After Uehara Naraku and Sasuke returned to the shore.
Deidara was the first to come forward, laughing and hugging Uehara Naraku's shoulder, and immediately started showering him with praise: "Hahahaha... Uehara, you really are something, defeating the Three-tails so effortlessly, way better than any Uchiha!"
Uchiha Sasuke's expression darkened.
Uehara Naraku, a bit helpless, also extricated himself from Deidara's arm, knowing full well this guy was using the opportunity to praise him to shade the Uchiha!
Uchiha Sasuke turned his head, looking around, suddenly curious as he asked, "Hmm, where is Zabuza?"
"Hmm, Zabuza..."
A meaningful smile appeared on Uehara Naraku's face: "Because Mr. Zabuza wanted to betray the Akatsuki, we buried him in his hometown. Consider it a reward for his years of hard work without much glory."
"..."
Uchiha Sasuke felt a jolt in his heart.
This group really is ruthless.
Uchiha Sasuke remembered when he leaked information to Hatake Kakashi back in the Land of Grass; if the Akatsuki knew, what would they do to him?
No way.
Until his strength was sufficient, he absolutely couldn't get involved with Konoha anymore.
"Alright, alright, let's take the Three-tails back to be sealed first!"
Uehara Naraku patted Sasuke's shoulder, scanning the surrounding environment. Just when he was about to call down the Ancient Dragon, he saw Sasori of the Red Sand had somehow sidled up to Orianna.
Sasori seemed quite cheerful chatting away.
If they kept chatting, would he want to swap oil with her...
Uehara Naraku looked at this scene speechlessly and raised his finger to dismiss the Clockwork Demon Spirit Orianna; she was his puppet!
Sasori approached, looking at Uehara Naraku with a somewhat hesitant expression, and softly said, "Uehara..."
"Senior Sasori, let's go first!"
Uehara Naraku interrupted Sasori, avoiding any unreasonable requests, and waved to summon the Ancient Dragon to land beside them.
Even with the Ancient Dragon, it seemed still difficult to leave with the Three-tailed Isobu, since it's a living beast; what if it resisted midway?
Deidara frowned, looking at the enormous Three-tails, and said, "Are we really going to carry such a big guy away? Why not just find a safe place here and have Pain gather hands to seal it with the Illusionary Body Jutsu?"
"Forget it. We've destroyed The Hidden Mist Village; the Land of Water isn't too safe for us."
Uehara Naraku shook his head, glanced at his skills panel, and found a Genjutsu skill, Hypnotic Bubble, a reward from defeating Yamanaka Ino during the Chunin Exam that he hadn't used much.
The Hypnotic Bubble's Genjutsu effect can put people to sleep, but it consumes 80 Chakra points every 3 seconds, something Uehara Naraku had to calculate carefully.
"Wait for me a moment."
Uehara Naraku drew on the ground with a twig, causing those present to find it a bit baffling. Why was this guy suddenly doing math?
Uehara Naraku sighed quietly. If he used the Hypnotic Bubble, the consumption seemed too high!
Just putting the Three-tailed Isobu to sleep for an hour, even with the Embrace of the Blazing Angels reducing Chakra consumption by 50%, still required four to fifty thousand Chakra points.
With Uehara Naraku's current 250,000 Chakra, he could only control Isobu for about five hours.
"I'll first use Genjutsu to hypnotize the Three-tails."
Uehara Naraku kicked out forcefully, sending a cute bubble flying from his toe, landing on the Three-tailed Isobu.
Those present were dumbfounded watching this scene.
What kind of operation is this?
This is also called Genjutsu?
As the Hypnotic Bubble hit the Three-tails, it transformed into countless cute birds around Isobu, and this huge Tailed Beast slowly closed its eyes, slipping into sleep.
Uehara Naraku clapped his hands, summoned the Ancient Dragon to lift the Three-tailed Isobu, and softly said: "Remind me in five hours, I'll reapply the Genjutsu."
"…Alright."
Sasori of the Red Sand nodded.
Luckily the speed of the Ancient Dragon was fast. After a night, they returned to the Akatsuki base by morning.
This time, the speed of capturing the Tailed Beast was indeed swift.
On the afternoon before yesterday, Uehara Naraku and his team set out for the Land of Water; Kakuzu's squad also set off for the Temple of Fire.
Yesterday morning, Uehara Naraku destroyed The Hidden Mist Village and captured the Three-tailed Isobu; Kakuzu's squad was on the road to the Temple of Fire.
This morning, Uehara Naraku and his team returned to the Akatsuki base with the captured Three-tailed Isobu; Kakuzu's squad was still on the road to the Temple of Fire...
The efficiency comparison was glaringly obvious.
So when Pain used the Illusionary Body Jutsu to call a meeting, Deidara, upon learning they were still en route to the Temple of Fire, immediately taunted Kakuzu's squad's Hidan.
"Trash, trash, trash! Idiots, idiots, idiots! We've already brought the Three-tails back, and you haven't even reached your destination!"
"You bastard! Sooner or later, I'll offer you to Lord Jashin!"
Hidan was furious, ranting for a while before turning to Kakuzu: "Hey, Kakuzu, we need to move faster. Can't you summon your Summoning Beast too?"
"Suitable Summoning Beasts are hard to find..."
Kakuzu shook his head calmly, said in a deep voice, "Earning money isn't something to rush! After sealing the Tailed Beast, we need to rest a day before acting again."
"Hahahahahahaha..."
Deidara couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Shut up!"
Sasori of the Red Sand couldn't help but rub his forehead, finding himself helpless with his teammates: "Whether it's capturing the Three-tailed or destroying The Hidden Mist Village, it's Uehara Naraku and Uchiha Sasuke who did it. We just went on a trip..."
