Chapter Eight
The orange glow of the sinking evening sun cast an eerie shadow over the distant sandy rooftops of Sunagakure. A pair of sentries stopped the approaching caravan of civilian traders as it neared the narrow gorge leading towards the Land of Wind's hidden village. Beside her Tsunade felt her escort draw a sharp, quick breath as they came to a stop.
"Relax." She heard herself whisper breezily beneath her breath as the head of the caravan surrendered a stack of papers to the watching sentries.
"This might be normal for you but I've never done anything like this before." Dojima hissed back, his deep brown eyes trained on his dusty sandals to keep them from darting around suspiciously. "I can't believe I let you talk me into smuggling you into Sunagakure." Tsunade resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she nudged him with an elbow. He turned to give her an annoyed look before noticing a long slender finger pointing towards a yawning sentry nearby.
"If they're not bothered, why are you?" She asked with a confident chuckle. No sooner had the words left her mouth was the caravan waved across the border by a lazy-eyed guard without so much as a perfunctory inspection. Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she studied the group of sentries stationed throughout the gorge.
Well that was easy…too easy.
Although they seemed to be manning their posts and patrolling their usual routes, she couldn't help but notice the heavy bags beneath their eyes and a few scattered yawns as they passed. Every now and then a couple of guards would glance skyward, bleary eyes willing the sun to sink lower faster.
"We got lucky." Dojima scoffed. "Next time you want someone to smuggle you into a hidden village you find some other schmuck."
"But you're really good at this, and I hear smuggling can be quite lucrative especially for someone with a gambling debt as hefty as yours." Her lips twisted into a wicked smirk as she watched the man's features darken.
"No way." He spat out. "I'm never doing this again. Do you hear me? I'd rather take my chances with Gato and his goons."
"Well I've seen you gamble..." She smiled, cocking her head ever so slightly to the side. "So I wouldn't really advise you to do that."
"You're one to talk." He shot back with a playful nudge of his own. Tsunade smiled when she noticed the small smile tugging at his lower lip as he walked beside her. His broad shoulders had relaxed considerably now that they were well inside the village.
"Hey, Dojima!" They turned to find one of the traders in their caravan jogging to catch up with them. "A couple of us heard about this new restaurant that just opened up in the Southern District." He paused long enough to cast Tsunade a brief lecherous grin before continuing. "You and your friend should join us."
"Er I don't think—"
"Come on!" The man moaned nudging her burly escort. "I heard that they serve some of the best grilled squid dumplings and their sake tastes like nectar from the gods."
"I'd love to." Tsunade said before Dojima could refuse the man again. The man pumped the air triumphantly unable to control his excitement before catching himself. He turned and clapped his hands together before rejoining a larger group of travelers following them.
"I thought you were supposed to be on an important mission?" Dojima asked arching an eyebrow as a disapproving frown lined his features.
"I need a break from all this traveling." Tsunade replied with a small shrug. "Besides we have five days here, don't we?"
"Nice try but it's still four days." He replied with a firm shake of his head. "On the fifth morning this caravan leaves with or without you. So I suggest that you'd better get started looking for whatever it is that you misplaced in here."
"I didn't misplace anything." Tsunade corrected with a small scoff. "It was stolen from me."
"Right, whatever." Dojima replied. "Eating and drinking all night long with those idiots isn't going to get you very far."
"On the contrary, if the sake is as good as your friend says then that restaurant is exactly where I need to be." Although the confusion was evident in his features as he gave her a sidelong glance, he did not say anything and continued walking the rest of the way in silence.
Tsunade's eyes wandered across the wide sandy streets doing her best to take in as much of the village as she could. The streets around them were brightly lit by row after row of glittering shops and restaurants. Colorful signs and banners hung from the strange circular rooftops of the nearby buildings. A gentle gust of cool evening breeze sprinkled a light trail of sand at their feet. Civilians walked by clad in dull flowing robes and white headscarves. Here and there she spotted a couple of off duty shinobi walking and larking around shop entrances. Tsunade found the relaxed atmosphere strangely ominous—like a calm before a sudden tempest.
She narrowed her eyes as she returned to studying the village skyline. Somewhere concealed within one of those curiously gourd-shaped clay buildings was Jiraiya's pupil. She was sure of it. She had to be. Else she never would have left Konohagakure in the first place, let alone blackmailed her way unto a trading caravan traveling through the Land of Wind.
