Kurama thought to himself, 'Humans are strange. What's the point of getting stronger? It's better to just enjoy some sake.'
Hinata had no idea what Kurama was thinking, but she patiently watched as he drank the sake bit by bit from the plate. Then, she muttered a few more words, stood up and waved goodbye.
After drinking his fill, Kurama casually headed back toward Naruto's apartment. But after a few steps, he turned his head to glance back at the Hyuga Clan's compound, with an expression of contemplation crossing his face.
Over time, Kurama had enjoyed quite a bit of sake from Hinata, though the quantity was always small. However, the quality made up for it. If he could get both quantity and quality, Kurama would've long switched loyalties.
'I want to drink, and that woman seems to like that kid. If I could find a way to make that woman happy, then maybe…' Kurama shook his head and continued to mull over a possible plan.
A few days later.
The Fire Temple welcomed the arrival of Konoha's Shinobi. Chiriku emerged from the main hall, which had not yet been renovated, and met everyone with a serious face.
Asuma followed a monk into the rear hall, with Naruto trailing behind. Naruto glanced at the crumbling walls, a sense of unease settling in as he estimated the strength of the Akatsuki's Immortal Duo.
His body tensed instinctively, mixed with a sense of excitement, 'After more than a year, I was once again facing the Akatsuki.' Even if it was just traces left behind by the Immortal Duo, Naruto was mentally prepared.
'I will definitely take revenge on Itachi and Kisame for the blows they inflicted.' Naruto thought resolutely.
However, those two were likely busy capturing Gobi by now. After all, their attempt to capture the Kyubi's Jinchuriki had failed miserably. There was no way Itachi and Kisame were taking a break, and their next best target would be Gobi.
"What's wrong with you?" Ino tugged on his arm, "What were you looking at?"
"Nothing." Naruto waved his hand. "Just a quick look. The Akatsuki's members are really dangerous."
"Yeah." Ino said, stealing a quick glance at the collapsed temple walls, then her face paled slightly.
Her understanding of the Akatsuki was limited to the fact that they were composed of powerful Missing-nin. It was difficult for her to understand the horror of the Immortal Duo just by listening to Asuma's simple description.
But the ruins before them were real. The yet-to-be-repaired temple walls looked like gaping wounds, looking extremely ominous and terrifying.
The two lowered their heads and followed the others, and followed the instructions to enter the rear hall to have tea.
Though they were in the rear hall, half of it had already been destroyed. The group rested in a slightly less dangerous side hall, where Chiriku's stern face was framed by rising wisps of steam from the tea.
"They're coming for me."
Naruto's mouth twitched, thinking to himself, 'Even a blind person could see that. Chiriku-san, there's no need to keep up the act of being an unshakeable monk.'
'You've already called for help from Konoha, yet you're still pretending to be all high and mighty.'
Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, who didn't know Chiriku's laid-back personality, sat there rigidly, each feeling the heavy weight of responsibility.
Asuma's face shifted slightly, though he seemed to be holding something back. He likely knew the real nature of this so-called saint, who in his youth was carefree, working two jobs a year.
But Asuma wasn't about to ruin his friend's image in front of the students. With a click, he lit a cigarette, pretending he hadn't heard anything.
"However, I wasn't there at the time. I had just left the Fire Temple." Chiriku sighedand said, "Had I stayed a few more days, the temple wouldn't have ended up in this state."
Hearing this, Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly, 'If you had walked slower, your head would have turned into 30 million ryo by now.'
"It's been more than ten days, and there's no sign that the Akatsuki's duo plans to return. They've probably given up." Chiriku continued.
"While their exact motives remain unclear, I've heard they take on a lot of bounty missions. They're likely gathering money for some grand scheme."
"Cough cough." Naruto couldn't hold it anymore and coughed.
Realizing that all eyes were focused on him, he quickly pushed aside thoughts of the 600 billion Explosive Tags.
"Uh, I need to use the bathroom."
With a splash, Naruto finished draining the water, but he didn't rush back, 'I could ask Ino directly about what Chiriku said later.'
He leapt onto a nearby pillar, using it to launch himself up to the crown of a tall, ancient tree. From this vantage point, he surveyed the area surrounding the Fire Temple.
'This place is still some distance away from Konoha. If we don't find too many clues during this investigation, we will have to return directly to Konoha before the mission deadline.'
As he descended from the tree, Naruto spotted Ino walking toward him from a distance.
Naruto asked with a smile as he walked over, "Why did you come out too?"
"Chiriku-san said that the two people from the Akatsuki might come back, and it's not safe outside." Ino said with her hands clasped behind her back, "Asuma-sensei is smoking inside. I feel a little stuffy, so I came out to get some fresh air."
