The one following Naruto and Jiraiya was Orochimaru. He had none of his earlier arrogance left. When the two men ahead stopped, he respectfully stood behind Naruto and Jiraiya.
Since the six people on the ground were unconscious, they didn't bother keeping their conversation from them.
Naruto said, "Orochimaru, these subordinates of yours have plenty of potential. I won't kill them. Keep leading them, just as you did before."
Orochimaru respectfully replied, "Thank you, sir."
"Once they wake up, tell them you've joined our organization and that they're joining with you. Then I need you to capture some White Zetsu." Naruto looked at Orochimaru as he spoke.
Impure World Reincarnation required living sacrifices—in other words, living people.
Minato and Kushina couldn't accept using innocent people for Impure World Reincarnation, and White Zetsu were the ideal sacrifices.
Although they looked human, spoke like humans, and had thoughts of their own, they weren't actually human. So there'd be no burden on his conscience for using them as sacrifices.
"Once you've captured some White Zetsu, take them to the Land of Whirlpools. Find the Uzumaki Clan's shrine and get the Death God Mask. Then stay in the Land of Whirlpools and figure out how to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal," Naruto continued.
He'd just read Orochimaru's memories and learned that Orochimaru had studied the Dead Demon Consuming Seal a long time ago, but had made little progress. Then he'd found a new line of research, and his study of the Reaper Death Seal had fallen by the wayside.
Hearing Naruto's instructions, Orochimaru quickly nodded in agreement.
Naruto then turned to Shisui Uchiha. "Shisui, sorry to trouble you, but go with Orochimaru."
He took out a Kunai bearing a Flying Thunder God Mark and handed it to Shisui. "Take this Kunai. If you're in danger, channel a little chakra into it and I'll sense it. Then I'll bring the Pervy Sage with me and come straight to you."
"Sure, no problem. You and Lord Jiraiya can go take care of your business without worrying about us." Shisui Uchiha took the Kunai, tucked it into his ninja pouch, and smiled at Naruto.
That wrapped up the mission in the Land of Fields. They'd confirmed that Orochimaru had Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki's bodies, and they'd brought Orochimaru under their control. Now Naruto could return to Konoha.
Once the others had finished their work and brought the Kunai to the Land of Whirlpools, he'd be able to head there right away.
At last, he'd accomplished half of what he'd set out to do. Naruto couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
As long as he brought Hinata out of Konoha this time, he could go to the Land of Whirlpools and develop the organization in peace.
After giving everyone their instructions, Naruto didn't wait for the six unconscious people to wake up. Orochimaru was under his control, and Shisui Uchiha was there too, so he took Jiraiya and used the Flying Thunder God to return to the valley.
The valley wasn't marked by name on any map, so Naruto had named it Wind-Listening Valley.
Back at Wind-Listening Valley, Naruto led Jiraiya into the cave. One of his Shadow Clones was using a Crystal Ball to keep an eye on the Uchiha Clan.
The other was holding a handful of grass and stuffing it into Hidan's mouth. Hidan was hanging inside the cave by his hair, which was tied to a rope.
Though Hidan was only a head now, he still seemed full of energy. After swallowing a mouthful of grass, he cursed furiously. "Damn it... I'll...!" He kept repeating the same few words.
When the two Shadow Clones saw Naruto enter, they both nodded to greet him.
Jiraiya glanced at the Crystal Ball one of the Shadow Clones was using and asked, "Is that the one from the Hokage's office?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Hiruzen Sarutobi used to spy on me with it all the time, so I came up with a way to take it."
Jiraiya looked tempted. "Could I borrow it for a couple of days?"
"Pervy Sage, you're the head of the organization now. Shouldn't you be a little more mindful of your image? Besides, if you take the Crystal Ball, what about the Uchiha Clan? We don't know exactly when it'll happen." Naruto gave him a disdainful look.
Jiraiya awkwardly rubbed the tip of his nose. "Ahem. I just haven't done any research in ages, so I'm feeling a little nostalgic."
Naruto looked even more contemptuous. He turned both thumbs down. "If you're that nostalgic, go find Tsunade. The organization's going to need a head of medical affairs anyway."
"Ahem. We'll talk about that later. Later," Jiraiya said at once when Naruto brought up Tsunade.
Naruto spread his hands. "You're the head of the organization, so recruiting people is definitely your job. At most, I'll go with you when the time comes."
Jiraiya's expression turned a little uneasy. He might look young now, but he was still getting on in years. What would he do if he confessed to Tsunade and she turned him down?
Naruto said no more. Everything in the cave was in order, and there was nothing unusual in Wind-Listening Valley, so it was time to return to Konoha.
After dropping Jiraiya off somewhere close to Konoha, Naruto vanished. He could have taken Jiraiya straight back to the village, but he hadn't.
He needed Jiraiya to sneak into Konoha on his own, and to make sure the Sensory Barrier detected him during the infiltration.