It had been a week since Jiraiya, Rin, Obito and Shizune had seen her off at the front gates. While Minato's students understandably begged to accompany her, she had finally managed to dissuade them from doing so. As much as she hated leaving Shizune behind in the village, the risks of bringing her along were far too great for Tsunade to take. The thought of the girl reconnecting briefly with her distant relatives after a lengthy absence was an added benefit Tsunade had welcomed. The first couple of days had been spent traveling to her favorite stomping grounds—the resort district of Tanzaku Quarters. There she had managed to track down her old gambling buddy Dojima through some of their mutual friends and creditors. By the time she finally caught up with him, she barely had enough time to blackmail him into smuggling her into the village.
"I'm going to get some rest." Dojima said stifling a loud yawn with his large hand as he approached the brightly-lit inn entrance. "Are you going to check in before heading out to join the others?" When she nodded he let out a long drawn out sigh, pausing long enough to scratch the back of his head before addressing her again. "Well I'm not coming to get you no matter how drunk you are."
"Sweet dreams." She called out dismissively as she approached the counter to book her own room as he turned to leave. After receiving her key, she retreated upstairs to her tiny room where she quickly undressed and washed up before spreading out her things on the bed.
She hadn't had enough time to pack save for a few clothes, a pair of medical books and a drawstring bag of toiletries. Blonde eyebrows creased in concern as she emptied the meager contents of her drawstring unto her futon.
No eye shadow and not nearly enough lipstick left. She swore under her breath as she gathered her things and settled them along the bathroom counter. Reaching out to wipe the steam that had settled on the bathroom mirror, she briefly studied her reflection as her fingers crushed her concealer into a fine powder before applying it on her face. Satisfied with the even texture of her once-blotchy complexion, she carefully smoothed a layer of foundation unto her skin before applying a light rouge to her cheeks. Crushing her lipstick to her lips, she returned her gaze once more to the clothes on her bed.
As she applied the finishing touches to her makeup, she cursed her narrow-minded decision to pack only practical traveling clothes. While she had expected to do some intelligence gathering in the field, she had neither anticipated nor prepared for a night on the town. Even though she knew there were other ways of blending in and extracting information, she had found that most men were exceptionally flustered by, not to mention forthcoming when staring down the crescent peaks of her bosom.
She slipped into her underwear, pausing briefly to adjust the straps of her bra lifting her mounds considerably higher than their normal resting place near her navel. Deciding against exposing too much flesh, she settled for a pale pink kimono before styling her damp blonde locks into a high bun. Pausing briefly to inspect her reflection once more her lips twisted into a satisfied smile as she noted the generous swell of her chest within the folds of her kimono before stepping out into the hallway. By the time she reached the stairs, the other traders in their caravan were already waiting by the doorway. She pretended not to notice the lecherous stares and cat calls that followed her as she slowly made her way towards Dojima's colleague who had approached her earlier.
The image of Rin's large brown eyes peeking up at her silver-haired teammate from beneath long, dark lashes inexplicably flickered into focus as she greeted the man with a demure bow.
"My, you clean up," he paused to clear his throat as he adjusted his suddenly-restrictive collar. "Very well, my lady."
"Hana." Her lips spread into a polite smile as the man introduced himself before turning to offer her his arm. His companions stumbled forward each eagerly extending a hand to introduce himself. Doing her best imitation of Rin, she patiently greeted each with a warm smile before turning to accept her escort's arm.
Although her shoes were quite comfortable compared to her usual high heels, she was very relieved to discover that the walk from the hotel to the restaurant was shorter than she had expected. While the kimono fit her quite loosely, her back ached from the restrictive wires of her bra and walking without the normal aid of chakra was beginning to take its toll on her body.
How did Namikaze manage two weeks of this? She wandered as they entered the restaurant.
Their party was ushered towards one of the empty backrooms where two servers arrived to take their orders. As they settled in to drink their sake, the men got into a competition trying to guess Tsunade's relationship with Dojima. While she had assured them that their friendship was strictly platonic, the already-tipsy merchants insisted that Dojima must have been blind to remain content with such an arrangement. Although she had noticed a few women merchants in their group, none of them would be joining them at the restaurant that night.
"Jealous, the lot of them!" A balding merchant declared with a small hiccup as he refilled his sake cup. "And rightfully so. After all how could any of them hope to compare to your…." His gaze trailed down to her chest and Tsunade clenched her fingers together beneath the table to keep from driving them into his skull. His eyes glazed over as he trailed off, his train of thought thoroughly derailed.
