Chapter 248:
Konoha Village, Hokage's Office.
"The Konoha villagers who were imprisoned in the underwater supermax facility by S.H.I.E.L.D. have already been rescued by Naruto and Sasuke. Now that the two of them no longer have any concerns holding them back, to prevent Konoha from falling into Naruto's hands again, Lord Black Emperor has sent me here as reinforcement."
Evilmoku stood before Skynet's virtual projection, along with the cloned Gray Wolf and Red Wolf. Behind Evilmoku stood four Ancient Ability Beasts, and the Imperial Armor who had once again been brainwashed and brought under control by the Black Emperor.
"Thank you. With your help, I'm confident Konoha Village will forever belong to S.H.I.E.L.D.," Skynet's virtual image spoke slowly, then turned to the two liquid metal robots stationed at the door and said, "You two, take them to their temporary quarters."
"Yes, Lord Skynet," the two liquid robots stepped inside and looked toward Evilmoku, saying, "Lords, please come with us."
As Evilmoku and his group walked away, Jiraiya suddenly remarked, "With the support of the Ability Beasts, Naruto and the others won't be able to retake Konoha so easily now."
"You can handle things from here. My wife and I will be heading back," said Clone Gray Wolf, turning to look at Red Wolf and smiling gently.
"Lord Gray Wolf, please wait. There's something I'd like to discuss with you," Skynet suddenly said, stopping Clone Gray Wolf in his tracks.
"Uh…" Clone Gray Wolf hesitated, then looked at Red Wolf.
"In that case, I'll head back first," Jiraiya said with a nod—he was in a hurry to tell Naruto that Evilmoku had already arrived in Konoha.
Only Skynet and Clone Gray Wolf were left in the Hokage's Office.
"What is it? Go ahead," Clone Gray Wolf said, looking at Skynet.
"Lord Gray Wolf, please look at this."
As Skynet finished speaking, its virtual form vanished and was replaced by a video. The footage featured none other than the person currently posing as Red Wolf—Jiraiya.
"This is…" Clone Gray Wolf narrowed his eyes and looked at Skynet.
"Lord Gray Wolf, based on my observations, Lady Red Wolf has been leaking intel to the outside."
As Skynet spoke, the video changed again. It now showed Red Wolf, right after leaving the Hokage's Office, walking into a deserted alley and summoning an intel frog.
"No way... Red Wolf…" Clone Gray Wolf stared at the video with disbelief, then turned to Skynet and said, "Don't let anyone else in S.H.I.E.L.D. find out about this for now. I'll handle it myself."
"Yes, Lord Gray Wolf."
After Clone Gray Wolf left, Skynet's virtual form reappeared.
Outside Konoha Village.
"Boruto, look!"
Sarada pointed at a frog that had jumped out of the pond and landed on a lotus leaf.
"It's just a frog. What's the big deal?" Modern Boruto replied calmly.
"That's one of the intel frogs that Lord Jiraiya of the Legendary Three usually uses," said Shuyu nearby.
"As expected of Shuyu. Not like some people…" Sarada said, casting a scornful glance at Boruto—her meaning was clear.
"Hey! What kind of look is that?! I knew it was Jiraiya's frog all along…" Boruto protested.
While Boruto and Sarada bickered, Shuyu silently stepped onto the pond's surface, walked to the lotus leaf, and picked up the frog.
"Let's take this frog back first. Lord Jiraiya probably has some important intel to pass on," Shuyu said, looking at the two still arguing on the shore.
Temporary HQ for the Konoha Recapture Operation.
"Kakashi, what are you doing here? Mei's been looking all over for you," Mei Terumi's voice rang out.
Sitting in a tree, Kakashi shivered instinctively when he heard her. He quickly leapt down and gestured for silence toward the Captain Hydra.
"Shh…" Kakashi looked around warily before whispering to the Captain Hydra, "Keep it down. If Lady Mei finds out I'm hiding here, it'll be bad."
"What's the big deal? She's the Mizukage, you're the Hokage—you're a perfect match," Obito said.
"Well, I'm not looking to get married anytime soon…"
Obito frowned. If Kakashi's not thinking about marriage, does that mean he still hasn't let go of Rin?
"Sixth! The Seventh is back!"
At that moment, Mirai Sarutobi came running over.
"On my way!" Kakashi replied, then turned to Obito and said, "Captain Hydra, let's go. Now that Naruto's back, it's probably time to prepare for the final battle."
"Mm…"
Cave.
"Naruto, Sasuke, I'm so glad you're okay. So, were all the villagers rescued?" Shikamaru asked as he looked at them.
Naruto nodded, his mood low. "Sasuke sent them to a safe pocket dimension. But… we only managed to save a small number."
"What?! What happened? Naruto?" Shikamaru asked urgently, but Naruto turned his gaze toward Sasuke, prompting Shikamaru to do the same.
"While we were rescuing the villagers, a horde of zombies appeared. Most of the villagers got infected—we only managed to save a few," Sasuke replied flatly.
"I see…" Shikamaru went silent for a moment, then said to Naruto, "Don't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault at all."
If anyone felt the most pain over the villagers' deaths, it was surely Naruto.
"Yeah… Don't worry, Shikamaru," Naruto forced a smile. "Anyway, we should probably start discussing our plan to take back Konoha…"
"Uncle Shikamaru! We found intel from Lord Jiraiya—"
Before anyone appeared, Boruto's voice came echoing ahead. But when he saw Naruto standing there, his tone turned cold.
"Huh? When did you get back, old man?"
Just as things had started to improve between father and son, the relationship hit rock bottom again—Naruto had returned without Hinata and Himawari.
"Boruto…"
Sarada glanced at Boruto, but ultimately didn't say anything.
"Where's Lord Jiraiya's intel?" Shikamaru asked anxiously.
"I have it," Shuyu said, stepping forward and handing over the intel frog.