Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"Handsome Scorpion's father said with a worried look on his face."

What's the point of eating? He hasn't been able to sleep well these past few days because of this. Yusa is going crazy worrying about this every day. Even when he clocks out and gets home late at night, Yusa keeps urging him to come up with a solution. If he can't come up with a solution, he sleeps on the floor every night.

I slept on the floor quite a few times when I was younger, but back then I was young and strong, and I dared to play the three-sword style, so sleeping on the floor was nothing.

But now that I'm older, I only sleep in my own space for a few days before my back and waist start aching every day...

"What do you mean by 'think of a way'? I feel this matter isn't that simple. I've met Sasori's leader a few times, and my impression of him is that he's rather naive and simple-minded. Moreover, according to Orochimaru, this leader was a student taught by Jiraiya during World War II, meaning he's practically illiterate. Think about it, could someone who's only partially literate come up with the idea of ​​using tailed beasts to create a world-destroying weapon? Even if they did come up with it, given their level of education, do you think they could possibly know how to use nine tailed beasts to create a world-destroying weapon? Don't you think that's too far-fetched? I estimate that even a top scientist like Orochimaru might not know how to use tailed beasts to create a world-destroying weapon. How could they possibly do it with their level of education? Tailed beasts have been documented for hundreds or even thousands of years. To understand tailed beasts and create a world-destroying weapon, do you think you can do it without thousands of years of historical and cultural knowledge?"

After sitting down, Masato slowly drank a cup of tea and then started making random, haphazard smears.

When he returned, he was thinking about a legitimate reason why Nagato could take down a tailed beast without making Chiyo worry. After all, this was a major event that threatened the ninja world. Without a legitimate reason, Chiyo would probably lead the charge against Nagato, which would be a huge loss. He was hoping that Chiyo would live a long and healthy life.

So after thinking about it for a long time, the most reasonable thing to do is to fabricate some nonsense for them and guide them to think about the possibility of a mastermind behind the scenes.

1039. I'd rather die than admit that was Uncle Ban.

"You mean there's someone backing up the Akatsuki organization? Σ(?д?lll)"

Sure enough, everyone present had an IQ over 80. After hearing what Shinto said, they understood what he was trying to say. But thinking about it, it made a lot of sense. They had never heard of using tailed beasts to create a super nuclear weapon before. Every one of them was highly educated, even Rasa, who had the least education, was a master's degree holder. Yet they had never heard of collecting all the tailed beasts to create a super nuclear weapon. If the leader of Akatsuki was really illiterate like Shinto, this method was something he couldn't possibly have come up with.

This made them even more shocked. Based on the Akatsuki lineup that Sasori had revealed to them, they were basically invincible in one-on-one combat. They could sweep through any village in the ninja world, even the strongest village in terms of overall strength, Konoha.

Konoha's strength has never stemmed from the number of its top-tier fighters. Since Hashirama Senju's death, Konoha's top-tier fighters have been insufficient to make the major villages in the ninja world wary. Moreover, Sunagakure currently has more double-flower red-armored soldiers than Konoha. After Hashirama Senju's era, Konoha's ability to take on multiple opponents relies on its massive and elite core strength. These core strengths far surpass other villages in both quantity and quality.

After all, in a major battle, the Double Flower Red Sticks will naturally be the ones to hold the fort, and the key to victory or defeat often lies with those underlings.

Of course, if there are too many double-flower red sticks, it can naturally make up for this gap. For example, in the Akatsuki organization that Sasori is in now, almost every named member is a double-flower red stick. It is hard to imagine how terrifying such an organization is. More importantly, according to Shinto, such a terrifying organization has a leader who is not the leader. There are actually people behind him. How can this not shock them?

No wonder these guys dared to shout slogans about destroying the world...

"Could the person behind this be the Uchiha you encountered in Kirigakure back then? There has been no news of him in the ninja world since your great battle in Kirigakure."

Chiyo, being a veteran of three reigns, quickly developed suspicions, and even Ebizo beside her nodded in agreement.

Although so many years have passed, just looking at the photos of the battlefield where the wild Uchiha fought against Shinto is enough to send chills down your spine. The effect of the land being scorched for thousands of miles can only be achieved by fire jutsu at the level of a natural disaster. As far as they know, no one in the ninja world can achieve that level of fire jutsu. Not even the Uchiha clan can. They're all on par with Madara.

Therefore, they still remember that incident vividly. Such strength makes it reasonable for them to be the mastermind behind it all. After all, that wild Uchiha only made a brief appearance before disappearing completely for so many years. It's hard to believe that such a person wouldn't be hiding something bad in the shadows. If the mastermind behind the Akatsuki organization is that wild Uchiha, then it makes sense.

