Chapter 192: Saying Goodbye to Itachi-Weren't You Always Alone?

"Understood."

"Leader, we'll be going, then."

Sasori and Deidara nodded obediently and left.

Watching them go, Konan took Naruto Uzumaki's arm and leaned happily against his shoulder.

"Naruto-kun, you're incredible."

"You're probably the only person who could make those two behave, aren't you?"

Sasori and Deidara both had peculiar personalities, yet Naruto Uzumaki had managed to make them obedient.

Sheer strength alone couldn't accomplish that.

"Leave anything that comes up to me from now on."

Naruto Uzumaki stroked Konan's hair and spoke softly.

"Mm."

Konan nodded firmly.

So this is how happy it feels

to find a man I can rely on.

``` [Kakuzu, Sasori, and Deidara have all submitted. They're now on their way to Amegakure.]

[That leaves only Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki.]

[But... those two will be tricky.]

[Uchiha Itachi goes without saying. He's a full-blown extremist. Whatever his true intentions are, there's no way I can accept him. He's too hard to control.]

[But he has Bloodline Disease. Once Sasuke reaches a certain level of strength, Itachi will probably go and let himself be killed. I can leave him alone for now.]

[As for Kisame Hoshigaki, he's one of the few real men in Naruto.]

[Aside from Zabuza, he's the only one who takes forming Hand Seals seriously.]

[It would be best if I could win him over. If I can't, I'll have to kill him.]

[Zetsu and Obito Uchiha have gone into hiding. Finding them will be difficult, so I'll leave them alone for now.]

[Next, I only need to wait for Nagato to lead Sasori, Deidara, and Kakuzu through a few major disturbances in the Shinobi World. Then I can start taking over territory with a legitimate pretext.]

[Before long, I'm sure I'll revive the Ten-Tails and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.]

[The Shinobi World