I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Although the Uzumaki clan elder always claimed that he lacked talent in sealing techniques, the fact that he easily sealed Zabuza and Hozuki Mangetsu shows that he possessed the strength of an elite Jonin simply by using sealing techniques.

It's clear that the old patriarch either deceived himself or was simply being stubborn and refusing to admit that his talent was inferior to his own.

He had a wealth of experience dealing with old men like this, but the old patriarch of the Uzumaki clan was already dead and could not possibly be interested in the glamorous world of the ninja world.

The old patriarch's obsession was probably only to see the Whirlpool Clan prosper again.

From this perspective, Naruto was completely helpless against the old clan leader. After all, he wasn't Itachi Uchiha; he didn't have the courage to wipe out his entire clan, nor could he become infertile.

After venting his frustrations, Naruto felt much better and looked in the direction of Kirigakure, contemplating future development plans.

Economic development is nothing to worry about. The Land of Whirlpools is part of the trade route, but its advantageous position was taken away by the Land of Waves. It would be easy to take it back.

However, the plan to attract talent can only rely on the surrounding villages of Konoha and Kirigakure.

Konoha has just imported a batch of Uchiha talents and is still in a buffer period, so the only target left is Kirigakure, which also has the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, two tailed beasts.

Kurama once told me that as long as I get close to the remaining eight tailed beasts, it is confident that it can obtain the power of the other tailed beasts and provide it to me, theoretically because it likes me more.

In his view, Kurama was clearly anxious after seeing the presence of White Zetsu, but was too proud to say so directly.

After all, being used as a Jinchuriki at most means dying and being free, but when the Ten-Tails is revived, the Tailed Beast is directly devoured as chakra, and even its will cannot be preserved.

He respected Kurama's idea of ​​keeping the secret, since he already knew Kurama's secret all along.

Even when the Nine-Tails is sleeping, it knows which direction its tail likes to be positioned.

He certainly wouldn't object to Kurama collecting the chakra of the tailed beasts to increase his strength. On one hand, no one would complain about him becoming stronger, and on the other hand, he would have to face the endless stream of bosses in the ninja world sooner or later.

However, getting in touch with the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails is a problem.

After all, if he tried to make contact with the Tailed Beasts, he would risk being targeted by Obito and Nagato. He might have a sliver of hope if he fought alone, but if the two of them attacked him together, he would have no chance at all.

His strength is still too weak; he hasn't even reached the level of a Shadow Realm expert.

"Shisui's affection for you has reached the level of trust. You have gained insights into the use of the Sharingan. This is a gift from Shisui, who should have died, to the great Menma-sama!"

Just then, a crisp sound rang out, and Naruto received a reward from the Favorability System. As always, the system's reward was rather lackluster, gifting him the memories of Shisui's training with the Sharingan.

He's already taken Zhishui under his wing, so asking him for cultivation experience would be a piece of cake.

However, he really liked this sentence from the great Menma-sama.

Naruto had his shadow clones keep watch nearby, and then he clicked on the Sharingan usage guide. A long string of training memories appeared in his mind, flashing continuously like a slideshow.

A few hours later, Naruto opened his eyes again, and his Sharingan began to make choices uncontrollably.

This training memory made Naruto's face turn very ugly. He was almost affected by Shisui's training memory. However, the good thing was that Kotoamatsukami's rejection of him was reduced a lot, and he could now close his Sharingan.

But everyone has different colored eyes, so he still has to continue wearing colored contact lenses.

After reflecting on his feelings, Naruto began to ponder a question: what exactly are the criteria and triggering conditions for the favorability system?

He initially thought it was simply a matter of goodwill, but now it seems more like a matter of approval.

Besides the prerequisite of high favorability, you also need the other party's approval. You must meet the other party's expectations and become the image they expect.

Besides, Edo Tensei doesn't seem to fall into this category, and the chakra body is still unclear.

After all, the old clan chief's favorability towards him shouldn't be low. Minato Namikaze... let's talk about Kamon first. Kamon still doesn't trust him enough. When there's time, let the old clan chief give him a talking-to and assign him the task of revitalizing the Uzumaki clan.

……

Inside the Water Shadow Building.

As always, Obito played his part, having the Fourth Mizukage write an absurd order before skillfully stamping it with the Mizukage's seal and handing it over to the Hidden Mist Anbu who had been waiting outside the secret room.

The ANBU carefully took over the leader and then left the Mizukage Building, glancing at the Fourth Mizukage before leaving.

