The Tenseigan started from the Hyuga main family.

Hinata, her face flushed red, made a sound barely audible, then covered her face and quickly left.

"The innocent love between childhood sweethearts is truly something to yearn for..."

Jiraiya waited on the treetop for a good half day, even striking a pose, but Hyuga Sawatatsu never looked up, forcing Jiraiya to give up his plan to show off and jump down from the treetop.

Young people today have forgotten what it means to respect the elderly and care for the young!

Jiraiya sighed inwardly, then helped Hinata up the stool she had knocked over and sat down next to Hyuga Sawatatsu.

"You should know why I came to find you, right?"

Only then did Hyuga Zetsu put down his fishing rod and glance at Jiraiya.

"Is it because of Itachi Uchiha?"

Jiraiya nodded, and Hyuga Zetsu organized his thoughts before speaking.

"According to the intelligence gathered by Itachi Uchiha, the true goal of the Akatsuki organization is to collect the nine tailed beasts in order to achieve their ultimate objective. Within the Akatsuki organization, there are two leaders, one in the open and one in the shadows. One possesses the Rinnegan of the Sage of Six Paths, while the other claims to be Madara Uchiha."

The short sentence sent a tremendous shock through Jiraiya, causing the stool beneath him to shatter under the weight.

“Uchiha Itachi… the information he sent back should be accurate.”

Jiraiya, who had nearly tripped and fallen, paced back and forth several times, his chest heaving noticeably, indicating that he was extremely unsettled.

Jiraiya, who had been tracking Orochimaru, was no stranger to the Akatsuki organization and had also secretly gathered a lot of information about them.

Compared to Madara Uchiha, Jiraiya cared more about the fact that the leader of Akatsuki possessed the Rinnegan.

After all, even if Madara Uchiha were alive today, he would be a centenarian, what trouble could he possibly cause? If he were an imposter, there would be even less reason to care.

On the contrary, hearing about the Rinnegan caused Jiraiya to be immersed in his past memories.

Could it be that Nagato is the leader of the Akatsuki organization?

Or perhaps the murderer who killed Yahiko and the other two had transplanted the Rinnegan into his body?

At that moment, Jiraiya felt an unprecedented sense of regret.

They should have been brought back to Konoha back then.

Hinata Zechen glanced sideways and noticed that Jiraiya, who was usually portrayed as a playful old man, had a deep sadness in his eyes.

In the world of ninjas, death is commonplace. But each encounter still brings a profound and indescribable pain.

"I've come here to invite you to join Naruto and me on an interview trip outside Konoha."

Jiraiya, being the person he was, didn't let the sadness linger on his face for long. He quickly recovered and spoke.

The purpose was to invite Tsunade back to the village to succeed as the Fifth Hokage?

What does this have to do with me?

Give me a reason.

Hyuga Sawatatsu showed little interest in Jiraiya's suggestion.

"As you've probably guessed, Naruto is the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. For some reason I can't explain, I have to keep Naruto with me. To prevent the Akatsuki from kidnapping him, we must strengthen his protection."

Jiraiya couldn't possibly say that it was Koharu Utatane's request, so he had to rack his brains to come up with this excuse.

"If even the Sannin can't protect Naruto, what use is there in having one more? Don't forget, I'm still injured and need a long period of rest..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiraiya raised his hand, and a black shadow shot towards Hyuga Sawatatsu.

"Flying Thunder God Technique?"

Looking at the markings on the scroll in his hand, Hinata Sawatatsu fell silent.

"This is an advance payment for your task."

Jiraiya knew that although Hyuga Sawatatsu was only a year older than Naruto, he was exceptionally mature. The only way to win him over was to offer him substantial benefits.

Given Hyuga Zetsu's performance in turning the tide of the Konoha Crush, he deserved to be granted the Flying Thunder God Technique by Jiraiya.

"It is my honor to travel with the Sannin and receive their teachings."

Without any hesitation, Hinata Zechen tucked the scroll into his sleeve and stood up.

-----------------

Under the full moon, outside an incredibly gloomy stone mountain.

"Orochimaru is hiding inside?"

Three figures dressed in Akatsuki uniforms emerged from the forest, gazing at the gate that seemed to be embedded in the mountainside.

"That's right. Besides the Sound Village, Orochimaru also built many secret experimental bases, and this is one of them. After leaving Konoha, Orochimaru has been hiding inside..."

A giant pitcher plant rose from the ground, its serrated leaves slowly opening to reveal its combined form.

What is Nagato thinking?

For a mere empty ring, the Hell Path, the Human Path, and the Asura Path were all mobilized simultaneously?

