Disclaimer; I do not own Naruto, and I don't know how good this story is. One of my friends liked it and claimed it was good, so I'll let you be the judge. First shot at writing about Naruto! Enjoy!

This story is AU, a slight variation of the series. This story takes place as if several things never happened; Orochimaru, for some unknown reason, wasn't able to take Sasuke's body and is waiting an extra 4 years to try again, the Akatsuki haven't yet showed their faces, and Sasuke is still consumed by his need for revenge. Throughout the years, he has thoughtlessly tried to kill Sakura and Naruto multiple times with no signs of remorse and just continues to grow frustrated with his futile attempts to find his brother. Orochimaru serves as Konoha's greatest enemy, thus the need for this mission. In an attempt to cripple him, the Hokage is trying to find out what she can... Yet a mission like this can never go perfectly...

Please enjoy!

Chapter 1; Another Mission

"This is an S rank mission, Sakura. Are you sure you're up to it?" The fifth Hokage blinked slowly at the young woman in front of her.

Tucking a strand of pink hair out of her face, Sakura smiled softly. "Yes, Lady Tsunade. I think I can do this." She leaned forward over the desk, and slammed her hand hard down on the table.

Next to the girl stood a tall boy. He watched with bright blue eyes without saying a single word.

Tsunade turned and spoke to him. "Naruto, that's where you will come in. For this mission to work, it has to be realistic. You and some of the other chunin need to go there too to lead a fake mission."

"This'll be easy! Believe it!" Naruto exploded. His messy blonde hair swung wildly as he stuck out his arm and gave her the thumbs up.

His eager attitude only made the fifth Hokage frown. "Naruto, this is too important for your carelessness. As I stated before, this is an S rank mission."

Sakura turned and stared down. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. This mission was going to be difficult. Sure, infiltrating the enemy's own village and sneaking out information wasn't a piece of cake. But this enemy was Orochimaru. That snake loving monster was very dangerous, and had set it as his personal goal to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village; Sakura's home. Even worse, he had taken away a very powerful ninja and twisted him to his own commands. Now, this ninja, formally Sakura's teammate, was a missing-nin, and an international criminal. Even worse, he had once snatched Sakura's love, and when she pleaded for him to stay, he declined. The young ninja's fists clenched in anger. Never again would he do this. Never again would Sasuke Uchiha steal her love.

The ninja straightened up. "Let me get this straight. All I need to do is get captured by Orochimaru's men and find out valuable information, and then leak it to the Leaf ninja. Am I right?"

Naruto looked at his companion with concern, and Tsunade nodded. "Yes. Naruto will take some of the other chunin and lead a mission in Sound Village general area. You must be caught during the mission. Do you both understand?"

Sakura blinked and nodded, her emerald green eyes flashing. Naruto watched her for a moment longer, and then beamed at Tsunade, "Of course, Grandma Tsunade! We got this down, believe it!"

The young looking woman nodded. She smiled, looking a mere 20 years old despite the fact that she was in her 50s. "Go ahead then, you too. Choose your team. And whatever you do, be careful. This mission is of the utmost importance, but that doesn't mean you should go and get yourself killed during this mission." She glared at Naruto. "Especially you, Uzumaki."

Naruto sighed. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. Nothing will happen to me or Sakura."

Tsunade turned her back towards them, staring out the windows in the chamber at the blue sky. "Go on. I know you are both prepared for this. Sakura, I know firsthand that you can do this. You're training has gone extremely well. But still, be careful. Orochimaru still has him."

The pinkette lowered her gaze and growled coldly, "He means nothing to me anymore." Then, she turned and stalked away.

Sakura sat calmly on a bench on the outskirts of the village, alone with her thoughts. Naruto had gone to find the other chunin he wished to bring with him. Chances were that he would come back with some of the strongest ninja of the village, like Neji Hyuga. If Neji was coming, then the rest of his squad would probably be on the way too, which meant Rock Lee and Tenten. Naruto would also probably get others like Kiba and Akamaru, or maybe Shikamaru.

Her green eyes half closed, the young ninja sat in silence. A sharp voice interrupted her mind.

"I heard that you're going on a special mission, Billboard Brow."

Without even lifting her head, Sakura snarled, "Ino-pig."

A soft laugh echoed behind her. Sakura Haruno turned and looked right into the blue eyes if Ino Yamanaka. Her hard stare softened, and she smiled at her friend. "I've heard… Rumors about the degree of this mission."

"What sort of rumors?" Sakura's green eyes blinked slowly.

Tucking a strand of her long blonde bangs out of her eyes, Ino murmured softly, "That you're going to become a spy in the Sound Village. Sakura… You know you can't do this. Sasuke is still out there…"

Shaking her head, Sakura murmured, "You still have feelings for that traitor, don't you?"

"… Yes."

The pink haired ninja stood up and faced her former rival and current friend. "Oh, Ino. You don't know what's good for you."

Despite the gently rebuke, Ino leaned forward and gave her friend a warm hug. "Stay safe, Sakura. Sasuke won't hesitate to kill you."

The two friends broke apart, and then Ino turned away. She padded away into the village and called over her shoulder, "Got a meeting with Choji! He demanded to see me… So I'll catch you later!"

Sakura stood in silence once again, and then returned to her perch on the bench. She sat and placed her head in her hands. Her forehead guard felt cold against her hands, the steel engraved with the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She pulled her headband off and rubbed the blue fabric, silently dreading what was to come. Despite her fear, she would never breathe a word of this to anyone, but she still felt her nerves eating away at her.

"Sakura! We're ready!"

At the sound Naruto's voice, Sakura tied her headband back in its original spot; holding her hair back as a headband. She turned to see Naruto running up towards her, followed by 6 other ninja. The 17 year old ninja skidded to a halt only a few feet away from Sakura, followed closely by the rest of the team. A sharp bark came from Akamaru from his stance next to Kiba. Neji stood next to his cousin, Hinata, both in silence. Rock Lee stood with his arms crossed, his large eyes eager and full of enthusiasm. Tenten leaned against the wall and was sharpening a kunai. The last member of the group stood silently, his finger lifted. Shino was studying the beetle that he held on that finger, lost in a word of insects.

"Uh, Naruto… You realize that this squad is a little large…" Sakura raised an eyebrow at him.

The blonde boy smirked. "Well, come on. This squad is barely big enough. We need all of these combined minds to make this mission a success…"

Sakura sighed. "Whatever you say, Naruto."

His blue eyes narrowed, and his whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks standing out against the skin. But he said nothing, just turned and gazed out over the endless forest. "Are we going to leave soon, or not? Come on, we don't have all day…"

Kiba stood up and said calmly, "Let's go."

The 8 ninja squad all turned towards the forest. They all stood there for a moment, before they departed into the endless shadows of the forest, heading toward one destination; the Sound Village.

A/N; Ok. I started watching Naruto because of a good friend of mine, and it made me feel like writing a story about ninjas. So she helped me figure out a plot and stuff. I hope you enjoy it!

Got Questions?

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

Review, if you please!

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for trying my story! Hope it was worth your time.

-Cynder7777