In an instant, twenty elite shinobi flickered and vanished from the spot.
Even the members of Team 10 followed suit; after a series of rhythmic shimmers, they departed. From the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village, several squads of ninja set out in rapid succession.
Ino and Choji each carried their own heavy thoughts.
"I absolutely won't let the former Team Asuma lose face!"
"I'll do my best, Shikamaru, Asuma-sensei."
Meanwhile, the four-man cell consisting of Asuma, Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, and Shikamaru had already decided on their target.
"Well then..."
"Let's start our investigation at the Fire Temple," Asuma said. Through a window, he caught a glimpse of Kurenai Yuhi watering her flowers. His resolve hardened.
"Someone has to take action."
On the way to the Fire Temple, Shikamaru asked with a hint of curiosity, "Asuma-sensei... you and Master Chiriku of the Fire Temple, you seem to know each other?"
"Yeah. Did I never tell you?" Asuma replied. "He's an old comrade-in-arms. It goes back to when I left Konoha to become one of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve."
"We're almost at the Fire Temple! Let's pick up the pace!"
…
Late at night, Sakura returned to her room. She sat on her bed, a look of loneliness clouding her features.
The moment she gently pulled back the curtains, the silver moonlight rippled like water, silently flooding the room and painting the quiet night into a gentle tapestry.
"The moon is beautiful tonight..."
A sudden gust of wind blew in, knocking over a photo on her cabinet. The sound of the frame hitting the wooden floor startled her.
She picked up the photo of the four members of Team 7. She was pressed right up against Kanon, while Naruto and Sasuke's mutual glares of annoyance still managed to bring a small, rueful smile to her lips.
Looking at the picture, she recalled the words Iruka had told her earlier.
"Everyone is changing."
"Yeah... everyone has changed," Sakura murmured, her hands trembling.
"Kanon has fallen into darkness. Naruto is chasing after her and Sasuke, undergoing training that only he can complete."
"The things I can achieve... are so few."
As the thought crossed her mind, Iruka's words echoed in her head again: "The scale of what you can do doesn't matter. What's important is the weight of your feelings, that sincere heart that cares for Naruto."
Clutching the frame, Sakura collapsed onto the bed. Staring out at the moonlight, she made a silent vow: "Tsunade-sama... I want to catch up to them so badly..."
…
Another day passed.
Early morning. Inside the Hokage's office, Shizune was reporting to Tsunade.
"With the Fire Temple at the center, we've deployed a dragnet of twenty squads covering a 150-kilometer radius."
"The perimeter is so tight not even an ant could slip through."
Tsunade listened to the reports flowing in from the Intelligence Division. When they all indicated no abnormalities, she spoke with rising irritation.
"Still no sign of the Akatsuki."
"In that case... why haven't we found them yet?!" Tsunade roared in frustration. "What about Team Asuma heading to the Fire Temple?!"
"We haven't received a report yet..."
"Tch!"
By now, the four members of Team Asuma had reached the Fire Temple. As they ascended the stairs, they were intercepted by the monks.
"You all are from Konoha, I presume?"
Asuma nodded. "That's right."
"The monk under your protection has already contacted us."
An elderly monk stepped forward to face Asuma's group. "I am the Head Abbot of the Fire Temple. I was away on urgent business when the incident occurred. Upon rushing back, I was met with this... tragic sight."
The four members of Team Asuma followed the Abbot into the temple grounds.
The temple interior was decimated. Battle scars were everywhere: scorched earth from lightning strikes, countless blade marks, and the lingering black threads left behind by the Earth Grudge Fear.
Inside the temple, hundreds of coffins lay in rows.
"We found people from neighboring temples to help... with the monks' remains," the Abbot whispered. "It is said that of the three attackers, only one did not deal a fatal blow to any monk other than Chiriku. It was a girl."
Shikamaru frowned. "This is too much. That scorched earth... it must be Kanon Uchiha."
