Cap 257: Poison

Konan was again standing next to his sleeping best friend, only to notice his friend's eyebrows start to move - "!"

Slowly, Nagato opened his eyes, only to notice how his friend was silently watching him - "Konan?"

"Nagato! - exclaimed Konan excitedly, though she quickly calmed down because she knew she didn't have to let her emotions take over.

Nagato frowned because never in recent years had he seen his oldest companion react so emotionally - "I guess things are worse than we thought"

". . ." - Konan was silent when she heard Nagato's words, only to nod weakly.

"I see..." - mumbled Nagato before closing his eyes.

"Nagato? - Konan asked with concern because she did not want her companion to fall asleep again.

"Relax, I'm just thinking," replied Nagato as he opened his eyes again, "My chakra levels are high enough that I can use my Deva Path to its fullest potential... now I just need to recover enough to increase our chances of success, but let's leave that for another time, tell me what happened while I was sleeping".

Konan did not hesitate, she told him everything that had happened, only to notice how Nagato's expression was increasingly cold - "And after that, Menma offered me a deal that I sincerely found difficult not to accept".

"I see..." - mumbled Nagato as he closed his eyes, only to look at his friend with neutrality - "I guess it's time we made our counterattack"

"I'm sorry Nagato, but I'm not going to allow that, not when you just woke up" - said Konan seriously while looking at her friend - "Let's wait a little, let's wait until you're 100%, and then we'll attack those two".

". . ." - Nagato frowned when he heard this because he obviously did not like the idea of waiting, much less that Konan refused his words, although after some thought he decided to accept the woman's request - "Well... I'll listen to you this time.

Konan smiled slightly, only to return to his neutral expression, not noticing how Zetsu was watching them with a grim smile - "So Nagato has awakened, I guess I'll tell Obito to prepare for the worst..."

* * * * *

"I see..." - said Tsunade as she looked at Kushina - "I'm sorry to tell you that I don't plan to go..."

"I knew it and I warned them, so there won't be much of a problem" - replied Kushina as she shook her head.

"Tell them I'm sorry, but I really want to spend time with my family before I go back to being a doctor," responded Tsunade as she played with her little Kazumi-chan's nose.

"OK, I'll let them know right away, so they don't have to wait" - nodded Kushina as she pulled out a scroll and activated it with her Chakra.

"Kushina-dono?"

"Shizuka-san... I have some bad news" - said Kushina with a slightly guilty tone.

"I saw it coming... don't worry, Kushina-dono"

"I'm still sorry," sighed Kushina as she noticed the scroll losing some of its luster.

"As I said, you don't have to worry, it's not your fault..."

"Tell me one thing..." - said Tsunade as she picked up the scroll - "What kind of symptoms does your mother have?"

"Tsunade-dono?"

"Just tell me what her symptoms are," repeated Tsunade seriously.

"My mother has been aging rapidly, her skin is now a grayish color, and finally her tongue turns the color of a deep purple.

". . ." - Tsunade frowned when she heard this because it wasn't the first time she'd heard about these symptoms - "Okay, first, that's not a disease... your mother was poisoned"

"Poisoned?"

"Exactly, she's suffering from a severe case of [Necro Soul]," responded Tsunade as he remembered, "[Necro Soul] is a special poison that slowly devours the user's vitality, that's why your mother has these symptoms"

". . ."

A deep silence invaded the place while the scroll shone again.

"Is there any way to heal her?"

"There are two cures for [Necro Soul]," answered Tsunade, "Although you told me that your mother has a purple tongue, the cures are reduced, because that means that the poison is in its last phase"

"Ugh..."

"Anyway, it's not impossible to cure your mother, although I'll need at least a week to create the antidote" - answered Tsunade seriously - "Though this is because I don't have the necessary ingredients, and these will take a long time to collect because some are rare"

"I see... How much time will my mother have?"

