19. The Hunt For Tsunade Senju Part Two

Story Start: Weary Walker Inn, One Hour After Fight With Akatsuki

Itachi showed no outward signs of regaining consciousness when he finally came to after Jiraiya knocked him out. He had to keep himself from groaning though when he finished assessing as much of his situation that he could with his eyes closed and not moving a muscle. He could tell that he was being held in a standing position with rope pulling his arms as far out as possible at an upward angle without dislocating something, with his legs secured just as well to the floor and his chakra was barely circulating, slow like molasses pointing to the fact that it was sealed by a master seal master. Although considering who had captured him that was to be expected.

He added seals that monitored his condition to the mental list when he heard a young voice he recognized from the fight say "Glad you could join us in the land of the awake Uchiha."

Seeing no reason to tempt the young blond with a reason to start poking him, Itachi opened his black eyes and his list suddenly went from four items to a full two page report as he took in the room that was literally covered in seals. Hell, even the carpet of the entry way opposite him had pulsing seal paper on it. He recognized six different types of barriers alone, and that didn't even include the two barriers that prevented any kind of chakra from being detected inside the room. Kami knows what the other five seal groups were supposed to do. But what really caught his attention was the seal that the blond Jounin had in front of him. It was on a ten by fifteen inch sheet of glass and seemed to be showing all of his bio stats. Glancing down at his shirtless torso, he saw the chakra inhibiting seal over his navel and what had to be the monitoring seals covering everything else.

Looking back up, he felt a shiver go down his spine at the grim smile on Naruto's face as the younger Jounin said "I know you can't see them, but you've got seals around your eyes ready to completely destroy your Sharingan at the first hint of detecting any chakra going to them, so on the very low chance you can actually activate them at the moment, I would strongly recommend you don't try anything with them."

Naruto stood from the bed he had been sitting on as he said "Also, don't bother trying to lie to us." tapping the glass he was holding, the blond said "This thing picks up everything that's going on with you, including if you lie or not. And don't bother trying to rely on Anbu training to beat it, because it's linked directly to your brain on that count."

Turning and lightly tossing the glass onto the mattress, he said "But that little toy's for Jiraiya once he comes to pick your brain apart for all the juicy bits of Intelligence you can give him." Walking over to stand in front of Itachi and looking into his onyx eyes with his own orbs of sapphire, Naruto said "I have a different way of getting my info and I'm here for a completely different reason altogether. You are going to tell me just what the hell is wrong with you and why turning your younger brother into such a security risk for the Village we serve seemed to be such a good idea." The blonde's eyes suddenly went from sapphire to multicolored and the area around them seemed to fade away only to be replaced with a storming sea that had hundred foot waves surging around them and the worst tropical storm the world had ever seen over their heads spewing lighting every few seconds as rain pounded down on the two figures.

Time Skip: Thirty Minutes Later

"He's all yours." Naruto said as he walked past Jiraiya in the hallway with plans to get something to eat. Jiraiya rose an eyebrow at how the blond seemed to be a little off but shook it off and walked over to the door of their hotel room and opened it up. His eyebrow rose a second time though as Itachi was slumped over sucking in big breaths as if he was nearly drowned and the spymaster wondered just what the blond had been doing in the room.

Scene Change: Two Days Later (Day Of The Poker Tournament), 7:00 AM Naruto's Appropriated Training Field

It was two hours before the poker tournament would start when the perimeter team announced Tsunade's arrival. As Naruto heard one of his clones report the sighting, he stopped working on stabilizing the Rasengan without any help from a Shadow Clone and thought 'She certainly took her time getting here. Although considering how high any bounties she has must be, it could be done on purpose as a security measure.'

Shaking his head of that thought, he turned towards the town and said "Well, I guess it's show time." He joined the slipstream and made his way over to the Gilded Goose. Pouting at the reminder of so much potential money that he was not allowed to get, Naruto thought 'I still can't believe Jiraiya was cruel enough to ban me from entering this tournament. I mean, what's wrong with having a clone sit in for me while we make sure no one gets to Tsunade before we do?'

Shaking his head again, he slipped out of the slipstream and reappeared just outside of the casino and walked over to where he could see Jiraiya and Haku. Jiraiya was talking with the man in charge of security in the casino about how the team from the Hidden Leaf Village swore once again not to help anyone cheat and that if they were caught doing so the punishment could be anything. Quite stupid really when you considered the fact that they weren't even there for the tournament but for one of the contestants, but what can you do with a paranoid member of security who is always looking for guys trying to cheat?

