Uehara Naraku followed the Seventh Class into Konoha, where scouting teams were patrolling the area within several kilometers of the village's outskirts.
This tension was due to the Akatsuki having recently destroyed two major Ninja Villages, making Konoha anxious about a possible sudden invasion. Uehara even noticed the anti-aircraft weapons mounted on Konoha's walls.
The lessons learned from the sudden assault by the Ancient Giant Dragon on the Hidden Mist Village and the Hidden Sand Village were profound, and Konoha was taking preventive measures to avoid being caught off guard.
Uehara Naraku couldn't help but praise as he looked at those strange defensive weapons, "Konoha's precautions against an Akatsuki invasion are quite thorough!"
"After all, Akatsuki has already destroyed two major Ninja Villages..."
Hatake Kakashi followed his gaze and quietly sighed, "Now the Barrier Team in the village is on duty 24 hours a day, and any disturbance entering Konoha will be relayed to the Hokage Tower within ten seconds."
"Impressive."
Uehara Naraku nodded, not sparing his praise, "Just in this aspect alone, it surpasses our Hidden Rain Village by far, truly the strongest Ninja Village in the Ninja World."
Yes, this information needs to be reported back.
As a member of an evil organization planning to attack Konoha Village in the future, it was amazing to be able to openly observe Konoha's defensive measures.
In addition to these defensive and alert policies, Konoha has not relaxed its guard on its high-level combat strength. Jiraiya, who was originally out searching for the Child of Prophecy, hurried back after being summoned by Tsunade.
Also, those like Might Guy and Rock Lee, who were on missions outside, were called back to the village, waiting for a task to confront or hunt down the Akatsuki.
Everyone believes that the decisive battle between Konoha and the Akatsuki is about to begin.
Six Akatsuki members are active within the Land of Fire; they certainly aren't just here to kill Chiriku and Sarutobi Asuma for bounties, are they?
Inside the Hokage Tower.
When Uehara Naraku entered, he found that everyone who needed to be there had already arrived, even Terumi Mei, who had come from the farthest, had arrived early in Konoha.
Moreover, Terumi Mei wore the hat symbolizing her position as Mizukage, having mysteriously been promoted after the Akatsuki attack.
After the attack on the Hidden Mist Village, its leadership was finally granted the position of the Fifth Mizukage to Terumi Mei, ensuring her status in this summit of the great nations.
After all, this meeting is a true Three Shadows Conference.
The Hidden Sand Village, Fifth Kazekage, Gaara.
The Hidden Mist Village, Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei.
Konoha Village, Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
Uehara Naraku felt a bit unaccustomed when walking in because it seemed like he was the only one without a position.
If he wanted to shock these three Shadows directly, he could simply don the Cloud Black Robe and wear his little ring, posing as the 'Second Generation of Akatsuki'...
As it stood, he felt like a subordinate of the three Shadows.
Indeed, as soon as Uehara Naraku entered, Tsunade, sitting at the head, immediately frowned and spoke unhappily, "Why is it you again, kid? I thought Lord Hanzo of the Salamander would accept this invitation!"
"Lord Hanzo still needs to guard against an Akatsuki attack."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, casually pulled over a chair, and sat down, "If Lady Tsunade is not welcoming me, I can leave now."
"No, that's not what I meant at all."
Tsunade shook her head and sighed, "I just thought a Ninja Demigod could play a greater role in our upcoming plans."
"Actually, Lord Naraku can as well!"
Terumi Mei turned to look at Uehara Naraku and winked at him, "I'm still very glad to see Lord Naraku at this meeting."
"Hmm, the same here..."
Gaara murmured lightly.
If Gaara were to show enthusiasm, it would feel awkward, considering Uehara Naraku had always bullied him in the past; but even a cold demeanor feels unnatural since Uehara Naraku recently saved him.
"Alright, since everyone is here, let me first give a rundown of the current situation!"
Tsunade leaned back in her chair and spoke softly, "Mizukage suggested that we should launch an ambush on Akatsuki to capture one or more Akatsuki members and obtain more information about them, but it seems we now have an even better opportunity."
After Tsunade finished speaking, she turned to look at Nara Shikaku and Nara Shikamaru, who stood at the door, and said in a deep voice, "There are more than six Akatsuki members within the Land of Fire, and this was witnessed by Chunin Nara Shikamaru in our village, who is an outstanding Intelligence Ninja. Let's have him introduce information about these people to everyone."
"Yes, Lady Hokage."
Nara Shikamaru nodded, standing by Tsunade's side, with a face serene as death, "About three days ago, two Akatsuki members, whose names should be Kakuzu and Hidan, attacked the Temple of Fire and murdered its host, Lord Chiriku.
After receiving the news, we immediately moved to capture these two Akatsuki members, hoping to get information about Akatsuki by capturing them.
However, when we tracked them down, we discovered there were not just two but six traitorous ninjas from Akatsuki who had infiltrated the Land of Fire."
As Nara Shikamaru spoke, he paused slightly to suppress his emotions and quietly continued, "Our captain, Sarutobi Asuma, covered our retreat and was surrounded by Akatsuki members, perhaps tortured to death by them.
Because after Konoha raided the money exchange, we confirmed that Asuma-sensei's body had been exchanged for a bounty by Kakuzu of the Akatsuki.
