Just as Sasori of the Red Sand lamented that Uehara Naraku and Deidara were too young, Uehara Naraku was lamenting that Sasori of the Red Sand was too old and unable to change his mindset.
The task of pursuing Orochimaru originally belonged to Sasori, and he always resisted letting anyone interfere, even his teammate Deidara.
However, Uehara slightly mentioned a few issues concerning the Hidden Sand Village, testing the waters simply.
It seemed that Sasori indeed took the bait.
Perhaps Sasori was worried that his grandmother would provoke the Akatsuki, so he took the initiative to handle the problems of the Hidden Sand Village and agreed to let Uehara pursue Orochimaru alone.
Clearly, for him, Chiyo was undoubtedly more important than Orochimaru.
When his loved ones might be in danger, Sasori of the Red Sand was visibly a bit unsettled, truly the first member of the Akatsuki to show mercy to an enemy.
After all, Chiyo personally raised him, taught him puppetry, and even though Sasori of the Red Sand was recognized as the strongest puppet master, he always claimed his grandmother was the strongest puppet master.
Family, for Sasori, was indeed more important than anything else.
"Perhaps I can use Chiyo to win over Sasori of the Red Sand."
Uehara Naraku touched his chin, sighed, and said: "But it feels like I'm undermining my own teacher!
Forget it; I'll go after Orochimaru first. I must complete a few tasks with him, get some things, and compensate for the losses!"
At this moment, the ring on Uehara's hand suddenly felt a bit strange.
From this situation, it seemed that Nagato wanted to contact him and needed him to feed back Chakra into the ring.
However, when the ring's Chakra connected with Nagato's in the Hidden Rain Village, the voice that came through was Konan's.
"Naraku."
Konan's first words were complaints: "Why didn't you pay attention to avoiding danger while out on a mission? After meeting the Fourth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, you should have reported back to us immediately, instead of acting on your own."
Uehara Naraku patted his forehead and said to the ring on his finger: "Teacher Konan, I also didn't expect the Fourth Kazekage to be so weak."
Konan somewhat agreed: "The Kazekage is indeed weak. Even Sasori could kill the so-called strongest Third Kazekage..."
After finishing, Konan added: "But shouldn't you have been unable to kill him? Did you run out of Paper Bombs?"
"...I still have plenty."
Uehara Naraku's expression was somewhat subtle.
Now, talking to Konan like this felt somewhat like a parent calling to ask if a child at school had run out of living expenses.
"Come back immediately."
Konan seemed slightly relieved but still instructed in a deep voice: "Leave the problem of Orochimaru to Sasori. It's too dangerous for you to be active in the Hidden Sand Village."
"Teacher Konan, I can handle it."
Uehara Naraku quickly assured her: "And if I encounter any danger, I can immediately summon the Deva Path of Pain with the Black Rod..."
These words were only to comfort Konan.
Based on Uehara Naraku's current strength, even if he encountered Uchiha Obito, he wouldn't need to summon the Deva Path of Pain.
Alone, he could fight if he wanted, retreat if he desired.
The vast Ninja World, no one could stop Uehara Naraku from escaping.
"No."
Konan interrupted him, not wanting him to continue taking risks: "You've been away too long this time. I'm still somewhat worried about you. Orochimaru isn't that easy to deal with."
Although Konan believed the Deva Path of Pain could definitely defeat Orochimaru, based on what she knew, Orochimaru had always been hiding his true strength.
One must know that back in the day, when Jiraiya praised Nagato's quick learning of Ninjutsu, he implicitly mentioned that Nagato's talent was comparable to that of his friend Orochimaru.
Who knows if Orochimaru has any dangerous Kinjutsu?
"Hey, hey, hey... Teacher Konan..."
Uehara Naraku tapped on his ring and said softly: "Can you hear me? Can you hear me? The signal here isn't very good..."
Konan replied quickly: "I can hear you. Speak..."
"Hey, hey, hey... Can you hear me? Teacher? Can you hear me?"
After Uehara Naraku repeated it a few more times, he closed his mouth and quickly cut off the Chakra supply to the ring.
This was Uehara's divine skill from another world.
The only problem was that Nagato might know the truth, but Uehara had his own unique response. He could say that he ran out of Chakra during the flight.
After all, it's just a harmless little trick.
After a while, the ring trembled boringly a few times, seemingly not receiving enough Chakra, and finally stopped.
Inside the Hidden Rain Village.
Konan's expression didn't look good, clenching her fist: "We lost contact with Uehara, and I'm a bit worried about him..."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Nagato coughed a few times, suppressing the smile on his face, shook his head, and sighed: "Perhaps the child has grown up."
Konan didn't quite understand Nagato's meaning.
However, Nagato didn't explain much to her.
As the creator of the rings and the link for Chakra connection, would Nagato not know if there was a problem with the rings?
"Alright, let's wait a while before contacting him again!"
Nagato lowered his head slowly, trying hard to suppress the smile on his face, and continued: "After all, Uehara can summon the Deva Path of Pain. I will wait for his summoning."
After Konan left.
Nagato quietly inputted Chakra into the ring and said softly to it: "Uehara, if your Chakra is exhausted, find a safe place to rest.
If your Chakra is not exhausted, remember to tell your teacher upon your return that you ran out of Chakra this time, understood?
If you encounter any danger, summon the Deva Path of Pain immediately. You don't need to be overly obsessed with proving your strength to us.
Your desire to become an official member of the Akatsuki, I will find a way.
Also, your teacher is always worried about you being out there alone.
If there's no way to catch up with Orochimaru, return to the Land of Rain immediately. You still have a lot to learn.
I've been through your age stage, experiencing some rebellion and confusion, wanting to prove to my teacher that I've become very powerful.
But, Uehara, you must remember that your safety is the most important thing to us."
Land of Wind.
Uehara Naraku heard Nagato's words and was a bit dumbfounded.
Did he just passively receive a teenage education talk?
This ring on his hand can leave one-sided messages? It seems like when Hidan and Kakuzu were on a mission, Nagato issued commands through Pain.
The wasted resources should be Nagato's own Chakra.
Listening to Nagato's words, Uehara Naraku felt somewhat touched.
He had previously thought of treating Nagato, and after obtaining the Star Infusion skill, it was basically possible to extend Nagato's life or reduce the burden of the Rinnegan.
Now, he must quickly acquire a scroll of Healing Sage Art, or find a way to explain the source of Star Infusion from somewhere.
Maybe he could shift the blame to Orochimaru?
"Then let's take care of Orochimaru first, and I'll help them manage the Hidden Rain Village upon return! Maybe I can't be the village head, but being an accountant in the village shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Uehara Naraku quietly opened the fate panel, watching the direction where Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto were fleeing. Their destination should be a hidden base.
"Let's go to the base and wait for them!"
Uehara Naraku's figure quietly disappeared into thin air, his voice gradually dissipating over the dunes: "When Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto get home, they'll surely be surprised to see me! Let's search and see if there's a healing scroll!"