"This is an S-Rank Mission," the Third Hokage said. "First and foremost, this is an intelligence gathering operation. Find where she is being held, find out the situation and report back here immediately."

"Understood," said Kakashi Hatake. Team Ro left the Hokage's office, and began preparing for the mission. They met at the gates and quickly disappeared, leaving only the sounds of their feet lightly tapping the branches in the forest surrounding Konoha.

…

"Ten, Eleven, Twelve… Twelve like usual. Hmm, it's been four days. I should be getting a bath tomorrow then. And it's been two days so, I should be getting my meal today. I'd really like it if they switched it up every once in a while but… I suppose it can't be helped. It's best not to complain. I'm very lucky." The girl began practice balancing on one hand, slowly decreasing to five fingers, four, three, two, "Shit." Looking up at the ceiling, the girl blinked a few times before rolling on to her stomach, pushing herself up and lifting her legs swiftly into the air. "Again."

She laid there breathing heavily on the floor for quite some time. Sweat dripped from her face. She sighed heavily and jumped to the ceiling. The room was fairly small and the ceiling was low, making it an easy task. She stuck to the ceiling with her feet and began to do sit-ups one after the other. Some time had passed, but she did not know how much. Sweat dripped from the ceiling almost rhythmically, soothing in a way. Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. Like falling asleep… the room began to fade, the black creeping its way in from the sides. The guards heard a thud inside the tiny room and peeked in to see the girl passed out on the floor. "Quick, the meal and water!" The guards threw in the food as if feeding a rabid dog. The water spilled on the floor and slowly reached the spot to where the girl was laying. It was still cold when it reached her ear.

"Nnnh-nn." Her eyes twitched open. "Water." She moved her fingers back and forth like small waves in the ocean. The water responded like a snake and slid into its master's mouth. She crawled her way to the food, "Thanks for the food," and surprisingly ate it slowly. She never saw much of the guards, and they never spoke to her. They did not ask for the plate back, nor cared when she ate it. Every three days they were given a meal to give to her when they saw an opening. Same with the water, which was to be given each day. As such, she was able to savor her meal for two days, even if it was cold. Water and soap were given every five days along with a change of clothes. She put things she was done with by the door, and while she was sleeping, they were taken away. On every seventh day she would find herself in a larger room. In this room she was allowed to practice until she fell asleep.

…

That was the report given to the Hokage. "There are twelve highly trained shinobi surrounding the room. It also seems like she does not attempt to escape, although one guard said there had been rumors of attempted escapes with one success, but none of the guards were there long enough to know nor did they hear of any survivors," Itachi said.

"I see. Once you've retrieved her, be sure to leave clone guards at the door and a substitution. We want the escape to be as unnoticed as possible." Lord Third looked grim. He turned to Kakashi. "Do you think that she'll go willingly?"

"It's hard to say. But it seems she lacks the strength to fight back. Our best chance would be after her 'training session' where the guards take her back to her room. It seems she's out for the longest then, a day at the most. I wonder how she'll react when she wakes up. Although I can't imagine someone living in that state would want to stay."

"Don't be so sure. The fact that she shows no resistance means something changed. If she resists, I do not want you risking your lives. Her power is unmeasured. After all these years in confinement, I doubt she's mentally stable. Kakashi and Itachi will infiltrate. Tenzo will leave the clones. Wood may be the only element she cannot bend, so Tenzo will provide containment for when she wakes up. Be careful."

"Understood."

…

The girl stared at the ceiling. She ate the last of the food she had been saving. "Today is training day. I wish washing day was the same day as training. I suppose it can't be helped. One, two…eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen. That can't be right. I wonder why…"

She woke up in the only room with earth and water. She buzzed around the room as if sitting on a ball of air. She took the water and forming it with her fingers made an ice sculpture. Then, she breathed fire and watched it melt into the earth. Fire, water, earth, air danced around the room. She started breathing heavily, and her chest began to hurt. She managed to pick up the tips of her fingers to get the last bit of water into her mouth, and then passed out on the earth. A few minutes went by and door opened. Two guards picked up the girl, laid her on a stretcher, and carried her out of the room.

…

Woooosh. Wooooosh. 'What is this? What is feeling, this sound? Why does it feel like I'm moving so fast?' Her eyes slightly opened. She saw green and brown, felt sunlight, heard birds chirping. Her body felt warm, and something was holding her to the warmth. Something safe. She saw silver hair bounce in front of her eyes. She couldn't say anything, she couldn't move. She was too tired. So tired. "Nnhn…" She tried to ask for some water, but her lips wouldn't move. The silver hair turned and she saw a drooping eye that looked concerned. She tried to hold on tighter, to squeeze the warmth, but suddenly the darkness came again and she drifted off to sleep.

"Senpai?"

"It's fine, she fell back to sleep. Let's keep moving, we can't afford to stop. Tenzo, have your clones been discovered yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Good, we've got a long way to go."

…