As you stand on top of the Forth Hokage's head sculpture, who you found out was your father few years prior, you gaze at the village of Hidden Village in the Leaves. While a younger you would daydream of ways to become Hokage succeeding your great aunt Tsunade, the current you is more tempered. Probably due to the numerous hits you received on the head from that said great aunt. Or is she truly your grandmother thrice removed? Well, you don't really care as you would still call her 'Granny'.

Well, you still have to cure your short attention span. So, back to your concern. Akatsuki has disappeared off radar. According to your perverted master, it was supposed to make its move when you're fifteen, making it important for you to go on a three year training trip just after the Chunnin Examination test. Because of that, while most of your friends, minus Sasuke of course, had become chunnin, and in the case of Neji, jonin, you remain stuck at the genin rank. Of course, they can't claim that they have traveled around the world and you're quite sure that you can give them a run for their money, if not outright defeat them. But you still bristle at that small slight, only taking solace in the fact that your greatest rival is technically a genin as well when he left Konoha.

But you have been back at Konoha since you're sixteen, and two more years has passed with nary a news on Akatsuki. The group is still out there, there's no doubt, since Konoha also lost some of its shinobis to the terrorist group, one being Team 8 jonin sensei, Azuma. Even you was involved in a skirmish or two with Itachi and his partner, but it seems that they were more interested in getting away from you. Perhaps Jiraiya being with you at those times convinced them to retreat but it was still strange. Not to give them ideas but wouldn't working together against Jiraiya would allow them to gain advantage?

If they are still going after the tailed beasts, it seems that they are working at a very relaxed schedule than what Jiraiya had predicted.

But you're okay with it. You look at the time. One hour until ramen time. Still a lot of time to be spent jumping around from place to place.