Chapter 71: Revivalist Alliance
Sakura glanced at Naruto, whose wounds were no longer life-threatening but still far from fully healed. She stood up resolutely, peeling off the black gloves she always wore, clenching her fists tightly, and glaring at Senju Hashirama with unyielding resolve. "I won't let you take Renji away!"
She was ready to fight with every ounce of her strength, just like Naruto had. Even if it meant dying right here on this battlefield.
"Is that so?" Hashirama regarded the fiercely determined young kunoichi before him, a gentle smile spreading across his face. "That's a shame."
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
In an instant, multiple Wood Dragons sprang forth, their massive forms coiling around Kakashi, Renji, and Sakura's bodies with inescapable precision. The dragons greedily siphoned their Chakra, draining their energy rapidly. Their limbs grew heavy, their bodies weak and powerless under the crushing grip.
"So strong!" Kakashi's pupils shrank in awe and dread. With just a single move, they'd been stripped of all ability to fight back—completely incapacitated!
"Renji, I'm taking him," Hashirama declared calmly, appearing behind Renji in a flash, his palm resting lightly on Renji's shoulder.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The two figures vanished in a blur, disappearing from Kakashi and Sakura's sight in the blink of an eye.
"Renji!" Sakura screamed, her gaze locked on the spot where Renji had vanished, her eyes bloodshot with desperation and fury.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +5,000,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +5,000,000!]
[Chakra (77,631,501 / 100,000,000)]
The Wood Dragons dissipated, their forms unraveling into nothingness. Sakura bolted after the direction where Renji had been taken, her heart pounding.
"Sakura!" Kakashi called out, stopping her in her tracks, his expression grim and resolute. "We need to head back to Konoha immediately. First, to get Naruto healed properly. Second, to report this to Lady Hokage!"
Kakashi's gaze lingered on the direction where Renji had vanished, his eyes deep with concern. "And haven't you forgotten Renji's unique ability? As long as Hasumi Maki is still alive, Renji won't be in mortal danger."
In that moment, Kakashi felt a flicker of gratitude for that strange rule governing Renji's safety—it was a small reassurance amidst the chaos.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +500,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +500,000!]
[Chakra (78,131,501 / 100,000,000)]
"Kakashi-sensei, will Renji end up like Sasuke…" Sakura's voice trembled, her fear spilling out. Unable to return to them, lost forever.
She sank to her knees on the ground, her eyes blank and hollow with despair. Why had it come to this? Why did everything keep falling apart?
Kakashi placed a steady hand on her shoulder, his voice firm but gentle. "Sakura, have faith in Renji. He won't go down that path."
Sakura sniffled, wiping her tears. There was no time to wallow in grief now. Her brows set with determination, and she rose to her feet once more. As she scanned their surroundings, a sudden realization hit her—one person was conspicuously missing. "Where's Sai?"
It dawned on her that she hadn't heard Sai's voice at all during this ordeal. Logically, with Renji being taken, Sai wouldn't have stayed silent—he'd have reacted. That left only one possibility.
Sakura's gaze shifted to the empty space beside Kakashi.
Kakashi's brow furrowed, confirming her suspicion. "Sai vanished when Orochimaru slipped away. He's trailing Orochimaru."
"How could that be?" Sakura gasped, stunned. She'd always sensed Sai was hiding something, but to think it was tied to Orochimaru? That was beyond her wildest guesses.
She looked at Kakashi in shock. "Kakashi-sensei, how did you know?"
"Remember the hot spring inn yesterday?" Kakashi explained calmly. "I planted a tracker on him."
Sai, after all, hailed from ROOT—Danzo's shadowy operatives. It was only natural to keep tabs on someone with such a dubious background. Renji, on the other hand, was a different case entirely—trustworthy in ways Sai could never be.
"So that's how it is," Sakura murmured, piecing it together. Kakashi-sensei had suspected Sai from the very start and took precautions well in advance. Truly, a ninja who once served directly under the Hokage's Anbu was always a step ahead.
Sakura's expression shifted, her eyes lighting up with a spark of hope. "Then, doesn't that mean we can track Orochimaru's location by following Sai's signal?"
Kakashi nodded. "Exactly."
It was a bitter twist that Renji had been snatched away at such a critical juncture.