In despair, Hei twisted his wrists twice, unleashing the Strange Arm Rocket to smash the gate of Orochimaru's base with a single punch. Suddenly, a thought popped into his mind.

Could it be that Nagato wants to obtain the Impure World Reincarnation technique from Orochimaru and then revive Yahiko using the Rinne Rebirth technique?

We absolutely cannot let him succeed, otherwise all our plans will be disrupted.

After waiting for thousands of years, we finally see hope of resurrecting our mother. We absolutely cannot fail here!

In despair, Pain rushed into the rocky mountain, controlling his body to sink back into the earth.

It seems that this time, we must secretly lend Orochimaru a hand and not let Nagato succeed!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Continuous explosions emanated from the depths of the rocky mountain, each one causing the earth to shake violently, clearly indicating that Orochimaru was engaged in a fierce battle with three of Pain's.

"Orochimaru, this is the consequence of betraying the Akatsuki!"

Inside a large hall, the Human Path gripped Orochimaru's head with his palm, the tips of his five fingers covered in a dark blue chakra, slowly extracting Orochimaru's soul from his body.

If it were any other powerful being of the same level, although the Human Path's Soul Absorption Technique was incredibly strong, the power of chakra would be enough to resist the Human Path, making the extraction process extremely slow.

Unfortunately, Orochimaru's soul was damaged after several resurrections, and this body was not his original form. With all these factors combined, even with Orochimaru's frantic struggles, he couldn't resist the Human Path's power, and his semi-transparent soul was gradually pulled out.

Just then, a dense sound of footsteps came from the hall corridor. Countless experimental subjects, with bloodshot eyes, crazed faces, and covered in explosive tags, rushed towards the Human Path.

"For Lord Orochimaru!"

boom!

Hundreds of explosive tags detonated simultaneously, and the resulting explosions directly collapsed the entire hall.

When the three Pain figures emerged from the black smoke, the Human Path only had an empty snake skin left in his hand, clearly indicating that Orochimaru had taken the opportunity to escape.

Chase!

Led by Zetsu, the three Pains shot off in one direction, unaware that they were getting further and further away from Orochimaru.

Chapter 67 The Stalker

"Lord Orochimaru, are you alright?"

Behind a boulder, Kabuto put Orochimaru down from his back, his eyes behind his glasses showing worry.

"Kabuto, thanks to you..."

Before Orochimaru could finish his sentence, he covered his mouth and began coughing violently, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

"Weren't those test subjects Orochimaru-sama's preparations?"

Kabuto spoke with a puzzled expression as he channeled medical chakra into Orochimaru's body.

"It seems someone doesn't want Payne to succeed..."

Orochimaru's lips curled into a playful smile.

"Lord Orochimaru, I have extremely bad news. Due to the Rinnegan's abilities, your soul has been injured, and with my medical skills, I am completely powerless to help."

On the contrary, Kabuto Yakushi, with a serious expression, straightened up and delivered some bad news.

"Even you can't complete the treatment?"

Orochimaru slightly raised his head, seemingly unconcerned about his own condition.

It seems I have no choice but to go find that woman.

-----------------

The next day, at the location of Konoha's main gate.

Naruto was struggling with a package that was larger than his body, while Hyuga Zechen was leaning against a doorpost, yawning incessantly, looking like he was sleep-deprived.

Last night, in the ninjutsu practice room at the training ground, Hyuga Zetsu began practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique, but the results were not ideal.

For Hyuga Sawatatsu, who possesses the Tenseigan, which demystifies space-time ninjutsu, the complexity of the Flying Thunder God Technique still far exceeds his imagination.

"We've found you!"

Just then, a panting figure rushed over – it was Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke, are you also going to embark on the path of training with us?"

Upon seeing his friend appear, Naruto immediately abandoned his idea of ​​arguing with the package and raised his hand to greet Sasuke loudly.

"I heard you fought with that man? Why didn't you tell me?"

Sasuke, who had been practicing ninjutsu in a secluded training ground, only learned of Itachi Uchiha's appearance in Konoha from a conversation among ninjas this morning, and rushed over in a hurry.

At this moment, Uchiha Sasuke was staring intently at Hyuga Zetsu, completely ignoring Naruto standing to the side.

Even if you knew, what could you do?

Under Sasuke's sharp gaze, Hyuga Zechen yawned again, his eyes fixed on the Flying Thunder God scroll in his hand, without even glancing up at Sasuke.

Having the courage to seek revenge is commendable, but completely ignoring the difference in strength is clearly just being hot-blooded.

"Nonsense! I'm strong enough to challenge that man now!"

Sasuke Uchiha's body trembled slightly, clearly indicating that he was in a state of self-hypnosis.

"Ah……"