Uchiha Obito truly is not a mature leader.
If Uchiha Obito had ever had experience leading a project, he should have known that it was necessary to find ways to win over his subordinates to prevent them from betraying his project.
However, the first project Uchiha Obito led was the Eye of the Moon Plan, the longest-running and largest-scale operation in the history of the ninja world;
His first leadership role was to impersonate Uchiha Madara, becoming the biggest villain in the ninja world and being parachuted in as the project director, responsible for the specific execution of the entire Eye of the Moon Plan.
This led Uchiha Obito to disregard everything else, believing his goals and future were too great for others to understand, thus not caring about the opinions of other subordinates.
"This kind of personality will suffer sooner or later..."
Akihara Kagura always thought that Uchiha Obito, his boss, was not very competent.
Especially after he traveled to the ninja world, the Eye of the Moon Plan project was slightly affected, directly triggering a chain reaction.
As is well known.
The project initiation phase is extremely critical.
A small ripple can potentially cause the entire project to go bankrupt.
Will Uchiha Obito, a boss who doesn't even know how to win over and soothe his subordinates, really be able to handle the storms of the future ninja world?
As an Employee, in front of such a boss, Akihara Kagura could not hope for promotion or salary increase, only hoping for more rewards from the system work tasks, rather than rewards like the Earth Release: Hiding Like A Mole Technique, which can only be used as a supplementary technique.
"Karin."
Akihara Kagura returned to the small Inn, and the first thing was to educate Karin: "When you become someone's boss in the future, you must not be autocratic. You need to listen to your subordinates' opinions more, pay more attention to their needs, and understand their thoughts, got it?"
"..."
Little Karin nodded blankly.
For a child who had not yet entered ninja school, this level of leadership education was somewhat too profound for her.
"Kagura-kun."
Uchiha Itachi also returned to the small Inn, looking somewhat anxious: "The members of the Intelligence Department may have already left here, and about Kakashi-senpai..."
Akihara Kagura glanced at Uchiha Itachi: "You take care of Karin here, I'll go to meet him. Is that difficult?"
"How long will it take to come back?"
Uchiha Itachi felt a bit pressured.
Because he also had a murder assessment task on his shoulders, it was impossible to bring a child along while executing an assassination mission.
"If we're lucky, I'll be back soon."
Akihara Kagura had an indifferent attitude, continuing slowly: "If we're unlucky, I might never come back in this lifetime."
"Lord Kagura!"
Little Karin quickly stood in front of him, volunteering: "I'll go with you, I can help, my eyes can see people, my blood can help you heal!"
"Taking you along is fine."
Akihara Kagura said casually. Having the Flying Thunder God Technique, he didn't truly believe there would be any significant danger.
"You?"
Akihara Kagura looked towards Uchiha Itachi.
"I..."
Uchiha Itachi strangely found himself in a dilemma.
If he were to go with Akihara Kagura to rescue Hatake Kakashi, it was highly likely that trouble would arise during the process, possibly causing significant delays...
Time was already tight.
He had not yet found the location of the Tsuchi River Gorge.
If he couldn't reach Tsuchi River Gorge by March 16th to kill those two Intelligence Department Members planning to defect, it would mean that he would fail the assessment given by Danzo, which would affect his plan to become a double agent for both Konoha and the Uchiha...
This was the first mission entrusted to him by Danzo.
If he couldn't pass this assessment, would he still be able to gain the trust of Danzo and the higher-ups of Konoha in the future? How could he become the bridge between Konoha and the Uchiha clan?
The peace between Konoha and the Uchiha clan was a mission he must complete, and Uchiha Itachi had decided long ago that he would spare no expense for it.
The death of teammates...
He had already witnessed that...
An Uchiha should be accustomed to such matters; otherwise, how could one awaken the Sharingan, when even his father, Uchiha Fugaku, had never paid attention to those deaths?
Uchiha Itachi stood in place, clenching his fists: "Kakashi-senpai's orders were for us to wait for his message."
"Do you want to live? For the position of the leader of the Root?"
Akihara Kagura looked at Uchiha Itachi, with a hint of mockery in his smile: "This invitation is a chance to choose your life path, Uchiha Itachi."
"You wouldn't understand."
Uchiha Itachi slowly but firmly shook his head.
"Let's go, Lord Kagura."
Karin clung tightly to Akihara Kagura's clothes, fearing that the two would start fighting here, because Hatake Kakashi, who could suppress their conflict, was not around.
"Uchiha Itachi."
"I might not give you another chance in the future."
Akihara Kagura picked up Karin by the collar, carrying her on his back, and slowly walked out of the Inn room without looking back.
"If you can come back alive..."
Uchiha Itachi stood calmly in place and responded with a sentence, watching them leave the Inn before he lowered his head to start organizing his ninja tool bag.
"Those who want to kill, choose to save."
Uchiha Itachi stood in front of the Inn mirror, straightening his clothes, slowly drawing his ninja sword, and quickly sheathing it again.
"Those who want to save, yet choose to kill."
Uchiha Itachi slowly walked out of the Inn, with Akihara Kagura and Karin's figures no longer in sight, only to see the somewhat noisy market.
"The world of the ninja is always full of irony."
Uchiha Itachi cautiously inquired about the location of the Tsuchi River Gorge and sped towards that place, intending to assassinate successfully in one fell swoop. The best method was undoubtedly to ambush.