He shook his head again and mildly amused thought that he had taken to doing that way to often before he tugged on Jiraiya's sleeve and said "Tsunade's just entered the chakra perimeter. She'll be here in about fifteen minutes."

Jiraiya nodded and thanked him before he told his two temporary subordinates to go to their assigned exits where they would intercept Tsunade when she left. After all, they might as well allow her to 'enjoy' one last tournament before they brought her back to the Village, even if Naruto had to drag her through the slipstream by her legs to do so. Not that the blonde would actually go that far since nobody alive would be able to react fast enough or be able to fight against the g-forces that such speed produced once he grabbed hold of them, but it was the general idea that counts.

He was shaken from those thoughts when he saw their target walking down the street beside a black haired woman who was holding a pig that was wearing a red vest and a string of pearls around her neck. Naruto blinked before he confirmed that yes, that pig was indeed wearing pearls, and ones of pretty good quality as well. Shaking his head at some of the things people do with their pets, he pushed the talk button on his radio and said "I have eyes on target, she should be entering the building in less than five minutes."

'Understood. Better settle yourselves in boys, Tsunade's gambling luck has the odd tendency of pulling through for her whenever something bad is about to happen. And I'd recon a visit from her old teammate who has orders to return her to the village will count in her book."

"Roger." Naruto and Haku said before they both settled down for a wait, as long or short as it turned out to be.

Time Skip Ten Hours

Naruto had never been more glad for Shadow Clones which could do food runs for him and Haku. True to Jiraiya's word, Tsunade seemed to hold out for a full ten hours before she finally let her temporarily fantastic gambling luck put her on enough of an edge to bow out of the tournament and left the casino with plans to begin preparations to get the hell out of Tanzaku Gai. It's just too bad the entrance she chose was the one the original Naruto was posted at.

As the door opened and Tsunade and the woman, who Jiraiya had told him and Haku was Shizune her apprentice, walked out and towards the exit of the alley, Naruto came out of the slipstream blocking said exit with Green Squad flanking him. The two women paused and Naruto saw Tsunade's eyes focus on his headband just long enough to see the village insignia before her eyes shot around looking for another escape avenue. When Yellow Squad appeared behind them and Blue and Red squads appeared on the roofs of the casino and the building next to it, she frowned and said "I have nothing to say to shinobi of the Leaf."

"Really? Because I personally think you have a lot of explaining to do Lady Tsunade. But that is not for me to decide. The only thing I get to decide right now is how much force I need to use if you don't decide to cooperate with me and my team in returning to the Leaf Village." The original Naruto said as he folded his arms across his chest.

This seemed to amuse Tsunade and she let out a humorless chuckle and said "Kid, you are over five decades away from being able to handle me. Now let us pass."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he said "You seem to be under the impression that you can order me around like a subordinate and are stronger than me. You are wrong on both counts. I can kill you so quickly it's not even funny, and it has been a long time since you've had the authority to order anyone around. No, there are two outcomes to this Lady Tsunade, either you allow me and my clones here to escort you and your apprentice to the hotel where me and my team are staying or I get rid of your ability to move and carry you there anyway. Those are your only two choices."

Tsunade snarled as she said "Well I chose option three: beating you to a pulp!" She charged at the original as fast as she could intent on creaming the punk only to be surprised when the blond sighed before he seemed to disappear. But before she could wonder where the brat went, Naruto appeared behind her facing back into the alley with his right hand already on the collar of her shirt and his arm throwing her over his head and down onto the asphalt of the alley directly in front of him. Tsunade only allowed herself a split second of surprise while she was in the air, and as soon as she hit the asphalt, her leg was already trying to sweep Naruto off his feet even as she began to get back up. Naruto avoided it though by joining the slipstream and disappearing from human sight.

Tsunade frowned as she tried to find the pest and she slowly spun on the spot as her eyes scanned the entire alley. Then she felt a weight on her head and she heard "Whatcha looking for Doc?" Shizune's jaw dropped as Naruto reappeared doing a one handed handstand on Tsunade's head with his right hand while eating a celery stick with his left like he had no cares in the world whatsoever. Tsunade's eye twitched, but just as she began bringing her right arm up to hit the preteen, said blond seemed to flicker to a position in the air behind her with his chakra filled right foot already connecting with her right ear and she went flying into the alley wall five feet away leaving a small spider web of cracks where she hit.

