Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 6 The Boy Who Bears the Light of Dawn

The Akatsuki's school uniform is pretty cool.

Perhaps it was because Uehara Naraku's acting was too over-the-top that Konan was unwilling to let him get involved in the darkness of the Akatsuki organization and wanted him to have a bright future.

Uehara Naraku didn't get any new clothes, and could only watch with a hint of envy as Uchiha Itachi donned that red-cloud black robe.

Konan glanced at the boy who was filled with envy, and reached out to ruffle his hair: "Naraku, your future will be bright."

"Actually, it's fine as it is."

Uehara pursed his lips and muttered something under his breath.

However, when he saw Konan pull out two bottles of purple nail polish and hand them to Itachi Uchiha, his face twitched involuntarily.

Do Akatsuki members always have to wear such heavy makeup?

Do men need to wear nail polish?

Konan watched as Itachi Uchiha calmly accepted the nail polish, then suddenly spoke to him, "Itachi Uchiha... stay away from Uehara from now on. If I see anyone trying to hurt him, I won't hold back."

"..."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his head and glanced at Uehara Naraku standing next to Konan, then nodded slightly.

"Senior Konan, a well-balanced battle can help children grow faster!"

The masked man standing next to Itachi Uchiha watched Uehara with great interest and said, "This kid's card throwing technique seems very similar to Konan-senpai's Paper Release technique. Could he be Konan-senpai's younger brother or something?"

"..."

The woman with light blue hair frowned, neither answering nor denying, and said to them, "If you have nothing else to say, you can leave."

"Okay, okay! Let's go, I'm going to buy some meatballs!"

The masked man clutched his head, whistling as he left.

As for Itachi Uchiha, he has just joined the organization and will temporarily live in the organization's secret base, waiting for Pain to assign him to a combat squad.

Because of what the masked man said earlier, Konan suddenly became interested in Uehara Naraku's abilities.

She also wanted to know how Uehara's current strength was enough to fight a well-trained Konoha rogue ninja to a draw in a sparring match where he held his own.

When Konan saw the card in Uehara Naraku's hand, she reached out and took it, looking down at the image on the card.

That was a King of Hearts.

"Are these the playing cards used in casinos?"

Konan's expression turned slightly cold, and her gaze towards Uehara gradually filled with displeasure. She said coldly, "You...have you gotten involved in gambling?"

"…no."

The boy shrugged and explained, "Because my family couldn't afford shuriken when I was little, I could only practice throwing them with cheap playing cards. Now I'm used to it, and I've even developed techniques that allow me to fight using playing cards."

There's no other way to explain it!

After all, the card master's throwing technique is quite practical. Putting aside everything else, the effect of the card explosion alone is equivalent to the power of the explosive tag explosion.

"Is that so? Naraku, from now on you will be my disciple!"

Xiao Nan opened her palm, and sheets of origami floated out, transforming into paper butterflies that fluttered around them.

Xiao Nan manipulated a paper butterfly to land on her fingertip and said softly, "My paper escape technique is similar in nature to your playing cards, so I can teach you many ways to fight with paper."

It is not only to guide his growth, but also to pass on the will of enlightenment.

"..."

Uehara Naraku was somewhat dazed. Was there some misunderstanding in this matter? With his strength, did he need a teacher?

However, if he wanted to continue staying in the Akatsuki organization, it seemed inappropriate for him to refuse Konan.

"Then, please take good care of me, Lord Konan!"

Another strange side quest popped into Uehara Naraku's head that had been completed, but he didn't bother to look at them carefully.

Quest complete: Become Xiao Nan's disciple (1/1), Gold +150.

With so little money, do you think he's a beggar?

Based on Uehara Naraku's understanding of the system's side quests, he barely grasped the system's operating mechanism: the more widely accepted a quest was, the richer the reward for completing it.

Konan knelt down in front of Uehara Naraku, straightening his clothes, her voice softening slightly: "Naraku, from now on... call me teacher."

"...Yes, Ms. Konan."

Uehara Naraku blinked and readily agreed.

In fact, Konan didn't have much talent for being a teacher. After thinking it over, she decided to rely on her former teacher's teaching methods to conduct a combat test, since she didn't know what kind of ninjutsu to teach Uehara in the first lesson.

Although Konan's teacher was a Konoha ninja, she did not go through any bell-stealing test. Instead, she worked with her teammates to defeat her teacher's shadow clones.

Clearly, she intends to do the same.

Konan brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and explained softly, "In a few days, I will test you. I will have my paper clone fight you to determine which ninjutsu I will teach you and whether you are qualified to participate in our next mission..."

"Task?"

"right."

Konan nodded, placed her hand on Uehara's shoulder, and whispered, "Our mission is to avenge the former members of Akatsuki and your father... I don't want you to live in hatred, but I think you still need to know these things, because some things shouldn't be buried in the past."

"..."

Uehara Naraku nodded hastily.

In fact, he knew all those things, and the truth he knew was more, deeper, and farther than what Konan and Nagato had seen.

So, is it time to test acting skills again?

Konan's face slowly darkened, her expression gradually turning cold as she said, word by word, "Twelve years ago... the people who killed the other members of Akatsuki were Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader of Amegakure, and Danzo Shimura, a high-ranking official of Konoha."

"What?"

Uehara Naraku's face showed a perfectly timed hint of surprise: "So... should we attack Konoha or Amegakure?"

Hearing this, Pain walked over and stood beside them, saying in a deep voice, "Konan, tell him the mission directly! Uehara Naraku must participate in this mission; it is his destiny."

"No, Naraku's strength might be involved and could be dangerous..."

Konan's first direct confrontation with Payne: "I need to test him first to ensure he can survive the mission."

"If he dies in this mission, it's because he's too weak and doesn't deserve to live in this world!"

"Pain!"

Konan suddenly raised her head, met his gaze for a moment with unwavering courage, and finally lowered her head, saying softly, "I still remember Jiraiya-sensei's teachings: young children are the seeds of the future... and Naraku is the only one."

This was the first time she had defied Pain's will since Yahiko's death in battle; something like this hadn't happened in a very, very long time.

The boy's appearance was like a ray of light, illuminating their past.

This made Konan realize that she also carried a responsibility: to pass on the will of the dawn that once wanted to illuminate the ninja world to Uehara Naraku.

"..."

The orange-haired man remained silent for a moment, then turned and left, leaving only one sentence in the rain: "Do as you please! We've been preparing for this war for twelve years. Whether a brat is involved or not will not affect the outcome."

(End of this chapter)