The Akatsuki, a mysterious organization said to be home to many Kage-level powerhouses.
The Toad Sage, Jiraiya, had been wandering the ninja world for years, gathering all sorts of intelligence while researching for his books.
In recent years, he had become aware of a mysterious organization called the Akatsuki.
This organization was composed entirely of Kage-level powerhouses.
They were active in various mercenary stations, and any mission they accepted was completed with high efficiency.
No one knew the goals of these members.
And no one knew who could bring such a group of Kage-level powerhouses together.
Jiraiya had once tried to investigate further, but the Akatsuki was too mysterious, and in the end, he had to let it go.
He had learned, however, that the Kage-level rogue ninja from Konoha, Uchiha Itachi, had joined the Akatsuki.
What no one expected was that this mysterious organization was about to set its plan in motion.
To collect all the Tailed Beasts and make the entire ninja world feel pain.
Only by feeling pain would they yearn for peace.
This was the philosophy of the Akatsuki's leader, Nagato Uzumaki.
"We have lain dormant for a long time, and we have gathered sufficient funds."
"Now that Konoha and Sunagakure have been greatly weakened after the Konoha Crush Plan, it is the perfect opportunity to collect the One-Tail and the Nine-Tails."
"Now! The plan to capture the Tailed Beasts begins."
As soon as Pain finished speaking, the Akatsuki members began to voice their opinions.
"Interesting. Leave that Shukaku to me. Lord Jashin will make him understand fear," the immortal Hidan said arrogantly.
"The Sand Village, huh? Hmph, hmph, I remember Sasori is a rogue ninja from the Sand Village, isn't he?"
Deidara shot a provocative look at Sasori.
"The Nine-Tails will be left to Suzaku and Nanju. Any problems?" Pain looked at Itachi and Kisame and asked.
"By the way, Konoha is Mr. Itachi's…" Kisame glanced at Itachi beside him.
"Don't worry. I will have no problem," Itachi said, his face expressionless.
The only things he cared about were Konoha and his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke.
As for the mission…
He just had to make sure it failed.
Perhaps he would even get to see Sasuke this time.
I wonder how much my foolish little brother has grown.
I'm really looking forward to it.
At this thought, the corner of Itachi's mouth tilted up slightly.
"As for the One-Tail, it will be left to Gyokunyo and Seiryu," Pain said, looking at Sasori and Deidara.
Sasori was a rogue ninja from the Sand Village and was more familiar with it, which would make the mission more convenient.
His combination with Deidara would be more than enough to run rampant in Sunagakure.
The only thing that worried Pain slightly was Itachi's team.
Although Itachi's strength was considerable, Konoha was full of hidden talents. This mission might not go smoothly.
"Has anyone heard of the Hollows?" Pain asked after assigning the missions.
"Hollows? What's that? Lord Jashin could kill them easily," Hidan said with disdain.
"Hollows? I seem to have heard of them. It's said they appeared during the Konoha Crush Plan and possess power no less than that of a Jonin," Itachi said flatly.
"Correct," Pain nodded.
"This is a new species, neither human nor summoning beast. They are not afraid of ordinary kunai, nor do they fear pain. Their combat power is very high; a Jonin of the same level is no match for them. No one knows where they come from. During your missions this time, pay more attention to any intelligence regarding the Hollows."
Pain scanned the expressions of the members.
Almost all of them were somewhat dismissive.
Clearly, in the face of Kage-level powerhouses, a Jonin-level Hollow was nothing to look at.
Nagato felt a little helpless inwardly, but he knew that the pride of a Kage-level powerhouse was difficult to change.
After the members had all left, Nagato said to Konan, "Go and investigate the Hollows. I have a bad feeling about this."
"I think… Orochimaru might know something."
…
In Konoha.
Sasuke found Naruto, who was resting.
He hadn't seen Naruto for nearly a month and missed him quite a bit.
But upon seeing him, the tsundere in him just let out a cold snort.
"Hmph, Naruto. I'm really strong now. We can have a match sometime."
He could see that Naruto was tired after his long journey, so he didn't directly challenge him to a fight.
They chatted for a while, and Sakura arrived just in time.
"Naruto, I missed you so much!" The violent Sakura charged forward like a wild boar, trying to fly into Naruto's arms.
Naruto subconsciously dodged. The next moment, the large tree beside him was snapped in two by Sakura's charge.
This scene made Naruto click his tongue in amazement.
If he hadn't dodged, he might have broken a few ribs.
After doing this, Sakura clearly hadn't realized the monstrousness of her own strength. Instead, she shyly righted the tree and looked at Naruto demurely, making an excuse.
"Oh my, how did this tree fall over~~ I didn't even use any strength~"
CRASH. The tree fell over again, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Sakura bashfully grabbed Naruto's arm. "You're back now. You won't be leaving again for a while, right?"
Naruto smiled gently and imperceptibly pulled his arm away from Sakura's hand.
To him, emotions were a burden.
He had no intention of falling in love.
A human's life was far too short.
Possessing the power of a Shinigami, he was destined not to have a happy ending with a human.
And besides…
Once you had love, you had a bond.
Which meant…
You had a weakness.
Naruto could feel Sakura's affection for him.
But he just shook his head and thought to himself, "This isn't love. It's just a girl's admiration for me."
He was admired by so many in Konoha, yet not a single one of them truly understood him.
What they admired was just the Uzumaki Naruto he had created.
Not the real Uzumaki Naruto.
…
A few peaceful days passed.
During these few days, Naruto rarely reduced his training volume, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.
At this stage, training was of little help to him. Only in the Pure Land would his Reiatsu skyrocket.
Naruto's talent was very good; even in the ninja world, his Reiatsu was constantly growing.
Although the increase was so small it was almost negligible.
After the boost from the Pure Land, Naruto's strength had now firmly reached the Kage level.
Naruto was now eager to fight a Kage-level powerhouse to feel his own strength.
In these few days, the Konoha 12 also came by one after another.
Everyone was constantly improving.
The talents of the Konoha 12 were all good, and now they all possessed strength close to that of a Jonin.
A few had already reached the Jonin level.
Hinata also found Naruto during these few days.
Unlike the shy Hinata he remembered, when they met again, Hinata was wearing a sexy casual outfit. With a smile on her face, she grabbed Naruto's hand.
Under Naruto's slightly bewildered gaze, a devilish curve appeared on Hinata's lips.
She slammed her left hand on the wall, giving Naruto a kabedon, her eyes full of aggression.
"Hey, Naruto. I'm done pretending. The truth is, I like you. I want you to be my boyfriend."
After speaking, Hinata's small face drew closer, and she puckered her lips to kiss him.