(A\N: Sorry this took so long you guys…my SasuSaku muse is currently on the iron lung thanks to Kishimoto. But I'm hoping it will recover. :) I've kind of given up on SasuSaku in the actual manga…mostly because Sasuke is an ass and I don't think he deserves Sakura at the moment. Maybe he'll redeem himself but I'm not so sure…

An a side note, I know that in the actual manga, all of the tailed beasts save for the 8-tails and 9-tails have been captured. However, in this story, they have only the Shukaku, the 2-tails, 3 tails, 4 tails, and the 6-tails. Without futher ado...enjoy the chapter!)


"You're late!" Naruto yelled, but Kakashi merely put his book in his pocket. "You have a mission."

"Eh?"

"Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto." Kakashi nodded at them gravely. "Head to the Hokage's office immediately."


Chapter 1

Uchiha vs Hyuuga: The Rivalry Continues!


"BAAACHAAN! We're here!" Naruto sang as they walked through the doors eleven minutes later.

"Dobe."

"Oi Naruto, be more respectful." Sakura sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she stopped in the middle of the room, blinking.

There were two things she noticed were different about the office itself—besides the unnatural tidiness that told her Shizune had been in for the weekly cleaning earlier that morning. Or rather, two people. One of them was Hyuuga Yuudai, who was standing on the right side of Tsunade's desk. He gave her a small smile and a nod of recognition. He was dressed in his usual shinobi uniform, rather than the standard interrogation unit regalia that he was so fond of.

His gaze met Sasuke's and his eyes narrowed in challenge. Sasuke's own eyes narrowed and he gave a small sneer—which was just a simple twitch of his lips. Pearl met dark charcoal as the two continued to glare at each other, even as Sakura turned to the second person who had caught her attention.

"Hey! You're that Stone-nin from the Chuunin exams!" Naruto pointed a finger at the woman standing beside Tsunade's desk. The woman raised an eyebrow, but merely nodded her head. It seemed that Naruto's brusque nature didn't affect her at all.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto continued, his gaze suspicious and curious at the same time. He merely shifted to a thinking pose, one hand tucked beneath his chin.

"Naruto." Tsunade reprimanded sharply. "If you'd stop talking for five minutes I could explain."

Naruto pouted, becoming childlike once again rather that the 'studious thinker' he'd tried to portray, and Sasuke and Sakura merely looked over at the stone-nin curiously—Sasuke dragging himself out of his glare contest with Yuudai. Stone and Konoha were still not on good terms with one another, so for her to be here was strange in itself. The woman seemed unaffected by their stares, and, for the most part, she seemed relaxed despite being in enemy territory.

"Now then." Tsunade frowned again at Naruto, who merely looked away, jutting his lower lip out in defiance. "I called you here because Stone has asked for our help on a mission."

All three collectively blinked.

"Eh?" Naruto sputtered. "But…we're…I mean…" he looked over at the Stone kunoichi suspiciously. "Our countries don't exactly like each other." And I still remember that weird thing she said to me about being the child of the yellow demon. What the hell was she talking about anyway? She's creepy.

"I'll let Abukara-san explain the details of the mission." Tsunade nodded her head at the woman. The Stone-kunoichi bowed her head politely in response, before turning to the others.

"My name is Abukara Iwako, and I am a member of Tsuchikage-sama's special Interrogation Unit. We have recently discovered a break in our ANBU ranks. This double agent is the person who allowed the Akatsuki to capture Roshi-senpai—" Iwako's normally emotionless façade became disgruntled, as if she thought herself stupid for saying the name aloud, "I mean, the four-tailed Jinchuuriki a year or so ago."

Naruto winced at the mention of the Akatsuki, and his gaze darkened. He clenched his fists. Those damn Akatsuki…how could they kill people like that just to gain power?

His eyes slid to Sasuke discreetly, and his frown deepened.

He supposed that some people would do anything for power…

Iwako continued, gauging his response and filing it to the back of her mind for later use. "We have learned, after interrogating the traitor, about a man who is giving out information to several rogue shinobi organizations. His information is always accurate, and has been the reason for several breaches in security in many villages."

Tsunade's gaze was serious, but thoughtful. She wondered briefly how much information this man and his network possessed on the other nations. In order to gain that much data on all of them…what kind of powers did he possess?

