Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

But there are still fourteen years until his storyline ends, and the current Sheren is definitely far from his peak.

As long as he dares to come down... Hiruko actually hopes he will come down sooner, since he is on the moon and Hiruko can't take the initiative to 1v1 him.

The sooner he comes down, the weaker his strength will be, and the easier it will be for Hiruko to deal with him.

As a research ninja, Hiruko had full confidence in her abilities and wisdom.

The two exchanged a few words, but Hyuga Hiashi always seemed uneasy and did not discuss the matter in depth with Hiruko.

Soon, a worried Hiashi Hyuga chose to resign.

After a while, Kakashi and Mei Terumi returned.

Yagura asked hurriedly, "How is the situation?"

"Takigakure was attacked by Akatsuki and lost a lot of buildings and manpower, but its foundation is still deep and it can hold on for the time being."

Mei Terumi shook her head, her face grim. "But they knew our purpose, and the price they offered was quite... foolish."

It's less a matter of stupidity and more a matter of necessity.

In recent years, Takigakure has been quite powerful. Relying on its many skilled members and tailed beasts, they have bullied many people.

Things were alright when the Tailed Beast was around, but now that the biggest guarantee is gone, those unlucky souls who were bullied by it are naturally... In this world that is constantly accelerating forward, everyone can only move forward while coughing up blood.

Chapter 457

Can't keep up? Then just die.

"Do you have any ideas? Or any weaknesses that can be exploited?" Hiruko asked.

Mei Terumi shook her head again.

"I didn't find anything... On the contrary, Bai Lu Kongming seems to have some ideas..."

This is where the huge gap in experience comes in.

Bai Lu Kongming has fought many bad battles, and he himself is decisive enough.

Now that things have gone wrong, Terumi Mei has returned dejectedly, but he has already begun to address the problem.

The rice we've eaten over the past few decades has really not been for nothing.

"Fifth Hokage, do you have any ideas?" Just like the Imperial Uncle who was used to Mr. Kongming, Mei Terumi looked at Hiruko with expectant eyes.

She has gradually given up thinking, which is of course a good thing; the less she thinks, the more advantageous it is for Biluhu.

“In that case… I have three plans: superior, middle, and inferior…” Hiruko said mysteriously.

Yagura quickly said, "Don't listen to the middle part!"

Kakashi laughed and said, "Let's use the middle one."

Clearly, the two had a major conflict.

Mei Terumi hesitated for a moment, but still chose to go along with the plan.

"Tell me... what is the best strategy?"

"The best plan?"

Beiliuhu sat there with a smile on his face. "Ah, if only there were a madman with absolute violence, unconventional, cynical, infamous throughout the Khitan, and already possessing a self-sacrificing mentality, who could clean up all these bad guys and protect us legitimate merchants, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

……

The Hell Path clone opened its eyes.

Nagato looked at the account book in his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The Akatsuki organization has been doing very well lately, which has also improved his mood.

The most notable achievement was obtaining the Seven-Tails from Takigakure.

This is the first tailed beast that the Akatsuki organization has acquired.

Although the remaining tailed beasts are mostly in the hands of the major ninja villages, everything is difficult at the beginning. Once the first step is successfully taken, the rest will be much simpler.

To outsiders, the five great ninja villages are still as solid as a rock and indestructible fortress.

But Nagato knew his good junior brother Hiruko too well. At most nine years later, when the treaty between the various countries expired, he would definitely begin the work of annexing the other four great ninja villages, and it might not even take nine years.

The world will surely descend into chaos, which will also be Nagato's best opportunity.

What outsiders don't know is that while obtaining the Seven-Tails, the Akatsuki organization also gained a lot of extra income—yes, from those smaller factions.

Because of the reckless rants of his good friend Hiruko, a lot of Nagato's information was leaked, and he could no longer remain behind the scenes and manage things peacefully.

Everyone was wary of him, just as everyone was wary of his good junior brother.

However, at the same time, Nagato's Kage-level status also attracted many rogue ninja to join him.

It's not shameful to follow the strong, especially the strong who can help them withstand the pressure from the original ninja village.

Many small countries, for various reasons, are willing to pay a sum of money in exchange for the Akatsuki not causing trouble within their borders.

This does sound outrageous, but it's difficult to deal with small countries. The five great ninja villages are at least prestigious and righteous, so there are still some concerns. But a terrorist like Nagato... you can't stand on the moral high ground and criticize someone without morality; you really will be killed.

Fortunately, Nagato's goal was not to kill everyone, and most small countries were not among his targets.

Since the other party was so sensible, Nagato was naturally happy to agree—it's so great to get something for free.

