Naruto: The Information Broker from the Uchiha Clan.

Chapter 269 Former Akatsuki

The appearance of the Akatsuki organization in the Root organization's mission report stunned Hiruzen Sarutobi.

They were not only surprised by the timing of Akatsuki's appearance, but also by the fact that Danzo was involved.

"Bang."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down abruptly, his mind already filled with thoughts of his old friend.

At that time, things were chaotic, and Root's mission escaped his notice. That's why he didn't receive this intelligence.

Reaching a consensus and setting aside past grievances through dialogue—to be able to say such things and to uphold this as a guiding principle. How could the Akatsuki organization in this report be the current Akatsuki?

As he pondered, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the scroll in front of him again and checked the contents one by one.

At this moment, he was no longer as carefree as before. The appearance of the character "晓" (Xiao) involved too many things.

Looking back, the reason why Uzumaki Sora was willing to antagonize Konoha and destroy Root at the beginning might have been because of this mission report.

It's possible that when he fought Danzo, after Root collapsed, he didn't find the mission report. He only left after realizing that Danzo was dead.

As they deciphered the codes one by one, the minds of those who had long served in high positions were also constantly pondering the possibilities.

Time passed slowly, and the sunlight outside the window gradually faded away.

The night was deep and quiet, but Hiruzen Sarutobi showed no sign of stopping.

The contents of the scroll had already unsettled his mind.

"squeak……"

The door was pushed open, and Asma walked in.

"It's so late, why aren't you resting yet?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi replied without even looking up, "There's some important intelligence that needs to be deciphered, so I probably won't have time to rest today."

Important intelligence?

Asuma frowned. What important information could this retired old man possibly have?

Moreover, shouldn't the task of deciphering be done by the code team?

After a moment's thought, Asuma said in a deep voice, "Today's Five Kage Summit has started smoothly, and the Kage of the five great ninja villages will meet again in three days. At this time... Konoha cannot afford any mistakes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi's scribbling pen paused.

After a long silence, he replied, "Although we had many conflicts when you were a child, I always believed that you still trusted me..."

"I may not have been successful as the village's Kage, but as a member of Konoha, I believe I have been more than enough."

After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi explained, "Jiraiya gave me a Root mission report before, and the scroll was made up of coded messages. As a former teammate, I know Danzo better than anyone else..."

"But you can't know the contents of this document yet. The importance of the information that made me stay up all night to translate it is self-evident, even though you have become a Jonin in the village."

Asuma paused for a moment upon hearing this, then bowed and apologized, "I'm sorry... Father."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, then glanced at the scroll in front of him, which was already mostly deciphered.

"The ninja world is about to descend into chaos."

"Asuma...you might not believe it, but at this moment I was even glad that it wasn't me who became Hokage, but Minato."

"Danzo... released a demon. Driven by the power of hatred, he pursues a false peace. The power possessed by the enemy has begun to exceed our imagination."

Completely confused, Asma didn't ask any questions.

As mentioned before, Jonin are only the backbone of this village and do not reach the higher levels. It is not yet time for him to know such important information.

"Why……"

After sighing, Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand, dismissing Asuma.

After the study door was closed, Hiruzen Sarutobi resumed his unfinished work.

As night fell, the night quickly passed.

As the morning light shone again, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally deciphered the entire scroll's record.

However, at this moment, his hand holding the scroll was trembling slightly!

The consequences of letting Danzo run rampant have struck again. If he hadn't been the Third Hokage and considered their past relationship...

So perhaps the Akatsuki would still be that naive and laughable organization, and would not have grown into the behemoth it is today.

The Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths!

Only with such power could he later become the leader of the Akatsuki organization.

His companion was killed, all the previous Akatsuki members were killed, and he rescued his only companion after the Rinnegan was activated.

Will this boy with the power of the Rinnegan later reunite with Akatsuki and become its leader?

This possibility is extremely high!

Hiruzen Sarutobi rolled up his scroll and turned to walk away.