Iwako, noticing the silence, continued. "We are worried for the safety of our remaining Jinchuuriki, the 5-tails. The mole, his name is Ayugai Gesshin. His file is here." She held out a manila folder she'd been holding and placed it on the edge of Tsunade's desk. "We have discovered that he lives in a very secure village. We have learned that Ayugai has been giving out information to several enemy organizations besides the Akatsuki. Orochimaru of Sound was known to have worked with him. His network is immense, and we don't know the extent of it yet. We do know, however, that they have several members somewhere in Konohagakure, as they do in our own village."

The others stiffened in surprise.

"We are giving you this information…because we wish for assistance in exterminating this threat. However, just going in and assassinating him will get us nowhere. He has several co-leaders that run his smaller bases around the world. If we merely kill Ayugai, it will make little difference. They will regroup eventually."

"So, we're there to observe the extent of his power and try and use the network against them." Sakura murmured.

Yuudai nodded, speaking for the first time. "If we can leak out false information to the Akatsuki, perhaps we can eliminate several of them as threats or even capture one for interrogation on their organization."

"That's why I'm sending you two." Tsunade turned to Sakura and Yuudai. "Along with Abukara-san, you two are efficient in interrogation procedures. Once you get there, you will have to interrogate Ayugai Gesshin and, using his information, go from there."

"So we don't know exactly what we'll be doing once we interrogate him, hm?" Sakura murmured thoughtfully, more to herself than anything else. "It only makes sense that, after getting the information out of him, we eliminate him as a threat. However, that will leave the problem of who will take over afterwards."

Iwako nodded. "We have a shinobi who is proficient in taking over the man's spot. He needs only to study his mannerisms for two days as well as be equipped with the information we can procure from him. That way, we'll have someone who can continue to leak out information to them and get us the names of his cohorts."

"If this was merely about interrogating the man and then replacing him, you wouldn't need or want our help, Abukara-san." Yuudai spoke softly. "It would be better for your own village if you didn't give us the information."

"So what is the other catch?" Sasuke demanded.

Iwako's eyes flickered in his direction, before she spoke. "We've tried this operation before. Every shinobi that has gone in has been killed before they could get us much data."

The room went silent.

"There is no way into Ayugai's inner rooms without being detected. He has a special nightingale floor that prevents it."

"Nightingale floor?" Naruto questioned allowed.

"Nightingale floors are floors designed to make a chirping sound when walked upon." Sasuke supplied in his usual monotone, "The floors were designed so that the flooring nails rubbed against a jacket or clamp, causing chirping noises. The squeaking floors are used as a security device, assuring that none could sneak through the corridors undetected."

Sakura supposed Sasuke knew this from experience. When she had ventured into the Uchiha compound many years ago, she'd found that the main clan house and several others were riddled with these floors. It was not uncommon for nobility to possess them.

"So…why can't we just walk on the ceiling then?"

"The entire room is covered in them, and they are more refined than regular nightingale floors." Iwako answered. "That was the only information we could gain before our informant was…eliminated." Her gaze became morose. "My brother died for this information." She pulled out a scroll and unrolled it on the Hokage's desk.

It was a diagram of a large room, and the floor, ceiling, and walls were broken down and explained.

"Uchiha, memorize this diagram with your Sharingan." Yuudai ordered. "It will be important to us later on."

Sasuke's eyes flashed crimson as he turned to Yuudai. "I don't believe you've been given the right to order me around, Hyuuga." Yuudai stiffened, and both of them turned to continue their glaring contest.

"Oi." Tsunade sighed, "Listen here Uchiha, Hyuuga Yuudai is the captain for this mission."

"Eh?" Naruto grumbled, "But…Sakura-chan is a perfectly good captain and she's an interrogator so I don't see why—"

"Yuudai-san has more experience as a shinobi and in the interrogation field than I do." Sakura defended her colleague. "It makes sense that he would be in charge." She stared straight into Sasuke's eyes, and a message was conveyed between them that the others missed.

Sasuke finally looked away, giving a small grunt in response.

"When do we leave?" He finally asked.

Tsunade took a deep breath. "Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Yuudai, your mission begins in four hours at Konoha's gates. Pack accordingly."

"Hai!" Came the confirmation, as all four members disappeared.


Yuudai was the first member there, Sasuke noted in annoyance. He was standing beside the stone-nin kunoichi, Abukara Iwako, who was shouldering a quiver of assorted crimson and black fletched arrows, and an intricate bow was slung across her back as well. His eyes flickered to the Stone insignia etched into its handle.

