On the constantly flowing canyon cliff, enduring the immense wind and rain, Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya were heading downstream along the cliff face.
Their destination was a waterfall, below which lay a large lake, and the Akatsuki Organization seemed to be hidden in a cave behind the waterfall.
"Jiraiya-sensei, I always have an ominous premonition that our journey might not go smoothly."
Minato Namikaze frowned, letting the rain soak his hair. Although he wore a raincoat, it couldn't stop the icy wind and rain from seeping into his neck. The two of them conversed while vertically on the cliff face.
"Every hour, I have a communication toad transmit our location information back to Konoha. If we encounter danger, Konoha can rescue us based on our position."
Jiraiya naturally felt the same way, but if both of them felt danger, who else could Konoha send? If they met with misfortune, there would be no need to send more people here.
"Could it be that the Four Great Shinobi Villages are ambushing us? But before we came, we confirmed they wouldn't be here."
Minato Namikaze looked at the end of the canyon river, which resembled a gaping maw waiting to devour people. The dim night light, filtered through the canyon's mist, made it even more serene.
"The Village has already told me that the Akatsuki Organization now only has Yahiko and Konan left, and Yahiko inherited the Rinnegan. Perhaps Nagato's death will cause Yahiko to fall into darkness."
Jiraiya understood Yahiko very well. He was an excellent young man with ideals, a love for peace, and the courage to act. He once even thought Yahiko was the Child of Prophecy.
"Let's go. The clouds are about to cover the Gekko. Let's continue our infiltration. This canyon is strange; it's filled with many powerful summoned beasts."
Even without entering Sage Mode, Jiraiya still discovered a considerable number of powerful summoned beasts at the bottom of the river and in some caves.
He had seen places like this before, but such a dense concentration, and with no decent food source in the area, made it worth pondering.
The two of them swiftly moved along the cliff face using the cover of darkness and soon arrived at the waterfall at the end of the river. The waterfall's drop wasn't high, only about thirty meters, but the river's flow was large, making its presence naturally immense.
Below the river, Black Zetsu watched Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze, who were about to walk into a trap, ready to activate the Spatial Sealing Technique at any moment.
"Sensei, why don't we send a Shadow Clone down to scout? If there's danger, we'll still have time to escape."
Minato Namikaze's ominous premonition grew stronger. It wasn't that he was too cowardly, but rather that he couldn't be too reckless. He still had a girlfriend waiting for him to marry and a Hokage position to contend for.
"Minato, how is your Sage Mode training coming along?"
Jiraiya asked an unrelated question, which surprised Minato.
"I can barely enter Sage Mode for dozens of seconds after long periods of meditation."
He didn't hide anything; he didn't have much time to train Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku.
"Then send a Shadow Clone to investigate. Entering Sage Mode requires a lot of Chakra."
Minato naturally understood Jiraiya's meaning; Jiraiya intended to save his Chakra to be ready to enter Sage Mode at any time.
"Alright." Minato Namikaze touched the three test tubes in his ninja tool pouch. Kakashi and the others had given them to him before he came.
They said it was from Second Body and could restore a large amount of Chakra. Although she hadn't used them, she knew Second Body wouldn't trick Kakashi and the others with fakes.
If a Shadow Clone dispels itself, most of the Chakra can be recovered. However, if it's dispersed by an attack, only a small portion of the Chakra can be returned.
Using Shadow Clone will divide one's Chakra evenly into two parts. If there are two Shadow Clones, the Chakra is halved again based on half of the original.
Watching the Shadow Clone jump into the lake below, the two of them waited quietly, but their every move was under Black Zetsu's gaze.
How could Black Zetsu raise the Spatial Barrier now? He naturally had to wait for the main characters to enter, and without the barrier activated, Yahiko wouldn't make a move.
At this time, Yahiko, Konan, and the Six Paths of Pain were all inside the belly of that invisible giant lizard. This lizard's hiding ability was undetectable without Sage Mode's perception.
Naturally, Minato's Shadow Clone found nothing below, only some traces of life. He thought they had already moved away.
"Sensei, there are no Akatsuki Organization members below, other than some traces indicating someone was here before. There are no other discoveries."
Minato Namikaze received the information after the Shadow Clone dispersed. Although he confirmed that there was no one below, the feeling of threat in his heart still hadn't dissipated.
"There might be some perception-blocking barrier or they're hidden somewhere. We'll have to rely on Sage Mode for perception."
Jiraiya decided to play it safe. Before investigating in the afternoon, he would first enter Sage Mode, so he immediately summoned the two Sage, Fukasaku and Sage Shima.
"Little Jiraiya, why did you summon me and the old man?"
Shima was still knitting, but it looked like she was knitting for a large tadpole.
"Boss, Big Sister, this time we came to visit Yahiko, but I feel something is off, so I plan to enter Sage Mode before going down."
Jiraiya clasped his hands together, concentrating Sage Art Chakra. His proficiency with Sage Mode was very low; he could only barely enter Sage Mode at this point.
Compared to Jiraiya's proficiency when he later went to Amegakure, the current Jiraiya was naturally far behind, but as long as he succeeded, with the help of the two Sage, Fukasaku and Sage Shima, he would be able to maintain Sage Mode for a long time.
This was mainly due to the efforts of the two Sage; Jiraiya himself couldn't maintain Sage Mode for extended periods, but with Fukasaku and Sage Shima present, his strength naturally increased greatly.
"Kid, you really make us act for every little trouble. I still have knitting to do."
Shima put away her knitting and activated a perception barrier to scout the lake below.
"Little Jiraiya, I also feel something is off about this place. It's best to be careful."
Fukasaku watched the area below with a solemn expression. He sensed traces of a Sealing Technique.
"Little Minato is here too. Both of you, master and disciple, are on this mission. It seems this mission is indeed quite dangerous."
Fukasaku noticed Minato beside him and greeted him.
Just then, the canyon behind them suddenly stirred, and the river also rapidly surged, with large plumes of dust spreading from the cliff face.
"Heh heh, if you don't go in, then I'll force you in."
Black Zetsu, through White Zetsu's connection, informed Yahiko to have the Animal Path control the summoned beasts to attack them.
"Not good! Many powerful and strange summoned beasts are rushing from behind, and their eyes all resemble the Rinnegan."
Shima's perception ability was extremely excellent; from afar, she clearly saw the strangeness of these summoned beasts. Every eye resembled the Rinnegan.
"Screech!" A shriek came from the sky, and a strangely shaped Eight-Foot Bird swooped down like a missile, reaching them in an instant.
If the few of them dodged, they would fall onto the turbulent river surface and then be knocked into the lake below by the summoned beasts in the water.
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