Chapter – 348 Shikigami no Mai

Whether it is Hokage, Raikage, or Kazekage, each of them is very eager to destroy the Akatsuki Organization as soon as possible, so they soon reached a consensus.

In order to discuss a detailed plan of action for the raid, Hokage also summoned Jiraiya, and Hyuga Kuroto into the cave. Raikage summoned, Shee, and Yugito Nii, while Kazekage summoned elder Ebizo and Pakura.

Pointing at Kuroto, Sandaime introduced Kuroto to everyone, "I think everyone here knows him, and for those who don't, I will introduce him, he is Hyuga Kuroto… and it was him who discovered the base of Akatsuki Organization… if anyone has a question from him, they can directly ask him."

The Raikage was the first to question, "Is the news about Hanzo's death at the hands of the leader of Akatsuki Organization certain?"

Kuroto nodded calmly, "Yes, Hanzo died in a civil war within Amegakure, the leader of the winning side is someone who calls himself Pain… It is said that Pain went on to execute all the relatives and friends of Hanzo in order to stop the ones who would later come back at him seeking revenge… despite this, there are occasional appearances of supporters of Hanzo but they are all unilaterally crushed by Pain himself… Anyway, after taking control over Amegakure, Pain went on to establish Akatsuki Organization which we know is currently…"

Kazekage questioned, "And the news about the leader of Akatsuki having the Rinnegan dojutsu?"

Kuroto nodded, "I cannot be certain about this as I have never seen them personally, but I did hear some mentions of Pain having the Rinnegan dojutsu, so it should be true."

Elder Ebizo questioned, "The specific locations within Amegakure where the members of the Akatsuki Organization are in collective?"

Kuroto thought about it a little and said, "As I mentioned previously, the entire Amegakure is under Akatsuki Organization's control so the entire village is the base of Akatsuki, the members could be anywhere within the village if they are present in Amegakure…"

Yugito Nii who was leaning on the sidewall said, "Without a specific location how do we launch a surprise attack… the village is too big… particular locations have to be determined first… otherwise we will be discovered before we can reach up to the leader of Akatsuki!"

Everyone nodded in agreement with Yugito's words.

Everyone present is an experienced shinobi, so everyone understands that the importance of intelligence is extremely important, warfare between shinobi is majorly warfare of intelligence. If they do not know the accurate information of the point of attack then they cannot launch the surprise raid.

Looking at the crowd, Kuroto felt a headache. Of course, he also understands the importance of intelligence, but what he has said is already everything he knows.

Understanding everyone's doubts, Kuroto said, "I suggest that we gather all our forces and launch a surprise attack on Amegakure to ensure the success of the operation."

"Absurd!" – Shee immediately said.

Kazekage also shook his head, "The enemy we are facing is too dangerous… I think you understand this full well Kuroto-Kun, it is too risky to act without sufficient intelligence."

Nara Patriarch nodded in agreement, and even Sandaime-sama's expression was the same.

At this time, Jiraiya volunteered, "In that case how about I sneak into Amegakure for preliminary investigation of the exact location of Akatsuki Organization?" Driven by his sense of responsibility, Jiraiya felt that he has to go to Amegakure in person, and if possible, persuade Nagato to return to the right path.

Kuroto glanced at Jiraiya and sighed, 'Does he really have such an ardent wish to die at the hands of his student?'

Sandaime nodded, "All right, be sure to be vigilant." – After all, it was just a reconnaissance mission, and Sandaime believed that with Jiraiya's abilities there should be no problem to sneak into Amegakure and inquire their intelligence.

But Kuroto was so not having it, and directly interjected, "I object!" – Obviously he is not going to allow Jiraiya to just go to death, it's fine if the old man wants to die, but Kuroto is not going to allow Jiraiya to waste their entire operation.

It must not be forgotten that the current Amegakure is much more dangerous compared to the time when Jiraiya sneaked into Amegakure in the main Canon.

Currently, almost all the members of Akatsuki are alive, and coupled with Hiruko also being there, if Jiraiya is discovered then he will die for sure.

