Chapter 220

Otherwise, considering the chakra strength of the three of them, whether this inn could withstand it was a gravely serious question.

"What exactly are you all doing?"

At this moment, a voice suddenly burst into their ears, followed by a figure walking in from outside the door.

Upon seeing this figure, Orochimaru and the others very succinctly reined in their auras.

Because, no matter how you looked at it, this person was their nominal leader, even if they actually didn't hold this so-called leader in regard.

Pain's gaze swept over everyone present, his eyes still cold as ice, while in a nondescript bungalow not far away, Nagato slightly furrowed his brows.

The difficulty in dealing with people like Orochimaru was enough to give even him a significant headache.

Each one of them was a person possessing formidable power, each one immeasurably proud.

Having such individuals as members of the Akatsuki indeed endowed the organization with stronger power, but these people were truly tough to manage.

Every single one of them had different purposes for joining the organization, every single one of them looked at each other with disdain and displeasure.

In such a situation, hoping that they could get along harmoniously, hoping that they wouldn't cause problems outside of missions, was truly a very difficult matter.

Even if Nagato deemed himself a god, a god could not possibly control the hearts of all people.

Therefore, Nagato's demands of these guys were genuinely low, which was simply not to stir up any major incidents.

But looking at it now, wanting them to settle down wasn't a simple matter at all.

When this group got together without any missions, they really were likely to cause all sorts of trouble.

"Just idle chat, Leader, you need not worry."

Kisame looked at Pain, his expression as cold as a corpse, pondered for a moment, then laughed and responded, but while speaking, he also looked towards Orochimaru.

"Although such idle talk always makes someone feel unpleasant, I think we haven't reached the point of taking action, have we?"

"Indeed, we won't act recklessly."

Orochimaru also licked his lips at this point, smiling as he slightly nodded.

"Taking action is too demoralizing, especially since we're in the midst of a war right now.

If we accidentally cause some incident by using a bit too much force, that would be a grave sin."

"All of you, shut up."

Nagato could sense the tension in the conversation between the two and, with a cold snort, he interrupted their dialogue directly.

Orochimaru and Kisame, upon hearing Nagato's words, involuntarily shifted their gazes towards him, but eventually, they quieted down without saying anything more.

He was, after all, the nominal leader, and even if they were arrogant, they would still adhere to the ninja creed to some extent.

Moreover, Pain, no matter how you looked at him, was not a simple character, especially those eyes that demanded respect; they, even in their pride, would compromise in certain respects.

"Good, now let's discuss our situation."

Seeing Orochimaru and the others settle down, Pain continued to speak.

"According to the information I obtained from Tsuchikage, for the time being, he likely won't be heading to the frontline. He still needs to deal with some of his village's internal issues in the rear.

The command of the frontline, unsurprisingly, falls to that fellow named Bungo, and our mission from him involves investigating Konoha's movements, as well as investigating the battle that took place in front of the Iwagakure base a while ago."

Nagato was very straightforward, directly stating the details of the mission.

This mission made Orochimaru slightly lick his lips; while the matter of Ōnoki not being on the frontline seemed somewhat peculiar, how could someone like Orochimaru not guess the reason?

Although Ōnoki initiated this war and received information somewhat slowly, he could guess some situations—it's nothing more than some people in the village becoming increasingly restless, right?

After all, the failure of the commander in the yellow soil led to the death of a large number of ninja, plus the matter with Deidara, bringing him a huge negative impact.

And the best way to eliminate these negative impacts is to shift the conflict. War has always been one of the best ways to divert conflicts.

Ōnoki, by using the war to divert the attention of everyone in the village, taking action against the unstable elements in the village was the most reasonable thing to do.

For him, this news was indeed very valuable; after all, he genuinely intended to pass the message to Kaito.

Of course, he would also retain some information; at least, he did not intend to disclose the news of his own actions.

As for the battle that occurred in front of the Iwagakure base, he also had no interest in saying too much. This was something he and Kaito did—would he sell himself out?

"Only these two tasks?"

