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Published at 23rd of January 2024 11:50:32 AM


Chapter 304

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Under the gaze of the Mangekyo and Rinnegan, Pain and Uchiha Yoru reached some agreement.

However, at this time, the expression behind Obito's mask was extremely ugly, feeling that things were getting out of control.

Zetzu looked at all this calmly, without any surprise, but secretly pleased, hoping for chaos, the best outcome being the ninja world thrown into complete disarray.

Zetzu knew that since the two could come to an agreement, it proved one thing: the issue of the Tailed Beasts.

"The leader, regardless of what Uchiha Yoru says, we must first hand over the One-Tail and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to see their sincerity," said someone.

At this moment, Obito spoke, obviously eager to know what was discussed.

However, Obito had to hide his identity, so the leader of the Akatsuki, still Pain with the Rinnegan, remained silent.

As Obito spoke, everyone's gaze turned to him, and Uchiha Yoru smiled indifferently.

"The Akatsuki does have some strength, but we don't think that Akatsuki plus Rain Village alone can challenge Lord Yoru," said Yamanaka Ino from behind, coldly scoffing at the Akatsuki members. "Konoha, Mist, and Sand combined nearly have a hundred thousand ninjas, with more than two thousand of them being elite Jounin. What gives you confidence?"

"Or is it that just with a Mangekyo and mediocre Wood Style you act so arrogantly!"

As Ino spoke, Uchiha Sasuke narrowed his eyes, showing a fighting spirit, his hand already on his sword.

Under the rain, the young group opposite the Akatsuki seemed fearless, full of fighting spirit.

However, under the rain, the curse marks on the necks of the young ninjas and kunoichis started to heat up, patterns appearing on their bodies, only Jugo remaining calm.

But even with such simple changes, the Akatsuki members' faces changed drastically, showing deep apprehension as the chakra pressure surged. "Damn these little monsters."

Especially when Uzumaki Karin showed a threatening smile, her terrifying chakra prevented the rain from touching her clothes.

"Tobi! Shut up!"

At this moment, Deidara scolded Obito in secret, blaming him for the trouble caused.

The Akatsuki was fearless, but such an unnecessary dispute was undesirable to all.

In the tense atmosphere, Uchiha Yoru simply raised his hand, and the young ninjas and kunoichis behind him instantly withdrew their menacing aura.

"It seems the Akatsuki needs better management. The leader hasn't even spoken yet, and the subordinates can't help themselves. Or is it the confidence given by your Space-Time Ninjutsu?" Uchiha Yoru said, looking at Pain indifferently, completely disregarding Obito, who was playing a minor role.

An opportunity to strike, not to be missed.

Seeing this, Pain coldly glanced at Obito, "Tobi, apologize to Mr. Yoru now."

"Apologize?"

Obito's face turned extremely ugly, and Zetzu was shocked, wondering if this was an opportunity to reprimand Obito.

"I!" Obito, holding back his frustration, lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry!"

Facing Obito's apology, Uchiha Yoru just glanced indifferently at the rest of the Akatsuki.

"Pain, the deal between us is based on our shared goal, the ultimate peace of the ninja world. But unruly subordinates need to be disciplined when necessary.”

The implication is that, Pain, your strength is indeed commendable, but your management of subordinates is lacking. It's surprising that someone would be so ignorant of the rules.

Uchiha Yoru's sarcastic remarks made the members of the Akatsuki organization blush, as each of them was an S-ranked rogue ninja, and should understand such basic principles.

The leader was still talking, and it was disrespectful for a subordinate to make noise. This was considered ignorance of the rules, and they would have been angry too if it were them.

Even Deidara and Hidan, two of the more eccentric members, couldn't help but glare at the naive Tobi.

Ignoring the masked Obito as if he was nothing, Uchiha Yoru indifferently gestured to the people behind him.

A swirl of sand appeared, revealing two figures wrapped in sealing bandages.

“The Tailed Beasts might not be given to you directly, but I think a large amount of Tailed Beast Chakra should suffice.”

These two were clearly sealed with a massive amount of Tailed Beast Chakra, one being Shukaku and the other Kurama.

Pain calmly nodded at this scene, saying, “That will do.”

At the same time, Pain shared detailed intelligence about the ninja world. After reaching certain conditions, Uchiha Yoru and his followers slowly disappeared in the rain.

