Became the mastermind behind the Akatsuki organization

Chapter 365: Return and the Eve of the Chunin Exam
After digesting this shocking news, Kakashi looked towards Byakuya, his heart filled with confusion.

He didn't understand why Kushina, who had been missing for many years, stayed with Byakuya, and why she didn't return to the village. Was it because she was afraid of the masked man who launched the Nine-Tails Night, or because she was afraid of the people in the village.

Bai Ye saw Kakashi's confusion and immediately gave an answer: "Kakashi, Kushina only contacted me recently. She seemed to have suffered some serious injuries and only recovered recently."

"And the reason why you keep returning to Konoha is probably to deal with the masked man."

After hearing this, Kakashi nodded slightly, and then asked: "I understand, but where is Master Kushina now? Can I see her?"

Bai Ye looked embarrassed, and then said: "I need to ask her opinion on this. Her identity is too sensitive. Once exposed, it will be easy for her to be attacked by the masked man again."

"It's the masked man again..."

Kakashi gritted his teeth, then seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, how does Master Kushina plan to treat Naruto? Will Naruto stay in the village or go with her?"

Noticing Kakashi's strangeness, Bai Ye said in a playful tone: "Let Kushina take Naruto away. Kakashi is not so loyal to Konoha and the Third Hokage..."

Kakashi said disapprovingly: "Konoha is Konoha, the Sandaime is the Sandaime, and the current Sandaime is not the real Hokage, and Master Kushina is the widow of the Hokage. My loyalty will always be to Konoha."

For Kakashi, being loyal to Konoha and being loyal to the Hokage are not the same concept.

Although in many cases, there is not much difference between the two, but the actions of the Third Hokage in recent years have somewhat disappointed him.

Not only him, there are also quite a few jonin in the village who are dissatisfied with the Third Hokage.

This has nothing to do with whether the Third Hokage is a good person or not. It's simply that the Third Hokage's current ability is not worthy of being the Hokage.

Bai Ye was not particularly surprised by Kakashi's ambiguous attitude.

In the original time and space, the Third Hokage had already lost the trust of the Ninja Clan and the Jonin, but because of his past achievements, he was given an ending that belonged to a Hokage.

At this time, Kakashi seemed to remember something and asked hesitantly: "Bai Ye, since Master Kushina is still alive, then what about Teacher Minato..."

Bai Ye shook his head, and then said: "The Fourth Hokage performed the Demon Sealing Technique. You know the consequences of performing this technique."

Hearing this, Kakashi was silent for a few seconds. He took it for granted.

However, he hoped in his heart that Minato Namikaze was still alive. If Minato was still the Hokage, all problems would be solved.

After sighing softly, Kakashi said: "Thank you for telling me this. If I have the chance, I will definitely come to thank you."

"No need to thank me."

Bai Ye paused for a moment, then said: "However, regarding the existence of Kushina, I hope you will conceal it from the Third Hokage... I am worried that Kushina's identity will be revealed."

Kakashi thought about it and then agreed to Bai Ye's request.

In his opinion, the Third Hokage should not leak the secret, but the masked man mastered the space-time ninjutsu. If too many people knew about it, it would definitely be leaked.

Before Kakashi turned and left, Bai Ye's voice sounded again: "By the way, there is one more thing. Use your Sharingan well. It will be a powerful weapon against the masked man."

"My Sharingan is a powerful weapon against the masked man..."

Kakashi was skeptical and wanted to ask something else, but Bai Ye had disappeared.

After returning to Dazna's house, Kakashi saw several ninjas wearing forehead protectors from the Hidden Rain Village, and next to them were Naruto, Dazna and others.

After seeing Kakashi coming over, Naruto and the others breathed a sigh of relief and talked about their experiences in the past half hour.

It turned out that when he and Byakuya were out, Akatsuki ninjas came to the civilian area of ​​Wave Country and announced that the tycoon Cardo had fallen and that Akatsuki had taken over the place instead.

This time I came here to find Dazna and discuss the construction of the bridge and industrial zone.

But Naruto and Sasuke didn't trust the Akatsuki ninjas at all, and thought they were ninjas sent by Cardo, so the two sides were deadlocked here.

After hearing what happened, Kakashi smiled and then explained the relationship between the Akatsuki members and Byakuya.

