Starting as the Hidden Mastermind from Naruto

Chapter 153: Welcoming a New Member Soon

As Hinata Hyuga succeeded as the head of the main family and received the bows of numerous branch family ninjas, Naraku Uehara, hiding in a small cave, let out a loud sneeze.

"I've offended so many people recently…"

Naraku Uehara wrapped his black ninja clothes tighter around himself and lamented in a low voice, "After harvesting a crop of Konoha's leeks, I'll have to keep a lower profile in the future. I really can't stand being cursed at every day."

Naraku Uehara's guess was correct; someone was indeed cursing him.

In the Land of Fire, at Tanzaku Town.

Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki finally found Tsunade and told her about the chaos in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, and the invitation for her to become the Fifth Hokage.

Tsunade's attention quickly focused on the murderer of Hiruzen Sarutobi. She abruptly crushed her sake cup, "Wait… the guy who collaborated with Orochimaru to cause the chaos in Konoha and kill the old man is named Naraku Uehara?"

She remembered this name vividly!

Over the past few years, whenever Tsunade lost all her money, she would miss that young Amegakure ninja who brought her money. They had so much fun back then!

She never expected that the next time she heard this name, that somewhat shy little brat would have become an accomplice to Orochimaru in causing the chaos in Konoha!

Tsunade slammed her fist on the table, her silver teeth clenched tightly, "I should have killed him back then! No wonder I kept winning when I was at the gambling table with him. Fate was reminding me at that time that I should have killed that little brat!"

Judging from Jiraiya's words, that little fellow named Naraku Uehara had grown at an astonishing rate, to the point where he could already fight with a Sannin-level Jiraiya.

If she had killed Naraku Uehara back then, Konoha might not have suffered such great losses, and Hiruzen Sarutobi might not have died.

"Uhh…"

Jiraiya sighed and spoke up to explain for Naraku Uehara, "Actually, he was also forced into it, right! After all, that little fellow was also acting under Hanzo's orders…"

This was not the right occasion to go into detail.

Only when the two of them were alone did Jiraiya tell Tsunade about the dirty dealings of the two old men, Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The blonde female ninja was so angry she sent Jiraiya flying with a punch, "The current Konoha is a complete mess, and you want me to be the Fifth Hokage?"

"There is no one more suitable than you."

Jiraiya sighed faintly, rubbed his chest, and explained in a deep voice, "Even if I were to serve as Hokage, Konoha would be in danger of falling apart… Tsunade, only you are the most suitable person."

Because Tsunade was the granddaughter of the First and Second Hokage, and also1 a renowned medical ninja throughout the ninja world, she was highly respected. Apart from being a bit unconventional, she was undoubtedly the most suitable person to become Hokage.

"Alright then!"

Tsunade suddenly threw two dice and chuckled lightly, "As long as you lose to me, I will agree to your request!"

"..."

Jiraiya didn't respond to her.

Tsunade's brow furrowed. She crushed the two dice into powder with one hand and muttered unhappily, "Not even as courageous as that Naraku Uehara brat… What a pity for a gambling buddy. The next time we meet, we'll be enemies!"

"Don't think too much about it."

Jiraiya interrupted Tsunade and said in a deep voice, "If nothing unexpected happens, you two will never meet again!"

Naraku Uehara didn't know that Tsunade and Jiraiya were talking about him.

While Naraku Uehara was hiding in a small cave lamenting the hardships of life, his ring transmitted a communication. Nagato had sent him a warning, "Kimimaro Kaguya and Haku have returned. Konan wants to speak with you. She looks very angry right now, and I can't stop her."

"Lord Nagato, I'm in a cave."

Naraku Uehara stroked the ring in his hand. After inputting chakra into the ring, he whispered, "The signal here is not very good. Can the chakra be transmitted?"

However, Nagato soon stopped responding.

After a while, Konan's voice, suppressing her fury, came from the ring, "Naraku, where are you now? Return to the village immediately!"

"Teacher, I still have some things to deal with over here…"

"Don't give me those useless, perfunctory words. As you've grown up, your courage has also grown. You even dared to collaborate with Orochimaru to assassinate Konoha's Third Hokage!"

Konan didn't listen to his explanation at all. Even from a great distance, Naraku Uehara could imagine that Konan's expression must be very cold right now, as if she were indifferent to everything.

