Naruto Sets Out

"Ah, finally back! That damn Pervy Sage, he just left all of a sudden. Damn it, now I need a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen to wash away my fatigue before I can start training again." Naruto dragged his tired body back to the village, looking at the peaceful village, and couldn't help but complain.

At that moment, Naruto encountered Sakura and Sai at the village entrance. Sai and Sakura were both surprised, not expecting to see Naruto.

"Naruto, didn't you go out to train with Lord Jiraiya? Why are you back so soon?" Sakura asked after a moment of surprise.

Upon hearing this, Naruto immediately complained, "That Pervy Sage suddenly left without saying goodbye, leaving me to go back to the village to train on my own. Seriously! Anyway, Sakura, Sai, how about we go to Ichiraku Ramen for some ramen? I desperately need a bowl right now."

"Okay, I haven't had ramen in ages," Sakura replied immediately. She still had some questions for Naruto, so she agreed to go eat ramen with Naruto.

Seeing that Sakura agreed, Naruto was very happy. He then looked at Sai beside him and said, "Sai, how are you? Want to go to Ichiraku Ramen together?"

"Okay, I want to go too." Sai had always wanted to deepen his relationship with Naruto, Sakura, and the others, so naturally he wouldn't object and immediately agreed.

"Yay! Let's go to ramen together, let's go!" Seeing that Sakura and Sai had agreed, Naruto was overjoyed and took the lead towards Ichiraku Ramen.

An hour had passed by the time the three finished their ramen. They chatted for over an hour before finally parting ways.

In the Hokage's office, Tsunade held a red crystal and murmured, "Could this be...?" Although it was just a guess, there was no evidence to prove it, and Tsunade's expression became serious.

At that moment, an Anbu suddenly appeared, knelt on one knee, and respectfully said, "Lord Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki has returned."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade turned her attention away from the red crystal and looked at the Anbu, saying, "Oh, he's back. Honestly, Jiraiya always causes me trouble. But Naruto's back is just in time. Go and call Naruto over. Oh, and call Sai, Sakura, Yamato over too."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." The Anbu member vanished in a flash.

Tsunade stood up, stood by the window, gazed at the distant sky, and murmured, "Come back safely, Jiraiya." And so, Tsunade stood by the window, motionless.

After a long while, Naruto pushed open the door and walked in, shouting, "Granny Tsunade, what do you want with me?"

"I have a task for you this time." Tsunade out of her reverie, turned around, and said to Naruto.

"What kind of mission is it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Let's wait for Sai, Sakura, and Yamato to arrive before we talk about it," Tsunade said gently, looking at the somewhat impulsive Naruto.

After a while, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato entered. Yamato stepped forward and respectfully said to Tsunade, "Lord Hokage, what brings you here?"

Tsunade looked around at Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato, and said in a deep voice, "I called you here today because I want you to go and help Kakashi."

"Isn't Kakashi-senpai just going to scout? Why does he need our help?" Yamato asked, puzzled, upon hearing Tsunade's mission. Sakura, Naruto, and Sai also looked at Tsunade; they had no idea what mission Kakashi was on that required their assistance.

Tsunade said, "It seems they've been discovered by the enemy, and those enemies are very strong, possessing some unknown Ninjutsu. After all, they're Orochimaru's subordinates."

"Orochimaru! Has Kakashi-sensei and the others discovered Orochimaru's base? Granny Tsunade, why didn't you tell me?" Upon hearing Orochimaru, Naruto immediately became agitated and shouted at Tsunade. Sakura, standing beside him, also stared intently at Tsunade, wanting to know the details.

Tsunade looked at Naruto and said in a deep voice, "Naruto, calm down. One of the Anbu I sent out discovered Orochimaru's whereabouts, but he disappeared before he could send out his exact location. Since none of you are in the village, I sent Kakashi and the others to the place where the Anbu disappeared to see if they could find Orochimaru. However, Kakashi just sent a message saying that he discovered Orochimaru's subordinates, so I plan to send you to reinforce Kakashi and the others."

Tsunade looked at Naruto and the others, and said seriously, "Yamato, Naruto, Sakura, Sai, the four of you, set off immediately to assist Kakashi and the others."

"Yes..." Yamato, Naruto, Sakura, Sai responded in unison.

Kakashi, along with Kiba, Shino, and Hinata, searched for Guren's location in the forest. However, they were unknowingly led away from Orochimaru's base. Of course, Kakashi and the others were unaware of this and simply followed closely behind Guren and the others.

On the other side, Guren and the others had already spotted Kakashi and the others. At first, they thought it was Uzumaki Hane following behind them and didn't dare to fight back, after all, Uzumaki Hane had left too deep an impression on them that day.

It took a considerable amount of time for Guren and the others to realize that the person secretly following them was not Uzumaki Hane. The group breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to counterattack, hoping to keep Kakashi and the others there.

At the top of a cliff, Guren held a red crystal ball in her hand, which displayed the situation of Kakashi and the others in the forest below. Guren had ordered her subordinates to lure Kakashi and the others while she herself ran over here, intending to use a barrier to bind Kakashi and the others, and then capture them all in one fell swoop.

"Since you're here, you're not leaving." At this moment, Guren looked at the image on the crystal ball, a dangerous smile playing on her lips.

Deep in the forest, Kakashi, Kiba, Hinata, and Shino concealed their presence, hiding among the bushes. Hinata her Byakugan, preparing to find the enemy's trail.

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke began to rise from the depths of the forest, and slowly, the smoke enveloped the entire forest.

"Damn it, everyone be careful." Kakashi looked at the surrounding smoke and knew that they had fallen into the enemy's trap. He said in a deep voice.

Whoosh! A huge figure burst out from the bushes and crashed directly into Kakashi.

"What..." The smoke was too thick. By the time Kakashi noticed, it was too late to dodge. He raised his hands to try and block, but he couldn't. He was sent flying backward.

"Hahahaha, die, Copy Ninja Kakashi!" Seeing that Kakashi had been hit, the giant figure pressed its advantage and continued to charge towards Kakashi.

Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were shrouded in thick fog, but the sudden sounds of battle indicated that Kakashi had been ambushed. They shouted in unison, "Kakashi-sensei!" and quickly went on alert.