Cap 172: I found you
Cap 172: I found you
He had managed to sense that the Seal of Gaara had been activated, so it was obvious that Akatsuki had initiated his movements against the Jinchurikis.
"Stop!" - exclaimed a Sunanin who was standing guard at the hospital, only to be silenced when he saw the appearance of the unknown shinobi - "I am sorry, Kurama-sama..."
"Don't apologize, I felt like the Seal I gave Gaara went off, so I want to talk to Kankuro to find out what's going on in more detail" - said Kurama seriously.
"That will not be possible, Kurama-sama," sighed the Sunanin. "Kankuro-sama is unconscious from the attack we suffered at the hands of Sasori and Deidara.
". . ." - Kurama frowned when he heard this - "How is he?"
"Out of danger" - answered the Sunanin - "Though I cannot say the same for Gaara-sama"
"Don't worry, I'll bring him back alive" - said Kurama seriously - "But I'd like to know in which direction they went"
"They went north" - answered the guard seriously - "If they made a change of direction after that, I wouldn't know, Kurama-sama"
"I understand, you don't have to tell me anything else," nodded the ginger as he ran in the direction already mentioned.
"Good luck, Kurama-sama..." - muttered the Sunanin. "And please bring Gaara-sama back alive..."
* * * * *
". . ." - Temari could only sigh with regret when she heard this, but her expression changed when she felt her pocket begin to vibrate.
"The seal I passed on to you?" - Kushina asked curiously.
"Yes," the girl nodded as she opened it and began to read.
That was the function of Kushina's new Seal, to use a long-distance transfer jutsu to send short messages to a receiving scroll, although the Uzumaki woman was in the process of updating it so that it could function as a sound receiver.
"Kurama is in Suna... he's already gone to find my brother..." - Temari said as she breathed a sigh of relief but the concern in her eyes was palpable - "The problem is that Kankuro is unconscious and doesn't seem to be able to wake up"
"Neko... I want you to go to Sakura and tell her to come here this very moment" - said Kakashi seriously.
"Kakashi..." - said Mikoto seriously.
"I know her situation" - answered the Godaime Hokage - "I am not sending her as a fighter, but as a nurse, I want her to stay for a month in Suna to serve as a trainer for her medical body... after that, she will be able to retire from her career as a Shinobi if she wishes"
". . ." - Mikoto frowned when she heard this but reluctantly nodded - "Good. . . but she won't go alone, I want at least one trained team to function as an escort. You know very well how important she is"
"I know, I was thinking of Hinata, Ino and Tenten as her escorts... they're the same age and with their almost Jonin power level, they have enough skills to protect her from any danger"
"We'll do it" - Hinata and Ino nodded seriously.
"Thank you, girls," Mikoto muttered with a smile.
"If it makes you feel better, I'll go with them too," said Pakura as she earned the looks of all present. " I want to go back to Suna so that I can move forward in my life..."
"I have no problem with that I would appreciate it if you did" - replied Kakashi as he looked at the woman, after all, Sakura was not only his student but also...
"When do we leave?" Hinata asked seriously.
"When Sakura arrives" - answered Kakashi with seriousness - "Temari... do you want to take a support team as a backup?"
"Ok" - Temari nodded - "It is better to have as much help as possible"
"Did you call me, Kakashi sensei?" - Sakura asked as she looked around.
"Yes... I am sure Neko informed you of your mission," Kakashi said seriously.
"Yes and I am ready to leave," Sakura nodded firmly.
"You do not need to use your Henge here, Sakura-chan," said Mikoto as he looked at his daughter-in-law.
"Right... sorry, it's a habit" - said Sakura while she deactivated her Henge, showing that her stomach was slightly swollen.
"I think Sasuke-kun was serious about rebuilding the Uchiha clan," said Kushina as Sakura blushed. She had been seeing Sasuke secretly with the help of Itachi and Kurama, and one thing led to another.
"I am sorry you have to do this when you are pregnant, Sakura-san," said Temari as she bowed to her.
