Uchiha Itachi, the one blocking the way

With Naruto Uzumaki stepping in to ease the tension, Jiraiya presiding, and Kakashi Hatake deliberately staying on the ship to avoid Chiyo seeing his face and being upset, the exchange between the Konoha Support Force and the Sunagakure went smoothly.

As Tsunade's disciple, Sakura Haruno is very skilled at neutralizing the poison of Sunagakure Puppeteer. She easily cleared Kankuro's poison and awakened his consciousness.

After Kankuro awoke, he immediately got out of bed, found his broken puppet, and took out a piece of black cloth from it.

This is a fragment he took from Sasori of the Red Sands's clothes during the battle.

Kankuro said with difficulty, "It's Hiruko, it's the missing-nin Akane—"

Chiyo placed a hand on Kankuro's shoulder, stopping him from continuing, "Kankuro, we already know. Someone took his picture."

Kankuro relaxed, but his body, severely damaged by the toxins, could no longer support his spirit, and he fell back into a coma.

Having obtained specific intelligence about the Fifth Kazekage's abduction, along with traceable clues, the Support Force naturally set off immediately to pursue the enemy.

As a representative of Sunagakure, Chiyo also joined the pursuit.

Jiraiya the old woman who trembled with every step, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh, "Chiyo, how did you grow so old?"

"Back then, the three of us were bullied by you in the Land of Rain, and we were completely helpless."

"Especially the poison you used was incredibly potent. If it weren't for Tsunade's superior medical skills, I would have died in a sewer in the Land of Rain when I was only twenty."

Chiyo snorted coldly, not even deigning to speak to Jiraiya.

But the old lady's aloofness only lasted until she boarded the Flying Ship.

"Konoha White Fang! Hatake Sakumo!"

The moment Kakashi Hatake's face, Chiyo eyes stopped blurring; she instantly and miraculously recognized that the person with half his face covered was White Fang Rebirth.

"Die, Konoha White Fang!!"

Her legs stopped trembling, and with a flick of her wrist, she revealed three puppets, immediately engaging Kakashi in combat.

In that instant, Naruto Uzumaki was following Chiyo, transformed into a golden streak of light and appeared between the puppet and Kakashi Hatake.

After confirming that Chiyo had changed her target to him because he was blocking her path, Naruto activated [Swift Style].

To everyone else, Naruto Uzumaki simply twitched his hair slightly, and the three puppets that lunged at him turned into countless fragments.

Chiyo opened her eyes and retreated in horror, but "unfortunately" stepped in a pile of bird droppings. Her aging joints and nerves betrayed her brain, and she fell backward.

Just before the back of her head hit the ground, Naruto Uzumaki placed a soft pillow down, deflecting the force of the impact and saving Chiyo's head and life.

At this moment, Naruto revealed his signature warm smile and said, "Be careful, Elder Chiyo."

"You're the only Sunagakure Ninja on this ship. If you fall and are nearly killed, it'll be difficult for Konoha to explain."

"Also, the Konoha Ninja you're targeting is our Team 7's instructor, Kakashi Hatake Jonin, not his father Hatake Sakumo Jonin."

"If you insist on playing dumb and using the excuse of not being able to see faces clearly to cover up your intention to take advantage of the situation and hurt someone, then I have no choice but to report it truthfully to my teacher."

Chiyo hesitated for a moment before asking, "Isn't Kakashi Hatake your teacher?"

Naruto replied with a smile, "I already said, Kakashi-sensei is our Team 7's instructor."

The old woman asked with a gloomy face, "So, your teacher is more powerful?"

Naruto proudly replied, "Of course, my master, Shazo."

Chiyo's gloomy expression vanished instantly. She rolled to her feet, silently walked to the other side of the Airship, sat down facing the railing, and never looked back at the Konoha Ninja behind her.

Chiyo wasn't insane. She dared to attack Kakashi Hatake and yell at Naruto Uzumaki because of her seniority, but she would never dare to say a harsh word to the Fifth Hokage Shazo.

Because Shazo really knows how to fight, and the entire Sunagakure combined couldn't defeat him.

So Chiyo could only sulk by herself.

Naruto Uzumaki picked up a pillow, exchanged a glance with Kakashi Hatake, raised an eyebrow and smiled, then went into the cabin.

He took the pillow from his cabin and needs to return it.

