"According to Lord Jiraiya's intel, two days ago, two people wearing Akatsuki Cloaks entered the Land of Lightning."
As he moved, Kakashi relayed the intel to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. "Judging by the direction they were heading, their target should be Kumogakure."
"That village I kind of hate."
Naruto made no effort to hide his dislike of Kumogakure. "When Hinata was little, their envoy nearly kidnapped her. And afterward, they caused Neji's dad to die."
"But Kumogakure has two Tailed Beasts, and two Jinchuriki."
Sasuke offered his opinion. "If Akatsuki captures them all, their strength will definitely increase, which would be bad for our next moves."
"Come to think of it, we still don't know how those people in Akatsuki plan to 'use' the Tailed Beasts."
Sakura pondered. "When Kakashi-sensei and Naruto rescued Gaara, they saw a huge Demonic Statue. Maybe it's something they use to store the Tailed Beasts temporarily, or perhaps it's how they use them."
"Considering the power each Tailed Beast possesses, your guess is probably right."
Kakashi agreed. "That's why we're going to stop them."
"Can't be helped. I'll put my personal feelings aside for now."
Naruto said helplessly, then immediately grew serious. "Where should we look for those two Akatsuki members?"
"Kumogakure is powerful. Even S-rank missing-nin couldn't attack it head-on with only two people. They'll probably spend some time gathering intel first, then strike when a Jinchuriki is away from the village and alone."
Kakashi analyzed the situation. "Let's lie low near Kumogakure for a while. Jinchuriki make a lot of noise when they fight, and we have plenty of ways to scout. We should be able to notice in time."
Two days later, Team 7 arrived near Kumogakure.
"Hmm... I can't sense any strong negative emotions."
Naruto focused on sensing for a while.