Once they were out of sensory range, the masked Obito's exposed eye filled with coldness, and the others were filled with curiosity.

“Does this mean we no longer need to capture Shukaku and the strongest, Kurama?”

Hidan scratched his head, looking puzzled, while everyone else stared at the two sealed figures left behind.

Kakuzu, after examining them, frowned and said, “Though they are sealed, their bodies are clearly unsuitable for Tailed Beast sealing. The seal won't prevent the erosion of the Tailed Beast Chakra for more than half a year.”

Being a Jinchuriki had troubled the five great ninja villages for many years; it wasn't so easy to just pull someone off the street to become one. There were extremely strict requirements for the body.

“Leader?”

Facing everyone's gaze, Pain coldly swept his eyes over them and said something that made everyone reveal a smile of chaos.

“I indeed agreed, but when did I say we wouldn't capture Kurama?”

Facing everyone, Pain's gaze finally rested on Sarutobi Asuma and the masked Obito, “Kurama will be left to Tobi and Asuma.”

Sarutobi Asuma nodded coldly upon hearing this, while the masked Obito's expression darkened. Clearly, Pain was testing his strength.

After all, he had been deceiving them as Uchiha Madara for so many years. Now that he was being tested, he could only endure it in frustration.

Originally, Kurama was supposed to be given to Pain, as part of his test. Now, it had turned on him.

“The rest, proceed as planned. The Akatsuki's mission to collect the Tailed Beasts begins!”

“Yes!”

The members of the Akatsuki organization revealed excited smiles. The terrifying weapon formed by the gathering of the nine Tailed Beasts, along with the legendary Rinnegan, made one wonder if even a god could withstand it.

Konoha.

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, am back!" 

Outside the familiar gate, an even more mature Naruto showed an excited smile, pointing to his home filled with nostalgia.

"Haha, Naruto, you go back first, I need to go rest."

Jiraiya, with his white hair, also smiled upon seeing the Konoha, laughing freely. However, Naruto couldn't help but scornfully say: "Pervy Sage, are you sure you're going home to rest? Aren't you going out to 'gather materials'?"

"Haha, what would you know, kid."

Jiraiya, with an adult's demeanor of 'you wouldn't understand, kid,' disdainfully waved his hand and laughed as he entered the village, his wooden sandals clicking crisply.

Naruto, with his hands behind his head, nostalgically walked the familiar streets of the Konoha.

The village had changed so much in three years, becoming more prosperous and integrating many ninja families from different countries.

Faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, now exchanged peaceful smiles like family.

"Naruto?"

"Kiba!"

Naruto hadn't expected to run into a classmate so soon after returning to the village. Inuzuka Kiba was riding his large white dog, smiling and waving at Naruto.

Both being somewhat arrogant, they quickly caught up. Kiba, boasting, patted his green vest.

"Ah, I forgot to change before leaving the house today, my clothes are dirty now."

Naruto, being somewhat oblivious, didn't catch on.

Kiba, frustrated, tried to make it more obvious, but Naruto still didn't get it, which annoyed Kiba. "Hey, Naruto, you were training outside for three years and didn't even come back. You missed so many gatherings where our classmates became Jonin."

"Gatherings?" Naruto, hearing this, looked envious and started to complain.

"I've been training with Teacher Jiraiya all these years, I had no time to come back."

"Come on, Naruto, you did that on purpose!" Kiba, seeing Naruto still not getting it, showed a hint of anger. His green vest was almost bursting, and he was baffled by Naruto's lack of reaction.

"On purpose?" Naruto, scratching his head in confusion, didn't understand why he had upset Kiba.

Seeing Naruto's clueless expression, Kiba, grinding his teeth in frustration, stopped pretending and yelled, pulling at his green vest: "This is a Jonin vest! I'm a Jonin now."

"Naruto, shouldn't you be congratulating me!"

Kiba's good mood from showing off was ruined, and he glared, directly stating his achievement.

And at this moment, Naruto also burst into laughter. "Kiba, it turns out you made such a fuss just to get me to congratulate you on becoming a Jonin."

"Now, congratulations on becoming a Jonin."

Looking at Kiba, the current Naruto couldn't help but feel envious. In these three years, it seems he was the only one still lingering as a Chunin; everyone else had already become Jonin. Time really flies.