"Are you worried about me?" Naruto tilted his head.
"No!" Ino retorted.
"What were they talking about inside?"
"Nothing much. It's hard to explain exactly. Chiriku-san wasn't at the temple at the time, and most of the monks who witnessed the attack were killed. Not many survived." She said.
"The clues have all run dry?" Naruto was stunned.
"Yeah, pretty much." Ino replied, looking up at the towering tree that had survived intact, "What were you looking at just now? Surveying the surroundings?"
As a Shinobi, this was a basic part of the job.
"No, just taking a look around." Naruto said, "The surroundings are open, and there are not many obstructions. The mission target has already left, and the chances of them coming back…"
He trailed off, not wanting to speculate further.
The atmosphere at the Fire Temple was heavy, and as night began to fall, Asuma decided that the team would stay the night and resume their investigation in the morning.
After several days of investigation, Team 10 found nothing. It had been several days since the incident, and with the summer rains having washed away many clues, tracking the Akatsuki's duo proved nearly impossible.
If Team 8, w with their tracking skills, had been assisting, the search might have gone smoother.
However, there is a certain degree of overlap between the auxiliary positioning of the Team 10 and Team 8. Since the purpose of the mission is just to investigate, there is no problem in sending Team 10.
The lack of progress frustrated Asuma, who found himself smoking more than usual. Chiriku, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, calmly accepting the situation.
For aerial reconnaissance, Ino had been using her Mind Body Switch Technique to control birds for large-scale searches, but she could only manage one bird at a time, and its range wasn't far.
At night, after Ino finished washing up, she saw Naruto standing in the corridor, staring blankly into space.
"What are you doing over there?"
"Nothing." Naruto's eyes became a little evasive, and he looked like he was frightened by something, and his voice couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"What's wrong with you?" Ino, forgetting her usual reserved demeanor, hurried over to him, slightly out of breath, "What's wrong with you?". She repeated, her brow furrowing with concern as she gazed at him.
Naruto, startled by her sudden urgency, quickly assured her that nothing was wrong. But in the corner of his eye, a panel quietly appeared before him.
[Option 1: Protect Chiriku or Asuma (Ensure at least one survives tonight), Reward: Max Level Wind Release Ninjutsu. (Choose one)]
[Option 2: Kill Hidan and Kakuzu tonight. Reward: Jashin's Hymn (Eliminates all Dojutsu effects once).]
The interface popped up suddenly a minute ago, and Naruto had barely processed anything else. What stood out most were the word 'tonight'.
'Tonight? Hidan and Kakuzu are coming?'
Naruto's face grew more serious than Ino had ever seen before. He hadn't figured out a good way to deal with Hidan yet, as his Curse Technique was too strange. If Hidan managed to get even a drop of his blood, it would be over.
'The Curse Technique, Death Controlling Possessed Blood.'
A barrage of chaotic thoughts filled Naruto's mind, 'This freakish Curse Technique from some distant Jashin is insane! What kind of ridiculous technique is this, wounding yourself to mortally wound someone else?'
Naruto glared at the reward for Option 2, feeling a wave of frustration but also helplessness, 'This broken system has been like to give out rewards related to the Jashin recently, such as Jashin's Dog or Jashin's Blessings.'
'Now there's something called Jashin's Hymn, which has a good effect. But the problem is… how can I kill Kakuzu and Hidan now!'
'The best strategy is to take out Kakuzu first, then deal with Hidan.' Naruto thought.
Naruto was confident he could handle Kakuzu, as he only needed to kill him five times. But Hidan... He couldn't trust Ino to face Hidan alone, as that would be too dangerous.
'Damn it! If something happened to Ino, I'd lose it!'
A mess of thoughts flashed through his mind, and he immediately regretted not bringing Kurama with him. But there was no time for that now. He grabbed Ino by the hand and started pulling her toward the temple.
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's head inside first.
Naruto held her hand tightly, and though Ino was confused and tried to free herself, she couldn't. With no choice but to let him lead, she blinked. She was about to say something when a sudden sense of dread gripped her heart.
For no apparent reason, her sixth sense as a Shinobi gave a warning.
"Let's go!" Naruto shouted. He didn't care about anything else and pulled Ino to the rear hall.
'With Asuma and Chiriku in the rear hall, it would be no problem for the others to hold back Kakuzu and Hidan. I need to get Ino to safety so I wouldn't be distracted during the fight.'
With a loud crash, the freshly repaired temple wall collapsed.
"Well, well, you fixed it up, huh? Not afraid of dying, are you?!" Hidan's arrogant voice echoed through the night air.