This news is quite frightening.
Uzumaki Naruto nearly lost his balance upon hearing Jiraiya's words: "Ero Sage, that's not funny at all! If Uehara is a member of Akatsuki, then what have we been doing all this time?"
What a joke!
How could Uehara Naraku possibly be a member of Akatsuki!
Not just Uzumaki Naruto, but no one present dared to believe it, even Tsunade looked a bit uncertain: "Jiraiya, can this be confirmed? Do you know what this means?"
This better be false!
Uehara Naraku was the member of their alliance who understood Akatsuki the best and had constantly been providing them with intelligence about Akatsuki, helping them quite a bit...if Uehara Naraku is an Akatsuki member, then the Ninja World has certainly become absurd!
"I don't want to believe such a thing could happen in the Ninja World."
Jiraiya had a bitter smile on his face, shaking his head helplessly: "But there are indeed people like Uehara Naraku in the Ninja World!"
Jiraiya raised his head, studying the faces of those present, and said softly, "Uehara Naraku has always been hiding his identity, and he seems to have done a good job of it. If I hadn't infiltrated the Hidden Rain Village, we would never know this secret under his manipulation."
"If it's true..."
Tsunade's demeanor gradually calmed down as she whispered, "Then he almost knows all the intelligence of our allied ninja villages."
"Indeed."
Jiraiya nodded and continued in a deep voice: "This identity is very advantageous for him, he could silently manipulate us, like setting us up in a trap and easily capturing Naruto, since Akatsuki's objective has always been the Tailed Beasts..."
"Really..."
Tsunade rubbed her brow and whispered: "That brat hid too deeply, didn't he? All this time without arousing suspicion, even now hearing it from you, I still find it hard to believe."
After all, Uehara Naraku performed so perfectly.
All along, his disguise was simply too good.
Hatake Kakashi slowly nodded, saying softly: "If it wasn't hearing this from Jiraiya-sama, even if someone else said such a thing, I wouldn't easily believe it, since Uehara indeed helped us a lot..."
"Senior Uehara..."
Haruno Sakura also slightly furrowed her brows.
Uzumaki Naruto tugged at his hair, seeing Uehara Naraku's eternally smiling face, unable to resist: "But why join Akatsuki! Obviously, his power is great, and he's skilled in many medical ninjutsu, plus he helped save Gaara..."
Jiraiya shook his head, sighing softly: "If their purpose is to obtain the Nine-tail, his actions seem predictable, simply to earn our trust."
Jiraiya looked around at everyone present and continued: "Now it seems his aim has almost been achieved."
After speaking, Jiraiya again looked at the still gloomy Uzumaki Naruto, softly saying: "Don't think that brat Uehara is truly a good person...he might have saved the Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, but he's also the culprit who destroyed the entire village!"
"..."
Once again, silence enveloped those present.
They all knew the moves Akatsuki has made, invading major ninja villages directly and leaving nothing but destruction when capturing Tailed Beasts.
Jiraiya slowly lifted his head, saying quietly: "Uehara Naraku has already led the destruction of the Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Mist Village, and the Hidden Rock Village. He won't be soft-hearted when it comes to the Hidden Cloud Village and our village!"
"..."
After a long pause.
Uzumaki Naruto slowly nodded.
After all, he had experienced betrayal at the level of the Third Hokage before, so Uehara Naraku's betrayal didn't seem to affect him as much anymore.
"Alright."
Tsunade slapped the table, noticing everyone's expressions weren't looking good, loudly asking Jiraiya: "Alright, Jiraiya, do you have any other intelligence? Didn't you mention Uehara Naraku's teacher just now?"
"Yes."
Jiraiya slowly clenched his fist, speaking quietly: "The three orphans we saved in the Hidden Rain Village back then were my disciples, one has already died, the other two are Akatsuki's high-ranking members, Konan is Uehara's teacher, and Nagato is pulling the strings behind the scenes as the leader."
"Obito?"
Hatake Kakashi suddenly lifted his head, focusing on Jiraiya and asking: "If I remember correctly, the word in the Ninja World has always been that Obito is the leader of Akatsuki..."
After saying this, Hatake Kakashi slowly lowered his head, smiling bitterly: "Ah, that's right, we were informed that Obito was the leader by Uehara Naraku himself."
Really...
Such a clever plan.
Uehara Naraku blamed all Akatsuki's actions on their supposed leader Uchiha Obito, easily inciting Konoha's hostility, how could Konoha possibly suspect this?
"This isn't entirely wrong."
Jiraiya glanced at Hatake Kakashi and said deeply: "Uchiha Obito is also manipulating Akatsuki from a deeper level, in fact, Akatsuki's formation and all actions are under his control, he intends to secretly gain the Tailed Beasts' power collected by Nagato and the others."
After speaking, Jiraiya continued: "Originally, Uchiha Obito and Nagato should both be high-level members of Akatsuki, but Uchiha Obito's attempt to kill Uehara Naraku got him expelled, though he still covertly manipulates Akatsuki through undercover agents."
