Land of Fangs, Daimyo's Mansion.
When Jiraiya handed the secret letter to the Daimyo of the Land of Fangs, this middle-aged man wearing a gorgeous brocade kimono opened the envelope, and as soon as his gaze swept over the signature at the end of the letter, his hand trembled.
He raised his head and sprang up from his cushion. "Jiraiya-sensei! Its actually Jiraiya-sensei delivering the letter in person!"
The Daimyo of the Land of Fangs bypassed the desk in a few strides and excitedly grasped Jiraiya's hands. He shook them up and down, a fanatical light bursting forth in his eyes.
"I am your loyal reader. I've followed every single volume since the first installment of Icha Icha Paradise."
"I've read Icha Icha Paradise over twenty times, I know every detail by heart. Do you know, that monologue by the heroine by the hot spring, every time I read it, I am so moved that..."
Jiraiya blinked, as even he hadn't expected this turn of events.
"Ahem! Daimyo-sama, the letter... the letter hasn't been finished yet." An old official beside him whispered a reminder.
"Why bother with the letter? We're not fighting anymore. The war with the Land of Claws is off."
"Jiraiya-sensei came to deliver the letter in person, I must give him this respect."
He turned and waved to the old official beside him, signaling for a peace treaty to be drafted immediately, then turned back to Jiraiya, the excitement still lingering on his face.
"Jiraiya-sensei, when will the next volume be updated?"
"The ending of the last volume was such a cliffhanger.I can't sleep at night thinking about whether that heroine will come back or not."
"Soon. The manuscript is already in the final stages." Jiraiya quickly got into character, striking the pose of a great author.
"It's just that, recently my inspiration has run a bit dry, and I need a place where I can relax my body and mind to properly find that feeling again."
The Daimyo of the Land of Fangs understood in a second.
He winked at Jiraiya, then turned to Naruto and greeted him enthusiastically, "You are Jiraiya-sensei's student, right? Would you like to come along too?"
"I know a great place. The hot springs are excellent, and the service is attentive."
Naruto shook his head.
Seeing this, the Daimyo of the Land of Fangs didn't insist and sighed with a look of regret, "Sigh, young people don't know how to enjoy life."
"Then Jiraiya-sensei, shall we go? I know a place where the scenery is particularly beautiful, especially suitable for a great author like you to find inspiration."
Jiraiya turned back and gave Naruto a thumbs up, the expression on his face saying that this is what mature men's socializing is like.
Then the two walked toward the depths of the Daimyo's Mansion with their arms around each other's shoulders, filled with hearty laughter all the way.
Naruto leaned against a pillar in the corridor of the Daimyo's Mansion and closed his eyes.
A moment later, the faint sounds of instruments and the greetings of several women drifted from afar.
...
About an hour later, Jiraiya and the Daimyo of the Land of Fangs walked out of the side gate of the Daimyo's Mansion with their arms around each other's shoulders.
Both of them had lingering flushes of drunkenness on their faces, their tongues slurred when they spoke. At the gate, they high-fived and hugged, bidding each other a reluctant farewell.
Once they had walked out of the range of the capital of the Land of Fangs, the drunkenness on Jiraiya's face vanished. He rubbed his cheeks, which had grown stiff from smiling, and resumed his normal gait and tone. There was no trace of drunkenness left at all.
"Naruto, what are you planning to do with the star from Hoshigakure? That thing is no good."
"When I was traveling around Nadeshiko Village, I heard rumors about Hoshigakure. This star can indeed activate the Chakra within a person's body and double training speed, but the erosion it causes to the body is irreversible."
"Don't mess with your own body just out of curiosity. If anything happens to you now, Tsunade will chop me into mincemeat."
"I won't. I'm just curious and want to study it. The energy contained within this star is quite peculiar. If I can find a good way to use it, it might come in very handy." Naruto replied while walking.
Jiraiya stared at Naruto for a few seconds, confirming that he wasn't just brushing him off, before looking away.
"Fine, as long as you know what you're doing. But I'll say this first: if I find any abnormalities in your physical condition, I will confiscate that star immediately and throw it into the deepest valley of Mount Myōboku."