"You do not have to bow, Temari-san," said Sakura as she interrupted her. "Besides, this works for me because I can join Sasuke-kun in Suna when Itachi-san's raven arrives"
"I'm sorry to have to interrupt your conversation, but you'd better go right away," said Kakashi as he took his throat uncomfortably - "By the way... Sakura"
"Hai!" - exclaimed the girl as she reactivated her Henge.
"Be careful..." - said Kakashi with concern.
" Relax, Kakashi sensei, she is in good hands," Ino nodded as she looked at her friend.
"I'm here!" - Tenten exclaimed as she looked at the girls - "Neko-san clone informed me about the mission and I am ready"
"By the way... who will be our allies?" - Temari asked seriously.
"It will be the Gai team and Kiba" - answered Kakashi calmly - "Neko has already informed them with her clone"
"They are waiting for you at Konoha's entrance" - said Yugao neutrally.
"Ok," nodded the girl from Suna as she and the others withdrew.
* * * * *
"How much longer?" - Deidara asked irritably. They had managed to capture Gaara two hours ago and had already begun the ritual but to the annoyance of the two Nukenin, it seems they had found a barrier blocking their Extraction Jutsu.
"Don't look at me," Sasori said irritably, " This should not be happening"
"Maybe we should talk to the Boss," mused the Mad Bomber of Iwa.
"It's the best idea you've ever had," Sasori nodded as he took his ring and focused a bit of his chakra on it.
'Sasori... Deidara... what do you want...'
"We've run into a problem, leader" - said Sasori seriously - "The Extraction Jutsu has been blocked by what appears to be a seal around the Seal of Bijuu"
'Impossible...'
"No kidding... we've been trying to activate Jutsu for more than 1.5 hours" - added Deidara while he snorted in annoyance - "Every time we start it, it deactivates after a few seconds"
'Hmm... that seal... seems to block all chakra flow of the Bijuu...'
The extraction jutsu had a simple mechanism, it used the Bijuu Chakra to stabilize the extraction so that it could use that stable connection to pull the Bijuu out of its Jinchuriki... but if there was no chakra to use as a stabilizer, then Jutsu was completely useless.
'Has anything happened during the multiple extractions?'
"It seems that the activation time is getting longer" - answered Sasori.
'That means that the Seal is losing its strength... you just have to continue doing the Extraction Jutsu and everything will be as it always has been... if that's all, then I'm leaving... I have a Rokubi to find'
"Tch..." - Deidara just clicked his tongue in irritation as he looked at the unconscious redhead from Suna - "We should blow this bastard into a thousand pieces"
"If we do, our heads will roll," answered Sarori with neutrality. "There are times when I think your fake art went so far that you even blew your brains out"
"True art is a blast, you blasphemous bastard!" - roared Deidara in fury.
"Let us leave this pointless conversation for another time," said Sasori disdainfully. "We have not yet completed our mission"
"We will finish this later, Sasori" - said Deidara as the two made hand seals so that after a few seconds, Gaara's anguished cries resounded in the cave.
"I don't know who it was that put that seal on you, Kazekage Gaara... but he's only making your suffering extend" - said the Suna Nukenin as he looked coldly at the Ichibi's Jinchuriki - "Let's see how much longer you can resist before you collapse, as well as your chances of being rescued"
"The only good side to all this shit... is that we're hearing the screams of pain from the bastard who's been wasting our time" - said Deidara as he looked down on the Jinchuriki.
"Your tastes are strange, my teammate" - was the last thing Sasori said before he concentrated on his mission
* * * * *
"I guess those sons of bitches are well prepared..." - Kurama muttered as he frowned. He could not feel Shukaku Chakra anywhere - "His scent is a little fuzzy too... I guess I'll have to use my Kage Bunshin to cover more ground... Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
*Poof*
The sound of a huge smokescreen echoed through the place as the arid desert wind blew it away, only to reveal the silhouette of at least fifty Kurama.
"You know what to do," Kurama said seriously.
"Hai, Boss!" - exclaimed the clones as they took multiple directions
"Well... Now we just have to wait... wait for my clones to find a trail and use the Hiraishin to get to that location..." - the redheaded man muttered as he closed his eyes, only to open them after a few seconds - "I found you..."