Naruto's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He couldn't help but have a feeling of foreboding. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it in his bones. Hinata turned her eyes towards Naruto as she saw him tense up. It was rare for Hinata to see Naruto this tense. She also felt worried about their friends but they had to stay calm and think rationally.
"What's wrong?" Hinata asked as she watched him.
He didn't look at her as he continued running, the cold winter breeze rustling through his hair. Hinata shuddered slightly from the cold.
"I can't help but feel like something bad is going to happen." Naruto said softly which unsettled Hinata slightly.
Hinata frowned with harrow as she looked back in front of her again. They were approaching the roof where they left Kakashi in charge. However, she couldn't help but start worrying over her own children even if she knew they were in good care.
Hinata stopped next to Naruto as they landed on the roof. Kakashi was doing a good job of delegating the search for Nue while Naruto and Hinata went to help Chouji. It was a shame that they couldn't catch the woman who attacked Chouji and Karui, she could've been helpful. Instead, they went back to the roof of the Hokage building empty-handed. Kakashi peered at Hinata and Naruto as they landed on the roof. He could've left and just go home and sleep but instead, Kakashi decided to stick around after Naruto came back, just in case he needed a little more help.
After all the two men Naruto relied on the most was both presumed to be captured by the enemy...
Kiba's group arrived seconds after Hinata and Naruto which made Naruto look over at Kiba with a focused look.
"Did you find anything?" Naruto asked as Kiba walked closer.
So far no one was able to provide answers to Naruto's questions. What happened to the missing groups? Where was Nue? What happened to Shikamaru and Sasuke? How did things progress this far without Naruto knowing about it? All these questions danced in Naruto' mind as he watched shinobi returning from their quest to find answers. Naruto, however, at least found solace in the fact that all the children where save. But was that going to last?
"I picked up Shikamaru's scent back in the old part of town." Kiba reported as he stopped in front of Naruto.
Shino has since arrived as well and was heading towards them. Finally, Naruto had some good news. Hopefully, Shino found something as well.
"How about you Shino? Did you find anything?" Naruto asked as he looked over at Shino.
They finally had a lead they could follow. Hinata smiled slightly from relieve, they were finally going to be able to find their friends. Maybe the bad feeling Naruto had earlier was simply just a feeling, nothing more nothing less.
"We found traces of Nue in the old part of town." Shino said seriously as his bugs crawled back into his sleeves.
It was time to catch Nue once and for all and get Naruto's friends back. There was a slight feeling gnawing in Naruto's gut that they could be too late and that Nue could've killed them all already but Naruto had faith in his friends. They would not die that easily.
"Alright, everyone gather around." Naruto exclaimed loudly as he grabbed the attention of everyone on the roof, giving them time to organise themselves while Kakashi, Hinata, Kiba and Shino stood next to Naruto.
"We have reason to believe that Nue might be hiding in the old part of town. We are going to head over there but make sure to be silent. We don't want them knowing we're there before we are ready. Form four groups and make sure to spread out." Naruto explained as he looked over the crowd of people gathered on the roof.
They all yelled in unison to acknowledge Naruto's orders. There was a mixture of Chunnin and Jonnin in the crowd of Shinobi.
"Don't you think Gaara and Kankurou could be of help?" Kakashi asked Naruto as the shinobi grouped up into four groups.
"They are guests at Konoha; I don't want to bother them unless it is absolutely necessary." Naruto replied as he looked over at Kakashi.
"If anything happens to Temari it could cause friction between Konoha and Suna." Kakashi said as he watched his student.
"We won't let that happen, I have faith in our Shinobi." Naruto said confidently which made Kakashi smile slightly while Naruto looked over at Kiba.
"Lead the way." Naruto said to Kiba once all the groups where ready which made Kiba nod in response.
Kiba jumped into action. He jumped off the roof followed by Naruto, Hinata, Kakashi and Shino. The rest of the shinobi scattered into the night but made sure to follow Kiba's group. They jumped over the rooftops, the wind rushing past them. It was finally time to put an end to all the problems that followed because of Nue. Neji's death had a big impact on all of them. The day Nue escaped they lost a good friend and ally. Hinata lost a cousin and Tenten lost a lover. He left a hole in their lives only Neji could fill. Also on that faithful day, Temari fell into her long coma only to reawaken with amnesia. Maybe when they capture Nue, Ino and Sakura could find a way to lift Temari's amnesia.
