Konoha's Hokage's Office
Tsunade sat behind her desk, her brows tightly furrowed.
Suddenly, a Ninja Hawk burst through the window, a secret message tied to its leg.
Tsunade quickly summoned Cipher Squad to decipher the document.
After reading it, an expression of disbelief instantly spread across Tsunade's face.
Urgent Document To: Konoha's Hokage's Office Subject: Sunagakure Kazekage Gaara Captured by the Akatsuki Organization Summary: Immediate report: Sunagakure Kazekage Gaara fell into the hands of the Akatsuki Organization yesterday. His life or death is unknown. The situation is urgent, so this message was sent directly to Konoha as quickly as possible by Ninja Hawk. We request that Lord Hokage dispatch support!
"How could this be..." Tsunade murmured, then abruptly stood up, a resolute glint flashing in her eyes.
She immediately summoned the Hokage's assistant.
Before long, the door to the Hokage's Office opened, and Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura filed in.
Naruto still wore the pleased look of someone who'd just blown off steam by beating someone up, while Kakashi looked utterly miserable. That strength test was supposed to test Naruto, but it felt like I was the one getting beaten up the whole time, Kakashi thought irritably.
Fortunately, Sakura had healed the injuries Naruto had inflicted on Kakashi during the test. Otherwise, his face would probably be covered in bruises by now.
But when they entered the office and saw Tsunade's expression, their hearts sank.
"Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, I have an urgent mission for you," Tsunade said, her voice low and firm. "Sunagakure's Kazekage, Gaara, has been captured by the Akatsuki Organization. His life or death is unknown."
Hearing that Gaara had been captured by the Akatsuki Organization and his fate was unknown, Naruto's expression darkened.
Having shared a childhood somewhat like Gaara's, Naruto could understand him even better.