Two days after the assessment, Jiraiya departed from the village.
There had been no ceremony, no long farewells—just a quiet nod to Tsunade, a few words of caution, and then the Toad Sage had slipped beyond the gates of Konoha. He had a singular mission: to scour the shinobi world for any scrap of intelligence about the Akatsuki.
The organization had been moving in the shadows for too long. Whispers told of them targeting the Jinchūriki one by one. If that was true, then Naruto—like others who bore a tailed beast—was in their crosshairs. And the rumors said their next target had already been chosen.
A handful of days passed uneventfully until one morning, not long after Tsunade had settled behind her desk, an ANBU in a porcelain mask stepped silently into her office.
"Hokage-sama," he said, kneeling. "Temari of Sunagakure requests an audience."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Send her in."
The door swung open, and Temari strode in, the fan on her back and tension in every line of her body. She wasted no time on pleasantries.
"Kazekage-sama has been taken," she said bluntly. "We believe it was the Akatsuki."
Tsunade leaned forward, her brow knitting. The words hit with a weight she didn't show, but the urgency was plain. "They dared to invade a major village and kidnap a Kage… and a Jinchūriki."
Temari's jaw tightened. "We need help."
"You'll have it," Tsunade said without hesitation. Her gaze flicked to Shizune, who was already scribbling notes. "Kakashi's team is active again?"
"Yes," Shizune confirmed.
"Call them in," Tsunade ordered.
Naruto had been enjoying a rare moment of quiet—feet propped up, mind drifting—when the summons came. He knew this part of the story well. Gaara. The Akatsuki. The ticking clock.
He didn't rush. Not yet. This was a moment that had to play out.
By the time he reached the Hokage's office, Kakashi and Sakura were already inside. Tsunade didn't waste time.
"I'll keep this short," she said, her tone cutting through the air like a blade. She outlined Temari's report in brisk, clear terms: the Kazekage abducted, the culprits suspected to be Akatsuki, and Kankurō critically poisoned during the pursuit.
Temari stood at the side, arms folded but eyes betraying her worry. Naruto could see the strain there—the same fear he'd once carried when someone he cared about was in danger.
Kakashi nodded once. "Understood."
"Most of our shinobi are already deployed on other missions," Tsunade continued. "I've called for Guy's team to rendezvous with you en route, Kakashi. You'll coordinate with them."
"Got it."
They left within the hour. There was no luxury of rest. The four of them—Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Temari—moved at a relentless pace toward the desert.
Naruto kept his focus forward, his thoughts a quiet hum beneath the surface. He could feel the weight of the mission, the way the sands of time were slipping through their fingers. But unlike before, he wasn't the naïve genin blindly charging into danger. He knew exactly what awaited them.
By the time Sunagakure's gates rose from the dunes, the air was dry enough to crack lips and parch throats. Temari led them straight to the Kazekage's office building.
Inside, they found Maki—one of the village's senior shinobi—coordinating the emergency response. Kakashi exchanged a brief nod of recognition with him.
Temari didn't waste breath. "Where is Kankurō?"
"In the care of Elder Chiyo," Maki replied. "She's working to counter the poison."
As if summoned by her voice, Chiyo emerged from a side room. The elderly kunoichi's eyes locked onto Kakashi's forehead protector, and in the next instant, her hand darted forward in a sudden strike.
Kakashi shifted back instinctively, but before anyone could truly react, Chiyo froze mid-motion, her expression caught between recognition and resentment.
"…White Fang," she murmured, her voice low and cold.
It took a few tense moments and Kakashi's calm explanation to clear the misunderstanding—she had mistaken him for his father, Hatake Sakumo, whose reputation still cast long shadows.
Sakura stepped forward then, her voice steady. "Let me treat Kankurō. I can remove the poison."
A murmur ran through the Sunagakure shinobi in the room. More than a few were openly skeptical. Even Chiyo's brow furrowed. "You? This toxin was crafted by the Scorpion of the Red Sand himself."
"I trained under Tsunade," Sakura said simply.
That gave Chiyo pause. Memories of the Sannin in the last war flickered across her mind—of poisons undone, of wounds healed against the odds. She stepped aside.
Hours passed as Sakura worked. Naruto stayed nearby, watching the precision of her movements and the determination in her eyes. At last, she leaned back, wiping sweat from her brow.
"It's done."
Relief swept through the room. Kankurō's breathing eased, the pallor of his skin fading.
Maki turned back to the gathered shinobi. "We must decide who will lead the mission to recover the Kazekage."
"I'll go," he began, but Chiyo interrupted with a sharp wave of her hand.
"I will accompany them," she said, her tone brooking no argument. "I have… unfinished business."
Naruto didn't need to guess what she meant. This was about her grandson, Sasori.
By the next morning, the rescue party set out: Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Chiyo. Somewhere across the desert, Team Gai was moving to intercept and join them.
Far ahead, in the deep shadow of a cavern, Deidara and Sasori arrived with the unconscious Gaara in tow. The air inside was cold despite the desert heat, a chill born of the massive presence already waiting.
"Shall we rest, or call the others?" Deidara asked lightly, though his eyes stayed wary.
"Call them," Sasori replied without hesitation. "If the enemy catches up, it will be troublesome."
Moments later, a towering, otherworldly figure emerged—Pain's Deva Path—summoning the colossal form of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Its presence filled the cavern like a living shadow, its fingers curling as it reached toward Gaara's still form.
"Begin," Pain commanded. "The extraction will take three days. Guard this place."
Chakra barriers shimmered into place as the remaining members of Akatsuki—mere projections, but no less ominous—took their positions.
Outside, the desert winds howled, carrying no sound of what transpired within.
Three days. That was all the time Naruto and the others had.
Naruto's sandals crunched over the sand as the twin Konoha squads finally converged beneath the blazing sun. Guy's team was already waiting, their shadows long on the dunes.
The clock was still ticking.
And somewhere ahead, Gaara's life was slipping away.
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A/N: New Fanfic Is Out "Luffy Asked Me To Join His Crew!!!"
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