Asuma stepped forward and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Naruto, I won't say much. From now on, whenever you need help, just come to me."
As the son of the Third Hokage, Asuma felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward Naruto. If it weren't for him, he would have been killed.
Naruto smiled warmly and cheerfully.
"Why did they show up here?" Naruto asked curiously.
The Akatsuki's goal was to capture tailed beasts, but Kakuzu and Hidan hadn't come to Konoha to find him. Instead, they attacked the Fire Temple. What was their objective?
"It might have something to do with that boy," Asuma said, pointing toward the spot where Hidan had left his victim.
Judging by their actions, the attack on the Fire Temple was clearly meant to capture this boy.
"Oh? Is there something about him that draws the Akatsuki's attention?" Naruto walked closer, placing his hand on the boy's body, sensing his chakra.
He frowned slightly.
"Hey, Nine-Tails, is this your chakra?" Naruto spoke silently to Kurama.
"Ah, it's just a tiny amount, but yes, that is my chakra. I can't believe someone actually collected my chakra!" Kurama responded.
"Then I'll take it back. Otherwise, the Akatsuki won't leave him alone," Naruto said.
"Do as you wish," Kurama replied, unconcerned about such a small amount.
"He has Nine-Tails chakra inside him," Naruto explained to Asuma and the others.
"What?" Their expressions turned serious. Even Asuma had no idea about this.
"I don't know where he got this Nine-Tails chakra from, but I'm going to reclaim it. Otherwise, the Akatsuki won't leave him alive." Naruto extended a branch from the Earth Style technique and placed it on the boy's body.
Earth Style can absorb chakra!
The branch began drawing the boy's Nine-Tails chakra into Naruto's own body, flowing in steadily.
While Naruto reclaimed the chakra, Shikamaru asked cautiously, "Naruto, how's your mission going?"
He worried that summoning Naruto might have disrupted his original task.
"It went smoothly. We rescued Gaara from the Akatsuki, and we were just about to return to Konoha when I sensed your chakra on the kunai, so I came immediately," Naruto replied.
"Good thing you intervened. Otherwise, the Akatsuki might have collected both the One-Tail and Nine-Tails chakra in one sweep," Shikamaru said, frowning.
"No. The One-Tail's chakra had likely already been collected. When we arrived, Gaara was barely clinging to life. While healing him, I sensed his Shukaku. Most of its chakra was gone, and its form had shrunk dramatically," Naruto shook his head.
He recalled the moment when Kurama's chakra connected with Shukaku's body. Kurama had even mocked the One-Tail.
"Still, I wonder what their goal really is," Shikamaru muttered. The Akatsuki remained a mysterious organization. Before the Third Hokage exposed them, no one knew their true purpose.
Once revealed, they swiftly captured all the jinchūriki, catching the nations off guard.
And even now, no one knew why they were collecting so many tailed beasts.
"They won't be using them for anything good. I can't let them strike first again. I'll have to take the initiative and confront them myself," Naruto said.
Shikamaru froze for a moment, then looked nervous. "Hey, don't act recklessly. Judging from the Akatsuki members deployed here, they're extremely powerful. Going alone into their base is far too dangerous."
"Relax. I didn't say I'd go alone," Naruto replied, waving his hand.
Shikamaru's hands clenched instinctively. He regretted having been lazy in training.
If his abilities were even half of Naruto's, he wouldn't have been powerless while watching Asuma fall victim to Hidan's curse.
If he were stronger, he could have helped Naruto.
For the first time, Shikamaru realized he needed to improve himself.
He had relied on Naruto before, thinking he could relax. But Naruto wasn't always around. If, this time, Naruto hadn't arrived in time, Asuma would really have died.
People must rely on themselves. Shikamaru finally understood this truth.
"All right. I've reclaimed all the Nine-Tails chakra from him. Are you taking him back?" Naruto asked, retracting the branch from the boy.
"I'll bring him back to the Fire Temple," Asuma said. Although the temple had been attacked by Hidan and Kakuzu, some monks had survived or escaped.
With the support of the Fire Country, the temple would soon be rebuilt.
"Then we'll return to Konoha for now," Guy said to Asuma. Their mission to eliminate the Akatsuki members was complete.
Asuma nodded.
Naruto glanced at Hidan. The immortal had been pretending to be dead after Kakuzu's defeat, hoping Naruto would ignore him.
But that wasn't going to happen.
"You may have immortality, but that doesn't mean you're untouchable," Naruto said with a smile.
Hidan shivered, feeling a strange chill. "W-what do you want to do?" he stammered.
Naruto brought his hands together, and countless branches erupted from the ground, tightly wrapping around Hidan as they slowly sank him downward.
"I'll send you a thousand meters underground. Your body will nourish these trees," Naruto said softly.
"No, no, no! Stop!" Hidan screamed, but the branches had already swallowed his head, silencing him completely.
His body was dragged a full kilometer beneath the earth.
With Hidan neutralized, the group split up. Asuma took the boy back to the Fire Temple. Naruto and Guy returned to Konoha together.
Near the village, they encountered Kakashi, Sasuke, and the others rushing back. Once they learned why Naruto had left, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Kakashi looked at Naruto's face and remembered the Fourth Hokage.
Back then, Minato had rushed to help wherever needed. During the war, so many places required aid that he couldn't be everywhere. When Obito and Rin were in danger, Minato hadn't arrived in time.
But could that be blamed on Minato?
Kakashi realized it was foolish to rely entirely on others. If he wanted to blame anyone, it would be himself for being too weak to save Obito and Rin.
At that time, Kakashi had already been a Jonin, responsible for missions alongside Obito and Rin.
They all headed to the Hokage's office. When the door opened, Naruto immediately recognized a familiar figure.
"The Perverted Sage? You're back?"
Indeed, Jiraiya had returned from the Hidden Mist Village.
"Yo, Naruto! Long time no see!" Jiraiya greeted with a smile.
After Kakashi and Guy reported their missions to Tsunade, her face showed relief. Thanks to Naruto's timely intervention, Konoha had avoided severe losses against Kakuzu and Hidan.
The Akatsuki's strength was not to be underestimated.
"Since you're all here, you form the backbone of Konoha now. Let's go over the intelligence I gathered from the Hidden Mist Village," Jiraiya said.
Tsunade kept Kakashi and Guy behind. She knew how many ninjas in Konoha could realistically take on Akatsuki members one-on-one.
Information in the ninja world was crucial. Knowing the enemy's details first allowed strategies to be planned effectively.
Of course, if the enemy was overwhelmingly stronger, that was a different matter.
But given the current strength of Naruto and the others, there wasn't anyone whose power gap was insurmountable.