They made their way into the old town; it was very different from the new part of the village. Unlike the vibrant new part of the village, the old part seemed quiet and asleep. Almost ominous. However, they didn't go far before Kiba came to a stop.
"Shikamaru's scent ends here." Kiba said standing on the roof of a house as he looked directly at the road beneath them.
"I can sense them..." Naruto said as he concentrated, he wasn't able to sense the presence of his friends earlier since there are so many people inside the village but now that he was close he could sense their presence.
"Where?" Hinata asked as she activated her Byakugan.
"Beneath us, can you see them?" Naruto asked as he looked over to Hinata.
"There is a series of tunnels and rooms beneath us, as well as a big dome-like room. There's fighting going on in the big room though. There are a few people, they could be any one of them." Hinata said giving them more information on what was happening below them.
"It must be the labyrinth Orochimaru used for his experiments back in the day when Hiruzen Sarutobi was still Hokage." Kakashi said explaining where the underground tunnels came from.
Naruto looked over at Shino, hopefully, his bugs could pick up the trail from here.
"Shino, can you find an entrance?" Naruto asked while Shino just silently nodded.
A swarm of bugs flew out from his sleeves, filling the silent night with the sound of buzzing insects. Creating their own melodies as they floated around in the sky. The bugs flew around the area in search of an entrance until they all finally returned back to Shino, nestling into his sleeves.
"I only found a singular entry point in this area. The entrance looks like a hole in the floor inside that building. Everyone will have to enter from there." Shino said as he relayed his findings, pointing to the abandoned building to their left.
"They'll know we're here then, might as well go in with a bang then." Naruto mused as he let out a sigh, thinking of how they should infiltrate the building.
Shikamaru was good at these types of things. Naruto kind of wished Shikamaru was here to come up with some brilliant strategy but unfortunately, he wasn't here to help him out. So Naruto did what he did best, burst through the front door with a simple strategy.
"Alright, we'll form groups and enter one group at a time. Kakashi and Hinata you'll be group 1, your priority is to find and secure Temari and Sakura. Kiba you'll be group 2, your priority is to find Shikamaru. Shino you'll be group 3, your priority is to find Sasuke. I will be in the 4th group, my group will find Nue." Naruto said as he gave instructions, it would be chaos if they all entered at the same time so entering as groups may be the better choice.
Besides if Hinata enters first she could see and disable the traps if there are any traps, however, Naruto felt better sending Kakashi with her just so that there was someone he trusted to watch her back. He knew Hinata was a very skilled shinobi and he trusted her completely but he felt better knowing Kakashi would be there to keep her safe if something were to happen. Kakashi was also getting old so it would be good to have someone watching his back too. He was retired after all.
He wanted to find Nue badly, but the priority of his friends and comrades was more important. Therefore the first three groups would enter first to find and recover the people that were missing. He knew Nue would know of their presence as soon as the first Shinobi placed a foot inside the entrance. However, Naruto made sure that the team recovering Temari had a familiar face in the group which Temari could recognize; after all, from everyone present in this mission Temari has only met Hinata so far. Temari has been living in the leaf village for a long time now so he knew how Temari was. She wouldn't trust anyone she hasn't met before so it would be easier to have Hinata on the team recovering Temari. Naruto was worried Temari would start attacking the leaf shinobi so he trusted Hinata would be there to keep Temari from doing so.
"You have five minutes to gather your groups then we move in." Naruto said his eyes never straying from the building which housed the entrance to the labyrinth Nue used.
The entrance which would lead him to his friends...
Kakashi and Hinata jumped to a group of Shinobi behind them and started gathering their team and relaying instructions while Shino jumped to the shinobi on the right and Kiba went to the shinobi on the left. Naruto tore his eyes from the abandoned building then looked at which group remained and went to them to give them instructions.
Naruto explained to the group their intentions and how they were to enter. After he was done he looked at Hinata and Kakashi. Hinata gave him a loving smile while Kakashi gave him a nod to signal they were ready to infiltrate the building which made Naruto nod in return.
"Go." Naruto said seriously which made the first group spring into action.
He watched as Kakashi and Hinata led the way into the building, disappearing from his view. He waited a few minutes before he looked over at Kiba who gave him a confident smirk, Naruto could see that the young dog Kiba had with him was getting restless and tired of standing still.
He must be one of Akamaru's pups.
Naruto gave them a nod, signalling they could enter the building.
"Let's go." Kiba said while the young pup gave a yap of excitement as they jumped to the building while the Shinobi behind them followed.
