Two days later.
After a brief explanation to Kakashi, Jiraiya took Naruto and Shinju and set off on the journey to find Tsunade.
"Hey, Pervy Sage, what kind of person is this Tsunade we're supposed to be looking for this time?"
On the road, Naruto was like a never-ending stream of questions, asking nonstop.
Hearing Naruto's words, Jiraiya—rarely patient—actually began explaining:
"Tsunade is also one of the 'Three Legendary Sannin.' She's a master of medical ninjutsu, and… she's the kind of pretty lady you'd definitely like, Naruto."
"Pretty lady?"
Naruto clearly didn't believe Jiraiya's nonsense.
Even he wasn't that dumb.
All three of the Sannin were disciples of the Third Hokage. Their ages should be about the same.
Orochimaru was cold and creepy like a ghost, Pervy Sage was old and pervy…
Even if Tsunade was pretty, how pretty could she really be…?
"Don't believe me? You'll understand once you see her yourself."
"That woman hates the thought of looking old, so she probably still keeps up the appearance of being twenty or so."
Jiraiya didn't rush his explanation but instead wore a mysterious look.
...
At the same time, in Root.
"That boy has already left? Went with Jiraiya?"
Danzo's eyes flickered with a dark, unreadable light.
The masked shinobi knelt respectfully on the ground and nodded.
"Yes. Shinju and the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki have been taken by Jiraiya to look for Tsunade."
"Heh… the Third really does trust his disciples. Does he want Jiraiya to protect Naruto and Shinju?"
"But since they're now outside Konoha, this gives us the perfect chance to strike."
A cruel glint flashed in Danzo's eyes.
The masked shinobi hesitated, asking uncertainly: "Do you really want to move against that child? After all, he's…"
He didn't finish the rest of the sentence.
Because everyone knew just how important that child was to Konoha.
At this point, the boy was almost universally recognized by the village as the next Hokage in waiting!
"Of course. A blade that cannot be wielded by me… must be broken."
Danzo spoke coldly, then turned and disappeared into the darkness behind him.
"By the way, this mission is yours to command. You can mobilize any members of Root as you see fit. Make sure that child never returns to the village."
...
Two days later.
Outside a small town in the Land of Fire.
This was the first town Shinju and Naruto arrived at after leaving Konoha under Jiraiya's lead.
As soon as they entered, Jiraiya used the excuse of 'gathering information' to ditch Shinju and Naruto, then cheerfully strolled straight into a kabuki theater…
Standing outside the kabuki hall, Shinju was left speechless.
"Jiraiya-sensei really isn't reliable, huh."
"Forget him, Shinju, let's go buy something to eat!"
Naruto's eyes sparkled as he looked at the dazzling array of goods in the town.
This was only their second time leaving the village on a mission—the last time had been the trip to the Land of Waves.
But the Land of Waves was poor, with no feeling of a bustling world at all.
So this was actually the first time Naruto and Shinju had seen such lively, flourishing streets outside Konoha!
Hearing Naruto's suggestion, Shinju didn't refuse.
He had plenty of money on hand. Buying a small house in this town wouldn't even be a problem—let alone enjoying a good meal.
After that, Naruto and Shinju wandered from stall to stall.
Before long, the two found themselves outside a gambling hall.
Inside, the atmosphere was heated—gamblers arguing furiously, faces flushed with excitement.
Seeing the scene, Naruto curled his lips.
"I don't get it. What's so fun about gambling? People even throw their whole lives away on this kind of game."
"Probably because the winners always want to win more, and the losers can't stand losing…" Shinju answered casually.
Anyway, as a good young man of the new era, there was no way he'd ever touch something like gambling!
The two kids were just about to walk away from the gambling hall.
Just then—
Shinju noticed a blonde woman not far away, carrying a suitcase.
The woman was beautiful, about twenty years old in appearance, with a distinctive diamond-shaped mark on her forehead that immediately drew the eye.
Beside her was a black-haired attendant holding a pig in her arms.
Though the street was crowded with people, Shinju's attention never left that blonde woman.
Because his senses told him her chakra was anything but ordinary!
Not only was the amount huge, but it was condensed and refined to an extreme degree!
Even the chakra of Konoha's elite jonin couldn't compare to this level!
"Strange."
Shinju muttered quietly, realizing the outside world truly was full of hidden masters.
But just as he withdrew his gaze from the blonde woman, she suddenly turned and looked directly toward where Shinju and Naruto were standing.
When her eyes fell on the forehead protectors the two boys wore, she froze for a moment.
Her attendant, the black-haired woman with the pig, clearly noticed as well and said:
"They're shinobi from the village. So young… probably just genin."
"Strange, why don't I see their jonin leader?"
The blonde woman replied, "Not here. Guess he trusts them enough."
"I've heard the new generation of kids in the village is quite impressive."
Her lips curved into a smile.
"Especially that boy who can use Wood Release. He's been shocking all five nations lately—wherever you go, you hear people talking about him."
"It's only natural. A child who inherited the First Hokage's power will always draw attention."
The black-haired attendant answered casually while cradling the pig.
After their brief conversation, the blonde woman and her attendant entered the gambling hall.
By now, Shinju and Naruto had already passed it, but when Shinju saw the woman heading inside, he couldn't resist glancing back.
To his surprise, he noticed the back of her cloak bore a huge kanji: "Gamble."
"Someone like that must really love gambling." Shinju said offhandedly.
Naruto, confused, asked, "Shinju, what're you muttering to yourself for…? Come on, let's go buy takoyaki! I heard from some shinobi returning from missions that takoyaki outside the village is amazing!"
Shinju pulled some coins from his pocket and handed them to Naruto.
"Here's 20,000 ryo. Go buy us some food—I need to pick up a few supplies first."
"Alright!"
Naruto happily accepted the money from Shinju and dashed toward a takoyaki stall!
Meanwhile, Shinju turned and walked toward a dark alley in the town.
In nearly every sizeable city across the nations, there existed shinobi black markets.
In these markets, you could find everything: ninjutsu scrolls, information, weapons—endless supplies.
Shinju's goal today was to stock up on explosive tags and kunai.
In the village, each shinobi was only issued five standard explosive tags. While that was technically enough, it was far from generous.
Shinju planned to buy a few hundred. If a fight turned dangerous, he could always throw tags until the enemy was overwhelmed.
Now, walking down a dimly lit street in the town, Shinju suddenly stopped.
Slowly, he placed a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God formula on the ground.
"You've been following me for a while. What exactly do you want?"
Shinju's voice cut through the silence.
From the shadows behind him, a figure in a black cloak and hood stepped into the light.
"Join us."
Shinju raised an eyebrow slightly.
"And by 'us,' which organization are you talking about?"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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