Hello again guys, and happy new year. Hope ya had a great 2010 and be prepared for 2011, Here's a new chapter. Tried to make it more interesting, but I had to use most of the scenes from the original, written by the great and awesome Kishimoto Masashi! So I advise you to skip those parts, I don't want any of you hating me. Disclaimed. Enjoy!
Kazekage Rescue
Kankuro was walking through the desert, following Gaara's trail of sand, his eyes narrowed at the piercing ray of the sun, he bend down and took a handful of sand, he knew Gaara's sand was within them, which means he was going the right way.
Sasori stopped in his tracks; Deidara asked him what was the matter.
"We're being followed" said Sasori, he turned around and Kankuro was standing just about 50 meters away, his eyes fixed on Sasori.
"Hee…. Not bad, I didn't notice him at all" said Deidara, smugly.
"You go ahead, Deidara….. I'll handle this" said Sasori, his deep husky voice as distasteful as ever.
"As you wish" said Deidara, he turned and flew away.
Sasori's scorpion tail revealed itself, Kankuro's eyes widened 'That technique…..'
"You're….. Akasuna no Sasori" said Kankuro.
There was silence between them, then Kankuro narrowed his eyes and brought out all three of his puppets, Sanshouo, Kuroari and Karasu.
Kankuro took the first move…. The battle begins
Meanwhile….
Team Kakashi was setting out their journey, all of them replaying what Tsunade said to them in their head….
Flashback…
"Who did it" said Sasuke, keeping his cool.
"The Akatsuki" said Tsunade.
Team Kakashi froze.
"They have finally made their move and they are after the Kazekage's Biju, the One-tailed Shukaku" said Tsunade.
"You want us to go rescue him right" said Naruto.
"Precisely, I received a emergency message from Sunagakure not an hour ago, listen, failure is not tolerated, take this chance to strengthen the alliance between Suna and Konoha…. And they can't lose another Kazekage, if they do, their village will be overpowered by many other enemies" said Tsunade.
They all gave a firm nod, but Sakura barely managed to move her head, her head was occupied with concern.
Sasuke noticed this and put his hand on her head then ruffled it a little "It'll be alright, so don't make that face" he said, gently.
Sakura had to look up before their eyes could meet, but when they did, Sasuke quickly looked away and acted normally.
Shizune protested "But Tsunade-sama, don't you think it's unsafe to send Naruto-kun too, they are the Akatsuki, and they would surely try to capture him too"
Tsunade smirked "but now that I've told him, he would surely go even if you stop him" said Tsunade.
Shizune didn't know what to say, but to just look at Naruto.
"I'm going… I'm definitely going I'll beat down that bastard" said Naruto.
Tsunade looked at Shizune, in a victorious way.
"Then it's settled, Team Kakashi" said Tsunade.
They stood at attention and answered.
"Your mission is to travel to Sunagakure and provide assistance to them in any possible way" said Tsunade.
End of Flashback
They had left the village early in the morning and they haven't taken a break since then, Sakura's head was filled with concern for Gaara, Is he alright? How did the intruder manage to defeat him? But the one question she kept worrying about was, is he alive…..? Her thoughts drowned her from her surroundings; she spaced out for a moment and lost her footing on a tree branch.
"Ah!"
She couldn't pulled herself together in time.
"Sakura!" "Sakura-chan!"
Sasuke and Naruto turned back immediately.
Sakura landed in a bush, she opened her eyes, Sasuke and Naruto landed next to her fall.
"Sakura, are you alright?" asked Sasuke, concern ringing in his voice.
Sakura hopped off the thorny bush and looked down at herself; there were little cuts and scratches all over her body.
"What happened, Sakura-chan" said Naruto
"I spaced out for a second, I'm fine now" said Sakura, trying to make her tone as reassuring as possible, she continued to walk forward, but she ran straight into Sasuke.
"Ah, gomen…" said Sakura, but the life in her voice doesn't seem to be there, Sasuke looked over to Kakashi.
Kakashi got the message and said "Why don't we take a little break, we've been running for awhile now"
Sakura heard that, eventhough she wanted to get to sunagakure as soon as possible, she knew it was best if they rest, she might have time to clear her head, while the team was resting under trees and talking, Sasuke noticed Sakura straying further and further away from the group.
