𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Prepare

"It's like a ghost town out there."

Kannon sighed as she spoke to Gaara a couple of days after the evacuation. Thanks to his quick thinking and organisation, things went smoothly, and citizens were split up and directed to separate towns to stay in for the time being. Absolutely sure they were on the way to safety and out of harm's way, Gaara now found himself rallying the shinobi that remained in the capital to prepare themselves for the worst. Tera was still missing, but he wasn't taking any chances. Based off of Kannon's tales of Sora and bloodthirst, he was certain that in the empty and desolate desert that she would find her way back to Suna to take revenge on the humans that resided there.

"Our shinobi are spread out thin, but that's alright," said Gaara. He and Kannon sat in her hospital room, and he would often take her out into the corridors to walk and utilize her body. Now five days following her attack, Kannon was making a speedy recovery, but Gaara still wasn't one hundred percent sure that she would be up to taking on Tera, both physically and emotionally. "Thankfully, Tsunade-sama has kept her shinobi stationed here in Suna to deal with Tera, and quite possibly the Uchiha when they move in."

"What about your shinobi?" asked Kannon, knowing that Gaara's top priority was the safety of his own people. "Will you keep them with the citizens to make sure that they're protected?"

"Yes," he said, arms crossed loosely. "We've managed to locate around eighteen smaller towns where the citizens can go to. Since there are so many, and all are quite far apart, I've had to make sure that a good amount of shinobi remain with them at all times to keep them safe. We have around four hundred citizens going out to each town, so with every hundred I've instructed fifty of our men to stay just in case things go awry. That's a good portion of our military gone, but considering we have the Senju here, I'm not too worried.

"I've made sure to keep a select few of our shinobi with the citizens at all times; however, I've instructed the rest to return to Suna once everyone has been settled and adjusted to their temporary homes. Because some of the towns being used are farther away from Suna, the shinobi there will take longer to return. We'll be having shinobi trickling in over the next few days."

"That's good then, isn't it?"

Gaara sighed, putting his head in his hands, and it was then that the toll of everything that was happening made itself obvious to Kannon. She frowned as she watched him, reaching out and putting a hand on his thigh.

"At this time, nothing is good," he said, shaking his head. Kannon reached over and gave Gaara and one armed hug, looking sad at his plight.

"You're doing a good job," she said softly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Really, Gaara. Thank you for being such a good Kazekage. I can't imagine that any of this is easy for you."

"Thank you," said Gaara, smiling weakly at Kannon. "I just hope that we deal with everything as soon as possible. Knowing the Uchiha, and judging by what Naruto told me, the Uchiha must be on their way as we speak."

"What's your plan to dealing with them?"

"Of course, the objective is to stand our ground and fight. But we can't forget about Tera's threat either... it seems like we have to try and kill two birds with one stone if we don't want our resources to be exhausted," said Gaara with a small sigh. "Our worst case scenario is that Tera swoops into Suna before the Uchiha get here, weakens our forces, and then the Uchiha arrive and finish us off. But to be fair, I feel like Sora isn't biased on who she chooses to attack, so there is the possibility that the Uchiha would have to deal with her as well. Everything is just a mess. No matter what way I look at it, we're going to have a hard time. Before we can even think of extracting anything, we have to subdue Tera first. And that's not going to be easy."

"Do you think we could persuade Sasuke to help us?" asked Kannon. "I mean, he's basically second in command. Surely what he says could sway his father and their clan's final decision. Could we put a standstill on this whole Uchiha versus Senju situation and deal with Tera first? I mean, not to be dramatic or anything, but she could possibly wipe us all off the face of the earth. She played a big role in lots of families forgetting about ninjutsu and hiding their abilities, to the point where they just forgot about it. I think that's a pretty big deal."

"Maybe. But I'd rather not work around what ifs and uncertainty at this point," said Gaara, rubbing his temples. Kannon let go of him and sat up straight, slowly getting to her feet.

"Come," she said comfortingly. "Let's go for a walk. We could both do with a little fresh air."

Instantly getting to his feet, Gaara held out his arm for Kannon to steady herself on.

"Let's enjoy the peace while it lasts."

Linking her arm with Gaara's, Kannon grinned and slowly hobbled towards the door.

"It's so quiet," she murmured as she stepped out into the empty corridor. "How many people are left in Suna?"

"Maybe just a couple thousand? I'm not sure. Most of the Senju shinobi are stationed at the gates, waiting for the Uchiha. From what we gathered, their numbers are similar to ours, but there really are only a few hundred actual Uchiha. The rest of their forces are non-blood related shinobi, like what Naruto was."

"Ah. So when your other shinobi return, surely you guys will have the upper hand in terms of numbers, right?" hummed Kannon as she relied on Gaara for support.

"Numbers, yes. But we can't forget that the Uchiha are lethally skilled, each and every single one of them. I've yet to meet a family that's as cruel and war focused as theirs. And I hate to think about it, but I'm certain they'll be sending in their children as well. I highly doubt that there is an age requirement to fight. If you have skill, you're ready."

"That's terrible," sighed Kannon. "I wonder how old their youngest shinobi marching towards us must be."

"Hopefully not too young," said Gaara grimly. "I don't understand them. At all. What do they get out of sacrificing their own children?"

"You never know, their children might be just as good as their parents," shrugged Kannon.

"That may be the case, but they're still children. I can't kill a child."

"I know. It sucks, right?"

It was on. Doomsday was nearly upon them, and Kannon wished with all her heart that she could heal quicker.