Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 182 Your Excellency, We're on the same side! (Third update delivered!)

The bonds in the ninja world are always strange.

Sasuke Uchiha joined the Akatsuki organization, but he did not learn the truth about the massacre of his clan and still had a slight attachment to Konoha Village.

However, he didn't think he would have a chance to turn back, so he just casually told Kakashi Hatake some unnecessary information.

After Sasuke finished explaining the information, he parted ways with his former teacher and headed to another battlefield.

This scene was witnessed by Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi Uchiha looked at his younger brother with mixed feelings. He roughly knew what Sasuke and Kakashi had said, but he felt a little nervous.

Although this is a battlefield, everything is under the surveillance of Uehara Naraku in the distance. Sasuke probably has no idea how to be a spy.

Did he really think that a symbolic battle would clear his name of suspicion?

Fortunately, besides Itachi Uchiha, there were other sensible people on the battlefield.

Kakashi Hatake glanced at Sasuke, who was about to leave, then swiftly conjured a ball of lightning in his hand and pierced through Sasuke's shoulder.

That idiot disciple!

Kakashi Hatake, seeing the incredulous look in Sasuke's eyes, slowly approached him and whispered, "Sasuke, don't leak information to others. Remember, protect yourself within Akatsuki. Naruto is still waiting for you!"

"..."

Sasuke Uchiha immediately realized his mistake.

Upon seeing Sasuke injured, Itachi leaped over, grabbed Sasuke, and shielded him behind him, then kicked Kakashi Hatake away!

The Akatsuki organization had completely gained the upper hand.

Kakashi Hatake was unable to break the deadlock, could not fight back in direct combat, and could not deal with aerial surprise attacks, leaving the Konoha ninja with no way to resist.

Nara Shikaku finally had no choice but to issue the order to retreat: "Tell everyone to retreat south to the border and regroup, leaving three teams of ANBU to cover the rear!"

Seeing the Konoha ninjas retreating one after another, the Akatsuki members did not hesitate. After quickly dealing with the Konoha Anbu, they pursued and killed the main force of Konoha.

The Konoha ninja were completely routed.

Nagato adjusted his straw hat and said softly, "That important figure in Konoha, even until the village was completely collapsing, still didn't choose to make a move?"

The information Nagato obtained using the Human Path's Heart Layer Submersion Technique indicated that Konoha had arranged for a powerful figure to be present here, but that powerful figure has not yet appeared.

Uehara Naraku raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Important figures can't be mobilized casually, they're probably on the border!"

At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass.

Indeed, there is a very important person nearby.

Uehara Naraku's guess was correct; that important figure was indeed Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. However, it was just a coincidence.

After hearing about the destruction of Kusagakure, Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki hastily changed their travel plans and rushed to the vicinity of the Land of Grass. They planned to continue their journey eastward to Yugakure after the Allied Congress talks concluded.

Unfortunately, this Allied talks were destined to be canceled on schedule.

The original meeting place was the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Grass, but now that the Konoha ninjas have been driven out of the Land of Grass by the Akatsuki, how can this meeting be held?

Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki soon encountered a series of defeated ninja squads that had reached the border of the Land of Fire. They also met Kakashi Hatake, Shikaku Nara, and others.

"Kakashi, what's going on?"

"Iwagakure hired the Akatsuki organization."

Kakashi Hatake wrapped his hand around the wound and said in a deep voice, "The Akatsuki organization has gathered more than a dozen S-rank rogue ninjas for an unprecedented attack. With insufficient combat power, we are simply unable to put up a resistance."

"Um?"

Jiraiya's expression flashed with surprise, and he asked with some doubt, "Aren't Akatsuki members supposed to operate in pairs? Are you sure it's them?"

"Sure."

Kakashi Hatake rubbed his forehead and lowered his head, saying softly, "The most troublesome thing right now is the Allied Congress talks that the Hokage is going to hold. We've lost the Land of Grass, so the meeting that's about to take place can't proceed as scheduled..."

"That…"

Naruto frowned and asked, "Kakashi-sensei, since there are so many Akatsuki members, have you seen Sasuke?"

"..."

Kakashi Hatake fell silent.