He walked after her and watched her closely, her actions were spaced out and unsure, she tripped over a root and lost her balance, she found herself falling face forwards, but then there was a blur of white and Sakura was no longer falling, instead she had her face buried in someone's chest, she could hear his beating heart and looked up.
"Sasuke?" she said in a confused tone.
Sasuke was looking down at her crossly "What are you spacing out for" he said.
Sakura looked at him in such an adorable way Sasuke had to quickly balance her up before he lost himself.
He noticed Sakura drifting into her world again; she seemed to be holding something back as she was biting the lower part of the lip. He inhaled deeply then held up a fist and knocked her head lightly. "You can cry you know…" he said plainly.
Sakura was taken by surprise and lost herself she threw her arms around him sobbing into his chest, she clenched Sasuke's white jacket tighter, Sakura knew firsthand how it felt to be capture because you're….. different, her hands trembled as she clutched tighter.
"I can't think straight… I'm angry, but scared. What if he's already….." her voice faded. She was about to pull away when she felt a pair of hands hold her gently.
"Baka….. you're worrying over the Kazekage here, think about it properly" Sasuke whispered into her ear. Sakura just stood stiffly, her eyes shimmered with tears, her chin resting on Sasuke's shoulder, she hugged him back. A few moments later, they let go of each other.
Sakura looked up and Sasuke's lips curved into a smile and then faded almost immediately, he grabbed hold of her hand and dragged her along as he walked.
"You don't wanna keep the others waiting, do you" he said.
At first, Sakura followed hesitantly then she shook off the concern and smiled "You're right…." She spoke.
She held Sasuke's hand too and walked in front of him and took the lead instead of Sasuke.
"I shouldn't worry, he'll be fine" Sakura reassured herself out loud, then she turned her head and gave him a smile "Thank you, Sasuke"
Sasuke was now the one being dragged; he smirked, knowing that he had succeeded, when he returned to the clearing, they were greeted by the team.
"Oh, Sakura, Sasuke, you're finally back" said Kakashi.
Naruto rushed to Sasuke.
"Sasuke! What were you doing with Sakura-chan!" demanded Naruto, shaking the poor Uchiha, demanding answers from him.
"Did you do something perverted to her!" before Sasuke could say anything Naruto seemed to have answered the question himself, in his head.
"I'll kill you!" Naruto shook even harder.
A vein popped up on Sasuke's head "Will….. you… cut it out!" he shouted, he looked like a devil where as Naruto looked like a midget.
Kakashi called out to them "Oi~ If you two don't hurry up and kill yourselves, we're going to leave you"
Then only did they notice that Kakashi and Sakura had gone ahead of them.
"Ah!" shouted Naruto, quickly speeding off to catch up with Sasuke following after him.
In the desert…
Kankuro was lying on the floor, pieces of his puppets scattered on the ground around him, he looked up and saw Sasori looking down on him.
"Did you think you could defeat me with my own puppets? How naïve" said Sasori.
Kankuro clenched his teeth and tried to get up, but he couldn't.
"The harder you struggle, the faster the poison will spread throughout your body, if you lay still like that, you'll last at least 3 days" said Sasori, he turned and then walked off, but it looked more like a slug, gliding on the sand.
Kankuro's vision was fading just as Sasori was disappearing into the heat, and finally he was unconscious.
A few hours later, the trackers from Suna had found Kankuro lying unconscious in the middle of the desert and immediately brought him back to the village for treatment, once they reached the village, the captain of the tracker squad reported to the higher ups while the rest brought Kankuro to the hospital.
"Begin the operation immediately!" ordered a surgeon.
One of the higher ups hammered his hand on the table "This isn't the time to think about appointing a new Kazekage!"
"Keeping the village safe should be our top priority, we have to take in the account of the worst scenario" argued another one of them.
"We should think about how we're going to rescue the Kazekage-sama!"
Baki was keeping silent with his head down, deep in thought 'Gaara…Kankuro…'
The meeting was dismissed, Baki was discussing about how they're going to save the kazekage with one of the higher ups when suddenly the captain tracker barged in "Baki-san!"
