In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

"Take your Jashin and die already." Naruto leaped away, leaving Hidan immobile. Kakuzu, on the other hand, was on the verge of collapse.

Naruto vaguely sensed that he could now use the Bijudama, and for a moment, he considered firing one off to finish Hidan. However, surveying the situation, he decided it wasn't worth wasting such a powerful attack on someone like him.

The Immortal Duo isn't particularly strong, they're just troublesome.

With a clap of Naruto's hands, the ground within a meter of Hidan suddenly collapsed, and molten lava poured down. Hidan's screams were not even out of his throat before he was completely dissolved.

This terrifying scene caught Kakuzu's attention as he was still being entangled by Asuma and Chiriku. In desperation, he initiated a large-scale Fire Release, unleashing a massive sea of flames over several dozen meters. The surrounding giant trees were instantly reduced to ash, and the ground cracked and shrank.

But after doing all that, Kakuzu was in terrible shape. After losing four of his hearts, he only had one life left.

With his current exhausted state, Kakuzu's Fire Release barely harmed anyone, an obvious miscalculation on his part.

Having overcome the mental hurdle, Naruto was now fighting with increasing ease.

A kunai whizzed through the air, its gleaming blade reflecting the flames. Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport, and in the next instant, slammed a Rasengan into Kakuzu's side. Asuma and Chiriku also rushed in, each severing one of Kakuzu's arms.

With three against one situation, the battle ended without any suspense. Chiriku's punch pierced Kakuzu's heart, killing him for good.

Naruto stood on Kakuzu's corpse, staring into his glowing green eyes. He drew his sword expressionlessly and chopped it down. After all, finishing off the opponent completely was the most basic quality of a Shinobi.

Kakuzu was dead, and Chiriku stood silently, looking back at the ruins of the Fire Temple. The temple was in shambles, and there are only a few monks left. If they wanted to rebuild the temple, they would need the support of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

[Ding, the reward, Jashin's Hymn, was successfully delivered (removes all Dojutsu's effects once).]

Naruto walked over to where Choji was. Choji was leaning against a wall at this moment, while Ino had just finished the basic healing on him.

"Are you alright?" He walked over and asked, looking at Choji.

"It hurts a bit." Choji said with a frown on his fat face.

Hearing this, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino all laughed. After all, if he could say it hurts, it meant he wasn't in too much danger.

In the Hokage's Office, Tsunade held the mission report and read it over and over again for a long time.

"That's enough. I'll take him with me." Jiraiya said as he stood nearby, "Given the current situation, the Akatsuki will likely retaliate soon. It's best to be prepared."

With a soft thud, Tsunade placed the mission report on her desk, leaned back in her chair. Then, she said, "ASAP."

Jiraiya was taken aback and asked, "Has something happened?"

Tsunade remained silent for a while, then spoke while her finger tapping the desk absentmindedly, "Nothing is happening yet. We still don't have clear information on the Akatsuki, but there has been some movement on Orochimaru's side. These unknown variables pose a real threat, especially since two Akatsuki's members were killed by Konoha."

"Orochimaru?" Jiraiya sensed something and pressed further, "Is this about Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Yeah." Tsunade nodded.

"And now, Naruto's strength has grown to an astonishing level without anyone noticing. The village may need to rely on him for future actions."

Jiraiya frowned slightly, "Is there no way for me to leave?"

"It's not that. You've never stayed in the village for long, so the higher-ups haven't expected much from you." Tsunade explained, "It's just that Naruto has a higher-up position now. If he leaves now..."

"So, everything should be done as soon as possible. The best option is for you to leave with him today." Tsunade raised her head and looked at Jiraiya, "The sooner you get to Mount Myoboku, the more likely you'll avoid unnecessary complications."

"I understand." Jiraiya nodded and smiled, "I'll take him away today."

As the door closed, Tsunade stood up, walked to the window, and furrowed her brow.

'Due to lack of intelligence, Konoha knew nothing about Akatsuki. Under such circumstances, two members of Akatsuki were killed, yet the village couldn't spare the manpower to investigate further.'

'Damn it! If only I could disband the Root and use it for my own benefit!' Tsunade thought so and then sighed, 'Letting Naruto and Jiraiya leave at this moment was an extremely risky decision.'

At noon, the sun hung high in the sky.

Naruto sat on a cool, secluded set of stairs, squinting as he gazed at the sunlight two meters away. Behind him stretched a long set of moss-covered, blue-green stone steps, flanked by gnarled, ancient trees.

A breeze blew through, rustling the canopies of the trees around the old building.

"What are you hiding here for?" Ino, wearing shorts, walked lightly down the steps, her long, slender white legs moving gracefully, "Jiraiya-sama seems to be looking for you."

"I really don't want to go out there." Naruto muttered, placing his soda can on the ground with a clink, "Pervy Sage wants to take me to some troublesome place, and I really don't want to go."

"Where?" Ino asked, standing next to him with her hands behind her back. Sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves, casting dappled shadows on the moss-covered steps.

The dense shade from the trees has a slight sweetness added to the air, thanks to the faint fragrance of the young girl nearby.

"Anyway, it's just a troublesome place. I heard it's for learning something called Senjutsu." Naruto said, looking up at Ino, "But learning it won't actually make me a Sage or anything, so what's the point?"

Ino sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Sage? You mean like the Sage of Six Paths? There's no such thing as real sages in this world. Jiraiya-sama is really strong, so if he wants to take you, you should just go. You'll probably get stronger, right?"

"Who knows." Naruto replied.

In truth, Naruto wasn't sure he could even learn Senjutsu, given his lack of compatibility with the Great Toad Sage from Mount Myoboku. To be honest, he trusted the system inside him far more than any Senjutsu.

For now, he was putting his hopes in the system. He felt an odd aversion to both the Great Toad Sage and the Sage of Six Paths. He was pretty sure that whatever strange markings had once been on his body were now gone.

With the Kyubi expelled and the Chakra mark of the Sage of Six Paths removed, he was finally whole… a complete and independent Uzumaki Naruto. He was no longer the Kyubi's Jinchuriki, nor some Child of Prophecy.

In his eyes, the Sage of Six Paths and his whole deal were a joke, a cryptic Otsutsuki playing mysterious games. Naruto considered himself far superior to the Otsutsuki.

After all, he wasn't just another alien inhabitant of this world, he was more like an outsider, a god among the locals. Why even bother with these native gods when he could ascend higher?

"I'll hide out here for now and think about it." Naruto said, then asked, "The Chunin Exams is coming up soon, right?"

"Yeah." Ino sat down next to him and glanced at him, "Choji and I have both signed up for the exam, but I heard from my father that we will be jointly hosting the Chunin Exams with the Sunagakure this time."

"Sunagakure?"

"Yes, the unrest in Sunagakure has been resolved." Ino explained, "Since this Chunin Exams is jointly held, the standards would also higher, so the Chunin rank will be more valuable."

"Higher standards?" Naruto's interest was piqued. In truth, he really didn't want to go to Mount Myoboku.

The so-called Immortal Duo had turned out to be surprisingly weak. Naruto had gotten one chance to use the Jashin's Hymn, which could nullify the effects of any Dojutsu, whether it was the Rinnegan or the Sharingan. He could erase it with just one use.

'At least now, Danzō's Izanagi didn't seem as troublesome anymore.' Although Naruto hadn't yet gotten any reward about Izanagi from the system, he could still nullify Danzo's Izanagi.