Amegakure Tower, 7th floor, inside a room.
Naruto stood in front of a mirror, looking at himself in the Fire Cloud cloak. He smiled.
"I never thought I'd be wearing this someday."
"Alright!"
Ta!
He clapped his fists together, turned around with his sleeves fluttering, and strode out of the room.
In the hallway, Konan leaned against a window, watching Naruto walk toward her. His orange eyes shone brightly.
"This cloak really suits you,"
Naruto waved his hand with a shy smile. "Don't tease me…"
"This is for you."
Konan opened her palm, revealing a ring.
Naruto took it. It was still warm from her hand. In the center, a light blue background with a single word: "Zero."
"Zero," he murmured, eyes narrowing slightly.
Konan said seriously, "Akatsuki members operate in pairs. Each official member has a codename. Pain's was 'Zero', it means 'nothingness.' I hope you'll carry that name forward."
She held up her hand, showing the ring on her right middle finger—white letters on a white background.
"Mine is 'Bai'—it means white tiger."
"I see."
Naruto nodded and carefully placed the ring on his left thumb.
Seeing this, Konan smiled softly.
"Oh, and—" she reached to her waist and pulled out a small, bulging pouch. "Soldier Pills. I noticed yours were a bit damp."
Naruto scratched his head. "Ah, I was hiding underground for a while when I went to pick up Kisame."
"Throw those old ones out," Konan said. "Damp pills aren't good for your health."
Naruto took the new pills with a serious expression.
"Thank you, Senior Sister Konan."
Konan said, "You and I walk the same path, no need to be so formal."
A few minutes later, the two walked out of the tower together. Orochimaru and Kisame had been waiting in the rain for some time.
Naruto looked thoughtful. "News of us coming to Amegakure might not stay hidden for long. Just to be safe…"
He began forming hand signs.
Bang!
A Shadow Clone appeared.
"I'll leave a clone here to watch over the place. If anything happens, I can teleport back instantly with Flying Thunder God."
From Amegakure to the Cloud Village, it was thousands of miles. The route passed through the Lands of Grass, Iron, Sound, Hot Springs, and the Moon before finally reaching the Land of Thunder.
For an average Jōnin, the journey would take ten days to two weeks.
But with Naruto's Flying Thunder God, he could instantly jump to a marked location in the Land of Iron, cutting the travel time in half. He could also move back and forth between stops, leaving markers along the way.
Such was the power of space-time ninjutsu.
"The place where Raikage and Kisame fought is at the southern border of the Land of Waves. To return to his village, Raikage has to cross that entire country from south to north. Plus, there are lots of rivers there, which drains chakra faster. He'll have to rest on the way. If we move quickly, we might reach Cloud Village before he does…"
As Naruto finished speaking, he slowly put on his mask—his aura shifted instantly.
Konan placed her hand on Naruto's back, while Naruto touched Orochimaru and Kisame's shoulders.
"Let's go."
Before leaving, Orochimaru glanced at the open space beside the tower.
"Once we're back from this mission, I should start building my new lab…"
...
Now.
In the snowy mountains behind the Land of Iron
"Ahhh…!!"
Two patrolling samurai fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
Bang!
Suigetsu stabbed his beheading sword into the ground and grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming.
"I left one alive for you. Better take your chance now…"
Suigetsu, currently in the form of a child, walked casually toward the samurai still breathing on the ground.
The wounded samurai gritted his teeth. "You… you're ninjas!"
"If you want someone to blame, blame that blonde ninja. He's the reason I ended up like this."
Jūgo stepped onto the samurai's back, covered his mouth and nose, and activated his cursed power.
"Mmmph…!"
The samurai let out a muffled cry as his body rapidly shrank, leaving behind only an empty set of armor.
After absorbing the man's life force, Jūgo's body returned to its youthful state.
Suigetsu chuckled. "That was intense. If anyone caught us doing this, we'd be thrown straight into death row~"
Whoosh… The curse mark slowly faded.
Jūgo spoke darkly, "Let's hurry back to Sasuke. My killing intent is rising again…"
Earlier, when the Five Kage were confronting Naruto, these two had slipped away. Instead of leaving the Land of Iron, they disguised themselves as samurai and waited for the right moment to act.
"Hey, Jūgo, Suigetsu… we meet again so soon."
A teasing voice rang out from behind them.
Swish!
The two turned quickly, on high alert.
At some point, Naruto had appeared behind them and standing with him were Konan, Orochimaru, and Kisame!
Suigetsu's eyes widened. "That was a dead end just now! How did he get behind us?!"
Jūgo muttered, "He can travel through space… But for him to show up now what terrible luck."
Yes, sometimes the world really is just that unlucky.
Naruto glanced at the body on the ground, then at the shriveled armor before changing his gaze away.
I'd better not provoke a guy who beat Sasuke into the ground...
Suigetsu thought nervously.
Wait, that cloak, and Kisame-senpai? Did he join Akatsuki too?!
Suigetsu's mind raced. He quickly said, "Hey, we're on the same side! Don't attack!"
Naruto replied with a smirk, "Weren't you guys part of Taka?"
Suigetsu said quickly, "Taka and Akatsuki are allies…"
Naruto smiled faintly. "Too bad we're not Akatsuki anymore."
Jūgo asked cautiously, "So why did you come to find us?"
Naruto replied, "Honestly, we just happened to pass by. But since fate brought us together here, I'll give you two choices, come with us, or…"
The calm pressure rolling off Naruto made Suigetsu's hair stand on end.
Jūgo's eyes were serious. Deep down, he didn't want to abandon Sasuke.
But Suigetsu kept shooting him desperate looks: Now's not the time to be loyal just stay alive!!
Naruto's eyes darkened.
"Jūgo, it won't be easy for you to find Sasuke. And if your curse gets out of control, innocent people or animals could get hurt. Until you find him… maybe I can be the one to keep you in check."
As he spoke, Naruto slowly removed his mask revealing the striking three-tomoe Sharingan in his left eye.
"Sharingan…" Jūgo's eyes sharpened.
"Fine. I don't know what you're after, but I'll stay with you for now. Just know—I'll never betray Sasuke."
Naruto pointed at the mess on the ground.
"That's up to you. But in exchange for helping cover this up, Hikari Akatsuki needs your help with our next mission."
Jūgo groaned. "...Deal."
"Hah…" Suigetsu let out a long sigh and followed behind Naruto with Jūgo.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Suigetsu, my adorable little subordinate. We were just fighting not long ago, and now look at us, working together."
Suigetsu rubbed his hands and said with a grin, "Lord Orochimaru, I always knew I was meant to follow someone like you!"
Naruto slid his mask back on.
"Let's move out, our next stop is the Cloud Shinobi Village."
Their goal: sneak in, search for, and steal the scroll containing the secret Lightning Style Chakra Mode technique.
Mission difficulty: Super S-rank.
After this tense encounter, Naruto and his team of six set off from the Land of Iron toward Kumogakure.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
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