"Damn it, still no news?"

Inside Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage's eyes blazed with fury as he looked incredulously at Darui, who could only nod.

"There's no news yet. Perhaps they encountered some problem, or perhaps…"

Darui dared not say what 'perhaps' meant, but everyone understood.

"Raikage-sama, according to intelligence, Orochimaru attempted to steal a secret treasure from the Land of Wind, which led to a massive explosion." C also spoke up, somewhat helplessly.

At this moment, saying nothing was not an option.

"It is said that the secret treasure was destroyed, and Orochimaru was also severely injured. The affected area was extremely wide, so it's hard to say…"

"Orochimaru? Another person from Konoha? Are they all dead?"

The Fourth Raikage was suppressing his rage. He found such matters difficult to accept.

"How is Konoha doing now? Sunagakure seems to have signed a new agreement with them?"

"Yes, Raikage-sama."

C glanced at Darui, realizing that the guy's laziness had struck again.

He could only speak in a low voice, "They were already allies, and this time, that mysterious organization caused such a huge commotion in the Land of Wind. They certainly won't let it go."

Not just Sunagakure, Kumogakure also had no intention of letting it go.

It was just that one was targeting the Akatsuki, while the other was targeting Konoha.

"Raikage-sama, what should we do now?"

C watched the Fourth Raikage fall silent. He immediately turned to Samui, who had not spoken for a long time.

Samui then finally spoke, "Should we continue investigating that mysterious organization, or should we contact them? And what about Konoha…"

"Hmph, a rat-like organization made up of rogue ninja. Keep an eye on them and see what they're really up to."

The Fourth Raikage didn't trust rogue ninjas, and their village rarely produced any.

"As for Konoha, the joint Chunin Exams will be held there next year, and I will go personally. So, before that…"

At this point, the Fourth Raikage hesitated somewhat. His pride made it difficult for him to relent.

But looking at his empty left arm, and recalling the speed that was no less than Minato's, and the style of Tobirama.

Finally, he sighed and said coldly, "If you encounter Takemi, you may appropriately abandon the mission without punishment, but for everyone else, you must retaliate doubly, understood?"

"Yes, Raikage-sama…"

— — —

"It seems this mission was a complete success."

Inside Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen was holding his pipe and looking at the scroll in his hand, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Sunagakure's cooperative intent can deepen our alliance, which is a good thing. Thank you for your hard work, Kakashi, Guy."

"It's our duty."

Kakashi and Guy immediately bowed slightly.

Sunagakure had been harassed by the Akatsuki, even targeting the Ryumyaku, which naturally caused them concern.

Coupled with encountering a stingy Daimyo, they would naturally make some compromises to ensure future safety.

Even if they only expressed an intention, and the rest needed Konoha's professional personnel to discuss with them, it was enough.

"Besides these, it's also basically confirmed that the intelligence Danzo provided was quite accurate, but this time the situation seems a bit strange."

After his joy, Sarutobi Hiruzen slightly frowned.

"The Akatsuki's performance this time seems to be much weaker than before, more like a test of us."

"Indeed, Takemi had that feeling." Kakashi nodded with a serious expression.

"We didn't encounter Itachi or Obito, nor did we see Jiraiya-sama's two disciples. And this time, people from Kumogakure also appeared. Could this be…"

"Perhaps Kumogakure found out about us being there." Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, and in the end, he could only say this.

"Kumogakure must be handled with care. As for the Akatsuki, we have now gathered their general intelligence, which is a good thing for us."

The secrets of the Akatsuki were no longer a complete mystery to Sarutobi Hiruzen and his team.

Even though many details were still unclear, such as whether they had a main base, or how they planned to change the 'world order'.

All these remained to be discussed, but they had a general understanding of the basic situation of their members.

"Perhaps we can try to unite with the other ninja villages to launch a joint encirclement against them."

The Akatsuki was too troublesome. These people were not only powerful, but their ideas were also extremely dangerous.

Even if they couldn't be sure what they were going to do, their status as rogue ninjas alone was enough to make some ninja villages take them seriously.

"Are we really going to do that?" Kakashi frowned.

He wasn't against it, but he felt it was a bit risky.

"And will the other villages cooperate? And Jiraiya-sama…"

"Don't worry, I said it's just a try. We'll talk about it after the Sunagakure matter is settled." Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.

He wasn't sure if such a thing could be done, he was just proposing an idea.

"As for Jiraiya, I'll talk to him too, but speaking of which, why hasn't he come yet?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen checked the time. After Kakashi returned, he had sent someone to find Jiraiya, but the conversation was almost over, and he still hadn't shown up.

Shaking his head, he didn't bother to think too much and continued to speak, "Alright, let's not talk about these things. Thank you for your hard work this time. Go and get some good rest. Speaking of which, did you make any progress this time?"

"Hmm?"

"At least, no one went to the hospital this time, right?"

"…"

Looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen's bright smile, Kakashi took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.

At least he wasn't recuperating in Konoha Hospital.

"Hokage-sama."

Just as they finished their conversation, an Anbu suddenly rushed in.

"What's wrong?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively clutched his chest. He had seen this kind of thing many times, and now he was afraid.

"Jiraiya-sama caused trouble at the hot spring resort, and then he encountered Tsunade-sama. They had some conflict…"

"…"

"Now, Jiraiya-sama is in the hospital…"

"…"

— — —

"You're too mean, aren't you?"

At Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto spoke up while eating his noodles.

"I was originally waiting for him to finish peeking so he could teach me, but you messed it up like this?"

"Don't worry, the Perverted Sage is thick-skinned, he'll be fine." Takemi said casually, then he smiled at Naruto.

"You should think about yourself, after all, 'you' harmed him!"

"You always harm me…"

Naruto lowered his head, not wanting to speak. Fortunately, he had gotten used to everything over the years, so this was just a minor matter to him.

Besides, that Perverted Sage was really easy to deal with. At worst, tomorrow he could use Shadow Clone combined with Rasengan to give him a good performance, right?

Naruto asked, "Hey, what do you think is a suitable name for a Ninjutsu that combines Shadow Clone and Rasengan?"

"Oh, he taught you that Ninjutsu?"

"Tch, this is my talent, don't mention that, hurry up and help me think."

"Rasengan, do you still need to think about it?"

"Huh? How are you so skilled?"

"Tch."

Takemi raised his eyebrows, looking at Naruto's disbelieving face.

"Also, Naruto, it's not good for you to keep asking me after developing such a Ninjutsu."

"Why don't you ask Hokage-sama to evaluate it for you?"

"Ah?"

Naruto was stunned, suddenly a little hesitant.