Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 27 Respect for the Dead

"Don't worry, Bai won't leak any secrets."

Uehara Naraku waved his hand, glanced at Haku who was trembling with fear, and chuckled at Zabuza, saying, "Zabuza, your observation skills are terrible too! Haku is so cute, he must be a boy!"

Even if you argue to the extreme, Bai is still a man.

Zabuza Momochi glanced at the thin Haku and said in a deep voice, "Hmph, don't worry, this little guy has an Ice Release bloodline limit. He definitely won't be an ordinary person in the future; he'll become a ninja sooner or later!"

"Do you know Bai?"

"Although the Village of Blood Mist cannot tolerate the existence of bloodline ninjas, for us ninjas, bloodline ninjas are invaluable tools, and this brat is no exception, even though he only has the Ice Release bloodline."

Zabuza Momochi cursed his Mizukage inwardly a few times before continuing in a deep voice, "Back then, this brat's Ice Release attack killed many people. After the village found out, I was in charge of dealing with him, so naturally I have all the information about him."

With the Mizukage still alive, Kirigakure could not protect him, and the village's upper-ranking ninjas could only turn a blind eye to him, allowing him to wander freely in the Land of Water.

"Hahaha…"

Uehara Naraku chuckled a few times, then looked at the handsome young man beside him and said softly, "Hmm, it seems my luck isn't bad."

"Hmph, I hope your luck continues."

Zabuza Momochi turned to leave, but then, as if remembering something, he added, "One last thing: don't underestimate the guy you're looking for. The previous owner of Samehada was completely helpless against him."

"You don't need to worry about that."

Uehara Naraku watched Zabuza's departing figure and shouted at him, "Hey, Zabuza, if you fail to achieve what you want to do, you can come to me in the future. At least I can save your life."

"Hmph, idiot!"

Zabuza Momochi muttered a curse about Uehara.

Based on Zabuza Momochi's understanding of Naraku Uehara, he believed that this boy could not possibly have any connection with Kisame Hoshigaki, and that Uehara might even be killed.

This time, Kisame Hoshigaki's mission was to capture the invading Konoha ninja, Kakashi Hatake. To ensure success, Kisame took several powerful Jonin from the village with him.

For some time after tomorrow, the defenses of Kirigakure will be more vulnerable than ever before, which will give Zabuza Momochi the courage to carry out his plan to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage.

The northern part of the Land of Water.

In order to find Obito Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake set foot in the Land of Water alone, reasoning that Obito must be hiding in this closed country for revenge.

Unexpectedly, before Kakashi could find Obito, the ninjas from Kirigakure, who were based in the Land of Water, discovered his whereabouts. Facing Kakashi, who possessed the Sharingan and was known as the Copy Ninja, the Kirigakure ninjas dared not be careless and quickly requested support from their superiors.

This is truly an inauspicious start.

While Kakashi Hatake was still racking his brains about what to do next, the mysterious masked man also received Kakashi's message, making his head ache even more.

The mysterious masked man wanted to target Uehara Naraku and specifically used Kakashi as bait to lure out Karin, a spy trained by the Land of Locks. However, before he could achieve his goal, the bait jumped out on its own.

Fortunately, the mysterious masked man is imprisoning Hana Rin, and this female spy ninja doesn't know anything about Kakashi yet. As long as things are handled properly, there shouldn't be any trouble.

The four forces simply formed a perfect closed loop.

Uehara Naraku wants to find Kisame Hoshigaki and bring him back to the Akatsuki organization; Kisame Hoshigaki wants to find Kakashi Hatake and bring him back to Kirigakure to interrogate him for information about Konoha; Kakashi Hatake wants to find Obito Uchiha and bring him back to Konoha to uncover the truth; Obito Uchiha wants to find Uehara Naraku and make him fall into darkness.

Most of these people are just pawns.

Obito Uchiha believed that everyone was a pawn he manipulated, including Naraku Uehara; Naraku Uehara also believed that everyone was a pawn he guided, including Obito Uchiha.

Their struggle will come down to who stands on the higher level.

the next day.

Following Kisame Hoshigaki's route, Uehara Naraku intended to rush ahead and ambush the northern outpost of Kirigakure in the Land of Water.

Uehara did not take Haku with him. Instead, he left him at the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Water. He planned to have Haku take Zabuza Momochi with him when Momochi's assassination attempt on the Mizukage failed and he was wanted by Kirigakure.

The northern outpost of Kirigakure is destined to be a bit lively.

The outpost is permanently stationed with four ninja squads led by a Jonin, totaling sixteen people, arranged in two groups: one Jonin captain + three Chunin and one Chunin captain + three Genin.

With only one Jonin, it would be impossible to capture Hatake Kakashi, as the Kirigakure Jonin captain had witnessed Hatake Kakashi's prowess and would not willingly offer himself up for defeat.

However, simply letting Kakashi escape would not be in line with the nature of the Kirigakure ninja. This Kirigakure Jonin seriously implemented the wartime strategy, leading his subordinates to entangle and surround Kakashi until reinforcements from the village arrived.

This is Kakashi with the Sharingan.

Kakashi Hatake is the most sought-after ninja in Konoha in recent years. If they could capture him, they would be able to gather a massive amount of Konoha intelligence, which would greatly benefit their Hidden Mist Village's dream of defeating Konoha.

"Class 13, take charge of the left flank!"

"clear!"

"Class 15, take over the right flank!"

"clear!"

"Class 20, responsible for filling in any gaps in the support team!"

"clear!"

"Class 11, everyone, attack with me! When you encounter Kakashi, use your shuriken to engage him. Remember, never look directly into his Sharingan!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The four squads from Kirigakure were still entangled with Kakashi Hatake in this area. Their actions delayed Kakashi's escape plans, forcing him to find a way to counterattack and eliminate the group of Kirigakure ninja.

While Kakashi Hatake was secretly plotting his scheme, Naraku Uehara had already arrived in the area and quickly discovered their whereabouts using his Flying Technique.

The young ninja gracefully landed in front of the group of Mist Ninja. Amidst their astonished and wary gazes, Uehara offered an innocent smile and asked, "Gentlemen, would you be interested in playing a game of cards with me?"

"..."

After a moment's hesitation, the Kirigakure Jonin gripped his ninja sword tightly and loudly ordered his subordinates, "Proceed according to the original plan! Don't let this brat get in our way! Kill him!"

Decisiveness and ruthlessness are the true nature of the Mist Ninja!

Following the Jonin captain's order, the Mist Ninja did not hesitate and swiftly threw more than a dozen shuriken at Uehara Naraku!

"Wind Release: Wind Barrier!"

A wall of wind blocked all the incoming shuriken!

Uehara Naraku's smile remained unchanged as he slowly closed his hands, continuing in a low voice, "Although you were very rude to me initially, I still choose to forgive you... because, respect for the dead is paramount!"

(End of this chapter)