Inside a cave in the Land of Rivers, Pain's illusory body was already waiting. Seeing that Deidara had successfully captured a Tailed Beast, he immediately performed hand seals to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
"Next, we will separate the Tailed Beast from the Jinchuriki and seal it into the Demonic Statue. Because Orochimaru defected, we are one ring short, so this process will take about three days and three nights."
"Therefore, Li Xing and Karin, you two will be responsible for guarding outside. If you encounter any pursuit ninjas from the Hidden Sand, just stall for time."
Li Xing readily agreed. This kind of leisurely work was the best. He glanced up and noticed that the eyes of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path were not yet open. This meant that the Seven-Tails, which had been given to Pain previously, had not yet been sealed. (The actual order was Seven-Tails, One-Tail, Three-Tails, Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Eight-Tails' tentacles, Nine-Tails' chakra, but for the sake of convenience and plot development, I felt it would be better to follow the sequence.)
...
Meanwhile, in the Hidden Leaf Village, they had already learned that the Kazekage Gaara had been captured by the Akatsuki. Coincidentally, it was the day of Naruto's first mission back in the village. The situation was urgent, and Tsunade didn't have time to choose carefully. She immediately assigned Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura to head to the Hidden Sand Village.
However, after the Kakashi squad departed, Tsunade discovered that the lottery ticket she had bought had won. If Li Xing wasn't around, it was likely that bad things would happen every time she gambled and won.
Tsunade immediately ordered the Might Guy squad, who had just returned from a mission, to proceed to the Hidden Sand Village to support the Kakashi squad. Although it was a bit late, she hoped it would be in time.
...
In the Hidden Sand Village, the Kakashi squad encountered Temari on their way back to the village. Under Temari's guidance, they arrived at the Hidden Sand Village.
The four of them immediately went to the medical department. Upon entering, they saw Kankuro lying in bed, covered in bandages. With the Hidden Sand's current medical capabilities, they were unable to save Kankuro, who had been gravely injured by Li Xing.
Sakura stepped forward to examine him. After a thorough check, she discovered that Kankuro's entire meridian system had been severed. Without wasting any time, she immediately told the others to leave.
"His entire meridian system has been severed. The person who did this must be someone proficient in medical ninjutsu. If we don't perform surgery immediately, he'll be bedridden for the rest of his life."
No one present could guarantee that Kankuro's meridians could be reconnected while keeping him alive. However, upon hearing that Sakura was Tsunade's disciple, they chose to trust her and assisted her on the side.
...
By a river in the Land of Rivers, Li Xing and Karin were busy grilling fish.
They had been called out by Pain to perform guard duty, but due to the existence of some Five-Seal Barriers, Li Xing wasn't worried. If someone tried to break through the barriers, there would be movement, and with Li Xing and Karin's sensory abilities, they would certainly know.
"Xing-kun, is this kind of work really that interesting? Ever since we joined the Akatsuki, it feels like we've never been trusted. Capturing Tailed Beasts, sealing Tailed Beasts, none of it involves us. We're always doing auxiliary work," Karin complained while eating grilled fish with Li Xing.
"Stop complaining. This is just part of our journey. The future is still long," Li Xing said, eating the grilled fish ravenously as usual. He casually wiped his oily hand on Karin's face.
As they were picnicking, a small dog with a forehead protector ran overhead. Karin was about to stop the dog, but Li Xing waved her off.
"That's Kakashi Hatake's ninken, used for tracking. It probably smelled our scent and followed us here. Let's just let it go back and notify Kakashi. We need to find something to do, after all."
Karin then stopped caring and decided to focus on their date, leaving the other Akatsuki members to worry about such matters.
...
The next day at noon, Li Xing received instructions from Pain.
"Zetsu's main body has detected two groups of enemies. Li Xing, Karin, you two go and intercept them. Don't let the enemies disturb us."
