Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 388 We also need to pay the membership fee for joining Akatsuki! (Fourth update!)

The goal is to recruit all the strongest members of the five great nations into the Akatsuki organization.

This proposal was clearly utterly absurd in the eyes of the Five Kage.

However, under the strong suppression of Uehara Naraku, this proposal was actually quite reliable, at least much better than the proposal for Uehara to directly rule the ninja world.

The worst outcome in their minds was that Uehara Naraku would forcefully demand the unification of the entire ninja world and rule it himself.

Now it seems that Uehara Naraku's proposal was much more lenient than the outcome they had in mind.

Every major power is subject to the control of the Akatsuki organization, yet each major power also wields a certain degree of influence within the Akatsuki, although this influence is subject to the supervision of Uehara.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and said softly, "If we join Akatsuki, does that mean we'll have to carry out missions for Akatsuki from now on...?"

"Generally speaking, there shouldn't be any troublesome tasks."

After casually making a nonsensical remark, Uehara Naraku continued softly, "However, if any village wants to start a war and refuses to listen to Akatsuki's mediation, that's when we'll need to step in. Destroying a country should be child's play!"

"..."

The five people fell silent again.

If it were simply for the sake of peace, Uehara Naraku's proposal couldn't be better, but for some of the Kage who harbored expansionist ambitions...

"I personally agree."

Gaara lowered his head first and calmly said, "However, I still need to discuss this matter with the village's higher-ups, after all, Akatsuki previously..."

"It's okay."

Uehara Naraku interrupted Gaara, speaking softly, "Lord Kazekage, since you personally agree, then everything is negotiable."

Just as everyone present thought they could buy time, Uehara Naraku added, "To avoid Sunagakure disagreeing with your plan, I can now help you destroy Sunagakure directly. With the support of our Akatsuki organization, you can build a new Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, and we will guarantee that no one will invade the Land of Wind..."

Uehara Naraku gave himself a thumbs up.

Isn't this a simple and quick method?

Gaara: "..."

Damn it, Uehara Naraku is really ruthless!

Now we can't even stall for time or try to go back and consult with the villagers!

Gaara quickly shook his head and immediately said, "No need. If there are different opinions in the village, I will find a way to persuade them."

"Really? I don't believe it."

Uehara Naraku tilted his head and said, "Instead of wasting so much breath trying to persuade those stubborn old men, why not rebuild Sunagakure with our help..."

"No."

Gaara lowered his head, cursing Uehara Naraku in his mind, but continued aloud, "I will select candidates to join Akatsuki as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes."

After snapping his fingers, Uehara Naraku nodded and continued, "Then when you go back, Kazekage, you only need to take three Akatsuki uniforms with you. In the future, if any other people from Sunagakure want to join Akatsuki, I will send someone to interview them."

"…Um."

Gaara nodded slowly.

At that moment, Gaara regretted speaking first.

Because he spoke first, he became the first of the Five Kage to submit.

Uehara Naraku turned to the others and continued, "So, you all disagree? In that case, there's no need for us to waste any more time..."

"etc!"

Tsunade waved her hand hastily and said in a deep voice, "Besides the three fixed spots, what kind of interviews do other members need to go through to join Akatsuki?"

"Strength is the only true measure of worth."

Uehara Naraku opened his palm and calmly continued, "I will send the most suitable candidate to assess the members' strength. If they can win or draw, they will pass."

After Uehara Naraku finished speaking, he looked at Tsunade with a playful smile: "However, Konoha does indeed have many candidates who can pass the test..."

Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Naruto Uzumaki, Rock Lee, and even Sakura Haruno now could potentially do it.

After saying this, Uehara Naraku added, "Any official member who is strong enough to defeat Akatsuki but has not joined Akatsuki will be listed as a dangerous element in the ninja world, and I will remove them."

Uehara Naraku's eyes gradually turned dangerous, but he calmly continued, "Don't underestimate Akatsuki's intelligence capabilities. Believe me, we will definitely not let you down."

"..."

Everyone looked rather grim.

In that case, they really wanted to hide some powerful ninjas in the future. Now it seems that if they are found out, it will be difficult to explain!

"How about this?"

Uehara Naraku's lips curled up slightly as he chuckled and said, "Whenever there is a sufficiently powerful ninja in the village, please immediately send the information to Akatsuki's base for record-keeping."

We gather these powerful ninjas twice a year for assessments, similar to the frequency of the Chunin Exams. What do you think of that?

"..."

The five Kage fell silent once again.

Of course we don't think it's very good!

But what else can we do? Turn against each other and risk our lives?

But another thought surfaced in everyone's mind...

