"What's wrong, Shikamaru? Are those two over there a problem?" Choji nudged his friend, asking curiously.
"No, nothing."
Seeing their eyes gaze over, Shikamaru quickly said to Choji beside him, "Since we can't find Naruto, let's go eat barbecue!"
"Really! Great!" Choji immediately became animated at these words, his chubby face filled with a happy smile.
Shikamaru took the opportunity to hide behind Choji and quietly asked Kiba, "Kiba, do you smell anything unusual?"
Kiba sniffed and shook his head, "There's nothing wrong, it's all the barbecue smell from Choji!"
Shikamaru was helpless. Forget it, even if something happened, it would be up to the adults to handle it. They, as children, couldn't get involved.
"Let's go, we'll go back and admit defeat. We'll wait for Naruto to come out on his own." The end time for hide-and-seek was set for six in the evening, which was just in time for dinner.
Just as Shikamaru was about to urge his companions to hurry, he saw Sasuke staring intently at the two black-robed figures not far away, with a conflicted look in his eyes.
Shikamaru asked, "What's wrong? You don't happen to know them, do you!"
Sasuke nodded heavily and whispered, "The people who saved me last time were wearing the same clothes as them, red clouds on black robes!"
"So that's how it is."
Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief. He also knew about the Cloud Village kidnapping incident, but it was announced to the public that Leaf Village ninja had rescued Sasuke. He didn't expect there to be other developments.
"In that case, they shouldn't be enemies, just dressed a bit strangely..."
"No!"
Sasuke's face turned ugly. "They might be enemies rather than friends!"
Sasuke stared intently at the cat-faced masked man. Sasuke vividly remembered Itachi making a deadly move against the man with the spiral mask last time, and it was because of this that his brother had abandoned him!
"Damn it! I won't let you go!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't be impulsive. Even if they are enemies, we wouldn't be a match for them."
Shikamaru quickly stopped Sasuke, his face almost breaking out in a cold sweat. This guy was just as unreliable as Naruto!
"Shikamaru, what do we do now?" Choji also noticed the problem and asked Shikamaru in a low voice.
Shikamaru smiled and said, "What do we do? We're just a group of kids playing hide-and-seek. It's getting late, time to go home!"
"We admit defeat, Naruto, come out quickly." Shikamaru shouted loudly to his surroundings, while also trying to divert the attention of the two black-robed figures, making them think this was just a group of children playing hide-and-seek.
"We admit defeat too, Naruto, come out quickly." Choji and Kiba also shouted as they walked.
"Hmph!" Although Sasuke was unwilling, he also chose to leave. The gap in strength was too large. He wasn't the idiot Naruto, who had no self-awareness!
However, just as the four were about to leave, Naruto's voice suddenly came from the opposite direction.
"Really! Yay! I finally won once!"
The direction of this voice was...
Shikamaru's face broke out in a cold sweat. He and the three beside him stiffly turned their heads. Upon seeing this, they were instantly dumbfounded.
From the robe of the tall black-robed figure, a yellow-haired head popped out, grinning and laughing at them.
Naruto, that guy! He was truly a hundred percent unpredictable!
"Naruto, come back quickly!"
Hearing Shikamaru and the others shout, Naruto jumped down from Kisame Hoshigaki, patted his clothes, and said, "Thank you, Uncle. I'm going to join my friends!"
Kisame Hoshigaki's shark-like mouth widened. "Won't you introduce me to your friends? After all, I agreed to your request without a second word just now."
Naruto stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and clapped his hands. "Alright! Since you were so straightforward, Uncle, I agree! But Uncle, you have to treat us to Ichiraku Ramen!"
Naruto thought to himself, he was introducing his best friend Sasuke to him, so asking for a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen wasn't too much, right!
"A small matter."
Kisame Hoshigaki turned to Itachi and said, "This shouldn't be considered me acting on my own, right?"
Itachi remained silent. This was indeed an accident. He had originally intended to take Kisame for a casual stroll and then send him away, but who knew they would encounter the blonde-haired Naruto on the way, and he even asked Kisame to do him a favor.
Then Kisame actually agreed immediately, which left Itachi speechless.
Seeing Naruto leading Kisame Hoshigaki towards Sasuke and the others, Itachi reluctantly followed. Kisame Hoshigaki was a true S-rank rogue ninja and not a member of the Akatsuki organization. Itachi had to be wary.
"Hey! Shikamaru, Sasuke! This is the uncle who helped me just now, and he wants to meet you guys!"
Seeing Naruto actually leading that dangerous figure towards them, Shikamaru and the other three muttered in low voices, "Naruto, you idiot!"
Just then, dust was suddenly stirred up in the distance, and the loose stones on the ground began to shake.
"Get out of the way! Hurry and get out of the way!"
Two figures charging at full speed appeared at the end of the horizon. At their speed, they would crash into them in less than ten seconds.
Shikamaru and the other three quickly dodged to the side. Naruto also hid to the side, his eyes lighting up. "It's the white-haired uncle and the thick-eyebrowed uncle!"
"..."
Shikamaru and the other three really wanted to pretend they didn't know Naruto. Who were all these people he knew!
However, Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Leaf Village headbands on their foreheads. This time, there shouldn't be any trouble, right?
"Hurry up and get out of the way!"
Hadn't they already moved to the side? Could it be...
Shikamaru looked at Kisame Hoshigaki, who was still standing in the middle of the road, and his face turned pale. This was bad. The other party dared to deliberately cause trouble in the Leaf Village!
Kakashi and Might Guy saw someone standing in the middle of the road directly facing them, so they had no choice but to split to the sides,绕过 Kisame Hoshigaki, and rush towards the finish line.
Whoosh!
At the distant finish line, a red line had been drawn at some point. The two of them simultaneously crossed the red line, then stomped hard on the ground to stop their momentum and shouted,
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"
Kakashi: Scissors.
Might Guy: Paper.
Might Guy stared at his palm with disappointment, scratching his head. "I lost again! Kakashi, we'll fight again next time!"
"Hey, hey! I don't have that much free time to accompany you. My rare day off is being pestered by you for a challenge." Kakashi drooped his eyelids, adjusted his face mask, and looked at Might Guy with annoyance.
He didn't even have time to read his newly bought comic books!
Then, Kakashi looked gravely at the person who had blocked the road earlier. Red clouds on a black robe, wearing the same clothes as Obito. He was also a member of the Akatsuki!
There was another one beside him. Two Akatsuki members had infiltrated the Leaf Village. Why hadn't Obito told him!
Through Obito, Kakashi had some understanding of the Akatsuki. It was an organization similar to mercenaries, including but not limited to taking on various bounty missions. Mercenaries were just their cover.
Those who could join the Akatsuki were either Kage-level powerhouses or individuals with unique abilities in certain aspects.
The shark-faced man with the large sword on his back, he was a S-rank rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, Kisame Hoshigaki!
Kakashi's expression was grave. He didn't know the other party's purpose for coming to the Leaf Village. It couldn't possibly be for a stroll, could it?