Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 144 Xia Zuo still softened his heart (Updated 3/3)

Next, Orochimaru continued to show the images of Konan, Deidara, Sasori of the Red Sand, Itachi Uchiha, Kakuzu, Kisame Hoshigaki, Zetsu, and others.

They also described their respective ninjutsu techniques, and the Kage-level ninjas of Konoha engaged in a targeted discussion.

Jiraiya said, "I remember Konan's paper manipulation technique. It's a very powerful and convenient technique, but it's more vulnerable to Water Release or Fire Release techniques."

Orochimaru shook his head and said, "Jiraiya, so many years have passed, and Konan has grown into a very powerful Kage-level ninja. The paper she manipulates has overcome these two weaknesses."

Xia Zuo laughed and said, "Then we'll use a sticky liquid to deal with the paper control spell. As long as it sticks to the paper and adds several times its weight, it will definitely make the paper control spell go out of control."

Orochimaru nodded and said, "That's right. It's the same as using Water Release to deal with Magnet Release Sand Control. It's not the most effective, but it's the most difficult to overcome."

Tsunade said, "That blond kid who knows Explosion Release is probably a rogue ninja from Iwagakure."

"We've all seen Explosion Release ninjas before, but his transformation of Explosion Release into clay bombs is indeed a bit troublesome."

Jiraiya laughed and said, "It's alright. Clay bombs can only make up for the lack of flexibility in Explosion Release. Observe carefully and dodge cautiously, and the problem will be solved."

Orochimaru said, "There's a similar problem. Deidara's clay puppets can fly, so Jiraiya has to find a way to bring him down from the sky."

Jiraiya became serious: "If it can fly, then that's a bit troublesome. I'll have to prepare a few powerful Wind Release techniques."

Orochimaru nodded, trusting that Jiraiya could solve the problem: "Next is Sasori, the rogue ninja from Sunagakure. He should be Chiyo's missing grandson, and his puppetry skills are quite formidable."

"It is said that when Xiao Nan recruited him, he single-handedly manipulated puppets to destroy a small country."

Jiraiya wasn't too concerned about the puppeteer: "Puppets—tsk, Tsunade is better suited to deal with them, but I have Gamabunta, so they're not difficult to handle."

Orochimaru suddenly paused: "Uchiha Itachi, a Mangekyou Sharingan user, capable of activating Susanoo, once—defeated me using Sharingan genjutsu."

Tsunade and Jiraiya's expressions turned serious. To be able to defeat Orochimaru so easily was truly remarkable.

"Kakuzu claims to have fought the First Hokage and is known as an immortal monster."

"Kisame Hoshigaki, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, wields Samehada, one of the Seven Great Swords of Kirigakure, and is known as the Tailed Beast without a tail."

"Zetsu, I know absolutely nothing about him, except that he is skilled in ninjutsu for underground travel and has an extremely strong intelligence gathering ability."

The more detailed Orochimaru's explanation, the more shocked the Konoha ninja became, eventually falling into silence.

The core members of the Akatsuki organization are too powerful. Jiraiya alone is definitely no match for them, and even escaping would be extremely difficult.

Jiraiya wiped away a cold sweat: "Luckily, it was just a reconnaissance mission, otherwise, Toad Sage Jiraiya would have become Dead Jiraiya."

Xia Zuo smiled. Did Jiraiya think that gathering intelligence was enough to guarantee safety?

He really underestimated the Rinnegan. It is the only power in the current ninja world that is close to the level of the Six Paths, and it completely overwhelms ninjas.

If Nagato hadn't lost his legs and hadn't been burdened by the Gedo Mazo, the adult Nagato could have broken through the ninja world with sheer brute force.

Therefore, Jiraiya is unlikely to complete his mission. Whether he can return alive depends on whether he is careful enough and whether Nagato is ruthless enough to kill someone now.

Thinking of this, Xia Zuo looked at Orochimaru and personally handed him a stack of documents.

He said, "Lord Orochimaru, during the Uchiha clan massacre, there was also a Mangekyou ninja who wore a single-eyed spiral mask and used space-time power."

"After three years of investigation, we finally tracked down his whereabouts. He mainly operates in Amegakure and Kirigakure."

"I suspect he is also a member of Akatsuki, or that he has a cooperative relationship with Akatsuki."

"The Hidden Rain Village is now under the responsibility of Lord Jiraiya, and the Hidden Mist Village will be under your responsibility."

"After all, you've collected quite a few Hidden Mist ninja children, so you should be very familiar with this village."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Indeed, I am very familiar with Kirigakure and have channels to infiltrate it, but who is my main target for reconnaissance?"