As soon as Sasuke came into view, traveling pack in hand, Yuudai gave a frown. He sighed in annoyance. When he'd spotted the Uchiha with his Byakugan a few blocks away, he'd hoped that Sakura or even Uzumaki Naruto would have come before he got there.

His wishes were not answered, it seemed.

He merely opted for ignoring the younger man. It would make things easier for all involved, and would be the wisest course of action. Besides, if Sakura caught him fighting with the Uchiha like before she would be angry, and he didn't like being on the receiving end of that anger.

So he settled for a glare before turning back to Iwako.

Sasuke was not so easily put off, however. He noticed Yuudai's glare and his own deepened in intensity.

"Hyuuga."

"Uchiha."

Iwako shifted her quiver of arrows on her back and wondered if a fight would break out between the two. The fact that the young shinobi before her were so easily riled by one another was amusing. Even more so, because they were fighting over a woman. Iwako could easily see that the two were infatuated with their teammate Haruno Sakura.

This mission, she decided, was going to be much more entertaining than she had first thought. She was suddenly less angry at her Tsuchikage for assigning such a task to her.

Before the two could go any further, however, the pink-haired holder of their affections appeared, talking to the blonde jinchuuriki who walked beside her. Iwako blinked, looking over the sword that was sheathed upon Sakura's back. She'd seen the weapon briefly somewhere before…yes, that was the sword of Shinju of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen.

She had known that the Haruno girl had defeated her, but she hadn't thought she'd take her weapon.

Sakura merely nodded her head in greeting at them all, while Naruto grinned and waved. "We're all here now, let's go!"

"Naruto…" Sakura sighed. "You're not the captain here. You do this at the beginning of every single mission."

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just anxious to get out there and kick some ninja butt, right?"

But Sakura knew there was another reason. Naruto wanted information on Akatsuki. He wanted to be the one to find a way to bring them down. This mission was their best chance at that.

Yuudai merely looked over all of them, before turning to Iwako. "Lead the way."

Iwako nodded. "Follow me."


"So Yuudai, you're like…supposed to be really good right?" Naruto finally asked as they continued walking. The forest seemed to be getting denser with each step, and night was fast approaching. The trip so far had consisted of small conversations and comfortable silence. They'd switched their group positions one after their afternoon break, which left Naruto walking beside Sasuke, with Iwako behind him and Yuudai scouting out the front.

"So they say."

"We'll definitely have to spar then." Naruto grinned. "I mean, I saw your fight with teme, but I could tell you weren't really trying your hardest, since you guys were just using taijutsu and stuff, instead of justu."

"It's true that I was holding back." Yuudai nodded, enjoying Sasuke bristling in defense and knowing full well that he'd insulted the Uchiha. "But not with jutsu, Naruto."

"Eh?" Naruto blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I cannot perform most jutsu due to a problem at my birth. I solely specialize in interrogation and weapon mastery."

"Wow…" Naruto whistled loudly, before giving a small smirk and turning to Sasuke. "So what he's saying is that if Sakura-chan hadn't come and he'd been serious, he would have wiped the floor with you teme."

"Hn." Sasuke muttered. "I was holding back as well."

"The Sharingan hardly counts, Uchiha." Yuudai commented airily. "Using an ability to copy another's movements is hardly noteworthy."

Iwako seemed to be amused by the heated argument, and merely raised an eyebrow at the two.

"As much as I agree with you on that aspect, Yuudai-san," Sakura called from where she held up the rear of their group. "You two should stop arguing. It's immature."

Both Sasuke and Yuudai seemed put down at her admonishment, while Iwako chuckled slightly at the predicament. Naruto merely looked at them both and snickered, muttering something to himself.

"What do you have against kekkei genkai in the first place, Hyuuga?" Sasuke finally cut in. "You have your own doujutsu. Or are you merely jealous that the Sharingan is more powerful than the Byakugan?"

Sakura blinked for moment, seeing Yuudai stiffen. She knew that mentioning the Byakugan was a sore subject with him, and her own eyes narrowed in anger at Sasuke's insult.

"For one thing, Uchiha, the Byakugan is far superior than the Sharingan. That is why the Sharingan was created from the Byakugan. It is an offshoot and nothing more, incapable of achieving the full powers of its predecessor." Yuudai began coldly, "Second, too much importance is placed upon kekkei genkai, they are overrated."

Sakura's gaze lowered as a memory surfaced of the first time she'd heard Yuudai say those words.

