The Land of Fire, Konoha.
Wood debris scattered in front of the collapsed Hokage Building.
Jiraiya, whose Tsunade, had a hint of guilt in his eyes.
" Jiraiya!"
"Why, why did you compromise with the enemy!"
Tsunade looked somewhat disheveled at this moment, but her eyes were full of anger!
"You should know that your actions constitute the crime of treason!"
"Even outside of wartime, you could be sentenced to death!"
Tsunade grew angrier as she spoke, and the veins on her arms bulged as if she were about to make a move!
Your most trusted teammate betrayed you and allowed Minato to steal your funds!
So she made up her mind to confront the Fifth Hokage, who was her grandfather, head-on...
Isn't everything we've done just a joke?
Looking at the dilapidated walls and ruins before them, let alone the group of Anbu.
Even Jiraiya, Jiraiya's student who had just Naruto up, did not speak up for Jiraiya.
" Lady Tsunade, wait a minute."
Kakashi stepped forward and advised, "There's a reason for this."
" Lord Jiraiya did this to prevent the battle from escalating and to ensure the safety of the village's civilians."
"The loss is only some money!"
" Lord Jiraiya did not reveal any secrets of Konoha. Whether or not to consider this treason is a matter for the Lord Hokage to consider calmly."
"Call!"
Tsunade glared fiercely at Jiraiya, slowly releasing her grip. "If it weren't for the fact that no one was injured, I would have smashed this bastard's head in with one punch!"
Having regained his footing, Jiraiya looked directly at Tsunade and said, "I have no objection to how you deal with me."
"But..."
"The most important thing now is to find out who is behind the control of the First Hokage and Minato!"
Jiraiya said with a serious expression, "This Impure World Reincarnation alone is enough to rival the fighting strength of a major ninja village, not to mention the terrifying enemies lurking in the shadows, whose strength is unknown..."
Taking the cloak from Shizune, Tsunade spoke coldly, "The person you mentioned, Grandpa also vaguely mentioned in the Tree World, but he was very wary of him."
"Grandpa didn't leave any corresponding information, only saying that the person's strength was overwhelmingly the strongest in their time, and he sternly warned me not to investigate."
Tsunade frowned and analyzed, "That's what Grandpa said, but what he really meant was that Konoha's strength is currently too weak."
"Until someone of equal or even surpassing his strength appears, do not rashly provoke the person behind him!"
"And those little brats from the Kirigakure..."
Jiraiya picked up the conversation, "Their team is so complete."
"There must be some information, or changes, that we don't know about in Kirigakure!"
Upon hearing this, Kakashi suggested, "Then let Lady Tsunade negotiate directly with the Mizukage, wouldn't that clarify things?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "Regardless of Zabuza and the others truly betrayed the village, the insignia of missing-nin they wear on their heads represents their current identity."
"Even if the Mizukage tells Tsunade the truth, the ninja who betrayed the village are beyond the control of the Kirigakure Kage."
Jiraiya looked at Kakashi, "Just as the rumors have been circulating, the mastermind behind Akatsuki is Obito, who defected from Konoha."
Kakashi pulled down his mask, revealing his single, scarlet eye, and said firmly, "Regardless of what others say, regardless of whether Obito is alive or dead..."
"He would never do anything to harm his comrades or Konoha!"
Seeing Kakashi's eagerness to refute, Jiraiya continued, "Putting aside the veracity of this information, Uchiha Itachi was indeed a ninja who defected from Konoha."
"Does this mean that other ninja villages will cause trouble for Konoha because of Itachi's actions outside?"
Kakashi frowned. "So, the Lord Hokage can't question the Mizukage about this incident?"
"Even if we knew the last remaining clue about the person behind it all, we couldn't ask them?"
Having calmed down, Tsunade nodded. "Although it's very frustrating, that's the reality."
"Given their act of missing-nin, questioning the Mizukage is futile."
"Who said the trail went cold!"
Jiraiya glanced sideways at Naruto, who had just stood up, and whispered, "Isn't this kid on good terms with Sasuke? I heard they were classmates when they were kids."
"No!!"
Tsunade gave a low shout, her gaze towards Jiraiya now carrying a hint of hostility!
"Let's not even talk about the fact that this kid is just Genin!"
Sending the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to another country is too risky!
"I could never agree!"
Jiraiya want Naruto to overhear their conversation, since that kid was really bad at acting.
We'll discuss this later.
An unnamed, dimly lit cave.
The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, lifeless, collapsed to the ground.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path even more imposing and ferocious!
"Now only the Nine-Tails of Konoha, the Eight-Tails of Kumo Ninja, and the Three-Tails of Kirigakure remain."
A hint of weariness flashed across Deva Path Pain's Rinnegan.
After all, the Chakra consumed by extracting chakra from six Tailed Beast in just a few days is enormous!
With Nagato's deliberate cooperation, Obito and the entire Akatsuki acted much faster than in the original story!
It should be a teamwork Obito, Nagato, and Haruma...
" Kakuzu, there's no time to find you any extra companions right now."
Pain instructed, "For now, you will team up with Itachi and Kisame. The three of you will head to Kumogakure and bring back the Eight-Tails!"
Kakuzu nodded and stood next to Itachi and Kisame as instructed.
As for whose orders they received...
"As for the Nine-Tails of Konoha, I will deal with it myself."
Nagato finished speaking, seeing that the Phantom members had no further information to add, he simply dispersed.
If the talkative Deidara and the meddlesome Hidan were present...
Then they will definitely ask, what should be done with the last Three-Tails?
Unfortunately, Hidan is trapped in Orochimaru's laboratory, and his fate is unknown.
Deidara, who was being chased by a group of Kumo Ninja, was too busy running for his life to attend to the scene.
Suigetsu, who disguised himself as Deidara, brazenly infiltrated the Land of Lightning with Haruma, and his portrait spread throughout the Shinobi World!
To explain why the Kumo Ninja only pursued Deidara...
That's mainly due to the young man's flamboyant personality and unique artistic vision...
The commotion was quite significant and certainly attracted attention.
He is also the only Kumo Ninja Akatsuki has tracked down, and a key clue.
A light drizzle fell, and a cold wind howled.
Konan looked at Nagato with concern, "Do you really have to do it yourself...?"
"Cough cough..."
Nagato coughed lightly, his voice hoarse, "Given the Nine-Tails ' strength, it might not be safe for others to go."
"Plus, we don't know how many people in the organization are still pawns of that guy. Most importantly, it's best if I capture the Nine-Tails myself."
Seeing Nagato's pale face, Konan said worriedly, "Perhaps we should wait a few years before making our move, given your current physical condition..."
Nagato shook his head. " The Otogakure and the Kirigakure —that guy's clandestine influence is slowly expanding!"
"The longer it's delayed, the greater the variables will become."
"Once we've captured the Nine-Tails, it'll be time to make our move against that guy!"
A palpable killing intent emanated from him, spreading into the rain...