About four days later Team Seven's break was over "Okay Team Seven back to training, your Chunin now, which means no more kid gloves, they come off starting now so Naruto, I want you to practice cutting this leaf with just your wind nature" Kakashi clapped.
Once breakfast had been eaten and he'd showed up to corral them outside, his first order of business was to hand Naruto a leaf "Honestly….come on Naruto-kun, I'll instruct you" Minato shook his head at his old student.
Before leading his son a short distance away from the others to begin his new training "Sakura-chan we'll work on your strength, so see that boulder start punching it, without enhancing your fist with chakra" Kakashi pointed.
Sending Sakura off to complete her task and she immediately started pummeling the rock even without chakra, her punch was no joke apparently "Are you trying to make her more scary" Sasuke hissed at his sensei, face pale.
Kakashi chuckled "That's the point yes Sasuke-kun as for you, I believe its time you learned how to wield your sharingan more efficiently" the Copy Ninja said, revealing his own sharingan before simply attacking.
Four hours later "Your task is impossible, I couldn't even cut the stupid leaf" Naruto whined at Kakashi, showing the leaf to him which didn't have a single cut to it at all, it had basically just sat there in his hand the whole time while nothing happened.
"Naruto, when has Kakashi-sensei made you do something that you couldn't eventually do, exactly, you'll get it, just have patience" Sakura quipped as she meandered towards them healing her bruised and bloody knuckles.
She was quite the dutiful big sister to Naruto, scolding him when he did something bad, praising him for doing good and always encouraging him to not give up when things seemed impossible "Right, hehe" Naruto laughed sheepishly.
Rubbing the back of his head as he did so "Could you heal my eyes Sakura, my visions kind of whacked right now" Sasuke asked after a moment when he found it difficult to not trip over everything because he could barely see.
Sakura shot Kakashi a disapproving look "Be more careful with your sharingan, you to Kakashi-sensei, we don't need you passing out again just because you used it to much and strained yourself" Sakura scolded.
And on Jashin's command, filtered her secondary chakra into their eyes as she healed them "Mou even I get scolded" Kakashi pouted, Sakura harrumphed at him and tilted her nose in the air while nodding imperiously.
Minato listening to their antics with an amused smile on his lips "So what are you going to do now" Minato inquired once lunch was being cooked over the stove, Sakura was a decent chef to his surprise though he did miss his wife's cooking, their daughters would just have to do.
Immediately Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto peered at Kakashi who shook his head "Free for the rest of the afternoon, I won't make you take on anymore D ranks so training will be our primary objective until I say otherwise" the Copy Ninja declared.
Students nodding in understanding even if they weren't cute little genin anymore, after lunch had been eaten Kakashi left, Minato on his heels "Their rather well behaved for you, have they given you any trouble at all since you became their sensei" Minato asked.
Wanting to learn more about the kids "Hmm lets see, if I recall they were rather mischievous in the beginning, had people believing I had a girly habit if you can believe it….but all three of them have done their utmost to follow my directions no matter what they are" Kakashi admitted.
"And the construction going on around the village, what's that all about" Minato waved his hand gesturing to a building that had been partially destroyed by a jutsu during the attack from Suna once they'd attempted their coup.
Just thinking about it made him clench his teeth "Sand attempted a coup d'etat, that is why those four were in Sunagakure" Kakashi informed, still pissed that Sakura had been taken hostage and tortured, the sound of her crying that day had really eaten at something deep within him.
The blonde tilted his head to the side "I've been thinking about what Lord Hokage asked me…..and I think I'm going to take up post as Hokage again, to protect them Danzo has to be shut down, Lord Third doesn't have the heart to do" Minato announced suddenly.
Fortunately his former student happened to agree with him over the matter, when the two of them arrived in the Hokage's office they found Hiruzen in a meeting with Jiraiya of all people "Minato-kun, how, you didn't mention this Sarutobi-sensei" Jiraiya gaped.