At that moment, Asuma began his inquiry. "Where is... Chiriku's body?"
The two accompanying monks stammered, eventually revealing a grim fact to Asuma.
"Actually, Master Chiriku's body is the only one... we cannot find it anywhere."
Hearing that Master Chiriku's body was missing, Izumo Kamizuki seemed to recall something.
"Um... Captain Asuma."
"What is it?" Asuma asked, sensing his hesitation.
"Well, I hate to bring this up now, but Master Chiriku has a bounty of thirty million ryo on his head in the black market..."
"A bounty?" Shikamaru blinked, turning toward them. "If the Akatsuki members know about the reward..."
"A bounty station?"
"Meaning, the enemy would take the body to a collection point?"
Kotetsu looked at Izumo. "Izumo, where are the bounty stations?"
"Including the nearest one, there are five locations in total."
"Alright, I've got it." Kotetsu immediately dispatched the intelligence via four messenger pigeons.
"Right, let's head out immediately!"
After the Abbot offered a prayer for the four of them, Team Asuma prepared to head for the nearest bounty station.
"Thank you for your prayers," Asuma said softly. "We'll at least bring Chiriku's body back."
"Don't... don't push yourselves too hard," the elderly monk said, noticing the Guardian Shinobi Twelve sash around Asuma's waist. He added quietly, "Like Chiriku, you were a member of the Guardian Twelve. You are also a target for bounty hunters. Please, be careful."
Hearing the Abbot's warning, Asuma rested his hands on his hips and laughed.
"It's fine, don't worry. My bounty is actually five million ryo higher than Chiriku's."
The corner of Shikamaru's mouth twitched upward as he thought confidently to himself: The only thing we should be worried about with Asuma... is his excessive smoking.
…
"Kakuzu, I've had enough of your surly attitude!"
"And Kanon-chan, I'm hungry. Can we eat yet?" Hidan grumbled.
"It's not time yet," Kanon replied. "The rice balls I made yesterday still need to be heated up. Give it another hour."
"Ugh! Traveling with just Kanon-chan would be enough, so why do we have a boring guy like Kakuzu in our group?!" Hidan complained. "This rare trip is being ruined! At least with Kanon-chan here, I get to eat good food every day."
"Don't treat me like a housewife, Hidan-nii!" Kanon put her hands on her hips, pouting.
"We didn't come out here for fun, Hidan," Kakuzu interjected coldly.
Hidan let out a helpless sigh. "Yeah, yeah. Searching for Jinchuriki who could be anywhere and making money, right? Doing this kind of work is so irritating!!"
"You and Kanon-chan should think about me for once! I'm the one doing all this extra work with you! Show me a little sympathy!"
"Is that so? Then how about I reward you by letting you give me a piggyback ride!" Kanon suggested with a grin.
"No way! Carrying this scythe is tiring enough. Kanon-chan, you're just trying to add to my burden!"
"Fine then! Forget it." Kanon stuck her tongue out at Hidan.
"Man! Kakuzu, you really are a cold fish!"
Fed up with Hidan's constant bickering, Kakuzu grew impatient. "Shut up. We're going to be late."
"Huh? Late?"
"Aren't we just heading to the bounty station?" Hidan muttered. "Honestly, a boring trip just makes the distance feel longer. What a drag."
Upon hearing that, Kakuzu stopped in his tracks. "A drag? This is one of our vital missions."
"Fine, fine. The organization gave you the task of raising funds, right?" Hidan met Kakuzu's gaze. "This money from unknown sources, it's just going to be used as prize money for capturing the Tailed Beasts anyway."
"That's true," Kanon said, stepping in to smooth things over as the tension rose. "But for the organization's long-term growth, money is necessary, right? And with money, Hidan-nii, you can go out and recruit more followers for your faith, can't you?"
"When you put it that way, I guess you're right. Fine," Hidan conceded.
————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]