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30.64% Mastermind of the Akatsuki / Chapter 76: Chapter 75: Hidden Agendas

Chapter 76: Chapter 75: Hidden Agendas

Under the protection of guards, Hanzo of the Salamander arrived at a forest outside the village.

Here, Hanzo encountered Danzo dressed in ninja attire, accompanied by a swarm of Anbu from Konoha. Hanzo couldn't help but furrow his brows.

In terms of numbers, Danzo brought too many ninjas—eight squads totaling thirty-three individuals.

These were no ordinary ninjas as they were elite members of Konoha's assassination unit, each surpassing the strength of typical Chunin, a force capable of altering local wars. They should not to be underestimated.

After a moment of contemplation, Hanzo looked towards Danzo nearby. "Danzo, why have you brought so many people here? Are you planning to attack the Amegakure?"

Danzo shook his head and replied, "Just came to visit an old friend, to see if we can continue our cooperation from last time and weaken the strength of Iwagakure."

Hanzo glanced at Danzo and said, "Aren't your Konoha Anbu constantly hunting down the Jounin of Iwagakure? It takes them over a decade to recover from each loss of Jounin."

Danzo sighed lightly, revealing a hint of reluctance in his eyes. "That's Minato Namikaze's merit. What does it have to do with me? Konoha is about to hold the election for Hokage. If I can't quickly gain significant merits, that kid will become Hokage."

"So you're still thinking about the Hokage position. If Amegakure has such outstanding successors, I will certainly step down and let them take over. The world is better off with younger people," Hanzo retorted, detecting the sarcasm in Hanzo's words.

With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, Danzo replied, "Minato is different from me. He has always disliked plotting conspiracies in the dark. Once he takes office, it will probably be difficult for us to cooperate as we are doing like before."

Pausing for a moment, Danzo continued, "However, the Amegakure also has outstanding successors. I've heard that a new ninja organization has emerged in the Land of Rain, gaining considerable popularity among the people."

"Even Danzo knows about it?"

A sharp glint flashed in Hanzo's eyes as he nodded, "Indeed, such an organization exists, but they've been causing me some headaches recently."

"If they can make Lord Hanzo uneasy, then I'm quite interested."

"It's nothing much, just that a high-ranking member of the Akatsuki killed one of my dispatched ninjas. Now my Amegakure and the Akatsuki are at odds. Danzo, speaking of which, the other high-ranking members of the Akatsuki are disciples of your own Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya's disciples?"

Danzo frowned slightly, "I've heard about this. He took in several students from the Amegakure, but how did they establish a ninja organization and even come into conflict with Lord Hanzo?"

Hanzo stared at Danzo for a few seconds, seemingly trying to see through him with his eyes, but couldn't decipher anything.

At this moment, Danzo seemed to think of something and suggested, "Since they've clashed with the Amegakure and caused difficulties for Lord Hanzo, why don't we join forces to resolve this trouble?"

Hearing this, Hanzo looked at Danzo in surprise, "They are disciples of Jiraiya. They are almost half of Konoha's ninjas. Aren't you concerned about Jiraiya's thoughts?"

"Jiraiya would not know about this, and if I can help resolve trouble for Lord Hanzo, I am willing to assist. However, when I campaign for Hokage, I may need Hanzo's support."

With that said, Danzo revealed a gloomy smile.

Hanzo didn't immediately accept or reject Danzo's proposal; he stood in place, weighing the pros and cons.

From a practical standpoint, the Akatsuki did pose a threat to him. With Danzo's help, the losses in dealing with the Akatsuki could be minimized. But Danzo wouldn't help without a reason.

If dealing with the Akatsuki could weaken his competitors, the cost would be too high. If the operation to exterminate the Akatsuki suffered heavy losses, Danzo would undoubtedly be held accountable upon returning to Konoha.

And there was also a huge doubt: was Danzo's arrival too coincidental?

Could it be that there was something valuable within the Akatsuki that Danzo had his eye on?

At this moment, Hanzo suddenly remembered something he had overlooked—the red hair of Nagato, a high-ranking member of the Akatsuki. Red hair wasn't rare in the shinobi world, but it was a symbol of the Uzumaki clan.

Could Danzo's target be Nagato, suspected of having Uzumaki blood?

After all, Uzumaki clan members were the most suitable candidates for being Jinchuriki, and to be elected Hokage, one must firmly grasp such a powerful weapon.

