Naruto: Who made him a ninja?

Kakashi used a Lightning Clone to trick Obito, while Hidezawa Shigen and Uchiha Shisui's Wood Release and Mangekyo Sharingan were really giving Sasori and Kakuzu a hard time.

Turning his head, Hidezawa Shigen even had the spare energy to go after Obito!

Even though White Zetsu was the unlucky one in the end, being forced out of Obito's body and then killed by Hidezawa, it had a huge impact on Obito.

He and Obito had tried countless methods to remove the cursed seal, but all to no avail.

In the end, they could only resort to the most extreme measure—completely digging out that piece of flesh!

According to Obito, he would remember this hatred for the rest of his life, as he hadn't been injured to this extent in a long time.

This kid has now completely recovered and is constantly thinking about how to get revenge, which makes Black Zetsu very helpless.

"The person you should be seeking revenge against is Minato Namikaze, right? The others are already dead. Are you planning to dig up graves or something?"

It's because of Obito's nonsense that Black Zetsu doesn't have a deep understanding of many things within the Akatsuki organization.

"Yes, a new member."

Pain nodded, his gaze also turning to the Black Zetsu's Venus flytrap form.

"Even with Juzo Biwa joining, we still have too few people, so we need some new people to fill the gaps."

"I'm also very curious who this new member will be."

Juzo Biwa indifferently stood aside, a large black sword strapped to his back—his weapon, the Kubikiribocho (Executioner's Blade).

Juzo Biwa could no longer stay in Kirigakure, or rather, his heart had begun to question the Mizukage.

In addition, Black Zetsu and Obito could control the Mizukage, arbitrarily persecuting him to force him to leave the village. Only after he left did Black Zetsu come forward to invite him to join the Akatsuki.

Everything was so natural; Juzo Biwa was now a member of the Akatsuki!

"You may have heard of this person, or rather, you are all very familiar with him."

Pain glanced at Kakuzu, who showed no desire to speak, before finally opening his mouth.

"This person is the Konoha rogue ninja, Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru?!"

"What, it's him?"

Orochimaru's reputation was such that none of these powerful ninjas were unaware of him!

Especially for Sasori and Juzo Biwa, this name was all too familiar.

Sasori never had any good feelings towards Konoha ninjas, especially since his parents had died at the hands of that Konoha White Fang, Sakumo Hatake!

The last time he went to intercept those Konoha people, he vaguely seemed to see Kakashi, but unfortunately, he had no opportunity at the time.

As for Orochimaru, he had also contributed to the war back then. Even if he wasn't the main force, Sasori still loathed this guy from the bottom of his heart.

As for Juzo Biwa, it was even simpler.

He might not have hated Orochimaru, but he was definitely filled with terror towards him!

During the Third Shinobi World War, Orochimaru was stationed in the Land of Whirlpools, commanding Konoha in the battle against Kirigakure. Juzo Biwa could never forget this.

He never expected that this guy would actually become his colleague now?

"Orochimaru, huh?"

Black Zetsu was also somewhat surprised, but quickly nodded.

"If it's him, that's indeed a good choice. He's strong and knows Konoha very well.

With him, many things might be easier for us in the future, but there's also a problem now: this guy's whereabouts are elusive.

It's very difficult to find him. Even Konoha doesn't seem to have much information about him. How are we going to find him?"

"Don't worry, that problem has already been solved."

Pain didn't dwell on this, turning his head to look at Kakuzu, who had been silent all along.

"Kakuzu has already provided us with information. According to his information, Orochimaru is likely wandering near Iwagakure recently.

Perhaps he has other things to do, but those are irrelevant to us.

At least we have his whereabouts, so we can act!"

Speaking of which, Pain paused before continuing.

"However, you will be the ones to carry out this mission. I personally have some other things to take care of.

But I will also send 'Angel' to accompany you. I believe this lineup is enough for you to handle things."

Actually, how could Pain not want to go to Iwagakure? That way, their operation to recruit Orochimaru would be much easier.

But unfortunately, he really had many things to deal with, such as Hanzo's information!

He really didn't trust Black Zetsu and the others, but he had thoroughly investigated Hanzo's side, and this information was trustworthy.

He also decided to take action in the near future!

However, Hanzo was extremely dangerous. He never thought of involving Konan in it. He planned to solve the problem himself and explain it later.

He didn't expect Orochimaru to suddenly appear, which was perfect for him to send Konan away.

At this moment, he had really been waiting for a long time…

Thinking of this, Pain looked at Kakuzu again.

"Then, Kakuzu, you will be in charge of this mission.

After all, you have the information. If there are no problems, then prepare to move out."

After saying this, Pain planned to close the communication.

Everyone present was thoughtful, after all, recruiting Orochimaru was not an easy task.

Only Kakuzu, listening to Pain's words, felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

He had no information at all; he was just reading a script!

He was indeed very happy when he received the money, but now that he really had to act, he felt somewhat panicked.

"Boss Hidezawa, please don't harm me!"

"Hey, Hidezawa, where is your informant? Should we meet him, after all, that would help us better understand Orochimaru's situation, right?"

Within the Land of Fire, Jiraiya led Shūzawa and his group of five, rapidly advancing.

