Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 237 Destroying Akatsuki is my purpose in coming to Konoha!

When Uehara Naraku entered Konoha with Team 7, there were reconnaissance squads patrolling the area within a few kilometers of the village's perimeter.

This is because recently, the Akatsuki organization destroyed two major ninja villages in succession, which suddenly made the atmosphere in Konoha tense. They were afraid that the Akatsuki organization would directly advance into the vicinity of Konoha. Uehara even saw anti-aircraft weapons set up on the walls of Konoha.

The lessons learned from the surprise attack by the ancient dragon on Kirigakure and Sunagakure were quite profound, so Konoha took precautions in advance to avoid being caught off guard.

Looking at the strange defensive weapons, Uehara Naraku couldn't help but exclaim in praise, "Konoha's defenses against Akatsuki's invasion are very thorough!"

"After all, Akatsuki has already destroyed two major ninja villages..."

Kakashi Hatake followed his gaze and sighed softly, "The village's barrier team is on duty 24 hours a day now. Any disturbance entering Konoha will be transmitted to the Hokage Tower within ten seconds."

"That's really impressive."

Uehara Naraku nodded, not holding back his praise: "In this respect alone, you are far superior to our Amegakure. No wonder you are the strongest ninja village in the ninja world."

Yes, we need to send this information back later.

It's astonishing that a member of an evil organization that will attack Konoha in the future could so brazenly observe Konoha's defensive measures.

In addition to these defensive and vigilant policies, Konoha has not relaxed its vigilance regarding its high-level combat forces. Jiraiya, who was originally out searching for the Child of Destiny, returned specifically after being summoned by Tsunade.

Might Guy, Rock Lee, and others who were on missions elsewhere were also summoned back to the village to await missions to confront or annihilate the Akatsuki.

Everyone believed that the decisive battle between Konoha and Akatsuki was about to begin.

The six members of Akatsuki are active within the Land of Fire. They can't possibly be doing this just to kill Jiraiya and Sarutobi Asuma for bounty, can they?

Inside the Hokage Building.

When Uehara Naraku entered, he found that everyone who was supposed to come had already arrived, even the furthest away, Terumi Mei, had arrived in Konoha ahead of time.

Furthermore, Mei Terumi was wearing a straw hat symbolizing the position of Mizukage. This woman was inexplicably promoted after the Akatsuki attack.

Because of the demoralization caused by the attack on Kirigakure, the village's higher-ups finally granted the position of Fifth Mizukage to Mei Terumi, in order to ensure her position in the upcoming Grand Assembly.

After all, this meeting was a true three-shadow meeting.

Sunagakure, the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.

Kirigakure, the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi.

Konoha Village, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

When Uehara Naraku walked in, he was a little unaccustomed to it, because he seemed to be the only one without any official position.

If he wanted to shock these three Kage directly, he could simply don the auspicious cloud black robe, put on his small ring, and adopt the identity of a "second-generation Akatsuki"...

Right now, it feels like I'm one of the three shadow's subordinates.

Sure enough, as soon as Uehara Naraku entered, Tsunade, who was sitting at the head of the table, frowned and said unhappily, "What, it's you again, brat? I thought Lord Hanzo of the Salamander would accept this invitation!"

"Lord Hanzo must also guard against an attack from Akatsuki."

Uehara Naraku shook his head, casually pulled up a chair and sat down: "If Lady Tsunade doesn't welcome me, I can leave now."

"No, that's not what I meant at all."

Tsunade shook her head and sighed, "I just think that a demigod ninja can play a greater role in our upcoming plans."

"Actually, Lord Naraku could also do it!"

Mei Terumi turned to look at Naraku Uehara and winked at him: "I'm still very happy to see Lord Naraku at this meeting."

"Yeah, me too..."

Gaara gave a soft "hmm".

It would be a bit awkward for Gaara to show a warm attitude, since Uehara Naraku always bullied him in the past; but it would also be awkward for Gaara to show a cold attitude, since Uehara Naraku saved him some time ago.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let me explain the current situation!"

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and said softly, "The Mizukage suggested that we should launch an ambush against Akatsuki to capture one or more members and obtain more information about Akatsuki, but now it seems that a more suitable opportunity has presented itself."

After Tsunade finished speaking, she turned to look at Nara Shikaku and Nara Shikamaru, who were standing at the door, and said in a deep voice, "More than six Akatsuki members have appeared in the Land of Fire. This was witnessed by our village's Chunin, Nara Shikamaru. He is an excellent intelligence ninja, so let him introduce the information about those people to you first."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Nara Shikamaru nodded, standing beside Tsunade, his face showing a serene, almost deathly calm: "About three days ago, two members of the Akatsuki, evil men whose names should be Kakuzu and Hidan, attacked the Fire Temple and killed its abbot, Lord Jiraiya."

After receiving the news, we immediately went to capture the two Akatsuki members, hoping to obtain information about Akatsuki by capturing them.

However, just as we found their trail, we discovered that Akatsuki had infiltrated the Land of Fire not just two people, but six rogue ninja.

When Nara Shikamaru got to this point, he paused for a moment, then continued softly, "My captain, Sarutobi Asuma, was surrounded by Akatsuki members while covering for us, and he may have been brutally killed by them."

Because the information obtained after Konoha's raid on the exchange shop confirmed that Asuma's body had already been exchanged for bounty by Akatsuki's Kakuzu at the exchange shop.

