Hanzō fell into thought, and the room went quiet.
"All right. Once Jiraiya leaves the Land of Rain, we'll make our move. We must hit the Akatsuki hard and give them no chance to react.
"Order the spies we've planted inside the Akatsuki to get to work. Keep watch on those three at all times."
"Yes."
During his visit to the Akatsuki, Jiraiya saw Yahiko and the others' plans in action. They left a deep impression on him, and he had a rough idea of the difficulties they might face in the future.
The outlook was far from good, even though the Akatsuki's development was going smoothly for now.
Jiraiya stayed in the Land of Rain for ten days, sharing some of his experiences with Yahiko and the other two. He might not have been suited to handling many of the Akatsuki's affairs, but he had seen a great deal of the world.
After more than twenty days of wandering together, Fugaku and Mikoto found themselves in the Land of Demons. From there, they entered the Land of Wind, spent a night gazing at the stars above the desert, then crossed a forest the next day on their way to the neighboring Land of That.
"Are you tired after all these days? We could rest at a hotel in the Land of That for a while," Fugaku said softly, looking at Mikoto.
Mikoto leaned against his shoulder.
"I'm not tired. Don't forget, I'm an excellent Chunin," Mikoto said playfully.
Fugaku laughed. "After two days' rest in the Land of That, we'll cross the Land of Earth to the coast and take a ship to the Land of Snow. I'll go skiing with you there.
"The Land of Fire feels like spring all year round. It never snows. We can see