Chapter 369: Back to the Hidden Sand
As Tobi saw Zetsu appear in the room, he stopped talking and looked down. Zetsu who had already spectated the entire fight said "The battle was totally unexpected. I didn't expect there to be a battle when we have hostages. But as I previously said, it wasn't a good idea to go in front of Yami Uchiha with your crippled body."
"I don't have time to listen to your advice. Have you found Orochimaru? I need to get my arm back and he is the only one who can do that." Tobi asked to which the black part of Zetsu smiled and said "Yes but he didn't seem too friendly when I tried to get in contact with him. I think you might need to go there yourself. You have to recover and then meet with the Kages. You can't go in front of them all in such a state."
"I know...where is Nagato?" Tobi asked to Zetsu shook his head and said "He went to rest. His body is not able to handle the pressure that is being put on him. He needs to get ready for the fight at the hidden leaf if the Kages don't accept our proposal."
"It's not an if but when. The Kages are a prideful bunch, especially the Kazekage and TsuchiKage. They would never agree to a deal like this...and since my Kamui doesn't work against Yami, I am not as invincible as I used to be. But I don't think that will last long. The day of the meeting, some enemies are going to turn into our allies." Tobi said with a smile.
"Things have already been pretty slow and we haven't been able to utilize Nagato properly yet. If we delay any further than this, he might not like it so I'd suggest you hurry. Nagato will probably be furious when he hears about Konan, you will need to handle that emotional fool well." Zetsu said.
"Haven't I handled him pretty well up until now? I will take care of him. He is a useful piece and we can't afford to lose him." Tobi said as he put his mask back on and disappeared in his Kamui space.
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Inside the Kamui space. (10 mins earlier)
Since Kiba was the only one who could communicate with the ninja dog, everyone else had to wait.
As Akamaru was barking in a low tone, Kiba kept nodding at intervals. After a few seconds, Akamaru stopped and Kiba looked up at Kurenai.
"What did Akamaru say? What is happening outside?" Kurenai asked impatiently to which Kiba replied
"Sensei, Akamaru said that the masked man took him to the outside world where there were a few more Akatsuki members as well. They were all faced with Kakashi and Might Guy's squad along with the Kazekage and a few sand shinobis. The masked man threatened them to return and arrange a meeting with all the Kages or we the hostages would be killed."
"That seems like a logical play for the Akatsuki since a few of their members who attacked the hidden sand were injured by Yami and the sand shinobis." Shikamaru said and Asuma nodded.
"What happened after that?" Ino asked with a worried face.
Kiba looked a little more saddened as he said "Before our leaf and sand squads could even discuss anything, Yami started to attack the Akatsuki. After that Akamaru doesn't know anything because he was taken back in by the masked man."
"What? Why would Yami do something like this?" Ino asked with a confused tone as she looked at Asuma.
Shikamaru tapped Ino's shoulder and said "Hostage situations normally end with the death of the Hostages. No one would just give up the leverage especially if they are a terrorist organization who don't care what the people think about them. Even if Yami and the others had backed off and accepted their conditions, there was no guarantee that the Akatsuki would have kept their word."
Just as Asuma was about to agree with his student and comfort Ino, a voice sounded behind them.
"I see that you guys are catching up with the news." Tobi stood on a floating cube that moved toward the group.
"Are you here to kill us?" Asuma asked standing in front of the group.
"I would have been but that kid Yami has managed to screw up my plans again. He has taken in a hostage of himself which is an important member of the Akatsuki so I might have to return all of you alive." Tobi said. He was quite annoyed because he ended up praising Yami.
A feeling of relief spread throughout the 2 squads but they still had one question and Kurenai decided to ask it.
"Why are you telling us this?"
"I don't see a reason to hide it. One must accept when he is bested and I am just doing that. But to appease the anger of the Akatsuki's leader, I must present you all in front of him." Tobi said in a playful tone and disappeared from the Kamui dimension.
Hinata who had been quiet this entire time, nudged Kurenai's shoulder and asked "S-sensei, is t-this good news or bad?"
Kurenai smiled and said "The fact that we are alive at a time when we should be dead is already good news. Let's leave our future in the hands of our village. You trust your elder brother Neji right?"
Hinata immediately nodded and said "Yes...big brother Neji has promised me that he will protect me and the Hyuga clan no matter how strong the enemy be. I am sure Naruto and the others are also doing their best to get us out of here."
"I wish I had the same optimism as you Hinata." Shikamaru said massaging his temples.
"What's wrong Shikamaru ? You seem more worried than before." Kiba asked. He thought that the big-brained Shikamaru must be happier than ever.
"No matter whatever the people do outside, the only way for us to leave the dimension is if this masked guy lets us out of his own violation. That makes me a little uncertain as to what will happen if the masked guy gets killed and we are stuck in here." Shikamaru's reply made everyone realize the danger they were in.
"Do you have a solution for this?" Ino asked to which Shikamaru nodded and said "Yes I do...Just now the masked guy said that he would present us in front of the leader of the Akatsuki. If we can convince the leader to keep us as a hostage in their headquarters out in the open world rather than locked in this dimension, our chances of survival increase by nearly 30%."
"I don't know how much time we have until we are let out to meet the leader but we better think of a strategy fast." Asuma said as he and the others started to discuss various ways.
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Hidden sand (A few hours later)
Yami and the entire group had just reached the hidden sand. Seeing a woman with an Akatsuki robe around her body being brought in handcuffs had already uplifted the people of the hidden Sand village.
As they reached the Kazekage building, Baki asked Lady Chiyo and the others "What are we supposed to do with the prisoner? Should she be kept in the underground prison or brought in front of the elders?"
Yami interrupted the conversation and said "For now take her to the hospital...A hostage is a useful commodity especially when our enemy has multiple of our people."
Baki looked at Lady Chiyo for confirmation and she nodded subtly. She then turned toward the hospital and started walking "Let's go and see how Kankuro is doing." She stopped and turned back to look at Naruto and said "You also get the burn on your hand checked kid. It doesn't look like a simple burn."
No one knew about the burn and since it didn't hurt much, Naruto hadn't mentioned it to anyone.
As the group reached the hospital corridor the nurse standing in the corridor quickly approached Gaara.
"Lord Kazekage...you have returned." the nurse said with adoration and respect. She didn't wait for Gaara to reply as she understood why he would be there.
"Kankuro-san is now completely healthy. Sakura-san's medicine has worked like a charm on the ones that were poisoned. They all are in and will be discharged in a day or two." the nurse said as she motioned with her hand to follow her.
As they entered the room, they saw Kankuro sitting on his bed eating some fruits while Sakura was on the side talking to a few doctors of the hidden sand who seemed to be taking notes.
As Kankuro turned his head toward the door he said "Gaara, Temari you all are back."
This attracted the attention of the others as well and everyone stood where they were as respect to the Kazkage.
"Who is she?" Sakura asked as she walked toward Konan.
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