Naruto: With Favorabiltity System

Chapter 294: Pain Arrives Again

Konoha, Early Morning

With Orochimaru gone, Haneda didn't have much to do.

After breakfast, Haneda decided to keep things simple and took Naruto by the hand, walking him to Sasuke's house.

Itachi was cleaning when he saw Haneda and Naruto arrive. He greeted them warmly:

"Uncle Haneda, Naruto, heading to the Ninja Academy this early?"

Naruto replied, "Yeah, Itachi-nii, if I don't see Sasuke in the morning, I have no motivation to study!"

"By the way, is Sasuke still asleep?"

Itachi smiled, pointing inside the house.

Through the window, they could see Sasuke sitting at the dining table, focused entirely on his breakfast of eggs and milk, completely oblivious to the commotion outside.

"Wow, eating so slowly, Sasuke," Naruto said, placing a hand on his forehead and craning his neck to peek inside.

Under the watchful eyes of Haneda and Itachi, Naruto dashed to the window.

He opened it, leaned against the sill, and called out, "Good morning, Sasuke-chan~!"

Naruto's sudden greeting caught Sasuke off guard.

Feigning calm, Sasuke waved dismissively and resumed eating his breakfast.

But Naruto's wide-eyed stare made him lose his appetite.

After a while, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. "I hate it when someone stares at me while I eat, Naruto!"

"Wow, so you can't eat when someone's watching? Sasuke, I didn't know you were so shy!"

Grinding his teeth, Sasuke quickly finished the egg his brother had fried for him and downed the milk Itachi had poured.

He wanted to scold Naruto but hesitated when he saw him perched at the window, resting his face on his hands with a sweet, innocent expression.

"Let's go, Naruto," Sasuke said as he opened the door.

He stepped outside and happened to see Haneda chatting with Itachi.

After greeting both his brother and Haneda, Sasuke took Naruto's hand and began walking toward the Ninja Academy.

After a few steps, Naruto turned and waved.

"Bye, Uncle Haneda! Bye, Itachi-nii!"

"Goodbye!" Sasuke followed, waving as well.

As they walked away hand in hand, Itachi sighed.

"Sasuke and Naruto have such a great bond. They've been close since the day they met."

He turned to Haneda and asked, "My brother can be so stubborn. Isn't it exhausting for Naruto to deal with him all the time?"

"Exhausting?" Haneda replied, watching Sasuke and Naruto hopping along cheerfully. A faint smile crossed his lips.

"Not at all. Their friendship is truly special."

"Sasuke is so tsundere, and Naruto is so straightforward—they're a perfect match," Haneda added.

"Is that so?" Itachi said with a small smile as he watched his brother and Naruto disappear into the distance.

At that moment, Shisui appeared.

Wearing his ANBU gear and a cat-shaped mask, he bowed and reported:

"Lord Hokage, Elder Shikaku has requested your presence. He said there's an urgent matter to discuss."

Haneda raised an eyebrow. "Did he tell you what it's about?"

Shisui shook his head. Haneda began to suspect that Shikaku might be tricking him into more work and had sent Shisui to deliver the message.

Still, if it was important, Haneda decided he could simply use the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave if it turned out to be a ploy.

Placing one hand on Shisui's shoulder and the other on Itachi's, Haneda teleported the three of them to the Hokage's office.

Inside, Shikaku was immersed in paperwork.

As expected, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi were all absent. Asuma's whereabouts were also unclear.

Haneda walked over to the Hokage's chair, intending to sit and wait until Shikaku finished his work.

But before Haneda could sit down, Shikaku looked up and said,

"Lord Hokage, the leader of Amegakure, Pain, has arrived."

???

Haneda's hand froze on the armrest of the chair. Straightening up, he leaned on the desk and asked,

"You're saying Pain is here? In Konoha?"

Shikaku nodded. "Yes, he's currently at the guesthouse. Elder Asuma is entertaining him."

Haneda sat back down, lost in thought.

Pain wasn't here to make Konoha "feel pain," was he?

There hadn't been any major incidents in the Land of Rain recently…

Could this have something to do with Orochimaru or the Mycolonia Project?

"What did he say?" Haneda asked.

Shikaku replied, "Pain stated that he wants to discuss a potential collaboration between Amegakure and Konoha. The specifics require a face-to-face meeting."

"Alright, I'll go see him," Haneda said, rising from his seat and heading to the door.

To be cautious, he brought Itachi and Shisui along.

The three of them made their way to the guesthouse, where Tendo Pain was seated by the window with Asuma.

Asuma was passionately extolling Haneda's virtues.

"You want to know what kind of person Brother Haneda is? Well…

"I can only say that Brother Haneda, whether in the past, present, or future, is compassionate, merciful, and magnanimous!

"He's the savior of the shinobi world, the Fifth Hokage who made Konoha great again, and the beacon of hope for all the people of the Republic!

"His brilliance illuminated a decaying Konoha, guiding it toward a brighter future!

"His kindness has spread across every corner of the Land of Fire, providing food and happiness to everyone!

"The two Five-Year Plans he set in motion are destined to succeed, and the future he envisions will undoubtedly come to pass!

"In my heart—no, in the hearts of everyone in Konoha—Brother Haneda is the most revered and greatest leader!"

Tendo Pain nodded in agreement.

Much of what Asuma said matched what Pain had learned.

Haneda was indeed working tirelessly for peace and prosperity in the shinobi world.

He had even heard that the Hokage's office lights were the last to go out in the entire village, a testament to Haneda's diligence!

Meanwhile, outside the guesthouse, Haneda felt so embarrassed he wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.

It was one thing to boast about him in private, but to do so in front of Pain?

If Nagato knew about Shikaku's praise, it would be unbelievably awkward!

Haneda cleared his throat and stepped inside with Itachi and Shisui.

Asuma greeted him cheerfully. "Brother Haneda, you're here so early today!"

"Of course. When a guest comes from afar, it's only right to arrive early and meet them personally," Haneda replied with a polite smile as he sat across from Pain.

Tendo Pain, with his bright orange hair, pale lavender Rinnegan, and stern face, exuded an ominous presence.

Haneda immediately recognized this as the most powerful of the Six Paths, Tendo Pain, representing both the leader of the Akatsuki and Amegakure.

"This is our second meeting, I believe. It's an honor," Haneda said politely, offering a greeting but avoiding handshakes or unnecessary gestures.

After exchanging pleasantries, Pain got straight to the point:

"I've heard that Konoha has developed a new technology called trains and is currently laying tracks for future operation.

"I came here to discuss establishing a rail connection between Amegakure and Konoha to strengthen collaboration between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire."

...