The following day Naruto, Sakura, and Toshiro made it to the front gates of Konoha. The sun hadn't risen in the sky yet, so they planned to leave before it got warmer as the day went on. Toshiro's home, the Sun Kingdom, was located on an island near Kirigakure. Naruto spent most of the night before deciding on a plan for the group to use to get Toshiro home. He checked his watch. It was five minutes to six am, and he exhaled the breath he was holding.
Toshiro yawned next to Sakura as he began to rub his eyes. He wished he could've gotten five more minutes of sleep, but he knew he needed to be ready. He could finally go home to the remainder of his family. Although he would miss Sakura, Sai, and the staff at the hospital, he was homesick. And wanted nothing more than to wake up in his room once again.
Both Naruto and Sakura turned when they noticed Ino and Sai approaching them. Now that the whole group was together, it was time for Naruto, the leader of this mission, to inform them of his plan. The feeling of nervousness and excitement filled him from head to toe as this was his opportunity to put everything he'd been training for to good use. Everything besides filing away papers and getting laundry, that is. The group formed a circle with all eyes on Naruto as he explained the plan.
"Okay, Sai, I want you to make us some of those hawks again. Three of them specifically. I'll take one; Sakura will take one with Toshiro, leaving Ino and Sai on the last one. We need to get to the ocean; we can decide whether to take a chance by boat or fly again. I suggest we stop in this remote village today and then tomorrow, the Land of waves. While flying, Ino should keep a lookout while using her sensory abilities to let us know if we're in any immediate danger and can let us know through her mind techniques. If we run into enemy ninjas, Sai and I will engage with Ino. Sakura will primarily look after Toshiro, but if needed, Ino and Sakura can switch duties y'know. In the worst-case scenario, either Ino or Sakura will get Toshiro back here as soon as possible. Any questions?"
Ino raised her hand, and Naruto nodded in her direction for her to proceed with her question. "Just one question, what do we do once we get him to the Sun Kingdom? If his uncle was behind all of this, how do we know that Toshiro is safe?"
Toshiro smiled and looked up at Ino. "My Grandmother and Aunt are there. If you get me to them, they will keep me safe."
Naruto also added. "We'll confirm with them both that they are fully safe before we start heading back. Just in case they want us to finish up any loose ends."
Ino smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. "Then that covers everything I needed."
Naruto nodded. "Anyone else?" He asked, looking around the group.
Sai smiled as he started undoing the large scroll he carried. "Solid plan as far as I'm concerned.
"Nothing from me," Ino said, smiling.
"Or me," Sakura added.
Naruto was glad to see that his plan had gone over well. The group gave Sai some space as he began painting the inked hawks they would use. Toshiro was curious as he watched Sai paint the images. Sai noticed this and smiled, moving back a little so the boy could see a little easier as he continued painting the flying creatures. When he finished, he held out his right hand, outperforming the tiger's hand seal.
"Super beast scroll!"
One by one, the drawing shifted and moved until the three hawks flew from the scroll high into the sky. Toshiro's mouth dropped open as the giant hawks descended in a circular motion before landing before the group. The hawks bowed their heads, inviting the shinobi and boy to climb aboard before they were to depart.
"Just a moment!" A voice called.
The group turned to see Kakashi and Shikamaru walking toward them. Naruto eye's widened as Kakashi went to him directly while Shikamaru headed over to Ino.
"Here," Kakashi said, reaching into his pockets and pulling out a pouch filled with Ryo coin pieces.
Naruto was confused while he held his hand out, taking the pouch. "What's this for Kakashi Sensei?"
"I know this isn't a mission you will be getting paid for. But that doesn't mean I don't care about you all doing this for the village. Use this if you all need to pay for a hotel or a boat. Anything you don't use, bring it back to me. It's my money after." Kakashi explained.
"Kakashi Sensei I-"
"I insist; all your money needs to go to paying off that ring and looking for an apartment or house with Sakura," Kakashi said, cutting him off. "Alright, I held you all up long enough. Bring your team back safely. They're trusting you with their lives."
Naruto smirked, nodding once before hitting his chest twice with his right bandaged hand. "You can count on me, y'know!"
He turned and got on the bird waiting for him that was next to the one Sakura and Toshiro were sitting on already. Toshiro was sitting in front of Sakura, petting the inked bird, but the bird did not react. Frowning a little with his eyebrows drawn together, he turned to look at Sakura, who'd watched the interaction smiling. She thought it was adorable how he reacted to the bird.
"It didn't notice my touch. Why is that miss Sakura?" Toshiro asked curiously.
"They seem life-like, don't they? But these birds can move and fly because of Sai's chakra." Sakura explained.
That explanation only left Toshiro more curious. "What's Chakra?"