The person in charge of the bounty exchange office said that Asuma-sensei's body had many wounds, but only his face was recognizable, to facilitate claiming the bounty by confirming the identity of the corpse. However, we did not find the bodies of Asuma-sensei and Chiriku at the bounty exchange office."
Nara Shikamaru's fingers trembled slightly. He suppressed his emotions and continued, "After our repeated confirmations, this attack on the Temple of Fire and the murder of Asuma were done by Akatsuki members, at least six of them.
Firstly, Uchiha Itachi, an S-Class traitor from Konoha Village.
Secondly, Kakuzu, an S-Class traitor from the Hidden Waterfall Village.
Thirdly, Hidan, the murderous demon from the Hidden Hot Water Village.
Fourthly, Hoshigaki Kisame, an S-Class traitor from the Hidden Mist Village.
Fifthly, Hozuki Mangetsu, an S-Class traitor from the Hidden Mist Village.
Sixthly, Ringo Ameyuri, one of the Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist.
That concludes my report."
After Nara Shikamaru finished speaking, he stepped back, indicating that his task was complete, and that it was now up to the higher-ups to deliberate.
Terumi Mei glanced at Uehara Naraku and saw him looking at her as well, causing her heart to skip a beat. She took the initiative to explain first, "Hoshigaki Kisame and Hozuki Mangetsu have been defected for a long time. As for Ringo Ameyuri, she was taken away or recruited by Hozuki Mangetsu from the Hidden Mist Village. I will issue a wanted order for Ringo Ameyuri when I return."
This matter needed to be swept under the rug for now.
After the meeting, Terumi Mei planned to discuss with Uehara Naraku about what exactly was wrong with Hozuki Mangetsu, and whether he had truly defected.
"Hmm…"
Tsunade pinched her fingers, nodded slightly, and continued softly, "This time, with six Akatsuki members active within the Land of Fire, we suspect that the enemy's plan is likely to attack Konoha and capture the Nine-tailed Jinchuriki belonging to Konoha."
"That's the only reason."
Gaara nodded calmly.
The Akatsuki's ambitions for the Tailed Beasts were clear as day. The One-tailed Shukaku inside Gaara was extracted by Akatsuki members. If it weren't for Chiyo, Gaara would have been buried long ago.
Uehara Naraku nodded and continued, "Tsunade-sama, do you want us to station in Konoha Village to guard against Akatsuki's surprise attack?"
"No, not at all."
Tsunade slowly clenched her fist and said in a serious tone, "We intend to take advantage of this opportunity, with Akatsuki members infiltrating the Land of Fire, to send out a large force to launch a proactive assault!"
Everyone raised their heads in surprise, looking at Tsunade. They clearly didn't think that Tsunade's actions could succeed. It was difficult enough to even defend Konoha, let alone mount an assault?
Could she have lost her mind?
Gaara shook his head and countered, "Tsunade-sama, I might need to remind you that when Akatsuki personnel appear to attack a large ninja village, they often bring along a terrifying Summoning Beast that can fly in the air…"
"That's right."
Terumi Mei's expression was also grim. She earnestly addressed Tsunade, "Tsunade-sama, Kazekage-sama's point is valid. Akatsuki's personnel are elusive. Even just tracking them is exceedingly difficult."
"..."
Tsunade's face instantly drooped.
After all, she wanted to keep the enemy outside the village. A large-scale battle with Akatsuki in Konoha would result in incalculable losses.
However, if they could engage Akatsuki in the field, they could fully exploit the numerical advantage of Konoha Ninja, employing tactics like encirclement and division to isolate Akatsuki members and engage in focused combat with powerful ninja.
Now that Terumi Mei and Gaara were unwilling to support her decision, Tsunade couldn't help but feel a bit upset inside. It's just that she had already made up her mind regarding this plan, and the reason she brought it up in the meeting was to gain combat support from the two Kages and Uehara Naraku.
Uehara Naraku rubbed his forehead and said softly, "Actually, Tsunade-sama's plan is not entirely impossible. If Konoha's intelligence is correct, it seems that the six members appearing in the Land of Fire might not be too difficult to deal with?"
This was indeed the case.
After all, with three Seven-swords Ninja, the Immortal Duo, and Uchiha Itachi, that half-blind, half-sick guy, if they planned well, the chances of success were high.
Uehara Naraku tapped his fingers on the table and continued softly, "If we move fast enough, there's a high chance of a successful attack. Capturing one or two members, or even more, would greatly benefit us."
Uehara Naraku sighed and said softly, "However, I need to remind you, besides these six people, Uchiha Obito might also show up. This is usually the configuration for Akatsuki's action plan;
If Konoha is determined to proceed with the plan, I suggest considering other factors, like the elusive Uchiha Obito!"
"We will keep Naraku-sama's suggestion in mind."
Tsunade finally wore a slight smile on her face, not hiding her bit of gratitude toward Uehara Naraku, and said softly, "Thank you! Regarding our upcoming action, I would like to ask, can the present experts participate in cooperative combat?"
After all, Gaara, Terumi Mei, and Uehara Naraku are all very powerful!
Not to mention, they could at least keep several Akatsuki members occupied!
Especially Uehara Naraku and Gaara, both of whom could fly.
Before Gaara and Terumi Mei could respond, Uehara Naraku nodded first and agreed: "I am actually quite interested in this. Eliminating these Akatsuki members who endanger the Ninja World is one of my reasons for coming to Konoha..."