Son of the Sannin(Back)

Gaara's Rescue Party

"Did I ever tell you how much I hate gate duty?" Kiba asked his teammates.

"Many times. And doing so doesn't make our job here any less tedious," Shino fired back.

"You know, I heard that if you get promoted to Special Jonin, you no longer have to do these kind of chores," Tamaki replied. "Problem is, I have no idea what could I do to get that promotion."

"I plan on specializing as a tracker, just like my mom did," Kiba replied. "Tracking missions are always fun."

Tamaki noticed that a faint light was starting to appear in the horizon, and little by little, the forest around Konoha started to become clearer.

"The sun is rising," the Cat Kunoichi said as she stifled a yawn. "That means the day shift will soon come, and we can go home and sleep a little."

Akamaru then started to sniff the air. He walked closer to the wall's edge and started to loudly bark at something below.

"What is it buddy, did you find something?" Kiba said, and soon he also got wind of a foreign smell coming closer.

Tamaki narrowed her eyes, and saw two figures slowly approaching the gates. "Hey, down there! Two people are coming!"

"Can you see who they are?" Shino asked.

"Their smell...I think they're Suna ninja. And not just Suna ninja, but I think they're Gaara's older siblings!" Kiba pointed out.

"Are you sure about that?" Shino asked, as he tried to get a better view of the incoming strangers.

Then, the two figures dropped to the ground, and laid there, motionless.

"Oh shit!" Tamaki said.

"Kiba, go warn somebody about the situation at hand! I'll go down and see if I can heal them. Tamaki, guard my back in case it's a trap," Shino quickly commanded.

"Right!"

"You got it!"

Kiba and Akamaru quickly dashed towards the Hokage's tower, while Shino and Tamaki jumped from the wall, landing on the ground with a 'thud', as they cautiously approached the two fallen Suna ninja.

...

Land of the Rivers

A couple hours after Kankuro and Temari had arrived to Konoha, so did Deidara and Sasori to the designated Akatsuki lair in the Land of the Rivers. While they could have arrived there much earlier, they decided to stop for the night and rest, since neither of them came out unscathed from their clash with the Sand Siblings.

They reached the main door, a massive boulder with a seal attached to it. Deidara made a hand seal, and the boulder elevated above the ground, revealing a cave entrance. The two Akatsuki, with their captured jinchuriki hoisted on Deidara's shoulder, entered the cave, and the boulder slammed down as soon as they were inside.

Deidara walked forward and tossed Gaara's unconscious body in front of him.

"So, I see that you were successful in your endeavor, Deidara, Sasori," a deep, distorted voice said above them.

Both Akatsuki looked upwards and saw eight astral projections, each of them belonging to the other Akatsuki members.

"Of course! When did I fail Akatsuki?" Deidara asked, indignantly. "That's two for two, need I remind you!"

"You shouldn't count Yagura, given that all you had to do was to activate the trigger phrase I implanted inside his mind," Obito dismissively said.

Deidara angrily glared at the Uchiha. "I'd like to see YOU getting into a warzone and take a jinchuriki out of it alive, hn!"