Konan and Nagato were very stubborn and refused to accept Obito back.

The white zeolite tried to calm itself, asking in a low voice, "Uehara Naraku, what exactly do you mean? Why did you capture me and even memorize the location of our secret base? Are you some kind of spy planted among us by Nagato and Konan?"

Are all White Zetsu as talkative and annoying as you?

Two pairs of white wings suddenly unfurled from Uehara Naraku's back, and he flew into the sky, carrying a White Zetsu that was tightly bound by vines in his hands.

This white Zetsu, having always lived underground, seemed to be a bit afraid of heights, and kept grumbling and cursing in the air.

Uehara Naraku considered himself to be of high character, and knowing that this White Zetsu wouldn't live much longer, he didn't pay any attention to the White Zetsu's insults.

This white Zetsu is being given to Kabuto Yakushi.

Uehara Naraku spread his wings and flew all the way to the vicinity of Otogakure, taking along the White Zetsu who had been cursing him the whole way.

Upon landing, the white Zetsu said in a deep voice, "This is Otogakure, Uehara Naraku. Why did you bring me here?"

"You've been to quite a lot of places."

Uehara Naraku chuckled and activated his Destiny Skill, quickly locating Yakushi Kabuto's position, though Orochimaru was not currently in the village.

Since the Konoha Crush, Orochimaru seems to have stopped caring about the existence of Otogakure. The number of ninjas in the village has been decreasing, and even the guards are inadequate.

This is perfectly normal.

After all, Konoha has been tracking Orochimaru all along. They've only been held back recently by that so-called rogue ANBU ninja codenamed "Orphan." Once they recover, they'll definitely find a way to send someone to wipe out Otogakure.

At least nominally, the village of Otogakure must be destroyed.

Orochimaru wouldn't care about Konoha's actions. The foundation of Otogakure is Orochimaru himself. As long as Orochimaru is alive, he can build a new Otogakure in the future.

Uehara Naraku found Yakushi Kabuto with almost no effort, just as Yakushi Kabuto was carefully conducting an experiment in the laboratory.

When Kabuto Yakushi met Naraku Uehara, he wasn't particularly surprised. He had witnessed his new boss's extraordinary abilities many times before.

But what's with Uehara Naraku staring at the lab table with that curious look? Is he planning an explosion experiment?

"Cough cough cough... Lord Naraku."

Kabuto hurriedly interrupted Uehara Naraku's thoughts, looking down at the White Zetsu beside him, his eyes immediately lighting up: "Is this a White Zetsu?"

"Yes, alive, caught fresh."

When Uehara Naraku spoke of White Zetsu, it was as if he were talking about a fish. He then took out a map from his ninja tool bag and handed it to Yakushi Kabuto: "This is a map I drew. It shows the base where the White Zetsu are based. You need to find a way to guide Orochimaru to capture them."

"clear."

Kabuto Yakushi looked at the map for a while. As a former spy, he had seen all sorts of sloppy maps, but the map that Uehara Naraku had given him was truly indescribable.

Fortunately, Kabuto Yakushi was very familiar with most of the terrain in the ninja world. He obediently accepted the map without saying anything impolite, and instead focused his attention more on the living White Zetsu.

Over the past few days of research, Kabuto Yakushi and Orochimaru have become increasingly eager for White Zetsu, as these creatures can play a very important role!

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, a thirst for knowledge flashing in his eyes: "I'll use this White Zetsu right now to conduct a human experiment on Hashirama cells!"

"Are there interstitial cells here?"

Uehara Naraku's eyes lit up immediately: "Prepare a sample of Hashirama cells for me. I want to transplant Hashirama cells into a descendant of the Uzumaki clan!"

Uehara Naraku had originally planned to get some Hashirama cells for Nagato to try, and since there are Hashirama cells here now, he might as well take some with him!

"Is it Karin?"

Kabuto Yakushi frowned immediately, as if he had just realized something: "Yes, the Uzumaki clan is naturally blessed with strong vitality, and they are the easiest carriers to receive Hashirama's cells. They even have a very high chance of awakening the Wood Release bloodline limit! It's a pity that the Uzumaki descendants are scattered all over the ninja world, making them too difficult to find. Using them for experiments would be too wasteful..."

"Let's not talk about those theories."

Uehara Naraku glared at Yakushi Kabuto with displeasure and said softly, "This White Zetsu has already seen my true form. We can't let this guy live. In a bit, hurry up and finish the Hashirama cell experiment, then twist its head off!"

"Uehara Naraku, you bastard, you despicable, shameless, and vile slut!"

The White Zetsu immediately launched into a barrage of insults, using every single curse word it knew in its entire life to describe Uehara Naraku within half a minute.

Yakushi Kabuto felt ashamed upon hearing this.

In fact, Orochimaru would occasionally secretly curse Uehara Naraku.

However, compared to this White Zetsu, Orochimaru's insults were quite refined, consisting of nothing more than repeated phrases like "opportunistic villain" and "Akatsuki's inhuman monsters"...

Uehara Naraku listened the whole way, picking at his ears, ignoring the White Zetsu, and only looked at Kabuto, who was helping him retrieve Hashirama's cells, and asked, "Kabuto, where did Orochimaru go? Is he plotting something again?"

"no."

Kabuto took a sealed bottle, then sealed it with a scroll before handing it to Uehara Naraku: "Lord Orochimaru has a deal to settle with Kusagakure..."

