Uchiha Itachi was deceived.
If he had known who the new intern joining Akatsuki was, he would have regretted lending Uehara Naraku some money today.
In the days to come, Uehara Naraku, with his green tea deceptive charm, would constantly provoke Uchiha Itachi to kill this new intern under the guise of doing it for Itachi's own good.
At the moment, Uchiha Itachi knew nothing. After infiltrating Konoha with Hoshigaki Kisame, he felt that the defenses were somewhat strict. Uchiha Itachi failed to gather information about Shimura Danzo and was discovered by Hatake Kakashi and others.
After an intense battle, the two had no choice but to retreat.
During this battle, Hatake Kakashi suffered once again. Facing the Tsukuyomi genjutsu, he was back in the hospital shortly after being discharged.
However, Konoha also learned about Akatsuki's plan to seize the Nine-tails from them.
When Uchiha Sasuke found out, his first thought was to find Uzumaki Naruto to prevent him from facing any danger.
Turns out, Sasuke was too late and found that Uzumaki Naruto had already been taken away by Jiraiya.
Jiraiya wanted to find Tsunade to get her to take on the role of the Fifth Hokage, and taking Naruto along was for his protection and also to teach him.
At this point, Sasuke quickly set off to catch up, hoping Naruto would avoid being tracked by Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, but he was caught by Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Itachi sent Sasuke into a Tsukuyomi trance, landing him in the hospital as well.
Yet, Jiraiya alone managed to fend off Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, forcing them to give up on their mission to capture the Nine-tails.
Uehara Naraku watched all this unfold, unable to keep a slight smirk off his face: "Well done, Uchiha Itachi! You leaked information about Akatsuki to Konoha without doing anything; spies will be punished for this…"
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto pushed up his glasses in silence, stepping out from behind Uehara Naraku: "So, this is the reason you want Uchiha Sasuke? Are you hoping Uchiha Sasuke can defeat Uchiha Itachi?"
After saying this, Yakushi Kabuto did not wait for Uehara Naraku to respond and continued on his own: "Forgive my bluntness, but I don't believe Uchiha Sasuke can defeat his brother… From what I understand, Uchiha Itachi is the most gifted ninja of the Uchiha Clan, his talents only second to Shisui of the Body Flicker."
"Don't worry, I'm fully confident."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, speaking softly: "Are your preparations complete? What is Orochimaru up to now?"
Yakushi Kabuto respectfully bowed his head and said: "Orochimaru is currently studying the corpse of White Zetsu, but his body can't hold out much longer. The Sound Four have received orders and will soon arrive in the Land of Fire to take Uchiha Sasuke away."
"It seems our plan is proceeding smoothly."
Uehara Naraku glanced at Uchiha Itachi, who was holding his eye as he retreated with the help of Hoshigaki Kisame, and said quietly: "Taking advantage of Jiraiya's absence and Hatake Kakashi's severe injuries, I'll re-enter Konoha tomorrow to take the bioscience laboratory equipment, to avoid any trouble."
"Thank you very much."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded, chuckling lightly: "Once I finish the task on Orochimaru's side, I will head to the Hidden Rain Village to bring you abundant experimental results."
"That would be good."
Uehara Naraku patted Yakushi Kabuto on the shoulder, looking encouragingly at him: "You can go to Orochimaru and keep an eye on him for me now. I'll visit you secretly from time to time."
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto nodded helplessly.
Is this 'visit' really just a visit?
When Uehara Naraku went to Konoha this time to retrieve the bioscience lab equipment as per the agreement, he didn't hesitate. Konoha is now weaker than it was a while ago, with Might Guy being the only remaining formidable fighter.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were surprised to see Uehara Naraku return with the alliance document, wondering why he is still alive, and even more so as the Hidden Rain's envoy.
Has Hanzo of the Salamander become too old to wield a sword?
"You seem surprised that I'm still alive?"
Uehara Naraku smiled slightly and said softly: "Hanzo of the Salamander was indeed furious when he learned I rejected the condition of becoming the Amekage, but since the civil war in the Land of Rain remains unresolved, he allowed me to redeem my crimes."
"Is that so?"
Mitokado Homura rubbed his forehead and said: "We are quite glad to meet such a talented ninja…"
Glad, my foot!
These two Konoha advisors are probably hoping that the Hidden Rain envoy would bring his head back along with the alliance document!
"I'm here to exchange alliance documents."
Uehara Naraku couldn't be bothered with them, placing the alliance document down lightly: "And to take the bioscience lab equipment promised to the Hidden Rain Village by Konoha."
"Konoha is facing some issues."
