After Sato and his team arrived, Tsunade had already finished her briefing. She looked at them solemnity. "We just received a secret communique from our ally, Sunagakure. Gaara, who helped us recover Uchiha Sasuke years ago and is now the Fifth Kazekage, has been captured by the Akatsuki. He needs our support."
"The Akatsuki is a terrorist organization composed of S-rank missing-nin," Tsunade continued. "According to intelligence gathered by Jiraiya, their targets are likely the Jinchūriki—those with Tailed Beasts sealed within them."
"...Tsunade, what are your orders?" Sato asked, shifting into his professional mode, feigning seriousness.
"I have already dispatched Team 7," Tsunade replied. "I need you to pack up immediately and follow them as backup."
Tsunade paused, then touched upon the sensitive subject of Naruto's identity. "Naruto is a Jinchūriki—the host of the Nine-Tails, the strongest among the Tailed Beasts. Because of this immense power, he has struggled to control it. He is easily influenced by the Nine-Tails' negative emotions, risking a berserk state where he cannot distinguish friend from foe."
She looked at Sato and Karin. "The Wood Style and the Adamantine Sealing Chains of the Uzumaki clan are the most effective countermeasures against the Tailed Beasts.
"I need you to support them," Tsunade ordered. "If Naruto goes berserk, Sato and Karin, you will use Wood Style and the Adamantine Sealing Chains to suppress him."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Sato and the others acknowledged the order. They left the Hokage's office, quickly packed their gear, and set off toward the Land of Wind.
Since Team 7 had only just departed, they were not far ahead. Even with their speed, Karin—whose Mind's Eye of the Kagura perception range had expanded to hundreds of kilometers—detected Naruto's massive chakra signature almost immediately. Not long after, Sato's special ops team settled into a position a few kilometers behind Team 7.
Sato immediately issued a mental command to Yomi to split off a clone and use the Dustless Bewildering Cover to track down the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.
If Deidara and Sasori had not yet dealt with Gaara, Yomi would seize the Two-Tails first, leaving Nagato to attempt sealing the One-Tail and the Two-Tails within the week.
The timeline moved quickly. The next day, a figure who had grown nearly twenty centimeters taller since leaving the village two and a half years ago arrived at Konoha's gates. While the guards were distracted, he slipped in unregistered, followed by a tall, imposing figure.
These were Naruto, returning from his training, and Jiraiya, one of the Sannin.
"What immense Chakra..."
As soon as Naruto returned, he was detected by Sato and Karin. Sato was briefly surprised but quickly realized Naruto was back. Karin was also stunned, sensing the boy who shared a surname with her but lacked the Uzumaki red hair.
Naruto and Jiraiya's return signaled that Deidara and Sasori had already made their move.
That evening, Sato and his team were invited to watch Team 7's survival drill. The next day, Tsunade received the encrypted files from Sunagakure. When the decryption team handed her the report, her expression darkened. She immediately summoned Team 7. Following the Akatsuki's attack on Sunagakure and Gaara's abduction, Team 7 was dispatched to Suna immediately.
Still worried, Tsunade had Shizune summon Sato's team again. She chose to send Sato rather than Team Guy to support them.
"Sato, I have a mission for you..."
Sato's team deliberately kept their distance, choosing not to catch up and explain the situation to Team 7. They had already donned Anbu attire, reinforcing Team 7 from the shadows.
To be precise, their mission was not to save Sunagakure, but to monitor Naruto. If the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki lost control, Sato would intervene. Of course, if Team 7 faced life-threatening danger, they would step in. But saving Gaara was Team 7's task.
Traveling at full speed, it took only one day to rush from the Land of Fire to the Land of Wind. Team 7 arrived at Sunagakure, saved the poisoned Kankuro, and obtained intelligence on the Akatsuki.
Sato's team waited outside the village. However, Sato had no intention of waiting idly. He created a Wood Clone to maintain their position using the invisibility technique.
Meanwhile, the real Sato used the Flying Thunder God technique to transport himself, Hinata, and Karin back to a prosperous city in the Land of Fire. There, they ate, drank, and booked a luxurious suite to relax.
While enjoying his downtime, Sato periodically shared Yomi's vision.
Through Yomi's eyes, Sato saw a strange cave in the Land of Rivers—a location randomly selected by Deidara and Sasori. Inside, the Deva Path of Pain (Tendo Pain) used the power of his ring and the Rinnegan to summon the Gedo Statue. The Akatsuki members were casting the Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals to extract the One-Tail Shukaku from Gaara.
Sato wasn't watching for Gaara, however. Yomi took this opportunity to ask Pain if he wanted to seal the Tailed Beasts in succession. If Pain agreed, Yomi would deliver the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, whom he had captured without difficulty, to Deidara's location immediately.
Sato was actually more focused on resurrecting the Ten-Tails than Black Zetsu was. Knowing the Akatsuki had started capturing Tailed Beasts, Sato did not warn Tsunade. Instead, he continued to monitor Yomi, waiting for intelligence on the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchūriki from Black and White Zetsu.
In the original story, the Fourth Great Ninja War lasted only a few days. But it was only January now; the original Shippuden timeline would drag on for another nine months.
Half a year was too long for Sato. He intended to accelerate the progress. He still had much to do.
Once Zetsu sent the location of the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails to Yomi, it would only take a Dustless Bewildering Cover to get close, followed by a multiple sealing technique to capture them.
In the past two and a half years, Hinata and the others had grown significantly. Sato, possessing his "Devouring" system and various cheats, had grown even more—his body and soul avatar were now far beyond ordinary limits.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have entertained the idea of speeding up the war.