Sasuke's Departure

Uzumaki Hane was walking home when Anko Mitarashi suddenly appeared before him. Without a word, she grabbed him and dragged him to the training ground.

Uzumaki Hane shook off Anko Mitarashi's hand and said, "What do you want?"

Anko Mitarashi said, "Didn't you ask me to help you train your Ninjutsu? I happen to be in a terrible mood right now, so I brought you here to train." Black lines appeared on Uzumaki Hane's forehead. "Are you planning to use me as a punching bag?"

Anko Mitarashi said with an eerie look, "That's right. Do you want my help training or not? If you do, you're not allowed to attack." Uzumaki Hane could only give a bitter smile. "All right, all right. But you can't use any Ninjutsu other than Fire Style. Go ahead."

Anko Mitarashi shouted, "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!" She formed Hand Seals and spat out a stream of flame that shot forward in a straight line.

Seeing this, Uzumaki Hane shouted, "Magma Wall!" A wall of magma appeared in front of him and absorbed the flames. The entire wall's orange color became even more vivid.

Anko Mitarashi said, "You could say that move counters Fire Style, but I just want to beat you up. Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" She rapidly formed Hand Seals and spat out a large fireball. It slammed into the Magma Wall and was quickly absorbed.

Anko Mitarashi flashed into view above Uzumaki Hane and said, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Naturally, Uzumaki Hane wouldn't be hit by that move. He shouted, "Magma Wall!" A Magma Wall appeared above his head and absorbed the fireball once again.

Anko Mitarashi flashed behind Uzumaki Hane, rapidly formed Hand Seals, and shouted, "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!" Uzumaki Hane quickly formed a Magma Wall behind him and absorbed the flames.

Anko Mitarashi flashed more than ten meters away and said with some irritation, "Damn that ability."

Uzumaki Hane felt that his magma was about to be strengthened to orange. Excited, he turned around and looked at Anko Mitarashi provocatively, wanting her to keep attacking.

Although Anko Mitarashi knew Uzumaki Hane was provoking her, she had wanted to teach him a lesson, yet he remained completely unscathed. A dangerous expression appeared on her face, and she shouted, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Time flew by, and an hour passed. Anko Mitarashi had nearly exhausted her stamina and Chakra. She stood there panting heavily, staring at the unharmed Uzumaki Hane. Uncomfortable under her stare, he waved and said, "See you tomorrow, then." He flashed away and vanished.

The next morning, Tsunade unexpectedly heard about Sasuke in her office. Remembering what Orochimaru had said that day, she grew grave and said, "Izumo, Kotetsu, go get Uzumaki Hane for me... and bring Shikamaru too."

Uzumaki Hane was preparing to head to the training ground when Izumo summoned him to the Hokage's office. He knew it was probably about Sasuke. When he arrived, Shikamaru was there too. The two had fought together before, so they nodded to each other.

Tsunade looked at them and said solemnly, "Late last night, Sasuke Uchiha fled the village. If I'm not mistaken, he's probably headed for Otogakure."

Shikamaru was shocked. "Fled... why?" Although Uzumaki Hane had known about this for a long time, he also pretended to be shocked to avoid arousing suspicion.

Tsunade continued, "He was probably lured away by Orochimaru."

Shikamaru was puzzled. "Wait, why would Sasuke go to someone so dangerous?"

Tsunade didn't want anyone to know about Orochimaru, so she said, "Never mind the reason. Time is short. I want you two to bring Sasuke back. There's also a strong chance Orochimaru's subordinates will show up, so it'll be dangerous along the way."

Shikamaru thought for a moment and said, "That's simple. Just have a Jonin carry out the mission."

Uzumaki Hane cut in. "That's impossible. Most of the village's Jonin are out on missions right now, so this can only be left to us. Isn't that right, Lady Tsunade?" He looked at her.

Tsunade said, "That's right. Take whatever Genin you consider capable and set out immediately."

Tsunade added, "Oh, and there's someone I recommend: Naruto Uzumaki." Shikamaru had learned how strong Naruto was during the Chunin Ninja Exams, and Uzumaki Hane naturally knew his strength inside and out. Neither objected. Knowing he couldn't match Shikamaru in strategy, Uzumaki Hane gave him command.

They soon arrived at Naruto's house and woke him up. Naruto was shocked when he heard the news and was frantic to bring Sasuke back. The three then recruited Choji, Neji, and Kiba and set out after Sasuke.

Meanwhile, the Sound Ninja Four encountered two Jonin returning to the village from a mission. The two ninja recognized the four as Orochimaru's subordinates, and a fierce battle immediately broke out. Although the Sound Ninja defeated them using Cursed Seal Level One, they had expended a great deal of energy and could only find a place to rest.

At that moment, Uzumaki Hane and the others quickly picked up their trail thanks to Kiba and Akamaru's powerful tracking abilities.

They soon discovered the Sound Ninja's trap, and Neji used his Byakugan to locate them.

Uzumaki Hane spoke up. "Be careful. One of them specializes in controlling spider silk. We need to watch out for their traps."

Shikamaru carefully examined the surroundings again and indeed found spider silk on the ground. "That's certainly important information." After thinking for a moment, he said, "They may have already spotted us. We'll split into two teams and pretend we don't know they've found us. We'll let them attack, and then I'll use the Shadow Imitation Technique to hold them. Take the chance to grab Sasuke and return to the ninja village quickly."

Uzumaki Hane, Shikamaru, and Neji formed one team, while Naruto, Kiba, and Choji formed the other. They quietly advanced toward the Sound Ninja, ignoring the spiderwebs they found along the way.

Sure enough, as Uzumaki Hane and his two teammates approached, Sakon and Ukon fired a handful of Explosive Tags. But the three were prepared and pretended to be blasted away. Meanwhile, Kidomaru used his spider silk to find Naruto and the others.

Shikamaru seized the chance to immobilize all four with the Shadow Imitation Technique. They quickly realized they couldn't move. "What? We can't move?" Shikamaru shouted, "Now!" Everyone was about to attack the four with their own Ninjutsu.

Sakon and Ukon reacted swiftly, using their ability to fire Shuriken at Shikamaru and break his Shadow Imitation Technique. On the other side, Jirobo coordinated with them perfectly, pressing both hands to the ground and shouting, "Earth Prison Dome!" He trapped Uzumaki Hane and the others inside.