Almost Discovered

(Bring in some White Zetsu to cheer things up)

Ino was startled to see her mother. That had really scared the life out of her just now QAQ.

"Ino? What are you doing by the streetlight at night?"

Ino's mother asked. A woman's sixth sense told her that something was definitely up.

What should she do?

Should she say something?

Could she just say that she'd been spacing out?

Yeah, that was it. She'd been spacing out.

Ino came to her senses, smiled at her mom, and wrapped both arms around hers.

"Wasn't I out having fun with my classmates? I just got home and was staring at the streetlight."

Was that so?

Ino's mother eyed her precious daughter suspiciously.

Then she glanced around at the dark, empty surroundings. There was no one else in sight.

Only then did she let her suspicions go.

"Hehe o(￣ヘ￣o＃), I bet you were thinking about some handsome guy just now."

Hidden in the shadows, Josuke couldn't help admiring how close she'd come to guessing right. Not a handsome boy, though—it was a handsome man. (Smirk or narcissism.)

That had been a close call. If he'd been a second later, Ino's mom would've seen her precious daughter getting it on with a handsome young man.

Ino frantically waved her hands.

"How could I? You know what I'm like. Sure, I love handsome guys, but I'd never do something like that!"

Ino's mother didn't care about that. She wasn't worried about her daughter; she just wanted to see which pig had tricked her.

Josuke: ^(*￣(oo)￣)^...

No kissing, no hugging, and no holding hands.

Wait, no. Puppy love was wrong. She had to be vehemently opposed to that kind of behavior.

Ino's mother had quite the imagination.

Right!!

Next time her close friends came over, she'd tell them that her daughter was dating behind her back and had stopped listening to her parents. She'd even tell the neighbors when she went out.

It'd be even better if she had a photo. She could show it to all her close friends.

Her daughter had definitely found herself a handsome young man.

No, no. Why was she thinking about this?

Fortunately, all of Ino's mother's remarks were just a woman's wild imaginings. Still, her imagination was impressive...

Remembering what her daughter had said,

she felt a little disappointed that Ino didn't have a boyfriend.

"You still haven't found a boyfriend?"

"Huh?"

Ino was the one left speechless.

Realizing she'd misspoken, Ino's mother frantically tried to explain herself.

"I mean, it's better that you haven't. I don't want my precious daughter getting taken by some pig."

Josuke suffered another personal attack.

Well, he was a pig, he admitted.

After Ino and her mother chatted for a while, they went inside. Once he confirmed that no one was around, Josuke jumped down from the roof. That had really been a close call...

The little incidents of everyday life added a touch of color to it.

Back in Konoha after so long,

Josuke felt a rush of emotion. He was getting ready to become an outstanding Rogue Ninja.

?

Wait, what did he mean, an outstanding Rogue Ninja?

But when he thought about how his three-year agreement with Orochimaru was coming due...

Naruto would definitely come after him, so he had to sneak off while Naruto and the others were out on a mission. That way, he'd be less likely to get caught.

Josuke frantically tugged at his hair. He had no idea what to do.

Maybe when they went to rescue Gaara?

Perhaps. He might as well stop overthinking it.

Akatsuki Organization (copied and pasted, with a few edits)

Its two leaders were Yahiko, who was controlled by Nagato as Pain after his death, and Nagato. The organization was originally founded to bring peace to their country.

Later, a scheming, enraged child caused Yahiko's death, driving Nagato into darkness. Nagato himself became the one truly pulling the strings behind the organization.

Its members wore black cloaks embroidered with red clouds, straw hats adorned with wind chimes, and rings marked with their codenames (the members' codenames were modeled after the names of Chinese constellations). They wore nail polish, and their Forehead Protectors had a slash through them, marking them as Rogue Ninja.

Take off your clothes and die.

How many floors do you have to carry a bag of rice up?

Akatsuki's operations officially began, and their first target was Gaara's One-Tail.

The people of Konoha received word that Gaara, the leader of Sunagakure, had been captured by Akatsuki.

Akatsuki was a powerful organization made up of S-rank Rogue Ninja from various countries. Every member had Kage Level strength.

Taking all the circumstances into account, Tsunade ordered Team 7 to go rescue Gaara.

Upon receiving the mission, Josuke and Naruto eagerly rolled up their sleeves.

It had been three years, and they hadn't done a single mission. They had no idea how strong they were now.

This rescue mission was a great opportunity

for Naruto and Josuke to gain more real combat experience.

After a swift journey, they soon arrived at Sunagakure.

What Josuke saw was a Sunagakure in ruins. Deidara's explosions had been devastating.

He really was an artist.

Half the village had been blown to pieces.

The arrival of the four of them without delay gave the people of Sunagakure some peace of mind.

With Sakura's help, the poison in Kankuro's body was quickly treated. Kankuro woke up weakly and handed Team 7 one of Sasori's garments.

He must have salvaged it during his earlier battle with Sasori.

Josuke also got to see the "greatest beauty in Naruto," the wife of countless villagers—Chiyo!

Damn!

You had to admit, Naruto fans were into that kind of thing. Josuke had no complaints.

With Chiyo joining them as well,

the rescue team had grown to five members, making for an exceptionally impressive lineup.

They got right to it.

Kakashi led Team 7 to a plain nearby.

There, they ran into Kisame and Itachi.

To be precise, they were both substitutes. But Josuke knew that from reading the original story. Of course, he couldn't just say it outright.

If that little punk Danzo found out, wouldn't he drag him into Root?

That damn little punk Danzo.

But just because he couldn't say it didn't mean Josuke couldn't figure it out during the fight. Right? Heh.

The two substitutes didn't act anything like Itachi and Kisame.

They didn't even bother with a basic greeting.

They immediately attacked Kakashi, Josuke, and Naruto.

But the attack was easily dodged.

Seeing his chance, Josuke sprinted closer to the fake Itachi, formed a Chidori in his hand, and sent it flying at him.

The fake Itachi just stood there like an idiot.

The Chidori pierced him clean through. After the fake Itachi died, the substitute technique was undone, and everyone finally realized

that the two of them had only been substitutes, whose strength was nowhere near that of the real pair.

Kakashi seized the opportunity and quickly took care of the weakling.

Meanwhile, Might Guy's team had also arrived.

The two teams joined forces and set out to rescue Gaara together.

After tracking them for a while longer, they reached Akatsuki's nearby base.

Neji used his Byakugan to see what was going on inside and reported it all to Kakashi.

Inside, the Akatsuki members were holding a summary meeting, working on cutting-edge 8G technology...

(Please, future Hokages, give me a follow and support me with some love! Your support will surely protect the best Konoha (^o^)/)