Naruto stopped inside the cabin, then looked at Tenten standing by the cabin door. He looked down and was tapped on the back of the head by her.

Tenten laughed and scolded, "You silly little brother, how could you throw your sister towards the door? It's scary, you know!"

Naruto Uzumaki grinned and said, "Hehe, Tenten- neechan won't let me Bad Luck."

Tenten glared at him. "You're lucky this time. I vented some of the Misfortune on Chiyo first, otherwise you'd be in big trouble."

Just now, when Naruto rushed into the cabin, Tenten was about to enter the cabin as well.

So he picked up his senior sister, placed her by the door on the inside of the cabin, and then went to get the pillow.

Despite Naruto's best efforts to be quiet and gentle, Tenten's attempts to cooperate after noticing his movements, such high speed still caused a great deal of overload, making people feel uncomfortable.

Given Tenten's current state, even the slightest discomfort will naturally trigger a "Misfortune Reflection," bringing bad Naruto Uzumaki Bad Luck.

Fortunately, Tenten's "Five Spirits Seed the Foundation" technique was already well-developed, which allowed her to control the Misfortune to some extent, preventing Naruto from suffering a head injury while running at high speed.

Therefore, Naruto returned to Tenten immediately after the incident, letting his senior sister hit him on the head as a small punishment to end the Misfortune connection.

Although it may seem casual, it is a very important and serious ritual. If it is not completed in time, one may be stuck in a state of Misfortune for several months.

Naruto Uzumaki experienced what it felt like to be "Misfortune." His life was completely disrupted by unexpected events. He could choke on a sip of water and pass out. It was a living hell.

Within the currently known scope, only the Fifth Hokage Shazo, could completely ignore [Misfortune] and avoid any unexpected events.

According to the Fifth Hokage, [Misfortune] is not considered a powerful effect; its influence is limited to the fixed target itself and does not involve the world or fate.

The effect of [Misfortune] is to change the target's attention and amplify the possibility of distorted actions; essentially, the target defeats itself.

As long as you can have perfect control over your body, without any distraction or distortion of movement, the effect of [Misfortune] will not be effective and will not produce any results.

Tenten and Naruto found Shazo's description very appealing, but no matter how they tried to practice according to his method, they couldn't master it.

In the end, Naruto had no choice but to give up, and then shouted, "Sensei is amazing! Long live Sensei!"

However, the Tenten [Misfortune Reflection] is indeed very troublesome, as it can be triggered by minor bumps and scrapes in daily life.

Shazo could only devise this simple ritual based on the "Five Spirits Seed the Foundation. As long as Tenten is willing to cooperate, the [Misfortune] can be easily dispelled.

After returning the pillow, Naruto Uzumaki went back to the deck with Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura Haruno, Tenten, Neji Hyuga.

Rock Lee stood with them, watching the Aburame Torune pheromones from the scraps of cloth using Kikaichū.

The Kikaichū, scattered across the sky and fields, quickly found the same pheromones and, in accordance with Kankuro's pursuit of the enemy, the Konoha Airship began to track the Kikaichū.

Sakura Haruno asked, "Aburame Clan- senpai, so many days have passed, is it still possible to track it by scent?"

Aburame Torune replied with a mechanical indifference, "Even in the desert, as long as there isn't a strong wind, we can track it within ten days."

Rock Lee exclaimed, "This is even more amazing than Kiba Inuzuka's nose!"

Aburame Torune and said, "No, my Kikaichū are no match for the Inuzuka Clan's Ninja Dog, nor for their Ninja, when it comes to scent tracking."

"It is only in tracking that occurs over a long period of time that Kikaichū have an advantage, as they can collect odor information from a wider range."

Rock Lee's eyes widened, and he exclaimed loudly, "So Kikaichū are this powerful!"

The Konoha Chunin were chatting animatedly, but the two squad leaders didn't join in; they huddled together whispering.

Naruto Uzumaki asked, "Senior, did you use [Bad Luck] or [Nightmare] on Chiyo today?"

Tenten Yi Xiao: "It's just stepping in bird poop, of course it's Bad Luck."

Naruto was overjoyed upon hearing this and excitedly asked, "You can use the active Fate Secret Technique now? Did Master unseal it for you?"

Tenten nodded and said, "Yes, before Shazo set off again, he specially lifted the seal on me. He also said that we might encounter a powerful enemy this time, and no matter who the enemy is, we cannot let our guard down."