He didn't quite understand the Mizukage's reclusive lifestyle. The village was in complete chaos, yet he remained silent and did not take charge, as if he were a puppet being manipulated.

But soon, the Hidden Mist Division dismissed this absurd idea.

The Hidden Mist Village's philosophy is that the strong are respected, and the Mizukage is the strongest ninja since the Third Hokage. If he were just a puppet, wouldn't the Hidden Mist Village become a joke?

Obito observed everything the Hidden Mist Anbu did, but he didn't care.

To him, Kirigakure was nothing more than a training ground for rogue ninja, so the more chaotic it was, the better, which also suited Akatsuki's interests.

In this respect, Obito was practically the Akatsuki's workaholic, putting in a lot of effort for the Eye of the Moon Project.

Not long after, the Hidden Mist Village's ANBU sent another intelligence report: Kisame, the ANBU squad leader, had failed in his assassination attempt on the Daimyo of the Land of Water and had betrayed the Hidden Mist Village.

The Daimyo is the ninja's money bag, which is even more serious than assassinating the Mizukage. The other high-ranking members of Kirigakure did not hesitate to put Kisame on the list of rogue ninjas, with a rank of S.

Obito was not surprised by the news that Kisame had become a rogue ninja.

Sending Kisame to assassinate the Daimyo of the Land of Water and have him defect, and then having him unexpectedly recruited by the Akatsuki, was part of his talent development plan to enhance his influence within the Akatsuki organization.

After sending the Anbu away, Obito began to consider whether or not to continue inducing the Kirigakure Jonin to defect.

Characters like Zabuza and Hozuki Mangetsu, who I've been following before, are quite good, but Hozuki Mangetsu is a bit troublesome. He is a descendant of the Second Mizukage's family, and their influence is deeply rooted in Kirigakure.

At that moment, Obito sensed a familiar chakra and looked down at the ground.

A uniquely shaped white Zetsu emerged and said expressionlessly, "Lord Madara, Zabuza and Hozuki Mangetsu, whom you asked me to keep an eye on, have gone missing. They have left Kirigakure."

"They left Kirigakure? They defected? Where did they go?"

Obito frowned, looking at the peculiar white Zetsu. The white Zetsu slowly said, "The last place they appeared was in the Land of Whirlpools, but we haven't seen them since..."

"The Land of Whirlpools? Could it be that they were captured by the Uchiha clan there?"

Obito's expression turned grim as he thought of Shisui, the leader of the Uchiha remnants. He had originally intended to abandon the Uchiha clan of Uzushiogakure, but unexpectedly, the person he had his eye on had been captured by Shisui's men.

Chapter 98 Shifting the Blame East

A few days later, Akatsuki held an internal meeting.

Before Pain assigned missions to the various teams, Obito had Zetsu appear at a meeting and share information about the remnants of the Uchiha clan.

Upon hearing the news that the Uchiha clan had chosen to settle in the Land of Whirlpools, many Akatsuki members revealed greedy eyes.

Orochimaru, Sasori, and Kakuzu stand out the most. Some covet the Uchiha bloodline, some want a Sharingan to collect, and some are even interested in the Uchiha bounty.

Bloodline limit ninjas are treasures from head to toe; once they leave the protection of their ninja villages, they will inevitably be coveted by others.

However, considering the presence of Uchiha rogue ninjas within the organization, they restrained themselves considerably and all turned their attention to Uchiha Itachi, who was wearing the Suzaku Ring.

Although Itachi's hands were stained with the blood of the Uchiha, such a madman cannot be judged by common sense.

What if they revealed their intention to target the remnants of the Uchiha clan and it caught Itachi's attention? They didn't want to cause trouble, since judging from the completion of the mission, Itachi's strength was far above the organization's average level.

While the Sharingan has some value, it's not worth the enormous risk they would take to deliberately plan this.

However, if they happen to encounter the Uchiha clan in the ninja world, they wouldn't mind resorting to underhanded tactics and stealing some Sharingan eyes as collectibles.

Stared at by the Akatsuki members, Itachi's expression didn't change much. He and Shisui had chosen completely different paths and had parted ways. Who knew if they would be enemies the next time they met?

Moreover, he was very clear about Shisui's strength. Although he had lost the Mangekyou Sharingan, his strength would not decrease much after he acquired the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Without using the Mangekyou Sharingan, the only difference between the three-tomoe Sharingan and the Mangekyou Sharingan is the Susanoo ninjutsu, and the price of activating Susanoo is far too high.

