Chapter 167: Uchiha Ten's Mission.
Tsunade escaped, leaving behind only a note.
[Jiraiya, I know your feelings, and I know that Konoha is not in a good situation right now, but I also have my own difficulties, and I hope you can understand.]
Of course, I will keep my promise, but I have a lot of gambling debts. I'll go back to Konoha for a visit when I've paid them all off.
—A note from Tsunade: Don't read it!
"well..."
Jiraiya sighed. This was very much in line with Tsunade's style. After all, running away from gambling debts was something she often did. Although she would have to pay them back sooner or later, how could she be reliable about something that was uncertain?
"Perverted uncle…then we…" Naruto was much more obedient than yesterday, but he still couldn't change his mouth.
Aside from giving Jiraiya some face in public by calling him "teacher," when the two were alone, they would always talk about "perverted old man."
"Let's go back to Konoha…" Jiraiya sighed. "For now, we can only let Kakashi hold the fort for the time being."
"Why doesn't that perverted old man take on the role of the Fifth Hokage himself?" Naruto asked with longing. "It's not just me, I believe almost every ninja in Konoha wants to become Hokage, but you, perverted old man..."
"Like Tsunade, I also have my own difficulties." Jiraiya's smile had long since vanished, replaced by a look of melancholy.
The Fourth Hokage position should belong to Orochimaru...
However, because of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, they were afraid that Orochimaru would lose control, so they opted for Minato Namikaze, whose methods were more lenient.
From that time on, Jiraiya lost all ambition for the Hokage position. Moreover, given his bond with Orochimaru, he couldn't overcome that hurdle in his heart and wouldn't become the Hokage of Konoha before Orochimaru.
Although it may seem unbelievable, this is Jiraiya, the only one among the many ninjas in the ninja world who possesses the essence of a hero.
"Can I become the Fifth Hokage?!" Naruto asked tentatively, feigning some longing.
"You?!" Jiraiya glanced at the eager Naruto. "A Konoha genin with no achievements to his name, I think the Seventh Hokage should let you be the one."
"Ah... the Seventh Hokage?!" Naruto said, somewhat deflated. "I'd be about the same age as that perverted old man by then..."
"Who can say for sure what will happen in the future?" Jiraiya patted Naruto's blond hair. "Just don't forget your original intentions."
"Um."
Naruto nodded and followed Jiraiya, who had already started walking, on the journey back to Konoha.
...
"Deidara, welcome to the Akatsuki. From now on, 'Blue' will be your code name. This is your ring."
Pain stood on the highest platform, with the Akatsuki members below him, now all present.
"Sasori, do you and Deidara need more time to get along?" Pain asked, just to be on the safe side.
"unnecessary!"
Deidara and Sasori spoke in unison, and after they finished speaking, they couldn't stand each other. Their eyes met briefly, and then they both turned their heads to look in other directions.
"Well, in that case, I'll assign the task." Pain pointed at Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. "You two have experience in infiltrating Konoha, so the task of capturing Shukaku the One-Tailed Beast will be yours."
"Huh? Isn't Shukaku a tailed beast belonging to Sunagakure?!"
Since Deidara was new to the area, aside from Obito Uchiha who was disguised as Tobi, he was the most eccentric person, so it was normal for him to ask such a question.
"You're new here, so you might not know this, but some time ago, Sunagakure joined forces with Orochimaru to carry out a plan to destroy Konoha. Not only did the plan completely fail, but they also lost one of Sunagakure's Jinchuriki."
Konan stepped forward and offered an explanation, showing considerable patience towards Deidara, who had just joined the organization.
"What a coward." Deidara muttered, finding a reason to criticize Sasori. "Coming from a ninja village like this, let alone your strength, your artistic skills are definitely not that great!"
"Do you want to be turned into a human puppet?!"
"I've wanted to blow those art-insulting puppets of yours to smithereens for a long time!"
"Enough!"
Pain's sharp shout interrupted their argument, and at the same time, the power of his Rinnegan erupted, instantly engulfing the entire Akatsuki secret base.
"snort!"
The two exchanged a cold snort, temporarily easing the tense atmosphere, and then looked away, ignoring each other.
"I bet they'll be the first to die on the mission," Kisame Hoshigaki grinned and whispered in Itachi Uchiha's ear.
In Kisame's view, Sasori and Deidara's close cooperation during the mission to capture the tailed beasts would be difficult to achieve, making them easy targets for the jinchūriki to defeat one by one.
Payne glanced at Kisame Hoshigaki but did not retaliate again, instead continuing to assign tasks.
"Kakuzu and Hidan, you two are to go to Amegakure to capture the Two-Tailed Cat Demon. Here is the intelligence." He casually tossed the intelligence scroll to the two of them. "It is worth noting that the Two-Tailed Cat Demon's jinchūriki can freely transform into a tailed beast, and he lives in the same village as the Eight-Tailed Gyūki. Be careful when you carry out the mission."
"Ha! Lord Death has been urging me to submit the sacrifice for a long time!"
Kakuzu remained silent, but Hidan was the first to start shouting.
Pain ignored Hidan and turned his gaze to Obito Uchiha. "The Three-Tails Isobu is in its wild state and is still recovering its strength, so we'll leave it to Tobi and Zetsu to handle."
"Huh? I... I can't handle this by myself!" Obito Uchiha started pretending again.
"Shut up!" Black Zetsu, who had merged with White Zetsu, spoke up. "I will assist you!"
"The mission has been assigned. Let's rest for a bit and then set off." Pain sat back down in his chair. "There's one thing I must tell you: the tailed beasts or jinchūriki we capture must be alive."
...
"What exactly is our mission?!"
Uchiha Ten's squad was now very close to the Land of Lightning. Among them, Uchiha Sasuke couldn't contain himself any longer and asked the question that had been nagging him all the way.
Uchiha Ten stopped his journey. Although he looked somewhat displeased, now that they were close to their destination, it was time to let the team members know the specific details of the mission.
"This mission is very dangerous. We need to capture the Two-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure, or surround and kill the two-person Akatsuki team that came to capture the Tailed Beast."
"Akatsuki..."
After joining Orochimaru's Sound Village, Sasuke Uchiha naturally investigated again, based on the information Orochimaru had, what exactly happened during the Uchiha clan massacre and how many forces were involved.
The Akatsuki organization was undoubtedly one of the forces involved.
"Is Itachi Uchiha coming back?!" Sasuke Uchiha's words were filled with hatred. "If it's him, none of you should interfere!"
"You overestimate yourself and underestimate Itachi Uchiha." Uchiha Ten commented calmly, "The Jinchūriki of the Two-Tailed Cat is not worth Itachi Uchiha's time to take action."