Chapter 166: Sasori's New Technique

From Yahiko's perspective, if Konoha were indeed attacked by Kumogakure Village, he would certainly provide assistance and help Konoha with its defense and counterattack.

Firstly, this was because one of Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, was their teacher.

Secondly, the late Minato Namikaze was his close friend, and they shared many common ideals regarding governance. Additionally, Amegakure needed a strong ally like Konoha to counter any threats.

However, the issue lay in the fact that the Fourth Hokage was dead, and no one knew who the new Hokage would be.

If Jiraiya were to take over, the relationship between Amegakure and Konoha would naturally be maintained. But if someone else became Hokage, the situation would need to be reconsidered.

After all, although Jiraiya from Konoha had mentored the three of them, Danzo Shimura from Konoha had also caused significant damage to the Akatsuki organization. If Byakuya hadn't detected something was wrong early and made preparations, the Akatsuki would have been destroyed long ago.

Thinking of this, Yahiko looked at the others and slowly asked, "Nagato, Konan, if Kumogakure does attack Konoha, what do you plan to do?"

Faced with Yahiko's question, Nagato fell into deep thought.

Compared to Yahiko, he had no emotional connection to Konoha and remained indifferent.

Although Jiraiya had taught him in the past, it was Konoha's shinobi who killed his parents and attacked the Akatsuki.

Especially after learning that Konoha had turned a blind eye when the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed, Nagato's goodwill toward Konoha had dropped to zero. The only attachment he had was to Kushina, another member of the Uzumaki clan.

Now that Kushina had also died during the Nine-Tails incident, Nagato had no reason to support Konoha.

In fact, a thought arose in Nagato's mind which was to stay away from Konoha. If he continued to attach himself to that place, his life might become even more tragic.

Everything he had now could be lost—after all, everything he had once possessed had been taken by Konoha.

With this in mind, Nagato said expressionlessly, "My thought is to remain neutral and not get involved in their war. But whether you choose to support Konoha or Kumogakure, I won't oppose it."

Hearing Nagato's suggestion, Yahiko was slightly surprised. He noticed Nagato's indifference toward Konoha, and this neutral stance—neither supporting nor opposing—was effectively a vote of abstention.

However, with Nagato being so cold toward Konoha, Yahiko realized that his idea of helping Konoha might be difficult to carry out.

Konan, who had been frowning and thinking for a while, finally revealed her opinion, "The Shinobi World War just ended not long ago, and ninjas in our village don't want to fight anymore. If Kumogakure and Konoha truly go to war, can we invite both sides to meet and try to prevent the outbreak of conflict? If we can truly prevent the war this way, it would also align with the Akatsuki's ideals."

Upon hearing this, Yahiko smiled helplessly. If stopping wars were that easy, the shinobi world would have achieved eternal peace long ago.

It seemed that in the future, how Amegakure would align itself would need to be discussed with Byakuya.

After hearing each other's thoughts, Nagato and Konan both turned to look at Byakuya, since he was the leader of the Akatsuki, while Amegakure was merely a shinobi village under the Akatsuki's control.

Byakuya smiled slightly and then said, "My thoughts are similar to Nagato's. Even if Konoha and Kumogakure really go to war, we shouldn't get involved lightly. Once you're stuck in the quagmire of war, it's hard to get out."

Hearing this, Yahiko and the others were taken aback and looked doubtful.

They hadn't expected Byakuya to truly not intend to intervene in the war, which seemed out of character for him.

Noticing their reactions, Byakuya's expression turned a bit odd as he said, "Did you all think of me as some kind of war maniac? Of course, I wouldn't jump into a war so easily."

Yahiko still seemed unconvinced and asked in a surprised tone, "Really?"

Byakuya scratched his head and then said, "It's not that I won't intervene at all, but it's about choosing the right time. Once Konoha and Kumogakure have tasted the bitter fruits of war, the village can then step in and reap the benefits."

Yahiko and the others returned to their normal expressions. This was the Byakuya they knew.

Byakuya's plan was indeed the best option for now. If Kumogakure wouldn't start the war, Amegakure could quietly continue its development.

If Kumogakure does launch a war, Amegakure would have to consider its own interests.