Naruto Uzumaki's smile vanished, but his excitement grew stronger, to the point that his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He licked his lips and said, "I wonder what kind of enemy they are. I hope they are as strong as possible so that Kurama and I can unleash our full power and truly feel where our limits are."

Tenten: "You brat, you're a real liar."

He seems to be all smiles and gentle, as if he'll never get angry, but in reality, he's a warmonger who's always thinking about how to fight.

"Aren't you afraid of encountering an enemy you can't defeat, being defeated by them, or even losing your life?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not afraid at all. There aren't many enemies I can't beat."

"And with Kakashi-sensei and so many Jonin, plus your seal being broken, I really don't know what kind of monster could possibly defeat you."

Naruto Uzumaki covered his mouth with his hand and whispered in Tenten's ear, "My teacher told me that if I encounter an enemy I can't beat, I should cling to Might Guy Guy's leg."

Tenten was stunned. "Huh? How could it be Teacher Kaido?"

"No matter how you look at it, Teacher Kaido is no match for Kakashi- senpai. Why would Shazo let you ask Teacher Kaido for help?"

"This shouldn't be happening."

Naruto Uzumaki said seriously, "Absolutely right, Might Guy -senpai is the person our teacher said we can rely on in the end."

"And that's not all."

"The teacher also said that even if Kakashi-sensei and the others can't save me, someone else will come to my rescue. Only if all else fails will I have to ask Might Guy for help."

"Following the teacher's habit, he always sorts them from weakest to strongest, so the hidden rescue Ninja must be stronger Kakashi-sensei and the others."

"But why is Might Guy, who's with Kakashi-sensei, considered even stronger by the teacher?"

After thinking for Tenten, Tian Tian said, "Teacher Kaido doesn't know Ninjutsu or Genjutsu; he only knows Taijutsu and the Eight Gates Formation. The Eight Gates Formation must be incredibly powerful."

"I remember now, the training of the [Eight Gates Formation] is to open the gates within the body; with each gate opened, one's strength increases."

Naruto Uzumaki Satori, "I remember, Master once mentioned a term called 'Eight Gates Released Formation,' which must be the exclusive skill of [Eight Gates Formation]."

Tenten's mouth opened slightly. "That should be it."

"But I really didn't expect that Teacher Kaido would be such a powerful Ninja."

"Sigh, what a pity, I can't learn Teacher Kaido's Taijutsu at all."

The Airship was fast enough to catch up with the scent within a day in less than an hour, making it unsuitable for high-speed illegal tracking.

The rescue team then jumped off the Airship, with Aburame Torune as the vanguard and Neji Hyuga following behind, and began the ground pursuit.

Before long, they encountered enemy resistance.

Chiyo was overjoyed. Her biggest worry was that the journey would be smooth and that they would eventually find the Fifth Kazekage's body.

The fact that there was resistance proves that the Fifth Kazekage is still alive, and as long as he is alive, there is a chance to save him.

Chiyo has a killer move up her sleeve.

After dealing with several low-level thugs, the Akatsuki took strong countermeasures.

The Akatsuki Ninja in their Akatsuki's Black Cloak with Red Clouds stood in the middle of the desert, their powerful aura and terrifying killing intent forcing the Support Force to halt.

What shocked the Konoha Ninja even more was that the person blocking their way possessed a pair of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan; it was none other than the long-unseen Konoha missing-nin Uchiha Itachi.

"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Jiraiya."

"Long time no see, Kakashi- senpai, and... little brother."

Itachi warily observed the rescue team before him, appearing calm and exuding an air of expertise, but deep down he had already given up hope.

Uchiha Itachi cursed inwardly: What kind of rescue team consists of six Jonin and one Kage-level Ninja? This is clearly a team capable of wiping out a village!

Even if he were to attach his consciousness to Outer Member, forming Special Clone with one-third of the combat power, and even if his true body were here, facing the lineup led Jiraiya, he wouldn't be able to hold out for long despite fighting desperately.

Jiraiya clicked his tongue. "As expected of the Akatsuki, but you alone can't stop us."

Chiyo glanced at him briefly before closing her eyes, saying with schadenfreude, "Is that Uchiha Itachi Jonin back then? He's so young. Konoha truly is a blessed land that produces geniuses."

The Tomoe in Uchiha Itachi's eyes spun rapidly, unleashing terrifying ocular power and oppressive aura.