"The Akatsuki is having internal strife."
The intelligence Itachi Uchiha passed on was quite surprising. Naruto Uzumaki couldn't quite process it for a moment. He thought and thought but couldn't figure it out. "What's going on? Did something go wrong somewhere?"
"It might be that there's a problem with Pain's thinking," Itachi replied, his own expression hard to read. He didn't fully understand why the organization would be falling apart. Everyone was supposed to be indifferent to fame and fortune, comrades—no, accomplices—who had gathered under one banner for a common goal.
As spies secretly working with Naruto, Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha had not only failed to gain any benefits, but they hadn't even obtained a single Tailed Beast. Instead, the Akatsuki had taken the blame for many things. After Konoha unified the Land of Water, they aggressively promoted the idea that the Akatsuki had started the civil war, turning their peace-seeking organization into an evil one.
Obito Uchiha believed Naruto had no real intention of cooperating. He planned to have the Akatsuki members capture the remaining Tailed Beasts in advance, which they could use as leverage to threaten Konoha.
But there was a problem with Pain's thinking. Or maybe Konan had been influencing him from behind the scenes.
In any case, Pain believed they should wait a while longer. If the world moved toward peace after Konoha unified it, then the Akatsuki would act as a deterrent. If the world was still plagued by war, then they would seize the Tailed Beasts from Konoha.
Since the ninja world had never been unified before, everyone in the Akatsuki was a bit curious about the possibility. They all wanted to see what a unified world would look like. Ever since Konoha had effectively taken over the Land of Wind and the Land of Water, anyone could see the young Hokage's ambition—and he had the strength to back it up.
Obito and Black Zetsu, however, did not want things to continue this way. That young Hokage was being greedy. He wasn't just occupying land; he was also refusing to share the Tailed Beasts. Something felt very wrong.
The only reason Obito had been willing to reluctantly trust Naruto was because he believed in his teacher, Minato Namikaze, and his teacher's wife, Kushina Uzumaki. They weren't shameless people, so their child should be trustworthy, right?
But the incident in the Land of Waterfalls showed Obito Naruto's true colors. This guy was clearly planning to take everything for himself. The chances of him handing over the Tailed Beasts to the Akatsuki were extremely low. During the battle in the Mist Village, a White Zetsu clone had watched from afar as Naruto single-handedly defeated the village. Black Zetsu realized their strategy also had a problem.
That bastard Naruto had no intention of cooperating seriously. He could easily control a rampaging Tailed Beast himself. He just wanted to use the Akatsuki as a scapegoat!
"He's a bit too impatient, isn't he?" Naruto clicked his tongue. "I've only used them a few times, and these guys already want to turn on me?"
"..."
Itachi Uchiha was simply at a loss for words. What was this Hokage thinking? Even if he knew Obito's intentions, he should at least throw him some bait! If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass.
But Naruto wasn't just unwilling to feed the horse; he was hoarding all the fodder for himself while complaining that the horse was running too slow. He was eating the meat himself and not even letting others have the soup. Obito and Black Zetsu had realized that if they didn't capture the Tailed Beasts soon, they probably wouldn't even get to drink the dishwater.
"If you want to continue using them..." Itachi offered his opinion. "Lord Fifth Hokage, you could provide them with intelligence on an insignificant Tailed Beast, or just hand one over to them."
"No," Naruto shook his head quickly. "If they knew the current state of the jinchuriki, they would probably turn on me immediately."
Itachi: "..."
So what on earth did you do to the jinchuriki? No wonder Naruto was unwilling to offer any bait. He had probably eaten the bait himself long ago!
Naruto had indeed already absorbed the chakra of the One-Tail, Six-Tails, and Seven-Tails. If Black Zetsu learned about this, he would probably go crazy. He would realize that reviving the Ten-Tails was impossible unless they overthrew Naruto and rescued the Tailed Beasts.
Naruto sighed and asked the most important question. "Before you came to find me, what's the situation with the Akatsuki?"
"We parted on bad terms," Itachi sighed. "After we dispersed, Obito found me and Kisame. He wanted us to kill Konan while he went to seize Pain's Rinnegan."
"Has it already reached this point?" Naruto sounded a bit mournful. In his era, the Akatsuki was at the height of its power. But now, it was already on the verge of civil war?
"It can't be helped," Itachi said, shaking his head. "Once the Akatsuki starts capturing Tailed Beasts, both the Stone Village and the Cloud Village will be on high alert, so we must act simultaneously. In that case, not only will we be short on manpower, but Pain will also interfere. Obito's only choice is to seize power in advance."
"..." The young Hokage frowned. "If they capture Tailed Beasts so recklessly, aren't they worried about us forming an Allied Shinobi Force?"
"..." Itachi glanced at him with a strange expression. "Even if the Akatsuki attacks the Cloud or Stone Village, the chances of the ninja world forming an Allied Shinobi Force are pitifully low. After all, Lord Fifth, your actions..."
Do you have any idea what you've done?
Konoha had already occupied the Land of Water and the Land of Wind. The Cloud and Stone Villages would have to be crazy to form an alliance with Konoha. That would be like asking a tiger for its skin.
Even if Naruto publicly announced that Konoha was there to help, the Fourth Raikage and Third Tsuchikage would politely decline and dispatch troops to guard their borders, prohibiting any Konoha ninja from entering.
"What a hassle!" Naruto sat back in his chair and rubbed his brow. "I do want to unify the ninja world, but I don't want the Tailed Beasts to fall into the hands of the Akatsuki... Will the Cloud and Stone Villages really refuse our help?"
"..."
Itachi's expression became even more subtle. Konoha's help? Who can afford it? The Sand Village's economy was failing, so Konoha "helped" them, and in the process occupied the Land of Wind and took the Fifth Kazekage hostage. The Mist Village had a civil war, so Konoha "helped" them mediate, and in the process occupied the Land of Water and disbanded the village.
Clearly, his boss was the one benefiting, yet here he was, putting on the shameless appearance of a wronged victim. Unfortunately, this was his boss.
Itachi could only answer, "The ninja world has had continuous wars for generations. The Stone and Cloud Villages will not easily trust Konoha..." After all, once you trust Konoha, your country isn't far from its end.
The young Hokage sighed faintly. "Since I can't help them, do you think I should take advantage of the Akatsuki's internal chaos and directly attack the Stone or Cloud Village? To prevent the Tailed Beasts from falling into Akatsuki's hands?"
Itachi Uchiha: "..."
What is wrong with this Hokage's thought process? One second he was talking about helping them, and the next he was talking about directly destroying their countries.
-----
Bonus:
Naruto Uzumaki: We're here to help you!
Fourth Raikage: I don't want it, get lost!
Third Tsuchikage: I believe my Stone Village is strong enough. The mere Akatsuki is not worth mentioning...
Naruto Uzumaki: They won't let me help...
Tobirama Senju: Heh, why not send Sasuke Uchiha to pretend to be from the Akatsuki and attack the Stone Village? When they can't resist anymore, they'll naturally think of us.
Naruto Uzumaki: What if Sasuke loses?
Tobirama Senju: Then it's just one dead Uchiha. Not much of a loss for Konoha.
Sasuke Uchiha: ...
Naruto Uzumaki: ...