Hearing that these people were Bai Ye's men, Naruto and the others let down their guard and said to Dazna:
"Uncle Dazna, since these people are Lord Byakuya's subordinates, we don't need to continue protecting you. Lord Byakuya is a good man, and the Wave Country will surely be very prosperous in the future."

Dazna was skeptical about what Naruto and the others said. He didn't trust Cardo or these ninjas.

However, after seeing the Akatsuki ninjas using ninjutsu to speed up the construction of the bridge, as well as the civil engineering ninjas who were renovating the port, Dazna let down his guard.

This group of ninjas wearing Fire Cloud uniforms may be different from ninjas from other places.

……

It took three days for Team 7 to return to Konohagakure from Wave Country.

After three days of running at full speed, Kakashi looked a little tired, while Naruto and the others were as listless as dead dogs.

There was no time to rest, as they had to go to the Hokage Building to report immediately.

After knocking on the door of the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage had been waiting there for a long time. He put down the health magazine in his hand, swept his eyes from several people, and fell on Kakashi.

Although Team 7 has just arrived, he has already learned about the situation in the Land of Waves from Yamato.

Without waiting for the Third Hokage to ask, Naruto and Sasuke took the initiative to talk about the itinerary, and even danced with excitement when talking about the battle.

The Third Hokage comforted the members of Team 7 and then asked Kakashi to stay.

In front of Naruto and Sasuke, he naturally establishes the image of a good grandfather, but in front of a senior ninja like Kakashi, he has only one identity, that is, the third generation Hokage of the village.

Picking up the mission report prepared by Kakashi, the Third Hokage glanced at it casually and asked casually: "Kakashi, you met Bai Ye during the mission, and Bai Ye helped you defeat Itachi and Kisame?"

Kakashi nodded, and then said: "It's like this, someone passed the news that Naruto was out, and Itachi and the masked man knew about it. If it wasn't for Bai Ye, we would be in danger this time."

The Third Hokage knocked on the table and said, "I know that the masked man has spies in the village, but how come Bai Ye can also track your whereabouts?"

Kakashi was stunned for a moment, then said, "Third-sama, I don't know that either."

Staring into Kakashi's eyes, the Third Hokage sighed softly, "It's normal that you don't know. Byakuya and the Hidden Rain Village must have planted spies in the village, but they are on our side."

After a pause, the Third Hokage continued, "From the report, you and Yamato should have witnessed Bai Ye's Wood Release Ninjutsu this time. What do you think of Bai Ye's strength?"

Kakashi hesitated, not knowing whether he should say it or not.

The Third Hokage saw Kakashi's dilemma, waved his hand and said, "Just tell me what you really think. I just want to know your evaluation of him." Kakashi recalled the scene at that time, took a deep breath and said:

"Beyond the power of demigods, Byakuya's strength has surpassed that of Hanzo, and he is only one step away from becoming the God of Ninja."

After a pause, Kakashi continued, "And I suspect that Byakuya is related to the first and second generations. He might be the bloodline of the Senju clan left in the Uzumaki clan."

"Otherwise, Bai Ye's Wood Release wouldn't be so terrifying. It's simply not in the same dimension as Yamato..."

After hearing Kakashi's evaluation of Bai Ye, the Third Hokage was silent for a long time, silently took out a pipe from the drawer, and took a few puffs without lighting it.

A ninja who surpasses demigod?

The Third Hokage felt mixed emotions and regretted not sending people to support the Uzushio Village. If he had supported the Uzushio Village that year, he would have allowed the remaining Uzumaki ninjas to join Konoha.

The current Bai Ye might be the ninja of Konoha.

If Byakuya had been there, Minato Namikaze would not have died during the Night of the Nine-Tails, and the events that followed would not have happened.

Of course, the more likely possibility is that he was used as an experimental subject by Danzo and Orochimaru. Those two bold guys never considered the consequences of anything they did.

After discussing Bai Ye's strength, the Third Hokage then asked, "By the way, during the ten days when Naruto and Sasuke disappeared, were they taken away by Bai Ye, or did they go somewhere else?"

Kakashi was shocked, and then said: "I don't know where they went. I asked them, but they refused to tell me."

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. Everyone has their own secrets."

The Third Hokage rarely asked further questions, but waved his hand and asked Kakashi to leave.

