If it were just Hatake Kakashi here, he would definitely find a way to get involved when encountering Orochimaru, never mind anything about treasures.
However, right now he has Karin who saved him by his side.
Uehara Naraku started to rush people out, then put on a facade of desperately trying to hide the treasures in the village, adamantly refusing to let Konoha Ninja covet them.
Hatake Kakashi frowned, picked up Karin from the ground, and walked away from this place step by step, seemingly uninterested in the treasures Uehara Naraku mentioned.
Undoubtedly, after Kakashi settled Karin down, he wouldn't easily give up on investigating the intelligence on Uehara and Orochimaru.
Uehara Naraku also thought of this point, and once he saw the figure of Hatake Kakashi disappear, he immediately wanted to resolve Orochimaru.
"What's going on?"
Uehara Naraku leaped over to stop next to the nearest Hozuki Mangetsu, and asked in a deep voice, "Even the three of you together cannot defeat Orochimaru?"
"..."
Hozuki Mangetsu couldn't help but glance at Uehara Naraku, wondering if this new boss had too high of expectations, and how much he underestimated the Konoha Sannin!
Orochimaru isn't that easy to take down!
Back at the end of the Third Ninja World War, Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato led Konoha Ninjas to drive their Hidden Mist Ninja back to the Land of Water like herding ducks…
Why can't this boss ask Hoshigaki Kisame beside him?
That guy was there at the time.
Even during their prime as the Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist, hoping to defeat Orochimaru wasn't something that could be achieved in such a short time, right?
To put it rationally, it's uncertain they'd win…
Hozuki Mangetsu sighed seeing Uehara Naraku's lack of worldly experience, but he could only explain: "My lord, the strength of the Konoha Sannin exceeds our expectations. Orochimaru's Ninjutsu is quite bizarre, and the three of us haven't even tried coordinated combat…"
The original generation of the Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist operated in teams, but they were wiped out later; the second generation of Seven-swords, like Hozuki Mangetsu, mostly fought solo and never coordinated strikes against enemies.
Honestly, their combat effectiveness didn't achieve the effect of 1+1+1=3, and might not even be as satisfying as fighting solo!
Especially since Hozuki Mangetsu sensed that Hoshigaki Kisame was slacking off, and while Momochi Zabuza was working hard, his ability was only so-so…
Uehara Naraku looked at Hozuki Mangetsu full of confusion: "But it's Orochimaru, and you guys can't even handle him?"
Orochimaru has always been strong in the internal battles of the Konoha Sannin, but in external battles, he always seemed to make others look more powerful…
Hozuki Mangetsu's expression was even more bewildered, almost incredulous: "Do you think it's easy for us to defeat Orochimaru?"
Hozuki Mangetsu indeed witnessed Uehara Naraku's power, as he snapped his fingers and killed the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, but Orochimaru isn't as easy to deal with as Yagura!
To tell the truth, Hozuki Mangetsu doesn't believe Yagura could defeat Orochimaru…
And compared to the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, Orochimaru is truly a notorious figure among these ninjas.
"Master Uehara…"
Hoshigaki Kisame saw them negotiating, guessed a bit, and stepped back, whispering to Uehara's side: "There are other hidden enemies nearby… It could be him."
Using Perception Ninjutsu, Hoshigaki Kisame sensed an enemy presence near the battlefield, most likely Uchiha Obito…
Uehara Naraku's face fell suddenly.
No wonder Hoshigaki Kisame was going easy!
However, in the few seconds that Hoshigaki Kisame withdrew from the battlefield, Orochimaru seized the opportunity to unleash a group of snakes with Kusanagi Sword in their mouths!
"Ten Thousand Snakes Array!"
Momochi Zabuza, who was still fighting, got stabbed in the shoulder by a Kusanagi Sword… this guy is really a useless ironhead!
