Suddenly, Naruto thought of someone.
Instead of chasing down individual bloodlines, if he could just find that one person, he could complete the entire collection quest in one go.
Besides, he had other reasons for seeking them out.
With that in mind, Naruto didn't linger and walked toward the Konoha village gates.
The two shinobi on guard, seeing that it was Naruto approaching, gave him a second look but didn't stop him.
The moment he stepped beyond the gates, something within Naruto's state of mind shifted.
***
Raikage's Office, Kumogakure
The muscular, dark-skinned Fourth Raikage stood within the village's administrative building.
Upon hearing that Konoha had fallen out with its own Jinchuriki and was now forced to imprison over 80,000 of its citizens, even he had a hard time suppressing the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Good! Good! Damn Konoha—you've finally got your comeuppance!"
This so-called peace had always been a sham anyway. The so-called treaty they signed? Worthless scrap.
Now that chaos had broken out within Konoha, the Fourth Raikage's ambition began to stir.
And this same feeling was echoed in Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
Only Kirigakure, weakened and plagued by internal unrest, remained quiet—for now.
The other great villages had long been suppressed by Konoha's power.
But now? Konoha's Jinchuriki had gone rogue, and their top-tier forces were stuck in a transitional phase.
The Kage of each village began eyeing Konoha like a fat, bleeding prey.
Naruto had no idea that his actions were triggering a butterfly effect that sent ripples through the entire shinobi world.
The Next Day
Naruto lay lazily on a donkey cart transporting food supplies.
It was a small convoy, four carts in total.
Konoha's tech tree was weird—sure, they had fridges and computers.
But when it came to transport? Still stuck in the past.
The convoy's leader was a middle-aged man with a calm, steady demeanor.
They'd hired four shinobi from Kusagakure to act as escorts.
With a stem of foxtail grass between his lips, Naruto activated Transparent World and glanced over the ninja.
The leader was only mid-Chunin level. The other three were Genin at best.
After a while, the convoy stopped to rest.
A girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, with chestnut hair and a soft oval face, walked over holding a lunch box.
"Hey, handsome~ You don't look like you brought any food. I've got rice balls here—want some? I made them myself!"
She smiled sweetly, her features and aura faintly reminiscent of Rin Nohara.
She seemed to be the daughter of the convoy leader—no chakra signature could be felt from her.
Right now, Naruto was receiving the same kind of attention as White-Robed Sasuke—quite popular with the ladies outside the village.
He accepted the box but didn't eat right away. He scanned it with Transparent World first.
Though the girl seemed cheerful and innocent—she had even invited him to walk through the woods with her earlier—it was still best to stay cautious while stepping into the shinobi world.
Inside were two fish-filled rice balls.
Seeing no abnormalities, Naruto took one and bit into it.
Maybe it had been sitting out too long—the texture was sticky, the flavor average.
Compared to his own cooking? Not even close.
Seeing Naruto take only a single bite, the girl asked:
"Does it taste bad? We were in a hurry, so it's all we had in the cart. But I make other stuff that's way better—I'll make it for you next time!"
Naruto didn't want to turn down someone's kindness. He shook his head and quickly finished the rice ball in a few bites.
Seeing him eat it all, the girl's eyes curved into bright crescent moons.
She also pulled one out for herself and nibbled at it in small bites.
"I'm Nanako Toda. What about you?"
Naruto instinctively wanted to say his real name, but swallowed the words.
Instead, he said:
"My name is Menma Namikaze."
"Nice to meet you, Menma-kun! I'm so glad we met!"
She beamed at him with that same sweet smile.
That Evening
As dusk approached, Naruto jumped off the donkey cart and bid Nanako farewell.
When she found out he planned to leave, she tried to stop him.
"Menma-kun, it's almost dark! It's dangerous out here alone. Why not stay and leave tomorrow?"
"Yeah, no rush, kid. You can leave tomorrow," her father added.
Naruto shook his head. Compared to spending the night with strangers, he preferred being alone.
Seeing that he was determined, Nanako's eyes filled with worry, but she had no reason to force him to stay.
As Naruto's silhouette receded into the distance, Nanako bit her lip.
She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted:
"Menma-kun! If you ever pass through Takigakure, come find me! I'll make even better rice balls next time!"
Naruto raised a hand in acknowledgment, signaling that he heard her.
Nanako stood there, watching him disappear into the twilight. Her bright eyes shimmered with a trace of melancholy.
Her father, seeing the look on her face, sighed internally.
'My little girl's growing up… even her warm coat's starting to get drafty.'
In the Forest
Naruto walked through the forest as night fell.
His vision dimmed, but it made no difference to him.
Those azure eyes of his glimmered faintly in the dark.
Just then, Kurama's voice echoed in his head.
"Naruto! Something's wrong. A hundred meters behind you—underground—there's a malicious presence! It's been tailing you for a while!"
Naruto's steps faltered, just for a moment. But to avoid alerting his pursuer, he kept moving.
At the same time, he activated Kagura's Mind Eye.
Roughly a hundred meters behind him, buried several meters underground—there it was. A distinct chakra signature.
'That chakra… It's Wood Release. Still underground, tracking me.'
Naruto quickly realized: the one following him was most likely a White Zetsu.
White Zetsu was created by Uchiha Madara using Hashirama's cells and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Not particularly strong in combat, but frighteningly good at stealth—even most sensory-type ninja struggled to detect them underground.
And the one who sent them? No doubt it was that backstabbing Obito.
So Itachi must've returned to the Akatsuki already.
Kisame's death must have stirred Obito's suspicions.
Naruto didn't act right away. Instead, he expanded his sensory field.
That's when he noticed—not one, but five White Zetsus were nearby, all hidden underground, monitoring him from various directions.
'Five, huh… guess they're really keeping an eye on me.'
After a moment of thought, Naruto made up his mind: he'd take them all out in one sweep.
If not, his every move would end up in Obito's hands.
He created five Shadow Clones.
Each clone vanished in a flicker, positioning themselves above each White Zetsu.
Then came Earth Release—the White Zetsus were forced to the surface.
All five of them looked about the same: pale skin, creepy clown-like faces.
"H-How did you find—?"
Before they could even finish reacting, Naruto's clones unleashed Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet.
Scorching flames roared out, incinerating all five Zetsu in seconds.
Ordinary fire techniques wouldn't kill—but with Naruto's immense chakra behind them, their power was overwhelming.