I'm coming in, Tsunade.
Jiraiya? Did you learn anything?
I discovered the whereabouts of the Akatsuki leader.
What?! Is that true?!
Tell me more!
We'll use that information to plan a surprise attack!
Don't be hasty, now.
This isn't like plotting a sequel to your novel!
We don't have the time to waste!
Haste makes waste.
Especially with the stakes this high...
Say, why don't we grab a drink together?
Just you and me.
I'll tell you everything there.
You fool! I am the Hokage!
And you're asking me to go drinking in broad daylight?!
Have you no shame when our ninja are on duty?!
SAKE BAR
You know...
You really ought to take your own words a bit more to heart.
Drinking sake straight out of the bottle...
Remember, you are the Hokage, right?
Twilight
That girl's late...
How long does it take to pick up supplies...?
I wish it would get dark soon...
After Jugo and Suigetsu turn in,
I'll make my move on Sasuke while he sleeps!
I'm so excited!
This feeling...
Well, Kiba?!
I'm concentrating, trying to single out Sasuke's faint scent!
So shut up! You're distracting me!
There's no mistake... They're steadily approaching.
One...two...
Their chakra is strong too.
There're quite a few.
I sense non-human chakra too.
Dogs?
Are they tracking our scent?
Is it Akatsuki? Or maybe the Hidden Leaf?
INN OKOSHI
Jugo.
I'm gonna go check on Karin.
Yeah.
Wh-What...?
Wake up, Sasuke!
We're going to have company! What do we do?!
Sasuke just waking up...is also nice!
We escape... Get ready.
Jugo, mark every Akatsuki hideout that we know.
You're okay now, Sasuke?
Yeah. I've been healing a lot faster since I absorbed Orochimaru's power.
So this is the Power of the White Snake...
Whether it's Akatsuki or the Hidden Leaf,
they might have information on Itachi.
So why don't we ambush them, Sasuke?
From what you reported about the number of people,
it's most likely the Hidden Leaf.
Akatsuki always work in two-man cells.
Which means an ambush would be a waste of time.
Exactly. Forget the Hidden Leaf.
Then what'll we do?
Itachi is our only priority.
Once we locate him, worse comes to worst,
you three must stop the Hidden Leaf.
For now, team "Hebi" will use the information gathered by Jugo
and check out Akatsuki hideouts one by one.
All right...
Let's go.
Help me out for a second.
With that?
Can you gather as many birds as you can?
What do you plan on doing?
This is Sasuke's old outfit.
It's soaked with his sweat and smell, so we'll use this to...
Why would you have an outfit that Sasuke threw away?
Uh...! Th-That... That's not important...
Y-You jerk!
A-Anyway...
I hate to do this, but...
Sensory-Type Ninja have different specialties
depending on their village.
The Hidden Leaf often use ninja hounds.
So we'll use that to our advantage.
What's wrong, Kiba?
Shoot! Sasuke is starting to move!
Let's hurry! Sasuke is going after Itachi!
Hold it, something's wrong!
Sasuke's scent is dispersing!
Not only that, it's scattering in all directions!
He's on to us. Taking strategic action.
On to us? But how?!
I don't know what kind of power.
But I'm guessing he has a skilled Sensory-Type Ninja on his side.
The distance is too great,
so I can't guide you through the wireless.
I'm the only one who can pursue him...
But it's one scent. What'll we do?
I'll find him if I have to search every blade of grass!
With whatever means necessary!
Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!
It's up ahead...
You guys wait until I give the order. I'll go and see.
Who's that...?
Sharingan?!
Sasuke?!
Th-That's--!
Itachi...Uchiha!
Come on out... Naruto Uzumaki.
You've come to capture me?
No...I didn't. I just came to talk to you.
Like I'd ever trust you!
When up against the Sharingan,
if it's one on one, always run away.
If it's two against one, get his back...
But in his case...
Even while making a seal,
he can put his target under a genjutsu using only finger movements...
I have to be careful!
I know that you're alone. So why don't you run?
Hah! My numbers can go from one to a thousand!
Besides, I can't run away!
If I capture you, I get to see Sasuke!
Why are you so attached to my brother?
He's a Rogue Ninja.
That's because unlike you...
I think of him as a brother more than you ever would.
You're already under my genjutsu.
Dammit!!
I'll say it again.
I just wanted to talk to you for a moment.
This Akatsuki leader is in the Hidden Rain Village, correct?
Yes.
But that place conducts thorough checks of anyone entering and exiting their territory,
and they track how long visitors stay.
Just preparing for the Joint Chunin Exams is difficult each time
because the village is so closed off to others.
Doesn't seem like a place where the Akatsuki leader can move about freely.
However...because security is so strict,
they're able to keep other nations from learning about their internal affairs,
and hence, keep a lid on any shame.
Shame?
It seems that land has seen much internal strife,
and the village itself has been split into two.
Word has it that the leader of one side is also the leader of Akatsuki.
That land is surrounded by
EARTH WIND FIRE the three great nations of Earth, Wind and Fire.
And from ages past,
it has been the battleground of their conflicts.
As a result, there has never been domestic stability
and the number of refugees is continually on the rise.
That is why I will infiltrate
and verify the information we have gathered.
Then we can plan strategy...
It's too dangerous to go alone!
I am one of the Legendary Sannin of the Leaf.
You know what that means as well.
I'm sorry...
that you always get the short end of the stick.