However, among the large amount of paper money handed over by those small countries, Nagato also noticed a small problem... Isn't there a bit too much Land of Fire currency? It's normal for the Land of Fire to use its own currency, but now, the amount of Land of Fire currency is also increasing rapidly in the markets of many small countries.

Small countries are only concerned with themselves and have neither the ability nor the willingness to investigate other countries' currencies.

On the contrary, Nagato, who was the one taking the money, seemed to have some suspicions.

"It's that guy causing trouble again... He always manages to come up with all sorts of new things." Nagato is a true genius. He hadn't known him before, but after studying the economics books left by his junior brother, he had come to understand the situation.

But Nagato doesn't intend to stop it, which is the tacit understanding between him and his good junior brother.

It's true that the two fought as soon as they met, almost knocking each other's brains out, but they also knew very well that there were some things that only the other could help them with.

Nagato gazed at the sky, lost in thought.

Just then, Xiao Nan walked in from outside.

She handed a piece of intelligence to Nagato.

Intelligence work is very expensive.

The Akatsuki organization was in a terrible state before, but as Nagato's infamy gradually came to light, the money problem was actually solved.

In recent days, the Akatsuki organization has been acquiring more and more intelligence, and the speed at which they are gathering intelligence is also getting faster and faster.

Nagato quickly finished reading the intelligence in his hand.

"That bastard, I knew it, nothing good ever comes of him thinking about me..." Nagato, whose personality had become quite silent and reserved since Yahiko's death, cursed.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Nan asked curiously.

As Nagato's friend, she was naturally allowed to access intelligence, and Nagato wouldn't say anything.

But since it's an organization, it has to have its rules, so Xiao Nan didn't look at the intelligence report.

The truly important things, Nagato would tell her... Konan knew that there were certain things Nagato didn't want her to know. This man wanted to shoulder the entire world in his own way.

“There’s a bastard… never mind, let’s get ready for the meeting later.” Nagato didn’t directly mention Hiruko’s name.

Xiao Nan didn't ask any further questions, but simply nodded in agreement.

After making some preparations, Nagato used ninjutsu to gather the projections of important Akatsuki members from all over the world into one place.

“Everyone’s here…” Nagato said.

"What do you want with us?" "Are you going to capture another tailed beast? Didn't you just do that not long ago?"

The members were clearly puzzled as to why they had been summoned at this time, and there was a lot of discussion about it.

Nagato did not give the answer directly, but waited for everyone to discuss it for a while before speaking.

"I have received important intelligence that Kirigakure has been keeping an eye on us ever since we successfully sealed the Seven-Tails last time."

Those two candidates seem to be using us as stepping stones to boost their own reputations.

Upon hearing Nagato's words, the Akatsuki members all revealed disdainful sneers.

"Just those two?"

"They should go back to their mothers' arms and nurse!" It's no wonder the other members reacted this way; Kirigakure is one of the five great ninja villages, after all, and they have to maintain their dignity.

Now that Yagura has caused such a huge scandal, he will definitely have to retire.

The Hidden Mist Election, which even temporarily suppressed the Imperial Examination, became the most talked-about news.

Because of the mutual attacks between the two candidates, everyone is quite familiar with their information.

For other organizations, these two elite Jonin—Shirasagi Sora and Terumi Mei—are undoubtedly quite a threat.

However, the situation was quite different for the unruly and exceptionally powerful members of the Akatsuki organization.

White Heron Sora? He's just one of many elite Jonin.

Mei Terumi? Similarly, she is just an elite Jonin with the potential to possess two bloodline limits.

Although Bai Lu Kongming was quite strong, in the Akatsuki organization, where there were many Kage-level shinobi, his strength was simply not taken seriously by these arrogant rogue ninjas.

If he dares to provoke them, they will kill him without mercy.

As for Mei Terumi... in the eyes of the Akatsuki members, she was just a woman.

Perhaps in another ten years, Mei Terumi, with both bloodline limits fully unlocked, will be able to make them feel a slight threat, but right now, she is too weak and not enough for them to take her seriously.

Nagato listened quietly to his subordinates' sarcastic remarks without uttering a word in rebuttal.

Since they're all traitors anyway, he doesn't expect to find many mentally sound people among them. As long as they get things done for him, that's considered loyalty.

“You’re right, but I don’t want to work for others for free… Although there isn’t enough information to corroborate this, I have a feeling that Elder Kirigakure deliberately chose this mission to use us as a tool to kill the two candidates, so that they can smoothly implement the elder council system…”

"This will only do us harm, not benefit us."

"So, my idea is to defeat them and show them what's what... Who's willing to go?"

However, just like a teacher calling roll, no one responded after Nagato finished speaking.

There are indeed many powerful people in the Akatsuki organization, but there are also quite a few lazy ones.