Neji was practicing Gentle Fist. "Looking for Sasuke? Not interested. But, Naruto, how about another spar?"
Tenten, sitting nearby, asked, "Huh? Sasuke? Who's that? I don't know him."
Chouji munched on chips. "Will he treat me to barbecue after we rescue him?"
Ino, with a sympathetic expression, said, "If Sakura switches teams with me, I'll go."
Kiba and Akamaru barked at each other. "Woof! Ah, wait, Shino, what do you think?"
Shino adjusted his glasses. "This is very dangerous. If you want to know why, it's because the enemy is strong... but no one listens to me."
Hinata blushed. "Shino, I... I'm listening."
Twenty minutes later, the rescue team gathered outside Konohagakure's gates, struggling. Naruto and Shikamaru were sweating, feeling like it was harder to gather people than to chase Sasuke. Fortunately, these people were all tough on the outside but soft-hearted, finding various excuses until they finally showed up.
Even though they said no, their bodies were honest.
Naruto shivered, a strange sound ringing in his ears. He glanced into the seal space and saw Kurama, eyes closed and lying down, probably focused on helping the shadow clone learn Ninjutsu.
It was just an illusion. Nothing more.
The group set off in full force. Sakura and Lee stood at the gates of Konohagakure, watching their backs. Sakura's face was full of worry and bitterness, while Lee clenched his fists, his eyes burning with determination. "Next time, I won't miss out!"
Damn it! He's fired up!
On the other side, Shizune carefully stood in the Hokage's office. "Tsunade-sama, the four Otogakure Ninjas are heading towards the Land of Wind. It looks like they plan to return to Otogakure through the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire."
"Hmm?" Tsunade squinted and looked up. "Perfect. Send a message to Sunagakure Village and have them send support."
"What if they don't?" Shizune asked cautiously.
Tsunade slammed her hand on the desk, causing cracks to appear on the surface, followed by a roar. "Put my name and Jiraiya's on it! If they refuse to send support, I'll go find them and have a 'talk'!"
"Who do they think they are, teaming up with Otogakure to invade Konohagakure? Who gave them the guts? Do they really think I won't start a war?" Tsunade slammed the desk again. "Tell them! I'm not that old man! If they dare not send support, they'll regret it!"
"And get Jiraiya over here! Tell him to prepare the 'Toad Stomach Technique'! If Sunagakure Village refuses, have him take Naruto and sneak into Sunagakure Village to release the Nine-Tails."
"Let them know what the Sunagakure Village destruction plan is all about!"
"And the Konohagakure destruction plan! I'll destroy that Sunagakure Village! I don't believe that without the Third Kazekage they can still stop the Nine-Tails!"
The desk slammed loudly, and the words seemed to carry a built-in shield, as if Tsunade-sama was really about to lose it from the stress of her Hokage duties.
Shizune quietly agreed and left. It was better for Jiraiya-sama to handle Tsunade-sama's anger. After all these years, Shizune still wasn't used to it. Only Jiraiya-sama could handle Tsunade-sama's wrath.
She knew that the "Sunagakure Village destruction plan" was just something Tsunade said in a bad mood. After all, such an act would be difficult to explain to the other villages… Or was she just saying that?
Shizune couldn't help but feel uneasy, so she hurried to find Jiraiya-sama to try to calm Tsunade-sama down. If Tsunade-sama really got pushed too far and started planning the "Sunagakure Village destruction plan," the Fourth Great Ninja War might start all over again.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya, who was gathering materials in the distance, suddenly sneezed. Before he could even think about who might be thinking about him, he heard a few loud screams coming from the women's bath.
Jiraiya's expression darkened as he muttered to himself,
"Somene is here."
He quickly started to run away. Normally, he wouldn't be in such a hurry, since being beaten up by the older women in bathrobes was part of his research.
But not today. Tsunade was still around, and if she found out, he might end up in the hospital for a month or two.
Don't doubt Tsunade. The current Tsunade would definitely do something like that. She was just waiting for someone to get on her bad side so she could vent her anger. Jiraiya didn't want to be the one to suffer from Tsunade's wrath.
Time passed slowly, and with the length of the shadows changing, it was already the afternoon.
A cool breeze blew through the Land of Fire's forest, carrying the unique scent of the earth and plants, which drifted into their noses with the wind.
Shikamaru looked up at the sky, then turned to the others and said, "Let's take a ten-minute break. After ten minutes, we continue."
No one disagreed. Though traveling didn't consume much chakra, it did take a toll on their physical strength. While ninja were physically strong, they still needed to rest before the next fight.
After making sure there were no dangers nearby, everyone sat down under a big tree and took out their food.
Shikamaru sat next to Naruto, eating and watching the sky. After a while, he finished his food and turned to Naruto, asking,
"Naruto, you know why Sasuke went, right?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah."
"It's dangerous, right?" Shikamaru looked at Naruto seriously.
Naruto suddenly spat out a mouthful of bread, awkwardly smiling as he tried to cover it up.
"What are you talking about? He just went to train. How could it be dangerous? The Otogakure guys won't hurt Sasuke. After all, Orochimaru still needs Sasuke's body..."
"You're just saying that in front of Sakura."
Shikamaru interrupted him directly.
"I can tell you're worried beneath that calm face, just like when the three of us faced the Tailed Beast from Sunagakure. Even though Sasuke acts like nothing's wrong, I can tell he's jealous of you."
Naruto fell silent and put down his bread.
Shikamaru continued, "I don't talk to Sasuke much, honestly, I don't really know him, but from what I know, the Uchiha clan is stubborn and proud. If Sasuke is like that, he definitely can't accept being weaker than the others in his age group, especially when he saw the gap with his own eyes."
He looked at Naruto, his usual lazy expression now full of confidence. "I'm not trying to say anything else, I just want to know the truth about this mission since I'm the leader of this operation."
Naruto sighed. "Sorry, but that's really how it is."
Shikamaru showed a look of "I thought so." "Then start from the beginning and tell me everything."
Naruto helplessly scratched the back of his head. "Let me think... I guess it starts with the conversation we had in the hospital. Sasuke said back then that my strength was really strong, like a monster, and that the tailed beast gave me the power to fight monsters. If he could, he'd want that kind of power too."
"But... that's not true." Naruto lowered his head. "I know what I gave up to get this power—my mother, my childhood, everything but my life. I exchanged everything for this monster identity."
"Shikamaru, do you know? Kurama's power is strong, so strong that even Sasuke is envious of me. But I know, that power isn't really mine, like Kurama said."
"It can protect me while I'm growing, but in the end, I have to rely on myself."
Naruto's eyes were filled with determination. "I want Sasuke to become strong, I want him to have the protection to grow, but what I want more is for him to get stronger on his own, not relying on others, not giving his body away to others to get revenge... that's just stupid."
"Kurama said: even Shukaku wouldn't do something so stupid."
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