"Kakashi-sensei, we need to hurry back to Konoha!" Sakura urged, urgency driving her words. Whether it was rescuing Renji or finding Sasuke, time was their greatest enemy now. They couldn't afford to waste a single second.
Sakura hoisted the still-unconscious Naruto onto her back with ease.
"Let me take him, Sakura," Kakashi offered, reaching to relieve her of the burden. In his eyes, Sakura was still a young girl who shouldn't have to carry such weight.
Sakura flashed him a confident smile and took off running ahead. "Kakashi-sensei, when it comes to raw strength, you're no match for me."
Kakashi watched her retreating figure, a gentle warmth flickering in his visible eye, and followed close behind.
A journey that should've taken three days and two nights was compressed into a grueling one day and one night through their sheer determination and relentless pace.
When they finally reached Konoha's gates, Naruto began to stir, slowly regaining consciousness.
The moment he came to, Sakura didn't hesitate—she promptly tossed him onto the ground with a thud.
Naruto yelped, rubbing his sore backside and groaning loudly as he writhed in place. "Ouch! What was that for?"
Kakashi's concise words cut through his complaints, snapping him to attention. "You passed out during the battle with Orochimaru. After you went down, Renji was taken by a ninja from the Revivalist Alliance. Sai slipped away with Orochimaru—he's got my tracker on him, so we'll soon pinpoint Sasuke's location."
Naruto's pupils dilated, shock coursing through him. The world around him seemed to warp and distort, reality twisting in his vision. One sentence looped endlessly in his mind, dominating his entire world: *Renji was taken away by the Revivalist Alliance's ninja.*
And he—he'd been out cold, completely oblivious to it all!
He was too weak, too powerless!
He'd failed to protect Renji, just like he'd failed before!
He…
"Naruto!" Sakura's sharp voice broke through his spiraling thoughts.
She fixed him with a stern glare, noting the red vertical slits his eyes had become. "Stop drowning in useless self-blame right now! We need to focus on rescuing Renji and Sasuke as fast as we can!"
Naruto clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles whitened, resolve hardening within him.
…
Hokage Office
Tsunade surveyed Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura standing before her, but Renji's absence was glaring. Her eyes narrowed at Sakura's recent words. "What did you just say?"
Kakashi repeated himself calmly, his voice steady despite the gravity of the situation. "After Naruto's Tailed Beast transformation, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi seized the chance to slip away. Then, Lord First Hokage appeared and used Wood Release to suppress Naruto."
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +50,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +50,000!]
[Chakra (78,181,501 / 100,000,000)]
"Lord First Hokage's objective mirrored Lord Fourth Hokage's last time—both came specifically for Renji," Kakashi continued, laying out his analyzed intelligence clearly. "They likely don't intend to kill Renji. If they did, they'd have done so already."
In the presence of the First Hokage, escape was a pipe dream for anyone. So, it was reasonable to conclude the Revivalists had no immediate plans to harm Renji. But that was merely Kakashi's speculation—what if he was wrong? The possibility gnawed at him, but he couldn't afford to gamble on doubts.
"So, where is Renji now?" Tsunade asked, already dreading the answer but needing to hear Kakashi's confirmation.
"He was taken by Lord First Hokage," Kakashi replied solemnly.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +500,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +500,000!]
[Chakra (78,681,501 / 100,000,000)]
Bang!
The desk before Tsunade shattered into splinters under her fist, wood fragments scattering across the room. "Why?" she demanded, her voice seething with fury. "Didn't Jiraiya's intelligence indicate this organization was just a bunch of mercenaries acting for profit? Why the hell are they targeting Renji, sending people to capture him over and over again?"
Kakashi offered his hypothesis. "The operatives they've sent all mentioned that the leader of the Revivalist Alliance wants to see Renji. Their true motives remain unclear, but that's the pattern."
Bang!
The Hokage Office door was suddenly kicked open with force.
Naruto instinctively turned his head, confusion flickering in his eyes as he took in the unfamiliar, grim-faced old man standing in the doorway. Who was this gloomy geezer?
After a moment of puzzlement, Sakura's expression shifted to one of realization, her mind connecting the dots.
Danzo stood there, leaning on his cane, his eyes dark and foreboding, flanked by two masked figures—Owl and Nightjar.
The Hokage Office plunged into a tense, heavy silence, the air thick with unspoken questions and mistrust.
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