"Really... can't you return to the village?"
After the group sat down again and clarified their respective situations, Sakura still looked somewhat unwillingly at Naruto and Sasuke, whose appearances had changed so much.
Naruto need not be mentioned, as just looking at his physique, he was basically the same as he was over a decade ago on the high seas.
Sasuke had also changed considerably.
Originally, the three of them should have been around 150 cm tall, with Sasuke the tallest, Sakura next, and Naruto the shortest.
But perhaps because he had eaten the Zoan-Type Devil Fruit, Sasuke's physical quality and growth potential had also improved to some extent.
Now, while his height couldn't compare to Naruto's over two meters, he was still around 178 cm, already approaching an adult's stature.
To the point where Sakura, from the same team, seemed a whole generation shorter in front of the two of them.
"Haha, sorry about that. We still have things we must do."
Naruto wiped the food residue from his precious daughter's mouth as she ate. His loving demeanor was quite fitting for his mental age.
Sakura watched Naruto like this.
Although she felt a bit of an indescribable sense of incongruity, she didn't say anything and instead turned her gaze to Sasuke.
However, Sasuke's response was even more decisive.
"After I kill that masked man, I will naturally return to Konoha Village."
He left the second half of his sentence unsaid.
'Otherwise, how can I go find those ultimately responsible for revenge?'
Apart from the already deceased Danzo, the two Hokage Advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, had also been placed on Sasuke's must-kill list.
In the past he had 'seen', these two advisors had provided considerable assistance to Danzo in implementing his Uchiha Clan's extermination plan.
In this process, the two old fogies were far more than just 'accomplices'.
Sasuke had told Naruto that he wouldn't harm the innocent, but clearly these two were not on the innocent list.
"That's how it is. We'll be leaving the Land of Fire next."
Jiraiya said to Kakashi and Guy.
"It seems your mission can only end in failure."
Hearing this, Kakashi could only force a wry smile.
"The Hokage-sama had already anticipated this. Actually, our coming out this time was just to make a gesture, to shut the Daimyo's mouth."
Speaking of this, Kakashi seemed to remember something, and his expression became a bit more serious.
"The scale of your activities is too large. In my opinion, not just our Land of Fire's Daimyo, but the Daimyos of the other great nations might also make some small moves recently."
It seemed that saying this was Kakashi's real purpose.
The new Fifth Hokage wasn't the only one outwardly compliant but inwardly opposed.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Jiraiya also remembered why this team had pursued them in the first place.
Somewhat different from Naruto, although Jiraiya didn't like being bound by the village, he had lived for many years within the framework of [Ninja Village - Great Nation].
Verbally, he might not care, but truly making him understand and agree with the idea of rebelling against the Daimyo was still somewhat difficult.
In fact, he wasn't the only one like this.
In this team, probably only Naruto, Kousei, at most plus Sasuke, a newborn calf unafraid of the tiger, would completely disregard the Daimyo's authority.
Speaking of which, according to Kousei's story, in a sense, she could be considered a 'princess from another country'.
"If they want to do something, let them come."
At this time, Naruto, holding his daughter, also walked over and spoke to Kakashi in a light tone.
"... Suit yourselves."
Thinking of Naruto's terrifying combat power during the Chunin Exams, and looking at Naruto now, who had become a giant with who knows how many times more intimidating presence-
Kakashi could only shake his head. He knew there was nothing else he could do.
He could only hope those Daimyos wouldn't seek their own doom.
Otherwise, judging by Naruto's own account of his years of conduct in another world, this student of his truly wouldn't care about any royal bloodlines.
"By the way, that guy can be handed over to you to take back and complete your mission."
Naruto was referring to Uchiha Itachi, who was in a 'constant' vegetative state.
"I believe the Third Hokage, when he sees him, should be able to handle the Daimyo for you."
From Sasuke's mouth, Naruto had learned the reason why Itachi had never held any intent to kill Sasuke.
Since they had encountered him, taking back a local specialty could be considered reasonable.