Orochimaru licked his lips, his voice slightly hoarse as he spoke.

"Is there nothing else for us to participate in?"

"What more do you want?"

Sasori disdainfully interjected, his gaze darkly shifting towards Orochimaru.

"Do you wish they would inform us of their logistical routes and have us escort them?"

"If they're willing, it's not something impermissible."

Orochimaru replied nonchalantly, though he was genuinely very interested in this matter.

Since he was to present a grand gift to Kaito, naturally, he would need to provide something of sufficient value.

Aside from Ōnoki not being on the frontline, perhaps exploring the supply routes would be the most worthwhile.

In the Leaf Village, although the war also brought great unrest to the village, comparatively, the current situation in the Leaf was still rather calm.

Because the widespread reforms of the Leaf were already implemented, especially after the newly appointed Daimyō of the Land of Fire actively sent financial aid, the reforms in the Leaf became even more at ease.

Under such reforms, all ranks of ninjas received treatment far exceeding what they had before, and Jiraiya even opened the village's jutsu library to ninjas of all levels.

Although many jutsus were stored in the Leaf's jutsu library, the overall strength of these stored jutsus was not high, consisting mostly of general-use jutsus, aside from some forbidden ones.

The benefits Jiraiya could get from opening the jutsu library were not significant, but fortunately, someone made a substantial contribution to this matter.

This person was Asuma; this guy brought out most of the Sarutobi clan's jutsus that didn't involve core secrets.

While his actions seemed to be at the expense of his own clan's interests, in reality, under Jiraiya's promotion, they also earned the approval of the Leaf's residents.

It could be said that this approach was essentially quite astute, and it was evident that he was genuinely trying to find ways to reintegrate his clan back into the Leaf.

Apart from jutsu and finance, the Leaf also began to count and subsidize ninjas who had participated in the war.

Although many ninjas who participated in the war back then have now gone to the Land of Grass, their families all remain in the Leaf.

Moreover, within the Leaf, there were many who were injured due to participating in the war and, from then on, could no longer continue as ninjas; they became key recipients of the Leaf's rescue and subsidy efforts.

It could be said that these series of reforms thoroughly allowed Jiraiya and the seven major clans to harvest public sentiment, thereby also providing the whole Leaf with stronger morale.

However, for Uchiha Fugaku, these matters were not so crucial. At this moment, he was busily engaged with the plan regarding the reform of the Guard Department given to him by Kaito.

Now he had stepped out of the laboratory, and he felt energetically vibrant.

This feeling was not adrenaline from the trust Kaito gave him but a genuine vitality stemming from his body.

He was very clear that his feelings were real, and the reason for having such feelings was the experiment he participated in! Although the initial experience of this experiment could only be described as terrible, once past this awful period, it brought him an unimaginably extraordinary elevation.

Most crucially, such an uplift even incredibly repaired his eyes!

The consumption of the Mangekyou could be restored—such a thing, Uchiha Kaito, having been the clan head for so long, had never heard of, and was something he had never thought of.

But now, Kaito helped him achieve it, and furthermore, Kaito achieved everything he wanted to do but couldn't.

This made Uchiha Fugaku's inner acknowledgment and affirmation towards Kaito reach an unprecedented peak.

Frankly speaking, aside from Kaito telling him to die or killing Sasuke, which might make him hesitate, he would not have much hesitation in other matters.

However, such things basically were unlikely to happen; Uchiha Kaito did not ponder too much, especially since, at this time, what he paid most attention to were matters of the Guard Department.

He still remembered how Jiraiya, the Fifth Hokage, looked so bizarrely at the plan he presented.

Moreover, the most interesting part was when Jiraiya brought Nara Shikaku for a serious inquiry about the specific authority of the Guard Department and personally reviewed the materials.

That forced-to-concede agreement to reform the Guard Department—Fugaku still felt an urge to laugh thinking about it.

Indeed, the jurisdiction involved in the Guard Department was truly too broad, such an overwhelmingly large department would likely make anyone feel overwhelmed.

