Farewell and Reunion

Sensing the two unfamiliar and enormous Chakra, Terumi Yurika's breathing quickened and her face turned pale with shock.

"Calm down, Yurika!" Chojuro gripped her arm tightly, his firm gaze meeting the girl's eyes as he calmly said, "Try to sense the enemy's location, possible identity, and any other information more carefully."

The sensory ninja took a deep breath and recovered with Chojuro's help.

She closed her eyes, sensing the Chakra of the unfamiliar intruder not far away. Her lips trembled slightly as she slowly said, "The opponent is about 2,300 meters directly in front of me, approaching at an angle towards us! They shouldn't have noticed us yet, but it will be difficult in a few minutes!"

"By the way, they seem to be using a wide-range Ninjutsu, probably a reconnaissance Ninjutsu... Yes, they're also looking for the Three-Tails!"

Chojuro's pupils contracted slightly.

"Besides the Mist Ninja, is there another force searching for the Three-Tails?" Chojuro thought with a chill.

Anyone who trespasses into this place without notifying the Mist Ninja is definitely up to no good and is an enemy, not a friend!

Even if the other party is from Konoha...

No, if people from Konoha suddenly appear here, it can only mean they have ulterior motives and are trying to seize the Three-Tails. The fragile friendship between Konoha and Mist Ninja would then be completely destroyed...

Can you confirm their identities?

"One of them might be Kisame Hoshigaki, the missing-nin from back then. I conducted a simulated sensory experiment with Kisame Hoshigaki when I was doing sensory training..." the girl said solemnly, her expression grave. "I haven't sensed the other one, but he seems to have the air of a puppeteer."

There is only one puppeteer in the Akatsuki with Kage -Kage Level strength.

"It's Sasori of the Red Sand and Kisame Hoshigaki..." Chojuro said coldly, gazing into the distance, "The Akatsuki members are here too!"

"Dawn?"

The ninjas were startled, their expressions changing drastically.

The infamous and ferocious power of Akatsuki is something the Mist Ninja, who have suffered so much for so many years, understand best.

"What do we do? Should we fight Akatsuki?" Uncle Hino asked in a low voice.

Chojuro glanced coldly at the crowd.

The team he led was not weak in terms of combat strength; they could easily survive against wild Tailed Beast, but they had no chance of winning against S-rank missing-nin who were stronger than Tailed Beast.

Moreover, there are sensory ninjas in the team who are not very strong in combat and need to be protected.

"Fighting them is pointless," Chojuro said indifferently in a deep voice. "Besides, even if we risk our lives, we can't defeat these two."

"Then... let's retreat," he said without hesitation.

A decision made without any Bloody Mist.

Hino frowned and objected, "I also agree with the decision to retreat... but they're too close. We'll probably be discovered before we get far!"

"So we need someone to cover the rear, or someone to lead Akatsuki to the other side..." Chojuro's voice was extremely cold.

"And this task is one that only I can complete."

He slowly unfastened the large sword from his back and solemnly handed it to Chōjūrō.

"If I don't come back... then you will inherit the Twin Blades Hiramekarei, understand, Jūrō?!"

Then she looked up again. "Mr. Hino, please take care of them... and my younger brother."

Uncle Hino looked at the still young man in front of him and nodded heavily.

"Brother!" Chōjūrō refused to take the broadsword, his eyes brimming with tears as he choked out, "Don't go... come with us, we can get through this!"

"Obey orders, Chunin Chōjūrō!" Chojuro snorted coldly, glaring at his younger brother. "Don't forget the oath you took when you became a true ninja!"

He shoved the knife into his brother's arms, his face expressionless, and turned away.

The typical tough guys of the Mist Ninja are those who, knowing they will die, remain calm and face death with unwavering resolve.

Just like Chojuro.

Even when facing an opponent he could not possibly defeat, the man felt no panic—because he was prepared to die; the worst outcome was simply to perish on the spot.

"Oh, right." Before leaving, he turned to look at Yurika and said, "There's something I need to tell my teacher, your cousin, for me."

"I didn't die from persecution or infighting in the village, but from protecting the village, my companions, and my younger brother..."

