What Is This Chakra-Filled Rain, Exactly...?

Somewhere in the Land of Water.

Thick cumulonimbus clouds covered the sky and blocked out the sun, creating a dense fog in the forest where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Under the dark clouds, a fierce storm lashed the earth like a curtain of water, while in the distance, waves surged and crashed.

Jiraiya stood at the entrance of the cave, carrying a huge scroll on his back, gazing into the distance through the rain.

"The storm has lasted for so long... The power of the Three-Tails is truly terrifying."

Hinata and Naruto sat around the fire, fiddling with the tempting aroma of grilled fish. After hearing Jiraiya's words, Hinata turned and asked, "So when do we make our move?"

Two days have passed since we arrived in the Land of Water, and Konoha has already located the Three-Tails' hiding place. Kirigakure is in charge of making contact with Jiraiya, and I've heard they've already prepared the sealing ritual.

Jiraiya explained, "The Three-Tails is currently hiding at the bottom of a lake in the northeastern part of the island. It would be unwise to fight the Three-Tails if it doesn't come out on its own."

"The people of Kirigakure are trying to figure something out!"

Naruto exclaimed, "Then what should we do?"

Jiraiya sighed and said, "The sealing of the Three-Tails is handled by Kirigakure. Our task is to guard against a sneak attack from Akatsuki while they are sealing the Three-Tails."

After saying that, Jiraiya walked back to the cave, plopped down by the fire, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and said with a grin, "Alright, let's not talk about that now. This aroma... tsk tsk, it should be cooked by now, right?"

Naruto lowered his head slightly, thinking about Sasuke.

Sasuke also appeared near the Three-Tails, presumably searching for Itachi Uchiha's whereabouts. If Sasuke has taken his revenge...

Thinking of this, Naruto felt even more heartbroken.

Sasuke can no longer return to Konoha. Even if Naruto could Sasuke back, Sasuke would only face life imprisonment.

Naruto glanced at Jiraiya and couldn't help but ask, "Pervy Sage, you and Orochimaru..."

Jiraiya hearing this, Jiraiya put down the already grilled fish, patted Naruto on the shoulder, sighed, and began to comfort Naruto.

Hinata listened while eating grilled fish... Since you're not going to eat, then I won't be polite!

Jiraiya an idealist, and the future he hoped for was undoubtedly beautiful. However, he was completely unable to realize his ideals; he lacked both the ability and a well-developed plan.

But Jiraiya never gave up hope. Even when the road ahead was uncertain, he would search for the only way out.

Such a person is undoubtedly worthy of respect!

Thinking of her conversation with Jiraiya at the Konoha Gate a few days ago, Hinata fell silent for a moment.

Hinata's words may have been spoken on a whim, but they also Hinata true thoughts.

Three years after graduation, Hinata had seen a bit of the world, and with her previous life's insights and analysis of "Hokage," Hinata had gained a certain understanding of this world.

Without a doubt, a world cannot progress without people like Jiraiya and Naruto.

Even though this world has many flaws and is not perfect in many ways, we should not blame others or complain about the past. Instead, we should adjust our mindset and strive to create a better future.

Since we made mistakes in the past, we should now strive to correct them.

'Smack smack...'

"Wow! Hinata, you're so cunning!" Naruto suddenly complained loudly, "You ate all the grilled fish by yourself while I was talking to the Pervy Sage!"

Hinata: "..."

Hearing Naruto's shouts, Hinata snapped out of her daze, looked at the fish bones scattered on the ground, and felt slightly embarrassed.

Hinata's embarrassment wasn't because she had stolen Naruto and Jiraiya's food; Hinata didn't care about that at all.

What truly embarrassed Hinata was that... she had decided not to overeat in front of others and tried her best to pretend to be a gentle and lovely lady, but she didn't expect to be exposed so easily.

'Boom—'

Suddenly, the area outside the cave brightened, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. In the howling storm, the rain intensified.

"This rain..."

Hinata turned to look at the cave entrance, then exchanged a glance with Jiraiya: "Pervy Sage, can you feel it? It seems like there's chakra in this rain!"

Jiraiya and walked to the cave entrance, reaching out to touch the rainwater. His already furrowed brows furrowed even more.

Hinata, what do you think?

Hinata: I'm not Yuan Fang!

Looking to his left and right, he realized that besides Naruto left in the cave.

Hinata immediately understood Jiraiya's predicament; discussing matters with Naruto was definitely the most foolish choice.

After thinking for a moment, Hinata said, "This should be some kind of sensory ninjutsu. It seems that there are unknown enemies hiding in this area!"

Naruto wondered, "Why is it an enemy? Using rain sensing... could this be the ninjutsu of Kirigakure Village?"

"It's not impossible!"

Jiraiya and said, "But I have fought against the ninjas of Kirigakure before, and they should not have this kind of ninjutsu. Moreover, manipulating such a large area of rain would require an enormous amount of chakra."

Although Jiraiya phrased it delicately, his meaning was obvious... The people of Kirigakure simply couldn't do such a thing.

Is that Pain?

Hinata thought to herself, "Could it be that my previous guess was wrong? The Akatsuki doesn't want to use the Kirigakure Village to seize the Three-Tails at all, but instead wants Pain to do it himself?"

Jiraiya called out softly, "Hinata!"

"Clear!"

Activating the Byakugan makes the black and white world exceptionally clear, but the rain carrying chakra hinders the Byakugan's detection... This is the Byakugan's limitation.

"No!"

Hinata said dejectedly, "The rain was mixed with chakra, so I couldn't see anything at all. Even the people from Kirigakure and the Three-Tails disappeared from my sight!"

"Not good!"

Jiraiya's voice was heavy, interspersed with rapid breathing. "The Akatsuki should take action!"

"This rain mixed with chakra isn't for sensing, but for blocking the Byakugan's detection!"

"Hinata, Naruto! We need to get to the lake where the Three-Tails is right away!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiraiya rushed out of the cave. Hinata and Naruto exchanged a glance and then followed closely behind Jiraiya, running towards the lake where the Three-Tails was.

'Gurgle...'

Even amidst the raging wind and rain, Hinata could clearly hear Naruto's stomach rumbling.

Turning his head, Naruto was looking at Hinata with a 'sorrowful' expression.

Hinata shrugged helplessly and said loudly, "The situation is urgent. Even if I leave you some food, you won't have time to eat it. Rather than waste food, I'd rather eat it all myself and replenish my own energy..."

The rest of what was said was unintelligible.

'Boom—'

A deafening explosion rang out, and even through the thick rain, Hinata two companions could clearly see the Water Release shooting into the sky in the distance, followed by a tremor in the ground.

Jiraiya urged repeatedly, "We need to speed things up!"