Suspicious because it shouldn't be possible for the man to be standing there like he was "I was just getting to that Jiraiya, Minato was returned to us through unconventional means about five days ago" Hiruzen intoned seriously.
Kakashi's charcoal iris glinted with understanding, he only wished he'd known earlier, though he did understand those kids hadn't had a chance to mention anything about their collective religion nor had they uttered a peep about Jashin lately.
Not that he blamed them, Minato wasn't ready to hear the truth "Anyway as I was saying, our hospital has been run into the ground, most medics are incompetent and at this point it's practically as bad as Kirigakure's hospital, we need to bring Tsunade back" Jiraiya said.
"Jiraiya-sama speaks the truth, Sakura-chan's the most competent medic in the village right now if I had to say and she's still learning" Kakashi nodded, hatching the most hare-brained plan ever, that is if Tsunade even came back.
Hiruzen couldn't deny that piece of information "True…she did heal Hayate, very well Jiraiya, you will track Tsunade down and convince her to come back, however as you've requested to take Naruto-kun with you as your apprentice, I have one condition" Hiruzen relented.
Leveling his former student with a look that would brook no arguments, Jiraiya waited impatiently "You take Sakura and Sasuke with you, they work best as a team" the Hokage stated, Jiraiya grumbled under his breath for a moment.
Before nodding "Alright so where can I find them, I'd like to leave in a few days" Jiraiya asked looking at Team Seven's sensei who glanced to Hiruzen who tilted his head in acknowledgement of the unasked question.
Then Kakashi put his hand on Jiraiya's shoulder, in a poof of smoke both men were gone "Now what can I do for you Minato-kun" Hiruzen turned his attention on Minato who had remained even as Kakashi had left.
Minato stepped forward "About your offer…..I accept, I'll take the position back, no offense Lord Third but something needs to be done about Danzo, I won't have my children in constant danger while their in the village" Minato admitted.
Causing the wizened old man to sigh "You might be right Minato, something should have been done long ago, I just didn't have the heart for it" Hiruzen sighed wearily, knowing the younger man was right.
He shouldn't have let Danzo have the run of things for as long as he had, but now it was time to put a stop to what his old friend was doing "So when would you like to announce that your stepping down and I'm taking the post back over" Minato questioned.
Knowing this was only step one to protecting Naruto and Sakura "Perhaps once those four leave, I'm sure it will take Jiraiya awhile to track down Tsunade, so you'd have plenty of time to do what you need while their gone" Hiruzen mused.
"Understood, I'll be going back to the house now, take care Lord Third" Minato bowed, using his seal to return without the fuss of using one of the various alternate routes he'd been shown over the past four days.
And since he was the only one who could use the technique Sakura saw no reason to put anti-space time seals in and around the house which he thanked his lucky stars for "Quite the house isn't it Minato" Jiraiya was still there, seated on the couch.
Kids off somewhere "Indeed Jiraiya-sensei, at least you were brought here via normal means, while I got to come through one of the various alternate routes they have to access this place" Minato nodded.
"Various alternate routes" Jiraiya inquired, curious because he'd entered through the front door and Kakashi hadn't told him that there was more than one way to enter the house so his interest was peaked.
Minato chuckled "At least three others, I can show you if you'd like" the blonde stood, lifting the hatch in the floor to reveal a hole, he jumped down first, lanterns automatically lighting and a moment later Jiraiya joined him.
Peering down the long tunnel, eyebrows raised high on his forehead as if they were about to launch into space, Jiraiya was even more surprised when they approached a dead end only for Minato to weave hand signs and lower the earth wall.
Revealing more tunnel which split off in three different directions "You said three, but I count at least four, straight ahead, the two on the right and the one on the left of us" the Toad Sage frowned, tallying up the individual paths.
"Ah two of them lead to traps, the lake for one and that way, there's a pit with a net that only Sakura can release you from, this way leads to a cave and this one to a boulder" Minato listed, amused when Jiraiya literally guffawed from shock.
