Kimimaro and Pakura lost the trail, and when they arrived at the battlefield, only a large, charred crater remained, some signs of fighting and blood were the only things left.
Pakura let out a sigh of internal relief, but Kimimaro frowned. He had thought he could have completed Jugo-sama's mission sooner, but nothing.
He didn't give up so easily, searching for clues, but whether it was Toji or Afro, both of them knew how to cover their tracks, Kimimaro only managed to return empty-handed.
-Why don't we take a look around the villages? According to the information, they like to wander from village to village 'helping' people, so we just need to ask around a bit.- Pakura shrugged.
There were many villages around the world, there could be hundreds in Kusa, but at that point, Kimimaro didn't have a better idea.
-Which village is closest to here?- He asked Pakura.
Pakura thought for a moment, her knowledge was more than ten years behind, but it was still enough. She pointed in a direction, and the pair set off shortly after.
Unfortunately for them, the path they chose was completely wrong.
//-//
Boom~
In the outskirts of Konoha, a huge explosion rang out, sending birds flying away in great numbers.
Not far from a huge crater, Naruto was kneeling, breathing heavily, sweat running down his body.
Supported by one hand, he looked at the ground with eyes filled with apathy and loss.
The Sennin markings in his eyes slowly fading, Naruto sighed as his body completely weakened, he fell with a soft thud against the ground, he let out a groan of pain, but did not stop, instead, he tried to use his arms to support himself and continue training.
Unfortunately, his body no longer had the strength.
-Damn it!- Naruto blurted out, his hand digging into the ground while his other arm landed over his eyes, two thin lines of tears streaming down his sweaty face.
Naruto remained like that for a while, but in the end, he rubbed his red eyes, lay there as he was, and began to meditate again, entering Sage Mode would allow him to continue training.
Not far away, Kakashi and Jiraiya were watching Naruto's training from between the trees.
Jiraiya had a calm face, not looking directly at Naruto. He was sitting on a rock, gazing at the sky. Kakashi was below him, looking at Naruto with an expressionless face and his hands in his pockets.
The pair didn't speak for a while until Jiraya spoke up. - He needs to vent, but he'll get better afterward.
-Ah, I know.- Kakashi nodded.
-He'll need his friends for that, I'll leave it to you, Kakashi.- Jiraiya stood up with a fluid movement, patting his backside a few times to brush off the dust.
Kakashi looked away from Naruto and glanced at Jiraiya.
-Are you leaving again, Jiraiya-sama?- Kakashi asked.
-Yes, there are a few things I need to investigate.- Jiraiya agreed.
Kakashi nodded briefly, turning his gaze back to Naruto, and blurted out. -Akatsuki?
-Yes, but there's a fellow that the frog boss warned me about, I need to keep an eye on him.- Jiraya said with a serious expression, thinking about the old frog's last prophecy.
Kakashi nodded briefly, without expressing his opinion.
-Say goodbye to Naruto for me.- Jiraiya jumped and landed next to Kakashi, giving Naruto one last look. He turned and walked away.
Kakashi watched the figure leave and said. -Are you sure you want to leave without saying goodbye? He won't be happy.
-Haha! He's a man now, he has to learn to deal with it on his own.- Jiraiya said nonchalantly.
Kakashi shook his head briefly, he didn't quite agree with that. To him, whether it was Naruto, Sakura, or even Sasuke, they were all children.
With a tired sigh, Kakashi slowly began walking towards Naruto. He needed to lift the boy's spirits, a bowl of ramen should help, or in Naruto's case, several of them.
//-//
Black Zetsu was in a bad mood.
It wasn't really what he expected when he gave the information to Pain, he'd lived long enough to know what a demon was when he saw one. Hidan himself smelled like a demon, but compared to Toji, Jashin's influence was ridiculously limited.
Besides, he saw Toji looking directly at him when he appeared in the distance, which only made things worse, Toji's perception wasn't weak, and he could even detect him.
It was frustrating.
He quickly turned away when he realized this, but his thoughts were already focused on the current events that contradicted his original prediction.
Jugo was one problem, Toji was another.
Black Zetsu missed Madara, if Madara had been there, Toji wouldn't have emerged victorious.
Madara was also much easier to control, he didn't even need to do much, just the right words made it clear how Madara would react, very different from the emotional Nagato and the mentally unstable Obito.
Even so, the plan had to continue, the other tailed beasts needed to be found as quickly as possible, otherwise the board would become even more confusing.
Black Zetsu followed Nagato back to Amegakure. He was worried about how Nagato would react to Konan's loss, but as soon as Black Zetsu appeared before him, the order was simple: acquire new corpses to replace the lost Pain.
Black Zetsu obeyed calmly, observing Nagato more closely. He could see that the man seemed like an empty shell, his eyes showing a glaring indifference.
Zetsu recognized that look, it was like a man who had lost everything except his mission.
Black Zetsu obeyed and left, but inside he was satisfied.
Nagato, in this state, is like a machine, a machine that will do whatever is necessary for his plan to be completed. Black Zetsu gave a grim smile as soon as he left Nagato's sight, this outcome isn't bad either.
However, remembering Toji, his smile faded, he could only hope that Toji would maintain his seemingly random pattern and not get involved with the Bijuu.