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In just a few minutes, the middle-aged, chubby man from the Fukama family felt the treachery of human nature. The sun and people's hearts should never be looked at directly…

‘Terahara and Egawa families both deserve to die!’

But he knew that he couldn't just say ‘no’, even if that was the truth. The family head had repeatedly warned him not to make enemies and to ensure everything went smoothly no matter what.

"The gifts... the gifts are still on the way. There are too many, and they got held up on the road." He quickly explained. Being chosen to represent the Fukama family in public meant he wasn’t entirely incompetent… just a bit dim.

"Oh, I see." Naruto’s gaze swept over him and then to the others, "So, should we get to the main topic now?"

"No rush. The Enwa family overreached by prying into the Intelligence Department, so they got what they deserved." The young man from the Egawa family suggested, "It’s still early. Why don’t we eat first?"

"Yeah, let’s eat and talk at the same time."

"Sure."

…

"They really said that?" Kakashi looked as if he had seen a ghost, stroking his chin and muttering to himself, "Weird... what’s up with these nobles?"

"I don't know either. I didn’t even do anything. I just came back and sat there, then they started acting like that." Naruto slouched in the chair, mumbling lazily.

"It's possible that they are afraid. After all, you have wiped out a great noble family. They’re probably here to get their share from the Enwa family’s mess and must’ve pocketed some nice benefits."

"Man, those nobles are shameless. But hey, at least their attitude is pretty good." Naruto said.

"Then no need to overthink it. Since they’re extending goodwill first, just accept it." Kakashi said, "This is also good, as the project of the Intelligence Department can nowmove forward smoothly."

"Huh? Kakashi-sensei, you’re still paying attention to the Intelligence Department's projects?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"What are you talking about? I'm the Hokage, how could I not pay attention to the major projects of the Intelligence Department?" Kakashi coughed, "It's just... you know how hectic things have been these past few months."

"So, being Hokage is indeed a troublesome job." Naruto remarked.

"Mhm. Oh, right… there’s one more thing." Kakashi suddenly said, and then he began rummaging through the paperwork on the table, "Wait a sec... where did it go? It was just here…"

Scratching his head, Kakashi looked thoroughly annoyed.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing, just a small matter. The Daimyo of the Land of Birds, Toki, came to visit recently." Kakashi was still looking through the paperwork. " She asked if you’ve come of age... it seems like she wants to meet you."

"Toki?" Naruto searched his memory for a while and remembered the mission where he slapped her a few times, ‘How could this person still miss me?’

‘No way... is she a masochist? That’s too creepy.’

"Forget it. Don’t bother looking… I’ve got no interest in seeing her." Naruto said, "Women who act overly nice for no reason are always up to something. What if she’s trying to get knocked up by me? That’d be a mess."

"That's true. If that's the case, it will be really troublesome." Kakashi murmured to himself his usual dead fish eye.

At this moment, there was a hurried knock at the door.

"Someone’s here." Naruto said.

"Come in." Kakashi looked up at the door and said.

After getting permission, the door was hastily opened. Izumo pushed the door open and stepped aside immediately. The two then saw a slender, deep-orange toad following behind him.

Naruto took one look and immediately recognized the toad. It was none other than the Scroll Toad, Gerotora.

"Hokage-sama, Gerotora has something important to tell you." After saying that, Izumo immediately slipped away.

Ever since Tsunade left the village, the newly appointed Rokudaime Hokage Kakashi was faced with the embarrassing situation of having a shortage of capable personnel. So in the end, he simply inherited the team left by Tsunade.

Among them was the Anbu Commander, Yugao, and two secretaries, Kotetsu and Izumo, who were promoted from gatekeepers to errand runners.

"Gerotora? What brings you to Konoha? Is there any new news from Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked, his lazy expression softening into a smile.

It had been ages since he’d heard from Jiraiya, and he doesn't know where he drifted to, as he had lost contact with him.

Seeing Gerotora again brought a wave of nostalgia, as Jiraiya often used it to send messages.

"Kakashi, Naruto." Gerotora hopped forward and said seriously, "Jiraiya’s in trouble. He disappeared underground during a mission and seems to be missing."

"Missing?" He looked at Gerotora in astonishment, then sat up straight and asked seriously, "Is the news reliable?"

"Yes. When I was summoned, he was on an underground river with a strong current. He got pulled into a whirlpool and vanished, and his Chakra signature also disappeared instantly." Gerotora said.

"His Chakra signature disappear instantly?" Kakashi narrowed his eye, "Logically speaking, even if he was pulled into a whirlpool, it is impossible for his Chakra signature to disappear immediately."

"Perhaps there is a different dimension underneath? Or maybe there are other mysteries. Either way, we need to investigate. After all, Jiraiya-sama summoned Gerotora, so maybe he wanted to convey some message to the outside world."

Hearing this, Naruto couldn't help but frown, but he didn't get too anxious. He knew how skilled Jiraiya was. He had a lot of ways to save his life.

In addition to Gerotora used specifically for delivering messages, Jiraiya can also summon the Gourd Toad to hide inside and breathe underwater for extended periods.

