Clearing His Name

Leaf Village, Hokage's Office.

Tsunade read the Tenchi Bridge mission report from beginning to end, her finger lingering for several seconds on the line that read, "Sai disobeyed Danzō's orders," before she turned to the last page. Yamato stood before the desk, with Naruto, Sakura, and Sai behind him. All four bore injuries of varying severity, but they were in fairly good spirits.

Tsunade closed the report and lifted her eyes. She looked at Yamato first, then past him at Sai, studying him for several seconds. "Do you know what you did?"

"I do," Sai said.

"Danzō's people are waiting outside to take you back."

"I know."

Tsunade slapped the report onto the desk, rose to her feet, and walked around it to stand before Sai. Looking down at him, she said, "By choosing to stay, you've chosen to stand with the Hokage. Do you know what that means?"

"It means I can no longer return to Root."

Tsunade stared at him for two seconds, then turned and walked toward the window. "You're staying. Starting today, you'll be assigned to Yamato's new Team 7 and officially severed from Root. Your training, missions, and deployment will all be under Yamato's authority. I'll handle Danzō."

Sai did not answer. But he lowered his head slightly, so subtly it was almost impossible to notice.

"Also, Lady Hokage, I'd like to ask you to clear Senju Yunju's name. He is definitely not Orochimaru's spy!"

Tsunade found that somewhat surprising.

"What do you mean?"

"It was what Lord Danzō told us to spread, and we always thought it was true. But after working together on this mission, I saw that Yunju wasn't what Lord Danzō said he was."

Tsunade rubbed her head and waved a hand. "Fine. I'll keep an eye on those rumors..."

Naruto's fist had remained clenched before the desk. After hearing Tsunade's words, his hand finally relaxed, and the weight that had been hanging over his heart was finally lifted.

Naruto was also happy that he had gained another companion and changed another person. The rumors surrounding Yunju would be kept under control as well.

After leaving the Hokage's Office, Naruto took the initiative to find Captain Yamato.

"Captain, I want to learn stronger ninjutsu. I want to become stronger."

Yamato looked at him in silence for several seconds, then slowly sat down. "I can try training you. I don't think you've truly developed your Wind Release nature yet. Why don't we start there?"

Naruto eagerly agreed.

Several days later, at the training grounds.

Naruto watched the air in his palm. The blue sphere of the Rasengan formed, spun, and stabilized. He could already maintain it one-handed for a long time. But this time, he tried to infuse it with Wind Release chakra—the sphere became unstable, fine cracks appearing along its surface before it exploded entirely. Naruto covered his hand and staggered back two steps, several thin bloody cuts appearing across his palm from the residual chakra.

"Again." He did not stop.

Sai sat on a bench at the edge of the training ground, a sketchbook spread open in his hands. He was drawing Naruto as he trained. The tip of his pen was somewhat unsteady, as though he were searching for the right angle...

At the border of the Land of Fire, within the ruins of a hidden waystation.

Jiraiya crouched beside an old bounty exchange. "This is another place that mysterious bounty hunter has visited. They move fast."

Yunju stood in the doorway with his back against the frame, his gaze sweeping over the barren fields outside the station. "They do move quickly. From Sand Village to the border of the Land of Fire, then toward the Land of Earth—the main force has probably already split up and dispersed to carry out captures."

Jiraiya stood and dusted off his hands. "Yeah. We just received intelligence that the Two-Tails' jinchuriki was captured by Akatsuki. Cloud Village has confirmed it."

Yunju's brow furrowed slightly. "The Two-Tails has already been taken?"

"Mm." Jiraiya did not look pleased. "They're moving faster than we expected. The One-Tail and Two-Tails have fallen into their hands one after another. Their next target might be the Three-Tails, the Four-Tails, or perhaps they'll go directly after a village with more heavily guarded jinchuriki. Think about their route."

Yunju fell silent for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tapping twice against the doorframe. "The Three-Tails is unclaimed, so it doesn't need to be extracted from a jinchuriki. It would be the easiest to capture. The Four-Tails is near the border of the Land of Earth. It's better hidden than the Two-Tails, but not impossible to locate. If I were Akatsuki, I would send two teams at once—one for the Three-Tails, the other for the Four-Tails—to shorten the time window as much as possible."

Jiraiya looked at him. "And then?"

