Baki felt uneasy under Yugito's extremely grave expression. After his gaze wandered for a moment, he finally spoke:
"Ah… yes. Based on the reaction of our village's jinchūriki, I strongly suspect that Gekko Hoshiyomi is still alive."
Yugito's face darkened. She remained silent for a long time before finally speaking:
"I understand. I'll have people verify this matter over the next few days."
After saying that, Yugito fixed her eyes on Baki—the meaning was clear: you can leave now.
After leaving Yugito's room, Baki still felt puzzled. He didn't know that Yugito was already under Tobi's control, so he couldn't understand why the icy Kumogakure beauty had reacted so strongly upon hearing Hoshiyomi's name.
After thinking for quite a while, he comforted himself:
"Come to think of it, the damage Gekko Hoshiyomi caused to Kumogakure was no less than what he did to us. Seen that way, her nervousness does make some sense."
Not long after Baki returned to his room, Yugito left the inn, her expression completely normal.
She wandered through Konoha's streets for quite some time as if casually shopping. Eventually, she stopped at a street stall, casually picked up two small trinkets, took out her wallet, and handed two bills to the vendor before turning and leaving.
Her behavior showed no abnormalities whatsoever—so much so that even the ANBU monitoring her in secret detected nothing suspicious.
By evening, the vendor pushed his cart out of Konoha. Only after reaching a nearby village did he stop and push open the door to a private residence.
"Captain Raimei, this is the confidential intelligence Lady Yugito passed out from Konoha."
The "vendor" respectfully handed the bills to a man wearing a Kumogakure forehead protector. After glancing over them, the man said:
"Understood. You can leave now. Don't go to Konoha for a while—wait at least a week before returning."
After dismissing the vendor, the Kumogakure shinobi named Raimei revealed a strange smile. With a whoosh, he vanished underground.
...
"Gekko Hoshiyomi might still be alive in Konoha? How is that possible?"
In a certain underground cavern, Black Zetsu stared in disbelief at Tobi in front of him.
"Didn't you shred him in the space–time turbulence using Annihilating Star?"
Tobi, standing below, shrugged when he heard this:
"I personally saw him disappear into the space–time turbulence. Maybe that One-Tail jinchūriki brat was just hallucinating."
Black Zetsu pondered for a moment before speaking:
"When it comes to things like this, it's better to believe it might be true than to assume it's false. Go notify Yugito and have her investigate thoroughly in Konoha. If Gekko Hoshiyomi really is still alive, we'll need to adjust our plans accordingly.
"If necessary, we can even conceal this information from Sunagakure and use them to buy time for our withdrawal."
Tobi replied listlessly:
"Got it, got it. Honestly, Black Zetsu, I think you're just being overly cautious."
After Tobi left, Black Zetsu remained silent for a moment, still feeling uneasy. He then turned to a White Zetsu standing by and said:
"Go inform Nagato. Cancel the original plan for now. Have the members of Akatsuki remain on standby, and only deploy the Human Path to lie in wait near Konoha."
After arranging everything, Black Zetsu sat alone in the empty cavern and muttered to himself:
"Gekko Hoshiyomi… you really are a lingering ghost. But even if you're still alive, don't think you can stop me!"
...
A full month separated the second and third stages of the Chūnin Exams. That month became the perfect opportunity for Baki and Yugito to investigate Gekko Hoshiyomi.
The Sunagakure and Kumogakure teams nearly abandoned their training altogether. Everyone split into groups and wandered the streets of Konoha, gathering information about Gekko Hoshiyomi as discreetly as possible so as not to arouse ANBU suspicion.
However, their efforts yielded almost nothing. Because Hoshiyomi had prepared in advance, ordinary Konoha civilians had no idea that he was still alive in the village.
The Ninja Academy was also on break during this month, so there was no way to obtain information about Ryūshin or Rinne either.
..
While Baki and the others were running all over Konoha investigating Hoshiyomi, Konoha's rookies were steadily carrying out their own training.
Almost every genin who had advanced was undergoing special training under the guidance of their respective jōnin instructors.
Team Seven, however, was an exception. Naruto and the others did not all remain under Kakashi for special training; instead, the three of them split up and underwent different training regimens.
At first, Kakashi had planned to train all three together, but Sakura requested to learn medical ninjutsu.
To be honest, hearing Sakura proactively admit she wasn't suited for a frontline combat role and wanted to learn medical ninjutsu made Kakashi feel a sense of relief.
It wasn't because she would no longer be a burden, but because Kakashi himself believed Sakura was well-suited to medical ninjutsu. Back in the Land of Waves, she had already demonstrated frighteningly precise chakra control.
Now that Sakura had proactively asked to study medical ninjutsu, Kakashi saw it as a sign that she had finally come into her own.
This girl, who had once been overly focused on romance, had finally taken her eyes off Sasuke and begun thinking more about how she could contribute to the team.
Sakura's temporary departure from the team also made Kakashi think more broadly. Without hiding anything, he said directly in front of Naruto and Sasuke:
"Naruto, to be honest, there isn't much I can teach you. Although I have Wind Release as one of my chakra natures, I don't actually know many Wind Release techniques.
"Sasuke's chakra natures are Fire and Lightning, and Lightning Release is my specialty. If we're talking about special training, you staying with me might not be as effective as it would be for Sasuke…
"So I'd recommend that you go find Senior Hoshiyomi or Minato-sensei instead."
Naruto didn't mind at all when he heard this. There wasn't the slightest trace of jealousy or dissatisfaction on his face; instead, he broke into a big grin.
"I get it, Kakashi-sensei! You're doing this for my own good—I understand! Go ahead and focus on teaching Sasuke. I'll go bother my old man for a while!"
Sasuke, on the other hand, felt a little embarrassed. Although the tension between the two had eased after the Gaara incident, Sasuke still felt some lingering discomfort. Hearing Naruto speak so generously made him suddenly feel ashamed of the small sense of satisfaction he had felt earlier.
Naruto keenly noticed Sasuke's change. He walked over and patted Sasuke on the shoulder.
"Hey, Sasuke, make sure you study Lightning Release properly under Kakashi-sensei. Don't let me catch you training here for a whole month only to end up weaker than me."
Sasuke felt touched, but he lifted his head and replied:
"You'd better stop dreaming, loser."
...
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