The richest woman in the Ninja World, with money beyond reason.
Uehara Naraku left the Akatsuki base with a billion paper bombs and a Chakra sensor for summoning Pain, waving goodbye to Konan.
Besides him, other ninjas also had to carry out their respective missions.
The light-blue-haired woman stood at the base entrance, watching Uehara's figure gradually vanish, the worry on her face yet to fade.
Beside her, Kakuzu and Uchiha Itachi had somewhat subtle expressions.
Kakuzu, the oldest member in the Akatsuki, with the broadest knowledge, couldn't help but comment as he looked at Konan, "Hmph, do ninjas ever go their whole life without encountering danger?"
Konan glanced at him, then spoke with a furrowed brow, "Naraku is different from us, he's only twelve this year, still a kid…"
"I was already carrying out missions alone at twelve!"
Kakuzu looked even more displeased and glanced at Uchiha Itachi: "Hey, kid from the Uchiha Clan, you Konoha Ninja graduate at twelve too, right?"
"Yes."
Uchiha Itachi nodded his head; he graduated from Ninja Academy at seven, became an Anbu Captain at eleven, and became an S-Class Traitor of Konoha at thirteen due to the clan extermination event.
Seeing Konan's expression, Itachi decided to say a few words beside her: "Konan, he's just one year younger than me, but he's very strong... If not for his carelessness during our first meeting, I might have been defeated too."
"Hmm..."
Konan's brow immediately smoothed out, nodding: "Alright, then let's head to the Hidden Hot Water Village now!"
"..."
Uchiha Itachi closed his eyes and sighed.
Indeed, no matter the age or personality of a woman, as long as you go along with what she wants, you can achieve your own goals.
Konan, Kakuzu, and Uchiha Itachi left the base to search for Hidan's whereabouts in the Hidden Hot Water Village. A spatial vortex appeared where they once stood.
A mysterious masked man's figure emerged from the vortex, speaking to the empty air: "Black Zetsu, I'm going to look into how to recruit Hoshigaki Kisame into the organization…"
His voice no longer carried the frivolous laughter that it did at the Akatsuki meetings; instead, it held a certain weight, a sinister and authoritative tone of someone in power.
Out of the ground emerged a Venus Flytrap, a creature half white, half black, appeared on the ground, speaking in a hoarse voice: "Obito, why are you so focused on a mere kid? His existence won't hinder our plans and will become a tool for collecting Tailed Beasts in the future."
"That kid Uehara doesn't have a dark past!"
The mysterious masked man sneered, looking down at Zetsu: "Will he endorse our ideology in the future? Ever since Pain and Konan found him, they've been protecting him. If we don't act now, we may not have another chance!"
"Hmm? What do you plan to do with him? If you kill him, Konan and Pain will suspect us, Obito, it doesn't align with our plans."
Zetsu shook its head, not wishing for any deviation from what was meticulously planned by the mysterious masked man.
"Don't worry, I won't kill him!"
The masked man grasped the patterned mask on his face, speaking softly: "I will manipulate Uehara Naraku into darkness the way I did with Uchiha Itachi before...
You also saw earlier, at the age of twelve, he easily defeated a mixed squad of Jonin. Now he already has Jonin level strength, and he might become even stronger. He must not become overly loyal to Nagato!"
While Konan and Uehara Naraku attacked a Rain Village stronghold from the outside, Black Zetsu and the masked man quietly observed Naraku's condition in the shadows.
When they saw Uehara Naraku effortlessly use Lightning Release Ninjutsu to defeat the team of over twenty ninjas, Black Zetsu remained calm, having witnessed many large-scale situations before.
There was some confusion in Black Zetsu's hoarse voice as it looked up at the masked man: "Having Jonin level Chakra and strength at twelve doesn't seem noteworthy, like Konoha's Hatake Kakashi..."
"He's different from that loser Kakashi."
The masked man coldly interrupted Black Zetsu, cursing the genius ninja of Konoha who had promoted to Jonin at twelve.
If nothing goes wrong, Uehara Naraku will undoubtedly attain Kage level strength in the future. Unlike the neutral faction members of Akatsuki like Kakuzu, Itachi, and Sasori, he serves as an asset to Nagato and Konan.
The existence of Uehara Naraku could directly cause discrepancies in the masked man's future overt control of the Akatsuki, presenting a small but notable risk.
However…
The masked man suddenly realized that, if he could turn Uehara Naraku, he might enable the kid to fulfill a broader range of purposes.
He could even reverse-engineer Uehara Naraku's potential, turning him into an informant within Konan and Nagato's circle, stealing their intelligence and influencing their actions through Naraku.
For example, he could induce Nagato to attack various Ninja villages directly, resulting in mutual destruction between him and the Five Great Ninja Villages when the time was right!
"Changing that kid's mind is not easy…"
Black Zetsu whispered the gathered intelligence: "Uehara Naraku's father died twelve years ago protecting Konan; his mother also passed away a few months back… Besides Nagato and Konan, he doesn't have any other bonds."
Breaking a ninja's bond and dragging them into darkness is the fastest method, and they have certain practical experience.
The problem is, Uehara Naraku is an orphan!
For now, Uehara Naraku seems most emotionally bonded to Konan, but if something happens to her, Nagato might abandon collecting Tailed Beasts and directly transform into a World-Ending Demon King.
If anything transpires with Nagato's Rinnegan, describing it as fruitless is an understatement...
Neither Black Zetsu nor the mysterious masked man would allow such an occurrence, hence why he planned to guide Uehara in another way: "Bonds, these useless things, can also be cultivated."
Black Zetsu looked at the masked man, feeling as if it heard something unbelievable: "Obito, do you intend to arrange a friend for that kid? Destroying a bond is easy, but cultivating one is harder…"
"Hmph, there's always a way."
The mysterious masked man clenched his fist, whispering: "Prepare a White Zetsu for me. I'll arrange a suitable identity!"
Black Zetsu shook its head helplessly: "Fine, whatever makes you happy."
After all, it isn't an essential matter; if successful, it's beneficial, if it fails, it doesn't matter.
Uehara Naraku was unaware that someone intended to arrange a friend for him. He found himself mired in another issue, unfamiliar with the geography of the Ninja World, having never left the Land of Rain before.
His mission was to recruit Hoshigaki Kisame in the Land of Water.
Not only did he need to travel abroad, but also go across the sea.