After entering Konoha, the group made their way noisily to the Hokage Building. Once they had turned in their mission at the Mission Hall, Hanfu and Might Guy went up to the Hokage Office to report what had happened in Takigakure.
But Namikaze Minato interrupted them with a wry smile. "Actually, I received a letter from Takigakure's leader a few days ago, so I already know most of what happened."
"Lord Hokage, Akatsuki's next targets are the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails. They could invade the village again at any time. What do you plan to do?" Might Guy asked solemnly.
"I do have a plan!" Namikaze Minato nodded slightly, a sly smile slowly forming at the corner of his mouth. "I plan to send the Eight-Tails back to Kumogakure!"
So he planned to divert the danger and make Akatsuki invade Kumogakure?
Hanfu's eyes lit up. The Fourth Raikage was always insisting that Akatsuki couldn't possibly collect the Tailed Beasts. Now Akatsuki would personally visit Kumogakure to oversee the recovery of a Tailed Beast. The spectacle was sure to be magnificent!
"Hanfu, you'll play an important role in my plan."
Namikaze Minato paused, then explained his plan in detail...
The next morning.
Hanfu did as he had promised. He got up early, woke Karin, then sent her to wake Naruto and Sasuke so they could begin training.
First, they strapped on ten kilograms of weights and started running. They ran from morning until noon, then from noon until night. After sunset, Hanfu had Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin jump rope, lift weights, throw straight punches, and practice sidekicks. He copied Might Guy's training regimen to the letter. Of course, since they were each carrying ten kilograms of weights, the workload was definitely greater than it had been in the previous few days!