Sakura had been working for a year now as Ibiki's apprentice, and had seen her fair share of interrogations. This one, however, had proven to be difficult. She'd heard that two other interrogators had already worked on the man and had been met with stony silence. Their victim—opponent, that was what Sakura liked to think of them as, like in a chess match—was a hardened man who was resilient against the many forms of illusion techniques and mind-tricks that had been set up for him. The fact that he had resisted the mind-transfer technique of one of their Yamanaka members was shocking in itself.

Mental attacks were the first on their interrogation list, and usually worked. Ibiki could make a man spill his secrets before he knew what was happening, after all. Of course, Ibiki was busy with another case, so the man had been left to Sakura and another shinobi, a Hyuuga interrogator she'd never met before who introduced himself as Yuudai.

He was her senior by a few years, and she felt extremely incompetent compared to him. Still, it was strange to think of him as an interrogator, mainly because she'd never heard of a Hyuuga using their abilities for this purpose. Wasn't the gentle fist technique better suited for assassinations and hand-to-hand battles?

Sakura merely pulled on a white lab coat to cover her outfit—she didn't want to get bloodstains on it—and followed behind Yuudai into the interrogation room to begin phase two of the interrogation: physical torture.

She was there mainly to heal the man rather than torture him herself. Yuudai would be the one implementing the pain. She would also be the one talking to him, trying to get the information out of him as Yuudai worked.

She sat herself down in a metal chair across from the restrained man, and flipped open his file in her lap. She began perusing it while Yuudai calmly gathered his torture devices onto a metal tray on the fold-up table beside Sakura.

Sakura looked up at the man beneath her bangs, and saw that he was sweating. So, while mental attacks didn't work on the man, it seemed that they'd have more luck with physical torture. While Sakura disliked this style of interrogation greatly, it was necessary…and something she was damn good at.

But while she was good at it, Yuudai seemed to make it an art form.

"Well, before we begin, I'm going to explain each of these instruments to you before I use them." Yuudai's voice was calm and steady. "I would hate to leave you uninformed on what I'm going to do to your body."

He pulled up a small tool and turned to the man, who tightened his jaw and glared.

"This, as you know, is a common corkscrew." Yuudai continued, almost as if he were giving a documentary. "I'm going to begin by drilling through your hands and feet, just to give you a sense of what it can do. I'll have Haruno-san heal you right back up, good as new when I'm finished. How does that sound?"

"Go to hell." The man barked out hoarsely.

"Afterwards we'll ask you some questions. If you don't answer them, I'm going to drill straight into your femur bone. Then we're going to extract the bone marrow and refill those cavities with concentrated sulfuric acid. Haruno-san will keep the acid from killing you completely by, after a moment, injected you with a catalyzing agent that will counter the corrosive effects of the acid."

Sakura saw the man tremble.

"Afterwards," Yuudai continued casually. "The process will be repeated until you tell us what we want to know. Any questions?"

The man spit at Yuudai's feet.

"Very well." Yuudai pulled a mask up over his mouth to keep any of the blood from splattering across his face as he grabbed the corkscrew and placed it above the man's hand. "Let's begin then."

And the screams began.


Three hours later, Sakura followed Yuudai wearily out of the interrogation room. The two medical-nin on standby outside the door went inside to finish healing the man and take him back down to an interrogation cell.

"Ne, senpai, you were amazing back there." Sakura tried to sound cheerful, even though she felt like puking. It was easier this way.

Yuudai smiled softly, but it was a sad smile. "Thank you, Sakura-san. I hope you learned a lot from your observations." He motioned down to the notebook in her arms.

"Oh? Yes, I did." Sakura continued softly. "But Yuudai-senpai…can I ask a question?"

"What is it?"

"Why didn't you use the gentle fist on him? Inserting your own chakra into his passageways would cause immense pain to his vital organs. It would have been very quick and—"

"Too much importance is placed on kekkei genkai. They are overrated." Yuudai interrupted coldly.

Later that day, Sakura learned about Yuudai's inability to focus chakra.

"Well, that's cool anyway." Naruto shrugged, bringing Sakura out of her reverie and back to the problem at hand: the palpable tension between Sasuke and Yuudai. Naruto's own gaze, while outwardly cheerful, was on edge. Sakura could tell he was trying his hardest to get them off of the subject of the Sharingan and Byakugan in general.

Naruto himself had never held much regard for kekkei genkai.

