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"Shisui text me and told me that Hinata had got into an accident while on the way to school and that they'd brought her here," Sasuke explained. "I was actually here to see Hinata but I caught Master Minato as he was on his way out and he explained everything to me. How is she? Have you seen her?"

"She's awake, has a broken collarbone but Oba-chan says that she'll be okay," Naruto answered. "Go to the Seventeenth Ward. There's no way Baji is going to stay in The Whirlpool. Those three wards can be searched in just a few hours with the amount of people we have so he's not going to stay in his obvious hiding spot."

"Roger that Young Master," Sasuke said as he put on his helmet and started his bike. "Safety first."

"We're on a motorcycle," Naruto argued as he put on his helmet.

"Hey, at least your head won't be crushed," Sasuke joked before pulling away from the hospital.

Opposites Attract: Chapter 17 – "The lengths at which one will go…" (Part 3 of 5)

"Twenty-four hours?" Kushina repeated as Minato nodded. "That's a little too generous, even for Baji. Why didn't he give you a more realistic time crunch like three hours or something?"

"Mainly because he wants to he found," Minato answered. "Baji understands that if I go out in front of a bunch of cameras and announce I'm affiliated with a Yakuza – not just any Yakuza either – then Whirlwind would be destroyed so fast our heads would spin. It's safe to say that Bank's ultimate goal in all of this is to obtain Whirlwind and the power that comes with it and he can't do that if there's nothing left. Plus, he knows Phoenix isn't influential enough to make your father stay where he is and Eternal Flame would have this city under their control in less than twenty-four hours after that announcement."

"So, we search for Baji then?" Kushina questioned and saw Minato nod his head again. "If that's the case, whoever finds him first amongst Whirlwind will most likely find themselves in a serious fight. A fight we can't easily subdue in the media, especially if bullets go flying. And we already know Baji has Hanabi so what are we supposed to do once we rescue her? We can't exactly announce that an escaped pedophilia convict was the one who kidnapped her? No one knows Baji escaped in the first place."

"We already have a scapegoat in position," Minato explained. "He owes me a favor and his best bet is to take the jail time and live somewhat comfortably behind bars rather than to continue rotting away in the streets and begging for spare change off passersby."

Kushina watched as Minato removed his phone from his inner pocket and quickly glanced at his screen. "Are you sure that's the smartest thing to do? What if people figure out the connection?"

"If you're worried that he's going to talk, he isn't," Minato reassured her. "Once his sentence is up – however long it may be – there will be ten million waiting for him when he gets out. From there, he's promised to disappear and start over elsewhere. Elsewhere being extremely far away from here."

"And if he doesn't comply?" Kushina questioned.

"Then a bullet between the eyes will solve that problem," Minato answered a little too quickly and Kushina pursed her lips together. Minato checked his phone once more. "It seems like mostly everyone is already out and searching where they can. And Hiashi is holding a press conference soon making a public plea to Hanabi's kidnapper to return her home unharmed. Who knows, maybe some random good Samaritan will find Hanabi for us."

"That sounds highly unlikely," Kushina argued and saw Minato nod in agreement. "I should go check in at the hospital and see how Hinata is doing. If you find Baji first, don't get yourself killed. I don't want to deal with being a widow."

"Is that the only reason you don't want me to get killed?" Minato teased and watched as Kushina's cheek turned a bright pink. He chuckled before planting a loving kiss on her forehead. "We'll celebrate properly when all of this is over."

"Be safe," Kushina requested.

"Always," Minato responded before pressing his lips against Kushina's. It was heavy, filled with emotions from the two of them. Kushina clung onto his shirt tightly as Minato placed his hands on either side of her face. They continued like this but only for a short while before Minato pulled away and smiled his warm smile at her. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," she answered as she grabbed ahold of Minato's hand. He squeezed her hand in return and walked away, their fingers slipping away from one another as the distance increased and Kushina watched Minato's back as he exited her office. She sighed, an uncomfortable shiver shooting down her spine before she turned away from the door and looked out her floor to ceiling windows. "Rain, huh?"

Out in the city, every available member of Whirlwind searched every nook and crevice of the city to find Hanabi before the time limit was up. They stayed in constant communication through their underground networks on areas to check and check again, and areas that were clear and tips from citizens who claimed to have seen the getaway car zoom pass earlier that day. But even with the amount of people search, six hours came and went without anyone being anywhere near finding Baji leaving all of them frustrated.

