[Kakashi]
I was lying down on my sofa as natural light started to invade my room. The birds weren't chirping like they would usually would at this time.
I looked up from the book I was reading as the weather instantly changed from a nice autumn breeze to a harsh oncoming storm. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. I reluctantly closed my book and stood up from my sofa to take a closer look at the weather.
The clouds were turning dark and in turn the village looked covered in a sheet of shade…This is definitely a bad omen.
I walked over to my gear to get myself changed, and as if on que, three knocks sounded on my door.
I rushed to answer the door only to see Jiraiya standing there with a dark look on his face.
"Good Evening." I said, "To what do I owe this honourable pleasure?" I continued.
Jiraiya smirked ever so slightly before placing his hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at his hand briefly before focusing my attention back onto Jiraiya's face.
"I need your help…it seems to be quite urgent." He stated finally. I raised an eyebrow as Yamato came into my view.
I turned around to close my front door after exiting my house.
"What is so urgent to need three skilled shinobi for?" I inquired, curiosity eating at me slowly. Jiraiya started to walk in the direction of the Hokage's office.
The rain soaked us almost instantly as we left the shelter of my home.
"There is reason to believe that Sakura is in some form of danger." Yamato spoke out. I looked over to him and waited for him to continue…but he didn't speak further.
"In what way? What makes you believe that?" I said impatiently. Yamato looked at me momentarily before guiltily looking away. I narrowed my eyes at him before looking over to Jiraiya.
"I've been informed by Yamato that Tsunade gave Sakura permission to roam the fire border." Jiraiya started.
"That's correct. She should be studying herbs that have been discovered and she's been given the task to collect certain herbs to return them to the villages hospital, herbs to numb pain if I recall correctly. She was given a deadline of a week, she should be back today." I responded. Jiraiya's expression seemed to darken further.
"I have gathered information that suggests that the Akatsuki are roaming the fire border…for what reason I am unsure."
"How many Akatsuki members?" I questioned, as my concern for Sakura's safety started heightening dangerously.
"I have been told three…although I was told by an unreliable source." I furrowed my eyebrows while we entered the Hokage tower.
"What kind of possibility would there be for Sakura to have an encounter with the Akatsuki? You can't be completely certain that she's in any danger." I voiced my thought aloud as Yamato coughed uncomfortably.
"I was unconfident that Sakura would just be out looking for herbs…I had my suspicions that she would try to search for Sasuke after what happened a month ago. So, I planted a tracking device in one of the tight crevices on the bottom of Sakura's boot…the signal has been interrupted." Yamato murmured.
My curiosity told me to ask why he was told to put a tracking device on an unaware skilled shinobi but my brain was telling me that it was a logical thing to do…considering the current situation.
"As much of a convenience as it is to us now, I don't appreciate that you made it your personal task to spy on my former student." I stated as we walked up the stairs. Water started dripping from my hair onto my face, irritating me mildly. My mind started to fill with different scenarios of Sakura encountering the Akatsuki…three members is too much for anyone to handle alone…Sakura could be dead already. She is a good fighter…but no one I know is good enough to take on three Akatsuki members and survive.
"We're all worried about her." Jiraiya said while placing his hand on my shoulder, making me jump. "That's why I'm going to request that we get permission to roam the border to look for her, ASAP." Jiraiya attempted a smile.
Before I could respond to him, I heard Shizune speak.
"Tsunade is extremely busy right now. You will have to wait a few hours or pass your information to me." Her voice spoke in an authoritive tone.
"This is more important than whatever Lady Hokage is currently doing. This information is regarding the Akatsuki and it simply cannot wait. It must be passed onto the Hokage immediately by myself." I recognised Sai's voice before we walked around the corner.
He had two other ninja with him that I identified as specialist ANBU members. All three ninjas looked battered and bruised. Sai looked in a slight bit of a better condition than the other two, although he had a noticeable burn on his right shoulder.
Yamato started to walk ahead of us.
"You will not interrupt Tsunade at this time. She is extremely busy. Why don't you check into the hospital first? You have all clearly sustained major injuries. If you can't pass information on to me then it must not be that important." Shizune arrogantly responded. The two ANBU members behind Sai started to walk in our direction to get to the hospital while Sai remained staring at Shizune blankly.
"Captian Yamato," He started while keeping his focus on Shizune. I could visibly see her shuffle under his glare. "I have extremely important intelligence regarding the Akatsuki." He looked over at Yamato who gave Shizune a firm look before looking back at Sai.
"Is it about Sakura?" He asked. My breathing stopped involuntarily, as if it had an impact on what Sai was about to say next.
"Affirmative." He replied. My heart dropped into my stomach. The hallway instantly became silent. The only sounds that were heard was the rain hitting on the building.
"Shizune, please get out of the way." Tsunade's voice had softly emerged from behind the door Shizune was guarding. Shizune looked perplexed as she walked out of the way.
Sai opened the door and walked into the room first, followed by Yamato, then Jiraiya, then myself. I left the door slightly open.
I looked at Tsunade who seemed to have been meditating, she was sitting cross legged on the ground before standing up to face Sai. There were deep blue lines decorating her eyes and forehead that were slowly fading away back to her skin colour.
"Please speak." Tsunade said while walked around her desk to sit down. I eagerly looked at Sai, waiting for what he had to say. I looked at his injuries closer. He seemed to be really hurt. To the point where he must have been knocked out. There sat a horrible bruise that framed his right eye. His nose had bled at some point and his shoulder looked somewhat dislocated. The more injuries I noticed the worse I felt about what he had to say.
