"Naruto, Sakura, Lady Chiyo, Sai, if they try to surround and capture us, we should hold our ground and wait for reinforcements or move towards Mr. Guy's position..."
Uehara Naraku glanced at the positioning of the Akatsuki members, his gaze becoming increasingly serious, his voice even slightly louder: "If they are trying to retreat, I'll handle the strongest ninja among them. You guys find a way to rescue the Fifth Kazekage from Deidara or distract them!"
"Understood!"
Uzumaki Naruto and the others nodded one after another.
Uehara Naraku truly is a strategic ninja.
Both the Akatsuki members and the Konoha Ninja strongly believe this, so they will follow Uehara Naraku's plan.
Perhaps this is the peak of life?
The wisdom of one person orchestrating the battles of both sides.
Uehara Naraku secretly gave himself a thumbs-up.
As expected, Nagato immediately grasped Uehara Naraku's message, glanced down at Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand beside him, and said in a deep voice: "Since Uehara Naraku is here, perhaps there are other reinforcements behind him. Let's retreat first!"
"Alright!"
"Understood!"
Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara each prepared to turn and leave.
Their actions immediately drew the attention of others. Uehara Naraku swiftly rushed towards Nagato, shouting in a deep voice, "Act now!"
"Yes!"
Uzumaki Naruto, Sai, and Haruno Sakura almost simultaneously charged at Deidara, but Deidara seemed to already be on alert and flew into the air on his Clay Giant Bird.
"Super Beast Scroll: Bird of the Sky!"
Sai quickly sketched a flying bird.
Sadly, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura could only watch the direction Deidara was flying and throw shurikens. Both of them had almost no long-range attack capabilities.
Fortunately, when Uehara Naraku rushed to Nagato's side, he noticed the commotion over there and raised his hand towards Deidara's position to release a flame!
"Don't get too cocky, Uehara Naraku!"
Nagato watched as the flame brought down Deidara's bird, and couldn't help but shout, then he engaged in combat with Uehara Naraku!
The two of them seemed to have never officially faced off before.
Nagato became more surprised as he fought, even unable to stop a faint smile from forming at the corner of his mouth: "Heh… It seems that after I mocked your taijutsu back then, you've spent a long time training in it!"
"Of course."
Uehara Naraku almost couldn't hold back a smile, but he forced an angry expression and spoke: "I don't want to disappoint Sensei, so I've been working harder than anyone these past few years!"
After blocking Nagato's finger, Uehara Naraku punched towards his chest: "Everyone praises me as a genius emerging from the common folk, but I've risked my life to earn Sensei's recognition. Don't use the word genius to undermine my efforts!"
"..."
Nagato was completely stunned.
At this moment, he couldn't tell if what Uehara Naraku said was true or false.
Over the years, many have witnessed Uehara Naraku's efforts in the Hidden Rain Village. He practiced diligently from morning till night, and when idle, he would practice hand seals alone.
Whenever Akatsuki members or Hidden Rain Ninja occasionally encountered Uehara Naraku, he was almost always practicing hand seals alone, or investing in studying his ninjutsu.
Honestly…
Uehara Naraku's hand seal speed truly does not do justice to his efforts.
Fortunately, Uehara Naraku chose another path. Even if his hand seal speed wasn't fast, the power of his ninjutsu was immense.
Uehara Naraku started following them when he was twelve.
At that time, they had not yet occupied the Land of Rain. Konan doted on him so much she couldn't bear to leave him alone in the unfamiliar base. Every time Konan went on a mission, she would take Uehara along under the guise of training.
Uehara Naraku did not fail Konan's expectations. Every mission was flawlessly executed, he even risked his life to earn Konan's approval and aspired to be a member of Akatsuki.
In fact, Konan had long recognized his strength.
However, the path of the Akatsuki was too dangerous, the future uncertain, and at that time Nagato's life was also at risk, each use of the Rinnegan reducing his life force...
Uehara Naraku's arrival brought a new light to their lives.
Later, they killed all their enemies from those days, seized the Land of Rain and the Hidden Rain Village, and ensured the Land of Rain no longer had any wandering orphans.
Akatsuki's plan was back on track, the Hidden Rain Village gradually grew stronger, and Nagato's life was temporarily assuaged.
A significant part of this was accomplished by Uehara Naraku.
Did he give everything just to not disappoint his Sensei?
Nagato couldn't help but discreetly observe Uehara Naraku's face and sighed inwardly. The once twelve-year-old child was now twenty!
Over eight years, who knows how much effort Uehara Naraku has secretly devoted?
Nagato wasn't alone in feeling like this.
Even Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura, who were still engaged in the fierce battle, involuntarily glanced at Uehara Naraku when they heard what he said.
Because they were reminded of words they were familiar with.
When Uchiha Sasuke was once called a genius, he once scoffed and said those words to others. He gave everything to do this; how could the word genius erase a person's effort?
At this moment.
Uzumaki Naruto's favorability towards Uehara Naraku rapidly increased.