Baki and the other man turned towards the captain "What is it"
"We've found Kankuro-san, sir" he reported.
"And? How is he" said Baki.
"W-Well….. He's unconscious, he's being treated at the hospital right now" said the captain.
"U-Unconsious….?" Said Baki.
Meanwhile, Team Kakashi were on their way to Sunagakure when Sakura stopped, the whole team stopped too.
"What is it, Sakura" said Kakashi.
"There's someone up ahead" said Sakura.
"Is it someone we know?" said Sasuke.
Sakura tried to make out who it was, this chakra seemed very familiar but she must've forgotten who it belonged to, she thought more deeply a thought past through her mind.
"Kamaitaichi no Jutsu"
Flash
"Genkiri" "Gyaku Bijon"
Flash
"Daikamaitachi no Jutsu"
Then it hit Sakura, "It's Temari-san" she blurted out before running ahead.
"But why is she doing out her" said Sasuke, jumping off after her along with the others. As Sakura shot out of the trees suddenly she found a kunai being thrown at her, she instinctively countered it and when she landed, Temari was holding a kunai at her neck, and she was doing the same.
"Sakura-san?" said Temari, with a shocked expression.
"Oh, it really is you, Temari-san" said Sakura, she thought she had mistaken someone else's chakra for Temari's when she had a kunai thrown at her.
Both kunoichi lowered their kunai.
The rest came down and joined Sakura.
"Oh, it's the Fan-girl" said Naruto.
Temari hit him on the head with her fan "It's Te-ma-ri, you idiot" she said through her teeth.
"Are you on a mission?" said Naruto.
"I just finished a mission in konoha, I'm heading back to my village right now" said Temari.
"I heard she was recently working with Shikamaru on the chuunin exams" stated Sakura.
"I was, are you Guys headed for Suna too? Has something happened?" Temari asked, a bit of concern in her voice.
The team's expression immediately changed, Sakura stepped forward and gave Temari a worried look before she explained.
Back at Sunagakure.
The doctor lead Baki into Kankuro's room, who was panting heavily, his wounds all wrapped up but cold beads of sweat clung onto the side of his pale face, he looked like his was suffering a great deal of pain.
"His injuries are nothing serious, the real problem now is-"
"The poison" Baki completed the sentence.
"Y-Yeah…. It's a completely new type of poison, we have no knowledge on how to neutralize it" said the medic, frustrated at being unable to do anything for his fellow villager.
'First Gaara….. now Kankuro….' Thought Baki as he clenched his fist. His expression was grave and angered. Worried for both his former students.
"Eh..?" Temari turned pale as Sakura broke the news to her "Gaara has been….?"
Sakura nodded, Kakashi stepped in.
"It'll take us two days to get to the village, let's move down" he said.
Temari and Sakura nodded then jumped off with the rest of the team, they continued the journey till nightfall. Naruto was ahead of everyone else, desperate to save Gaara.
"Naruto, you'd better stay close to everyone else, the Akatsuki are after you, you know" said Sakura
"I can't" said Naruto.
"I understand that you want to save the Kazekage sooner but you've gotta remember-" Kakashi was cut off.
"I know that!" Naruto said loudly.
Everyone perked up.
"I know that…." He said it softer now, his expression lies in between desperate and worried. "Gaara that bastard, he's worked so hard to become the Kazekage, to finally gain the respect from everyone….. he and I are the same, we both have monsters sealed up inside of us…. But he. He endured some much longer than I did, I had the Sandaime Hokage, Iruka-sensei…. Sasuke… he had no one. We're both the same, so why does all the bad things happen to him?" Naruto was trembling whether it was out of anger or sadness remains a mystery.
Sasuke smirked then looked over at Sakura who smiled at him, both of them pushed harder against the tree branch that they stepped on and sped past Naruto.
"Then you'd better keep up, loser" said Sasuke.
"Let's hurry then, Naruto" said Sakura, flashing him smile as she passed him.
Naruto stared blankly at them as they passed, but he eventually caught their intentions and chased after them.
"My, my, what energetic brats" said Kakashi, reluctantly he increased his speed.
