LRAB Chapter 23 I Was the One First
Chapter 23 I Was the One First
Chapter 23 I Was the One First
Afterwards, most of the ordinary members of Akatsuki went back to rest, satisfied, leaving only a few important core members behind to discuss the next steps.
Nagato spoke first, asking, "Are we really going to carry out this mission Hanzo gave us?"
Shiba Kiyokawa thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Judging from the map, the location where the Sunagakure squad is roaming is very close to our base. Even if it's not to help Hanzo, but just for the safety of our own base, we have to deal with this group of Sunagakure ninjas."
He also took the opportunity to further criticize Akatsuki's current organizational structure.
"This incident also reveals that our intelligence work is really terrible!"
"The appearance of Sand Village ninjas so close to our base has even alerted Hanzo, yet we were completely unaware of it! This is a serious breach of duty!"
When he spoke of "disqualification," his gaze was unabashedly directed at Yahiko.
He's always been like this; his rebellious nature has always been out in the open.
Unfortunately, Yahiko, as the leader, could only be rendered speechless by his rebukes.
Because the Akatsuki organization at this stage is indeed not doing enough in many aspects.
Shiba Kiyokawa's assessment of them as a makeshift operation was not without reason.
Then, Shiba Kiyokawa suggested, "Let Konan and I lead the team to handle this next mission. Nagato, while we're at it, you should select a group of sensory-type ninjas from the organization to be in charge of intelligence gathering. We can't keep being blind to everything around us!"
This is absolutely necessary!
He also plans to assassinate Danzo's henchmen who were sent to the Land of Rain in advance. How can he talk about countering Danzo when he is in such a state of complete ignorance?
Nagato, whose name was mentioned, jumped in surprise and instinctively let out a socially awkward exclamation, "Huh? This... this task is actually being assigned to me?"
He glanced at his friend Yahiko, then at Shiba Kiyokawa, a troubled expression on his face.
He's just a bit dull, but he's not stupid. Isn't this blatantly taking away Yahiko's power?
Seeing this, Shiba Kiyokawa smiled gently, a smile that was so tender that Nagato found it hard to resist.
"Nagato, you should know the current situation of your Uzumaki clan in the ninja world, right? You saw what happened to Aunt Koyo. Looking at the entire ninja world, the Grass Village is not the only one that wants to capture and imprison the Uzumaki orphans."
If we don't gather the intelligence properly, what if other ninja villages covet the Uzumaki clan's bloodline and heritage next time? Do you really want to just watch your aunt fall into the abyss again?
"Nagato, you can't protect anything without power. Your Aunt Koyo has already suffered so much; you don't want anything to happen to her, do you?"
At that moment, Nagato was completely shaken.
Originally, Yahiko's position in Nagato's heart was unparalleled, and Shiba Kiyokawa himself could not shake it at all.
However, during his previous trip to Kusagakure, Shiba Kiyokawa forcibly implanted a new weakness in Nagato!
The bond of blood, the long-lost kinship, the tenderness of motherhood, coupled with her pitiful background and experiences, allowed Kaori Uzumaki to easily enter Nagato's closed heart!
At that moment, even childhood friends who grew up together could only lose completely.
Looking at it from another angle, could this be considered another kind of childhood friend falling from the sky? Shiba Kiyokawa thought to himself for no reason.
Although this has nothing to do with love, Yahiko has still exhausted all his efforts this time. He's failed in poetry, he can't get silver, he has no other choice...
After struggling for a few seconds, Nagato finally nodded and agreed, "Alright, then I'll take charge of the intelligence work. Yahiko-nii, I won't take up too many manpower."
Given Yahiko's personality, even if he was sad at this moment, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
She forced a smile and encouraged him, "Don't worry, Nagato. It's okay if you need more people. I'll take care of the rest of the organization."
He couldn't bring himself to blame Nagato for this, but he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Why did this happen? I was the one who did it first...
Whether it's Konan or Nagato, I was the one who knew you first...
With that settled, the party came to an end.
Shiba Kiyokawa believed that Nagato could handle the intelligence work well, because in the original work, after Nagato turned to the dark side, he single-handedly took charge of the entire Akatsuki's intelligence blockade.
Although that was thanks to the overpowered ability "Rain Tiger Freedom Technique," it at least demonstrates that Nagato possesses the ability to discern and filter large amounts of complex information.
Shiba Kiyokawa is quite optimistic about this.
The next morning, he and Konan selected three team members to travel together to the location provided by Hanzo of the Salamander to deal with the Sand Village ninjas who had infiltrated the area.
Meanwhile, a hundred kilometers away, the group of Sand Villagers marked by Hanzo had just finished their night's rest and were packing up their camping gear for the night.
The leader, a Jonin, unfolded a map, carefully examined it for a moment, and then waved to gather everyone together.
"After these few days of reconnaissance, we can basically confirm that the target that those bandits call a fat sheep is the organization called 'Akatsuki' in the southern part of the Land of Rain."
The Sand Village captain pointed to a location on the map. "They have a good reputation locally and often help the poor. However, they recently acquired a large surplus of supplies from somewhere, which is why they have attracted the attention of bandits in the surrounding area. According to reliable intelligence, their base should be in this area."
One of the Sand Village ninja chuckled, "So, does that mean when we took down that gang of bandits a few days ago, we actually helped the Akatsuki? It's perfectly reasonable for us to ask them for some compensation, isn't it?"
Another Sand Village puppeteer beside him cruelly remarked, "You're satisfied with just a little reward? Canaan, you're still too naive. Countless such low-level organizations are wiped out every day in the ninja world. Why not just kill them all?"
The Sand Village captain nodded, completely unconcerned about his teammate's cold-bloodedness. Instead, he affirmed, "The village's war with Konoha is currently at a stalemate. Our foundation is still far inferior to Konoha's. Even with the advantage of a surprise attack, it will be difficult to close the gap."
At this point, every additional supply can help the village recover some of the losses on the front lines, so we must obtain all of Akatsuki's supplies and bring them back to the village!
If we encounter resistance, then let those Rain Ninja from small countries experience the difference between them and the great ninja villages!
At this point, every Sand Village ninja around them became incredibly excited, as if they had been injected with adrenaline!
Except for one female ninja who never gathered around the captain from the beginning, but stood not far away, resting quietly with her back against a tree.
The captain frowned, raised his head, and questioned him.
"Did you hear what I just said, Yekura?"
Ye Cang glanced at the person impatiently, and gave a cold and distant "hmm" as a reply.
The Sand Village captain was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Because when it comes to true strength, Ye Cang is far superior to him!
The other party was only exiled to a small country like the Land of Rain because he was not favored by the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage.
The captain could only use his identity as the sole source of power to suppress Yekura!
"Yakura, I'm the captain now!"
Ye Cang lazily said "Oh" again, then added, "Okay, it's up to you. I hope you won't regret it."
Not only is the sentence structure wrong, but even the person who is angry is acting in the opposite way.
After saying that, Ye Cang walked away as if nothing had happened.
On the contrary, the Sand Village captain was so angry that he wanted to slam the door.
(End of this chapter)