Uehara Naraku's words were a bit frightening.
As someone who once defeated Might Guy and Hatake Kakashi together, and had overcome Sage Mode Jiraiya, Uehara Naraku actually said he was no match for Sasuke...
What does that imply?
The member of the Akatsuki wearing a hood who just toyed with Hatake Kakashi and the Tailed Beast form of Uzumaki Naruto, even Uehara Naraku could barely contend with him, and now Uehara thinks he's no match for Sasuke?
Hatake Kakashi covered his eye socket, seemingly thinking of something, and said in a low voice, "Sasuke... has he also awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Unless Uchiha Sasuke had obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan, his strength couldn't possibly have increased to the point where even Uehara Naraku would fear him.
Of course...
Because Hatake Kakashi never imagined Uehara would lie.
Maybe Hatake Kakashi believed Uehara would never lie about Sasuke...
Uehara Naraku slowly lowered his head and said softly, "Sasuke's eyes are very frightening, just like when I encountered Obito and Uchiha Itachi..."
"Well, it's okay."
Uzumaki Naruto clenched his fists tightly, full of confidence, "No matter how Sasuke changes, I'll bring him back!"
"Ha, you've got real motivation!"
Uehara Naraku patted Uzumaki Naruto on the shoulder but sighed and softly advised, "Naruto, I'm just worried that Sasuke might not be willing to acknowledge you. I once wanted to bring back Kimimaro and Haku, but they attacked me without mercy..."
"Sasuke won't do that!"
After Uzumaki Naruto finished speaking with assurance, he suddenly felt that saying this now seemed a bit inappropriate, as if criticizing Uehara Naraku's former teammates.
However, Uehara Naraku didn't mind, and quietly sighed, "I hope so! Naruto, maybe you're different..."
"Ahahaha..."
Uzumaki Naruto awkwardly scratched the back of his head and promised seriously, "If I meet Kimimaro and Haku, I'll also try to persuade them. I'll tell them that Uehara has been waiting for them!"
Uehara Naraku suppressed his impulse, slowly lowered his head, and his voice sounded a bit sad, "It's okay, don't worry about it. We've already parted ways a long time ago..."
If Uzumaki Naruto were to meet Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku and advise them to turn back, those two little guys would probably be bewildered!
Uehara Naraku's position in the Akatsuki and in the Hidden Rain Village isn't low. He even dares to rebut Pain, and besides Konan, there's almost no one who dares to provoke him.
After talking about their teammates' betrayal, the atmosphere suddenly became a bit gloomy, and everyone's mood seemed not to be very good.
"Uehara, do you have any detailed information about the Akatsuki? Especially about Sasuke."
Uzumaki Naruto's face was a bit serious, "We might come to the Land of Birds again before long. Next time, we must completely crush this evil organization!"
"Hmm..."
Uehara Naraku couldn't help but lower his head and said in a deep voice, "Recently, it's been difficult for us to track the Akatsuki, but the only thing we know is, if Uchiha Sasuke moves, his brother Uchiha Itachi will definitely act with him. The power of the two Uchihas is terrifying!"
"Is that so?"
Uzumaki Naruto started to ponder.
The members of the Seventh Class all began to think as well, after all, the Uchiha Sasuke they knew couldn't wait to cut Uchiha Itachi into pieces, so how could their relationship have improved over the years?
"Don't think too much about it."
Uehara Naraku patted Naruto on the shoulder and said softly, "If our people find any information about Sasuke or Uchiha Itachi, I'll immediately pass it on to you!"
"Alright, thank you very much!"
"Thank you, Senior Uehara!"
"Thanks."
After the Seventh Class members expressed their gratitude, the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, Gaara, also spoke up, offering his assistance as well.
Thus, the Kazekage retrieval battle came to an end.
Everyone together buried Granny Chiyo in the Hero Tomb Complex of The Sand, and because they recovered the Fifth Kazekage, they were also warmly welcomed by the Hidden Sand Ninjas.
To be honest, Uehara Naraku's feelings were subtly complex.
He really wanted to see what kind of expressions these Hidden Sand Ninjas would make when they found out he was the mastermind behind the destruction of the Hidden Sand Village!
Undoubtedly, those expressions would be very interesting.
But now, they were still very grateful to Uehara Naraku.
A murderer who killed the Fourth Kazekage but helped retrieve the Fifth Kazekage of The Hidden Sand Village; at this moment, it's like their grievances have been wiped out.
Some Hidden Sand Ninja even believe that Uehara Naraku's disposition is quite noble, given that it was the Fourth Kazekage who initially led people to invade the Land of Rain.
Kankuro, holding his bandaged arm, bowed deeply to Uehara Naraku in earnest gratitude, "Thank you. If it weren't for you putting the past aside and helping retrieve Gaara, it would have been an unimaginable loss for The Hidden Sand Village, which had just lost its Kazekage."
He learned about what happened here from Temari.
