"That guy who was chasing your brother relentlessly is now the Hokage of Konoha!"

"I’ve always said the Hokage is the hero of all of Konoha, but I really don’t see it!"

"But let’s get back to you... You should be heading straight for Konoha now, but I already told you, you’ve been destroyed."

Sasuke froze.

Karin still didn’t believe it and immediately questioned loudly.

"What in the world is going on! Who could destroy all of Konoha? Did they mobilize the entire army of a country?"

Unknown to them, the masked man shook his head.

"No... The one who destroyed Konoha is one of my subordinates, his name is Pain."

Sasuke frowned slightly.

"Just one person?"

The masked man nodded.

"Yes! That guy... he really went too far. The five Kage are all focused on this matter right now..."

Upon hearing this, Sasuke’s mouth twitched.

"Tch! The five Kage, they’re all a bunch of stubborn old men!"

The masked man gently wagged his finger.

"Not so! The five Kage are now preparing to hold a Kage Summit!"

At that moment.

On the outskirts of Konoha village, Naruto was still confronting the two individuals from Kumogakure.

Karui insisted.

"Absolutely not. You must tell me everything about Sasuke now, as well as all the information you’ve gathered on the Akatsuki, and any information related to Sasuke and his companions’ actions."

Sakura snapped out of her daze.

"How is that possible! I don’t believe it! How could Sasuke possibly join the Akatsuki!"

Naruto also asked with great tension.

"Can you confirm the things you just said?"

Omoi clenched his fist.

"There’s absolutely no mistake. Someone confirmed it was the Uchiha clan’s crest back then, and the appearance matched the one on the intelligence list..."

Sakura immediately fell into sadness and despair.

Her trust in Sasuke crumbled to pieces in that instant.

The Akatsuki organization, with their strange missions and lawless actions, causing evil everywhere.

They all wore the same black robes with red clouds, as if the clouds were condensed from a bloody mist.

It was these guys who had just destroyed the entire Konoha village.

If it weren’t for a famous person intervening in time, almost half the people in the village would have perished.

These guys were powerful and had a terrifying dark mindset, capable of suddenly launching violent attacks at any moment, even leveling entire ninja villages.

The emotions in her mind became overwhelming, and she couldn’t help but cry in public.

Karui immediately shouted.

"Why are you crying, little girl! We’re the ones who should be crying!"

"Even if you cry now, Lord Yugito and Lord Mabui will never come back to life! If you have time to cry, you might as well honestly hand over all the information about Sasuke!"

Just as Naruto and Sakura were both speechless and lost for words.

Sai, who wasn’t good with words, suddenly spoke.

"Hey, please wait a moment!"

"I imagine that as soon as you received the news about Sasuke’s execution, Konoha would have handed over all information about Sasuke to you. So, it seems you don’t need to force them like this, do you!" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"You can tell that they two have nothing to do with what Sasuke did. Konoha village is also devastated by the Akatsuki’s intrusion..."

"Even though we are in different ninja villages and different countries, as fellow ninjas, we should be considerate of each other!"

Karui slightly relented.

"That’s true... Our captain is waiting for news right now, but we can’t just sit around doing nothing! We have to use our strength to gather as much information about Sasuke as possible!"

Naruto looked at the two in front of him, unsure of how he felt.

But as he thought, he suddenly felt something was off.

He couldn’t help but ask.

"Is your teacher... also a Jinchuriki?"

Karui and Omoi immediately gave affirmative replies.

Naruto’s heart stirred, and he immediately said to the two of them.

"What if your teacher isn’t dead..."

"I’m not trying to comfort you... If you really lost your teacher, I would do my utmost to help you, just as you said... how can we just wait around!"

"I deeply understand how you feel right now, and I know what it’s like to be a Jinchuriki, that unparalleled loneliness... I am also a Jinchuriki. The Akatsuki’s target is people like us, but they have a unique characteristic: they must capture them alive..."

"So, when I tell you your teacher is alive, it’s not simply a comfort, but actual information!"

Looking at Naruto’s sincere expression, Karui and Omoi wavered slightly. ....

Then Naruto delivered another blow.

"Right now, compared to Sasuke, it’s more important to rescue your master first..."

Omoi had already dropped his arrogant expression.

"Are you telling the truth? Is our master really still salvageable?"

Karui even burst into laughter on the spot.

"That’s great! I knew that guy wouldn’t die that easily!"

Naruto said to the two.

"I will also help you rescue your master and do my best to provide you with information about the Akatsuki!"

Upon hearing this, Karui immediately flashed a hearty smile.

"You blonde kid! You’re the only one who makes sense... Come with us, and tell us everything about Sasuke too!"

Sakura turned her head and saw Naruto’s determined face.

The resolve in his eyes did not waver in the slightest.

"Leave it to me, Sakura!"

Karui became interested in Naruto.

"What’s your name, kid?"

Naruto immediately pushed up his forehead protector.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!"

Meanwhile, in a distant jungle, Karin recounted everything she knew to the group.

Suigetsu asked in surprise.

"Uzumaki Naruto? That Uzumaki Naruto defeated Pain by himself?"

Karin said sarcastically.

"Yes! By himself... He’s become incredibly powerful now, probably surpassing Sasuke!"

Karin immediately jumped out, her face blushing.

"No way! My Sasuke is the strongest and most handsome!"

After defending him, she immediately realized the situation was wrong and shyly retreated behind the other two.

Karin persisted.

"But facts are facts..."

Sasuke chuckled lightly.

"All that is unimportant. The most important thing is the Kage Summit!"

Suigetsu scratched his head, his intelligence returning.

"Then Danzo should be appearing at the Kage Summit now, shouldn’t he?"