The night wind whistled in his ears as Naruto sped across the rooftops toward the Hokage Tower.
Clutched in his hand was the forehead protector with the Leaf symbol. The metal was cold, but it burned his palm like a hot coal. It wasn't just a forgotten item. It was a statement. A refusal. A betrayal.
Four chakra sources. One of them—familiar, unstable.
They are moving north, toward the border. High speed.
Qi Sensory worked at its limit, tracking the fading trail of the fugitives.
Naruto didn't run after them immediately. He wasn't an idiot.
The Sound Four were Orochimaru's elite. Sasuke possessed the Cursed Seal. Going against them alone, without support or a plan, was suicide. He needed a team. And he needed authority.
He landed on the Residence balcony, ignoring the stairs.
ANBU guards emerged from the shadows, blocking the way.
"The Hokage is busy right now."
"Emergency situation," Naruto's voice was icy. He raised the hand holding Sasuke's forehead protector. "Sasuke Uchiha has left the village with a group of enemy shinobi. Likely betrayal."
The ANBU masks twitched. They knew what that meant.
"Enter."
***
The Hokage's office was drowning in smoke and paperwork.
Tsunade sat at the desk, massaging her temples. Opposite her stood Shikamaru Nara in his new Chunin vest.
"...your mission will be patrol," Tsunade was saying in a tired voice. "We can't risk..."
The door flew open without a knock.
Naruto entered and placed Sasuke's forehead protector on the desk in front of the Hokage. The sound of metal hitting wood sounded like a gunshot.
"He's gone."
Tsunade slowly raised her eyes.
"Who?"
"Sasuke. Remnants of the Sound Four took him from the hospital ten minutes ago. He went willingly."
Tsunade's face turned to stone. She stood up abruptly, knocking over her chair.
"Shizune!" she barked. "Damn! Where is she when she's needed!?"
Not finding her assistant, she jumped up and began feverishly sorting through scrolls of available Jonin.
"Kakashi is on a mission. Guy is on the eastern border. Asuma and Kurenai are on clean-up. All elite squads are busy dealing with the aftermath of the invasion. Only Genin and a few Chunin instructors are free in the village right now."
Tsunade slammed her fist on the table. The tabletop cracked.
"Curse it! Orochimaru timed it perfectly! Waited until we dispersed our forces!"
She looked at Shikamaru.
"Nara. I give you authority to assemble a team of available Genin. Your task is to return the Uchiha. Alive."
Shikamaru sighed, scratching the back of his head.
"What a drag... But I understand. If the Sharingan falls to Orochimaru, it will be a catastrophe."
"I'll go," said Naruto.
It wasn't a request. A statement of fact.
Tsunade shifted her gaze to him.
"No. You stay in the village."
"Why?" The Uzumaki didn't raise his voice, but the temperature in the room dropped sharply.
"Because you are emotionally involved," she cut off harshly. "He is your teammate. Your friend. You will act irrationally. You'll rush to save him, forgetting about the team's safety. I need cold calculation right now, not heroism."
Naruto took a step forward.
"Cold calculation?" he repeated.
His aura, previously contained, unfolded for a second, filling the office with the heavy pressure of Qi. Shikamaru instinctively tensed, sensing a threat.
"I am the only one in this room who stood face to face with Orochimaru in the forest and made him retreat," Naruto began listing. "I am the only one who broke through the Four Flames Barrier. I am the only one who has an idea of the Sound Four's abilities because I saw their chakra."
He looked Tsunade in the eye.
"And I am the only one who could stop Sasuke when his Seal went out of control during the preliminaries. You must have heard about that, Hokage-sama. I knocked him out with one hit."
Tsunade was silent, looking at him.
She saw before her not the boy she kissed on the forehead a week ago. She saw a warrior. His arguments were based not on emotions, but on facts.
"Shikamaru is a tactical genius," Naruto continued, nodding at Nara. "But against those monsters, you need more than tactics. You need brute, overwhelming force. If Shikamaru goes with a team of ordinary Genin—they will highly likely die. The Sound Four will tear them apart."
He put a hand on his Chunin vest.
"I won't go as a friend. I will go as a threat eliminator. If Sasuke refuses to return... I will break his arms and legs and drag him back."
Shikamaru whistled.
"Harsh. But he's right, Hokage-sama. Without heavy artillery, we have no business there. I can come up with a plan, but someone has to execute it. Naruto is the strongest combat unit we have right now."
Tsunade closed her eyes. She fought with herself. She didn't want to send Naruto—a Jinchūriki, Minato's son—straight into Orochimaru's clutches. But she had no choice.
"Fine," she exhaled, opening her eyes. The fire of determination burned in them. "Naruto Uzumaki. I appoint you commander of the mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha."
"Commander?" Shikamaru was surprised. "I thought I..."
"You are the chief strategist, Shikamaru," Tsunade explained. "Your task is to think. Naruto's task is to lead the men, make split-second decisions in battle, and be the tip of the spear. You will work in tandem."
She looked at the clock.
"You have thirty minutes. Assemble a team. Take the best you can find. Neji Hyuga, Chōji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka."
"And Lee?" Naruto asked.
"Lee is still rehabilitating," Tsunade cut off. "Even I can't recover him that fast after what Gaara did to him."
"Understood."
Naruto turned to the exit.
"Shikamaru," he threw over his shoulder. "Meet at the main gates in 30 minutes. Bring rations and soldier pills."
