CHAPTER 5: THE KAZEKAGE'S RESCUE (PART 1)

(Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I do own my OC's, however)

"Talking / Jutsu"

'Thinking'

'Flashback'

"Flashback talk"

"Demonic voice"

Letter / Emphasis

"Tsunade-sama?"

The Godaime Hokage raised her eyes upon hearing her name. She was sitting with her arms crossed, and as usual, there was an unholy amount of paperwork sitting on her desk, as well as a couple of thick binders where she kept files and reports. "Yes, Shizune? Is there something you need?"

"Not really, I was just checking up on you. You've been sitting there for hours reading nonstop, and it doesn't seem like you're close to finishing," Shizune replied as she stared at all the books, folders, and scrolls the Hokage was reading. Some of them were on the floor stacked on one another as there wasn't enough space for them to fit on the desk. Shizune wondered how someone could have the mental faculties to endure such a tedious job without going insane.

The busty Senju let out a sigh. Under normal circumstances, Tsunade would've used the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and have a shadow clone of hers deal with the desk work aspect of her job, just like Shujinko had advised her to do the day she granted him the rank of Chunin. This method had allowed Tsunade to go on occasional undercover visits to some of Konoha's betting houses and enjoy two of the few things that helped her keep her sanity: Alcohol and gambling.

However, Sunagakure and its Kazekage were in a critical situation. In cases such as this one, Tsunade preferred to do it herself instead of relying on shadow clones, as despite their usefulness, they could place a great amount of strain on her mind if she wasn't careful enough. Tsunade had learned this the hard way when a clone of hers dispelled itself after spending the entire night reading and doing paperwork while the real Tsunade was waking up with a nasty hangover after a night of heavy drinking. The overwhelming amount of information her brain received from the shadow clone combined with the after-effects of alcohol intoxication gave Tsunade the worst migraine of her life, forcing her to stay in bed for two days straight.

"You don't have to worry about me, Shizune. This is not my first time overworking and it most certainly won't be the last," Tsunade said before taking a sip of her tea, to which she had added a couple of drops of sake behind Shizune's back. "I want to send a support squad over to Sunagakure. It's very likely that Team Kakashi will run into members of the Akatsuki during their mission, so they'll need all the assistance they can get. The thing is, I'm not entirely sure who we should send,"

"How about Team Gai?" Shizune suggested. "They arrived this morning after completing their mission. I think they would make a great support squad for Team Kakashi,"

"I agree. Team Gai was my first choice when I started measuring the options. However, this is the Akatsuki we're talking about. Giving them an S-rank mission when they've just returned from an assignment doesn't seem like the best alternative, regardless of how capable they are,"

There was that, and there was also another detail that, while not crucial, was still relevant enough for the Godaime Hokage to take into consideration. One of the members from Team Gai, Tenten, was in a long-term romantic relationship with Shujinko, one of the ninjas whom she had assigned to rescue the Kazekage. Tsunade first became aware of this when she overheard Sakura talking to her friend Ino during one of their many medical Ninjutsu practices together some time ago, and as far as Tsunade knew, the couple was still going strong after three years.

Now, Tsunade had nothing against Shujinko and Tenten being in a relationship together. If the pair of them wanted to date each other, that was their business. A Hokage had far more important things to worry about, and honestly, Tsunade was a little too old to care about teenage love. However, the factor of their relationship complicated the equation when it came to a mission. Tsunade was hesitant to put those two together in a situation where emotions could get in the way of duty. She trusted in them the same way she trusted any shinobi from her village, but even a shinobi's composure could falter at the thought of a loved one being in danger.

The feeling of sharing the battlefield with a romantic partner was something Tsunade knew only too well. After all, she had been forced to fight alongside Dan during the Second Great Shinobi War, and watching the light fading away from her boyfriend's eyes while she desperately tried to keep him alive was a memory that haunted Tsunade even to this day. That was why she wanted to avoid a similar scenario from ever happening under her leadership. In the best of cases, Shujinko and Tenten working together against the Akatsuki could potentially lead to sentimental problems between them, and those problems would affect the rest of the group in terms of teamwork.

As she mulled over what to do, Tsunade reached for some tea, only for the cup to crack before her hand could touch it.

Shizune blinked in surprise. "Did that cup just…"

"A bad omen," Tsunade said as her face took on a concerned frown. Without a second thought, Konoha's Slug Princess placed her arms on the desk and pushed the piles of books and folders away, throwing them to the sides. She then opened a drawer, grabbed a newspaper, and flipped through the pages until she found the announcements section. "Shizune, hand me the lottery ticket I bought last weekend!" Tsunade shouted, slamming the extended newspaper onto the desk.

"Hai!" Shizune replied as she frantically searched her pockets for the object requested while holding Tonton in her arms. The poor piglet quickly became dizzy as Shizune waved her around unintentionally. By the time Shizune found the lottery ticket, Tonton's eyes had been replaced with a pair of swirly spirals.

