CHAPTER 210: CHAPTER 210 : COMMON ENEMY!

Of course, Uchiha Itachi was the only one with a faintly amused look in his eyes.

Did they really think that just by joining forces, they could stand a chance?

On the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, Uchiha Haru had faced off against five Kage-level shinobi. Even back then, he’d held his own.

Now, even if they combined their strength—stronger now than back in the Hidden Leaf—Uchiha Haru had grown too. And he hadn’t just grown stronger—he had advanced at a frightening speed.

It was to the point where even Itachi, who once believed he could at least hold Haru off for a time, now suspected he’d be crushed in an instant if they were to fight again.

It was a grim truth. Uchiha Haru’s strength had reached a level where sheer numbers couldn’t compensate.

That is, of course, assuming the masked man didn’t step in.

But if the masked man, now wielding the Rinnegan, joined the battle—well, that was another matter entirely.

Itachi had no clear read on the masked man’s true strength. He hadn’t known it then, and he didn’t know it now.

What he did know was that the masked man was dangerous—absurdly so. His strange space-time ninjutsu allowed him to become intangible, to vanish into some unknown dimension and reappear at will. It was the perfect defense, bordering on the divine.

And now that he possessed the Rinnegan, the masked man’s full capabilities were even more difficult to gauge.

With the masked man on their side, perhaps they did stand a chance against Uchiha Haru.

Perhaps.

But Itachi didn’t believe the masked man would agree to such a plan. That man had always been reluctant to reveal his true power, even to his closest allies in Akatsuki. How else could he maintain the illusion that he was Uchiha Madara?

Sure enough, just as Itachi expected, after Deidara spoke, the masked man shook his head.

"While that plan isn’t entirely impossible," he said coolly, "there’s no need to act so rashly. I have a better way to handle this."

"What way?" Deidara asked, voice sharp with impatience.

The masked man didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced around the room at each Akatsuki member present, then asked slowly, "Do you all believe Uchiha Haru is strong?"

"Of course he is!" Deidara snapped without hesitation.

Was that even a question?

Even their former leader, Pain—who had wielded the Rinnegan—had fallen to him. What more proof did they need?

The others remained silent, but their expressions betrayed a mix of confusion and tension. Why was the masked man asking such a thing?

"Yes, Uchiha Haru..." the masked man murmured, a rare note of reflection in his tone. "When I first encountered him in Konoha, he was far from the monster he is now."

He paused, lost in thought for a moment.

"He’s grown too powerful. It’s almost unbelievable."

Back then, he’d had the opportunity to eliminate Haru. He’d chosen not to—for reasons even he wasn’t sure of anymore. Maybe it was arrogance. Maybe it was the idea that Haru could be molded into an asset.

But now... now that choice was costing them dearly.

If Haru hadn’t intervened during the Chūnin Exams in Konoha, Tendo Pain—wielding the Rinnegan—would have crushed the village. No one present could have stopped him.

With the Leaf destroyed, gathering the tailed beasts would’ve been simple. They could’ve summoned the Gedo Statue and prepared the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

They could’ve created a dream world—one where Rin was still alive.

But that dream was dead now.

And it was Uchiha Haru who had killed it.

Time had passed. Regret and speculation were meaningless.

Now he had only one path left: act. Erase Uchiha Haru completely.

The original plan to make Haru a weapon of Akatsuki had failed. He had become a wild card—too dangerous to leave alive.

And so, eliminating Haru was the real reason he’d summoned the Akatsuki members today.

The others seemed to grasp this as well. Even those who had doubted the masked man’s identity could not deny his strength.

Whether he was truly Uchiha Madara or not didn’t matter anymore.

What mattered was that this man had earned their fear and respect. He was powerful—more powerful than any of them.

And if even he spoke of Uchiha Haru with such caution, it only reinforced just how dangerous Haru truly was.

The masked man watched as the mood in the room shifted. Tension. Unease. Grim acknowledgment.

Perfect.

Then, changing his tone, he said slowly, "But there’s no need for concern. The reason I gathered you here today is because I have a solution. A way to deal with Uchiha Haru... without engaging him directly."

Gasps rippled through the group.

"We’re not taking action?"

"If we’re not, then who else can deal with Uchiha Haru?"

Sasori’s voice was cold as always, but the doubt in his words was clear.

He couldn’t understand it. There were only a handful of truly powerful shinobi left in the current ninja world. And due to deeply ingrained prejudices between villages and factions, these individuals rarely stood united. Their strength was fragmented and scattered.

How could such an alliance of misaligned powers possibly stand against Uchiha Haru?