Showing both to his former sensei before heading back to the house where they entered the foyer and stood on a round carpet, to summon them to the apartment Kakashi had rented under a fake name, and finally to the original apartment Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had shared.
Then it was back to the house "Damn….I know Jonin who aren't even that anal about their home security and here these kids are, less than a year out of the academy, already Chunin and fanatical about their safety that they have three alternate routes to get into their house" Jiraiya whistled.
Once he was seated on the couch again "You can thank Danzo for that seeing as he's after my daughter so this is how they've been protecting themselves since coming back from their first mission" Minato muttered under his breath a dark look in his eyes.
Jiraiya choked in response "Just what the hell did she do to have him after her….I guess it's a good thing she and the Uchiha are coming with me and Naruto, Danzo wouldn't dare send anyone after her as long as she's in my care" Jiraiya frowned.
Even more so when Minato shook his head indicating he didn't really know the reason Danzo was hounding Sakura, just then a loud pop sounded from the foyer and a second later Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke entered the living room.
"Where did you three run off to all this time" Minato asked as they got comfortable on the couches, inwardly hoping they hadn't been off causing trouble or getting in trouble, he should have known better though.
When Sakura opened her mouth "We all decided that we weren't going to bring Chishi, Chimei, Kansen and Shisha with us, so we went to T&I and asked Anko-sensei if she'd looked after our snakes for us while we're gone" the pinkette answered.
Not reacting when Jiraiya visibly cringed at the mention of snakes "I didn't think that there was any one else besides Anko and Orochimaru who had a thing for serpents" Jiraiya commented and Sakura went rigid.
"Yeah we're not to fond of Orochimaru, Master Jiraiya, as we were so politely told he's after me for reasons I don't know yet seeing as I've done all I could to avoid meeting him" Sasuke sneered, patting Sakura's hand soothingly.
Until she relaxed something that didn't escape Minato's notice "Are you two dating" Minato narrowed his eyes on the second Uchiha heir that was his friend's youngest son, it had been hard hearing about the Uchiha massacre.
Sasuke shook his head hastily "No Sir…she, I, uh….Sakura's like a sister to me besides teammates can't date one another it's against the shinobi codes of conduct and principles" Sasuke rambled, calming some as he revealed his feelings.
Minato immediately felt guilty for jumping to the wrong conclusion "Back barely a week and your already terrifying boys away from your daughter bwahahaha" Jiraiya burst out suddenly laughing uproariously.
"Trust me when I say that Sakura-chan doesn't need Dad to scare guys away from her, she does that well enough on her own I think E….Jiraiya-sensei" Naruto deadpanned from the opposite couch that Sakura usually took up.
Jiraiya abruptly stopped laughing "Your joking right, she doesn't look like she could hurt a fly" the Toad Sage said dubiously looking Sakura up and down, the girl was practically a twig, and though she was a Chunin it was probably because she'd gotten lucky is all.
"Believe what you want I suppose Jiraiya-sama, you'll find out soon enough just exactly what I can do for yourself on our mission" Sakura shrugged, speaking in a sugary sweet tone that had Sasuke edging away from her.
Even Naruto wasn't entirely unaffected as goosebumps broke out on his flesh and he rubbed his arms feeling cold all of a sudden "Don't doubt her Jiraiya-sama, Sakura-chan can be extremely dangerous when pissed off" Kakashi chimed in from behind them.
Returning from wherever he'd run off to "By the way why would Genma Shiranui be looking for you, I hope there's nothing going on that I need to concern myself with, hmm" the Copy Ninja informed, quirking his brow on his kunoichi.
Who snorted "No Kakashi-sensei there's nothing going on and I have no idea why Genma-sensei would be looking for me" Sakura admitted, confusion upon her face as she tried to think of any reason why the man would want to see her.