Tsunade grabbed the ticket and began looking for the results of the latest lottery. If she had won something, anything at all, then it was a bad omen for sure. The larger the prize, the bigger the tragedy would be. Once she found the results of the lottery company she had bought the ticket from, Tsunade checked if she had any of the winning numbers… and a gasp escaped from her lips.

"Tsunade-sama, is everything alright?" Shizune asked with a worried voice. She nearly dropped Tonton when she looked at the Hokage's face, which had paled slightly.

"Shizune, I need you to contact the members of Team Gai. Tell them they are to pack up and wait for me at the entrance of the village. I'm sending them to Sunagakure,"

"Team Gai?" Shizune repeated. "But didn't you say you weren't sure about-"

"I know what I said! Just get going already!"

"R-R-Right away, Tsunade-sama!" A frightened Shizune replied, leaving the office as fast as she could. Tonton's squeals of discomfort soon filled the corridor as she wobbled between Shizune's arms. Once she was alone, Tsunade intertwined her fingers together and rested her chin against her knuckles, not wanting to believe the calamity that was about to come. She took one last look at the ticket and a shiver ran down her spine.

She had won the first prize in the lottery.

|Kawa no Kuni|

"Well, we're here at last, hmnh," Deidara said, staring at the entrance of Akatsuki's hideout.

The place was located in a cavern hidden behind a huge wall of flat earth, and the only access into the cavern was blocked by a round boulder with a large barrier seal attached to it. A red torii gate stood in front of the entrance, indicating that the cavern used to be a sacred place of worship before it was discovered by Zetsu. The Akatsuki saw no problem in defiling an underground sanctuary and turning it into a wretched den simply because it suited the organization and its purposes.

"Let's get going, then. We don't have a second to spare," Sasori replied, his deep voice filled with disgruntlement. "We already wasted plenty of time thanks to you and your need to show off your art,"

Deidara frowned at his partner. "Oi, cut me some slack, will you? In case you don't remember, I'm the one who's missing a limb here," he said while raising his left arm, or at least what remained of it. Meanwhile, a white clay bird was hovering in circles above the two members of the Akatsuki, carrying the comatose body of Gaara. The Godaime Kazekage had managed to protect his village from Deidara's attacks, but in doing so, he was forced to subject himself to the explosions of the clay bombs.

Sasori didn't hesitate to return the glare. "And whose fault is that? You were the one who insisted on taking care of the Ichibi Jinchuriki by yourself. Maybe you'd still have your left arm if you weren't so careless,"

"Alright, fair enough. Let's just get this over with, hmnh," The two artists climbed down the cliff and made their way to the entrance of the hideout. Once they were in front of the boulder, Deidara performed the Ram hand sign. The seal attached to be boulder began to glow red and the huge rock dragged itself forward, allowing safe passage to the members of the Akatsuki and the bird with the Jinchuriki on its back.

Inside of his puppet Hiruko, Sasori sent chakra to his purple ring, calling forth the leader of the Akatsuki. Meanwhile, the boulder dragged itself back into its previous position, sealing the hideout's entrance once again. It wasn't long before a distorted, semi-transparent figure appeared in front of them.

"You are late," Pain said as his static voice echoed around the cavern. Despite his shifting holographic image, Pain's Rinnegan remained steady and unperturbed, giving him the appearance of a ghost who had stones for eyes.

"Sorry about that. The task of capturing the Ichibi Jinchuriki turned out to be a lot harder than we first anticipated," the missing ninja from Iwagakure replied, his voice adopting a slightly more respectful tone than usual. Despite being one of the most impudent and cheeky members of the Akatsuki, Deidara knew better than to test the patience of the leader of their organization, even if it was only a hologram he was talking to. "In any case, the job is done. This Jinchuriki is ready to have its Bijuu extracted,"

"We must act fast. The ninjas from Sunagakure will stop at nothing to find their Kazekage," Sasori warned.

In response, Pain weaved a couple of hand signs and slammed his palm against the ground. "Kuchiyose: Gedō Mazō,"

The earth beneath their feet trembled, and a titanic statue started to emerge from it. Like a demon from the dark depths of the underworld, the grotesque humanoid kept springing up until it nearly reached the top of the cavern, which provided barely enough room for its face and hands to come from below. Eventually, the behemoth of a creature Pain had summoned came to a halt, although its lack of movement hardly made the statue any less intimidating.

"It is time for the others to join us," Pain declared before jumping over to the Gedo Mazo, landing on one of its fingers. Deidara and Sasori did the same, and one by one, the rest of the members of the Akatsuki appeared in the form of holograms just like their leader. "The Ichibi Jinchuriki has been captured. We must extract his Bijuu at once,"

"Where the hell is Tobi?" Kisame asked, noticing how the masked buffoon was nowhere to be seen. "Tch, never mind. That idiot would only get in the way,"

"Ugh, I hate doing this shit. How am I supposed to concentrate my chakra for three days straight without losing my damn mind?" Hidan demanded to know, to which Kakuzu snorted. Was he supposed to believe his partner had a mind to lose?

