Chapter 20: Chance Encounter on the Road
White Zetsu really are leopards who can't change their spots...
Over ten years ago, when this group encountered Uchiha Obito, they were just as curious. More than ten years have passed, and they still haven't improved one bit.
A single sentence inexplicably exposed them in front of Uehara.
Encountering a White Zetsu disguised as a girl trying to chat him up also made Uehara Naraka completely certain of one thing: the masked man was constantly monitoring his movements.
After leaving the small town, Uehara immediately found a hidden corner, used the newly learned Mayfly Technique to dive underground, and silently headed far away.
After the mysterious masked man lost Uehara Naraka's trail, he wasn't anxious either, because he knew Uehara Naraka's mission destination. As long as he lay in wait near Kisame Hoshigaki, he would definitely be able to wait for his target.
"That kid is really troublesome."
The mysterious masked man adjusted the mask on his face, pondering his next move, "That woman from the Land of Keys who's always thinking about that trash Kakashi... I heard she's a spy trained by the Land of Keys since childhood. She could be useful... Hmph!"
That woman's name was Hanare.
The reason he knew about that woman was because of Kakashi Hatake.
During his youth, Kakashi was once late returning to Konoha from a mission and casually mentioned saving a little girl on the way.
By chance, while the mysterious masked man was digging up secrets everywhere in the ninja world, he discovered that the spy Hanare trained by the Land of Keys had decent talent and methods. Because she was never allowed to return to her homeland, with just a little guidance, she could sooner or later be put to use.
However, after observing Hanare for a few days, the mysterious masked man discovered Hanare was the little girl Kakashi had saved in his youth, instantly making him lose interest.
No other reason, this woman just had bad taste in men, unable to judge people properly.
In his view, the Kakashi Hatake that Hanare liked was utter trash, so he gave up on recruiting Hanare.
Now the masked man needed a suitable candidate for a spy. His first thought was Kabuto Yakushi, but Kabuto was male, currently lurking by Orochimaru's side, and also had some connection with Sasori of the Red Sand, making him somewhat unsuitable.
That woman named Hanare was barely passable in looks and possessed some feminine wiles. She should be able to make Uehara Naraka accept her, right?
The masked man quickly formulated a perfect plan.
He even got a little excited while confirming his plan, "Heeheeheehee... I'm the real genius!"
The mysterious masked man's heavy voice faded, his words and tone reverting back to the comical clown persona, "Let Kisame educate that kid a bit, then at the moment of life and death, have that woman named Hanare risk her life to save him!"
He even admired himself a little. If he hadn't personally devised this strategy, even he wouldn't be able to tell if it was real or fake!
A space-time vortex appeared behind him, sucking him entirely within, leaving only his neurotic voice, "First, find that woman named Hanare! Use the Land of Keys as leverage to threaten her!"
Land of Fire, within a dense forest.
Uehara Naraka's head emerged from a tree. He surveyed the surroundings, and only when he noticed no one was around did he quietly reveal his body.
Traveling through the earth and plants underground was very fast, just a bit wasteful of chakra. To be able to travel all the way to the Land of Fire, Uehara Naraka had even upgraded his equipment.
Equipment: Seraph's Embrace.
Increases Chakra Energy by 1400 points, increases Skill Cooldown Reduction by 20%, reduces Chakra consumption by 25%.
Originally, by completing Advancement Quests and a series of side quests from the exploding tags gifted by Konan, he had accumulated over 3000 gold coins. Now, only just over 1000 remained...
Uehara Naraka felt a faint heartache. Spending so much money only added 400 points of Chakra, barely pushing his total over 2000 points. If his chakra were maintained at full capacity, he could summon the Titan of the Depths (Nautilus) once.
However, Uehara wasn't too concerned about stacking Chakra stats via equipment anymore, because Advancement Quests rewarded plenty of Life Energy and Chakra Energy. He was now more interested in the chakra regen, health regen, skill cooldown reduction, etc., provided by equipment.
Life Energy: 1201/1201
Chakra Energy: 133/2250
Health Regen: 2/sec
Chakra Regen: 1.5/sec
Remaining Gold Coins: 1070
Due to the long period of underground travel, his chakra was almost depleted. He needed to rest here for over twenty minutes to recover his chakra.
Twenty minutes wasn't a short time.
Uehara Naraka thought he had found a secluded spot. He forgot this was the fastest shortcut from the western Land of Fire to Konoha, so many people were bound to pass through.
For example, two Konoha ANBU returning from completing a mission in the Land of Rivers. A white-haired ninja wearing a mask walked along, holding an orange little book (Make-Out Paradise) in his hand, reading as he walked, somewhat engrossed.
Walking beside him was a purple-haired female ninja wearing a mask. The ANBU uniform looked good on her, highlighting her tall and graceful figure.
"Let's rest nearby."
The purple-haired female ninja's voice was like an oriole's song, echoing in the quiet forest, "Senpai, after returning to the village this time, are you really leaving ANBU?"
"Ah? Yes, that's correct."
The white-haired ninja lowered his head and said softly, "The Third wants me to become an Instructor Jonin, to guide a graduating class from the village..."
"That's truly a pity!"
The female ninja lowered her head, her purple hair scattered across her chest. She sighed and continued, "I hope there will still be chances to go on missions with you in the future, Senpai."
"Mm, no need to be so down. If I'm not mistaken, your next partner is actually a very gentle guy..."
The white-haired ANBU ninja's words suddenly trailed off. His steps also halted. He slowly turned his head towards the depths of the forest and saw a man with a patterned mask resting under a large tree.
The purple-haired female ninja couldn't help but stop too. Following his gaze, she saw the masked man under the tree, and the woman subconsciously drew her ninja sword.
This was an instinctive reaction for an ANBU ninja.
The population in this area was somewhat sparse. Due to its proximity to Sunagakure (Village Hidden by Sand) and Amegakure (Village Hidden in the Rain), the trauma from several Great Ninja Wars was too great, and most nearby civilian settlers had already migrated to areas closer to Konoha.
Moreover, this masked man was strangely dressed and had appeared inexplicably in this somewhat dangerous forest—he was definitely a dangerous figure!
"..."
At this very moment, Uehara Naraka, having used Inherent Glamour to transform into the mysterious masked man [Tobi], was also steadying his nerves. This was his first grand performance in the Land of Fire.
When he overheard their conversation earlier, Uehara Naraka secretly observed them for a while. Even through their masks, he recognized the identities of the white-haired ninja and the purple-haired female ninja.
Kakashi Hatake, Yūgao Uzuki.
Therefore, after his chakra recovered, Uehara Naraka not only didn't hide using the Mayfly Technique but instead thought of a brilliant idea.
This time, he was going to give the masked man [the real Tobi] big trouble.
(End of Chapter)
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