The Big News

It happened to be the weekend, so Hinata was staying at home for both days.

Thus, for two whole days, Tahm was wedged between two little girls, enjoying a thrill even more nerve-racking than escaping for his life from Orochimaru.

Whether they were eating or watching television, Hinata and Karin would squeeze in and fight to claim the spot in Tahm's arms.

Training in the dojo was even more bloody, because now that he had another young disciple, Tahm wanted the two of them to spar and improve their combat experience.

As a result, the usually conservative Hinata immediately adopted Neji's style, nearly turning her Gentle Fist into a Bajiquan-style assault. She struck with imposing force, determined to teach the redhead a lesson; and although Karin was not as strong as Hinata, whom Tahm had trained with cheats enabled, she had truly seen blood before and showed no mercy in her attacks, which were sharp and fierce.

Even Tahm, who had witnessed Kage-level experts in action, could not help but watch from the side with cold sweat running down his back.

The two of them had always disliked each other, which gave Tahm a terrible headache. But when he thought about how, if he had ignored Karin and allowed the Grass Ninja to control her, he could never have brought himself to do such a thing.

Fortunately, Monday was approaching, and the Ninja Academy was about to reopen. Tahm could finally accompany Hinata to class and lie low at the Academy, separating the gunpowder from the fuse for a while.

I'm actually looking forward to elementary school lessons. I'm really getting more childish as I live longer.

Knowing that she would be going to school with Tahm the next day, Hinata discreetly gave Karin a look that said, You can stay here all by yourself, making Karin puff up like a bright-red little chili pepper.

After two days of fighting, Hinata's personality had subtly begun to be influenced by Karin.

But then the Third Hokage sent someone over, bringing Karin official Konoha identification and an admission notice for the Ninja Academy.

According to the Third Hokage's message, "With such a fine talent, of course we must properly nurture her into a successor who carries on Konoha's Will of Fire."

What successor to the Will of Fire? He just wants to take advantage of Karin's Uzumaki bloodline!

As a successor of socialism, Tahm sneered at the title.

But the Third Hokage had sent more than that. He had even given Karin a key to an apartment, assigning her a low-cost residence like the one Naruto lived in.

Even more unexpectedly, Karin accepted it of her own accord and prepared to move out and live alone.

Hinata was somewhat puzzled. Hadn't this redhead been fighting her over everything for the past two days? Was she planning to withdraw voluntarily? The more Hinata thought about it, the better her mood became.

Karin keenly sensed Hinata's scrutinizing gaze and gave a soft snort.

"Don't get the wrong idea! I'll have a home of my own now, and sooner or later, I'll steal Tahm away from your house!"

Hinata's little face darkened again.

Karin took the initiative to hug Tahm, her face filled with anticipation. "Tahm, take me to see my new home!"

"All right, let's go." Since a seven-year-old child wanted to go live alone, Tahm naturally could not refuse such a simple request.

The next day, at the Ninja Academy.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today!" Iruka introduced her to everyone. Immediately afterward, a pretty girl with striking red hair stepped onto the platform.

"Hinata," Sakura asked Hinata, "isn't that the girl who came with you and Tahm? She's going to be our classmate too?"

Hinata was instantly reminded of her unpleasant battle with Karin that morning over the exclusive seat on top of Tahm's head. Originally, Tahm had simply kindly gone to Karin's new home to pick her up for school, but that redhead had actually tried to steal Hinata's special seat! Although Tahm had ultimately left the seat on his head for her, he had used his hands to carry the redhead over as well.

Actually, Tahm himself still felt traumatized by that journey to school. Walking with two adorable, pleasing young girls should have been a delightful experience, but one had been sitting on his head while the other was in his arms, and they had spent the entire way glaring fiercely at each other. Wedged between them, Tahm felt as though his broad face was about to be roasted.

Seeing that her good friend Hinata did not answer and that her expression was growing darker and darker, a terrifying look appearing on her adorable little face for the first time, Sakura swallowed nervously and asked, "Hinata, are you all right?"

"It's nothing." Hinata finally came to her senses, then said in an irritated, tsundere tone, "But that redhead is definitely not a good person!"

How harsh. Is this really the gentle Hinata I know?

Cold sweat broke out across Sakura's forehead.

"Hello, everyone! My name is Karin Uzumaki!" Karin began introducing herself. "I used to be an orphan wandering outside. Tahm saved me and brought me to Konoha."

"What I like most is Tahm!"

"My dream is to stay with Tahm forever!"

Are declarations from the Uzumaki clan always this unusual? Tahm felt uncomfortable under the curious gazes of the other children. Hinata clenched her little fists angrily, and she seemed to be on the verge of teaching herself Sakura's Monstrous Strength Fist.