"..."
Everyone's faces showed signs of breaking at this revelation.
Can it really be played like this?
What exactly is this maneuver?
Even among spies, there are spies?
Jiraiya sighed softly, murmuring, "After Uchiha Obito was expelled from Akatsuki, he has been trying to return and regain control of the Tailed Beasts' power. Therefore, he wants to use us to eliminate Nagato, Konan, and Uehara Naraku."
"Using a borrowed knife to kill?"
Tsunade furrowed her brows.
"Exactly."
Jiraiya nodded, looking at Tsunade as he spoke, "Uchiha Obito lacks the power to deal with them, so he wants us to solve Nagato... If we take care of Nagato, he will regain control over Akatsuki."
"That's the meaning..."
Hatake Kakashi tugged at his forehead protector and spoke softly, "So, after we eliminate the current leader of Akatsuki, we still have to find a way to deal with Uchiha Obito for this war to be truly over, right?"
"No."
Jiraiya shook his head, his expression growing increasingly grave, "After dealing with Uchiha Obito, we still need to face Uchiha Madara who is manipulating events from behind the scenes..."
"..."
Everyone present fell into silence once more, each person's mood a bit frazzled. Would this Akatsuki ever end?
These hidden masterminds are playing some nesting doll game!
Layer upon layer, ring upon ring, how do they manage it?
Aren't they playing a challenge game, where once they finally defeat one opponent, another immediately steps in...
Who could endure this?
Tsunade's face suddenly changed, and she sharply looked at Jiraiya and said, "Wait... Didn't Uchiha Madara get killed long ago by the grand elder in the Valley of the End?"
"That's why this information is dubious."
Jiraiya nodded, his expression nonetheless remaining grave, "However, based on my feeling, Uchiha Obito probably isn't lying... For legends like Uchiha Madara, it's prudent to exercise utmost caution."
"Um..."
Tsunade slowly nodded.
Uzumaki Naruto's eyes twitched slightly, and he said with a quirky expression, "After we defeat that Nagato, and defeat Uchiha Obito, and defeat Uchiha Madara, shouldn't there be no more new enemies appearing?"
"There shouldn't be, right?"
Jiraiya's face showed slight confusion, but he still spoke solemnly, "Uchiha Madara was once one of the two people at the pinnacle of the Ninja World; there shouldn't be any enemies stronger than him."
After speaking, Jiraiya's expression returned to one of seriousness, "It's just that dealing with Nagato will also be difficult because Nagato was the most talented disciple I've ever met; he mastered all attribute changes at the age of fifteen and even possesses the legendary dojutsu bloodline, the Rinnegan..."
Jiraiya's fists gradually clenched, and he continued in a deep voice, "Now, not to mention his power, even just the few puppets he manipulates are capable of using portions of the Rinnegan's abilities, and I've only obtained intelligence on two or three of their capabilities..."
After saying this, Jiraiya slowly continued, "Moreover, it seems Akatsuki's members have increased again; our intelligence should be updated, they are also hard to deal with.
There's Yakushi Kabuto who can use Ryuchi Cave Sage Mode, and Uchiha Sasuke who has gained the Mangekyo Sharingan and even activated Susanoo."
"Sasuke, huh?"
Uzumaki Naruto slowly lowered his head.
A moment later, Uzumaki Naruto reignited his fighting spirit, "Ha, I've already mastered Sage Mode; this time, I will definitely bring Sasuke back!"
"..."
Jiraiya curled his lips slightly, saying nothing.
This war will be extremely difficult.
If Konoha wants to handle Akatsuki, it is tantamount to foolishly dreaming; even Jiraiya, normally confident, doesn't hold optimistic views for his side.
Not to mention the hidden Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito, nor Nagato who has yet to take action, just ten-plus S-Class Traitors alone can make a mess of things.
Plus Nagato's manipulation of those six puppets, each puppet can exhibit unimaginable, bizarre powers.
After all, nobody has witnessed the might of the Rinnegan.
Those eyes supposedly belong to the legendary Six Paths Sage!
"Alright."
Jiraiya looked up at Tsunade, speaking quietly, "Tsunade, now I've brought Akatsuki's intelligence back from The Hidden Rain Village, Nagato definitely won't let go; he should soon initiate an attack on Konoha to capture the Nine-tail!"
"Hmm."
Tsunade nodded hastily, speaking solemnly, "Let's first devise a plan to ensure we're foolproof when facing Akatsuki's invasion! As for you, go to the hospital and recover your injuries first!"
As everyone in Konoha Village was nervously preparing to face the incoming Akatsuki invasion, and readying to combat their first opponent.
Within The Hidden Rain Village.
Uehara Naraku lay on his bed, with a faint, imperceptible bitter smile on his face, "Heh, while others reunite, I can only cheat silently here to become stronger..."