Naruto landed on the asphalt still chewing on his snack. He cocked his head to the side and lowered the half eaten stick of celery as he said "You know, I really expected you to have better control of your emotions considering how good of a medic you are. Don't you guys have to stay calm no matter what the situation is?"

Tsunade growled before she spun around and tapped the ground with her heel causing the alley and the two buildings framing it to shake from the miniature earthquake it caused as the area in front of her exploded upwards. But to her frustration, any debris that got within a couple of inches of the young shinobi was suddenly turned into dust, and the brat had the nerve to start eating his celery again like nothing was happening!

She was about to try using a Genjutsu to stall the blond enough to get one good hit on him when one of the clones said "Hey Boss, don't you think we should keep the collateral damage down?"

"Good point. Guess I should finish this." The original said tossing the last of the celery in his mouth and chewing twice before swallowing as he shifted into a loose attack stance with his hands in half ram signs. Tsunade was about to make a snaky remark to that before the Uzumaki disappeared again and immediately afterwards, Tsunade crashed to the floor as Naruto hit four pressure points that completely robbed her CNS of its ability to control her four limbs.

Naruto reappeared kneeling on his right knee and looking down at her. When her head snapped up at his appearance, he shook his head as he said "I did give you a fair warning Lady Tsunade, now I've got to carry you to the Hotel Just be glad that no one is going to be seeing this." Looking up past her to Shizune who was looking at Naruto with awe and a bit of fear, he said "You will come willingly right? I'd rather not have to do the same to you as I did to your stubborn master."

Shizune shook her head and said "I won't be trouble." 'The speed this kid has is unbelievable, no wonder they made him a Jounin.'

Naruto nodded before he pressed a button on his radio and said "This is Naruto, I've got Tsunade and her apprentice and am heading back to the hotel. I'll send a clone for you both." He waited for Haku and Jiraiya to confirm before he flipped Tsunade onto her back and picked her up bridal style. Ignoring the woman trying to curse him out, and looking up to the roofs above him, he said "Red Squad, Blue Squad, head back out of town and set up a new chakra perimeter." The squad leaders saluted before the eight clones disappeared. Looking down at Yellow Squad, he said "Yellow Squad, do a sweep around the town for any shinobi chakra presences and then join them." All four clones saluted before they too joined the slipstream and left. Turning around, he said "Green Leader, I want you to bring Shizune with us, Green two and three, go pick up the others and bring them to the room. Green four, I want you to perform a quick check on our guest since he should be waking up in about an hour."

G2 and G3 both nodded before they left while G4 gave a quick salute before he headed out. Green Leader joined the slipstream as well and a second later Shizune suddenly vanished. Tsunade's eyes widened a fraction of an inch before the alley around them suddenly turned into a hotel room with Shizune and the clone already there and the original laid Tsunade down on one of the beds. Her face became marred with an ugly frown as soon as she saw the speed demon's teammates. Her eyebrow momentarily rose as she saw Itachi strapped into a chair reading a book but paid it no attention as she focused more on her teammate.

"Jiraiya, what are you doing here?" Tsunade spat.

"Hello to you too Princess." Jiraiya said with a smirk before he looked to his godson and said with a raised eyebrow "Is there a reason why you were carrying her like that? And why hasn't she strangled you yet?"

Naruto shrugged and said "She didn't want to come quietly so I hit a few of her pressure points."

Jiraiya gave an "Ah." before Green Leader said "Boss, if it's alright with you, I'd like to get back to our sweeps."

The original nodded and gave a dismissive wave of his hand and Green Squad joined the slipstream to go back to the objective they were created for. Jiraiya frowned as he looked at where the clones had been before he faced the original and said "You're going to have one hell of a headache when that squadron of yours dispels."

The original shrugged and said "Not really, they each create and dispel each day and the memories aren't that unique so I can easily just file them away. It's not like they're constantly fighting twenty four seven in a war or anything."

Jiraiya's answer was cut off by Tsunade as she said "I don't care what's going on here, but if one of you doesn't get rid of this paralysis right this instant, I'm going to do it my self and you won't like the results!"

