"Hum hum hum~"
Moxi hummed an unfamiliar folk tune from her homeland as she walked along the country road, seemingly already accustomed to her new identity.
All in all, not much had really changed.
She was just bound by life and death to this annoying man.
As much as she hated to admit it, he was undeniably one of the strongest humans alive.
And with herself — a top‑tier powerhouse among Special Grade Cursed Spirits — added to the mix…
Their combined strength was such that nothing could stand in their way! She was already itching to go find those bastards and take her revenge.
But Shinji was far too cautious.
He was close to completing the Six Eyes, and at this critical stage, he had no desire to clash head‑on with their enemies.
If he had his way, he would wait until he had obtained the Infinite Technique and unlocked the Domain Expansion for every innate Cursed Art he possessed — then he would go and wipe out that group of Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
Tobi, walking a little behind them, suddenly spoke up with a tone of deep envy: "That's really nice… I want one too~"
"Sure thing. When the chance comes, I'll get you one as well," Shinji replied casually, without thinking much about it.
He knew very well that a Permanent Cursed Spirit Fusion Card could only be used once per person.
Which meant that now that Shinji had fused with Moxi, he could no longer "fool around" or form bonds with any other spirits.
That was exactly why he had been so extremely careful when choosing who to fuse with in the first place.
Right now, he still had one Cursed Spirit Master Ball and one Blank Cursed Spirit Fusion Card in his possession.
Who knew — maybe one day he would find a way to create another Permanent Cursed Spirit Fusion Card.
If that happened, he planned to use it to give Hidan another power boost.
After all, Hidan was basically his loyal hound — and nobody would ever grudge giving their own dog a little extra food, right?
As for Tobi… Well, he was just feeding him empty promises!
Just keep waiting. Maybe someday.
Tobi, completely unaware of how devious Shinji actually was, immediately put on a look of delighted surprise and asked: "Really?"
"Why would I lie to you? But… I already promised Hidan I'd help him get one first. So you might have to wait a while. Besides, the gifts bestowed upon me by Lord Evil God are limited in number, and the risk of failure is very high. We need to find just the right Cursed Spirit first."
"But once the fusion is done, the rewards are enormous. For example…"
Shinji went on to list only the benefits, exaggerating every advantage to the extreme.
Tobi listened, completely stunned. It sounded even more powerful than being a Jinchūriki — a human host for a Tailed Beast.
In reality, he was simply being fooled by Shinji, misled by an imbalance of knowledge.
Tobi's heart burned with excitement. He felt that all his hard work and loyalty lately had not been in vain.
Though… that part about gifts from a "Lord Evil God"?
He still didn't believe a word of it.
He suspected it was just an excuse Shinji had made up.
But since he had already gained Shinji's trust, he was more than willing to wait a little longer.
"There's a town up ahead. We can stop and rest there."
Shinji didn't object. That town was, in fact, one of the destinations on his journey.
The location marked on a certain Cursed Treasure Map was right there.
---
At the same time, Naruto and Jiraiya — who had just finished the latest stage of their training — were approaching the same town from a different direction.
"What's going on?! There's nothing here at all! We've been wandering all over the place, and we haven't found a single clue!"
Naruto complained loudly, his hands clasped behind his head.
After several months of intense training, Naruto had grown a little taller and seemed slightly more mature.
But the core of who he was — his spirit and personality — hadn't changed one bit.
Jiraiya sighed inwardly, helpless. "Let's eat first. We'll keep looking afterwards."
The story went back to the letter Jiraiya had received from the Third Hokage.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi's fate had been altered — he had not died during the invasion of Konoha — the injuries he had sustained then, combined with his advanced age and declining strength, had led him to begin considering the election of a Fifth Hokage.
That way, even if something unexpected happened to him, the village wouldn't fall into chaos.
He also hoped to use his years of experience to guide the next Hokage through the transition, and do his best to smooth over the turmoil that would follow his retirement.
And by "turmoil", he meant none other than the restless, ambitious Danzo!
Hiruzen felt he was no longer able to keep his old friend's ambitions under control.
So shortly after Jiraiya had left the village with Naruto, Hiruzen had sent people to track them down and deliver a letter.
The message was simple: Return immediately and take up the position of the Fifth Hokage.
But to Jiraiya, that position — which countless people dreamed of holding — meant absolutely nothing.
He felt he wasn't capable of bearing such a heavy responsibility, and he certainly didn't want to give up his free, wandering lifestyle.
So no matter how much Hiruzen hoped for his return, Jiraiya politely declined in his reply. Instead, he promised to go and find Tsunade and bring her back, saying she was far more suited to being Hokage than he was.
Hiruzen knew his student's mind was made up — Jiraiya would never agree to take the seat. It was a great pity.
But… Tsunade was also an acceptable choice.
After all, she was the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and also one of Hiruzen's own students. In terms of character, strength, and ability, she was completely trustworthy.
Yet Hiruzen still worried.
He feared Tsunade had never truly recovered from the tragedies of her past.
A Hokage carrying deep emotional wounds and inner flaws was far too easy for enemies to manipulate.
And there was another question: Would Tsunade even be willing to come back?
After all, the main reason she had left Konoha in the first place was that she had lost all faith and hope in the village.
So Hiruzen gave Jiraiya an ultimatum:
If, within an agreed time, you can bring Tsunade back to Konoha to take the role of Hokage, then all is well.
If not… then you must return and take on this responsibility yourself.
Deep down, Jiraiya's feelings for the village were far too strong.
He knew his teacher was essentially forcing his hand — yet he simply couldn't bear to disappoint him.
And most importantly… he knew he could never, ever allow the title of Hokage to fall into Danzo's hands!
He looked up, spotting the signboard of a nearby pub.
"Let's eat here."
"Huh? Another bar?! How many times do I have to tell you — I'm still a kid!"
"Who said anything about drinking? Kids only get to eat the side dishes."
Jiraiya rolled his eyes in disdain and walked straight inside.
He knew perfectly well that searching blindly like this was like looking for a needle in a haystack. But he had no other choice.
Having a faint hope and trying his luck was better than doing nothing at all.
"Tch~ There's a ramen shop over there. Why don't we just go eat ramen?"
"You know nothing. If you want to gather information, this is exactly the kind of place you need to be."
And the best way to find Tsunade is to visit every tavern and gambling house in every town we pass through…
Jiraiya didn't say that last part out loud.
Was it really going to be that easy?
Of course not.
By the time Jiraiya and a very grumpy Naruto finished their meal, there was still no sign of Tsunade — and they hadn't managed to collect any useful information at all.
____________________
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