……

Konoha Commercial Street.

By this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi had searched through all the women's bathhouses in Konoha, but still could not find Jiraiya's whereabouts.

"Wait a minute...did he change his personality?"

He muttered something to himself, and Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed a little puzzled.

As his disciple, Jiraiya knew very well what kind of person he was.

After a moment's thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the Hokage Building.

If it weren't for the special nature and importance of this intelligence, he really wouldn't want to come to this place again.

As the former Hokage, he and his three old friends, who served as his advisors, made decisions on all the major events in the village from this mansion.

However, nowadays...

Danzo is dead, En is imprisoned, Koharu and I are both in retirement, and even a large part of our direct ANBU have been handed over.

"call……"

After exhaling, Hiruzen Sarutobi strode towards the Hokage Building.

"Sandaime-sama."

The Chunin on duty bowed slightly, and Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded: "Is Minato here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two ninjas on duty exchanged a glance and hesitated.

Although sometimes even a genin can rush into this place, such as Naruto, the son of the Hokage, and that kid from the Uchiha clan.

But as a former Shadow, and in this special period, his identity is different from that of ordinary people.

"Go and report it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't intend to make things difficult for the two of them. Although the information in his hand was urgent, he still lowered his head and waited quietly.

……

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.

"Teacher, while the appearance of the Rinnegan is important, the Akatsuki's problems are the most pressing issue right now."

Minato looked at Jiraiya with some helplessness: "Nearly 100,000 troops, a number that even exceeds the number of ninja from the Five Great Nations. Add to that the forbidden technique of Impure World Reincarnation, and there's no doubt that their core strength is formidable."

"There's also Uzumaki Sora. Even if Yun can kill him here, he can still revive."

"Compared to the two, the attempt to win over Amegakure can be postponed."

These words made Jiraiya hesitate.

After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Nagato's personality was very extreme when he was young, and Yahiko's death must have been a huge blow to him at that time."

"I know Yahiko's personality very well. Although he is a bit naive, it is also his will to keep the Land of Rain from war."

"Hanzo the Salamander was killed by Nagato, and the peace that the Land of Rain enjoys today is hard-won. Under these circumstances, Nagato must protect this peace."

Jiraiya smiled confidently, "As their former teacher, although we haven't seen each other for many years, I still have some influence with them. After all, last time, I was able to sense the immense power within him..."

"But he didn't kill me... did he? Nagato may be extreme, but Konan is a very kind girl."

Minato was still somewhat hesitant, after all, Konoha didn't have much information about the Land of Rain due to its isolation.

Seeing this, Jiraiya continued, "We have no information about the power of the Rinnegan, but the fact that it was once the eye of the Sage of Six Paths is enough to prove the power it contains."

"The Akatsuki's current strength, which has only been exposed so far, is enough to alarm us. How much more is hidden remains unknown."

"If we could get Nagato to join the alliance of the Five Great Shinobi Villages at this time, our chances of winning would increase by more than 10%!"

Jiraiya added, "Furthermore, the report on the mission where Danzo and Hanzo of the Salamander conspired to kill Yahiko has been found, and the old man is currently deciphering it. Knowing the cause and effect will make it more likely that we can persuade Nagato."

At that moment, there was a knock on the office door.

Shikaku walked in carrying a stack of documents and placed them on the desk in front of Minato.

"The people from the four great ninja villages were all arranged yesterday. The Tsuchikage went to the Hidden Cloud Village yesterday, but he didn't stay for long."

Minato pondered for a moment before replying, "The Fifth Raikage's personality is vastly different from the previous two Raikages, so this reaction is to be expected."

Shikaku nodded, then added, "By the way, the Third Hokage needs to see me. He's waiting downstairs right now; the guard told me that when I came in."

These words startled Jiraiya, who immediately vanished from the office in a flash.

Minato sighed, "Although it's a special time, the Third Hokage is still the previous Hokage, so doing this is rather impolite."