Xia Zuo replied, "The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi."

"From past intelligence, I learned that Yagura Karatachi came to power by opposing the Bloody Mist Village policy, but now he has taken the Bloody Mist Village policy to a whole new level and intensity."

"His reaction was very unusual. His actions had no fixed stance or clear interests; he was solely focused on destroying Kirigakure."

"I think something must have happened to him."

Orochimaru nodded and said, "Yes, I understand, Fifth Hokage."

"In the past, I only collected children with potential and their bloodline limits, always avoiding the Fourth Mizukage. This time, I have to find a way to confront him."

Xia Zuo warned seriously, "Lord Orochimaru, you must be careful. The enemy who has mastered the ability of space and time is very likely the same guy who released the Nine-Tails, killed Kushina Uzumaki, and forced the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze to his death."

"Once you get entangled with him, it will be too difficult to retreat."

Orochimaru nodded: "I'll be careful."

Xia Zuo said with satisfaction, "Everything has been discussed. Everyone can go back and prepare for their missions."

"By the way, the mission orders and exit permits are no longer issued by me. Lord Orochimaru and Lord Jiraiya, please remember to go to the relevant department."

Subsequently, Jiraiya, who was extremely anxious, obtained the issued mission documents from the mission department. With the documents, he obtained a certificate to leave the village from the ninja management department and left Konoha Village openly through the gate.

After leaving the village, he rushed towards the Land of Rain at top speed.

Jiraiya had already realized that the one who could defeat the demigod Hanzo was Nagato, and Nagato, who possessed such great power, seemed to fit the characteristics of a "chosen one".

Nagato was Jiraiya's disciple and possessed unparalleled power. As for the phrase "the blue-eyed boy who called out the name of the nine-headed beast with a smile," the description of his eye color is inconsistent.

Perhaps the Great Toad Immortal's eyesight was failing and he misread it in his dream.

Jiraiya became increasingly convinced that Nagato was the chosen one, so he sped up even more, wanting to verify his theory as soon as possible.

In contrast to Jiraiya's haste, Orochimaru appeared quite relaxed.

After leaving the Hokage's office, he returned to his newly opened laboratory to continue his interrupted experiments.

After finishing his busy work, Orochimaru went to the shopping street and enjoyed a delicious barbecue feast with Kimimaro and the other children.

Then he went home, washed up, and went to sleep peacefully.

It wasn't until Orochimaru woke up the next day that he leisurely went to collect his mission assignment and exit permit before leaving Konoha.

In fact, Orochimaru had already figured out a bit of the situation when he left the Hokage's office.

The meeting and the mission were not the main point. The main point was that Jiraiya had done something that angered the Fifth Hokage, Natsume, who then wanted to find an excuse to expel him from Konoha.

Orochimaru even sensed that Xia Zuo deliberately used Nagato and Jiraiya's relationship to assign Jiraiya such a dangerous mission as investigating the Akatsuki organization as punishment for him.

If Jiraiya were incredibly lucky and successfully completed his mission, bringing back the Akatsuki's intelligence, the Fifth Hokage would likely consider it an act of atonement and pretend nothing had happened.

If Jiraiya unfortunately fails and is unable to complete the mission, then use the failure as an excuse to punish him.

This would conceal the real reason why Jiraiya angered the Fifth Hokage.

Orochimaru was well aware of the dangers of the Akatsuki. The reason he delayed setting off for a day was to see what the Fifth Hokage, Natsume, would do next.

His concern was that the Fifth Hokage not only wanted to punish Jiraiya, but also intended to take the opportunity to kill him.

Orochimaru would not accept it if the Fifth Hokage harbored murderous intent towards Jiraiya, just as he had towards the Third Hokage.

After stepping out of the gates of Konoha Village, Orochimaru gently whistled, summoning a small, blue snake from the roadside bushes.

By searching the snake's memories, Orochimaru saw Jiraiya's hurried departure, and also saw the image of Uchiha Shisui and Hatake Kakashi walking side by side more than half an hour later, chasing after Jiraiya.

Orochimaru breathed a sigh of relief: "The Fifth Hokage, Natsume, is decisive in killing, and at the same time, he can distinguish who is worthy of being killed. He is truly an excellent Hokage."

"Jiraiya, you're really lucky."

"Of course, I was also very lucky."

After saying that, Orochimaru changed direction, humming an unknown tune, and headed quickly eastward.

At the same time, Xia Zuo, who was eating breakfast, sighed, which stunned Uchiha Izumi and Uzumaki Naruto.

