Where are you going?
In the dark room, Naruto fell into deep thought.
Run to Sunagakure?
Forget it.
Now that Naruto was with Karin, that wasn't an option.
Although he didn't want to admit it, Naruto had to face the truth — he was kind of a scumbag.
After spending these days together, Karin had been extremely proactive.
Naruto had to admit he couldn't really resist her enthusiasm.
If that hot-headed girl Temari found out about it… who knew what would happen?
Then go back to Konoha?
That wasn't a good idea either.
The current Konoha wasn't the Konoha Naruto once loved.
For now, he had no intention of returning.
As for the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water, Naruto ruled them out immediately.
And there was that guy from the Akatsuki — Zetsu, who could hide himself through any kind of vegetation.
If Naruto wanted to avoid being discovered by him, he could only go somewhere without plants — like a desert.
Sunagakure was too risky, so his only remaining option was the Land of Earth.
Having made up his mind, Naruto activated Kagura's Mind Eye, searching for one of his Flying Thunder God seals.
This was something Naruto had discovered by accident — as long as the owner could sense the existence of a Flying Thunder God mark, they could teleport to it.
Before mastering Kagura's Mind Eye, Naruto's range for sensing the marks had been limited.
But after learning it, he could now perceive marks several dozen miles away.
That alone had greatly increased the distance he could cover in a single teleportation.
After locating a nearby mark, Naruto woke up Karin and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape the Akatsuki's encirclement.
"Naruto?"
Karin, who had been asleep, suddenly felt the world spinning.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar place.
Panic rose in her chest, but the next moment she saw Naruto standing beside her.
"Naruto-kun?" she asked softly.
Naruto nodded. "It's me. We were surrounded just now, so we had to leave the Land of Grass."
"Yeah…" Karin murmured, curling up in Naruto's arms like a kitten finally finding warmth.
She didn't ask where they were going — as long as Naruto was there, she felt safe.
Naruto's mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique was impressive.
Combined with Kagura's Mind Eye, his travel speed was astonishing.
The Land of Grass bordered the Land of Earth, so it didn't take long for them to cross a vast distance and arrive there.
When it came to the cause of the Ninja World Wars, the environment was often the biggest factor.
The Land of Fire was covered in lush forests, full of life and resources.
The Land of Wind was barren desert, poor in resources and slow to develop.
The Land of Earth was mostly rocky wasteland — its development only slightly better than the Land of Wind.
The Land of Lightning was the only one with relatively good conditions.
As for the Land of Water, it was an isolated archipelago, closed off from the rest of the world with very little trade — its development was extremely slow.
In short, the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning developed far faster than the others.
That imbalance was one of the main reasons wars kept breaking out — every nation wanted more land and resources.
Now, Naruto and Karin had entered the territory of the Land of Earth.
He knew there was someone in the Akatsuki — Zetsu — who was incredibly hard to detect.
So to avoid being discovered, Naruto chose a rocky area with almost no vegetation.
It was extremely remote, surrounded by nothing but stone and silence.
There were no villages nearby, and it was already late at night.
But none of that bothered Naruto.
He looked down at the girl in his arms. "Come down for a second."
Karin nodded, and Naruto gently placed her on the ground.
Then he walked to a flat spot, raised his hands, and formed several hand seals.
"Wood Style! Two-Bedroom, One-Living Room, One-Kitchen, One-Bathroom Technique!"
Rumble!
A small wooden house rose from the ground.
Although it was made of wood — which Zetsu could potentially use to hide — Naruto wasn't worried.
Since the Wood Style was his own chakra creation, the moment Zetsu tried to infiltrate, Naruto would sense it immediately.
For now, his plan was to train here quietly until he completed his system tasks.
After that, he would decide what to do next.
Meanwhile, on the other side—
The Akatsuki had begun their operation.
Thanks to Uchiha Itachi's reports, they were well aware of Naruto's growing power.
This mission was top secret — and the most critical one yet.
Pain's Six Paths and all the Akatsuki's core members were personally involved.
After Zetsu's scouting, they finally pinpointed Naruto's location.
But by the time they arrived—
They found the place empty.
Pain's expression darkened. "The Flying Thunder God Technique?"
He turned coldly toward Zetsu. "Find the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's location as soon as possible. I'll capture him myself when the time comes. The rest of you — continue watching your assigned targets."
"Yes."
Inside Konoha Village.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his office, massaging his aching forehead.
The plan he'd made with Yugao had completely failed.
By now, no matter where Naruto was in the ninja world, he would've already heard that Yugao had been ostracized because of him.
Yet Naruto hadn't returned to Konoha — nor had he given Hiruzen the chance to "make amends."
But that wasn't even the worst part.
With Naruto gone, Konoha had lost its Jinchūriki.
That, in turn, had drawn the attention of Cloud Village once again.
Their envoy had already arrived at Konoha and was now standing before the Hokage.
Inside the Hokage's office, the Cloud Village messenger spoke coldly.
"A few years ago, our Cloud envoy was brutally murdered in Konoha — on your orders, Lord Hokage."
"Now, our Raikage wishes to ask how you intend to handle this matter."
Hiruzen looked at the man before him, who was clearly trying to provoke him.
He suddenly looked much older, his weary voice carrying a trace of helplessness.
"So… what exactly does the Raikage want?"
The Cloud envoy sneered. "Our intention, of course, is to increase 'communication' and strengthen relations between our villages — to prevent further conflict."
"To that end, our Lord Raikage has a few proposals. Whether you accept them or not, Lord Hokage, is up to you."
Hiruzen fell silent, already guessing what was coming.
The envoy smirked, sensing the Hokage's hesitation.
It seems Konoha really has lost its Jinchūriki, he thought. And the one who could control the Tailed Beasts is gone.
Now was the perfect time to strike.
"Our Lord Raikage's terms are simple," he declared. "Hand over Uchiha Sasuke and Hyūga Hinata, and we'll forget your past 'rudeness.'"
"Otherwise, our Lord Raikage will come to Konoha himself — to demand justice."
Hiruzen's eyes widened in disbelief, then narrowed in fury.
Good grief…
They wanted two of Konoha's most gifted bloodline ninjas — the Sharingan and the Byakugan.
Cloud Village's appetite was truly enormous!
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