A Neighbor's Daughter Is Growing Up!

Despite Tsunade's fierce resistance, Hyuga Bin ultimately didn't spend another month playing with her.

After bidding farewell to Tsunade, Hyuga Bin set off for the Land of Rain. He planned to deliver Jiraiya's previously published books to Yahiko and the other two, and also give them a heads-up. It had been less than two years until Yahiko's death in the original story.

Upon leaving the borders of the Land of Fire, Hyuga Bin changed his appearance, transforming into an ordinary farmer. He intended to operate in the Land of Rain in the most secure manner.

With his experience fighting over twenty elite Sand Ninja last time, Hyuga Bin was confident in his current strength.

He estimated he possessed Kage-level strength, and among Kage-level individuals, he was quite adept at bullying weaker opponents.

However, Kage-level strength was clearly not enough in the Naruto world.

Take the current Land of Rain, for example. The publicly acknowledged Kage-level expert was Hanzo. Hidden in the Land of Rain, somewhere underground, was Madara Uchiha, kept alive by an oxygen tube and subsisting on insects. And then there was Nagato Uzumaki, who could unleash immense power when extremely enraged.

Especially Madara Uchiha, hidden in the shadows. Even with the Rinnegan given to Nagato Uzumaki, and his body frail with age, he could potentially unleash power beyond Kage-level during combat.

To be safe, he naturally had to avoid any possibility of accidents as much as possible.

After all, if he encountered Madara Uchiha and couldn't defeat him, he'd be done for.

Mr. Lu Xun once said:

"Freedom is precious, love is even more so, but to preserve life, both can be cast aside!"

The Land of Rain was known as a weeping nation because it seemed to rain almost constantly.

As soon as Hyuga Bin stepped into the Land of Rain, he was drenched by the drizzling rain.

Fortunately, Hyuga Bin's hands were empty, and he carried no burdens. Almost all his belongings were stored in sealing scrolls.

Although sealing scrolls were expensive and their space was limited, Hyuga Bin, as a Special Jonin of Konoha, could afford a few for storing supplies.

Otherwise, carrying everything on his person when going out would severely impede his movements.

He had several sets of spare clothes alone. Add to that ninja tools, food, and other essentials, and one backpack wouldn't be enough.

Relying on his memories, Hyuga Bin made his way to the location he had agreed upon with Yahiko years ago.

After four years of development, this agreed-upon spot had become a small gathering place.

Hyuga Bin saw Nagato Uzumaki "moving bricks" from a distance.

Disguising himself, Hyuga Bin put on goggles to conceal his Byakugan and the Caged Bird before walking towards the gathering place.

At this time, besides the original three, the Akatsuki Organization had recruited over twenty more ninja, bringing their numbers to thirty.

However, these twenty-plus ninja were all Genin, and lacking sufficient ninjutsu education, their strength was far inferior to the Genin of the Great Ninja Villages.

In the original story, this batch of early Akatsuki members would eventually perish under Hanzo's blade.

Entering the gathering place, Hyuga Bin smiled and addressed Nagato Uzumaki, "Nagato-kun."

"Bin-kun, you're here," Nagato Uzumaki stopped his work and offered a shy smile, welcoming Hyuga Bin's arrival.

Nagato Uzumaki was still introverted and lacking confidence, but he had no such issues when facing friends.

"Yes, I'm on vacation recently, so I thought I'd come see you all."

"I'll take you to find Yahiko and Konan."

"Okay," Hyuga Bin nodded.

"Your organization seems to be developing quite well," Hyuga Bin said with a smile as they walked, observing the team that was beginning to take shape.

"The organization is just starting out, there's still a lot of room for improvement," Nagato Uzumaki replied humbly.

"To achieve this without any help is already quite impressive," Hyuga Bin praised without reservation.

Because Yahiko was present, the current Nagato Uzumaki was a far cry from the domineering "God of Pain" from the original story.

Before they had walked a few steps, Yahiko emerged from a room and waved at Hyuga Bin with a smile, "Bin-kun."

Having grown over the past four years, Yahiko now possessed the demeanor of a leader.

"Yahiko-kun," Hyuga Bin returned his smile.

The three met, and Yahiko led Hyuga Bin into the reception room, where they sat down. He poured Hyuga Bin a cup of water.

Hyuga Bin noticed a missing flower and asked with some confusion, "By the way, where's Konan-kun? I don't see her."

Yahiko explained, "She saw you arrive and went to the kitchen, saying she wanted to cook a meal for you."

"Yahiko-kun, hearing you say that makes me feel a bit overwhelmed," Hyuga Bin chuckled. "I'll have to check out what's being cooked later."

"Alright."

"I brought you books written by Lord Jiraiya, and he also gave me a letter to pass on to you," Hyuga Bin took out three books from his scroll and handed them to Yahiko and Nagato Uzumaki. The covers of the books indicated who they were gifted to, and inside each book was a letter from Jiraiya addressed to each of them.

"Thank you, Bin-kun," Yahiko took the books from Hyuga Bin and thanked him sincerely.

He hadn't expected Hyuga Bin to remember his words from years ago and keep his promise.

After all, given their identities, their next meeting could very well be as "enemies."

As soon as Yahiko finished speaking, a Genin appeared at the door, speaking somewhat anxiously, "Lord Yahiko, Touya needs you to handle something..."

"Alright, tell him to wait a moment, I'll be right there," Yahiko responded to the Genin, then turned to Hyuga Bin with an apologetic expression. "We've just had a few new recruits join the organization, so it's a bit busy."

"It's fine, Yahiko-kun. You go ahead and get busy. Nagato-kun, you still had things to finish too, so hurry up and get to it. I'll go see what Konan-kun is cooking," Hyuga Bin said, waving his hand with a smile.

He used to not understand how even a "village leader" in Konohagakure had endless tasks to attend to every day. Now, seeing how busy Yahiko, a mere "captain," was, he suddenly understood.

"Okay, Bin-kun. We'll have a good chat during dinner," Yahiko and Nagato Uzumaki nodded slightly to Hyuga Bin before heading out to continue their work.

Hyuga Bin took a sip of water, stood up, and walked out of the living room. Following the source of the cooking smoke, he found Konan in the kitchen, diligently chopping vegetables.

Compared to four years ago, Konan, now eighteen years old, had blossomed into a graceful beauty, ready to be plucked at any moment.

(Earlier, some friends debated whether "kun" could be used for females. I checked on Baidu a long time ago and found that it's acceptable. Many movies and anime also address girls as "xx-kun," such as Tsumatachi no Naka, Bleach, Naruto, and Mizuiro... These are all excellent anime.)