What's with you?!
I'm saying, you were supposed to be Hokage.
The Third Hokage always wanted you to be the next to--
I was never cut out for that sort of thing.
Being on my own suits me too well...
You regretted not being able to stop Orochimaru.
So all that time,
you were tracking his movements alone, isn't that right?
I no longer need to do so.
That means I get to release the sequel to my novel sooner.
Fact is stranger than fiction, isn't it?
Who would have imagined that Orochimaru would die...
Remember how the three of us would go up against Old Man Third and...
The flat-chested Tsunade has become the big-bosomed Hokage!
Times are changing by the second.
You were beautiful back then...
and now, you're a fifty-something old granny.
It pains me to see how all the memories of your lost friends and loved ones
are stored inside that big breast of yours.
And you know, the number will continue to grow.
I guess I shouldn't wallow in sadness.
My duty is to be a model for the next generation
and to help them.
For that, I'd happily give my life.
It's what makes us old folks cool, see?
Wh-What's going on?
Aren't you after me? Then this is your...!
I'm going now...
I have an important task to do.
Shadow Clone...
What was that?
Damn! This one's a bust too!
What's wrong, Naruto?
Oh, nothing...
Did something happen?
I just tripped.
Never mind that. Kiba, track the next scent.
Your drinking habits are worse than mine...
Want to stop and rest somewhere?
It's late. We have to go home.
- Okay! - Okay!
Hey, wait up!
Akatsuki...
The leader is capable of organizing a group so powerful...
Who knows how strong he may be?
You'll be walking right into the enemy's territory.
Well then... I should set out.
Come back alive...
If I lost you too... I...
You'll cry for me? That'll make me happy!
But I doubt that it'll be like the time Dan died.
You idiot!
Then how about making a bet with me?
You bet that I will die.
After all, you always lose.
But if I make it back alive...
Joking! I'm just joking!
You know, I'm grateful to you.
Rejection makes a man stronger.
MAKE-OUT PARADISE In other words, you can't call yourself a real man
unless you can laugh off stuff like that.
Better yet, make a joke out it.
So a man's duty is to be strong?
Kind of...
And besides... men aren't the only ones who seek happiness.
Humph... Stop trying to act so cool.
Without a woman, you guys can't be rejected.
That's so true.
If anything happens, contact me through your toad.
I'll rush over myself.
No need for that. You must not leave here.
The village relies on you now.
There are other candidates for Hokage.
There can be no stability if the Hokage keeps changing.
Right now, you are the only one who can be Hokage.
There's Kakashi.
And eventually, there's also Naruto...
You're really sold on Naruto, aren't you?
Although, I can understand...
Your kid brother Nawaki... Your sweetheart Dan...
- It's my dream to become Hokage. - It's my dream to become Hokage.
And Naruto too...
I guess you could say they chased the same dream.
Sure, Kakashi can step in.
But Naruto still has a long way to go, even though you gave him your necklace.
You have high hopes for him too...
You taught him the Rasengan.
Oh that... Well, call it nostalgia.
It reminded me of the days when I taught Minato.
Minato Namikaze... True, Naruto does resemble him.
Minato was a genius that appears only once in a generation.
There won't be another like him.
He was kind-hearted, but had nerves of steel.
He rose to become the Fourth Hokage so swiftly.
I've never been a parent, so I don't know much about these things...
but if he had been my son, I think I'd have been awfully proud.
Now that you mention it... Naruto might not resemble him, after all.
Rather than a son you boast about,
he'd be the problem child, always up to mischief.
Naruto is more like his mother...
Wasn't she a former kunoichi from the Land of Eddies...?
Yeah... His personality and ninjutsu style is just like Kushina Uzumaki.
Yes...that's her name!
That talkative, red-haired rascal... She was such a tomboy.
Kushina grew up to be a beauty, but Naruto looks like his father.
I can see Naruto's father in him...
To me, it feels as though I'm looking at my grandson.
It is being passed on...
the will of the Leaf, from the past to the future.
I guess I'll be off.
Oh, that's right!
I had one last warning for you.
Huh?
Beware of the Foundation.
Yeah... I know.
Ah... Good then.
Farewell.
Now, now, now!
Those from afar, listen carefully!
Those up close, come and see!
I am the super hot ninja of the Leaf!
I can hear the wild cheers of all the girls!
I may steal your hearts, but they won't shatter!
I help the weak and fight the strong!
Now let the tale of Jiraiya Ninja Scrolls begin!
Next time: "Tales of a Gutsy Ninja ~ Jiraiya Ninja Scrolls ~ Part 1"
TSUNADE'S ROOM
Now then, today's guest is...
Hold it right there!
The most holy hermit sage of the spirit of Mt. Myoboku Toads!
I am the great Master Jiraiya!
Oh, it's you.
What a greeting! Aren't you happy to see me?
Well, we don't have much to talk about.
Don't say that. How about dwelling into my heroic tales?
Heroic tales, huh...?
Yeah, something that'll make the women watching their TV shout for joy.
You mean like long ago...
for the crime of peeking into the hot springs...
the Third Hokage made you sit for hours...
or the time you had a book-signing for your first novel...
it didn't sell at all and not one single soul showed up?
There must be more than that!
Hmm... Can't think of anything.
I guess that's all I am to you, huh?
- Oh! - That's right. Tell them that!
Time's up. Goodbye.
What?!
Tune in again!