"So, where are we going next?"
Jiraiya voiced the key question on everyone's mind, and Naruto, as expected, provided an answer.
"Do you even need to ask? Of course, we're going to that [Roran] place!"
"According to Hoshigaki Kisame's words, there seems to be a legend about a [Ryumyaku] possessing enormous Chakra in that ancient kingdom. So, is that masked man planning to use the Ryumyaku as a substitute for the Nine Tailed Beasts?"
Sasuke rested his chin on his hand, analyzing point by point.
"Knowing he can't do it, so he simply gave up on stealing them..."
"That's avoiding our sharp edge!"
"Although we don't know if he really plans to do that, whatever the enemy wants to do, we must disrupt it!"
Naruto's thought process was simple: if the enemy wouldn't come to him, he would take the initiative and attack.
Meanwhile, Gaara's eyes lit up as soon as he heard they were going to the Land of Wind.
Kousei pattered over to Gaara and gently kicked his calf.
"Dark Circles, are you thinking of something bad?"
Faced with the little girl's inquiry, Gaara showed great tolerance.
He crouched down and gently lifted the little girl onto his shoulders, just as he had done when he lost his memory.
"Won't happen. That Akatsuki organization hasn't been wiped out yet, right?"
It had to be said that through numerous hardships, the edges of Gaara's irritable youth had finally been worn down considerably.
At the very least, he had learned how to use words to reassure others.
"Hmph, don't you do anything stupid, okay."
Kousei clung to Gaara's red hair like a koala.
And Gaara didn't get angry.
"Think about it, if Dad attacked your village, would those people be able to win?"
Hearing this, Gaara's expression showed some surprise.
He really hadn't expected that Kousei, a little girl of just over four years old, would understand their situation so clearly.
After saying this, Kousei, as usual, patted Gaara a few times with her small hands, then nimbly leaped from his shoulders, perfectly grabbing onto Naruto's clothes.
This little girl's agility was far better than any monkey's.
Despite this, Naruto still reached out to support her from below, preventing her from falling if she lost her grip.
And Gaara?
He just stared blankly at the interaction between Naruto and Kousei, the father and daughter, lost in thought.
"Don't space out, it's time to go."
At that moment, a large hand clapped Gaara on the shoulder from behind.
The force almost made him stumble.
The expression that had just calmed on Gaara's face immediately turned displeased.
When he turned around, he saw the Eight-Tails's Jinchuriki, Killer B, packing his things.
'Whatever, can't be bothered to argue with this guy.'
The wound from being elbowed by this guy last time had healed by now, but whenever Gaara remembered it, he would feel a phantom pain.
…
Since they knew the masked man was planning something, Naruto naturally didn't intend to continue moving slowly to lure the snake out of its hole.
From the intelligence provided by Kisame, they learned that apart from the Three-Tails, the missing Five-Tails and the whereabouts-unknown Six-Tails had not fallen into the enemy's hands.
This saved Naruto a lot of trouble.
'So now, I just needed to defeat the enemy, and things should be settled, right?'
Thinking of Hancock and Stussy, who might already be pregnant, Naruto looked again at his daughter who had come from the 'future'.
He now had more important things to do.
"Um... Excuse me... When can you let me go back?"
The Fire Temple's apprentice monk, Sora, who had just woken up from his coma, asked cautiously.
Surrounding him were individuals who each looked formidable.
His perception wasn't that sharp.
But he saw the black-haired guy who had easily defeated Chiriku had been beaten into a vegetative state by these people.
It was easy to imagine how fierce they were.
Fortunately, it seemed this group held no malice towards him.
"Don't worry, we'll let you leave at the next town."
Karin descended while riding the wind, glancing disdainfully at the timid monk.
"Otherwise, if we just dump you in this wilderness, you wouldn't be able to get back to Fire Temple by yourself, right?"
"This... that's true..."
Sora rubbed his head and gave an embarrassed laugh.
Just then, the sound of clothes rustling against leaves came from ahead.
