Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 31 Senior Afei, Your Name…

Uehara Naraku's body emerged from the smoke, enveloped in a golden light shield that blocked Samehada's attack—his ultimate skill, Sacred Judgment.

Golden chakra lightsabers hovered around him, faintly reflecting the invincible posture of the young ninja.

Uehara suddenly stretched out his palm, grabbed the barbs on Samehada, used the momentum to flip his body, and kicked Kisame in the neck, knocking him to the ground. The golden chakra light sword followed closely behind, pinning Kisame Hoshigaki to the ground!

"How is this possible..."

Kisame Hoshigaki lay motionless on the ground, looking up at the boy who had been hit by Samehada but had no wounds. He could no longer hide his surprise.

Nothing is impossible.

Uehara Naraku kicked Samehada, who was blocking his way, and looked down at the shark-faced man on the ground. He then drew a card across Samehada's headband: "From now on, you are Kisame Hoshigaki of Akatsuki. Any objections?"

Just then, the system determined that Kisame Hoshigaki was no longer capable of resisting and issued a skill reward.

Side Quest: Defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist (2/7), reward unknown.

Side Quest: Defeat Kisame Hoshigaki (1/1). Quest complete. Reward: Skill: Giant Shark Assault.

Giant Shark Assault: Summons a Void Giant Shark from underground to attack the target area. After 2 seconds, the shark will leap out of the ground and devour the souls of all enemies in the area. Chakra cost: 100 points. Cooldown: 80 seconds.

Uehara Naraku accepted the system reward and continued to pressure Kisame Hoshigaki to surrender. Meanwhile, the mysterious masked man who had been observing the battle couldn't sit still any longer.

How did Kisame Hoshigaki lose to Naraku Uehara for no apparent reason?

Karin stood beside the mysterious masked man, watching the battle between Kisame Hoshigaki and Naraku Uehara with a look of astonishment. She had never imagined that there could be such powerful ninjas!

Hua Ling slightly opened her mouth and asked softly, "That boy seems to have won... What do we do now?"

"..."

The mysterious masked man fell silent. Since Uehara Naraku had won, his plan had naturally failed. The most important thing now was to save Kisame Hoshigaki from Uehara's hands!

If Kisame Hoshigaki stubbornly refuses to surrender, Naraku Uehara will not hesitate to kill a Hidden Mist ninja.

That would mean losing one of his carefully selected subordinates!

Without further hesitation, the mysterious masked man transformed into a space-time vortex, appearing beside Uehara Naraku and Kisame Hoshigaki. He suddenly grabbed Uehara's arm and said with a grin, "Hey, it seems your battle is over!"

The sudden appearance of the mysterious masked man startled Uehara Naraku!

So this guy was secretly following him all along?

"Senior Afei."

Uehara Naraku hurriedly shook off his arm and said in a deep voice, "If I remember correctly, your mission should be to find Sasori-senpai's partner, not to be here, right?"

"Well..."

The mysterious masked man scratched his head sheepishly and shamelessly explained, "I was actually worried about your safety, so I planned to come and persuade Kisame Hoshigaki to surrender on your behalf. I didn't expect I'd be so late. Oh well, thankfully you're alright..."

"..."

Uehara Naraku's expression suddenly became somewhat subtle.

I've met my match. This guy's got some nerve even with the mask on!

If Kisame Hoshigaki's desperate fight with him hadn't been on the orders of the mysterious masked man, Uehara Naraku would have immediately turned that Samehada into sashimi and fed it to Kisame Hoshigaki!

The mysterious masked man was unaware of Uehara Naraku's thoughts. After quickly explaining to Uehara Naraku, he knelt down to check Kisame Hoshigaki's injuries.

After confirming that Kisame Hoshigaki was alright, the mysterious masked man chuckled and said, "Hehehe, Mr. Kisame, Uehara and I are both members of the Akatsuki organization. Now you must be willing to join our organization, right?"

"Hmph, do I have any other choice?"

Kisame Hoshigaki was surprised for a second after hearing the name Akatsuki, then suddenly sneered and nodded slightly in agreement with the masked man, officially agreeing to join Akatsuki.

"No, you can still choose to die!"

Uehara Naraku smiled and lowered his head, shaking his head at Kisame Hoshigaki. His words left the shark-faced man speechless, and even the masked man next to him was somewhat bewildered.

A few words from the mysterious masked man are more effective than a fight.

That's incredibly disrespectful to him!

Uehara turned to the mysterious masked man and continued, "Senior, this is my mission... I think I should kill Kisame Hoshigaki here, invite another person to join the organization, and then go back to report to Konan-sensei. It's my own business!"

"Hey, hey, hey, that won't do, kid!"

The mysterious masked man naturally objected: "Inviting Kisame Hoshigaki to join the organization was a decision we made after secretly observing him for a long time! There's no one more suitable than Kisame in the entire Hidden Mist Village!"

"The fact that Kirigakure doesn't have a suitable person doesn't mean the Land of Water doesn't!"

Uehara Naraku glared at the mysterious masked man, pointed deep into the forest, and shouted, "Konoha's Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi, has infiltrated the Land of Water. He's currently surrounded by a group of Kirigakure ninja. We can rescue Kakashi and recruit him into our organization..."

That's just a joke.

In reality, Kakashi Hatake's reputation far surpasses that of Kisame Hoshigaki. If Naraku Uehara had actually invited Kakashi to join the organization through a rescue mission, Akatsuki would have only gained another spy from Konoha.

The masked man didn't take Uehara's words as a joke. His attitude was unusually firm, and he loudly objected, "Kakashi Hatake is even worse than trash. Our organization cannot tolerate someone who kills his comrades!"

"It can be accommodated!"

Uehara Naraku spread his hands innocently and said, "Tobi-senpai, have you forgotten about Kakuzu-senpai in our organization? Every time he leaves the base, he goes on a mission in pairs, and when he comes back, he's carrying a box of money all by himself..."

"I think Kakashi and Kakuzu are different."

The masked man felt that Naraku was really annoying. He regretted his rash plan. If things continued like this, the kid might actually give up on Kisame Hoshigaki and drag that bastard Kakashi into the Akatsuki!

"Isn't it the same?"

Uehara Naraku tilted his head and explained softly, "I heard that Hatake Kakashi also has the Sharingan, which would make him a perfect partner for Itachi!"

This statement is perfectly reasonable. Even Uehara Naraku himself couldn't resist this devilish thought. At this moment, he actually had the idea of ​​recruiting Kakashi and having him team up with Itachi!

Unfortunately, if they had actually recruited Kakashi Hatake, who already knows the identity of the mysterious masked man, the Akatsuki organization would most likely have exploded and split up.

"Obito!"

Just then, an unbelievable voice reached everyone's ears; it was none other than Kakashi Hatake, whom they had been discussing.

The copy ninja from Konoha was covered in wounds, but he didn't care about his injuries. Instead, he rushed excitedly towards Uehara Naraku and the masked man!

Kakashi Hatake staggered a few steps and collapsed beside the mysterious masked man, muttering in a daze, "Obito... I've finally... found you."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)