The Third Hokage's funeral ended, and the crowd slowly dispersed.
Naruto and Shinju stood in the rain, their eyes complicated, each lost in thought.
At some point, Tsunade came to their side, lightly patting Shinju on the shoulder as she asked,
"Where are you planning to go next?"
It was a simple question, without the slightest intention of holding them back.
Just as Shizune once said, Tsunade truly respected Shinju as a student.
After a long silence, Shinju answered,
"I'm heading to the Land of Lightning. I plan to capture some Akatsuki members and claim their bounties."
Tsunade smiled.
That sort of thing—probably only Shinju in the entire shinobi world would actually go through with it.
"If that's what you want, then go. I believe in you. (•‾̑⌣‾̑•)✧˖"
After saying this, she turned to Naruto. "And you?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto looked at Shinju beside him and said firmly,
"I'm going with Shinju."
"Alright."
Tsunade had already expected that answer, so she didn't say more and simply turned to leave.
Before parting, she gave Shinju a pointed reminder: "Naruto carries a tailed beast inside him. Akatsuki already has their sights on him. Make sure you protect him well."
Shinju nodded. "I will."
Tsunade's figure grew faint in the rain.
Perhaps it really was her age showing—after walking a fair distance, she suddenly turned back and said,
"Oh, right. Jiraiya went to Amegakure. If you have the time, you might want to check on him."
Shinju nodded. "Got it."
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cemetery.
Kakashi, dressed in black mourning clothes, held two bouquets of flowers as he approached a certain gravestone.
"Obito, Rin..."
...
The rain had come quickly, and it passed just as quickly.
Not long after the funeral ended, the skies cleared.
Sunlight once again shone down on the ground of Konohagakure, and on the stone monument engraved with the village's emblem...
...
At the same time, Shinju and Naruto had already made it to the Land of Lightning.
Although Kumogakure was now allied with Konoha, Shinju had once captured a group of Kumogakure's elite jōnin—and even managed to seize the perfect jinchūriki, Killer B—leaving the Hidden Cloud humiliated and bitter.
To be safe, Shinju used Transformation Jutsu to change his striking red hair into black.
After all, that bright red was his most recognizable feature...
Once he finished altering himself, he gave Naruto a quick makeover as well—erasing the whisker marks on his face and changing his blond hair to black too.
And just like that, the "combo" vanished.
Shinju was quite proud of his disguise! ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )
But the moment they stepped across the border of the Land of Lightning...
He noticed a Kumogakure shinobi, forehead protector gleaming, tailing them closely.
The man followed them all the way until Shinju lured him into an alley—then beat him soundly.
Inside the alley, Shinju demanded sternly, "Tell me, why are you following us?"
The shinobi, now bruised and pitiful, whimpered: (*꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)
"You two are Shinju and Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha, right? The Raikage-sama has requested your presence."
Shinju and Naruto exchanged a surprised glance.
(‧_‧?)
They'd gone out of their way to disguise themselves—so how did he recognize them?
As if reading Shinju's mind, the Kumogakure shinobi explained,
"The Hokage already sent word to the Raikage-sama that you two would be coming to the Land of Lightning…"
"And besides, genius Shinju is known across the world. Even without the red hair, you've still got a face handsome enough to make other men jealous. You're hard to miss."
Hearing this explanation, Shinju had to admit it sounded reasonable.
Even so, he was reluctant to head into Kumogakure.
He still remembered the Raikage's expression during their last negotiations—an expression that looked like he wanted to flay Shinju alive.
Once again, the Kumogakure shinobi seemed to guess his thoughts and added, "You have nothing to worry about. Kumogakure and Konoha are allies now. We won't do anything against you."
"And from what I know, the Raikage-sama has a matter he wishes your help with…"
Since it had come to that...
Shinju met Naruto's eyes, and both nodded.
"Then let's go," Shinju said.
...
A few hours later.
Kumogakure.
From the moment he entered the Land of Lightning, Shinju had noticed something: the locals were either pale-skinned or dark-skinned. Normally, with so many foreign merchants settling here thanks to booming trade, this wasn't too obvious.
But stepping into Kumogakure itself, the contrast stood out starkly.
Inside the Raikage's office.
The moment Shinju stepped through the doors, he could feel the heavy atmosphere.
The Raikage sat at the head, scowling darkly—it was clear something serious had gone wrong.
Still, upon seeing Shinju and Naruto, he rose warmly to greet them.
"It's been a long time, Shinju, Naruto. Three years have passed, and you've both grown into fine young shinobi."
"Oh, not at all."
Shinju brushed the compliment aside and got straight to the point.
"Raikage-sama, why exactly did you summon us here?"
The Raikage hesitated.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, the sound sharp in the quiet room.
After a long pause, he sighed and finally said,
"You both know that Kumogakure has not just Killer B, the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, but another jinchūriki as well."
Shinju nodded. "Yes. Yugito—she carries the Two-Tails, the demon cat."
"Correct. But just yesterday... Yugito disappeared." The Raikage's tone sank low.
"According to witnesses, members of Akatsuki in black cloaks were seen at the site of her disappearance... Based on my judgment, it was Hidan and Kakuzu."
Shinju raised a brow at that.
No wonder the intel he'd bought mentioned Hidan and Kakuzu being sighted in the Land of Lightning—they were after the Two-Tails...
The Raikage continued, "That's why I wish to ask for your help. Rescue Yugito, and Kumogakure will pay ten million ryo as a reward."
"I know Akatsuki's goal is to extract the tailed beasts, just like they did with Sunagakure's Kazekage. So I won't expect the Two-Tails to still be intact. As long as Yugito survives, the mission is fulfilled."
"Of course, if both Yugito and the Two-Tails can be brought back, Kumogakure will double the reward."
When he finished, the Raikage looked at Shinju with clear expectation.
"Why not send Kumogakure's own shinobi on this mission?" Shinju asked.
The Raikage gave a weary look.
"We don't have many who can stand against Akatsuki's so-called 'Immortal Duo.' And with the recent Mōryō incident, Kumogakure suffered collateral damage—our strength is stretched thin, and we need forces to remain behind."
"Besides, those two are clearly after the tailed beasts. I can't exactly send B out there..."
"In the end, you two are the best choice."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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