"Then they'll set their next sights on the Eight-Tails or Nine-Tails." Yunju turned to face Jiraiya. "But going too far carries too much risk. Rather than travel to the Land of Lightning or near Cloud Village to fight the Raikage head-on, they'd be better off concentrating their manpower near the Land of Fire and waiting for a time when the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki is alone."

Jiraiya gave a soft laugh. "You're saying they'll stake out Naruto near Konoha?"

"Not stake out," Yunju said. "Wait. Wait until Naruto leaves the village on a mission, then strike. We don't know where they'll come from or when they'll come, but one thing is certain—they will come for Naruto."

"So you mean we don't need to chase after them."

"Wait for the hare by the tree stump," Yunju said. "We stay in the Land of Fire."

Jiraiya nodded, then buried the last bit of ash from the campfire beneath the dirt. "Then that's what we'll do. We'll cut them off midway. In the meantime, we'll do our best to find their headquarters."

North of Grass Village, along a muddy trail.

Hidan walked in front with the Bloody Triple-Bladed Scythe over his shoulder, humming an unfamiliar tune. Kakuzu followed behind him with his hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping over the woods on both sides.

"The Land of Fire." Hidan laughed, baring his sharp teeth. "There should be plenty of believers in the Land of Fire, right?"

"We're not here to preach," Kakuzu said. "We're here for the Nine-Tails."

"Same thing. They'll all die anyway."

Kakuzu did not respond.

Another gust of wind drifted through the dried-up riverbed, carrying a faint trace of moisture. Birds took flight in the distance, then settled back down.

Deep within the lake, the water was as still as a gray mirror.

Deidara stood by the lake, the clay in his left hand already molded into shape—a massive bomb. Tobi crouched behind him, masked, tracing a crooked circle in the sand with one finger.

"The Three-Tails is down there?" Deidara asked.

"Tobi doesn't know either, but the intelligence says it's here."

Deidara curled his lip and tossed the clay creation into the lake. The crab began expanding the instant it hit the water, sinking into the depths. More than ten seconds later, the lake surface trembled, and several columns of water erupted from its center. A massive turtle-shell-like outline slowly rose from beneath the water.

"Done." Deidara clapped his hands and glanced back at Tobi. "Write this down. This is a masterpiece by an artist."

Tobi tilted his head. "Didn't Deidara-senpai say explosions should become eternal? If the Three-Tails was blown unconscious, how is that eternal?"

"Shut your mouth and focus on taking notes."

Tobi did not answer. At some point, a small notebook had appeared in his hands, and he was drawing crooked symbols across its pages.

At the border of the Land of Earth, outside the hot spring region.

Kisame Hoshigaki took Samehada off his shoulder and set it on a rock. Looking at the back of the man soaking in the hot spring some distance away, he grinned. "The target is relaxing. Good opportunity."

Itachi stood beside him with his hands tucked into his sleeves, his calm gaze resting on the man. "Don't kill him. Bring him back alive."

"Got it." Kisame Hoshigaki hoisted Samehada onto his shoulder and walked toward the hot spring.

The battle ended faster than expected. Roshi, the Four-Tails' jinchuriki, was suppressed head-on by Kisame Hoshigaki in the hot spring. Most of his Lava Release chakra was absorbed by Samehada, and his resistance did not last long. Itachi watched from the side and never made a move from beginning to end. He knew clearly—he had been captured, and the sealing would be completed, yet he could not feel happy at all. He raised his head to glance at the distant ridgeline, then withdrew his gaze.

Kisame Hoshigaki walked over from the hot spring and slung Samehada back over his shoulder. "Where's the next one?"

"We'll discuss it after we return."

Orochimaru's New Hideout

Orochimaru reclined against a stone chair in the center of the secret chamber, growing weaker and weaker, even weaker than when he fought Yunju.

His current life depended on Kabuto preparing medicinal concoctions for him every day.

Sasuke Uchiha sat on a low stool in the opposite corner of the room. There was no book in his hands, no ninja tools—he simply sat quietly. Sasuke Uchiha had his eyes closed and breathed steadily, his entire body like a carved stone statue, devoid of any unnecessary movement.

Orochimaru turned his head and glanced at him.

"Sasuke-kun."

"My reincarnation cycle is almost here..."

"Are you ready?"