"It's possible, but we can't be sure. You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but the leader of the Akatsuki organization possesses the legendary Rinnegan. Both are among the three great dojutsu, but the Rinnegan is more powerful than the Mangekyou Sharingan. Although the Uchiha clan was very strong back then, it's not certain that they could have someone with the Rinnegan as their subordinate. So these are all just speculations, but it's certain that they have someone behind them."

Masato glanced at Chiyo and Ebizo with surprise. Sure enough, the old fox is shrewd; he could think of Madara in the blink of an eye.

However, Madara hasn't been resurrected yet; there's only Obito, that weakling who's using Madara's name to swindle people. For the sake of his idol's reputation, even if Chiyo and Ebizo guessed it, he can't admit that this fake Obito is Madara.

"So what do you mean, bro?"

Handsome Scorpion's dad suddenly realized, "Weren't we discussing how to prevent the Akatsuki from stealing our things? Why are we worrying about this mastermind?"

"What I mean is, if we don't lure out this mastermind, even if we can stop the Akatsuki from capturing the Tailed Beasts, it's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Kakuzu has lived to such an old age, who knows how long the mastermind will live? We can prevent it now, but future generations may not be able to. So for the sake of the village's future and for the peace of the ninja world, we must lure out this mastermind. And the best way to lure this person out is to let the Akatsuki gather all nine Tailed Beasts. When that happens, the mastermind will have achieved its goal and will naturally come out."

After leisurely downing another cup of tea, Masato said, "I immediately felt a sense of control. Although I'm still missing an umbrella and a pair of glasses, that doesn't matter. As long as I'm happy, that's all that matters."

"What?! Does that mean Gaara and Shuri are dead?"

Everyone was shocked, and their eyes turned to concern as they looked at Masato, wondering if this bastard had been possessed by someone else. How could he have such a despicable idea? Wasn't this just sending Gaara and Shuri to their deaths?

Everyone knows that after a Tailed Beast is extracted from its Jinchūriki, its life force will continue to decline until it dies. Back then, a fortune teller said that Bunpuku could live to be at least ninety years old, which is why he was chosen as the Jinchūriki. However, because the Tailed Beast went berserk back then, Bunpuku's life force was also depleted, and he died before he even reached the age of seventy.

One is a genius of their generation in Sunagakure, and the other is a sealing master. Their importance to the village is self-evident.

"What are you thinking? How could I possibly send my Aragaki and Shuri to their deaths? Tailed beasts are formed from the chakra of heaven and earth. The reason why Jinchuriki die after being extracted is because they need to use their life force to maintain the sealing array. Once the Tailed Beast is extracted, the sealing array will be destroyed, and then they can only wait to die. But if, at the moment the Tailed Beast is extracted, one of its tails is cut off, leaving a tail on the Jinchuriki to maintain their life force and make amends, wouldn't that be alright?"

Masato patiently explained.

"This... will it work?"

Everyone's eyes lit up. It would be best if they could lure out the mastermind without using a dead body. However, such a thing had never happened before and there were no cases to study. Who knew if it was true? Although what Masato said seemed to make some sense, no one dared to take the risk and all looked at Shuri, who was proficient in sealing techniques.

1040. Even the grandmaster of puppetry was easily defeated in that era.

"...The sealing array of the Tailed Beast Sealing Technique does indeed require life force to sustain it. If the balance between the sealing array and the Tailed Beast's chakra is broken, one might suffer some injuries, but there is certainly no danger to one's life."

After thinking for a while, Xiuli nodded in agreement.

"Sog! If that's the case, it's not impossible. This way, we can ensure that Sasori won't be suspected in the Akatsuki organization, and we can also lure out the person behind the scenes. However... should we notify the other villages? After all, it concerns the well-being of the entire ninja world."

After receiving confirmation from Shuri, this authoritative expert, Rasa breathed a sigh of relief. The future of the village and the peace of the ninja world were certainly important, but Gaara was, after all, his son. He had promised his wife before her death that he would protect Gaara. If the future of the village and the peace of the ninja world had to sacrifice his son, he couldn't bear it. Although he possessed the same self-sacrificing courage as his teacher, the prerequisite was that the one sacrificing himself was him, not his son…

"...Now is not the time. First, the Akatsuki hasn't taken any action against the Tailed Beasts yet, so we have no evidence, and the other villages might not believe us. Second, if word gets out, Sasori might be in danger. I never imagined the Rinnegan really existed..."

Chiyo shook her head and couldn't help but sigh after speaking. Her life had been quite eventful and turbulent. She had experienced the era of the two peerless heroes, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and the three Shinobi World Wars. Her beloved nephew was the number one fighter in the Shinobi World after Hashirama Senju. After chanting sutras and reciting Buddhist scriptures for so many years, she thought that nothing could surprise her anymore. She never expected that an Akatsuki organization would suddenly appear, and most importantly, they even possessed the legendary Rinnegan.