Naruto snorted and said "We both know you're bluffing Lady Tsunade. I specifically hit the points that you can't alter with chakra like a medic nin such as yourself would do. And we wouldn't do so anyway since you would just trash this room trying to beat us to a pulp and we would most likely have to foot the bill. So why don't you just lay there for the next ten minutes until the paralysis goes away on its own and use that time to cool your head so we can actually have a decent conversation."

Shizune, Jiraiya and Haku all stared at Naruto with various levels of disbelief on their faces. 'Does he have death wish?!' Haku and Shizune thought while Jiraiya suddenly smirked and thought 'Ah Naruto, you've got balls of adamantine my young protégé.'

Tsunade seemed to be surprised that the blond would dismiss her so easily before she snarled and her chakra surged as she tried to remove the paralysis on her own thinking that there was a slim chance that the blond had actually hit the wrong points for her arms. But true to Naruto's word, nothing happened since he had accurately hit the right points in just the right way to give her limbs full temporary paralysis. Didn't stop her from trying though as her chakra continued to surge. Or at least it did for thirty seconds before Naruto let loose with his presence and Tsunade suddenly found herself drowning in a sea that was in the middle of a raging storm while the younger blond merely watched..

Two minutes later, the presence ended and Tsunade began gasping for breath, her chest heaving as she tried to get air in her lungs as her body registered the fact that there was actually air around her. As she stared at Naruto in shock due to the fact the last time she had encountered a presence user was over two decades ago, Naruto crossed his arms and said "Now that we've got that pointlessness over, do you think we could actually have a civilized conversation?"

A nod was his answer and Jiraiya drew attention to himself as he said "Good, because we've got a lot to talk about."

Time Skip: Two Hours Later Weary Walker's Roof Top

Naruto stood on the rooftop of the hotel enjoying the view as well as the strong wind that was blowing from the north with his partner standing next to him. Jiraiya and Tsunade were still downstairs, although they were simply reminiscing about old times now. Tsunade didn't put up much of a fight when Jiraiya revealed the scroll that the Hokage had written for her which contained a letter of unknown contents and orders to return to the village. Whatever the letter had said, it seemed to have shifted Tsunade's attitude ninety degrees to the right. She was still a moody lady who hated the lot given to her in life, but she was going to be accompanying them back to the village to take over at the hospital anyway, as well as start up that medic nin project that she had wanted during the last war.

"It'll be good to be back in the village once this is over." Haku said as his eyes closed while a particularly strong wind blew past.

"Yeah, I could use a day of down time where I don't have to worry about anything myself. Two battles against S rank opponents within a couple of weeks of each other is unusual even for me. It will be nice to have a day or two where I don't have anything abnormal going on."

As if he had just tempted fate, Naruto's radio crackled and one of the clones on the perimeter said "This is Red Leader, we've got a bit of a situation here Boss. We're picking up two chakra signatures coming in from the north east, and unfortunately, one of them is very familiar."

Naruto frowned as he pushed the talk button and said "Who is it?"

"Orochimaru. At the pace he and his escort are traveling, he'll be in sight of the village within thirty minutes."

"Understood. Maintain position and stand by for orders." Naruto said before he released the talk button and sighed. Shaking his head, Naruto said "I guess it's just one of those days. Come on. Jiraiya's going to want to know about this."

Five minutes later, Jiraiya was holding the bridge of his nose as he said "First we take on that group from Akatsuki a few days ago, now we've got Orochimaru coming to town. What is this, S-rank get together week?"

"I believe an apt saying for our situation is when it rains, it pours. You have seniority on all counts with this one Jiraiya, how do you want to handle this?" Naruto asked.

Everyone shifted their gazes to the spymaster and he closed his eyes in thought for a brief moment before he opened them again and said "Naruto, Tsunade, you two come with me. Haku, Shizune, you two will stay here while we deal with this." The man waited for the two to nod before he turned to Naruto and said "Alright kid, take us to the perimeter."

Naruto nodded and a split second later the three disappeared. Shizune looked over at the last person in the room in confusion and said "Um, Haku right?" Getting a nod from the Ice user, she said "Why is Itachi Uchiha here?" Haku followed her pointed arm and saw Itachi Uchiha sitting on the chair by the window calmly reading a scroll on high level earth style Ninjutsu given to him by Jiraiya.

Haku sighed before he began explaining what happened two days before the poker tournament.

Scene Change: Chakra Perimeter, Red Leader's Position

Red Leader's eyes shifted to the right as he saw his creator as well as the two members of the Sannin in their group appeared on his right. Jiraiya wasted no time in regaining his senses as soon as they arrived and said "Report."

