Chapter 400 I Want Him to Watch over Konoha
The Five Kage Conference is an important meeting that brings together the five Kage to discuss the future of the ninja world. All the ninjas who can attend this meeting are important right-hand men of the five Kage.

Jiraiya, one of the Three Ninjas, and Shisui, the leader of the Root, are both qualified to participate in the Five Kage Tournament.

But it is hard to say about others. After all, ninjas who are able to participate in the Five Kage Tournament are almost destined to become core figures of their respective ninja villages.

After pondering for a moment, Jiraiya thought of a more suitable candidate:
"How about letting Kakashi participate in the Five Kage Tournament? He is Naruto's leading jonin. If we bring Team 7 with us, we can also avoid the surprise attack of the masked man."

Shisui nodded slightly, then said:
"Kakashi is indeed a good candidate. Not only is his strength at the level of an elite jonin, but he also possesses the three-magatama Sharingan, which allows him to fight the masked man in a short period of time."

Even Shisui agreed to let Kakashi participate in the Five Kage Tournament, so the duo of advisors naturally had no objection.

Kakashi has completed many S-level missions over the years, and is implicitly the leader of the younger generation. In addition, with his status as the Son of Byakuya and the fourth-generation disciple, it is not impossible for him to become Hokage in the future.

After listening to everyone's opinions, Tsunade nodded and said, "Then let's do this. Jiraiya, Shisui, and Team Kakashi will participate in the Five Kage Conference together, and the rest of us will stay in Konoha to defend."

At this time, Shisui spoke up: "I will not participate in the Five Kage Tournament. You guys should go. I don't like to be in the limelight. I can just stay in the village."

Faced with Shisui's request, Tsunade and Jiraiya thought about it and then agreed.

There was indeed something wrong with the list they had just made. If she, Jiraiya and Shisui all went to participate in the Five Kage Tournament, there would not be enough powerful ninjas in the village.

After confirming all the candidates who would be attending the Five Kage Tournament, they discussed the itinerary plan.

Participating in the Five Kage Conference is no trivial matter. Any problem with any details may affect the overall changes.

……

More than ten minutes later, Kakashi, who was on vacation at home, received an order from Tsunade.

When Kakashi heard that Killer Bee had been attacked and that the Fourth Raikage had invited the leaders of all the major ninja villages to attend the Five Kage Conference, he was stunned at first and his face quickly turned gloomy.

He knew that the masked man's true identity was Uchiha Obito.

It is precisely because of this that he felt distressed by the fall of his best friend. He did not understand why Obito attacked the tailed beasts and why he embarked on this path of no return.

Can I stop Obito?

Just when Kakashi was worried about this, Kushina's voice rang out from inside the house: "Kakashi, is there anyone coming from the Hokage Building? What happened?"

After seeing Kushina, Kakashi felt relieved.

After Kushina returned to Konoha, she lived in his house to teach Naruto. With Master Kushina around, he didn't have to bear all the pressure. After all, his master was very powerful.

Thinking of this, Kakashi told Kushina everything he knew.

After listening to this, Kushina frowned and said, "Obito actually attacked the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. He really wants to stand against the entire ninja world."

"But he's usually chased by Byakuya. What courage makes him show up again? Kakashi, you've known Obito the longest. What do you think Obito is thinking?"

“I don’t know about that either…”

Kakashi scratched his head, he didn't know what Obito was thinking.

At this time, Kushina suddenly remembered something and said to Kakashi:
"Kakashi, do you still remember the incident during the Chunin Exam when Orochimaru impurized the First and Second Hokage?"

Kakashi nodded: "Of course I remember this. If Bai Ye hadn't taken action at that time, Konoha would not have been able to stop the ninjas of the First and Second Generations."

"But isn't Orochimaru one of Byakuya's men? What's his relationship with the masked man?"

"Orochimaru does have a certain cooperative relationship with Byakuya, but their relationship is not unbreakable. Orochimaru has betrayed the Konohagakure and his ally Danzo."

After a pause, Kushina continued:

"It's not impossible for him to betray Bai Ye now. I recently went to the black market in the Hokage territory and suddenly there was a bounty for Orochimaru. It was said to be issued by the Hidden Rain Village."

