Naruto: Imitation Ninja

Could it be that Uchiha Itachi truly deserves the title of "big brother complex"?

It's hard to believe that the person who forced him to massacre his entire clan stands right before him. Yet, what Itachi first thinks of is not how to deal with that enemy, but how to blame Xing Liu for involving his younger brother, Sasuke, in the Akatsuki organization.

"If I tell you that just having you as an undercover agent is not enough, how would you respond?" Xing Liu didn't answer Uchiha Itachi's question directly, instead turning it into a question of his own.

"How would I know how I'd respond?" Itachi replied.

"If Sasuke were to join the Akatsuki, I wouldn't rule out making his safety a priority," Xing Liu continued.

Itachi did not respond directly, but subtly conveyed that the safety of his brother would always take precedence. Even if it conflicted with the mission assigned to him by Konoha, he would prioritize Sasuke above all else.

This… Before approaching Uchiha Itachi for a trade, Xing Liu had anticipated that Itachi would use some strange method for negotiation. However, he never expected that method to involve his own brother, Sasuke Uchiha.

If there were to be a contest for the world's greatest "big brother complex," Itachi's nomination would undoubtedly be rigged.

"Fine, fine, let's just lay everything out on the table." Xing Liu grew tired of playing riddles with Itachi. Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to go back and play a few rounds of mahjong at the gambling hall?

"The reason I came to find you today is for another plan of mine…" With that, Xing Liu laid out his plan for having all members undercover to Itachi.

As for the notion that Uchiha Itachi might divulge his plan to the Akatsuki, that was utterly ridiculous.

First of all, Sasuke was already like a half-disciple to Itachi. As the world's greatest "big brother complex" case, Itachi would never do anything that would harm his brother's teacher.

Moreover, when it came to loyalty to his village, Itachi's devotion to Konoha was unquestionable. There was no way he would betray Konoha and leak information to the Akatsuki.

And most importantly…

There was no one who could defeat someone with cheat-like abilities, right?

If Itachi were to make any rash move, before he could leak any village information, he would already be reduced to nothing—well, more like not even a trace would remain.

Ahem… Back to the plan for all members undercover, Itachi was initially confused when he heard Xing Liu's words.

Because no one would ever think that everyone except the leader would be an undercover agent.

In this ninja world, everyone who joined an organization or a village was assumed to have a certain level of loyalty. So, the idea of placing undercover agents in other organizations or bribing someone from within them was practically impossible.

Moreover, those who gathered intelligence within such organizations were trusted by the leader, which made the idea of corrupting them even more unlikely.

"小鼬鼬 (Little Itachi), since I'm telling you this plan, there's obviously a way to make it happen. Now, all you have to do is tell me if you're willing to cooperate."

To successfully execute this plan, aside from having sufficient strength, internal arrangements were also a key factor.

Initially, Xing Liu had intended to assign the task to Sasuke. However, knowing that Sasuke had only just joined the Akatsuki, it was impossible to assign him such an important mission.

Thus, Xing Liu thought of Uchiha Itachi, who had been in the Akatsuki for more than a decade.

Itachi had far more experience and influence than Sasuke, who had just joined. Furthermore, Itachi's mind was far sharper than Sasuke's… otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted undercover in the Akatsuki for over ten years without being discovered.

"Do you think I have a choice in the matter? I'm sure if I don't agree, you'll erase tonight's memory from my mind the next second, won't you?" Itachi asked, gazing at Xing Liu, whose Sharingan had now transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan, with a bitter smile.

It wasn't that Itachi didn't want to risk everything with Xing Liu, but he simply couldn't let go of Sasuke, who was sent to the Akatsuki.

If he were to be killed or brainwashed by Xing Liu here, wouldn't that mean he couldn't protect his brother's safety?

If Itachi was found by Uchiha Obito, Itachi didn't believe that Xing Liu, far away in Konoha, would have any way of learning about Sasuke's danger in time. Even if Xing Liu possessed space-time ninjutsu, he couldn't possibly predict the exact moment to appear at Sasuke's side, could he?

So, for his brother's safety, Itachi had no choice but to reluctantly agree to Xing Liu's plan.

"Hehe, little Itachi, don't be so pessimistic! The Akatsuki will soon become an empty shell!" Xing Liu said, walking up and throwing his arm around Itachi's shoulder with a grin.

The decline of the Akatsuki started with the capture of Gaara. First, during Naruto and the others' rescue mission, they lost the major general, Sasori of the Red Sand. Then, in the capture of Killer Bee, they lost another major general, Kisame…

Let's not even mention Itachi, who was killed by his own brother. The most tragic "big brother complex" in the entire Naruto series truly belongs to him.

So, even if Xing Liu didn't dismantle the Akatsuki, it would gradually become an organization with only a name as the plot progressed.

However, Xing Liu would never tell Itachi about the fall of the Akatsuki. If the plot developed in a direction unknown to him, Xing Liu—who held the script—would be forced to rely on raw strength to make things work.

Thus, he only told Itachi what he needed to know. This way, he could ensure that the plot stayed on course without deviating from the original storyline and maintain control over the plot's development.

As long as the story progressed smoothly, Xing Liu, the man who held the script, could better turn the Akatsuki into a subsidiary of his own—where everyone was undercover except for the boss.

...

The timeline shifted back to when Xing Liu captured Deidara and Sasori of the Red Sand. Based on the information they just shared, Pain (Nagato) originally planned to send a different team to capture Shukaku. But for some reason, he ended up sending the "artist" duo instead.

The reason the Akatsuki sent these two was because of Xing Liu's contingency plan.

Before leaving, Xing Liu had repeatedly reminded Uchiha Itachi to make sure this particular team was assigned.

Otherwise, his mission to capture the opponent would not have gone so smoothly.

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