Because time was short, Kakashi sent a message to Tsunade by carrier pigeon ahead of time.
He asked her to quickly decide on a replacement for their missing member of Team Seven, as they might not be able to delay their return for too long.
Kakashi hinted that there might be people from the Akatsuki organization lying in wait.
In reality, it wasn't suitable to let Naruto get involved in this situation, since the Akatsuki organization's goal was to capture the tailed beasts.
But the problem was that person was also in the Akatsuki organization, so various situations were tangled together, making things very complicated.
Sasuke was in the Akatsuki organization, so the current situation was that the Akatsuki organization was looking for Naruto, and Naruto was also looking for them.
The Akatsuki organization usually acted in pairs, so the greatest possibility was that Sasuke would be working with Itachi.
It would be difficult for Kakashi to hold back Itachi on his own.
And also, this time it wasn't clear which side Orochimaru was on. If those two teamed up, the whole team might be wiped out.
Tsunade bit her fingernails in distress, frowning.
"Knock knock..."
"Come in."
Tsunade sat in her chair, staring at the door with a slight frown.
Shizune came in from outside, with a look of difficulty on her face. She looked at the people outside, then at Tsunade in the room.
Then she opened the door completely.
Tsunade immediately saw Danzo with an unkind expression, followed by two Konoha higher-ups.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
Here we go again.
Tsunade already had a headache dealing with the advisors, and now it wasn't just those two, but Danzo as well.
Coming at this time could only mean they knew about Team Seven's situation and wanted to interfere.
"We've come to talk about the new replacement for Kakashi's team."
Koharu Utatane sat down on a chair to the side, speaking to Tsunade.
Tsunade couldn't help but purse her lips, glancing at Danzo with his cane. She could fool the other two, but that old guy…
"I know, I know."
...
"Since Granny Tsunade agreed to let us go, let's just head over there!"
"The Tenchi Bridge isn't that far away, we can go there on our way back from Sunagakure Village!"
Naruto and Sakura stood on the roof of the Hokage Building, grumbling in dissatisfaction.
Kakashi had rushed to the Hokage's office to report after returning, and specifically told them to stay here and behave.
"The opponent is Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, so we should still discuss a plan."
"After all, the person who gave us the information this time is from Akatsuki."
Sakura hesitated, looking down below.
She had also considered the possibility of an ambush, but it was useless for her to worry about it now.
They would need to analyze the specific situation when they got near the Tenchi Bridge to truly understand what was happening.
And Kakashi was usually in charge of tactical preparation and combat guidance.
Although she and Naruto were different from the past in terms of ability, Kakashi was still better at practical experience.
Naruto was quiet for a moment, and didn't complain anymore.
If the Akatsuki members were lying in wait near there, and were somehow involved with Orochimaru, it would be tricky for the three of them.
"Sasuke is also in Akatsuki..."
"That's right, if another person comes with us, we can have one more person to save Sasuke!"
Naruto quickly perked up, a smile on his face.
After fighting Itachi together with Sasuke last time, Naruto felt more and more confused about Sasuke's departure.
He had always believed that Sasuke was kidnapped by Akatsuki, and Uchiha Itachi just didn't seem like a good person.
Naruto remembered the subtle smile that guy showed when he scattered Uchiha Itachi with his big ball Rasengan.
It felt like he was challenging him.
That smile of kidnapping Sasuke and mocking his incompetence.
Naruto bit his back teeth with a vicious expression.
Sasuke's complaints in the illusion, everything was directed at Akatsuki and Uchiha Itachi who kidnapped him.
That must be it! Sasuke was forced!
Damn it, they had to bring Sasuke back.
Uchiha Itachi, who was on his way to a mission, sneezed inexplicably, rubbing his nose strangely.
"Save him?"
"You two are strange, why do you want to save someone who betrayed the village?"
A pale face appeared from behind the stairs, and then a young man in black clothes walked out.
Sai had a smile on his face, and although he was speaking with a smile, the words he spoke were quite annoying.
That face was subtly similar to Sasuke's, but upon closer inspection, it was quite different.
"Who are you?!"
Sakura and Naruto turned their heads in annoyance, frowning. They didn't like being eavesdropped on.
What's more, what the other person said didn't sound good.
Sai silently smiled at them, narrowing his eyes.
"Don't judge things rashly when you don't know anything!"
"I don't think I've seen you in the village before..."
"What are you interrupting for?"
This person was a strange face, a guy who didn't know anything, and was just talking nonsense here.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked over unhappily.
The atmosphere between the few people became tense at once.
"Hey hey... I knew this would happen, wait a moment before you get angry."
Kakashi suddenly appeared behind Sai, putting a hand on his shoulder, while giving Naruto and Sakura a helpless expression.
"Kakashi-sensei! Who is he... He started talking badly about Sasuke as soon as he came."
Naruto immediately jumped up and asked.
"Ah... he used to be part of Root, this time he's here to carry out the mission to assassinate Orochimaru with us."
"Well, everyone introduce yourselves and get to know each other."
Kakashi scratched his cheek and said.
He didn't have a good impression of Root. After all, he used to belong to Anbu and knew something about Root and Danzo's nonsense.
But the people recommended by Root, although their character and purpose might not be safe, their strength should be objectively guaranteed.
Although it was troublesome, since even Tsunade couldn't refuse this guy's joining, Kakashi could only accept him.
Naruto and Sakura were already able to form a small group, so it would be easier if the person who came was an acquaintance.
It was just that this kind of person who they didn't know at all, and who stepped on landmines so precisely as soon as he opened his mouth, felt like it would be difficult to get along with him.
Kakashi stared blankly at the two groups of people who were almost directly opposed to each other, his temples throbbing slightly.
When Sasuke was there, Kakashi had a headache trying to adjust the relationships between his teammates, and Sai didn't look like an easy guy to deal with either.
He had to adjust things well later.
"It doesn't matter if we don't introduce each other, I've already looked at all your files."
"Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and the missing s-rank ninja Uchiha Sasuke, I'm here to replace him."
"My name is Sai."
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