Is now the time to ask Sasuke?

Well, we should definitely ask Sasuke.

Kakashi Hatake nodded and looked at Naruto Uzumaki, saying, "Sasuke is getting stronger and stronger. Naruto, you should be much stronger than you are now..."

"Okay, I understand."

Naruto clenched his fist.

Kakashi Hatake watched this scene, unsure whether he should reveal the information Sasuke had leaked to him. After all, if Naruto Uzumaki impulsively rushed back to persuade Sasuke to return, it could cost Sasuke his life.

This matter can only be kept to myself for now.

Nara Shikaku suddenly approached and explained softly, "Kakashi, Jiraiya-sama, if Iwagakure only hired Akatsuki to drive us out of the Land of Grass, that's fine. But what if they also hired Akatsuki to attack the members of the meeting?"

"What?"

Would the Akatsuki organization really dare to attack high-ranking officials of various countries?

"Give them enough money, and they'd even dare to attack a country. Assassinating high-ranking officials seems to be their forte."

If I remember correctly.

Kakashi Hatake rubbed his temples and said in a low voice, "Lady Chiyo and Lady Terumi will arrive in the Land of Grass this afternoon! I'll send people along the route immediately to support them and remind them!"

"it is good."

Nara Shikaku nodded and continued, "The Hokage has already learned of our withdrawal from the Land of Grass and has ordered us to remain where we are and await her next orders."

"What about the negotiations with the Allied powers?"

"The Hokage's intention is that it must be held at the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Grass! Even if it has to be postponed, it must be held there, otherwise the already loose alliance could easily crumble!"

Nara Shikaku shook his head and sighed softly, "In addition to the Hokage's guard, the Hokage also brought a group of support troops with him on this trip. I thought it was to prepare for a long-term garrison, but I didn't expect that we would have to launch a counterattack first."

"Xiao Ke is not someone who is easy to deal with..."

Kakashi Hatake let out a soft sigh.

If the members of Akatsuki are not defeated one by one, their combined strength would be terrifying!

However, Kakashi Hatake's worries are unnecessary.

According to the agreement between Akatsuki and Iwagakure, all they needed to do was drive the Konoha ninja out of the Land of Grass, allowing the Iwagakure ninja to take over the entire Land of Grass.

This mission was completed very quickly.

From the moment the Akatsuki members entered the Land of Grass until they left, it didn't even take a day to completely wipe out the Konoha ninja.

Since the Land of Grass has been occupied by Iwagakure, Tsunade will definitely not be able to hold the alliance talks at the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Grass today.

Onoki of Iwagakure probably felt that hiring the Akatsuki was cheaper than fighting himself, so after readily paying the final payment, he sincerely invited the Akatsuki to withdraw from the Land of Grass.

After all, these S-rank rogue ninjas had conquered the Land of Grass in a single day and defeated hundreds of Konoha ninja soldiers overnight, so Onoki was a little uneasy.

After carefully counting the money, Kakuzu remarked with some emotion, "Is the mission over so quickly? This money was earned so easily."

If it were just him and Hidan, they might not have been able to defeat the Konoha ninja.

However, even though all the members of the Akatsuki organization gathered, and even Uehara Naraku and Nagato, who were both wearing straw hats, didn't really make a move.

While feeling relaxed, Kakuzu even had a hint of regret: "It would be great if we could get a few more large orders like this."

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Uehara Naraku pulled his Rain Ninja headband from his ninja tool pouch and put it on: "I'm going to the alliance meeting hosted by the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. Maybe she'll even invite me to watch Konoha's counterattack on the Land of Grass!"

"..."

The Akatsuki members looked at Uehara Naraku with puzzlement.

Just how good is this person's mentality? Yesterday he commanded them to drive the Konoha ninjas out of the Land of Grass, and today he just watched as the Konoha ninjas invaded.

On one side are the dark members of the Akatsuki organization.

On one side are the envoys from Amegakure.

What kind of brain does Uehara Naraku have to be able to play two roles in one person?

Can't you just be a decent human being?

Why do you have to make such a mess of your life?

The Akatsuki members watched with awe as Uehara Naraku departed, each with their own thoughts, especially Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi, whose expressions were quite complex.

