Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato set out as so on as Yamato had finished fixing the bui lding, Naruto had yet to say a word sinc e they set off, too lost in his thoughts on what to do.
If it came to a full out fight between S akura and Sasuke, then no doubt Sasuke w ould win; Sakura was strong but she didn 't stand a chance. But if Sakura got to Sasuke before he got to her, then he wou ld have to break up the fight before she got seriously hurt. He was hoping they would catch up to Sakura before she reac hed Sasuke, but then what would he say t o her? She would know by then that he kn ew what she was planning, why else would he chase after her like that? Sakura wa s so stubborn, what if it came down to h aving to fight her? Naruto shook his hea d, he could never do that, and if he fou ght her that would mean fighting Sai, Ki ba and Lee who were on her side with thi s plan.
Naruto was dealing with his emotions whe n Kakashi signalled for them to stop, on ly then did Naruto notice that there wer e other people around them.
From the left came a group of three, aft er a few moments Naruto realized who the y were; it was Shikamaru, Neji and Lee w ho came running through the forest in th e direction of where Sakura had gone; th ey didn't seem to notice him where they were and kept running. Yamato looked to Kakashi and a decision was made to follo w them, knowing that they would lead to Sakura.
Naruto bit back his anger that was slowl y seeping out, everyone he knew and care d about was out to kill the one person h e had been trying to save all this time. He would have to fight all of them incl uding the girl he loved to save him this time.
After a while of following the group the y suddenly stopped, Neji turned to look straight at where Naruto, Kakashi and Ya mato were hiding and Naruto knew they ha d been found.
"There's no point in hiding now." Kakash i said as he jumped down from his hiding spot and approached the group, Naruto d idn't move, staring down at his friends as if wondering who they were. Though he could still hear what they were saying from his spot in the trees.
"We're waiting here for Sai, he's suppos ed to come get us when Sasuke's location is found," Shikamaru said, knowing that Naruto had been told what was happening , but it seemed he didn't know Sakura's plan.
"She's going to do what?" Shikamaru exclaimed when Kakashi told him what Sai had said, dragging a hand d own his face and biting his lip as he th ought about a plan of action.
"She can't kill Sasuke, she'll die inste ad." Neji said calmly, staring at Kakash i who nodded his agreement.
"We need to catch up to her before she t ries to do anything." Lee said passionat ely, his love for Sakura clearly evident in the way he spoke. Naruto envied him sometimes, being able to express his fee lings for her so strongly, now he wasn't even sure what his feelings toward her were.
"If she's planning on fighting him we do n't have much time." Yamato noted, glanc ing up at Naruto briefly in sympathy, Na ruto looked away in time to see Sai appr oaching from ahead of them. Naruto's sto mach clenched.
"I'm not sure what she's planning anymor e." Sai said, a confused expression on h is face as he met them, looking up to st are at Naruto as he spoke. "She's acting strange, she won't tell us what she's p lanning but I'm not entirely sure she in tends to kill him." He seemed apologetic , as if her change in heart were his fau lt.
"What do you mean?" Naruto said at last, staring only at Sai, intent on the hope that maybe Sakura had come to her sense s.
"I thought it was strange that she was p lanning on killing him; she's not stupid , she's fully aware that she has no chan ce in injuring him. Furthermore she has no weapons on her, I checked her bag whe n we stopped near Sasuke's location; not a single kunai or ninja tool." Naruto j ust stared at Sai, not comprehending wha t he was saying.
"You said she was planning on killing hi m." Naruto managed to get out, though it was far from what he was thinking. Mayb e she wanted to die? Maybe she loved him so much that she would rather die by hi s hands than live to see him evil? He co uldn't bear any of these thoughts, they were too painful.
"I thought she was, but I don't know wha t she's planning anymore."
"Where is she now?" Shikamaru said, look ing urgently at Sai, Naruto could tell h e was probably thinking the same thing a s him.
"We found Sasuke's location, she's taili ng him with Kiba, but I fear she might t ry something before we get to her. They aren't too far from here." Sai turned as if to lead them but Kakashi motioned fo r everyone to stay where they were.
