Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

She turned her gaze to the winding coastline.

According to Tazuna, Kakashi-sensei seems to have escaped by diving into the water. However, ninjas are not fish-men or mermaids. Without proper breathing equipment, they cannot stay underwater for long. Hiding in the deep sea would be a certain death, so going ashore was the only option.

Is this conclusion reliable?

Sakura had no confidence whatsoever.

But this was the only thing she could do at the moment. Without any hesitation or delay, the girl began searching along the coastline. Although a seasoned ninja would most likely have chosen to return to the village and report the information, which was the 'correct' course of action taught in class.

However, this is not a hard and fast rule, and it is fine to postpone or delay for a while.

and,

The girl seemed to have very good luck.

He narrowly avoided Orochimaru and Sasori's attacks and rescued the mission's client, Tazuna, in time, preventing the mission from failing immediately. Now... he was lucky enough to see a figure lying on the beach with silver-white hair and a dark green vest like a Konoha Jonin. It was none other than Kakashi Hatake, the instructor of Team 7.

"Kakashi-sensei!!"

Sakura pounced on him.

To my surprise, Kakashi-sensei was still breathing.

"...Is that...Sakura? Huff...How did you get here?" Kakashi struggled to open his eyes, looking at the girl dragging him towards a dry place. "Never mind, that's not important. Go, go, hurry to Yugakure Village and find the northeastern border garrison to report what happened here."

This passage,

It almost exhausted all of Kakashi's strength.

He could feel the wound in his abdomen, which had been barely plugged, reopening, and warm blood gushing out, while his body grew colder and colder.

"As expected of... one of the Legendary Sannin! They're incredibly strong!"

Kakashi recalled the scene from before: when Naruto and Sasuke fell, he rushed to their aid but was unable to withstand Orochimaru's attack. First, Orochimaru ambushed him with the Kusanagi sword, which could extend in length, and ripped a hole in his abdomen. Then, Orochimaru summoned six giant snakes as thick as water tanks and detonated them.

He truly hadn't expected that these giant snakes could be used as bombs.

Caught off guard,

After being severely injured by Orochimaru's combo, he realized that continuing to fight would only lead to his death, and that Orochimaru seemed to have other uses for capturing Naruto and Sasuke. He ultimately chose to retreat temporarily.

However, the injuries he sustained were more severe than he had anticipated.

He almost couldn't climb ashore, but by the time he reached the bank, he had exhausted his last bit of strength. If Sakura hadn't come looking for him, perhaps... well, there's no "perhaps." Things that haven't happened aren't worth his energy. The most important thing now is to report what happened here to the village.

"Sakura, listen up! It's Orochimaru! Orochimaru has kidnapped Naruto... and Sasuke! Have... the border guards deliver the message to the Hokage as fast as they can!" Kakashi's breathing was intermittent, and he seemed like he might die at any moment.

"Kakashi-sensei, but you..."

"Hurry, go! I... won't die."

Kakashi's resolute attitude left the girl no room for hesitation.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the forests of the northeastern part of the Land of Fire, Orochimaru and Sasori walked along a path that was probably only used by hunters and woodcutters. Behind them followed a giant snake that almost completely blocked the path. Naruto and Sasuke, who had been knocked unconscious and tied up, lay on top of the snake's head.

"Kakashi Hatake is very likely still alive!"

Scorpion said coldly.

"There's no need for that. Kakashi's life or death is insignificant. What's important is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"So what are you planning to do, you other Uchiha brat?"

"That's my spoils. I've always been very interested in the Uchiha clan, but I've never had the chance to make a move... Anyway, this is my personal matter. The focus is still on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Sasori, don't change the subject."

"Humph!"

Scorpion snorted coldly.

Orochimaru, aren't you the one who's changing the subject?

By not killing Kakashi Hatake, it was clear that he was letting him go back to Konoha to report. He was becoming more and more convinced that Orochimaru was definitely up to no good! However, unfortunately, he had limited information and could not yet deduce Orochimaru's true purpose.

"But speaking of which, I originally thought you would kill Kakashi to get revenge!"

Orochimaru glanced at Sasori.

"If you're prepared to fight me here, I'd be happy to." Sasori's voice was as gloomy as the wind and snow of the coldest winter, the chill seeping straight into one's bones. Orochimaru dared to investigate his past; he was practically courting death!

He endured it again and again.

In the end, I couldn't hold back.

All that could be heard was a whooshing sound as the air was torn apart. Scorpion's steel tail, hidden beneath his black trench coat, pierced through Orochimaru's stomach, then twisted and ripped Orochimaru in two. There was no sign of blood splattering.

"You stinking snake, get out here! Are you really going to fight me?"

"Hey, you started it! Don't try to shift the blame onto me."

