Starting as the Hidden Mastermind from Naruto

Chapter 151: A Little Tight on Cash, Kisame!

Within the Land of Fire, undercurrents surged.

After the Konoha higher-ups temporarily resolved all external threats through peaceful means, they immediately freed up their hands to clean up the internal chaos, ostensibly to track down Orochimaru's spies.

In secret, Jiraiya personally took action, beginning to supervise the investigation of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's trusted aides, searching for the Anbu who was said to have been constantly monitoring Naruto Uzumaki, to prevent the Third Hokage's dark secrets from being used by others.

This information must absolutely not be leaked!

If it were thick-skinned individuals like the Kazekage, Tsuchikage, or Raikage, it wouldn't matter. They didn't care if their actions were presentable, as long as it was beneficial to their village, they would do it.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi's persona was different.

But no matter how Jiraiya investigated the Anbu who were once responsible for protecting Naruto Uzumaki, he never found this person. Jiraiya could only temporarily classify him as missing.

Unfortunately, Jiraiya did uncover a lot of Hiruzen Sarutobi's dark history, such as secretly supporting Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura in conducting human experimentation research in Konoha.

These dark secrets directly shattered Hiruzen Sarutobi's long-standing good-old-man image. At the same time, there was also a file on an Anbu specifically responsible for Hiruzen Sarutobi's dark affairs.

These files were written in great detail.

Strangely, this Anbu's codename was "Orphan."

Jiraiya and the Konoha higher-ups believed that this Anbu codenamed Orphan was likely directly under Hiruzen Sarutobi's command and had always acted alone, without any partners.

After all, his codename was Orphan!

By a small river in the wild.

Kabuto Yakushi handed the grilled fish in his hand to Naraku Uehara, "Lord Naraku, during this time, Konoha has been investigating the Anbu who reported outside Naruto Uzumaki's window that night. It seems the little gift I left for them when I departed will soon be discovered."

"What gift?"

"Some of Lord Third Hokage's dark history."

Kabuto Yakushi pushed his glasses with deep meaning and said softly, "I have always believed that as a qualified spy, we must absolutely not let people notice that two people who shouldn't have appeared were present in a situation.

Otherwise, it would be easy for suspicion to fall on us. Even a trace of suspicion, in front of those Anbu who don't need evidence, can lead to hatred.

Whether it was Lord Orochimaru or Lord Naraku, both attracted too much hatred during the Konoha Crush plan. I can take this opportunity to plunge Konoha into even greater chaos."

This Kabuto Yakushi fellow was going to use a series of factual evidence to confirm that the people who self-destructed their secrets at Naruto Uzumaki's window that night must have been Hiruzen Sarutobi and an Anbu ninja.

Kabuto Yakushi did not hide his plan.

Since Konoha had begun to investigate this matter, he would soon logically arrange for an Anbu codenamed Orphan to defect, telling more people the news that the already deceased Hiruzen Sarutobi had single-handedly directed the Nine-Tails' rampage and assassinated the Fourth Hokage and his wife.

After explaining his plan, Kabuto Yakushi added a very philosophical quote, "If you're going to put on a play, you must do the whole thing."

"You are truly a talent!"

Naraku Uehara sighed. This Kabuto Yakushi fellow was indeed worthy of becoming a true mastermind of the ninja world in history. He would arrange everything meticulously.

Naraku Uehara suddenly raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "Does the Third Hokage really have such a dark history?"

"A little more than what Lord Naraku fabricated."

After Kabuto Yakushi nodded, he said in a low voice, "A Hokage who held the power of Konoha for nearly forty years, how could he possibly be a benevolent old man? Some people, when they get old, will use a compassionate face to paint a picture of peace."

As a spy, Kabuto Yakushi also knew a lot.

However, such a highly intelligent subordinate vaguely made Uehara, this mastermind, seem unqualified. Uehara had so much intelligence, yet he wasn't as meticulous in his actions as Kabuto!

Naraku Uehara thought for a while, and the grilled fish in his hand became somewhat tasteless. He couldn't help but frown, "I don't want to eat anymore. In the village, Teacher Konan makes grilled fish every day, and here you make me grilled fish too!"

"Uhh…"

Kabuto Yakushi's expression immediately became a little awkward, "It's too late now. How about I go to a nearby town tomorrow to buy some dango?"

"No need, I know a place that sells them."

Naraku Uehara shook his head and said softly, "I'll go find that Kisame Hoshigaki fellow directly. You do your job well and don't disappoint me."

"Yes."

Kabuto Yakushi respectfully lowered his head, watching as a deck of cards slowly appeared under Naraku Uehara's feet, and then instantly vanished with him.

A long time later, Kabuto Yakushi slowly raised his head, holding the grilled fish in his hand, and said with some regret, "Lord Naraku seems to be a bit unversed in the ways of the world… Those stray children in the Land of Fire, because they can't fish, can only scavenge for food in garbage dumps!"