"Did Jiraiya say anything when he summoned you?" Naruto asked.

"No." Gerotora shook its head, "There was a steep rock face, the lighting was dim... It seemed like a massive underground river with a huge elevation drop."

"When I appeared, only his palm was visible above the water, then it was gone in a flash."

"An underground whirlpool, huh?" Kakashi analyzed calmly as always, "Given that Jiraiya-sama's summoning beast are the toads from Mount Myoboku. If he was just pulled underwater, he should’ve returned by now."

"Besides, with Jiraiya-sama’s abilities, surviving and finding a way out shouldn’t be a problem. Is it possible that he was just swept along the underground river to a farther location?"

"That’s possible." Naruto nodded, but then added, "But under normal circumstances, Pervy Sage wouldn’t hastily summon Gerotora unless he was really in trouble."

"Gerotora, do you still remember the location where Jiraiya-sama disappeared?" Kakashi asked.

"I can try. I traveled quite far to find an exit. Maybe... if we head out now, we can locate it." Gerotora said.

Hearing this, Naruto looked at Kakashi.

"Don't go alone. Neji, Tenten and Lee are still in the village. You should form a team with them and go together." Kakashi gave the order decisively.

"Anyway, you've done missions together before, so you guys should be in sync."

"Got it.” Naruto agreed without hesitation.

About half an hour later, Team 3 assembled immediately after receiving the Hokage’s emergency summon. Of the Konoha 12, only Team 3 was currently available for missions within the village.

Team 10 had just Choji without a designated role, but he couldn’t operate alone. And ever since he’s married, he’d started learning to handle his clan’s internal affairs.

Most Shinobi Clans are involved with some nobles, and the interests involved are quite complicated. It is not easy to handle it well, so it required patience and diligence to manage.

As for Team 7… All the members of Team 7 are problem children, none of them are easy to deal with.

Kakashi also always sighed inwardly, as none of his former students ever made his life easy.

Team 8 only had Shino on active missions. Kiba was busy with his clan’s matters, while Hinata remained within the Hyuga Clan’s compound to support Neji due to ongoing clan affairs.

Originally, Neji himself hadn’t had much time for missions lately, but after more than a month, the tensions between the Hyuga Clan’s branch and main family had eased significantly.

With the guidance of Hiashi and the help of Hinata and Hanabi, Neji quickly became familiar with the clan affairs and handled them in an orderly manner.

If that was all, it would not be enough for him to actually have time to take on the task. The most crucial reason was that Neji had taken the initiative to resolve the conflict between the branch family and the main family.

"You got married?" Naruto was stunned and turned to look at Neji in shock, "When?"

"Seven days ago." Neji answered calmly, as if discussing something trivial, "It was just a simple wedding, not formal. We just had a rehearsal in advance."

"What?" Tenten’s reaction was far more dramatic and she immediately rushed to Neji, "Married? Neji, are you joking? We’re all in the village, and you didn’t even tell Lee or me!"

"It was just a rehearsal, essentially an engagement," Neji said, "We'll officially get married next month, and you’ll be invited."

"With who?" Tenten asked with a complicated expression.

"A girl from the main family. We’ve known each other for a while... I just didn’t expect to marry her." Neji's voice showed no emotion, as if getting married was no different from eating or sleeping.

Although getting married also includes sleeping, he seems to think that getting married is just a very ordinary thing.

"You’re getting married so soon?" Lee blinked and smiled, "Whoa, Neji! I didn't expect you to be the first one to get married among the four of us… cool!"

Although Lee sometimes speaks without thinking, he has one advantage: he is sincere.

Despite Naruto being a temporary addition to Team 3 back in the day, Lee had always welcomed him wholeheartedly.

"I always thought Naruto would be the first to marry... I never saw this coming." Lee said with a chuckle.

Tenten pursed her lips, not knowing what to say for a moment. She just felt a little lost, but she couldn't say she was upset, after all, she’d long prepared mentally for this.

After all, the Hyuga Clan rarely married outside their own bloodline, so Tenten knew very early that Neji would eventually marry a Hyuga Clan’s girl.

"Is that so? So it’s to ease the tension between the main and branch families?" Naruto said without raising his head.

"No wonder you have time to come out to do the mission. Have you sorted out all the issues in the clan?"

"Well, it's almost done." Neji nodded and said, "The marriage has indeed eased the conflict between the main family and the branch family. Things are moving in a good direction."

"Congratulations, Neji." Tenten walked forward and said with a forced smile, "Wish you a happy marriage."

"Thank you, Tenten." Neji replied with a nod.

With their preparations complete, the four set out at full speed. Though Naruto was anxious about Jiraiya, he didn’t rush ahead and allowed Neji to lead. After all, this was a rescue and investigation mission, and Team 3’s experience was invaluable.

…

Two days later.

Standing atop a deep underground valley, Naruto and the others found the suspected entrance. Gerotora carefully scanned the surroundings and then pointed toward a narrow fissure below.

"That's the place."