'Arigatou…minna (everyone)' thought Temari, touched that everyone cared for her brother, just as much as she does.
At Suna
Baki barged into Kankuro's room, there were two medics attending to him. "Baki-san…"
"I heard that Kankuro had regained consciousness" he said, quickly walking to Kankuro's side.
"Y-Yeah, but he barely said anything to us, his condition had worsened since yesterday" said the elder medic.
Kankuro broke out into a coughing fit, his face as pale as a ghost. The bags under his eyes were dreadful, his body was cold and it hurts even when he moves a little.
"Kankuro!" said Baki, in panic.
Kankuro inhaled deeply."B…Baki, Is that you?" said Kankuro, his voice was forced and very hoarse.
"Ah.."
"It's him…..Ak….a-"Kankuro broke out coughing again. His held his stomach to try and ease the impact that every cough does to his gut.
"Don't speak….! Your body can't handle it" said Baki, but Kankuro gave him an insisting look and Baki leaned over to hear him better. But as Kankuro spoke into his ear, Baki's eyes widened in panic, he marched out of the room and headed straight for the people that were in charge of the pursuit team, his face was pale as cold sweat rolled down his cheek.
He barged in on them while they were still researching.
"Call the pursuit team back immediately!" ordered Baki.
"Baki-san?" said one of the two men.
"The pursuit team isn't a match for what they're up against, call them back immediately!" said Baki.
"E-Even If you say so…. We haven't heard from them since they brought back Kankuro" said the other man.
Baki looked down "Kh… it's too late for them huh…?" he muttered in an inaudible volume.
"Is something wrong?" said the first man who spoke.
"No, nothing at all, I'm going out for awhile" said Baki, he turned around and walked out, closing the door behind him.
'I have no choice but to consult with them' thought Baki, he heard the man from the intel room called out to him.
"Baki-san…. There is suppose to be a meeting for superiors this afternoon" said the man.
Baki turned around, enraged "Do you think I have time to sit around and handing in reports?"
The man looked terrified by Baki's reaction.
"We need to take action! Not hold meetings!" he shouted.
"Y-Yes sir!" the man straightened in attention.
Baki turned around and continued walking 'I'll need the advice from the siblings….' His eyebrows creased 'I just hope they're willing to help….'
Sakura was slowing down compared to her other two teammates, they had been running all night, and it's already noon, meaning they have been running for more than 24 hours.
They had been running on soldier pills and food pills.
Sakura was panting, but Naruto and Sasuke were pretty much fine, Sakura noticed the fatigue running over her body, her stamina was the worst among her teammates, but she didn't wanna slow them down, she reached into her pouch and took out a pill.
"Oi oi, Sakura, soldier pills are for emergency only, besides a lady shouldn't-" but Kakashi was cut off when Sakura popped the pill into her mouth and crunched it.
"I'll be fine, Kakashi-sensei" stated Sakura, rather coldly. Probably trying to hide her fatigue from her voice, she inhaled deeply then caught up to the front with her next step.
Kakashi sweatdropped.
'Some people would consider that as sexual harassment, you old fart' thought Temari.
Sasuke and Naruto took in another soldier pill, Sakura squinted her eyes occasionally to try and refocus her eyes, suddenly her vision completely blurred out, Sakura panicked for a moment, and shut her eyes less than a second and everything cleared up, but she was headed straight for a tree, with not enough time react the way she wanted to, she instinctively stopped herself by using her hands to push against the tree, but that caused her to lose her balance and fall.
Sasuke's pupils flew to the corner of his eyes, sensing something was wrong, his teeth crunch down on the pill and with the next step on a random tree branch, he pushed against it, pushing him in the opposite direction of where Naruto was going and shot backwards, he flipped and landed on the ground below Sakura and held out his arms, Sakura landed right into his arms.
She shook her head and looked to see who her savior was.
"Ara? Sasuke, when did you get here" said Sakura, innocently.
Sasuke sweatdropped "Baka…." He muttered and let her down, Sakura stumbled backwards, Sasuke supported her up by placing his hand on her back, he noticed her chest heaving up and down. He looked up to the tree branch that Kakashi landed on.
