Inside the room, Shihōin Naraku studied the map spread across the table, occasionally picking up a pen to mark it.
"According to the intelligence Black Zetsu gave me, these bases are only bait. They have no real value in themselves..."
"Nagato stationed Akame at the base in the Land of Fire to draw the Allied Shinobi Forces' attention..."
"As for the leads the villages investigated, three Akatsuki bases have been confirmed so far, plus the remaining unconfirmed ones!"
"Some of those leads were deliberately planted by Akatsuki to draw my attention and that of the Allied Shinobi Forces."
"But there are two bases the major villages found together that Black Zetsu didn't tell me about, and Akame doesn't know about either. That indirectly suggests these two possible bases are very important to Akatsuki!"
"Nagato couldn't bear to give them up, even as bait!"
"But despite the limited intelligence, the Five Great Shinobi Villages still uncovered the hidden bases."
"So I still can't underestimate the villages' combined strength. Once they truly commit themselves, digging up some hidden intelligence isn't actually that difficult."
Naraku thought for a moment, then picked up his pen and marked the two bases.
"I'll leave these two bases alone for now. Once the Allied Shinobi Forces are running smoothly and we've taken the other bases, we'll deal with them!"
After checking the markings on the map once more, Naraku put away his pen and called out, "Someone, go get Asuma Sarutobi!"
"Yes!"
Someone outside the door immediately answered and went to fetch Asuma Sarutobi.
Asuma arrived quickly. It was nearly time to depart anyway, and he had already been waiting outside.
"No need to knock. Come straight in," Naraku said as soon as he heard footsteps.
Asuma pushed the door open and entered with a cigarette in