A week later.
Kakashi was meticulously completing a set of rehabilitation stretches.
He let out a breath. "Satoshi, thanks to your and Tenzo's care during this time, I'm almost fully recovered."
Satoshi was still eating instant noodles, with only half a pound of beef added.
He didn't even lift his head. "You should say that to Tenzo-senpai, I think he's about to collapse."
Kakashi paused his movements and looked in the direction Satoshi gestured, only then noticing Tenzo curled up in a chair in the corner. He had deep dark circles under his eyes and a sallow complexion.
His head bobbed as he dozed off, clearly having overdrawn his life force from continuous late nights.
"Tenzo, are you alright?"
After calling out several times, Tenzo finally reacted. He looked up blankly, then couldn't help but let out a long yawn.
He looked at Kakashi with a complicated expression, as if he had seen something strange.
Satoshi said, "Senpai, you called Obito's name thirty times a night on average, and fell off the bed seven or eight times."
"Tenzo-senpai goes out to collect intel during the day and still has to watch over you at night."
"If it weren't for him, we'd probably be attending your funeral by now."
Kakashi's face flushed, and he quickly changed the subject, "Let's act quickly and go to Sunagakure first."
As Kakashi began to pack, Satoshi acted as if he hadn't heard anything.
"What's the rush? What does it matter to us if Sunagakure dies or not?"
"If they hadn't been so full of themselves, insisting on causing trouble in the Land of Rain, they wouldn't have ended up in this situation today."
"If you ask me, we should turn back to Konoha immediately. The water here is too deep, it's easy for the three of us to drown."
Kakashi's movements paused.
Some words are simply unponderable. Because once you ponder them, they turn out to be true.
If the intel was accurate, it was indeed Sunagakure that first harbored ill intentions. To put it broadly, they could even be accused of starting a war.
But this is the mission given by the Hokage after all, how can we explain going back like this?
No.
Kakashi realized he had been led astray by Satoshi.
This kid's ability to fool people was quite formidable.
Kakashi said seriously, "Satoshi, perhaps Obito is in the Land of Rain."
Satoshi finished his last bite of noodles and spread his hands helplessly. "I can't do anything with you, but before we go, I need to prepare thoroughly."
The three said no more. They quickly packed their belongings, and carefully erased all traces of their stay.
By midnight, three figures silently left the temporary stronghold.
The vast desert of the Land of Wind appeared particularly desolate under the night sky, with only the wind howling in their ears.
After trekking through the sandstorm for a long time, the three finally arrived at the outskirts of Sunagakure.
At this time, Sunagakure was already in chaos.
The news of Rasa's disappearance could no longer be contained, and the villagers were in a panic.
The chain reaction it brought was even more fatal. The village's vital gold income sharply declined.
The already strained treasury was then robbed by invaders, and under this double blow, Sunagakure's economy almost collapsed.
Chiyo and Ebizo did some calculations.
Ebizo said, "Sister, at the current rate of consumption, we may not be able to last until the end of the year."
"I know, let me think of another way."
Just as they were at their wits' end, an Anbu came to report.
"Reinforcements from Konoha have arrived."
"What?" Ebizo sprang from his chair. "Quick, please invite them in."
The three walked into the room and sat at the conference table.
Chiyo was not polite and asked directly, "Satoshi, do you have any news of Kazekage-sama?"
Satoshi said, "According to the information I've gathered, all of Sunagakure's forces were wiped out."
Upon hearing this, Chiyo and Ebizo's suspended hearts finally died. They forced themselves to cheer up.
With the Kazekage dead, they were the highest leaders here.
The immediate priority was to find Orochimaru and Obito, who had stolen the gold. Of course, they did not reveal the theft of the gold.
They only said that some scrolls had been lost, which contained information about Tailed Beasts and the poison formulas Chiyo had researched over the years.
Chiyo said, "We must find their whereabouts as soon as possible. From all indications, perhaps they are very interested in Tailed Beasts."
Satoshi then put forward his own request. He hadn't asked for the "specialty" before, but he couldn't forget it before leaving.
"I need to borrow One Tail for a period of time. Of course, it's not for free. Perhaps I can find a way to control it."
Satoshi wanted to continuously accumulate experience in fighting Tailed Beasts by brutally beating Shukaku.
As for sealing Tailed Beasts, that was pure nonsense. He was too lazy to bother with that.
And Chiyo and Ebizo, upon hearing this request, reluctantly agreed.
Moreover, Sunagakure, unlike Konoha, did not have a complete Fuinjutsu inheritance. After losing Rasa, they needed to find a new method to suppress it.
The next day, Gaara arrived in the depths of the desert as promised.
Tenzo and Kakashi, feeling uneasy, also followed along.
Tenzo's Wood Release could suppress Tailed Beasts to a certain extent and could help Satoshi when necessary.
Kakashi asked, "Are you experimenting with One Tail for Naruto's sake?"
He knew the two had a good relationship, so he proactively reminded him.
"And the method you're using is simply beating it, which may not work."
"Even if it works for One Tail, it may not be applicable to Nine-Tails."
Satoshi nodded. "I know, the difference between the two is enormous, just like the difference between Tenzo-senpai's Wood Release and Hashirama-sama's Wood Release."
Tenzo was broken by Satoshi's blunt honesty and squatted aside to draw circles.
Actually, what Kakashi said was true. The gap between One Tail and Nine-Tails was indeed enormous.
Even if One Tail frantically tried to learn and bridge the gap between them, it was still a considerable difference.
Satoshi didn't explain too much, but instead continued to speak along with Kakashi's words, "Since it's an experiment, we definitely need to find a weaker one, right?"
These words fell into the ears of Chiyo and Ebizo, almost breaking them.
Although One Tail was indeed not powerful enough, it was still their village's major weapon.
These words were somewhat insulting, weren't they?
Similarly, Shukaku also heard Satoshi's words. It roared furiously in the sealing space, clamoring to go out and challenge Satoshi to a one-on-one fight.
"Let me out!"
"He actually said that I am not as good as that damned stinky fox."
"I am going to tear this bastard to shreds!"
As Shukaku slowly went berserk, Gaara's expression also became much uglier. He felt Shukaku within him was a bit out of control.
Satoshi hooked his finger and said, "Let him out. Aren't you trying to kill people? If you have the guts, come and kill me."
"You said it."
The seal within Gaara instantly loosened, and a torrent of wild Chakra burst forth.
Shukaku's roar shook the sand dunes. "Brat! I will definitely kill you today!"
Last time, it was because he was surrounded by toads. This time, it would not lose again.
Half an hour later.
The raging sandstorm gradually subsided.
In the depths of the desert, a huge lake appeared, completely out of place with its surroundings. It was a massive amount of water forcibly condensed and maintained by Senjutsu Chakra.
In the center of the lake, a gigantic spherical water prison, formed by flowing water, firmly held a struggling, obese tanuki.
Every time Shukaku tried to condense Chakra or sand, it was mercilessly dispersed by the turbulent water.
Satoshi stood on the water, breathing lightly, his golden eye shadow slowly fading.
"That's a wrap. See you tomorrow."