"Orochimaru and his escort are currently about a quarter of a mile that way, up on the cliff. They've been there for the past six minutes. We've picked up small, nearly undetectable pulses of chakra heading towards the town which leads us to believe that they are actively searching for a chakra signature." The clone frowned as the chakra pulses suddenly stopped and he said "And it seems that they have found whoever they are looking for."

"I have an idea who they're looking for." Jiraiya said as he looked at Tsunade.

Tsunade frowned and said "Any particular reason why he would be looking for me now instead of before?"

"Most likely it's due to those fourth degree burns on his arms, chest, and back I gave the creep during the second part of the Chunnin Exams. Since trace amounts of my chakra were pushed into them, they would be a real bitch to heal since a portion of my chakra is converted tailed beast chakra which is highly corrosive on a good day. First and Second degree burns are tricky, Third and Fourth are pretty much impossible for most people." Naruto said drawing attention from the two Sannin.

Tsunade's mind was already involuntarily going through different ways she could possibly try to heal such a burn even as she thought that her traitorous teammate deserved worse. Jiraiya though was putting that information under what to expect in the upcoming fight. A moment later, he said "Alright, since Orochimaru most likely knows Naruto and I are here, we're not going to try any fancy sneak around then ambush plans. Instead we're going to smash up against them as fast as possible. Naruto, I want you to bring me and Tsunade within ten feet of the person who is escorting Orochimaru. We'll deal with him or her until you finish your part. As soon as you let us go, I want you to take Orochimaru out of the equation as best as you can. Preferably leaving him in as many pieces as possible, the smaller the better."

Naruto nodded and the three were gone from the area. Red Leader watched his creator rush towards Orochimaru's position and thought 'Go get 'em Boss.'

With Orochimaru

Orochimaru had no warning when his two teammates and the only SS ranked shinobi currently in existence made their entry. There was no chakra cloud preceding them indicating possible faster than the eye could see travel around them. No killing intent telling him someone wanted him dead. There was just their presences just over a quarter of a mile away one moment, and the next split second, they were right on top of him with him encased in a cylinder shaped mass of wind chakra held by Naruto who had a rather grim smile on his face as he said "No escaping this time." The blond then proceeded to pick the man up off of the ground and shake the canister of cutting chakra like a drink mixer at a cantina.

Imagine being stuck inside of a cylinder shaped cheese grater with holes so small, they were pretty much made to shred on an atomic level. The pieces holding these graters are constantly pressing up against you, adjusting themselves to your shape even as they cut into you, efficiently tearing you apart atom by atom, until there isn't anything left, no blood splatter, no mist, nothing, just a bit of multicolored gas that is rapidly dispersed into the air leaving no trace of you ever existing.

In two point four seconds, Naruto had coated his arms with the Uzumaki multicolored chakra and shook the container as fast as he could causing the wind natured chakra inside to shred Orochimaru on such a small level, it looked like Orochimaru had actually joined the slipstream and fled the area.

Sighing as he released the wind natured chakra in front of him, Naruto thought 'One more S rank to report killed when we get home.'

With Kabuto

Kabuto Yakushi, former Root agent, spy for the Akatsuki, and Orochimaru's second hand man was in shock. He had just seen a Leaf nin that was younger than him completely erase all traces of the man he had given his entire loyalty to.

As a shocked "Lord Orochimaru." made it's way out of his mouth, only combat instincts honed from years of being behind enemy lines saved him as his gut told him to MOVE YOU IDIOT! Listening to it, Kabuto stumbled in a backwards jump that held none of his usual grace barely keeping his body from becoming a pile of goo in the crater Tsunade caused when she tried to take advantage of his shocked state.

Those same instincts shouted at him again and he rapidly substituted himself with a log from the nearby forest, thereby avoiding the Rasengan that Jiraiya had tried to shove into his chest when he came bursting out of the debris cloud.

Now temporarily out of his shock due to the combat situation, Kabuto snarled as his hands lit up in the green glow of activated chakra scalpels and he launched himself at Jiraiya with the intent of doing major damage clear on his face. But before he could actually get in range for an attack, he was suddenly clothes lined by Naruto who appeared on his left with his right arm already against the medic nin's throat.

