Some time later…
Land of Earth – Iwagakure.
It was late at night. The moon hung dimly in the sky, casting a soft glow over the village.
After the tailed beast was extracted from Lao Zi's body, he returned to Iwagakure and reported everything that happened on his journey.
When Ohnoki heard that the Four Tails had been taken, he jumped up from his seat, furious.
"What?!"
"You let that guy take the Four Tails away?!"
"Lao Zi, you should understand—Four Tails belongs to Iwagakure, not to you personally."
"You handing it over to Konoha is no different than betrayal!"
Lao Zi defended himself: "If it hadn't been for that young man's intervention, Four Tails would have been captured by the Akatsuki."
Ohnoki retorted coldly, "If you'd returned to the village sooner and allowed us to protect you like we protect Han, Akatsuki wouldn't have had the chance!"
Lao Zi's expression turned dark. "Don't you know why I haven't returned to the village?"
The room fell into heavy silence. When ideologies clash, arguing is pointless.
Outside Tsuchikage's office, the night was still, broken only by the soft chirping of cicadas.
Suddenly, Lao Zi, ever alert, noticed a flicker of flame in the distance—something was on fire!
Just as he was about to warn Ohnoki, a Rock Shinobi burst into the office, panting.
"Tsuchikage-sama! Something terrible has happened! There's a fire in the eastern district—where Han-senpai lives!"
Ohnoki's eyes widened in alarm. He stood abruptly and demanded, "What about Han? Is he alright?"
"I don't know, sir. We haven't found any trace of him. However, the guards said that right before the fire, they saw someone in a black cloak with red cloud patterns…"
Ohnoki's face twisted in shock.
Without another word, he smashed the window and flew toward the fire.
Moments ago, he had just boasted that Han, as a Jinchūriki protected by the village, was safe from Akatsuki.
He didn't expect to be slapped in the face so soon!
---
Meanwhile, in the Land of Birds.
After obtaining the Four Tails, Morkel instructed Sasuke and his team to travel to the Land of Lightning to investigate the status of the Two Tails and Eight Tails.
Morkel himself planned to return to Konoha and retrieve Naruto.
However, just as he prepared to use Flying Thunder God to return instantly, he sensed Naruto's chakra nearby—and found him chatting with a young girl.
Naruto had stopped a beautiful young lady on the street and asked, somewhat shyly, "Excuse me, do you know where the residence of the daimyo of the Land of Birds is?"
The girl gave him a once-over, then kindly pointed in the correct direction. "This is just a small town. If you want to find the daimyo, you'll need to go to the capital. Head down that road and cross a few mountains."
Naruto thanked her repeatedly, turned to tell his team the information—then froze.
A familiar red-haired figure stood in the crowd.
"Hey, Morkel!"
Naruto sprinted forward and gave him a huge bear hug.
"Why are you here?! Weren't you just in the Land of Earth?!"
Morkel chuckled and gently pushed Naruto off. "I came here for something. I could ask you the same—shouldn't you be in the village?"
Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "There was a mission here. I had some free time and volunteered."
"A mission? So you must have teammates," Morkel said, raising an eyebrow.
Naruto pointed off to the side. "Yeah, Tenten and Neji. They're buying supplies."
---
Not long after, the group gathered in a local barbecue restaurant.
Tenten was the first to speak, concern in her voice. "I heard you created a crystal mountain in the Land of Earth. Are you okay? Didn't it drain your chakra?"
Morkel smiled slightly. Tsunade's cover story was still working perfectly. "I'm mostly recovered, but it might take decades to fully restore my chakra."
"Decades?" Tenten gasped. Then quickly added, "Well, even if your strength is reduced, you're still the pride of Konoha."
She blushed fiercely at her own words and quickly lowered her head.
Morkel didn't push the moment, instead turning to Neji. "So, what's the mission here?"
Neji took a sip of tea. "Reports of a ghost in the daimyo's mansion. We were sent to investigate."
"A ghost?" Morkel frowned. "Is that even a thing in the ninja world?"