Naruto sucked his teeth as the next update came in, another clear but no new lead on where Baji might be hold up. He out his phone face down on the counter and buried his face in his hand, the sound of the surrounding café causing his blood to boil.

"Breathe," Sasuke advised before taking a sip of his tea. He watched as Naruto ran his fingers through his hair and being to breathe in a syncopated rhythm. "Just look at this as our options being narrowed down. We still have eighteen hours to find her and we will find her, trust me."

"We need to find her as soon as possible," Naruto said as he flexed his hands and stared out at the city bustling down a couple stories below. "There's no telling what Baji could be doing to her right now. What he could've done…what he might do…will do if we take too much longer to find her. It was hard enough watching Sakura recover from all of what Baji did to her and I'm afraid Hanabi won't be able to recover like Sakura did."

"Hanabi may seem fragile but she's anything but that," Sasuke reassured Naruto. "I've known Hanabi since she was born and she's always been the fighting, strong-willed type. There's nothing Baji can do that will break her."

"Either way, I want to find out before Hanabi's limits are tested anymore than they already have been," Naruto muttered as he took a sip from his own drink. As he looked out over the city, he heard the crackle of thunder in the distance. Shortly after, a couple of drops of rain hit the window he sat at before it began to come down in a light yet steady downfall. "Doesn't look like this'll go away anytime soon."

"Doesn't look that way," Sasuke answered. He looked out over the city with Naruto but a reflection caught his eye. He looked over his shoulder and watched as Sakura approached, her helmet in hand as she tried to catch her breath. "Sakura? Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"I'm fine," Sakura answered as she put her helmet on the counter. "I may know where Baji is."

"Huh?" Naruto stood up. "Where?"

"When I was with Baji, he had this place outside of the city heading towards Kusa City," Sakura explained. "If he's not at any of his old hangouts or bunkers here in the city, that's the only other place he can be."

"How far is it from here?" Sasuke questioned.

"Three hours," Sakura answered. "You can maybe cut it down to two and a half hours if you drive fast enough."

"Have you called Master Minato yet?" Sasuke questioned and watched as she shook her head in response. "Text me the directions and then call him and tell him exactly what you told us."

"I'm coming with you," Sakura declared and watched as Naruto and Sasuke shared a look. "I know that compound like the back of my hand. I used to…hide a lot when we went there. I know every way in and out of that place so if we're lucky, we can slip in and take Hanabi back and we'll be back here before he even notices she's gone and he's lost his leverage."

"Not all his leverage," Naruto stated. "He still has the fact he managed to escape from prison under his belt. The public isn't going to let something like that go easily and if that's the case, Old Man Nawaki is going to have to deal with a PR nightmare."

"We'll need Akatsuki then," Sasuke said and saw Naruto nod in agreement. "They'll be able to cover up and clean up any mess that this whole situation potentially puts out. Let's meet up with everyone first before we head out."

"If we go in a large group then he'll definitely fortify himself," Sakura argued. "That compound was a Phoenix hub so there's no telling how may of them are there right now in the first place. And they have an armory, a massive armory. There's enough guns in there to make Anko-nee blush."

"No one expects for this to happen quietly but we'll male sure it's not loud enough to make the seven o'clock news either," Naruto said. "I'll call everyone back to the house. If we're lucky, Itachi may be able to pull up a blueprint from somewhere of the compound."

"Let's hurry," Sasuke said as he grabbed both his and Sakura's helmets. The three of them half-ran half-jogged out of the café and down several flights of stairs and out to the street. He climbed onto his motorcycle and watched as Sakura climbed onto her own and drove off ahead of them. Naruto did his part and sent an update to the network before climbing onto the back of Sasuke's bike and hanging on as Sasuke pulled away from the curb and weaved in and out of traffic.

Back at the Whirlwind Yakuza Estate, Sasuke and Naruto were the last to enter, everyone else already standing around and waiting in the foyer. On the steps sat Minato with Sakura sitting beside him and her fingers laced in Kurama's fur. The sight was familiar to Naruto seeing as when Sakura first came to live with them, she would cling go Kurama when she got too nervous or anxious, especially when it came to memories of her past. As Minato spotted them, he stood to his feet and waved for the two of them to join him. Sasuke hung back by some other Uchiha who had arrived while Naruto took his place on the steps beside Minato.