Haruno Sakura's favorability towards Uehara Naraku quickly soared.
"..."
Uehara Naraku punched Nagato on the shoulder, waking him from his daze, and Nagato instinctively released a repulsive force!
Almighty Push.
Uehara Naraku swiftly crossed his arms in front of his chest, simultaneously letting go of all his strength to avoid resistance.
Because Almighty Push has a weakness.
If the opponent's strength is greater than the technique user's, it will send the technique user flying!
Uehara Naraku wasn't confident; if Nagato were to be repelled by the reaction force of Almighty Push, it would indeed be amusing…
Sure enough, Uehara Naraku was sent flying!
Yet he didn't give up his resistance in the slightest, forming hand seals to unleash a super-large-scale Water Release Ninjutsu: "Water Release: Roaring Wave!"
A massive tsunami rose from Uehara Naraku's ground, sweeping towards Nagato and the others. The first to suffer was Granny Chiyo and Sasori of the Red Sand, who had to abandon the fight and drift with the waves.
Until Nagato slowly extended his palm, gently touching the incoming tsunami, and softly said, "Preta Path!"
The massive tsunami was absorbed in an instant!
Uzumaki Naruto shouted towards Uehara Naraku, "Uehara, Ninjutsu doesn't work on him; I suspect he has the ability to absorb Chakra too!"
"I know he has that ability! But without using powerful Ninjutsu, how can we attract his attention!"
Uehara Naraku responded loudly, watching Nagato casually absorb the Chakra from the Roaring Wave, before leaping towards his position again!
Even though Nagato and Uehara Naraku were both holding back, the excitement of the battle far exceeded everyone's imagination.
Simply the Taijutsu duel alone made everyone marvel!
Hatake Kakashi had no strength to fight back in Nagato's hands, yet Uehara Naraku was nearly evenly matched in battle with Nagato!
Unfortunately, Uehara Naraku was still helpless against Nagato, and even became somewhat exhausted by the end of the battle, unable to prevent Nagato from helping Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara…
However, the Konoha Ninja and Chiyo might not have been without results!
At least with the combined effort of Uzumaki Naruto, Sai, and Haruno Sakura, they broke through Deidara's explosive barriers and found Gaara from the falling Clay Giant Bird!
But…
The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, had already become a corpse. This Kazekage retrieval mission left uncertain whether it should be called a success or failure.
"Hmph!"
Nagato swept everyone away with a single blow, coldly saying, "Since you want a corpse, then take it back!"
"Bastard!"
Uzumaki Naruto stared at Nagato and the others with a face full of ferocity.
Haruno Sakura and Granny Chiyo also looked grim.
Sasori of the Red Sand snorted coldly, displeased at the stolen corpse: "The Fifth Kazekage was supposed to be my material for making a puppet, my third collection… Granny, you shouldn't have come."
"Sasori."
Chiyo slowly clenched her fists, looking at Sasori of the Red Sand and saying word by word, "The Hidden Sand Village is my home. Anyone who harms the Hidden Sand Village, I won't let go. For the village, I'm willing to sacrifice everything, even killing my own family!"
"This is the darkness of the Ninja Village."
Sasori of the Red Sand looked at Granny Chiyo, snorting coldly, speaking with disdain: "You're willing to sacrifice your family for the village, but have you forgotten the original purpose of forming the village was to protect them?"
"..."
Chiyo's face was like being struck by lightning.
However, in the next moment, Chiyo realized, as she shook her head, and personally held Gaara's corpse in her arms, saying coldly, "Lord Uehara, Naruto, Sakura, Mr. Sai, let's go!"
"Don't go…"
Deidara rudely pulled out a handful of Clay Bombs!
Uehara Naraku, however, blocked in front of them, thwarting Deidara's pursuit, scrutinizing Nagato, Sasori of the Red Sand, and Deidara, protecting Chiyo, Naruto, and the others as they cautiously retreated.
Nagato opened his mouth to stop Deidara, saying solemnly, "Deidara, stand down! Since Uehara Naraku appeared here, he surely wouldn't take risks lightly, he must have backup!"
This sentence was both a reminder to Deidara and to Uehara Naraku.
Uehara Naraku's mouth twitched, it seemed Nagato was still worried about him being in danger, so as a spy, he naturally had to respond with intelligence.
Uehara Naraku snorted and said, "You really know me well!"
"Of course."
Nagato squeezed the ring in his hand, speaking with deep meaning, "Uehara Naraku, we, Akatsuki, are very concerned about you, so we won't miss any information about you, brat."
"Hmph!"
Uehara Naraku jumped to a big tree, clenching his fist, looking at Nagato saying, "Rest assured, Akatsuki guys, once I return to the Hidden Rain Village and muster forces, we'll have the opportunity to meet again soon!"
This farewell was spoken with a feeling of deep hatred.
As he watched Uehara Naraku and the others grow farther, Nagato waved his hand, saying, "Alright, let's go back and report to Konan! Uehara will return soon!"