And this was precisely the state she was in when she was most angry.

"Teacher…"

Naraku Uehara lowered his head and sighed, telling a small lie, "If I hadn't assassinated the Third Hokage, I wouldn't have been able to meet Danzo Shimura, the mastermind behind the chaos of the Chunin Exams. I met Danzo Shimura just before and killed him."

Danzo Shimura was defined as "missing" in Konoha.

Naraku Uehara could make up whatever he wanted about this matter.

Upon hearing these words, the other side of the ring fell silent. Clearly, both Nagato and Konan were somewhat shocked by this news.

Konan's voice seemed to have softened a lot. She said in a low voice, "Naraku, come back first! It's too dangerous for you outside right now. Although Konoha is temporarily caught up in trouble and has no time to hunt you down, once they recover, they will not easily let go of the murderer who killed their Hokage."

"Teacher, but I have a problem here."

Naraku Uehara explained in a deep voice, "Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki failed to capture the Nine-Tails in Konoha. Akatsuki's intelligence may have been leaked in Konoha…"

Hearing the gravity in Naraku Uehara's words, Konan softly comforted her disciple, "There's no such thing as an organization that can hide behind the scenes forever. Besides, we will handle Akatsuki's affairs. What you need to do now is return to the Land of Rain immediately."

"Konan, Uehara has already grown up."

Nagato, on the other side, persuaded Konan and then said, "Don't worry, Uehara. You can do whatever you want. The Six Paths of Pain is your backup. If you encounter danger, summon the Six Paths of Pain immediately. I will prepare sufficient chakra in the Deva Path's body."

"Nagato, don't spoil him too much."

After Konan coldly rebuked Nagato, her voice suddenly became somewhat chilly, "I heard that Kakashi Hatake of Konoha gave you a few books?"

Naraku Uehara: "..."

Why was that Haku fellow such a blabbermouth?

Was this the kind of thing one could report to Konan?

"Pay attention to observing the Three Ninja Prohibitions."

After Konan warned him coldly, she continued, "In the future, remember to be careful when making friends. That Kakashi Hatake, who tried to lead you astray, I will not let him go when we go to Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails."

Naraku Uehara: "..."

What more could he say to this?

Of course, Kakashi Hatake had to fend for himself!

"Okay, I'll remember."

After Naraku Uehara nodded seriously, he softly promised, "I have found a brat suitable to become an intern. After I find him in a few days, I will bring him back."

"Be careful of your own safety."

After Nagato reminded him, he suddenly spoke in a low, deep voice, "Uehara, thank you for helping me find my clansman."

After saying this, Nagato cut off the chakra connection.

On the high tower in Amegakure, Konan frowned, her face as cold as frost. She looked at Nagato with some dissatisfaction, "I still have many things to tell him…"

Nagato shook his head and softly dissuaded her, "Uehara is at a rebellious age. If you say too much, he will become defiant."

Seeing Konan's somewhat suspicious gaze, Nagato continued to explain, "Actually, Uehara being willing to proactively do things is also a form of training for him. At least we don't have to worry about the future of Amegakure and Akatsuki anymore."

Konan lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up, "Then after Naraku returns, we'll let him become the leader of Amegakure, to govern the entire village and the Land of Rain, so he won't always be leaving our side."

"..."

Nagato no longer wanted to communicate with Konan.

Konan always wanted to tie Naraku Uehara to her like a child, afraid that something might happen to him. But how would a man know the hardships of life if he didn't go out and experience some trials? How would he know that home is the warmest harbor?

Of course, Nagato wouldn't really let Naraku Uehara fall into danger.

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After Konan left, Nagato immediately had the Deva Path Pain use the Magic Lantern Body Technique to issue an order, telling Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha to go and assist Naraku Uehara in completing a mission to recruit a new member, but their real purpose was to protect Naraku Uehara's safety.

This was simply outrageous.

Unfortunately, this order could not be refused.

A few days later.

Naraku Uehara saw Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha arrive by his side. The three of them squatted in the small cave, staring at each other.

Itachi Uchiha spoke first, trying to fish for intelligence, "Is the new member we are recruiting a Konoha ninja? Is it that Konoha rogue ninja codenamed Orphan?"