Jiraiya, as well as others, looked at Kuroto with a surprised expression, especially Sandaime, he has never seen Hyuga Kuroto act the way he was doing so here, feeling all the eyes upon him, Kuroto said with a deep voice, "Once the investigation is discovered, and if the Akatsuki Organization is alerted… the raid will fail without a doubt… and there might even be repercussions…"

Jiraiya waved his hands with a smile, and said, "Do not worry kid, my intelligence-gathering abilities are very good… I won't be discovered by th-…"

Before Jiraiya could finish his sentence, Kuroto interrupted him midway, "I am not underestimating your abilities Jiraiya-sama, it's just that this mission is too difficult." – With a pause, Kuroto swept his gaze at everyone, and continued, "I am afraid to say that no one here has this ability…"

Raikage grunted, "Mind your tone brat!"

While Yugito Nii snorted, "If you can discover the intelligence on Akatsuki, then why can't we?"

Asked by Yugito Nii, Kuroto immediately activated his Byakugan and said, "I have Byakugan… in terms of sensory abilities, and intelligence gathering abilities no one here is as good as me… Now prove me wrong!"

"You…!!!" – Yugito Nii stopped midway with anger clearly appearance on her face. More so because she did not have any retort, as when the mention of Byakugan came she was left speechless. After all, the reputation of Byakugan is undeniable.

Even the others couldn't support Yugito Nii's argument and just chuckled lightly.

With Yugito Nii silent, Kuroto continued, "I would like everyone here to know that the Rain of Amegakure contains a special type of Chakra that is very-very hard to perceive, I suspect that the rain is a sensory type ability through which the user can perceive the presence of foreign chakra sneaking into the village, I reckon that not even Amegakure Shinobi and even other members of Akatsuki are not aware of this, I was able to see through the rain because of the extraordinarily high perception abilities of my Byakugan… no one here can sense this… if you have sneaked in Amegakure without knowing this fact, then you would have been discovered even before you could collect any intelligence."

As soon as they heard this, everyone took a cold breath. And all they could think was that if without knowing this news anyone had sneaked into Amegakure they would have been discovered so easily.

At the same time, they can't help but wonder just who can use such large-scale ninjutsu.

After speaking this, Kuroto looked at the three Kage, if the three Kage agrees understands, and agrees to directly launch an attack, only then the raid against the Akatsuki organization would result in a guaranteed hundred percent success.

And if they disagree with Kuroto, and insist on carrying out a preliminary investigation in advance, then the results will become unpredictable, in fact, the coalition might even suffer if that happens.

But apparently, Kuroto expected too much, and Kazekage was the first to deny Kuroto's approach. "Investigation is essential, we cannot omit this step because of the level of difficulty of this mission… and as said previously by the Kumo Jonin, Amegakure is too big to directly rush there with no apparent directions and specific location in mind."

With Raikage's personality, he actually somewhat agrees with Hyuga Kuroto's suggestion but considering both the Jinchuriki will also be taking part in the mission, he can't bring himself to nod. After all, the survival of Kumo also depends on that, so he had to be cautious.

In the end, Hokage also shook his head, "Blind assault is too risky…"

Kuroto sighed and did not say anything anymore.

Kuroto understands that the success and failure of this operation completely depend on the element of surprise... but from the other's standpoint, rushing head fast into the base of the enemy without any prior information about the enemy's specific location is uncharacteristic for a shinobi.

Kuroto can understand the worry of the three Kage because of the deterrence of the enemy but Kuroto can no longer do anything about it anymore.

At this point, Kuroto has already lowered his expectations for this raid. Akatsuki Organization has a lot of hidden cards that even Kuroto is unaware of so there is no telling what other things they will find there.

Finally, an investigation team was made, and because of Kuroto's repeated insistence, the line-up was made to be quite good.

The team leader for the preliminary investigation team is Elder Chiyo, together with him is Elder Ebizo of Suna. From Konoha, Jiraiya, Hyuga Kuroto, and Yamanaka Inoichi, for obvious reasons, then there is Yugito Nii and Samui from Kumo.