Seeing the situation taking a turn for the worse, Hoshigaki Kisame scrambled back to intercept the Ten Thousand Snakes Array, but because there were other prying eyes, he played defensively.
The one watching could very well be Uchiha Obito.
And Hoshigaki Kisame knew that placing a spy beside Uchiha Obito was the most important thing.
Uehara Naraku, after hearing Kisame's words, furrowed his eyebrows subconsciously, scanning the surroundings. He wasn't too confident in defeating Obito right now.
Of course, Uehara himself could easily escape, as long as he activated The Moment of Holy Judgment and used the Mayfly Jutsu to sink underground, avoiding Obito's pursuit.
Yet in the Land of Water, where he painstakingly gathered the Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist, and added Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku, how could Uehara easily abandon them?
Uehara Naraku's eyes flashed, looking at Orochimaru in the center of the battlefield, and he smiled: "Tch, Orochimaru, you got lucky this time..."
At the battlefield center.
Orochimaru, rather bored, dealt with this group of Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist, feeling confident that his Ninjutsu and Genjutsu might not work against Uchiha Itachi, but dealing with these three was more than enough.
Just when Orochimaru was planning to take down Hoshigaki Kisame and the others one by one, he suddenly felt uneasy and then heard a shout: "Orochimaru-senpai, as long as you give me the information on Afei-senpai and the Ring of the Void, I wouldn't mind letting you go..."
"With just you lot?"
Orochimaru sneered, squinting at Uehara Naraku, then glancing at Kisame and others wielding bizarre Ninja Blades. His mouth suddenly spat out a Kusanagi Sword over a hundred meters long, sweeping through everything around!
Even though Orochimaru wasn't sure what danger Uehara Naraku and his group might bring, the unsettling feeling made him decide to deal with Uehara immediately and leave the Land of Water to avoid trouble.
Snakes are always sensitive to threats.
"You all fall back!"
Uehara Naraku stepped forward, grabbing the over-a-hundred-meter-long Kusanagi Sword with one hand, saying coldly: "I'll have a chat with Orochimaru-senpai."
"Yes, my lord."
Hozuki Mangetsu and Hoshigaki Kisame exchanged glances, Momochi Zabuza clutched his injury, and the three retreated from the battlefield.
"..."
Orochimaru's snake-like eyes briefly froze, looking at the approaching Uehara Naraku, finding the Kusanagi Sword's sharpness ineffective against this boy!
Indeed, none who joined the Akatsuki were ordinary ninjas!
Even if Uehara Naraku was just an intern among them.
"Orochimaru-senpai, no need to be so impulsive..."
Uehara Naraku approached Orochimaru, looked up at those cold serpent eyes, and smiled as he said: "Don't underestimate me just because I'm an Akatsuki intern… As long as you tell me about Uchiha Obito's intelligence and hand over the Ring of the Void, I don't mind sparing your life!"
Orochimaru gazed disdainfully at Uehara, sneering: "Hmph, if you want to threaten me, call Pain instead!"
The members of the entire Akatsuki, counting each one.
Besides Pain and Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru doesn't regard any others, as he suffered major losses at the hands of those two.
"Then I'll heed Orochimaru-senpai's suggestion!"
Uehara Naraku chuckled softly, finding Orochimaru's words to his liking.
A Black Rod appeared at Uehara's fingertips, and he suddenly pierced it into his arm, contorting his face in pain as he formed hand seals: "Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu!"
A Summoning Spell formed beneath his palm!
As the Chakra Black Rod entered his body, Uehara felt immediately another person's chakra entering him, probing for his location!
Creating Six Paths Chakra sensors is extremely domineering!
As the unusual chakra within Uehara gradually dissipated, the smoke from the Summoning Jutsu filled the air, and a shadow appeared in front of everyone from the Summoning Array!
It was the Deva Path of Pain!
Pain's Rinnegan slowly rose, and the cold voice fell into everyone's ears: "Uehara, is there some trouble?"