"Well he said he'd be waiting for you at the Tea Shop where you first met" Kakashi announced, watching as Sakura popped up gracefully from the couch and disappeared through the door to the foyer so she could go see what Genma wanted.
Eight minutes later she was sitting in a booth opposite the special jonin "Anko mentioned that you were going on a mission with Master Jiraiya so here, it's custom made just the way you like it Kid" Genma explained.
Placing a scroll down on the table in front of her "It only got in today so try not to be to shocked alright" Genma warned as Sakura lifted the scroll carefully and unrolled it to find the enclosing seal staring her in the face.
So seeing that she would have to actually unseal it she bit her thumb, swiped blood on the seal and made a hand sign "Holy Genma-sensei what the hell" Sakura cursed as a tri-bladed scythe nearly sliced her head off.
Not that she'd die from it of course but still a little more warning would have been nice "Like I said it's custom made, you can detach the extra blades, extend it or use the retractable cable if you want, there's even a little compartment for poison" Genma said.
Listing all the things the new scythe was capable of, grinning when Sakura ran her hand down one of the blades in awe of the weapon "You can't be giving this to me, right" Sakura looked at him after a moment clearly unsure of what her reaction should be.
"Of course I am Kid, you needed a new scythe to compliment your promotion to Chunin so I took matters into my own hands when I saw you still using the other one" Genma smirked leaning back in the booth.
Chuckling when she remained speechless for several minutes before finally "Thank you Genma-sensei" Sakura murmured softly, all shy and he found it extremely adorable as he reached across the table and ruffled her hair.
Which had grown to her shoulder blades "Eh you're a good kid and I want to see you do well, so do you know when your leaving" Genma shrugged, scanning the crowd for a moment to make sure someone wasn't about to come storming up to them to harass Sakura.
"In a few days, maybe I'll go have my hair trimmed since I doubt we'll be back any time soon once we go and I don't fancy using a kunai to cut my hair" Sakura mused, glaring at her hair because she couldn't stand it long.
Genma grinned "Let's go then" Genma suggested, heaving Sakura onto her feet and she flailed her arms, he barely gave her time to seal the scythe away before he was dragging her out of the tea shop and down the street to the barber shop.
Seven minutes later her hair neatly brushed the tops of her shoulders again "Boy am I glad I caught you Pinky….Genma what are you doing with Pinky-chan" Kotetsu met them out in the street eyeing the special Jonin suspiciously.
"For probably the same reason you want to see her, though I've already given mine to her" Genma rolled his eyes at the Chunin, inwardly amused, Sakura had them wrapped around her little fingers apparently just from a single day.
Kotetsu scowled "Well don't just stand there Pinky, Izumo's waiting for us on the training grounds" the spiky haired raven urged, grabbing Sakura's wrist to drag him along behind him as they headed for the training grounds.
Like he said Izumo was there waiting for them "Honestly you shouldn't be so rough with her Kotetsu" Izumo scolded when he saw Kotetsu practically hauling the girl towards him by her arm though it seemed to him she was more amused than anything.
They still had to be more gentle, she was still a girl after all "So is there a reason we're meeting on the training grounds" Sakura asked once they'd come to a stop and Kotetsu had released her wrist, Genma at her side.
"Yes, I noticed you using water style jutsu's so I've decided to teach you, my original water release, Kotetsu inspired jutsu, I'm sure you'll find it quite useful in fact" Izumo nodded with a kind smile gesturing her over to him.
As she shot Kotetsu a strange look "How is it Kotetsu-san inspired, did he do something specific that caused you to come up with the idea" Sakura questioned, curious yet excited to learn a new jutsu, Kakashi was stingy that way sometimes unfortunately.
Izumo chuckled "He loves syrup and one day he spilled a whole pot and I got stuck in it, thus Suiton: Syrup Trap was born, if I recall you used a similar technique during the preliminary round, captured Inoichi's daughter in a net, where your chakra was like an adhesive" Izumo announced.
