On the direct route from Konoha to the Land of Wind, the four members of Kakashi's team, along with the temporary team formed by Sousuke and Temari, were rapidly advancing toward the Land of Wind.
Among them, Naruto's figure was extremely fast, charging ahead at the very front.
Even though Kakashi advised him several times, it had no effect at all.
Looking at Naruto at the front Sousuke roughly knew why this guy had suddenly become so emotional.
The empathy between jinchuriki.
Only they themselves understood what that feeling was like.
Even Sasuke, whose fate was entangled with Naruto's through grudges and bonds, could not understand Naruto's current state.
Looking at Naruto, who seemed angry and somewhat sorrowful, Sasuke did not say anything. He only remained silent.
"Kakashi…"
At this moment, Sousuke spoke to Kakashi.
"Don't say anything more! Ordinary people can't understand the empathy between jinchuriki. Let him be!"
Hearing this,
Kakashi's face showed a trace of surprise. He glanced at Naruto's back ahead of them, then silently nodded.
He no longer tried to persuade Naruto.
He only increased his speed a little, quickly heading toward the Land of Wind.
One day later, at night.
After traveling for an entire day, Sousuke and the others temporarily rested in a forest near the border of the Land of Fire.
"After this, once we enter the Land of Rivers, we'll split up and act separately!"
Sitting around the campfire, Sousuke looked at Kakashi beside him and said,
"I'll leave the intelligence from Sunagakure to you, Kakashi… Also, if Sunagakure does not organize a rescue, then after you finish treating Kankuro, quickly enter the Land of Rivers and regroup with me!"
Hearing this, Kakashi, who had been an elite jonin for many years, nodded with a serious expression.
"I understand! Don't worry. We'll treat Kankuro as quickly as possible, ask for intelligence, and then come find you to regroup!"
With his summoned ninja hounds, it would still be very easy for Kakashi to find Sousuke and Temari.
At this moment Naruto, who was resting to the side, asked in confusion,
"Why wouldn't Sunagakure organize a rescue for Gaara? Isn't he the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure?"
Hearing Naruto's question everyone fell silent for a while, while Sousuke spoke.
"Naruto, you should understand, right? What kind of situation jinchuriki have inside their villages… Even though Gaara has become Kazekage, he is still a jinchuriki! As for the rest, you'll understand in the future!"
After confirming the next plan, Sousuke stood up and patted Naruto on the shoulder.
"But don't worry. Gaara becoming Kazekage is also the best result for us in Konoha, so I will definitely do everything I can to bring him back. That means your speed must be fast too!"
Hearing this, Naruto, who was still stunned and somewhat confused, said,
"I understand!"
Everyone said nothing more and began to rest properly.
Only one person could not sleep.
That person was Temari.
Leaning against a tree, Temari looked in the direction of the Land of Wind.
Something had happened to the Kazekage of her own village, yet in the end, they needed people from Konoha to save him. This had to be called ironic.
What Sousuke had said earlier about the possibility of Sunagakure not organizing a rescue.
Although it was not pleasant to hear, Temari knew very clearly that the chance of it happening was as high as ninety percent.
And the reason for all of this was simply because Gaara was a jinchuriki.
At the same time, this was also why Temari had not returned to the village, and instead chose to follow Sousuke to search for Gaara.
Because Temari knew very clearly that if she went back, there was a very high chance that the council of elders would order her to carry out some other mission, leaving her with no way to save Gaara.
The higher-ups of Sunagakure would absolutely sit by and watch Gaara die!
Crack.
Clenching her fist, Temari's eyes flickered with a cold light.
"If something like that really happens, I will definitely make Gaara reorganize the village!"
A village that would not even save its own Kage was seriously ill!
The Land of Rivers.
Among the rivers, mountains, and streams.
Swish, swish.
The figures of Sousuke and Temari appeared beside a river.
The moment he appeared, Sousuke directly crouched down on the ground.
Raising his hand to form a seal, Sousuke closed his eyes.
"Kagura Mind's Eye!"
Buzz.
With his eyes closed, Sousuke's sensory ability spread rapidly in all directions, centered on him and Temari.
In an instant, it had already covered an extremely vast area. Every chakra fluctuation within it was clearly sensed by Sousuke.
More than ten seconds later, Sousuke opened his eyes. Temari beside him hurriedly asked,
"How is it? Did you find any trace of Gaara?"
Sousuke shook his head regretfully and said,
"If the other side could be found that easily, Konoha wouldn't have failed to find even a single Akatsuki base over the past few years. Don't be impatient."
Looking at Temari, Sousuke comforted her, then sighed and said,
"You shouldn't place too much hope on my sensory ninjutsu either. After all, there are many barrier ninjutsu in the shinobi world that can make sensory ninjutsu ineffective! More hope should be placed on Kakashi's side. Hopefully, they can be a little faster!"
Hearing Sousuke's explanation Temari, who knew very clearly that this was the truth, nodded. However, her expression still looked somewhat anxious and lonely.
As an elder sister, when something happened to her younger brother, it was bad enough that she had not been by his side.
Now, even during the process of searching for Gaara, she could not help much.
This more or less made Temari feel somewhat disheartened.
"Let's go! Let's continue!"
Glancing at Temari, Sousuke withdrew his gaze and said,
"Even if the hope is slim, the mission still has to continue. The longer we search, the more hope there is. Don't give up so quickly!"
As he spoke, Sousuke leapt onto a nearby tree and quickly headed into the distance.
Temari gritted her teeth and followed him as well.
Searching like this was no different from looking for a needle in the sea.
But no matter what, they could not stop, and they could not give up.
Temari understood this point very clearly in her heart.
The Land of Wind, inside Sunagakure.
After Sakura's treatment, Kankuro escaped the danger to his life.
Then, using the intelligence Kankuro had obtained, Kakashi's team only rested briefly before setting out directly.
Traveling together with Kakashi's team was also an elder of Sunagakure, an antique-level figure Granny Chiyo.
At the same time, Sousuke, who had been searching in the Land of Rivers for a long time,
finally detected a faint chakra fluctuation.
On top of a large rock, Sousuke opened his eyes again, and a smile of surprise and delight appeared on his face.
Seeing the smile on Sousuke's face, Temari beside him looked pleased.
"Did you find them?"
Hearing this Sousuke said,
"I'm still not certain, but after searching for so long, I've finally found a trace of something unusual. If I'm not mistaken, that should be where our target is!"
After saying this, Sousuke's figure flashed, and he quickly rushed forward.
Temari anxiously followed after him as well.
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