'Someone?'
Everyone's attention was drawn forward, but since Naruto didn't say anything, no one was too tense.
At the very least, it probably wasn't an enemy from the Akatsuki.
Sure enough, several figures familiar to both Naruto and Sasuke emerged from the forest one after another.
The two leading Jonin were both known to Naruto.
One was his and Sasuke's team leader, the Copy Ninja of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi.
The other was the teacher of Rock Lee, whom Naruto had encountered during training in Konoha Village, though Naruto couldn't quite remember his name.
Anyway, he distinctly remembered the signature bowl-cut hairstyle and thick eyebrows.
The man's Taijutsu was quite good, something Naruto acknowledged.
Behind them, several Genin also stepped out.
"It looks like... our luck is really quite good, don't you think? Naruto."
Kakashi looked at the Avenger Team, which had more members than his own group, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
'This kid Naruto really couldn't let people rest easy.'
'In such a short time, he had managed to gather the Jinchurikis from various villages.'
'Good grief, even Senju Hashirama-sama hadn't distributed the Tailed Beasts as quickly as Naruto was collecting them.'
"Yo, if it isn't Kakashi-sensei, long time no see."
Naruto, still carrying his daughter on his shoulders, greeted Kakashi and walked towards his team.
Nearby, Guy looked at Naruto, then at his good friend Kakashi, confused.
"Kakashi, is this Naruto... the Naruto Uzumaki we are tasked to arrest this time?"
Guy looked at the young man who was over two meters tall, then took out the mission details from his pocket, comparing them repeatedly.
'This guy... really doesn't know how to be flexible.'
Kakashi thought to himself, 'There was no way our team could be a match for the other side. The Fifth Hokage was clearly sending us on a perfunctory mission.'
'Otherwise, why send a bunch of Genin?'
"Oh? Kakashi-sensei? Is what Bushy Brows-sensei said true?"
Naruto also turned to look at Kakashi, his expression playful.
"Ah, well..."
Kakashi was at a loss for words, but the Genin who had come along took action first.
The one who couldn't hold back and stepped forward was naturally the third member of Team 7, Haruno Sakura.
"Sasuke-kun... Naruto... why did you leave without saying goodbye..."
Her gaze towards her former teammates held a bit of grievance, feeling left out.
Then, Sakura's attention was caught by the exquisitely beautiful little girl on Naruto's shoulder.
Noticing her gaze, Naruto directly lifted Kousei from his back to the front, holding her under her arms with both hands.
"What do you think, cute, right? My daughter, Kousei!"
Even without Naruto's fatherly bias, Kousei was an extremely adorable little girl.
Having inherited the heaven-defying good looks of Naruto and Hancock, how could Kousei be anything but beautiful?
However, upon hearing Naruto's words, Kakashi and his entire team petrified on the spot.
"Dau... daughter? Yours and Sasuke-kun's?"
Somehow, a wire must have crossed in Sakura's brain, leading her to inexplicably consider this possibility.
Sasuke's face darkened upon hearing this, but before he could explain, a new situation arose within the opposing team.
"Hinata!"
"Ah! Hinata, what's wrong?"
"Hinata-sama..."
Lee, Kiba, and Neji all surrounded the last team member, Hyuga Hinata. At this moment, the young girl who always grew shy under attention had turned into a pale statue, falling straight backward.
"What's going on? What's going on?"
Kousei, who had caused the commotion, eagerly joined the excitement, squirming in her father's grasp until she broke free, then running on her short legs towards Hinata.
Seeing this, Naruto showed no concern at all, simply letting the little girl go play.
"It seems I've missed a lot of things..."
Kakashi walked up to Naruto at this point, his tone quiet and deep.
"Sigh… then let's sit down and talk slowly. Actually, there's something I need to ask of you."
As he spoke, Naruto pointed behind him.
Kakashi followed his finger and looked, his eyes gradually widening.
"Is this... Uchiha Itachi?"