While Sakura explained what chakra was to Toshiro, Sai waited for Ino to climb behind him on his bird. A strange, awkward feeling seemed to fill Sai whenever he was around Ino now. The conversation with the other men the night he had dinner with them came to mind.
'Sai, Ino was flirting with you at the wedding, y'know,' Naruto's voice filled his mind.
Sai hadn't given much thought to flirting or settling down. He read about said feelings in books while trying to reintegrate into society after being in the Anbu's Root group for so long. But the idea of Ino having feelings toward him left him confused. Taking a deep breath, he needed to refocus on the mission. He was the one who suggested this mission, after all. And he'll find the time to sort through these feelings later.
Ino, who Shikamaru stopped, was curious about her teammate's concern. She was used to his usual go-with-the-flow laid-back attitude. She hadn't seen him so seriously since the war. So, seeing his reaction made her pay closer attention to this conversation.
"You got everything you need?" Shikamaru asked.
Ino grinned, chuckling a little while running a hand through her hair. "Of course, no need to be worried about me, Shikamaru. Besides, I'll be riding with Sai!"
Shikamaru shook his head, sighing. "Troublesome woman, make sure you be careful. Otherwise, Choji and I'll have to come out there and drag you back. You're the head of the Yamanaka clan, after all."
"Oh, I know, Ino-Shika-Cho for life. I'll be fine, I promise. And if I'm not, keep an ear out." She said, tapping her forehead. To let him know she'd send him a message telepathically.
He nodded once and backed up as she moved to climb on the back of the bird and wrapped her arms around Sai's waist. As soon as everyone was ready, the birds began to fly into the air, and Toshiro's laughter and excitement could be heard as they ascended higher into the sky.
Ino rested her head on Sai's shoulder as she leaned against his back. She was doing this for multiple reasons. For starters, she was the one who could keep a lookout for the group as an enemy ninja could attack them at any moment. There were no unfamiliar chakra signatures that she could sense. At the same time, she was using this moment to hug Sai and be close to him. The smile on her face indicated that she was delighted with Naruto's plan to have her with him. They had been flying without a cloud in the blue sky for two hours.
"Ino," Sai said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Mmm?" She answered him.
"No sign of anyone thing yet?" He asked, looking slightly over his shoulder.
"Not right now," Ino said but focused on the surrounding area to be sure.
In front of the group, Naruto kept his eyes forward as he led his team. He wanted this mission to go well, not only for himself but for Toshiro. He looked over his shoulder at both Sakura and Toshiro to ensure they were okay. Toshiro was looking up towards the sky with a grin on his face. Sakura's eyes locked onto his immediately, he winked, grinning a little, and she blushed, smiling in response.
He looked forward, glad he could get that kind of reaction from Sakura. Despite dating for six months, seeing her positive responses to his flirtations always excited him. So far, the mission was going very well, but he knew he couldn't relax just yet. Flying was faster than traveling by jumping through the trees. But Sakura advised him that because they were escorting a child, they should rest before reaching their destination for the day.
Ino continued to focus on the task at hand. Her current teammates and Toshiro were the only chakra signatures she could sense besides her own. But then suddenly, that changed; a significant chakra signature was large enough to cause concern. She quickly opened her eyes and straightened up, which made Sai look over his shoulder at her.
She established a mental network between the four shinobi. 'Guys, there's a shinobi up ahead of us.' Ino informed them mentally.
Naruto focused his attention ahead to see if he could spot the enemy. 'Alright then, I'll-'
Before he could finish communicating his thought to the group, a sudden violent gust of wind began to circle them roughly. It was so bad that they had to abandon the ink birds as close to the trees as possible. The group was trapped within a vortex of the wind, and the closer they were to the wind wall, the rougher it was. They moved to what appeared to be the center of the vortex and needed to regroup.
Naruto could barely see anything and decided whatever was happening; he needed to act now. Without missing a beat, he used Kurama's chakra to form a chakra version of Kurama's face around them to stop the wind from whipping them. But the sound of the wind made it hard to hear anything besides the thoughts of each other through Ino's telepathy.
'Kurama's chakra cloak will go with me if I try to move.' Naruto mentally told the group. 'But I can still send my clones out into this vortex.'
Sai nodded. 'Alright, I'll go with them and try to find the enemy doing this.'
Ino grabbed his arm, stopping him from going. "I'm also sensing two other enemies that are surrounding us. They're already inside the vortex and coming fast toward us."
She shared the location of the incoming ninja so that everyone could see what she was sensing.
'Damn,' Naruto thought to the group. 'We need to cut them off before they get close to Toshiro. Change of plans, Sai and Sakura, head the incoming shinobi off. Ino and I will keep Toshiro safe. Meanwhile, the clones will try to deal with this wind wall.'
