Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

In the dim underground cavern, the Gedo Statue stood silent and imposing, with the unconscious Yagura lying on the ground before it.

Seven dark silhouettes surrounded Yagura, with Nagato and Konan standing by his side. After White Zetsu had delivered Yagura to them, Nagato sealed Yagura's consciousness and brought him, along with Konan, to the cavern in the Land of Rice, where the Gedo Statue was kept. The Land of Rice, now recognized as a nation, had been without a proper sovereign before its establishment.

"The mission to capture the One-Tail jinchuriki has failed," Nagato announced, glancing dispassionately at Kakuzu, his Rinnegan betraying no hint of emotion.

Kakuzu shrugged, calmly replying, "There was nothing I could do, the partner they gave me was too weak."

With the mission failed and Kyuuroku dead, Kakuzu showed no hesitation in shifting the blame to his fallen teammate.

"You wasted one of my pieces," Sasori taunted. "And couldn't even capture a jinchuriki with barely any resistance."

Jūzō, the former Mist Swordsman, gave Kakuzu a cold look but remained silent. To him, a ninja's death in the line of duty was hardly unusual.

"You think it was that easy?" Kakuzu countered coolly. "I barely escaped with two hearts left."

"Having extra hearts sure is convenient," Sasori mocked with a smile.

"Luckily, capturing the Three-Tails jinchuriki was successful. And that jinchuriki is the Mizukage himself," White Zetsu chimed in with a sly grin.

Hearing this, Kakuzu let out a bitter huff. He hadn't expected Ye Zi to actually pull off capturing the Mizukage. Previously, he hadn't been too concerned about the mission's failure, but the contrast with Ye Zi's success now made his own failure painfully obvious, much to his irritation.

"With the One-Tail capture failing, the Sand Village will be on higher alert. Future attempts will be even harder," Nagato noted without reprimanding Kakuzu. "We also need to fill the vacant spot left behind by Kyuuroku."

Kakuzu's eyes glinted dangerously, and he suggested, "We could bring in one of the three from Ye Zi's group… like Shin."

Nagato turned his gaze toward Ye Zi.

"No way," Ye Zi replied flatly.

The idea of sending Kotoe, Shin, to team up with Kakuzu was out of the question. Not only would Kotoe be at risk of being sabotaged by Kakuzu, but Ye Zi also needed her assistance.

Kakuzu smirked in disdain. "You've got three members on your team. Must make missions pretty easy, huh?"

Ye Zi merely cast him an indifferent glance before looking to Nagato. After a moment of thought, Nagato decided, "We'll choose from the elite in the Rain Village."

"Fine," Kakuzu grumbled. He preferred not having a partner in the first place.

Konan added, "The Rain Village has plenty of strong shinobi. They won't be lacking."

With that, Kakuzu fell silent.

"So, who will be tasked with capturing the One-Tail next?" Sasori asked casually, guessing he might be chosen for the mission.

The idea of wreaking havoc in the Sand Village didn't bother him—using his Third Kazekage puppet to torment the Sand Village seemed amusing.

"We'll hold off on the One-Tail for now," Nagato interjected, changing the subject. "For now, let's begin the sealing."

The One-Tail capture may have failed, but the success of the Three-Tail capture took precedence. He neither praised nor chastised his team. After all, out of all the jinchuriki captures so far, both successful missions had been handled by Ye Zi.

Most jinchuriki were closely protected within their villages, making future captures a conflict with the hidden villages themselves. With the conclusion of the Third Great Ninja War, only Konoha and the Cloud Village were currently off-limits for open conflict, but the other villages posed fewer concerns.

After this failed capture, Sand would undoubtedly increase its defenses. Having previously created chaos in the Sand Village during the war, Ye Zi knew that the Sand Village now harbored deep hatred for the Akatsuki.

Since the organization's formation, they had operated as a mercenary group, taking on missions post-war from every hidden village except Konoha. The Cloud Village had offered them the most tasks by far.

Nagato pondered the implications of this failed mission, recognizing that it may lead to unforeseen consequences. "In the future, we may need to take matters into our own hands. The fewer abilities we reveal, the more they'll remain as trump cards."

With that, the group commenced the Phantom Dragon Nine Consuming Seals technique.

Though short one member, the sealing process was unaffected. Each of them took their place on one of the Gedo Statue's fingertips.

The statue's mouth opened, and the chakra dragon emerged, engulfing Yagura and beginning the extraction process.

Three days later, the sealing was complete, and Yagura lay dead on the ground, having been drained of his tailed beast. His body would be left for White Zetsu to dispose of, though it would ultimately be handed over to Ye Zi as a valuable resource for Orochimaru's forbidden technique.

With the sealing complete, everyone dispersed.

With the Akatsuki not yet strong enough to challenge the five great villages outright, Ye Zi saw no need to oppose Nagato's decision to delay the One-Tail mission. Though they now had two tailed beasts, the other jinchuriki would be even more difficult to capture as the hidden villages would no longer tolerate the Akatsuki's interference.

Three days of sealing had left Ye Zi and his team exhausted, so they rested in a nearby cave for a day before setting off toward the Land of Earth.

Meanwhile, Kushina's Team 7 had returned to Konoha and brought back intel on Ye Zi.

Coincidentally, upon their arrival, they encountered Jiraiya in the streets.

"What perfect timing!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he spotted Kushina's greeting and turned toward her with a cheerful grin.

Kushina instinctively took a step back, watching him with a wary expression, as did the three Genin on her team.

"Hey, what's with the looks?" Jiraiya grumbled, his face falling. He could swear his intentions were innocent—he just wanted to mooch a meal.

"What do you want?" Kushina asked, eyeing him like she was dealing with a scoundrel.

Jiraiya's expression soured further, but he asked, "You just got back, right? Hungry?"

Kushina glanced at her team. "I'm fine."

Obito rubbed his stomach. "Starving."

Kakashi rolled his eyes but said nothing.

"I could eat a little," Rin admitted softly.

"See? How about we grab a bite?" Jiraiya suggested casually.

Obito's eyes lit up, assuming Jiraiya was treating, though the Sannin had been careful to avoid saying the word "treat." He wasn't unwilling, but he was currently flat broke, having spent all his money on "intelligence gathering."

Kushina's eyes narrowed in suspicion but accepted. She knew Jiraiya's habits all too well and was doubtful he would treat them out of generosity.

The five headed to Ichiraku Ramen, each ordering a bowl.

"I'm Saved! If I finish this quickly, I can slip out for seconds. I just need to dodge Kushina afterward… her punches hurt as much as Tsunade's," Jiraiya thought as he devoured his ramen. He quickly ordered a second bowl and sped through it.

Setting his empty bowl down, he stood up, rubbing his head with a grin. "You all keep eating; I'll be right back, just need to use the restroom."

He turned to leave when, whoosh, a golden chain whipped in front of him, blocking his path.

Kushina smiled sweetly. "Jiraiya-sensei, why don't you settle the bill first?"

Jiraiya's face tightened, and he forced a laugh, feigning confusion.

"Kushina, what are you talking about? Weren't you the one who was treating us?"

Check out the patreon and get 50 chapters in advance -> SaintXI

Currently on Chapter 335 - Mentor and Student