In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Another day passed, and there was still no significant progress in the repair process.

On the fourth day, Naruto finally adjusted the coordinates and managed to send a paper ball through the Ninja Tool. Its approximate location seemed to be near the Land of Rain, or possibly the Land of Grass.

At the same time high atop the tower where Pain resided, a small paper ball floated down, and was soon soaked by the rain.

Deva Path Pain looked up and flew into the rain to retrieve the ball. He unfolded it in his hand, revealing a few simple scribbled words:

"I'm Danzo. I'm coming to your house tonight."

With a snap, the soggy paper ball was thrown out, and fell from the high tower. After falling to the ground, it dissolved and disappeared.

Day 5.

A rabbit fell from the sky over the Land of Grass, a live fish fell from the sky over the Land of Hot Water, and a chicken dropped into the sky over Kumogakure. Animals falling from the sky became a recurring phenomenon in various regions, but it did not attract much attention.

…

Kumogakure.

Yondaime Raikage, A, was sitting in his office, listening to Darui recount the story of the chicken that fell from the sky. His face grew increasingly irritated.

Bang!

Unable to bear it anymore, A slammed his fist onto his desk in anger.

"I asked for news about Konoha and the Kyubi, and you're telling me a story about a chicken? The world is big! So what if a chicken falls from the sky? Why make a fuss over it?! "

"Apologies, there's no further information about those matters for now." Darui said nervously, "We've sent scouts to the Konoha's border to investigate the situation. We'll report as soon as we have results."

With a smack to his forehead, Raikage groaned in frustration.

"Alright, alright, just less nonsense next time."

"Where's Samui and the others? You guys should head to the border too and put some pressure on Konoha."

"Understood." Darui replied as he left the office.

The burly Raikage leaned back into his chair and rubbed his temples in frustration. Ever since the death of Konoha's Yondaime Hokage, he had become the fastest man in the Shinobi World.

The Land of Lightning is located overseas, and Kumogakure is even more isolated from the world.

As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Kumogakure was quite powerful, just slightly weaker than Konoha. It also has two Biju, Nibi and Hachibi, both of the Jinchuriki capable of using complete Biju Transformation.

This meant Kumogakure wielded two mobile Bijudama cannons, which held considerable deterrent power against the other major countries. But compared to Konoha's Kyubi, they were still somewhat inferior.

Now that Kyubi has disappeared, it is a blow to Konoha, but it is an opportunity for Kumogakure, an opportunity to become bigger and stronger.

As the Kage of one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Raikage is an ambitious man.

As time went by, Konoha gradually declined, and those legendary Shinobi that once dominated the Shinobi World disappeared one by one.

In contrast, under his leadership, Kumogakure had emerged from the era of his father, the Sandaime Raikage, moving beyond the stubborn, nepotistic governance of the past.

Konoha was on the decline, while Kumogakure was gradually rising. Raikage believes that the Shinobi World needs a stronger voice, and that voice was destined to come from Kumogakure.

Raikage stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the sea of clouds outside.

"Once we figure out Konoha's situation, we'll apply more pressure on them. Even the so-called Legendary Sannin are just relics of the past. They don't know how to develop their Kyubi's Jinchuriki. What a waste!"

Day 6.

"You're not asking for more live chickens, are you?" Shizune wanted to cry but had no tears. She grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and said helplessly, "Do you know how many live chickens I've caught for you in the past two days?"

"Thirty-five! Thirty-five chickens! And there are more than forty live fish, all slippery and slimy! I feel sick just thinking about fish now."

Naruto could only scratch his head and laugh awkwardly. Having the esteemed Medical Department's Director personally catch chickens for him was definitely inappropriate, but...

"Shizune-san, didn't you say to come to you if I needed anything?" Naruto asked innocently, "Besides, I have a small favor I need your help with now."

"That being said, I don't want to catch chickens or fish anymore." Shizune said as her face turned pale with frustration.

"I've fixed it, so we don't need to catch any more fish." Naruto said sheepishly, lowering his head.

"What is it, then?" Shizune asked after a moment of silence.

"Shizune-san, can you bring the mission client, Fujikaze Yukie, here? I'm ready to start the mission." Naruto said, rubbing his chin, "Oh, it would be best if you could bring my foxhound here too."

For the past few days, Koyuki had been hiding out in a lively tavern, drinking away her frustration as rumors swirled around her. While she didn't doubt Naruto's abilities, her worries were more instinctual.

"I wonder what's going on with that little fox demon? He brought disaster to the village, and now they say he's not the Kyubi's Jinchuriki?" One drunken patron said as the group around him chatted loudly in the tavern.

"What else could it be? It must be another smoke screen from those guys in the Hokage Tower."

"If you say that that little devil is innocent, I won't believe it even if you kill me." A third man slurred, "Having something so terrifying inside him, why does he even deserve to live?"

"Hey! You're going too far!" Koyuki couldn't take it anymore and slammed her glass on the table, shattering it.

As an actress, Koyuki understood better than anyone how much damage rumors could do to a person. Even the strongest individuals could be torn apart by rumors, leaving them broken.

She had seen such situations too many times.

It was precisely because of this that she felt so uneasy. No matter how powerful Naruto was, at the end of the day, he was still a teenager, and his status didn't seem particularly high.

"Too far? What's too far?" One of the drunks staggered toward her, pulling out a chair as he wobbled in her direction, "Why do you look so familiar?"

"You're not from this village, are you? What are you sticking your nose into our business for?"

"She looks like that actress or something!"

"What? You're drunk! What actress? She's just a crazy woman. What does what we're saying have to do with her?"

As the group closed in, Koyuki sobered up quickly. She nervously fumbled with her bracelet that doubled as a pepper spray. She gulped nervously as she backed away.

At this moment, with a rustling sound, the tavern's entrance curtain was pulled aside.

A slender figure stepped in, and the light momentarily blinded Koyuki. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the passing light. She then turned her head and took a closer look, then was surprised when she saw who had entered.

It was a female Shinobi, wearing an animal mask, with purple hair and a short sword strapped to her back. The first thing she saw when she came in was a glance at everyone. The uniform of the Anbu she was wearing is extremely oppressive.

The rowdy, drunken men immediately shut their mouths, as they knew that the Anbu were notorious lunatics.

"Princess Fuun?"

The other party called out Koyuki's character name, so she is clearly someone who had seen her movies. Then again, it wasn't surprising, as Princess Fuun's film was still quite popular in the Land of Fire.

"Yeah." Koyuki forced herself to stand up, though her legs wobbled from her hangover.

Yugao let out a sigh of relief and swiftly pulled out a document, then said seriously.

"This is your mission assignment notice. Konoha's higher-up, Uzumaki Naruto, has officially accepted your commission and notified you to follow me to the Hokage Tower as soon as possible to start the mission."

"Konoha's higher-up? What?" Koyuki was stunned. She stood there for a while and asked again with some uncertainty, "Did you say Konoha's higher-up?"

"Yes." Yugao said, glancing at the group of drunkards, "It was made public this morning at 8 A.M."

"Are you still going to waste time here, Princess Fuun? The mission is about to start."