Thinking of this, Hanzo no longer hesitated and decided to cooperate with Danzo to eradicate the Akatsuki.

By now, whether or not Byakuya had attacked the messenger was no longer important. Since Byakuya had been captured, an irreparable rift had appeared between the Akatsuki and the Amegakure.

Therefore, it was best to offend them completely and directly strangle the Akatsuki in the bud.

After losing the obstacle in the form of Akatsuki, the Land of Rain no longer had any ninjas that could threaten him.

So about the Amegakure's heir, it is more reliable to cultivate one's own people. For example, the senior members of the Akatsuki sure are outstanding but not good for the position of an heir.

After all, what is good for the Land of Rain may not necessarily be good for Hanzo, the leader of the Amegakure.

In the first half of his life, he made great efforts to save this weeping country, but he failed in the end. It was time to start thinking about himself.

After serious consideration, Hanzo agreed to cooperate with Danzo.

What Hanzo didn't notice was that Danzo's eyes were filled with malice. He didn't give a damn about Hanzo, the so-called demigod in the ninja world. However, both sides were very satisfied with this cooperation.

Hanzo was glad that he could reduce losses while resolving the troublesome Akatsuki organization, only needing to sacrifice an inconsequential Uzumaki ninja and make a promise.

Danzo, on the other hand, was delighted.

The plan he had been plotting for months was finally reaching its climax.

To create chaos in the Land of Rain.

First, he contacted the Akatsuki's senior member, Byakuya, using his desire to become the leader of the Akatsuki, secretly gathering intelligence from the Amegakure, and jointly devising an assassination plan.

Now, that boy might still be immersed in the dream of Akatsuki in crisis and then stepping forward to become a hero.

Unfortunately, Danzo never intended for Byakuya to become the leader of the Akatsuki.

From start to finish, he was only using Byakuya, exploiting his ambitions to create discord between the Amegakure and the Akatsuki, which could threaten Konoha's internal organization.

Next, all that was needed was to exterminate the Akatsuki together with Hanzo.

Then, they could achieve the goal of weakening the Amegakure and gaining a solid and reliable alliance.

===

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Chapter 77: Chapter 76: Conspiracy

Not long after, Yahiko, stationed at an outdoor base, received a personal letter from Hanzo.

Unlike the previous occasions, this time the emissary from Hanzo wore a pleasing smile, behaving cautiously, afraid of angering Yahiko, the leader of the Akatsuki.

The reason was simple.

Since Yahiko began assembling his forces, he was no longer merely a subordinate of Amegakure in name but the leader of a rebel faction in the Land of Rain, on par with Hanzo of the Salamander in terms of status.

Upon opening the letter, Yahiko only glanced at it briefly, before a peculiar expression crossed his face.

Seeing this, Nagato and Konan hurried over and asked, "Yahiko, what did Hanzo write in the letter to make you show such an expression?"

Yahiko placed the personal letter on the table, gesturing for Nagato and Konan to read it together. After they finished, their expressions turned also stiffened.

Hanzo actually claimed that capturing Byakuya was a misunderstanding, merely a test of their mettle to see if they were qualified to become successors of the Amegakure.

Seeing that the Akatsuki had assembled their forces and still hadn't harmed civilians, Hanzo knew he hadn't misjudged them. Just like during Hanzo's time, their actions were all for the Land of Rain.

They had passed this test and were now qualified to become heirs of Amegakure.

As the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo decided to forge an alliance with the Akatsuki and, on that day, he would release Byakuya, who had already been taken in as a disciple.

After reading this news, Yahiko and the others found it somewhat unbelievable.

Hanzo's act of capturing Byakuya turned out to be just a test, and after capturing him, he actually accepted Byakuya as his disciple?

This news sounded absurd and full of loopholes upon careful consideration.

If Hanzo truly wanted to take in disciples, there was no need for such roundabout methods. He could have just accepted them directly. In the Land of Rain, no ninja could refuse to become Hanzo's disciple.

Despite their doubts, only Yahiko made the final decision.

With Nagato and Konan watching him closely, Yahiko said solemnly, "I have decided to accept Hanzo's request and go to the designated location for negotiations."

"Why? This is obviously a trap!" Konan objected in confusion.

"To avoid ambushes, I will send people to scout ahead and bring all members to witness the alliance ceremony on that day."

Yahiko seemed prepared and resolute in his decision.

"But..." Konan wanted to say more but was stopped by Nagato.

