Land of Rivers, outside a small town.
Guren stood confidently on the path, dressed smartly in her Yakugakure shinobi uniform. Her teammates – Genkei, Miki, and Takami – stood a short distance away.
Watching Guren stand tall, an irrepressible joy radiating from her face, the three exchanged bewildered glances. In all their time together, they had never seen Guren display such girlish excitement in front of them.
"Hey! You think maybe the Captain's secret crush is coming? But we've all been in the village for years, I've never seen anyone like that around her!" Takami couldn't hold back first, nudging Miki with her shoulder and whispering, her face alight with gossip.
"No way! Guren doesn't seem like she has a lover at all," Genkei disagreed, shaking his head.
"Right? But this is really weird! Lord Kazuhiko already gave us the exact arrival time, but the Captain insisted on coming out here super early just to wait," Miki chimed in, complaining softly.
The four of them had already been waiting here for over two hours. For Miki, Genkei, and Takami, who were kept in the dark, this wait was agonizingly tedious.
Genkei quickly tried to soothe the others. "Let's just wait a bit longer. It's almost the agreed-upon time, they should be arriving soon."
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just as the three were murmuring amongst themselves, several figures flickered out from a patch of woods outside the town, rapidly approaching their position.
"They're here!"
Hearing the sound of movement through the air, the three immediately fell silent, their gazes fixed on the woods.
Several figures flashed through the air, appearing before Guren in moments. They were all clad in white robes trimmed with gold – the familiar attire of the Divine Court members, instantly recognizable to Guren's team. Among them, they recognized Jizo, Kagutsuchi, and Suijin.
However, the man leading the group, wearing a striking golden mask, was someone none of the four had ever seen before. He was of average build, and his golden mask was intricately carved with human facial features and dragon motifs, emanating an aura that inspired a strange sense of awe and intimidation. Jizo, Kagutsuchi, and Suijin all stood respectfully positioned one step behind this masked man.
This man was, of course, Tatsuya, having altered his appearance.
Tatsuya had left Konoha two days prior. Utilizing the Flying Thunder God Technique continuously, he had journeyed across the Land of Fire to reach the Land of Rivers in the southwest in just under two days. Currently, Tatsuya's mastery of Flying Thunder God was still imperfect, and he hadn't pre-set any seals along the route, which was why it had taken him longer than expected. Once this route was established with seals, his next trip might only take half a day.
Upon arriving near the designated meeting point, Tatsuya had used the Summoning Technique to bring Jizo, Kagutsuchi, and Suijin to his location. Pakura remained in Yakugakure to watch over the village, while Tatsuya had left two non-permanent clone bodies to oversee matters in the Land of Swamps and the Land of Demons.
Seeing the masked leader, Guren visibly faltered for a moment. She hadn't recognized Tatsuya in his altered state.
Noticing this, Tatsuya beckoned her over. "Guren, come here!" His tone was the same as always.
Hearing his familiar voice, Guren's face instantly lit up with radiant surprise. Without hesitation, she threw herself into Tatsuya's arms.
Tatsuya gently stroked Guren's head. "Little fool," he murmured softly, "you've worked hard."
Burrowing her head into Tatsuya's chest, Guren shook her head emphatically.
By now, Genkei, Miki, and Takami had approached cautiously. They stared first in shock at Guren, who was acting like a young girl throwing herself into the masked man's embrace, then quickly composed themselves and greeted the group respectfully. "Greetings to the four Lords!"
Although they had never seen Tatsuya's current appearance, the way Jizo, Kagutsuchi, and Suijin deferred to him made his superior status abundantly clear. They dared not show the slightest disrespect towards such a powerful figure.
Looking at the wary trio, Tatsuya gestured lightly with his hand and smiled. "I am Ryujin, the leader of the Divine Court. Yakugakure and the Divine Court share a close relationship; there's no need for such formality."
Tatsuya addressed these words to Guren as well as her three teammates. For this expedition to explore the mysterious underground hot spring, Tatsuya intended to appear before the world as the leader of the Divine Court for the first time.
Hearing the words "leader of the Divine Court," Genkei, Miki, and Takami all jolted, hastily bowing respectfully once more. As they did, Genkei couldn't help but steal a glance at Jizo standing behind Ryujin. During the battle at Yakugakure, Jizo had been the primary force who repelled the Akatsuki leader. Although Genkei and the others hadn't witnessed that terrifying power firsthand, they had all investigated the aftermath. They could scarcely imagine how powerful Ryujin, the leader of the Divine Court whose status was clearly above Jizo's, must truly be!
Tatsuya paid their reaction little mind. He gently patted Guren's back again and eased her away from him. Under the watchful eyes of Genkei, Miki, and Takami, a blushing Guren obediently stood to the side. Her docile behavior once again overturned her teammates' perception of her.
Tatsuya's gaze shifted to the side as another figure rapidly approached.
Swish~
With the sound of displaced air, Kazuhiko appeared before the group.
"Greetings, Leader!" Kazuhiko immediately bowed respectfully to Tatsuya upon arriving.
"Rise. What's the situation?" Tatsuya made a small gesture to bid him rise, his tone calm.
"Leader, Akatsuki members are arriving successively. Two teams have already entered the Land of Rivers," Kazuhiko reported respectfully.
"Two teams have already arrived? Who?" Tatsuya asked, surprised. The Akatsuki were moving faster than he had anticipated.
Kazuhiko replied, "The pairs are Kakuzu and Hidan, and Sasori and Deidara."
A sharp glint flashed in Tatsuya's eyes, and he fell silent in thought. He considered launching a preemptive strike, giving the Akatsuki a taste of their strength. Among these four, Kakuzu and Sasori were undoubtedly the most troublesome at this stage. Hidan's offensive methods were limited, his weaknesses obvious, while the young Deidara had yet to reach his peak potential. Tatsuya was confident he could lead his team to capture Hidan and Deidara.
However, Kakuzu and Sasori were different. Their current strength was likely already close to their prime. Eliminating them completely would be difficult and would risk revealing the Divine Court's trump cards too early, potentially hindering future battles.
After a moment's deliberation, Tatsuya ultimately decided against launching a surprise attack on these two Akatsuki teams.
Having made up his mind, Tatsuya spoke. "Since the other Akatsuki members haven't arrived yet, let's use this opportunity to investigate that mysterious underground hot spring first."
As soon as Tatsuya finished speaking, Kazuhiko quickly interjected, "Leader, Sunagakure has also become aware of our movements. Should we deal with them first?"
"Sunagakure? Ignore them for now," Tatsuya said after a brief thought, shaking his head. The Land of Rivers bordered both the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, and it was geographically closer to Sunagakure. It wasn't surprising that the movements of both the Divine Court and the Akatsuki had attracted Suna's attention. Their primary objective now was to seize any advantages offered by the ruin before the Akatsuki fully mobilized. Wasting time on Sunagakure was unnecessary.