On the Trail

Naruto formed hand seals and shouted, "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" Bang, bang, bang! A cloud of smoke rose, and many shadow clones of Naruto appeared on the spot. Naruto said, "Alright, let's begin."

The other Shadow Clone echoed their sentiments and began practicing Chakra Nature Transformation on the spot. Naruto, holding a leaf in his hand, began to spar.

A moment later, the leaf in Naruto's hand split open. Seeing this, Naruto cheered and said, "Kakashi-sensei, look, I did it! I really am the smartest!"

Suddenly, one of Naruto's shadow clones cheered, "I did it too!" No sooner had he spoken than another cheer erupted from among Naruto's shadow clones. "I did it too!" Then, one by one, all of Naruto's shadow clones succeeded.

He had been training like this for three days. With Asuma's guidance, Naruto had made rapid progress and could now successfully split leaves.

Kakashi held the Icha Icha Paradise, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Sure enough, his method was working quickly; Naruto's progress was even faster than expected.

Uzumaki Hane said with a playful tone, "So you think their simultaneous appearance here is really just a coincidence?"

Samui, Omoi, and Karui frowned.

Uzumaki Hane continued, "Don't forget, the Akatsuki has been hunting Tailed Beast. Some time ago, they even invaded Sunagakure and captured the Kazekage, who is also the One-Tail Jinchuriki."

Samui, Omoi, and Karui hesitated upon hearing this. Karui said, "We've already scouted the area. There was no fighting, and we didn't find any trace of battle nearby." This was also why they hadn't considered the Akatsuki; after all, they didn't believe that the Akatsuki could have captured Lady Yugito so quietly.

Upon hearing this, Uzumaki Hane looked somewhat puzzled, but still firmly stated, "Although I don't know why there are no signs of battle, do you think they would easily let go of a lone Two-Tails Jinchūriki?"

Upon hearing Uzumaki Hane's words, Karui immediately said, "With Lady Yugito's strength, how could the Akatsuki possibly defeat her, especially so silently?" As she spoke, Karui glared at Uzumaki Hane.

Uzumaki Hane also felt that even if Pain personally intervened, it would be impossible to defeat the Two-Tails Jinchūriki in one move without leaving a trace. After pondering for a moment, he said, "What if their battlefield isn't here?"

Samui, Omoi, Karui fell silent upon hearing this; this was highly likely.

Samui asked, "So where do you think the real battlefield is?"

Just then, a voice rang out. "I know where they are!" Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Jiraiya strolling over, his face flushed, clearly having made great progress during the time they had been separated.

Samui, Omoi, and Karui also recognized Jiraiya and said in unison, "Lord Jiraiya, do you have any leads?"

Jiraiya approached the group and said, "I just unexpectedly obtained a clue. Someone saw members of Akatsuki leaving with the Two-Tails Jinchūriki."

Omoi immediately exclaimed, "Impossible! How could Lord Kiyuuto be defeated by Lady Yugito Akatsuki?"

Upon hearing this, Uzumaki Hane said, "Jiraiya-sensei, there are no signs of a battle around here. How did the other party capture the Two-Tails Jinchūriki?" At this moment, Uzumaki Hane's expression was also serious. After all, to defeat the Two-Tails Jinchūriki silently, the other party must either be extremely powerful, as the difference between the two is too great, but that's impossible, since the other party is Jinchūriki; then the Two-Tails Jinchūriki must have fallen into the other party's trap. Uzumaki Hane was more inclined to the second possibility.

Jiraiya said, "I'm not sure either, but it's possible that the Two-Tails Jinchūriki fell into a trap."

Samui, Omoi, and Karui were very worried upon hearing this. Omoi angrily said, "That despicable Akatsuki! How could they be so despicable as to use a trap to capture Lady Yugito?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "As far as I know, after the other side captures the Jinchūriki, it takes three days to remove the Tailed Beast from the Jinchūriki's body. Therefore, we must rescue the Two-Tails Jinchūriki within three days. If it exceeds three days, the Tailed Beast will be removed from the Jinchūriki's body, and the Jinchūriki will be beyond saving."

Samui asked, "Are you also going to rescue Lady Yugito?"

Jiraiya said, "Our mission this time is to find members of the Akatsuki and gather information about them, which happens to overlap with your rescue mission. Therefore, we will assist you in rescuing the Two-Tails Jinchūriki."

Samui, Omoi, and Karui were overjoyed to hear this. After all, Jiraiya was one of the Sannin and was renowned throughout the Shinobi World. With his help, they were certain they could successfully rescue Lady Yugito.

Samui respectfully said, "Lord Jiraiya, on behalf of Lady Yugito, I thank you for your help."

Jiraiya said, "It's alright, let's set off quickly and rescue the Two-Tails Jinchūriki as soon as possible."

So, the group left the village and, led by Jiraiya, went to rescue the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.

Half a day later, as the group was leaping rapidly through the forest, Jiraiya suddenly reached out and stopped them. Uzumaki Hane landed beside Jiraiya and said, "Jiraiya-sensei, is something wrong?"

Jiraiya said, "That's right, let's proceed carefully." After saying that, he took the lead and dived forward, with Uzumaki Hane, Samui, Omoi, and Karui following behind.

Before long, everyone saw a large crater. Uzumaki Hane said solemnly, "It seems this is their battlefield."

Samui, Omoi, Karui immediately entered the giant pit, hoping to find some information.

Uzumaki Hane looked around, but found no clues. Suddenly, Uzumaki Hane noticed the ground was damp. After taking a few more Uzumaki Hane, he discovered a puddle and fell into deep thought. Jiraiya, seeing Uzumaki Hane's contemplation, walked up to Uzumaki Hane and asked, "Yu, what did you find?"

Uzumaki Hane said, "There are traces of Water Release here, it must have been done by Kisame Hoshigaki. So the Akatsuki members this time must be Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Itachi."

Jiraiya, who had also encountered the two, remarked, "If it were them, they would be quite troublesome." Despite saying this, Jiraiya wasn't particularly concerned.

At that moment, Omoi shouted, "Here, there are clues left by Lady Yugito."