"…" Uchiha Itachi appeared silently in the clearing.
"So leisurely and elegant, huh?" Naruto chuckled. "Sasuke's been hunting you down like a madman, and yet you've got time to come see me."
"…" After a moment of silence, Itachi spoke, "I have something to say to you."
"Why should I trust you?" Naruto sneered. "Showing up here alone—pretty bold of you."
"Why are you so attached to my younger brother?" Itachi asked flatly. "He's a traitor."
"Well~" Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It's not about attachment, per se. But... after raising a daughter for so many years, having her kidnapped out of nowhere—yeah, I'm a little pissed off."
Ferret.
The sky suddenly darkened as countless crows burst into the air.
Tsukuyomi.
In an instant, Naruto's body blurred—and stepped out of the illusion unscathed.
"You…" Itachi's voice wavered slightly with surprise.
Naruto grinned. "A mere Shadow Clone…"
Before the sentence finished, Itachi's body dissolved into a flock of crows and vanished.
Naruto's eyes shifted. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun as a black crow materialized in his vision and flew outward. Naruto caught the crow in his hand as it gradually transformed into an eyeball.
"Heh, finally back after all these years," Naruto muttered with a faint smile, placing the eye into a glass vial. "Summoning Technique!"
Boom!
A small portion of Katsuyu appeared beside Naruto.
"Deliver this to Tsunade," Naruto instructed, handing the glass vial and a sealed letter to Katsuyu.
"Understood, Master Naruto!" Katsuyu replied, before vanishing in a puff of smoke, returning to the Shikkotsu Forest.
Meanwhile...
"So, the intel says the Akatsuki leader is hiding in Amegakure, huh?" Tsunade asked as she set down her sake cup.
"Yeah." Jiraiya nodded solemnly. "A civil war tore that village apart years ago. Two factions formed, and the Akatsuki took control of one. About seven or eight years back, the so-called demigod of the village—the one who ruled with fear—was overthrown and killed... by the Akatsuki."
"You mean… Hanzō of the Salamander?" Tsunade murmured, lost in thought.
Naruto's voice echoed in her memory:
"You're impressive, Hanzo. The way you manipulate Water Style techniques… I, Naruto, acknowledge you as the strongest in Water Release!"
Tsunade snapped back to the present with a shake of her head.
"In any case," Jiraiya continued, sipping his drink, "I'll infiltrate the village alone to confirm the situation. Once we have solid intel, we'll strategize."
"Are you stupid?" Tsunade growled. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"
"I'm one of the Legendary Sannin, remember?" Jiraiya grinned. "Besides, you don't want a repeat of what happened to Naruto three years ago."
Tsunade's hand clenched around her cup as she remembered the image—Naruto returning from battle, drenched in blood, surrounded by death, but not a single wound on his body…
"Don't worry." Jiraiya laughed to ease the tension. "I'm not going to die."
"You don't understand…" Tsunade whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Those guys… The Fourth Hokage should've been you."
"I was never fit to be Hokage." Jiraiya waved her off. "I'm too much of a free spirit."
"You just regret not being able to stop Orochimaru from defecting." Tsunade's words hit like a blade.
"Yeah… but it's no use dwelling on the past," Jiraiya replied quietly. "It's done."
Tsunade wanted to say more, but the weight of Naruto's unresolved future, his unpredictable decisions… it all lingered too heavily. She finally sighed.
"We followed Namikaze together—"
"In the end," Jiraiya interrupted with a mischievous smile, "the flat-chested Hokage became the full-figured Hokage. Time really changes things."
Duang~!
Tsunade slammed her fist into Jiraiya's head, sending him crashing face-first into the table. Her temple throbbed with fury.
"Seriously…" Jiraiya groaned, rubbing his bruised face. "We can't even drink in peace with you around."
"Do you want to die, Jiraiya?!" Tsunade barked.
"Hey hey~!" Jiraiya raised his hands in surrender. He reached behind to adjust the large Summoning Scroll on his back. "Anyway… it's time for me to head out."
"Come back alive," Tsunade said firmly, locking eyes with him. "If you die too…"
"Will you cry for me?" Jiraiya teased. "Nah, I bet you'd only shed tears for big brother."
"You bastard!" Tsunade clenched her fist again.
"Just kidding, just kidding!" Jiraiya chuckled. "You know, my brother once told me—'A man only grows stronger after he's been dumped.' I think he was just trying to scam me, but… if a man can't laugh through the pain, is he really a man?"
He pulled a familiar book from his pocket, shaking it in front of her. "I remember everything my brother taught me."
"Idiot…" Tsunade muttered under her breath, staring at him. "Do men really have to be so brave? Just like Naruto."
"Well~" Jiraiya smiled wistfully. "Same principle, right? Didn't my brother always say, happiness isn't a man's pursuit."
"Hmph." Tsunade turned away. "I heard he fooled you back in the day."
"Yeah, yeah." Jiraiya laughed again, slinging the scroll across his back. "Well then… goodbye."
He turned and walked slowly into the night.
Tsunade sat down on a nearby bench, silent, watching his figure fade into the distance.
Bang~! A puff of smoke exploded beside her.
"Lady Tsunade!" Katsuyu's voice echoed from the smoke.
Startled, Tsunade looked down and saw a glass vial and a sealed letter at Katsuyu's side.
"Master Naruto asked me to deliver this to you."
Tsunade opened the letter and read the contents, then looked at the eye sealed inside the vial.
"So that's how it is…" Tsunade whispered, then chuckled softly. "You knew everything, you bastard…"
She took a swig of sake and called out, "Come out!"
An Anbu in a cat-mask appeared immediately. "Lady Tsunade."
Tsunade handed over the vial and letter. "Deliver these to the address immediately. Top priority. Full speed. Not a second wasted!"
"Understood!" The Anbu vanished instantly.
Elsewhere...
"You all wait here," Sasuke ordered, eyes serious. "I'll investigate the rest of this place."
"Is that guy Sasuke going to be alright?" Suigetsu asked, watching him walk away.
"Huh?" Karin blinked. "You're worried about him?"
"He's going straight to search the Akatsuki hideout," Suigetsu muttered. "If he's right…"
"You think Itachi might be there?" Jūgo asked, stepping closer.
"Who knows." Suigetsu shrugged. "But he's definitely not easy prey."
Inside a dark cave...
Sasuke stepped into the murky shadows of the Akatsuki stronghold. His eyes scanned the cavern.
"We meet again." A voice echoed through the darkness.
"Who's there?!" Sasuke snapped, body tense.
Thump!
His heart pounded as a figure emerged from the shadows.
"It's me." Uchiha Itachi turned slowly, red eyes glowing.
"My foolish otōto..."
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