Time flew, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.
During those three years, Naruto followed Jiraiya across nearly half of the shinobi world.
They avoided the five major hidden villages, along with one other place—Amegakure.
Jiraiya suspected that the Hidden Rain was Akatsuki's headquarters, so he planned to save it for last and infiltrate it alone when the time was right.
That was how Jiraiya had died in the original story.
Naruto wondered what would happen this time.
What frustrated him most was that he had never encountered Kisame or Uchiha Itachi. He hadn't even managed to find reliable information about the other members of Akatsuki.
It wasn't until his female avatar traveled to Amegakure and sensed several powerful presences inside that Naruto finally understood what was happening.
Aside from Kakuzu, who was traveling around collecting bounties, and Sasori of the Red Sand, who was conducting his puppet research, most of Akatsuki's members were hiding inside Amegakure.
No one knew what they were doing.
His female avatar had also spent more than two years concealing her true strength from Obito, Zetsu, and Deidara.
Somehow, Deidara had learned that she possessed the Explosion Release kekkei genkai. Ever since then, he had constantly pestered her for a contest to determine whose "art" was superior.
Naruto believed that he could defeat Kisame in a one-on-one battle now.
However, if the other members of Akatsuki were present, escaping would be his only option.
He had no choice but to remain patient.
Once Itachi and Kisame left Amegakure to carry out a mission, Naruto would find an opportunity to seize Samehada.
Over the past three years, Naruto had continuously hunted wandering and rogue shinobi to accumulate system points.
He had successfully acquired the [Fire God Form], [Lightning God Form], [Earth God Form], and [Water God Form].
Combined with his original [Wind God Form], Naruto now possessed absolute command over all five basic chakra natures.
Their nature and shape transformations felt like extensions of his own limbs. When empowered with senjutsu chakra and unleashed at full strength, his elemental techniques became genuine natural disasters.
The few times Naruto tested their power, even Jiraiya had been terrified.
Unfortunately, Naruto's total reserves of senjutsu chakra remained insufficient.
A single full-powered, disaster-class technique would almost completely drain him.
Left with few alternatives, Naruto used his Mangekyō Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails and extract a portion of its chakra. He then attempted to merge that chakra with natural energy.
The experiment failed.
The Nine-Tails' chakra refused to combine with natural energy.
Naruto also questioned the system, hoping he could exchange for the two Sage Bodies again. However, the system reminded him that the decision he had made when choosing the [Senjutsu Body] was irreversible.
That left Naruto somewhat disappointed.
Fortunately, his strength in every other area had grown tremendously.
After acquiring the [Senjutsu Body], he had also discovered the unique Sage Art that came with it.
Its effects had surprised even him.
He had also developed advanced forms of the Rasengan whose destructive power shocked Jiraiya.
There was naturally the [Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken], along with Rasengan variations incorporating Fire, Lightning, Water, and Earth Release.
Each possessed extraordinary power.
Overall, Naruto had unquestionably reached the Kage level. In terms of raw combat strength, he had already surpassed Jiraiya by a considerable margin.
His next objective remained unchanged.
Find Kisame.
Take Samehada.
Use Samehada to devour chakra and permanently increase his own reserves.
Then, he would combine that chakra with natural energy and expand his reserves of senjutsu chakra even further.
Naruto wasn't the only one whose strength had undergone a shocking transformation.
His female avatar had also become dramatically stronger.
After her Senju Clan Sage Body was upgraded to the God-tier level, she successfully synthesized the Wood Release kekkei genkai.
Combined with her existing Explosion Release, the Immortal-Binding Rope, and the Sword of Kusanagi, her overall strength was now only slightly inferior to Senju Hashirama's.
She was unquestionably among the strongest Kage-level shinobi in the world.
If she learned Sage Mode as well, she might even surpass Hashirama.
The Immortal-Binding Rope had evolved into an independent ability. Therefore, even though her Uzumaki Clan Sage Body had disappeared during the synthesis, she could still use it.
Naruto wondered whether Obito and Pain understood her true strength.
If they did, their jaws would probably hit the floor.
Naruto also no longer intended to let his female avatar continue wandering aimlessly through the shinobi world.
It was almost time for her to take on a more important role.
The sky above Konoha was clear and bright.
Konohamaru and his teammates had recently graduated from the Academy and were currently performing a tedious D-rank mission.
A new Chūnin Exam was about to begin.
Temari had come to Konoha as Sunagakure's representative to coordinate with Shikamaru, who had been placed in charge of the examination arrangements.
Fate seemed determined to bring the two of them together.
However, Shikamaru still looked as unmotivated as ever.
As the two spoke, surprised voices suddenly erupted around them.
"Look at the sky!"
Shikamaru and Temari raised their heads.
Their mouths slowly fell open.
High above Konoha, white clouds gathered together. They gradually formed the figures of a young man and woman.
The man was tall and handsome, with three unmistakable whisker marks on each cheek.
The woman had a gentle and lovely appearance, with large, pupil-less eyes.
The two cloud figures held hands and smiled happily as they gazed down at Konoha.
Above them, another cluster of clouds formed a large heart pierced by an arrow.
Everyone who witnessed the scene was stunned.
What in the world was happening in the sky?
More and more villagers emerged from their homes. People gathered in the streets, climbed onto rooftops, and looked upward.
Yet the greatest surprise was still to come.
A tall, handsome young man who appeared fifteen or sixteen years old descended from beneath the clouds.
His blond hair had grown long, and a red-and-white haori fluttered around his body.
The three whisker marks on each of his cheeks made his identity obvious.
Anyone familiar with him immediately cried out in shock.
"Naruto!"
At that moment, a seven-colored cloud appeared beneath Naruto's feet.
It carried him down from the sky and flew directly toward the Hyūga Clan compound.
"Whoa!"
A wave of astonished cries swept across Konoha.
Some villagers had already guessed what Naruto intended to do.
Inside the Hyūga estate's training ground, Hinata stood with both hands clasped over her heart.
She watched the person she had missed for three years descend from the sky upon a rainbow-colored cloud.
Her heart almost melted.
Naruto stopped in midair before her. Standing atop the seven-colored cloud, he smiled and extended his right hand.
"Long time no see. Did you miss me?"
"Y-Yes!"
Hinata's cheeks flushed as she lowered her eyes, too shy to meet his gaze.
She knew she would remember this scene for the rest of her life.
"If you missed me, then come with me."
Naruto took Hinata's hand and pulled her onto the seven-colored cloud.
He wrapped an arm around her and soared into the sky.
Together, they flew straight into the two enormous cloud figures above Konoha.
A second later, they vanished.
At that moment, the hearts of every girl in Konoha began to stir.
Meanwhile, countless boys knew they wouldn't be sleeping tonight.
Standing atop the Hokage Tower, Tsunade pressed a hand against her forehead.
She had never expected Naruto's first act after returning to Konoha to be picking up a girl instead of reporting to the Hokage.
Worse, he had made sure the entire village saw it!
Jiraiya appeared beside her at some point and waggled his eyebrows.
"Tsunade, if I invited you like that, would you come with me?"
Tsunade gave him a contemptuous glance.
"In your dreams!"