Chap.44 Mission failed successfully

There was a problem, a BIG problem that he didn't think of until an hour passed after finishing the match with Kimimaro.

The rain came and there was no sign of Kakashi or anyone from Konoha.

She knew that the ninja dog should be following the trails left by the fighting, but since he had sent everyone to Konoha for treatment using reverse summoning…

Maybe he interrupted the tracks?

"They're really going to force me to go there, huh?" —Tony thought somewhat frustrated— If something happens to Naruto because Kakashi doesn't rescue him in time, to hell with the whole plot.

Too variable then.

"Lee, how are you?"

"I'm much better," he replied with a thumbs up.

"Your arms are shaking," Gaara commented.

"I'm going to send you to Konoha for treatment, but I need you to tell me first which way Naruto went." Tony had no idea which way to go from here.

"I can still move!"

"Lee, I'm the only captain left on this mission and my order is for you to retire and rest." You don't want to overload your body again.

"Understood." Lee resigned himself. No matter how much he wants to go, he is still subject to the rules of the ninja world.

"Do you also want to go Gaara?"

"No," he refused. "My brothers must be wandering around aimlessly by now, I'll gather them up and we'll go back to our village."

"Okay, thanks for your help.

After getting the information from Lee, sending him back, and saying goodbye to Gaara, Tony ran in the indicated direction.

"Wait, didn't Black Zetsu show up at this point?" —He remembered as he jumped through the branches of the trees— He must be watching the chakra of Indra and Ashura. I better make a cookie mask, it would be a pain to have that manipulator breathing down my neck.

After reaching the big statues, it wasn't hard to find a bright orange dot.

"Wow, he's messed up," Tony thought.

Naruto's bruises, cuts, and wounds had already started to heal from the Kyubi's chakra, but it was better to send it quick and retreat. He took Sasuke's striped headband next to him and put it away to leave for him later.

He hit the ground to set up the reverse summoning seal and with a puff of smoke, the two of them disappeared.

A few seconds later, a plant man with a split face and a black robe with red clouds emerged from the ground and silently looked at the place where they disappeared.

…Back in Konoha…

"I see, so you didn't find Sasuke," Tsunade wanted to confirm.

"No," Tony assured with a tired face, "The place reveals that they had a fight, but I couldn't see any clues to continue tracking his whereabouts and despite knowing that he must be weakened and not far away, I decided to prioritize Naruto's safety since I didn't know How bad was his condition?

"And why did you come back with him?" Tsunade asked. "You could have sent it and tried to search the surroundings."

-For two reasons. The first was that I was tired, I don't know if you were able to talk to Choji and the rest, but instead of a one-on-one battle like they did, I had to face six sound ninjas almost consecutively. To continue searching in this state seemed too dangerous to me.

"And the second reason?"

"I had a bad feeling, it was like someone was watching me," Tony said honestly as he scratched the back of his neck with his hand, "With Naruto unconscious and me weak, the last thing I needed was for a seventh sound ninja or someone else to show up." I would like to take advantage of the situation.

"Actually, it would have been dangerous," Tsunade agreed, "You never know, maybe Orochimaru got impatient and sent someone else." You acted well.

-How's everybody? Tony asked after a moment of silence in the office.

Tsunade explained the general situation to him.

Choji was hospitalized, but he was not in a bed covered by talismans and seals on the verge of death as in the original version since he was not forced to take the third pill.

Kiba and Akamaru were also safe, they just needed to recover for a while and Akamaru wouldn't be able to walk for a few days due to muscle damage in his legs.

Neji had to go through the operating room that looked like a voodoo circle with the number of seals and the formation they used to heal using… his hair? Shizune took care of that, so there was nothing to worry about.

Shikamaru only had to cast a couple of fingers on one hand, he was the one who received the fewest injuries. But it was that he received a greater emotional pressure.

Naruto is basically a bandaged mummy and in a few days he will be as good as new, although his reaction to waking up will not be pleasant. Lee is also recovering from the effort.

"Do I have permission to withdraw?" Tony asked. "I want to get checked out too."

"No need, sit here," Tsunade pointed out as he stood up, "I'll check you out myself."

He had spent several hours working between papers and a short break would also do him good. Tony nodded and sat up after removing his shirt under Tsunade's instructions, before Tsunade placed both hands on her back and began to examine Tony's condition.

—You're low on chakra reserves, you have some slightly damaged muscles… —Tsunade commented on everything she found while he treated her simultaneously—In summary, you only need to rest for a week. Don't take quests during this time and everything will be fine. You have one of the best builds I've ever seen in my career.

"Thanks," Tony thanked him as he dressed, "Was there a problem with Tayuya?"

"The redhead in the sound?" I have placed her under surveillance by my ANBU and she seems to be... confused, yes, I think that would be the word —Tsunade declared trying to be precise— And just as you wrote in the scroll that Shikamaru gave me, it seems that Danzo and his ROOT tried to sneak under the pretext of getting information from the enemy. It was unsuccessful —Tsunade raised her hand to reassure Tony seeing him narrow his eyes— Although Shikamaru told me what plans you have for her, let me clarify that if I don't consider her worthy of a second chance, you can forget about her. I will not risk the village to a possible spy.

"Of course," Tony agreed. He knew that Tayuya's matter would not be easy once she returned to the village, but as long as she hadn't been tortured or Danzo had time to reach out to her, there were opportunities.

Seeing that she didn't have any bad reaction, Tsunade inwardly sighed with relief and continued explaining.

— He Talk to her as soon as you can and try to get something useful so that no one can say that she is receiving different treatment than she deserves from her. My ANBU will be present during the entire conversation, so you don't need to inform me afterward.

-Understand.

Tony wasn't naive enough to think that the ANBU would only be there to record the conversation and report back. No doubt they were also psychologically analyzing Tayuya, trying to detect any lies, microgestures, etc.

"One last thing before you go," Tsunade suddenly remembered, "Your team will officially disband starting today."

-What do you mean? The news caught Tony off guard.

"There are several reasons for this. Your promotion to chunin, the fact that the Aburame clan has finished dealing with the dangerous bees, Kiba's temporary discharge… —said Tsunade— To be honest, I have seen your information and you are quite ahead of the rest of your companions, so that I will form two other teams. Anko will continue to be your superior in the new team while Hinata and Kiba will be assigned a jonin named Kurenai. Shino will take your place on the old team. I was thinking of Karin joining you and Anko, but I don't have the last member in mind.

"How about Tayuya?" suggested Tony. "Not only would he be under the surveillance of a jonin who knows Orochimaru's tricks, but he could also demonstrate his intention to change by doing missions for the village." He has to be able to start from somewhere, right?

—It's not impossible —Tsunade considered— In any case, we'll see how everything develops before making any decision. You can withdraw.