What Yahiko and the others didn't know was that Byakuya already had a plan for when the war would break out. He also knew that Kumogakure would definitely invade the Land of Fire this time; all they had to do was wait for the right moment.

After shifting the topic from the Nine-Tails incident to the possibility of Kumogakure launching a war, they ended the discussion.

The next topic in the meeting room was about Amegakure's internal development—trivial matters.

---

After the high-level meeting ended, Byakuya returned to the Akatsuki's base located outside the village.

After more than a year of development, the scale of the Akatsuki base had grown to rival Amegakure, and the organization's numbers had expanded from over a hundred members to more than three hundred.

As the numbers grew, Byakuya divided the Akatsuki into two factions: the Outer Circle and the Inner Circle.

(AN: Here we go again.}

The Outer Circle consisted of ordinary shinobi who had previously joined the Akatsuki, most of whom were from Amegakure. The Inner Circle, however, was made up of rogue ninjas recruited by Byakuya, all of whom had at least the strength of elite jonin.

Walking deeper into the base, Byakuya arrived at a hidden room.

Inside were two red-haired kunoichi. One lay on a sickbed with disheveled hair, staring blankly at the ceiling as if lost in thought. The other was sitting on a chair, reading a book while occasionally forming sealing jutsu in her hands.

Hearing footsteps approaching, the red-haired kunoichi reading the book remained calm, but the disheveled one immediately sat up warily, her eyes fixed on Byakuya as she said, "Byakuya, how long do you plan to imprison me? When will you let me leave?"

Byakuya replied calmly, "We'll talk about that when you're healed. If I let you go now, you'll only end up following your husband."

The disheveled kunoichi before him was none other than Kushina Uzumaki.

After the Nine-Tails incident, Byakuya spent a tremendous amount of time and effort, as well as using Akane's blood, to save Kushina's life.

Even so, Kushina, having lost much of her vitality, was left severely weakened, with only the strength of a genin remaining. It would likely take several years for her to fully recover.

Akane walked over and tried to reason with her, "Sister Kushina, Byakuya is right. In your current condition, even an average jonin could kill you if you leave. It's better to stay here and recover."

(AN: Reminder, Akane is Karin's mother. I changed her name from Karen to Akane.)

Kushina glanced at Akane and then said, "Akane, you've been deceived by Byakuya, which is why you're speaking for him. He was clearly near Konoha during the Nine-Tails incident, yet he didn't step in to stop the Nine-Tails."

"Miss. Kushina, I had no obligation to deal with the Nine-Tails. Besides, how was I supposed to know your husband would use the Reaper Death Seal, such a forbidden technique? You only needed to hold on a bit longer."

After a pause, Byakuya continued, "And you're my kin, but Minato isn't. If you want, you can end your life now and join Minato. I won't stop you."

Kushina, with her fiery temper, wanted to teach Byakuya a lesson, but her weakened body made it impossible.

So she coldly replied, "If you hadn't taken me away, the others in the village would have saved me. If I'd held on until Lady Tsunade returned, I might not have died."

At this point, Akane shook her head, showing no hesitation as she said, "Sister Kushina, no offense, but no one else but Byakuya could have saved you. When you were brought here, part of your soul was already damaged. I could heal your body, but only Byakuya could repair your fragmented soul."

Hearing this, Kushina fell silent. She knew that Byakuya had indeed saved her life. Given the circumstances at the time, it was likely that the masked man had been lurking nearby, and Byakuya couldn't have risked an ambush.

However, what she couldn't understand was why Byakuya, after saving her, would imprison her.

As for Byakuya's suggestion to commit suicide for Minato, she had considered it, but that would have been far too selfish.

After all, her son Naruto was still in Konoha, serving as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

This was the real reason for her clash with Byakuya. She wanted to leave now and return to Konoha to be with Naruto, to raise him.

After a moment of contemplation, Kushina fixed her gaze on Byakuya and asked, "Byakuya, what exactly do you want from me? What do I have to do for you to send me back to Konoha?"

Byakuya sighed softly and replied, "I only want you to stay here and heal. Once you're better, I will naturally send you back. This is for your protection. And besides, haven't you thought about the masked man who attacked you before? He might come after you again."