As expected of a member of the Uzumaki clan with the Rinnegan, he could give instructions to Li Xing and Karin while simultaneously performing the Phantom Dragon Nine Seals technique.
"Why is it like this? I don't want to be separated from Xing-kun," Karin said, not wanting to leave Li Xing's side at all. Whoever wanted to do this mission could do it.
Li Xing ruffled Karin's hair. "Be good, go. Don't rely on me too much. I believe you can do it. Don't let me down."
Only after Li Xing's gentle persuasion did Karin gain some motivation, resolving in her heart not to disappoint Li Xing again.
Since Karin was going to undertake the mission alone, Li Xing decided to equip her with a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, just in case of any accidents. He lowered his head and kissed Karin.
"Go, Karin. I've already given you the other Mangekyo Sharingan. Be careful not to get hurt. And don't kill anyone. I suspect those people are Leaf Village ninjas."
"Okay, I'm going. I definitely won't let Xing-kun down!" Karin shouted happily and then flew away.
After Karin disappeared from his sight, Li Xing put away his Nichirin blade and put on his wind chime hat.
"Well then, I'll do my mission properly too."
...
Li Xing arrived in a forest and saw Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and Granny Chiyo, who had been persuaded by Baki to come out of retirement.
Kakashi stopped everyone and stepped forward, ready for battle. But Li Xing slowly took off his wind chime hat, revealing a head of magnificent white hair and a handsome face.
"Long time no see, Naruto. And Sakura Haruno, my junior!"
Upon seeing Li Xing, Naruto became excited and immediately stepped forward to greet him. "Ah~! Li Xing, it really has been a long time. Where have you been all these years..."
Before he could finish, Kakashi interrupted him. "Naruto, I don't know who he is, but look closely. Look at the clothes he's wearing. He's a member of the Akatsuki."
Naruto immediately reacted, but his eyes were filled with disbelief. "Why? Aren't you Granny Tsunade's disciple? Why did you join the Akatsuki? Did you guys also capture Gaara?"
Sakura also found it hard to believe. Tsunade had told her before that Li Xing was a good person and had guaranteed that Li Xing would never harm the Leaf Village.
"It's nothing, just playing around. Yes, Gaara was indeed captured by us. Now, I'm responsible for leaving you all here. Come on, Naruto, Sakura, let me see how much stronger you've become over the years."
Li Xing immediately assumed a fighting stance, and a power different from chakra appeared beneath his feet.
"Formation deployed, Destructive Kill, Compass Rose!"
Kakashi, though still in shock, could no longer afford to hesitate and had to fight.
"Snap out of it, Naruto. He's not the person you know anymore. He's an enemy now. Aren't you going to save Gaara? You can't stop now."
Kakashi's words jolted Naruto, who was still lost in despair. Sakura, on the other hand, didn't have the same thoughts as Naruto. Since Li Xing had joined the Akatsuki, she, as Tsunade's disciple, had a responsibility to bring Li Xing back to the Leaf Village to be dealt with by her master.
"Li Xing, I don't know why you joined the Akatsuki. From today onwards, there's one more person I need to bring back to the Leaf Village. Even if I have to beat you up, I'll take you back!" Naruto also made up his mind at this moment. Besides bringing back Sasuke, he also had to bring back Li Xing, so as not to disappoint Granny Tsunade and the Pervy Sage.
"Teacher Kakashi, Naruto, Granny Chiyo, I've fought him before. Be careful of his ninjutsu. His ninjutsu is on a very large scale and can instantly create a sandstorm," Sakura warned everyone to be cautious.
"Don't worry about it. Today, I won't use those ninjutsu. I'll fight all four of you with my fists and taijutsu. This time, it's different; I'll be charging for this lesson," Li Xing immediately told everyone not to be wary of him, clearly stating that he would use taijutsu.
"Fire Style, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
As he spoke, Kakashi launched a ninjutsu attack. Naruto and Sakura followed suit, using the Great Fireball to obscure their vision and close in on Li Xing.