Zetsu provided information about the Uchiha clan, making him realize that Zetsu might be on the masked man's side.

Where there are ninjas, there will be conflict. Just like Konoha, the Akatsuki organization also has factions. For example, Sasori and Kakuzu were recruited by Pain and Konan, so they naturally belong to Pain's faction.

Those who were recruited by the masked man, like him, were classified as part of the masked man's faction.

He originally thought that only he and Juzo Biwa belonged to the Masked Man's faction, but he didn't expect that Zetsu, whose position was close to Pain, might also be one of the Masked Man's people.

However, factions are not fixed; he can instigate internal strife within Akatsuki by getting close to Pain's faction.

But if they anger the masked man, he might turn on the village again. Neither the village nor Sasuke can withstand any more trouble, so they'll have to wait for another opportunity.

After the brief interlude of Zetsu reporting the news, Pain resumed assigning tasks online.

Some of these missions come from the black market, while others are directly commissioned by daimyo and kage. These missions include, but are not limited to, assassinating important officials, stealing intelligence, and even creating friction and battlefields on the border.

Putting aside the fact that Akatsuki's ultimate goal is to collect the Tailed Beasts, the ambitious figures of the Five Great Nations would certainly love a mercenary organization like Akatsuki. After all, in an era where countries are moving towards peace, no one dares to easily start a war.

After the Akatsuki meeting, which was held every few months, Itachi severed his illusionary body technique and returned to the real world.

In the real world, he and Juzo Biwa stayed in a small house created using Earth Release techniques. Outside, a continuous summer downpour was raging as they searched for signs of the Six-Tails' activity within the Land of Water.

After all, while making money and exacerbating conflicts between countries are important, Akatsuki's ultimate goal is to collect the Tailed Beasts.

Braving the torrential rain outside, Itachi took out some rice balls to fill his stomach, then frowned and looked at Juzo Biwa beside him. The Akatsuki meeting had already ended, so why was this guy still using the Illusionary Body Technique?

Are they communicating with Payne? Or have they received a new mission?

Ten minutes later, Juzo Biwa severed the Illusionary Body Technique, took the rice ball Itachi offered, and without worrying about being poisoned, said thank you and began to swallow.

After finishing his meal, Juzo Biwa wiped his mouth with his sleeve and then said, "The leader just contacted me privately and gave us a new mission: to infiltrate Kirigakure and investigate the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi."

Yagura Karatachi is the Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails, so investigating him is perfectly normal.

But Itachi felt something was amiss and looked at Biwa Juzo with a suspicious gaze. He thought that the mission to infiltrate Kirigakure to investigate the Fourth Mizukage might have been volunteered by Biwa Juzo.

The reason for the application is very likely related to the fact that Juzo Biwa became a rogue ninja.

Juzo Biwa might be using Akatsuki to achieve his own goals.

However, the fact that each member has their own agenda is also a major characteristic of the Akatsuki organization. If these rogue ninjas could truly unite as one, their strength would surpass that of the five great ninja villages, making them the de facto number one force in the ninja world.

Thinking of this, Itachi Uchiha nodded and said, "Infiltrating Kirigakure to investigate the Mizukage is not a simple task. We must plan this carefully. Do you have any suitable disguise?"

Kirigakure shook his head with a wry smile: "Kirigakure has long been infiltrated, we can just go directly there."

……

Within the territory of the land of rivers.

Orochimaru and Sasori simultaneously dispelled their illusionary body techniques, remaining wary of each other.

One of them is a puppet enthusiast, and the other is a mad scientist. They should have been like-minded friends, but due to their differing ideologies, their relationship has always been poor, and they both want to prove that their own path is superior.

Suddenly, Orochimaru looked at Sasori and said in a playful tone, "Sori, are you interested in going to the Land of Whirlpools? The Uchiha there would make good experimental subjects. You must be looking forward to Sharingan puppets, right?"

Scorpion snorted and said, "If you want to go, go by yourself. I don't have time to deal with those Uchiha. I have more important things to do. If you want to go, you can go alone."

Seeing that his instigation had failed, Orochimaru felt a little regretful, but only regretful that he had lost a pawn to scout ahead.

While the Uchiha bloodline and Sharingan have considerable research value, they cannot compare to the Cursed Seal technology he is currently researching. Using the Cursed Seal technology, he can directly cultivate experimental subjects with strength approaching that of Jonin, which is in no way inferior to bloodline limits.

He was captivated by the feeling of creating bloodline limits and immortal beings with his own hands.