However, Kabuto Yakushi touched the scroll in his ninja tool pouch. Naraku Uehara really hadn't taken the funds for building the orphanage.

Kabuto Yakushi couldn't help but sigh, "But compared to Lord Orochimaru, Lord Naraku seems to be more pure!"

In the silent jungle.

Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha were heading towards Konoha.

They had heard news of the chaos during the Chunin Exams in the Land of Fire, and also learned of Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, but Itachi Uchiha did not know of Danzo's death.

Therefore, Itachi Uchiha planned to return to Konoha to warn Danzo, and also wanted to see if his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha, was safe and sound.

When passing by a small roadside shop, Kisame Hoshigaki saw a young man sitting on the steps of the shop, wolfing down food. He was holding a dango in his mouth in a very unseemly manner.

"Mr. Itachi."

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned and looked at the young man with a light laugh, "Look, doesn't that disheveled fellow look a lot like our organization's intern…"

"He does look very similar."

Itachi Uchiha looked up and watched for a while, his expression immediately becoming a little unpleasant, "Hmm? Isn't that Naraku Uehara? Why is he here?"

This didn't seem right.

It was said that this fellow had just assassinated Konoha's Third Hokage in Konoha, and had even used the reputation of the Ninja Demigod, Hanzo of the Salamander, to force Konoha to sign an alliance agreement acknowledging Hanzo as Amekage.

Konoha was really not a good place.

Only Amegakure and Konoha Village knew the real agreement.

After the news got out, if Hanzo of the Salamander were really still alive, he would probably twist off the head of Naraku Uehara, the person who signed the agreement.

Swoosh!

A bamboo skewer stuck into the ground at Kisame Hoshigaki's feet.

Naraku Uehara looked at Kisame Hoshigaki with a dark face and extended his palm, "Senior Kisame, Mr. Itachi, I'm a little tight on cash recently. Lend me some money."

"To be honest, I don't dare to lend it."

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Kisame Hoshigaki quickly shook his head, completely disregarding his identity as Naraku Uehara's spy, and explained in a low voice, "If something happens to you and Senior Konan asks, I can't take this responsibility."

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned and continued, "I heard that one of Konoha's Sannin, Tsunade, has been very active in the Land of Fire recently. I wouldn't dare let my money go down the drain…"

"..."

Naraku Uehara muttered "coward," and turned to look at Itachi Uchiha. If Itachi Uchiha weren't here, he would definitely make Kisame a meal of grilled shark fins to try.

However, when they were in private, Kisame Hoshigaki would be exceptionally respectful to Naraku Uehara, perfectly playing the part of a spy.

But when they met on the surface, this bastard Kisame always liked to mess with his mentality, pretending they weren't familiar with each other.

Itachi Uchiha directly avoided the trivial matter of lending money and instead asked, "Uehara, why are you still here? Haven't you returned to Amegakure yet?"

"I don't have travel money!"

A small smile played on Naraku Uehara's lips.

What kind of reason is "no travel money"!

After a moment of silence, Itachi Uchiha loosened his collar, took out his wallet, and stiffly changed the subject, "You said you wanted to borrow money just now. How much do you need?"

"One million ryo?"

Naraku Uehara started with a large number, then continued, "Next time, I can approve an extra one and a half million ryo for your activity funds."

"I don't have that much."

Itachi Uchiha took out a stack of money and handed it to Naraku Uehara, "I only have one hundred thousand ryo here. Don't tell Senior Konan that I lent it to you."

"I understand."

Naraku Uehara gracefully accepted the money, "And you two? Did Lord Pain assign any missions? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"As expected of the organization's finance officer, so easy to talk to after taking the money!"

Kisame Hoshigaki gave Itachi Uchiha a meaningful look and chuckled in a low voice, "Hehehehe… we want to take advantage of the chaos in Konoha to investigate Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and see if we can capture him."

"This mission is rather simple…"

Naraku Uehara glanced at the two of them and lowered his voice, "The whole of Konoha is a mess right now. If you expose the existence of Akatsuki and still can't bring back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki for the Akatsuki, doesn't that mean you no longer have any value in existing?"

"..."

Itachi Uchiha's gaze shifted slightly. He sighed, "This is the leader's order. We can only do our best to complete it."

"Akatsuki does not tolerate incompetence."

Naraku Uehara blinked and said softly, "If you fail, the organization will probably submit a new prospective intern for competition. But don't worry, this person's strength is much weaker than yours."

Naraku Uehara chuckled and continued, "If Mr. Itachi is willing, you can kill that new member at any time. I believe no one in the organization will blame you."

"Thank you."

Itachi Uchiha nodded.

(End of Chapter)

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