"Yes, Lady Hokage." Sai bowed briefly before straightening his stance. "My squad and I were returning from the escorting mission you assigned us. Upon returning from the hidden rain village, we encountered three members of the Akatsuki on the land of fire border. To my limited knowledge, I believe them to be Itachi, Kisame and Deidara." Sai continued, my body involuntarily stiffened. "Our initial plan of action was to avoid them as my squad were exhausted from the criminal encounters we fought off during the escort mission, although one of the Akatsuki members, Deidara, was holding a woman over his shoulders. That woman was later identified as Sakura."
I looked over at Tsunade. Her face remained calm. Although I could feel a horrible aura in the air.
"I came up with a plan of action and it ended up failing. We engaged in a long fight which seemed to be working to our favour, despite the wounds we received. I actually managed to hold Sakura." Sai started to visibly shake as he clenched his fists. "I managed to get a hold of Sakura, although I couldn't get away with her." Sai paused as he looked to his left. "They had attached some form of strong explosive tag on her…They threatened to activate it if I moved any further away from them…That's when I let my guard down. My squad and I were knocked out…" Sai returned his focus to Tsunade, his eyes were watering. "Sakura was unconscious throughout this duration. Sakura wasn't in any form of bad condition, it seemed like she had no injuries on her whatsoever. The only thing about her that felt odd was the chakra I could feel surrounding her side pouch." Sai finished. I let out a quiet sigh of relief to the fact Sakura was unharmed.
"Why would the Akatsuki let all of your squad leave the fight alive?" Yamato asked before Tsunade could get a word in.
"I believe there is something that Sakura has that they want which they may not have access to. Hence why I had my concerns about her chakra barrier around her side pouch…I believe that they want us to know that they have her so that we could negotiate some form of compromise. Sakura for the pouch? It didn't seem like the kind of barrier that Sakura would have created…it was an extremely complex barrier." Sai answered. Tsunade let out a huge sigh and leaned back in her chair.
"Unfortunately, Sai, you're incorrect. Sakura created the barrier herself. I taught her barrier basics and gave her an armful of advance barrier scrolls to study on in her free time. The only person who can deactivate the barrier would be Sakura herself." Tsunade started as she started to bite down on her nail. "Although, if the Akatsuki believe that she can't deactivate it herself then we could obviously use that to our advantage…" Tsunade stood up to look over her village. "I fear that Sakura may have found something dangerous that the Akatsuki wants."
"Is it anything to do with the anonymous tip we were told all those years ago?" Jiraiya spoke. I looked over at him and studied his face. He did not look calm at all. His face was blank, although his eyes were showing quite a mixture of emotions.
"It could possibly be…I gave Sakura my personal book of herbs around the border, I did note down the location of the herb…although I was certain that it was a lie. I checked that site every month until last month for the past 10 years. Nothing was there. No sign of a growing plant, no roots of a seed. Nothing." Tsunade spoke. She turned around to face us. "If Sakura has actually found the herb that the anonymous tipper told us about…We would be…at a huge disadvantage." Tsunade's eyes were filled with absolute terror.
"I suggest that Kakashi, Yamato and I leave the village immediately to find any clues to where they have taken Sakura." Jiraiya stated firmly. Tsunade nodded while crossing her arms.
"I agree. However, I would like you to select one other Jonin to accompany you on your travel. In case you come into contact with the Akatsuki. If you need more backup then do not hesitate to contact me." Tsunade started to walk around her desk before her face slightly lit up. "In fact, Temari and Shikamaru are in the village. I'd like you to select one of them." She finished.
"Tsunade," Jiraiya said, snapping her attention to him. "You're thinking irrationally. Shikamaru would be a great asset to the team, however he's been assigned to escort Temari back to the village hidden in the sand." He continued. "If we were to suggest an additional member to our temporary squad, may I suggest N-"
"No!" Tsunade abruptly interrupted. "Naruto will not be going with you. The Akatsuki are looking for him, and if they find out that Sakura can disable the barrier herself, they will want to trade Sakura for Naruto."
"I give you my word that nothing will happen to Naruto, he will be annoyed at you if you didn't assign him to this mission."
As if on que, a loud groan was heard from outside the room.
"You cannot enter-!" Shizune shrilled, however within a few moments, Naruto had walked into the room with a small scroll. His face had black residue on it…as if he was exposed to a small explosion?
"Granny Tsunade," Naruto started while holding up a scroll. "Some white bird exploded in my face and dropped this. It says, 'We have Sakura'. Who has Sakura?" Naruto questioned while looking around the room. Jiraiya gave Tsunade a look. She reluctantly sighed and walked over to Naruto to take the scroll away from him.
"Jiraiya will tell you while you're travelling. For now, you are to travel as a four-man squad." Tsunade stated while she walked back to her desk. "You are to report any findings to me immediately." She continued. "Sai," Tsunade sat back down onto her chair. "Go and get yourself checked over. You and your squad did a great job. I'll be rewarding you all a bonus for your good work." Sai nodded before turning to face Naruto. I could tell that Sai was finding it difficult to look at Naruto in the eyes. He nodded at him slightly before hesitantly leaving the office. "Prepare yourselves appropriately before leaving." Tsunade ordered. I nodded at her before following Jiraiya, Yamato and Naruto out of the room.
"So…What does that note mean? What do they mean 'have Sakura'?" Naruto asked. I left Jiraiya to explain the situation to Naruto.
I found myself thinking back to the missions that Sakura and I completed alone. She is a very capable shinobi…But I can't even begin to imagine how Sakura will react to waking up to the Akatsuki…
A.N: I hope you're enjoying this fanfiction so far :) I feel that it is ever so slightly more accurate than the previous two writes of this story I've done.
Please feel free to leave a review and thank you for reading