Shikaku thought for a moment and replied, "After all, the older generation lacks trust. Mitokado Homura, who was the Hokage's advisor before, also caused a lot of trouble."

At this point, both of them stopped talking.

Because, according to my senses, two figures were approaching from not far away outside the door.

……

After the door was opened, Minato, who was preparing to apologize, did not get a chance.

With a solemn expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi entered the room and immediately placed the scroll in front of Minato's table.

"This is the Root mission report that Jiraiya asked me to decipher. It was originally supposed to take about three days, but because I realized its importance at the beginning, I deciphered it last night."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he hadn't rested at all since yesterday.

He stared at Minato and said, "The Akatsuki's power has far exceeded our expectations. If my guess is correct, they may even have surpassed the Five Villages Alliance in strength."

These words startled Minato, and he immediately forgot his original intention to apologize.

He immediately opened the scroll, and the content that came into view, only the beginning, made him frown.

【dawn】

Upon seeing this character, Minato instantly understood why the Third Hokage was so tense.

The Akatsuki organization was founded in the Land of Rain during the later stages of the Third Shinobi World War, by three young people with naive ideas.

They take Hanzo the Salamander as their role model and are committed to stopping wars through conversation, so that the Land of Rain can remain peaceful.

Leader: Yahiko.

At that time, in order to prevent the war in the Land of Rain from ending and to allow Konoha to avoid being noticed, Danzo, the Dark Lord of Konoha, orchestrated this mission.

He persuaded Hanzo, the leader of Amegakure, to join forces with Akatsuki, arguing that the Akatsuki's growing power would threaten his position in the Land of Rain, and to completely annihilate Akatsuki.

Here, Hanzo of the Salamander, who had followed Danzo's advice, went a step further and, after kidnapping the only girl among the three, agreed to Yahiko's request for a talk.

Then, by threatening the girl's life, he forced Nagato, who was standing next to Yahiko, to kill him.

The incident ultimately began with Yahiko crashing into Nagato's blade, causing his Rinnegan to unleash astonishing power under intense stimulation.

A transparent object appeared, absorbing the souls of the ninjas surrounding it.

A girl named Konan was rescued, while Nagato's legs were crippled by Hanzo's fire-style attack.

From that point on, the Akatsuki organization was destroyed.

At the end of the scroll, another piece of information was recorded.

Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, is tasked with finding out about the whereabouts of the three men and, according to orders, sending back information that they died in the war.

……

At this point, Shuimen closed the scroll, his gaze filled with solemnity.

After glancing at Jiraiya, he handed over the already deciphered scroll: "With this intelligence, there's no point in trying to win over Amegakure. Take a look; perhaps our enemies still have hidden forces."

At this point, Minato raised his hand.

"Whoosh!"

A member of the Anbu suddenly appeared, and Minato said, "Notify Uchiha Yun and ask him to come to the Hokage Building immediately!"

The secret service received the order and instantly left.

At this moment, Jiraiya finished reading the scroll, and his gaze was also solemn as he remained silent.

"Snapped!"

He lost his grip and the reel fell to the ground.

The sound startled Jiraiya awake. After a wry smile, he said, "It's Amegakure? Could that kid Nagato really be connected to Akatsuki now?"

Minato shook his head and replied, "No one can be sure about that, but as one of the founders of the previous Akatsuki, there's also Konan. It's perhaps not a coincidence that these two became leaders of Amegakure together."

"The best way to hide is, of course, to become the master of a village. In times of peace, the secluded Amegakure becomes a natural haven."

Jiraiya sighed and looked out the window.

Just then, Shikaku picked up the scroll from the ground and was about to put it back on the table when Minato raised his hand to stop him: "As the brain of Konoha, this information also needs your analysis. Take a look."

For a moment, the Hokage's office fell silent.

After a long pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Now that the intelligence has been delivered, I'll head back."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around and prepared to leave.

After taking two steps, he turned to look at Minato: "Although I am old and frail, if the Hokage makes the arrangements, I am ready to go to the battlefield!"

……

(End of this chapter)