Naruto jumped in. "You don't know the half of it! The former daimyo of the Bird Country died, and soon after, his daughter Hong also passed away. People think the ghost is his vengeful spirit."
Morkel stared blankly. "You could at least try to make your story believable."
Tenten interjected, "Since you're already here, why not join us? The reward's pretty good."
Morkel thought it over. With Four Tails in hand and Sasuke on task in the Land of Lightning, why not take a breather?
"Alright," he said. "I'll come with you."
---
As they made their way toward the capital of the Bird Country, the group ran for several kilometers before Morkel suddenly stopped.
"Walking is too slow."
Naruto perked up. "Yeah, bring out the 'big plane'!"
Morkel gave him a deadpan look. "It's not a plane…"
Neji added, "But flying would be faster."
Tenten chimed in, "Morkel, you really can do anything."
But Morkel shook his head. "This time, I've got something new to show you."
He raised his hand, and with a flash of light, a massive red ape emerged from the seal in his palm.
Tenten and Neji gasped.
"One, two, three, four... That's the Four Tails?!"
Morkel nodded calmly. "Got it straight from Iwagakure."
The ape, Son Goku—the Four Tails—growled.
It had resisted at first. A noble tailed beast wasn't meant to be a mount!
But Morkel's fists were… persuasive.
With heavy footsteps, the beast carried the group toward the Bird Country capital.
Inside Naruto's mind, Kurama cheered.
"Yes! No need to use me as a ride this time!"
---
Arriving at the city gate, Morkel re-sealed Four Tails to avoid alarming the citizens.
As they entered, the streets buzzed with rumors.
"Shut your windows at night! The ghost might steal from you!"
"They say the former daimyo died with deep resentment…"
"Poor current lord—his dad's dead, his sister too…"
"Didn't the ghost attack Lord Hongming too?"
"It's okay, Meng Zong is here!"
"Shhh! Don't talk like that!"
After piecing together the gossip, the group learned that after the former daimyo died, his son Sagi and advisor Hongming competed for power. Sagi won, but then his sister died, and suspicions started flying.
"Why kill the sister and not just assassinate Sagi?" Naruto wondered aloud.
"Maybe it was an accident," Tenten offered.
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Morkel said firmly. "We should talk to the client."
Soon they arrived at the residence of Meng Zong, the monk who commissioned the mission.
A bespectacled young man greeted them warmly. "You must be from Konoha! I'm Tajima, the one who sent the request."
Naruto blinked. "But the mission said it was from Meng Zong?"
"I work for him. Used his name," Tajima admitted.
"How'd you afford the commission?" Naruto asked.
"I'm friends with the current daimyo," Tajima explained.
The group followed him inside.
There they met Meng Zong, an elderly, plump monk with a kind face.
But Morkel immediately sensed something was wrong.
He's a ninja.
Was this really Meng Zong? Or a fake all along?
Meng Zong eyed Morkel and suddenly asked, "Red-haired young man, may I know your name?"
"Morkel," he replied calmly.
The monk visibly trembled.
Naruto blinked. "Wow, he's scared just from your name?"
Meng Zong forced a smile. "I didn't expect the famed Morkel to visit."
Everyone accepted the explanation—except Morkel, who grew even more suspicious.
Was the monk hiding something?
---
Later, Tajima offered to introduce them to the young lord.
Despite initial reluctance, the lord welcomed them—but when he laid eyes on Morkel, everything changed.
"So handsome~"
Morkel shuddered.
The lord quickly recovered and changed tone. "I mean, welcome to the Bird Country!"
Naruto whispered, "His attitude changed fast…"
Tenten smirked. "Looks like charm works on men too!"
The lord tried to keep Morkel behind.
Morkel: "Not happening."
The lord: "Think it over—"
"No!"
---
Meanwhile, back at Meng Zong's residence, the monk was panicking.
"Pack everything! We need to leave—now!"
A voice on the rooftop asked, "Boss, aren't they just kids? What's the big deal?"
Meng Zong's expression was grim.
"They brought Morkel. That's the big deal."
---