Chapter 62: Bold! How Dare You Say His Name So Casually 

Of course, it was just a thought. Kisame had a special status within the Akatsuki, and he was also assigned to watch Itachi, something Itachi was well aware of. Selling Kisame out now would make things difficult when reporting back.

Itachi sighed inwardly and glanced at the spot where Sasuke had disappeared. The Tsukuyomi earlier had been interrupted by Jiraiya before it fully activated. Sasuke should be fine. That's a relief.

As for Jiraiya... handing over the intel to him might actually be the best option.

Jiraiya placed Naruto down and stood up, facing Kisame and Itachi. "So, your target is Naruto after all."

He had been observing for a while and was certain of it.

Kisame opened his mouth to say something, but Itachi spoke first. "I see. So, you're the source of the intel? No wonder Kakashi knew too."

Kisame closed his mouth.

Itachi looked coldly at Naruto. "Taking Naruto is the highest order our organization, the Akatsuki, has given us."

"Akatsuki?" Jiraiya's face darkened, recalling what the Nine-Tails had once told him. "Who is the leader of your Akatsuki organization?"

Kisame opened his mouth again, but Itachi beat him to it. "You don't need to know."

Kisame shut his mouth once more.

Jiraiya clenched his fist, keeping his expression calm. "Is it a member of the Uzumaki clan with the Rinnegan, and a girl with blue hair who uses paper jutsu?"

For the third time, Kisame opened his mouth to speak, but once again, Itachi cut him off. "How do you know that?"

Kisame: "..."

Kisame couldn't... he just couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore.

Itachi-san, aren't you being a bit too honest?

If he didn't know Itachi's personality after all these years, Kisame would've thought Itachi was deliberately spilling intel. "Itachi-san, we've said enough. It's time to leave."

Itachi nodded regretfully. After all, pushing it too far would put Sasuke in danger. "Yeah."

With that, Kisame hoisted Samehada, and the two turned to flee. Jiraiya took a deep breath, suppressing his inner turmoil as his gaze grew colder. "I told you, neither of you are leaving here. No one has ever escaped this technique since I created it."

Boom! A loud explosion echoed.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he rushed forward to investigate. But when he reached the corner, he saw a large gap before him, with black flames burning across it. The jutsu he had just bragged about had been destroyed like that.

"What is this?"

Jiraiya cautiously studied the strange black flames burning on the walls of flesh, a deep sense of danger welling up inside him.

Let's set aside what this thing is for now. In short, it's extremely dangerous. Jiraiya glanced at the distant figures of Itachi and Kisame, his expression a bit gloomy, but he didn't say much. Instead, he turned around, took out a scroll, and placed it on the ground. The scroll was covered with runes.

Jiraiya formed a hand seal and said, "Sealing Jutsu: Fire Seal!"

Blue chakra floated up from the scroll and wrapped around the black flames. As the blue chakra dissipated, the flames were slowly sealed into the scroll. Only after the sealing was complete did Jiraiya let out a small sigh of relief.

He stored the scroll away and dismissed the summoning jutsu. Turning around, he carried the unconscious Sasuke and Naruto, who had fainted from the fleshy walls, back into the room. Then, he sat alone by the window, lost in thought.

Kurama's words kept echoing in his mind, along with...

"Die!"

Just as the words crossed Jiraiya's mind, without even having time to think of a third word, a giant foot appeared before his eyes. Accompanied by a familiar chakra, Jiraiya was kicked straight off the building.

Guy, who had kicked Jiraiya, realized something was wrong with the impact and tried to pull his kick back. But even though he lessened the strength, the powerful force still sent Jiraiya flying. Standing in the now messy room, Guy awkwardly looked at the Jiraiya he had just kicked, "I-It's you, Jiraiya-sama? Why are you here?"

Ten minutes later~

Jiraiya sat in the room, his face puffed up in anger. A bandage was stuck to his left cheek, and his nose was stuffed with two pieces of tissue, with bright red blood seeping through, making him look... oddly comical—uh, I mean, pitiful.

"I'm really sorry, Jiraiya-sama!"

Guy bent over deeply, sincerely apologizing.

"I left in such a rush that I forgot to bring a mirror, so I could only use my forehead protector to check the room. But the reflection was too blurry, and all I saw was Naruto and Sasuke passed out, with a shady figure sitting by the window..."

"In any case, I'm really sorry, Jiraiya-sama!"

Jiraiya listened to Guy's explanation, his face darkening even more. He was already in a bad mood, and now he felt even worse.

"What do you mean, shady? You better explain that clearly!"

"I'm sorry!"

Guy said with a goofy grin.

"It's all my fault for being too rash and not recognizing people well..."

"You idiot."

Jiraiya was speechless, but he knew what kind of person Guy was. A bit slow in the head, and this was just how he did things.

"Let's not worry about this for now. The most important thing is to get Sasuke to the medical unit."

Jiraiya looked at Sasuke, who was lying on the bed, still struggling in his sleep.

"His arm is broken, and his mind has been affected by genjutsu. He's unconscious now."

Even in his unconscious state, Sasuke's face was filled with struggle, muttering things like "I'll kill you" over and over. But Jiraiya understood. Anyone who had gone through what Sasuke had would be hard-pressed to stay calm. Frankly, Jiraiya didn't think he could have done it.

Guy looked at Sasuke and sighed deeply, his face full of worry.

"Did he get hit by the same jutsu as Kakashi?"

"Kakashi?"

Jiraiya furrowed his brow.

"I see. No wonder Sasuke knew Itachi had come to Konoha. Kakashi got hit by that eye technique too?"

"Still, it's a relief,"

Jiraiya said.

"I managed to stop Itachi before he could fully cast the jutsu on Sasuke. When I saw that guy was about to go all out, I stepped in right away, so Sasuke's mental damage isn't too severe. He just needs some time to rest."

"Kakashi, though... he's in trouble."

Jiraiya didn't know exactly what kind of genjutsu Kakashi and Sasuke had been hit with, but judging by Sasuke's current condition—even though the jutsu hadn't been fully unleashed—it could destroy someone's mind this much. Kakashi was probably completely immobilized by now.

Guy nodded in agreement.

"Every time I see this, I can't help but miss that person."

Saffron... no, wait.

Jiraiya smiled. 

"My goal this time is to find that person."

"That person..." Guy was shocked. "Could it be?"

"Yeah." Jiraiya nodded. 

"I have intel on their location. This time, I brought Naruto out to get them to heal Naruto's injuries, and while I'm at it, I'll ask them to come back and be Hokage. I might as well save Kakashi, too."

Guy silently looked at Jiraiya. Knowing what that person was capable of, he fully understood what they represented.

After hesitating for a moment, Guy took a deep breath and looked at Jiraiya with a serious expression.

"Jiraiya-sama, if it's possible, could I ask that person to save my student, Rock Lee?"

Guy's tone was filled with seriousness, almost pleading. 

Lee was his most beloved student, the one who inherited all his Taijutsu techniques. Now, Lee had lost his ability to be a ninja. But Guy knew that if anyone could heal Lee, it would be that person. He had no doubts, because after all, it was *that* person!

But come to think of it, everyone knows "that person" is Tsunade. So why don't these two just say her name already?

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