Kami, it's like being surrounded by twenty Jiraiyas. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take or if it's even worth it keeping my cool.
By the time their food arrived, a small arm-wrestling tournament had broken out amongst the merchants as each man vied for Tsunade's attention. She barely had enough time to think up an excuse to duck out of the room before retreating outside towards the waitress station.
Pausing briefly to pretend to search for the bathroom, she noticed a pair of frustrated waitresses blocking a flailing woman's path to one of the backrooms. Tsunade blinked slowly as she traced the woman's heated gaze to the sliding paper door leading to the room beside the one she had just emerged from.
Someone's wife perhaps?
"—clearly not too busy to stuff his fat face and get drunk!" The woman spat out.
"Yuki! I will have to ask you to leave now." A tall chubby man dressed in a crisp black hakama and dark blue kimono with gold trimmings scolded as he emerged from an inner office behind the front counter.
"So that's it?" The woman called Yuki cried out as tears stung her livid grey eyes. "They take weeks to retrieve Ame's remains from the ruins and when they do they expect me to just sit back without asking any questions!"
"Relax Yuki, this is neither the time nor place." One of the waitresses pleaded as she and her colleague tried to nudge the irate woman away. Tsunade moved to slip past them with an awkward smile but paused at the sharp sound of a door sliding open.
"You dare follow me here woman, on my day off?!" A lanky middle-aged man with blotchy red skin barked as he poked his head out into the hallway. The chubby manager turned to address the annoyed patron with an apologetic bow just as Yuki slipped out of the waitresses' clutches.
"You've been avoiding me." She shot back defensively.
"Because you insist on hounding me about—"
"Doing your job? Yes exactly."
"I have already done my job you quarrelsome creature!" The man grunted as he prepared to return to his room with a dismissive wave of his hand. Yuki snatched a slipper from her foot and hurled it at the back of his head stopping him dead in his tracks. They all fell silent as they watched him turn to face her with a dangerous scowl. Tsunade knew that look all too well, having employed it numerous times in the past to warn Jiraiya that he was five seconds aware from a severe beat down.
"You've got some nerve. First you barely give me enough of my husband's body to identify then you call me quarrelsome because I'm asking you to do your job? Aren't you even the least bit curious about what Ame was doing in that ravine in the first place? On his day off no less." Tsunade perked up as she remembered something Rin had mentioned before.
"For the last time, he was guarding a storage facility." The man said rubbing his temples with a grating snarl.
Storage facility? Tsunade's brow creased ever so slightly as Rin's summary of the night Minato stormed Daisuke's lab came roaring back to her. Could it be? Could this facility have actually been the lab Rin had described?
"Since when?!" Yuki shot back hotly. "My husband was a member of the ANBU Black Ops. Guard duty like that is Chunin work."
"Listen woman, everything contained in my report is all I am at liberty to say. These are orders directly from the Kazekage himself." He paused to rub the back of his neck with a sympathetic sigh as he met her gaze. "Look, I can't go into a lot of details but you should be happy that your husband died in service to this country."
"And? What about the rest of his body? Am I supposed to just—"
"For the last time woman your husband died in a rockslide." The man snapped suddenly losing his patience once more. "Retrieving his body will take some time so back off, will you?"
"That is hogwash and you know it!" The widow cried out pointing her finger accusingly. "You barely even finished excavating the site before giving up and turning the project over to that reptile."
"Oi! You will address Lord Sasori with the respect he deserves."
"I just did." Yuki retorted without missing a beat before noticing his deepening scowl and falling silent. "I just don't understand why you couldn't finish up the excavation?" Her voice broke as it hung on the last syllable.
"Again, if you have a problem with it, feel free to take it up with Lord Kazekage, alright?"
"But why would the Kazekage order you and your men to stop investigating and examining the site? Don't you think that's even a little bit strange?"
"I don't get what your problem is. I get it you're grieving but that's no excuse. After all, none of the others are raising this big a stink over this because they—"
"Are scared of crossing Sasori." Yuki shot back. "How can you just sit there and pretend like this doesn't affect you? Some of those shinobi were your friends, classmates!"
"If you know what's good for you, you'd better drop this once and for all." He said in a dangerously low voice before storming off.
