Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 551 The Akatsuki in Action

In a dark underground cave, a colossal giant with a massive body and bony frame sat cross-legged, palms up, fingers spread, like a sleeping ancient god.

It was the demonic statue of the Outer Path that Nagato summoned back then.

At this moment, colorful phantoms were slowly coalescing and taking shape on these fingers.

Pain stood on the tallest finger in the middle, his purple Rinnegan scanning the crowd.

Konan, Sasori, Uchiha Ryo, Rin Yuri, Zetsu, and Hara family—the core members of the Akatsuki organization were only a handful of people.

Oh right, there's also the newly joined Sanzu Amado, but he's currently at the Allied Shinobi Forces headquarters, so he didn't attend this meeting.

Finally, Obito's illusion appeared.

He debuted as a newcomer known as "Ah Fei," wearing a tiger-striped one-eyed mask that only revealed his left eye.

Compared to the Akatsuki organization in the original work, which had ten S-rank rogue ninjas, the Akatsuki organization in this timeline only has a few S-rank rogue ninjas due to Menma's influence.

Kakuzu and Kisame Hoshigaki were outmaneuvered by Menma, Orochimaru also defected, and Juzo Biwa was killed by Menma before he could defect from Amegakure; Deidara, although he defected from Iwagakure, did not join Akatsuki but went to the Land of Stars with Kurotsuchi.

Hidan was captured by Hoshinobi during the recent capture of the One-Tailed Jinchuriki.

Meanwhile, the newly recruited S-rank rogue ninja, Zabuza Momochi and Aoi Midori, were killed in the Land of Waves.

Therefore, during this period, apart from the newly recruited S-rank rogue ninja from Iwagakure, the Akatsuki organization did not expand its scale.

It's not that we don't want to recruit people, it's that there are too few S-rank rogue ninjas who meet the standards.

This Yuan family member was one of Kakuzu's teammates in the original work. Later, during an operation, he was killed by Kakuzu along with the target. Kakuzu took the body to the underground gold exchange to collect the bounty.

"Oh, I thought you, the newbie, had run away. You haven't even shown up yet," Ringo Yuri teased Afei in a mocking tone.

"Ah, sorry, senpai~ I was a little slow because I was scouting the movements of the Allied Shinobi Forces." Obito, acting out Tobi's lively personality, scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

I don't know if he's been lonely for so long and his mind has become abnormal, or if he's using "Ah Fei" as a cover to express his true feelings.

After all, Tobi's personality is too similar to that of Obito from our school days—enthusiastic, slow-witted, and always chasing his dream of becoming Hokage.

"Speaking of which, after the loss of Zabuza and Midori, doesn't the organization have any plans to recruit new members?" Ringo Ameyuri ignored the goofy Tobi and instead looked at the illusion of the leader, Pain.

Although she looked down on Zabuza, who was also an S-rank rogue ninja from Kirigakure, and even more so on Midori Aoi, who wasn't very strong, having two more people to do the work would make things much easier.

It's just unbelievable that Zabuza Momochi, who is considered a top-tier figure even in Amegakure, would die in the Land of Waves. It's truly shameful.

"Need not."

Pain's illusory form slowly raised its head, and its purple Rinnegan scanned the crowd once more.

Although the Akatsuki only has this many members left, their combat strength comes from those he personally tested.

"Zetsu, give us an update on the situation from all sides." Pain looked at Zetsu, who was like a Venus flytrap.

"Alright, Boss!" White Zetsu said with a grin, "The four great ninja villages and other ninja villages, including the Land of Iron, have all mobilized a large number of ninja troops, forming a ninja alliance with more than 80,000 people~"

Upon hearing about the 80,000-strong Allied Shinobi Forces, many people present became serious, especially Ringo Ameyuri and Harazuka, who had participated in the Third Shinobi World War.

But for Pain, as long as he successfully revives the Ten-Tails, no matter how many ninjas there are, they are nothing but ants.

An allied ninja force of 80,000?

A mob!

White Zetsu continued exaggeratedly, "However, due to the hatred between the various ninja villages, they are unable to act in unison, so it seems they are preparing to split their forces, leaving only a joint command headquarters in the rear to coordinate the various battlefields."

"The specific details of the operation have not yet been discovered, but it should mainly involve the four major ninja villages: Konoha, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. I will monitor their progress in real time."

"Oh ho, 80,000 ninjas, and you still have to divide your forces to attack?" Ringo Ameyuri spat.