…
Under the rescue efforts of the team leaders, Hyuga Hinata, who had previously fallen into a petrified coma from excessive shock, finally woke up slowly.
"Mmm..."
"Hinata, you're awake?"
The speaker was Sakura.
Beside her, the other teammates also cast concerned looks.
Even the usually indifferent Neji was no exception.
"Sakura-san, I..."
Clearly, Hinata didn't seem to remember what she had seen before fainting.
"Ah, you fainted as soon as you saw Naruto and the others..."
Hearing Sakura's explanation, the previous events slowly came back to Hinata.
'Naruto-kun... little girl...'
"Speaking of which, who knows where Naruto managed to get such a big daughter from..."
At this moment, Kiba's muttering reached Hinata's ears.
The next moment, Hinata, who had just woken up, fell into a petrified state once again.
"Hinata? Huh? Hinata!"
…
After parting ways with the pursuer team, Naruto's group changed course directly, heading southwest.
Along the way, the troublesome kid Gaara behaved much more subdued than before.
Naruto knew full well that this kid hadn't had a great awakening and decided to join them completely-
He was just waiting for an opportunity-
Waiting for an opportunity to reach the Land of Wind and then escape from their grasp.
'Sigh... He's clearly the weakest one, why is he so confident?'
Due to the route, the group didn't pass through the Land of Rain this time, but instead crossed the Land of Rivers, which is between the Land of Wind and Land of Fire, directly entering the sand-swept territory of the Land of Wind.
They were south of Sunagakure here, and their final destination, Roran, was even further southwest.
Meaning, judging by the current itinerary, Gaara would only get farther and farther from his beloved Sunagakure.
"Ptooey! Ptooey!"
"Dad, how much further do we have to go?"
"We'll be there soon, Kousei. If you're tired, just sleep on Dad's back."
The sky was gradually darkening, and the group still hadn't reached the next settlement in the desert.
Kousei was wrapped in a small headscarf but still couldn't completely block the swirling yellow sand of the Land of Wind.
The geographical environment here was truly torturous.
Gaara, who had lived here for many years, was relatively adapted.
But everyone else in the group was suffering badly.
Things like large temperature differences between day and night, or giant sandstorms, weren't much for these capable individuals.
The most deadly was actually the scarcity of oases and towns, and the lack of timely supplies.
Don't think that water produced by Water Release Ninjutsu can be drunk.
In fact, the large-scale Water Release Ninjutsu used by people like Kisame or Zabuza generally fall into two categories.
One is like Zabuza, who uses pre-existing moisture in the environment to perform Ninjutsu, guiding natural water.
This kind can be drunk, but there isn't that much natural moisture in the desert for him to guide.
The second is like Kisame's directly 'spat' out Water Release Ninjutsu.
This is 'temporary water' purely created using Chakra, which will dissipate once the supporting Chakra is exhausted.
Even drinking it won't quench thirst.
It's like food created with Transformation Technique fundamentally can't fill your stomach.
Karin looked at the little girl's bitter face as she spat and felt somewhat unable to bear it.
'Sigh...'
A gentle wind swept up from the side, swirling around the little girl, blocking out all the fine sand.
Finally free from the sand's assault, the little girl drowsily fell asleep on her father's head.
Naruto noticed this wind, then turned to look at Karin and gave her a slight nod with a smile.
Seeing this, Karin's face reddened, and she continued silently maintaining the mini wind wall.
This scene was seen by B and Sasuke nearby.
"Hey... How about you just create a bigger wind wall."
"Yeah, yeah."
The two grumbled somewhat indignantly. Naruto, benefiting from Kousei's privilege, also enjoyed a stretch of sand-free travel.
"Piss off, piss off..."
"Do you think maintaining a wind wall doesn't cost energy? Who knows where the next town is, so I need to conserve it."
Unfortunately, Karin showed not the slightest bit of favor towards these two.
The two, having been snubbed, curled their lips. The next moment, Sasuke directly transformed into his Huodou Form and flew into the sky.
"I'll scout ahead, to see if there's a town for supplies."
After saying this, and ignoring Killer B's envious look on the ground, he flew away.