"Sunagakure?" Tsunade looked at Fujimoto Tōma in surprise. "Why do you think something would happen there?"
"Just a feeling," Tōma replied calmly. "Their overall strength is low right now. If the Akatsuki have already started moving, Sunagakure should've been an obvious target. Have they really not been hit?"
"They have started acting," Tsunade admitted, "but as far as our intelligence goes, Sunagakure hasn't been targeted yet."
"I see…" Tōma nodded, though his brow tightened slightly.
That was strange.
Had his presence changed something? He hadn't interfered with the Akatsuki directly. Still, even a small deviation could ripple outward. He let the thought sit without forcing an answer.
Tsunade clicked her tongue irritably. "Speaking of Sunagakure… how is Chiyo still alive?"
"What happened?" Tōma asked.
"Jiraiya warned all villages with tailed beasts to stay alert," Tsunade explained. "We wanted to strengthen cooperation with Sunagakure. The Fifth Kazekage agreed, but that old woman blocked it outright."
She clenched her fist, clearly holding back her temper.
"Oh, right," Tsunade added suddenly. "You might not know yet. Want to guess who the Fifth Kazekage is?"
"I know," Tōma said flatly. "Gaara."
Tsunade laughed. "You already knew, huh? Fifteen years old and already Kazekage. Any regrets? If you'd pushed harder back then, you could've been the youngest Kage instead."
Tōma glanced at her. "Gaara becoming Kazekage just means Sunagakure ran out of options. Konoha isn't desperate enough to put a minor in the Hokage's seat."
Tsunade fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "…Fair."
"So how do you know Gaara agreed but Chiyo didn't?" Tōma asked.
"Temari came in person," Tsunade replied. "She explained everything. Gaara's young, his foundation's weak. Even as Kazekage, he can't bulldoze the elders."
Tōma nodded. He understood that frustration well.
"Temari coming at least shows Gaara's stance," he said. "That's already something."
Before Tsunade could respond, the door to the Hokage's office burst open.
An intelligence ninja rushed in, pale and breathless.
"Emergency report from Sunagakure! Highest priority!"
Both Tsunade and Tōma felt the same chill.
Tsunade tore open the scroll.
"What?!" she shouted.
Tōma's expression darkened. "What happened?"
"Gaara was defeated late last night," Tsunade said grimly. "Captured alive by the Akatsuki. Sunagakure is requesting immediate援援."
The timing was too precise.
Tōma frowned. He had just come out of isolation. Most of Konoha's forces were tied up with the Mōryō crisis. Gaara was taken the very next day.
Too clean. Too convenient.
Tsunade steadied herself. "Our manpower is limited right now. Even Temari's been deployed elsewhere."
She looked up at Tōma.
"I'll go," he said before she could speak. "I want to see what caused this shift."
"Thank you," Tsunade said seriously. "Once the Mōryō situation is resolved, I'll send reinforcements."
"Do that," Tōma replied. "I don't think this will be simple."
He left immediately after gathering his gear.
There were no Flying Thunder God markers in Sunagakure.
He'd once considered placing one on Gaara, but Sunagakure would never allow it. A tailed beast was a village's ultimate weapon. No one handed over the key to someone else.
Tōma had also avoided leaving marked kunai openly in Sunagakure. Even if the technique was hard to decipher, letting another village study it for free was idiotic.
No trade, no trust.
Which meant now he had only one option.
Run.
As Tōma departed Konoha, other figures quietly began to move.
Root.
Danzō watched as a grotesque summoning creature swallowed a sealed scroll and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Strange, he thought absently. Orochimaru's summons weren't usually like that. But it didn't matter.
What mattered was timing.
That boy had finally returned to Konoha. And the moment he did, the perfect opening appeared.
Danzō's eyes gleamed coldly.
He had waited too long for this. Paid too much. Failed too often.
If he couldn't defeat Fujimoto Tōma himself, then he'd let others do it.
This time, let's see how you escape.
Land of Demons.
Naruto sprinted through the night, carrying a light-haired girl on his back.
Shion, the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons.
"The entrance is blocked!" Naruto shouted, staring at the massive stone constructs advancing toward them. The so-called ghost army of Mōryō.
"What do we do?" Shion asked anxiously.
"Hold on tight," Naruto said, eyes sharp. "I've got this."
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The mountains erupted with Naruto clones.
Shion stared, stunned, as red chakra flared around him, forming a translucent armor. A moment later, the same cloak covered her.
Naruto formed a Rasengan in one hand, purple chakra spiraling violently.
"Still way easier with Kurama's help," he muttered, half to himself.
Clones smashed through the stone soldiers, clearing a path. Naruto charged straight through, slamming the Rasengan into the front line.
Boom!
The explosion tore open the entrance.
They made it.
Naruto set Shion down. "Go. Seal it. I won't let anyone past."
"…Thank you, Naruto," Shion said firmly, then ran inside.
Naruto turned back toward the regenerating stone army, teeth clenched.
Annoying. Hard to kill. But that wouldn't stop him.
Then—
"Lightning Blade!"
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Kakashi-sensei!"
"We'll handle things here," Kakashi said calmly. "Go."
Naruto grinned and rushed inside.
Kakashi watched his back disappear, sighing quietly.
He already knew.
But this wasn't the time to tell Naruto that Gaara had been taken.
Not yet.