White Zetsu really can't change its nature...
A dozen years ago, when these guys first got in touch with Uchiha Obito, they were just this curious. A dozen years have passed, and they haven't improved a bit.
In a word, they inadvertently exposed a flaw in front of Uehara.
Encountering White Zetsu disguised as a young girl also completely confirmed something for Uehara Naraku, the masked man has been monitoring his movements all along.
After leaving the town, Uehara immediately sought out a secluded corner, using the Mayfly Jutsu he just learned to dive underground and quietly traveled into the distance.
After the mysterious masked man lost track of Uehara Naraku, he wasn't in a hurry because he knew the location of Uehara Naraku's mission. As long as he waited by Hoshigaki Kisame, he was bound to catch him.
"Such a hassle, that brat."
The mysterious masked man adjusted the mask on his face, pondering his next move: "That woman from the Land of Lock who constantly misses Kakashi, that useless man, is said to be a spy trained by the Land of Lock from childhood. Perhaps she can be used... Hmph!"
The woman's name is Karin.
The reason he knows about that woman's information is because of Hatake Kakashi.
In his youth, Kakashi once returned to Konoha late from a mission and casually mentioned that he had saved a little girl on the way.
By chance, when the mysterious masked man was digging up secrets all over the Ninja World, he discovered that the spy woman, Karin, trained by the Land of Lock, had decent talents and skills. Since she was never allowed to return to her homeland, with a little guidance, she could be useful eventually.
However, after observing Karin for a few days, the mysterious masked man found out that Karin was the little girl Kakashi had saved in his youth, and instantly lost interest.
The reason being, this woman had poor judgment and couldn't see people clearly.
In his view, the Kakashi whom Karin favors is an out-and-out waste, so he gave up on recruiting Karin.
Now that the masked man needs a suitable candidate for a spy, his first thought was Yakushi Kabuto, but Kabuto is a man, and he is also lurking beside Orochimaru, with some connections to Sasori of the Red Sand, which makes him not very suitable.
That woman called Karin, looks barely passable, and has some feminine skills, should be able to get Uehara Naraku to accept her, right?
The masked man quickly formulated a perfect plan.
He was even a bit excited when confirming his plan: "Hehehe... I am the genius!"
The mysterious masked man's heavy voice turned into a comical clown tone: "Let Kisame educate that brat, and at the moment of life and death, let that woman named Karin risk her life to save him!"
He was somewhat in awe of himself; if this strategy hadn't been personally devised by him, even he wouldn't be able to tell it apart!
A space-time vortex appeared behind him, engulfing him entirely, leaving only his neurotic voice: "First, go find that woman called Karin, and use the Land of Lock as leverage to threaten her!"
In the Land of Fire, within a dense forest.
Uehara Naraku's head emerged from the trees, surveying the surrounding environment. Only when he noticed no one was around did he quietly reveal himself.
Traveling underground through grasses and trees was fast, but it wasted a bit of chakra. To be able to traverse to the Land of Fire, Uehara Naraku even upgraded his equipment a bit.
Equipment: Embrace of the Blazing Angels.
Chakra energy increased by 1400 points, skill cooldown reduction increased by 20%, and reduced chakra consumption by 25%.
Originally, through advancing tasks and the Paper Bombs gifted by Konan, he completed a series of side missions, accumulating over three thousand gold coins. Now he's left with just over a thousand...
Uehara Naraku felt somewhat heartbroken, spending so much money only to gain 400 points of chakra, barely pushing his chakra to over 2000 points. If he keeps his chakra at full, he could summon the Deep Sea Titan once.
However, Uehara didn't mind using equipment to accumulate chakra numbers because advancing tasks reward quite a bit of life energy and chakra energy. What he cared more about now was the chakra recovery and life energy recovery, skill cooldown reduction, etc., brought by equipment.
Life energy: 1201/1201
Chakra energy: 133/2250
Life recovery: 2/sec
Chakra recovery: 1.5/sec
Remaining gold coins: 1070
Due to the long underground travel, his chakra was almost depleted, needing to rest for over twenty minutes here to recover his chakra.
Twenty minutes isn't a short time.
Uehara Naraku thought he had found a secluded spot. He forgot this was the quickest shortcut from the western Land of Fire to Konoha, so it was destined to have many pass by.
For example, two Konoha Anbu returning from a mission in the Land of Rivers. One white-haired ninja wearing a mask was walking on the road, holding an orange little book, reading it as he walked, somewhat engrossed.
Beside him was a purple-haired female ninja, wearing an Anbu uniform, appearing tall and graceful.
"Let's rest around here."
The purple-haired ninja's voice was like an oriole, resonating in the silent forest: "Senpai, once we return to the village this time, are you leaving the Anbu?"
"Ah? You could say that."
The white-haired ninja lowered his head, speaking softly: "The Third Hokage wants me to become an instructor Jonin, guiding the village's graduation class…"
"What a pity!"
The female ninja lowered her head, her purple hair loosely draped over her chest. She sighed and continued: "I hope there's a chance to perform missions with you again in the future."
"Hmm, no need to be this dejected. If I'm not wrong, your next partner is actually a very kind guy…"
The white-haired Anbu ninja's words suddenly halted, his steps stopped as well. He slowly turned his head towards the depths of the forest, spotting a man in a patterned mask resting under a big tree.
The purple-haired female ninja also instinctively stopped, following his gaze and seeing the masked man under the tree, she instinctively drew her ninja blade.
This was an instinctive response for the Anbu ninja.
The population in this area was sparse since it's near The Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Rain Village; the pain from several Ninja World wars was too great, and most locals have migrated closer to Konoha.
Moreover, this masked man's attire was odd, appearing inexplicably in a somewhat dangerous forest; he must be a dangerous character!
"..."
At this moment, having utilized the innate illusion to become the mysterious masked man, Uehara Naraku was also steadying his mind; this was his grand debut in the Land of Fire.
Having overheard their conversation earlier, Uehara Naraku stealthily observed them for a bit, recognizing the identities of the white-haired and purple-haired ninjas just from their masks.
Hatake Kakashi, Uzuki Yuugao.
Hence, after Uehara Naraku's chakra recovered, instead of escaping using the Mayfly Jutsu, he thought of an excellent idea.
This time, he wants to give the masked man a big trouble.