I'M NARUTO UZUMAKI

S-Class Rebellious Ninja

Naruto addressed Namikaze Minato as "Yondaime-sama."

Among these words, "Yondaime" represented the Fourth Hokage's official title, while the added honorific "-sama" was more of a formal convention—yet in Naruto's tone, there was a hint of mockery.

After all, despite knowing Minato was his biological father, Naruto, who had long since grown accustomed to fending for himself, could not easily accept this man as family. To him, the bonds forged through shared experiences—like those with Iruka and Jiraiya—held greater weight than simple blood ties.

Minato, however, did not dwell on the undertones of sarcasm. Instead, he furrowed his brows, contemplating the true meaning behind Naruto's words.

From Naruto's tone and choice of words, Minato could tell that his son's dissatisfaction was not limited to his childhood grievances against the Third Hokage or the villagers of Konoha. Rather, it was a deeper resentment toward the very structure of the shinobi system itself.

Naruto glanced at Minato and abandoned any pretense, speaking plainly:

"Yondaime-sama, you don't seem to understand what I mean. The 'Will of Fire' that you and the other Hokage cherish may sound noble, but it does not extend across the entirety of the Land of Fire—not even to the Uchiha or the Uzumaki."

Minato's expression darkened.

At first glance, Naruto's statement seemed filled with contradictions, but Minato found himself unable to refute it. As Hokage, he had been well aware of the injustices—the isolation of the Uchiha, the persecution of the Uzumaki, and the existence of Root, which trained young shinobi in the shadows with ruthless methods.

Naruto, seeing Minato at a loss for words, simply smiled and turned to leave, heading toward Kurama.

Compared to Minato's attempts to instill the 'Will of Fire' in him, Naruto found more comfort in Kurama's presence. Unlike the villagers, Kurama had been with him all his life—an unwavering presence, even if their relationship had once been built on hatred.

---

A Shadow in the Underground

Elsewhere, Loquat Jūzō arrived at an underground black market, where he was greeted by the broker in charge.

After verifying the identity of the corpse Jūzō had brought, the broker nodded in satisfaction and handed over a prepared sum of cash.

Though he was the regional head of this black market, even he dared not provoke Jūzō—an infamous rogue ninja, formerly of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and someone brazen enough to assassinate nobles.

Jūzō quickly counted the ryo before signaling to the broker, who immediately understood and fetched the latest bounty listings.

Scanning the list, Jūzō immediately noticed the names of the Five Kage.

The bounty on each Kage was immense—hundreds of millions of ryo. But the difficulty of such a task was obvious. Assassinating a Kage meant infiltrating a heavily fortified village and facing some of the strongest shinobi in the world.

After flipping through a dozen pages, Jūzō still found no suitable target.

Some were too strong—beyond what even one of the Seven Swordsmen could handle. Others had payouts too low to be worth his time. Jūzō was no workaholic; if not for Akatsuki's requirement that its members regularly turn over earnings, he wouldn't have bothered with black market jobs at all.

Then, his gaze landed on a name: Uchiha Itachi.

Curious, he asked the broker, "A thirteen-year-old brat is worth tens of millions?"

The broker glanced at the listing and explained, "This bounty was issued by Konohagakure. He's been accused of massacring his own clan. His status? S-Class rogue ninja."

"S-Class, huh…?" Jūzō muttered, flipping through the list further.

At that moment, he felt a sudden heat on his finger. Reacting instantly, he left the black market and found a secluded location. He then raised his right hand and stared at the engraved ring he wore—his Akatsuki ring.

"A meeting?" Jūzō mused. "Did we get a new recruit?"

Dismissing his curiosity, he formed a hand seal and activated the Demonic Illusion: Phantom Body Technique, allowing his consciousness to travel to Amegakure.

---

The Gathering of Akatsuki

When Jūzō opened his eyes again, he was standing on the finger of the Gedō Mazō, the colossal, eerie statue that loomed in Akatsuki's secret meeting place. Around him, the chakra phantoms of his fellow Akatsuki members flickered into view.

As time passed, the remaining members arrived one by one.

There stood Pain and Konan, the leaders of Akatsuki. Kakuzu, the immortal bounty hunter who once fought the First Hokage. Sasori of the Red Sand, the master puppet user who defected from Sunagakure. Orochimaru, the sinister rogue ninja and former Sannin. And finally, Black Zetsu, whose true nature remained a mystery.

Once all were present, Pain spoke in his usual monotone:

"There are two matters to address in today's meeting. First, we must investigate the circumstances of Kakuzu's missing partner. Second, we welcome our new recruit—Uchiha Itachi."

At the mention of a new member, every Akatsuki member turned their gaze toward Itachi.

They had all heard of him in some capacity. A prodigy of the Uchiha, known for single-handedly wiping out his clan. Yet, among these hardened criminals, there was little admiration—only cautious intrigue.

In Akatsuki, mere notoriety wasn't enough to earn respect. Here, if you hadn't personally taken dozens of lives, you were nothing more than a rookie.

Itachi himself studied the members before him. Apart from Pain and Konan, whose true identities remained unclear, the rest were well-documented in Konoha's ANBU files. These were S-Class shinobi, each capable of toppling entire villages.

The sheer power gathered here made one thing clear—Akatsuki had the potential to shake the world.

Breaking the silence, Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely.

"Itachi-kun, long time no see. What a coincidence—why don't we form a team? I've grown tired of my current partner."

"Orochimaru, if you're looking for death, just say so."

The cold voice came from Sasori, who eyed Orochimaru with clear disdain.

But Orochimaru merely smirked, unbothered by the veiled threat. After all, Akatsuki forbade internal killings—unless one side was too weak to fight back.

Itachi, however, ignored Orochimaru entirely. His gaze remained locked on Pain and Konan.

He had a reason for joining Akatsuki, and it wasn't mere survival. He needed to observe them—especially Pain.

It wasn't long before he found his answer.

As Pain spoke again, Itachi caught a glimpse of his Rinnegan.

The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.

Only now did Itachi truly grasp why Obito—who once unleashed the Nine-Tails on Konoha—chose to operate in the shadows while letting Akatsuki take center stage.

A group led by a wielder of the Rinnegan…

This was no ordinary criminal organization. This was a force capable of rewriting history.

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