Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 248 What kind of fighting is this? Refund!

On the body of an ancient dragon.

After Susanoo appeared, the onlookers fell silent.

Those who had doubts about Itachi Uchiha gradually dispelled their suspicions, and some even held certain conspiracy theories about Itachi Uchiha.

Deidara stroked his chin, his expression somewhat grim: "That Uchiha Itachi is truly insidious... Over the past few years, he secretly placed the hope of revenge in Uchiha Sasuke, and now he's personally destroyed that brat's hope?"

"The outcome is still undecided!"

Sasori of the Red Sand coldly shook his head.

Deidara hesitated for a moment, then said with some conviction, "No one can defeat Itachi in front of the legendary Susanoo, right?"

"Deidara, have you ever heard of Susanoo?"

"Um…"

Deidara nodded slowly, his expression somewhat grave: "That old man Onoki once mentioned that when he and the Second Tsuchikage went to Konoha to request an alliance, Madara Uchiha's Susanoo destroyed all their pride in one move..."

Although Deidara was always proud, he didn't think that Onoki or the Second Tsuchikage Mu were weaker than him.

Two ninjas skilled in Dust Release were easily defeated by Susanoo, so how could Uchiha Sasuke possibly win against Susanoo?

as predicted.

The Qilin Thunder Beast in the sky crashed down!

The red Susanoo raised its hand and lifted a mirror to block the direct attack of Lightning Release: Kirin. However, the violent lightning chakra continued to spread unchecked across Susanoo's body, ravaging its armor!

However, no matter how frantically it attacked, Lightning Release: Kirin was still unable to harm Itachi Uchiha inside Susanoo, and could only disappear into the air with a mournful cry.

"cough…"

Itachi Uchiha covered his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Using Susanoo also placed a great burden on him.

Sasuke Uchiha stared at Susanoo in disbelief, dumbfounded as Susanoo blocked the Lightning Release: Kirin. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This... how is this possible?"

How is that impossible?

The existence of Susanoo completely refreshed Sasuke's understanding.

Even the spectators atop the ancient dragon in the sky were awestruck by the power of Susanoo; few of them were confident they could withstand Uchiha Sasuke's Lightning Release: Kirin.

Kakuzu spoke in a muffled voice, "Even after enduring for so many years, he still couldn't escape his brother's control? Poor Sasuke..."

"The battle is not over yet."

Kisame Hoshigaki shook his head and muttered to himself, "Even with Susanoo, how long can Itachi-san last?"

It won't last long.

Kisame Hoshigaki knew Itachi Uchiha's physical condition all too well.

His Mangekyou Sharingan's vision had deteriorated drastically, his ocular power was almost completely depleted, his body was afflicted with a serious illness, and his chakra was nearly exhausted...

Everyone watched the battle on the ground, where Sasuke Uchiha launched a furious and impotent attack on Itachi Uchiha, only to have it all blocked by Susanoo…

Ninja sword cuts Susanoo...

I don't know what Sasuke was thinking.

As Itachi slowly approached Sasuke, he extended his finger. Just as everyone thought he was about to gouge out Sasuke's eyes, Itachi's finger stopped weakly on Sasuke's forehead.

The next moment, the enormous Susanoo vanished.

Uchiha Itachi's body fell to the ground in a disheveled state.

What... is going on?

A look of surprise appeared on the faces of everyone in the Akatsuki organization. They all instinctively flew to the ground and stared at Uchiha Itachi lying on the ground.

Itachi Uchiha on the ground was already lifeless.

Itachi Uchiha, who used Susanoo to turn the tide in his last moments, actually died here.

Uchiha Sasuke leaned blankly against the wall of the ruins.

"Hey, Sasuke, what did Itachi Uchiha say to you before he died?"

Deidara immediately pouted and shouted in dissatisfaction, "How could this be the result! How can we accept this?!"

The twists and turns in the middle were surprising enough. Whether it was Uchiha Sasuke breaking Tsukuyomi or breaking Amaterasu, it was worth Deidara getting up early to see.

But it ended so strangely…

This is just too much!

Shouldn't the ending be Itachi Uchiha manipulating Susanoo to smash Sasuke Uchiha with one punch, proving that he truly deserves the title of "Itachi the Clan Massacrer"?

Hidan coldly interrupted Deidara, scoffing, "Hey, Deidara! Do you think this is a theatrical performance where you can ask for a refund?"

Kisame Hoshigaki explained softly, "Actually, Itachi-sensei's eye power was exhausted, wasn't it? The Mangekyou Sharingan consumes a lot of eye power..."