However, the Guard Department was established by the Second Hokage and had developed in the Leaf for so long that Jiraiya, even if he wanted to change it, had no way to do so.

Even if he had a way, the major clans in the Leaf would probably not agree to him doing so.

This was not because the major clans of the Leaf were not worried about the excessive power of the Guard Department, nor was it because they considered all seven major clan alliances.

It was because the Uchiha's current strength was truly too formidable, and after Kaito perceived the Guard Department as such a massive cake, he decisively portioned out the cake.

Now, members from all clans could find their place within the Guard Department, securing a part of the power for themselves.

Under such circumstances, who would be rash enough to lay a hand on the Guard Department, who would want to make headlines by opposing the Uchiha?

Clearly, they wouldn't. They're not that foolish!

"So, the next step is to begin establishing and reforming departments in phases.

Ensuring that this matter proceeds smoothly and everyone gets what they want, then there will be no problems at all!"

Uchiha Fugaku silently mumbled to himself. Although his capabilities were somewhat lacking after being a clan head for so many years, he still maintained a mode of thought.

He knew Kaito's intentions and was resolved to steadfastly follow through with Kaito's ideas.

Moreover, he was also contemplating whether to pull some smaller clans in the Leaf into the fold.

There were many positions in the Guard Department, and there was absolutely no need to worry about having too many entrants to share among everyone.

Furthermore, Uchiha Fugaku remembered that Shisui seemed to have mentioned to him that Kaito seemed somewhat interested in the Kurama clan, especially one named Kurama Yakumo who appeared to be well-regarded by Kaito.

He decided that when the time came, he would carefully observe this girl's situation and, if suitable, let her enter the Guard Department!

"Hmm?"

Uchiha Fugaku, while walking and silently pondering in his heart, soon came to a halt.

Because he saw his son standing at the entrance to the clan's grounds, and from the look of it, he was waiting for him.

Uchiha Fugaku, of course, knew what his son was thinking—Kaito had already told him about this issue a long time ago.

Only, regarding the handling of this matter, he himself was very conflicted.

From a rational perspective, he did not oppose Sasuke going to the battlefield; after all, this was a ninja's destiny since the profession of ninja was born for warfare.

But emotionally, he truly did not want Sasuke to go, because Sasuke was his only son, and he was really worried that something unexpected might happen to his son.

"Father, I—"

Sasuke, seeing Uchiha Fugaku halt in his tracks, hesitated for a moment before ultimately choosing to approach, then spoke softly. However, he was interrupted before he could finish.

"I know your thoughts, Sasuke, but you should also know that I am really hesitant about this."

Uchiha Fugaku heaved a deep sigh, afterward, his gaze met his son's.

In Sasuke's eyes, Uchiha Fugaku saw an indescribable firmness.

Such resolve made him involuntarily hesitate, and ultimately, he asked.

"You should know, though, that war is not some make-believe game; you should understand what it truly means.

If you want to go to the battlefield, then you need to give me a reason, a reason I cannot refuse; otherwise, I'm afraid I cannot agree."

"I understand, Father."

Sasuke, hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, couldn't help but take a deep breath, and then spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Father, I once swore that I would personally kill that person who brought shame to our clan.

But sometimes I understand, the gap between that person and me is truly vast.

Even though I have Father's teachings and the help of my teacher, I understand that such a gap still exists.

I once heard my teacher say that the environment determines a person's growth.

My current growth environment is too comfortable, because people of Father and Teacher's generation have laid down peace for us.

But such peace is not suitable for the growth of an avenger like me!

War is a detestable thing, yet it is also the thing that most forces a person to grow.

I heard that Father once took that person to the battlefield when he was only five years old; I am already ten years old now.

I am already behind by five years. If I want to seek revenge, then I need such an environment, and I also need to seize this opportunity!

Father, I hope you can agree to my request; I have grown up."

The external chaos and Kaito have little relevance; at this moment, Kaito is lurking in a place belonging to the Rock Hidden Village in the Land of Grass.

