Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 221 Kisame Hoshigaki: Itachi-san, I know everything about you!

That's outrageous.

Even Obito Uchiha, who was the mastermind behind Akatsuki, wasn't as arrogant as Naraku Uehara. Why doesn't this guy fly up to the sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the moon?

Looking at Obito Uchiha's expression, Uehara Naraku chuckled, "Tsk, judging from your expression, you're nothing more than a frog in a well in the ninja world. Go get to work!"

"..."

Obito Uchiha cursed under his breath as he transformed into a space-time vortex and disappeared. A moment later, he reappeared at Kisame Hoshigaki's residence.

Kisame was somewhat surprised when he saw Obito Uchiha wearing a mask.

Wasn't this guy killed by Uehara? How come he's popped up again?

"Kisame, it's me."

Uehara Naraku's voice came from Uchiha Obito's mouth, and he said softly, "In order to avoid waste, after I killed Uchiha Obito, I pulled his soul back from the underworld and resurrected him with the Impure World Reincarnation. Now this guy is my puppet."

"..."

After a moment of surprise, Kisame Hoshigaki grinned and said, "As expected of Lord Uehara, even the dead can't escape your control!"

"There's no need to waste time on this nonsense."

Uehara Naraku, controlling Uchiha Obito, continued, "When you go to the Land of Fire this time, I will have Uchiha Obito secretly follow you. If Uchiha Itachi betrays you, you, Yuri, and Mangetsu might not be able to defeat him!"

"Mr. Itachi probably wouldn't dare, would he?"

Kisame Hoshigaki frowned and replied softly, "Over the years, Itachi-sensei has never hidden from me his secret care for Sasuke Uchiha. Besides, would anyone in Konoha believe him?"

"What if he secretly leaked my information?"

Uehara Naraku spoke in a deep voice, "After all, what I've done recently has posed too great a threat to peace. Even if Uchiha Itachi doesn't dare to directly betray us for Sasuke's sake, I don't want him to secretly leak information!"

Kisame Hoshigaki: "..."

Did Uehara-sama finally realize one day that he had been doing inhuman things and that he was easily driving people to their deaths?

Uehara-sama has really grown up!

Since you know you're doing something inhumane, then you should tone it down a bit!

Look at what happened during today's meeting. They clearly knew that Itachi Uchiha was a brother-complex, yet they still pressured his younger brother right in front of Itachi. They were practically trying to drive the brothers to their deaths!

"Before we set off, go and openly threaten Uchiha Itachi!"

Uehara Naraku didn't care about any of that. He simply continued, "If anyone deliberately or unintentionally leaks my information, I'll feed Sasuke to the Three-Tails, Isobu!"

"..."

Kisame Hoshigaki nodded, then asked with a puzzled look, "Lord Uehara, won't this only further pressure Itachi-san to target us?"

No, he won't.

Uehara Naraku chuckled softly before explaining, "Because Uchiha Sasuke's life is in our hands. That guy won't risk it. He needs to make his younger brother stronger to protect himself, because he knows the code to make Sasuke stronger!"

The Mangekyou Sharingan is far from enough.

So what about the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, a dōjutsu that grants eternal sight and even allows the activation of the Complete Susanoo? This was the power that Madara Uchiha used to conquer the ninja world and rival the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju!

Itachi Uchiha dared not risk Sasuke Uchiha's life.

After all, once Sasuke Uchiha awakens the Mangekyou Sharingan and then transplants Itachi Uchiha's eyes, he can obtain the legendary Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. At that time, Sasuke will definitely be a figure above the pinnacle of the ninja world!

Itachi Uchiha had already planned out a path for his younger brother, so why would he create unnecessary trouble and put Sasuke Uchiha at risk?

Kisame Hoshigaki sighed softly, "Going to such lengths just to worry about leaking information? Why not just kill Itachi? Or prevent him from going to the Land of Fire to carry out the mission together?"

"He has to go!"

Uehara Naraku interrupted Kisame Hoshigaki decisively, saying, "If Itachi Uchiha hadn't gone to the Land of Fire, how could he have possibly revealed the whereabouts of that Kotoamatsukami Sharingan?"

This was Uehara Naraku's main purpose in sending Uchiha Itachi to the Land of Fire.

Once the Kotoamatsukami Sharingan is dealt with, Itachi Uchiha will no longer pose any threat and can simply walk quietly to the end of his life.

