Land of Hot Water.
As a renowned tourist destination, it was naturally a place where wealthy merchants congregated to enjoy life.
"An army marches on its stomach." For merchants, the treacherous and unpredictable situations in various countries were their 'rations.' It could be said that, apart from the daimyo and Kage of each nation, they were undoubtedly the most concerned about changes in the national landscape.
Less than half a day had passed since the four great ninja villages jointly issued their 'peace declarations.' Some daimyo of smaller nations hadn't even received the relevant intelligence yet, but the 'declarations' had already become a hot topic of discussion among these wealthy merchants.
"What a loss! I just stockpiled fifteen thousand kilograms of grain in the Land of Rivers!"
"Grain can at least still be sold; you won't lose much! Not like me, with so many kunai and exploding tags, who's going to buy them?"
"Exploding tags? Where did you get them? I'd like to buy some," a portly merchant asked, pulling down the towel from his forehead.
"Easy now. How many do you want?" The goat-bearded man, who had just been lamenting his fate, brightened up at the inquiry.
"Is the quality reliable?"
"From Takumi Village. Definitely reliable."
"I want a thousand. Do you have that many?" The portly man shifted his bulk slightly, closing the distance between them.
"A thousand?" The goat-bearded man was slightly taken aback; that was enough for a small-scale battle.
"You don't have them?" The portly merchant looked somewhat disappointed.
"I do." The goat-bearded man nodded and said in a low voice, "Normally, I shouldn't say these things, but seeing as we've cooperated for many years, I'll give you a reminder."
"Exploding tags are different from things like kunai and shuriken. The Five Great Ninja Villages keep a very tight watch on them. Don't go causing trouble on their turf."
He wasn't bluffing.
Having been in this business for so many years, he had some connections with the Five Great Ninja Villages and had a decent understanding of their 'bottom lines.'
"I understand." The portly merchant patted his shoulder reassuringly. "There was a mine collapse. I just want to use them to blast some rocks."
"I see." The goat-bearded man looked as if he'd had a sudden epiphany.
I'll believe you when pigs fly! he thought. Blast rocks? More like you want to blast the debt-collecting miners…
But what did that have to do with him? He was just a merchant, a merchant trying to earn a little something for his retirement.
"You've certainly caused quite a stir."
A clear female voice sounded from behind him, pulling Naruto, who had been eavesdropping on the neighboring merchants' conversation, back to reality.
"…Miss Yugito, if I recall correctly, this should be the men's section." Naruto glanced down at his lower body, submerged in the hot spring, his tone perfectly even.
"Oh? Is that so? How come I just saw a fat man walk into the next bath with a woman in his arms?" Yugito said with surprise. "They're all private hot springs; how did yours suddenly become a men's only section?"
Can they even be compared? That was his mistress… Naruto grumbled internally. "Is there something you need?" he asked.
As he spoke, he couldn't help but size up the woman before him. Her waist-length, sandy-beige straight hair was casually draped over her shoulders. Her cool, aloof expression, paired with her tall figure, gave off a distinct "cool older sister" vibe. Truth be told, she was exactly the type of mistress those wealthy merchants favored.
Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. During the battle in Kumogakure, Naruto Clone Four had tricked her onto his "pirate ship."
In other words, the Dragon Heritage had a new member.
"You're a wanted man in Kumogakure," Yugito said nonchalantly, flicking her long hair over her shoulder.
"What's the reason?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. This doesn't make sense. If anyone's going to issue a wanted notice, shouldn't it be all four hidden villages together?
"The wanted poster didn't state a reason," Yugito said, pointing to herself. "But isn't it obvious?"
"You're not wanted?" Naruto soaked a towel in hot water and placed it back on his forehead.
"You haven't even been declared wanted by Konoha yet. How could I possibly be wanted?" Yugito retorted.
"I see." Naruto slowly submerged himself deeper into the hot spring.
Tailed Beasts were a village's ultimate weapon, while a missing-nin was an enemy of the village. If a village decided to issue a wanted notice for a Jinchuriki, it meant they had already given up on that weapon.
Generally, no ninja village would do such a thing.
After all, they had spent a considerable sum to purchase the Tailed Beasts from Konoha.
"Are you free?" Naruto asked.
"What is it?" Yugito paused, then asked.
"Help me check the background of that merchant next door who's buying exploding tags," Naruto said, recalling their earlier conversation.
"And you?"
Naruto didn't answer, instead pointing to his bandaged right shoulder.
"Tsk, to take a direct hit from the Fourth Raikage's Righteous Lightning Sinking Fury Axe and still be alive… as far as I know, apart from the Eight-Tails, you're the first," Yugito said, clicking her tongue.
"I was a hair's breadth away from being done for," Naruto couldn't help but recall that kick which had nearly landed on his head.
Within a dark, subterranean cavern.
On the ten fingers of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, eight rainbow-hued phantom figures stood, each on a different finger.
The phantom in the very center, with its pair of purple Rinnegan, was particularly eye-catching.
"Is there something you need? Itachi-san and I are still being pursued by ninja employed by the Land of Rivers' daimyo," a phantom figure with fish-like eyes spoke up.
"Assassinating a minor noble from a small country, and you still get pursued. This mission should have been given to me and Sasori-senpai, un," another voice chimed in.
"Deidara, are you looking to die?" Kisame's fish-like eyes narrowed.
"Quiet." As soon as the Rinnegan phantom spoke, both of them fell silent.
"According to Zetsu's intelligence, the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Two-Tails Jinchuriki, the Three-Tails, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki have already united."
"The Dragon Heritage organization?" Kisame asked.
"Correct," a pitcher-plant-like phantom responded.
"Kisame, Itachi, you two need to be careful. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki possesses some method to quickly master Tailed Beast power."
"The One-Tail is Deidara and Sasori's responsibility, the Two-Tails is Hidan and Kakuzu's. Just telling us to be careful, Leader, that doesn't seem right, does it?" Kisame said, looking at the Rinnegan-bearing man.
"Currently, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki appears to be the founder and actual leader of the Dragon Heritage organization. And as it happens, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is your and Itachi's responsibility," the pitcher-plant phantom explained.
"Three perfect Jinchuriki… Zetsu, why don't you give it a try?" Kisame grinned.
I'm not going to be the fall guy for this.
"Kisame-senpai, you're not scared, are you?" Deidara chuckled.
"Deidara, stop fooling around," the Rinnegan phantom said. He turned his head to look at Kisame. "Hidan and Kakuzu will assist you in capturing the Jinchuriki."
"What do you mean? Weren't we supposed to make our move three years from now?" a phantom beside Deidara asked.
"The funds in the organization's account are still insufficient," Kakuzu also spoke up.
"We'll consider those matters later. The issue of the Jinchuriki banding together is more pressing," the Rinnegan phantom stated.
"The Dragon Heritage organization now possesses four Tailed Beasts. If we give them another three years to develop, our process of capturing the Tailed Beasts will be no less difficult than fighting a Third Great Ninja War."
"It might even be more severe than the Third Great Ninja War. Keep in mind, not even that many Tailed Beasts participated in the Third Great Ninja War," Kakuzu said.
"A piece of supplementary intelligence: the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki was crippled when the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki forced Kumogakure to sign the peace agreement," the pitcher-plant phantom interjected. "Which is to say, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki will not be joining the Dragon Heritage."
"Did the Fourth Raikage participate in that battle?" Itachi suddenly asked.
"Oh, he participated alright!" Zetsu's tone abruptly changed, as if transforming from a news anchor to a circus clown. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki fought one against two, crippled the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and finally escaped, heavily injured."