"You don't have a fever, do you?" Kiba first stood up and touched Naruto's forehead, then said in disbelief.
"Get lost!" Naruto slapped Kiba's hand away, shouting with great dissatisfaction.
"Sasuke says it's fine, but when I say it, I'm crazy?"
"Hey! Karin, over here!" Ino saw Karin enter the classroom and waved to her.
Hearing Ino's call, Karin's eyes lit up, and she quickly ran in.
"Why are you so late?" Ino complained, as the morning classes were already over.
Karin waved her hand and explained, "Sensei wasn't here, so I asked a Jonin to bring me over, and they seemed quite busy, so it took until now."
"I see. Come on, I'll introduce you to the classmates."
Saying that, Ino pulled Hinata, who was still in her seat, and headed towards another spot.
"Who was that?" Kiba watched Karin and the others walk away and couldn't help but ask.
After all, it was rare to see a girl with bright red hair in the village.
"Hehe, she's my clan member, and her surname is Uzumaki too." Naruto rubbed the tip of his nose, introducing her to Kiba excitedly.
Although he already had a master and companions, he was very happy to have a clansman now.
"Naruto, introduce us?" Kiba raised an eyebrow.
"Uh—if you want to go, go by yourself." Naruto waved his hand.
Given Kiba's usual habits, he would probably start flirting soon.
They all knew how terrifying Karin was. She looked soft and fluffy, but she was actually all black on the inside.
"What's wrong? So stingy." Kiba couldn't help but pout.
—
"Six-Tails has been captured..."
Inside the Hokage Office, Hiruzen, who had returned from vacation, had a very serious expression.
After hearing Shinji's report, his relaxed mood, which had come from playing with Konohamaru for a few days, couldn't help but become heavy.
"Mm." Shinji on the sofa nodded.
"Itachi's situation isn't actually very good. There's a high possibility that he could be in trouble if he's not careful."
"Being an undercover agent is one thing, being discovered while transmitting information is another."
"Itachi is a visible nail. Unless absolutely necessary, there's really no need for him to return just for some intelligence."
Hiruzen nodded. "I understand. For now, don't disturb Itachi further."
Itachi currently had the Flying Thunder God scroll, so he could return at any time. But it had to be used at the most crucial moment.
"Who do you think the next target will be?" Hiruzen looked at Shinji and asked.
Shinji picked up a piece of paper nearby and wrote down all the Jinchuriki and major ninja villages in order.
Hiruzen just watched quietly, but just then, the door to the office was knocked.
"Enter."
"Hokage-sama." Inoichi walked in, looking tired.
He had just finished his work when Shisui informed him that Hiruzen had summoned him.
"Sit down, Inoichi." Hiruzen had a smiling expression.
Inoichi didn't stand on ceremony, but when he sat down next to Shinji, he saw what was written on the paper. His eyes widened.
Six-Tails was captured and extracted?
What's going on?
"Inoichi, this is intelligence, take a look." Hiruzen picked up the intelligence next to him and handed it to Inoichi.
Recently, he had been making Inoichi responsible for the compensation issues with Sunagakure and Iwagakure. So, Inoichi wasn't very clear about this aspect of intelligence.
Inside the office, only the rustling of paper remained.
After a long time, Inoichi looked up at Hiruzen and said with a serious expression, "Hokage-sama, this Akatsuki Organization is too dangerous, we cannot just watch."
Hiruzen nodded. This was everyone's thought. However, he actually wanted to know even more.
Why was Akatsuki capturing Tailed Beasts?
To overthrow the Ninja World?
A bit naive and crazy.
Hiruzen said, "This will be discussed in detail with Kumogakure later. The most important thing now is to see if we can figure out what their next target is."
"Shinji, tell us."
Shinji pointed to what was written on the paper, first pointing to the Seven-Tails. Then, he raised his hand and pointed to the Three-Tails.
Shinji said, "My guess is these two. From their first target, it can be seen that they are acting in a way that doesn't attract the attention of the Five Great Nations."
"Kirigakure is currently in isolation, and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki defected, but we haven't heard Kirigakure issue a statement."
Hiruzen and Inoichi both nodded, this was the most plausible guess. And the Seven-Tails is the only tailed beast in a small nation.
Shinji paused. This was also why the Seven-Tails was the second one captured in the original story.
At that time, the Ninja World was already somewhat chaotic, and the Akatsuki took advantage of this to begin their operations.
As for the Three-Tails, he actually thought it might have already been defined as a target before. After all, the previous Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Obito.
Currently, it's unclear whether Mei of Kirigakure has discovered that the Fourth Mizukage was controlled.
Once she knows, Kirigakure will fall into chaos, and once the counterattack begins, Three-Tails cannot remain in Kirigakure. Obito in the original story probably had this idea as well.
He just didn't expect that the Fourth Mizukage would die, leading to having to wait a few years for the Three-Tails to revive.
Knock knock—
An urgent knocking sound echoed, and the three people in the office all looked up.
Inoichi entered with a serious expression, handed a scroll to Hiruzen, and then said, "Hokage-sama, Kirigakure just sent a message through official channels."
"The Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure went missing a year ago, and the newly appointed Fifth Mizukage has just sent a message to the village."
"She hopes to promote cooperation with Konoha."
Hearing this, Shinji couldn't help but look at the paper.
It seems Three-Tails is temporarily out of the question. Then, it can only be the Seven-Tails.
Hiruzen frowned.
Hearing about the disappearance of an enemy's Kage always gave him a bit of a complex.
Sunagakure's two wars both started with such reasons.
And while Kirigakure was talking about cooperation now, looking at Inoichi's expression, there was no joy at all.
Indeed, Hiruzen's eyes narrowed as he opened the scroll.
The scroll stated that Fifth Mizukage Mei first informed Konoha as the Kage of a village. Then, she carried a questioning tone.
The Fourth Mizukage was suspected of being controlled by genjutsu, and currently, the most famous genjutsu in the entire Ninja World is—
The Uchiha clan's Sharingan.
This scroll could be said to express Mei's view, hoping Konoha could provide an explanation. Otherwise, she would face the Ninja World and directly question Konoha.