Tsunade nodded slightly, then looked toward Rorin at the side and said with a smile,
"Looks like you've gained quite a bit too, Rorin."
Rorin smiled faintly and replied modestly,
"Just a little progress."
"Hey, Tsunade-sama, where did this information come from? That the Akatsuki are going to attack us?" Naruto Uzumaki asked curiously.
Hearing this, both Rorin and Jiraiya became attentive—they were also quite interested in this question.
Tsunade's expression turned solemn, while Kakashi, who had been leaning against the wall, stepped forward and explained,
"Naruto, the one who informed me of this news… was Sasuke!"
The moment those words fell, the three who had just returned from Mount Myōboku were all stunned.
After his initial shock, Naruto Uzumaki looked at Kakashi and slowly asked,
"Then Kakashi-sensei… where is Sasuke?"
Rorin stroked his chin, thinking to himself—it seemed that Uchiha Itachi must have passed this information on to Uchiha Sasuke.
Kakashi's expression grew serious.
"Sasuke isn't in the village. After informing me of the news, he left."
After hearing this, Naruto Uzumaki looked dejected and asked in confusion,
"Why? If he was willing to tell us this, then why won't he come back to the village?"
Kakashi walked over, stopped beside Naruto Uzumaki, patted his shoulder, and said softly,
"Naruto, I invited Sasuke to return before, but he refused."
Naruto lowered his head, then slowly raised it again, his voice firm.
"No matter what, I will bring Sasuke back to the Hidden Leaf Village. I'll make him let go of the hatred in his heart."
At this moment, Jiraiya stepped forward and said quietly,
"Tsunade, has the village evacuation already started? After all, we're dealing with Pain. I know very well how strong they are."
Tsunade nodded. "It's already begun. Some villagers are hard to persuade, but the process is underway. Now we can only hope to minimize the damage as much as possible."
"Yeah, after all, we don't know exactly when Pain will arrive," Kakashi added.
"As for the patrols outside the village… I think we should suspend them, Tsunade," Jiraiya said after a moment of thought.
Tsunade frowned and asked, "Why, Jiraiya? Without patrols outside the village, how will we track Pain's movements in time?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "You don't fully understand Pain's true strength. Sending ninja out to patrol will likely just get them killed."
Tsunade wanted to insist at first, but seeing how firm Jiraiya was, she slowly nodded and issued the order to withdraw all external patrols.
"You don't need to be too tense, Tsunade. Since they're coming to attack us, we'll just wait for them here in the village and prepare to face them," Jiraiya said with a smile.
The meeting ended soon after. Rorin and the others left the Hokage's office, while Naruto Uzumaki walked with his head lowered, weighed down with thoughts.
Rorin walked alone through the village, seeing Hidden Leaf Village ninja explaining the situation to civilians and guiding them to evacuation shelters.
Of course, there were also stubborn villagers who refused to follow orders and go to the shelters. Rorin merely shook his head at this.
He slowly returned to his residence and pushed open the door. His eyes narrowed—there was a crow inside his house.
Without hesitation, Rorin used Flying Thunder God and left the village, heading for the Uchiha clan district.
When he arrived, he walked in and saw only Uchiha Itachi. He asked,
"Why are you alone? Where's Sasuke?"
Uchiha Itachi glanced at Rorin, smiled faintly, and said,
"Rorin, it seems your strength has improved greatly again during this time."
Rorin waved his hand modestly. "It's nothing worth mentioning."
With that, Itachi didn't dwell on the topic and instead asked seriously,
"You already know that Pain will attack the Hidden Leaf Village soon, right?"
Rorin nodded slightly. "Yes, I've heard. Sasuke told Kakashi-sensei. I guessed it was you who passed the information to him."
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi smiled in satisfaction and nodded.
"That's right. I told Sasuke—but I only asked him to do what he believed was right."
"Then why did you call me here this time?" Rorin asked.
"It's mainly as a precaution. If Sasuke hadn't passed on the information, I could have told you in advance. Also, there are some details I need to explain to you," Uchiha Itachi said softly.
Rorin nodded and waited quietly for him to continue.
"Here's the situation. Two days ago, Pain contacted me and informed me that he would soon head to the Hidden Leaf Village to capture the Nine-Tails jinchūriki. He also asked me to provide the signal for entering the village," Uchiha Itachi explained.
"So you gave him a false signal?" Rorin interjected briefly, then fell silent.
Itachi nodded. "Yes. But I can already sense that Pain has begun to suspect me, so he may not trust that signal."
"Was it because of Kisame last time that raised their suspicions?" Rorin muttered, stroking his chin.
"Perhaps. That's why I'll likely be leaving the Akatsuki soon," Uchiha Itachi said quietly.
Rorin nodded, then looked up at him with a faint smile.
"There's something else you haven't told me, right? Like… Danzō."
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi smiled and shook his head.
"I originally didn't want to drag you into this, but since you asked… yes. Sasuke and I have agreed that when Pain attacks the Hidden Leaf Village, we'll take advantage of the chaos to strike at Danzō."
Rorin nodded and asked, "Do you need my help?"
Itachi shook his head. "You don't need to worry about us. Just focus on dealing with Pain."
Still, to be safe, Rorin took out a bone and handed it to Uchiha Itachi.
"This has my Flying Thunder God mark on it. Keep it. It'll make it easier to contact me if you need anything—and if I need your help in the future, it'll be more convenient too."
Uchiha Itachi smiled faintly, took the bone, and said softly,
"Then I'll look forward to the day you come asking me for help."
Rorin smiled, bid him farewell, and returned to the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Based on what Itachi said, Pain will probably still use the Animal Path as a feint. I need to stay alert on all fronts… and it seems their attack isn't far off."
Rorin muttered to himself.
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