The Sound Four, waiting at the edge of the forest, surrounded Sasuke as soon as he emerged.
Tayuya handed him a pill. "This is a gift bestowed by Orochimaru-sama After taking it, your strength will increase significantly."
Sasuke pinched the pill between his fingertips for a moment, then swallowed it in one gulp. The moment the pill went down his throat, a scorching flow of Chakra exploded from his abdomen, spreading wildly along his Chakra pathways.
Sasuke's body swayed, and his consciousness was quickly dragged into darkness.
The Sound Four placed the unconscious Sasuke into a pre-prepared sealing container and carried it off, rushing toward Otogakure.
Naruto watched the few Chakra signals disappear into the distance, then withdrew his gaze.
He glanced at Sakura, who was lying unconscious on the bench, pondered for a moment, and created a Shadow Clone.
The Shadow Clone leaped onto a roof, rushing toward Ino's home. Before long, it arrived at the gate, bringing Ino, who was still wearing her pajamas.
"Naruto, what is going on? I was just about to go to sleep when your Shadow Clone knocked on my window. Eh? Why is Sakura lying on the bench?" Ino crouched down and checked on Sakura.
"It's a bit complicated to explain. You take her first, we'll talk as we walk." Naruto said.
"Fine."
Ino draped one of Sakura's arms over her shoulder and walked toward Sakura's home.
On the way, Naruto briefly explained that Sasuke had accepted a special mission and needed to leave the village for three years.
As for why Sakura was unconscious here, it was because Sasuke didn't want her to stop him, so he used a genjutsu to knock her out.
"What? Sasuke is leaving for three years for a special mission? And he used a genjutsu to knock Sakura out? He really is something, couldn't he just explain it clearly instead of using a genjutsu?"
After walking for a while, Ino looked down at Sakura, who was sleeping against her shoulder, then looked up at Naruto walking in front.
She asked, "Naruto, didn't you like Sakura the most? With such a good opportunity, you actually let me take her back?"
Naruto turned his head to glance at Ino, and said with a smile, "Ino, I was very naive before but people change. Now I am very clear about what I need, and I am working hard in that direction. As for Sakura, let's leave her to Sasuke to take care of."
Ino's footsteps faltered slightly. She looked at Naruto's profile. The streetlamp light fell on his blonde hair, and his face, which looked more and more like the Fourth Hokage, carried a sense of composure that she couldn't quite put into words.
She quickly looked away, her heart beating a few beats faster for no reason.
"Naruto, you really have changed. You used to chase after Sakura calling her 'Sakura-chan' all day, but now you can calmly arrange things for others."
"Since you have your own goals, then you must work hard. You are a Jonin now, don't let us friends down."
...
Along the way, Ino never took the initiative to make eye contact with Naruto again.
Ino supported Sakura as she pushed open the courtyard gate, then looked back at Naruto. Naruto waved at her, then disappeared into the night.
When Naruto returned to his own courtyard gate, he found the lights on. He pushed open the gate and walked in, finding Karin sitting under the tree in the courtyard, with a white-haired figure sitting opposite her.
Jiraiya was holding a cup of hot tea, looking up at the house, his expression carrying a hint of nostalgia.
"Naruto, you're back." Karin stood up to greet him when she saw Naruto.
"Pervy Sage, why are you here?" Naruto nodded and sat down next to Karin.
Jiraiya looked around at the familiar courtyard walls, and sighed, "This place makes me nostalgic. The last time I sat here drinking tea, it was before you were even born."
After saying this, Jiraiya put away the nostalgia on his face, his expression becoming more serious. "Naruto, Tsunade has already told me about the matter in the Hokage Office."
Naruto nodded and turned to Karin. "Karin, you should go back and rest first."
Karin looked at Naruto and then at Jiraiya, knowing they had things to discuss, so she nodded. "Then I'll head back first, Naruto. Goodbye, Jiraiya-sama."
"Goodbye, get some rest early." Jiraiya waved at Karin.
Watching Karin's back and the familiar courtyard, as well as the composed Naruto, Jiraiya felt as if Minato and Kushina had returned. The same red hair, the same yellow hair.