He merely hummed a small tune, before looking over at Iwako, who seemed to be trying her best to ignore him now that the promise of an all-out battle between the two was ruined. "Hey Iwako-san…"

"Yes?" Her golden eyes went to him sharply, her gaze searching and hawk-like.

Naruto seemed uneasy beneath her intense gaze and shifted his traveling pack on his shoulder. "Um well…at the arena during the attack at the Chuunin exams…you called me the child of the yellow flash. I…I just wanted to know what you were talking about. Do you know who my dad is?" And there was a hopefully catch in his voice that they all caught.

"Of course I know who your father is." Iwako admonished. "Your appearance and techniques are identical. Although I admit that your demeanor seems lacking in that respect."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto bristled.

"The Yellow Flash was a serious man. You are—in laymen's terms—brash, loud, spontaneous, and utterly tactless. The Yellow Flash was known to be the exact opposite."

"That's why Naruto is the world's number one knuckle-headed ninja." Sakura murmured with a hint of a small smile on her lips as she walked past the frozen kyuubi container, who was gaping like a fish out of water at the Stone kunoichi. Sakura reached out and ruffled his hair playfully as she walked passed, all the while maintaining her stony composure.

"It will take several more days to get to Stone's border." Iwako admonished. "We had better rest here. When we enter Stone territory, we will be hard pressed to reach a settlement. The more well rested we are beforehand the more likely our chances of survival."

"What does that mean?" Naruto muttered, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be interrogating the woman for information on his father.

"Stone is harsh, much like Sunagakure's deserts. Unless you wish to die of dehydration or freeze to death at night, I suggest you rest here so we can get through as quickly as possible. Flash floods are common at this time of year, so we will need to be fully awake."

And then Iwako calmly sat down next to Sakura and began unpacking her sleeping blanket.

"The flash floods could prove to be a problem." Yuudai nodded, "Once we engage with your partner at the rendezvous point in Stone, where will we go from there?"

Iwako pulled out another scroll from her pack and unwraveled it on the ground in front of her.

"Naruto," Sakura called absently from where she sat huddled with Iwako and Yuudai around the open scroll. "Could you get us some firewood? Sasuke already went to secure the area." Sasuke had dissapeared moments before.

Naruto would have liked to look at whatever it was they were reviewing, but he knew that Sakura wouldn't leave out any information that would be life-threatenting to him or Sasuke. After the mission where she had purposely not told any of them about the powerful mist-nin…he thought maybe their anger and feelings of betrayal had hit her very hard that day. It was likely that he would be filled in on what he missed when he returned.

Ten minutes later, as he entered the campsite with two clones sporting armfuls of wood, he realized that his assumptions were correct, which made him grin.

He began the fire as Sakura looked over at him. "Yuudai, Iwako-san and I were looking over a map at the area where the man's mansion is set. When Sasuke returns we'll have a full briefing over the best course of action."

"Right." Naruto nodded resolutely, his grin widening. He could feel it, day by day, that the old Sakura-chan was coming back. She smiled a bit more often now, and she wasn't so cold to teme anymore. She was still soft-spoken and serious, and her emotionless mask rarely wavered. But…he felt like it was getting better now, and the idiotic grin he was sporting didn't leave his face, even as a spark hit his nose and he gave a small yelp, jumping back from the small fire he'd begun.

A twig snapped and all the shinobi in the area stiffened slightly, even though the group knew that it wasn't a threat. It was a simple reaction to Sasuke's appearance. They all knew he'd stepped onto the twig to announce his arrival rather than appear out of nowhere without a sound as he was apt to do.

As the group of interrogators looked over at him and Naruto waved from his spot beside the fire, Sasuke held up a strung line of fish, twitching and flapping against the rope. "I brought our dinner."

"Thank you, Uchiha." Yuudai called out cordially, though the tenseness of his tone did not go unnoticed. He was really trying to make an effort, however, and Sakura didn't know whether to commend him for it or hit him and Sasuke for being so stupid over their rivalry in the first place. It was like Naruto and Sasuke all over again but...different. Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry was based on power, on becoming better than the other, on pushing each other to their limits and beyond those limits. Yuudai and Sasuke's rivalry...it was as if they were competing for something. Sakura just didn't know what they were trying to win.

She almost wished Karin and the others were there to take away the intensity of the situation. She knew that Konoha did not trust them complicitly—Karin had been one of Orochimaru's trusted overseers, Suigetsu wanted nothing other than to collect the swords of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist, and Juugo was mentally unstable. Add this to the fact that all three had betrayed Orochimaru to come to Konoha—even if not directly—showed that they were capable of betrayal again. But the council had made their decision long ago when they'd allowed the them to become citizens and shinobi of Konoha with Sasuke. If trouble befell Konoha, it would only prove that the council knew nothing about ruling a shinobi nation. Sakura had no sympathy for them.

