"A summoning crow?"
Seeing the black bird perched on the windowsill, Jie narrowed his eyes slightly.
Had something happened in the village? Was the Uchiha clan using a summoning crow to alert him about an emergency?
At the thought, Jie immediately quickened his pace, heading back into the guesthouse and straight toward the room where the crow was waiting.
Activating his Thousand-Pupil Byakugan, Jie quickly scanned the surroundings. Aside from a few Kumogakure shinobi patrolling outside, no one seemed to be paying attention to him.
Satisfied, he opened the window and let the crow inside.
His hands moved through a series of rapid hand seals. With a soft poof of white smoke, a small scroll appeared in his hand.
"Itachi's scroll?"
Recognizing the unique design, Jie was briefly surprised.
This was the exact type of intelligence scroll Itachi used when contacting him. But today wasn't their scheduled time to exchange information. Why would Itachi suddenly send an urgent message?
Had the Akatsuki made another move?
Jie quickly unrolled the scroll. After reading the contents, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"So this was Kirigakure's grand plan all along. I was wondering what they were scheming," Jie muttered with a faint smirk. "Still… this just made things a lot more interesting."
The intelligence scroll did contain the Akatsuki's latest plans, but Jie never expected them to be directly connected to Kirigakure.
Everything started with the Akatsuki's newest recruit...Darui.
After failing to become the Raikage, Darui had abandoned Kumogakure and wandered the ninja world before somehow joining the Akatsuki.
Recently, after news spread about Kumogakure forming a new alliance, Darui seemed to have completely lost his mind.
Unbelievably, he was preparing to work together with both the Akatsuki and Kirigakure to launch a full-scale attack on Kumogakure itself. He even gave the operation a dramatic name... the "Kumogakure Crush Plan."
According to Darui, Kumogakure was now ruled by a Tailed Beast and weighed down by massive war reparations owed to Konoha. He claimed the village's shinobi were suffering terribly and desperately needed him to ignite a violent revolution to save them.
Of course, attacking one of the Five Great Ninja Villages required more than his own strength. So Darui had essentially sold Kumogakure out to the Akatsuki.
Once the "Kumogakure Crush Plan" succeeded, the village would officially become an Akatsuki stronghold. Any surviving Kumogakure shinobi would then be turned into Akatsuki assets to help spread their twisted version of "peace" across the ninja world.
As for Kirigakure, Kisame Hoshigaki had used his old connections to negotiate with Mei. He convinced the Mizukage to join the attack by promising Kirigakure a huge share of the war reparations.
Staring at this absurd proposal... a plan so stupid it felt like its creator had suffered a ten-year-long stroke, Jie fell silent.
"Did losing the Raikage election completely fry Darui's brain?"
The so-called Kumogakure Crush Plan was essentially no different from the Konoha Crush Plan. Both were built around violently overthrowing a village's leadership.
But at least Jie had carried out his coup to seize power for himself.
What exactly was Darui even trying to accomplish?
'If I can't have it, no one can?'
No matter how he looked at it, Jie simply couldn't understand Darui's completely deranged logic.
Still, this revelation suddenly gave him a very entertaining option.
Should he help Kumogakure repel the Akatsuki?
Kumogakure definitely had its own hidden motives, but for now, they were still Konoha's obedient corporate slaves. They were practically working themselves to death to generate wealth for Konoha.
And if he chose not to interfere, Kumogakure would most likely be wiped out under the combined assault of the Akatsuki and Kirigakure.
Jie didn't think for long before making his decision.
He would help them.
Not only would he help, but he would also make sure to put on an unforgettable show.
Even if it wasn't for the sake of preserving such a useful tool village, Jie was more than willing to go all out just for the satisfaction of slapping the Akatsuki in the face.
Ever since the Akatsuki interfered and helped Hiruzen Sarutobi during his takeover of Konoha, Jie had never truly let go of that grudge. Killing a few of them back then hadn't been enough to calm his anger.
Still, 'how' he helped required some careful planning.
Jie decided to let Kumogakure fall deep into despair first. Only when they were pushed to the brink of destruction would he rescue them. By then, these useful pawns would have no choice but to remain eternally grateful to him.
At the same time, it would give him the perfect excuse to raise their war reparations even further.
A perfect two-birds-one-stone situation.
Meanwhile, inside the Kirigakure delegation's guesthouse, several figures wearing black cloaks decorated with red clouds silently appeared before Mei.
"Kisame, there have been some unexpected developments in this plan," Mei said coldly as she looked at the Akatsuki members.
"Konoha's shinobi have already interfered. More importantly, the Fifth Hokage himself is here. If your organization isn't confident in dealing with him, then Kirigakure will withdraw from this operation."
"There is no need to worry, Mizukage. He is merely a boy..." Kisame began while gripping Samehada.
"Under the gaze of my divine eyes, everything is insignificant."
Before Kisame could finish speaking, a young man with orange hair and black chakra receivers embedded across his face calmly interrupted him. His voice was emotionless and detached. Within his eyes were the legendary ripple-patterned Rinnegan.
"I don't care about Jie Uchiha or anyone else," Darui muttered. His face twisted into a cold and gloomy sneer. "I only want to free Kumogakure. They've been oppressed by a Tailed Beast for far too long."
"Oh right!" a loud and exaggerated voice suddenly chimed in. "Isn't that Jie guy Itachi-senpai's older brother? I wonder if Itachi-senpai has some special way to deal with him?"
Obito Uchiha, currently hiding behind his swirl-patterned mask while acting under the goofy identity of Tobi, spoke in a playful tone. This was the persona he normally used within the Akatsuki to separate himself from his "Madara Uchiha" identity.
Meanwhile, Itachi was in complete internal panic.
He had only just sent out his summoning crow to warn Jie about the Akatsuki's plans. Who could've expected his brother to already be inside Kumogakure?
And now that Tobi had directly dragged him into the conversation, if he failed to play along properly, his undercover identity inside the Akatsuki could be exposed on the spot.
After a brief moment of silence, Itachi's expression turned ice-cold.
"That trash, Jie Uchiha. Even after stealing the Hokage position, he still refuses to give up his role as the clan heir. I'm clearly the one most qualified to lead the Uchiha clan. This time, I'll personally kill him."
'Brother, I'm sorry! I don't mean any of this! I'm just trying to avoid suspicion!' Itachi screamed inwardly.
The identity Itachi had built for himself within the Akatsuki was that of a bitter traitor who defected from Konoha because he despised Jie's tyrannical rule.
As for why Konoha had never officially placed Itachi in the bingo book... nobody really knew. The Akatsuki members had simply created their own explanations for it. Some believed Jie deliberately suppressed the matter to avoid bringing shame to the Uchiha clan.
Hearing Itachi's hateful declaration, Pain stared at him silently for a long moment before speaking in his usual calm tone.
"Then we will leave Jie Uchiha to you, Itachi. If you require assistance, you need only ask."
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