"Oi Kakashi, let's take a break" he said.
"That seems like the best choice for now" said Kakashi.
Sasuke was sitting on a branch just above Sakura, taking quick glances at her every once in awhile, Kakashi was busy reading the recently released volume of Icha Icha Tactics, which was given to him by Naruto when he returned to the village a few days ago.
Naruto was bragging about his adventures with Jiraiya. Temari was seen doing nothing as she leaned against a tree, drowned in her own thoughts, no matter how loud Naruto was didn't seem to affect her.
In Sunagakure
Baki was walking through a sandstorm in the outskirts of the village, he was headed straight for the home of the retired councilor of Suna.
Chiyo and Ebizo was sitting across each other with a pool of water in the middle of them, their fishing lines dangling from the poles, Chiyo looked like she was sleeping, but her both wasn't moving. Ebizo had just woken up from a nap and looked at his sister.
"Nee-san?" he said and waited for a response from his sister "You dead?" the room remained silent.
Ebizo was starting to think she really died, there was something on her line but she still didn't respond to it.
"You've got a catch" said Ebizo once more, trying to awaken his most likely dead sister.
Just when Ebizo least expected, Chiyo suddenly pulled up her catch, chuckling victoriously, "Scared ya, didn't I"
Ebizo let out a breath.
Just then the door opened and there stood Baki, with a firm look on his face and the sandstorm raging wildly behind him.
After awhile of explanation….
"I see….. so the village is in critical situation…." said Chiyo, in her wise and sullen voice.
"Yes, we're asking help from you, the honoured siblings" said Baki, his voice was almost in a plea.
"Such foolishness….. We've done our time in the village, we're retired, whatever happens to the village has nothing to do with us" said Chiyo, she sounded angry and firm but her expression never changed.
Ebizo nodded slowly.
"I understand, but there's one more thing you might wanna know" said Baki, he leaned over to Chiyo and whispered something into her ear.
Her eyes widened as her body froze in her position.
Baki stood up "Please reconsider, we are in desperate need of your help, now please…. excuse me" said Baki, he bowed and left them.
Ebizo turned from the door to his sister "Nee-san? Is something wrong?" he said. Chiyo blinked and looked towards her brother.
"Nothing at all" she said.
Sakura's eyelids slowly lifted, she waited a few moments to let her vision materialize, Sasuke shifted his gaze from the sky to Sakura.
"Oh, you're awake" said Sasuke, jumping down.
Sakura massaged her neck then stood up "Gomen, how long did I take up" said Sakura. Sasuke looked up at the sky to check the position of the sun "About 2 hours" he answered.
"Shall we get going then" said Sakura, revived.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and got ready.
"We can't afford to lose any more time, so we're going to keep moving till we reach the village, got it?" said Kakashi.
The team nodded, then jumped off.
That evening….
Chiyo and Ebizo came walking down the hallway, the superiors turned their heads towards them, shocked at their sight.
"I-Isn't that….. the honored siblings?"
"I believe it is….!"
They moved aside for them to pass, Chiyo and Ebizo didn't even roll their eyes over to look at them, they walked past them coldly, heading straight for Kankuro's medical room, Baki was watching as the medics work on him when he notice someone's presence, he turned around and greeted them.
"Oh, we've been expecting your presence, please…. Step inside" said Baki, in his most polite manner. He looked over to the medics.
"As you all know, this is Chiyo-sama and Ebizo-sama" he said.
The medics bowed their heads in respect.
Ebizo bent over to look at Kankuro.
"And this is?" he asked.
"Kankuro…. The current Kazekage's older brother" said Baki.
Chiyo took one look at him, his chest was heaving up and down, he looked like he was having a bad dream, his body, covered in sweat and bandage.
"You took a blood sample right" said Chiyo, she held out her old and worn hand.
"Y-Yeah, it's here" the medic handed her a clipboard.
Chiyo looked at it "I've never seen anything like this"
"Yes, we believe it's a new type of poison" concluded one of the medics.
"He didn't kill him, either means he's very confident in this poison….. or he left him as a challenge for us, that would be just like Sasori…." Said Chiyo.