Utatane Koharu, after accepting the alliance document, said softly: "We might need the new Fifth Hokage to sign to ensure long-term effectiveness, but she is currently away on business and hasn't returned to assume her duties at the village yet. You might need to wait a bit longer."
Uehara Naraku immediately frowned and said, "So the signatures of the two Hokage advisors and Jiraiya-sama don't count?"
No need for Utatane Koharu to say it, Uehara Naraku had already guessed that the Fifth Hokage of Konoha must be that woman Tsunade!
He didn't want to meet that woman Tsunade!
What if Tsunade doesn't let him leave Konoha?
Besides, at that time, Konoha would have two of the Sannin members, and maybe they would dare to turn against their word, so the sooner the matter of Konoha is resolved, the better.
"No, we just believe that after the Fifth Hokage signs the alliance document, our alliance can be more enduring."
Utatane Koharu said slowly, looking like she was really considering the peace between the Hidden Rain Village and Konoha: "What if in the future, when we both retire, the Fifth Hokage deems our alliance unreasonable..."
"I believe that won't happen."
Uehara Naraku interrupted Utatane Koharu and said solemnly, "Advisor, time is of the essence, who knows what the future holds? What if the Fifth Hokage of Konoha refuses to sign the contract, how am I supposed to explain to Lord Hanzo!"
Uehara Naraku clenched his fist and continued, "Besides, I've recently heard of a traitor code-named Orphan, who is widely spreading the deeds of your village's Third Hokage. I think there aren't many ninja left who dare trust the Hokage's credibility, right? Instead, I trust Jiraiya-sama more."
"... "
Utatane Koharu's face changed abruptly.
The Anbu code-named Orphan was Sarutobi Hiruzen's confidant, and someone they had been secretly investigating, so how did the Hidden Rain Village know about this?
Could it be that person has defected?
Sarutobi Hiruzen really left a big problem!
Utatane Koharu quickly calmed down and whispered, "How did you get this information? These are slanders against the Third Hokage!"
"Whether it's slander or not, I don't know..."
Uehara Naraku shook his head and continued, "But this greatly reduces our trust in your village, and I must hurry back to participate in the civil war in the Land of Rain, I can't stay here another day!"
"I understand."
Utatane Koharu sighed and said softly, "If the Hidden Rain Village encounters that traitor, please assist us in capturing or conveying the relevant information, we will give the Hidden Rain Village substantial rewards and support."
Konoha cannot afford any more chaos now.
First of all, we must absolutely not let that Anbu traitor named Orphan run loose or defect to enemy ninja villages, because if Konoha's dark secrets are exposed, it will be a bigger blow than the death of the Third Hokage!
There's a fear that Konoha's internal problems will also arise.
Now that the information has not fully spread, they must immediately send Anbu to search and capture that traitor, that guy is an even greater threat than an S-Class Traitor!
Since Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura have more important matters, they no longer entangle with Uehara Naraku and directly gave him a set of biological science lab equipment.
Yakushi Kabuto knows Konoha too well, creating a non-existent traitor, just made two Konoha high officials panic...
Who knows whether that person really exists?
When Uehara Naraku was leaving Konoha, a piece of information made him raise an eyebrow, it was a strange hidden mission...
Hidden Mission: Hyuga Hinata becomes the Clan Leader of the Hyuga Main Family (1/1), task completed, reward skill Golden Bell Shield.
Golden Bell Shield: Quickly dash to the side of an ally and apply a shared shield to both, skill consumes 50 Chakra points, skill cooldown 7 seconds.
Compared to this reward, Uehara Naraku was more amazed by the fact that Hyuga Hinata became the clan leader of the Main Family, this world is becoming more and more fascinating...
Hyuga Main Family.
As the protagonist of the day, Hyuga Hinata appeared in full dress, performing with great composure in this succession ceremony.
Her face showed less timidity and more resilience.
If it wasn't seen in person, people probably wouldn't realize, just over half a month ago, she was still a timid Genin.
Sitting next to her was the paralyzed Hyuga Hiashi in a chair, yet this former clan leader of the Main Family now had a Caged Bird Curse Seal on his forehead.
It's worth mentioning that because Hyuga Hiashi couldn't protect his Byakugan Bloodline, he voluntarily placed the Caged Bird on his own head as a last shield, gathering much loyalty from Branch House Ninjas for his daughter.
Hyuga Hinata adjusted her robe slightly, then straightened her posture, waiting for the last step of the succession ceremony.
Rows of Branch House Byakugan ninjas knelt respectfully on the ground, saluting this twelve-year-old clan leader, and the entire grand mansion of the Main Family echoed with their voices.
"Greetings, Lady Hinata!"
"Please... please rise."
The Byakugan girl's soft voice did not completely match her status, lacking severe authority, creating a bit of contrast charm.