Naruto: What Kind of Starter Pack is 13 Years Late?

Late at night, in a valley in the Land of Waterfalls, the Konoha Ninja were camped out, resting.

Kakashi was reading a novel when he saw Takemi suddenly walk out. He asked out of curiosity, "What, can't sleep?"

"It's not time for the shift change yet, and a Shadow Clone can be used."

"You're not sleeping either, Kakashi-sensei." Takemi smiled, then sat down.

"Besides, you don't have a Shadow Clone."

Kakashi shrugged. He couldn't say he planned to read a novel.

And from his understanding of Takemi, he felt he definitely had another idea, after all, this was someone who dared to run away using a Shadow Clone.

"What do you want to do now? You're not thinking of going to Takigakure, are you?"

"You really know me, Kakashi-sensei." Takemi didn't deny it at all.

He nodded seriously and said, "Takigakure is too mysterious. Although I learned from the material I've studied that they don't seem to be very strong."

"But that guy in the Akatsuki is excessively strong, so I want to go in and investigate first."

Kakashi asked, "You go by yourself?"

"Yes, trust my skills. Besides, it's easy for me to get in and out. No one can stop me."

Takemi's expression was very confident, and Kakashi nodded.

Indeed, leaving aside other aspects, Takemi is really good at escaping combat.

Moreover, Takigakure is indeed a bit mysterious, so it seems there's no problem with scouting it out beforehand.

"Then go."

However, before Kakashi could speak, Jiraiya's voice came from behind him.

"Jiraiya-sama, you're not sleeping either?" Kakashi turned his head and saw Jiraiya walking out, yawning.

"This damn place is so boring, and when have I ever gone to bed so early?"

He plopped down, then said with a smile, "Go if you want to. Anyway, the Fourth Raikage has a Flying Thunder God Mark on him, but remember not to cause too much commotion, and don't let anyone see you, got it?"

"Don't worry." Takemi nodded with a smile.

Then he thought for a moment, held up one hand, and immediately used the Transformation Technique.

"What do you think, how's this?"

"..."

Jiraiya's lips twitched, and Kakashi next to him didn't even want to read his book anymore.

Because Takemi had transformed into Obito wearing a mask!

Even if they knew it was to frame him, wasn't this a bit too much?

"But, why is your hair short?"

Although the atmosphere was a bit silent, Kakashi suddenly thought of something and looked at Takemi strangely.

"To avoid easy identification?" Takemi said directly.

"Anyway, we meet on every mission. What if I really run into them and they catch me?"

The current Obito still had long hair similar to Madara's, and it was unknown when he cut it.

However, this gave Takemi an opportunity to use it. He knew too well that these Akatsuki members would come.

"In that case, I'll be going first."

Takemi waved his hand, and the next moment, his figure vanished from the spot.

"What a jinx. Kakashi, your education is seriously flawed."

Jiraiya looked at Takemi's disappearing figure and muttered, which immediately made Kakashi unhappy.

Kakashi retorted, "Jiraiya-sama, his bad habits are all learned from you, I didn't take him to the hot springs!"

Jiraiya immediately said, "But, I remember the first time we met, he was already eyeing the wealthy merchant of the Land of Waves?"

"..."

"Also, he scammed Naruto's allowance, and he got the old man to pay for him—I didn't teach him those, did I?"

"..."

"And just now he—"

"Stop talking, it's Konoha's education that's problematic!"

— — —

"How are the arrangements over there?"

In another direction outside Takigakure, Obito was bathed in the moonlight as he gazed at the nearby waterfall and asked in a low voice.

They hadn't gone to raid Jiraiya and the others at night. Ninja were always highly vigilant at night, especially those who were all strong individuals.

Instead of looking for trouble late at night, it was better to ambush them on the road.

"It's almost done, there won't be any problems." Black Zetsu spoke softly from the side, his gaze also directed towards the nearby waterfall.

He asked, "What's wrong? Do you want to go in and take a look?"

Obito said, "Yes, to confirm the situation beforehand. Although the Seven-Tails is not very strong, it is still a Tailed Beast after all."

Anyway, infiltrating a village was not difficult for him.

"I don't know how much longer Nagato needs, but the investigation and understanding of these Tailed Beasts must keep up. I don't want problems to arise due to insufficient intelligence when the operation fully unfolds."

"Indeed."

Black Zetsu also nodded, especially since the current situation was even more troublesome.

He still hadn't figured out what was up with Takemi, which made his worry even greater.

Perhaps he was the one who most hoped for things to be resolved quickly now, at least he wouldn't have to be so worried.

"Then I'll go take a look. You continue to monitor the movements of that useless Kakashi and his group."

Obito didn't waste words, he made his decision directly.

Black Zetsu immediately said, "I've been having White Zetsu watch them, but White Zetsu can't get too close, those guys are very sharp."

"I know, I'm leaving now."

As he spoke, Obito's body twisted, and the next instant he vanished from where he stood.

"What a hassle, I hope nothing goes wrong this time."

Black Zetsu watched Obito leave and shook his head, feeling a faint unease in his heart.

After all, every time he encountered that Takemi, nothing good happened.

— — —

"Takigakure?"

Inside Takigakure, accompanied by a twist in space, Obito appeared in the shadows.

Looking at the village below, he shook his head.

Takigakure was truly dilapidated, but thinking about it, it was quite normal.

The Land of Waterfalls was not a large country after all, and even if Takigakure obtained a tailed beast, it didn't develop into a large Ninja Village.

Surrounded by two great nations, Land of Fire and Land of Earth, and with mission quotas siphoned off by these two great nations, Takigakure wasn't in great condition.

Coupled with the fact that the ninjas in the village had once been massacred by Kakuzu, it could be said that apart from something called 'Hero's Water' and the Seven-Tails, this village had nothing else to show for itself.

"However, relying on the Seven-Tails, the Great Ninja War didn't affect them here."

Although the Seven-Tails wasn't strong, it was still a Tailed Beast after all. Who could handle it if it went berserk?

"I should go find the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki first and confirm the situation."

With that thought, Obito's body moved slightly, and the next moment, he transformed into a phantom and headed towards Fū's location.

Since he had already investigated, he roughly knew where Fū was.

"What's going on?"

However, as he got closer, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

"Why is it so quiet around here? Where are the Anbu?"

Obito was a bit bewildered. Takigakure might be run-down and not have many ninjas, but it wouldn't be so bad as to not even protect its Jinchuriki, would it?

However, when he found an Anbu unconscious in a corner, he immediately realized something had gone wrong.

"What's going on? Did Takigakure have a problem? Or did someone else target the Tailed Beast?"

Obito was full of questions. He could only accelerate towards Fū's room.