Over the years, Orochimaru has earned much of his experimental funding through transactions with small ninja villages, daimyo of small countries, and powerful and wealthy individuals.

Kusagakure was also one of his partners.

"Oh, then I hope he finishes soon."

Uehara Naraku shook his head and said with a sigh, "After I leave, I will go and destroy Kusagakure. If Orochimaru fails to get enough money from the deal, he will have a debt that he can never recover."

Kabuto Yakushi: "..."

Oh dear, am I going to get scammed again?

A few days ago, Orochimaru accidentally developed a tool that seemed to be useful in warfare. In order to make some money from Kusagakure, Orochimaru spent the last few days negotiating prices and collecting data. However, it seems that this deal is going to fall through!

Orochimaru didn't even take the advance payment from Kusagakure this time, because he was too confident in his own strength, and the smaller ninja villages didn't dare to default on Orochimaru's debt.

However, if this small ninja village were destroyed by Uehara Naraku, that would be a truly uncontrollable event, and even Orochimaru wouldn't be able to do anything about it...

Kabuto looked at Uehara Naraku speechlessly, not knowing what to say. Why did Uehara Naraku, his new boss, always have to mess with his old boss?

Uehara Naraku put away the sealing scroll, kicked the still-living White Zetsu, and said softly, "As for how to lure Orochimaru into attacking the base occupied by Uchiha Obito and the White Zetsu, I don't need to come up with a reason for you, do I?"

"Of course not."

Kabuto chuckled and shook his head. "I can easily handle this little matter myself. After all, I have a good reason."

After saying that, Kabuto Yakushi glanced at the White Zetsu with regret and said, "What a pity about this White Zetsu. If Lord Orochimaru were here, he could have made better use of it..."

"Alright, we'll catch more later."

Uehara Naraku patted Yakushi Kabuto on the shoulder, looking at him with an expression that said, "You should stay hidden under Orochimaru's command. He's just a tool. Your potential is limitless. Work hard to learn the Impure World Reincarnation and the Sage Mode from Ryuchi Cave, understand?"

Throughout the entire history of the ninja world, only Kabuto Yakushi has mastered the Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode. Uehara Naraku, wanting to evolve his own Sage Mode, can only temporarily place his hopes on Kabuto Yakushi; otherwise, he would have to try killing the White Snake Sage…

Furthermore, Kabuto Yakushi is also skilled in the Impure World Reincarnation technique, making him a promising talent. Among Uehara's three subordinates, Kabuto is the one with the highest potential for future achievements, far surpassing Kisame Hoshigaki and Mangetsu Hozuki.

"clear."

Kabuto nodded hesitantly. To be honest, Kabuto himself couldn't even imagine the high hopes that Uehara Naraku had for him!

"Oh, right, there are a few more things."

Uehara Naraku suddenly turned around, grabbed Yakushi Kabuto's shoulder, and asked softly, "I want to frame Obito Uchiha for the White Zetsu base leak. Anyway, he's all alone now, so no one will believe him if we pin it on him. Do you have any ideas about this?"

"…Can."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and said in a low voice, "I will handle this matter. Don't worry, Lord Naraku."

"Besides these, there's also information about Zetsu..."

Uehara Naraku patted Yakushi Kabuto on the shoulder and continued to ask, "There are Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. White Zetsu are just a bunch of trash with low combat power."

However, Black Zetsu claims to be the will of Madara Uchiha, and its existence is for a grand plan. As for this plan, I will tell you after I figure out how to make it up.

However, you can find a way to leak this to Orochimaru beforehand. This was also leaked by Obito Uchiha. I'm entrusting this matter to you as well. Any questions?

Uehara Naraku realized that having a spy planted next to Orochimaru was really good, because it would allow him to directly pass the information to Yakushi Kabuto, who could then find a way to leak it to Orochimaru.

This way, he wouldn't have to rashly use Orochimaru's identity to cause trouble, lest he expose any flaws along the way.

Kabuto glanced at Uehara Naraku speechlessly. "You still need to think about how to make this up. Aren't you just trying to smear Black Zetsu?"

However, the professionalism of a subordinate taught Kabuto when to ask questions and when not to ask them, when to answer and when to keep quiet.

After a long silence, Kabuto slowly turned his gaze to the White Zetsu lying on the lab table beside him, about to die: "Lord Naraku, I'd like to learn more about White Zetsu. Do they possess human thoughts, or are they subordinate to Black Zetsu?"

"You mean you're asking whether this White Zetsu has a better relationship with Obito Uchiha or with Black Zetsu?"

Uehara Naraku stroked his chin, sizing up the increasingly agitated White Zetsu, and murmured, "White Zetsu are probably brainless; they do whatever they want. Maybe their brains are just full of water?"

"You brainless bastard!"

The White Zetsu, who had been indulging in his curses, was enraged again: "Uehara Naraku, you despicable scoundrel, shameless and vile! Your brain is full of water!"

Kabuto slowly adjusted his glasses and said softly, "It seems we can consider this White Zetsu as an envoy sent by Obito Uchiha to cooperate with Lord Orochimaru. If they do cooperate, will it pose a threat to Lord Naraku?"

"rest assured."

Uehara Naraku smiled confidently and spread his palms: "There are very few people in the entire ninja world who can rival me. I have any means of countermeasure..."

This is the confidence that comes with Sage Mode!

It becomes stronger when faced with stronger opponents, and even stronger when faced with even stronger ones!

(End of this chapter)