"I believe it will take us more time than that," Itachi interjected. "The process of extracting a Bijuu from its Jinchuriki already required three days back when Orochimaru was still working with us. Without him, we must assume the process will be at least several hours longer than before,"

"All the more reason to start right away," Pain responded before weaving the Ram hand sign. The rest of the Akatsuki did the same. Once everyone was ready, Pain unleashed a technique only a Rinnegan bearer could ever perform, the bane of all Jinchurikis. "Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyūfūjin,"

|Hi no Kuni|

"Yosh! Team Gai is back at it again!" an exuberant Gai proclaimed at the top of his lungs. The Taijutsu specialist was making his way through the deep forests of his homeland with Neji, Lee, and Tenten following closely behind him. "This is what I call a stroke of good luck. For Tsunade-sama to assign us an S-rank mission immediately after our arrival to the village, and with Team Kakashi no less! How I wish these surprises occurred more often! Onwards, my students! Let us charge ahead at full speed, for the springtime of youth waits for no one!"

"I am right behind you, Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted, sharing his teacher's level of excitement. The passing of time had barely changed Lee at all, as he was still the same enthusiastic, spandex-loving shinobi that he was three years ago. Just like Shujinko, Lee hadn't stopped using his Chunin vest ever since he got his, which at least made his current outfit less hideous than what it used to be.

With Gai leading the squad, his three students remained in the back of the formation, jumping together from one tree branch to another. As they advanced through the forest, Neji, the other Jounin of the group, suddenly had a thought he believed was worthy of sharing with the rest of his team. "I heard Naruto had returned to the village before he was sent to Sunagakure with the rest of Team Kakashi. We haven't seen him in a long time,"

Lee nodded vigorously. "Indeed. I am curious to see how much he has changed. Knowing Naruto-kun, he must have gotten considerably stronger," he said before tightening his fists in anticipation. "Also, Shujinko-kun is participating in this mission and Sakura-san as well. I am so glad Tsunade-sama chose us for this. It will be like a reunion of friends!"

"I'm not sure I would call this a reunion of friends, Lee," Tenten replied as she adjusted the large scroll on her back. Instead of carrying several sealing scrolls around, the kunoichi now kept all of her weapons stored inside a single one, which was a lot more practical despite the added weight. "If you ask me, I'd rather reunite with friends at a restaurant instead of joining them on an S-rank mission. Still, I can't deny I'm happy we'll get to see them,"

While meeting Naruto after three years of him being away was certainly going to be interesting, Tenten was more distracted by the fact that her boyfriend was going to be there as well. Ever since she started dating Shujinko, the two of them had only gone on missions together a couple of times in the past, and none of those missions had been S-ranks. It was going to be a weird situation, because as much as Tenten enjoyed being with Shujinko, saving the Kazekage while fighting against the Akatsuki wasn't exactly her idea of spending quality time together.

'Shujinko must be in Kaze no Kuni by now,' Tenten thought to herself. 'I hope he's doing alright,'

|Kaze no Kuni|

The journey to Sunagakure, despite being a tiring one, had been uneventful… for the most part.

With the Copy Ninja as their guide, the members of Team Kakashi traveled across Hi no Kuni at a steady pace, resting in between for short periods of time. While Shujinko and Sakura were in favor of taking small breaks every now and then, Naruto was annoyed by this, as he wanted to get to Sunagakure as soon as possible. Although his determination to rescue Gaara was understandable and even commendable, it got to the point where it was almost frustrating. On several occasions, Shujinko tried to explain to his friend that attempting to make the journey at full speed without stopping was both reckless and counterproductive, but Naruto didn't seem to listen.

Not too long after leaving their village, Team Kakashi came across Temari, who just happened to be on her way home after fulfilling her ambassador duties. Of course, she was unaware of everything that had happened to both her village and her brother, so once she was filled in by Kakashi, Temari didn't think twice about it and joined them. Her addition to the group proved to be quite helpful once they reached the lands of Kaze no Kuni, as Temari knew her way around the desert better than any of them ever could, telling them where to go and how long would it take them to reach Sunagakure.

Lady luck seemed to be smiling on them… right until a sand storm came along. Thanks to Temari, Team Kakashi managed to find refuge in a cave before the unforgiving winds of Kaze no Kuni could catch up to them. Like a ship stranded in the middle of an ocean of sand, Shujinko and the rest of the crew were forced to stay put and wait for the storm to pass. At first, everyone was quiet and kept their emotions under check, but as time went on, Naruto became more and more anxious.

Eventually, the Kyuubi Jinchuriki got fed up with the situation and let everybody know about it. "That's it! I can't take this anymore!" Naruto exclaimed as he got up. "We can't let some stupid sand storm get in the way of our mission! I say we should leave this place right now!"

