The Trouble With Itachi [On Hold]

14; Carnage

A/N- Not much to say this time around. Enjoy the chapter, though it's a little short. Comments and votes are always appreciated! xx

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Chapter 14-Carnage

 

“We have to go after them!” I shouted.

“No we don’t. We know where they’re going,” Jiraiya said.

“Konoha,” Kakashi said.

“That’s a whole day trek,” I told them.

“Well then we better get a move on,” Kakashi said, turning and heading back towards the hotel.

How could they be so calm about this? If I knew Akatsuki, we needed to get to Konoha NOW. 24 hours from now would be far too late.

“Where are Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke?” I asked, following him.

“They are back at the hotel. We’ll get them and then make our way back to Konoha as fast as we can.”

A lump formed in my throat, and I had an ominous sinking feeling at the pit of my stomach. I had a VERY bad feeling about this.

Meeting up with the rest of the team was awkward. I kept getting sidelong glances, especially from Sasuke in particular. They knew I tried to escape from the hospital, but they didn’t know why.

We left the hot springs, leaving a parting gift and thanking them for their hospitality.

We wanted to make the journey back to Konoha as quick as possible, so we ran most of the time. We eventually stopped running when we were halfway there, and instead proceeded at a fast pace, regaining our strength. Then we started running again.

The whole journey took us 17 hours. We had cut quite a few hours out of the journey time.

The sight that greeted us however, was not a pleasant one. We knew we were getting close as we saw great plumes of smoke billowing into the sky, wafting above the trees.

“My God,” Jiraiya said to himself as we continued past the entrance gates of Konoha.

It was as if a hurricane had come and turned the whole city upside down. As we walked through the streets heading towards the Hokage’s office, all the familiar sights and sounds of the village that we were used to were now destroyed.

I had never grown up in this village, but when I first came it had a beautiful, welcoming atmosphere. That was all gone now. Replaced with ruins, and gutted out buildings. Debris was strewn along the streets, and fires blazed unattended.

I heard Sakura’s sobs behind me. Naruto’s face was contorted with rage.

“I’m afraid we are too late,” Kakashi said quietly.

We found a huddle of Jounin ninja and ANBU. Kakashi approached them, “What happened here?”

Yuuho Kurenai, a Konoha Jounin, came towards us. She could barely meet our eyes, “It was a massacre. They came from nowhere.”

“Where is Tsunade-sama?” Kakashi asked.

“She only came back yesterday,” Kurenai answered, “She had been away on a mission. It’s like they knew she was going to be gone. Thankfully, there weren’t many casualties.”

Kakashi and Jiraiya looked at each other.

“Where is she now?” Kakashi pressed.

Kurenai pointed to the Hokage building, “Organizing the clean up.”