Kakashi was a little confused, but he still left the Hokage building. He felt that the Third Generation should know something, but he was not sure what he knew.

After Kakashi left, the Third Hokage's face became extremely gloomy and he took out another report from the drawer.

This report was sent by Uchiha Itachi and contained only two pieces of information.

The first was to tell him that the masked man had been targeting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Naruto, but had no intention of taking action yet, and the second was to question him whether the agreement they made back then was still effective and why a Root ninja would contact Sasuke.

After seeing the report, the Third Hokage understood where Sasuke and Naruto were going.

There is a high probability that Naruto and Sasuke were taken away by the Root ninjas, or even by Danzo himself. Danzo has always had ideas about Naruto and Sasuke, and wanted to turn them into killing machines that would only obey orders.

But his idea is different. The rules and curses of the roots can only restrict the weak, not the strong.

If Naruto and Sasuke are bound by rules all the time, when they grow up, they will definitely doubt the rules, which will cause extremely terrible backlash.

But it is different if you use the will of fire. Even if they die, Naruto and Sasuke will protect Konoha.

In their hearts, I will always be the perfect Hokage.

This report also perfectly explains why Byakuya knew that the Jinchuriki had left the village. The news was most likely leaked by Danzo, and the two might have been colluding in secret.

Danzo is the leader of the Root, and Byakuya is the leader of the Akatsuki organization in the Hidden Rain Village.

The identities of the two are almost identical, and they are only one step away from becoming the leader of their respective ninja villages. In order to take the last step, there is a high probability that part of the village’s interests will be sacrificed.

After sighing, the Third Hokage looked towards the direction of the Land of Waves and sighed.

Bai Ye is a very resourceful ninja. His original plan was to take advantage of the fact that Dazna was targeted by Cardo and take the opportunity to get rid of Cardo, and use Cardo's property to subsidize the village's deficit.

But Bai Ye got there first and occupied the entire Kingdom of Waves.

This will undoubtedly make Konoha's finances even worse.

And because Byakuya saved Naruto, the Konohagakure lost its reason to interfere with the Wave Country. Otherwise, it would be morally untenable and lose the support of public opinion.

Public opinion is of no use to two parties with a large gap in strength.

But the strength of the Hidden Rain Village, or to be more precise, the Hidden Rain Village Alliance, is almost the same as that of the five major countries. It has even surpassed the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Mist Village, reaching the level of competing with Konoha.

Once Konoha loses its advantage in public opinion, it will definitely not be a match for the Hidden Rain Village.

What's more, Konoha needs to bind itself with the Hidden Rain Village to avoid a new round of siege. The scene of the Third Ninja World War is still vivid in his mind.

But this is not a solution. Sooner or later, Konoha Village will collapse because of interests.

Unlike the civilian ninjas trained in the ninja school education system, the ninjas in the village might eventually defect. After leaving Konoha, they might be seriously injured, but they could still maintain a good status.

Recovering his gradually dispersing thoughts, the Third Hokage shifted his gaze from the window to the room.

After glancing at the portraits of successive Hokage, the Third Hokage's eyes fell on his own portrait. He decided that it was better to rely on himself than on others, so he decided to find a way to save Konoha from its predicament.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage took out the joint Chunin exam plan that he had prepared long ago.

The Joint Chunin Exam is a massive exam involving many ninja villages. In addition to selecting the most elite Chunin, it is also a military competition in peacetime.

In front of politicians from various countries and leaders of ninja villages, the young generation showed their elegance.

This time, the Third Hokage plans to invite all the young talents in the Ninja World to participate in an unprecedented Chunin Exam.

As long as I can get a dazzling result in the Chunin Exam.

Konoha will be able to wipe out the haze of many years, regain the support of politicians from various countries, restore the number of commissions it once received, and make Konoha great again.

As for whether Konoha can succeed in the Chunin Exam, the Third Hokage does not think he will lose.

In addition to Naruto and Sasuke, two freaks with the strength of a Jonin, Konoha also has many young Genin with extraordinary strength.

For example, Lee and Neji, who are under Might Guy, are already close to being jonin in strength.

If they join forces with Naruto and Sasuke, they will definitely be able to defeat the young people from other ninja villages.

Thinking of this, the Third Hokage began to chuckle, and an image of Konoha thriving under his leadership emerged in his mind.

(End of this chapter)