Shujinko immediately grabbed Naruto and pushed him back down before his teammate could do something stupid. "We will do no such thing, Naruto. You already heard Temari. The only thing we can do right now is to wait until the storm ends, and once it does, we'll pick up the pace to make up for the time we've lost. There's no other choice,"

"But Shujinko, we don't know when the storm's gonna end!" Naruto countered with an exasperated look on his face. "Sunagakure isn't too far away from where we are. Temari said so herself! Instead of waiting, we can move through the storm and-"

"And end up lost in the middle of nowhere, without water or a sense of direction to rely on," Kakashi interrupted him. "I understand this is frustrating, but you're not doing anyone a favor by losing your composure during a moment like this. Leaving this cave now would benefit the Akatsuki, not our mission,"

"Besides, look at Temari here," Sakura said, pointing at the kunoichi sitting next to her. "Don't forget she's Gaara's sister. This situation is affecting her more than any of us, yet she's still keeping a level head. You have to follow her example, Naruto,"

Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but words failed him. He knew his emotions were getting the better of him, that he wasn't going to help Gaara by acting out, but he just couldn't help it. Gaara's life was on the line, and the thought of failing to help one of the very few people who truly understood a Jinchuriki's hardships was too much for him to bear.

As he stared at Naruto, the corner of Shujinko's mouth tugged down, feeling sorry for him. Up until recently, the nature of the relationship between Naruto and Gaara had been a mystery for the golden-eyed Jounin. He used to ignore why the Kazekage meant so much to him, especially considering how much of a bloodthirsty maniac Gaara used to be when they were younger. It wasn't until his conversation with Temari that Shujinko began to realize how strong their bond was, but most importantly, why it was so strong.

|Last night|

"You know, we've never really talked that much, you and me," Shujinko said to Temari. The two of them were sitting on a fallen tree trunk close to a small fire Kakashi had started earlier. The rest of the squad was sleeping, and in a couple of hours, it was going to be the turn of Naruto and Sakura to keep an eye on the camp. It was late at night, and since he had nothing better to do, Shujinko thought he might as well talk to Temari for a while and kill a bit of boredom.

Temari raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that your best conversation starter?" she asked, to which Shujinko shrugged his shoulders.

"It got you talking, didn't it? I may not know a whole lot about you, but you don't strike me as the type of girl who enjoys long and awkward silences. I certainly don't enjoy them,"

"Maybe you don't know girls as well as you think you do, although I suppose you can't be too clueless if you have a girlfriend… How's she doing?"

"Tenten? She's doing fine. We've been together for a good while now. She hasn't forgotten how you beat her during the Chunin Exams, and she still wants to have a rematch," Shujinko said, and a small smirk tugged at the corner of Temari's mouth. "The Chunin Exams… Crazy how time flies. You and your siblings were the first ninjas from Sunagakure us members of Team 7 ever met. I remember how much Gaara used to freak me out back then. He was a scary guy, that's for sure,"

The smirk on Temari's face quickly faded away and was replaced with a frown. Shujinko gulped, feeling like an idiot for bringing up the subject of Gaara now of all times. He hadn't intended to speak ill of her brother whom the Akatsuki had recently kidnapped, he was just mindlessly reminiscing about the past since he couldn't think of other topics.

"I mean, back in the day… He was… Well, you know…"

"I understand," Temari said, her eyes fixated on the fire in front of her. "If I'm being honest, I was scared of him as well. I couldn't bring myself to see Gaara as my little brother. He seemed so… inhuman to me. Living with him was like being a spy constantly surrounded by the enemy, as I always had to be careful around him. Kankuro and I were too afraid to try and make him change for the better, so we just left him be. It wasn't until he met Naruto that Gaara began to see the world in a different light,"

Shujinko remained silent. He remembered the time when Gaara tried to kill Lee while he was unconscious in the hospital. The golden-eyed boy, along with Naruto and Shikamaru, were able to find Gaara before he could carry out the murder. Gaara was absolutely unfazed by this and proceeded to tell them about his childhood, as well as the monster that was sealed inside of him since the day he was born. That day, Shujinko came to understand the red-haired Genin a tiny bit better, but he simply couldn't make sense of how someone like Gaara could exist, with such thirst for blood and desire to kill.

As the smoke from the fire slowly rose to the dark sky, Shujinko stole a discreet glance at Naruto, who was sleeping on his right side a little further away from the rest of his squad members. That goofball who used to be mocked by his peers and belittled by almost everyone around him was able to turn Gaara's life around. Shujinko had witnessed the unique effect his teammate had on people in more than one occasion.

The first time he saw it happen was during Team 7's fight against Zabuza, when the Demon of the Mist became more human than ever after Naruto's words forced the swordsman to recognize his pain and grief over Haku's death. He then saw it a second time when Neji, the genius cursed by destiny, was defeated by Naruto, the fool who was brave enough to believe in himself, making the talented member of the Hyuuga clan reevaluate his outlook on life and its true meaning. And although he hadn't been there to see the fight between Naruto and Gaara, Shujinko knew his teammate had changed Gaara by the end of their battle, and the boy who used to seek the death of everyone around him went on to become Kazekage, the protector of Sunagakure and its people.