As two top-level puppeteers, the abilities of the Honored Siblings are unquestionable, using their puppets they can carry out all sorts of infiltration and intelligence gathering, especially Elder Ebizo, who specializes in the use of infiltration type puppets and was a great addition to the team.

Then, Kuroto himself for already having ventured into Amegakure once, Jiraiya for his specialization in intelligence gathering, and finally Yamanaka Patriarch for keeping everyone sneaking into Amegakure stay connected with someone.

As for Kumo's side, Samui was fine because of her calm persona and level-headedness, however, Kuroto did not want Yugito Nii to participate but was helpless as the latter was adamant in doing so, and snorted at Kuroto's attempt.

Yugito Nii stated that her cat's sensory abilities provided by the Bijuu sealed inside her will make investigation much easier…

Finally annoyed at her behavior and arrogant attitude, Kuroto cursed under his breath, 'Fine, go ahead and offer yourself to Akatsuki for all I care!'

Time was pressing, with the investigative team established, the three Kage issued the order of secretly transferring their base nearby the Land of Rain.

Meanwhile, the Investigative team also sneaked into the Land of Rain… of course, the entire Land of Rain is not in range of the Rain Tiger at Will Technique so sneaking inside the Land of Rain was very easy.

Drip… Drip… Drip…

Looking at the gloomy clouds up ahead and the light drizzle, Elder Chiyo said, "Further ahead is Amegakure."

Jiraiya said, "I can sneak into Amegakure by using Ninja Toads, through the waterway."

Amegakure is densely covered throughout with a dense Waterway network, so sneaking inside the village through the Waterway is the best option, the concealment will be guaranteed, so Elder Chiyo did not take too long to think and nodded immediately.

As a result, the seven people went into the mouth of the Toad summoned by Jiraiya. The toad then sneaked into the Water channel of Amegakure and released them inside outside a sewer which was covered by a roof.

Byakugan…

The first thing Kuroto did next was to activate the Byakugan and observe if there were any traces of Chakra present in the raindrops.

As expected, it was there.

Elder Chiyo asked, "So?"

Kuroto nodded, "Chakra traces are present… which means the technique is activated."

Others also tried to sense but they could hardly sense anything, not even Yamanaka Patriarch could sense it, yet Hyuga Kuroto could see with his Byakugan…

Yamanaka Patriarch said, "I suppose that you were accurate in this Kuroto-Kun…!"

Jiraiya nodded, "Since no normal perceptual barriers are covering Amegakure, so it is reasonable that the leader of the Akatsuki organization is using the ubiquitous rainwater as a means of sensing intruders."

While everyone was talking Kuroto thought to himself, 'It stands to reason that Nagato can't always maintain this technique… it should be a big burden even for him… the only reason I revealed the existence of this technique to the alliance was to make them give up on the idea of preliminary investigation… but given the fact that the technique is active right now… is it just a coincidence or has he noticed something?'

Kuroto did not voice out his thoughts to others as everyone quickly came out of the sewer and hid inside a building without allowing the raindrops to land on them.

From their point of view, the streets of Amegakure seemed quite busy with hundreds of people passing through. After gaining a full view, Elder Chiyo said, "Everyone split up, remember to not let the raindrops touch you… and remember to shoot a signal flare if there is an emergency!"

Amegakure is too big, so to increase the efficiency of their actions it is natural to split up, therefore, the team was now divided into four sub-teams.

Nii Yugito and Samui are part of the first team, Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo of the second team, Hyuga Kuroto and Yamanaka Inoichi part of the third team, and finally, Jiraiya who will act solo.

With the four directions decided the sub-teams then split up into four directions.

"Well, Inoichi-san, shall we go?" – Kuroto asked politely.

Yamanaka Inoichi nodded and followed Hyuga Kuroto.

While walking next to, Yamanaka Patriarch asked, "Say Kuroto-Kun, do you mind if I ask a question?"

Kuroto shook his head, and said, "Not at all Inoichi-san, go ahead."

"How did you sneak in Amegakure the last time you came here?" Yamanaka Inoichi questioned.

