Sakura stared at the man who stood only a few feet from her. Despite the fact that she had trained for years as a shinobi and went on many challenging missions, she was not prepared for this. Itachi Uchiha remained standing calmly observing the shinobi's reaction. Wind swept across the grass in waves. Aside from the slight whisper of the wind, there was complete silence.

After a few moments Sakura regained some of her composure. "You're… you're Itachi Uchiha," she said with disbelief.

The man remained silent, but took a few steps towards Sakura. Her eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on the kunai she was holding. Itachi was one of the most dangerous shinobi out there, and she had to be as alert as possible if she wanted to stand a fighting chance. Little did she know that she was already under the spell of Itachi's infamous genjutsu. Without even realizing what happened, Sakura collapsed on the ground, unconscious. There were few who could match Itachi's genjutsu, and even fewer who could actually defeat his genjutsu. He stood over the unconscious shinobi for a moment before he flitted away.

Sakura woke up in the grassy plain to the sounds of birds chirping cheerfully in the surrounding trees. She rubbed her eyes and surveyed the area. With a start, she remembered what happened right before she lost consciousness: she was facing off with Itachi Uchiha! Scanning the area for his presence, she concluded that he had already left some time ago. But, she was still alive. Itachi was known as a ruthless killer who had single handedly murdered his entire clan, that is, except for his younger brother Sasuke who was now a rogue ninja.

Questions without answers swarmed in her head. Why did he leave her alive? It's not like she could have defended herself. And also, why was Itachi so close to the Hidden Leaf alone? All Akatsuki members travelled in pairs, in it was a rare occurrence for one to travel alone. Regardless of all the uncertainty filling Sakura's mind, she had to inform the Hokage of this event.

After travelling for miles at an incredibly fast speed, Itachi finally stopped to rest near a stream. He wiped the thin line of blood that trickled from his eye off of his face. Even though the genjutsu he had used on the female shinobi was incredibly weak, it still took a toll on him. Earlier than day, he had strained his eye using a more advanced genjutsu, so his run in with one of Konoha's shinobi was all it took to push him over the edge. Itachi desperately needed rest, which was an unlikely even in his future. He splashed some of the clear water from the stream on his face, effectively washing away any traces of blood from his face.

Itachi deactivated the sharingan from his tiered eyes, and looked at his blurred reflection in the water. Over the course of his life, Itachi had made a copious amount of sacrifices, and his only hope was that someday these sacrifices would pay off. The shinobi took off the notorious black cloak adorned with scarlet clouds, and cast it aside. Left in ordinary shinobi attire, Itachi could almost pass as a Leaf shinobi.

Tsunade sat at her desk, deep in thought. The news she had recently learned from Sakura was indeed disturbing. Not only was it disturbing, but it was mysterious. True, the Akatsuki was an organization shrouded in mystery, but the events that Sakura had witnessed just didn't make sense. Why was Itachi alone when so close to Konoha? Thought Tsunade was grateful that Itachi spared Sakura's life, it was against everything she knew about the man to think that he had to capacity to be merciful.

The Hokage spun her chair around and looked outside at the setting sun over Konoha. The presence of Akatsuki members near the village did not bode well, even if they were alone. This matter would have to be investigated fully, and quickly.

"Shizune!" Tsunade barked.

A somewhat frightened Shizune threw open the door and practically fell into the Hokage's office.

"Y-y-yes, Tsunade-sama?" she sputtered. The small pig she was holding even seemed to be anxious around the grave Hokage.

"Shizune, notify Sakura Haruno and Neiji Hyuuga to come to my office immediately! Tell them to come prepared for a lengthy trip," Tsunade ordered.

Shizune stood in the doorway, staring open mouthed at the Hokage. Tsunade turned to her, with fire in her eyes.

"Shizune!"

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama!" said Shizune obediently before she bolted from the office.

"Genma!" said Tsunade, as soon as Shizune had disappeared.

The male shinobi materialized within seconds in the Hokage's office. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"I need you to go find someone for me, and bring them to my office immediately!"

Sakura and Neiji appeared in the Hokage's office at almost the exact moment. The pair stood silently in front of the Hokage's desk, somewhat confused. They had both been summoned with a great sense of urgency, yet now they stood in silence, while Tsunade kept glancing out the window, and muttering to herself.

Suddenly, Tsunade turned towards the pair with a smile of success. Sakura and Neiji glanced at each other quickly before focusing on the Hokage. There was a slight rumbling in the hallway outside of the office. All three present in the room turned towards the door, Tsunade smiling, and the two chunnin with a look of mile apprehension.

The sound from outside the office grew louder and louder until it seemed to be right outside of the door. Without any warning the door burst open with a flash of dark green. Tsunade stood up, and slammed her hands on her desk, with a smile on her face and a glint in her eyes. The disciple of the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha had arrived, in dramatic manner as usual.

"Now, you've all arrived! Time for your mission: Sakura, Neiji, and Rock Lee!"

The trio stared at Tsunade, waiting for their assignment with bated breath.

"Track down Itachi Uchiha, and find out what he's plotting!"