Naruto World, Konoha Village.
Kakashi, who was looking up at the sky, was momentarily stunned when he saw Pakkun's name appear. He immediately performed the Summoning Technique (Kuchiyose no Jutsu). After the white smoke puff passed, Pakkun appeared before everyone.
"What did you summon me for?" Pakkun put on a displeased face, feeling his sleep was disturbed.
Kakashi with furrowed brow asked, "Did you just receive a reward from the Gold List?"
"Of course!" Pakkun looked up arrogantly, as if he were the second most amazing creature after God. He grinned, "Who do you think I am? I'm Pakkun! How could this Myriad Beasts List not give me a place?"
Everyone fell silent. Even Hashirama and Tobirama stared strangely at this chatty little creature.
"Since you're that amazing, how about you help me find where Uchiha Madara is now?" Hashirama asked while smiling at Pakkun.
Pakkun trembled. Toward this legendary figure, he felt fear that penetrated to the bone marrow.
"...First Hokage, if you have something belonging to Uchiha Madara, perhaps I could try," Pakkun answered reluctantly because he didn't dare refuse Hashirama's wish.
Hashirama and Tobirama exchanged glances, then shook their heads while smiling bitterly.
That person had been gone for who knows how many years. Never mind them, the entire Konoha village no longer had any of his remaining belongings. Even if there were any, the remaining scent on them would have completely disappeared. They knew that Pakkun's tracking ability still required an initial scent as guidance.
"We really don't have that, but..."
Tobirama suddenly disappeared from his place. A few seconds later he reappeared holding a handful of soil, presenting it to Pakkun's nose, and said: "Find out who left their scent on this soil, and where is their location now?"
Hashirama and Hiruzen immediately understood; that soil came from the trace marks they found in the forest earlier.
Pakkun approached hesitantly and began sniffing. Suddenly, his dog eyes widened and he exclaimed in shock: "Manda! Orochimaru!"
Just as thought! The three Hokage exchanged glances; this confirmed their suspicions.
"Not only that, there are other people's scents too..." Pakkun closed his eyes, his nostrils twitching rapidly, then he shouted low: "Limitless Tracking!"
A mysterious sensation spread from his nose to his brain. The scent left on that soil shot rapidly across the land, forming a very clear visual image in Pakkun's mind.
There were six people running fast away from Konoha village at extraordinary speed. While closing his eyes, Pakkun described the figures appearing in his mind.
"I see six people. This soil has all their scents... Wait, there's Shimura Danzo's scent too!"
As Kakashi's ninja dog, Pakkun had long lived in the village and was very familiar with the scents of most important people, even the scent of traitors like Orochimaru he knew, let alone the scent of the Root leader, Shimura Danzo.
"Six people?" The three Hokage were stunned, then asked quickly: "Who are they?"
"I see Orochimaru... that person wearing the red cloud robe seems to be Uchiha Itachi. Beside him is another person with Uchiha clan characteristics, but I don't recognize him... Sasuke is also there!"
For Pakkun, Sasuke was very familiar because Sasuke was Kakashi's student. Kakashi was the one who taught Chidori and had directly pressed his cursed seal.
"Another person with Uchiha characteristics..." Hashirama and Tobirama exchanged glances and said softly simultaneously: "Uchiha Shisui!"
Right, on the previous Hidden Expert List, Uchiha Shisui's name appeared at a fairly high ranking and he obtained a coffin reward to be resurrected. Based on various clues, one of Shisui's Mangekyou Sharingan eyes was most likely in Itachi's hands; this had already been suspected by the Hokages.
"Then who are the other two?" Hiruzen asked hurriedly.
Itachi and Orochimaru together might not be strange since both were Akatsuki members. Sasuke being taken away by Orochimaru was also common knowledge. But who were the rest?
Pakkun continued: "There's a strange man with sharp teeth, carrying a strange weapon wrapped in bandages on his back... his face resembles a shark!"
"That's Hoshigaki Kisame, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen from Kirigakure," Kakashi calmly replied. "I heard he joined Akatsuki and is on the same team as Itachi."
"Who's the last one?" Hiruzen's face looked increasingly gloomy.
If these strong people gathered, especially if they were all Akatsuki members, it would be very troublesome. Four of them were Hidden Expert List members, even Itachi and Orochimaru were winners on two lists simultaneously. Akatsuki was truly full of talent!
"The last one has very sharp hair like a porcupine..." Pakkun described his physical appearance in detail.
Everyone thought hard, until finally Jiraiya furrowed his brow: "That description... similar to the child who entered the top 10 of the Hidden Expert List, Garou from the One Punch Man world!"
"Him!" Everyone was shocked.
How could that person join Orochimaru's group? Did Akatsuki have such wide reach that it could extend to other worlds?
"Should we intercept them?" Hiruzen looked at the First and Second Hokage.
However, Pakkun suddenly shook his head: "Can't. Their speed is too high, they've already left my sensory range. Plus they keep changing direction. It's too late to chase now."
Hashirama furrowed his brow and exhaled long, feeling they had missed a golden opportunity to deliver a crushing blow to the opposing organization. They didn't yet know that actually Orochimaru and his group had already separated from Akatsuki.
"We must be more vigilant!" Hiruzen said heavily. "Akatsuki has been very active lately and its members are getting stronger. They have the ability to hold the three of us back, and now their hands reach into other worlds. With the gathering of the Kyuubi, collecting all the Bijuu is just a matter of time. We must find a way to stop them before it's too late!"
Everyone fully agreed. Hashirama nodded and commanded: "Spread Konoha Anbu as far as possible. Gather all information about Akatsuki's traces—we must prevent them from collecting all the Bijuu!"