"Mm, I'll leave it to you."
Pain had no suspicions. Anyway, Konan staying here was useless.
She would just be taking care of Pain's original body, the incapacitated Nagato.
For this kind of thing, Konan leaving a clone would be enough; she didn't need to be present in person.
Now that Black Zetsu was searching everywhere for traces of the Tailed Beasts, they indeed lacked monitoring over Takumi.
Having Konan share the burden was naturally a good thing.
"If Takumi makes any unusual moves, remember to report promptly."
Obito said coldly. "If he appears alone near us, that would be a good opportunity to eliminate him."
"It's both an opportunity and a crisis."
Pain said, "Don't forget, even if you and I join forces, we might not be able to keep him here."
"Of course I know."
Obito said in a deep voice. "Without sufficient certainty, I naturally won't take reckless actions."
"You two continue chatting. I'm leaving first."
Konan didn't want to keep listening to these two discuss this and that.
She just wanted to see Takumi as soon as possible, to cleanse her eyes properly.
Having seen too many ugly freaks in the Akatsuki, she needed Takumi's handsome face to purify her eyes.
As for the ugly freaks, of course, she meant Kisame, Kisame, and Kisame.
The appearances of other Akatsuki's members were still somewhat passable; at least they looked human.
But Kisame's appearance didn't look human at all; he looked more like a shark.
Of course, if Kisame heard this, he might take it as praise.
"Mm, go ahead."
Pain nodded, watching Konan transform into paper and fly away.
Afterwards, he and Obito discussed some matters concerning the Akatsuki.
Traveling leisurely all the way, without incident, Takumi returned to Konoha.
He was greeted by a huge cheer from the crowd.
"Our hero is back!"
"Hero Takumi! The pride of our Konoha!!"
"Now he's a hero of the entire Shinobi World!"
"Ah! I love you Takumi!"
"Our hero! The next Hokage!!"
The villagers had long since learned from Naruto and the others that Takumi was the hero who stopped the Moryo invasion this time.
Afterwards, seeing Takumi's heroic posture on the screen, they felt their chests filled with pride.
Look!
This is our Konoha's hero!
Now, he's a hero of the entire Shinobi World!
After all, the Moryo invasion affected the entire Shinobi World, but it didn't last long and caused limited casualties before being directly eliminated by Takumi.
If it had been allowed to run rampant, it would surely have led to a scene of utter devastation.
Shinobi could deal with those terracotta warriors easily.
Even without using powerful Ninjutsu, relying on their agile skills and explosive tags, they could still put up a fight.
And they could flee whenever they wanted; the clumsy terracotta warriors couldn't catch up to Shinobi.
But for ordinary civilians facing these terracotta warriors, it would be a complete massacre.
The powerless civilians couldn't even hope to escape.
Fortunately, none of this happened.
Takumi's outstanding performance nipped it all in the bud.
Now, he enjoyed the crowd's cheers, a humble smile on his face.
"Thank you, thank you all for your kindness. Thank you."
He thanked them as he walked through the crowd.
Countless hands randomly touched him along the way.
Some even boldly attacked his lower regions.
He carefully confirmed; if it was a cute girl, he pretended not to notice.
If not, he used agile movements to twist away.
His pure body was reserved for cute girls!
People who weren't cute girls had no right to touch his body.
And so,
He all the way enjoyed the cheers, surrounded by the crowd, slowly advancing towards the Hokage Tower.
"How hypocritical."
On a rooftop, Asuma curled his lip in disdain.
His gaze occasionally drifted towards a slender figure not far away.
But that figure's gaze was firmly locked on the hero in the crowd, not looking his way at all.
This made him increasingly displeased.
Clearly, the Shinobi fighting on the front lines had also played a significant role.
But people only recognized Takumi's contributions.
This really made him feel disheartened.
Of course, mainly because Kurenai completely ignored him.
"Don't say that."
Kakashi smiled and patted Asuma on the shoulder. "If it weren't for Takumi, we wouldn't have been able to defeat that giant monster."
"Isn't there that Miko?"
Asuma irritably knocked Kakashi's hand away. "Wasn't sealing that monster her task?"
"Huh? Asuma-kun, haven't you seen the movie?"
Guy Maito walked over strangely. "I remember seeing you shed tears of emotion when I watched the movie."
"If you had seen the movie, you would know that the seal had problems. If Takumi-kun hadn't acted in time, disaster would truly have struck."
Guy's words made Asuma's face twitch.
'Were those tears of emotion?'
'They were tears of loneliness!'
He had originally hoped to invite Kurenai to watch the movie together.
Thinking that since Takumi starred in the movie, Kurenai would definitely watch it, right?
But...
"I'll wait for Takumi to come back and watch it with him."
Kurenai had gently declined his invitation with a gentle smile. "Asuma-san is a good person. I believe there's a better woman waiting for you."
The gentle words had frozen his heart.
Disheartened, he casually gave a movie ticket to a woman nearby.
When he got to the cinema, the person sitting next to him turned out to be a big girl from the Akimichi Clan.
This made him even sadder.
So sad that his tears flowed backwards forming a river!
Throughout the whole movie, with tear-filled eyes, he couldn't see anything clearly!
"Don't mention it."
Seeing Asuma's twisted expression, Kakashi knew that Asuma's experience that day probably wasn't good.
He stopped the non-stop talking Guy and pulled him away from Asuma.
"Huh? I still have a lot to say."
Guy was pulled away without understanding why. "The passionate spirit Takumi showed, and the brave figures of my students, were all so touching..."
"Okay, okay, got it, got it."
Kakashi perfunctorily replied with lifeless eye, leading him aside.
Following the crowd, they arrived in front of the Hokage Tower via the rooftops.
By now, Hiruzen had long been waiting.
This kind of occasion where he could appear before the public was his favorite.
He could once again preach the Will of Fire to everyone.
And also gain more trust and affection from the villagers.