Chapter Three – Rain
[Kakashi's P.O.V]
I reluctantly stood up from the sofa and walked to my window after I heard rain start to hit the glass pane with quite a harsh force.
This was weird, for a day as sunny as it was a few moments ago to break out in heavy rain. I pulled my mask up and put on my gear before I decided I'd go out and take a look around the village for any suspicious activity.
I cleared my throat and brushed my hand through my hair once before opening the front door, only to be faced with a concerned Yamato.
"Afternoon." I said plainly while raising my hand. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I need your help…and it's quite urgent." He said. I wasn't convinced until Jiraiya had come into view.
"It is you know." Jiraiya added as I stepped onto the pavement and closed the door behind me.
"What is it you need three men for?" I questioned cautiously as I looked back at Yamato.
He stood for a moment in silence, staring at me directly in my eye, as if he were examining me.
"I have reason to believe Sakura has put herself in danger." Yamato finally spat out. I remained calm as I slowly looked from him to Jiraiya.
"And I caught wind of the Akatsuki roaming the fire border." Jiraiya added. Now I was concerned.
"How many?" I questioned instantly, not really wanting to know the answer.
"Three." Jiraiya answered swiftly.
"Who."
"Not sure, the source wasn't reliable."
I sighed deeply before leading the way to Tsunades office.
"We're going to have to inform the Hokage of this first before we leave. In case she has any information on the matter." I stated as we started to quicken our pace.
"Why was Sakura out near the border anyway, how can you know if she's even outside of the village?" I asked as I kept a steady pace. There were a few moments of silence as we were getting closer to the Hokages office.
"I overheard Tsunade approve of a personal break Sakura wanted to take," Yamato started as I raised an eyebrow. "Sakura wanted to familiarise herself with the herbs that grew around the border." He continued as we entered the huge building. "I planted a tracking device inside her pouch before she left. The signals have been perfectly fine for the past couple of days...except this morning, when the signal got interrupted somehow."
I looked over my shoulder as I started to walk up the stairs.
"As much of a convenience as it is for us now, you shouldn't be making it your personal mission to spy on my former students." Was all I could say. After hearing everything that's been said, I'm concerned that Sakura isn't strong enough…Did her path really intertwine with the Akatsuki? Why would the Akatsuki even be anywhere near the border. I sighed loudly in frustration.
"We are all worried about her." Jiraiya said, trying to relieve me while heavily placing his hand on my shoulder.
"Tsunade is busy at the moment, if you'd like to speak with her then you will have to wait for later on in the day." I heard Shizune speak from round the corner. I straightened my stance as a group of specialist Jonin passed me and started walking down the stairs, muttering amongst each other.
They all seemed to be beaten up to some extent, their clothes hanging in certain areas. Their masks scratched or littered with cracks.
What is Tsunade doing that's so important that she's not seeing the specialists right now?
"I'm presuming you heard what I told those other Jonin." Shizune stated as we reached her. I merely looked down at tonton, her pig who seemed to be sleeping, before speaking up.
"What is so important for Tsunade to not speak to Jonin?" I questioned her. I have never really been fond of Shizune. She's got this…ego about her.
"I don't believe that's any of your business Kakashi," She scowled at me before looking up and behind my left shoulder. "Jiraiya, You're not supposed to be back until next week." Shizune smiled warmly at him, which irked me to an extent.
"That's right, I've returned with urgent information for Tsunade." He said plainly, I smirked from behind my mask as Shizune frowned. She turned her back to us as she knocked and entered the Hokages office.
"I wonder what those Jonin were…" Yamato started his sentence before trailing off into mumbles. "I'll be right back. I'll meet you at the front door in ten minutes."
As Yamato left in a rush, Shizune exited the office and held the door open for us.
"She will see you for five minutes." Shizune stated. Jiraiya nodded before walking in the office. I followed close behind.
"Jiraiya, I hope this is important. I'm very behind on paperwork." Tsunade said whilst cleaning up a few loose papers. It surprised me to see that she wasn't happy to see him…maybe I'm not used to her being busy like this.
