Undercurrents in the High Command
Sometimes, even if life is full of lies, you still have to go on.
Just like the explanation Sakura Haruno received, Yugao had simply gained weight while recuperating—Sakura herself naturally scoffed at this explanation; everyone knows that if you want to gain weight, you gain weight around your waist first, and if you want to lose weight, you lose weight around your chest first! Eh~ There must be some secret hidden here!
Just like Uchiha Sasuke's revenge plan, which he always regarded as one of his life goals, the Sasuke that Sakura knows now is much more mature than the one in the original story.
It seems a bit unfair to keep calling him Uchiha Sasuke.
However, he still didn't see through Itachi's lie and still stubbornly believed that he had to take revenge on Itachi... Although Sakura Haruno had talked to him about it, perhaps there was something fishy going on, and his brother might not even be the culprit.
However, even Sakura Haruno, wasn't entirely aware of the secrets involved—after all, she transmigrated without watching the anime. In the entire Konoha, only four people currently fully understand the truth—oh no, now it's five. The new Hokage, Lady Tsunade, having finished reading the top-secret intelligence scroll thanks to the Third's reminder, is now racking her brains over how to clean up this mess...
Of the four people currently in the know, the two Hokage Advisor, Mitokado Homura and Koharu Utatane, generally choose to hide their thoughts and act as the Hokage's lackeys after the Lord Hokage makes a decision.
Shimura Danzō openly expressed his distrust of the Uchiha Clan, and he even showed an intention to eliminate Sasuke during the battle against Kimimaro.
Hiruzen Sarutobi expressed complete trust in Uchiha Itachi, and also believed that Sasuke would not betray the Will of Fire.
As for the new Hokage, Lady Tsunade...
Because Sasuke was Sakura Haruno's teammate, and because she had watched Sasuke grow Hokage, Tsunade had a lot of confidence in Sasuke.
But if it's Itachi, she can only scoff. Logically speaking, she had already left Konoha when Itachi was born. Why should she completely trust a double agent she'd never even met, who had been away from Konoha for many years and never reported anything to the village?
Since the mission to search Orochimaru's base, Konoha has been secretly gathering and investigating information about Orochimaru and Akatsuki, but has remained silent ever since.
The occasional intelligence they found was all trivial and insignificant. For example, regarding the bounty office that Sakura had raided, aside from confirming that Kakuzu had been there a few times, there was no other useful information.
On the other hand, the intelligence coming from Jiraiya's side is becoming increasingly clear that the Akatsuki organization, hidden beneath the calm surface of the Shinobi World, actually possesses overwhelming military power capable of severely damaging a great nation.
The more Konoha learned, the more alarmed they became.
In a conference room at the Hokage Building.
This was a closed-door, high-level meeting.
Closing the door means... anything can be said directly on the table.
"I can't trust a complete stranger I've never met. If Itachi is truly reliable, why hasn't he delivered a single effective intelligence report after all these years since joining Akatsuki?" Tsunade questioned the Third directly.
When it comes to the interests and safety of the village, on such a serious matter, even if the other party is her teacher, the previous Hokage, the Lord Fifth Hokage must directly raise questions!
There are two possibilities Uchiha Itachi didn't pass on information: one is that he had already betrayed Konoha; the other is that he was under close surveillance and couldn't find an opportunity to pass on information.
The Third Hokage, of course, chose to forgive... no, to believe Itachi: "The Akatsuki members work in pairs, so it's normal that Itachi couldn't find an opportunity to pass on information. That organization probably has very strong surveillance capabilities."
"Hiruzen, you trust the Uchiha Clan too much, and sooner or later you will cause a great disaster! The history of the Uchiha has already proven this..." Danzo coldly, his voice still as dry and hoarse as ever, old and hard.
"Danzo, is this your reason for intending to attack Sasuke?" Seeing Danzo forward, Tsunade immediately turned her attention to him, her sharp gaze fixed on Danzo. "As the current Hokage, I must warn you, if Root shows any sign of attacking any legitimate Konoha Ninja, I will forcibly disband Root, and as the head of Root, you will also need to cooperate with the investigation!"
Danzo -on, remained unfazed, not even raising his eyelids, and said, "Root only acts from the perspective of what is beneficial to Konoha. I have always acted with a clear conscience. If Lady Tsunade has any doubts, please feel free to investigate."
"Hmph..." Tsunade raised a Danzo, still feeling helpless about how to control the stubborn Danzo.