"Understood, Commander," Nara replied lazily, but with respect.
***
Streets of Konoha. Night.
Naruto moved fast. He didn't waste time knocking on doors. He appeared right in windows.
First was Kiba.
Inuzuka was sleeping hugging Akamaru. Naruto woke him with a light poke of Qi.
"Get up. Mission. Sasuke escaped. We need your nose."
Kiba, sleepy and angry, wanted to snap back, but saw Naruto's eyes. And the vest.
"Got it. Be there in five minutes."
Second was Chōji.
Akimichi was eating chips before bed.
"Chōji. We need you. Shikamaru is going too."
"If Shikamaru is going, then so am I!" Chōji grabbed his backpack without even finishing the pack.
Third was Neji.
Hyuga was meditating in his clan's dojo. He sensed Naruto's approach a second before he appeared.
"You," Neji opened his eyes.
"You talked about fate," Naruto said from the doorway. "Sasuke's fate right now is to become a snake's toy. I intend to change that. I need your eyes, Neji."
Hyuga stood up. He bowed—not as a Genin to a Chunin, but as a warrior to a warrior.
"My eyes are at your disposal, Naruto."
Naruto nodded and vanished in a swirl of leaves.
He only had to get to the Main Gates, where the others should already be waiting. Time was running out.
He rushed along the main avenue, activating Qi acceleration.
And suddenly braked sharply, leaving furrows on the roof tiles.
On the periphery of his perception, below, by a stone bench, a faint, painfully familiar light flickered.
A usually bright chakra light now barely smoldered. It was chaotic, like a candle in the wind.
Sakura.
Naruto clenched his teeth. The timer in his head counted down the last minutes before assembly, but he couldn't just run past.
He jumped down.
Sakura Haruno lay on the cold stone of the bench. Her long hair was disheveled; her forehead protector lay nearby on the cobblestones.
The Uzumaki knelt and placed his fingers on her neck.
Pulse was there, but weak. On the back of her head, just below the ear, a dark bruise was forming. A precise, harsh blow to a nerve cluster. Professional work.
"That bastard..." the blonde hissed.
He didn't waste time on complex methods. He sent a sharp impulse of Qi into her body. Dense energy hit the nervous system like smelling salts, forcing the brain to reboot.
"Sakura!"
The girl gasped convulsively. Her eyes flew open. Panic splashed in them.
"Sasuke-kun! No!"
She sat up abruptly but immediately grabbed her head, groaning in pain.
"Naruto?.."
She looked around. Empty street. Cold moon. And the grim face of her teammate.
"He's gone, Sakura," the Uzumaki said harshly. "I'm leading a team after him. What did he do?"
Sakura touched the bruised spot on her neck. Her lips trembled. But not from romantic longing, as before. Humiliation froze in her eyes.
"I met him here... Tried to talk. Told him everything... begged him to stay... even asked to go with him..."
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Hot, angry tears.
"And he... he looked at me like dirt, Naruto. He said I was a hindrance. And struck me. From behind."
She looked up at Naruto with a gaze full of pain and incomprehension.
"We're a team... How could he? I just... I just wanted to help him! And he hit me and left me here like trash!"
Naruto clenched his fists so hard the skin on his knuckles turned white.
This crossed a line.
Sasuke didn't just chase power. He betrayed bonds. Raised a hand against a girl who loved him, against his comrade.
"Get up, Sakura," Naruto's voice sounded frighteningly calm, but the rumble of an approaching storm was heard in it. "Go to the hospital. Find the duty officer. Need to examine the injury."
"Will you bring him back?" she asked. But now there was no hope for love in this question. There was a thirst for an answer: Why?
Naruto adjusted his jacket collar.
"I'll bring him back," he promised. "And he will answer for this blow."
He didn't wait for her answer. He pushed off the ground, soaring into the air. Now his goal became even clearer.
***
Main Gates. 35 minutes later.
Four Genin and one dog stood in the moonlight.
Shikamaru, Neji, Chōji, Kiba, Akamaru.
All were in full gear. Shikamaru glanced nervously at his watch.
"Troublesome..." Nara muttered. "He's late. Not like him..."
A figure in black clothes and a green vest emerged silently from the darkness.
Naruto landed in front of the formation. His face was stone.
"You're five minutes late, Commander," Shikamaru noted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not the best start."
"There were circumstances," the Uzumaki threw out briefly. "Sasuke knocked Sakura out during his escape. I found her on the avenue."
A murmur went through the ranks.
"He hit a girl?" Kiba bared his teeth, petting a growling Akamaru. "What a bastard. Now I have no doubts."
"Let's keep the pace," Naruto said, cutting off conversations. He stood at the head of the squad.
The blonde looked at each of them.
"Listen carefully. This is not an exam and not training. We are going into enemy territory. Against us are three elite killers who serve Orochimaru. They possess cursed seals. They are monsters."
He paused.
"Our goal is Sasuke. If he resists—we knock him out. If enemies interfere—we neutralize them. But the main priority is to survive. I don't want to return to the Hokage with a report of casualties."
He activated Qi Sensory, tuning into the distant, evil-radiating trail of Sasuke.
"Arrow formation. Kiba—vanguard. Neji—scout. Shikamaru—center and coordination. Chōji—rear. I—support."
Naruto turned to the forest.
"Move out."
Five shadows took off, disappearing into the darkness.
The operation to retrieve the Uchiha had begun.