Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

The rapidly rotating chakra sphere contained immense power.

Minato skillfully controlled the chakra, allowing the Rasengan to slowly dissipate, causing only a small gust of wind. He had been contemplating how to incorporate nature transformation into the Rasengan to increase its power.

After dispersing the Rasengan, Minato looked at Jiraiya and nodded, saying, "I agreed."

Jiraiya walked up to the desk, placing his hands on it, frowning. "Aren't you worried at all?"

A hint of helplessness flashed in Minato's eyes as he said, "Of course I'm worried, but this is her decision."

"Truly... like master, like student," Jiraiya sighed.

He took his hands off the desk and scratched his white hair in frustration, making it even messier. His frown never relaxed, and he said in a deep voice, "The Akatsuki is a dangerous organization, and you know that. In the two years since the Third War ended, I've had no luck gathering information about their leader. All I've managed is intel on a few core members. Tsunade's stubbornness is one thing, but now even Kushina wants to leave? She's the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, and you dare let her out of the village."

Minato smiled bitterly and helplessly. "Jiraiya-sensei, you said it yourself—they're master and student. Kushina learned from Tsunade, and that... monstrous strength."

"Monstrous strength…!" Jiraiya's face immediately showed embarrassment.

Half a year ago, due to the lack of progress in gathering intelligence, Tsunade had decided to leave the village herself to hunt down the one responsible for Dan's death.

Understanding the danger posed by the Akatsuki, Jiraiya had tried to stop her with a firm stance, only to be knocked out cold by one of Tsunade's punches.

"Kushina is different from Tsunade; she's the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. I just don't understand what the old man and the others were thinking, not stopping you from letting her leave," Jiraiya grumbled, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Even though it was peacetime due to the truce, the peace was fragile. If a Jinchūriki were involved, the villages would likely ignore the treaty. A Jinchūriki was a powerful weapon, and possessing one would silently enhance a village's strength. Particularly Kumogakure, with the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails, had a greater desire for Jinchūriki than the other villages, as they had mastered how to control them.

Minato maintained his smile, trying to reassure Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-sensei, you don't need to worry so much. Kushina is very strong, and besides, isn't Kakashi with her?"

"The Hatake kid, huh?" Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, still feeling uneasy.

"Kakashi now…" Minato's smile became genuine. "He's grown to resemble his father, Sakumo, in many ways."

Jiraiya sighed deeply and didn't press the matter further. Instead, he pulled out a scroll and placed it on the desk. "This is the progress of the past six months."

Minato glanced at the scroll and nodded slightly before looking back at Jiraiya. "Will you continue to stay outside the village?"

"Of course."

Jiraiya's expression grew serious as he said, "There's been no word of Orochimaru for a long time now. Just thinking about it gives me a bad feeling. Plus, I still can't stop worrying about Tsunade."

"I understand," Minato said, nodding.

"The village is in your hands, Minato."

Minato's face turned serious as he smiled. "Don't worry."

Jiraiya smiled faintly and turned to leave. After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and, without turning around, said, "Have you made a decision about what we discussed last time?"

Hearing this, Minato's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't answer directly, instead saying, "Ye Zi must have become even stronger by now."

Stronger, huh…?

Even though it was just partial intelligence, the word "stronger" felt inadequate. That guy was likely terrifyingly strong now.

Jiraiya remained silent. Among the known powerful shinobi, perhaps only the Third Raikage could be considered the strongest. Ye Zi's mastery of Lightning Release was likely approaching that of the Third Raikage.

Seeing Jiraiya's silence, Minato's expression grew serious. He slowly replied, "I've made my decision."

"Wait for my signal."

With that, Jiraiya left the room after leaving a final remark.

As Minato watched the office door close, he clenched his fist slightly. Everyone was moving forward, and he couldn't afford to be left behind.

.....

Land of Fire, Duskwood Forest.

The night was deep, filled with the sound of insects chirping. Occasionally, the roar of a distant beast could be heard.