Around noon.

A border town in the Land of Fire.

Tsunade arrived here with a large number of reinforcements.

Under the command of veteran ninjas Tsunade and Jiraiya, the Konoha Anbu launched a surprise attack, followed closely by ordinary ninja forces, and re-entered the Land of Grass, occupying the Daimyo's residence.

Although there are still several Iwa ninja strongholds around the Daimyo's residence, the Daimyo's residence has at least returned to Konoha's control.

Most of the high-ranking officials of the allied ninja villages have already received the news. After Konoha was driven out of the Land of Grass, everyone thought that Konoha would lose face. However, the two Legendary Sannin of Konoha launched a brilliant counterattack and regained the territory of the Land of Grass.

It was afternoon.

All the allies of Konoha arrived at the agreed meeting place.

Hidden Mist Village, Terumi Mei.

Sunagakure Village, Chiyo.

Takigaku Village, Wataru.

Amegakure Village, Uehara Naraku.

Life is always full of surprises and unexpected events. The ninja responsible for welcoming Uehara Naraku happened to be his old friend, Hatake Kakashi.

Led by Kakashi, Uehara Naraku entered the gates of the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Grass with lingering fear: "How terrifying! I never imagined Konoha possessed such formidable power, conquering a small country from Iwagakure in just one day!"

"Hmm..."

Kakashi Hatake didn't know how to answer.

Konoha's powerful military is indeed something to be proud of, but the reason it lost the Land of Grass was purely due to its dereliction of duty, which led to the Akatsuki's invasion of the Land of Grass.

However, Kakashi Hatake also had something to ask: "Hey, Uehara, what happened to Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku, whom you took to Konoha for the Chunin Exams last time?"

During the battle last night, Kakashi Hatake felt that those two guys looked familiar, so he kept them in mind and wanted to take the opportunity to get some information from Uehara today.

"They defected."

Uehara Naraku's face immediately fell, and he said coldly, "Mr. Kakashi, your friend is truly remarkable! While I was in Konoha signing the treaty, he lured two of my companions to defect and join Akatsuki!"

"Um?"

Kakashi Hatake twirled his fingers.

Kakashi Hatake pressed his forehead again and asked, "What, you know about Akatsuki too?"

"Heh, you're asking me?"

Uehara Naraku's expression was very unpleasant, with even a hint of mockery in his eyes. He was clearly genuinely angry: "Isn't it your friend Uchiha Obito who created the Akatsuki organization and recruited S-rank rogue ninja?"

"Um?"

Hearing news of Obito caught Kakashi Hatake off guard, as he hadn't received any information about Obito for some time.

Was the Akatsuki organization founded by Obito?

"That's right."

Uehara Naraku glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "Back then, he proposed using the Akatsuki organization to collect money for Amegakure. Lord Hanzo approved his proposal and sent many people to help him. However, he betrayed Lord Hanzo, took everyone into his own hands, and left Amegakure."

A woman stood before Uehara Naraku and said coldly, "No wonder I saw you with three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Wasn't it you who lured them into defecting? You only have yourself to blame for trusting others too much!"

The voice sounded very forceful.

Such a strong attitude must come from Tsunade.

Before Uehara Naraku could respond, another woman's voice reached his ears: "Hmm? Did you lure those three rogue ninjas from our village into defecting?"

"Um?"

Uehara Naraku slowly raised his head, and what came into view was a large expanse of white skin on Tsunade's chest, followed by an angry face, clearly she was very unhappy.

Standing next to Tsunade was another brown-haired woman.

This woman, Uehara Naraku, had also seen before.

It was Mei Terumi from Kirigakure.

Mei Terumi's face initially held a questioning tone, but when she saw Uehara Naraku's face clearly, her expression changed drastically: "It was you, you brat! You lured Zabuza, Kisame, and Mangetsu into their defection?"

Although Uehara Naraku has grown up, his features are still discernible!

Isn't this the little guy she thought was scavenging for food in the Water Kingdom?

So this little guy wasn't scavenging for food; he was there to lure the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into defecting from their village?