"As for why not kill him..."

Using Obito Uchiha's body, Uehara Naraku said in a deep voice, "We haven't squeezed out his last bit of value yet. I still need to use him as the last bit of nourishment for Sasuke Uchiha to become stronger. Anyway, we all know that this is what he wanted, right?"

"Okay, I understand."

Kisame Hoshigaki nodded helplessly.

What could he do if his boss gave him such an order?

"Do you know why I made you clarify the stakes to Itachi Uchiha?"

Uehara Naraku chuckled lightly and said contemptuously, "Because he'll soon be a dead man, someone approaching the end of his life. There's no need to fear him. His life and death are in my hands!"

Kisame Hoshigaki: "..."

How sad!

Kisame Hoshigaki couldn't help but glance at Obito Uchiha in front of him. If you think about it carefully, Obito Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and Sasuke Uchiha had always been manipulated by Naraku Uehara.

I really don't know why Uehara-sama likes to use and deceive the Uchiha clan so much... Is it just because their clan is very strong and has value that can be exploited?

It was late at night.

Kisame Hoshigaki knocked on Itachi Uchiha's door.

Upon entering, Kisame Hoshigaki's first words made Itachi Uchiha's heart tighten: "I'm sorry, Itachi-san, for disturbing you so late at night. I'm truly sorry, but someone is trying to use my words to threaten you. If any information about our organization is leaked, Sasuke Uchiha will be torn to shreds."

"..."

Itachi Uchiha slowly released his grip, speaking calmly, "Killing Sasuke is nothing to me. What does it have to do with me? I'd kill him sooner or later anyway..."

"No need to pretend anymore."

Kisame Hoshigaki sat down in front of Itachi Uchiha, each word striking Itachi's heart: "Itachi-sama killed his entire clan just to save Sasuke Uchiha's life. Why be so stubborn about it? Very few people in the Akatsuki know about this, and unfortunately, I am one of them."

"Who told you that? Obito Uchiha?"

Itachi Uchiha clenched his fists again, as if he might suddenly strike at any moment.

It's extremely uncomfortable to have your weaknesses exposed like that.

Uchiha Itachi preferred to plan three steps ahead for every one he took, using his wisdom to remain behind the scenes and do everything flawlessly, so that those who thought they could control him would only find that they had lost control when the final moment came.

Now, no one cares about any of that nonsense; they're directly threatening Sasuke's life, which makes it very difficult for Itachi to act.

Even as the situation became dire, Itachi Uchiha still wanted to try and turn the tide. To this end, he didn't hesitate to reveal his deepest secret to Kisame: "However, the reason I spared Sasuke's life was because my Sharingan power was about to be exhausted. I needed Sasuke's eyes to regain the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan..."

"Pfft..."

Kisame Hoshigaki couldn't help but laugh out loud. He waved his hand and apologized repeatedly, "I'm so sorry, I just couldn't help it..."

Itachi Uchiha's expression immediately turned ugly.

Was it because they saw through it? Or was there some other reason?

For some inexplicable reason, he felt like a clown.

The Kisame Hoshigaki standing before them had always acted like a very standard ninja, rigidly following orders from above.

However, at this moment, Itachi Uchiha had a vague feeling that Kisame Hoshigaki had seen through everything about him!

Itachi Uchiha stared at Kisame Hoshigaki with a grim expression. Having confirmed his suspicions, he asked, "You knew? Or did you always know?"

The two sentences have two different meanings.

One sentence means that Kisame Hoshigaki only recently discovered this, while another sentence means that Kisame Hoshigaki saw through his intentions a long time ago.

If it's the first one, that's fine...

If it's the second possibility, then Itachi Uchiha truly feels that he has always been a clown in Kisame Hoshigaki's eyes.

"Sorry, I've always known."

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, revealing his mouthful of shark teeth.

Itachi Uchiha's heart trembled violently, and his expression grew increasingly grim. At this moment, he finally stopped hiding his true feelings and said in a deep voice, "So you've been secretly watching everything between Sasuke and me all along, secretly mocking me, haven't you?"

Damn it, I'm so angry!

When Itachi Uchiha thought about how he had gone to great lengths to avoid Kisame Hoshigaki and how he had secretly helped Sasuke Uchiha copy his ninjutsu, he suddenly felt like a joke.