If it is inevitable that powerful ninjas will join the ninja villages, and this is actually implemented, the number of Konoha ninjas joining Akatsuki will obviously be the largest, and Konoha's influence will be significantly strengthened.

In addition to the three personnel quotas that Konoha can obtain, Konoha can also obtain five or more slots to join Akatsuki through job reassignment.

This is far too advantageous for Konoha, a place known for its geniuses!

"In fact, this kind of proposal might not be without its advantages."

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, spoke first in a low voice: "At least we can guarantee that if war were to break out in the future, everyone would exercise restraint, and if a dispute were to occur, there would be a place where we can sit down and negotiate."

"…Um."

Uehara Naraku clapped his hands lightly and said, "In this regard, the Third Tsuchikage is absolutely right."

After the Third Tsuchikage finished speaking, he suddenly offered his own opinion: "This method is very advantageous for ninja villages that produce many geniuses."

However, for some ninja villages with a very high number of ninjas, it's difficult to find truly powerful ones... so simply testing the strongest ninjas seems a bit unfair.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Uehara Naraku looked at the Third Tsuchikage and said, "But, Tsuchikage, this ninja world has never been fair..."

You might think Konoha could have many candidates, but Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha is a ninja capable of easily destroying an entire village.

Moreover, this is not irreversible. If some proposals are too advantageous to Konoha, you can apply for arbitration with the higher-ups of Akatsuki.

The peacekeeping method I've proposed is just a blueprint; in the future, we'll certainly need everyone's joint efforts to improve this system.

"I hope so!"

The Fourth Raikage took a deep breath and said in a solemn voice, "That's settled then. On behalf of Kumogakure, I agree!"

The Fourth Raikage held absolute power in Kumogakure.

Basically, no one in Kumogakure would object to what the Raikage said.

Since the Fourth Raikage had agreed, the remaining few had no reason to disagree, mainly because they didn't have the guts, since the safety of the entire village rested on their shoulders.

Each ninja village has a basic quota of three slots.

The three spots are for the Kage, Kage's assistant, and the Daimyo.

In addition, the five Kage each wrote down the names of people from their respective villages who needed to participate in the Akatsuki member assessment. Tsunade alone wrote down at least seven or eight people, and she was still trying to think of who could participate.

"If we rely on ninja tools, would that count?"

Tsunade frowned and looked at Uehara Naraku: "Tenten from our village found a few Six Paths Noble Phantasms on the battlefield..."

"..."

Uehara Naraku's forehead twitched involuntarily. What was going on? How did Tenten still manage to pick up the Six Paths Treasures of Kinkaku and Ginkaku?!

Does this mean that a lucky person is destined to be a lucky person?

No matter what happens, the luck of the "European Emperor" will never change.

"That belongs to Kumogakure!"

The Fourth Raikage couldn't help but bare his teeth.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and said, "If we count it that way, then it should belong to Uehara Naraku's previous incarnation as the Sage of Six Paths..."

"...What belongs to someone now, will belong to them later!"

Uehara Naraku sighed softly and offered a gentle word of advice: "Some people become strong because they work hard enough, some become strong because of their bloodline, and some become strong... because they are lucky..."

"..."

Wu Ying's brow twitched involuntarily.

This theory that getting stronger depends on luck... is utterly ridiculous... but that female ninja from Konoha named Tenten actually did it...

"Sigh... Tian Tian, ​​huh..."

Uehara Naraku couldn't help but rub his temples: "He seems to be another talkative, sarcastic character. Add Deidara to the mix, and Akatsuki is going to be really lively!"

After Tsunade finished writing down the list, she suddenly asked, "By the way, can our village's Ino-Shika-Cho trio be counted as a member?"

"cannot!"

Uehara Naraku's eyelids twitched, and he said coldly, "Are you suggesting that a hundred Iwagakure ninjas should be counted as one spot?"

This is absolutely ridiculous!

It's too early to say for sure now, and things might change in the future. We're still in the early stages, so let's not make things too complicated!

After the five Kage finished compiling their lists and agreed on the assessment date, they each received three Akatsuki uniforms and prepared to leave Amegakure.

Just then, Uehara Naraku saw Kakuzu standing at the office window, and suddenly called out to the Five Kage, "Besides these matters, you also need to pay the annual dues for maintaining Akatsuki to our organization's Kakuzu!"

"..."

The corner outside the window nodded in satisfaction.

Fourth update.

One more chapter to come

The next update will basically conclude the series.

I plan to put things like the future assessment of Akatsuki in the side stories.

I'm recommending a book called "This Puppet Master Is a Little... You Know What".

(End of this chapter)