As he spoke, the chubby manager returned with a pair of burly men dressed in cooking aprons who promptly grabbed the flailing widow by her armpits before hoisting her off her feet and taking her out of the restaurant. The further they carried her, the louder her screams and frantic curses grew until the entire restaurant could only watch the scene play out in stunned silence. On a whim, Tsunade followed them outside, pressing herself against the wall as the cooks returned indoors before moving to help the sobbing woman off the floor.
"It's alright." Tsunade assured her with a kind smile as she dusted off the woman's kimono. "You look exhausted. Would you like me to walk you home?"
"No thanks…I can manage." The woman said wrenching her elbow from Tsunade's grasp before turning away with a huff.
"I'm sorry I didn't help you back then I was—"
"I get it." Yuki scoffed harshly. "It's always good fun until it happens to you." The widow adjusted her robes and straightened her hair with an indignant flick of her wrists before walking away.
"Actually, it did." Tsunade felt a flutter in her stomach as the woman froze in her tracks. Although her back was still to the Slug Princess, it didn't take much to imagine the horror and shock etched in her features.
"I'm so…" the woman trailed off turning around to face her, grey eyes wide and searching. "Sorry. I didn't recognize you."
"We never met." Tsunade said with a sheepish smile. "Sousuke never really cared for Ame but he always spoke very highly of him." While it was risky using a randomly made up name to sell her story, Tsunade knew it was the quickest way to connect with the wary woman.
"I remember meeting Sousuke's wife a couple of…" the woman's voice trailed off as her eyes suddenly widened. Her expression shifted from one of confusion to understanding before finally settling for deep embarrassment. "You must be his lover."
"We were keeping it secret until he left his wife." Tsunade explained throwing caution to the wind. As much as she was aware of the risks involved in pandering to a stranger's narrative lest she be caught in a lie, time was of the essence. The air in Tsunade's lungs suddenly evaporated as the widow closed the distance between them with a tender hug.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't know" Yuki sobbed quietly as she slowly but surely pulled away. "I can't imagine how hard this must have been for you."
"It's alright." Tsunade assured her with an awkward chuckle before adding. "How could you have known?"
"You must think I'm crazy challenging him like that."
"Not at all." Tsunade replied with a small smile. "I wish I could be brave enough to speak out and stand up to him like you just did. But I'm just such a coward."
"Normally, I'm a lot quieter and definitely more calm and composed but I can't…" Tsunade averted her gaze respectfully as tears filled the widow's grey eyes once more. "Honestly! Just because he's Lady Chiyo's grandson doesn't mean he can go around doing whatever he wants."
"Who? Sasori?" The Slug Princess blurted out taken aback before catching herself. Yuki nodded in response, clearly oblivious of her slipup before pulling the Senju heiress closer with a conspiratorial glance over her shoulder.
"Although my father-in-law tells me all that's about to change." Tsunade's eyes widened as she turned to face the woman with a shocked look. Yuki beamed, pressing her finger to her lips.
"What's about to change?"
"Well, he—my father-in-law— works very closely with the Jounin General and he overheard him and Lord Kazekage talking about a week ago. Apparently Lord Kazekage has finally decided to stop grooming Sasori to succeed him."
"Oh, but that doesn't mean—"
"Lord Kazekage doesn't feel like he can really trust Sasori anymore. I heard that their relationship has gotten so strained that Lady Chiyo has to act as a go-between for them."
"But if that's true then why would the Kazekage put him in charge of completing the excavation?" Tsunade wondered tilting her head to the side.
"Lady Chiyo probably pulled some strings to get him back in Lord Kazekage's good graces." Yuki replied with a shrug unfazed by the question. "Although, if you really ask me, I think something stinks and the excavation is really just an elaborate cover-up for something big."
"Something big like what?" Tsunade pressed, arching an eyebrow inquisitively. Yuki shrugged again. She seemed relieved to have finally found a sympathetic ear to rant to. "Well I must return back inside before my brothers begin to worry." Tsunade said turning as she prepared to return back to the restaurant.
"You know, if you're really serious about doing something you should join us." Yuki said with a earnest smile. "Alone we can be easily silenced and ignored but together—"
"I doubt the both of us would be able to accomplish much by ourselves." Tsunade stated bluntly.
