Waiting

Countless strands of hair sprouted from the ground and swept towards the Uzumaki Hane.

Just as the attack was about to hit Uzumaki Hane, a blur flashed by, and Uzumaki Hane had already left the long-haired monster's attack range. The long-haired monster only felt a black shadow flash before his eyes, and Uzumaki Hane was already in front of him.

"No..." The long-haired monster was truly terrified at this moment. Uzumaki Hane's expression remained unchanged as she swiftly reached for the long-haired monster's chest with her right hand.

The long-haired monster wove all its long hair into a shield, holding it in front of itself in an attempt to defend against the Uzumaki Hane's attack.

But all of this was in vain. The shield shattered instantly, as if it were made of paper, and Uzumaki Hane's Rock Fist, with its remaining force, pierced straight through his chest.

Uzumaki Hane casually tossed aside the long-haired monster's corpse, and vanished from the spot in a flash.

On the other side, Guren and her seven subordinates watched as Uzumaki Hane swiftly dealt with numerous experimental subjects, their faces filled with solemnity.

In the blink of an eye, Uzumaki Hane rushed in front of the group, and everyone became highly vigilant.

"Guren, can you tell me where Orochimaru is?" Uzumaki Hane, completely unfazed by the others' wariness, said to Guren, "I fought him last time, but he ran away before I was even satisfied. What a pity."

"I will not reveal Lord Orochimaru's whereabouts." Guren knew she was no match for Uzumaki Hane, but it was absolutely impossible for her to betray Orochimaru. Guren's face was full of determination.

"Don't worry, I won't force you." Uzumaki Hane smiled slightly, looking harmless, as if the killing just now wasn't his doing.

Guren and the others naturally dared not trust Uzumaki Hane, and became even more vigilant to prevent Uzumaki Hane sudden attack.

"Attack!" Guren couldn't help but shout first, then quickly Hand Seals, "Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Blade!" In the next instant, a row of crystals emerged from the ground and rapidly spread towards the Uzumaki Hane.

Uzumaki Hane's lips curled up, and his right hand rapidly transformed into lava, expanding to ten times its original size. With a loud shout, he slammed it down, and with a crack, countless red crystal fragments scattered in all directions, shattering the crystals on the ground.

Almost simultaneously, Guren's other subordinates also made their move, rushing towards Uzumaki Hane.

After shattering the Guren's crystal, Uzumaki Hane vanished in a flash, reappearing before them in an instant. He slammed his right hand out, sending one of his subordinates flying. Then, his right foot rapidly transformed into lava, sweeping out three more. In the blink of an eye, only four of the seven remained.

Uzumaki Hane glanced at the remaining four people, whose expressions froze. Uzumaki Hane, however, wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He slammed his body into the masked man in front of him. Crack! A sound like bones breaking could be heard as the man was sent flying. Then, Uzumaki Hane Yu's hands rapidly transformed into lava, expanding to ten times their original size, and then began to spin violently. Bang! Bang! Bang! The remaining three were powerless to resist and were also sent flying.

Guren's expression changed. In the blink of an eye, all her subordinates had been defeated by Uzumaki Hane. The speed at which she Hand Seals suddenly increased. "Crystal Release: Crystal Dragon Jutsu!" Guren's hands were surrounded by red crystal fragments, which then spread to her entire body, transforming into a crystal dragon that circled her body. The crystal dragon grew larger and larger, reaching a height of ten meters, looking down at Uzumaki Hane.

The crystal dragon let out a huge roar at Uzumaki Hane, causing sand and stones to fly everywhere. Then, the crystal dragon opened its mouth and bit down directly at Uzumaki Hane.

Uzumaki Hane raised his hands and grabbed the crystal dragon's mouth. His expression hardened, and with a roar, he lifted the crystal dragon and slammed it down onto the ground. Boom! The ground instantly shattered into pieces, countless crystal fragments scattered, and a cloud of dust rose up.

Immediately afterwards, Uzumaki Hane's right hand suddenly transformed into a dog-shaped lava and blasted out, "Canine Red Lotus!" Crack, crack, crack! The crystal dragon shattered directly under the impact of the lava dog, turning into crystal particles that dissipated into the air.

Guren's subordinates surrounded Guren, looking at Uzumaki Hane with pale faces.

Uzumaki Hane completely ignored their vigilance and said, "I mainly brought Gozu to say hello to you this time, but I didn't expect to run into these people, so I just helped you out." Then, she said to Gozu, "Alright, Gozu, let's go." After saying that, she turned and left.

"Yes, Lord Uzumaki." Although Gozu didn't know why he left without doing anything after finding Guren, he instinctively breathed a sigh of relief and followed Uzumaki Hane away.

Only after Uzumaki Hane and Gozu disappeared into the depths of the forest did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and lower their guard. Unbeknownst to them, their backs were soaked with sweat, clearly indicating that Uzumaki Hane had put immense pressure on them.

After a long while, Guren finally calmed down and said to her subordinates, "Alright, let's go and complete Lord Orochimaru's mission." With that, she led the way and left.

After Guren and the others left, Uzumaki Hane reappeared with Gozu.

Gozu asked, "Lord Uzumaki, are you planning to follow them and find Orochimaru's whereabouts?"

Uzumaki Hane smiled slightly and said, "That's right, Orochimaru is very cunning and not so easy to find. Besides, Orochimaru isn't my target. Orochimaru will deal with Sasuke himself. Alright, let's follow him." After saying that, he took the lead and walked away.

Although Gozu was eager to know what Uzumaki Hane's purpose was, he wouldn't ask since Uzumaki Hane wouldn't say, and he quickly followed Uzumaki Hane away.

Jiraiya was instructing Naruto in his training. At that moment, Naruto was dancing the frog song and frog dance with Gamatatsu. Jiraiya stood under the shade of a tree, watching Naruto with great interest, a knowing smile on his face.

Suddenly, Jiraiya heard a bird's cry. Jiraiya and saw a bird circling overhead. Jiraiya's expression hardened. He called the bird down and took a small piece of paper from its feet.

"This is..." Jiraiya opened the message, his expression growing even more serious. He looked at Naruto, "Naruto can't know this. It seems I have to leave on my own."

Naruto trained for an afternoon, and the two of them followed two frogs to the bathhouse for a soak. Jiraiya the bath, Jiraiya took the opportunity to leave a letter, asking Naruto to return to the village on his own. In the letter, he also asked Gamakichi and Gamatatsu to continue to help Naruto with his training before quietly leaving.

By the time Naruto realized what was happening, Jiraiya was nowhere to be found. Naruto was somewhat disappointed that he had to part ways with Jiraiya so soon, but he was more worried. After all, if Jiraiya felt it was dangerous, he wouldn't have let him return to the village first.

That night, Naruto rested at the inn. The next morning, Naruto packed his bags and returned to the village. An hour later, Naruto arrived back in the village.