Naruto: The new beginning

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As they travelled, Naruto, Minato, and Shisui passed the time by chatting about all sorts of random things.

Unfortunately, with Danzo already dead, there weren't even any assassins trying to ambush them, making the journey… painfully uneventful.

At this point, the other Kage had also begun their journeys.

---

The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, travelled with Temari and Kankuro, leaving village affairs in the hands of Baki. Given that Baki had previously served as the acting Kazekage for quite some time, he was already well-versed in handling administrative duties.

The Fourth Raikage was accompanied by Darui and C.

Darui, the likely future Raikage, wielded both Storm Release and the unique Black Lightning.

C, on the other hand, was a sensor-type ninja with some medical abilities.

By now, A's injuries had mostly healed at least enough that his clothes covered the remaining bandages.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, traveled with Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi. The tiny old man stubbornly insisted on carrying his own luggage, only for Akatsuchi, who was built like a tank, to pick up both him and the luggage effortlessly.

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, was escorted by Zabuza and Mei Terumi.

Meanwhile, the ever-prudent Ao remained behind to manage the village and watch over Utakata.

It seemed to be an unspoken tradition that whoever accompanied their Kage to the summit was usually considered a candidate for the next Kage.

Of course, Gaara had only recently become Kazekage, so this didn't apply to him.

Fugaku, however, had been overjoyed when he learned that Shisui was among Minato's chosen guards.

For once, the grudges he held against Kumo due to Gankō, Bunpuku, and Chino faded into the background.

---

Water Country – Mercenaries' Hideout

"Damn, they finally left the village!" The green-clad mercenary smacked his thigh. "Boss, do we take him down now?"

The red-clad leader shot him a glare. "Are you an idiot? Attacking the Mizukage in the Land of Water? That's suicide. We wait until they're further away."

"Oh… right. The boss is always right."

The five mercenaries followed at a distance, releasing scouting insects along the way.

But to be honest, Kirigakure's security wasn't impressive. These insects wouldn't have even made it past Konoha's front gate.

The Land of Water was composed of multiple islands, meaning any trip outside the country required a sea voyage.

Yagura's chosen route was to sail to the Land of Frost, travel overland through the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fields, and then finally reach the Land of Iron.

The mercenary group "borrowed" a small boat and shadowed Yagura's ship from afar.

After a day at sea, the green-clad mercenary spoke up again.

"They've left the Land of Water! Boss, now can we take him?"

The red-clad leader glared at him again.

"…Are you stupid? Attacking the Mizukage on the water? That's suicide. We wait until they reach land."

"Oh… right. The boss is always right."

After a day of sailing, Yagura's ship finally reached the Land of Frost.

The mercenaries docked at a separate port and stepped onto solid ground.

Immediately, the green-clad mercenary spoke up.

"Alright! We're on land! Boss, let's—"

This time, he stopped mid-sentence, sensing something off in their leader's expression.

"Boss… what is it?"

The red-clad leader sighed. "Look at what the insects found."

The group turned to the scouting data—

And were instantly stunned.

"The Raikage?! What the hell is he doing here?!"

No one had expected Yagura's route to overlap with Raikage's, let alone that the two Kage would run into each other.

The green-clad mercenary clenched his fists. "Should we just… take them both out?"

The other four members turned to stare at him like he was insane.

Taking on two Kage, plus their elite guards? That was equivalent to fighting five or six Kage-level opponents.

Not to mention, the Raikage hated them. Even if they managed to set off explosive bugs, he'd probably suplex them into the ground before dying.

And on top of that, Kumo had just been obliterated. There was no way Raikage was in a good mood right now.

Messing with him at this moment was asking for death.

The red-clad leader sighed. "We wait. If they're this close, other Kage are probably nearby too. If a fight breaks out, they'll all come running to back each other up. It's better to ambush the Mizukage on his way back."

The green-clad mercenary, now completely demoralized, nodded.

"The boss is always right…"

---

As a sensor-type shinobi, C had remained highly alert ever since leaving the Land of Lightning.

So it was no surprise that he was the first to detect another group approaching.

Not knowing their identities, the Kumo team immediately took defensive positions.

Yagura and his escort stopped about twenty meters away.

"You're the Raikage?" Yagura asked, studying A carefully.

Zabuza and Mei tensed up, ready for combat. The five great nations weren't nearly as friendly as they appeared on the surface any misstep could turn this into a battle.

Raikage nodded. "Yeah. And you're the Mizukage?"

C and Darui remained equally on guard, their recent trauma making them especially wary of foreign shinobi.

The two Kage had never interacted before but recognized each other from intelligence reports.

Surprisingly, Yagura was rather amicable. "Didn't expect to run into you here. Want to travel together?"

Raikage immediately refused. "No need. We'll go our separate ways."

Yagura sighed. "That's a shame. I was hoping to learn more about Akatsuki."

"I'll share information when the time comes. For now, let's keep our distance."

With that, Raikage turned and walked away.

Mei crossed her arms, frowning. "How rude."

"After what happened to his village, it's understandable," Yagura said. "Forget it let's keep moving."

---

Not everyone's journey was smooth.

Deidara had originally planned to ambush Gaara but was stopped.

"Why?! I've got plenty of clay! I know I can blow that sand freak to pieces! Hm!"

Pain replied calmly, "It's unnecessary. The One-Tail and Seven-Tails are already accounted for. Your target is the Six-Tails. Kisame will go with you."

Deidara scowled. "I don't need that shark-faced bastard! I can handle it alone!"

Kisame slung Samehada over his back and smirked. "I don't mind teaming up, but can this guy really capture a jinchūriki?"

Deidara bristled, pointing at him angrily. "You uncultured fish! You'll regret it when you're blown to bits!"

Kisame, unfazed, teased, "And you'll regret it when one of your bombs backfires on you."

Pain cut in, ending the argument. "It's decided."

Then he turned to Tobi and Zetsu. "You two will monitor the mercenaries. They're taking too long. Push them to act. If they can't…"

Tobi tilted his head. "Oh? What happens if they fail? Do we help them? Or do we take our deposit back? But if they fail, won't they die against the Mizukage?"

Pain ignored him. Even Zetsu didn't respond he simply sank into the ground.

"Hey! Wait for me, Zetsu-senpai!" Tobi yelled, flailing his arms as he ran after him.

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