"What is chakra?"
Goku popped the pill into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed.
His eyes immediately lit up.
The taste was nothing special, but a single pill was incredibly filling; he felt that eating fifty of them would be enough to satisfy his hunger.
Moreover, the pill did indeed restore physical strength, thereby replenishing the ki he had expended. However, the process wasn't instant; it took some time.
All in all, it was like a low-end version of a Senzu Bean.
But Senzu Beans were limited and couldn't be eaten as a meal, whereas these ration pills seemed to be a staple for ninjas in this world— clearly, they were plentiful.
If he could stock up on these pills in his box, he wouldn't have to worry about going hungry in the future.
"How do you not even know what chakra is? Aren't you a ninja?"
Ino was even more surprised now.
It was strange for a ninja not to know about ration pills, but perhaps understandable.
If one came from a tiny village in a remote area, they might genuinely lack the technology to make them.
But for a ninja not to know about chakra?
That was simply inexcusable.
"Hmm, I'm not a ninja."
Goku nodded honestly; he truly wasn't a ninja—he was a martial artist.
"Could it be..."
Looking at the tail behind Goku, Ino formed a theory.
"Mr. Goku—actually, let me just call you Goku; 'Mister' feels awkward.
May I ask, is that tail of yours natural?"
"Yes, I've had it since birth."
Goku nodded again.
He'd had the tail when his grandfather found him; he had always assumed all boys had tails, only realizing later that he was the only one who did.
"I see."
A look of realization dawned on Ino's face; she had more or less guessed Goku's identity.
That's right—in her eyes, Goku was certainly not a ninja, nor even a human.
After all, he might well be a wild Summoned Beast!
It is true that the practice of certain special ninjutsu can cause physical alterations in a ninja—much like the Inuzuka clan's technique of merging with their ninja hounds.
However, such techniques cannot be maintained indefinitely; they are typically reserved for combat.
Goku, on the other hand, was clearly in his natural state; he was born with a tail.
Such a characteristic strongly suggested he was a Summoned Beast.
High-level Summoned Beasts possess intelligence rivaling that of humans and can utilize chakra to perform various ninjutsu.
Some are incredibly powerful—rivaling even an average Kage.
The Summoned Beasts of the legendary Sannin of Konoha are prime examples.
Furthermore, there are Summoned Beasts that retain a few racial traits while otherwise appearing almost human.
Goku's appearance reminded Ino of the Sarutobi clan's hereditary summons: the Monkey King Enma and his kin.
It wasn't just Ino who thought this; Asuma and the others—who were in the midst of formulating and refining their battle plan—shared the same thought after overhearing the conversation.
Of course, the specifics didn't matter; whether Goku was a human ninja or a Summoned Beast, he was their savior.
And right now, he was eagerly helping them pursue Hidan and Kakuzu.
"We're counting on you, Goku!"
Twenty minutes later, the group gathered around Goku and, following his instructions, placed their hands on his shoulders.
"Apparition!"
Goku silently recited the incantation. He and the eight others vanished from the spot, reappearing instantly on a small path thirty kilometers away.
"They aren't moving; it looks like they're resting."
"So it really is space-time ninjutsu!"
Although they hadn't doubted the guileless Goku's word, seeing him actually teleport the entire group like that still took them by surprise. If Goku really is a summonable beast, then if one could
forge a contract with him, wouldn't that be...
Everyone's eyes began to gleam at the thought.
Superb taijutsu, incredible sensory abilities, and even space-time ninjutsu—he was easily on par with the summoned beasts of the Legendary Sannin.
"Ahem... according to the battle plan, we're moving in stealthily!"
Now clearly wasn't the time for such daydreams; Asuma coughed, snapping everyone out of their reverie.
Forging a contract with a summonable beast required a significant level of rapport—it wasn't something that could happen overnight.
Besides, it wasn't even certain that Goku was a summonable beast.
Their top priority right now was capturing the two Akatsuki members and extracting more intelligence about the organization from them.
Five hundred meters away, Hidan and Kakuzu sat cross-legged atop a large boulder, eyes closed as if asleep, their hands forming seals.
In reality, they were using a special ninjutsu to project their consciousness to a secret base thousands of miles away.
Shortly after their escape, they had received a telepathic message from Pain, the Akatsuki leader, ordering them to assist in the Genryū Kyū Fūjin (Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals) ritual to seal the newly captured Two-Tails Jinchūriki.
"Damn brat... I'm going to sacrifice him to Lord Jashin!"
Inside the secret base, an apparition of Hidan— standing on the tip of one finger of the massive Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—cursed furiously the moment he appeared.
"Pain, did you summon us all the way here just for a sealing ritual?"
Had Pain not suddenly summoned them, he and Kakuzu had intended to double back and set an ambush.
They had only retreated temporarily because they were unsure of the situation regarding Konoha's reinforcements.
But that didn't mean they were giving up.
He needed to vent his rage by sacrificing the brat who had dared to ruin his ritual, and Kakuzu was eager to collect the 35 million ryō bounty.
Now, being summoned to seal the Two-Tails meant wasting at least three days—by which time their target would likely have already returned to Konoha.
"Shut up, Hidan. Once the sealing is complete, we'll just slip into Konoha."
Kakuzu spoke while standing on one of the fingers beside him.
Hidan's face instantly lit up with a grin:
"Great! I'm going to offer everyone in Konoha as a sacrifice to Lord Jashin; he's going to love it."
Kakuzu silently cursed him as an idiot.
He had meant infiltrating Konoha, seizing the chance to kill the target worth 35 Million ryo, and then leaving—not engaging Konoha in a head-on confrontation.
The Five Great Hidden Villages were not to be trifled with.
Unless the entire Akatsuki organization mobilized, it was impossible for just the two of them to wipe out Konoha.
But there was no need to explain that to a brainless partner like Hidan.
"Going to Konoha? Kakuzu, Hidan... if you two are heading there, I've got a piece of advice for you."
"Watch out for that Jinchuriki named Uzumaki Naruto."
Deidara, standing on another finger, spoke with a serious expression.
"Mm."
Kakuzu nodded, while Hidan pointed at Deidara and laughed arrogantly:
"Hey, hey, hey—Little Deidara, don't go lumping us in with you. You're the kid who had to ask Kakuzu to sew his arm back on, after all."
"Better than having your head chopped off."
Kakuzu's snide remark made Hidan jump up in anger.
He demanded:
"Hey, Kakuzu, whose side are you on, anyway?"
Ignoring Hidan, Kakuzu addressed the group:
"There's a boy in Konoha with a tail—his taijutsu is incredibly strong. Do any of you have information on him?"
He was wary of the boy whose taijutsu kick had cost him one of his lives, so he wanted to gather some intel while they were sealing the Two-Tails.
"A boy with a tail... with incredibly strong taijutsu."
The other members, including the leader Pain, all looked puzzled.
If Kakuzu described someone's taijutsu as "incredibly strong," that meant it was truly formidable.
"Itachi, do you know?"
Pain looked at Uchiha Itachi, the rogue ninja from Konoha.
Itachi shook his head:
"Never heard of it."
"Hold on, those guys from Konoha are closing in; we need to deal with them first."
Kakuzu furrowed his brows, and his phantom image instantly vanished from his fingertip.
"Haha, the chance for revenge is here!"
Hidan's phantom image vanished right after.
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