"I've always wondered something about Naruto and Gaara," Shujinko began to say. "What is it that makes them see each other so uniquely? I know they're both Jinchurikis, but that alone doesn't explain how they can relate to one another so strongly. Naruto is my friend and my teammate, yet sometimes I feel like I just don't know him as well as I should. There are certain things about him that I don't understand, and his relationship with Gaara is one of them,"

"You shouldn't blame yourself for not being able to fully understand them. If anything, I'd be surprised if you could," Unlike Shujinko, who had a bit of trouble arranging his thoughts into words, Temari's answer came almost instinctively, as if she knew exactly what the brown-haired Jounin was talking about. Shujinko slightly furrowed his brow and gave her an inquisitive look.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Isn't it obvious? Just because you're Naruto's friend doesn't mean you understand his entire life, the same way I can't entirely understand Gaara's life just because I'm her sister. They see life differently because they're different from you and me. It's not a very hard concept to grasp,"

The Ozuma let out a small huff. He didn't appreciate having his intelligence questioned by Temari, as if he was a child who needed simple explanations. It made him wonder if Shikamaru had to put up with that kind of attitude every time he had to meet her for whatever business needed to be attended by Konohagakure and Sunagakure. His annoyance ebbed away, however, when Temari spoke again.

"The reason why the two of them understand each other so profoundly is that they each represent what the other wants to be. As Jinchurikis, they both went through life being scorned and feared by everyone around them. In spite of that, Gaara became the leader of his village and earned the admiration of those who once saw him as a monster. He's the embodiment of what Naruto wishes to achieve. On the other hand, Naruto taught Gaara that the life of a Jinchuriki doesn't have to be a lonely one. He showed him it was possible for people like them to care about others and for others to care about them. In the end, they're proof that their goals can be reached. That's why Naruto and Gaara care so much about each other, because they share the same pain and the same dreams, and nothing else in this world can make those two feel more alike than that,"

|End of flashback|

Shujinko took a silent breath, inhaling and exhaling through his nose. He wanted to say something to Naruto in order to make him feel better about the whole situation, but Shujinko couldn't bring himself to make a speech about how he understood him when last night he had admitted otherwise. Instead, he decided to introduce a new topic, hoping that would take Naruto's mind off of things even for just a while. "Well Naruto, seeing how determined you are to rescue Gaara, you better have a plan. After all, this is the Akatsuki we're talking about,"

Naruto turned to his teammate with a slight frown on his face. "I'll tell you what the plan is. We find them, we beat them to a bloody pulp and we get Gaara back. It's as simple as that,"

His answer caused Shujinko to narrow his eyes. He wasn't expecting Naruto to come up with a brilliant strategy in less than two seconds, but at least he could've taken some time to think. Had he learned nothing about the importance of planning ahead? "The first thing we need to do is to figure out a way to track them down. If we can't do that, I don't see how the rest of your plan is possible,"

"Don't worry about that, I'm sure Pakkun can help us out," Kakashi commented. "He's my most trusted ninken, and he was there when Naruto fought against Gaara during the invasion, which means Pakkun most likely caught and memorized Gaara's scent. As long as the Akatsuki hasn't taken the Kazekage to an incredibly remote place, I'm confident Pakkun will take us to where they're holding him,"

Sakura nodded in understanding. "But then there's the problem of handling the enemy. We all know the members of Akatsuki are all S-rank ninjas who deserted their village, but aside from that, we have no idea what kind of skills they possess. The message sent by Sunagakure did not include a description of the jutsus or abilities used by those who captured Gaara,"

"We can ask Kankuro about that once we get to my village. He must've been present when the members of the Akatsuki attacked, so he probably got to see at least a portion of what they can do," Temari said. She had no idea her older brother was currently strapped to a hospital bed, barely conscious and fighting just to stay alive.

Shujinko awkwardly scratched his cheek. The last time he saw Kankuro was during the invasion, and the fight between the two of them had ended with Shujinko knocking the puppeteer's lights out with a kick to the face. He hoped Kankuro hadn't been holding a grudge against him ever since that day, but if that turned out to be the case, then at least Gaara's kidnapping would be good enough of a reason for Kankuro to leave grudges aside, even if just temporarily.

"In any case, that's not our biggest issue right now. We need to focus on…"

Suddenly, Temari stopped talking and gestured the rest of them to remain quiet. The sound of the howling wind had come to a halt. Temari got on her hands and knees and quickly crawled her way towards the entrance of the cave, and once she got there, she saw the wild beast that was the desert had become tame again. The strong air currents had mellowed to the point where their surroundings were visible, thus making it safe for them to resume their journey.

