After both Hidan and Kakuzu were taken down by Yoruha, Shikamaru and Choji took responsibility for cleaning up the battlefield.
Asuma, meanwhile, found the entrance to the bounty exchange building.
Sure enough, the body of Chiriku had already been turned in.
This made Asuma furious.
But in this world, even dark and unpleasant systems like the bounty network had their own place.
It wasn't something he could forcibly interfere with—no matter how much he wanted to.
"I didn't expect members of the Akatsuki to be that powerful," Asuma said with a heavy sigh. "If Yoruha hadn't shown up when he did, we could've all been wiped out."
One could use all five elemental jutsu simultaneously.
One had an immortal body and could resurrect even after decapitation.
And one could kill enemies just by performing a twisted sacrificial ritual.
Enemies like that... they were way out of their league.
Asuma felt like he had narrowly escaped death.
Maybe... they'd all gotten a little too reckless lately.
If something had happened to Kurenai…
He didn't even want to think about it.
"You don't need to thank me. Ino is my sister, and Choji and Shikamaru are my friends," Yoruha said with a soft smile.
Then he said nothing more.
But Asuma's heart stirred with complex emotions.
Originally, the Third Hokage had assigned him to lead the Ino-Shika-Cho trio as a symbol of the Sarutobi clan's support for their families.
But now...
Because of Yoruha's presence...
The political landscape of Konoha's major clans was starting to shift.
Asuma found himself quietly thankful that he'd been given the role of their teacher.
Yoruha was a once-in-a-century genius.
That much was clear.
…
Once the battlefield was cleared, Choji carried the corpses of Hidan and Kakuzu on his back.
The Akatsuki were far too mysterious.
Even their bodies might hold valuable intel.
They couldn't afford to leave anything behind.
Just then, Teams 7 and 8 finally arrived on the scene.
When Kiba and Shino saw the real Yoruha standing there, they raised their eyebrows in surprise.
So the version of Yoruha they'd been following all day… had only been a clone?
Seriously?
He could do that?
How!?
Hinata, on the other hand, smiled proudly.
That's my future husband right there…
…
Back in Konoha, Yamanaka Inoichi and the other experts of the Yamanaka Clan began a deep mental probe of Kakuzu's body.
Though most of the Akatsuki-related memories seemed to be sealed away by some high-level jutsu...
They still managed to extract some crucial intel.
At the very least, they confirmed that Kakuzu and Hidan had entered the Land of Fire on a mission—
To hunt the Nine-Tails.
"I didn't expect the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki from Kumogakure to have already been captured," Tsunade muttered after reading Inoichi's report. "They say she had nearly achieved perfect compatibility with her beast…"
It was clear now:
The Akatsuki weren't just dangerous.
They were making serious moves.
In Tsunade's office, only a few people were present—besides her and Inoichi, there was Jiraiya and Shizune.
The tension in the room made it obvious that Tsunade was deeply worried.
She was thinking about Naruto.
If every Akatsuki member had that kind of power…
Then what kind of strength did their leaders possess?
"If they managed to recruit Itachi and even Orochimaru into the Akatsuki… then yeah, their leaders are definitely no joke," Jiraiya said casually as he leaned against the desk.
His eyes occasionally flicked to Tsunade's chest.
Some habits never changed.
Just like Yoruha.
"Exactly," Tsunade replied, her tone firm. "We barely know anything about them, and they already have at least two Tailed Beasts in their possession. That's a threat to the entire ninja world."
She turned to Shizune.
"Any word back from Onoki or the Raikage?"
After Gaara was kidnapped, Tsunade and Gaara had both sent letters to the other major villages, urging them to share intel and coordinate efforts against the Akatsuki.
But...
It had been over a month.
Still no reply.
She might've expected silence from the Mist, but the fact that both the Stone and Cloud Villages were ignoring the warnings was infuriating.
"No response yet…" Shizune said quietly, shaking her head. "But now that Yugito Nii from the Cloud has been taken, the Raikage will probably start paying attention. After all, the Eight-Tails' Jinchūriki is his younger brother."
"Hmph! I warned them already, but they just brushed it off like I was shouting into the wind!" Tsunade snapped. "If they'd listened, they might've been able to stop the Two-Tails from being captured."
At that moment, Inoichi gave a small shrug.
Good thing you've been keeping Naruto out of sight with all these missions, he thought to himself.
If Yoruha hadn't been around, something could've happened to the Nine-Tails too.
"Actually," Jiraiya spoke up, "I've recently uncovered a lead on the Akatsuki's leader. The trail points to the Hidden Rain Village."
"I'd planned on heading there later, but now… it looks like I'll have to go sooner."
His voice was calm, but his eyes were fixed out the window.
Over the years, he'd built an extensive network of contacts across the ninja world.
His info was solid.
"The Rain Village?" Tsunade asked, frowning.
Yūgakure had been locked down tight for years.
Every so often, they sent a few ninja to participate in the Chūnin Exams, but otherwise, Konoha had very little intel on them.
If the Akatsuki were truly tied to that place...
Things would get complicated fast.
"The Rain isn't just a village," Inoichi added with a serious tone.
Unlike the other ninja villages, which served as military centers for their nations…
The Hidden Rain ruled the Land of Rain directly.
Their leader held more power than even a Daimyō in some ways.
If they decided to rebel…
It would be a very big deal.
"Come to think of it," Jiraiya said with a smile, "we were given the title 'Legendary Sannin' by Hanzo the Salamander, the Rain Village's leader back in the day. What, has he just faded into obscurity now?"
Jiraiya chuckled at the memory.
Back then, he and Tsunade and Orochimaru had fought Hanzo together—and still lost.
If Hanzo hadn't spared them, they'd all be long dead.
"Hanzo was powerful, sure… but he's old now," Tsunade said with a sigh. "What I'm more worried about is the possibility that he's raised someone even more terrifying."
Even though Konoha had Yoruha…
When it came to the new generation of shinobi…
There weren't many others who could stand on the same level.
Not even Naruto.
At least not yet.
"So I'm heading to the Rain Village early," Jiraiya said with a faint smile. "I'll find out who's pulling the strings behind the Akatsuki."
He knew the risks were high.
Very high.
But that was the shinobi path.
They were born to walk into danger.