"I'm very proud of that. Please thank your sister for me; thank her for changing the village."

"Please take good care of Jūrō for me, teacher."

The young captain spoke solemnly.

Yurika stared blankly at him, then suddenly lunged forward and kissed the astonished man on the lips.

"You won't die." The girl clenched her fists tightly, her voice choked with sobs. "Your Water Release so powerful; even if you can't win, you can slip away from the seabed. You just need to buy us five minutes, and we can get away from here!"

The man's icy expression melted at this last moment.

"Thank you for your kind words..."

A faint smile curved the corners of Chojuro's lips.

He knew perfectly well the power of Kisame's Water Release and Samehada. Facing Kisame, he had no chance of resisting or escaping! Even delaying for five minutes would be extremely difficult.

But in the end, Chojuro got nothing.

Then he vanished from everyone's sight in Body Flicker Technique.

A sunny morning in Konoha.

After giving instructions to each of the three children in Sakura Haruno's Team, the sun was high in the sky, and it was noon.

After saying goodbye to the students, Sakura Haruno patted her empty stomach, realizing it was almost lunchtime.

"Let's go find Sasuke; he should be off work by now."

The girl stretched and walked out of the training ground, speaking leisurely.

Sasuke has been working in the Interrogation Division recently. The working hours there are very regular, just like those of urban white-collar workers in his previous life. Unlike ordinary ninjas, who have free time after completing a mission and can arrange their time as they please.

After finishing, Sakura Haruno turned around and glanced at Naruto, only to find him following behind, looking at her thoughtfully.

"What's wrong?" She was slightly taken aback and asked directly.

"Nothing."

Naruto blinked and chuckled, "I just thought, Sakura, when you were giving Konohamaru some pointers earlier, the way you looked reminded me of Kakashi-sensei!"

"Huh... really?"

"Hmm." The boy nodded, a hint of emotion in his voice. "You haven't changed in a year, Sakura, you've changed so much!"

"However, apart from the fact that you became a teacher, upon closer inspection, it seems like nothing has changed." He scratched his head and glanced at Sakura Haruno with a smile.

As for the external changes, his facial features and appearance have matured a bit, he has grown taller, and his figure... is probably not so flat anymore.

The changes are not significant.

The internal changes include a further increase in speed and strength, a more abundant Chakra reserve, and the mastery of more and stronger techniques; there has also been progress in terms of personality and willpower.

The changes are significant, but they won't be immediately apparent.

It was only after Naruto that Sakura Haruno looked back on her growth over the past year and realized that she had come a long way again.

"Sakura is still Sakura."

Naruto chuckled. Whether it was being tapped on the forehead for doing something wrong or receiving care from her as a comrade, Sakura Haruno's attitude towards him never changed.

For Naruto, that was enough.

"Naruto has changed a lot!" Sakura Haruno said with a smile, sizing up the fox spirit boy.

Besides growing noticeably taller, the most important thing is that his demeanor has shed its childishness and become more mature.

Jiraiya take Naruto on trips for the sake of sightseeing.

Having seen more of the world, Naruto's perspective was no longer limited to just one country or one village, and his childishness diminished considerably.

"You're becoming more and more like a mature man," she laughed.

--Aside from a particular fascination with Sexy Ninjutsu.

They chatted casually along the way and soon arrived at the foot of the Anbu building.

"What are you doing here?" The black-haired boy happened to come out and was a little surprised to see Sakura Haruno in the doorway.

"I need to talk to you... Guess who I brought with me?"

Sakura Haruno wrote mysteriously.

"Huh?" Sasuke was slightly taken aback, then looked behind Sakura Haruno, where a figure in a horizontal robe suddenly darted out.

"Long time no see, Sasuke!"

With a bright smile on his face, the orange-haired boy roared and jumped in front of Sasuke.

"It's Naruto..."

Sasuke maintained a calm expression, his face expressionless, and said coolly, "Long time no see... You're finally back."

The black-haired boy tried hard to control his excited emotions, putting on a calm and collected demeanor.

But the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

[Second update. Please consider subscribing and voting, as I've been writing until 2 AM and still persevering with this update! Writing is really hard work, so I hope everyone can support the author with official subscriptions.]