Mission to the Hidden Sand

Chapter 10: A Sign of the Blossom's Spirit

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A single drop of water had splashed onto the blue rivers of the midnight moon. The pink-haired kunoichi suddenly woke up with her eyes wide open as she sat up. She slowly looked around the surroundings, filled with wonder and awe. 

"Where am I?" She asked herself in mind and stood up on her feet to walk ahead in the middle of the mountain forest. "I've never seen this place before. Gosh, please don't tell me I'm dreaming."

Then, a white light appeared in the sky and was descending like a speck of dust. It was pure gold and spoke out its voice of an angel. 

"You're not. You are in a world of trance. I'm Crystal, by the way," she introduced gently and said. "Come, follow me. There's someone who likes to meet you." 

"Who?" Sakura asked blankly in puzzlement. 

"Hehehe. You'll see once we get there. It's only 1.5 kilometers away from here to there," Crystal said giggling happily as they both were crossing the bridge, passing by the river lake and continue to head through the forest.

"So... I'm just in a hypnotic state, then?" The pink-haired kunoichi asked confusedly.

"Yup. But don't worry, it's just like experiencing between consciousness and unconsciousness," Crystal explained shortly with a smile. 

"I see... Am I going to die?" Sakura asked softly.

"Hah. Don't be silly. Of course not, you are here because your soul has subconsciously traveled here. You are seeking for answers, right? Then, you've made the right decision," she said as they were strolling on the path they were following.

During that time, everyone else was still trapped inside the barrier while they were eating extra food and drinking water bottles on the ground. The rest of them were sleeping on the ground since they don't have beds to sleep on. 

"Jeez... This sucks. If it wasn't for that girl, maybe we wouldn't be having this problem," one of the young teenage girls remarked.

"Yeah, honestly," her friend agreed and sighed tiredly. 

"Ugh. Stop whining and complaining. We will be getting out of this cage. We just have to wait for the other shinobi to figure this out," the young man pointed out as he placed his hand upon his right cheek.

On the other hand, Baki and the rest of the jounin leaders were planning a strategy that can break the walls of the barrier. He was writing down and highlighting the ones who will be in the position to perform their techniques effectively. 

"Now, I know this is going to be a lot of work for all of us. But I believe that we are able to defeat them," he said reassuringly.

"But, sir! They are from the Akatsuki. Certainly, that Sakura Haruno is..." the jounin trailed off o his word as he thought about what happened.

"Never mind that. The fifth Kazekage and his siblings will take care of her. We don't know how she ended up joining with them. But after this, we will find out," Baki said and continued on, ordering. "Okay, you know where you guys are, right? Head out to your positions, immediately." 

"Right!" They saluted in unison and quickly flashed out of his sight as soon as possible. 

Meanwhile, Naruto and Shikamaru met up and they were both running inside the tunnels to head towards the cave where their friends are.