"Ah... kidnapped."
Hatake Satoru stared at Hozuki Mangetsu through his sunglasses, seemingly not very surprised.
His lazy face almost clearly showed the words "not awake."
"Why is the teacher's reaction so calm!? Did you already know this would happen?"
Hozuki Mangetsu suddenly felt a bit like he was overreacting.
Usually, Hatake Satoru is relaxed and not very serious.
But now the situation is urgent, and Hozuki Mangetsu feels like they missed something important while they were sleeping yesterday.
If they hadn't stayed overnight with Hatake Satoru in the lab yesterday, they would have heard something during the night.
"It's not like I knew it beforehand~ If I could predict things so accurately, Gaara wouldn't have been taken."
"But since he's been kidnapped, we just need to figure out the route and follow them."
"Um~ I'm not going to the meeting, you know that, right?"
Hatake Satoru rested his cheek on his hand, saying it carelessly.
It seemed like this wasn't a very difficult problem for him.
Hozuki Mangetsu scratched his head. Although Hatake Satoru made it sound easy, finding someone in the vast desert isn't that simple.
Sunagakure is somewhat lacking in tracking skills.
Even if Kakashi's ninja dogs came here, they could be stopped by the strong sandstorms.
Hozuki Mangetsu sighed and said.
"I've already taken care of that."
"As for the route, I asked around, but they didn't seem to have any ideas."
"Because Kankuro went to chase them and got injured and poisoned. He said he was coming to the lab just now!"
"Maki has also notified people from Konoha to come and help."
Hatake Satoru thoughtfully played with the glass eyeball on the desk, placing the translucent crystal in front of his sunglasses.
"Konoha, huh? It's been a while since I've seen those people~."
"I'll handle this. Just say that if anyone asks."
Hatake Satoru shrugged his shoulders and said lightly.
"Eh? Does that mean the teacher is going to find Gaara himself?"
"Can I come with you?"
Hozuki Mangetsu eagerly leaned forward, looking at Hatake Satoru with shining eyes.
People from Kirigakure are all a bit quirky, and they like to join in on the fun when they see something like this.
After all, they like seeing strong people.
"No way—you stay here and work with Yamato to keep the lab running normally."
"If necessary, you two should also cooperate with the people sent by Konoha."
Hatake Satoru decisively rejected the idea.
Because if he teleports, he can quickly go to different places to find Deidara and Sasori's tracks, and the specific location where they're extracting the tailed beast.
Bringing Hozuki Mangetsu wouldn't affect anything, but he would have to take two people with him when he teleports.
It's a bit troublesome to carry an extra person.
Also, it's unlikely that all members of the Akatsuki organization will gather together.
Except for Deidara and Sasori, who will actually be there, the others should be present at the site where they're extracting the One-Tail using the Illusion Body Technique.
"Eh—! I know... Anyway, the teacher still thinks it's easier to go alone, right."
Hozuki Mangetsu's eyes immediately dimmed, and he obediently lowered his head and mumbled.
Hatake Satoru patted him on the head and walked out.
Hatake Satoru didn't waste too much time. Based on Deidara and Sasori's speed, they shouldn't have arrived at the base where they'll actually extract the One-Tail.
Except for the area around Sunagakure Village, which has been greened, the rest is still a desert, although there are caves.
But caves are obviously not suitable for hiding or for extracting a tailed beast because of their size.
In other words, they should leave Sunagakure and find a base to extract the tailed beast.
Around Sunagakure, around Konoha, Hatake Satoru occasionally surveyed the terrain and often went there.
Since there are basically no obstacles around Sunagakure, Hatake Satoru's teleportation is incredibly easy.
Hatake Satoru thought for a moment, then left from underground and went to several possible locations.
...
"We haven't seen the poison he has been infected with, so the treatment..."
The doctor in the white coat said to Maki, holding the paper in his hand.
Not having seen the poison he has been infected with doesn't sound good. Although this is a lab, it's still lacking in this area.
Yes, after all, they study medicine, not medical ninjutsu.
"Treatment isn't a problem, it will just take longer to recover."
"Although we've never seen these toxins, they are heavy metal poisons. We can suppress the spread of the toxins to the internal organs and minimize the harm."
".~ It's just that the recovery time may be longer, and all the toxins need to be gradually converted and metabolized."
"?"
Maki thought the medical staff were going to say it was hopeless, but it's just that the treatment time is long?
But at this point, they don't know when Temari will be able to return with the people from Konoha, and Kankuro has lost his fighting power, so it doesn't feel good.
"If you need any information, you can go in and ask him now."
"He has regained consciousness."
After the doctor in the white coat finished speaking, he hurriedly left to prepare for other things.
When Maki pushed the door open, Kankuro was leaning on the head of the bed, his face not looking too good, and he had an IV drip in his arm.
From the time Maki was outside the door, she noticed that he was anxiously looking outside, as if looking for someone.
The moment he saw Maki, Kankuro perked up and said hurriedly.
"Don't send anyone to pursue the enemy. That person is Sasori of the Red Sand, the genius artist of the puppet squad from before."
Continuing the pursuit is pointless. The pursuing troops have no chance of defeating him.
"It's him...?!"
Maki was also a little shocked and widened her eyes. Sasori of the Red Sand did become a missing-nin, but he disappeared for a while.
They had no information about Sasori at all. She didn't expect him to have joined Akatsuki now.
Maki realized almost instantly that if it really was Sasori, they might be able to ask that old woman to come out of retirement.
Since Gaara became Kazekage, Chiyo has claimed to be old and said that the era of the young people should be left to the young people, and she went into the mountains to retire with her brother Ebizo.
The only person who might be able to compete with Sasori of the Red Sand in puppet techniques is Chiyo.
If it was just Gaara being kidnapped, that old woman might not come out to help.
But in this situation, Chiyo is probably willing to help.
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