Chapter 194: Akatsuki's Intelligence
Shikaku believed his example of the Hidden Mist Village at this moment was appropriate and fitting, but Itachi Uchiha found it somewhat laughable.
"Lord Shikaku, I can only say that you are truly ignorant of many things."
"Is there any information I don't know? You can tell me. You are still our comrade, that much is surely true, right?"
Shikaku spoke for a good while, but Itachi Uchiha maintained a deadpan expression, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
"How boring, nothing but meaningless drivel." His lips barely moved as a peculiar Yin-natured chakra suddenly erupted, bypassing Ino's sensory perception to transmit something to Shikaku. Afterwards, he was the first to sever the connection between them.
The mental conversation lasted for about half a minute. Ino released her hold at the opportune moment, feigning the failure of her Mind Body Switch Technique.
"The Fifth Hokage is catching up, we need to retreat!" Itachi used a B-rank ninjutsu, Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson, imbuing shuriken with flames and launching them towards the five.
This fire style technique, combined with shuriken, also produced an explosive effect. By the time the five emerged from the smoke and dust, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame were already far away.
Shikaku led the team in pursuit for the better part of the day. Later, Jiraiya caught up with them. After thoroughly questioning them about the encounter, he regretfully called off the pursuit and returned to the village.
At the last moment, Itachi Uchiha bypassed Ino's sensory perception to transmit two pieces of information to Shikaku.
One was that within the Akatsuki organization, someone was monitoring him. This person's methods were extremely sophisticated, often occurring without a trace, undetectable even by the Sharingan.
The other piece of information was that after leaving the Hidden Leaf Village, he had maintained a direct line of communication with the Third Hokage. He had previously sent some information about Akatsuki back to the Third Hokage. He was unsure if this information had been intercepted by the hidden monitor, but he believed that a portion of it had definitely reached the Hidden Leaf Village and should, in all likelihood, be among the Third Hokage's belongings.
Jiraiya was quite frustrated.
The previous secret letter hadn't been found, and now, without further ado, he would have to continue the search!
He had a drink with Tsunade. Hearing that she and Ino were going to the hot springs, he suppressed his inner turmoil and rushed back to the Third Hokage's archives, continuing his frantic search through the disorganized files.
This was a task he couldn't entrust to anyone else; he had to find it himself.
The problem was that the Third Hokage's management of important documents was incredibly chaotic. He truly didn't know when he would ever find what he needed.
"Ugh—!! Where is the information?! Third Hokage, you sloppy old fool!"
Looking at over fifty filing cabinets, Jiraiya's head was spinning. Thinking about Tsunade enjoying a relaxing soak in the hot springs at that moment only amplified his frustration. Damn it, I wanted to go gather material!
It took him a full three days to sift through all the files twice, and the various dark histories he uncovered were shocking.
Jiraiya was physically and mentally exhausted. Including the secret letter proving Itachi Uchiha wasn't a rogue ninja, he had found a total of six pieces of intelligence.
All of it was information Itachi Uchiha had gathered from within the Akatsuki.
Some of the information was already outdated, such as the news of Orochimaru joining Akatsuki.
Some of the information the Hidden Leaf Village had already uncovered on its own, such as the fact that Akatsuki had nine members, all of whom were S-rank missing-nin.
However, there was also information that the Hidden Leaf Village, and even Jiraiya himself, was unaware of.
This included information about Hidan, who Itachi and Kakuzu had recruited together. The details of his immortality and his curse technique, which he performed using the blood of his enemies, were thoroughly described.
The most unbelievable information concerned Madara Uchiha. Itachi doubted the true identity of this Madara, as his words and actions didn't seem like those of a cunning and experienced individual. However, this person always wore a mask, and no one had ever seen his true face beneath it.
Itachi specifically noted that while Akatsuki outwardly appeared to have nine rogue ninjas, this Madara Uchiha was actually hidden behind the scenes. The Hidden Leaf Village needed to factor in this Madara Uchiha during battles.
Next to the document, there was also a note from the Third Hokage. The Third Hokage stated that Danzo had once interacted with this Madara Uchiha during the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, but the Third Hokage also expressed his own doubts about Madara Uchiha's true identity.
Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Hidan who possessed immortality, Kakuzu who also seemed to possess immortality but whose specific abilities were unknown, the masked man suspected to be Madara Uchiha, and a strange ninja suspected of possessing some kind of surveillance ability.
Information about a total of six individuals within this 9+1 Akatsuki organization had surfaced.
Jiraiya had asked Hiashi Hyuga and Ino Yamanaka, but both said they hadn't detected any surveillance personnel at the scene.
Ino explained that her sensory abilities were merely supplementary and not particularly strong.
Hiashi Hyuga was also uncertain. He said he had been fully focused on Itachi Uchiha's chakra, worried about him using genjutsu, and hadn't concentrated on scouting the surrounding area. He couldn't be sure if there were any other ninjas nearby.
Ino had a guess about this. The one monitoring them should, in all likelihood, be Zetsu, right?
Zetsu had lived since the era of the Sage of Six Paths. To be able to lurk for so long in a world of legendary eyes, without being discovered by either the Sharingan or the Byakugan, meant they certainly had some tricks up their sleeve. It was perfectly normal for her sensory abilities not to detect them.
Jiraiya naturally trusted Tsunade the most at this point. He went to drink with her, also intending to discuss some work-related matters.
He didn't bring up the surveillance issue, focusing mainly on Madara Uchiha.
"What?! You're saying Madara Uchiha is still alive?" Tsunade stood with one foot on a stool, looking at him with imposing force.
Jiraiya quickly made a shushing gesture, then looked around before whispering, "Just a suspicion, a suspicion!"
Tsunade shook her head firmly. "Impossible. My grandfather, the Second Hokage, personally confirmed that Madara Uchiha was dead."
Jiraiya also didn't believe Madara Uchiha could have lived to this day.
If he had, how old would he be?
Someone like Onoki from the Hidden Stone Village, a ninety-year-old man, was considered a living fossil in the ninja world. If Madara Uchiha were alive today, he would have to be over a hundred years old. How could that be possible?
"But... Danzo had a brief collaboration with this Madara Uchiha, and he never officially reported this to the village."
Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk, creating a large hole, and said angrily, "That old dog Danzo should have been dealt with long ago."
Jiraiya sighed. Being the Hokage meant being constrained in many ways.
He couldn't just eliminate Danzo simply because he disliked him; there had to be a legitimate reason.
Back then, the village elders had viewed the Uchiha clan as if they were enemies. So what? Various measures targeting and marginalizing them were implemented for decades. The village only took action after they formally rebelled. It was the same with Danzo. Danzo was even more troublesome than the already marginalized Uchiha clan.
The identity of the Hokage meant he couldn't proactively stir up trouble.
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