The Lost Princess Returns (Sequel to The Lost Princess, Kiba Inuzuka Love Story)

Chapter 8

Ayumi's P. O. V:

Kakashi says as we leap through the trees, "They're confident that they've delayed us long enough."

"Yes, indeed," Agrees Chiyo. "I'm starting to think the same thing."

I murmur, trailing off, as worry builds up in my chest, "But that means..." I didn't need to finish as we all assume the same thing:

The extraction is just about completed.

Naruto grits his teeth and clenches his fists begore kicking off powerfully from a tree branch. He says determinedly, "Hang on, Gaara! We're coming!"

Naruto continues to pick up speed . I call out to him, "Naruto, not so fast! Wait up!!" He does t seem to hear me because he doesn't slow down. "Aw, geez..." I let out a sigh of exaggeration, just as Sakura does.

"Oh, brother..."

Chiyo asks Kakashi, "Why is that boy pushing himself to save Gaara? He's not even from the same village." There's a pause. "What is he? What's that boy's story?"

Kakashi hesitantly speaks up, "Naruto is a Jinchuuriki as well." This causes the old woman to gasp. "He has the Nine Tailed Fox sealed within him. It's not that he has any special feelings for the Hidden Sand, or its people. But he and Gaara are both Jinchuuriki. Naruto knows how Gaara feels better than anyone in the Sand ever could. After all, those who are Jinchuuriki have been treated the same way in every village. That's why he feels this desperate need to save Gaara. It doesn't matter whether Gaara's from the Sand or the Leaf, or anywhere else... he's a friend—the only friend who felt the same pain Naruto's felt.

"Naruto's dream is to become Hokage, so the news that Gaara had been made Kazekage hit him pretty hard. He was frustrated, but at the same time, deep in his heart, he was profoundly happy for Gaara. You see, Naruto has another remarkable gift: he doesn't need much time—or many words—to make friends with almost everyone he meets."

"As for me, I've lived a long life," Chiyo recalls. "I've seen many things over the years. I thought I've come to know the ways of the world. I knew that alliances with foreign lands were just for show and not to be trusted... I knew that the only way the Sand Village was to be protected was if I did it myself..." A moment of silence. "... it was my Jutsu that sealed the Shukaku in young Gaara—after consulting with his father, the Fourth Kazekage, of course. I truly thought I was helping my village, but, in fact, I was jeopardising its very existence. And now, I find that my people's survival depends on one of those alliances with a foreign land I never trusted.

"I seem to have been wrong about many things—perhaps everything. I am old and weary... I want nothing more than to just give up. Oh, Kakashi, when I look at them, I see their youth, their potential. I envy them so much."

Kakashi tells her flippantly, "Oh, no! Your life has only just begun! You're still young." This makes the elder burst out laughing heartily.

She muses, "Perhaps you're right. Maybe there is some purpose for keeping an old bag of bones like me around."

Awhile later, my team and I burst out of the trees and see a large mountain with a huge boulder under a red arch. And Team Guy before it. Pakkun, with them.

"So then, what's the plan?" Asks Tenten.

"We smash our way in!" Lee says enthusiastically as always.

"No, Lee," Says Guy calmly as he turns around with a knowing smile on his features. This causes his teammates to turn as well, surprise flitting across their faces at the sight of us—mostly Naruto and I. "Late, as usual, Kakashi."