Chapter 26: Zabu's Goal

As the night went by, the hospital became eerily quiet as everyone went on with their normal duties. Gaara and Temari had a task force sent over to the building earlier for added security, since a really important patient was staying there for the time being.

Currently, that really important patient was resting in her room, watching the moonlight shine in through her window as two guards stood outside her door on duty. She knew it was probably Gaara's or Temari's idea to send in the guards for protection, and she didn't mind it. What she really worried about was the fact that Zabu and the ninja that shot her was still out there in the village somewhere . . . most likely waiting for another moment to strike.

"Where oh where could those bandits be?" Izuka muttered to herself as he looked out the window. She let out a deep breath before looking down to look under her hospital gown, the bandages for her wounds covering her entire torso and abdomen.

"Is something wrong Izuka?" asked Ryuna, the 10 tailed beast, who has been her partner since she was just minutes old.

"I'm just wondering where those other bandits could be. They could be anywhere around the village, and Suna is a pretty big village." answered the Lady Sage as she let out a deep breath.

"I know, but I believe those bandits that attacked us will be caught soon. I can feel it in my bones." said Ryuna as Izuka looked up at the ceiling.

"Hmm . . . the ninja that shot me really hit me where it hurts," muttered Izuka as she let a small scowl come across her face. "Right in my Gate of Wonder."

"I know . . . Chomei's cage is the closest one to that gate. She was ranting up a storm about the whole thing while you were unconscious. You should have seen Shukaku . . . he looked pretty spooked." said Ryuna as she let out a small reptilian chuckle.

"Hmm . . . since Chomei is one of the more free spirited beasts, I'm not surprised that Shukaku acted the way he did." said Izuka as she let a small smirk come across her face.

"I know . . . but his expression was priceless if you ask me." said Ryuna as she let out another chuckle.

"Oh I would have loved to see that . . ." said Izuka, just when she began to hear footsteps coming down the hallway. "Hmm . . . the guards aren't supposed to change shifts for another two hours."

"Maybe it's one of the nurses coming to check up on you." suggests Ryuna as the footsteps became louder in the Lady Sage's sensitive eardrums.

:Maybe . . ." muttered Izuka as she couldn't help but let a bad feeling come over her as she heard the footsteps stop a few feet from her door.

"I'm here to check on the patient's vitals." said the male voice, who sounded very familiar to Izuka, but she couldn't put a name to the voice for the moment.

"We're going to need to see some I.D . . ." said the female guard that was stationed at the door.

" . . . You know . . . for precautionary reasons." added her partner.

"Of course . . ." said the worker. All of a sudden, the sound of a sword being unsheathed could be heard. Then, yells of pain and the sounds of slicing flesh ringed through Izuka's ears before she could even slowly sit up.

"I seriously have a bad feeling about this." muttered Izuka as she watched the door slowly open up to reveal Zabu, who was dressed as a hospital medic. His katana was covered in blood as the guards lay outside behind them, both in their very own pools of blood.

"You have a good reason to . . ." Zabu told her with a smirk as he closed the door behind him. "Sorry about your guards . . . they just happened to get in my way."

"Why are you here?" asked Izuka as she started at him with a cold glare.

"Don't worry . . . I just want to talk," said Zabu as he twirled his katana in his hand. "Actually, I want to make a statement."

"Haven't you done enough already?" asked Izuka as she crossed her arms.

"Hmm . . . let's see . . . I have already ruined your birthday party and one of my fellow bandits shot you in the abdomen as you protected the Kazekage. . ." said the bandit as he listed them down with his fingers. "No . . . I'm not done just yet."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Izuka as she raised an eyebrow at the man, making sure to keep an eye on him the entire time as he began to walk over to the far side of the room.

"Because I want my voice to be heard," he tells her with a smirk as he continued to twirl his blade in his hands. "We're sick and tired of the politics that have bringing Suna down over the years. The Suna council is pathetic . . . like seriously . . . having a teenage boy as the leader of one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations is sad. . . So . . . we want to right that wrong."

"Is that it . . . you want to overthrow Gaara and become the new Kazekage?" asked Izuka in slight disbelief as she went wide eyed for a split second.

"That's exactly it." said Zabu as he crossed his arms. "I want to lead Sunagakure into a new era. The reign of the teenage Kazekage will come to an end. . . I guarantee it."

"Trust me . . . that won't happen." said Izuka as she shook her head.

"We'll see . . ." said Zabu with a small smirk, just as Sand shinobi busted into the room through the door.

"Stay right where you are!" exclaimed the leader as the group readied their weapons. Zabu only smirked at them before uncrossing his arms.

"No . . . the better thing to say is . . . you might want to get out of the way." said Zabu as his sinister smirk grew even bigger as he brought his free hand up to his face.

"GUYS MOVE!" yelled the Lady Sage, but she was too late as the wall behind the Sand shinobi exploded, crushing the ninjas under the rubble. Izuka realized that she had taken her eyes off Zabu for a second the moment the explosion happened. She looked around to see Zabu nowhere in sight, but there was a small note lying right across her lap. She took it up and read the note, crushing the paper in her grip.

"He needs to be stopped . . ." muttered Izuka as she heard the yells of the other medical personnel coming close to her position. "If Suna's going to have a good future, he needs to be stopped . . . and fast."

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