Naruto watched as they all entered the building and disappeared one by one. There were no noises coming from the entrance, everything was surrounded by silence. This meant one of two things; there was no traps or Hinata saw all the traps and have already disabled them all. However, Naruto expected to hear the sound of fighting as soon as he entered the labyrinth himself. They would meet resistance sooner or later.
Naruto looked over at Shino who simply looked back at him as bugs started piling out of his sleeves slightly. They were restless. He assumed it was a sign that he was ready to enter the building. Naruto waited a few more minutes then he nodded at Shino making his group jump into action. He watched them silently pile into the building. The only noise being that of Shino's bugs.
All the groups were finally inside except his own group. Naruto was anxious to join the fray. He was worried about Hinata, but he knew she was perfectly capable of protecting herself plus Kakashi was also with her. He had full trust in both of them. However, even after knowing this Naruto would never stop being worried about Hinata when she was in a dangerous situation; she was his wife after all. He loved her.
After waiting a few more minutes after Shino's group entered it was finally time for Naruto and his group to enter.
"Let's go." Naruto said simply and with that, they entered the building.
Naruto led the way into the underground tunnels, focusing on all the different Chakra's he could sense. Naruto was surprised by the quietness of the halls; there were no signs of fighting. However, after a few seconds, the sound of an explosion filled the air. So it has begun...
Naruto could sense that Sasuke and Shikamaru were together with a lot of unknown Chakra's. Temari and Sakura weren't together but he could sense Hinata and Kakashi heading Sakura's way. His only problem now was to find Nue; however, what made it difficult was that Nue didn't have Chakra for Naruto to sense anymore.
He'd have to find him the hard way, by looking for him the old fashioned way...
xXx
Temari scowled as Nue carried her to her death. She needed to think of a way to escape and she needed to think of it fast. She was slowly starting to regain her strength but she decided to play helpless for now, but just until she saw an opening or she recovered enough strength to escape.
However, things went from bad to worse quickly when she saw a white-haired man step out from the shadows behind them. Now there were two enemies instead of one and one of them actually has Chakra. She now had two problems to worry about.
"Nue." The white-haired man said with a serious tone which made Nue turn to him with an irritated face.
Nue was so close to the room where they would get his Chakra back. He was so close to getting his Chakra back that he could almost taste it, but of course, someone had to ruin it. Someone always had to foil his plans and make things hard for him.
"Leshy, why aren't you monitoring the tournament?" Nue asked as he masked his irritation, aiming for a look of ignorance.
After all, Nue already knew what Leshy was planning. He's known for a while now. It was just a matter of when he was going to defy him.
Temari lifted an eyebrow in surprise, judging from his previous irritation and the tightening of his grip it would seem that this was not part of Nue's plan. She could use this as an opportunity to escape and get Shikamaru while she was at it. That or Leshy was going to lead her quicker to her death.
"The tournament doesn't matter to me neither does getting your Chakra back. My objectives and your objectives no longer align; therefore I will kill you here before you get your Chakra back and before you can get in my way." Leshy said with a hard gaze, his green eyes fixed on Nue.
Nue clicked his tongue in irritation. What a pain in the ass...
"Not that smart declaring your intentions while I'm still alive, you should've just stayed quiet and kept to the shadows." Nue said calmly as his purple eyes narrowed at Leshy.
"You can't beat me without your Chakra." Leshy said as he formed a hand seal which made Nue tense up.
Temari's eyes widened slightly. She could feel Nue's muscles tense up, he was completely frozen.
"What's happening?" Temari asked confused as she heard Nue grit his teeth while his grip on her tightened even more.
"My Jutsu allows me to control people, like a puppet but without the strings." Leshy revealed as he slowly walked over to Nue.
Temari could hear Leshy's footsteps nearing them. This was her chance, once Leshy killed Nue his muscles will relax again and then she will be able to get off his shoulder with ease. At the moment Nue's muscles were so tense that she'd have to break his fingers just to escape his death grip so instead it would be easier just to wait for Leshy to kill Nue first.
She heard Leshy's footsteps stop as he stood in front of Nue. It wasn't even a second later when Temari heard the thud of a kunai being plunged into flesh without hesitation. Leshy drove the kunai straight through Nue's heart not giving him any chance to survive the blow. Nue grunted in pain as blood seeped from the hole in his chest, his grip loosening.