Fortunately, Naruto caught onto another key point and asked Tahm excitedly, "Big Brother Tahm, is her surname Uzumaki too?" His eyes flickered with a trace of hope.

"Yes. You could say she's your clanswoman," Tahm said. He had expected Naruto to react this way.

"I have a clanswoman?" Naruto asked in astonishment.

Tahm sighed and said, "Not many pure-blooded members of the Uzumaki clan survived the wars. As far as I know, there are only the two of you. You only count as half a member, though. Otherwise, your hair would be red."

Naruto's excitement finally settled, but then he suddenly thought of something and grabbed Tahm, speaking excitedly. "Boss Tahm, you must know who my parents really are, right?"

"Ahem. How would I know?" Tahm was somewhat uneasy. He did know, of course, but the old man Third had forbidden him from saying anything. He was genuinely worried that if young Naruto learned the truth, he might turn into an evil fox.

"Boss Tahm, you're a prophet! How could you not know?" Naruto refused to let it go.

"What!" This time, it was Tahm's turn to cry out, drawing a resentful look from Iruka. I'm still teaching here!

But Tahm was the type of powerful summon who could not be treated like a student and pelted with chalk.

"How did you find out about me being a prophet?" Tahm asked, lowering his voice to show Naruto some consideration.

"Huh?" Naruto was bewildered by Tahm's reaction. "I saw it in this morning's Shinobi World Daily."

"What! I'm in the newspaper?"

At the end of class, Tahm obtained a copy of that day's Shinobi World Daily from the teacher's office. The chūnin instructor who gave him the paper looked at him with a complicated yet admiring expression.

With an uneasy feeling, and ignoring Naruto, Sakura, and the circle of other underlings gathered around him, Tahm opened the newspaper.

His name was easy enough to find. It was right in the headline.

"Exclusive scoop! Konoha's mysterious trump card revealed?" Sakura could not help reading the eye-catching headline aloud.

The first accompanying picture was a high-definition image of Tahm treating the daimyō's son at the daimyō's residence. It even included comparison pictures labeled "before treatment" and "after treatment," allowing readers to directly witness the shocking scene of a person with barely half his body left being completely healed with a few applications of healing chakra.

Who the hell took this? Does the daimyō's residence have no security measures at all? Are all the reporters in this world Kage-level? Tahm felt deeply frustrated.

Far away, in an underground base, Orochimaru smiled faintly, as if to say, My little snakes are far more effective than Zhuo Wei.

"Medical abilities surpassing even those of Lady Tsunade and the First Hokage." Ino looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar Tahm with complicated emotions.

The next section began to praise Tahm's combat abilities. The accompanying picture was actually the instant Tahm had used Riftwalk to snatch Karin away from Orochimaru.

There was no denying that, even in his previous life, this picture could have made the cover of Time magazine. It was simply too striking: Tahm, his body glowing with mysterious purple light, emerging from the void; Karin, under control, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears; and Orochimaru, a figure who intimidated the Shinobi World and acted with utter arrogance, wearing a stunned expression.

Everything was captured at exactly the right moment, leaving the several underlings staring with shining eyes. Karin, meanwhile, looked at the photograph with a blissful blush and secretly decided to buy a copy of the newspaper later and preserve it carefully.

The third section went even further. The article cited reliable information from a "mysterious informant" and provided a detailed analysis of Tahm's various abilities. It mentioned techniques that could transform into sword light, spatial flickers resembling the Flying Thunder God, and a mysterious devouring ability. Even more frighteningly, it clearly stated the cooldown between his skills and the destructive power of his attacks. It did not resemble a news article written merely to pass the time; instead, it was more like a precise analysis report written by someone with an extremely high level of combat awareness.

At the very end, the article placed special emphasis on Tahm's "prophet" ability. In the article's own words, he had "forced even the cold-hearted Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sands to bow in submission," "understood the secrets of every kekkei genkai and secret technique in the Shinobi World," and "mastered the mysteries of the Rinnegan, the supreme kekkei genkai of the Shinobi World."

Tahm felt a chill run through him as he read it. The "mysterious informant" appeared to be praising and publicizing him, but the article's true meaning was obviously:

Konoha has produced an incredibly powerful figure. Other four great nations, are you scared?

He knows the weak points of every kekkei genkai and secret technique. Secret-technique users and kekkei genkai clans, are you nervous?

He can bring the dead back to life, restore broken bones, and predict the future. Ambitious people, don't you want him?

And on top of that, this toad supposedly knows about the legendary Six Paths eyes, the Rinnegan!

