Meanwhile, in another part of the ruins, Orochimaru had just avoided the energy burst in the sky when he heard Jiraiya's voice.
"Orochimaru, you are indeed here too!"
This made him raise an eyebrow, and he turned to see Jiraiya already leaping towards him.
"It's you again, Jiraiya..."
Orochimaru felt a headache, and memories of the past flashed through his mind.
After finally having three years of peace, he started acting again after three years, only to encounter Jiraiya immediately.
He seemed to understand the feelings of those in the Akatsuki now, and he understood even more why they had to go all out this time.
This cursed organization really is cursed, they encounter ghosts at every turn.
"Why aren't you staying in Konoha? Why are you here again? I heard Takemi is your chosen Hokage? How pathetic, you didn't even get a turn."
"Hmph, I never wanted to be Hokage anyway. Don't talk useless nonsense."
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru with a grim face, his fists clenched.
"Also, you lied to me back then, saying you were part of the Akatsuki. What do you have to say now?"
"There's really nothing to say between you and me."
Orochimaru tilted his head, licked his tongue, and smiled.
"However, can you really capture me and bring me back?"
"Why are you still so deluded?"
"Deluded? You've never understood me, Jiraiya. Forget it, I don't expect an idiot like you to understand me."
"You..."
"Let me ask you a question, is he your new generation's Child of Prophecy?"
Child of Prophecy?
Jiraiya paused at this question, his gaze shifting to the distance, where a figure with Purple Lightning instantly chased after Nagato.
He just sighed inwardly. The Great Toad Sage never mentioned 'Child of Prophecy' anymore.
"I know what you want to say, Orochimaru."
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru seriously, speaking word by word.
"You want to say, will he be like everyone else?"
"But I'm sorry to say, Takemi is different. He has always been different."
"Whether he is the Child of Prophecy or not, he will change this world."
"I firmly believe this!"
"Tch, they're fighting over there too."
Takemi and Nagato were fighting with earth-shattering force, Kakashi and Obito's clash was unpredictable, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru also collided with each other.
The rest of the Akatsuki members were relieved but also had a bit of a spectator mentality. They naturally didn't care as long as the most dangerous people weren't on their side.
"But let's go retrieve the Seven-Tails first."
Kakuzu glanced at the current battle situation, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.
"Although I don't know the outcome, let's finish what we need to do first to avoid too much trouble."
"It might not be easy to do anything."
However, Kisame spoke with a smile at this moment.
"Because, more people are coming."
As he spoke, accompanied by two kunai streaking through the air, two figures instantly appeared before them.
These two, one orange and one black, scanned everyone present with their gaze.
And the Akatsuki members sized them up, Hiruko raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Flying Thunder God Technique? These two kids actually know this?"
"Not only that, one of them is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the other..."
Kakuzu grinned, looking at Itachi beside him, and the others also noticed Sasuke's scarlet eyes.
"Seems to have some connection with Itachi-kun."
"Indeed, Sasuke."
Itachi took a step forward, his gaze fixed on Sasuke, seemingly expressionless yet with a hint of ripple.
"I never expected you to be here, and to have learned the Flying Thunder God Technique. It's truly surprising."
"Surprising?"
Sasuke looked at Itachi coldly, his eyes devoid of anything else, only coldness and hatred.
"Is it surprising that you would meet me here, or are you surprised at your impending death?!"
Boom—
Sasuke had no intention of wasting words with Itachi. Almost instantly, he had already made his move.
Purple Lightning flashed, accompanied by a roar, heading straight for Itachi.
Itachi's reaction was extremely fast. His body instantly split apart, transforming into countless crows scattering.
At the same time, his main body reformed on the other side, and his gaze was now somewhat serious.
"Purple Lightning? That move of Takemi's..."
"That's right, it was fortunate that Takemi-senpai's blade didn't kill you back then, otherwise I wouldn't have had the chance."
Sasuke took a deep breath, his body slowly covered by Purple Lightning, his scarlet eyes staring intently at Itachi.
"I was worried I wouldn't meet you, but now it seems I worried too much. Takemi was right, we will always meet you."
"Takemi..."
Itachi frowned. He felt that Takemi's influence on Sasuke seemed to be quite significant.
In just a few sentences, he had been mentioned two or three times. He didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
But there's no use thinking so much now. This is an opportunity for him. He can reconfirm whether Sasuke is following his path.
"It seems Takemi helped you a lot, but I'm curious, how far can your current eyes see?"
"What my eyes see..."
Sasuke's Chakra burst even more intensely. Almost instantly, he charged forward.
"...is nothing but the image of your death!"
Clang—
Clang—
Clang—
Fierce combat erupted without warning. Their speed was extremely great, with only several clashes of kunai and longswords heard.
They transformed into two Chakra figures, rapidly flickering into the distance, leaving only the Akatsuki members, and...
Naruto, whose face was somewhat stiff.
"Oh no!"
Watching Sasuke and Itachi run further and further away, and the Akatsuki members' gazes all turned to him.
This made his scalp tingle, but also gave him a sense of eagerness. He knew that at his age, Takemi had made the Akatsuki's scalp tingle.
"I want to become Hokage, and I also need to walk the path of that bastard Takemi..."
"Yosh, go for it, Naruto!"
Boom—
And in the outer area of Takigakure, Takemi stood on a pile of ruins, looking at Nagato not far away with a playful smile.
"What a surprise, the last time I saw you, you were skin and bones. I didn't expect you to look a bit more human now, and is it just you this time?"
"Thanks to you, I know how to use my power to the maximum extent."
Nagato patted the dust off his body, staring at Takemi and speaking coldly.
"And I also have to thank someone who made me feel my true power, my true limits!"
"Is that so?"
A smile appeared on Takemi's face, while Nagato took a deep breath.
"I am no longer the me of three years ago. This time, I will make you feel my change, and I will make you understand my will!"
"Is that so?"
Takemi nodded, then asked with some confusion, "You always thought you were right, you always worked so hard because of Yahiko's death, right?"
"What do you want to say?"
"I'm very curious, Orochimaru has already used Edo Tensei, and Yahiko's body is in your hands, so why don't you Edo Tensei him?"
"..."
"Actually, you don't dare to face him, do you? Because what you've done has deviated from your ideals, right?"
"..."
"It seems you're just deceiving yourself, unwilling to face the real reality."
"..."
Takemi's words stunned Nagato, but unfortunately, Takemi didn't give him much time to think.
Buzz—
Almost the moment he was dazed, Takemi's white fang short sword had already swung, and Takemi's voice rang in his ears again.
"Also, you swear too much."
"I'm not that evil Senju old ghost, Senju Tobirama!"