"I'd say a month," answered Tsunade as she began to think, "But that's more than enough time, isn't it?"

"Ok... I'll leave it to you, Tsunade-sama..."

"Don't worry, I'll try to create the antidote as soon as possible" - answered Tsunade, only to notice how the scroll lost its power - "Ok, I guess I have to get to work... lucky that I do it at home and can spend time with my babies"

"Will you have time to do it and take care of the babies?" - Kushina asked as she tilted her head.

"First, I can do it while they're sleeping," answered Tsunade as she raised a finger, only to raise a second finger. "Second, I can continue to work with my Kage Bunshin, so it's not too much of a problem, is it?"

Kushina only smiled when she heard this because she was abusing her clones as well.

"Okay, enough of games, I'm going to check the vaults, so I can see if the necessary ingredients are there, although I don't have high hopes of finding the main ingredient" - mumbled Tsunade as she created a clone and sent it off to work while she continued to play with her daughter.

". . ." - Kushina gave her clan sister a blank stare.

"What?" - Tsunade asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"No... it's nothing..." - replied Kushina as she left, only to notice how the Tsunade clone was growling in irritation.

* * * * *

"Okay, at least now I know what my mother has..." - murmured Shizuka as her frown relaxed a bit - "Now we just have to wait for the good news"

Her companions gave their leader a conflicted look, only to sigh with grief.

"One more week and your mother will be back in good health, Shizuka-sama" - replied Alpha as he looked at the next leader Nadeshiko.

"Yes... it's a time we can wait, especially when we know about my mother's 'unique' situation" - nodded Shizuka as she walked to Kakashi to return the scroll.

"I feel that your conversation with Kushina-sama was productive," said Kakashi as he watched the four girls enter.

"Yes, I discovered many things that are relieving me now" - answered Shizuka while she closed her eyes for a few seconds - "Thank you very much for letting us use your Scroll"

"You're welcome, it's the least I can do for a friend of Kurama's," answered Kakashi as he shrugged his shoulders.

"We will stay in Konoha for this week because we will wait for Kushina-dono's contact," answered Shizuka seriously.

"Okay, I understand," Kakashi nodded as he called one of his Anbu. "I want you to escort our guests to the best hotel in Konoha"

"As you command, Kakashi-sama" - said Tora as he looked at the girls - "Please follow me"

"Thank you very much, Kakashi-sama" - said Shizuka as she made a small bow before following the Anbu with her companions.

Kakashi was silent for a few seconds after the girls disappeared from his office because in front of him was a document announcing a possible meeting between the different leaders of the Elemental Nations. This should not be possible at first with the tension between the villages, but now that they had a common ally, this did not sound at all far-fetched.

"The problem is the reason for the meeting..." - murmured Kakashi as he picked up the sheet again, only to frown. With the disappearance of the Jinchurikis, as well as Akatsuki, the Kage have been receiving strong psychological pressure by their ranks because they don't know when they might become a second Kumo - "Akatsuki is a tumor that must be removed from the Elemental Nations, and it seems that my Kage colleagues can no longer tolerate their presence..."

Kakashi slowly lowered the document and placed it on his desk, only to massage his forehead - "Two months... in two months the meeting will take place... this will not only be the opportunity for the Villages to form a true alliance against this common enemy, but it will also be a good opportunity to show our allies how strong we are".

He slowly started tapping his desk with one of his fingers while trying to relax a little - "I guess we'll have to negotiate a little more with Kushina-sama, so we can use the [Hyperbolic Time Chamber], now that I think about it, those who benefit most from this situation are none other than the Uzumaki clan".

Kakashi shook his head at this idea before focusing again on the current situation - "Tina-chan"

"Did you call, Kakashi-san?" - Tina asked as she entered with a bunch of documents in her arms.

"I want you to call the clan leaders, we have a lot to talk about" - said Kakashi seriously.

"Okay, I'll do that right away" - Tina nodded firmly as she left the room.