Early morning.
The Hidden Leaf Village.
Sakura arrived outside Naruto's house. Seeing Naruto, who had just woken up and was clutching a cup of instant ramen, she looked slightly exasperated.
"How can you eat something with such a strong flavor first thing in the morning?"
"Sakura, today's a day off," Naruto muttered. "What are you doing here so early?"
A vein popped on Sakura's forehead. "You idiot, it's already noon!"
She sighed. "Honestly, you're such a mess without Kanon around to look after you."
Naruto paused and looked down at himself. His clothes were disheveled, and he had even put his slippers on the wrong feet. When they were younger, Kanon was always the one who woke him up and straightened out his clothes. The realization made him flush with embarrassment.
"Alright, fine! I'll wash my face and change right now."
"I'll wait for you."
Naruto blinked, looking startled. "What? Is this a date?!"
"You moron, Tsunade-sama is calling for us!"
…
Half an hour later, in the Hokage's office.
Tsunade roared, "Too slow! What took you so long? Honestly!"
"I... I'm sorry!" Sakura bowed her head. "It's all Naruto's fault for eating lunch under the guise of breakfast."
Standing nearby, Jiraiya pleaded on Sakura's behalf. "Now, now, Tsunade, let it go."
Naruto walked in just then. "Eh? Pervy Sage? You're back?"
"Long time no see, Naruto," Jiraiya greeted him.
"What gives? You should've told me you were back!" Naruto said, his expression softening into regret. "Things got pretty rough after that..."
"So it seems. I've heard the gist of it. You've been quite active," Jiraiya noted.
"Yeah, I guess."
As Naruto and Jiraiya chatted back and forth, they began to walk out of the office with their arms over each other's shoulders, acting as if no one else was in the room. Sakura immediately called out to stop them.
Tsunade and Sakura struck simultaneously. Both master and disciple ended up with massive lumps on their heads.
Tsunade glared at them, while Sakura asked curiously, "So, what did you want to talk to us about?"
Tsunade paused, glancing toward Jiraiya.
"Tsunade-baachan, what's wrong? Is there something you need to say?" Naruto asked.
Tsunade nodded slowly. "Actually, intelligence has been circulating from various regions. That is what we need to discuss."
Naruto and Sakura exchanged a look. "Intelligence? About what?"
Tsunade lowered her head and spoke softly. "Orochimaru is dead. It appears the one who killed him was Sasuke Uchiha."
Naruto and Sakura's pupils shrank in shock.
"Does... does that mean..."
"Is it true?" Naruto asked, unable to believe it.
"It should be accurate. It came from a very reliable intelligence source. They say that at Orochimaru's hideout, black flames continue to burn."
"There are only two people alive today who possess those flames..." Jiraiya added regretfully.
"It's Kanon!" Naruto immediately identified the culprit. If it wasn't Itachi Uchiha, it had to be Kanon Uchiha.
"Yeah. The siblings took Orochimaru down."
In reality, it was simply a contingency Kanon had left within Sasuke that had played a minor role.
"Then, it's finally..." Sakura's eyes welled with tears.
Naruto, however, burst into laughter. "Hahaha! I knew there was no way that guy would get taken out by Orochimaru. Especially with Kanon there! Hahaha!"
"So," Naruto said softly, "will Sasuke come back to Konoha now? If he comes back, then Kanon will definitely come back too, right!"
Jiraiya and Tsunade closed their eyes solemnly. Noticing the shift in their expressions, Naruto froze.
"It doesn't look that way..."
Naruto's voice grew frantic. "What's going on?! Orochimaru is gone! Why wouldn't he come back to the village?!"
Jiraiya shook his head helplessly. "The Uchiha siblings have been consumed by revenge. To kill their brother, Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke likely intends to approach the Akatsuki."
"That guy... still... damn it!" Naruto's expression turned grim as he recalled Sasuke's words about vengeance.
"Then we need to move out immediately! The mission to intercept the Akatsuki is still ongoing, right?"
"Yes," Tsunade nodded.
"Then, to find Sasuke, we'll search with maximum efficiency! Those members of the Akatsuki… that guy!"
