Found Tsunade

After Sora Uchiha entered the back hills, it took less than half an hour for the two bodies to be discovered. Two Genin cried out in alarm, quickly drawing other ninja over. Seeing the corpses on the ground, they shuddered and instinctively took several steps back. Everyone looked grim. This was their own territory, yet their people had been killed without anyone noticing.

Soon, a middle-aged man hurried over from a distance. The Takigakure ninja all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him, feeling much more at ease. They bowed respectfully. "Jonin Fūen."

Fūen nodded slightly and glanced at the bodies. "What happened?"

He sounded casual, as if he didn't care that one of their own had died. No one was displeased, though. Fūen was powerful. Rumor had it that he'd drunk Hero Water, boosting his Chakra more than tenfold. His strength was already close to Kage Level, making him one of the strongest ninja in Takigakure.

One of the Genin who'd first found the bodies spoke up. "Jonin Fūen, we noticed it was quiet over here, so we came to investigate. Then we found these two bodies in that patch of weeds." As he spoke, he pointed to the bloodstained grass nearby.

Fūen nodded and took a pair of gloves from someone beside him. Then he crouched to examine the bodies. First he lifted their pale eyelids, then pulled open their clothes, and finally inspected their fatal wounds. The ninja examining the bodies explained, "The Chunin's pants were undone. We can assume they were both killed with a single strike while relieving themselves. The attacker was efficient. Judging by the bodies, they've been dead for about half an hour."

Fūen listened silently, then pulled open the Genin's clothes. A clean hole had been stabbed through the armor beneath.

"The Chunin was stabbed in the throat with a Kunai, while the Genin was run through the heart with a long sword. That's why neither of them made a sound before they died. The killer should still be in the back hills," the examiner explained.

Fūen nodded, covered the bodies with a white cloth, stood, and removed his gloves. "Bury them somewhere." Then he asked, "How's the investigation into the explosion going?"

A Chunin in the crowd replied gravely, "We haven't caught anyone. The attacker is experienced and won't give us a chance to fight head-on. The explosion happened not long before these two died. They could be working together."

"Jonin Fūen, could the killer be here to rescue that woman?"

"Who knows?" Fūen rolled a cigarette and lit it, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "The plan stays the same. Keep narrowing the search area until we find that woman."

The examiner hesitated, then couldn't help speaking up. "Jonin Fūen, this is already the fifth victim. If the killers are working together, at this rate our losses might—"

Fūen waved a hand. "The mission continues."

"But..."

Fūen cut him off, his gaze turning cold. "I said, the mission continues."

The examiner met his cold stare, shuddered, and fell silent.

"What are you standing around for? Carry out your orders." Fūen swept his gaze over the ninja, his voice cold. They all shuddered and hurried off, leaving him alone.

After a long while, Fūen tossed away his cigarette and ground it under his toe. He stared pensively at the dense trees. Five people had died that day, but he knew the killer wasn't the same person in every case. Their methods were different: these two had been killed with a single strike from a sharp weapon, while the other three had been killed by a secret technique, in an exceptionally brutal manner. As one of the village's few Jonin, he recognized that technique. It had originally belonged to Takigakure.

"If these two were killed by someone from Konoha, then why have you come back, Kakuzu...?"

Sora Uchiha had no idea that Kakuzu had returned to Takigakure as well, separate from their Anbu team. Following Katsuyu's directions, he had reached the foot of a mountain. Only when he arrived did he realize that the mountain concealed a whole other world. Caves seemed to open everywhere he looked, making it the perfect place to hide.

He took out the little slug. "Little slug, which way now?"

Katsuyu wriggled twice, then pointed a tentacle in a certain direction. Sora Uchiha headed toward that cave. Thank goodness Katsuyu was with him. Otherwise, he'd be wandering around like a headless chicken.

As he entered the cave, a figure flickered past in the distance, on top of a tree.

Inside, the cave was dark and deep, filled with a heavy, clammy chill. Moss covered almost all the ground, and droplets fell from the ceiling now and then, their hollow plinks echoing through the cave without end.

"Yikes—this place is even worse than the Anbu base." Sora Uchiha walked through the cave, holding a Chakra lamp in his hand.

Everywhere he looked, all sorts of unknown cave creatures crawled through the cracks in the jagged stone walls and the dark, damp corners: woodlice, centipedes, and harvestmen. They were everywhere.

"What a terrible environment." He grumbled, then remembered hearing that Tsunade had been poisoned. "If she's been poisoned, she probably won't last long in a place like this. But, well, Tsunade isn't afraid of little bugs, is she?"

As he walked, he came to a fork in the path. Fortunately, Katsuyu was there to guide him; otherwise, he would've gotten lost in the maze of twisting caves.

After passing one fork after another, he guessed he'd reached the middle of the mountain. The air was thin now, making it hard to breathe.

Katsuyu had apparently disappeared from his palm, but he didn't mind. That meant Tsunade was close.

Looking at the Chakra lamp in his hand, he was glad he had plenty of Chakra. Searching for someone in the pitch dark would've been a real pain otherwise.

Suddenly, a figure flashed past!

Sora Uchiha's pupils contracted. He'd barely reacted when a terrifying force slammed him to the ground, as if every bone in his body were about to shatter!

Feeling the cold ground against his back, he immediately knew who it was.

"I'm one of you!" he shouted in a hurry. The crushing force on him stopped, but it didn't let go.

After a moment of silence, Tsunade rasped, "Proof."

"My Forehead Protector's inside my clothes. Will of Fire. Eternal Vitality!" he blurted out through gritted teeth.

That strength was seriously terrifying. It felt like she could crush him to pieces.

He felt a hand move over his body. Soon, the Forehead Protector was taken from him, and a ball of Chakra light flared in the darkness.

A while later, Tsunade let go of Sora and sat against the wall.

"Why are you alone?"

"We split up. I found your trail first. The others will be here soon." As he spoke, he pulled out his phone. Sure enough, there was still no signal.

Tsunade gave a quiet hum. She sounded truly weak. The Chakra light she'd been using to see had faded, so Sora considerately turned on his Chakra lamp.

Only then did he realize how terrible Tsunade looked.

Her face was pale and streaked with blood. Her clothes were in tatters, exposing a lot of skin. Worst of all, the horrifying wound on her abdomen had stained her clothes bright red.

"Uh, why do I feel like you're about to die?" Sora Uchiha said weakly after staring for a while.

Tsunade glanced at him, then suddenly said, "Take off your mask."

"Uh, I'm Anbu..."

"I'll hit you."

Sora Uchiha silently took off his mask, revealing a youthful face.

"So you really are a kid," Tsunade muttered.

"What if I weren't a kid?"

"Heh. You were staring at me for quite a while just now, weren't you? If you weren't a kid, I'd settle the score with you when we got back."

Sora Uchiha: ...