"That was Sakura in there." Sasuke opened his eyes, trusting his wife without a doubt. "As long as she's still breathing, Sakura can save her."
Just then, the operating room lights went out.
The doors opened, and Sakura came out, taking off her mask. Sweat covered her face, and traces of green medical Chakra still lingered on her fingertips.
"How is she?" Naruto sprang to his feet.
"She's going to live." Sakura took the water a nurse handed her and gulped it down. "But the situation is complicated. The 'mark' inside her isn't an ordinary Curse Mark. It's alive."
"Alive?"
"It's connected to her nervous system and Chakra pathways, like... like a parasite." Sakura gestured with her hand. "If we try to remove it by force, she'll die instantly. If we leave it in, it'll keep consuming her life until she's drained dry."
"How long can she hold on?" Sasuke asked.
"With current medical techniques, and Fuinjutsu to suppress it, at most three months." Sakura sighed. "And there's another, more troublesome matter."
She glanced around and lowered her voice.
"She woke up once during the operation. It was only for a few seconds, but she kept repeating a set of coordinates."
"Coordinates?"
"Amegakure," Sakura said. "She said the 'core' is in Amegakure."
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a look.
Amegakure—the country where it rained incessantly, sealed off ever since the Akatsuki were wiped out. It was also one of the places where Kara was most likely hiding.
"Looks like we'll have to visit that godforsaken place." Naruto crushed the coffee can in his hand.
"No," Sasuke cut him off. "You're the Hokage. You can't go. I'll go."
"I'm going too!" Boruto raised his hand.
"You can't." Sasuke and Naruto said in unison.
"Why not?!"
"Because your Flying Thunder God is terrible."