Dangerous Bond: Clan of Peace

Part 48

"Haw-Haw" Birds in the skies alarmed others as they flew away from danger. The sun shone brightly on their bodies as the wind danced through their feathers. 

The alarm was heard by Jugo as he stopped along the path he, Sakura, and Itachi walked on and raised his head to the animals in the sky. The other two halted and looked back at him.

"Jugo? What is it?" Sakura whispered as she scanned her eyes along the treeline. She couldn't sense anything, but she wasn't the best sensory type. 

Jugo remained silent as he listened to the birds. Though they had seen danger, they couldn't pinpoint what it had been to cause their panic. Communication with them had their perks and their downfalls. 

"I guess...It's nothing" Jugo lowered his head as he smiled softly at Sakura. 

The pinkette stared at him momentarily, wondering what that was about before realizing he hadn't stopped staring. For some reason, the young woman felt slightly embarrassed as her cheeks turned red.

"A-Alright. Let's continue" She muttered before turning back around and walking ahead.

Itachi stayed behind for a moment, eyeing Jugo with a sharp glare in his eyes.

Jugo was unsure if the Uchiha was threatening him or if he had done something wrong. Despite his doubts, Jugo gave the Uchiha a brief nod while the latter remained composed. The Uchiha then gestured for him to go ahead with Sakura.

Jugo took a deep breath as he moved past the Uchiha, all while Itachi kept his unwavering eyes on the orange-haired male.

Itachi looked towards the treeline but couldn't spot anything. However, he had a strong intuition that something was approaching them.

___

A Naruto clone stood on a boulder and observed the third Raikage fiercely attacking half of the fourth division's troops.

The Raikage proved to be a formidable opponent despite the division's relentless attacks. 

Naruto let out a sigh. He had already made a significant contribution to the war effort, and he had only recently joined. Despite that, he wished he had some reliable backup. While he could count on his teammates, he wasn't sure about those he didn't know. From the looks of it, he wasn't confident that they could handle themselves.

"Naruto" Naruto's mind jolted upon hearing Kurama's voice. Even as a clone, the Nine-Tails' words were audible.

"Kurama. Speaking to me again?" Naruto responded with a cheeky grin.

Kurama fell silent for a moment before speaking up again "Aren't you going to help them? Many are dying. I thought you said you'd stop this war, not watch it" Kurama sneered. He was just beginning to have faith in the blonde but began to have doubts again.

"Mah...I'm thinking of a plan. The Raikage is pretty strong, ya know?" Naruto grumbled as he crouched down and watched the fighting intently. 

The Raikage had brought out a special jutsu dubbed 'Thrusts of Hell'. A fitting name and all it needed were his fingers. The division tried their best to defend themselves with earth and mud walls but to no avail. 

Naruto noticed a scar on the Raikage's chest that seemed out of place for a man of his caliber. He wondered how the fearsome Raikage had obtained it.

As he continued observing, Temari noticed the blonde's glowing form and dashed up to the boulder with a furious expression.

"Naruto! What are you doing?! Have you been watching this whole time?!" She yelled with such betrayal and hurt in her voice that it shook the blonde out of his thoughtful state.