"What?! Not only is Itachi injured like this again, but Kisame was also captured?!"
Land of Rain, Akatsuki base.
Black Zetsu looked incredulously at Obito, who had a gloomy expression, then glanced at Itachi, who was lying unconscious on the ground with a gaping wound on his chest.
Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore!
He was already used to failure. His rich experience with failure told him that he should be accustomed to this situation, but the problem was that they were about to embark on something big, and yet this happened.
Was this really appropriate?
"It was Itachi's idiotic idea, and I also wanted to use the opportunity to shift attention to Sasuke, so…"
Obito was also extremely displeased.
"He said it would only take a minute, but Takemi actually possesses Ice Release, and under the suppression of Flying Thunder God, Kisame couldn't even last a minute."
Obito was truly annoyed right now, he had been paying attention to Kisame's battle. He knew it wasn't Kisame's fault, but rather that he had encountered Takemi.
With the terrifying mobility of the Flying Thunder God Technique, combined with Ice Release to seal Water Release, Kisame was defeated before he even had a chance to perform.
Moreover, Zabuza also ran away…
For a moment, he even wondered if they were not suited for recruiting new members?
Although Hiruko succeeded, in the blink of an eye, not only did Zabuza fail, but even Kisame was captured.
"However, there was some gain this time."
Sighing, Obito continued, "This time, we also obtained some new intelligence: Orochimaru also seems to be planning something during the Chunin Exams, and Konoha has always believed he is one of ours."
"Orochimaru? He's also targeting the Chunin Exams?"
Black Zetsu was already extremely annoyed, but he was stunned when he heard this.
"Konoha is targeting us?"
"Unclear, but there are opportunities to exploit here."
Obito's mind was spinning rapidly.
"Orochimaru is a rogue Ninja from Konoha and was once one of the Sannin. He knows Konoha's defense system inside and out. Even if it has changed, he is definitely more reliable than Itachi."
"You mean to make good use of Orochimaru?"
Although Black Zetsu was very annoyed, he followed Obito's train of thought and pondered for a moment.
"Exactly."
Obito pondered for a moment before speaking, "And if necessary, we can make a move on Orochimaru. At least we can find Kisame. Following Orochimaru, it will be easier to find Danzo."
Kisame was his guy, he couldn't just leave him be.
"Besides, Orochimaru has many tricks up his sleeve. Using him might have unexpected effects."
"Alright, I will thoroughly investigate Orochimaru and pinpoint his location."
After a long pause, Black Zetsu finally sighed helplessly. What else could he do at this point?
"What about Itachi? Do you have any ideas?"
"Let's heal him first, his value hasn't been fully exploited." Obito looked at the unconscious Itachi, speaking through gritted teeth.
"We must extract his remaining value before anything else, he can't die that easily."
Konoha, Hokage Office.
"So, the Akatsuki is targeting Sasuke?"
Hiruzen listened to Kakashi and Takemi's report with a worried expression, rubbing his temples as he asked.
"And they are suspected of planning something during the Chunin Exams as well?"
"It appears so for now, but the specifics are unknown." Kakashi shook his head, speaking very seriously.
"It's just that Obito denied Orochimaru is one of theirs. While I'm not sure if it's true, such an organization shouldn't act this way, so…"
"Orochimaru has left their organization?"
Hiruzen pondered. To him, this kind of thing didn't seem like a surprise.
Orochimaru was an extremely arrogant person. He probably wouldn't easily be subservient to anyone.
But when did he leave?
Will the Akatsuki's actions align with his this time?
"Let's investigate first. It would be best if we can interrogate Kisame and get something out of him. You two did well this time."
After a moment of thought, Hiruzen sighed. He felt like these troublesome matters were piling up.
And he felt that Kakashi was truly unlucky. Even a C-rank mission could make him run into the Akatsuki, just like Takemi's first mission back then.
But no matter what, dealing a heavy blow to the Akatsuki right before the Chunin Exams was a good thing.
"It's just…"
Hiruzen took a deep breath. The next moment, he slammed his hand on the desk and roared at Kakashi and Takemi.
"What do you mean Gato hired the Akatsuki? The Akatsuki was there to recruit Zabuza, right?!"
"…"
"And what about Zabuza being moved and killing Gato, and even kindly not taking the money? Don't joke around!"
"…"
"Also, I heard that Zabuza almost killed your employer? That's going too far!"
"…"
Watching the agitated Hiruzen, Takemi picked his ears, while Kakashi looked utterly embarrassed.
"Um, Gato has been entrenched in the Land of Waves, not only engaging in smuggling but also causing the people of the Land of Waves to suffer, so his death seems to be for the better."
"Yeah, and we didn't do anything, Zabuza did it, not us."
Takemi blinked. At this moment, he definitely had to help Kakashi, but his words made Hiruzen even more displeased.
"Do you still remember what I told you about the Fourth Raikage? Don't conspire loudly! Takemi, it's fine if you forgot, but Kakashi, did you forget too?!"
"…"
"Especially, how could you let him complain to me?!"
"…"
Kakashi was silent for a moment, but Takemi nodded.
"That's right, that's right, I thought so too, but unfortunately, Kakashi-sensei…"
"You be quiet!"
Kakashi couldn't hold it in anymore. He grabbed Takemi to stop him from spouting nonsense.
He suddenly felt that he was perhaps too normal, and thus out of place.
Was it really appropriate to do such things in front of Naruto and the others?
"Forget it, let's leave this matter at that."
Hiruzen sighed, he didn't want to dwell on this matter any longer.
Takemi and his team did not do badly. Letting Zabuza, the rogue Ninja, take the blame, and allowing Konoha to gain a huge fortune, was killing two birds with one stone.
Gato was a scumbag to begin with, so his death was nothing. It was just that the execution was not clean.
There were rules in the Ninja World, and everyone maintained a tacit understanding about certain things.
As for Tazuna, Hiruzen was also extremely displeased.
Even if he was a good-natured person, he had to consider the situation of the Konoha Ninja. This time, they were lucky it was Kakashi and his team, but what if it was another squad?
Wouldn't they have to pay a heavy price because of Tazuna's concealment?