Naruto's Kit

Chapter 33

In Konoha once everything had settled down the remaining ninjas went to stand guard near other parts of the defending walls in case of more intruders. Shikamaru was standing by the hole created by Sasuke while an Anbu used an earth jutsu to repair the damage quickly. After he and his teammates brought Dansue and Ichi to the interrogation cells they went back to stand guard. At the moment Ino and Chouji were surveyed the nearest ninja posts while Shikamaru tried to figure out something that could explain all this.

'Hmm... so far no one else on the intercom has seen anything, which most likely means that no one's trying to breach our defenses from another direction. So does that mean that only three people were in on this? What the heck were they thinking? Three people couldn't possibly do enough damage to a ninja village to make the attempt worth it. So what was their goal?'

Shikamaru sighed in frustration and sat down, getting into his regular pose. 'OK, go over the facts again. Sasuke Uchiha destroys a piece of the wall and enables others to get in. However, none do and keep a stable post in the woods surrounding town. Obviously a way to draw attention and make it easier for people to come to them. And when they did, Sasuke took off but the other two remained to fight. They must have been a safety measure to ensure that not too many people interfered. And Sasuke didn't leave until after we showed up, and he wouldn't make himself known and then leave unless he wanted to be pursued.'

At this time Ino and Chouji had come back but saw what Shikamaru was doing so they didn't disturb him. He finished whatever he was thinking over, opened his eyes, and stood up to face his teammates. "See anything?"

"Nope. Nothing." Ino answered, shaking her head.

"Ditto." Chouji added.

Shikamaru sighed. "I figured. I don't think this was an ambush or anything like that. I get the feeling this was a trap."

"What do you mean?" Chouji asked.

"Well, three people create a ruckus and wait until someone shows up. It also happens to take place at the point closest to where we and our friends were so we'd be among the first to reach it. I believe that Sasuke must have used some kind of scout, like a bird or something, to see where we were so he'd know the best place to strike."

"So you think he was after us?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. Remember, Sasuke has allied himself with the Akatsuki. Who are the Akatsuki targeting, and who went after Sasuke after he ran off?"

Ino and Chouji gasped then answered together. "Naruto!"

"Bingo." Shikamaru told them with a nod. "I believe that this was a way to draw Naruto out, and Sasuke's leading him right where he wants him. The girl we faced and her back-up, most likely just a way to ensure that not too many others followed Naruto. The Akatsuki are making their move for his bijuu now, and they wouldn't do that unless they had the other eight already."

"We gotta do something!" Chouji all but shouted.

"What can we do?" Shikamaru asked. "We'd never get to where Sasuke's leading Naruto in time to be of any use."

"We can't just sit here!" Ino did shout, making the Nara heir lean back a bit.

"I know, but unless you think we can reach them really quickly, there's little we can do but pray Naruto can pull a victory out of nowhere, again."