Standard POV

Naruto watched Kabuto's eyes widen as he proceeded to slam into the ground with a detached sense of amusement. Looking down at the spy who was currently clutching his throat and coughing as he tried to get air through via medical chakra, he said "Kabuto, why am I not surprised? You know, you always rubbed me the wrong way whenever I came across you during my supply runs for the hospital. Unfortunately, someone simply rubbing you the wrong way isn't enough to get a guy under interrogation or even put under watch, and you never actually gave away anything that I could use as evidence against you."

Kabuto's breathing had returned to normal and his hand left his now fully healed throat as he said "Then it is a good thing I was well trained in not leaving any evidence."

His eyes widened in pain as a kunai dug into both of his arms and feet burying themselves to the hilt as Naruto calmly said "How good were you trained in removing objects from your limbs without use of your hands or feet?" Gesturing to the seal tags tied to the handles of the kunai, he said "Those things negate any kind of chakra they come into contact, sealing off the source even after they've been removed." Naruto's calm look never left his face as he said "I'm sure Ibiki and Anko are going to have so much fun with you when we get back to the village."

Kabuto glared at the blond as he said "You're precious village will not be able to hold me. One day I will escape, and when I do I will burn the village down for what you did to Lord Orochimaru."

Naruto's eyes narrowed a fraction as he said "If that day ever comes Kabuto, you will have a lot more to worry about then trying to destroy one of the Great 5. But for now, enjoy our hospitality for a while." And with that as the end of the conversation, Naruto flickered and Kabuto's head fell back as he left the world of the wakening with a bruise on his forehead showing where Naruto had knocked him out.

Time Skip: Two Hours Later

Itachi Uchiha donned the Weasel Anbu mask that he had kept even after leaving the village as he stood inside Green Squad's diamond formation. His rather rare and what he had previously believed untreatable chakra disease had been treated by Tsunade just an hour ago and he had a relatively common medicine that would help his recovery over the next month. Now, he was heading out to the ruins of the Whirlpool village to join the team of Whirlpool nin who were even now making their way towards the ancient home of the Uzumaki clan with Green Squad acting as escorts until both he and the Uzumaki team reached their destination.

He had been surprised when Naruto had given him the mission and even more surprised when Jiraiya had approved of said mission. He would essentially act as a body guard for the team while they were in the Elemental Nations unless Jiraiya called on his services via two way communications scroll. This would keep him relatively out of the way and safe from any Leaf nin coming upon him while Jiraiya and Naruto had words with the Old Man about possibly clearing his name.

Giving one last nod of thanks to Tsunade and Naruto each, Itachi signaled his readiness and he and Green Squad joined the slipstream and all traces of them vanished. There was silence for ten seconds before Tsunade lightly pushed off of the wall she had been leaning against and said "Well, I guess it's time for us to head back as well."

The others nodded and filed out of the hotel room. Ten minutes later, the group was running at low Jounin speeds towards home.

Scene Change Location: Hidden Rain Village

Nagato Uzumaki, now known only as Pein, stared down at the Hidden Rain Village in deep thought as his Deva path stood on top of his tower. He paid no notice to the rain that continuously fell from the sky, instead focusing on the meeting that had occurred two days ago and its rather sever repercussions.

Two days ago, Zetsu had called for a meeting via astral projection and every key member had answered his call. The plant-man hybrid had then described how the four man team he had sent after the Kyubi Jinchuriki had been pretty much smashed to bits with absolute ease by their target.

That report had shown that it would be damn near impossible to capture the blond alive. If someone could take down four S class missing-nin in less than ten minute and uninjured, then the chances of him being able to take down the rest of them without obtaining any kind of serious injury in the process were very high. So Pein had told the Akatuski to hold off from collecting the rest of the jinchuriki for a couple of years and instead focus on obtaining funds and training as much as possible. Hopefully it would drive the jinchuriki into a false sense of security and they could take him down in a trap of some sort.

Still, the fact that Kisame and Itachi were captured, not killed did not bear well for Akatuski's plans. Plans of removing them from any position of informing the Leaf Village about Akatuski would have to be formed rapidly. Fortunately, the two would be able to hold out on giving Intel for quite a while.

Sarutobi: Next Time on Flash Fire, Jiraiya and his team return to the Leaf Village with Kisame and Kabuto in tow. But the forces of the Hidden Sound Village and the Akatsuki want their agents back and the Sound is willing to go to any means necessary to retrieve their 2iC.