These past few days, that Konoha rogue ninja named Orphan had been causing a huge stir. Even Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had heard news of him. Many people in the ninja world were paying attention to this matter.

"No."

Naraku Uehara shook his head and explained softly, "But it's close. The ninja we are recruiting this time is also an orphan whose parents died when he was young…"

And you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, are the murderer who made him an orphan!

Itachi Uchiha nodded and began to calculate in his mind who they were recruiting. After all, Akatsuki always prioritized strength, and there were very few in Konoha who met the criteria.

"Could it be Mr. Guy? Or Mr. Kakashi?"

There were quite a few orphans in Konoha. For a moment, Itachi Uchiha could only think of these two, as only their strength was considered up to Akatsuki's standard.

This was not good.

If it were Might Guy, it would be acceptable. But if that person, Kakashi Hatake, were to betray Konoha, the blow to the village would be fatal.

Unfortunately, Naraku Uehara kept it a secret, insisting on not revealing this information, which made Itachi Uchiha feel somewhat uneasy.

"Don't worry."

Naraku Uehara chuckled lightly, "Mr. Itachi, if you have any conflicts with the new member, I will help you."

"Thank you."

Itachi Uchiha began to think again.

If this rogue ninja was a great enough harm to Konoha, then under the pretext of having a "conflict," he would just kill him directly!

Naraku Uehara quietly activated his Destiny skill and curled his lips, "Alright, let's go to the Valley of the End! We'll wait for our new member there!"

Valley of the End.

Everything was proceeding as expected.

When Naraku Uehara, Itachi Uchiha, and Kisame Hoshigaki arrived at the Valley of the End, the canyon was still very calm. The giant statues of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju stood in this Valley of the End, looking majestic.

Just upon arriving here, Naraku Uehara received five hundred gold coins. Starting in the Land of Fire or Konoha was indeed the right way to open the game!

"What's the point of us coming to the Valley of the End?"

"Because this is the place where old friends parted ways!"

Naraku Uehara pointed to a figure flying over in the distance, still being pursued, and chuckled lightly, "See? That is our new member."

The person fleeing in front was Sasuke Uchiha.

The person chasing him from behind was Naruto Uzumaki.

History had been forced by him onto its predetermined track. Not long after that woman Tsunade returned to Konoha to succeed as the Fifth Hokage, the Sound Four appeared one night and took Sasuke Uchiha away. A group of Konoha genin gave chase.

The Sound Four, to cover Sasuke's escape, were currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Konoha genin. Naruto Uzumaki, with the cover of his friends, had also caught up with Sasuke.

In the Valley of the End, a drama of former teammates parting ways was unfolding.

Itachi Uchiha looked at the two youths fighting below in the Valley of the End, his face suddenly turning ugly. Whether it was his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha, or Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, it was not a good thing for either of them to be captured by the Akatsuki!

"How about it?"

Naraku Uehara looked down at Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha fighting fiercely on the lake surface and chuckled lightly, "Mr. Itachi, you pick one! Should we take your younger brother, or should we take Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned and offered a different opinion, "Oh? Little intern, does the leader have any special orders? Can't we take both brats?"

"Of course, we can."

Naraku Uehara smiled very happily, "This way, your team's mission to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki can also be completed!"

Naraku Uehara and Kisame Hoshigaki sang a duet here, disturbing Itachi Uchiha's mind. He felt that he had encountered the greatest test since joining Akatsuki.

Itachi Uchiha gritted his teeth, his eyes instantly turning scarlet. He said in a deep voice, "Sasuke Uchiha's strength is too weak, and he holds a deep-seated hatred for me…"

"Then kill him."

Naraku Uehara looked at Itachi Uchiha with a half-smile and continued softly, "Senior Kisame, kill Sasuke, and capture Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki… this task shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"

"I'd be happy to."

Kisame Hoshigaki shouldered his Samehada greatsword and laughed heartily, acting very realistically, "This little brat was disrespectful to Mr. Itachi before. It's a good opportunity for me to take his head and vent some anger for Mr. Itachi!"

Itachi Uchiha: "..."

Damn it, does this shark-faced bastard need to be so meddlesome?

Were these two, Naraku Uehara and Kisame Hoshigaki, trying to force him to his death on the spot?

(End of Chapter)

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