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"Dad, that Masked Man came looking for me!"
After Naruto received the Masked Man's message, he immediately contacted Minato Namikaze in his mind, excitedly saying, "That guy said he wants to take me to meet their organization's leader!"
"Hm?"
Minato Namikaze heard Naruto's words and immediately asked, puzzled, "Didn't that guy say he would only take you to meet their leader after you did something that would make the Five Great Ninja Villages put a bounty on your head? Why did he suddenly change his mind?"
"That guy didn't change his mind."
Naruto said, "He's urging me to quickly do something to get a bounty, and then go with him to meet their organization's leader.
He said their organization will have a big operation soon."
"Big operation?"
Minato Namikaze pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "Naruto, go find Lady Tsunade later, explain the situation to her, and ask her to cooperate with you to cause some trouble in the Village. Then issue a bounty for you. After that, contact that Masked Man and have him take you to the Akatsuki Organization."
Although he still didn't know what the "big operation" the Masked Man mentioned referred to, he thought it probably wouldn't be anything good, so he had to find out and stop it.
"Find Granny Tsunade?"
Naruto nodded when he heard Minato Namikaze's words, saying, "But how should I tell her?"
Naruto had too many secrets, and some things definitely couldn't be told to Tsunade, so he didn't know how to approach her.
However, Minato Namikaze had already thought of a solution to this problem when he suggested that Naruto go find Tsunade.
"You can first mention my existence to Lady Tsunade. At that time, anything that's hard to explain can be pushed onto me," Minato Namikaze said.
Minato Namikaze also knew that his son had many unmentionable secrets, so he had prepared such a solution early on.
Although some things about Naruto couldn't even be explained by him, pushing all unreasonable things onto him would at least provide a relatively acceptable explanation for others.
"Is that so?"
Naruto immediately nodded upon hearing Minato Namikaze's words, saying, "I understand. I'll go find Granny Tsunade now."
No sooner said than done,
Naruto went directly to Tsunade. Then, following the explanation taught by Minato Namikaze, he first explained his purpose, brought up the Masked Man and the Akatsuki Organization, and emphasized that the Masked Man claimed to be Uchiha Madara and was the culprit behind the Nine-Tailed incident seven years ago.
Finally, he explained that when Minato Namikaze sealed the Nine-Tails into his body, he also sealed his chakra inside, allowing Naruto to communicate with him. All of these ideas, he said, came from his father.
"Uchiha Madara—"
After Tsunade listened to Naruto's explanation, her expression immediately became serious. She then looked at Naruto and asked, "So what do you plan to do?"
Although Tsunade was somewhat surprised, she didn't doubt him. In fact, after learning of Minato Namikaze's presence, she even rationalized many of the strange things surrounding Naruto.
So everything was arranged by the Fourth Hokage.
It made sense.
"It's like this…"
Naruto explained how he had used another identity to fight the Masked Man, had been invited to join the Akatsuki Organization, and described the initiation task. Finally, he said, "Dad told me to come to you, Granny Tsunade, and ask for your help in cooperating with my other identity to cause trouble in the Village, then issue a bounty."
"No problem!"
Tsunade readily agreed, then asked, "How much trouble do you need to cause? How should I cooperate?"
Before Naruto could answer, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"I've got a good idea—have your other identity kill me. What do you think?"
"Ah?!"
Naruto was startled. "But Granny Tsunade, aren't you about to become the Fifth Hokage? If 'I' kill you, won't that stop you from becoming Hokage?"
That's exactly what I want!
Tsunade shouted inwardly, but on the surface, she said seriously, "Precisely because I am the next Hokage, it carries more weight. Killing someone like me will make that Masked Man trust you more."
And I won't have to be Hokage. Two birds with one stone.
Naruto didn't immediately respond. Instead, he consulted Minato Namikaze in his mind. Minato quickly understood Tsunade's real intention but chose not to expose it. Instead, he told Naruto to agree and even added a suggestion.
"Granny Tsunade, Dad says your idea is great. He also said that when 'I' kill you, you can leave a final will for Jiraiya Sensei, asking him to become Hokage. He won't refuse."
"Good idea!"
Tsunade's eyes lit up. "We'll do it that way!"
With her understanding of Jiraiya, there was no way to force him while she was alive. But if she "died" and left a final will, he would almost certainly accept.
It solved everything perfectly.
"Minato really is worthy of being Hokage… how cunning," Tsunade said with a smile.
Naruto felt that description was surprisingly accurate.
No sooner said than done,
They acted immediately.
That very night, Konoha Village was attacked by a mysterious armored figure.
The attacker was incredibly powerful, causing massive destruction. If Tsunade hadn't been there, protecting civilians with her summoned beast, the casualties would have been far worse.
But in the end—
Tsunade "died" in battle.
No body was left behind.
The news shocked the entire ninja world.
A bounty was issued—at the highest level.
Fortunately, Tsunade had not yet officially become Hokage. Otherwise, losing two Hokage in such a short time could have triggered war.
"Granny Tsunade… are you really not going to tell Shizune?"
Outside the village, Naruto looked at Tsunade, who was perfectly fine.
"Shizune looked devastated…"
"No need."
Tsunade waved her hand. "It's harsh, but it will help her grow."
She had already prepared a final message for Shizune.
Naruto sighed but didn't argue further.
"So what now?"
"I'm going with you to meet that Masked Man."
Naruto blinked. "With me?"
"Yes. If he really is Uchiha Madara, this is serious."
Naruto hesitated, then said, "Alright. But first, I need to go to the Hidden Cloud Village."
"Why?"
"To get something… something needed to deal with him."
"Do you need me to come?"
"No."
Lightning surged across Naruto's armor, forming wings behind him.
"I'll be faster alone."
"This armor again…"
Naruto smiled slightly. "My father gave it to me."
With a flash of lightning, he shot into the sky.
"Wait for me, Granny Tsunade! I'll be back soon!"
Tsunade watched him disappear.
"…That kid really thinks that's 'soon'?"
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Hidden Rain Village;
Jiraiya had just confirmed Orochimaru's base location when a messenger toad appeared.
"Lord Jiraiya! Something terrible has happened!"
"Konoha was attacked… Tsunade died in battle!"
"What?!"
Jiraiya grabbed the toad.
"…Say that again."
But he had heard it clearly.
He just didn't want to believe it.
"Tsunade—"
Before the toad could finish, Jiraiya was already moving.
Nothing else mattered.
Not Akatsuki. Not missions.
Only Tsunade.
But just as he was about to leave—
Two figures appeared, blocking his path.