It was a waste that she even gave Uehara Naraku a bag of cookies!

Mei Terumi herself confidently stated that if Uehara couldn't make it in the Land of Water, he could go to Kirigakure to find her!

And she even told him her name.

Holy crap, just thinking about it makes me feel incredibly ashamed, and a surge of anger is rising within me!

Mei Terumi's eyes instantly turned murderous. She raised her head and sized up Uehara Naraku, who was about the same height as her, and pinched his chin with her fingers: "Kid, after doing such outrageous things to Kirigakure, do you still dare to show your face in front of me?"

"That was all Obito Uchiha's fault."

Uehara Naraku frowned, looked down at Terumi Mei's collarbone, then quickly looked away and explained softly, "I am fully aware that Uchiha Obito controlled your country's Fourth Mizukage and used him to force three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to rebel."

That's the truth anyway.

Besides, Obito Uchiha is already dead, and now his body and coffin are in his hands. He can say whatever he wants.

Mei Terumi glared fiercely at Naraku Uehara, somewhat resentful that he had exposed Kirigakure's shameful actions to the public.

The next second, Mei Terumi suddenly turned to Tsunade: "Hokage, I have something I'd like to discuss with this person privately, is that alright?"

"Please go ahead."

Tsunade nodded casually, turned and left with Kakashi Hatake. After a while, she turned back and gave Naraku Uehara a special look: "This is an envoy from Amegakure. I hope Mei Terumi doesn't cause any deaths."

"rest assured."

The brown-haired beauty chuckled and covered her lips: "Our Hidden Mist Village just has an old score to settle with him."

After seeing Tsunade leave, Mei Terumi grabbed Naraku Uehara and slammed him against the wall on the street!

The brown-haired beauty slowly leaned closer to Uehara Naraku, her lips brushing against his ear, exhaling a warm breath: "Kid, do you still think you're the victim? You even lied to me in the Land of Water..."

"The bag of cookies you gave me has been stolen."

Uehara Naraku looked somewhat innocent; the bag of cookies had indeed been stolen for nothing.

Mei Terumi coldly demanded, "Who stole it?"

Uehara Naraku shrugged and said, "A homeless child scavenging for food in a junkyard."

"etc…"

Mei Terumi subconsciously rubbed her temples and said coldly, "Damn it, did you think I came here to settle accounts with you for that bag of cookies?"

"Let's at least wait a little longer..."

Uehara Naraku slowly moved closer to Terumi Mei's ear, seemingly intimately whispering, "Don't make any rash moves. We're on the same side. Hozuki Mangetsu and I are friends. You certainly don't want him to be exposed and then no one will be there to cover for him, right?"

"..."

Terumi Mei fell silent.

It must be said that Hozuki Mangetsu's infiltration was extremely successful.

For Mei Terumi, Hozuki Mangetsu was a necessary spy to infiltrate the Akatsuki organization and investigate the Blood Mist Incident, and even a hope for the future reconstruction of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

His safety is indeed very important.

Furthermore, since Hozuki Mangetsu revealed Uehara Naraku's identity and became friends with him, it's clear that he also considers Uehara Naraku a trustworthy person.

But we still need to test the waters.

After all, Mei Terumi was the only person in the entire Hidden Mist Village who knew Hozuki Mangetsu's identity, so she didn't really think Hozuki Mangetsu would leak her information.

"Oh…"

Mei Terumi's red lips gradually approached Naraku Uehara's ear.

Just as Uehara felt Terumi Mei's breathing getting closer, the woman suddenly stuck out her tongue and gently licked Uehara's earlobe. Her voice, like a warm breeze, entered Uehara Naraku's ears: "Kid, what do you mean? Does that traitor Hozuki Mangetsu want to go back to the village?"

Uehara Naraku frowned, grabbed Terumi Mei's head, and asked in a naive tone, "Hey, aren't you his senior? Didn't he entrust his younger brother to your care?"

"..."

Mei Terumi was a little dumbfounded.

Okay, connection successful. Uehara is now one of our own.

But can anyone tell her what exactly happened with Hozuki Mangetsu? As a spy, why would he tell everything about himself to a Rain Village ninja?

(End of this chapter)