Chapter 198: Adding Fuel to the Fire

Chapter 198: Chapter 198: Adding Fuel to the Fire

Actually, if they could confirm that there really was a traitor within the clan, narrowing down the scope of the investigation wouldn’t be too difficult.

First of all, the members of the Main Family could be ruled out.

There were very few members of the Main Family to begin with, and they enjoyed all the power and status the clan afforded them. They had no reason to do something that would amount to betraying their own clan.

As for the Branch Family, although its members were numerous, there couldn’t be that many who genuinely held grievances against the clan. As long as they investigated those people one by one, they would surely uncover something sooner or later.

Kagami had originally intended to share his thoughts with Hiashi, but seeing how distracted Hiashi seemed, he changed the subject instead.

"Clan Head, I have a request."

"Go ahead."

Kagami said, "Last night, while Rei was patrolling the outer wall, she encountered those two bounty ninjas and nearly lost her life. So I’d like to ask you to have her transferred to the clan compound."

Hiashi smiled.

"That’s no problem. I’ll speak with Lord Hokage about it."

...

At the Uchiha residence.

Fugaku sat in the main hall with his arms folded across his chest, his face stern and his expression unusually grave.

At that moment, Shisui arrived outside the room.

"Clan Head, you wanted to see me?"

Fugaku replied in a deep voice, "Come in."

"Yes!"

Shisui acknowledged him, pushed open the door, and entered the hall.

After Shisui took a seat, Fugaku looked over the injuries on his body. His brows knitted tightly together, and an indescribable gloom settled over his already stern face.

When Fugaku first learned that Shisui had been ambushed by Homura, he had immediately panicked.

At present, the entire Uchiha Clan possessed only two pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan—his and Shisui’s. If anything were to happen to Shisui, it would undoubtedly be a devastating blow to the Uchiha Clan, which had already begun making preparations for rebellion.

It wasn’t until Fugaku learned that Shisui’s injuries weren’t serious that he finally breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he couldn’t help but secretly feel fortunate that Homura hadn’t taken Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Perhaps the Third was nearby at the time and scared them off!"

The Third had intercepted Kawa of Kamigami near the outer wall, very close to where Shisui had supposedly been attacked. With that in mind, Fugaku had filled in the blanks himself.

Seeing Fugaku remain silent for so long, Shisui asked, "Clan Head, what did you want to see me about?"

Coming back to his senses, Fugaku immediately asked, "How did you lose to Homura?"

Shisui replied, "I didn’t expect the other party to possess a Mangekyo Sharingan. I let my guard down for a moment and was caught in his genjutsu."

Fugaku nodded slightly. "This Homura’s ocular power is no weaker than yours or mine. If we want to deal with him, the two of us will have to join forces!"

Shisui was somewhat curious. "How do you plan to deal with him?"

"The clan has already issued a bounty on him, and I’ve also sent people to gather intelligence on Kamigami." After a brief pause, a chilling killing intent surged from Fugaku’s body. "The moment we discover his whereabouts, we’ll act. He betrayed the clan—he must die!"

Shisui hadn’t expected Fugaku’s killing intent toward Homura to be so intense, and he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Fugaku glanced at Shisui and instructed, "For the time being, don’t go wandering around. Stay ready to move at a moment’s notice!"

Shisui could only nod helplessly.

...

Inside a dark cave.

One illusory figure after another, created through the Magic Lantern Body Technique, stood silently atop the ten fingers of a gigantic stone statue.

There was no doubt about it—this was one of the rare occasions when every member of the Akatsuki had gathered together.

As the organization’s leader, Pain swept his gaze over Sasori and Kakuzu before saying calmly, "Tell us exactly what happened last night."

Sasori remained silent.

Seeing this, Kakuzu had no choice but to say in his gruff voice, "Last night, we encountered Kawa and another member of Kamigami. At the time, they were being pursued by Konoha’s Third Hokage and the head of the Uchiha Clan..."

Kakuzu gave a straightforward account, quickly recounting everything that had happened the previous night.

Upon hearing that two members of Kamigami had managed to escape while being pursued by Konoha’s Third Hokage and the current head of the Uchiha Clan, the Akatsuki members were all somewhat surprised.

Even Pain, their leader, could no longer afford to dismiss this Kamigami that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Standing atop one of the fingers opposite them, Hiruko asked, "That Yama from before was also a member of Kamigami, wasn’t he?"

Kakuzu nodded. "According to Kawa, Yama is the leader of Kamigami!"

Shinno, who stood beside Hiruko, asked, "Are the members of Kamigami really that powerful?"

Before Kakuzu could answer, Sasori gave a cold snort.

"Are you questioning me?"

Shinno gave an awkward smile and said nothing more.

At that moment, Uchiha Shinichi curled his lips into a grin. "Do you guys know why Kamigami was being hunted by the Third Hokage?"

Everyone immediately turned their attention toward Uchiha Shinichi.

Shinichi said, "I received word that Kawa and Homura of Kamigami killed the chief envoy of the Kumo delegation that had been sent to Konoha to sign the peace treaty. And then they even turned in his corpse for the bounty. Hahaha! That’s fucking hilarious!"

Uchiha Shinichi and Juzo Biwa’s team, like Sasori and Kakuzu’s, was also active within the Land of Fire, so it hadn’t taken them long to hear that the corpse of Gloya, the chief of the Kumo delegation, had made its way onto the black market.

And as far as Shinichi was concerned, now that he had defected from Konoha, he was naturally more than happy to see his former village suffer a setback.

Pain fell silent for a while before finally addressing everyone.

"Hiruko, Shinno, the two of you will also head to the Land of Fire and assist Sasori and Kakuzu. Eliminate Orochimaru first, then investigate Kamigami!"

A strange glint flickered in Hiruko’s eyes. He hesitated briefly before answering, "All right."

Shinno nodded as well. "Fine."

At that moment, Sasori clutched the stump of his missing arm and said in an irritated tone, "I may need to modify my body, so I’ll need some time."

Kakuzu added, "I need some time as well. I have a few hearts to replace!"

Knowing that Sasori and Kakuzu had suffered a major setback at Konoha’s hands, Pain nodded.

"Mm."

After releasing the Magic Lantern Body Technique, Pain, who had been standing atop a high tower in the Land of Rain, turned and walked inside.

Inside the room.

Obito leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest and asked indifferently, "Any news about Kamigami?"

Pain relayed everything Sasori and Kakuzu had reported, then said, "Your concerns may have been justified. This Kamigami really is a threat."

To assassinate the heavily guarded chief envoy of the Kumo delegation within Konoha—the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages—and then escape with the corpse despite being pursued by the Third Hokage and the current head of the Uchiha Clan...

That feat alone was enough to make Pain take notice.

What was more, only two members of Kamigami had been responsible for pulling it off.

As for exactly how many members Kamigami had, how powerful its elusive leader Yama truly was, and everything else surrounding the mysterious organization, Pain knew absolutely nothing.

He had no choice but to treat them with caution.

Konan walked over to Pain’s side and asked softly, "Do you need me to make a trip to the Land of Fire?"

Pain shook his head.

"Not yet."

Obito pondered for a moment before saying, "I’ll be making a trip to the Land of Fire soon. The situation with the Uchiha still needs someone to add a little more fuel to the fire!"