When Tsunade and the Elder Advisors reached Naruto's residence, the place was already in ruins. Every ANBU operative assigned to protect him lay in a pool of blood.
Tsunade frowned at the sight. Naruto's guards had all been ANBU elites, and they had even moved him to a new residence. Had his whereabouts still been discovered this quickly? It seemed the Akatsuki's intelligence-gathering capabilities had reached an incredible level.
She crouched down. The corpse was still warm. When she removed the ANBU operative's mask, she found a horribly contorted face beneath it.
After examining the body, Tsunade told the Elder Advisors behind her, "The enemy was that Uchiha in the Akatsuki who uses Space-Time Ninjutsu. I'm afraid Naruto's chances aren't good."
The Advisory Duo's expressions were frighteningly grim. Before the battle had even begun, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki they were supposed to protect had already gone missing. This was undoubtedly terrible news.
Tsunade looked equally grave, but panicking would only make the situation worse.
Still, if the Akatsuki had already succeeded, why were they staying in the village? Was it merely for revenge? Or had someone else attacked Naruto?
According to the intelligence the Old Man had sent back a few days earlier, the Akatsuki, which had given the Five Great Nations so much trouble, was not entirely united. There had even been infighting and betrayal not long ago.
She forced herself to calm down. This was no time for wild speculation. Besides the missing Naruto, countless Konoha fighters were risking their lives on the front lines. As one of the Sannin and the director of Konoha Hospital, she could not stand idly by.
Biting her finger, Tsunade tasted iron at the corner of her mouth as she smeared blood across her palm.
Katsuyu, over ten meters in size, appeared on