"No, but if we recruit more people—the other families are too scared to step forward just like you were—"
"But I still am." Tsunade said cutting her off with a heavy sigh. "Look, I'm sorry but the way—"
"Don't you want to recover the rest of Sousuke's remains? Wouldn't you like to give him a proper burial? Don't you feel entitled to get some closure if you can't even get some answers?" Yuki asked grasping Tsunade by the shoulders and shaking her firmly. Tsunade resisted the urge to slap the woman's hands off her and hurl her headfirst through a nearby window. Instead she managed a patient smile as she met her eyes.
"I do but not like this." She replied quietly. "I'm not stupid, I know what can happen to people like us who stir things up that ought to be left alone."
"So that's it then?" Yuki said releasing her with a disgusted grunt. "Just like that—you're giving up?"
"Afraid so." Tsunade paused to extend her hand with a polite smile. "Although I am glad to have met you." Yuki stared coldly at the offending appendage until the Senju heiress slowly but surely returned it to her side with a nervous smile. The widow spun on her heels and marched away without sparing a backwards glance.
Tsunade knew that she had to be reasonable. She wasn't so far removed from Dan's death to have forgotten the rage and powerlessness Yuki must be feeling. Even though her lover had died in her arms, she couldn't imagine how heart wrenching not being able to bury your loved one's body must have felt. Part of her wanted to call out for Yuki, to run after her and stop her in her tracks. To smile and offer her help much like she had done for Rin. But the rational side of her prevailed once more, needlessly reminding her that she was deep within enemy territory, far beyond the reach of her closest friends and comrades.
Without a moment's hesitation, Tsunade turned away from the restaurant entrance as she quietly retraced her steps back to her hotel room. The steady rhythm of her footsteps allowed her mind to wander back to her conversation with Yuki.
There was no doubt in her mind that the "storage facility" the man had referenced earlier was a cover for Daisuke's laboratory. Normally, the deaths of several ANBU should have had the village on high alert. Had something similar happened in Konoha, Lord Hokage would have declared martial law recalling all shinobi abroad and imposing a curfew while he and his best officers assessed and exhausted all diplomatic alternatives to war.
The sentinels at the gate hadn't even bothered to question each member of the caravan let alone search them. She bit her lower lip with a concerned frown. And judging by how calm everyone seems tonight I can only assume that the Kazekage actually believes that a rockslide was in fact responsible for the lab's destruction.
While keeping the lab's true purposes secret made sense to her, she wondered why the Kazekage had abruptly halted all digging and excavation of the site. Surely recovering the fallen shinobis' bodies and confirming their theory took precedence after such an unfortunate disaster. Unless of course the Kazekage was nervous about evidence being unearthed by the excavation.
Although she had no concrete proof to back it up, there was no doubt in her mind that Sasori and Daisuke were in cahoots to cover up the lab explosion for some reason. Given this so-called Sasori's proximity to the Kazekage, it wouldn't be a difficult leap for him to influence his decision to halt all investigations and excavations of the site.
But why? Why on earth would the Kazekage go along with it? If his relationship with this Sasori individual was as strained as Yuki claims then how could he be able to influence…
Her hazel eyes widened suddenly as a harrowing realization finally dawned on her. At first she merely bit her lower lip, muffling the dry chuckle in her throat as she slowly but surely shook her head.
The Kazekage knows about Konoha's involvement. It was the only way any of this made any sense. Obviously he knew about the lab's true purpose and would have been understandably suspicious when it was destroyed. The moment his suspicions were confirmed by evidence of foul play he must have suspended the excavation and turned it over to Sasori.
The less people who knew about an operation the safer the operation would be from sabotage. The fact that the Kazekage had excluded almost every other shinobi in his village meant that he was paranoid of leaks even more so than seemed normal. From what little she had read and seen about the Kazekage he was a cautious man who played things extremely close to the chest. That being said, something about his paranoia seemed strangely justified.
There must have been leaks in the past. She reasoned. By now she was already within her room, her kimono hung loosely around her shoulders as she paced back and forth lost in thought. More so than usual to make the Kazekage exceptionally careful with sensitive information. Come to think of it, how did sensei know about the laboratory and its exact location?
While the answer was obvious, she found parsing through the clues one by one helpful. The mole must have been someone within the Kazekage's inner circle—an extremely exclusive group of powerful individuals within Sunagakure. Which explained the quality of the information.
But in that case why would one of Suna's elite betray the village? She reached up to untie her bun before rubbing her hands roughly through her locks with a frustrated groan.
