Sai

Naruto carefully leaned Hinata against a large tree, and while everyone waited for Hinata to wake up, they continued to chat about interesting things.

After a while, Hinata finally woke up. Naruto immediately went over to her and said, "Hinata, it's been a long time! How have you been?"

Hinata's face flushed crimson, and she was about to faint again, which drew Kiba's constant teasing.

Naruto explained his purpose to the three, "We've unexpectedly learned of Orochimaru's whereabouts, so we're gathering our crew to search for Orochimaru."

Kiba said, "We also want to help you get Sasuke back, but our team has to go on a mission today, so we can't help."

Naruto was somewhat disappointed. He took Uzumaki Hane with him and left to continue searching for his companions.

After walking a few steps, Shikamaru ran into Shikamaru again. Naruto immediately went over to him, and Shikamaru could only helplessly say, "Didn't I already say I didn't have time to help?"

Naruto, however, was reluctant to give up. After all, Shikamaru was arguably the smartest among them, and having his help would be like adding wings to a tiger.

Just as Naruto was trying to persuade Shikamaru, the three of them suddenly felt a killing intent lock onto them. They looked behind them and saw a lion that seemed to be made of ink standing behind them, pouncing towards them.

Uzumaki Hane looked at the Ink Lion and thought to himself, "This must be Sai's Ninjutsu." His right hand quickly turned into lava and grabbed out. The speed was so fast that the Ink Lion couldn't react at all. He instantly pierced through the Ink Lion, crushed it, and evaporated it.

Naruto and Shikamaru watched as the Ink Lion was destroyed, unaware that someone in Konoha had attacked them.

At this moment, three more lions emerged, roared at the three of them, and then pounced on them.

Uzumaki Hane unleashed his right hand, "Canine Red Lotus," which transformed into a canine-shaped lava. Bang, bang, bang! The three ink lions were instantly shattered and vaporized.

Shikamaru had already spotted the attacker. Looking at the rooftop behind the alley, he said, "He's over there." He immediately Hand Seals, and his shadow stretched out, extending towards the enemy.

On the rooftop, Sai sat on the eaves with a scroll at his feet, looking at Naruto and the others with no expression on his face. He quickly drew five lions and they charged towards the three of them.

Uzumaki Hane grabbed out with both hands, unleashing the "Hell Hound" attack. Bang! Bang! The two attacking lions were instantly pierced and vaporized.

Shikamaru's shadow had already extended in front of Sai, branching out into several lines, and pierced through the three ink lions with a single blow.

Naruto leaped up and landed on the roof, wielding Kunai and thrusting it at Sai. Sai quickly drew a broken sword and blocked Naruto's Kunai.

Sai gave a fake smile, looked at Naruto, and said, "You must be Naruto. Your power is really weak." At that moment, Shikamaru's shadow had already extended to Sai's feet. Sai leaped off the roof and quickly disappeared.

After that, Shikamaru left, while Naruto and Uzumaki Hane continued wandering the streets. They spent the whole day there without finding another teammate, which disappointed Naruto. The two went to Ichiraku Ramen for dinner and then went home separately, planning to go to the Hokage's office the next day to find Tsunade and see what Tsunade plans were.

The next day, Uzumaki Hane Yu arrived at the office early. Tsunade was standing in the office, overlooking the entire village. Uzumaki Hane flashed a few times and appeared in front of Tsunade, saying, "Teacher Tsunade."

Tsunade turned around and said, "Oh, it's Uzumaki Hane. You've come at the right time. I just happened to have someone I wanted to introduce you to."

Uzumaki Hane was a little puzzled; who was Tsunade going to introduce him to?

At that moment, an Anbu emerged from the ground. Tsunade said to the newcomer, "You've arrived. This is a routine mission, so remove your mask. For the duration of this mission, your name will be Yamato."

Yamato removed his mask and said, "Is that so, Lady Tsunade?"

Then, Tsunade said to Uzumaki Hane, "This time, on our journey to the Tenchi Bridge to find Orochimaru, I need your cooperation to assist Team Kakashi."

Uzumaki Hane and Yamato exchanged a glance. Uzumaki Hane thought to himself, "This is Yamato. In the original story, Yamato led Team Kakashi, but Kakashi isn't injured right now, so Tsunade just had him help out."

Tsunade continued, "A new member will be joining Team Kakashi." Uzumaki Hane's heart skipped a beat; it must be Sai.

Yamato asked, "What's wrong?"

Tsunade said, "This person was recommended by Danzo. I want you two to keep a close eye on this newcomer. I suspect Danzo has some kind of conspiracy."

Yamato hearing the Danzo, Yamato's heart skipped a beat; after all, he had once been a member of Root. However, his expression remained unchanged as he said, "Aren't you overthinking this?"

Tsunade pondered for a moment and then said, "Never mind, just be careful anyway. Now go and meet up with Team Kakashi." So, Uzumaki Hane and Yamato left the Hokage's office together, heading towards the rendezvous point.

Naruto had originally planned to go to the Hokage's office that morning, but after receiving a notification, he went to the meeting place instead. Sakura was already there waiting for him.

Naruto asked, "Sakura, what's wrong? Has Kakashi-sensei not arrived yet?"

Just then, a person emerged from behind the tree. It was Sai. Sai gave Naruto a fake smile and said, "Hello."

Naruto looked at Sai, about to unleash a torrent of curses.

Suddenly, two figures descended from the sky; it was Uzumaki Hane and Yamato.

Yamato looked at Naruto and the others and said, "Hello, we are Yamato and Uzumaki Hane, assisting your Team Kakashi this time." Yamato glanced at the tense atmosphere between Naruto and Sai, thinking to himself, "Looks like this mission won't be easy."

Everyone waited quite a while before Kakashi finally arrived. Holding Icha Icha Paradise, Kakashi lazily said, "I'm late." He was about to give his reason when Naruto stopped him.

Naruto said, "Kakashi-sensei, tell me about this mission."

Kakashi pointed at Sai and said, "This is Sai, the newest member to join our team."

Kakashi continued, "Our mission this time is to go to the Tenchi Bridge, find Sasori of the Red Sand within Orochimaru's organization, and bring him back."

Naruto looked at Sai and said, "So you're a comrade." He temporarily put aside his hostility.

Sai gave a fake smile and said, "Sorry about earlier. I only tried to test your strength because I knew I was going to become your partner. Now I know you're such a waste."

Upon hearing this, Naruto flew into a rage and was about to attack, but Sakura held him back tightly.

Uzumaki Hane said, "Naruto, alright, don't you want to hurry up and go find Sasuke?"

Upon hearing this, Naruto stopped and said, "Then let's go." He then led the way.

Kakashi shook his head and said, "Then let's go." After saying that, he led Sakura, Sai, Uzumaki Hane, Yamato, and the others to catch up.