Wh-what...?
What's going on...?!
Sasuke was actually... taken away by Orochimaru???!
Hearing this news,
In an instant,
Itachi felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his mind going blank on the spot!
Beneath the bamboo hat,
His pupils suddenly contracted, his breath stopping.
At first,
When he heard Asuma mention Naruto, he thought it was just a simple discussion about the Kyubi Jinchuriki boy...
In fact, he even hoped inwardly that they wouldn't reveal too much intelligence.
To prevent Kisame from hearing it all.
But,
Starting from Kakashi's next words, Itachi's listening became increasingly uneasy!
Naruto insisting on bringing Sasuke back?
What did that mean?
Could it be that Sasuke wasn't in Konoha anymore?
However,
Before he could even think this question through,
Next, Asuma directly stated the truth!
Sasuke,
Had actually... been abducted!!
What the hell?!
This unprecedented sudden change,
In just a few seconds, completely shattered all of Itachi's prior mental preparations!
His expression was now directly frozen.
However,
Kisame beside him showed a strange expression.
Hmm?
Uchiha Sasuke?
What's with this name?
Wasn't the Uchiha Clan completely wiped out by Itachi-san years ago?
There are actually survivors...?
Realizing this,
Kisame naturally wanted to ask Itachi,
But, he of course knew that this was not the best time.
So,
He could only suppress his doubts and listen again attentively.
Due to being overly focused on eavesdropping,
At this moment,
He didn't even notice that Itachi's expression beside him had already changed.
"..."
And at this moment,
On this side,
A girl carrying two bowls of noodles walked over and gently placed them in front of Kakashi and Asuma, smiling:
"Please enjoy!"
She was Teuchi's daughter, Ayame, who ran this Ichiraku Ramen shop with her father.
Hearing this, Asuma beside her chuckled lightly:
"Ah, thank you, I'll dig in."
However,
Kakashi beside him seemed unmoved, his gaze fixed on a certain place.
At this moment,
Ayame beside him also seemed to notice Kakashi's strangeness and asked puzzledly:
"Kakashi-san, are you still thinking about Sasuke...?"
"Ah, no."
Hearing this, Kakashi snapped out of it, then shook his head and smiled helplessly:
"Even if I'm worried,"
"We can't find Orochimaru's trail for now, so there's no use thinking about it."
"I was just thinking..."
"I wonder if that guy Naruto can learn anything from Jiraiya-sama."
Kakashi said with a slight headache.
However, as his words fell,
Ayame was instantly shocked, her eyes widening:
"Wow,"
"No way?!"
"Naruto is actually training under that legendary Toad Sage, Jiraiya-sama!?"
"Uh... you didn't know?"
Kakashi smiled helplessly:
"The day before yesterday,"
"I originally wanted Ebisu to teach Naruto the basics of Chakra Training."
"But,"
"Unexpectedly, they happened to encounter Jiraiya-sama at the training spot."
"Then, for some reason,"
"Ebisu entrusted Naruto directly to Jiraiya-sama for teaching."
Kakashi explained.
Ayame across from him blinked in sudden understanding.
To her,
The name Jiraiya had always been a legendary existence.
And Naruto was just a customer in this small shop, a mischievous little kid in the village.
So hearing this just now was naturally somewhat shocking.
But at this moment, Asuma beside him put down his chopsticks, looked at Kakashi, and chuckled:
"Don't worry, Kakashi."
"Jiraiya-sama, as one of the legendary Sannin, surpasses both of us in all aspects of strength."
"Since that guy Naruto wants to get stronger, he'll definitely be able to learn something from him."
Asuma said confidently.
Hearing this, Kakashi could only close his eyes slightly and say helplessly:
"I hope so."
"..."
Their conversation proceeded calmly,
The topics they were discussing were also everyday ones.
However,
They didn't expect that,
Hearing this,
On the other side of the partition curtain, Itachi and Kisame were both stunned.
This...
What the hell is going on?!
That Kyubi Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, is actually... training with one of the Sannin, Jiraiya???
At this moment, let alone Itachi,
Even Kisame beside him paused slightly.
Jiraiya's reputation,
He couldn't have not heard of it!
Although Kirigakure had long been isolated for many years,
When it came to the Sannin, that was a different matter.
After all,
These were three powerful figures who had made their name during the Second Shinobi World War, once serving as Konoha's mainstay.
Among the younger generation, their prestige dominated the entire Shinobi World.
You could say everyone knew them.
Tsk...
Unexpectedly,
Although the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was dead,
There still seemed to be some very troublesome people...
