His Gift to Her (Mary Sue Series)

Chapter 36

Two years and two months have passed since Qui's kidnapping. 

The search teams Lady Tsunade sent out to look for Qui returned without the child, but thankfully, they didn't come back empty-handed. 

The search teams had found proof of her existence in certain hideouts. From bits of hair on the ground and faint traces of blood their tracking dogs caught, at the very least, they knew she was alive. Whoever had gotten a hold of Qui was frequently moving her around so they wouldn't be caught. They wouldn't kill her, but if they had knowledge of the dormant power locked inside of her, then they might do whatever it took to awaken it. 

For now, all they could rely on were the blocks protecting Qui from unveiling her secret at the wrong time and sending out search teams. To hide the fact one of the most important ninjas was lost, Lady Tsunade also had them looking for any missing ninjas over the past years. 

Although the search teams were unsuccessful at finding Qui, they did find a handful of ninjas that were filed as missing in action (MIA) and brought back lost loved ones to their families.

Another blessing was Naruto's return. However, instead of sending Naruto to find Qui, Lady Tsunade sent him, Sakura, and Kakashi Sensei to Suna to help. When all the Leaf Ninjas returned safely and in one piece, despite battling two members of the Akatsuki, Lady Tsunade didn't let them look for Qui.

It wasn't until Team Seven ran into a few obstacles, fought several battles, and met new people did Lady Tsunade consider sending them out. After gathering some new information from the search teams on the Kurisani Case, Lady Tsunade made her decision and called Team Seven (consisting of Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi Sensei, a new boy named Sai, and Captain Yamato, a friend of Kakashi Sensei) to her office. 

"I'm sending you all out to look for Kurisani Qui. I don't know how hard her captives have been trying to break the seals or blocks on her, but I can't risk any more time and expect her to be fine. Get her back. We have word she is in an old Akatsuki hideout and has yet to be moved to another location."

"Hai!" 

"Meet up at the gate," Kakashi Sensei curtly. He waited until everyone left the room before turning to Lady Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, if it comes down to it, shall I tell them?"

Lady Tsunade pressed her lips into a thin line. "I'd rather you avoid the subject at all cost. If they ask questions, give them a brief idea of the situation. They are her teammates and giving them a few nudges will guide them in the right direction." Kakashi Sensei inclined his head respectfully and left. 

Sai also went to see his boss Danzo. "If you find the girl, abandon the team and bring her back to me. I can deal with the team and the Hokage if needed." 

"Sir." Sai acknowledged Danzo's order and promptly left, a more important mission imprinted into his brainwashed system. 

"I'm going to bring both of them back! Qui and Sasuke!" Naruto said determinedly, grasping his fist. Naruto wanted his old teammates back and he was going to do it, even by force if he had to. 

"Naruto, I think there's something you should know," Sakura said, interrupting his train of thought. 

"Huh? What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"Hokage-sama never told anyone, but she sent thousands of teams to look for Qui and no one came back successful. Even her parents went to look for her and they don't have anything." 

"That means I'll bring her back, Sakura--"

"No!" she slapped his head sharply. 

"Owww..."

"You would think spending two years to train would make you smarter," Sakura scoffed, grabbing his collar. "Listen to me, Naruto," her voice low with urgency and worry, "Qui has been missing for a long time now and I've never seen Lady Tsunade send out so many teams out to look for one kid. Do you get it?"

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "So this isn't normal?" 

Sakura shook her head. "It's strange. Lady Tsunade would never order teams to look for missing ninjas. Usually, team captains would organize the rescue or search teams themselves or look for their own teammate or subordinate. In fact, the only reason why Lady Tsunade would ever look for a ninja that's missing is if that ninja served an important purpose." 

"Then...do you think maybe Qui is also a tail beast vessel?" Naruto whispered. Sakura nodded her head slowly. 

"I'm sure of it. Lady Tsunade let you go train with Jiraiya Sensei because first, you would always be on the move and away from Konoha and the Sound where plenty of Akatsuki and Orochimaru hideouts are. For Qui, Lady Tsunade put her in an intense training camp had someone keep an eye on her twenty-four seven while disguising the high-level of security with hundreds of other students." 

"Wow, Sakura-chan, you're really smart!" Naruto beamed. "As expected of--"

"Naruto, did you sense anything when you were around Qui?" Sakura asked, cutting him off. 

"No, I don't think so. It wasn't like with Gaara. She literally had nothing...mean, scary, or depressing about her," Naruto answered honestly. "She was kind of like you. Normal and happy." 

"Oh." Sakura's hopeful face of any important information fell. "I see." 

"But don't worry Sakura! I'll save Qui before they take the tail beast! I'll make sure of it!" 

"It makes me wonder, though, what tail beast does she have?"