In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

Ino glanced toward the door, almost ready to rush out and search for him.

The three of them had practically grown up together, and Shikamaru could tell what Without moving conspicuously, he shifted his body to block the only exit from the operating room, wearing a troubled expression.

"Ino, calm down. This is Sunagakure, not Konoha." Shikamaru turned to look at Neji and the other two, and raised his chin slightly to signal them.

"Everyone stay put, don't move. We don't want Sunagakure noticing anything suspicious."

Shikamaru stood there alone, blocking the only path out of the operating room. The people from Sunagakure were all in the operating room for the time being, leaving only the six of them in the empty waiting hall.

Sakura was undergoing surgery, Naruto was missing, and the six of them were stuck in the operating room and couldn't leave for the time being.

"Naruto is missing?" Tenten was stunned.

"Just sit tight and listen to Shikamaru." Neji was obviously calmer, and he pulled down Lee, who was about to stand up.

"What should we do?" Choji looked at Shikamaru and asked.

Shikamaru is the team leader for this mission. When there were fewer people, there was room for debate, but with a larger group, it was essential to have a leader to maintain order.

"Don't panic. Just act as if nothing happened." Shikamaru looked at the others and said, "Right now, we don't know anything about the Akatsuki. Naruto is probably just trying to find some clues."

"We just need to wait for him to fail and return. The most important thing is that we are in someone else's village, so we must not lose our composure. Otherwise, Naruto could end up in more danger."

"It's all my fault for not keeping an eye on him." Ino blamed herself a little.

"That guy has always been a troublemaker. Even Tsunade-sama can't control him." Shikamaru said with a wry smile, trying to comfort her.

"Anyway, Ino, you don't have to blame yourself too much. Although I hate to admit it, Naruto is sharper than all of us. Let's cover for him for now. We'll deal with whatever comes after Sakura finishes the surgery."

At this point, Shikamaru scratched his head and added with a smile, "Besides, Kakashi-sensei should be arriving soon, so just let him deal with this headache."

Inside the operating room…

Temari looked at Kankuro's painful expression with a pale face. Sakura washed her hands and spoke to Sunagakure's Medical-nin with an expressionless face in front of the prepared medicines.

"Prepare for surgery. Hold him down."

"Yes!" The for surgery. Hold him down responded.

Kankuro's face was contorted in agony, and Temari's thoughts were entirely focused on her two brothers.

Everything had been getting better… Gaara had started to change, striving to become a better Kazekage than their father.

The relationship between the siblings has become more harmonious, and they are more like a family since their father's death.

Even the vague, unspoken emotions she had once been unsure about had started to melt away.

But now, everything was shattered.

Gaara had been taken away, his fate unknown. Kankuro's life was hanging by a thread, and he depended on this surgery to survive. And there was nothing she could do, she didn't even know who the enemy was.

All she could do was stand at the operating table and hold Kankuro down to prevent him from struggling due to the pain of the operation.

"Apologies, but this surgery requires the patient to remain conscious. We can't use anesthesia." Sakura seemed to see through Temari's unease and said without any emotion.

"Next, I'm going to extract the poison from his body."

…

In Sunagakure, in front of a desolate stone tomb somewhere…

The wind howled, kicking up clouds of dust. Countless rough-hewn stone tombstones stood around, their inscriptions long worn away by the sandstorms, making the words unreadable.

Naruto spat out a mouthful of sand from his mouth, scanning his surroundings. After a moment of thought, he realized that the Ninjutsu he intended to use could be confined to a specific area. He only needed to summon someone of a certain strength using Impure World Reincarnation.

With that in mind, Naruto extended his hands and quietly whispered, "Arise!"

…

Inside the operating room, the monotonous beeping of the machines remained steady. Sakura was completely focused on performing the toxin extraction surgery on Kankuro, unaware of the situation outside.

"Ah!!" Kankuro screamed in agony, almost breaking free from the restraints on his head.

Sakura, with her skilled hands, stabilized the surgery just in time, preventing her Chakra Scalpel from accidentally injuring Kankuro's internal organs.

After securing the situation, she glanced at Temari, whose brief lapse in focus had nearly caused a disaster.

"Please hold him down. The surgery is dangerous."

Temari, feeling a bit ashamed under Sakura's gaze, noticed how that look reminded her of someone. But Kankuro's cries of pain quickly pulled her back to reality.

Pulling herself together, she decided to set thoughts of Gaara aside for now and focus on helping Kankuro survive this critical moment.

Outside the operating room...

Choji was getting restless and stood up, thinking of going outside for some fresh air. However, when he turned around, he found Ino had already stepped out.

"Shikamaru." He turned his head and looked at the backbone of the team in panic.

"It's fine." Shikamaru nodded, "Ino is not that guy, she won't act recklessly."

Hearing this, Choji relaxed a little. But when he glanced at the still-lit operating room, his chubby face wrinkled in concern again, and he asked in a low voice, "Sakura still doesn't know?"

"We'll tell her later. Naruto is careful, so nothing major should happen." Shikamaru sat in the waiting hall and sighed a little depressed.

He wondered how long it would take for Kakashi to arrive. His deep gaze flickered toward the 'surgery in progress' sign a few times before he finally lowered his head, waiting patiently.

…

There wasn't much to see in Sunagakure. Houses covered in sand and dirt lined the streets. Yellow sand swirled everywhere, and the village was under strict lockdown. There's also faint scent of blood lingered in the air.

Sunagakure's Shinobi hurried through the streets below, tension evident in their swift movements. In the distance, stifled cries could be heard, only to be abruptly cut off, restoring the eerie silence.

Ino leaned against a railing, silently gazing at the distant desert, lost in thought.

'With such tight security, where could he possibly go?'

'But then again, with his ability, he could easily avoid detection if he wanted.'

Having been around him for so long, Ino almost forgot that Naruto was someone who could interact casually with the Hokage.

She still didn't know why Naruto left on his own. Her mind was a mess, so she decided not to dwell on it anymore.

Anyway, whatever happens has already happened, so she would just have to wait and see.

For the time being, they needed to maintain stability. And when Naruto came back, she would definitely give him a good beating.