In a small town in the Land of Fire.
An old man and a young boy walked leisurely down the street; it was Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Itachi.
After leaving Konoha, the two did not immediately depart from the Land of Fire.
Hiruzen Sarutobi left Konoha before Itachi, but Itachi quickly caught up to Hiruzen Sarutobi. As for how Itachi knew Hiruzen Sarutobi's location and direction of departure, someone naturally helped him.
After they met, Itachi gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a scroll. Hiruzen Sarutobi's mood was very complex after reading the scroll, but he still carefully put it away.
Next, the two disguised themselves as grandfather and grandson, wandering around the Land of Fire.
Neither Hiruzen Sarutobi nor Itachi had any clue how to join the Akatsuki Organization; the lack of information meant they couldn't make any plans.
They could only occasionally show their faces in various towns in the Land of Fire, allowing those with ulterior motives to discover their whereabouts.
Behind Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Itachi were naturally Konoha Ninja, but their mission was always just to track their movements.
Besides Yuuki, Might Guy (who wouldn't be instantly defeated before opening the Eight Inner Gates), and Shisui (who possessed Flying Thunder God and Susanoo), no other Konoha Ninja, including Fugaku, could claim a guaranteed win against Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Just following behind was enough. If they truly engaged, would Hiruzen Sarutobi kill them or not?
Even Konoha had spies, let alone the Land of Fire. With Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi's deliberate exposure of their whereabouts, any ambitious force in the entire Ninja World had, to varying degrees, grasped some information.
Most people focused their attention on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages, each Village's Kage, were all openly priced on the black market, with astronomical figures.
It's unknown who issued the bounties; perhaps some were listed by the black market to boost its prestige, but at least one was not.
That was Yuuki's bounty. Before becoming Hokage, Yuuki had someone hide his identity and post his own bounty, priced at double Hiruzen Sarutobi's.
After becoming Hokage, Yuuki added to it once more, becoming the top-ranked bounty on the black market, priced at several times the second-place bounty.
Now, a lone Kage attracted countless eyes, including Kakuzu's.
Nagato did not stop Kakuzu's actions. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was renowned, there were many people whose reputations exceeded their actual abilities.
Before recruiting, letting Kakuzu test his strength was also a good option.
And Uchiha Itachi, who was with Hiruzen Sarutobi and had no record of massacring the entire Uchiha clan, was almost treated as invisible by everyone.
However, nothing is absolute. Itachi, with his sickly appearance, looked extremely weak, and his black market bounty had only appeared a few days ago, with no prior reputation. He was also being targeted by someone.
By intentionally controlling their speed and occasionally revealing their traces.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Itachi's route was roughly compiled by those with ulterior motives.
After leaving Konoha, they traveled northwest, and their last appearance was very close to the Land of Fire's border.
Their next location would either be the Land of Grass or the Land of Rain.
The Land of Rain was not impenetrable; various forces had their intelligence personnel there.
The truly impenetrable place, where one went and never returned, was the Hidden Rain Village. The Hidden Rain Village, which had been unusually low-key since the Third Shinobi World War, seemed like a graveyard for intelligence personnel.
After various forces suffered several setbacks, they no longer attempted to cause trouble in the Hidden Rain Village, giving some face to Hanzo the Half-God.
Several days later, in Shonai, a small town with light rain, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Itachi's figures reappeared.
Is it the Land of Grass?
Those who had ideas about Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two also began to act.
After replenishing their food and resting for a night.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Itachi left the town. Unlike the continuous rain in the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass had also entered its rainy season.
Wearing straw cloaks and conical hats, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Itachi slowly walked through the rain.
Suddenly, Itachi stopped and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi beside him.
Similarly, Hiruzen Sarutobi also turned his head and met Itachi's gaze; both had discovered the ambush.
"Come out, there's no need to hide anymore."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said in a somewhat aged voice.
Immediately, a grumbling voice sounded.
"It's all your fault, Hidan, you can't even hide your presence."
"What do you mean? It's a favor for you that I even came along, Big Shot. This isn't a mission, so don't expect me to act!"
Accompanied by the argument, two figures appeared in the eyes of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Itachi, causing the pupils beneath their conical hats to slightly contract.
Akatsuki Organization?!
They finally came!
Itachi immediately activated his Sharingan, then frowned slightly and turned to look in a certain direction.
"Who's there? Are you not coming out yet?"
Itachi's words slightly shocked the other three; not being sensor Ninja, they truly hadn't noticed anyone else nearby.
Itachi, however, had discovered a flaw using his Sharingan's excellent insight and ability to see Chakra.
A voice that was somewhat familiar to everyone present, except Hidan, rang out.
"Teacher Sarutobi, Itachi-kun, and the two from Akatsuki Organization, what a coincidence!"
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