Konoha: Naruto of Sekiro

At an alleyway corner.

"Minato, open your eyes wide and watch closely!"

Jiraiya grinned, extending his right hand and slowly gathering chakra. The forming chakra sphere showed no nature transformation whatsoever, only an extreme shape transformation.

After several breaths.

An azure chakra sphere, like a beautiful piece of jade, hovered in Jiraiya's palm.

"How about it, aren't I amazing? This is the Rasengan you spent seven years developing, and I learned it in such a short time."

"Jiraiya-sensei, you're truly amazing." Minato nodded distractedly. "I still have some things to attend to. Sensei, you can take your time playing around."

With that, he directly left the corner.

"…" Jiraiya stared blankly at his departing figure. He had worked so hard to learn it!

Where was the astonishment? The admiration? The shock? What was with this perfunctory encouragement?

In front of Ichiraku Ramen, a long queue had formed.

Obito held his right hand across his brow, looking at the still-long line ahead, and wailed, "How are there still so many people?"

"It's a new store opening, plus a buy-one-get-one-free promotion. How could there not be many people?" Kakashi also sighed.

How had he agreed to these guys' invitation… Wasting so much time queuing here, he'd be better off practicing ninjutsu at home.

"I heard this shop's Miso Chashu Ramen is to die for," Guy said with a grin.

"Not only that, their seafood ramen is also fantastic," Kotetsu Hagane added.

"So, this is why you're wasting so much time queuing here?" Kakashi didn't even know what to say anymore.

"When can't you eat ramen?"

"Kakashi, you're such a killjoy!" Izumo Kamizuki grumbled.

"The promotion only lasts for three days, and today is the last day." Kotetsu, looking at the queue that still showed no sign of moving, also felt a bit helpless. "But we didn't expect there to be this many people either."

"Kakashi, so you're here!" Minato spotted his disciple in the crowd and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Finding people was truly hard work.

Kakashi said a quick word to his companions and then ran towards his teacher. "Minato-sensei, is something the matter?"

"There's a special mission. I recommended you to the Third Hokage. Get ready, we assemble at the main gate in half an hour," Minato said.

"Yes, sir!"

Rouran.

Seramu sat on the throne, her brow furrowed, seemingly deep in thought.

"Mother, what's wrong?" her daughter Sara asked upon seeing her expression. "Is it because of Minister Anrokuzan?"

"It's nothing." Seramu patted her little head. She wasn't so inept as to need her daughter's help to solve her worries.

As her daughter had said, the one who had caused her to fall into deep thought was indeed Rouran's newly appointed minister, Anrokuzan. Of course, a year ago, this person was still called Mukade.

A year ago, Anrokuzan had proposed the 'Puppet Nation-Building Plan' to her. Due to the immense benefits it promised, she had agreed to Anrokuzan's plan.

Today, a year later, just as Anrokuzan had envisioned, Rouran's territory had doubled in size, and its people had been freed from heavy labor.

The number of newborns had also increased significantly compared to previous years.

Faced with these gratifying results, she should have been happy. But every time she thought of the ever-increasing number of puppets in Anrokuzan's hands, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety.

Although Anrokuzan had been very well-behaved this past year, seemingly dedicating himself entirely to Rouran's construction, the more he acted this way, the more uneasy Seramu felt.

If a person showed no ambition whatsoever, there were only two possibilities: One, they genuinely had no ambition; two, that person was plotting something huge, so huge that they were willing to grovel before you, making you feel no threat from them whatsoever.

Seramu understood that Anrokuzan was definitely not the type to lack ambition.

But to banish Anrokuzan from Rouran based on some vague, unfounded suspicions was also unrealistic.

Over the past year, Rouran's development had been visible to the naked eye, and Anrokuzan's contributions were already known to the people of Rouran.

If she were to expel Rouran's benefactor using some baseless excuse, the people of Rouran would likely not agree.

"Mother, Anrokuzan wasn't the only one who suddenly appeared in Rouran back then," Sara suggested, seeing her mother once again lost in thought.

"You mean, Lord Naruto?" Seramu's expression flickered. She had almost forgotten the boy who had warned her about Anrokuzan.

"Didn't he say back then that if we encountered difficulties, we could ask him for help?" Sara nodded.

"Is that wooden stick still around?"

"It is…" Seramu's fair fingers gently massaged her temples. She had forgotten where she put that thing…

Seeing this, Sara lightly tugged her skirt, hopped down the steps, and disappeared through a hidden door.