After Karin left the courtyard, Naruto formed hand seals and a barrier rose from the training room, enveloping the entire house.
Jiraiya recognized this barrier, and his eyes flickered slightly as he regained his focus. "Naruto, you've even mastered this barrier that Minato and your mother set up together back then. It seems you've turned this house upside down."
Naruto sat down on the stool opposite Jiraiya. "Pervy Sage, you're here to ask me about mastering Nine-Tails Chakra, right?"
Jiraiya nodded, but then shook his head. "I was quite curious at first, since you are probably the first Jinchuriki in history to fully master Nine-Tails Chakra."
"But after Tsunade told me you admitted it yourself, I didn't feel like asking as much. Compared to that, I want to talk about something else."
Jiraiya said, "Naruto, you are amazing. Nine-Tails Chakra contains hatred and brutality accumulated over thousands of years, even your mother could only barely suppress it back then and never truly made it submit. You must have suffered a lot to be able to reach this step."
In the Mindscape.
Kurama turned its head to the side and snorted, "Hmph, suffered?"
It thought of the scene where Naruto casually controlled its Chakra for the first time, and closed its eyes to sleep.
Naruto smiled and shook his head. "Pervy Sage, when do you plan to teach me Senjutsu?"
"Learning Senjutsu is not something that can be done in a few days. I originally wanted to wait until Konoha returned to the right track, then take you out to travel, teaching you Senjutsu along the way. But before I could even mention it, Tsunade told me you had already fully mastered Nine-Tails Chakra."
"At your speed, you'll probably learn Senjutsu in three days." Jiraiya laughed as he said this.
Jiraiya looked at Naruto seriously. "Naruto, the power you possess now... it is no exaggeration to say that you are already standing at the pinnacle of the Ninja World. But looking at you like this, you still seem unsatisfied. What exactly are you in such a hurry for?"
"My current strength is still far from my expectations. So, I still need to continue training." Naruto's tone was natural.
Jiraiya was silent for a moment, ultimately choosing not to press for more.
During the time he had spent with Naruto, he had roughly figured out his personality. When Naruto wanted to speak, he naturally would. When he didn't, no one could pry his mouth open.
However, the stronger Naruto became, the safer he would be, and he could rest assured to continue searching for the Child of Prophecy.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya leaned against the stone table and said with a hint of nostalgia, "Come to think of it, when your parents lived here, Minato would practice shurikenjutsu in the yard. Later, he scratched the ground so much that your mother grabbed his ears and scolded him for a whole week."
"There was another time when Kushina had a whim to make persimmon cakes herself. She pickled a jar of something, and it was so stinky that the neighbors even came to complain..."
Naruto sat on the stone stool, listening quietly, a smile hanging on the corner of his lips.
On the other side.
Ino brought Sakura into the room and reached out to dispel the Genjutsu Sasuke had cast.
Sakura's eyelids fluttered and she sprang up from the bed, shouting, "Sasuke is leaving!"
Ino pressed down on Sakura's shoulder and recounted what Naruto had said about Sasuke going on a special mission.
After listening, Sakura's struggling movements slowly stopped.
"So that's how it is. Sasuke went to do a mission. Naruto has also become so strong, he's already a Jonin. Only I am standing still."
Sakura sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at her open palms.
She recalled the look in Sasuke's eyes when he said sorry to her, the scene of Naruto being surrounded by everyone at the barbecue restaurant tonight, and that she hadn't done anything meaningful tonight other than picking food for Sasuke.
Sakura looked at Ino. "Ino, am I very weak?"
Ino sat down beside Sakura, and reached out to wrap her arm around her shoulder. "If you're weak, then train. Wasn't Naruto the loser of the class before? Now he's a Jonin. If you want to chase, then chase."
"Whether it's Sasuke or Naruto, no matter who you want to chase, first grow stronger."
Sakura sniffed, holding back the moisture in the corners of her eyes.
She raised her head to look at Ino, light returning to her eyes. "Ino, I want to become stronger. I want to catch up to the footsteps of Sasuke and Naruto."
Ino gave Sakura a pat on the back. "That's right."