"Alright."
Nara Shikaku nodded and continued, "The Hokage has already learned of our withdrawal from the Land of Grass and has instructed us to remain on standby for her next orders."
"What about the alliance talks?"
"The Hokage insists that they must be held at the Daimyo Mansion in the Land of Grass! Even if it means delaying, it must take place there, otherwise, the already fragile alliance might collapse!"
Nara Shikaku shook his head and sighed softly, "The Hokage not only brought the Hokage Guard Platoon but also a batch of reinforcements, presumably for a long-term defense, but now it seems we'll have to launch a counterattack first."
"Akatsuki isn't that easy to deal with..."
Hatake Kakashi let out a long sigh.
If the members of Akatsuki aren't taken out separately, their combined power would be far too terrifying!
However, Hatake Kakashi's concern might be unnecessary.
According to Akatsuki's agreement with the Hidden Rock Village, they only need to drive the Konoha Ninja out of the Land of Grass, allowing the Rock Ninja to seize the opportunity to occupy the entire country.
The task was completed very swiftly.
From when Akatsuki's members entered the Land of Grass to when they left, it didn't even take a day to completely eliminate the Konoha Ninja.
Since the Land of Grass was occupied by the Hidden Rock Village, there's no way Tsunade could host the alliance talks at the Daimyo Mansion today.
Onoki from the Hidden Rock Village presumably thought hiring Akatsuki was cheaper than waging war himself, and after paying the final installment, he sincerely invited Akatsuki to exit the Land of Grass.
After all, these S-Class Traitors took over the Land of Grass in a day and wiped out hundreds of Konoha Ninja overnight, which made Onoki a bit uneasy.
After meticulously counting the money, Kakuzu remarked with some awe, "Is the mission already over? Earning this money was really easy."
If it were just him and Hidan, they might not have been able to drive off the Konoha Ninja.
Yet with the entire Akatsuki gathered, even Uehara Naraku and Nagato wearing straw hats didn't really need to take action.
Despite the ease, Kakuzu still felt slightly regretful, "It would be great if we could get a few more of these lucrative jobs."
"Don't worry, there'll be plenty of chances in the future."
Uehara Naraku pulled out his Hidden Rain Forehead Protector from his Ninja Pouch and put it on his head, "I'm going to attend the alliance talks hosted by the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. Maybe she'll even invite me to watch Konoha's counterattack on the Land of Grass!"
"..."
The many members of Akatsuki looked at Uehara Naraku in confusion.
Just what kind of mindset does it take to drive out Konoha Ninja from the Land of Grass yesterday and watch them march back in today?
On one side is a dark member of Akatsuki.
On the other side is an envoy from the Hidden Rain Village.
Just what kind of thought process does Uehara Naraku have to play both roles?
Can't he just be a normal person?
Instead, he makes his life a complete mess.
The members of Akatsuki looked up in admiration as Uehara Naraku left, each with their own thoughts, especially Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi, whose expressions were quite complex.
Noon.
A small border town in the Land of Fire.
Tsunade led a large contingent of reinforcements to the location.
Under the command of Tsunade and Jiraiya, two war veterans, the Konoha Anbu launched a surprise attack first, and the regular ninja forces followed closely behind, re-entering the borders of the Land of Grass and seizing the Daimyo Mansion.
Although there are still a few forts where Rock Ninja are stationed around the Daimyo Mansion, at least the Daimyo Mansion is once again under Konoha's control.
The high-ranking officials of the allied ninja villages have mostly received the news. Originally, when Konoha was driven out of the Land of Grass, everyone thought Konoha would be embarrassed, but the two Konoha Sannin launched a beautiful counterattack, regaining control of the Land of Grass.
Afternoon.
The allied nations of Konoha all arrived at the agreed location for the talks.
The Hidden Mist Village, Terumi Mei.
The Hidden Sand Village, Chiyo.
The Hidden Waterfall Village, Shibuki.
The Hidden Rain Village, Uehara Naraku.
Life is always full of surprises and delights, and the ninja tasked with welcoming Uehara Naraku happened to be his old friend, Hatake Kakashi.
Under Kakashi's guidance, Uehara Naraku entered the gates of the Daimyo Mansion in the Land of Grass with lingering fear, "How terrifying! I didn't expect Konoha to have such powerful strength, taking over a small country from the Hidden Rock Village in just one day!"
"Uh..."
Hatake Kakashi didn't know how to respond.
Konoha's military might is certainly something to be proud of, but the loss of the Land of Grass was purely due to his negligence, allowing it to be captured by Akatsuki.
However, Hatake Kakashi also had something to ask, "Hey, Uehara, what happened to Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku, who you took to Konoha for the Chunin Examination?"
During last night's battle, Hatake Kakashi thought those two seemed familiar, so he made a mental note and wanted to take this opportunity to gather some intelligence from Uehara.
"They defected."
Uehara Naraku's face immediately fell, and he said coldly, "Kakashi, your friend is quite impressive! Seizing the chance while I was in Konoha to sign the treaty, he enticed my two companions to defect and join Akatsuki!"
"Hmm?"
Hatake Kakashi fidgeted with his fingers.
Hatake Kakashi pressed on his forehead again and asked, "So, you also know about Akatsuki?"
"Heh, you're asking me?"
Uehara Naraku's expression looked unpleasant, with a hint of sarcasm in his gaze, clearly indicating that he was genuinely angry, "Isn't it your friend Uchiha Obito who created the Akatsuki organization to gather S-Class Traitors?"