"I have reason to believe Sakura is in danger." Jiraiya cut straight to the point. Tsunade instantly looked up and impatiently tapped her fingers on her desk quietly.
"The evidence?" She spoke up, irritation invading her tone.
"I've heard from some sources that the Akatsuki are roaming the fire border, searching for something near the pond of amity."
Tsunade bit done on her thumbnail as if she knew why they would be there.
"Is there something there, Hokage?" I spoke up after a few moments. Tsunades eyes darted in my direction before she sat up straight
"I had a suspicion that there were herbs growing in that area…although after 8 years of revisiting the place I concluded that there wasn't anything there," she stood up and faced the window. "I was given a heads up that the herb that was suspected of being there could practically give immortality. But I didn't think that the source was reliable." Tsunade crossed arms and sighed. "I mean, a mere herb that stimulates immortality…" she scoffed before turning to face Jiraiya.
"You think Sakura found it?" Jiraiya half answered Tsunades unspoken question. She nodded slightly. "Yamato planted-"
"I asked him to...I do trust Sakura, although I didn't want her to burst into an emotional state and run off to look for Sasuke or anything." Tsunade interrupted but her face relaxed slightly. "Did Yamato say anything about the signal?"
"Interrupted." Jiraiya answered.
"I'll have to send someone…" Tsunade started to speak to herself, debating what would be the best course of action.
"I personally believe that it would be best to send myself, Kakashi and Yamato…and perhaps another to outnumber the three suspected Akatsuki members, in case we have to engage in battle." Jiraiya spoke up. Tsunade slung her hands to her side.
"I agree…although a lot of the Jonin have been given important missions…and the others are stationed here in case of an attack." She kept a firm stare at Jiraiya. The room fell silent. The rain hitting the window at a faster rate than before.
"No, I have a plan." Tsunade said before pacing around the space. "I can send you and Kakashi ahead…and," She stopped walking. "I'll send Yamato, Sai and Naruto as a group." She stressed Narutos name out unsurely.
"That will be good, Naruto has been cooped up in the village for a while now." I spoke up as Tsunade nodded at me, concern obvious in her eyes.
"I want you all to leave as soon as you gather everyone together." She dismissed us before sitting in her chair again. "I want regular updates." She called out as we both walked out.
"This really isn't good…The Akatsuki don't care who they kill." Jiraiya said as he walked by my side.
I must admit. I'm super paranoid about Sakura and her safety…but she's not as useless as she used to be.
"She's a clever person. She wouldn't be reckless if she bumped into the Akatsuki…" I tried to reassure myself before we soon reached Yamato, who was waiting impatiently at the door.
"Those Jonin earlier," Yamato started as he faced us. "They saw three mysteriously dressed rouge ninjas that had a certain pink haired girl from our village with them. They thought they could take them on only to discover quickly that it was the Akatsuki and despite the number of the specialists, they got beaten and they barely made it out alive."
My eyes widened before I rubbed my face with my left hand.
"They've captured her? For what purpose?" I asked pointlessly.
"Like you said earlier, Kakashi, she's a clever person. I can only presume she's done something that requires the Akatsuki to keep her alive." Jiraiya spoke up. "But we need to hurry up and get Sai and Naruto so we can get to her before they do anything too much to her…She may possess something that could potentially ruin our future if the wrong people got their hands on it…That's if Tsunade is right."
And that's how our most important mission started. I kept a promise to myself that I would never let any of my students get lost within the darkness…and this would be the second student that this would happen to…
No, I'm putting my life on the line for this. I won't let them do anything to them. I won't let them kill her…
I won't.
A/N
:D A bit of a longer chapter :) and if you've read the older version of this remake you'll find that I've changed some of the things that happen.
This time around I would like to make this Fanfiction as accurate to the true characters as I possibly can make them :) Thank you so much for reading guys! I'm already working on the next chapter ^^
Front cover can be seen on my DA - art/Sakuras-Journey-612555175?ga_submit_new=10%253A1464786196