"The sand storm is over!" Temari declared. "Come on, let's get going!"

|One hour later, Sunagakure no Sato|

"It's useless. None of my antidotes are working," Chiyo said, staring at the almost lifeless body of Kankuro with a frown on her old wrinkled face. "Sasori has truly outdone himself this time. He made this poison with the sole intention of causing a slow and painful death. The fact that this young man has been able to survive this long is nothing short of a miracle. However, without an effective antidote, his will to stay alive is only making him suffer more,"

No one in the emergency ward uttered a word as a feeling of dread took hold of them. Aside from being a retired counselor of Sunagakure's Council, Chiyo was the most knowledgeable person in the entire village when it came to poisons. They had summoned her in hopes of finding an antidote before the help from Konohagakure arrived. If Chiyo herself admitted there was nothing she could do, then Kankuro's fate was sealed. All they could do now was to sedate Kankuro and make what little time he had left on Earth as painless as possible.

"We can't give up on him just yet," Baki said, gaining the attention of everyone around him. "The squad from Konohagakure could be here at any minute. There's still hope for Kankuro,"

"And that is precisely what the problem is. We have forgotten how to survive, how to rely on ourselves," Chiyo replied. "We have sunk so low that our only chance to save one of our ninjas depends on Konohagakure and its goodwill. How shameful, how truly shameful. With how things are going, it won't be long before we ask Konohagakure to rule over us since we cannot prosper and thrive on our own,"

"Nee-chan, are you speaking out of concern or out of spite?" Ebizō asked, being the second oldest person in the room. He had a noticeable birthmark on his right cheek and his eyebrows were long enough to touch the collar of his robe. "My memory might not be as good as it once was, but I can still remember your sizzling hatred towards Konohagakure. Is it possible your pride might be blinding you?"

Chiyo snorted. "Pride, you say? Pride is what this village was founded upon and what this young generation has forgotten. Make no mistake, the only thing that is blinding me is my old age,"

Baki remained quiet, although his silence was out of respect for Chiyo rather than being in agreement. The alliance between Sunagakure and Konohagakure had been nothing but beneficial for both villages, which was impressive considering how Orochimaru had manipulated them into attacking Konohagakure three years ago, and during the Chunin Exams no less. In the shinobi world, the Chunin Exams was one of the few instances where villages could come together and put their ninjas to the test without starting a war.

Any other village would've considered this to be treason of the highest order, and since the invasion resulted in the death of the Sandaime Hokage, Konohagakure had even more reason to march into battle against a weakened Sunagakure, whose Kazekage had recently been murdered by the Snake Sannin. Instead, they chose peace over violence and diplomacy over blood. Such a merciful approach was as unexpected as it was unheard of, and it changed Baki's perception of Konoha forever.

Suddenly, a group of ninjas barged into the emergency ward, all of them strangers except for Temari.

"Kankuro!" Temari yelled as she ran towards her brother, pushing past a medical assistant who happened to be on her way, with Sakura following her from behind. "Kankuro, can you hear me?" Temari asked, her voice filled with concern, but the puppeteer showed no signs of consciousness.

"What's his status? How much time does he have?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked, opening a binder that contained the documentation of the medical process so far.

"Not a lot, I'm afraid," Baki answered. "He's been in a critical state ever since the poison entered his body. We've managed to ease some of his pain, but that's as far as our efforts have-"

"DAMN YOU!" Out of nowhere, and for no apparent reason, Chiyo began to run wildly. She darted across the emergency ward with a speed that belied her age, cocking her arms back as she jumped towards Kakashi. "Finally, my revenge is at hand! Prepare yourself, Shiroi Kiba!

"S-Shiroi Kiba?" Kakashi stammered in confusion. "But that's my-"

"Die!"

Without having the slightest idea of what was going on, Shujinko reacted by placing himself in front of his sensei, using his open palms to catch the old woman's fists. When he caught them, Shujinko was surprised by the power behind her punches, which had nearly caused him to stagger back. 'Damn, this old crone sure knows how to hit!' Shujinko thought, who then threw a kick at her chest. However, before he could fully extend his leg, the crazy lady performed a backward summersault and landed several feet away, displaying the agility of a young kunoichi.

"Oi! What the hell's the matter with you, you old prune!?" Naruto shouted in anger. "Nothing gives you the right to attack Kakashi-sensei just like that!"

"Yeah, and who is this Shiroi Kiba you're talking about?" Shujinko asked, pulling out a pair of kunais in case the old lady tried to attack them a second time. "No one here has that moniker. You're either mistaking Kakashi-sensei for someone else or you have a bad case of senile dementia. Which one is it?"

"Speak all you want, but you will not fool me! I haven't forgotten what you did to my son, Shiroi Kiba, and now you will pay!"

Shujinko adopted a fighting position while Naruto created a shadow clone. The Ozuma didn't know who that ugly crone was or what her problems were, but he wouldn't allow her to attack his sensei, even if he had to knock out what little remained of her teeth. The deranged lady was ready to strike again, but just when she was about to charge at them, a man who seemed to be every bit as old as she was stood in her way. "Nee-chan, I beg you stop. This is clearly a misunderstanding,"

"There is no misunderstanding, Ebizō! My son and his wife were killed by Konoha's Shiroi Kiba, and now that he is standing right in front of me, I will claim my vengeance or die trying!"

