Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 20 Encounter

White Zetsu is truly a dog that can't change its nature of eating shit...

More than a decade ago, when these guys first encountered Obito Uchiha, they were just as curious. More than a decade has passed, and they still haven't improved in the slightest.

He inexplicably revealed his weakness in front of Uehara with just one sentence.

When Uehara Naraku was approached by a girl disguised as a White Zetsu, he became completely certain of one thing: the masked man had been monitoring him all along.

After leaving the town, Uehara immediately found a secluded corner, used the mayfly technique he had just learned to sneak underground, and quietly headed into the distance.

Even after losing all trace of Uehara Naraku, the mysterious masked man wasn't in a hurry, because he knew the location of Uehara Naraku's mission. As long as he waited by Kisame Hoshigaki's side, he would definitely be able to catch him.

"That brat is such a nuisance."

The mysterious masked man adjusted his mask, pondering his next move: "That woman from the Land of Locks who's always thinking about that good-for-nothing Kakashi, I heard she's a spy the Land of Locks has been training since childhood. Perhaps I could borrow her... Hmph!"

That woman's name is Hua Ling.

The reason I knew about that woman was because of Kakashi Hatake.

During his childhood, Kakashi once returned to Konoha a little late from a mission and casually mentioned that he had saved a little girl on the way.

By chance, while the mysterious masked man was digging for secrets throughout the ninja world, he discovered that the spy woman Karin, trained by the Land of Locks, was quite talented and resourceful. Because she had never been allowed to return to her hometown, he figured that with a little guidance, she would be useful sooner or later.

However, after observing Karin for a few days, the mysterious masked man discovered that Karin was the little girl Kakashi had saved when he was a child, which instantly made him lose interest.

There's no other reason than that this woman has poor judgment and doesn't know how to judge people.

In his opinion, Kakashi Hatake, whom Karin liked, was an absolute waste of space, so he gave up on recruiting Karin.

The masked man now needs a suitable spy. His first thought was Kabuto Yakushi, but Kabuto is a man, and he is also lurking around Orochimaru's side. He is also somewhat involved with Sasori of the Red Sand, so he is not quite suitable.

That woman named Karin is reasonably good-looking and has some womanly charm. Shouldn't she be able to win over Uehara Naraku?

The masked man quickly devised a perfect plan.

He was even a little excited when he finalized his plan: "Hehehehe... I'm the genius!"

The masked man's deep voice faded, and his words returned to their comical, clown-like manner: "Let Kisame teach that brat a lesson, and then, when it comes to life and death, let that woman named Hana Rin risk her life to save him!"

He was even a little impressed with himself. If he hadn't devised this strategy himself, even he wouldn't have been able to tell if it was real or fake!

A spatial vortex appeared behind him, engulfing him entirely, leaving only his neurotic voice: "First, find that woman named Hua Ling, and use the Locked Kingdom as leverage against her!"

The Land of Fire, nestled within a dense forest.

Uehara Naraku's head popped out of the tree, surveyed his surroundings, and only revealed himself quietly when he noticed that no one was around.

Traveling through the underground vegetation is fast, but it wastes a bit of chakra. In order to travel to the Land of Fire, Uehara Naraku upgraded his equipment.

Equipment: Seraph's Embrace.

Chakra energy increased by 1400 points, skill cooldown reduction increased by 20%, and chakra consumption reduced by 25%.

I had originally accumulated over 3,000 gold coins by completing a series of side quests through advanced quests and the explosive tags given to me by Xiao Nan, but now I only have a little over 1,000 left...

Uehara Naraku felt a pang of heartache. He had spent so much money to only add 400 chakra points, barely bringing his chakra to over 2000. If his chakra remained at its maximum, he could summon the Deep Sea Titan once.

However, Uehara no longer cares about using equipment to accumulate chakra, because the advancement missions will reward a lot of life energy and chakra energy. What he cares more about now is the chakra and life energy recovery, skill cooldown reduction and so on brought by the equipment.

Life Energy: 1201/1201

Chakra Energy: 133/2250

Life recovery: 2/second

Chakra recovery: 1.5/second

Remaining Gold Coins: 1070

Because of his long underground journey, his chakra was almost depleted, and he needed to rest here for more than 20 minutes to recover his chakra.

Twenty minutes is not a short time.

Uehara Naraku thought he had found a secluded place, forgetting that this was the fastest shortcut from the western part of the Land of Fire to Konoha, so many people were destined to pass through.

For example, two Konoha ANBU members who had just returned from a mission in the Land of Rivers were walking down the street. One of them was a white-haired ninja wearing a mask, holding an orange comic book in his hand. He was reading it as he walked, seemingly engrossed in it.

Walking beside him was a purple-haired female ninja wearing a mask. Her ANBU uniform accentuated her tall and graceful figure.

"Let's rest around here for a bit."

The purple-haired female ninja's voice, like that of a nightingale, echoed through the silent forest: "Senior, after returning to the village this time, are you leaving the Anbu?"

"Oh? That's not wrong."

The white-haired ninja lowered his head and said softly, "The Third Hokage wants me to serve as a Jonin instructor, guiding the graduating class of the village..."

"What a pity!"

The female ninja lowered her head, her purple hair falling loosely over her chest. She sighed and continued, "I hope I'll have the chance to go on missions with you again in the future."

"Hmm, there's no need to be so discouraged. If I'm not mistaken, your next partner is actually a very gentle guy..."

The white-haired ANBU ninja suddenly stopped speaking, and he also stopped walking. He slowly turned his head to look into the depths of the forest and saw a patterned masked man resting under a big tree.

The purple-haired female ninja stopped in her tracks. Following his gaze, she saw the masked man under the tree and instinctively drew her ninja sword.

This was an instinctive reaction from an ANBU ninja.

The population in this area is somewhat sparse. This is because it is close to Sunagakure and Amegakure. The wounds caused by the several Shinobi World Wars were too great, and most of the civilians who settled nearby have moved to areas closer to Konoha.

Moreover, this masked man's strange attire and his inexplicable appearance in a somewhat dangerous forest suggest he is definitely a dangerous individual!

"..."

At this moment, Uehara Naraku, who had already transformed into a mysterious masked man using his innate charm, was also calming his mind. This was his first grand performance in the Land of Fire.

While listening to their conversation, Uehara Naraku secretly observed them for a while and recognized the white-haired ninja and the purple-haired female ninja even through their masks.

Hatake Kakashi, Uzuki Xiyan.

Therefore, after Uehara Naraku recovered his chakra, instead of using the Mayfly Technique to evade, he came up with a brilliant idea.

This time, he's going to give the masked man a lot of trouble.

(End of this chapter)