Night.
Konoha was exceptionally quiet.
Because the ANBU ninja were protecting this peaceful village.
Konoha was the most prosperous and largest ninja village in the shinobi world. Other villages inevitably harbored hostility toward Konoha, and even in times of peace, they would not pass up the chance to gather intelligence on it.
A group of ANBU ninja clad in gray armor continuously leaped and landed around Konoha's outskirts, patrolling everywhere to see whether there were any gaps in the village's defenses.
Akihara Kagura was among them.
However, unlike the others, this young ANBU did not patrol seriously. After casually inspecting one area, he stopped where he was to rest.
"This brat slacks off even while on a mission?"
The Pitcher Plant Monster had been hiding underground, watching Akihara Kagura. Its black half-face could not help but think less of the lazy Kagura.
The white half-face of the Pitcher Plant Monster softly defended him. "A child is still a child. Maybe he just likes to play around... Is he talking to himself?"
"Go listen in..."
The Pitcher Plant Monster slowly lurked closer to Kagura. This distance was just enough for it to overhear Kagura's muttering.
"Who exactly is framing me?"
"If that person doesn't keep using Wood Release to kill people, will I never be able to find the one framing me? I have to think of a way to kill some people with Wood Release and pin it on whoever is framing me. At the very least, that could clear my suspicions..."
"I have to make a bigger commotion..."
"Better yet, make all of Konoha panic..."
"Like that Nine-Tails' Rampage that shook all of Konoha..."
"..."
Was this brat insane?!
The Pitcher Plant Monster was alarmed by what it heard.
How could there be such a bizarre person in the shinobi world?!
Someone had used Wood Release to frame him, yet instead of handling it quietly, he wanted to help the culprit kill people himself. He even wanted to make the framing case bigger!
The Pitcher Plant Monster felt that this brat's personality was far too strange. It secretly reported to the Mysterious Masked Man again, lest the situation spiral out of control.
"Frame the killer?"
Upon hearing this intelligence, the Mysterious Masked Man could not help but scoff. "That brat doesn't even know who I am. How could he possibly frame me? I'd like to see how he intends to frame me!"
That was right.
Akihara Kagura did not know his identity.
No one in the entire shinobi world should have known of him. Apart from a mere handful of people, no one even knew there was a Mysterious Masked Man in the shinobi world.
However...
Sometimes, framing someone did not require knowing their identity.
Logically speaking, Akihara Kagura indeed did not know anything about the Mysterious Masked Man. But he knew who had personally seen the Mysterious Masked Man before.
The most ferocious tailed beast in the world.
The Nine-Tails.
Konoha's last Nine-Tails' Rampage had been caused by the Mysterious Masked Man. The Nine-Tails hated everyone who had ever controlled it to the bone!
The Mysterious Masked Man placed great importance on the Nine-Tails.
If something truly happened to the Nine-Tails, he would definitely come.
If the Mysterious Masked Man refused to reveal himself, Akihara Kagura had another plan. He only needed to transform into the Mysterious Masked Man's appearance, and there was a high chance he could trigger a rampage of the Nine-Tails' chakra. That would let many people learn of the Mysterious Masked Man's existence and investigate the truth about him...
Now...
It was time to find Naruto Uzumaki.
Was it difficult to find Naruto Uzumaki?
Very easy.
He could be encountered anywhere, anytime.
Naruto Uzumaki had had no parents since childhood, and no one had taught him how he should live. The allowance Konoha gave him was often not enough to cover his daily needs.
Even in the dead of night, that brat would go out because he was too hungry—either fishing by Konoha's river or picking mushrooms in the back mountain...
Tonight.
That brat happened to be hungry again.
Naruto Uzumaki happily picked wild mushrooms, completely unaware that Akihara Kagura was standing atop a large tree and secretly watching his movements.
The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it.
The Pitcher Plant Monster, which had been hiding inside that very tree, was also watching Akihara Kagura. It had noticed Naruto Uzumaki as well.
Wooden spikes gathered in Akihara Kagura's hand. Seemingly unaware that someone was eavesdropping on him, he casually calculated his plan. "The Nine-Tails should be important, right? Is there anything that would make Konoha panic more than that Behind the Scenes Master killing the Nine-Tails?"
"..."
Huh?
Huh?!
Both of the Pitcher Plant Monster's brains were about to explode!
Why was this brat saying something so horrifying? How could he speak so lightly of killing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Was this brat really a Konoha Ninja?!
The most troublesome part was that the Nine-Tails was inside Naruto Uzumaki. A tailed beast and its Jinchuriki shared the same life. Naruto Uzumaki, this Jinchuriki, was extremely weak. If Akihara Kagura killed Naruto Uzumaki, he really could kill the Nine-Tails!
This would throw Konoha into chaos!
No!
It might even cause turmoil across the entire shinobi world!
"This brat is too extreme..."
"We have to stop this before it happens, right?"
The Pitcher Plant Monster's two brains immediately reached an agreement. It could only notify the Mysterious Masked Man to come at once, because it had no combat ability to speak of!
"..."
The Mysterious Masked Man hurried over using Space-Time Ninjutsu.
This shadowy figure who had always hidden behind the shinobi world, who believed he could toy with everyone in the shinobi world in the palm of his hand, felt for the first time that events had slipped beyond his control.
Although he had no idea what effect Akihara Kagura killing the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki would have on him, this matter had clearly gone beyond his control!
Especially since...
That guy wanted to make him take the blame!
Besides...
That child, Naruto Uzumaki...
During the last Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Mysterious Masked Man had completely resolved to change his life after killing his teacher. He had turned from a ninja who dreamed of becoming Hokage into a Behind the Scenes Master bent on overturning the shinobi world.
Perhaps he still retained the tiniest shred of conscience. Or perhaps Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, could still restrain the Nine-Tails, so there was no need to let that child die so early!
Konoha's Back Mountain.
Akihara Kagura seemed to have happened upon Naruto Uzumaki while patrolling here and greeted him. "Hey, Naruto Uzumaki, why are you here?"
"Kagura!"
Naruto Uzumaki excitedly waved at Kagura and held up the colorful mushrooms in his hand. "I just picked these mushrooms! Want to have soup together?"
"..."
Green mushrooms...
Red mushrooms...
Those were probably poisonous mushrooms, right?
Akihara Kagura frowned, and even his expression changed. "If I eat those with you, we'll probably get to see your parents..."
"Huh? Really?"
Naruto Uzumaki actually looked a little happy.
That brat did not quite understand what Kagura meant. Holding up his mushrooms, he ran toward Kagura, even happy to have run into someone who did not dislike him.
"Don't go near him!"
A voice suddenly rang out!
A space-time vortex slowly appeared between Akihara Kagura and Naruto Uzumaki, and the Mysterious Masked Man's figure swiftly flashed out of it!
When the Mysterious Masked Man arrived, he had no time to think of any other solution. He could only hurriedly appear before them. Even if he exposed some flaw, he could use the Sharingan to hypnotize them and erase their memories!
Splash!
Blood spattered!
A wooden spike pierced into flesh!
The instant the Mysterious Masked Man hurriedly appeared using Space-Time Ninjutsu, a wooden spike suddenly struck his body. It was as though it had been waiting for the moment he revealed himself, leaving him no time to evade!
"Good evening, intruder..."
A trace of amusement flashed through Akihara Kagura's eyes.
It was a little unexpected that a Behind the Scenes Master of the shinobi world could fall for it so easily...
Second update!
The Hara family was generally quite good at this kind of behind-the-scenes work...
Before you continue