Sakura would have jumped at the chance to see the three—and Sasuke—fuck up and be executed when they'd first arrived in Konoha. But now…she couldn't help but realize that they'd somehow wormed their way into her heart, even if it was a minute corner. Suigetsu could always lighten a damp mood with his incessant teasing and sarcastic remarks. Juugo was calm and gentle, and always had the ability to make her feel peaceful again after a stressful mission or day at the hospital.

The biggest accomplishment was her friendship with Karin. The two girls still bickered—well, Karin bickered, Sakura merely added in small sarcastic comments every once and a while—and she still saw Sakura as her rival for Sasuke's heart. But there was an understanding between the two, a…feeling of sisterhood that came from their mutual workings as kunoichi. Karin understood what it meant to sacrifice everything, even your body, for the good of the mission. There was a bond between them now, no matter the fact that Sakura still thought she was inanely immature and Karin thought she was a cold-hearted bitch.

Sakura gave a small smile as she heard the soft thunk as Sasuke placed one of the fish on a rock beside him, gutting it with his kunai in one swift movement.

She was a bit worried about Juugo though. Karin and Suigetsu would be monitored in their home, probably sent on useless little missions by Tsunade. Juugo, on the other hand, was only visited by Shizune, who would go to Sakura's apartment every day to check up on him and make sure he wasn't lonely.

Juugo had been immensely relieved when he'd learned that he'd be living with Sakura-sama. Sakura didn't mind it at all either. Juugo was a gentle soul, a bit shy and a little rough around the edges, but someone that Sakura couldn't help but look forward to seeing at the end of the day. He made coming home easy, knowing that there was a hot cup of tea and an ear ready to listen when she arrived home.

She just wanted to make sure he wasn't lonely. Besides, without her there to continue his recovery and to make sure he remained mentally stable, something could go terribly wrong. What if he had another attack? The worry was gnawing at her, making her stomach feel hollow.

"Sakura-chan…do you have any herbs we can put on the fish?" Naruto asked hopefully, looking over at her from where he sat near the fire. He was leaning against a fallen log, his pack acting as a pillow.

"My herbs are for medicine, Naruto, not for cooking." Sakura shot back blandly.

"But…you don't have anything?" Naruto pouted, before giving a small sigh. "Ok, ok…" Sakura knew that he'd only complained about it in the first place to lighten the mood. Naruto had matured greatly since their genin days as Team 7. He no longer carried around packs of instant ramen with him on missions—she'd beaten him so hard that day for doing something so stupid—and while he maintained his act of goofiness, Sakura knew that deep down he was always thinking. It was an abstract kind of deep thought, but one that seemed the most insightful in tight situations.

He never failed to come up with some kind of half-assed, yet surprisingly successful, plan to get them out of trouble.

Before long their fish had been properly cooked and they were all contentedly eating, even as Yuudai, Iwako, and Sakura continued to look over the map and the little red x that showed them where Ayugai's fortress was located.

A dozen different scenarios accumulated in her head as she looked at the surrounding areas, including the small town that lay at the fortress's feet. What was the best way to go in? She took a thoughtful bite of fish, chewing as she continued to go over her plans, knowing that Iwako and Yuudai were thinking up their own as well. A collaboration between the three would need to be agreed upon before morning.

"Naruto, Uchiha," Yuudai spoke calmly from where the three sat. "Come here." Naruto bounded over cheerfully, ready to begin planning their mission. While he usually didn't like sitting still and listening to people talk, it was always exciting to go over mission plans, especially one for such a dangerous task.

Sasuke acquiesced quietly and at his own pace, as if to say that while Yuudai was his captain, Sasuke was not a loyal dog that would follow his simple commands so readily. Sakura rolled her eyes, asking for patience.

"Very well." Yuudai began, "Let's begin planning."


(A\N: Well, there's the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. :D Yay for rivalry over Sakura's heart! Hehehehe. Anyway...while I was writing I noticed that halfway through I had been writing Itachi instead of Sasuke (I had been working on the next chapter of Shisui earlier) and I had to go back and change it all. Hopefully I didn't miss any...;P Anyway, that's all for now!

Sincerely, Lady Hanaka)