Undercurrents stirred by an intelligence war

Inside the Akatsuki base, Gorō Satoru looked up at the distant sky, his eyes calm and serene.

He knew perfectly well that the Akatsuki around the world were paving the way for war.

The plan to collect the Tailed Beast will probably begin in the next few days.

Although he wasn't notified of this task as a candidate member, Wu Chiwu had a pretty good idea of Akatsuki.

He had long ago instructed Shisui and his group to spread information about Akatsuki and their Tailed Beast collection plan.

This means that the Akatsuki's recent operations will definitely not go smoothly.

Gorō Satoru subtly curved the corners of his mouth into a smile, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

He initially joined the Akatsuki specifically to target the elusive Black Zetsu.

In his eyes, Black Zetsu, whose strength was not particularly impressive, was the one he should really keep a close eye on.

I'm not afraid of opponents who can fight; I'm afraid of opponents who can endure and hide their strength.

Black Zetsu has both traits.

Wu Guanwu thought to himself, he didn't have the time to play some kind of thousand-year tug-of-war or hundred-year simulated war with Black Zetsu.

It's better to kill it all at once, and be quick about it.

But to my utter surprise, this thing was even better at hiding than I had anticipated.

He's already joined Akatsuki, yet he hasn't even caught a glimpse of Black Zetsu.

Gorō Satoru shook his head and gave a wry smile.

This guy really thinks he's got a death wish.

However, given the Akatsuki's repeated failures, can they still remain calm and patient?

Satoru Gojo pondered whether he could provoke Black Zetsu and see if it would reveal any weaknesses.

This was also the main reason he spread the word.

Before long, Wu Duwu's guesses were partially correct.

Kakuzu and Hidan returned covered in injuries, and the mission was aborted.

Hidan exclaimed, "This is weird! How come those Sand Ninjas are acting like they knew we were coming?"

The Sand Ninja handled their attack with remarkable ease this time.

But this doesn't make sense according to common sense.

Pain, sitting in his seat, casually added that organizing other operations had also encountered setbacks, some major and some minor.

It seems that part of the plan has been leaked.

Pain slowly scanned the people present with his eyes, his mind racing, trying to figure out where things had gone wrong.

He personally selected all of these people; logically, nothing should have happened to them.

Can...

Pain's gaze began to wander.

Could it have been done by one of them?

Or is there a flaw somewhere in the plan itself?

Black Zetsu, hiding in the shadows, was also extremely anxious at this moment.

He was even more annoyed than Pain was at that moment.

It seems that the plan, which has been in the works for over a thousand years, is just one step away from completion.

How did it get stuck at the very first step of dealing with the Tailed Beast?

I'm absolutely terribly worried.

Obito Uchiha was using the name Tobi, didn't say a word. He just silently looked at everyone, and then his gaze slowly fell on Uchiha Itachi was sitting in the second seat on the left.

Could it be him?

Uchiha Itachi!

Over the years, he had always felt that Uchiha Itachi hadn't genuinely joined the Akatsuki.

Although Uchiha Itachi cooperated quite well back then.

He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but Obito just felt that something was off.

Therefore, he never let up in his surveillance of Uchiha Itachi.

They even specially paired Uchiha Itachi with teammates to keep him in check.

But precisely because they were watching so closely, Obito didn't dare to confirm that Uchiha Itachi was the one who relayed the message.

After all, the level of surveillance was already very high.

He personally witnessed it many times during that period.

In this situation, he might not be the one who tipped them off.

Uchiha Itachi, who was being secretly targeted by Obito Uchiha, was also experiencing the same confusion.

Where did this news come from?

How can it be so fast and accurate?

But this is fine too; it gives us another person to cause trouble for the Akatsuki.

Having gone undercover for several years and observed the situation from the sidelines, I've discovered that this eccentric organization has many more problems behind it.

These problems are definitely not simple...

Although the matter has not yet been fully investigated, he has been preparing a backup plan.

