Uchiha Shisui

Naruto came back to his senses. He didn't hesitate or make a fuss, but stepped forward, took the clothes from Jiraiya, and tried them on.

Jiraiya really did have a good eye. He'd picked out three outfits for Naruto: a black-and-white casual set, a black robe, and a casual shirt paired with cropped jeans. They all fit pretty well.

After seeing Naruto try them on, Jiraiya paid and led him out. Since they were close to the Land of Hot Water, nearly every inn and hotel had a hot spring. After asking Naruto what he thought, Jiraiya took him to the hotel with the nicest surroundings and booked a suite.

After dinner, Jiraiya was leaning against the edge of the hotel's hot spring, sipping his drink. Naruto, who had never been in a hot spring before, was splashing around in the water.

Watching Naruto choke on a mouthful of spring water every now and then, Jiraiya laughed and asked, "Naruto, what do you want to do once peace comes to the Shinobi World?"

"I'll probably travel around with Hinata." Naruto stopped splashing, thought for a moment, and answered earnestly.

Although he already had a plan to bring peace to the Shinobi World, putting it into action and making it succeed would take a long time. For now, there were only him and Jiraiya. Minato and Kushina were still in the Sealing Space and hadn't been revived, so they couldn't be counted on yet.

He already had the initial funds to get the plan underway. The supplies he'd seized from that bandit hideout a while back were still piled up in a cave. But he had too few people at the moment. His top priority was to recruit more people who genuinely wanted peace in the Shinobi World. Only with enough people would the plan be easier to carry out.

There were plenty of civilians who wanted peace in the Shinobi World, but very few shinobi. The early stages of development would also be dangerous, so he could only recruit shinobi for now. Civilians could join once the organization had grown to a certain size.

In fact, Naruto already had someone in mind. He just needed to wait for the right moment before having Jiraiya try to recruit him.

Hearing Naruto bring up Hinata again, Jiraiya asked, "Naruto, why do you care so much about Hinata?"

At the question, Naruto sobered up a little. "Pervy Sage, you saw the Memory Orb, so you should know what my life in Konoha was like, right? Hinata was the first person who didn't treat me like a monster. And she's always so gentle. Being with her makes me feel relaxed and happy. That's why Hinata's the person I love most."

Hearing Naruto talk about his life, Jiraiya sighed. It really had been hard for Naruto to grow up in those conditions. But when he heard what Naruto said next, he laughed and scolded him, "You brat. Of all the things to pick up, you chose to follow your parents' example and fall in love young."

Naruto chuckled, then said, "Pervy Sage, there's something I'd like your help with."

Jiraiya hurriedly replied, "Just tell me what it is. No need to be so formal."

"Yeah. I want you to go back to Konoha in a while and take Hinata and me on as your students. That way, you can take us out of Konoha Village openly and legitimately," Naruto said.

Jiraiya sighed. "Naruto, Hinata Hyuga is one thing, but you know I already said I'd take you away once, and the Third didn't agree. I could take you by force, but I still can't bring myself to go against the Third."

"Don't worry, Jiraiya-sensei. I'm not going back to Konoha to take revenge anytime soon. And someone else will deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi when the time comes. As for the reason you'll give for taking me away, I've already come up with one," Naruto replied.

Hearing Naruto say that, Jiraiya's expression relaxed. "Oh? Let's hear it."

Naruto thought for a moment about where to begin, then said, "Pervy Sage, after switching to the new cultivation method, there shouldn't be anyone alive in the Shinobi World who can beat you. So I can tell you some things now. Where should I start?"

"Let's start with the Akatsuki. You know about the Akatsuki, right, Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded to show that he did.

Naruto continued, "The current leader of the Akatsuki is actually your former student, Nagato Uzumaki. Its first leader was Yahiko. After Yahiko died, Nagato re-established the Akatsuki. One thing to note: many people were behind Yahiko's death, including Madara Uchiha, Hanzo, and Shimura Danzō."

At the mention of those names, Jiraiya's expression turned serious.

"Although the re-established Akatsuki still wants peace in the Shinobi World, its ideals are different from what they were when Yahiko was alive. Yahiko's death changed Nagato's thinking. He wants to bring the entire Shinobi World to heel through force, making people understand how hard peace is to achieve by making them experience pain."

After a pause, Naruto thought for a moment and added, "Actually, Nagato didn't awaken the Rinnegan himself. It belonged to Madara Uchiha. Madara implanted the Sharingan in Nagato, then died not long afterward. The Akatsuki has already recruited several rogue ninja. The two people I fought that day were members: one was Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from Takigakure, and the other was Hidan, a rogue ninja from Yugakure."