"Neji, can you see what's happening?" Ka kashi asked, painfully calm and quiet as if he was detached from the situation a t hand. Neji nodded and used his eyes to look around them, calmly reporting back what he found.
"Sakura has confronted Sasuke, nobody ha s drawn any weapons yet, they seem to ju st be talking. Kiba is staying behind Sa kura but he doesn't look ready to fight, he's calm." Naruto clenched his teeth, wondering why they weren't going to stop them but oddly not able to move from wh ere he was. "She's...she's begging...she 's on the ground as if she were begging him." Naruto blanched, picturing Sakura begging him to kill her, begging to die by his hands and not able to sit still a ny longer he jumped from the tree and ra n in the direction Sai had come from.
People called his name behind him, and h e could sense them following him, but he wouldn't wait for them; he wouldn't let Sakura die no matter what he was feelin g for her. She was still his teammate. S ai managed to pull ahead of him, nodding at Naruto and then leading him in the r ight direction. Naruto hoped he would ge t there fast enough, but somewhere deep in his gut he knew what he would find.
They arrived on the open plain to find t hat Sasuke had already left, the only pe ople on the field were Kiba and Sakura. The scene was enough to make Naruto stop in his tracks; Sakura was lying on the ground, her eyes closed and blood poolin g from underneath her, Kiba was kneeling beside her, doing his best with his lac k of medical training to stop the bleedi ng which was coming from her abdomen. Na ruto watched as everyone ran to Sakura's side, the jonin taking over as Kiba ste pped back to watch with a mixture of hor ror and disgust as they did their best t o bandage Sakura up.
"Kiba what happened?" Lee asked, his fac e etched with worry as he watched the jo nin inspect Sakura. Kiba shook his head and walked off into the trees, his hands convered in Sakura's blood and angry te ars slowly falling down his cheeks.
Naruto couldn't move, and he found himse lf unable to make any sort of expression , an angry face was all he had, though h e couldn't figure out himself who he was angry at.
They decided that Sakura couldn't be mov ed yet, and since there were no medical ninjas with them except for her, they ne eded to send for someone. Yamato built a wooden house and carefully they brought Sakura inside and laid her down in the closest room. Someone had to stay with h er to make sure she was okay, and though everyone looked at Naruto it was Lee wh o was eventually picked to stay with her .
"Kiba, tell us what happened." Kakashi o rdered as they all gathered in the room beside Sakura so that Lee could hear as well. Kiba barred his teeth, looking dow n at the floor he started to talk, only addressing Kakashi.
"We located the target," Kiba said coldl y, as if giving a regular mission report . "Sakura approached the target alone, I stayed hidden to be her back up. She sp oke with the target, pleaded with him, and he still refused to liste n to what she was saying."
"What was she saying?" Kakashi prodded w hen Kiba had stopped, his hands clenched tighter but he continued.
"She wanted the target to go back with h er to the village." The room grew quiet, even Naruto felt his breathing stop; it wasn't what he had expected to hear, wh at he had been bracing himself to hear. Again his emotions battled each other to be the dominant one, though his face re mained angry.
"He refused?" Kakashi asked, though he a lready knew that answer. Kiba nodded, te ars falling faster.
"After everything she said, after gettin g on her knees and begging him, he walke d over to her and before I could even re act...he just stabbed her with his light ing and walked away." Kiba looked up now , but it was Naruto he glared at. Before he could speak though Lee came through the doors looking slightly relieved.
"She's waking up, she keeps saying Narut o's name..." Lee glanced at Naruto but h e refused to acknowledge the fact, he ju st kept staring at the wall he had been staring at the entire time. Kiba growled and stood up abruptly.
"I'll go and tell her that the one she l oves doesn't even care that she's injure d." Kiba said furiously, walking past Le e into the room Sakura was in and slammi ng the door behind him.
"She doesn't love me." Naruto said to hi mself, though everyone in the room could hear him and looked at him sympathetica lly. "She lied."