"Konoha's Shiroi Kiba died years ago, nee-chan. Don't you remember how distraught you felt upon hearing the news? Your disappointment was such that you wouldn't stop lamenting about how you would never be able to carry out your revenge. This young man certainly bores a strong resemblance to the Shiroi Kiba, but they cannot be the same person,"

Chiyo's murderous glare was replaced by a look of befuddlement. She stared at Kakashi in silence, whose awkward expression on his face only confirmed the absurdity of the situation. "… Oh… Well, now that you mention it… Never mind, then,"

To make things even more uncomfortable, Chiyo started laughing, as if the whole thing had been a prank from the start. Shujinko and Naruto raised their eyebrows at each other, both of them wondering what the heck was wrong with her. "That's an interesting way to greet someone," Shujinko muttered as he placed his kunais inside their holsters. "Anyways, we're the squad you requested from Konohagakure no Sato. Our mission is to rescue the Kazekage and bring him back here. The message you sent was rather short, so if someone could give us all the details, it would be much appreciated,"

Baki's eyes widened slightly. Upon closer inspection, he recognized Shujinko as the boy he had saved years ago. He'd been badly injured after his fight with one of Orochimaru's henchmen and was about to kick the bucket by the time Baki had found him. The Jounin from Sunagakure hadn't expected to see him again, and yet here he was, selected by none other than the Hokage to find and save Gaara. The shinobi world was certainly a smaller place than people thought. "Of course. Follow me outside, let's give the medical staff enough room to work,"

000

'Well, this is awkward,'

While Sakura was busy trying to save Kankuro's life, Shujinko, Kakashi, and Naruto were sitting next to each other in a waiting room. Unlike his sensei, who had his Icha Icha novel to pass the time, Shujinko had nothing to do in the meantime other than to remain in silence with his arms crossed over his chest. The pair of old geezers from before were sitting on the other side of the room, staring at them without bothering to hide their curiosity. As it that wasn't enough, they would sometimes hear screams of pain coming from the emergency ward, adding more tension to the atmosphere.

"So… Konoha's Shiroi Kiba. I have to admit I've never heard of him before. He sounds like he was a famous ninja back in the day," Shujinko said in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

"He certainly was," Kakashi replied, not taking his eye off the book. "For better or worse, he was a well-known individual many years ago. Nowadays, people don't talk about him much,"

"They don't? Why is that, Kakashi-sensei?"

"How should I put it? His life was a troubled one, and heroes don't always get the ending they deserve. It's one of the many crude realities of the shinobi world,"

"That doesn't make much sense to me," Naruto immediately said. "If this Shiroi Kiba guy was a hero of our village, then he should be remembered as one, just like the Yondaime Hokage. Isn't that the point of being a hero? To be hailed and acknowledged by others?"

Had it been possible, Chiyo's face would've grown more wrinkles after hearing what Naruto had just said. Of course the Shiroi Kiba was a hero for people like him, but to her, he was the bastard who killed both her son and her daughter-in-law. He was the monster who took Sasori's parents away from him, wounding his heart forever. It boiled Chiyo's blood to hear someone praising him or even thinking about him in a positive light. The only thing that gave Chiyo a tiny bit of comfort was knowing that, apparently, the Shiroi Kiba had been forgotten by his own village, as not even those two youngsters sitting in front of her knew who that man was.

Seeing how Kakashi wasn't responding, and feeling the intense hatred coming from Chiyo, Shujinko decided to lighten up the mood. "In any case, it's kind of amusing when you think about it, sensei," the golden-eyed Jounin said with a small smile, meeting Kakashi's gaze. "You have so many nicknames such as Copy Ninja and Sharingan Warrior, it's hard to keep track of all of them. Has anyone ever mistaken you for the Shiroi Kiba before? Apart from this instance, I mean,"

"Sure, more times than I can count. I got my looks from him, so I guess it's not that strange,"

"Your looks?" Shujinko repeated as realization began to dawn on him. "Wait, does that mean…"

Kakashi closed his book and raised his head, contemplating the light fixture hanging from the ceiling. "That's right. My father was the Shiroi Kiba,"

As soon as Kakashi said those words, a silence worthy of a graveyard invaded the waiting room. Shujinko's eyes were wide in surprise and his jaw had dropped a little. He tried to come up with something to say, but his state of befuddlement wouldn't allow him to find the words. During his time with Kakashi, Shujinko had never heard him talk about his parents or relatives of any kind. He had always wanted to ask him about them, if only out of curiosity, but he didn't know if family was a topic Kakashi felt comfortable discussing, so Shujinko had always held his tongue and kept his doubts to himself.

And now, all of a sudden, he came to find out his sensei was the son of a once-famous shinobi. Shujinko didn't know what to do with this new information, but judging by the way Kakashi was acting, it was clear he didn't feel like delving deeper into the subject, especially since his father was dead. The Ozuma made a mental note to do some research on the Shiroi Kiba once he got back to the village, as this was hardly the time or the place to ask Kakashi personal questions.

