In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

"Shikamaru, someone is coming." Shino came over, but he's still standing within the sun-and-shade line, "There are a lot of people, groups from both the front and the back. They're likely our mission targets."

"About five kilometers away in the valley, it's them. The pursuers are very close." Neji's voice rang out, "Should we go and supportthem? Or should we continue to wait here?"

"There's sound of fighting!" Kiba leapt down from the tree. His hearing was hundreds of times better than the average person's. "It's too late. They've already engaged."

There are many interpretations of 'too late'. What Kiba meant wasn't that it was too late to support, but that there was no time to hesitate. If they didn't go now, it would truly be too late.

"Move out." Shikamaru decided decisively.

"Understood." Kiba immediately rushed out with a happy expression on his face. Behind him was Shino who was controlling the Kikaichu. He needed to make arrangements as soon as possible in order to better cover their retreat.

Lee, Neji, and Tenten moved in sync, flanking from another direction to ensure there were no ambushes ahead. Team 10 followed, with the three squads forming a triangular formation, slicing through the wind like hawks as they raced toward the valley five kilometers away.

Naruto stayed at the rear, with Sakura quietly following.

He glanced at Sakura, not sensing anything amiss, but the latter turned her head to look at him.

"Can you keep up?" He asked awkwardly.

"Um."

Temari was a little flustered, with blood smeared on her face.

It took Gaara a year to finally gain the trust of most of the higher-ups. However, there were still some who were unwilling to acknowledge him, let alone accept his nomination as Kazekage.

Their teacher suggested using this opportunity to eliminate those dissenting higher-ups, after all, once Gaara took office, these issues would need addressing sooner or later.

After careful consideration, Temari agreed, but she didn't expect the opposition to retaliate so quickly. They captured Gaara's new disciple, forcing him into using Biju Transformation.

Thirty-four lives were lost overnight, and all the blame fell on Gaara. All the evidence pointed against him. Some of the higher-ups even began to waver again.

Gaara wanted to prove his innocence, but their teacher, Baki, urged the siblings to leave Sunagakure for now. After all, thirty-four villagers' lives weren't something that could be explained away easily.

When Gaara was a child, he also lost control at times, but back then, the incidents were downplayed with the consent of the higher-ups. After all, the Jinchuriki was still young and couldn't fully suppress the Biju.

But now, things were spiraling out of her control. Both Gaara and Kankuro had even been injured in the ensuing battles.

'What should we do?'

"Temari, they're catching up." Kankuro said while hurrying along. "How far are we from the rendezvous point with Konoha?"

"Very close! Just hold on a bit longer." Temari, supporting the weakened Gaara, said through gritted teeth, "The Shinobi from Konoha should have arrived by now. We'll be safe soon."

"Konoha's Shinobi…" Kankuro raised his head. "It's all because of that damn Uchiha Sasuke for breaking my puppet. It's been a year, and I still haven't found a suitable replacement."

"When I see him later, I'll have to fight him again."

"Uchiha Sasuke has defected and is no longer a Konoha's Shinobi." Temari said, glancing back. She was very anxious now and needed to keep talking to calm herself down.

"Is that so?" Kankuro's voice trembled as well. The sound of shuriken cutting through the air came from behind, and he tilted his head to dodge the sharp blades. "Even so, next time we meet, I'll still kill that bastard."

Several figures swiftly landed in front of the three siblings, blocking their path. About thirty Sunagakure's Shinobi stood on both sides of the tall valley.

Under the blazing sun at the top of the valley, the Chunin in tan vests stopped them. Three Jonin stepped forward from the front and rear of the group, completely cutting off the siblings' escape routes.

The Sunagakure's Shinobi wore forehead protectors with the village's symbol and had white sand-proof cloth strips hanging from their ears. Facing the imminent danger of a Biju awakening and rampaging, their expressions were solemn.

"The Jinchuriki still hasn't woken up, it seems?" One of the Sunagakure's Jonin asked, feigning indifference. His skin was dark, his cheeks sunken, making him resemble a weathered brown shoehorn.

"Maybe he's injured. Probably because he lost control and hurt himself." Another Jonin, short in stature, commented with a sneer on his face.

"You should stop right there." A female Jonin, looking down at the three siblings trapped in the valley, continued. "Just ahead is the Land of Wind's border. Are you planning to defect with the Jinchuriki?"

"Stop calling him a Jinchuriki. He is my brother." Temari said darkly, drawing her three-star fan from behind her. She gripped it tightly, revealing all three stars on the fan.

"Framing people… now that's something you guys excel at!" Kankuro took out his puppet from his back. He didn't seem entirely satisfied with it, but still removed the bandages from the puppet.

"Four more children disappeared last night, which coincided with the time when Gaara disappeared." The female Jonin said, her expression also dark, "For all we know, he could have devoured them."

"How can such a monster be worthy of being a Kazekage?"

"You are talking nonsense!" Temari shouted through gritted teeth, "Gaara would never do something like that! You accuse him without even needing evidence! Are you just going to spout lies without any proof?"

"Evidence?" The brown-faced Jonin sneered, "The situation is already obvious, what more evidence do we need? If anything, it should be that monster providing proof of his innocence."

"Who knows how many kids he's actually devoured. Even if his actions were due to losing control, he should still be monitored by the village."

"Shut up!" Temari roared, swinging her fan to unleash a violent gust of wind.

With a deafening boom, one side of the valley exploded, rocks crashing down in a landslide. In that instant, Temari's pupils widened as she sensed something amiss.

There was no reason why three Jonin to consistently fail to catch up to them. The only explanation was that they were doing it on purpose, deliberately herding Temari and Kankuro into this valley.

"You weren't planning to take us back at all!" Temari glared furiously at the Jonin flanking both sides of the valley, "Damn it, you're here to silence us!"

"Oh? Finally figured it out, huh?"

"Seems like the esteemed princess is a bit slow, but no matter. Soon enough, you won't be the princess anymore." The short Jonin, who looked like a mole, said mockingly.

"There are Konoha's Shinobi waiting for you ahead, right?" The female Jonin said coldly, "You didn't even notice the information leak. How naive can you be?"

"What?"

"Why waste words on them? Let's finish this. Their deaths can be blamed on Konoha." The tall, brown-faced Sunagakure's Jonin threw the shuriken.

Realizing there was no point in further talking, Temari swiftly smeared her blood on the fan's surface and summoned Kamatari.

With a sweep of her fan, a fierce wind surged forward, directly striking the sides of the valley. Kamatari's cutting winds screeched through the air, with layers of explosive sounds that deflected the barrage of shuriken.

"Earth Release: Rock Collapse!"

In unison, the Sunagakure's Chunin and Jonin cast Rock Collapse. It is a B-Rank Ninjutsu effective at all ranges, mainly used to trigger landslides.

This is the favorite Ninjutsu of the Iwagakure's Shinobi, and it is also the Ninjutsu that caused all the evil that Obito suffered.

Most of the time, Iwagakure's Shinobi would lure enemies into caves and used Rock Collapse to bury their opponents alive.

Sunagakure had learned the technique during the war, but due to the lack of caves, it gradually became a useless Ninjutsu. However, the valley before them presented an ideal burial ground.