Their original plan had been to travel to the Five Great Countries, or any other nations willing to offer assistance. Jiraiya had originally intended to remain away from Konoha with Naruto for about a month, but that plan was disrupted and cut short due to the attack from Hidan and Kakuzu.
However, Tsunade had never formally declared this mission over. It remained an ongoing mission, and Naruto understood that perfectly. To him, it felt just like he was carrying out Jiraiya's long-term intelligence-gathering mission, enjoying plenty of freedom.
Honestly, that kid...
She narrowed her eyes at Fukasaku.
"I guess he didn't tell you where he was going either, huh? That means I can't send anyone to intercept him or at least provide backup."
Fukasaku grinned at Tsunade, his fondness for Naruto steadily growing.
"That's right. I don't even know where you were when you summoned me back through Shima, so I really can't help. That brat has guts just like Jiraiya—and he's just as crazy too."
A faint, tense chuckle came from Jiraiya's bed. Tsunade turned toward him. Even with all those machines attached to him, he was still quietly laughing at how Naruto had outsmarted her.
"Shut up, you pervert. If you laugh again, I'll heal you just enough to thrash you before sending you right back here."
Unable to speak, Jiraiya feebly raised his only usable arm, pointing at Tsunade, tracing a heart in the air, then pointed at himself.
Tsunade smiled at him.
"But that still won't stop me from wanting to pound you for worrying me like this..."
The old partner back-and-forth was interrupted by Fukasaku.
"I should let Jiraiya rest now, but the moment he regains mobility, I want him to summon me back. We have a lot to talk about—about Pain, about his student, and how we can prepare him properly." Jiraiya gave a slight but firm nod. "I think you should leave that kid alone for now, Tsunade. He's no fool—he knows what he's doing."
---
## Land of Rivers – Root Hideout ##
Naruto walked toward the exit of the Root base, with Sai and Maki following closely behind—one on each side. He wore a Root uniform almost identical to Sai and Maki's.
He wore a high-collared zipper shirt from the Root outfit, the hem slit open up to his abdomen, sleeveless, with black gloves worn on both hands. His left arm was bandaged and slung around his neck while his right arm exposed the communication tattoo he shared with Tamako.
Black loose pants stretched down into white greaves encasing his calves, finishing off with a pair of black ninja sandals.
His sword still rested across his back, his Forehead Protector still displayed the unmistakable Konoha symbol, and hanging from his sash was a plain white mask.
He noticed members of Root pausing in the hallway, bowing respectfully as he passed.
"Why are they bowing to me? Most of them probably don't even know who I am."
Maki looked at him expressionlessly.
"How could they not bow to someone destined to become Hokage, especially when he once was one of us?"
Naruto gave her a calm glance but didn't say anything. They walked out of the base, and Naruto realized it was hidden inside a depression on the cliffside of a valley.
The three ninja exited the canyon and stopped in the surrounding forest. Sai looked at Naruto with confusion, as did Maki.
"Where are we going, Senior Naruto?" he asked.
Naruto sighed.
"I can't just sit around doing nothing while waiting for Ero-Sennin to recover and come up with a plan against Pain. I need to figure out how to better control the Nine-Tails' chakra. I've never had the chance to talk with other jinchuriki before, so we're going to visit them. First Sunagakure, then Kirigakure, and finally Kumogakure. I believe I'll find the information I need there."
Sai nodded and pulled out his scroll, but looked puzzled when Naruto grabbed his hand.
"What's wrong?"
Naruto explained,
"We can't draw attention to ourselves. We need to avoid drawing attention for now if we want to move freely. Flying would definitely be faster, but it would make us easy targets."
Maki spoke up.
"Senior Naruto, you haven't fully recovered yet. If Senior Sai summons an ink bird to carry us, you could rest better and regain your strength."
Naruto shook his head.
"No, Maki. That would draw too much attention. If we hurry, walking to Sunagakure only takes a day."
Seeing neither of them react to his words, he rolled his eyes.
"If I'm slowing you down because of my injuries, go ahead and move at your own pace until we reach Sunagakure, understood?"
"Yes, senior," Sai and Maki replied in unison.
Naruto glanced at the two of them, shook his head, and started walking forward, signaling them to follow.
"I swear, before I get back to Konoha, I'm gonna drill some personality into both of you. Come on."
Maki stared at Naruto's back as he walked away, clearly annoyed by his comment. She and Sai followed behind.
"I do have personality, Senior Naruto."
Naruto chuckled.
"That's right. Ever since we reunited, you've talked more in these past few days than you did in the three years I knew you before. But your personality is only slightly better than Sai's."
He turned to Sai, whose face remained emotionless and unreadable as always, then shifted his gaze to Maki, whose expression was similarly indifferent—though the irritation in her eyes was unmistakable.
"I'll try harder."
"For now, let's hurry to Sunagakure before we run into trouble again."
Without another word, the three leapt into the trees and sprinted westward toward Sunagakure.
---
## Unknown Location - Otogakure Base ##
Sasuke sat alone at the center of the training ground, the bodies of several fallen Otogakure ninja scattered around him.
"I know how to find you now, Itachi," he muttered to himself, his breathing still heavy from the earlier training session.
"I know you're hunting down Jinchuriki across the world for your own ends. So I'll find them first... and make you come running to me."
Sasuke clenched his fist, lightning Chakra crackling in his palm.
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