However, Jiraiya was also somewhat curious about the specifics of Shūzawa's information, as the intelligence Shūzawa provided was vague and ambiguous, and deploying directly was already a huge act of trust.

But at least there should be something more concrete, otherwise, wouldn't it be terrible if they ended up empty-handed?

"Actually, instead of worrying about that, you might as well think about which route we should take to Iwagakure."

Shūzawa glanced at Jiraiya, inwardly complaining, as this was essentially a story he had fabricated.

The only thing he could guarantee was that one side would appear; he couldn't produce anything else himself.

However, Shūzawa had his reasons and excuses, otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to bring people out here directly.

"Besides, Jiraiya-sama, you know it's an informant; how could he easily meet with me? If anything were discovered, he'd be finished."

"Tch, really."

Jiraiya helplessly shook his head, but he didn't dwell too much on the matter.

Shūzawa was an Anbu member, and he didn't think this kid would dare to deceive Konoha on such a matter; it would be extremely serious.

So he simply followed Shūzawa's train of thought, stroking his chin and saying.

"There are three routes to Iwagakure. The Land of Grass is the most convenient, but also the most troublesome, after all, the village had negotiations with Iwagakure, so..."

They had many people in the Land of Grass. After Konoha took a bite, they naturally placed many troops in their controlled areas, making the Land of Grass convenient to traverse.

But precisely because of that negotiation, the relationship between Konoha and Iwagakure became even more strained, and heading that way might lead to trouble.

"Actually, we can directly infiltrate. I think it would be difficult for those Iwa ninja in the Land of Grass to discover us."

Shūzawa tilted his head, seemingly not caring at all.

"Moreover, going through the Land of Grass would also pass by the Kannabi Bridge, where Uchiha Obito once faked his death. Maybe we can find some other clues there."

"..."

Kakashi tilted his head, looking at Shūzawa, feeling as if this guy was deliberately antagonizing him whenever he mentioned the Land of Grass.

But thinking that he might encounter Obito again this time, Kakashi's fists also hardened a bit.

"Actually, wouldn't it be better to go through the Land of Rain?"

Yamato seemed to sense that Kakashi was not in a good mood, and immediately took the initiative to defuse the situation.

"Although the roads in the Land of Rain are muddy due to the constant rain, and the road conditions are not ideal, the advantage is that no outsiders would go there.

I once saw information in Danzō-sama's files that the Land of Rain is extremely xenophobic, and they are quite strong. As long as we disguise ourselves, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"The Land of Rain, huh."

Shūzawa raised his eyebrows upon hearing this. Danzō certainly didn't have a good impression of the Land of Rain, after all, his peak Root forces had fallen in that damn place.

As for going to the Land of Rain?

Shūzawa even suspected that Yamato felt Jiraiya had lived too long and was planning to send him off early?

At this point in time, Hanzo might still be alive, plus Nagato...

"Good idea!"

Shūzawa nodded, looking at the somewhat troubled Jiraiya.

"I heard that Jiraiya-taichō once had a relationship with Hanzō, the demigod of the Land of Rain. Maybe it will be more convenient for us!"

"..."

Jiraiya awkwardly rubbed his white hair, feeling that this little brat Shūzawa had no good intentions!

What do you mean by having a relationship? He was simply taught a lesson, okay?

"Forget the Land of Rain, Hanzō is not easy to deal with, and you don't understand the Land of Rain. Hanzō doesn't want us to appear there, or there might be big trouble."

"Looks like we can only choose to go through the Land of Waterfall."

Shisui had been listening attentively the whole time, and finally, he knew which way to go.

"The Land of Waterfall is relatively neutral, and it has its own ninja village, and also the Seven-Tails. Even if the interior is mixed, it will be convenient for us to act."

"Indeed, let's decide then, we'll go directly to the Land of Waterfall!"

Jiraiya nodded, immediately ending the topic.

Goodness knows why this little fellow Shūzawa was so troublesome, even choosing a route could cause him so much trouble!

He secretly messed with Kakashi's mentality, and then turned around and did the same to him. This kid...

"Huh? I wanted him to figure out more information, how come..."

Suddenly, Jiraiya seemed to remember something, it seemed they weren't discussing routes at the beginning.

How did he get led astray by Shūzawa to this point?

Even though he was the one who actively agreed, after this, Jiraiya didn't even want to talk anymore.

"Crap, it feels like these kids are a bit difficult to handle this time..."

Jiraiya had a headache, and he was considering how to deal with these little guys later.

But Shūzawa didn't pay attention to Jiraiya so much. After suppressing the issue of Kakuzu, he quietly slipped to Yūgao's side.

Yūgao was almost seventeen this year, and she had grown into a graceful young woman, with an aura full of youthful vitality that always came to her face.

However, Yūgao seemed a bit silent along the way, and Shūzawa certainly knew what was going on, so he had to make up for it.

"Senpai, why do I feel like you're not too happy?"

"No."

Yūgao snorted softly, but the next moment she realized that her hand had been held, and Shūzawa was still saying to himself.

"Are you feeling unwell? Do you want..."

"Don't mess around, Jiraiya-sama is still here!"

Yūgao was somewhat unable to hold on. Didn't this guy look at the occasion?