"Although the number of ninjas is astonishing, they are still a disorganized mess!" It seems that Ringo Ameyuri has no confidence in the Allied Shinobi Forces.

After saying that, she turned to look at the figure standing on the other finger beside her, Uchiha Itachi.

After learning from the test in Konoha that his younger brother had also betrayed Konoha, Itachi entered a period of silence. Even Ringo Ameyuri, who had been his teammate for many years, didn't know what he was thinking.

Logically speaking, someone who can ruthlessly kill even their own clansmen and biological parents shouldn't care about a younger brother, right?

But Itachi's recent silence made Ringo Ameyuri feel uneasy.

The sense of danger this guy posed to her was no less than that of the leader.

Sasori's deep, hoarse voice came from Hiruko: "What's the situation with the Star Ninja?"

White Zetsu continued, "Oh, speaking of which, the Land of Stars has also mobilized a large number of ninja forces, with their forces concentrated on the borders of the Land of Earth, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Rivers, and—"

At this point, White Zetsu deliberately kept everyone in suspense before speaking in a serious tone: "Some time ago, a Star Ninja force of about three thousand people was active in the Land of Rivers. However, because that Shura was personally leading the force, and there were many Byakugan ninjas, my White Zetsu was unable to conduct close-range reconnaissance. But recently it seems that they have withdrawn back to the Land of Stars."

Bai Jue shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "I'm not entirely sure what exactly happened, but there were quite a few more wounded when we went back."

"The Land of Rivers?" Konan frowned slightly.

That country is known as the "Land of a Hundred Rivers," with dense primeval forests and countless rivers, and its terrain is extremely complex.

However, there don't seem to be any ninja villages within the Land of Rivers.

What exactly happened that caused casualties among the three thousand ninjas of the Land of Stars?

Could it be those two mysterious ninjas who appeared in Konoha a month ago during the Chunin Exams?

The earth-shattering battle of the Chunin Exams, as well as Shura's subsequent declaration of unification to the entire ninja world, were brought back to their respective villages by the participating teams from each ninja village, and naturally, a great deal of information was also gathered by White Zetsu's intelligence network.

However, those two mysterious enemies with the ability to fly were rumored to have been killed by Shura, so they did not attract much attention from the Akatsuki organization.

"The Allied Shinobi Forces have been formed, and the Fourth Shinobi World War is imminent."

Pain's voice echoed through the cave, carrying a chilling sense of oppression.

"Now, it's time to execute the plan to capture the Tailed Beasts."

All eyes turned to Pain.

The Fourth Shinobi World War was far larger than any previous one. Taking advantage of the fact that all the shinobi villages were fighting each other with the Land of Stars, it was the perfect opportunity for them to strike!

"What is the situation regarding the Jinchuriki in each village?" Pain asked Zetsu.

This time, it was Black Zetsu's side that answered: "The Two-Tails Jinchuriki and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure have remained in the village; the Four-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure left due to his discord with the Tsuchikage Onoki and his previous defeat to Uchiha Hikaru, and became a wandering monk, currently training in the border area between the Land of Earth and the Land of Waterfalls —"

"The Three-Tails Jinchuriki's condition seems to be getting worse, and he has been recuperating in Kirigakure."

"After the Six-Tails Jinchuriki defected from Kirigakure, he has been traveling to various island nations in the East Blue, and his whereabouts are currently uncertain."

"The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki is in Takigakure, but it is still unknown whether he is in the village or joined the Allied Shinobi Forces with the main force of Takigakure ninja."

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—"

Black Zetsu paused for a moment when he finished speaking.

However, it is no secret that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki defected from Konoha and entered the Land of Stars.

Rumor has it that Naruto Uzumaki is Shura's younger brother, and now that he's under Shura's protection, capturing him would be extremely difficult.

"Let's prioritize capturing the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails and the Three-Tails." After a moment's thought, Pain looked at Sasori and said, "Sasori, take Harutsuka and Tobi with you to Kumogakure to capture the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails."

"What a hassle, are we going to Kumogakure?" Sasori said with some dissatisfaction.

The Cloud Village's lightning release technique was somewhat effective against his puppets, so he didn't really want to go there. However, since it was a mission personally assigned by the leader, he couldn't refuse outright.

Scorpion merely glanced at the Yuan family and A-Fei, then coldly said, "You two better not hold me back, or I'll turn you both into works of art!"

"Hey, don't be so arrogant!" Harazuka said indignantly.