Temari took this opportunity to propel herself of Nue's shoulder and towards the ground. She tucked her head in so that she'd rotate in the air making it possible to land on her feet. However, as she landed on her feet she couldn't quite stick the landing thanks to the muscle relaxant. Temari noticed the dryness in her mouth which quickly followed by dizziness. The dizziness and her lack of balance made it very difficult for her to stay on her feet and due to her momentum, she continued falling forward. Temari grunted as she quickly used her hands to stop her momentum so she wouldn't fall flat on her face.
Temari quickly looked at Nue as he fell to the ground which made her breathing hitch as she scanned his face. He was smirking. What could be so amusing about dying? Nue's smirk unsettled Temari but she couldn't dwell on it, she still had an enemy in front of her.
"I had hoped that would've been more elegant, but oh well." Temari said with a sigh as she shook off her uneasiness and stood up while looking at Leshy, watching his every move.
She had no idea what his game plan was, after all, he just killed Nue. She thought Nue was the ringleader but maybe she was mistaken. Temari couldn't help herself as she glanced back at Nue, something was off and now she knew why. Temari's eyes widened as her glance lingered on Nue's dead body except for the fact that it wasn't Nue's dead body anymore.
"That's not Nue..." Temari said confusion evident in her voice as her eyebrows knit together.
Nue's body started morphing into someone else as a pool of blood surrounded him. Nue was no longer dead on the floor in front of her; instead, it was now a stranger. Did this mean Nue was still alive somewhere?
"Impersonation jutsu." Leshy said with a slight grunt of anger as he watched the dead body.
Temari turned her gaze back to Leshy. This was bad, Nue was still alive. She had hoped that Lehsy killed Nue but alas she wasn't that lucky. This meant Nue was still out to kill her to get his Chakra back. Leshy looked back at Temari with a determined gaze.
Dammit... Temari scowled as she lowered into a fighting stance, her eyes narrowing at Leshy. She will not go down without a fight.
"I will not let him get his chakra back." Leshy said as his eyes narrowed at her as well.
"Shit." Temari cursed as she scowled, she knew he wasn't simply going to let her go.
She had nothing with her to help her in this fight and this guy had a Jutsu that could incapacitate her by only using a hand sign, leaving her completely helpless. She always had the option of telling him she won't let Nue get his Chakra back but she had a feeling he wasn't going to listen to her. Therefore her only option was going to be to fight him.
Temari watched him carefully. She didn't think it was a good idea for him to make the first move since it could mean she wouldn't even get a good punch in so she decided she'll make the first move instead. However just as she was about to jump into action she heard a loud explosion down the hall behind Leshy. Temari let her eyes stray for a second to see what was happening but it was too far down the hall for Temari to see what was happening so she quickly looked back at her opponent.
"Amnesia is such a sad thing; you don't even know whether the people here are friends or foes." Leshy said begrudgingly as he turned around and walked away calmly.
Temari looked at him in confusion. He looked so determined on killing her yet after the explosion went off he just turned around and left. What was going on?
Temari watched him disappear into the shadows, she was grateful for the chance to escape so she will let him be for now. She wasn't in a position to pick a fight, especially not with someone with a Jutsu like Leshy's. Therefore she had three choices; she could go to the sound of the explosion but Leshy was heading that way so there was a chance he could just turn around and kill her, she could take the corridor to her left or she could go the opposite direction of the explosion but that was where Nue was taking her originally. There was a chance that Shikamaru was where the explosion was but this explosion sounded louder than the other explosions she's heard so far so it could be someone who also wanted to kill her. The opposite side was where Nue wanted to go which could also possibly lead to her death or a run-in with Nue which she wanted to avoid.
Therefore Temari opted to go down the hallway to her left. It seemed like the safest bet. Temari jogged sluggishly through the hall; however, she had absolutely no idea where she was or where she was even going.
She just hoped that she'd find Shikamaru along the way somewhere...
xXx
Shikamaru panted as he watched his opponents. There were only 4 of them left now which included himself, Sasuke and the twins. However, the twins seemed even more tired than Shikamaru was. Sasuke still seemed like he had some stamina left but the twins managed to get a good blow to his leg and Shikamaru could see that it was hindering him.
Shikamaru had blood dripping from the cut on his arm which he received thanks to Sasuke. He knew he had to stop the bleeding or he was going to lose too much blood but between the twins and Sasuke, they made it hard for him to do so. It was a deep cut and he needed to tend to it as quickly as possible.