Sakura nodding "Yeah I call it my Spiderweb Netting to specifically trap enemies or opponents like a bug caught in a spiderweb" the pinkette explained, it was also extremely complex to make if she didn't focus her chakra into it just right where it stuck to things like glue.
"Get on with it Izumo so I can give her what I'm going to give her" Kotetsu sulked and soon Sakura was able to use Izumo's special water release jutsu "Finally my turn, here, don't thank me" the raven held out a scroll.
And she took it with careful hands "Always so careful with things aren't you Kid" Genma noted out loud as she gently unsealed whatever Kotetsu had given her "Really Kotetsu" the special Jonin shook his head.
At what came out of the enclosing seal, "It's a book on advanced medical techniques so stuff it Genma, everyone knows Pinky-chan is an up and coming talented medical ninja" Kotetsu scoffed as Genma took the mickey out of him for his choice of gift.
Sakura loved it however as her eyes lit up with excitement probably barely able to wait until she was able to crack it open to study the techniques within and learn them for herself "Oh so this is where you were" Hayate commented.
The next person to arrive on the training grounds "Hayate-sensei good to see you" Sakura waved brightly, amusing those around her, they were just glad that she was in a good mood and was staying in a good mood as well.
Hayate coughed out a chuckle "Yes good to see you to Sakura-san, take care on your mission to find Tsunade-sama will you" Hayate smiled before turning serious and she nodded equally as serious.
"On that note I should probably get back before Kakashi-sensei thinks something happened" Sakura rolled her eyes in mock annoyance at her sensei's antics and with a wave she was gone down the streets leaving them.
When she returned to the house via the apartment seals she found Jiraiya had left, so after taking a look at the clock Sakura put her new weapon in the weapons storage room and got started on dinner for the night.
Three days later after packing appropriately for their mission Team Seven met Jiraiya at the gates of the village "So you all remember what we're doing right" Jiraiya asked, hoping they hadn't forgotten their mission objective in just a few days.
"Of course Er….Jiraiya-sensei, we're going to track down this Tsunade lady and bring her back to the village" Naruto snorted, feeling wrong about leaving without Shisha but he knew that it was for the best this time.
Jiraiya nodded his head in satisfaction, even better the brat had stopped calling him Pervy Sage for some reason "Just take care of them Master Jiraiya" Kakashi implored him as he and Minato showed up to see the quartet off.
"And try not to drive him insane you three" Minato waved as they started out the gates, Sakura smiled innocently and Naruto snickered while Sasuke rolled his eyes at their antics until they were well out of sight, Minato knew it was time then so turned towards the Hokage Tower.
It was two hours later, completely unaware of what was going on in the village they'd just left behind for a month most likely Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Jiraiya came upon their first outpost town that bordered Leaf closely.
Right as they found an inn to check into, Jiraiya was distracted by a pretty woman "That's why I called him Ero-sennin" Naruto chimed in, watching his godfather scamper off on the lady's heels after throwing his pack to him.
"Noted, lets just rent a large enough room for the four of us and then head out to get in some scouting for Lady Tsunade" Sasuke suggested, expression neutral even while he was inwardly yelling some not so nice things at the Toad Sage.
Sakura nodded her agreement so they entered the inn and checked into a room big enough to fit four people comfortably "Okay I'm doing my usual, lets hope Jiraiya-sama comes back sometime today" Sakura announced.
Pulling out her ink pot and brush to start drawing seals, meanwhile across the hall from them were the most unexpected of people "Boss there are Leaf Shinobi in the room across from us" Darui informed having come up the stairs behind the trio.
Who hadn't noticed him thankfully "What the hell are those dogs here for, we still haven't found Bee-sama, perhaps they heard about him running off and are trying to get their hands on another Jinchuuriki" Cee offered as an explanation.