"Now that everyone is here, I want to get straight to the point," Minato stated, an unusual harshness to his voice that caused everyone to stand with their backs a little straighter. "There's a strong possibility that Baji is holed up in this compound just outside of Kusa City with a significant amount of Phoenix members meaning this isn't going to happen as quietly as we would like. But then again, we'll consider it an opportunity to remind Baji why exactly it was a mistake to target Whirlwind in the first place, don't you agree?"

Collective murmurs of agreement filled the room. The agitation was beginning to become clear on their faces.

"Thanks to Itachi, we were able to get a blueprint of the compound," Minato stated as he waved phone. "Sakura-chan, do you mind?"

Sakura shook her head as she stood up and cleared her throat. "Luckily the compound isn't as large as this one so covering the ground shouldn't be too much of a hassle," she started. "The compound itself is in a heavily wooded area far enough from the city that if we make noise, we don't have to worry about any cops outside of Whirlwind showing up and getting involved. There's a large gate – a guarded gate – for the main entrance so going that way will definitely raise alarms. We may be able to use the woods to our advantage and come in through the service entrance on the west. There's two guards stationed here but they're usually playing cards so sneaking through should be easy. The building by that entrance is where housekeeping and all the other employees come through but they're not loyal to Phoenix so they won't have any problem letting us through without making a sound."

Naruto stood and watched as Sakura continued. Her voice never lost its volume but he could see how badly she tried to subdue the trembling in her hands. She detailed every inch of the compound from memory and she made sure to leave out why exactly she knew all of this because everyone already knew. She had tried to find her way out through the years.

"With that in mind," Minato said as he put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and squeezed, "let's also consider that Baji will most likely be expecting us which means they'll be armed, waiting, and ready when we get there. Because of this, I want a majority if you on standby. Iruka, you'll set up a sniper position and keep your focus in the court yard and exterior from the west. Anko, you'll cover the east and Kakashi cover the South."

"Yes sir," Kakashi spoke for them, Anko and Iruka nodding in agreement.

"We'll take a convoy, nothing fancy," Minato stated. "We'll keep a transport van a couple miles away so if we have to snatch Hanabi and duct out as quickly as possible, they'll be there to take her and bring her back here. Yahiko, I want you and Akatsuki to enter with me from the main gate."

"Enter from the main gate?" Yahiko repeated over the murmurs of concern and confusion. "We're going through the front door?"

"Exactly," Minato answered. "Like I told Kushina earlier, Baji's main goal is Whirlwind and he's not willing to risk that much in order to get it. He gave us twenty-four hours to make a decision because he wanted to be found. If I go out and announce that I'm affiliated with Whirlwind, our entire establishment here in The Land of Fire will be destroyed in a matter of days leaving absolutely no trace of us but a hushed whisper on the streets. I refuse to let that happen."

"Baji may very well kill you the minute you come into view of that compound," Naruto argued, a slightly panicked tone in his voice. "What the hell are we supposed to do if Baji kills you?"

"Well it's not like he can take Whirlwind that easily since you and Sakura-chan are going to be three hours away, safe and sound here in the estate," Minato explained and watched Naruto's widen. "Remember that conversation we had earlier this morning when I told you to stay away from this whole Watanabe Baji situation? I meant every single word of it and my mind hasn't changed since this morning. At best, you can wait beside Hinata at the hospital and keep her company while we handle the situation."

"The only reason Baji targeted Hanabi was because of me," Naruto argued. "And I have a responsibility to Hanabi to uphold my promise to her. You can't keep me locked up here and away from there."

"You'll learn very quickly that there are just some promises you can't keep, no matter what you do," Minato said and watched as Naruto furrowed his brow and clenched his fist. "Now I could care less about what you feel obligated to do right at this very moment because as your father, I'm doing what I can to keep you out of harm's way and the way to do that is to keep you away from Baji and that compound. So, I'll say it again: you're staying here. Understand?"

"I'm going with you," Sakura spoke up, her fist clenched tightly at the edge of her oversized hoodie.

"Excuse me?" Minato looked to her with a confused expression. He expected the defiance from Naruto but not Sakura. "What makes you think I'm going to let you go anywhere near Baji?"

"Because I'm the only thing that's going to keep Baji from shooting you on sight," Sakura explained and Minato opened his mouth to argue but pursed his lips together. "If you want to go in and talk to Baji without causing a disturbance or putting up a fight, you're going to need me to get you through those doors and taken straight to him."

To Be Continued…