For once Shikamaru didn't have a plan for his predicament. The reason could be because he was just tired from the excessive fighting and because of the amount of blood he's already lost. However, if his prediction was right then the twins will be eliminated next, leaving only Sasuke and himself still standing. That's when the real problem would start. Sasuke turned his gaze to the twins as his sword started to crackle from lightning while the twins both opened their fans. They were planning on blowing Sasuke away before he could even get close to them. This, however, gave Shikamaru the chance to move his shadow silently to all three of them, targeting their blind spots without them noticing. If he could knock them all out at once then he wouldn't have any troubles left.
Shikamaru did try and strangle Sasuke until he passed out earlier with his shadow but much to his disappointment Sasuke managed to escape him because of his Rinnegan.
Shikamaru gritted his teeth as his shadow got close to them, however before his shadow could reach them there was an explosion where the door once where. Luckily for Shikamaru, he didn't stand to close to the explosion, unluckily for the twins they were standing right in front of it. The shock of the blast blew back the twins while Sasuke and Shikamaru simply shielded themselves from it. Shikamaru retracted his shadow, he knew the blast didn't come from anyone in the room so he might just need his shadow for whatever or whoever caused the explosion instead.
The blow proved one too many for the twins. The boy fainted while the girl was hardly conscious; all she could manage to do was keep her eyes open slightly. Shikamaru sighed in relief; it meant that there were two fewer people for him to worry about. Shikamaru looked over at the source of the explosion and low and behold there stood Kiba with a grin on his face with Shino right behind him. Shikamaru must admit, he has never been this happy or relieved to see Kiba's stupid grin except after the time of their failed mission of retrieving Sasuke back when they were kids.
"So this is where you two disappeared off to." Kiba said, amusement laced in his voice, which made Shikamaru smile and Sasuke to relax slightly.
"You know that blast could've hit us." Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow, grateful they came to help them.
"It was a calculated risk." Kiba said with a shrug while Shino just shook his head.
"You tried to strangle me with your shadow." Sasuke said as he ignored Kiba and Shino and turned to glare at Shikamaru.
"You stabbed me." Shikamaru shot back as he returned Sasuke's glare.
"Are you two alright?" Kiba asked awkwardly, hoping they wouldn't start fighting.
"Peachy." Sasuke replied as he limped over to Kiba and Shino followed by Shikamaru.
Shikamaru held his arm in a vain effort to try and stop the bleeding but to his dismay it wasn't helping much, leaving a trail of blood as he walked.
"We should get you two to a hospital." Shino said looking at their injuries.
"They have my mother too; I'm not leaving without Temari or my mother." Shikamaru said, Sasuke also seemed not willing to leave without Sakura.
"They have your mother too?" Kiba asked surprised.
"Yeah, they have more prisoners. The people in this room were also unwilling participants. The two children, however, are part of Nue's group." Shikamaru explained as he sighed slightly.
"Right, I'll let my group sort out the mess in this room. Shiromaru and I will join your group so we can find Temari, Sakura and Shikamaru's mom faster." Kiba said to Shino who nodded in response.
Kiba then turned to his group and gave them orders. He ordered them to recover the bodies, take those still alive to the hospital and then arrest the two children. Ino will probably question them in the morning. Kiba's group sprang into action as they followed his directions while Kiba turned to Sasuke.
"You can ride on Shiromaru while we look for everyone." Kiba said looking at Sasuke; it looked like his leg was killing him.
Kiba thought he was being considerate by letting his injured comrade use his dog as a transport horse since he was hurt; however, Sasuke simply looked over at the friendly dog then looked back at Kiba.
"Not a chance." Sasuke said which made Kiba fume.
The ungrateful prick...
"Come on, let's go. I can smell Temari nearby." Kiba said through his gritted teeth as he tried not getting distracted by his irritation towards Sasuke while they left the dome area.
Kiba led the way as the group followed, however they slowed down a little bit because of Sasuke's leg and his stupid ego that didn't want to accept help. He was struggling to go fast but he'd never admit he needed help. Shikamaru had since ripped a piece of his coat off and tied it around his arm to slow the bleeding. It wasn't ideal but it would have to do for now. Shino had a few of his bugs scattered around looking for the other prisoners while they went after Temari.
They briefly stopped when the corridor branched out. Kiba sniffed the air while Shikamaru's eyes strayed to the dead body on the floor. He had the same clothes on that Nue had on which he found very peculiar. What happened here and why was there a dead man dressed as Nue? Could he have used Impersonation Jutsu and if that was the case how did he pull it off? He had no mana. Did he really have a subordinate who was capable of such a Jutsu...
"This way." Kiba said as he took the corridor to their right, pulling Shikamaru out of his thoughts.