Every time Sasuke provoked him, Itachi would beat and insult Sasuke, calling him a piece of trash, thus fueling Sasuke's hatred and indomitable will. Kisame Hoshigaki, that bastard, was probably hiding nearby, secretly laughing!

I really can't take this anymore!

Itachi Uchiha felt that his life over the past few years had been like that of a circus clown, performing jokes for Kisame Hoshigaki every day without stopping!

How could this happen!

Itachi Uchiha was completely flustered. He was even barely able to suppress his anger. He was an Uchiha, a very proud person!

All the ninjas in the ninja world should be people that the Uchiha clan can manipulate at will, so how come he has become a laughing stock!

Furthermore, every time Itachi secretly taught Sasuke ninjutsu under Kisame's watchful eye, he harbored a degree of disdain for Kisame...

Little did he know, he was a huge joke in Kisame's eyes!

Shame... indignation... anger...

These words are far from enough to describe Itachi Uchiha's feelings. He felt as if he had been stripped naked and thrown under the lights to be judged by Kisame Hoshigaki.

Uchiha Itachi clenched his fists, staring at Kisame Hoshigaki, and questioned him word by word: "So you knew all this, yet you still kept bullying Sasuke in front of me, deliberately provoking and testing me?"

"what?"

Kisame was caught off guard by this question. Why ask this? Shouldn't Itachi feel ashamed at this moment?

Kisame Hoshigaki was feeling really good!

Previously, whenever Itachi secretly tried to teach Sasuke ninjutsu, he probably thought to himself that Sasuke, the shark-man, was useless and couldn't even notice something like this...

Now you know, right?

He, Kisame Hoshigaki, knows everything!

But he didn't say anything, he just quietly watched you two brothers make fools of yourselves!

I'm in such a great mood!

It's like taking a cold shower on a hot day; the feeling of comfort is indescribable.

Just as Kisame was secretly pleased, Itachi Uchiha asked him this question, leaving him speechless.

This…

How should I put it?

To tell the truth?

"if…"

Kisame Hoshigaki looked at Itachi Uchiha and calmly said, "What if I'm just speaking up for Itachi-sensei?"

Kisame Hoshigaki stared directly into Itachi Uchiha's eyes, showing no fear of the crimson Sharingan, and said in a deep voice, "Itachi-san, are you really going to sacrifice yourself for a brat? Your talent and strength are extremely high; you are one of the two strongest people I have ever seen in my life."

You should have had a much bigger stage in this ninja world. If you were willing to kill Sasuke, the disease would be nothing more than a minor problem that could be easily solved. You would have had the opportunity to truly witness the truth of this world!

Kisame Hoshigaki was telling the truth.

He genuinely wanted to persuade Itachi Uchiha to surrender.

Itachi Uchiha was the ninja that Kisame Hoshigaki respected the most, and Naraku Uehara was the boss that he respected the most.

If Itachi Uchiha were willing to join forces with Naraku Uehara, he would definitely have a bigger stage to perform on!

Under Uehara Naraku, everyone was treated equally, and he would reward them handsomely, including with long lifespans, so that his subordinates would have no worries about the future.

Kisame Hoshigaki learned the truth and gained immense power; Mangetsu Hozuki was reborn and was able to secretly protect and guide his younger brother; Ameyuri Ringo was also cured of her illness.

If Itachi Uchiha were to join Uehara's side, given how much Uehara valued Itachi, Itachi would likely gain even more, and there would be absolutely no need to worry about the safety of his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha!

For example, Hozuki Suigetsu, the younger brother of Hozuki Mangetsu, was so arrogant in the ninja world, causing trouble for his older brother everywhere, but why was he unharmed? Wasn't it all because a guy named Yakushi Kabuto was secretly protecting him?

"As long as you're willing to side with my boss..."

Kisame Hoshigaki looked at Itachi Uchiha with an extremely serious expression: "Itachi-san, although you sometimes have a wicked sense of humor and treat this world as a game!"

But adults are incredibly kind to their own people. Adults can heal your body and protect your younger brother. There's nothing an adult can't do; he's a god in this world!

"There is no God in this world."

After calmly shaking his head, Itachi Uchiha suddenly spoke tentatively and calmly, "Kisame, your superior isn't Obito Uchiha... right?"

"..."

Kisame Hoshigaki curled his lips into a playful smile as he looked at Itachi Uchiha: "Itachi-san, you already know enough today. Now that your trump cards have been revealed, are you sure you still want to keep asking?"

(End of this chapter)