Thinking about her precious grandson teetering on the edge of danger every day, I can't help but shed tears. Why would you give up being the heir apparent of a wealthy family, or being the top courtesan of Fengying, and instead become an undercover agent?

Is there really no one left in the village...?

The Rinnegan! Madara Uchiha was already invincible with the Sharingan, which was ranked second in the Three Great Dojutsu. Just how powerful must the eyes be, which only the Sage of Six Paths possessed? My precious grandson's talent is certainly amazing. If things had continued to develop normally, he would probably have surpassed their puppet master by now.

But... even if their puppet master had lived in the era of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, he would still have been utterly defeated. No matter how powerful his precious grandson is, he can't beat the Rinnegan.

"Don't worry, beautiful lady. Don't let his quiet demeanor fool you, handsome Scorpion is much smarter than us. He'll take good care of himself. Besides, I'm here. I promise I won't let anything happen to handsome Scorpion. If they really make a move, I'll go and tie him up."

"Hmm? By the way, where's Karin? I haven't seen her."

Seeing Chiyo start to feel sorry for her precious grandson again, Masato felt a pang of pain in his teeth. Handsome Sasori is now in his thirties. Although he looks young, he is a father. Is there any need to worry so much? As a veteran member of the Akatsuki, he is very carefree in the Akatsuki.

"........"

The group looked at each other, realizing they'd been so preoccupied with worrying about the Akatsuki taking down the Tailed Beasts that they hadn't noticed something was missing. But now, hearing Masato mention Karin, they realized they hadn't seen the girl for several days.

"...That girl has been staying with Bai in the Dark Division these past few days, on duty."

Saori said with some helplessness, feeling helpless about her precious granddaughter's infatuation with him. Although the young man Shiro was very handsome and his beautiful ice-style moves were worthy of her bloodline, it wasn't a good idea for him to stick to her like this all the time before they were even married.

Her precious son was the most handsome boy in the ninja world, and he was just as good-looking when he was little, but Shuri wasn't this clingy to him then. How come her condition has become so serious with her precious granddaughter...?

However, her beloved granddaughter has been spoiled, and she feels helpless about it.

.....

"Where the hell did that bastard Orochimaru go? There are so many of them! We've searched every village and country around here, but we can't find him. If we find him, we'll definitely show him the art of my explosions... um."

Meanwhile, far away in a remote mountain corner of the Tea Country, the handsome Sasori and the artistic duo Deidara looked at the empty laboratory in front of them. The spider webs inside and the fact that several large spiders the size of human heads were moving around proved that no one had been here for many years.

At this point, Deidara was really about to throw up.

They rushed from the Land of Rain to the Village of Sound in the Land of Rice Fields, only to find it deserted. Orochimaru had already vanished, leaving no trace, having even cleaned the place up before leaving. However, both of them were artists who strived for perfection and would not allow themselves to fail. Since they couldn't find Orochimaru in the Village of Sound, they decided to look elsewhere.

They're really finished. Where can Orochimaru run with so many people? Unless they all fly to the sky, but even if they do, he can bring them down.

However, both of them underestimated Orochimaru's ability to play hide-and-seek. They searched almost all the small countries and villages around them, and found more than thirty of Orochimaru's laboratories left behind from who knows how many years ago, but they couldn't find a single person.

"Hey Sasori, Orochimaru knows how to dig holes, right? There are already over thirty, isn't that too many?"

Deidara couldn't help but complain again. It's not surprising that researchers like them need laboratories, but the number of Orochimaru's laboratories is just too damn astonishing. Moreover, Kakuzu had said that Orochimaru's research projects are the most expensive. Having one is already quite good. Thinking back to when he left the village, he didn't even have a single laboratory. He even had to take on demolition and blasting jobs to raise funds for his gunpowder research.

As for Orochimaru, they've already found over thirty laboratories with his signature style, including at least ten in the Land of Rice Fields alone. Ten laboratories in one country! If it weren't for the signs of use on the machines, he'd suspect Orochimaru knew they were hunting him down and deliberately set up so many labs to annoy them...

Honestly, given Orochimaru's methods of survival, I wouldn't be surprised if dozens more of his laboratories were found.

That's fucking awful!

1041. Handsome Scorpion: Orochimaru is too damn sneaky.

"...The old man said that Orochimaru might not be very strong, but his ability to escape is unparalleled. Now that he has left Otogakure, finding him won't be so easy..."

The handsome Sasori, hiding in his strange shell, wasn't surprised by the result. Although that bastard uncle was a big mouth and had a bad personality, he had a very good eye and had never misjudged people. Back when the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who was suspected to be his cousin, was still a boy, that bastard uncle said that Minato Namikaze would definitely be awesome in the future. After the Third Shinobi World War, Minato Namikaze did indeed take off.