Kisame's gaze flickered slightly.
His goal was simple,
To defeat Naruto, the Kyubi Jinchuriki, and bring him back to Amegakure.
But now,
According to Kakashi and the others,
Since Naruto was training under Jiraiya...
That meant,
If they wanted to take Naruto, they would have to fight that Sannin, Jiraiya...
Realizing this,
Kisame's gaze turned to Itachi beside him.
He saw that at this moment, Itachi's face also showed a serious expression.
Huh?
Kisame paused slightly, then his heart sank.
Sure enough,
Even a genius Shinobi like Itachi-san would be apprehensive in the face of the Sannin's reputation...
However,
As he thought this, he didn't know,
At this moment,
Itachi's heart was not only without apprehension, but on the contrary... joyful!
Because,
He had obtained the most important intelligence of this trip, that was --
Jiraiya was by Naruto's side!
This way,
It seemed later on, he wouldn't even need to obviously go easy!
While fighting Jiraiya, he could smoothly interrupt this Tailed Beast Capture Plan!
Itachi's gaze narrowed slightly, his mind racing.
Before coming,
He had been worried that Konoha's Shinobi might be too weak to withstand him going easy.
But now, with Jiraiya in charge, there was completely no need to worry!
Even losing to someone like him,
Would fundamentally create no suspicion.
Returning like this,
There would probably be nothing for Pain to say.
After all,
The one protecting the Jinchuriki was the renowned Sannin, Jiraiya.
Losing to him,
Wasn't disgraceful.
It was also normal.
"..."
Thinking this,
Itachi's plan to go easy gradually took shape.
He had decided,
In the subsequent battle, he would cleverly reveal all of Akatsuki's plan intelligence to Jiraiya.
This way, perhaps he could prevent Naruto from being captured and also make Konoha more vigilant against Akatsuki...
And now,
The bigger headache was,
Sasuke had been taken away by Orochimaru...
That is to say,
While interrupting the Tailed Beast Capture Plan, he also needed to find a way,
To investigate Orochimaru's whereabouts...
Itachi's gaze flickered slightly.
The next moment,
He looked at Kisame beside him and made a hinting expression.
Kisame immediately understood.
Whoosh!
The two imperceptibly completed their hand seals and disappeared from the corner using high-speed Body Flicker.
Only two unfinished bowls of noodles remained on the table.
"...?"
For some reason,
Kakashi subconsciously turned his head to look in that direction.
Then, he frowned.
Hmm?
Wait...
Weren't there two diners wearing bamboo hats sitting there just now...?
Now they're gone?
It seemed,
Something was a bit off...
Kakashi's gaze flickered slightly.
He decided,
To go check the situation.
...
A flower blooms in two places, each branch tells its own story.
While Itachi and Kisame were carrying out their Tailed Beast Capture Plan,
At this moment, on the other side,
In a town outside Konoha in the Land of Fire,
Kyo had also arrived at this gambling holy land, Tanzaku Town, to investigate traces of the Jashinist, Hidan.
The moment he arrived,
Kyo's Spiritual Pressure Perception immediately covered the entire street.
Whoosh!
In an instant,
Every corner of the street, like transparent 3D modeling, was clearly presented before Kyo's eyes.
Since his Spiritual Pressure had increased, Kyo's perception ability could cover even all of Amegakure, so this small gambling town was naturally not a problem.
And just a moment later,
He immediately noticed a special individual.
Then, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"Found you."
As his words fell,
He withdrew his gaze, then looked towards a certain tavern ahead and walked in.
The person he found was certainly not that Hidan.
...
A moment later,
He arrived at the tavern's entrance.
However,
Just as he was about to step inside, suddenly,
A swaying, fast-walking curvaceous figure rushed out from inside and directly collided with Kyo at the corner of the entrance.
Bang!!
This figure came very quickly and unexpectedly crashed into Kyo's chest.
Unexpectedly,
Kyo, who appeared slender, remained completely unmoved after the collision,
But the drunken yellow-haired woman opposite him was pushed back by the reaction force, stumbling back a few steps, almost falling.
Behind her, a girl's very startled voice immediately came, almost instantly speaking:
"Ah! Tsunade-sama! Are you alright!!!"
And at this moment,
The drunken yellow-haired woman raised her head in disbelief, looking at Kyo, her eyes bewildered.
Huh...?
What's going on...
When did this guy appear...?
At this moment,
Kyo raised an eyebrow and looked over, amused:
"Hey,"
"You can't be charging in with those."