"Orochimaru betrayed Bai Ye..."

Kakashi continued to think about this and soon came to an incredible conclusion. He said, "You mean, Orochimaru betrayed Byakuya because he contacted the masked man."

"And the reason why the masked man dared to attack the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was because he relied on the Impure World Reincarnation Technique?"

Seeing that Kakashi had also thought of this, Kushina nodded and said, "Yes, it is the Impure World Reincarnation Technique. Teacher Jiraiya and I are wary of the identity of the deceased, so we will not use the Impure World Reincarnation Technique easily."

"But Orochimaru and Obito have no such scruples. They can play with the souls of the dead at will."

Kakashi turned to Kushina and asked, "So what should we do? Should we tell Master Jiraiya about this information?"

"As long as it doesn't involve my existence, you can do whatever you want."

Kushina didn't care whether Kakashi reported the information or not, she just didn't want to expose her existence.

Kakashi asked in confusion: "Lady Kushina, why are you so reluctant to show up? Even if it's to hide your identity, you can tell Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya."

Kushina's expression changed slightly, and then she said:

"This is a deal between me and that person. You don't need to meddle in it. Besides, if I show up in Konoha, how will Jiraiya-sensei and Tsunade-sama deal with it?"

Kakashi heard the sense of necessity in Kushina's words.

He knew that the ninja who saved Kushina-sama was Byakuya, but why didn't Byakuya let Kushina and Jiraiya-sama meet? What secrets were there?
At this moment, Kakashi seemed to have thought of something, and his expression became extremely solemn.

Kushina noticed Kakashi's expression and sighed softly:

"It seems that you have guessed the relationship between Byakuya and Obito. Your guess is probably similar to mine. Byakuya and Obito are probably not in opposition to each other on the surface. They have actually reached some kind of cooperation."

Kakashi was extremely shocked after hearing this news from Kushina.

It was hard for him to imagine that Bai Ye, who had been fighting against the masked man, actually had some kind of cooperative relationship with the masked man, but one piece of evidence after another pointed to this.

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Kakashi asked in confusion: "With the strength of Byakuya and Obito, they should be able to achieve their goal even if they don't cooperate with each other. What do they want to do?"

“That’s what I want to know…”

Kushina sighed, and then said: "The goal of Akatsuki is to make the ninja world free of war and in a long-term peace. Obito doesn't look like a ninja who would destroy the world." "If both of them are for peace, why do they attack the tailed beasts of each village?"

Kakashi took a deep breath and then said, "Mrs. Kushina, this matter is too important. Can I tell Lady Tsunade?"

Kushina said with a look of alertness:

"It's better not to. Tsunade and Jiraiya may not believe us. Byakuya has helped Konoha many times. Even I was saved by Byakuya. If we attack Byakuya rashly, the effect will only be counterproductive."

"If we reveal the secret, we might even encounter Bai Ye's hostility."

"We just need to maintain the situation as it is now. There is no need to create unnecessary complications. The affairs of the Konoha Village can be left to the Konoha ninjas. Now I just want to watch Naruto grow up."

"But Obito attacked Naruto back then." Kakashi asked in confusion. He didn't understand why Kushina became so indifferent.

Kushina looked at Kakashi and said:

"Bai Ye will not attack Naruto. He has had many chances but gave up. Although Bai Ye and Obito have reached a cooperation for now, I have a feeling that they will fight each other sooner or later."

"They are allies, but they can't be allies forever."

"Before the next war begins, let's slowly accumulate strength. Your Sharingan is the key to defeating Obito."

……

In the root base, Shisui, who was busy working, welcomed an uninvited guest.

This person was none other than Orochimaru, who failed in his attack on Nagato. After escaping from the Rain Country, he finally decided to come to Shisui to avoid the limelight.

Firstly, he had once worked with Shisui to kill Danzo, and they had a pretty good relationship.

Secondly, by staying with Shisui, he can maintain contact with Bai Ye and not become a pawn abandoned by Bai Ye.

