Land of Earth, near Iwagakure, in a very remote mountain village.
"Suzumebachi, we are still too weak—don't go looking for revenge against Konoha."
"Second Grandfather, I know!"
The girl choked back sobs.
"Don't look for Konoha—"
The old man lay on the bed, his breath faint, yet he was still concerned about his young granddaughter.
Suzumebachi Kamizuru.
The granddaughter of the first leader of the Kamizuru Clan.
They were once glorious, but now, only the five people inside and outside the Room remained.
Thinking of this, the hatred in Suzumebachi's heart grew deeper, but at the same time, she did not want Second Grandfather to leave with such worry.
She clenched her fists, but still couldn't help asking: "Second Grandfather, are we, are we still considered Ninja of Iwagakure?"
The old man did not answer.
Suzumebachi raised her head, reached out her hand, and suddenly her lips trembled, unable to stop her tears of grief.
Second Grandfather had also passed away!
"Are you sad?"
A strange voice suddenly came from behind her.
Suzumebachi turned around and was instantly stunned.
Behind her, a Ninja wearing a mask and draped in a black robe was slowly walking in from the doorway.
The other person's presence was very unique—
They were clearly right in front of her, yet she couldn't perceive them at all, as if they had merged with their surroundings.
She swallowed.
"Who are you?"
"Some people waste their whole lives waiting for an opportunity, only to find in the end that the opportunity never arrived."
The Black-Robed Man looked at the deceased old man, "Little do they know, opportunities are only given to those who are prepared. If you wait in place, opportunities will only slip by."
Suzumebachi looked outside and began to understand.
Opportunity—
"Do you want us to defect?"
"Defect? Are you still Ninja of Iwagakure?"
The Black-Robed Man sneered.
She fell silent.
As the other person said.
Second Grandfather spent his whole life waiting for the Third Tsuchikage to remember their clan, but in the current Iwagakure, who still remembered them?
"Then, I must at least know who you are."
"If you have the thought of leaving, you can go to the Illusion Forest in the Land of Woods. My people will teach you how to become stronger, giving you the opportunity to take revenge and prove yourself."
The Black-Robed Man answered indifferently, "Of course, you can also choose—to keep waiting."
After saying this, his figure slowly disappeared.
Suzumebachi was stunned.
Then, she walked out of the Room and saw Kurobachi and Jibachi lying on the ground, fast asleep.
Genjutsu?
No!
Her clansmen possessed Bee-Control Jutsu; ordinary Genjutsu could not possibly affect them.
Suzumebachi hurried forward, trying to use Chakra to wake them up.
Sure enough.
She couldn't wake them up using the method to break Genjutsu.
Is it a pressure-point technique?
She was surprised in her heart, and at the same time, she felt a bit more open-minded.
Continuing to stay in Iwagakure, she really couldn't see any hope for the Kamizuru Clan, and the years of neglect by Iwagakure had also left her with no expectations.
Then leave!
Land of Fire, Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was smoking, his gaze fixed outside.
A year and a half had passed.
But regarding Masahiko's situation, everyone still had no news.
Just then.
Knock, knock!
"Come in."
Kakashi entered, saw Hiruzen Sarutobi smoking, and after a slight pause, said: "Hokage-sama, you should also pay attention to resting—"
Over the past year or so, Hiruzen Sarutobi had aged quite a bit.
"Sigh!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
He waved his hand and said: "Kakashi, state your business."
"Yes, here is a piece of intelligence sent from the Land of Rivers, and another one from the Land of Water."
"Let me see."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was serious.
He took it, scanned it carefully, and his expression became grave.
"Is the matter with Hoshigakure true?"
"Yes, they are indeed purchasing a large amount of medicine. Many of the pharmaceutical merchants are downstream clients of the Nara Clan, so the data cannot be fake."
Kakashi nodded.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the other document.
This was Jiraiya's intelligence.
It detailed some recent movements of the Fourth Mizukage and the Hidden Mist Village. Through private investigation, Jiraiya had confirmed Masahiko's previous conjecture.
The Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village had indeed encountered trouble!
"Tell Jiraiya not to be impulsive for now. Our internal situation is unstable; this matter must be handled slowly."
"Yes!"
Kakashi turned to leave.
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly said: "Wait, Kakashi."
"Hmm?"
Kakashi turned his head back.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at him and said: "Next year, Neji's class will graduate, and Might Guy will lead the team. The year after, Sasuke and the others will graduate—are you interested?"
"Sasuke and Naruto and the others?"
Kakashi thought about these two and couldn't help but fall silent.
Ever since Masahiko went missing, Sasuke had become reticent, withdrawn, and his personality had grown increasingly cold.
And Naruto—
He scratched his head and said: "What did Naruto do again?"
"He has been practicing drawing recently, saying he wants to draw Masahiko on the school walls."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed helplessly, "If he drew well, that would be one thing, but it's drawn very poorly, no different from graffiti, and he's made a mess of it."
"I'll see. If the work over there goes smoothly, I can consider it."
Kakashi replied.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said: "Thank you for your hard work, stay safe."
"Yes!"
Land of Fire, still on this mountain.
Karin sat cross-legged, maintaining a special hand seal, with Chakra circulating in her body.
After a moment, chains grew out from her body.
Adamantine Sealing Chains!
"Yay, that's great!"
Overjoyed, her Chakra immediately became chaotic, and the chains that were unstable on her body dissipated instantly.
"What a pity."
Ranmaru climbed up from below.
A year had passed, and he was already very familiar with Karin, and his body had become stronger under Granny's care, and his height had grown a bit.
However.
Compared to the precocious girl, his height was still lacking by a lot.
Karin laughed and said: "It's not a pity. If I can do it once, I can do it a second time—"
The two were talking.
A panda appeared out of thin air.
Karin was slightly surprised and immediately stood up to salute: "Lord Iron Palm—"
"Hahaha, little Karin, long time no see."
Iron Palm waved to greet her.
Afterward, it laughed and said: "I came here mainly because this thing is quite important."
It took out a scroll.
"Inside is a Star Core, and a cultivation method, but you don't need to cultivate it deeply; you just need to master the method of flight."
Iron Palm scratched its head, recalling.
Afterward, it clapped its hands and said: "Anyway, it's all written in the book, including the precautions."
"Yes, thank you."
Karin bowed slightly.
Iron Palm waved its hand, then looked at Ranmaru and said: "Are there any of those snacks from last time left?"
"Yes, I stored some."
After some packing up, Iron Palm carried bags and left.
Karin opened the scroll and saw the content on it.
Star Core, Mysterious Peacock Method—
"It's harmful to the body, so only I can cultivate it, and I must cultivate it slowly, I can't be too hasty. Just cultivating it until I can fly is enough, right?"
She understood.
As her cultivation deepened, she had mastered some Sealing Jutsu and Medical Ninjutsu, and vaguely understood how powerful her own constitution was.
Such damage, for her, could be recovered quickly and would not cause fundamental harm.
Ranmaru was different.
Therefore, this thing could only be practiced by her.
"To fly—"
"Karin, you will not live up to Lord's expectations!"
In the Land of Earth, in a desolate mountain on the border.
Suzumebachi Kamizuru led the last three clansmen, avoiding the eyes and ears of the Iwagakure Ninja, and moved south.
"Suzumebachi, where are we going?"
"Land of Woods, Illusion Forest!"