Takumi's arrangement proved effective.
Within just half an hour of splitting up, Chiyo and Guy encountered Sunagakure's Shinobi.
"Chiyo-sama!"
The Sunagakure's Shinobi, upon seeing Chiyo, immediately reported the situation. "The enemy's current approximate location is about one hundred kilometers to the northeast. Since we didn't dare get close, we could only pinpoint this general area."
Chiyo looked at the area the Sunagakure's Shinobi had marked on the map, roughly a ten-kilometer radius. She nodded and said, "Understood. You've worked hard."
She casually took out two signal flares and immediately launched them into the sky.
Two consecutive signal flares immediately caught the attention of the other two teams.
"Let's go!"
Takumi's eyes narrowed, and he immediately accelerated towards Guy's location.
Temari, behind him, had a flash of excitement in her eyes.
'Finally, some clues!'
Her anxious, impatient heart finally eased slightly.
But she quickly tensed up again.
She knew it wasn't over yet.
Nothing was certain until Gaara was rescued.
"That's Guy's direction. Let's hurry."
Kakashi immediately confirmed who it was from the direction and turned sharply to head that way.
"Takumi-kun is really amazing. The method he thought of worked immediately."
Sakura couldn't help but admire. "Without Takumi, we would probably have wasted a lot more time."
"Adaptability is an essential quality for every excellent Shinobi."
Kakashi's eyes were also full of appreciation. "You should all learn from Takumi-kun."
"Tch!!"
Sasuke pursed his lips.
He didn't care about adaptability.
In his view, powerful strength is everything for a Shinobi.
"Is that so?"
Naruto looked thoughtful.
He wasn't stupid, just sometimes acted a bit simple.
If he thought carefully, he could always find a way to break a deadlock in unexpected places.
But with Takumi around, he had never had much room to shine.
Although his strength had been steadily improving, and he had even learned the Rasengan from Jiraiya through his Sexy Technique,
He still lacked growth.
Thinking more, like now, was very important for him.
Though he was still very passionate and often acted without thinking, relying on instinct.
They quickly arrived at the location of the signal flares.
But Guy and his team weren't there. Only a Sunagakure's Shinobi remained on the spot, holding a message personally written by Guy.
"Here, this is what that watermelon-head Shinobi left for you."
The Sunagakure's Shinobi's description immediately made Kakashi understand who it was.
But Naruto clearly didn't get it.
"Watermelon head?"
Naruto looked puzzled. "Is he talking about Lee or Guy-sensei?"
"Of course it's Guy-sensei!"
Sakura said, exasperated. "You idiot! Does Lee seem like the kind of person who could do something like this?"
"..."
Naruto thought about it carefully and realized Lee indeed didn't seem like the type to use his brain.
The key point was, Guy didn't seem like it either!
"Let's go quickly. The target is in the northeast, one hundred kilometers away. Speed up and catch up."
After reading the intel, Kakashi's eye immediately narrowed.
He hadn't expected the distance to be still so far.
Fortunately, it was only one hundred kilometers. With their speed, three hours would be enough.
Baki silently followed behind.
As a village's high-ranking official, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
'Konoha really had a lot of talent.'
'For our Sunagakure's younger generation, there were only Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.'
'In Konoha, besides this Naruto and Sasuke, this girl called Sakura didn't show anything special yet.'
'But the two young boys from the other team also had considerable strength.'
He had participated in the Chunin Exams and personally witnessed the fights of Lee and Neji.
Lee's speed had even almost trapped Gaara.
If Lee hadn't been overconfident and rashly opened the Fifth Gate, causing his physical condition not to keep up,
The outcome would have been hard to predict.
Neji was called the genius of the Hyuga Clan. Being able to develop the secret technique, Rotation on his own as a branch family member proved his talent.
If he hadn't faced Takumi, a particularly tough opponent, he might not have lost.
And not just them.
There were many outstanding Konoha's Genin in that exam that left a strong impression on him.
Both were Five Great Shinobi Villages,
But Konoha's foundation was just stronger than Sunagakure's.
Perhaps this was also because Konoha had many clans and secret techniques, naturally creating a variety of geniuses.
Unlike their Sunagakure,
Where Kekkei Genkai were rarely seen.
The Third Kazekage's Magnet Release was barely passed on to the Fourth, only to be broken with Gaara.
That genius Shinobi, Pakura of the Scorch Release, also became a sacrifice in the power struggles between the great nations.
From a certain perspective,
Pakura and Sakumo were very similar.
Both were heroes who achieved great military exploits during the war.
But both died in interest struggles outside of war.
Sakumo's reputation was too high, hindering the path Hiruzen was preparing for Orochimaru at the time.
Pakura's fame was too loud, arousing the fear of Rasa.
In short,
Both heroes who brought great fame to their villages ended up dying at the hands of their own people.
Although Sakumo committed suicide, the entire process could be said to have been driven to it.
Perhaps Hiruzen didn't intend to kill him, just to suppress his reputation a bit.
But he never expected Sakumo to choose such an extreme method to respond.
This became a stain on Hiruzen that was hard to wash away.
However, Hiruzen already had enough stains; one more didn't matter.
Soon, Takumi also received the information and changed course towards the northeast.
"Don't worry, one hundred kilometers is nothing. We'll get there soon!"
Takumi comforted Temari. He was holding her hand tightly and could feel how tense she was.
Gaara was not only Sunagakure's next Kazekage, but also her biological younger brother.
As his older sister, she couldn't protect him well, but instead was protected by him.
As a sister, how could she not blame herself?
"Mm."
She replied faintly, but the tension conveyed in her voice showed she was not as calm as she appeared.
Or rather, she was just suppressing it now.
It could burst out at any moment.
Takumi had no good solution for this.
He could only hold the girl's hand tightly as comfort.