The siblings looked at each other, then Quan asked, "Brother, what happened?"

Xia Zuo replied, "I realized I'm still not ruthless enough. Even though Jiraiya attacked Naruto, I've already decided to let him die—"

"But after he left the village, I couldn't help but soften my heart and sent Shisui and Kakashi to follow and provide support."

Naruto Uzumaki laughed: "Brother Xia Zuo, although Jiraiya-sama has a forthright personality, great strength, and is a very charming senior ninja, he also has a lot of flaws. He is lecherous, a heavy drinker, and carefree, which are all flaws that I don't like. You don't have to worry about me being led astray by him."

Xia Zuo laughed and scolded, "Naruto, don't talk big, I know you far better than you do."

"You're kind-hearted by nature, possess boundless courage, and have a strong sense of responsibility. You're too easily fooled by a few impassioned platitudes."

"Of course, you're smart enough, and I, the Fourth Hokage, and Kushina-senpai have raised you very well."

"You have enough tender dragon bones to tell whether others are lying to you, so I'm never worried that you'll be fooled by Hiruzen Sarutobi or the Great Toad Sage."

"But coming alone is an exception."

"This guy was indeed a hero of his generation, sincere and cheerful, willing to sacrifice himself for the cause of justice, and his emotional influence was terrifying."

"The scariest thing is that Jiraiya never lies and is always sincere. No matter how perceptive you are, Naruto, you can't possibly discover that someone who never lies is deceiving you."

Naruto Uzumaki was stunned: "Huh? What's the problem?"

Uchiha Izumi couldn't help but ask, "Brother, Jiraiya-sama is such a good person, why are you so wary of him? Why do you react so strongly whenever he comes into contact with Naruto?"

Xia Zuo replied helplessly, "That's what I hate most about Jiraiya."

"Because Jiraiya is the biggest, most arrogant, and most self-aware idiot in the ninja world."

"The giant toad and Hiruzen Sarutobi can't lie to Naruto, and neither can Jiraiya."

"But others can completely fool Jiraiya, and then through this fool's heartfelt truth, they might be able to kill Naruto."

Naruto Uzumaki stuck out his tongue: "The adult world is so treacherous, Brother Xia Zuo. I'll be careful of Jiraiya-sama from now on, so don't worry."

Xia Zuo picked up the bowl and said, "Yes, that's what I thought of. I also considered Jiraiya's innocence and pitifulness, the feelings of Orochimaru and Tsunade, and the emotions of the Konoha ninjas, which is why I supported Jiraiya."

"Even after becoming Hokage, you can't do whatever you want."

Uchiha Izumi chuckled, "Brother, you always put me in the position of Uchiha clan leader, always telling me to consider the bigger picture. Now it's your turn!"

Xia Zuo chuckled helplessly and continued eating without saying anything more.

Uchiha Izumi's eyes gleamed, and she suddenly moved closer to Xia Zuo, leaning out to kiss him on the cheek.

Her face flushed, and she said in a barely audible voice, "Thank you for your hard work, brother."

Whether it was intentional or not, the place where the girl kissed was exactly the same place where Tsunade had kissed her before.

Uchiha Izumi bit her red lips, secretly gloating as she thought: Hmph! I will definitely erase every trace of that old woman, leaving not a single one!

The girl was so focused that she completely forgot there was a third person present.

Naruto Uzumaki's eyes widened, and he let out a strange, amused sound: "Oh~~ Hohoho~~, Izumi-neechan, one more!"

Immediately, Naruto was subdued by the sulphur-smoked Izumi.

Although the siblings are not related by blood, the two years have still created an irreversible bloodline suppression.

When Uchiha Izumi attacked Naruto, Naruto and Kurama (the Nine-Tails) were completely powerless against her.

Yes, Uchiha Izumi received Xia Zuo's true teachings, and every punch she landed on Uzumaki Naruto contained the powerful Sharingan eye power.

When combined with sealing techniques, the Sharingan's power will not harm Naruto, but it will enter the seal and strike Kurama.

In the two years since, Kurama had been thoroughly beaten into submission by Uchiha Izumi. It curled up in a ball, clutching its head, and endured the beatings from the fists formed by the Sharingan's eye power.

Kurama wept and cursed Hashirama Senju. Ever since it met this guy, it had never had a peaceful day.

Mito Uzumaki, Kushina Uzumaki, Madara Uchiha, Minato Namikaze, Obito Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, and Izumi Uchiha—they were all taking turns bullying it.

When will the fox spirit, Nine Lama, finally find peace and happiness?

Kurama and Naruto embraced and wept bitterly.