Setting The Wolf Free - Sequel to The Wolf Inside

Setting The Wolf Free - Ch 71

“Ow Sakura!” Naruto complains, struggling to free himself. “That hurts!....”

“So uhhhh, why did you summon us today Lady Tsunade?” Sakura asks sweetly, releasing Naruto and straightening up.

“Well……We’ve been hearing some intel that’s……Been floating around recently” the Hokage begins uncertainly, glancing over at Jiraiya.

“Intel?” Sakura and Naruto ask at the same time, with the pinkette tilting her head to the side.

“…..Yes, we have some pretty reliable information regarding….” Jiraiya raises his eyes to the two young Ninja before him, a serious look crossing his face, “….Sasuke Uchiha.”

“Sasuke?!” Naruto exclaims in surprise, as Sakura gasps. “What kind of information? Is he okay? O-Orochimaru hasn’t done anything to him…..Has he?”

“I-Is Sasuke still…..alive?” Sakura asks hesitantly, eyes shining. Even the thought of her old teammate being killed was making her tear up…..

“No, no, it’s nothing like that” Tsunade speaks up, shaking her head, to which Naruto and Sakura both heave sighs of relief. “It may seem a little strange, but we’ve had reports come in that Sasuke Uchiha has been travelling around recently. We’ve still yet to pinpoint the location of Orochimaru’s hideout, but different intel we’ve received have noted that Sasuke Uchiha has been spotted around places like the Hidden Sound, the Hidden Grass and different spots near the border of the Land of Fire. We’re unsure of his purposes right now, but he’s definitely been out in the open a lot recently…..”

“But…..Why would he be out like that?” Sakura inquires uncertainly, placing a hand to her chin. “And why exactly is it a concern to us? He hasn’t been killing people has he?”

“No, there haven’t been any reports of murder” Tsunade replies, leaning a hand on her desk and placing the other one on her hip. “It’s not like this is a concern exactly, but more like-”

“We have an opportunity to go find him” Naruto interrupts seriously, causing everyone to look at him. “If Sasuke’s out walkin around, we’re so much more likely to find him than if he was just sitting in Orochimaru’s lair going nowhere. We have to go out and look for him Granny Tsunade!”

“I figured you’d ask that” Tsunade sighs, though a faint smile graces her lips. “My only concern with letting you go out and find him is this. The Akatsuki have been on the move recently as well. They seem to be very busy themselves, travelling around and hunting down Jinchuuriki. I don’t really want to send my Ninja after Sasuke when for all I know, the Akatsuki are out there as well. What if Itachi Uchiha gets wind of this and decides to track Sasuke down himself?”

“Wh-Why would Itachi do that?” Naruto questions, eyes widening a little. “He doesn’t have any interest in Sasuke. He even said so when we came across him all those years ago!”

“While that may have been true at the time” Jiraiya picks up for Tsunade, “Itachi is no doubt aware that Sasuke has been training with Orochimaru for quite some time. He also knows that Sasuke seeks revenge and wants to kill him. If Sasuke is out wandering around, who’s to say Itachi won’t try to pick him off now that he’s so much stronger than he was three years ago?”

“What if the reason Sasuke isn’t staying in a hideout anymore……” Lady Tsunade thinks out loud, pursing her lips, “….Is because he’s already killed Orochimaru?......Don’t look at me like that Jiraiya, it’s bound to happen sooner or later, so it’s a possibility.”

“I know” is all the Sannin says in reply, as Sakura and Naruto cast each other a thoughtful look.

“I’m not going to entertain that thought right now” Sakura says after a few moments, eyes downcast, “Only because it’s based off an assumption with no facts to back it up. But let’s just say that Itachi does want to find Sasuke……Then, shouldn’t we just follow Itachi to get to Sasuke? I’m going to assume we don’t have current information on Sasuke’s whereabouts, so we can’t just go straight to him.”