Naruto: By lying low and hiding, he eventually became the leader of the Legendary Sannin.

Finally, left with no other choice, the group decided to open the forbidden book in public. If even one person could escape back, they could bring these forbidden techniques back to complete their mission.

However, the moment they opened the book, everyone's expression froze.

Because that so-called forbidden book didn't contain a single word!

At that moment, Shota Futata immediately realized that all of this was Konoha's scheme.

We were just pawns in their plan.

That was the night the masked secret agents finally discovered them.

A fierce battle ensued.

Unfortunately, almost all of them were only Chunin level, and most of them had been engaged in espionage for a long time, so their ability to fight head-on was not strong.

Just ten minutes after the battle began, almost all of their men were wiped out.

Just when Shota Futata was on the verge of despair, a powerful ninja rescued him from the group of ninjas.

They were hired ninjas from Amegakure!

The ninja named Hanzo told himself that he had received a mission to take him to a certain target location and then leave.

Shota Futata could only silently accept this arrangement.

After all, he knew that as someone listed as a major criminal by Konoha, it would probably be difficult for him to return to Sunagakure through official channels in the future.

Unexpectedly, they encountered a group of brats from Konoha on their way.

Perhaps because he thought about how he had been toyed with by the higher-ups of Konoha, he could hardly suppress his killing intent towards these brats from Konoha.

However, Hanzo wouldn't allow him to do that, and he knew perfectly well why.

He would have done the same, since there's no need to offend that powerful country for an escort mission.

Unexpectedly, an accident still occurred later.

Danzo has caught up with us!

As a spy who had been gathering information all along, he naturally knew who Danzo was.

But what happened next took an unexpected turn that he couldn't understand.

For the sake of that useless person he was holding hostage, that annoying Uchiha brat actually proposed a deal?

Moreover, the terms of the deal were that he would release the hostages and then he would be responsible for stopping Danzo?

Who does he think he is?

Madara Uchiha?

But what was even more unexpected was that Hanzo actually agreed to the deal.

Although he was unwilling, he still released the little devil in his hand.

To everyone's surprise, Danzo actually stopped chasing after Hanzo as they fled.

How did that Uchiha brat manage to do that?

After traversing the Land of Rain, they arrived at their final destination—the Land of Grass.

This is a small country located far from Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, sandwiched between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire.

Those people from Konoha certainly didn't expect to be brought here.

Having completed his task, Hanzo left without saying a word and returned to Amegakure.

As for himself, he found a nearby village and quickly integrated into the village as an outsider.

After all, dealing with people is one of his strengths.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. As soon as he stepped out of his house, Shota Futata greeted his neighbors warmly.

Walking along the dilapidated path in the village, he was calculating the time to leave.

It was last week that Konoha withdrew all its Jonin from the Land of Rain. After more than a week, it is estimated that there are not many Annin left in the Land of Rain.

It's time for me to leave this place and return to Sunagakure.

Lost in thought, he accidentally bumped into someone on the side of the road. He habitually turned around to apologize.

However, the moment he turned his head, a Sharingan with three tomoe appeared in his eyes.

He was slightly taken aback, feeling as if his thoughts and will were being rapidly invaded.

He knew very well that if this person completely invaded his will, he would likely be in grave danger.

But he was powerless to stop it all. Just as his thoughts were about to disappear, a scene buried deep in his memory suddenly surfaced before his eyes.

It was a training ground bathed in the setting sun, and standing before him was the very friend he had killed.

The man spat out a mouthful of blood and said in a barely audible voice:

"I'm sorry, Shota Futata."

From now on, you'll have to walk your own path.

Oh right, I remember his name.

That's my good friend, his name is Long Qitai...

............

Looking at Shota Futata, who was now under their control, Kagura and Tsunade and the others behind him finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it was strange that this person would suddenly show a smile at the end of the struggle, the most important thing was that they had finally completed their mission.

Yes, the task that Hiruzen Sarutobi gave them that day was:

Capture Shota Futa alive.

To complete this task, they followed the clues for more than ten days.

Finally, they caught up with the village and locked onto their target.

Seeing the listless eyes of Shota Futata, Kagura smiled at her companions behind her.

With a wave of her hand, she said:

"Let's go home!"

Chapter 38 The "Monster" from Konoha

Konoha Year 25, three years after the Danzo incident.

Within the Kingdom of Water.

Similar to the Land of Whirlpools that Kagura and others had visited, the Land of Water is a huge island far from the mainland.

However, its land area is much larger than that of the Land of Whirlpools, and there are also many scattered small islands around it.

On one of the small islands, a group of Chunin from Kirigakure were fleeing in terror.

One of them had a girl with completely red hair tucked under his arm.

These ninjas were desperately trying to escape forward while constantly turning their heads to look back.

At the very front, clearly their leader, he growled through gritted teeth:

"Damn it, how did I run into them!"

Those 'monsters' from Konoha!

However, before he could finish speaking, a huge shadow suddenly appeared in front of them.

A mountain-sized object suddenly descended upon them.

Upon closer inspection, it was a toad the size of a small mountain.

The toad was leisurely taking a puff of its pipe and calmly exhaling at the ant-like enemies in front of it.

A loud, booming sound came from his mouth:

"Hey, Jiraiya, is this the group of people?"

As he asked the question, a white-haired boy slowly emerged from his head.

He surveyed the group of people below from his elevated position, and when he saw the girl who had been smuggled in, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

He didn't answer the toad's question, but instead spoke with dissatisfaction:

"How many times have I told you, Bunta!"

When you call me by my name, please don't add a "small" prefix.

I'm twelve years old!

Compared to before, Jiraiya has indeed changed quite a bit.

His usual casual kimono attire was gone; now he wore a Jonin combat uniform similar to Kagura's.

The only difference is that the vest isn't purple, but red.

In response to Jiraiya's protest, Gamabunta remained calm, took a drag of his cigarette, and replied nonchalantly:

"Okay, Jiraiya."

"I understand, Jiraiya."

Faced with the shameless attitude of the giant toad beneath his feet, Jiraiya could only helplessly accept it.

He pretended not to hear those words, and suddenly pointed at the crowd below, shouting with great enthusiasm:

"Let go of that girl!"

Upon hearing this, the leader looked at the people beside him, and the two nodded.

Suddenly the group split into two teams and rushed off in the left and right directions.

Watching the enemies below scatter and flee, Jiraiya did nothing to stop them, only shaking his head regretfully.

The leader of the group on the left was overjoyed to see that the toad hadn't made any move when an unexpected incident occurred at the front of the group.

Suddenly, a hand appeared out of thin air in front of them, wielding a short sword and slashing down the ninja who was charging at the front.

At the sound of the ninja's scream, the people behind him stopped in alarm.