The next day, at 11 a.m., at the gates of Konoha, a young monk dressed in the robes of the Fire Temple arrived, panting heavily.
“Hurry… hurry, take me to see the Hokage! The Fire Temple is in trouble!”
“What?! Even Chiriku… Damn Akatsuki!”
In the Hokage’s office, Tsunade slammed her hand down on the desk, breaking it in half in her anger after hearing the monk’s report.
The Fire Temple was the national temple of the Land of Fire, with deep ties to the Daimyo. The head monk, Chiriku, was a former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. The Akatsuki’s attack on the Fire Temple was a direct slap in the face to both the Land of Fire and Konoha. If they couldn’t capture the culprits before they left the country, they would fail the Daimyo and weaken Konoha’s influence in the ninja world.
Now, Tsunade finally understood the scene Hawking had foreseen about the future.
“Shizune, immediately gather all the available ninjas. We need to conduct a full search around the Fire Temple and the nearby towns and main roads. We must capture those two Akatsuki members!”
“Yes, Lady Tsunade,” Shizune replied, turning to leave but was quickly stopped by Tsunade.
“And inform Naruto to pause his training and have Kakashi and Yamato bring Team 7 here.”
Given the mission’s importance and Hawking’s prediction, Tsunade decided not to send Asuma, the only available elite jonin, on this mission. Instead, she temporarily halted Naruto’s training and sent Kakashi to lead the mission, believing his skills and strategy would make success more likely.
Ten minutes later, on the rooftop of the Hokage’s building, Tsunade explained the situation at the Fire Temple and the mission to the assembled ninjas.
Hearing about the death of his old friend Chiriku, Asuma was filled with rage and vowed to avenge him by taking down the two Akatsuki members.
However, Tsunade intervened, “This mission will be led by Kakashi. Asuma, you will stay in the village to continue preparing for your wedding with Kurenai.”
“But Lady Tsunade, I—” Asuma began to protest but was cut off by Tsunade.
“Everyone else, get ready. Asuma and Team 7, stay here,” Tsunade ordered.
“Lady Tsunade, the wedding is still a few days away. This mission won’t delay it,” Asuma pleaded once the other ninjas had left.
“Chiriku was a close friend. I can’t let his death go unavenged.”
“Asuma, I have my reasons for keeping you here. Do you remember what Hawking told you yesterday?” Tsunade asked, raising her hand to stop him.
Asuma was taken aback, “Lady Tsunade, do you really believe what Hawking said?”
“I wasn’t entirely sure at first, but now I do. Yesterday, he—” Tsunade recounted Hawking’s prophecy, leaving everyone present in astonishment.
They hadn’t expected someone actually to be able to predict the future.
“Even if Hawking foresaw my death at the hands of two Akatsuki members, with Kakashi and Yamato joining, the outcome could be different. Besides, my participation would increase our chances,” Asuma argued after calming down.
But Tsunade shook her head, “Hawking mentioned that fate is unpredictable. To change it, we can’t take any chances. The safest approach is to keep you out of this mission.”
“Granny Tsunade is right. Don’t worry, Asuma-sensei. With Team 7 on the job, we’ll capture those Akatsuki members and avenge Master Chiriku!” Naruto promised, his fists clenched in determination.
He was furious upon hearing about the Fire Temple’s massacre, having formed a bond with the monks there, including his friend Sora. The news of the temple’s destruction deeply troubled him.
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you,” Asuma said, feeling somewhat reassured by Naruto’s determination.
With Kakashi leading, there wasn’t much to worry about.
“Naruto, when the time comes, summon Hawking and see if he can provide more details to help you find those two quicker,” Tsunade instructed, turning to Kakashi and Yamato afterward.
“The rest is up to you. Report back any updates immediately.”
“Understood, Lady Tsunade,” Kakashi and Yamato replied in unison.
With everything prepared, Kakashi and Yamato led Team 7 and over twenty other ninjas out of the village, heading swiftly towards the Fire Temple.
The team moved quickly, thanks to the presence of experienced chunin and jonin, supplemented by ration pills for energy. Within just two hours, they reached the vicinity of the Fire Temple.
Kakashi divided the ninjas into six groups, each with five members. He, Yamato, Sakura, Naruto, and Sai headed directly to the Fire Temple to assess the situation while the other groups spread out to search the surrounding areas for the Akatsuki members.
At the Fire Temple, the head monk’s account suggested the Akatsuki had taken Chiriku’s body to a bounty exchange office. With Tsunade’s approval, Kakashi instructed the other teams to infiltrate nearby towns and destroy any bounty exchange offices, seeking information on the Akatsuki.
Kakashi’s group chose the nearest town to search. During their investigation, they indeed found the Akatsuki’s immortal duo, Hidan and Kakuzu.
The showdown between Konoha’s Team 7 and the Akatsuki’s immortal duo began.
Meanwhile, Hawking was in the school’s combat simulation room in the Marvel main world, sweating through various physical training exercises.
Thanks to Beast’s technical support, Green Goblin’s gravity room now achieved up to two times gravity, which Hawking integrated into the combat simulation room. While it didn’t match Wanda’s chaos magic, it sufficed for daily training.
“It’s about time to learn sealing jutsu,” Hawking noted. Tsunade had promised him that he could learn all of Konoha’s sealing techniques starting today.
After a shower, he checked the time and then activated Naruto’s template, using reverse summoning to travel to Mount Myoboku.
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