Sakura scooted forward until she was right in from of her blonde teammate. She reached over and wiped a tear from his eye. "Naruto, I'm so so sorry. I was an idiot, in more ways than one, and I'm not going to ask you to forgive me because I know you can't just yet. But there's something I need to tell you."
"What's that?"
"The reason I'm here with you rather than with Sasuke now. And why I don't plan on ever being with him again."
"Well, here we are. Sea Country, where no one should think to look for us first." Tsunade told her company as they looked at the ocean. Technically they were still within Land of Fire, but the island for Sea Country could be seen on the horizon.
"But that doesn't mean trackers or hunter nin can't find us here, so we shouldn't stay long." Shizune pointed out.
Tsunade nodded. "True. That's why we're going to rest and plan out our strategy here before creating a few false leads to distract any followers from our real goal."
"Which is?" Sakura asked.
"I'll tell you tonight when we're somewhere private. Let's look for a hotel and get some much needed R&R."
"Don't get too comfy. We still have to treat her you know." Kushina said, signaling to the still sedated Tayuya.
"After how she reacted last time, maybe it would be better to just let her die in her sleep." Tsunade said, remembering what happened when they tried healing Tayuya.
Flashback
Kushina laid down the redhead she found on her way to Konoha. "While we're giving my son some time to come to terms with everything, could we work on getting her stabilized?"
"Considering she's connected to the enemy, I've got mixed feelings on that." Tsunade said. "However, I suppose we can't simply ignore our Hippocratic Oath. And she could provide useful intel." She knelt down. "Shizune and I will at least allow her to talk. After that, her behavior and cooperation will prove how far our hospitality will extend."
Kushina nodded. "I understand completely."
The two medics got on both sides of the unconscious kunoichi and readied a diagnostic jutsu. "There's a lot of damage done to her lower body. I'd say she's probably paralyzed and will never walk again without neural-focused medical jutsu. And it looks like there's been a good amount of internal bleeding. By all logic this woman should be dead by now. How on earth have you kept her alive all this time?"
"I placed her in a state of suspended animation. But if she stays in it too long she will die for real. It only delays death, it doesn't fix anything. That part someone else has to do, and sadly I never learned how to heal." Kushina explained.
"You better wake her up then. That way what you did won't risk compromising what I'll do. Medic jutsus work best when a second jutsu isn't already in use." Tsunade said.
Kushina nodded and put the tip of her index finger on Tayuya's forehead. "Erelum."
The comatose kunoichi lightly stirred, just as if she was waking up from a nap. "But suddenly she winced and grimaced as if in great pain. She opened her eyes and roared out in pain, sounding like she was giving birth and passing a kidney stone at the same time. Then she started flailing around.
"Restrain her." Tsunade ordered, and Shizune and Kushina grabbed an arm each to hold her down. Tayuya struggled against them both and flailed the rest of her too, though her legs didn't move as freely as the rest of her did. If anything every time she kicked at nothing the sound of bones breaking could be heard, making her scream even more.
"Gtuuxu!" Kushina said, and next thing everyone knew Tayuya was frozen solid. "There, now ready whatever you're going to do and I'll unfreeze her. But you better do it fast, this method doesn't last long and isn't ceasing her pain."
Tsunade nodded rather than ask questions. "I'm going to start by soothing the nerve endings in her legs and numbing her muscles. Her lower body has the worst damage so it's likely that's what's causing her agony."
"Tsunade-sama, look!" Shizune said, catching her mentor's attention. Despite her frozen state, Tayuya was activating her curse mark.
"Dsuuq." Kushina immediately said as she touched Tayuya's forehead again. The flutist became unfrozen but slumped on the ground, as if forced to sleep. Her curse markings began to recede. "She did that too when I found her and I didn't like the look of it."
"What's going on?" Sakura asked as she and the others came back to the clearing they all stopped in.
"We tried treating this woman but apparently she's in quite a lot of pain. We may have to wait until we can find a hospital or at least somewhere indoors before we can do anything more for her." Tsunade answered.
"She sounded like she was dying." Naruto commented.
"She probably is. She's got a great deal of internal damage so she probably feels like she's been stepped on like a bug. If we can't heal her the best we can do is take care of her pain as she passes on." Shizune told him.
End Flashback
"I know it might be less painful to let her die, but the information she has could help us out quite a bit." Shizune added.
"Would she even provide it?" Naruto asked.
"Hard to say. The odds aren't in our favor, but we can be persuasive if we have to be." The slug sannin told him. "Now let's get a boat and head for the island. Best place to go right now."
A quick trip to a marina with a payment and they were out on the sea. The words of the boat provider bothered them though. "Be careful how far you venture. Plenty of people lately have been seeing something weird in the water." Naturally the ninja were undaunted, but they did keep the warning in mind.
"What do you think that guy meant?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.
"Probably just a shark or something." Ayame casually answered. "I wouldn't give it much thought. There have been tales of sea monsters as long as people have been aware of the ocean."
A few moments of silence before Naruto spoke up again. "I think I saw some kind of shadow move in the water."
Hinata activated her byakugan to settle his concern. "I don't see anything down th-wait!" All attention was on her now. "There is something strange down there. Something human-sized."
"Okay everyone, be on your guard just in case. Hinata, keep an eye on it." Tsunade ordered.
Everyone got some kunais in their hands, even Moegi courtesy of Naruto, and waited while the boat continued forward. Hinata kept trying to see the apparition underwater, which moved around enough to be difficult for her to focus on. "It's hard to see, but it appears to only be observing us. Maybe it's trying to decide if we're food or a threat."
"Let's not provoke it then." Kushina said.
Nothing happened, but it wasn't until Hinata next spoke they relaxed. "It's gone out of my range. I guess it lost interest."
Five more uneventful minutes passed until they reached the shore of Sea Country right by a seaside town. There was no dock so they had to come to shore directly, and without an anchor or something to tie the boat to, Tsunade had to use her strength to pull the boat away from the water so the tide wouldn't take it away later, leaving them stranded.
"So what are we doing here again?" Sakura asked.
"We're going to find someplace to treat our captive, get as many supplies as we can, decide our next destination, and get some answers." Tsunade told the pinkette, giving Kushina a brief glance when she said the last part.
"I'll tell you everything, but I also want to know why you all had to leave Konoha and what your plan for being away is." The Uzumaki matriarch told the slug sannin.
"I'll tell that too, but first let's find shelter."
"Excuse me." A stranger's voice called out. Everyone turned to a small alcove dune, and from behind it a girl's head stuck out. She had short purple hair that looked like she cut it herself, though two locks were long enough to frame her face. Her face also had medical wrap across her forehead and under her left eye, making her almost look like a Danzou-wannabe if it weren't for the fact her eyes and smile radiated warmth.
"Yes?" Kushina asked.
"If you need shelter, I know where you can find some."
"And who are you exactly?" Tsunade asked.
"Nobody important, just a simple diver who lives in the area. My name's Isaribi."
"A diver?" Naruto asked, unaware anyone could do such a thing for a living.
Isaribi nodded. "Yeah, I dive and gather things like lobsters, oysters, coral, and occasionally wreckage that still has value. Not always easy or profitable, but I love my work."
"Are you in need of treatment as well?" Tsunade asked, eyeing the bandages.
Isaribi shook her head. "No thank you. I've already been treated."
"What happened?" Sakura asked.
"I ran into some jellyfish on my last dive. I'm fine now, but my skin's still a little sensitive."
"I better take a look at it then. Jellyfish stings often have residual damage." Tsunade said.
Isaribi looked nervous. "No, really, I'm fine."