Escape and Pursuit

Naruto and the others dealt with Guren's six clones, and Sakura and Hinata were nowhere to be seen, clearly having left in pursuit of Kabuto Yakushi.

"Akamaru..." Kiba called softly, Akamaru immediately understood, lowering its head to sniff the ground, trying to find Hinata and Sakura's trail. Then, Akamaru barked softly to the left and ran off. Kiba followed.

"Let's go over there too," Kakashi said, then led the others to catch up with Kiba and Akamaru.

The group was leaping through the forest when Kakashi suddenly frowned and stopped them from moving forward.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

Kakashi pondered for a moment and then said, "Something's strange?"

At this moment, Yamato landed on the ground, and a wooden stick emerged from his right hand, which smashed directly onto the ground. With a bang, the ground shattered into pieces, revealing the solid soil underneath.

"The barrier has been broken," Yamato said in a deep voice.

"That's bad, they might have already regrouped and left," Kakashi interjected. "We need to hurry and catch up with Sakura and Hinata. They might not be able to hold off Orochimaru's men."

"Okay!" everyone said in unison, then immediately sped up and gave chase.

Suddenly, Yamato paused abruptly, stopped, then frowned and his expression turned serious.

"What's wrong, Yamato?" Everyone stopped and Kakashi asked Yamato.

"My Wood Clone has lost contact; it must have been killed," Yamato said in a deep voice.

"So... how's the situation over there?" Naruto asked impulsively upon hearing this.

"Orochimaru's men might have found that place," Sai Naruto, said.

"Woof, woof, woof..." Akamaru barked softly. Kiba understood and immediately said, "Akamaru said that the scent left by Sakura and the others led them to the place where we originally captured those prisoners."

"Let's hurry over there." So the group quickened their pace again and moved forward.

******************************************************************

Uzumaki Hane ran swiftly across the water, while a massive black shadow was rapidly advancing ahead of her.

"Now that the Three-Tails has been discovered, not only Orochimaru, but even the Akatsuki want to capture it. Even if they are repelled this time, they will come back to capture it again. What should I do with it?" Uzumaki Hane thought to himself as he chased after the Three-Tails.

"By the way, in the original story, Shizune and the others used a Sealing Jutsu together to try and seal the Three-Tails, but it was ultimately destroyed. I can also use this Sealing Jutsu to seal the Three-Tails." Thinking this, Uzumaki Hane felt that this was the only way for now. "However, I can't leave now, otherwise Tobi will come and attack the Three-Tails again, which will be a bit difficult."

With a deafening roar, the water surface exploded, and the Three-Tails creature soared into the sky. It had clearly discovered that Uzumaki Hane was on the sea surface above it, and it arrived on Uzumaki Hane's head. Its massive body slammed down towards Uzumaki Hane.

"I don't have time to mess around with you like this." Uzumaki Hane's expression turned serious, and his hands quickly turned into lava. He slammed them towards the Three-Tails above with "Great Eruption," and a huge Rock Fist shot into the sky, covering the Three-Tails -Three-Tails' body and smashing it into the sky.

Boom, boom, boom! The Rock Fist shattered, and countless lava fragments fell like meteors, as if a lava rain was falling. Immediately afterward, the Three-Tails creature's massive body also crashed down, thundering and crashing heavily into the sea. Countless waves flew out in all directions, instantly creating a scene like a violent storm.

After a while, the sea calmed down, and the Three-Tails floated to the surface, lying quietly on the water with its eyes closed, as if it had fallen into a coma. Uzumaki Hane appeared above the Three-Tails -Three-Tails and slowly landed on its back.

"Where did Tobi run off to? With his strength, he shouldn't have just run away like that. What exactly is he planning to do?" Uzumaki Hane asked softly, standing on the back of the Three-Tails.

Suddenly, the Three-Tails' eyes snapped open, and it looked up. With a roar, the Three-Tails sprang into action.

Uzumaki Hane sensed the movement of the Three-Tails beneath his feet, a smirk playing on his lips. He hissed, "Get down here!" With a deafening roar, he slammed the Three-Tails back into the sea, instantly creating a colossal wave.

********************************************************************************

When everyone arrived, they found Sakura and Hinata there. They looked somewhat disheveled and pale, but seemed to Sakura alright. There were also several prisoners lying on the ground, but their leader Hinata, a man named Rinji, was nowhere to be seen.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Naruto rushed to Sakura's side and asked with concern.

Sakura shook her head and said, "I'm fine."

Sakura didn't seem to be in any danger, which relieved Naruto. He then looked at Hinata beside him and asked with concern, "Hinata, are you alright too?"

Hinata blushed instantly upon hearing Naruto's concern, her hair seemed to be steaming, and she almost fainted. Luckily, Sakura reacted quickly and caught Hinata.

Naruto, though confused, still said with concern, "Hinata, you need to rest. Leave the rest to us."

"What just happened here?" Kakashi interrupted Naruto's conversation.

Upon hearing this, Sakura said in a deep voice, "We were originally chasing after Kabuto Yakushi, trying to rescue Yukimaru. As we chased him, we ended up here. Of course, it's also possible that this was part of Kabuto Yakushi's plan."

Hinata had regained her composure and said, "We were a bit slow and couldn't keep up with Kabuto Yakushi. At the time, I was using my Byakugan and happened to see Kabuto Yakushi ambush Yamato-sensei's Wood Clone."

"Yes, Hinata and I chased after them immediately. Kabuto Yakushi seemed to want to avoid getting entangled with us, so he took the still unconscious Rinji and left right away," Sakura continued.

Hinata then chimed in, "We were worried this was a diversionary tactic by Kabuto Yakushi, so we stayed here and dared not leave. Now we've lost track of Kabuto Yakushi and the others." As she spoke, a guilty expression appeared on Hinata's face.

"Don't worry," Yamato said, "I was prepared for this. I fed Yukimaru a seed a while ago, and with that seed, I can easily find him."

*********************************************************************************

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had five men in black standing on its ten fingers, with Tobi among them.

Tobi complained, "Seniors, I was just trying to catch the Three-Tails, and I almost caught it. What are you all doing, calling me over in such a hurry?"

No one paid any attention to Tobi's complaints. Pain looked around at the others and said seriously, "Let's begin."