Discord

In the Hokage's office, Tsunade frowned deeply. Although she had been forced to let Sai Team Kakashi, she now regretted it more and more, wondering what Tsunade was Danzo to.

Shizune said from the side, "Lady Tsunade, are you worried about Naruto and the others? Sai seems to be having some disagreements with Naruto, who just joined the group."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade slammed her hands on the table and angrily said, "Whose fault do you think it was that Danzo's people Team Kakashi?" She was extremely annoyed that Shizune's situation had put her in a passive position.

Shizune felt a little guilty and said, "I didn't expect Danzo to send someone to Team Kakashi."

Tsunade on the desk again and said, "Stop dawdling. Now go investigate Sai's background and what Danzo's true intentions are. Sakura's there; she should be able to ease the tension between them."

Shizune said, "Yes, Lady Tsunade," and hurriedly left the office.

The group went back and made some preparations, then gathered at the village entrance.

Kakashi arrived late as usual, but Naruto and Sakura both looked serious, and with Sai joining the Sai, the atmosphere was quite somber.

Kakashi said, "Let's go." Then he strode away.

Uzumaki Hane looked at Kakashi, and it seemed that Kakashi also took this matter very seriously, as he didn't even bring out his "Icha Icha Paradise".

The group walked along the forest path in silence. Naruto stared at Sai; after all, Sai would be their teammate from now on, and although he was somewhat reluctant, Naruto couldn't bring himself to ignore him.

However, Sai immediately noticed Sai gave him a fake smile, saying, "Don't look at me like that, or I'll beat you up." Sai's words were infuriating; Naruto's forehead veins bulged, and Sakura next to him frowned as well.

Naruto said, "You're really annoying."

Uzumaki Hane looked at Naruto and said, "You two are partners now. Trust and teamwork are the most important things. This is a chance to find Sasuke, and it might be your last chance. If you make even the slightest mistake, you might lose this opportunity."

Then he looked at Sai and said, "I suppose you don't want this mission to fail either." As he spoke, his murderous aura swept towards Sai was startled and stumbled back several steps.

Kakashi and Yamato watched the scene unfold. Only after Uzumaki Hane stopped Sai and Naruto's conflict did Kakashi say, "Alright, everyone, let's continue on our way. The appointed time at the Tenchi Bridge is fast approaching."

Yamato, standing nearby, said, "If you keep arguing, I'll trap you inside." He quickly Hand Seals, unleashing the "Four-Pillar Prison Jutsu," and several wooden pillars shot up from the ground, forming a giant cage.

Sakura, Naruto, and Sai all stared at Yamato in surprise. Sakura thought to herself, "Just who is Yamato? How does he know the First's Wood Release Ninjutsu?"

The group continued on their way, walking briskly along the road. Sai had put away his fake smile; although he looked expressionless, at least he didn't look repulsive.

At noon, after a long day's journey, the group stopped to rest by a large tree. Yamato approached Kakashi and said, "Kakashi-senpai, it's been a long time." They hadn't had a chance to catch up along the way.

Yamato spoke, he glanced at Naruto and Sakura, thinking to himself, "Kakashi-senpai has changed."

Uzumaki Hane, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai sat on the other side.

Sakura looked at Sai and said, "Sai, can you stop with that fake smile? It's really uncomfortable to watch."

Sai maintained her smile and said, "Is that so? Fine, you self-righteous ugly woman."

Upon hearing this, Sakura's forehead veins bulged, and she immediately swung her right hand at Sai. Naruto didn't have time to stop her, while Uzumaki Hane watched the scene unfold without intervening.

Sai had anticipated this, but he hadn't expected Sakura's attack to be so powerful. He dodged the attack with a swift movement, narrowly avoiding it. Boom! With a loud crash, Sai looked back at where he had been sitting and saw a large crater blasted into it. Sai somewhat surprised, not expecting Sakura's punch to be so strong. He thought to himself, "That must be Tsunade's Superhuman Strength Fist."

Seeing that Sakura was about to attack again, Naruto quickly hugged Sakura from behind and said, "Alright, Sakura, although I don't acknowledge that he's a member of Team Kakashi, our main priority right now is to find Sasuke."

Sai continued with his fake smile, saying, "You don't acknowledge me as one of your team members, and I think so too. But your original team member, Sasuke, hasn't he already joined Orochimaru? I don't want to be compared to him."

Naruto was about to explode at the mention of Sasuke, but Sakura stopped him, saying, "I'm really sorry for hitting you earlier."

Sai continued with a fake smile, "It's okay."

Sakura smiled and said, "That's good." Then, she punched Sai. No one expected Sakura to attack so suddenly. Sai was sent flying backward and crashed heavily to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Luckily, Sakura didn't use her Chakra Enhanced Strength, otherwise, it's hard to say whether Sai would still be intact.

Kakashi and Yamato were somewhat surprised, but neither of them stopped Sai. They watched Sai with great interest. Both of them had grudges against Danzo and knew his Danzo very well. They didn't know what kind of conspiracy Danzo was plotting, so they were just testing him out.

Sakura's expression turned serious as she said, "You don't understand Sasuke at all, so don't talk nonsense. Otherwise, I won't be so lenient next time."

Sai said, "The book says that a smile can solve some troublesome things. I was really fooled by your fake smile just now. It's a pity I can never do it." Sakura, Naruto, and Sai on the ground looked at each other, and the atmosphere began to become tense.

Just as the conflict between the three was about to escalate, Kakashi spoke up, "Alright, Sakura, Naruto, and Sai, you're all partners now. I taught you trust and teamwork from day one. Have you forgotten?"

Yamato also said, "Kakashi-senpai, if they keep arguing like this, I'll make them walk around inside the cage, how about that?"

Kakashi asked, "Are you planning to spend the night in the cage, or at a hot spring hotel?"