More importantly, they all knew how terrifyingly strong Uchiha Haru had become. So why would any of them willingly make an enemy of someone like him?

Deidara shared Sasori’s confusion. His brow furrowed, and he couldn’t make sense of the situation either.

Uchiha Itachi remained silent, watching calmly, while Kisame’s expression was composed and confident. He believed in the masked man. He believed in the promise of the Infinite Tsukuyomi—the dream of a perfect world the masked man had shared with him.

He believed that the masked man would be the one to guide them toward that future.

The masked man’s voice, calm and authoritative as always, cut through the tension.

"This brings us back to the question we started with: Is Uchiha Haru strong?"

"Of course he’s strong—so strong it’s outrageous!" Deidara snapped, unable to deny it.

He was never one to admit that others were stronger than him, but Uchiha Haru? That was a different story.

Haru’s power was overwhelming, to the point of despair. He was on another level entirely, and even someone as prideful as Deidara couldn’t muster the confidence to catch up to him.

The others nodded in silent agreement. Not all of them had fought Haru directly, but that didn’t matter. His strength was something they all understood—deeply and without question.

"Yes... how could someone like that not be strong?" the masked man continued slowly.

"But sometimes, being too strong can be a curse."

He paused, letting the words sink in.

"When one becomes too powerful, it breeds jealousy. It causes fear—especially when the individual’s strength outweighs the influence and backing behind them."

He was speaking of Uchiha Haru, and the Hidden Mist Village behind him.

Uchiha Haru’s strength was undeniable. During the recent Chūnin Exams in Konoha, the five great nations and the smaller villages all witnessed firsthand just how terrifying Haru had become.

But what about the Hidden Mist Village?

Before the Uchiha Clan had joined Kirigakure, the Mist was in shambles—shrouded in darkness and infamous throughout the ninja world. Countless talented shinobi had been driven out of the village, or killed under the brutal rule of the "Blood Mist."

Even within Akatsuki, two of their own—Kisame and Zabuza—were remnants of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and both had left Kirigakure in rebellion.

The Hidden Mist had suffered deep, grievous wounds.

Only recently, with the arrival of Uchiha Haru, had the village begun to stir back to life. A new energy, a new momentum had begun to surge through Kirigakure.

But it was still just the beginning.

The village had shaken off its darkness, shaken off the decay that plagued it for decades. But let’s not forget—Kirigakure had never been the most powerful among the Five Great Nations, even at its height.

After years of violence and bloodshed under the tyrannical rule of the Fourth Mizukage, the village’s strength had plummeted.

Others might not understand this clearly, but the masked man did.

He had once controlled Yagura Karatachi—the Fourth Mizukage himself—and through him, the entire village. He knew the inner workings of Kirigakure better than anyone.

He knew just how fragile the village still was beneath the surface.

Frankly, if the Hidden Mist weren’t so geographically isolated—separated by vast ocean from the mainland—and if it weren’t for the scarcity of resources that made the territory less appealing, Kirigakure might have already been erased from the map.

Now, with someone like Uchiha Haru propping them up, the contrast became all the more dangerous.

An overwhelming individual—backed by a weak, unstable village.

That contradiction was the problem.

The Hidden Mist Village lacked size, resources, and military strength. If they wanted to grow stronger, they’d need to expand—outward and aggressively.

And that expansion would place immense pressure on the other nations.

These nations—the current powers that held wealth and influence—would never willingly surrender their dominance.

Which meant only one thing.

A new Great Ninja War was inevitable.

Maybe it hadn’t happened yet. But it would.

And if not? Then it would be provoked.

Uchiha Haru, combined with a rapidly revitalizing Hidden Mist Village, was a ticking time bomb.

A bloodstained future was coming, and the masked man was determined to be the one pulling the strings.

He wasn’t planning to make a move himself. Nor would he rely on Akatsuki to launch a direct assault.

No—he would use the entire ninja world.

This was his strategy for dealing with Uchiha Haru.

The Akatsuki members present exchanged uncertain glances. They were beginning to understand... but did they truly grasp what he meant?

They couldn’t be sure.

They were all trying to figure it out—what exactly was the masked man implying?

That one man’s strength, when unmatched by the power behind him, would inevitably spark conflict?

That the true war would not be fought by them, but by nations pushed to the edge by fear and envy?

The masked man said nothing more.

He had said enough.

He could see it clearly—the Akatsuki was stable now. They had a shared goal. They had direction.

And Uchiha Haru?

He had no idea what was coming.

The masked man was certain that Haru would eventually fall—not to one man, but to the crushing weight of the world turning against him.

Strength mattered in this world, yes.

But strength alone couldn’t overcome everything.

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