Naruto returned to his home. Seeing everything so familiar, he immediately dashed to his bed and lay down.
But he didn't just lie there. It wasn't time for the Ninja Academy to let out yet, so his Shadow Clone was still in the classroom, sitting beside Hinata.
Ignoring Mizuki as he taught at the front of the room, the Shadow Clone asked Hinata, "Want to go out tonight?"
Hinata had been listening to the lesson, but as soon as Naruto invited her, she agreed. They hadn't gone out since their last date, when they'd watched a movie. Lately, Naruto had only been walking her home.
She was so excited that she didn't even catch what Mizuki said after that. She spent the whole time wondering what she should wear that evening.
Soon it was time for school to let out. The Shadow Clone told Hinata to go home first and said he'd come find her later.
Although the Shadow Clone had been far away from Naruto during this time, the changes to Naruto's body had appeared on the clone too.
His height and hair, for example. This unusual situation had caught Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention, but in the end, he'd attributed it to Naruto's Uzumaki Clan bloodline awakening.
Before long, Naruto's Shadow Clone returned home. Naruto dispelled it and absorbed the memories it had gathered.
He changed into the robe Jiraiya had bought him, checked his reflection, and headed out.
This time, no one on the street pointed at Naruto. He'd changed beyond recognition in the past few months—not only had he grown taller, but his hair had changed too. His old spiky hair had grown quite long, and in another couple of months he'd be able to tie it back.
Naruto had also started attending school, and his Shadow Clones rarely appeared on the streets. None of the villagers recognized him.
Why was Naruto growing his hair out? Obviously, so he could learn Jiraiya's Wild Lion's Mane Technique.
As soon as Naruto had seen Jiraiya use the Wild Lion's Mane Technique in his memories, he'd decided he had to learn it. It was just too cool.
When Jiraiya heard Naruto wanted to learn his technique, he clapped him on the shoulder and laughed, telling him he had excellent taste.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya had already infiltrated the village. Since he'd deliberately let himself be detected, the ninja on duty at the Sensory Barrier had picked up his presence.
After reporting the result to his superior, the superior told him not to worry about it, then left.
He quickly made his way to the Hokage's office and knocked. When someone inside called for him to enter, he went in.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting in his swivel chair, smoking his pipe. Seeing that the visitor was in charge of the Sensory Barrier, he asked, "What is it, Ryosuke?"
The ninja Hiruzen Sarutobi called Ryosuke belonged to the Yamanaka Clan. Since the Yamanaka Clan had deep expertise in sensing, they were responsible for most of Konoha's Sensory Barrier.
The Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi Clans were all loyal to the Hokage—not specifically Hiruzen Sarutobi, but whoever held the position. That was why Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted them completely.
Yamanaka Ryosuke knelt on one knee and respectfully reported, "Lord Third, the Sensory Barrier detected someone infiltrating Konoha just now. We checked his identity and confirmed that it was Lord Jiraiya."
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. "I see. You can get back to work."
Once Yamanaka Ryosuke had left, Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured, "Six years. He's finally back. I wonder why he's returned this time."
Six years ago, Jiraiya had returned to Konoha because of Minato Namikaze and his wife. He'd asked to take Naruto away, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had refused, saying he would take good care of Naruto. Jiraiya had then left Konoha.
In the six years since, aside from seeing the novels he'd written, Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't heard a single thing about him.
As for whether Jiraiya would blame him for the way Naruto had lived after he left, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't worried at all.
Jiraiya was the most naive of his disciples. Hiruzen Sarutobi had been pulling the wool over his eyes since he was a child. If Jiraiya confronted him, he could just say he'd kept Naruto to protect him from Minato Namikaze's enemies. That would be enough to get him off his back.
After a moment's thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up his pen and wrote a letter. Then he called, "Cold-Blooded."
A masked ninja appeared in the office. His mask looked a little like a cat's, with two catlike ears, red markings on either side, and red patterns around the eyes. The eyes on the mask were black, and the mouth was turned down in a slight frown.
Beneath the mask was Kakashi Hatake. After losing his father and then his friend one after another, Kakashi Hatake's heart had gradually grown darker. His teacher, Minato Namikaze, had seen this and assigned him to the Anbu, hoping the work would help him forget his grief.
With his formidable strength, cold demeanor, and bloody record, he'd gradually earned the title Cold-Blooded Kakashi in the Anbu.
After the Fourth Hokage died, Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken the Hokage Position again and brought the Anbu entirely under his control. He'd also assigned Kakashi Hatake to serve at his side.
As Minato Namikaze's student, Kakashi Hatake was Jiraiya's grandstudent. He was the ideal person to deliver the letter.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi sent someone else, Jiraiya might not even give them the time of day.
"Find Jiraiya in the village and give him this letter," Hiruzen Sarutobi instructed, handing the letter to Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi Hatake took the letter, replied, "Yes, sir," and left the office.
Before you continue