"No idea Cee, Darui, but remember we're only in Fire Country for one thing to find Bee and bring him back to the village" Ay reminded as he lounged comfortably on the only bed in the room they had rented upon arriving a couple days beforehand.
Half an hour later Sakura was finished with her self assigned task "There done so information gathering…hmm if I recall Tsunade-sama likes to frequent bars and hotsprings, that also means we'll have to split up" Sakura frowned.
Remembering suddenly that today was the day Itachi and Kisame were supposed to show up to capture Naruto "Sakura-chan what's wrong you went pale all of a sudden" Naruto shot up from the bed and stared at her in concern.
Understanding dawned on Sasuke next "We're idiots letting that pervert run off and leave us on our own" Sasuke ground out feeling a cold sweat trickle down his back as his heart pounded in his chest and his hands shook breathing becoming labored in panic.
Even the thought of facing Itachi now terrified him "Calm down what are you talking Sasuke" Naruto furrowed his brow obviously having forgotten what Sakura had told them back in Sunagakure before they'd left.
"Baka, today was the day those two were supposed to show up and kidnap you, the ones from Akatsuki, fuck they could already be here in this inn" Sakura cursed harshly, glaring at the door but nothing happened.
Yet that was the keyword "What if they found out that Hidan guy told you and changed the day they were going to make their move" Naruto suggested, grasping at straws, not that it helped calm them down any.
Sakura exhaled and forced her body to relax "I'm going, stay here and whatever you do, do not open the bloody door for anyone unless you know for certain it's me or Jiraiya-sama" the pinkette warned waiting until the two boys nodded.
Before slipping out of the room and sealing the door behind her, upon seeing no one standing in the hallway Sakura relaxed a little more as she headed down the stairs of the inn and back outside on the search for Jiraiya.
He was all the way across the town unfortunately when she finally felt his chakra and it took her way to freaking long to catch up with him "Jiraiya-sama we have to leave this town" Sakura panted when she was stood before him.
"I know, they used this poor girl to lure me away from Naruto, placed her in a genjutsu" Jiraiya pointed at the woman he'd chased after earlier, who was currently unconscious after he'd released the illusion on her.
Dread filled Sakura at that, thankfully Naruto and Sasuke were to scared of disobeying her orders so when a knock came mere minutes after she'd left neither one moved to answer the door "No way in hell Itachi, I won't let you get Naruto" Sasuke snarled at the door.
Voice echoing out into the hall, the person in question paused then shared a look with his partner in confusion "Don't make us bust down this door brat cause I will" Kisame threatened, brandishing his Samehada.
"Just you try it bastard, you'll find it's no easy feat and you won't like the consequences of attempting such a thing" Naruto yelled back, gripping a kunai tightly in his hands, not to sure how long Sakura's barrier would last against two S class rogue ninja.
To their horror it hadn't been an empty threat as in the next moment the door was flying across the room but when Kisame tried to step through the now open doorway he received a very unpleasant surprise in the form of electrocution.
Kiri-nin were apparently highly sensitive to lightning natured attacks "Fuinjutsu otouto very clever" Itachi praised in a mocking sort of tone as his partner was brought to his knee's, though it did complicate things.
Right when the Cloud Shinobi across the hall were about to intervene in the situation as they realized the two were rogues shinobi an explosion of smoke filled the hall "Jiraiya has arrived" the Toad Sage appeared on the back of a large toad.
Two females with him "Naruto, Sasuke are you alright in there" Sakura called out, glowing green hands pressed to the unconscious woman since Jiraiya hadn't want to simply leave her on a bench especially since he didn't know when she'd wake up.
"Look Itachi it's a piece of talking cotton candy, you sure you're a shinobi, I bet your not much use to your team, go home little girl your not fit for this life" Kisame cut over the two boys as they hollered out that they were fine.
Sakura craned her neck and met his gaze evenly "Careful rogue unless you want to experience my elemental seal again" Sakura sneered, letting the chakra fade from her hands as they glared at one another.