"Excuse me,"

Shujinko had been so distracted by his thoughts; he hadn't noticed the ninja standing right in front of them. He was around his age, maybe one or two years older, and he wore Sunagakure's standard shinobi outfit. He had short, dark blond hair and fair skin, but what really caught Shujinko's attention was the scar on the left side of his face. It was a crooked line that went from the middle of his cheekbone to above his eyebrow, pushing some of his skin down and making his eyelid look swollen. 'This guy… Why does he look familiar?'

"My name is Inaka Renjiro. Are you Hatake Kakashi, the leader of the squad sent from Konohagakure?" the ninja asked with a bit of slur in his speech. The left corner of his mouth was slightly tucked, which Shujinko suspected was due to facial paralysis.

Kakashi nodded. "That would be me. What is it?"

"I've been tasked by the Council of Sunagakure to assist you in the rescue of Kazekage-sama. We have reasons to believe our leader is currently being held hostage somewhere outside of Kaze no Kuni, and if that happens to be the case, I can guide you through Sunagakure's neighboring lands," Renjiro said as he handed the silver-haired Jounin an orange card with the kanji for shinobi on the back. "This is my Ninja Info Card. This will help you assess my abilities and determine which role you need me to fulfill,"

"How very interesting," Kakashi said as he examined the Ninja Info Card. Naruto, being as curious as ever, leaned closer to him to get a better look at the card until he was basically on top of Kakashi. Meanwhile, Shujinko kept stealing glances at Renjiro, who had yet to meet his gaze. "Very well, Renjiro-san. We'll get into contact with you as soon as we figure out what our next step will be. For now, make sure to get some rest. We have a tough mission ahead of us,"

"As you wish, Kakashi-taicho," Renjiro said before finally acknowledging the presence of the teenagers sitting next to Kakashi. He looked at Naruto and nodded at him. However, when he saw Shujinko, his reaction wasn't quite the same. Renjiro's right eyebrow went up and his jaw slowly opened. After a few seconds of mutual staring, Renjiro coughed into his clenched fist and his face assumed a serious expression once again, even though everyone had noticed the sudden change in his demeanor. "… Anyways, I better get going now. Let me know when you're ready,"

As Renjiro left the waiting room, Naruto kept staring at his retreating figure until the Suna shinobi was out of sight. "What was that all about? That guy looked totally surprised to see you, Shujinko," Naruto said, to which the Ozuma didn't respond. "Also, how do you think he got it?"

Shujinko gave his teammate a side-glance. "What do you mean, Naruto?"

"Come on, isn't it obvious? I'm talking about that nasty scar on his face. Someone must've beaten him to a pulp or something,"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Scars are fairly common in our line of work. You can almost say they come with the job. I have a few of them myself. By the time I was twelve, I already had my first scar,"

"By the time you were twelve? Man, you were young, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said in awe. "So what's the story behind your first scar? How did you get it?"

The silver-haired Jounin adjusted the headband that covered his Sharingan in an almost involuntary manner. For a couple of seconds, images of the Third Great Ninja War flashed inside his head, each one darker than the last. "Long story short, one of my comrades was in danger and I had to help him. Trust me, it's not as exciting or as heroic as it sounds, so I'll spare you the details," he said, to which Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Tch, why are you always trying to act so mysterious, sensei? It's like you're the opposite of Ero-sennin. Instead of exaggerating your stories in order to look cool like he does, you downplay them. It's not working, you know… Oi, Shujinko, where are you going?" Naruto asked his teammate, who had gotten out of his seat and was walking towards the exit.

"There's something I need to check. I won't take long," Shujinko replied without turning around or stopping at Naruto's question.

This, of course, irritated the blonde Jinchuriki, whose eyes were replaced by a pair of white circles. "Gah! Not you as well, Shujinko!" Naruto shouted as an abnormally thick vein appeared on his forehead. "Why is everyone around me being so secretive about everything!? It doesn't make you look cool, it makes you look stupid! Stupid!"

|A few minutes later, outside of the hospital|

"Oi, you there,"

Renjiro stopped in his tracks. That voice… he hadn't heard that voice in three years, and in all honesty, he never thought he would ever hear it again. As soon as Renjiro turned around, he was met with a pair of golden eyes, the very same eyes he once tried to shut forever during the invasion against Konoha.

"… It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Aaaaaaand that was chapter 5. Hope you all liked it.

I don't have a whole lot to say about this chapter, honestly. When I started writing this, my intention was to cut as much bulk as I could without skipping over relevant bits of the story. However, even the relevant bits of the story can feel dull when there's not enough action. I tried to at least incorporate new scenes, but even so, I would still label this as one of the "boringish but still necessary chapters of the story".

On the brighter side, we have another character making a comeback. Renjiro from 'Shujinko: The Fourth Member' has entered the chat once again. I felt like Shujinko and Renjiro had to meet each other a second time, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. The two boys who once fought against one another are now teaming up against the Akatsuki.

Glossary:

Kuchiyose: Gedō Mazō - Summoning Jutsu: Gedo Statue

Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyūfūjin - Sealing Jutsu: Nine Phantom Dragons

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Ja ne!