Chapter 4

"That's Sasuke's writing, there's no doubt about that" said Naruto with a lingering glance at the scroll. They had all returned to Naruto's office and told him about their encounter on their way to Konoha. With every word Naruto's expression became more solemn and worried. It was obvious he knew the meaning behind this mysterious letter, and that it was very bad news.

Action needed to be taken immediately, and nobody was more aware of this than the Rokudaime.

"Naruto, what will you be doing?" Gaara straight out asked the man sitting in front of him. Naruto had already put down the scroll and planned his next steps.

"I'll be going", he said with a tone of finality.

"Heh, that's just what I expected" Gaara answered while a tiny smile slipped on his lips. „We'll accompany you." he added. To answer this Naruto only looked into Gaara's aquamarine eyes for a moment before nodding in agreement.

This exchange of opinions and planning may be only brief, but this wasn't a sign of rash actions or being thoughtless. The two Kages knew there was only one realistic course of action. There was also an undeniable need for fast handling of the case, and so they didn't have time to search for another option. They had to deal with it, as they were the only ones who could hope to do so- the beast Gaara described couldn't be handled by anyone below at least kage level and even some of the current kages wouldn't be able to do it. However, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro fully trusted in Naruto's strength and abilites, knowing that he could handle pretty much anything that life threw at him, as he always had done.

And if all else failed, there was still Naruto's "secret"...

"Temari!" Naruto unexpectedly turned to the woman standing in the back "Could you get Tenten to accompany us? Her skills should be useful and I'd like to have her with me" Naruto went on. This might be a bit unexpected to her brothers, but Temari knew why Naruto asked for Tenten's assistance. She also knew why he asked her and not one of his subordinates to get her, even though she wasn't from Konoha and unfamiliar with this village. Nevertheless, "Yes, I'll get her immediately" she replied before vanishing with a gust of wind.

"Hey, what's this about?" Kankuro inquired. Naruto hid a smile, but answered honestly "I've made a promise with Tenten but she's also an excellent kunoichi and very strong. Regardless of my promise, I'm sure her skills will come in handy on this mission." There was not much more Kankuro could say about it since Naruto was the respected Hokage and knew best what his shinobi were capable of. Interesting to see was the fact that Gaara didn't say anything about it. It seemed like he knew exactly what was going on.

"I think that should be enough people", Naruto said "but Kankuro, could you stay behind in case anything was to happen? We'll act soon but I can't simply disappear like this and in the event of something happening to both the Kazekage and Hokage, however unlikely that might be, there should be someone left to explain the situation to the others." Not giving time for Kankuro to consider this his brother interjected.

"That will be fine, I'll make this an order from the Kazekage. Sorry Kankuro, but you'll have to stay behind as Naruto said".
"It's always the same when you two work together, you don't give others even the possibility of refusing." muttered Kankuro. "Fine, I'll stay here as the respected Kages wish. But let me tell you that I'm not happy about this and I think you should get more people to help you out. I don't know what this Tenten person's strengths are, but you're still lacking two or three members." Those words were directed to Naruto who thought about it seriously.

Naruto had little time to ponder over Kankuro's suggestion, as only moments later the door to his office was flung open with a loud BANG and in the opening stood his old friend Sakura.

"If you're going to meet Sasuke or have anything to do with Akatsuki then I'm coming too!"
Since the war ended she also had changed. Gone were her lingering childish features and instead she became a beautiful and strong woman. She once again let her hair grew out and wore it in waving cascades over her pale shoulders. The crowning jewels of her exquisite face were her beautiful emerald eyes, which drew the attention of many male shinobi from the village and beyond. These days she had many suitors who tried to gain her favor, but she turned them all down. She was totally focused on her work in the hospital.

However, sometimes her pretty features were tainted with an expression of such melancholy and despair that it was almost physically painful to watch. Naruto was greatly affected by his friend's misery, and had wanted to talk with her about it for some time, but he had never found the right time, especially with his busy schedule. It was a source of constant guilt to him that he couldn't even manage to help her, his close friend with whatever it was that was troubling her, but she didn't seem to hold it against him. She was constantly reassuring him that she understood that his duties would take him away from her and the rest of their friends a lot, that she didn't mind and that she was perfectly happy. And indeed, she did usually seem to be happy enough. She always had a smile for everyone, and it seemed that with her work at the hospital she had found her true calling.

And yet the moments of that deep and terrible sadness remained.

Not that her melancholic streak diminished her attraction, on the contrary, it drew the people around her to her even more. Shinobi wanted to protect her, this frail, delicate flower, unaware that she was not frail by a long shot. She was Tsunade's true successor in every way, and with her outer strength she appeared to have found a kind of inner strength to call on in times of need.
This was the kind of beauty who forcefully barged her way into Naruto's expedition team.

"Why are you here, Sakura-chan ?" Naruto asked.

"I saw Temari going around the town on my way back to the hospital. I suspected something might be up so I came to ask you about it but then I heard part of your conversation", she explained "Sorry for spying" she added with some embarrassment.
"I see, your chakra hiding skills are as good as ever." He smiled at her. "But I don't want you to join us, Sakura-chan" Sakura seemed to be about to argue before Naruto interrupted her. "I mean no offence, but I don't think you should go out on a mission, much less something involving Sasuke."

"Why not ? I'm more than capable of holding my own in battle and Sasuke's as important to me as he is to you!" Sakura was getting angry. "I insist on coming, Naruto." There was not much more that Naruto could do. It was true that she was a strong fighter but he had his reasons for not wanting her on this mission.

"Fine, you can come Sakura-chan, but don't get directly involved in battle and act solely as support and as our medic. This is an order" Naruto was getting agitated, but nowhere near Sakura's level.

While this exchange took place Gaara sat back and analyzed the situation. He had never had much contact with Sakura before, he knew she was a close friend of Naruto and an excellent medical ninja but little else. However, there was something about this woman which made him feel uneasy. Was it because he had heard she was Naruto's first love? Was it only jealousy of their closeness, or was there something more?

Now that he thought about it, were they even that close anymore? He wasn't entirely sure about their previous or current relationship and he hasn't spend much time with them under normal circumstances so it was hard for him to judge, but it seemed like something was amiss. He would simply keep an eye on Sakura and see how things played out. He would do his best to keep Naruto from any harm, no matter what.

"Found her!" Temari was back with Tenten at her side.

"Did Temari tell you what this is about, Tenten?" Gaara spoke, attention diverted from his assessment of Sakura.

"Yes. There's no time to waste so we'd better get going" the weapon mistress answered at once.

"Ok, let's head out. As we've discussed, Kankuro will stay here. Everyone else, follow me." With that, Naruto strode out, followed by the others, all ready to carry out their mission and all with different motives. The wish to protect, the wish to be helpful, the wish to find a long lost friend...

A great battle was lying ahead.