The Duo Closing In on Naruto

Two figures in red cloud-patterned cloaks stood atop a wall on the outskirts of Konoha. The bells on their conical hats chimed softly in the breeze.

One of the taller shinobi spoke with a teasing tone. "Mr. Itachi, how does it feel to return to your own village?"

The speaker was Kisame Hoshigaki, a massive weapon strapped across his back.

The other lifted his conical hat, revealing a handsome face marked by two deep lines beside his nose. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan held not the slightest trace of emotion. He was Itachi Uchiha, the elder brother Sasuke had always sought to avenge himself against.

Itachi Uchiha said, "It has been a long time. Konoha has not changed much."

After a brief silence, Itachi Uchiha said, "Kisame, let's go in."

Kisame followed behind Itachi Uchiha as they openly entered through the main gate. Itachi Uchiha easily hypnotized the guards with a Sharingan genjutsu, and they walked straight inside, arriving at a dango shop.

While Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki infiltrated Konoha, Naruto had already left the village with Jiraiya.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto, who seemed entirely unenthused, and asked, "Say, Naruto, what's with that look? Didn't you always want to become Hokage? Now that you've heard about the Fifth Hokage, why are you reacting so calmly?"

Naruto answered flatly, "Becoming Hokage doesn't earn someone everyone's acknowledgment. The person acknowledged by everyone becomes Hokage. I'm still far from being Hokage, Pervy Sage. I'm not a child anymore."

The Nine-Tails in his inner world ruthlessly looked down on Naruto. Copying from other worlds was one thing, but he was even copying from the same world!

Jiraiya froze. He had not expected Naruto to say something like that, and Naruto clearly was not pretending.

Though Jiraiya felt relieved inside, he suddenly slapped Naruto on the back. "Idiot! If you can say all that, then why are you still moping around?"

"Hey!" Naruto staggered. He especially liked leaving his zipper open these days, thinking it looked trendy, and his frog wallet fell straight to the ground.

After picking up his wallet, Naruto glared at Jiraiya angrily. "Pervy Sage, what was that for? Believe it or not, I'll use Flying Thunder God to send you to a school!"

Jiraiya's face changed drastically. Orochimaru had already become utterly infamous because of Naruto. After the Konoha Crush Plan, there was no suppressing Orochimaru's reputation anymore—he had become completely notorious in Konoha.

Jiraiya coughed a few times. "Wasn't I just trying to cheer you up? By the way, you have a lot of money!"

Naruto instantly bristled and hurriedly put away his wallet. A Rasengan formed in each hand. He remembered from Awen's memories that the Pervy Sage had taken his money to spend at brothels. That was money he had painstakingly saved, and it had all been spent!

"What are you trying to do, Pervy Sage? Are you trying to trick me out of all my money? Make-Out Paradise must have made you plenty of money already! If you have money, why are you still trying to cheat me out of mine? I'm a Genin who only graduated a little over a year ago. Saving money is hard! Besides, I spend responsibly now. I won't make Grandpa Third and Teacher Iruka worry like I did when I was little. Pervy Sage, that's all there is to it..."

Jiraiya stared at Naruto in dumbfounded silence. How had Naruto seen right through what he was thinking? Naruto looked ready to start a fight at the slightest disagreement.

"No, no, no... I was just curious about your frog wallet, hahaha..." Jiraiya forced out a smile and hurriedly explained, finding himself an excuse.

Naruto dispersed the Rasengan in his hands, feeling that his little wallet was safe at last. "Of course I found it. I kind of like it."

"Found it... Is this fate?" Jiraiya secretly laughed to himself.

"I was thinking about Gaara..." Naruto was about to explain, but quickly waved his hand. "Forget it, forget it. Things are already like this. Thinking about it more would just be mental exhaustion. Pervy Sage, let's go. Let's keep moving!"

"Mental exhaustion?" Jiraiya scratched his head in confusion, carefully pondering what that meant.

The two arrived at a place called Flower-Willow Street. Suddenly, a fashionably dressed beauty in the crowd gave Jiraiya and Naruto a flirtatious wink.

Naruto did not react. The woman was the owner of a tailor shop. She was pretty, but still a little inferior to Haku. Jiraiya, on the other hand, that pervert, practically sprang to attention.

"Whoa, hehehe... Naruto, go practice at some inn next. I'm going to play an adults-only game!"

Jiraiya abandoned Naruto and headed over with the bearing of a perfect gentleman. Seeing his lecherous expression, Naruto gave him an emphatic thumbs-down.

Naruto inwardly complained, No wonder. If Itachi hadn't used genjutsu, how could a beautiful older sister possibly be interested in a white-haired, lecherous guy like you?

Naruto took a key from the front desk and entered his room at the inn. He lay on the bed, staring blankly ahead. Next would be Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, along with Sasuke. Sasuke was why he had been so worried before.

"Itachi really is strong. Come to think of it, Kurama, in Awen's memories, lots of people in his world said that Orochimaru's resistance to genjutsu declined because of Living Corpse Reincarnation. Is that true?" Naruto suddenly recalled something and asked.

The Nine-Tails replied impatiently, "What are you thinking? Living Corpse Reincarnation has no such side effect. That snake-like thing is at an extremely high level in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. If that were true, wouldn't that old Third Hokage have subdued Orochimaru with a single genjutsu? Itachi Uchiha was simply too strong. He instantly defeated him without even using the Mangekyō Sharingan. Why else would that snake-like human be so obsessed with the Sharingan? He wasn't like that before. Didn't Itachi Uchiha beat him until he started doubting his life?"

"That does seem to be the case. At this point, his body hadn't suffered any kind of illness either. And judging by how he performed against Orochimaru before, Itachi really held back a lot when facing Konoha Jonin like Kakashi. He even revealed quite a bit of information and mentioned the Akatsuki and such!"

Naruto said this in amazement. Unfortunately, such a person had a fate filled with misfortune. Even after dying and being brought back through Impure World Reincarnation, he still turned the tide. Itachi Uchiha had done far too much for Konoha.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock sounded at the door, and Naruto's heart immediately tightened.

"They're here. That ominous, cursed chakra... Itachi Uchiha, and that Shark Face. Naruto, be careful," the Nine-Tails specifically warned him.

"Yeah, I know!"

Naruto took a deep breath and opened the door. To his surprise, it was Jiraiya.

"Pervy Sage, why are you here?" Naruto poked his head out in surprise and saw Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki standing in the hallway as well, facing Jiraiya.

Jiraiya smiled smugly. "How could I possibly be fooled by such a petty trick?"

Naruto suspiciously glanced at the beautiful tailor shop owner lying asleep on the floor beside them, then complained, "Pervy Sage, did you come back so quickly because you're short and weak?"