Kuroto was surprised by the question of the Yamanaka Patriarch, then said, "I came from the front door as a businessman to issue a task commencement to Amegakure… while I came in, I left behind a Shadow Clone who used Chakra Suppression Technique to hide his Chakra. Since the rain only discovers foreign Chakra signatures, and since my Shadow Clone was using Chakra Suppression Technique it wasn't found by the rain."

"Chakra Suppression Technique? If I remember correctly, doesn't this Jutsu limit all the other abilities of the user…?" – Inoichi questioned with a frown.

Kuroto took out a rough map of Amegakure (Which he received from Shinichi since Kuroto didn't actually personally come to Amegakure.) and while studying it carefully, he said, "That is true, but using that had two other benefits, first, my shadow clone was able to roam around the village with a civilian's authority and second because the Chakra Suppression Technique was being used, therefore, the Shadow Clone I left behind could stay much longer than normal… During one of the casual walks as a civilian, my Shadow Clone discovered Uchiha Shinichi and Biwa Juzo's duo, after discovering them and some silent digging around for about a month-long stay in Amegakure, my Shadow Clone was able to discover many things, especially related to Akatsuki. After discovering such shocking facts, the Shadow Clone lifted itself, and I received all the information while I was in another country carrying out my investigation in that country."

Yamanaka Inoichi was stunned and nodded with an awed tone, "It's rather remarkable… being able to use Chakra Suppression Technique alone is very difficult… I am convinced now; without a doubt, you truly are one of the best of your generation…"

Kuroto shook his head, and said, "I still have too much to learn, I am still too far behind Yondaime-sama, to become Hokage, I have to be much better… much-much better."

"Do you aspire to become the Hokage?" – Inoichi was rather surprised by Kuroto's words.

Kuroto nodded, and said, "I aspire to become someone like Minato-sama… thus I wish to become Konoha's Hokage in the future, is it strange, Inoichi-san?"

After a bit of silence, Yamanaka Patriarch said, "Well Yondaime Hokage-sama was one of a kind, his charismatic persona and that confident look was more than enough to bring a change in the morale of his followers if you aspire to become someone like him, then the road is still far ahead, perhaps you can become the Hokage, I am not the one to decide… but you still have a long way to go."

Kuroto nodded and said, "I understand, thank you for your advice Inoichi-san, I will that in mind to improve myself and become worthy of becoming the Hokage."

"I wish you good luck in that endeavor Kuroto-Kun, if you do become the Hokage, do not forget to visit the Yamanaka Flowers, it would be an honor to have you visit us." – Inoichi encouraged Kuroto. He did not touch the matter of Cage Bird Seal, which will be the biggest difficulty for Hyuga Kuroto as a member of the Branch Family, of course, Inoichi is not dense enough to understand not to touch on such sensitive matters.

Although the two people were talking, they did not forget the objective of their mission, all this while they were carrying it out very seriously.

Kuroto has already been to many shinobi villages, and perhaps, only Amegakure is somewhat peaceful compared to all the other shinobi villages, even Sunagakure and Kusagakure are not as peaceful as Amegakure is currently.

Perhaps even Yamanaka Inoichi felt this and sighed, this peaceful atmosphere will be destroyed as the raid on Amegakure starts.

Converging their mixed thoughts, Kuroto and Inoichi further tried to find leads on the location where the leader of Akatsuki could be hiding.

"Kuroto-Kun, do you have any leads where the leader of Akatsuki could be present in general…?" – asked Inoichi.

Kuroto thought about it a little, then looked towards the tallest tower of Amegakure.

Inoichi followed Kuroto's gaze and also looked in that direction, "That tower?"

Kuroto nodded, "I am not sure; however, it is the most likely place…" – To be honest, Kuroto doesn't remember much as to where exactly did Nagato stayed hidden while controlling Rikudo Rain, but considering the height of that tower it is the most likely place… as transmitting chakra from that height should be the best option. Moreover, Tendo Pain sits on the tongue sticking out of that face structure on the tallest tower.

It is conceivable that standing on that tower should give a good look over the entire Amegakure village."

Shot… whistle... Bang!

While Kuroto and Inoichi looked at the tower and were trying to figure out a few more things, suddenly they both heard the sound of a signal flare being fired.