This explanation is barely acceptable.

At least everyone now understands the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan and knows some of its weaknesses.

"Alright, let's go!"

Pain glanced around at the people and said softly, "Uchiha Itachi is a member of the organization, so let's build him a proper tombstone!"

"Leave this to me!"

Kisame Hoshigaki looked up at the heavy rain and said in a low voice, "Everyone, please go first! This is a promise I made to Itachi-san. If he dies, I will take care of his body."

"Let me help you!"

Kabuto pushed up his glasses, his voice tinged with regret: "After all, Itachi and I are both ninjas from Konoha, so we should see him off."

"That's settled then!"

Uehara Naraku nodded, then turned to Uchiha Sasuke: "Hey, Sasuke, are you coming back with us, or staying here...?"

"I'll stay here."

Sasuke Uchiha shook his head.

Kisame Hoshigaki glanced at the ruins and sighed, "It will probably take quite a while to build a large tomb for Itachi-san!"

"I see."

Uehara Naraku nodded and said softly, "That's settled then. I'll have the ancient dragon send everyone back first, and then I'll summon it back to fetch us."

"it is good."

Pain nodded.

Konan stepped forward, extended her paper umbrella, and handed it to Uehara Naraku, saying softly, "Then come back soon."

"..."

Uehara Naraku shook his head, then smiled at her before suddenly taking off his straw hat and placing it on Konan's head.

An ancient dragon roared down from the sky.

Xiao and his group boarded the ancient dragon and left.

In the ruins left after the fierce battle, only Uchiha Sasuke, Kisame Hoshigaki, Kabuto Yakushi, and Naraku Uehara remained, and each of them seemed to have a different feeling.

"Hey, Kisame-senpai."

Sasuke Uchiha stared blankly at Itachi Uchiha's body on the ground, and asked in a low voice, "Itachi deliberately lost to me, didn't he? Did you know about this? What did he mean by that?"

"No, actually it's because you're too strong."

Kisame Hoshigaki forced an extremely ugly smile, then slowly nodded and said, "Alright, now that you know, do you need me to tell you about the two paths Itachi Uchiha has arranged for you?"

"What...does this mean?"

"Because Itachi was already seriously ill, I kept urging him to go to Uehara for treatment, but Itachi gave up on treatment long ago."

Kisame Hoshigaki bent down and slowly straightened Itachi Uchiha's body, whispering, "From the first moment I met him, I knew that he had long since given up on living in this world!"

"he…"

Uchiha Sasuke collapsed to the ground.

Kisame Hoshigaki shook his head, interrupting Sasuke, and explained softly, "Itachi-sensei could not bear the pain of killing his clansmen, nor could he endure the torture and coercion from Konoha, so he ultimately chose to end his life."

"Konoha?"

"That's right."

Kisame Hoshigaki reached out and covered Itachi Uchiha's eye sockets, whispering, "Do you want to know the truth about the massacre of the Uchiha clan? The Uchiha clan was the most powerful clan in the ninja world, which is why they were feared by the Konoha leadership, led by the Third Hokage."

"Kisame-san is wrong about that!"

Kabuto Yakushi adjusted his glasses and chuckled as he added, "Actually, ever since the Second Hokage, the Uchiha clan has been feared by the Konoha leadership. It's just that the Uchiha still had some value to them back then."

After finishing his sentence, Kabuto Yakushi smiled and continued, "After the Third Shinobi World War ended, the shinobi world became peaceful, and the Uchiha clan naturally became useless. No wonder Lord Orochimaru asked me to go to Danzo Shimura to ask for the Sharingan."

Uchiha Sasuke abruptly raised his head: "What Danzo?"

"Shimura Danzo."

Kabuto looked at Sasuke Uchiha and continued softly, "However, Danzo Shimura is already dead. Otherwise, you might have seen how many Sharingan eyes Danzo Shimura stole..."

"I didn't know that."

Kisame Hoshigaki shook his head, then looked up at Sasuke Uchiha and said, "In short, just when the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha clan was at its most tense, the Konoha leadership used a condition to turn Itachi against them..."

"..."

Sasuke Uchiha felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned and chuckled, saying, "Looks like you guessed it, didn't you? He spared your life to kill all the other Uchiha! Otherwise, do you think he'd deliberately keep you alive?"

"That's impossible!"

Nothing is impossible.

Kisame Hoshigaki opened his palm and said coldly, "Itachi-sensei has been using Konoha's information to threaten them into protecting you. Do you remember when you defected from Konoha? Do you know why Itachi-sensei let you join Akatsuki?"