If it weren't for Uehara Naraku providing them with information about the Akatsuki, they would never have found the Akatsuki members' stronghold.
If Uehara Naraku hadn't risked his life to hold off the strongest enemy of the Akatsuki, they wouldn't have been able to recover Gaara's body from Deidara, nor would Granny Chiyo have had the chance to perform One's Own Life Reincarnation.
Strictly speaking, Uehara Naraku is truly a great benefactor of The Hidden Sand Village.
Maki also stepped forward, bowing respectfully, "We apologize for our past hostility towards you... Thank you for rescuing the Kazekage."
"It's alright."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, solemnly stating, "After all, we had misplaced our trust in Uchiha Obito, which led to the emergence of the malevolent organization, the Akatsuki.
Now the Akatsuki has become a malignant tumor for the entire Ninja World, causing significant harm to the peace of the Ninja World every time they act. After lying low for a few years, they've started stirring up trouble everywhere, and now they even dared to threaten Lord Kazekage."
For the past few years, we have been combating the Akatsuki to make up for the mistakes our Hidden Rain Village once made. We underestimated Uchiha Obito's ambitions."
After finishing, Uehara Naraku turned to the embarrassed-looking Hatake Kakashi and the Konoha Ninja, softly continuing, "Mr. Kakashi, we believe Uchiha Obito will not stop easily; he will certainly continue sending Akatsuki members to create even greater chaos in the Ninja World."
These words were simply passing the buck.
Hatake Kakashi felt a bit ashamed hearing them; after hearing Uehara Naraku's words, he not only didn't think the Hidden Rain Village had any major fault, but instead believed that Konoha bore greater responsibility.
After all, Uchiha Obito is a Konoha traitor.
Moreover, he was once Hatake Kakashi's teammate. Uchiha Obito became the most dangerous person in the Ninja World because Kakashi failed to protect Rin...
Hatake Kakashi felt a bit self-reproachful.
Of course, on the surface, Kakashi still had to maintain Konoha's image, softly speaking, "The Fifth Hokage has also been sending people to investigate Obito and the Akatsuki's information. Unfortunately, our Anbu operates mostly within our own country and is hesitant to engage in the northern Hidden Rock Village areas to avoid triggering a conflict between the two countries..."
This blame was directly shifted to Onoki.
After all, back in the day, during the Land of Grass incident, Onoki indeed employed Akatsuki members to gain an advantage for The Hidden Rock Village, and the sum paid was likely not small.
In the fight for the Land of Grass, a dozen S-Class traitors were dispatched; if the money wasn't substantial, it wouldn't make sense!
Uehara Naraku followed Hatake Kakashi's lead, directly placing the blame on Onoki: "We also speculated that after Uchiha Obito was driven away by us, he might have gained support from the Third Tsuchikage Onoki..."
"Yes."
Hatake Kakashi followed up, "Konoha also has similar suspicions, or rather, sufficient evidence; during the Land of Grass incident, Onoki almost blatantly used Akatsuki to achieve his goals."
During that Land of Grass incident.
Akatsuki swept away the Konoha Ninja forces, and The Hidden Rock Village Ninja swiftly occupied the entire Land of Grass, leaving Konoha to fight back to reclaim the territory from the Hidden Rock Ninja.
In such a back-and-forth struggle.
If Konoha hadn't ceded half of the Land of Grass to the Land of Rain, gaining the deterrence of Salamander Hanzo the Half-God against the Akatsuki, Konoha might still be mired in the Land of Grass today.
Gaara, clutching his arm, looked around and solemnly said, "Perhaps the three Ninja Villages could unite to exert pressure, demanding that the Third Tsuchikage Onoki hand over the Akatsuki members' list and all related information."
This was purely wishful thinking.
How could the Third Tsuchikage Onoki be so easily subdued? Wouldn't that severely undermine his authority?
Gaara is indeed too young as a Kazekage!
Even if Onoki were willing to compromise for the sake of The Hidden Rock's interests and hand over the Akatsuki's list, where would he get such a list? In the end, he would still have to steadfastly deny any collusion with the Akatsuki.
Hatake Kakashi's expression was a bit complex, and he softly said, "I need to report this matter to Lord Hokage, as it is a significant issue. Moreover, if we were to form an alliance to attack the Akatsuki, The Hidden Mist Village could also assist."
This seemed genuine.
The Hidden Mist Village harbored an almost undisguised animosity towards the Akatsuki.
After all, the Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Uchiha Obito, who implemented the gruesome Blood Mist policy, severely weakening the Hidden Mist Village.
"Yes."
Uehara Naraku nodded solemnly, looking at Hatake Kakashi and Gaara, "I must also return to report this matter to Lord Hanzo before making a decision..."
Having said this, Uehara Naraku sighed, "After all, we will face threats from The Hidden Rock Village directly. If we provoke the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, no matter how powerful Lord Hanzo is, he can't possibly defeat The Hidden Rock Village's tens of thousands of Ninja troops!"