Rabbit Princess [Gaara] [2]

☾ 42 ☽

Tsukiko joined Naruto, Shikamaru, Kakashi and Shiho as they left the library's research centre and headed toward the Hokage's office. Since her actions last time, Tsukiko had not come back here and she knew that she needed to apologise to Tsunade soon, too. Inside the office, Tsunade was joined by both Sakura as well as the elder toad, Fukasaku.

Naruto went forward to place the decoded message in front of Fukasaku while Tsunade and Sakura looked on as Kakashi explained what they had discovered. Tsukiko waited patiently to see what Fukasaku had to say about what the code had revealed to them.

"'The real one is not there,' huh?" Fukasaku read off the piece of paper given to him, and Tsukiko bit her lower lip, hoping that it would help him figure out what happened to Jiraiya.

"How about it, geezer sage?" Naruto asked. "Does any of it make sense to you?"

"I'm not sure," Fukasaku replied. "This is too vague,"

"Well, you must have some thoughts about it, right"? Shikamaru asked.

"I've already told you all I know about Pein," Fukasaku said. "He can bring himself back from death, though that's only speculation,"

"Bring himself back from back from death?" Tsukiko repeated. "Could it be that they simply don't die instead, Usa? I mean to say, it may be something like Hidan or K-Kakuzu. There has to be a weak point – we simply have to exploit that weak point,"

"Fighting him now would be dangerous," Fakusaku replied, looking over to her. "First, as you just explained, we need to unlock his mystery,"

"Do we have any other Intel on him?" Kakashi asked. "Anything from the autopsy or interrogation?"

"It looks like they will take more time," Sakura answered, referring to Shizune and her team that was working on the body that the elder toads had managed to bring them.

"How much longer?" Naruto asked.

"I can't say," Sakura replied.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto responded. "We can't be wasting time right now?"

"Interrogation, aside," Sakura said, looking rather annoyed. "The autopsy unit has to carefully analyse cells and tissue! It'll take time!"

"Is it possible for me to have a look at the body as well, Granny Tsunade?" Tsukiko asked, as she had not seen anything thus far. "Maybe we can recognise it and help with the interrogation,"

"You can do that after the autopsy has concluded," Tsunade replied. "It'll take at least a week,"

"That long...?" Naruto asked as his head flopped over in disbelief.

"Come on, Uzumaki-Kun, don't get too bummed out," Shiho said.

"So, what's our course of action, Godaime?" Shikamaru inquired.

"Shizune's handling the autopsy now, she'll most likely be quicker than usual," Tsunade answered. "But we'll still have to wait,"

"I'll go ask them to hurry up," Naruto said and Tsukiko looked at him a little uncertainly.

It wasn't that Naruto's feelings were lost on Tsukiko – she knew the desperation he must be feeling, she knew he would be feeling it far more than she was doing. She felt strangely hopeless and she wished that there was something she could do to help, too.

"Hey, Naruto, if you get in Shizune Senpai's way, I'll make you pay for it," Sakura warned and Naruto stopped in his path out of the office.

"I'm going to avenge Pervy Sage," Naruto told them. "I won't just stand idly by,"