Finally, I've analyzed all of this guy's combat abilities for you. Why not go and test him out?

Tahm felt a headache coming on. Things are going to be troublesome from now on. He could already imagine the heads of the underground exchanges holding emergency meetings and discussing how much to put on his frog head. Judging by the article, he was probably worth several Hatake Kakashis.

At the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage, Kakashi, and several subordinate ninja were worrying over copies of the same issue of the Shinobi World Daily.

"Have you found out who wrote the article?" Kakashi asked the ninja who had come in to report.

"The newspaper staff only know that the information was provided by a mysterious informant. They don't know anything else," the subordinate reported.

Kakashi frowned, but the Third Hokage said with some disappointment, "It seems this was the work of that mysterious organization. To take pictures like those, they probably made use of the Snake Clan of Ryūchi Cave's unique image-recording ability." The Third Hokage understood the methods of his wayward disciple all too well.

Kakashi sighed. "A single article has brought us so much trouble. Now the entire Shinobi World is going to focus its attention on Konoha."

"Indeed." The elderly leader of Konoha sighed. "Some newspapers these days only want to make the big news. It seems we'll have to strengthen our supervision of them."

The Third Hokage pondered for a while longer before saying to Kakashi, "Earlier, we said we would have Tahm follow you on a few missions to get him started. I didn't expect him to cause so much trouble as soon as he got started. Don't give him any new missions for the time being. Let him stay safely in Konoha."

Sigh. The Anbu and Root will probably be busy for a long time now.

The Third Hokage could completely imagine how many spies and covert agents this article would attract. If it was not handled properly, it might even trigger another war.

After pondering for a while longer, the Third Hokage issued orders to his subordinates. "Recall all members of chūnin rank and above who are currently on leave. Strengthen Konoha's guard forces. Raise the Anbu alert level to S-rank. Then take this news to Danzo."

In the Land of Rain, at Akatsuki's special base.

Several figures stood facing one another. However, only the man with the Rinnegan at the head and the blue-haired woman were physically present. They were the leader Pain and the "Angel," Konan. The others were consciousnesses projected remotely through secret techniques.

"Besides the introductory meeting when I first joined the organization, this is only the second time I've seen all the core members gathered," said the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen member Jūzō Biwa, carrying Kubikiribōchō on his back. "Is something important happening?"

"The mission failed," Kakuzu said tersely.

"Failed?" Jūzō Biwa asked in surprise. "Didn't the three of you go to the Land of Wind together?"

Sasori's expression was unpleasant as he said resentfully, "We ran into a very annoying person."

"A toad from Mount Myoboku named Tahm," Orochimaru added. "You'll learn about him. I've already put him in the newspaper."

"Huh?" Jūzō Biwa still did not understand. Three notorious killers, each of them a fierce criminal of the previous generation, had been stopped by a toad?

"In any case." Pain, standing at the head, spoke up. "Orochimaru did well. Use this method to keep Konoha occupied for a while first."

"This mission's failure forced our organization to reveal itself ahead of schedule. The Third Hokage and Jiraiya have now directly seen our core members."

"From now on, tell the peripheral members under us to pull back and contract their spheres of influence. Leave no traces behind. The people coming to investigate us will be Konoha's Anbu, and perhaps even one of the Three Sannin, Jiraiya."

"Accelerate the search for suitable core members and increase the organization's combat strength." Pain then turned to Kakuzu. "By the way, you can go ahead and follow up on the potential partner we found for you in the Land of Hot Water."

Kakuzu gave a strange laugh. "I hope this time we find someone who won't be killed by me."

After Pain finished giving his instructions, nobody wasted any more words. They dispelled their projections and ended the meeting.

The gloomy base was instantly left with only Pain and Konan.

Several breaths later, the space in front of them twisted. A mysterious man appeared from the void, wearing the Akatsuki uniform and a spiral mask that revealed one Sharingan.

"Madara." Pain addressed him by that name. "Can you explain why that toad knows about the Rinnegan?"

"Madara" himself was completely baffled. He knew who had secretly tampered with the Rinnegan, but how had that toad found out? Did he merely know what the Rinnegan could do, or did he even know the conspiracy behind it?

If that's the case, we're in trouble.

"Madara" could only brace himself and say, "I don't know either. Perhaps he really does possess the so-called ability to predict the future. After all, he is a toad from Mount Myoboku."

"If I get the chance, I'll meet him personally. Our plan cannot tolerate any variables."

In the TV storyline, Kakuzu had a minor-partner character at this point. I sent him a one-way ticket ahead of schedule. Considering that I used the double-combo technique again, please don't nitpick the details.