And that bastard uncle had said that Orochimaru's ability to escape was unparalleled, so he wasn't being reckless for no reason. Therefore, he knew that it wouldn't be so easy to find Orochimaru this time he went out.

However, he felt the same way as Deidara: Orochimaru was just too damn good at hiding.

The saying goes that a cunning rabbit has three burrows, which is normal. But Orochimaru has more than three burrows; he has dozens, and many of them look like they're from twenty or thirty years ago. This is just too outrageous. No wonder that bastard uncle said that. Twenty or thirty years ago, Orochimaru was a meritorious figure in Konoha, right?

They were already planning their escape route back then...

Before Orochimaru left the Akatsuki, he and Orochimaru got along fairly well, since they shared common interests. Although Orochimaru was somewhat gloomy, he seemed rather gentle and refined... He never expected him to be so cunning and unscrupulous when it came to doing things...

"Hmm... Uncle Golden Lion is right. So what do we do now? We still can't find it?"

Deidara nodded. After this experience, he also acknowledged Orochimaru's ability to escape, saying that no one in the world could match him. Sasori's uncle, that blond-haired man, was absolutely right.

"...Go to the Flower Country and look for it. If you really can't find it, then we'll talk about it."

Sasori, the handsome guy from the weirdo's group, was speechless when he heard Deidara call that bastard that name. Another idiot who'd been fooled by that bastard...

At this moment, he suddenly seemed to understand why Orochimaru was leaving all of a sudden. Pain and the rich kid Nan were easy to fool, and not many of the people they recruited were even intelligent. They had only known this bastard for a short time, yet they were already calling him "uncle" so affectionately. In terms of personnel, their organization had a high success rate in destroying the world. After all, their combat strength was undeniable. With so many double-flower red sticks, no village could withstand them.

But doing great things isn't just about physical strength; it also requires intelligence. In this respect, Orochimaru was clearly lacking, which is probably why he left.

However, he is not as heartless as Orochimaru. Although his handsome Sasori persona is also devoid of emotion, the organization has raised him for so many years, and he cannot just leave like this. It's not that he is afraid of being hunted down. To be honest, Pain's pursuit is meaningless to him. Orochimaru was hunted down for more than ten years and he is still alive and well. He even managed to kill the Third Hokage and become famous in the ninja world in the midst of his busy schedule.

Knowing that the organization's goal was the Tailed Beasts, and that Shuri was a Jinchūriki, it was destined that he and the Akatsuki would part ways in the future. However, Pain and the rich Nan had raised him for so many years, and before leaving, he had to repay the kindness they had shown him for those ten or twenty years...

......

"Hehe, Sasuke-kun, how are you feeling?"

In a large youth training base built by Orochimaru in the Land of Rivers, Orochimaru looked at the boy in front of him with a smile, his eyes filled with hatred.

His eyes were filled with excitement.

genius!

This is absolutely genius!

Although his growth rate was not as rapid as Itachi Uchiha's, he was still an absolute genius.

His previous theory that "big shots are awesome, but small shots aren't necessarily heroes" can be completely disproven. This is not the case for the Uchiha brothers and the Tsunade siblings at all.

Whether it was good luck or drugs, Fugaku Uchiha's two sons were both geniuses. During this time, Sasuke Uchiha had made rapid progress under Fugaku's guidance. Previously, Fugaku had always thought that his adopted son Kimimaro was good enough and the best choice for him to switch bodies. Although Sasuke Uchiha was Itachi Uchiha's younger brother, Orochimaru felt that Sasuke Uchiha was still somewhat inferior to Kimimaro in the Chunin Exams of Konoha.

However, fate played a cruel trick on him. Kimimaro also suffered from the Kaguya clan's inherited bloodline disease, which forced him to turn his attention to Uchiha Sasuke. Moreover, Sasuke's progress during this period greatly changed his opinion of him. Sasuke was a super genius who was no weaker than Uchiha Itachi. The reason why he did not grow as quickly as Itachi was entirely due to the lack of proper guidance during his childhood. After all, his clan was wiped out at a young age, and his parents died. Without a qualified person to teach him, it was normal for his progress to be slow.

Having only taken on two disciples in his lifetime, both of whom were quite mediocre, Orochimaru couldn't help but get excited when he suddenly encountered a genius like Uchiha Sasuke. He looked at the second male lead in his pants as if he were looking at a perfect work of art.

Orochimaru was unaware that the reason the second male lead had improved so much during this period was simply because he was the second male lead's chosen one. He himself was the key to the second male lead's cheat code. If the second male lead hadn't met him, he would have been at most a minor genius. After all, compared to his youngest son's talent, which he could learn the Great Fireball Technique at the age of three with just one glance, the second male lead's talent was really not that great.

Often, it is only when you meet the right person at the right time that you can soar to great heights.

"When will I be able to kill that guy?"