During the original Chunin Exam, Naruto became a Chunin based on his strength, although not because of his intellect.

"Cut it out," Kiba snorted disdainfully, then said in a sour tone, "Training with someone like Teacher Jiraiya for three years, who cares about being just a Jonin, even if it was a Genin."

Sometimes, being a Jonin or a Genin doesn't necessarily reflect one's true strength. Having a legendary Sannin like Jiraiya as a teacher, personally training you for three years, what's the point of fussing over a Jonin rank?

After returning from training, becoming a Jonin was almost a certainty.

"Ha ha, Kiba, you're still so full of yourself, but I've got to go report to the Hokage's building now."

"Naruto, you!" Watching Naruto's departing figure, Kiba was slightly taken aback, then a smile appeared on his face.

They have all grown up, even the once hot-blooded, goofy, and thick-headed Naruto has a sense of maturity now.

At the Hokage's office building.

"Over these years, I've taken Naruto to many places and deliberately exposed him to a lot, Naruto has indeed grown, but now I feel that Naruto has kept his original ideals in his heart," said Jiraiya with white hair, speaking of Naruto's growth over the years, and sighed deeply when mentioning the changes in Naruto.

Hearing this, Tsunade snorted coldly, "It seems, Jiraiya, you haven't changed that brat's mindset."

Jiraiya, scratching the back of his head with a troubled look, had an awkward smile on his face.

"You can't say there's been no change at all. At least Naruto has matured. Knowing that he can't change things without power, he won't rant recklessly like he used to," Jiraiya said.

Hearing Jiraiya's words, Tsunade snorted disdainfully, "The Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails has been wasted in your hands. To be honest, it would have been better to arrange for him to join the Anbu or Root to see if he could be toughened up."

"If in the Root, this brat could still maintain this kind of mentality, then we really need to consider changing the Jinchuriki," Tsunade said, making Jiraiya extremely uncomfortable. After all these years, to say he had no feelings for Naruto would be a lie, so he could only play dumb.

"Hey hey, Jiraiya, stop playing dumb. Regarding the information Orochimaru gave you, you should know," Tsunade said discontentedly, Jiraiya's expression gradually becoming serious.

"There might indeed be some conspiracy behind the ninja world hidden in Orochimaru's information. Even the thousands of years of wars in the ninja world might be manipulated by unseen forces. But Naruto and Sasuke are different."

Orochimaru, in his years of researching the secrets of the ninja world, knew there was something unusual about Sasuke and Naruto, so how could he overlook Naruto.

To study Naruto, Jiraiya, his current guardian, is an unavoidable obstacle. Therefore, during Jiraiya's three-year journey through the ninja world, his first stop was to find Orochimaru.

After three months of research, Orochimaru did not hide anything from Jiraiya, so he naturally knew all about it.

"Like Orochimaru said, within Sasuke Uchiha's chakra lies the will of Indra. According to the myth, Indra's ultimate will is to defeat Ashura and prove that he is the correct one.”

When speaking of this, Jiraiya sighed with a wry smile, “Therefore, the influence on Sasuke was almost negligible in terms of changing his personality. At most, it was about encountering his fated opponent, Ashura, defeating him, and then proving that he himself was right.”

"Therefore, the will of Indra is very simple and pure, unlike Ashura."

"Ashura was the second leader of the ninja clan, and he firmly believed that peace cannot exist without love. There's nothing wrong with that, after all, humans cannot live without love. However, according to records, this will of love was somewhat paranoid."

At this point, Jiraiya couldn't help but say melancholically: “Just like the First Hokage, possessing absolute power, thus having the right to talk about so-called love. With absolute power in hand, the world would naturally see everything as one wishes. But as the power fades, love also changes.”

"According to historical records, the ninja clan ultimately was buried in the dust of history along with the fading of their power."

Peace cannot exist without love, Jiraiya himself was once confused and even strayed. But according to historical records, didn't the Sage of the Six Paths have love? Didn't Ashura have love? But what was the end result?

Of course, these are all myths and legends, not necessarily true. So what about the First Hokage? This happened within the last hundred years.

When the First Hokage was there, the ninja world was at peace with love, but as the absolute power dissipated, the peace of love was instantly torn apart, revealing the ferocious smiles of the ambitious.

~~~

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