The person in charge of the exchange said that Asuma's body had multiple wounds, and only his face was recognizable, which was to facilitate identification and claiming the reward. However, we did not find the bodies of Asuma or Jiraiya inside the exchange.

Nara Shikamaru's fingers trembled slightly. He suppressed his emotions again and continued, "After multiple confirmations, we have determined that the attack on the Fire Temple and the murder of Asuma were committed by members of Akatsuki, at least six people."

First, Itachi Uchiha, an S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha.

Secondly, Kakuzu, an S-rank rogue ninja from Takigakure.

Thirdly, Hidan, the murderous demon of Yugakure.

Fourth, Kisame Hoshigaki, an S-rank rogue ninja from Kirigakure.

Fifth, Hozuki Mangetsu, an S-rank rogue ninja from Kirigakure.

Sixth, Ringo Ameyuri, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

That concludes the report.

After Nara Shikamaru finished speaking, he took a step back, indicating that his mission was complete and the rest was up to the higher-ups to discuss.

Mei Terumi glanced at Naraku Uehara, only to see that Naraku was also looking at her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she spoke first to explain, "Kisame Hoshigaki and Mangetsu Hozuki have been defecting for a long time. As for Ameyuri Ringo, she was either kidnapped or recruited by Mangetsu Hozuki from Kirigakure. I will issue an arrest warrant for Ameyuri Ringo when I get back."

We need to gloss over this for now.

After the meeting, Mei Terumi planned to talk to Naraku Uehara again to find out what was wrong with Mangetsu Hozuki. Could it be that he had really defected?

"Um…"

Tsunade twirled her fingers, nodded vaguely, and continued softly, "This time, six Akatsuki members are active in the Land of Fire. We suspect that the enemy is likely planning to attack Konoha and seize the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki that belongs to Konoha."

"That's the only reason."

Gaara nodded calmly.

The Akatsuki's ambition for the Tailed Beasts is obvious. The One-Tailed Shukaku inside Gaara was taken from him by an Akatsuki member. If it weren't for Chiyo, Gaara would have been buried long ago.

Uehara Naraku nodded and continued, "Lady Tsunade, do you intend for us to be stationed within Konoha Village to guard against a surprise attack from Akatsuki?"

No, that's not the case.

Tsunade slowly clenched her fists and said in a deep voice, "We plan to take advantage of the Akatsuki members' infiltration of the Land of Fire to send a large force on a preemptive strike!"

Everyone looked up at Tsunade with some surprise. Clearly, they didn't think Tsunade's actions could succeed. They were already struggling to defend Konoha, let alone launch a preemptive attack.

Has he gone mad?

Gaara shook his head and retorted, "Lady Tsunade, perhaps I should remind you that when Akatsuki members attacked the Great Ninja Village, they rode a terrifying summoning beast capable of flying through the air..."

"That's right."

Mei Terumi's expression was also unpleasant. She spoke earnestly to Tsunade, "Lady Tsunade, what the Kazekage said makes sense. Akatsuki members come and go without a trace, and even catching a trace of them is extremely difficult."

"..."

Tsunade's face immediately fell.

After all, what she wanted was to keep the enemy out of the village. If a major battle were to break out with the Akatsuki in Konoha, the losses would be incalculable.

However, if they could engage the Akatsuki in the open field, they could fully utilize the advantage of the sheer number of Konoha ninjas. By using their numerical superiority to encircle and cut off the Akatsuki members, they could separate the powerful ninjas and allow them to fight effectively.

Now that Mei Terumi and Gaara refuse to support her decision, Tsunade is understandably upset. However, she has already made up her mind about the plan, and the reason she brought it up at the meeting was to gain the support of the two Kage and Uehara Naraku.

Uehara Naraku rubbed his forehead and said in a low voice, "Actually, Tsunade's plan isn't entirely impossible. If Konoha's intelligence is correct, the six members who appeared in the Land of Fire shouldn't be too difficult to deal with, right?"

That's true.

After all, with three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the immortal duo, and Itachi Uchiha, that half-blind, half-sick guy, their chances of winning are very high if they plan well.

Uehara Naraku tapped his fingers on the table and continued softly, "If we act quickly enough, we have a high chance of succeeding in our attack. If we can capture one or two members, or even more, it will be a great help to us."

Uehara Naraku sighed and said softly, "However, I need to remind you that in addition to these six people, there might also be Obito Uchiha. This kind of setup is usually Akatsuki's action plan."

If Konoha is determined to carry out the plan, I suggest considering other factors, such as Obito Uchiha, who always manages to appear out of nowhere!

"We have taken Naraku's advice to heart."

A smile finally appeared on Tsunade's face. She didn't hide her gratitude towards Uehara Naraku and said softly, "Thank you! Regarding our next operation, I'd like to ask if anyone here would be willing to participate in the coordinated operation?"

After all, Gaara, Mei Terumi, and Naraku Uehara are all very strong!

Putting aside everything else, it can at least tie down a few members of Akatsuki!

Especially Uehara Naraku and Gaara, both of them can fly.

Before Gaara and Mei Terumi could speak, Naraku Uehara nodded in agreement: "I'm quite interested in that. How to eliminate these rogue ninjas from Akatsuki who are threatening the ninja world is also my purpose in coming to Konoha..."

The second and third updates are coming tonight...

I haven't recovered yet...

(End of this chapter)