"Several years ago, Nagato killed Hanzo. The Akatsuki's base is now in Amegakure."

After Naruto finished speaking, Jiraiya remained silent. Seeing this, Naruto continued, "Pervy Sage, I'm telling you all this not so you can go to Amegakure right now, but so you can use the Akatsuki as an excuse to take me out of Konoha. We'll have to go to Amegakure sooner or later, but not now."

Jiraiya looked up at Naruto in confusion.

"The Akatsuki is searching for clues about the Tailed Beasts. They want to use the Tailed Beasts' power to achieve their goal," Naruto explained.

Naruto stopped there. Jiraiya understood. It was indeed a good excuse. He nodded and said, "That would let me take you out of Konoha openly and legitimately. So when should we head back?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "We need to go to the Land of Fields first. Before returning to Konoha, I want to find Orochimaru. That'll save us a lot of trouble."

"I've also heard that Orochimaru is in the Land of Fields. But why are you looking for him?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto watched Jiraiya for a moment, then answered seriously, "To bring him under control. My dad must have told you, right? Their bodies are in Orochimaru's hands. I have to get them back. And my dad died using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, so his soul is still inside the Death God. To revive him, we first need to release his soul. Orochimaru has already figured out how to do that."

Hearing that Naruto only wanted to control Orochimaru, not kill him, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. They were the same age and had been on the same team. They'd been through so much together. If Naruto wanted to kill him, Jiraiya didn't know whether he could bring himself to let it happen.

Naruto spoke again. "Pervy Sage, you should spend some time studying the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining. I've collected a batch of Chakra Conductive Metal for you to use in forging."

"Don't worry. I won't train in martial techniques for the next few days. I'll focus on studying the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining," Jiraiya replied with a nod.

The two of them got out of the hot spring. Naruto was due to begin training, while Jiraiya planned to go back and study the Encyclopedia of Artifact Refining.

As soon as they returned to their room, a Shadow Clone that had been keeping an eye on Shisui Uchiha contacted Naruto through Kurama. "Shisui Uchiha just escaped from Root's headquarters, and Danzo is chasing him with his men."

As soon as he got the message, Naruto turned to Jiraiya. "Pervy Sage, we have to go back to Konoha right away."

Seeing Naruto's serious expression, Jiraiya quickly asked, "What happened?"

"We have to save someone. Pervy Sage, do you remember what the person I fought that day looked like?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded to show that he remembered.

"Then transform into his appearance. Once we get back to Konoha, don't reveal your real identity. And this time, leave Danzo alive. Don't kill him yet," Naruto continued.

The two of them used the Transformation Technique. Jiraiya turned into Kakuzu, while Naruto took Hidan's appearance. Naruto checked them over and saw no flaws. After leaving a Flying Thunder God Mark in the hotel room, he used the Flying Thunder God to take Jiraiya to the mark he'd left near Root's exit. Then he activated his sensory abilities to track Shisui Uchiha.

By then, Shisui Uchiha had been chased by Root ninja to a cliffside and was surrounded, with Danzo standing at the front.

After Shisui Uchiha's eyes evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan, he awakened the Kotoamatsukami. He told the Konoha High Command about it. At the time, many members of the Uchiha Clan were dissatisfied that the village had assigned their clan to a remote area and given them only the duties of the Konoha Military Police Force, so they decided to rebel.

Shisui Uchiha didn't want to see another war break out in the village. He hoped to use Kotoamatsukami's power to put an end to the conflict.

Kotoamatsukami could be called the strongest mind-control technique. It could change an opponent's way of thinking, and there was no way to break it. It only required the user to look at their enemy. Shisui Uchiha had originally planned to use Kotoamatsukami to control Fugaku Uchiha, the one organizing the rebellion within the Uchiha Clan.

After Shisui Uchiha reported the situation to Shimura Danzō last time, Danzō told him to go back and wait for orders. After Shisui Uchiha left, Danzō found Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two advisors to discuss the matter.

In the end, they all agreed to wipe out the Uchiha Clan. That suited Shimura Danzō perfectly. His desire for the Sharingan had been growing for a long time.

Tonight, he sent someone to summon Shisui Uchiha. While Shisui Uchiha was reporting on the clan's situation and had let down his guard, Shimura Danzō suddenly attacked and gouged out his right eye. Shisui realized that the village had made its decision, so he fought his way out of Root's headquarters.

But with one eye gouged out by Danzō, he was still caught by Root's ninja.

When he was cornered at the cliff, he decided to fight with everything he had. He had nowhere left to run.