"Gentlemen, please calm down and put aside your anger," Mitokado Homura Sasuke Uchiha currently shows no signs of resisting the village, let alone defecting. He is a Konoha ninja now, and as long as we few who know the truth keep this a secret, Sasuke will always be a Konoha ninja..."
"When the time is right, we should tell Sasuke the truth," the Third Hokage said, taking a drag of his cigarette and sighing. "We can't keep it from him forever; Sasuke isn't that stupid."
"That's precisely why I don't trust Sasuke..." Danzo snorted, his sinister gaze fixed on the Third Hokage, and said, "Do you really think someone whose clan was wiped out would be loyal to Konoha?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, and he was about to speak when it seemed a new round of conflict was about to erupt.
"Alright!" Tsunade said sternly, "As the Fifth Hokage, I will take full responsibility for Sasuke's matter. Let's stop arguing about it!"
If all else fails, just throw Danzo out there as a scapegoat... No, no, it was his fault to begin with, so it's not really a scapegoat situation. Tsunade thought to herself, this was her way of taking responsibility to the end, though of course, she wouldn't reveal these thoughts to Tsunade...
She simply glanced seriously around the room, while the other four lowered their eyes and fell silent under Tsunade's unwavering gaze.
The Fifth Hokage's prestige has gradually been established.
"Let's get back to the main topic." Looking at the silent group, Tsunade nodded inwardly and said calmly, "Today's topic is the Akatsuki and Uchiha Itachi. If Uchiha Itachi still considers himself a member of Konoha, then we should find a way to contact him and obtain information about Akatsuki from him..."
She continued, "The Barrier Team discovered that after the Chunin Ninja Exams, Konoha's barrier showed signs of being activated. The intruders were very familiar with Konoha's defensive barrier, but many details were still the same as they were a few years ago. Therefore, they judged that the intruders might be ninjas who defected from Konoha a few years ago..."
"... It was Uchiha Itachi. Only he could have done that." The Third Hokage tapped the table with his pipe, concluding without hesitation, "Itachi returned to Konoha, but it was just a feint; he left without doing anything."
"What is Itachi's intention in doing this?" Koharu Utatane asked.
"It's simple. They want to take advantage of the chaos caused by the attack on the village to sneak into Konoha and fish in troubled waters..." Danzo without thinking, judging others by his own standards.
"Kidnapping Naruto Nine-Tails Jinchuriki Naruto, is Akatsuki's objective. Don't get confused!" The Third Hokage glanced at Danzo and said, "Itachi's intention is to tell us that he is still alive and still within Akatsuki."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Itachi's actions... can they really be interpreted this way?
Ultimately, she couldn't trust Itachi as completely as the Third did, and naturally, she would interpret Itachi's actions in a completely different way. In fact, her thoughts on this matter were probably closer to Danzo's attitude.
However, since the Third trusted Itachi, Tsunade had no choice but to trust the Third's judgment just this once...
The meeting quickly shifted its focus to how to probe Akatsuki's intelligence and how to contact Uchiha Itachi.
However, before more intelligence could be gathered, such meetings were merely general discussions, with the greatest achievement being the unification of thought among Konoha High Command and the determination of Konoha's next course of action.
As the Hokage who rules the village, Tsunade cannot act unilaterally in everything. More often than not, she needs to convince others and unify their thinking in high-level meetings, and then gain the support of the Jonin Commander in Jonin meetings to ensure that her will is carried out.
Otherwise, she'd just be a mascot whose orders don't even leave the Hokage Building.
Of course, with the added advantage of her status as Hokage, Tsunade's words naturally carried more weight than others. In addition, as her prestige grew, her ideas were rarely refuted and were almost always implemented.
In short, Akatsuki's series of countermeasures against the Tsunade are being gradually implemented.
Konoha doesn't want to confront Akatsuki directly for the time being, so it won't be collecting information about Akatsuki in a high-profile manner; everything is being done discreetly in the shadows.
During this period, Konoha's most important task was not to spy on Akatsuki, but the Chunin Ninja Exams this summer.
According to the unspoken rule of rotation, this exam will be held in Sunagakure.
Last year's Chunin Ninja Exams, marked by the Konoha invasion, have made this year's Chunin Ninja Exams, held in Sunagakure, all the more remarkable.
Everyone wants to know whether the Sand shinobi, who have nominally surrendered to Konoha, are truly submissive or still harboring malicious intentions!
The undercurrents and mysteries hidden between the two ninja villages will be revealed during this Chunin Ninja Exams...
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