Kushina fell into silence, realizing she had almost forgotten about that. In her current state, returning to Konoha wouldn't allow her to protect Naruto—in fact, it could even put him in greater danger.

But why had the masked man targeted her in the first place? Isn't Naruto still in danger in Konoha?

Byakuya, reading Kushina's thoughts, said, "Miss. Kushina, I've had people look into Naruto's situation. It seems the masked man doesn't have plans to target Naruto. Perhaps Konoha has done a good job of keeping things secret, or maybe the masked man is only after the two of you. Although I did consider taking Naruto away, there's always Anbu around him. Konoha wouldn't allow me to take the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Kushina sighed softly. It seemed there was no better solution.

As much as she wanted to protect Naruto, the best way to do so might be to stay away from him. In her current state, all she could do was remain hidden in this underground hideout, away from the outside world.

At that moment, Byakuya picked up a book from the side and handed it to Kushina, saying, "If there's nothing else, work with Akane to compile a textbook on medical ninjutsu and sealing techniques. I'll bring you updates about Naruto every few months."

With that, Byakuya left the room deep inside the base.

Akane glanced at Kushina, then at Byakuya in the distance before following him and asking, "Lord Byakuya, why didn't you take Kushina's child back then? And who exactly is the masked man?"

"Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Konoha would never allow it. As for the identity of the masked man, I'm not entirely sure, but he seems to have a connection with Kushina. If his sole goal was to target the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, there's no reason he wouldn't have attacked Naruto again. But for now, Kushina's emotional state is unstable, so I'll need your help with her."

"I'll take good care of Sister Kushina..." Akane nodded before walking away from Byakuya, trusting that he wouldn't harm Kushina, since they were the last of their clan.

After Akane left, Byakuya's expression returned to its usual cold indifference. He glanced up at the cold light overhead before resolutely making his way toward the Akatsuki office.

Of course, Byakuya knew the true identity of the masked man; he had observed the entire Nine-Tails incident. If it weren't for the chance to acquire half of the Nine-Tails, he wouldn't have even wanted to interfere. After all, Konoha's downfall would provide the best opportunity for Akatsuki's growth.

Konoha was like the whale of the shinobi world; only when the whale falls can everything else thrive.

As for why he saved Kushina Uzumaki, apart from her being a member of the Uzumaki clan, recruiting her might trigger a reward related to the Uzumaki clan. He also had future plans to recruit Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto was the reincarnation of Asura, the prophesied child of Mount Myoboku, and the future savior of the shinobi world.

The reasons he didn't allow Kushina to reunite with Naruto, or directly take Naruto away, were twofold. First, he didn't want to attract the attention of Black Zetsu. Second, he didn't want to become an enemy of Konoha.

Konoha would never allow the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to be taken away.

When Byakuya finally reached the Akatsuki office, he saw Hanzo standing at the door, acting as a guard. The former demigod had seemingly grown accustomed to a retired life, now resembling an elderly doorman.

Hanzo also noticed Byakuya and smiled, saying, "Byakuya, you're finally back. What did Yahiko and the others have told you? Anything important?"

"Nothing much, just some news."

"What news?" Hanzo asked curiously. "What could they possibly know that you don't?"

Byakuya saw through Hanzo's gossipy intentions and replied calmly, "There was a Nine-Tails incident in Konoha recently. The Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki both died."

"The Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki are dead!?"

Hanzo was stunned. Although he had been staying near Amegakure, he was still well-informed about the outside world and knew of the Fourth Hokage, a master of the Flying Thunder God technique.

But how could the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki die together? The two of them combined could easily destroy a small shinobi village.

At that moment, Hanzo seemed to recall something and looked at Byakuya suspiciously, "Byakuya, you didn't have anything to do with the Nine-Tails incident, did you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, it had nothing to do with me!"

Byakuya quickly denied it, but to Hanzo, it sounded like he was trying to cover something up. Hanzo didn't push the matter further and simply smiled, saying:

"Whether it was you or not doesn't matter. By the way, Sasori stopped by earlier. It seems he's looking for you."