The place seemed like an endless labyrinth, it is probably why Nue chose it. Shikamaru clenched his jaw in anticipation. According to Kiba, Temari was close but every minute they didn't see her made him more anxious. He prayed she would be alive and okay when they found her. Shikamaru gritted his teeth as stars played on his vision, but he refused to pass out before he found Temari and his mother. Shikamaru's determination was probably the only thing keeping him from slipping into a comfortable sleep, after all, fatigue and dizziness plagued him as he ran through the endless corridors. He was so tired...
That was when they saw her. Temari was jogging down the corridor with her back to them. She looked a little sluggish as she ran which meant she probably had some drug in her system. He didn't know how she managed to escape but Shikamaru was glad she was unscathed.
"Temari!" Shikamaru said as he felt relief flood his body.
Temari spun around quickly and looked at the group, she seemed on edge and guarded, ready to fight anyone who she felt threatened her. Her eyes scanned the group until her eyes landed on Shikamaru. He could see relief in her eyes as their eyes met.
"Shikamaru, you're okay." Temari said as a smile spread over her face, he could see the tension in her shoulders disappearing; she must've been really worried about him.
Temari made her way over to him and stopped right in front of him, her eyes examining him until her eyes lingered on his arm.
"You're bleeding." Temari said newfound worry in her voice.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." Shikamaru said with a small smile as he tried to ease her worry but she wasn't convinced.
"You look so pale." Temari said softly as her eyes locked with his, he could see the worry in her eyes.
Shikamaru sighed slightly as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. His arm protested in pain from the action but he ignored it. He rested his chin on her head as he buried his nose in her hair, taking in her scent.
"I'm glad you're okay." Shikamaru said softly as he kissed the top of her head while Temari closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms.
Shikamaru wanted to collapse from relief. His worry for Temari and his mother was the only thing keeping him from giving into exhaustion. However, now that he found Temari he needed to find his mother. She was still in danger so he couldn't relax just yet. He needed to press on even if the world seemed to spin around him.
"Alright, we need to find Sakura and the rest of the prisoners next. What do you smell Kiba?" Shikamaru asked as he looked over at Kiba seeing Sasuke getting impatient, however, Shikamaru did not let go of Temari.
Shikamaru slightly regretted looking over at Kiba so fast cause it only made the world around him spin even faster, Shikamaru wasn't sure if he was standing straight or leaning to the side anymore.
"I can smell Sakura mixed with unknown scents. They are faint but I'll be able to find them." Kiba said confidently.
"I found Nue." Shino said suddenly which made Shikamaru and Sasuke look at him quickly.
Shikamaru cursed himself for making the same mistake twice as the spots on his vision increased. Shikamaru scowled slightly, he was going to pass out soon. Shikamaru shook his head slightly; he needed to find his mother.
Kiba, however, didn't seem surprised that Shino found Nue but Temari tensed up slightly. If they could capture Nue they could end it all.
"What is Naruto's plan?" Shikamaru asked as he looked over at Shino slowly.
He wanted to catch Nue and make him pay for everything he's done but he also needed to save his mother and Sakura.
"I have a few bugs showing Naruto the way to Nue. Kakashi and Hinata are currently looking for Sakura, I'm not sure if they've found them yet." Shino answered calmly as he gave a report to Shikamaru.
"Let's split into two groups. Shino you go back up Naruto and then we'll go find Sakura with Kiba." Shikamaru said while Shino nodded.
Shino turned around and left with his group of shinobi leaving Kiba, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Temari behind.
"I can smell Kakashi and Hinata the same direction I smell Sakura in." Kiba said confirming that Kakashi and Hinata were also in the vicinity.
"Alright, lead the way." Shikamaru said as they followed Kiba to where Sakura was.
Shikamaru let go of Temari as they started running again however Shikamaru didn't realise how much he was leaning on Temari until he let go of her. Shikamaru started to sway as he ran; he was so dizzy and tired. He scowled slightly as he tried to regain his balance but he wasn't having much luck. Luckily they weren't going too fast. Shikamaru felt Temari grab his arm as she helped him regain his balance. He turned to look at her as she placed his uninjured arm around her shoulders so she could help him stay balanced. She gave him a comforting smile which made him smile back at her. Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes.
He was glad to have her back.
Again.
A/N: I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a wonderful new year. I actually had the chapter done while I was away on holiday but I wasn't happy with it so when I came back I edited it a lot and now I'm quite happy with it :) I hope you guys enjoyed it :P