A New Crisis in the Land of Sand

After about 2 hours, Tsunade left her office through the window again. She couldn't dare to walk through the corridors as sweaty and exhausted as she was. If she did a little physical activity, no one would notice that she looked so tired. Itachi had given her precise instructions. Part of her was glad that he didn't **** her to destroy the village or anything like that. She didn't know exactly why yet, but something told her that he was acting for the good of the village. But for that he needed time and peace and above all that the other members of his organization did not find out about him. Therefore, she had to make sure that everything went on as planned. With a few jumps she was at the faces of her predecessors and sat on the head of the 3rd Hokage. From there she could look down wonderfully on the village and thought. The easiest thing would be if she subdued Naruto, but the problem was clearly the Nine-Tailed Fox in him. It was simply not possible for her to control this creature and she had no idea how he would react, or better how the seal would be burdened, if she subdued Naruto's will.

So that was not an option.

But he was not the only threat to her master's plans. Some of the other ninjas were definitely a serious threat to Itachi, even if he would never admit it. One of the worst would be taken care of by Shizune. Mighty Guy. No one who was still alive could take him on if he put his mind to it. Only a select few knew about the secrets that were passed down in his family, or in his school.

The Eight Inner Gates. The most powerful Tai-Jutsu there was. If he could use this technique, he would be the most powerful fighter in the world. Neither Tsunade nor the Rai-Kage would be able to fight him in this condition. It was a Forbidden Jutsu that would lead to his ****. Even she didn't know how long Guy would be able to hold this Jutsu before it tore his body apart.

She was racking her brains as to what she could do when one of her bodyguards suddenly appeared next to her.

"Hokage! There's trouble!"

"What is it?" she said as she stood up and immediately focused on the new situation.

"There's been a raid on the land of Sunagakure. They've kidnapped the Kazekage."

"Akatsuki?" she asked seriously, giving a hand signal to leave. The two ninjas sprinted back to the office as fast as they could.

"Don't know for sure. The description fits, though. The attacker was wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it."

"That fits. And a single fighter overcame the Kazekage? In the middle of the village? That shows us again how capable these people are! I want the village double-guarded! Double the patrols and call all the class S ninja back to the village. And I need Kakashi and his team immediately!"

"Roger that Hokage!" the masked ninja said before using the next jump point to turn hard right.

As soon as Tsunade arrived in her office, her advisors were ready to inform her about the latest developments. Especially Shikaku Nara was as always, a great help. Detailed as always, he reported about the situation of the village, the surrounding area and especially about the abilities of the Kazekage. This information was based on the knowledge of the training battles. Also, the fact that since the raid there was a rather volatile peace between the two villages, he also had some recent information. The fact that Gaara of all people was now the new leader of the village had surprised many.

"Thank you. I will think about what I will do." She said and dismissed all the members of her council. This was perhaps just the kind of distraction she and her master needed. Kakashi was one of the best ninjas she had at her disposal at the moment. She could rely on Sakura as well. The girl was still a bit awkward and lacked the final step to step out of the shadow of her two friends, but maybe this was just the right thing to do.

"There you are Kakashi." She smiled without turning around. Even he wasn't able to sneak up on her without further ado.

"It sounded urgent. So, what is it?"

"You and your team need to leave immediately. The Empire of Sand was attacked by Akatsuki. They have kidnapped the Kazekage. I want you, Naruto, and Sakura to leave immediately to help them in any way you can. Understood?"

"Of course, Tsunade... but aren't we putting Naruto at risk by doing that? After all, they're looking for him too." He indicated.

"That's true, but first of all, I assume they're more likely to look for him here, and secondly, the boy needs practical combat experience. He's made great progress, but he lacks real-world combat experience."

Nodding in agreement, Kakashi considered the options, but came to the same conclusion she did. "I understand Tsunade. I'll be ready to leave in 30 minutes!" he nodded and headed off. As soon as he left, Tsunade suddenly grinned and went into her lab, hastily mixing up an alchemical potion.

Just as she finished Sakura came to her for final instructions.

"Oh, that's good that you're here Sakura. I have something else for you here!" she smiled and handed her the violet.

"What is this Sensei?" she asked curiously as Tsunade made a finger sign she didn't know. "Of course, Tsunade. I'm happy to do it." Smiled as she came back to herself.