Focus Tsunade. Slowly work out the problem.
Daisuke knew of Konoha's involvement in the lab's destruction. Given how resourceful he had proven himself thus far, it wasn't hard to imagine him devising a myriad of ways to convey that information to the Kazekage. Assuming the Kazekage was aware of this, his decision to sit on the information was puzzling. As things stood, he had more than enough justification to declare war on Konohagakure for its flagrant act of aggression. And yet all remained eerily still. Why?
"Minato's like a son to me." Jiraiya had stated with a fond chuckle. "I've practically raised him and taught him everything I know. That being said, he is a hundred times the shinobi I could ever hope to be. While I'm gullible and distracted, he is cautious and focused to the point of obsession. While I'm brash and instinctive, he is reserved and calculated. Watching him fight is…oh it's quite the treat. Every movement, every decision all builds into his desired result be it victory or retreat. Nothing he does is ever wasted. There's always a reason behind his actions."
"Assuming that his chakra was actually sealed all this time." Orochimaru had countered back then at his hideout with a skeptical laugh. "Minato-kun is a master strategist—he never does anything without reason."
"It overcomes the subject's willpower preventing them from divulging sensitive information to enemy forces no matter what type of interrogation techniques they are subjected to." Kakashi had explained calmly. "It's the ultimate defense against intelligence extraction. It's the jutsu sensei invented to pass his Jounin Exam six years ago."
Focus Tsunade. Start from the beginning. What does it all mean?
She remembered the first time she came upon Minato's nude form dangling from a pair of ceiling shackles in a musty dungeon near the outskirts of the Land of Wind, blue eyes wide and hopeful as he implored her to assist him. Back then, she had been prepared to walk away unmoved by his entreaties until he had invoked her proudest achievement to date—devising an antidote to Hanzo's poison.
At the hotel that fateful evening when they were attacked by the pair of Suna nins, he had been prepared to use Daisuke as bait to lure them out.
Had he known then that Daisuke was going to betray us? He must have. Why else would he willingly sacrifice their most valuable clue to deciphering Chiyo's toxin? What happened after the fight? Blood! Lots of blood! Focus Tsunade! Work out the problem.
Minato and Daisuke had disappeared briefly to get some food before returning with Lord Fugaku and the others. On the way back, he was the first to detect Daisuke's seal and rallied the troops to neutralize her before promptly vanishing with the redhead.
Even if Daisuke had threatened Rin's life Minato isn't naïve enough to take him seriously especially since he didn't take a hostage. So why would Minato place a seal on himself before following him? The only way that made sense was if Minato had wanted Daisuke to bring him back to Sunagakure much like how he had wanted us to bring him to Konoha.
Why would Daisuke or whoever's pulling the strings bring Minato back to Sunagakure alive? The only reason to preserve an enemy is if you intend to extract information from them. In Daisuke's case it was more blood and plasma to examine the toxin. In Minato's case it's….
Suddenly it all made sense. Every contradictory word, every baffling action. It all began to make sense as the clues all fell into place. One by one.
The laboratory was a rouse. Disinformation the Kazekage had fed his inner circle to flush out the mole among them. The information must have been conveyed to a smaller group of people—small enough to narrow down the list of suspects but not enough to single out the culprit. The mole promptly passed the information along to sensei who immediately dispatched Minato to take care of the situation. Daisuke must have been a failsafe put in place to discover the identity of the mole should the guards be unable to subdue or capture the attacker.
Once Minato successfully stormed the lab, Daisuke slipped into his disguise catching Rin and Minato off guard. Their guards remained completely down until a few days later when the Suna shinobi attacked them at the hotel. That must have been when Minato began to suspect Daisuke and Daisuke had planted his puppet master seal on me as a contingency.
When Daisuke realized that he would not be accompanying us to Konoha, he must have panicked and activated my puppet seal to break free. Somehow somewhere Daisuke must have realized that Minato either knew or had figured out the mole's identity. So why would Minato risk revealing the mole's identity by following Daisuke back to Suna?
The question lingered in the back of her mind forcing her in and out of fitful bouts of sleep as her subconscious struggled to make sense of Minato's last act until finally the answer roused her from her slumber like a shot of lightening directly through her veins.
The mole. He's trying to warn the mole!
Author's Note: Kept nodding off proof-reading this chapter. I let it run a little longer than normal to make up for the last chapter being so short. Thanks for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing this story. See you all next week.