As Shikaku departed, only Tsunade and Naruto remained in the Hokage's office.
Even Shizune, who usually stayed by Tsunade's side, had been sent away on another task.
Perhaps it was due to the urgency of the situation, but Naruto—who normally couldn't stop talking—had gone uncharacteristically quiet.
Tsunade, deep in thought, didn't say anything either.
Click—
Not long after, the doors opened and Shikamaru stepped in.
"Hokage-sama."
Seeing him, Tsunade no longer hesitated. "Shikamaru, I hereby issue a mission in my capacity as the Fifth Hokage. Gather all available Chūnin Exam participants and bring Uchiha Sasuke back to stand trial."
Hearing that, Shikamaru's expression turned serious. He nodded. "Nara Shikamaru will complete the mission."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait, wait!"
Naruto stepped in front of him, looking him straight in the eye. "Shikamaru, I'm coming too."
Shikamaru shook his head. "No. You can't."
His concern was that Naruto might hesitate or act irrationally because of his personal connection with Sasuke.
"Why not?! Tsunade-baa, I have to go!" Naruto turned to her pleadingly.
Tsunade rubbed her temple, momentarily unsure of what to decide.
After thinking for a bit, she finally nodded. "Alright. But on this mission, you must follow Chūnin Shikamaru's orders."
"Chūnin?" Naruto blinked in surprise. "When did Shikamaru become a Chūnin? Wasn't he just a Genin like me?"
Tsunade and Shikamaru: …
Seriously? Is this the time to argue about that?
"Move out!" Tsunade ordered.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru replied, then grabbed Naruto and headed out.
"But seriously, when did you become a Chūnin? Does that mean I'm one too?" Naruto kept pestering him on the way out.
Watching them leave, Tsunade sighed. "No idea if this will go smoothly..."
Under Shikamaru's command, the retrieval team was quickly assembled. Without delay, they left Konoha and began their pursuit in the direction Sasuke had gone.
Meanwhile, at the Pokémon Haven in Konoha, Ryo stepped outside after dinner.
Staring toward the outskirts of the village, he muttered, "It's begun... But Konoha's intel really is lacking."
Judging by Sasuke's actions earlier, he had likely left already.
Yet Naruto's team had only just started chasing after him now.
"Whatever. Better to think about where to find the next treasure chest."
Shaking his head, Ryo turned and went back inside his wooden cabin.
…
Beyond Konoha.
Deep in the forest, the group was swiftly moving across treetops.
"Woof! Woof!"
Suddenly, Akamaru barked from atop Kiba's head.
Kiba stopped immediately.
The rest of the group quickly followed suit.
"Kiba, what is it? Why aren't we moving?" Naruto asked as he approached.
Kiba answered, "Akamaru says he caught the scent of the enemy nearby."
"Hm?" Shikamaru's eyes sharpened. "Everyone, be on guard."
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Just then, a barrage of sharp stone spears came hurtling toward them from the trees.
Neji's eyes widened. "Move!"
Everyone reacted swiftly and leapt out of harm's way.
Boom boom boom—
The trees they had just been standing on were pierced through by the spears.
Their faces grew tense as they scanned the area.
"There," Neji said, activating his Byakugan and locking on to their attacker.
Everyone turned to look.
A figure stepped out from the forest shadows, no longer hiding.
"Hehehe... You're not going any further. This is where your pursuit ends."
Jirōbō sneered coldly at them.
Seeing this, some of the team prepared to attack, but Shikamaru held them back. "Don't! If we get stalled here, we'll never catch up to Sasuke."
His words made their expressions sink.
But then Chōji stepped forward. "You guys go. Leave this one to me."
The group hesitated, but Shikamaru patted Chōji's shoulder. "Be careful."
Chōji nodded. "I got this."
With that, the rest turned and continued on.
Jirōbō frowned and moved to intercept—but Chōji blocked his path.
"You're not going any further."
Seeing this, Jirōbō gave up on the others and focused on Chōji instead.
As the pursuit continued, more enemies appeared.
One by one, their teammates stayed behind to hold them off—until their numbers dwindled, step by step.
Neji went to face Kidōmaru, Shikamaru confronted Tayuya, and Kiba took on Sakon and Ukon.
If it hadn't been for Gaara and the others showing up in time, Naruto might have been completely held back—resulting in the mission's failure.
As he parted ways with Gaara, Naruto clenched his fists tightly. "Everyone… I won't let you down. And Sakura, I swear—I'll bring Sasuke back."
Gritting his teeth with determination, his pace quickened.
At that speed, Naruto soon arrived at the Valley of the End.
Stopping at the riverbank, he scanned the surroundings with a grave expression.
"Damn it… where is he? Did I lose him?"
Just as panic set in, Naruto caught sight of a figure on the opposite shore—and his eyes lit up with hope.
"Sasuke! Come back with me—everyone's worried about you!"
On the other side, Sasuke slowly turned to face him. His eyes, however, were filled with disdain and coldness. "Yo… you colossal idiot."
Naruto stared blankly at him, unable to believe that Sasuke would look at him like that.
Still, he pushed forward. "Come on—let's go back. Everyone's waiting."
"Heh—" Sasuke chuckled coldly. "Back? Back to where? The time for playing ninja games in Konoha is over. What I seek now is hatred… and power."
Clink—
With those words, he pulled out a kunai and slashed it across the forehead protector. Sparks danced where the blade cut through.
Naruto stood frozen, his lips trembling, eyes wide with disbelief at what he was witnessing.
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