After seeing Orochimaru, Shisui frowned:
"Orochimaru, you just attacked Nagato for betraying the organization, why are you coming to me right now? Aren't you afraid that I will join forces with Jiraiya and Tsunade to strangle you here?"

Orochimaru found a seat and sat down casually, saying calmly: "These are just Lord Baiye's orders. He was the one who asked me to leave the Akatsuki organization. It may be related to the organization's future plans."

"Master Bai Ye didn't tell me or tell you the specific plan, did he?"

Shisui shook his head and said:
"I haven't received any notification from Lord Byakuya, but the masked man has attacked several Jinchūriki recently, and the Fourth Raikage is planning to convene a Five Kage Conference."

"Five Shadows Conference?"

Orochimaru's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "To call a Five Kage meeting for such a small matter, the Raikage is really impatient, just like his father."

"However, what on earth are Lord Bai Ye and the masked man thinking? With their strength, there should be no chance for Kirabi to escape. What is the reason for this?"

“I don’t know about that either…”

After a brief pause, Shisui continued:

"The masked man's goal is to collect the tailed beasts, but I always feel that Lord Byakuya is not serious about collecting the tailed beasts. Lord Byakuya seems to have only taken the five major ninja villages under the guise of hunting tailed beasts, and he does not really want to revive the Ten-Tails."

"So these attacks were most likely carried out by the masked man on his own."

After hearing this, Orochimaru fell into deep thought, then quickly sorted out his thoughts and said:
"So that's why Bai Ye asked me to leave Akatsuki early. Do you think that Leader Bai Ye is planning to make us stand on the side of the five major ninja villages?"

“This possibility cannot be ruled out…”

Just as Shisui and Orochimaru were lost in thought, Shisui's ring began to heat up, and soon Shisui received an order from Byakuya.

Bai Ye’s order was simple, telling them to stay out of the spotlight and lie dormant.

After receiving this order, Shisui did not react much, but Orochimaru's heart was in turmoil. He had taken off the Akatsuki ring, so how did Byakuya know his exact location?

Did Shisui report this to Byakuya after entering the Root base, or did Byakuya leave a backup plan for him that he had no way of detecting?

After digesting Bai Ye's order, Shisui looked at Orochimaru and said:

"Lord Orochimaru, you will stay by my side for the time being and wait for Lord Byakuya's next order at any time. Don't even think about running around."

Orochimaru pretended to be calm and said:

"I originally planned to stay here for a while, so I naturally had no intention of leaving. However, I still have a lot of experimental projects to complete, so you should have a laboratory here."

"Of course there is..." Shisui said without hesitation:
"These are all cutting-edge equipment purchased in recent years. However, you have to find the experimental materials yourself. I won't provide them. Also, you must not attack civilians!"

In Shisui's heart, Orochimaru is still that mad scientist with a long history of bad deeds.

Orochimaru rubbed his palms together and said with a smile:

"Don't worry about the experimental materials. I have long since eliminated ninjas as experimental subjects. I have mastered the most advanced cloning technology. The experiments I conduct now are all clones made from human cells."

"Clone?"

It was the first time that Shisui heard of this term, but then he thought, isn't this the White Zetsu? He was no stranger to Byakuya, as all the experiments on Wood Release used by the Root over the years were done with the White Zetsu.

White Zetsu is neither a ninja nor a civilian, and is no different from a lab rat.

After confirming that Orochimaru would not cause trouble at will, Shisui finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Root he led had just gained a good reputation in the village, and he didn't want to destroy it for the time being.

"If it's a clone, then it doesn't matter."

After pondering for a while, Shisui seemed to remember something and said to Orochimaru: "By the way, Orochimaru, the Third Hokage is still imprisoned in the Root base. Don't you and your disciple plan to meet him?"

Orochimaru stopped where he was, looked at Shisui in surprise and said, "Didn't you kill the old man? I thought you would kill the old man who gave the order to exterminate the Uchiha."

Shisui glanced at Orochimaru and said:
"Why should I kill the Third Hokage? He is different from Danzo. And since you don't even plan to kill the Third Hokage, there is no need for me to kill him. I want him to live and see the difference between the Uchiha and the Senju."

(End of this chapter)