Ten days later.
Somewhere in a dark cave.
Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's eyeballs slowly closed, and the three Chakra chains that bound Jinchūriki also shattered inch by inch, turning into light spots and dissipating.
The bodies of Yugito and Roshi fell back to the ground at the same time, throwing up a cloud of dust.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Pain's voice is still emotionless.
His Rinnegan swept across the two breathless figures below, and finally landed on the other people on the fingers of the stone statue.
"The meeting is dismissed."
After the words fell, his figure faded out of the shadow first.
The others also cut off the Chakra connection, and the fingers of the stone statues in the cave became empty one after another.
Land of Earth, a hidden stronghold somewhere.
Itachi slowly opened his eyes.
Among the scarlet Sharingan, three Tomoe rotated quietly, then disappeared, returning to those dark and deep eyes.
He stood up and looked outside the cave.
Outside the cave are sparse woods, and several low hills can be vaguely seen in the distance.
He looked at it for a moment, turned around, picked up the bamboo hat leaning against the wall, and walked out of the cave.
"Are you leaving, Mr. Itachi?"
Kisame was leaning on the rock wall on the other side, with Samehada lying across his knees.
Seeing Itachi's movements, he also stood up and lifted Samehada onto his shoulders.
"Hmm."
Itachi's voice was very soft.
"Go somewhere."
Kisame didn't ask why, he just grinned, showing his sharp teeth.
"Then Sasuke will definitely come to this place, right?"
Itachi didn't answer and just walked out of the cave.
The night wind blew his long hair and the red cloud on the corner of his clothes.
Land of Lightning, a station somewhere.
Kakuzu was sitting in a dark room with a map spread out in front of him.
His finger pointed at a location marked "Fire Temple" on the map, and a cold light flashed in his eyes that had always been emotionless.
"Chiriku..."
He whispered the name, as calmly as if he were reading a menu.
"The bounty is good."
Hidan sat cross-legged on the bed opposite, wiping the bloody sickle out of boredom.
Hearing this, he raised his head and grinned, showing his white teeth.
"Fire Temple? Are there many people there?"
"Quite a few."
"That's great!"
Hidan put the sickle on his shoulder, his eyes full of excitement.
"You can kill as many people as you want, anyway, they are all sacrifices to Lord Jashin!"
Kakuzu didn't answer, he just folded the map and stuffed it into his arms and stood up.
Hidan then jumped down from the bed, moved his neck, and made a clicking sound.
"Let's go, Land of Fire hasn't been there for a long time."
Land of Fields, somewhere in the forest.
Deidara stood on the giant clay bird, with his hands in his pockets, overlooking the endless green forest beneath his feet.
Tobi squatted behind him, shaking his head from side to side, like a curious monkey.
"Senior Deidara, where are we going?"
"Looking for that Nine-Tails brat."
Deidara narrowed his eyes, with a hint of unnoticeable excitement in his tone.
"Last time at Sunagakure, Kazekage was attacked and kidnapped by brother Kisame, and we didn't catch anything.
This time, I have to perform well."
"What about Senior Scorpion?"
"He will come over later. He should still be at Land of Wind now."
Deidara controls the giant bird and accelerates forward.
"Let's go first and play with that Nine-Tails brat."
"Play?"
Tobi tilted his head.
"Isn't it arresting?"
Deidara's mouth twitched. "... Shut up."
"Okay."
Land of Fire, Konoha.
A training ground at a waterfall somewhere deep in the mountains.
Water splashed everywhere and buzzed like a saw.
Naruto was naked to the waist, standing by the pool below the waterfall.
His right hand was raised above his head, and a high-speed rotating Chakra ball was suspended above his palm.
The sphere is no longer an ordinary Rasengan, but is composed of countless fine Chakra needles, with a new technique of jagged light on the edges.
Rasenshuriken.
Jiraiya stood under the shade of a tree in the distance, looking at the Chakra ball that was still spinning, his eyes slightly narrowed and his expression serious.
Kakashi stood beside him, the exposed eye narrowed slightly.
Yamato folded his arms on his chest, his face expressionless, but there was a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"That boy..."
Jiraiya spoke, with a hint of relief in his voice.
"He really got it done."
Naruto smashed the Rasenshuriken hard against the waterfall.
"Rasengan!!!"
"Boom--!"
The roar was deafening.
The huge water curtain was torn apart, and the bursting air waves boiled the water surface dozens of meters around.
The waterfall stopped flowing for three full seconds before it resumed flow.
Jiraiya's eyelids twitched.
"This power... seems to be stronger than Big Ball Rasengan?"
Kakashi nodded.
"And that thing is not only a collection of Chakra, but more like a storm composed of countless fine needles."
"If it hits the human body directly..."
Yamato's voice was calm, but it made the two people present silent for a moment.
Naruto ran over from the pool, his face full of excitement, sweat mixed with water drops flowing down his face.
"Pervy Sage! Did you see it? Isn't it very powerful?"
Jiraiya put away his sighing expression and reached out to pat him on the head.
"It's okay, it's barely enough to catch the eye."
"Is that okay?"
Naruto covered his head and muttered dissatisfiedly.
"It's obviously very powerful, okay!"
"Okay, okay."
Jiraiya waved his hand and looked at Kakashi.
"Let's put aside the research on that technique for a while. I have something to tell you."
Kakashi put away his lazy posture and looked a little more serious.
"Lord Jiraiya Please say."
Jiraiya was silent for a moment and then slowly spoke.
"I plan to leave Konoha for a while."
Naruto was stunned for a moment.
"Where to go?"
"Investigate Akatsuki."
Jiraiya's tone was very calm.
"It's been a little too quiet recently. Those people may have been preparing for something big."
"I can't wait in the village any longer."
Naruto's lips moved, trying to say something, but in the end he only managed to squeeze out one sentence.
"Then when will you come back?"
Jiraiya glanced at him and didn't answer.
Naruto opened his mouth again, but this time no sound came out.
Jiraiya walked up to him, stretched out his hand, and patted his wet head.
"Well, I don't know about that."
"But when I come back, I will teach you a new ninjutsu."
He paused and his voice lowered a bit.
"How is your relationship with that guy Nine-Tails... going?"
Naruto lowered his head and was silent for a moment.
"It's still the same."
"Every time I enter the spiritual world, it scolds me, taunts me, and says it wants to take over my body and so on."
He raised his head, with a rare hint of seriousness in his blue eyes.
"But I talked to him a lot."
"He ignored me at first, then said I was annoying, and then... even though he still scolded me, he at least knew how to talk to me."
Jiraiya blinked, seeming a little surprised.
"Are you really trying to resolve Nine-Tails's hatred?"
Naruto scratched his head.
"That's what the guy in the mask told me. He said, let me first find a way to resolve the hatred of that guy in my body, and then go find Sasuke."
"I didn't quite understand it at the time, but after thinking about it a lot, I probably understood it a little bit."
He clenched his fists and looked firmly.
"If I can't even deal with the guy in my body, why should I deal with Sasuke?"
Jiraiya looked at his serious face and suddenly smiled.
There was relief in that smile, but also a hint of indescribable emotion.
"You kid... have really grown up."