On the other hand,
On the road from the border town to the Rock Village.
Akihara Kagura carried the Little Karin on his back, running straight towards the direction of the Rock Village, like a poor boy wandering with his sister on his back.
It's just...
The conversation between these two was a bit off.
"Neither of us knows the way inside the Rock Village. We need to find a way to capture the Third Tsuchikage, Ohnoki, first and have him guide us both..."
"Didn't Mr. Kakashi say not to do this?"
"The Rock Village is so big, it would be good enough if Team Leader Kakashi doesn't get lost."
"How does Lord Kagura know the Rock Village is very big?"
"If the area of the Rock Village were small, why has Yakushi Kabuto never seen the person he wants to find?"
As Akihara Kagura said, Yakushi Kabuto was almost driven mad in his search.
Yakushi Kabuto, in order to find Yakushi Nono by the deadline of March 16th for the Tsuchi River Gorge mission, and to recognize and inquire about the same mission from the Dean, did not dare to rest for a moment.
However...
There was no chance at all.
The entire Rock Village could almost be described as a group of fortresses built on a rocky mountain, and it would be impossible to find without searching one by one.
Even when searching along the fortresses...
Yakushi Kabuto did not dare to overdo it, as it could expose his identity.
Until Yakushi Kabuto thought he might only wait until March 16th to rush to the Tsuchi River Gorge, planning to return to his residence with a tired face, he ran into a man wearing a hat, knocking off the man's hat.
"Hmm?"
"Hmm?"
In that instant, their eyes met.
Yakushi Kabuto looked somewhat astonished at the man's full head of white hair across from him.
"Have we... seen each other somewhere before?"
Hatake Kakashi awkwardly picked up his hat, hurriedly put it on his head, covering his full head of white hair.
"We probably haven't seen each other."
Hatake Kakashi carefully planned to avoid further interaction.
"We indeed haven't seen each other in a ramen shop."
Yakushi Kabuto slowly nodded his head, explicitly denying Hatake Kakashi with his words, signaling that he was a friend not a foe. After that, he planned to turn around and leave.
"Wait."
Hatake Kakashi grabbed Yakushi Kabuto's arm and asked in a low voice, "Yakushi Kabuto, can you tell me where the Five-Tails Jinchuriki is being held?"
Who could tell him!
Why was the map of Rock Village so vast, filled with steps and mountain roads everywhere, houses like fortresses, to the point that even finding a road was impossible!
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto slowly narrowed his eyes.
Hatake Kakashi was a Jonin from Konoha, an extremely excellent Anbu ninja. If Akihara Kugura really planned to kill him and the Dean Yakushi Nono, Hatake Kakashi's combat strength should be able to help, right?
Yakushi Kabuto nodded in agreement to Hatake Kakashi's request and made his own condition: "After your mission is over, help me stop someone from killing."
"Sorry."
Hatake Kakashi was silent for a while, unsure of how to explain the troubles he faced: "I'm not sure if I can still get out alive because I need to make contact with the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, which might expose my identity."
"That's impossible."
Yakushi Kabuto quickly shook his head, thinking Hatake Kakashi was indulging in fantasy: "The Five-Tails Jinchuriki is loyal to Rock Village. Once your true identity is discovered, you'll be captured immediately. You're engaging in a meaningless act."
After saying all this, Yakushi Kabuto believed he had done his moral duty and didn't plan to persuade Hatake Kakashi further. Instead, he returned to his residence to ponder strategies, such as trying to lure a group of Rock Village troops to the Tsuchi River Gorge...
"Wait..."
Hatake Kakashi grabbed Yakushi Kabuto's shoulder and said softly, "If you want to stop someone from killing, you might let another person help you. His strength is definitely enough to prevent such an incident from happening, and you two are also familiar with each other..."
"Who?"
Yakushi Kabuto felt that Hatake Kakashi was about to mention a familiar name.
"Akihara Kugura."
Hatake Kakashi mentioned a name all too familiar to Yakushi Kabuto.
"..."
Yakushi Kabuto watched Hatake Kakashi, a bitter smile forming at the corners of his mouth: "The person I need to stop is Akihara Kagura..."
"Akihara Kagura wants to kill you?"
Hatake Kakashi looked at Yakushi Kabuto somewhat surprised, then quickly nodded: "That makes sense, I've heard that guy mention wanting to kill you many times..."
It was as if Hatake Kakashi had seized the initiative in the conversation, even starting to think seriously: "If it's Kagura who wants to kill you, then seeking help from anyone would be useless, right? With his current strength, unless you can find the Five Kage, no one can save you."
"..."
The smile on Yakushi Kabuto's face grew even more bitter.
"Alright, alright, no more jokes."
Hatake Kakashi patted Yakushi Kabuto on the shoulder, comforting him: "Akihara Kagura was just kidding, he wouldn't really want to kill you. You both are from the Konoha Orphanage..."
"That's exactly why Kagura wants to kill me."
Yakushi Kabuto interrupted him, parting with a displeased face: "Go and get yourself killed if you want, I need to go back to rest, because I must find a way to survive!"
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave."
Hatake Kakashi frowned, grabbing him and refusing to let go: "Kagura has always wanted you and Yakushi Nono to break away from the Root, and for this reason, he has been covertly vying with Uchiha Itachi for the future leadership of Root. How could he possibly want to kill you?"
~~~
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