Gaara Sakura: Battle On The Summit

Chapter 11: Blossom's Predicament

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Once Madara had vanished through his time portal technique, the Kages and the others are now wondering what they can do to prepare for war.

"Dear me... What now?" Onoki asked, sighing tiredly.

"We must form a shinobi alliance. There is no other way to oppose the power of the seven tails," Gaara stated.

"I recall you were against the idea, Raikage?" Mei asked, glancing at him in concern.

"It seems no harm has come to my brother. But I refuse to allow Akatsuki to have their way with us any longer! We form a shinobi alliance, and settle this as quickly as possible!" Raikage A instructed.

"What about the hidden leaf? The Hokage has fled the scene," Onoki mentioned.

"The dark rumours surrounding Danzo are too great. After what he did at the summit, he has lost all of our trust," Raikage A pointed out and continued on. "And if the shinobi of the leaf village learn of what happened here, his position will become strained. He will not last long!"

"I will pass on the news of this shinobi alliance to the leaf, a shinobi whom I trust," the red-haired Kazekage said.

"And that would be?" Raikage A urged him to go on.

"Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan," Gaara answered softly.

"The son of the White Fang?" Onoki queered in curiosity.

"Very well, then. He seems more trustworthy than Danzo, at least," Raikage A remarked.

"Sir! We must make arrangements right away to track down Killer Bee! If the Akatsuki's targets are the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, then they must still be pursuing Killer Bee with all their might," Shee reasoned out.

"Quite! Shee, select a search party at once, and contact the village so that they can begin the search at once!" Raikage A ordered strictly.

"Yes, sir!" Shee responded back.

"We should let the Team Samui know about this right away too. Omoi and Karui were seriously down about all this," Darui reminded.

"Should we not include the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails as a valuable part of our own military forces?" Onoki asked for suggestions.

"Unthinkable. Protecting them is a vital object of this war," Gaara answered and continued on to explain their situation. "I suspect the reason Madara has decided to start this war using the Seven-Tails he has collected is because in his current weakened state, and with the few Akatsuki members remaining to him, it would be too difficult for him to capture the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails. Even if he succeeded, the risks would be too high. He may be thinking of using this war to lure them out."

"I can certainly agree with that," Mei said.

"I agree with the Kazekage as well. Considering what it may lead to, we cannot possibly lay them out right before the enemy's eyes. At any rate, my brother is the Eight-Tail's jinchuriki. He is not the kind of man to follow any strategies we might prepare. Who knows what he might end up doing. He would only bring chaos to the battlefield," Raikage A pointed out.

"I would say the same for Naruto," Gaara said.

"Very well. Do you accept, then Tsuchikage, that we should consider the tailed-beasts jinchuriki to be retrieved, restrained, and protected?" Mei asked.

"Hm," Onoki replied in agreement.

"I will share our information on Killer Bee, with the Stone, Mist, Sand, and Leaf Villages. I suggest that search teams be organized and mobilised immediately. Once the Eight-Tails is found, I suggest that you send that information to me. I am probably the only person to whom my brother will actually listen," Raikage A informed and instructed. "And Kazekage, I trust you will handle the task of passing all this onto Kakashi."

"Yes," Gaara nodded in agreement.

"I met with Kakashi Hatake and the Nine-Tails jinchuriki on the way to the summit. They may still be somewhere in the Iron Country. We should begin our search for them from her," Raikage A suggested.

"Understood," the red-haired Kazekage said.

"E-erm. Could I ask something?" Chojuro asked shyly.

"What is it?" Raikage A urged.

"Well...Ah... You see..." Chojuro stuttered nervously.

"Spit it out!!" Raikage A demanded.

"A-amongst the Akatsuki's remaining members is Kisame Hoshigaki, a member of the seven swordsmen like myself..." Chojuro explained and warned them about not underestimating the enemy since he is able to wield every bit as much power as jinchuriki using his own blade.

"We are quite aware of that. At any rate, is this all really acceptable? The power of the seven tails that Madara will be sending against us is a huge unknown quantity, even if we do secure both tails and protect them with force of our alliance. If that alliance is annihilated, it will all have been meaningless. That's why I say, it would be more advantageous to us if we were to sent the two of them in battle from the start, working alongside the alliance's forces," Onoki said theoretically.

"Are you sure about that?" Mifune asked and went on. "We see here before us the formation of the first ever true shinobi alliance. It's power too, is a huge unknown quantity. Madara himself is taking a great risk using the power of the seven tails in this way. If it were no risk, then he would not have gone to the trouble of coming here and attempting to negotiate. It would seem that the situation is not entirely in his favor. Furthermore, we Samurai, too will take part in this battle. Tsuchikage, are you still so worried despite all of this?"

"Hmph!" Onoki grunted with a huff.

Meanwhile back in the leaf village, the pink-haired kunoichi went to go for a change of clothes and attached the the cloak around her neck. She began to look in the mirror to see the emptiness in her eyes that was longing for hope. Tears was starting to form in the corners, but she managed to hold them back and sighed as she went back and forth to check her attire formally.

Sakura then remembered the moment back then where Sai had told her about Naruto's love her. Somehow, that part triggered her the most since she didn't have any idea that her friend was in love with her and would do anything for her; specifically bringing Sasuke back.

Though, she would not let that happen anymore because she cares about Naruto's well-being. Even if it means by going against their friend.

"All I can do right now is try to convince Naruto... This is my only chance of saving him..." Sakura said desperately in mind as she quickly flipped her hair after tucking in her light pink scarf around her neck.

As soon as she left her house and informed her parents about her departure, they told her to be careful on the way out with her friends. Of course, the pink-haired kunoichi understood this and knew that she's still in a difficult situation.