"Where did I put it? The study? The storage room…" Lost in thought, Seramu didn't even notice her daughter leaving.

A moment later, the young girl emerged from the hidden door holding a crudely made wooden stick.

"Mother!"

"Hmm?" Seramu slightly raised her delicate head. Just as she was about to ask her daughter what was wrong, a simple wooden stick appeared in her line of sight.

"Where did you find it?" she asked in pleasant surprise.

"In the storage room." Sara sat back down beside her mother.

"Mother, when do you plan to burn it?" the little girl asked curiously.

"What's wrong?" Seramu looked at her, puzzled.

"I want to see how Brother Naruto appears first." Sara giggled. "Isn't that how stories go? The savior from the flames; hope burning bright." "Naughty idea." Seramu lightly tapped her head.

"Let's burn it now. I have a strange feeling of unease."

"Doesn't summoning him by burning something feel a bit beneath his status, Mother?"

"Sara!!"

"I was wrong, Mother!"

Amegakure.

"What are you doing?" Yahiko pushed the door open and stared, shocked, at the room full of Narutos. "An open exchange conference?"

Naruto: "…"

"Researching a ninjutsu."

"What kind of ninjutsu research requires so many people?" Yahiko asked. He had some understanding of the shadow clone learning method after Naruto had demonstrated it time and again.

"Ahem…" Naruto coughed lightly twice.

Although their relationship was good, this sort of thing clearly wasn't suitable for casual conversation.

"My apologies." Yahiko quickly realized his gaffe and apologized.

"Is something the matter?" Naruto asked. Generally, Yahiko was the type who wouldn't visit without a reason.

Even if there was something, Konan usually ran the errands.

After all, Amegakure's affairs were truly numerous.

"I wanted to ask you for a favor," Yahiko said, a little embarrassed. "Nagato has been training the ANBU recently, so…"

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

He had benefited greatly from Amegakure and had promised that they could come to him for anything. But the three of them just didn't ask, so there was nothing he could do.

"Isn't war coming? Amegakure could be dragged into the conflict between the three great nations at any time." Yahiko sighed slightly. "Konoha and Iwagakure are still manageable; even if we can't beat them, we have ways to cope."

"But Sunagakure's puppet techniques, as you know, unless you have absolute overwhelming strength or a Kekkei Genkai, you can only win through numerical superiority. Those poisoned hidden weapons are too disgusting."

"Previously, Amegakure's countermeasure was to forge some chakra metal weapons to directly cut the chakra threads in one-on-one encounters."

"Puppeteers who have lost control of their puppets are relatively easier to deal with."

"What do you need me to do?" Naruto nodded slightly.

"With the war, we can't afford chakra metal through official channels, so we have to go through underground routes. I've contacted some underground figures to purchase a batch of chakra metal."

"For transporting such precious goods, besides Nagato, you're the only one in Amegakure who can do it."

Hearing this, Yahiko directly stated his request.

"Is it cheaper through underground channels?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"The price has gone up too, but it's still within an acceptable range," Yahiko sighed helplessly.

"Time, place, contact?"

"Right here in the Land of Rain, tomorrow at noon. The contact is an organization called the Outer Ring."

"Outer Ring?" Naruto paused. He was familiar with this organization; it was the same one Yahiko had provided as a chakra metal purchasing channel last time.

"They have that much chakra metal?"

"Well, I've never seen them run out of stock." Yahiko shrugged and tossed him a storage scroll. "This is the payment."

"This organization runs deep. Do you know which hidden village is behind them?" Naruto asked, catching the scroll.

"We suspect Takumi Village, but I doubt they'd be bold enough to sell this kind of thing right under the noses of the Five Great Hidden Villages," Yahiko shook his head.

"Besides, the shinobi world is full of deeply hidden organizations. The underground bounty stations even dare to put bounties on the Five Kage."

"It's just that no one has been badass enough to actually take those bounties yet."

"Money is a good thing, but you need to be alive to spend it." Naruto shook his head. Who would be so reckless as to try and assassinate one of the Five Kage?

Besides, if you really had that kind of strength, what couldn't you do that would be more rewarding? Why court death? "Then I'll set off."

"I'm counting on you!"

Yahiko, who left with Naruto, didn't notice a line of formula written on the wall to one side of the room: Dragon Heritage Power!