The Jinchuuriki Tears
There's a Paper Bomb left here, too!
It's a type that explodes the instant it's peeled off...
We'll just have to detonate it.
I see.
We're detonating a Paper Bomb!
Stop working and take cover!
Let's do this.
Now isn't the time to be discussing candidates for a new Kazekage!
But if you think about the worst-case scenario, isn't it important to seize the initiative?
More importantly, the plan to rescue Lord Kazekage should be the priority!
Securing village safety is what's important!
We must not break up our limited forces in conditions like this.
What did you say?!
Oh, excuse me...
Reporting!
An enemy trap has been discovered in the rubble blocking the entrance.
We are currently proceeding with its detonation... There have been no casualties.
However, a portion of the entrance collapsed due to the effects of the explosion.
It seems it will take an extra half day for repairs!
Got it. Arrange it so that those who are available are dispatched to the repair site immediately.
Yes, sir!
Hey, wait!
Thanks to Gaara, the Village Hidden in the Sand was left almost completely undamaged...
But... we paid too great a price for that...
Reporting!
All of the bodies of those guarding the skies have been verified.
There is probably little doubt that the enemy infiltrated
the center of the village from the sky...
Excuse me!
What?!
We have been contacted by the tracking unit.
Kankuro was discovered about half a day out of the village.
He is unconscious and in serious condition.
Kankuro...
Some members of the tracking unit have recovered Kankuro and his puppets.
They are on their way back to the village.
What about the location of Lord Kazekage?
The remaining members of the tracking unit are in pursuit.
There should be a report soon...
You're late, Sasori...
I thought you didn't like to keep people waiting.
But... I had enough fun to make up for that.
What's up with that?
Don't get so touchy.
You secured your mission target, the One-Tail, after all.
My mission comes next... after taking care of this guy.
But the one you're after...
Yeah, I still don't know where he is...
It'd be easier if he'd just come to me...
Yeah... That's right...
What kind of Jinchuuriki was he again?
Well, worst case scenario, even if I can't find him...
...nobody can complain since we caught one of the Jinchuuriki.
Gaara, we're coming!
Naruto! I know you're in a hurry, but don't disrupt the unit!
But, but...
Don't lose your cool...
Master Jiraiya told you not to, remember?
For crying out loud...
Temari!
Hurry up and get him to the operating room!
Operating Room
Is this... poison?!
Prepare an antidote!
Gaara...
What?! Gaara was...
I was having a bad feeling...
It'll take about two and a half days to get to the Sand from here...
Let's hurry.
Right.
Treatment Room 3
The wounds weren't that serious...
The problem is...
The poison, huh?
Yes.
It's a completely new poison.
We have absolutely no idea how to neutralize it.
Gaara... and now Kankuro, too...
Taking Naruto is the top-priority duty given to us by our organization, the Akatsuki.
It's not so much you that they're after...
...it's what's inside you they want.
But has long as you have the Nine-Tails sealed within you...
...they might want to have that power under their own control...
Naruto! I told you earlier not to disrupt the unit...
I don't like it!
Even I know why they're after people like Gaara and me...
You know it already, don't you, Sakura?
That I've got...
...the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit sealed inside me...
Hey, it's that kid.
Eww, let's get out of here.
Gaara and I both... have monsters inside us...
That's what they're after!
That's what I don't like!
They only see us as monsters!
I don't like their selfish way of viewing us!
A monster, huh?
If that's the case, then we're the same...
I was born a monster.
Everything about us... was the same...
And he... fought all by himself a lot more than me...
Naruto...
To them, I'm now an artifact of a past they want to erase.
Then why should I exist and what should I live for?
I thought about it, but couldn't find an answer...
But I need that reason while I'm alive...
If not, it's the same as dying...
The Akatsuki was after him!
It's just like me this time, too...
And yet, why does he always have to be the one to get the short end of the stick?!
It's always him!
That's why I can't be wasting any time getting to him!
This time, I want to save him right away!
Naruto...
...Uzumaki...
Thank you...
You say Kankuro's regained consciousness?
He has, but he's just barely able to respond to us...
His condition has worsened since yesterday.
B-Baki... Is that you?
Kankuro!
It's... it's him...
Don't raise your voice!
It's not good for you in your condition!
Th-The Red Sand...
I see... So that explains it...
Lord Baki...
Oh, Lord Baki.
Contact the tracking unit! Tell them to turn back immediately!
Actually, we haven't heard anything from them since recovering Kankuro yesterday...
We were too late...
We have no choice but to consult with them...
Huh? What is it?
Nothing... I'm going out for a bit.
Oh, but...
Our superiors told us to give them a progress report this morning...
Do you think I have the time to be leisurely giving reports?!
Action takes precedence over meetings right now!
Y-Yes, sir!
This is what happens as soon as Gaara disappears...
Give me a break...
I have no choice but to consult with the honorable siblings...
But I wonder... will they come to our aid willingly?
Now, now, the food pills are only for emergencies...
Girls of your age especially need to be careful not to eat too...
She got mad...
That's totally sexual harassment... old man.
Naruto.
You've met him before, haven't you?
Itachi Uchiha...
And he's after you.
I didn't just train over these past two and a half years.
I got into Master Tsunade's library and did outside investigations the best I could.
And now... what was bothering me finally makes sense now!
I wouldn't call it a dream, but I've got an ambition!
To restore the clan and to kill a certain man... no matter what!
I'm the only one who can kill him.
I'm an avenger.
I have to become stronger than him...
I don't have time to be getting tripped up in a place like this.
The person Sasuke wants to kill...
...is his own older brother Itachi Uchiha, right?
A member of the Akatsuki!
Itachi... Uchiha!
Itachi... Uchiha?
I'm going to kill you!
Just as you told me to do,
I've resented you, hated you, and...
I've lived...
I've lived... only to kill you!
Sure enough, you're brothers...
I see power greater than Itachi's hidden in those eyes of yours...
Sasuke will definitely seek me out...
...in search of power...
That's why Sasuke is with Orochimaru in an attempt to obtain power...
But Orochimaru is after Sasuke's body, right?
And we only have six months left!
Sakura knows about that too...
And Orochimaru used to be a member of the Akatsuki.
Basically this is what I want... to say.
The closer we get to the Akatsuki,
the closer we get to information about Orochimaru...
If that happens...
...we'll eventually get closer to Sasuke!
And after that, Itachi Uchiha...
Our worst enemy who plagued Sasuke for so long...
...and the one who's after Naruto...
This time I'll save the two of them!
It appears someone's come...
Say, Big Sister...
Hey, Big Sister!
Are you dead?
Gotcha! I was playing dead.
Cut it out. That senility act's too real, Big Sister...
Honored siblings...
I have come to request your assistance.
Old books are supposed to be tied in a bundle and left up on a high shelf...
What can we possibly do now?
An organization called the Akatsuki has taken the Shukaku.
If we leave things as they stand now, there will be great trouble.
It's your generation now.
You guys deal with it yourselves.
You two have powerful connections with each land,
including villages in lands we are not allied with...
There's only so much information we can gather on our own...
We've long since been retired.
We no longer have any attachments to the world.
Although I guess it'd be nice to see my grandchild's face one more time...
That's very convenient.
Your grandson is a member of the Akatsuki.
Granny Chiyo...