In Konoha, they wiped out the Sarutobi clan at the start.

Using the Flying Thunder God Technique to send Chinatsu back to Konoha, Chiya arrived at the meeting point with Pakura.

Kakuzu has already been brought here by Yekura.

Looking at the barely alive Jiao Ju, who seemed on the verge of death at any moment, Qian Ye smiled and said, "Your vitality is really quite tenacious. You actually survived that attack. How does it feel?"

"I truly never expected that you would be the ones to save me." With a weak voice, Kakuzu trembled, struggling to lift his head to look at Chiya. "Where's Hidan?"

"That idiot seems to have fallen into a trap set up beforehand after taking your life. He was blown to pieces and buried underground. I reckon it won't be long before he dies from lack of nutrients," Qianye said with a faint smile.

"That idiot," Kakuzu muttered under his breath, his expression complex.

Chiya understood Kakuzu's thoughts, knowing that this guy rarely encountered a ninja like Hidan, and said softly, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sorry for your partner's death?"

"No, it's nothing." Kakuzu looked away and casually asked, "Weren't you ordered by the leader to go to the Land of Lightning to find the Eight-Tails? How come you suddenly appeared here?"

"It doesn't matter what happens in that situation," Chiya said nonchalantly, then suddenly changed the subject, saying, "The important thing is what you should do next. Right now, you're outside, but you've already died at the hands of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's team."

"You want me to betray Akatsuki?" Kakuzu was a smart man and quickly understood what Chiya meant.

He didn't believe that Qianye saved him out of friendship. Their relationship wasn't that good at all, and the other party wouldn't save him for no reason. She must be plotting something.

"Betrayal sounds too harsh, it's just a temporary withdrawal from Akatsuki," Qianye said. "Those of you who just went through a life-or-death experience know what Akatsuki's situation is like now. If things continue like this, sooner or later, they'll all be wiped out. You don't deny that, do you?"

"Indeed..." Kakuzu didn't deny it, "But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Right now, the Earth Grudge Tentacles inside me have been almost completely destroyed, and I can't even replenish my heart."

"This is not difficult at all." Qianye took out a Senzu Bean. "It is a special medicine. As long as a person is not dead and still has a breath left, eating it will allow them to recover their strength and energy almost instantly from extreme weakness and readjust their body to its best condition."

"There's actually such a miraculous medicine?" Kakuzu looked at the unassuming bean in Chiyo's hand without a second thought. He knew that Chiyo wouldn't lie to him, nor would he need to lie to a dying man like him.

"So what's your choice?" Qianye coaxed, "Will you wait here until your last heart stops beating and then die in agony, or will you eat this bean and pledge your allegiance to me?"

"Do I have any other choice?" Kakuzu gave a bitter smile. Who would want to die when given a chance to live?

Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly asked, "But I have one more condition. If it cannot be met, even if I live, it will only be a form of torture."

"Money?" Qianye smiled. He was already imagining the scene when Kakuzu saw Konan pull out six hundred billion explosive tags and burst into tears.

Kakuzu nodded emphatically, "Money is the only thing in the world that will never betray you."

Qianye said, "It's up to you. If you want to continue as the finance director, that's fine too, but for the next period of time, you shouldn't show your face anymore. I'll send you somewhere. There are some old acquaintances there."

Kakuzu was taken aback. An old acquaintance?

Then it dawned on me, "Is it a scorpion?"

In his view, the only "old acquaintance" Qianye knew was the "dead" Scorpion.

However, since I am still alive, I guess Scorpion is no exception.

Chiya nodded, flicked his finger, and shot the Senzu bean into Kakuzu's mouth.

The next instant, the Earth Grudge Tentacles within Kakuzu's body, which had previously lost their activity, twitched and then gradually became active again.

"This is..."

Amidst Kakuzu's horrified state, his chakra and earth grievances began to recover at a visible rate.

Finally, even the four lost hearts grew back out of thin air.

"It seems you won't need to rely on stealing hearts to survive anymore." Seeing Kakuzu's heart recover, a hint of surprise flashed in Chiya's eyes. He then placed his hand on Kakuzu's shoulder, leaving the Flying Thunder God mark as he did so. "Then let's go."

As she spoke, Chiya put her other hand on Yekura's shoulder and, under Kakuzu's incredulous gaze, used Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to Sasori's side.

The Hokage's office.

"That guy, Chiya."

With a loud bang, Tsunade smashed the new desk that Yamato had just made with Wood Release a few days ago to pieces.

"Hokage-sama, calm down." Kakashi, Yamato, and Naruto, who had just finished reporting to Tsunade, thought their Hokage was furious because Chiya had threatened Konoha, and hurriedly tried to calm him down.

Little did she know, she was angry because Qianye was too afraid to go home.

"That's enough about this matter. For the safety of Konoha, no one is to mention what happened to that guy today," Tsunade said sternly, arms crossed.

"I understand." Kakashi nodded, then Tsunade added, "Also, Naruto, from now on, your Rasengan technique is a forbidden jutsu and you are no longer allowed to use it."

Naruto panicked upon hearing this, for this was his hope of catching up with Sasuke. "Why, Granny Tsunade?"

"You must have experienced that power by now. As a Jinchuriki, you are affected by the Nine-Tails inside you and cannot perfectly control your chakra. The Wind Release: Rasengan is more like a poison than an attack. It destroys the nerve center of the victim's cells and severs the connections between cells."

"Although you are the caster, you cannot throw it like Chika and Chiya, so you will inevitably suffer some damage."

"If you continue to use it, one day your right hand will no longer be able to gather chakra."

Tsunade's words shattered Naruto's illusions; he didn't want to become a cripple.

If he can no longer gather chakra in his right hand, then forget about catching up with Sasuke; whether he can even become a ninja is still a question.

Orochimaru base.

For three years, Erzhuzi has been showing off his Lightning Release: Thousand Birds technique in his personal training ground every single day.

Meanwhile, in the gloomy and dimly lit underground chamber, candlelight flickered.

Orochimaru lay on the hospital bed, listening with interest to Kabuto's report. "Is that so? Kakuzu and Hidan are both dead."

"Yes, it seems like it was Naruto's group that did it," Kabuto replied while mixing the milk powder.

Beside the hospital bed, a baby girl who looked remarkably like Orochimaru lay in her crib. Hearing the two talking, she suddenly woke up, burst into tears, and her neck and face turned bright red.