"Alright, the delivery mission is successfully completed, and the Hoshigakure matter has been handled as well. Now it's time to get down to business."
Jiraiya wiped the seriousness from his face and formed hand seals, preparing to use Summoning Technique to take Naruto to Mount Myōboku.
Naruto glanced at Jiraiya. "I thought you would finish your new draft of Icha Icha Paradise here before taking me to Mount Myōboku."
The expression on Jiraiya's face switched to irrepressible excitement. "Speaking of that, after we get to Mount Myōboku, I'll have Fukasaku teach you Sage Mode personally, and I can write my manuscript in peace on the side."
"When I was drinking with the Daimyo of the Land of Fangs earlier, I was bursting with inspiration. I've already written the beginning of the next chapter in my head."
"When you're practicing Sage Mode on the training grounds of Mount Myōboku, I'll be right there writing Icha Icha Paradise. We won't disturb each other. I really am a genius."
Watching Jiraiya, who was completely immersed in his own creative world, Naruto was speechless.
Jiraiya prepared to form the hand seals for the reverse summoning.
Just then, a vortex suddenly appeared out of thin air on the path in front of them.
Seeing this, Naruto narrowed his eyes and Jiraiya's face turned serious.
A figure stepped out from the center of the vortex. He wore a black trench coat embroidered with red clouds and an orange, spiral-shaped mask, with only the hole for his right eye exposed.
Behind him followed a strange figure that was half-white and half-black.
Jiraiya's pupils shrank.
The black trench coat with red clouds—this was the attire of the Akatsuki.
"You two are members of the Akatsuki! Naruto, be careful. Neither of these guys is simple."
Compared to the masked man, Obito, Naruto's attention fell immediately on Black Zetsu.
White Zetsu was a humanoid weapon created by Kaguya, and he had dealt with them many times before, but Black Zetsu was different. Black Zetsu was the third child of Kaguya, an incarnation of her will separated using her final power before she was sealed.
An existence that had lived for thousands of years, lurking in the shadows of the Ninja World's history, plotting to resurrect his mother.
All the stone tablets regarding the Sharingan, the decisive battle between Madara and Hashirama, the founding of the Akatsuki, Obito's descent into darkness, Nagato's Rinnegan, and so on—all had the hand of Black Zetsu behind them.
This was the true mastermind behind the entire Ninja World.
Black Zetsu felt a slight tremor in his heart from being stared at by Naruto. His face showed no change in expression, but a trace of vigilance flashed deep within him.
The way this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is looking at me isn't quite right. Could he know something?
Obito said, "Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, we finally meet. I have already learned quite a bit about you from the intelligence released by the Raikage, but seeing you in person is still more interesting than the descriptions in the reports. Are you interested in having a chat with me?"
Naruto pulled a flying thunder god kunai from his ninja tool pouch and threw it at Obito, immediately following up with a thought to cast Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
In mid-air, the flying thunder god kunai split into dozens, and a dense rain of Kunai shot toward the positions of Obito and Zetsu like a torrential downpour.
"Just as written in the Raikage's intelligence, he can cast Ninjutsu without forming hand Seals."
An excited smile appeared on White Zetsu's face, while Black Zetsu retreated rapidly to the side without a word.
Obito stood motionless, letting the sky full of Kunai pass through his body.
Clang! Clang...
The Kunai passed through Obito's body and embedded themselves in the ground behind him.
Jiraiya's pupils contracted. "It's not Genjutsu. Could it be Space-Time Ninjutsu?"
"Naruto, this guy is currently in a state of intangibility. His body can become intangible, physical attacks are ineffective against him."
Naruto nodded.
Jiraiya quickly determined the type of Obito's ability, while simultaneously scanning Zetsu who had already retreated to the side.
The opponent was a user of Space-time Ninjutsu, and Naruto also knew Space-time Ninjutsu, so he couldn't interfere in their battle.
"Then be careful, I'll take on the other black and white guy."
Jiraiya kicked off the ground and lunged toward the direction of Zetsu.
Fire Release: Flame Bullet!
Zetsu dodged quickly, and the Flame Bullet smashed into the spot where they had just been standing, blasting open a patch of charred earth.