Until Itachi raised an elegant ebony brow "Your seal….this barrier is your doing" Itachi waved his hand at the doorway leading into their inn room "Kisame forget Naruto for now and get the girl, we take her out, the barrier will fall" Itachi shot his partner a look.
Kisame was already on his feet and charging, "Gotcha Itachi" the shark-like ninja smirked, swinging Samehada right at the cocky little brat, Sakura had her scroll whipped out at a split seconds moment.
Her new scythe appeared in her hands and she thrust it forward, pressing a little button to extend it and prevent Kisame from getting close as he was shoved backwards and thrown some ways down the hall where he landed on his backside from the unexpectedness of her attack.
He'd actually thought she'd turn tail and run screaming out of the inn not fight back and damn if it didn't piss him off massively that this was not going their way "By the way even if you did take me out, the barrier would still be there" Sakura informed shortly.
Retracting her scythe so that it was the normal length she was use to "Quite the clever one aren't you, ah I remember you yes, your the one who broke Sasuke's nose when you were eight, Sakura-san was it" Itachi clapped praising her mockingly like he'd done to Sasuke earlier.
"Sakura Haruno Uzumaki and Uchiha-san, I would never in a million years let you touch Naruto, my little brother" Sakura declared meeting his red gaze unflinchingly, he was the first to look away after she engaged him in a staring contest.
Whispering to Kisame "With such things put in place we lost our chance to capture Naruto and collect his Bijuu for the Organization, so we retreat here Kisame and remember Naruto, we'll be back someday and you won't be so lucky next time" Itachi warned.
Deciding on a tactical retreat as they disappeared without a trace "Two last names…well I suggest you pick one and stick with it, and for another matter since when the hell did you learn fuinjutsu, Minato's only been back for a week and I haven't seen him teach you anything" Jiraiya grunted.
"You misunderstand Jiraiya-sama, I've known fuinjutsu for a long time and have slowly been improving over the months since graduating from the academy, Kakashi-sensei did tell you not to doubt me after all" Sakura snorted.
Sealing her scythe in it's scroll and heading for the open doorway "Hi Sakura-chan" Naruto waved from where he was seated on the bed with Sasuke, both of them extremely glad that she was with them to have prevented what could have been a disaster.
"Er how are you going to get in" Sasuke frowned, only to not have to be worried when Sakura simply flared her chakra and walked through the barrier, Jiraiya however was stuck on the outside for the time being.
Until she lowered the barrier for him as they went about trying to fix the door, thankfully it had just been blown off its hinges "Did you hear all that Boss, an organization is going around hunting Jinchuuriki, Bee is in more danger" Darui grimaced.
Still safe inside their own room "Yes it's looking more and more like we're going to have to reveal ourselves to those Leaf Dogs" Cee nodded in the most grudging way he possibly could because this was the absolute last thing he wanted to happen.
Their leader was quiet for a moment "Jiraiya would be able to help us find Bee faster, I am concerned about the brats with him but it's our best chance right now" Ay sneered, not very happy about all this either.
Across the hall Sakura was getting ready to head out again "Do you ever sit still, you have to be tired" Jiraiya gaped at the pinkette who hadn't once stopped moving in the time they'd been back in the room.
"Hardly Jiraiya-sama" Sakura scoffed lightly exiting the room right as the Cloud Shinobi and Raikage did the same from their room across the hall and she bumped into Darui as he'd been in the process of reaching out to knock on the door.
She leapt back as if she was on fire especially when the Cloud Shinobi didn't even stumble from her ramming accidentally into him "Brat, let us in the room, I have an important matter to discuss with the Toad Sage" but it was the much larger man who spoke.
In the most growling voice she'd ever heard and she instantly recognized him as the Raikage of Kumogakure "Jiraiya-sama…" the rosette opened the door and instantly met Jiraiya's gaze before gesturing imperceptibly over her shoulder.