"In other words, our target... is also Itachi Uchiha!"
…
BOOM!
In a village within the Land of Earth, a massive Water Dragon Bullet exploded.
Rōshi was sent tumbling back, landing on the ground on the verge of death. As the water from the jutsu dispersed, Kisame Hoshigaki stood there holding Samehada, a wicked smirk on his face.
"Have you finally settled down? Wandering monk."
A light drizzle fell from the sky.
"He was certainly a handful." Kisame thrust Samehada half an inch into the ground.
Five minutes later, Itachi sensed the dying Rōshi behind him. He asked flatly, "You're back?"
"Yeah. Having to capture them alive instead of killing them is such a pain. I really admire Kanon-chan, she managed to capture three alive."
The rain began to pick up. Kisame noted, "It's starting to rain, Itachi-san."
"It looks like it will get heavier."
"Let's take cover under the trees. You'll catch a cold," Kisame said with genuine concern. "The Leader is waiting for our report. Once we finish the capture on our end, the sealing of the Four-Tails and Seven-Tails must begin immediately."
Kisame's lips curled slightly. "Letting them wait a little won't hurt. Once the sealing starts, we'll be busy for quite a while anyway."
Itachi nodded slightly, glancing at the unconscious Rōshi. "He looks like he's fading. Be careful with the elderly."
"You only say that because you don't know him. A Jinchūriki who can use the Four-Tails' Lava Release isn't that fragile. Since you didn't fight him head-on, you probably don't appreciate my hard work."
Itachi gave a cold huff. Kisame chuckled at the reaction.
"Then again, I was the one who insisted on going alone. If that's the case, how about I beat your next target half to death for you too?"
"Stop fooling around, Kisame."
"I'm just a bit tired. I want to capture all the Tailed Beasts as soon as possible."
Hearing Kisame's words, Itachi replied tonelessly, "Rushing won't help. It will still take some time."
The two sat under the shade of a tree to escape the rain. Kisame set Samehada and Rōshi aside, looking at Itachi with interest. "Since we have to take the Jinchūriki alive anyway, it's basically just a matter of catching and tying them up quickly. That should be fine. Even Deidara failed; if we really have to, we can just save the last ones for later."
"Besides, the Akatsuki is too conspicuous now. If we capture the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki too quickly, Konoha will act even more aggressively. And Konoha has very close ties with the other shinobi villages."
Kisame's smirk widened; he understood what Itachi was implying. "Are you saying that Kanon-chan is capturing Tailed Beasts so fast that it's making the Akatsuki look high-profile?"
"She should understand," Itachi said calmly. "If others get involved, our movements will become more difficult. We shouldn't stand out too much until the Eight-Tails is captured. Completing the recovery quickly and quietly is the wisest course of action."
Kisame nodded, taking Itachi's point. "I see. When you put it that way, it makes sense."
Suddenly, both Kisame and Itachi stiffened. It was a message from Pain.
"Is he calling us?" Itachi whispered.
"Did he catch us slacking off?" Kisame stood up and activated his astral projection.
…
At a certain hideout, the projections of Itachi and Kisame materialized.
All members of the Akatsuki were gathered. Kakuzu's projection was lying down, while Hidan was just a head.
"How pathetic," Kisame laughed.
"Kisame! Don't you start mocking me!" Hidan snapped irritably. Beside him, Deidara was practically doubled over with laughter. Hidan had mocked him for losing his arms before, and now the guy was nothing but a head.
"Too slow!" Pain interrupted them all.
"Boss, Kanon-chan isn't here yet," Kisame said, rubbing his cheek.
"Who says I'm not here?" At that moment, Kanon's projection appeared beside Pain.
"Kanon, you're late too."
"Sorry about that, senpai," Kanon stuck out her tongue, hiding her embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Kanon's physical body was sitting cross-legged in Jugo's hideout. Sasuke stood guard beside her, while Karin had her head resting on Kanon's lap. Karin was actually drooling slightly, even licking Kanon's thigh occasionally.
She looked like a total deviant, making Kanon feel incredibly awkward. How did I end up with such a creep? she wondered.
Nearby, Jugo and Suigetsu were busy with their own tasks.