"..."
Deidara's smile instantly froze on his face.
This time, it seemed like he really hadn't done anything, no wonder he felt so relaxed after returning from this mission.
Speaking of contribution, not only did he pale in comparison to Uchiha Sasuke, but he wasn't even as good as Sasori, since Sasori gave Uehara Naraku a scroll to seal the Byakugan, and even reminded Uehara Naraku to apply Genjutsu to Three-tailed Isobu at night!
"Hahahahahaha!"
Hidan immediately seized the opportunity, mocking Deidara: "Seriously, I could have done it if I went too! That just shows that this dumb Kakuzu isn't as good as that guy Uehara..."
"Shut up!"
Kakuzu couldn't help but twitch his forehead.
If he could, Kakuzu really wanted a change of teammates.
Unfortunately, almost all other members of Akatsuki have a very high bounty, and without any Undying Body, Kakuzu couldn't control his urge to kill teammates for money, so he could only endure this guy Hidan.
"Alright."
Deva Path of Pain frowned and interrupted their argument, speaking softly: "This time we need to seal two Tailed Beasts, so save some of your strength!"
Since Akatsuki's base also had Four-tailed Jinchuriki Roshi, this time Akatsuki had to seal both Three-tailed Isobu and Four-tailed Son Goku, and it would take quite some time.
Just as Akatsuki's members were sealing the Tailed Beasts, Konan was having a somewhat leisurely and confusing time in The Hidden Rain Village, vaguely feeling that something was off.
Why did it feel like ever since her disciple became a formal member of Akatsuki, he blended into the organization like a fish in water, while she, one of the creators of the organization, seemed not to have executed any missions for a long time...
However, Konan quickly became more bewildered.
Because she was directly puzzled.
Ajisai appeared in Konan's office, respectfully saying: "Lady Konan, people from Konoha and The Hidden Mist Village have respectively sent letters."
"Hmm? The Hidden Mist Village?"
Konan raised an eyebrow, and after opening the two letters, her expression became increasingly bewildered, somewhat doubting life.
These two letters were actually meant for Hanzo of the Salamander, mainly to invite Hanzo of the Salamander or Uehara Naraku to attend the alliance meeting with Konoha, The Hidden Sand Village, and The Hidden Mist Village, with the theme being how to counter the threat of Akatsuki to the Ninja World.
After all, both letters were confidential, and needed to gain Hanzo of the Salamander's attention without revealing Konoha and The Hidden Mist Village's real plan to ambush Akatsuki.
Konan sat at her desk, falling into prolonged silence.
The last time Uehara Naraku destroyed The Hidden Sand Village and captured Gaara, the One-tailed Jinchuriki from The Hidden Sand Village, Konoha and The Hidden Sand Village sent people to The Hidden Rain Village seeking aid, hoping they could help retrieve Gaara.
This time, Uehara Naraku destroyed The Hidden Mist Village and captured the Three-tailed Isobu from the Land of Water, and Konoha and The Hidden Mist Village sent letters inviting them to participate in the alliance talks on how to deal with the threat of Akatsuki.
To be honest, Konan was quite puzzled by this.
"Am I getting too old?"
Konan picked up the two letters on the table again, looking at each line carefully, ultimately her gaze landed on a line in The Hidden Mist Village's letter.
Please ensure Lord Naraku attends, as recently I've been losing sleep thinking about Lord Naraku's face, eagerly anticipating a close meeting with him again.
The signature was Terumi Mei.
This woman has quite something going on!
Konan raised an eyebrow, recalling that last time when Uehara Naraku seemed to attend a meeting in the Land of Grass, he met with Terumi Mei. What happened between them at that time?
Konan's gaze suddenly turned slightly unfriendly, rubbing her forehead: "I remember the intelligence said this woman named Terumi Mei is already thirty years old this year, isn't she? Naraku is only twenty years old!"
However, sitting there in The Hidden Rain Village, she definitely couldn't figure it out.
Thus, after the Akatsuki members finished sealing the Tailed Beasts, Konan used the Illusionary Body Jutsu to appear in Akatsuki's base, looking at her disciple: "Uehara, The Hidden Mist Village and Konoha have sent letters inviting you to attend their alliance talks..."
"..."
Just after sealing the Three-tailed and Four-tailed Tailed Beasts, all Akatsuki members were feeling somewhat exhausted.
However, after hearing Konan's words, everyone seemed to regain some spirit.
Is there something wrong with the Ninja World?
Wasn't this guy Uehara the one who just destroyed The Hidden Mist Village? And The Hidden Mist Village is inviting him to attend alliance talks? What kind of divine espionage is this!
Uehara Naraku rubbed his forehead and softly asked: "Teacher, did they mention the purpose of the talks?"
"Yes."
Konan spoke slowly: "How to deal with Akatsuki's threat to the Ninja World, which is essentially how our organization is a threat to the Ninja World."
"..."
The members of Akatsuki looked at each other, every expression was somewhat subtle, even slightly speechless.
A meeting on how to deal with Akatsuki's threat to the Ninja World, and they want Uehara Naraku to attend? Deidara and Hidan laughed until they cried!
How the hell are you going to deal with that?
You've already dragged Akatsuki's core member, the future leader, over to attend the meeting, how else are you going to deal with it, what else are you planning to do?
"Alright, I got it."
Uehara Naraku stood up with an air of a diligent worker, speaking softly: "If time is tight, I can go over right now..."
"No rush."
Konan shook her head, looking at Uehara Naraku and said: "Come back to the village first to find me, I have other things to ask you."