In the dense forest, a campfire burned, and a large, sharp-horned wild deer was roasting over it.

"Hey, how about I just use Fire Release?" Obito, wearing goggles, rested his chin in his hand, staring helplessly at the deer. "With a fire this weak, when are we ever going to eat?"

Around the campfire sat Kushina, Kakashi, and Rin.

This was the current Team 7, led by Kushina. They were here on a mission...

"I don't want to go hungry," Kakashi said as he lazily poked the fire, his dead-fish eyes fixed on Obito.

The hidden meaning was clear: if Obito used Fire Release, with his poor chakra control, he'd likely burn the deer to a crisp.

Catching the jab, Obito snapped angrily, "What are you talking about? My Sharingan has two tomoe now!"

Kakashi responded lazily, "That has nothing to do with chakra control."

"Obito, I don't want to eat burnt deer either," Rin added with a cheerful smile, delivering another blow.

"Rin, not you too…" Obito's face filled with sorrow.

"Stop bickering," Kushina, who had been intently watching the deer cook, suddenly said. "It looks like it's ready to eat."

"Huh?"

The three of them were stunned. They followed Kushina's gaze to the small, golden-brown portion of the deer that had cooked, looking utterly bewildered.

"It doesn't look ready," Obito mumbled.

"Something seems off, but this part seems done. How about we cut it off and eat it?" Kushina tilted her head slightly, staring at the large deer, her stomach growling with hunger.

"Kushina-sensei, maybe we should dismember the deer first," Kakashi suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"Leave that to me." Obito stood up, rolling up his sleeves. He looked at Kakashi and said, "Kakashi, lend me your knife."

Kakashi glanced at him silently and flatly refused, "No."

"Why not?" Obito stared at him, eyes wide.

Kakashi turned his head and ignored him.

While they were talking, Kushina had already used a chakra scalpel to cut off the cooked portion and started eating with Rin.

Seeing Kushina and Rin eating by themselves, Obito shouted in protest, "Kushina-sensei, Rin, you two…!"

"Got a problem? Don't you know about 'ladies first'?" Kushina glared at Obito, and his momentum instantly crumbled. When it came to Kushina-sensei, he was completely weak. Actually, anyone would feel weak in front of someone with Kushina's monstrous strength.

"Hey, Kakashi, lend me your knife, or I'm going to use Fire Release!" Obito turned his attention back to Kakashi.

Kakashi calmly took out a kunai, cut off one of the deer's legs, and said, "Go ahead."

"…" Obito was speechless.

....

Somewhere in the Land of Fire.

"Let's go."

A cold voice echoed from within the dark cave.

A figure draped in a black cloak emerged from the cave. The bright moonlight shone down on him, casting a layer of pure white light over him. As he slightly raised his head, the moonlight couldn't penetrate his deep, pitch-black eyes. This figure was none other than Ye Zi.

He stopped at the cave entrance, gazing up at the full moon in the clear night sky. His expression gradually shifted.

Moments later, two other figures—a man and a woman—followed him out of the cave.

The woman had green hair and green eyes, her appearance strikingly beautiful. She wore a black cloak adorned with red clouds. The young man who walked beside her had silver hair and black eyes, handsome and wearing the same cloak.

They were Kotoe and Shin—or more accurately, Shin Uchiha.

The two of them gazed at the back of the man in front of them, each with a different expression.

Kotoe's eyes were filled with undisguised admiration, while Uchiha Jin's face showed deep reverence.

"Our target is the Four-Tails Jinchūriki."

Ye Zi withdrew his gaze from the moon and spoke with calm authority. Then, he leapt down from the cave entrance, which was perched high on the mountain.

As the strong wind rushed past him, he descended toward the dense forest below, his body moving like a bird in flight.

Kotoe and Shin followed Ye Zi, leaping down after him.

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Currently on Chapter 300 - The Power of the Rinnegan