Seeing Konan's confusion, Yahiko sighed softly and said, "The Land of Rain has suffered too much pain. If there's a chance to peacefully resolve this, I will do my best. And if we don't agree to these conditions, Byakuya will be in danger."

Upon hearing Yahiko mention Byakuya, Konan fell silent.

Yes, if they didn't agree to Hanzo's peaceful invitation, Byakuya would be in danger. Even for Byakuya's sake, they had to attend this meeting.

Ultimately, before Hanzo of the Salamander, they had no choice at all.

However, it's quite ironic.

Byakuya had always boasted about showing them the cruelty of the ninja world, yet in the end, he turned out to be the most naive of them all.

To avoid putting the organization at risk, Byakuya actually willingly surrendered himself.

If they were to genuinely reconcile or abandon thoughts of negotiation, wouldn't Byakuya, as their prisoner, be the most at risk, even possibly being sacrificed?

After the three made their decision, Yahiko headed towards the direction of Hanzo's emissary.

Nagato, who remained behind, patted Konan's shoulder at this moment, somewhat weary, and said, "Konan, you have to trust Byakuya."

"?" Konan was somewhat dazed, had she forgotten something?

Nagato smiled mysteriously and continued, "Konan, haven't you noticed that there are fewer ninjas in the organization? What happened to those spies Byakuya recruited? Where did they go?"

"Aren't those spies already escaped?" Konan frowned. She didn't have much impression of Byakuya's subordinates.

"I think Byakuya, with his ability, wouldn't overlook such a thing. Those spies are probably carrying out missions assigned by Byakuya... I don't know the specifics."

"It seems like you have a lot of confidence in Byakuya," Konan couldn't help but say.

Nagato nodded. He did indeed have confidence in Byakuya. Unlike him and Konan, Byakuya was a genius descendant of the Uzumaki clan, possessing unimaginable determination and ambition.

As an ordinary person, he didn't need to know what Byakuya intended to do; he just needed to trust him.

---

Just half a day later, Hanzo and Danzo, who were guests in the Amegakure, received a letter from Yahiko.

After reading Yahiko's letter, Hanzo expressed his doubts, "Is Yahiko so easily deceived? I thought I would have to write several more letters."

Danzo smiled and replied, "Byakuya is the cleverest person in the Akatsuki. After you captured Byakuya, they lost their brains. So naturally, they were easily fooled."

Hanzo pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

Yesterday, after reaching an agreement with Hanzo, the two of them immediately discussed the Akatsuki and eventually devised a plan under the pretext of negotiations and grooming successors, actually aiming to eliminate the Akatsuki's high-ranking members.

However, due to time constraints, the plan was somewhat rough.

But from the final result, the plan was very successful. As long as they figured out where the main force of the Akatsuki was, they could eradicate the Akatsuki.

At this moment, Danzo seemed to remember something and said, "By the way, Lord Hanzo, don't forget about taking in disciples. Today, you must complete the disciple-taking ceremony and make Byakuya your disciple."

Upon hearing this, Hanzo of the Salamander furrowed his brow, "Must I take Byakuya as my disciple? I don't want to bear the stigma of killing a disciple."

"Everything is for eliminating the Akatsuki."

Danzo paused for a moment before continuing, "As long as you take Byakuya as your disciple, you can gain the trust of the Akatsuki and avoid arousing their suspicions."

Hanzo of the Salamander sighed but still agreed to the matter.

He didn't want his reputation to be tarnished, but more importantly, he didn't want to see the rapidly expanding Akatsuki threaten his position. Ultimately, he had to choose between face and substance.

However, once the Akatsuki were eliminated, he would still need to manage the Amegakure more closely. It wouldn't be good if another Akatsuki organization appeared again.

Thinking about this, Hanzo of the Salamander said to Danzo, "I'm going to find Byakuya now. Do you want to come and see too? He's a genius even more formidable than your Konoha's Kakashi."

"No, I'll leave the matters of the Amegakure to you, Lord Hanzo," Danzo shook his head in refusal. Although Byakuya didn't know his appearance, Danzo somewhat saw Byakuya as another version of himself.

It was just unfortunate that Byakuya, unlike himself, couldn't fully showcase his talent in the small Amegakure.

If he had been born in Konoha, everything would have been different.

(SO SORRY! I remember seeing draft chapters a few days back but forgot that I didn't put the timer on them. I will release it in mass so keep reading and supporting.)


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