The group nodded in agreement, and Sakura told Toshiro the plan. Sakura and Sai went in the directions that Ino told them to go while keeping Toshiro close to her. Naruto performed his signature shadow clone jutsu making ten clones and sending eight of the clones toward the direction of the enemy, who they believed was causing the wind wall. Meanwhile, the real Naruto would maintain the Kurama's chakra cloak to keep Ino and Toshiro safe along with the remaining clones.
He looked in the direction Sakura went and nodded once.
'Be safe, sweetheart.' He thought.
Ino frowned and looked at him. 'Okay, I'll close the mental link down now. We don't want to hear you and Sakura flirting at a time like this.'
'Yes, please do so, Ino. Before Sakura starts up.' Sai mentally thought.
'Shut it, Sai!' Sakura thought angrily.
Naruto blushed profusely, crossing his arms over his chest, and Ino dropped the mental link while trying not to laugh at Naruto pouting.
Back at Konoha, Shikamaru was sitting at his desk in the Hokage building, looking over the reports he needed to look over for the day. He hated to admit this, but something about the mission Naruto and the others went on today was bothering him. The timelines of all of this weren't adding up to him. If Toshiro was a Prince of a far-off Land, and they knew he and the King were headed to the Leaf, why didn't they push the village further for information on the lost Prince? And how was it that several shinobi who investigated said the accident didn't see an injured caretaker and a child heading to the village?
He was conflicted; he wanted to kid to get home like the others. But at the same time, the nagging feeling that there was more to the story was repeatedly playing in his head. When Shikamaru had thoughts like this, it usually meant more work was coming his way, and that was the last thing he needed. Standing up from his desk, he started making his way outside. He thought if he took a smoke break, it'd clear his mind and allow him to finish his work in peace.
He started down the hall and got to the stairs, and stopped. Groaning, he turned around and shuffled toward Kakashi's office. He would not be satisfied until he read that report one more time. When he arrived at Kakashi's door, he knocked twice and frowned, already knowing what would happen.
"Come in," Kakashi's voice said from behind the door.
He entered and closed the door behind him. The sun shone through the glass windows on the far end of the office. Kakashi was leaning back in his chair and twiddling his thumbs with the scroll he wanted on his desk. Shikamaru's frown deepened as he was sure Kakashi had already come to the same thought he did. And not only that, he let the team go ahead with the mission anyways.
"So, you're not buying this story completely either," Shikamaru stated before he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Kakashi nodded. "It's a possibility that it could be something underneath the surface. Or maybe this is a cut-and-dry situation. What are your thoughts on this?"
"Alright, first, we investigated the royal family being attacked after the Toneri mission. And of said investigation, it was initially reported that there were no survivors. But suddenly, a kid comes to the village gates and says they don't have any family and is immediately taken to the orphanage. And said kid just so happens to be a part of the Children's medical clinic, where this kid establishes a relationship with Sakura."
Kakashi nodded, and Shikamaru was getting frustrated at him being so calm about this situation. He decided to ignore this and continue with his thoughts.
"Then, Sakura's apartment was set on fire because they were looking for the kid several months later. And then they attack the hospital looking for this kid after Sakura and Ino return from a mission going to Suna and back."
Kakashi nodded and stopped leaning backward in his seat. "So, what conclusion did you come up with?" He asked seriously.
"That clearly, the first set of shinobi were some of the worse Toshiro's uncle could've hired and apparently made a better investment this time. Or that someone wants something to do with Sakura. So getting her out of the village would be an ideal situation."
Kakashi nodded. "I agree; she is a valuable asset during this reconstruction period. But this is all just a theory right now. A theory that I can tell is eating at you. And now one of your teammates is in the middle of it."
Shikamaru nodded, and Kakashi picked up the scroll and held it out for Shikamaru to take. He took the scroll and put it into his back pocket tool pouch. Kakashi folded his hands on his desk before slightly tilting his hand to the side.
"You already know with the case being closed, reopening the case may uncover more information. And if you happen to find said information, I'm encouraging you to follow up on it." Kakashi explained. "And team eight just got back from their mission an hour ago. I already explained the situation to them along with Choji. All the shinobi who did the original investigation are back in the village. Feel free to ask them questions regarding the mission. And when you're ready to leave the village, gather them up and head on out. Naruto's group might need backup. If you happen to find something suspicious."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru replied dryly, shaking his head. "Alright, I'll get started on meeting with the original shinobi in the village. And I'll send you a message if we head out of the village."
Kakashi nodded. "Best of luck, Shikamaru."
Shikamaru waved over his shoulder as he headed out of the office. He needed to interview six shinobi and thoroughly review the scroll in his pocket. Although the Fifth Hokage loved to send him on missions as much of the Sixth Hokage did. The one thing he missed about her was that she was straightforward. And not play all these of these mind games.