Orochimaru emerged from the air from behind the giant snake carrying Naruto and Sasuke. He glanced at Sasori, whose killing intent was boiling, and decided to stop while he was ahead. "No one should bother us here anymore. We can contact Pain now. Sasori, what do you think?"

"Hmph, whatever."

Having vented his anger, the scorpion retracted its steel tail.

Although he hated Orochimaru, he also admitted that Orochimaru was not easy to deal with. If he really wanted to completely annihilate Orochimaru, his current preparations were probably not enough. So far, he had not found a new creation that could replace the Third Kazekage's puppet.

The conflict, which had only been brief, has now come to an end.

Both of them were intelligent and understood the importance of knowing when to stop.

Orochimaru circled around but couldn't find a suitable place to sit. So he formed hand seals and used Earth Release to create an earthen platform. He and Sasori sat cross-legged on it, closed their eyes, and, following the method Pain had taught them, began to connect with their leader Pain through the ring on their finger.

As before,

The leader responded with astonishing speed. Orochimaru and Sasori's consciousness were pulled into a dark and boundless space, where they could only vaguely make out the outline of the huge statue. They were still standing on the statue's fingers as before.

"Orochimaru, Sasori, what's the matter?"

Pain, who had just logged on, stared at Orochimaru and Sasori with suspicion.

"Shouldn't you be on a mission in the Land of Waves? What could possibly go wrong with such a simple task?"

These two guys have questionable backgrounds.

Payne has been watching!

only--

Even he was completely taken aback by Orochimaru's answer.

"I have captured the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Orochimaru said with a chuckle.

"······What?"

Pain seemed to have a signal delay, remaining silent for five or six seconds before suddenly widening his eyes. His rippled Rinnegan stared intently at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, do you know what you just said? You captured the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Are you sure you're not joking?"

"I was lucky."

Orochimaru nodded calmly. "When I was on a mission, I happened to run into a group of Konoha ninja, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was among them. I thought it was a good opportunity to strike... I couldn't resist and captured the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

Couldn't resist?

You're kidding me!

Both Pain and Sasori scoffed at Orochimaru's explanation, completely disbelieving that it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. However, Pain didn't press for details, and Sasori was too lazy to use such trivial matters to slander Orochimaru.

As Orochimaru and Sasori said before,

The focus is not on Orochimaru's motives, but on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Sasori, is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki truly in your hands?"

"correct."

Sasori nodded. "I've already checked, and it's definitely the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki." This was the truth. After knocking Naruto and Sasuke unconscious, he had already given the boys a thorough check-up as quickly as possible. There was nothing unusual about Sasuke, but the Nine-Tails inside Naruto was genuine.

"Orochimaru, didn't we say before that our main focus is on investigating the Jinchuriki?"

Pain stared at Orochimaru.

We wanted to see clearly what this treacherous and cunning viper was up to.

"So I said it! I couldn't hold back for a moment. I'm also quite troubled about how to deal with the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... How about we let him go?" Orochimaru put on an innocent act, which made Pain and Sasori feel disgusted.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... has been sent to Amegakure."

Payne said in a deep voice.

No matter what Orochimaru is up to, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is a tempting bait. Even Pain couldn't remain unmoved, even though he knew that swallowing this bait might provoke Konoha's hostility. Perhaps this was Orochimaru's intention.

According to Orochimaru's statement when he joined the organization, the Sixth Hokage, Uchiha Sogen, had long been aware of the Akatsuki organization and the Rinnegan's secret of being hidden in Amegakure; this secret was no longer a secret.

But then again,

Sooner or later, the Akatsuki organization will become enemies with Konoha.

The reason he isn't taking the initiative right now is twofold: firstly, he's not ready to seal the tailed beasts yet; secondly, Konoha is a tough nut to crack, and capturing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would likely require his personal intervention, so he's not in a hurry to tackle this difficult challenge.

However, if the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki falls into his hands...

Even if he attracts an attack from the Leaf Village ninjas, it won't matter, because attacking the Leaf Village would be an away game, and he would face the Leaf Village's full-scale counterattack. But welcoming the Leaf Village ninjas' invasion in the Rain Village would be a home game, and the vast Rain Village and the Akatsuki organization could lend him a hand, which would be an advantage for him.

After weighing the pros and cons,

Payne resolutely prepared to swallow the bait, which might contain a hook. He was confident that he could swallow the bait and spit out the hook hidden inside.

[Chapter 356. Mangekyou Sharingan Chakra Stabilizing Agent]

"What did you say?"

Beneath the orange-red mask, a single, crimson eye stared wide open.

In the eyes,

The words 'bewildered' were written all over the place.

What the hell is going on?

"Explain yourself clearly, how did the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki end up being sent to Amegakure?" Obito Uchiha, who was squatting on the toilet, didn't care about the giant pitcher plant's two-faced intrusion and instead pressed for details of the incident.

However, if you can tolerate the awkwardness, the toilet is actually a good place to have a conversation.