"What the bloody hell is the Raikage doing in Fire Country so close to Konohagakure for that matter" Jiraiya spluttered, also horrified at how quickly Sakura had gotten in trouble just from stepping outside the room.
Sakura let out the most exhausted sounding sigh "Tell this brat to let us in Jiraiya, there's something I wish to discuss" Ay sneered, purposefully putting a hand on the girl's shoulder to make it seem like he was about to do something to her.
The kid remained surprisingly calm however to Darui's amusement "Go ahead Sakura and for fucks sake try not to get into anymore trouble would you" Jiraiya waved with a light groan and Sakura bristled in response.
Lips curling "Like it's my fault Jiraiya-sama, I don't get in trouble, trouble finds me" Sakura snapped, pulsing her chakra into the door to lower the barrier and bowing her head respectfully at the Raikage as he past her to enter the room, subordinates on his heels.
Then once the door was shut she stormed off down the stairs, twenty minutes later she was back with a boatload of food "Quite the haul you've got there Kid, Master Jiraiya was getting worried so Boss sent me to find and bring you back" the man she'd bumped into earlier commented.
When she entered the inn again "That was nice of Lord Raikage, I know we're not exactly allies here, but now I won't feel weird passing out the food since I got plenty for everyone" Sakura admitted with a small smile.
Pacing up the steps at his side, Darui blinked "How sweet your adorable, the names Darui, Kid…and my partner is Cee, don't let his foul attitude get to you, he'll be at his worst until we've completed our mission" Darui snorted.
She shot him a strange look then lowered the barrier for them "About damn time Sakura, let me guess you got in trouble again even though I told you not to" Jiraiya scowled at her, having been worried out of his mind.
"If you must know Jiraiya-sama I was waiting for our order to be done, that takes time and patience in case you didn't realize, don't treat me like a child that needs constant looking after" Sakura glared and the Toad Sage wilted somewhat.
Carefully placing the food down so that it could be divided amongst the seven of them "Hold on Raikage-sama it could be poisoned" Cee burst out suddenly just as Ay was about to take a bite of the food she'd ordered for them.
"Sakura wouldn't do that, but if you need proof here" Sasuke chimed in, scooping up a large bite of his curry and chowing down on it, a minute later when nothing happened and he continued to eat, it prompted the others to dig in as well.
Even Cee "Here brat, we decided on staying in here, so you brats can have the room across the hall, just remember your paying for it" the Raikage threw a set of room key at Sakura that she deftly caught in her hand.
He didn't get the reaction he was expecting, instead the girl frowned deeply "What's wrong…oh well that is a valid point, we should probably all just stay together" Jiraiya asked before realizing what her problem was.
"No offense Lord Raikage" Sakura apologized lightly, tone respectful as she handed him the keys back, Ay shrugged not to bothered that she was refusing the chance to sleep in a bed as he sent Cee out to return the keys and pay the bill whatever it was so far.
When the blonde returned the Chunin were sequestered away in a corner and setting up their bedrolls "This sucks how come I've got to be in the middle…..shutting up, Sakura-chan your scary" Naruto whined.
But Sakura raised her fist threateningly "Just lay down and go to sleep Naruto, tomorrows ahead of us and we have to get as much rest as we can, plus you sleep walk and I won't chance anything happening to you" the pinkette sighed.
Sasuke smirked as Naruto quickly lay down in his bedroll and curled up beneath the covers before watching Sakura draw a perimeter barrier seal around the area the three of them were taking up, having not been kidding in the least apparently.
Then when she was finished Sakura crawled into her bedroll and closed her eyes prompting him to do the same until all three of them were knocked out snoring softly "Overly cautious little thing isn't she" Ay grunted.
Jiraiya nodded in agreement before deciding it was probably best to get some shut eye for himself so with that in mind he lay back on one of the only two beds in the room while the Raikage took up the other one and the four of them went to sleep for the night.