Gaara Sakura: Leaf & Sand's Alliance

Chapter 31: Riddle

The closer they are,

The closer is the truth...

Tsunade summoned the slug to heal her and her comrades, whereas the battle hasn't stopped between the leaf and the two Uchihas. Though, the Ten-Tailed beast started to go on a rampage, causing them to stumble on the fallen rocks while Kurama, the Nine-Tails, has been giving Naruto and the others some extra support.

Before 11 pm, the rest of the shinobi allies finally arrived at the scene from every division squads, uniting together to stop the Infinite Tsukuyomi that is about to occur. The dark brunette hopped beside Obito, much to everyone's perplexity.

"What the-?! What is she doing? She's with them all this time?" Kakashi questioned shockingly.

"Yeah... It's hard to believe, but it is true," Sai stated calmly.

Naruto glanced behind them and asked in wonder. "Since you're all here, where is Sakura?"

The leaf squad and the others were fidgeting nervously and looked away, making him even more suspicious.

"Hey...! Why aren't you all answering?" The blonde-haired ninja demanded annoyingly.

"The thing is... she's gone..." Hinata whispered.

Naruto stared at them scarcely and said faintly. "I don't believe you..."

"Listen, we tried to stop Katsumi, but she was too strong-" Sai was about to finish his explanation, but got interrupted quickly.

"The hell do I care?! I just want to know if Sakura is safe. That's all!" Naruto argued quietly.

"But she's not," Kiba said calmly, much to his shock.

"Hehehe... I guess I'm not the one who doesn't accept reality. Face it, Naruto. You and I are the same," Obito pointed out with a smirk.

"You're right. We are, but I have chosen a path for myself and that is me defeating you both," the blonde-haired ninja said with a death glare at him while clenching his fists tightly.

"I'm going now, I have business to attend with my fiance," Katsumi said, smirking evilly as she stared down at him and the others' indignation.

Back in one of the medical camps, Ino and her teammates have discharged the patients out of the tents, sending them to their homes. At that moment, they heard a scream outside in which they became more alert.

"What's going on?" She asked suspiciously and exited the tent.

"Help!! Guys!"

She and the others were heading towards the direction where the medical ninja was calling until they all reached the underground area. Her eyes were examining the soil that was scattered around below, forming a circle, much to their skepticism.

"What happened here?" Ino questioned, furrowing her eyebrows in puzzlement.

"Her body... is missing..." the medical ninja said slowly.

Ino's eyes went horrified as she gasped slightly, whereas the others were murmuring in fear amongst themselves.

"How?" She asked further.

"I-I don't know. When I came here to check, I only saw this. I didn't see what had happened before," the medical ninja explained worriedly.

"Could it be that she's...?" Ino thought peculiarly in mind and continued on by saying. "Okay. You don't have to panic. I will look for her and inform my friends about this."

"Sure, Ms. Yamanaka," the medical ninja bowed politely and hopped on the top beside them.

"You guys can go on ahead. I'll deal with this issue asap," Ino said firmly, which they nodded and left to go back to their work.