Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 507 No wonder Akainu has changed!

Kabuto Yakushi...

No wonder he was Uehara Naraku's most valued subordinate!

Those present were utterly bewildered. Before they could even grasp Uehara Naraku's meaning, Yakushi Kabuto had already provided an answer that left no room for criticism.

"alright."

Uehara Naraku patted Yakushi Kabuto on the shoulder, his gaze falling on Kizaru: "Let's take a look at our Admiral first!"

"I have already surrendered..."

Kizaru was covered in wounds, but his attitude remained unchanged. He even chuckled and said, "It's truly unexpected that you possess the Glint-Glint Fruit ability, which even amazes this old man!"

During the battle, Kizaru couldn't help but wonder if he had eaten a fake Glint-Glint Fruit, because Uehara Naraku seemed to have developed even more abilities.

This guy…

That's incredibly powerful!

Moreover, the Armament Haki that Uehara Naraku unleashed at the end made even Kizaru a little scared. The intensity of that Armament Haki was definitely comparable to Vice Admiral Garp!

"No matter how much you say, it won't change your fate..."

Uehara Naraku looked at Kizaru, who spread out his palms, and said softly, "Admiral Kizaru, I bet you won't mind if I give you a small gift, right?"

"What is it?"

Kizaru still smiled, but a hint of wariness appeared in his eyes. Surely this guy wouldn't give him a free lunch?

"Because you still haven't considered Xiao your home..."

Uehara Naraku stretched out his palm, and a black hole appeared beside his hand. A strangely shaped insect crawled out of the black hole.

Nanao, Chongming!

Uehara Naraku reached out and stroked Chōmei's horn, speaking softly, "And I suspect you probably never really cared about Akatsuki, so I thought I'd give you something. You shouldn't mind, right?"

As a Marine Admiral, Kizaru simply couldn't find a Tailed Beast that matched his personality. Perhaps the Eight-Tails would be more suitable, but that would be such a waste!

Even with the Seven-Tails, Kakuzu was somewhat unhappy.

Kakuzu frowned, unable to resist asking, "They're actually going to give this guy the Seven-Tails, Shichimei? Uehara, isn't that a bit too extravagant?"

This leader…

What a waste of money!

"It's just for monitoring him."

Uehara Naraku nonchalantly spread his palms: "Because in my future plans, the Navy is a particularly important part. We must ensure that the Navy's power is under our control..."

"I still think it's too wasteful."

Kakuzu couldn't help but glance at Kizaru and said, "Hmph, can't we kill this guy and make Kabuto a Marine Admiral?"

"This is troublesome..."

Uehara Naraku shook his head, chuckled, and continued, "Besides, I really hope that the Marine Headquarters Admirals will one day truly become members of Akatsuki! Aren't their powers interesting?"

The three admirals of the Navy Headquarters.

Each of the generals is a monster, and with their Devil Fruit abilities, they are undoubtedly among Akatsuki's top combatants.

These generals…

It's still quite useful.

Moreover, this was also for Kizaru's sake.

If Kizaru can't join Akatsuki, and Aokiji and Akainu betray the organization and expose their identities, only Kizaru will still appear loyal to the Marines...

Wouldn't that be too embarrassing?

"What is this...it looks..."

Kizaru looked at Shichimei with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

Kizaru didn't recognize the Seven-Tails, Chōmei. He just wondered if this ugly, seemingly unapproachable giant insect was a pet he was given to him.

"This is a gift from God."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, looked at Kizaru whose expression had suddenly changed, and said in a low voice, "Admiral Kizaru, this is a gift from Lord Naraku to you!"

If you can gain its approval, your strength will be greatly enhanced, and the price is only a negligible loss of freedom…

"Don't make it sound so scary... Kabuto..."

Uehara Naraku smiled and slowly waved his hand.

Under his control, the Seven-Tails, Shigeaki, transformed into a ball of chakra and flowed into Kizaru's body. Uehara Naraku's voice held an undeniable firmness: "Admiral Kizaru, do not resist. I will not harm you."

"Isn't that necessary?"

Kizaru's expression turned somewhat unpleasant: "I've already promised you several times that I would join Akatsuki..."

He put a monster inside his body, yet claimed it wouldn't harm him?

Do you even believe what you're saying?

This...isn't even human language!

However, as the Seven-Tails' chakra flowed into his body, Kizaru slowly began to feel as if there was another creature inside him, and a new power.

In his spiritual world…

The enormous, monstrous insect was there, as if it might suddenly attack and take away his control of his body at any moment!

Uehara Naraku's voice appeared in Kizaru's mental world. He slowly said, "Well then, Chongming, Admiral Kizaru, I hope you can get along well and not do anything to upset everyone..."

At this point, Uehara Naraku added a warning: "If you have any questions, you can go directly to your friend Akainu and ask him. You two are both Jinchūriki, so you can discuss things privately..."

"Um?"

Kizaru's gaze fell on Uehara Naraku, his lips twitching slightly as he gave a strange smile: "That Sakazuki guy... he wouldn't happen to be a member of Akatsuki, would he?"

should…

It can't be true!