So far, they have not fully implemented any actions, mainly because there truly hasn't been any movement on the Rock Hidden Village's part.

Additionally, Orochimaru had not provided them with any reliable intelligence, so Kaito and his team had temporarily taken no action, merely gradually gathering information.

Such days had fleetingly passed by for half a month already. Kaito didn't have much feeling about it, but Shisui and Yaneko were becoming somewhat restless.

Indeed, their small team was a special operations squad, but the problem was that even if they were special, without receiving any intelligence, there could be no effective action – and that was not a good thing at all!

However, fortunately, that guy Orochimaru did not forget his promise, and he indeed delivered a big gift to Kaito.

When Kaito, together with Shisui and Yaneko, looked at the intelligence Orochimaru sent, the three of them were somewhat dumbfounded.

Orochimaru's intelligence was divided into three aspects, the first aspect was confirming Kaito and his team's speculation.

At this moment, Ōnoki was indeed not here, and just as Yaneko had speculated, the young Jonin named Bungo was now commanding Iwagakure's defense!

The second piece of intelligence was some movements of the Akatsuki organization, such as them attacking some of Konoha's frontier bases, thereby achieving an effect of harassing Konoha.

As for the third, this was the most crucial part because it specifically marked Iwagakure's logistical route map!

Honestly, when they saw all of this, the three of them were somewhat stunned.

The surrender of Iwagakure during the Third Great Ninja War, although it was a result of various factors combined.

But if Namikaze Minato hadn't led a team to blow up the Kannabi Bridge, turning the Iwa-nin left in the Land of Grass into wandering ghosts.

Then even if Iwagakure had to fight on two fronts, they could have held on!

"What do you think of this intelligence?"

Kaito, also somewhat incredulous looking at the intelligence in his hand, ultimately decided to ask for the opinions of the two beside him.

Of course, most importantly, he wanted to see what Yaneko thought, after all, in terms of tactical level, she was the real expert.

"If the importance of this intelligence was placed half a month ago it would be very useful, but putting it now is somewhat frustrating."

Yaneko knew that Kaito was asking for her opinion, and without the slightest affectation, after some rapid contemplation, she directly responded.

"Orochimaru may still have some considerations. His intelligence has some delays, just like if the intelligence about Bungo had come earlier, perhaps Konoha could have responded in advance.

Although we guessed it in advance, it took half a month to confirm, and we can't determine whether Ōnoki has arrived at the front line now."

This is a passive situation for us, but having such intelligence is still much better than knowing nothing at all.

Besides, there's the activity of their organization, which should be true, but I think this intelligence won't be comprehensive.

At least I speculate, Orochimaru will not expose his own operational trajectory.

Even to prevent revealing the intelligence he leaked, he might even give us some false intelligence perhaps.

As for the final logistics route map, honestly, it is the most lethal and also the most important thing.

Once its authenticity is confirmed, then Iwagakure will be in big trouble, but as you know, if this kind of intelligence is faked, then our people will also be in big trouble!

Now the most critical issue is here, we cannot determine the authenticity of this logistics supply route, but such intelligence falls into our hands."

Speaking up to this point, Yaneko stopped short, but her meaning was also very clear.

That is, such intelligence has fallen into their hands, whether or not it is a trap, they must first find a way to investigate it.

It can be said that guy Orochimaru is truly as sly as a snake, although it seems he is at a disadvantage everywhere, but in fact, he is also planting mines everywhere for Kaito and his team.

Kaito sat in place, gently tapping the table, for a moment the entire room seemed exceptionally quiet.

However, just as he pondered, his expression visibly stiffened, but such stiffness quickly recovered.

His gaze calmly swept over Yaneko and Shisui in front of him, and ultimately, after contemplating for a moment, he slowly said.

"Send all this intelligence to Konoha, and then we will also go and carry out our mission.

Although this guy Orochimaru is trustworthy, sometimes he is also reliable, we will go and take a good look and investigate thoroughly.

I would like to see what kind of tricks this guy, Orochimaru, will play in the end!"

//

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