Although he joined the organization relatively late, he was still an S-rank rogue ninja, and had the strength of a Jonin. He had his own pride, and being looked down upon like this naturally made him angry.

"Ah Fei," feigning mischief, stood at attention, raised his hand, and said, "Don't worry, senior! I promise I won't hold you back!"

Everyone was used to Ah Fei's lively and exaggerated behavior, and just thought he was a newcomer eager to show off.

Then, Pain said to Itachi Uchiha and Ringo Ameyuri, "Itachi, you and Ringo Ameyuri go to Kirigakure to capture the Three-Tails Jinchuriki."

The Gedo Mazo absorbs the Tailed Beasts in a process, so it's not advisable to capture too many. Without the Six Paths of Pain making their move, capturing two Jinchuriki at a time is already quite a limit.

The Hidden Cloud Village has the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, the strongest among all the villages, so Pain also sent Tobi along, hoping that if something went wrong, Tobi's strength could save the day.

Ringo Ameyuri herself was a rogue ninja from Kirigakure and was familiar with the situation there. Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan could also control Yagura and the Three-Tails very well.

"Yes," Itachi replied coldly, his tone devoid of any emotion.

"Huh? Going back to Kirigakure?" Ringo Ameyuri crossed her arms behind her head, seemingly wondering what good food was available in the village.

She seemed quite relaxed, like a working person who had finally gotten a vacation and was going back to her hometown for a holiday.

"Ze is in charge of arranging communication between the groups. After the Two-Tails Jinchuriki is captured, then proceed with the capture of the Three-Tails Jinchuriki," Pain instructed Zetsu.

White Zetsu chuckled and said, "Alright, leader!"

After the arrest arrangements were made, the meeting ended.

Each group went to prepare for their own tasks. One by one, the phantoms dissipated, and darkness and silence returned to the cave.

Only the silhouette of the Outer Path Statue remained, standing like a statue in the darkness.

The Kingdom of Stars, the Capital of Stars.

The morning sunlight streamed into Naruto's room through the gaps in the curtains.

Naruto was awakened by the chirping of birds and the honking of car horns outside the window. He groggily opened his eyes, turned over, and reached for the alarm clock on the bedside table.

He grabbed the alarm clock, took it from his hand, and squinted at it.

"Hmm...it's 8:30 already..."

Naruto was thinking of taking a nap, but something suddenly flashed through his mind and startled him. Today seemed to be the day Menma said he would do something to give him and Sasuke a "cheat code".

"It's over! It's over!"

Naruto jumped out of bed, wide awake.

-

He hurriedly changed out of his blue pajamas, noisily put on his pants, orange jacket, and ninja boots, and rushed down from the second floor.

Thump thump thump—

Naruto's hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway, as if a little wild boar had wandered into the house.

In the living room, Kushina was plating the breakfast she had prepared. Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw Naruto stumbling down the stairs.

"Naruto! You overslept, didn't you? I told you not to play games until midnight last night!" Kushina said, hands on her hips.

"Mianma, Xiaoguang, and Ziyanghua finished eating and went to work early this morning! You're still sleeping in!"

At the dining table, Minato, who was on a rare day off, was reading the newspaper. He put the newspaper down slightly and smiled gently at Naruto, saying, "Naruto, come and have breakfast."

Good morning, Mom and Dad!

Naruto first said good morning, then glanced at the bread slices, milk, and fried eggs on the table, and then looked at the time on the wall clock.

It's 8:45.

"It's too late! It's too late!"

Naruto grabbed a slice of bread from the table and stuffed it into his mouth. With the bread still in his mouth, he ran straight to the sliding door to the living room, quickly flipped it over, and left with only the words, "I'm off, Mom!"

Kushina watched Naruto sneak out like a little fox, escaping through the wall instead of the main gate, and her red hair flew wildly in anger as she shouted, "Naruto!!!!"

Minato, who was reading the newspaper, shrank back in fright, looking utterly helpless.

Naruto was well-behaved for only a few days before reverting to his mischievous nature, giving Kushina a taste of the hardships of being a mother.

"Honestly, I wonder who this child took after!" Kushina glanced at Minato, who was hiding his face with a newspaper, and then went back to the kitchen.

"Of course she takes after her mother." Minato slowly put down the newspaper, watching Kushina's retreating figure as she went back to the kitchen, and silently said to himself.

A slight smile played on his lips as he picked up the milk glass and took a sip.

These days are so good.