Even though Kizaru has always had a strong mental fortitude...

However, upon hearing this news, Kizaru still found it hard to believe.

If it's acceptable for Kizaru to surrender to Akatsuki, it's also acceptable for Aokiji to surrender, because their personalities mean they wouldn't care about such a status...

but…

There's absolutely no way Akainu would surrender!

Kizaru knows his friend very well. Akainu has a strong personality. If he were forced to surrender by the lawless Akatsuki, he would rather die than join them!

"Yes, he's also a member of the Xiao family."

Uehara Naraku interrupted Kizaru's train of thought with a single sentence: "Admiral Akainu was a few months older than you... he's probably already used to the power of the Four-Tails!"

"Four tails? Seven tails?"

Kizaru frowned, but inwardly he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "Does Sakazuki... also have a similar monster inside him?"

The feeling is a bit subtle.

"Don't call Chongming a monster; that will make it harder for you two to get along."

Uehara Naraku looked at Kizaru, feigning concern for him: "How are you feeling? Not so stressed anymore, right? You and Admiral Akainu were classmates in the Marine training camp, colleagues in the Marines, and colleagues in the Akatsuki organization..."

"..."

Kizaru's expression grew increasingly subtle as he listened.

While Uehara Naraku is right, if Akainu also has the same monster inside him, then this matter seems acceptable for the time being…

No wonder when Kizaru visited Akainu at the G1 branch base after recovering from his injuries, he vaguely sensed that Akainu had become stronger and more calculating...

And they always seem to lament the brevity of life…

original…

That guy secretly joined the Akatsuki organization!

Kizaru's eyes flickered as he thought of a question: "Huh... if that's the case, then the two Marine Admirals... are they already Akatsuki spies?"

This number is a bit dangerous!

If it were just Kizaru joining Akatsuki on his own, then he would continue to slack off and wouldn't seem to have much impact on the Navy...

If Akainu also joined Akatsuki…

Is the future of the Navy going to depend on that lazy Aokiji? The feeling that the Navy might be doomed sooner or later is getting stronger and stronger.

Uehara Naraku didn't answer Kizaru's question, but instead curled the corner of his mouth and said, "This matter... let's go back and ask Akainu!"

This kind of thing...

How could he possibly bring himself to ask?

"alright."

Uehara Naraku looked at Kizaru and continued, "The Seven-Tails, Chōmei, will be of great help to you. You can go to the G1 branch in the New World and get some information about the Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki from Akainu. He knows much more than you do..."

After saying that, Uehara Naraku withdrew from Kizaru's mental world.

The objectives of this trip have been largely achieved.

Kisame Hoshigaki has averted a crisis facing the Whitebeard Pirates.

Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the world's greatest swordsman, joined the Akatsuki organization. Kizaru, the last free admiral of the Marine Headquarters, joined Akatsuki, partly voluntarily and partly against his will.

In addition to these, Uehara Naraku also completed the missions concerning Hawkeye Mihawk and Admiral Kizaru, and received a very generous reward.

Side Quest: Defeat Marine Admiral Kizaru (1/1). Quest complete. Rewards: 180000 Life Energy, 180000 Armament Haki, and 180000 Observation Haki.

Kizaru's abilities are probably the most troublesome...

Unfortunately, the system rewards are slightly weaker than those for Akainu.

Side Quest: Recruit the three admirals of the Marine Headquarters as your subordinates (3/3). Quest completed. Reward: 500000 Life Energy, 500000 Armament Haki, and 500000 Observation Haki.

The reward for this task is…

This is arguably the most luxurious reward to date!

Even Uehara Naraku had never seen a reward of this level appear before. But this was normal, because once you subdue a Marine Headquarters Admiral, it means you will have the power to absolutely suppress an Admiral... You can't just rely on talk-no-jutsu, can you?

In addition to these fixed three-dimensional rewards, there is also a hidden quest reward.

Moreover, this hidden mission was completed before the battle, with Kabuto Yakushi helping to complete it, while Naraku Uehara was merely manipulating things behind the scenes.

Hidden Quest: Let Kizaru experience what it's like to be the one being acted out (1/1). Quest complete. Fixed reward skill: Light Binding.

Light Binding: Uses the power of light to create a cage that restricts the enemy's movement. Minimum cost is 100 life energy. No cooldown.

It was this hidden reward that allowed Uehara Naraku to defeat Kizaru so easily.

This trip was truly perfect for Uehara Naraku…

Perhaps the only regret...

Sasori and Deidara were tricked by Perona's abilities, thus failing to defeat another Shichibukai, Gecko Moria. Fortunately, their identities haven't been exposed yet...

This ocean is definitely not to be underestimated...

Now, Xiao's big operation has finally come to an end.

After the Red Sun Formation over the entire island was dispelled, all the Akatsuki members and Edo Tensei ninjas returned to their respective positions under Uehara Naraku's orders.

It's estimated that few people across the entire ocean are aware that while their attention is still focused on the aftermath of the war between the Beasts Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates... the power dynamics of this world have already undergone a dramatic transformation that is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

However… they soon found out.

Third update!

(End of this chapter)