Kuroto and Inoichi looked in the direction of the sound and were able to spot a green flare lighting up the sky below the clouds.

"Signal Flare… someone was discovered already?!" – Kuroto muttered with a frown.

Inoichi nodded, "It appears so, I will try to see who is it, and see if I can-…"

Kuroto shook his head, and said, "No Inoichi-san, the enemy has discovered our tracks, and since we are in their territory so that means they already have us on their radar; if you try communicating with them in such a situation, I am afraid our position will also be discovered, what we have to focus now is on retreating, we have to get out of this village as soon as we can!"

Inoichi saw the seriousness in Kuroto's expression and nodded.

Kuroto no longer cared about the scouting mission, after all, someone has been discovered just now, it is no longer possible to continue the mission, in fact, doing so is even meaningless… but before Kuroto and Inoichi could go, Kuroto was able to sense someone coming towards them…

Kuroto immediately alerted the Yamanaka Patriarch, "Inoichi-san, be ready we have company… and I suspect that since we have company, so the others are also being chased, now, one of us has to retreat, while the other has to stay behind, I will be the one to stay behind as I am already quite familiar with Amegakure, and since I have also mastered, 'Chakra Suppression Technique!', so I can find my way back to the retreat point without being noticed… so please retreat while I draw the attention of the enemy coming towards us!"

After saying so, Kuroto did not wait for the reply from the Yamanaka Patriarch… and directly ran forward while letting the rain fall on him.

Yamanaka Inoichi deeply looked at Hyuga Kuroto's back, then with a determined expression, he also made his way to the retreat point without drawing any attention upon him.

While Kuroto took another root to the retreat point, suddenly he saw hundreds of pieces of paper falling down near him, and soon those hundreds of papers took the appearance of a Konan, the Angel of Akatsuki, and Amegakure.

With Konan hovering in mid-air, Kuroto came to a sudden halt, and questioned, "Now what does this pretty lady want from someone like me?"

However, Konan does not seem to be in the mood of beating around the bush, and immediately questioned with a cold tone, "Show your true identity…"

Kuroto who was currently disguised as Yato from Noragami asked with a confused tone, "What do you mean pretty lady? I am just a wandering Samurai here to take in the sights of Amegakure and by the way, also challenge Hanzo-dono…"

"That was your only chance, now die!" – with a cold snort, Konan immediately fired.

Kuroto snorted and flashed away.

The other party is obviously not someone who can be dealt with so easily, in the original story, she was the one who recruited and defeated Sasori with his Kazekage Puppet.

And Konan may have been defeated by both Jiraiya and Obito, but this does not mean she is weak.

Jiraiya was only able to restrain her so easily because he had prior knowledge of the weakness of Konan's papers and thus used toad oil.

While Obito relied on Izanagi, which was something Konan never expected even in the countless stimulations of her battle with him.

So, her strength is very good but what's more dangerous is her analytical ability, being able to figure out the limits of Obito's Kamui proves this, and killing her won't be so easy, especially because Kuroto does not use oil and con not effectively restrain her papers from which she has created the unique Jutsu which is 'Shikigami no Mai'.

If he fights Konan, other Akatsuki members will be drawn here, so staying here is no longer an option, as Kuroto doesn't want to be surrounded and hunted by Akatsuki members.

'I don't think that I can kill her without entering into Tenseigan Chakra Mode.' – This was his judgment while looking back.

Konan indifferently looked at the running figure of this intruder, and muttered, "Pointless, you cannot escape."

As she said that, she waved her hand, and instantly papers from her paper wings flew at the running Kuroto at an extremely fast speed, and at a large quantity.

Kuroto immediately turned around and immediately drew the sword Kusanagi Sword tied around his waist, and while standing at his position, he waved his swords at an extremely fast speed, such that his hands or blade couldn't even be perceived by normal vision, there were multiple afterimages left behind.

Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish… Whiish…

The piece of paper that was cut into an extremely small size fell on the floor, but soon they ignited…

'Damn, I did not take the hidden random exploding tags into account!' – since his Byakugan is currently deactivated, Kuroto was unable to distinguish between an ordinary paper and exploding tag.

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