Bonus chapter, thanks for the 200 PS.
Here you go, a new chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.
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Around the same time, in the council room in Suna;
"This is not good." A councilman said as he read a report in his hand
"Not good? This is bad, very bad." A councilman said with nervousness and dread filling his voice
"This has nothing to do with us, right?" A councilwoman said nervously as she looked at Rasa, Baki, and the two siblings.
"It isn't us, but we are the main suspects either way," Baki said with a heavy tone as he read the report he had in his hands.
Teams that have been sent to where the explosion was spotted reported on the presence of massive scale destruction as well as signs of a recent battle that occurred near the end of a long, shallow ravine in the sand that connected to a massive crater, hundreds of meters wide, where the explosion happened. It was nothing like the teams had ever seen.
But the worrying part was where this incident happened. The incident occurred near the border of the land of rivers, on the route that leads to Suna and back, the route that Naruto Uzumaki should be taking to return to the land of fire at that time.
Most of the council hoped that it had nothing to do or done to Uzumaki, as it would put them in Konoha's crosshairs due to the lack of other potential culprits. But it was all for nothing, as the report indicated that at least two regiments from Konoha were spotted near the borders before sunrise.
That was the last report from the border before they lost contact with the lookout team.
"Send a jonin team to investigate the site thoroughly. I will contact the land fire myself to resolve this." Rasa ordered with a blank tone, but his fists were clenched under the table.
If this escalates further, it would put Suna in an extremely difficult position.
Was this a scheme done by Konoha, or was there an unknown third party trying to exacerbate the situation between Suna and Konoha?
Back in Konoha, Naruto's recovery room;
"I am glad you are fine, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said as he entered the room, accompanied by Shikaku, Inoichi, and Reiko.
"Thank you, Sensei," Naruto replied as he still sat on his bed.
Tsunade stood beside him, as she had just broken their hug just as Hiruzen entered.
"Is this Suna's doing?" Hiruzen asked blankly, directly going to the subject due to how sensitive it is right now.
"I am not entirely sure, but I don't think that it was their doing," Naruto said as everyone's attention was on him.
"What do you mean?" Shikaku asked, his usual lazy demeanor absent as he looked at Naruto.
"I wasn't attacked in Suna. Two rogue Shinobi intercepted me as I was about to reach the land of rivers. At first, I thought Suna might have hired them, but after fighting them, I don't think Suna can hire rogue shinobi of their caliber, let alone afford their services in the current economic situation of Suna." Naruto said, making the others go silent for a moment.
"Who were these rogue Shinobi?" Inoichi asked
"One of them was called Hidan, a rogue shinobi who displayed a slashed headband from Yugakure. He was the one who injured me to this degree, and until now, I still can't fully understand his abilities." Naruto said as the others' eyes narrowed.
"How so?" Shikaku asked
"I can sum it up by saying he has some form of immortality along with an ability to inflict wounds on his opponent by injuring himself," Naruto said, shocking the others.
"Are you sure, Naruto?" Tsunade was the one to ask, as a medical professional, she knew how far-fetched immortality is.
"I fully decapitated him, Kaa-san," Naruto said
"I fully severed his head from his body, and a while later, he was walking again, alive and well with his reattached head. It wasn't a type of clone or a genjutsu. I am sure of it." Naruto said, making the other fall silent, trying to process what they just heard.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he had survived, but I doubt it, as he should be reduced to dust, scattered with the wind," Naruto said with a low voice that was heard by the others as they looked at him with questioning looks.
"What?" Naruto asked before continuing, "He was on the receiving end of a Bijuudama."
That earned Naruto a look of disbelief from the other.
"OK, let's just hold the details for later." Shikaku massaged his nose bridge before asking, "Tell us about the other rogue shinobi before diving into details."
"The other rogue shinobi is Kakuzu, a rogue shinobi who displayed a slashed headband from Takigakure. He is from the era before the first Shinobi war." Naruto said, shocking the others, especially Hiruzen.
"You don't mean that 'Kakuzu.'?" Hiruzen said with disbelief in his voice.
"Wait, I heard that name before," Tsunade said as she thought deeply, trying to remember.
"It is him," Naruto replied to Hiruzen
"Can we have some clarification, Hokage-sama? You seem to know who this Kakuzu is." Inoichi asked.
"Kakuzu was one of Takigakure's elite. He was tasked by his village to assassinate Hashirama-sama, but failed miserably." Hiruzen said, shocking the others, except Naruto, while making Tsunade remember something.
"Now I remember, I once overheard Grandpa and Granduncle talk about him once," Tsunade said while her face turned slightly nostalgic.
"Hold on a moment, if he is that old, how is he alive?" Inoichi asked, as all of them looked at Naruto to see if he got an explanation.
"I am almost sure he harvests organs from his opponents when he defeats them to extend his life. His anatomy is the weirdest I have ever seen. His body consists almost entirely of grey tendrils that he can use hearts he harvested to form creatures using these tendrils." Naruto said as the others were so shocked and confused by what was being said
"Naruto, start from the beginning and don't leave anything out," Hiruzen said as he massaged his temples. Too much is being said, and it's hard to believe, making him feel a headache forming in real time.
Naruto took a deep breath before starting with when he departed from Suna, while the others kept quiet, noting everything being said.
To be continued.
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
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