Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Under the escort of several ninjas, Rasa, wearing the Kage hat, walked outside.
Following behind him were two elders.
Chiyo and Ebizo.
Initially, Rasa did not want to bring the two elders to this Five Kage Summit.
But there was no choice; Chiyo was too determined.
The opponent was her own grandson, and while she still had strength left, Chiyo wanted to be involved in everything. Regardless of the outcome, at least she would have no regrets.
In her heart, she knew that before she passed away, she was destined to have a final battle with Sasori.
Worried about his sister, Ebizo naturally accompanied her.
He felt a certain responsibility for Sasori's descent into darkness as a family member.
The cause he had sown was one he needed to resolve.
"We'll stop here."
Rasa turned around and said to the others, "Everyone, don't worry. We should be able to gather a lot of information about Deidara and Sasori from this summit. I will definitely bring back the tailed beast that belongs to the village."
...
Land of Water, Kirigakure.
Mei Terumi's belly was getting bigger by the day.
Though it wasn't too obvious.
After all, she wasn't too far along in her pregnancy.
Despite being pregnant, she didn't want to miss this Five Kage Summit.
Ao: "Lady Mizukage, are you really decided on going?"
Mei Terumi: "It's fine, I've just become the Mizukage, so I must be involved in such important matters. This is my duty as the Fifth Mizukage."
Chojuro looked worried, "But... but what about your health..."
"Hehe..." Mei Terumi smiled sweetly and raised her hand to gently ruffle Chojuro's hair, "Don't worry, with you all by my side protecting me, what is there to fear..."
...
Land of Fire, Konoha.
Tsunade sat at her desk, overwhelmed by the workload.
Shizune was by her side, helping to organize documents.
Both of their bellies were rounded, clearly indicating they were only a few months away from giving birth.
"Boom!"
A puff of white smoke appeared, and a squad of Anbu members materialized in the Hokage's office.
Seeing this, Tsunade quickly asked:
"How is it? Have you found any trace of Jiraiya and Naruto?"
The Anbu captain shook his head, "I'm sorry, Lady Hokage, all the Anbu members have been deployed, but we still have no information on Lord Jiraiya."
"Sigh..." Tsunade sighed helplessly, "Alright, I understand. Keep searching, and don't stop!"
"Yes!"
Ever since her mentor Sarutobi Hiruzen confessed his sins and died, and Tsunade married her long-time crush, Natsuhane, Jiraiya had been heartbroken by the double blow and left the village with little Naruto, wandering the world.
He took Naruto along because he could no longer trust leaving him in anyone else's care.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was a cautionary tale.
Jiraiya once thought that leaving his beloved student, the Fourth Hokage's legacy, in the hands of his mentor was a reliable decision. But the result... couldn't have been more disappointing.
For this reason, Jiraiya now never leaves Naruto's side, taking him wherever he goes.
It was the only way he could find peace of mind.
It was also his way of making amends to his beloved student.
But this left Tsunade in a tough spot.
The current situation was very dangerous for Naruto; tailed beasts from various nations were being captured one after another. Before Naruto could be taken, he had to be found and properly protected.
Although Tsunade had absolute confidence in Jiraiya's abilities, their opponents were not to be underestimated.
Better safe than sorry.
"Shizune, if we can't find any trace of Jiraiya and Naruto within a day, we'll have no choice but to contact Mount Myoboku..."
...