Kisame Hoshigaki stared at Sasuke Uchiha and said in a deep voice, "Because you're under Orochimaru's command, he's very worried about your safety! But only I know that when you appeared in Akatsuki, it meant Itachi's death was imminent. I really want to kill you, you brat!"

Kisame Hoshigaki grabbed Sasuke Uchiha by the shoulder and shoved him in front of Itachi Uchiha, his face contorted with rage as he said, "Look at your brother! Everything he did was for you! Now listen carefully, here are the two paths he laid out for you before he died!"

Uchiha Sasuke: "..."

"The first rule!"

Kisame Hoshigaki glanced at Naraku Uehara beside him, and seeing his superior casually gazing into the distance, he continued, "Continue to follow us and seek revenge against Konoha. We are the strongest ninja in the entire world, so you can join us!"

"..."

Sasuke Uchiha glanced at Kisame Hoshigaki and asked coldly, "Hmph, who does he think he is? Does he think he can control me?"

"Shut up!"

Kisame Hoshigaki grabbed Sasuke Uchiha by the neck and said coldly, "The second path is to go back to Konoha and become a ninja!"

Don't worry, the Third Hokage is already dead. The Konoha leadership certainly won't make things difficult for you, little guy. They still need you to preserve the Sharingan bloodline for Konoha.

"Akatsuki has many ninjas, and they won't care about losing a little brat like you. Uehara Naraku is Itachi's friend, and as long as you don't leak Akatsuki's information, he won't let the leader investigate your betrayal of Akatsuki."

"hehe…"

Sasuke Uchiha sneered, looking contemptuously at Kisame Hoshigaki, and said, "It seems you've given me two paths, but then you tell me the Konoha higher-ups forced Itachi to kill my parents, so you're still telling me to choose to follow you, aren't you?"

"That was indeed our selfish motive."

Uehara Naraku shook his head and looked at Uchiha Sasuke, saying, "Itachi-san believes that you are free to choose. It would be best if you returned to your hometown of Konoha and continued to live a peaceful life. At that time, we will conceal the truth about the Uchiha clan massacre."

However, we believe you shouldn't return to that ninja village that forced the Uchiha clan to perish and cause fratricide, so we told you the truth about the Uchiha clan's massacre.

But that doesn't matter, because Mr. Itachi had already prepared a backup plan.

Mr. Itachi believes your friend Naruto Uzumaki will persuade you to let go of your hatred.

"Naruto?"

Sasuke Uchiha's eyes froze slightly.

"That's right."

Uehara Naraku walked over, patted Uchiha Sasuke on the shoulder, and said softly, "Your brother, Uchiha Itachi, was a great man. I must say, he was very good at judging people."

Uehara Naraku gazed intently at Uchiha Itachi on the ground, a smirk playing on his lips: "Uchiha Itachi wasn't wrong about Uzumaki Naruto; he truly is a very charismatic person."

"You're not providing any evidence..."

"evidence?"

Uehara Naraku looked down at Uchiha Itachi's body on the ground, patted Sasuke's shoulder, and said in a low voice, "We don't need any evidence, because we don't need your pitiful power, you little brat who caused Itachi to suffer half his life!"

"If Itachi hadn't told us to wait until you awakened your Mangekyou Sharingan so he could transplant his Mangekyou Sharingan into you, granting you eternal eye power, do you think we'd still be here?"

"You know about this too?"

Sasuke Uchiha's gaze softened immediately.

Because Uehara Naraku was very angry when he talked about these things, and acted as if he didn't need Sasuke, Sasuke's credibility was increased out of nowhere.

Furthermore, Uehara Naraku also mentioned the secret of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Obviously, this is a secret that most people wouldn't know.

What do you think?

Uehara Naraku looked at Uchiha Sasuke and said irritably, "Konoha will definitely not let you obtain this power. You don't have many other friends in the ninja world. Before he died, Itachi naturally had to arrange everything for you."

After saying this, Uehara Naraku looked at a spineless junior and coldly continued, "When you return to Konoha, don't display the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, understand what I mean?"

"Understood, this might arouse Konoha's suspicion..."

Sasuke Uchiha nodded, then suddenly realized what he meant and shouted, "Who told you I was going back to Konoha! I'm going to destroy Konoha and avenge Itachi!"

I feel like I'm splitting this chapter into several smaller chapters; I could definitely make up a lot of stories from them, but I'm also afraid you'll say I'm padding the story...

(End of this chapter)