Uchiha Itachi's brow furrowed slightly, and his face tightened a little.

At this moment, the other members of Akatsuki remained silent, exchanging glances and waiting for Pain, the leader of Akatsuki, to speak.

Pain said, "In that case, let's hurry up and split up."

Each group is responsible for one of the Tailed Beast.

Those that are more difficult to deal with, we'll take them all out in one go later.

Complete the Tailed Beast Project as soon as possible.

Pain looked at everyone calmly, speaking without any hesitation.

Although it's still unclear how the information leaked, he's not worried at all.

Each member of the Akatsuki is highly skilled, and even if the opponent is prepared, they may not be able to withstand their attacks.

Acting separately will also keep outsiders guessing where they'll step next.

A speed that's fast enough can catch the enemy off guard and leave them no time to react.

It also makes it convenient for me to see which faction each person in the organization belongs to.

As soon as he finished speaking, the other Akatsuki members all looked over.

They all nodded, and no one voiced any objection.

It's just catching the Tailed Beast, what's there to worry about, whether it's fast or slow?

Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha nearby, were also quite satisfied with Pain's decision.

There's no better solution right now.

They were also eagerly hoping that the plan could move forward as soon as possible.

Gorō Satoru rested his chin on his hand, listening to the group's conversation with indifference.

The plan has been moved up?

OK.

It seems even Black Zetsu has his moments of losing his composure.

As for whether advancing the plan will result in a large number of Jinchūriki being arrested—

Wu Chiwu said that the standard answers were all written on the side of their test papers.

If they stubbornly refuse to believe it, then there's nothing we can do.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, the Fifth Hokage and his group were also discussing this matter.

Tsunade sat in the Hokage's Office, listening to the Anbu Ninja's detailed report.

She sighed and continued, "Judging from the current situation, that previous message was actually true!"

Earlier, they unexpectedly received a secret intelligence from an unknown source, which mainly discussed the Akatsuki and the Tailed Beast.

At first, nobody believed it, but what happened next shocked everyone.

As expected, the Akatsuki has begun to take action against the Tailed Beast.

Further investigation revealed that this intelligence seemed to have spread not only in Konoha, but also in other villages.

For example, Sunagakure also received relevant information.

Because they received confirmation in advance, the Akatsuki ultimately failed to take the One-Tail Jinchuriki from Sunagakure.

Even the two official members of the Akatsuki almost lost their lives there.

This clearly demonstrates just how true and crucial this intelligence is.

It at least did Sunagakure a huge favor to the Sunagakure that was suffering from the disaster.

But who spread such accurate and secretive information?

How did he manage to know the whereabouts of the Akatsuki members so thoroughly?

These numerous doubts immediately drew Tsunade into deep thought.

After a long while, Tsunade and asked, "Shizune, what do you think the Akatsuki are for capturing the Tailed Beast?"

"Probably for researching power or something," Shizune said, scratching her head and thinking hard.

There have always been many who fight for the power of the Tailed Beast.

Judging from this, Akatsuki most likely wanted the power of the Tailed Beast, which is why they captured the One-Tail.

Furthermore, since they've already targeted the One-Tail of Sunagakure, they probably won't be eyeing any other Tailed Beast, at least not the Nine-Tails of Konoha.

This is what Shizune was thinking.

Tsunade at Shizune across from her; the girl's thoughts were written all over her face, and Tsunade could see right through her.

She said it's probably not that simple.

There must be other, more important reasons.

Tsunade didn't believe that Akatsuki's purpose was just that.

Their target is most likely not just Sunagakure.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for this information to be transmitted to Konoha in the first place.

Since the person who spread the message chose to do so in various countries and villages, there must have been a compelling reason why it had to be done.

With the mindset of "better safe than sorry," Tsunade chose to believe the information.

However, not all the ninja villages in other countries, thousands of miles away, made the same choice as her.

... Fan