Chiyo set up her station and tried different types of antidotes, on the seal, it'll detect when she drops an antidote that'll be effective, but so far she hasn't had any luck.
Fire shot upwards from the seal "Tch….. this one is also useless huh?" said Chiyo.
"We've already requested a team of specialist from konoha, all we can do now is wait for their arrival" said Baki.
"Hmph, relying on other people, the village has grown fat and lazy because of its alliances" said Chiyo, irritated.
"F-Fat and Lazy? Our alliance have nothing to do with our shinobi-" said Baki.
"But it can't be helped, it was his fault for losing his cool and pursuing them alone…. A shinobi of all people should've known this better" said Ebizo
"And now you're stuck depending on konoha…. Improving your own village's capability should always be top priority, they are them…. We are us. True alliance are nothing more than pipe dreams, at times like this when you really need them, all you get are foot soldiers" said Chiyo
"B-But the current Kazekage trusted konoha most at times like this, he kept going on about 'that person'" said Baki.
"Hm? That person would be?" said Ebizo.
"We don't know, but konoha is the only choice we have" said Baki.
"People always put themselves first" said Chiyo.
"And this boy has less than a day to live…. If konoha are really coming, they better arrive soon" said Ebizo.
From night till dawn, Chiyo had tried countless of antidotes, but there wasn't one that could neutralize the poison, Chiyo had her two fingers on Kankuro's pulse, she closed her eyes and shook her head.
"I'm out of ideas now… even me, an expert on poison can't find and antidote…. Sasori has become very skillful" said Chiyo.
"What should we do" said Baki.
"Well, there's only one person out there who's better with antidotes than me. Konoha's slug princess, Tsunade-hime…. During the great war, she managed to figure out how I'd make my poison and designed antidote for every one of them, she drove me to the edge of my skills, and now that we're allies with them, your only option is to have her come and have a look at him" said Chiyo.
"But she's currently their Hokage, she can't leave the village at a moment's notice…. And even if she could, it would take 3 days for her to reach the village" said Baki
"Then we're out of time…. Besides I detest that slug-princess" said Chiyo.
The team came to a stop.
"Finally, we're at the desert!" said Naruto, excitedly.
"It's only a matter of time before we reach there" said Sakura.
"Beyond this desert is where Sunagakure lies, I'll be taking lead from here" said Temari.
"We're counting on you" said Kakashi.
Temari nodded.
They were a 3 hours walk from the village when a suddenly sand storm hit them, forcing them to take shelter at a nearby cave.
"Dammit….. we were so close to the village!" cursed Naruto, he sat the opening of the cave, hoping that the sandstorm would subdue at the next second.
"Give it a rest, Naruto, the sandstorm's not going to end no matter how hard you glare at it" said Sasuke, who was sitting with one of his knees propped up and the other stretched out and his arms crossed.
"Shut up! Don't make a fool out of me!" shouted Naruto.
"You don't need me to do that…." Said Sasuke.
Naruto turned away, looking satisfied. It took him a few more moments to figure out Sasuke's words, a vein popped up on his head, he turned and tackled Sasuke.
"What do you mean by that you emotionless bastard!"
"Exactly what it sounds like!"
"I'm going to kill you!"
"I'll let you try!"
The two argued as they fought in a ball of smoke, swearing at each other.
"Those two can never give it a rest…." Said Kakashi
Sakura laughed "Really"
Shizune stepped into Tsunade's office.
"You called for me? Tsunade-sama" said Shizune, curious about her next task.
"Yes, I'm sending reinforcements to Sunagakure, Team Kakashi should be reaching the village soon or maybe they're already there but I don't think Team Kakashi alone will be able to handle the problem " said Tsunade.
"But who are you sending? Most of the elites are off on a mission" said Shizune.
"Those people should be arriving from their mission soon" said Tsunade.
Shizune was still confused at who she meant but she felt like she got hit but a hammer when she remembered.
"Ah! I'll make arrangements immediately!" said Shizune.
A few minutes later Shizune entered the room, panting for she had been rushing around.
"They're back, Tsunade-sama" she blurted out.
"Right, I'll go see them immediately" said Tsunade as she walks out of her office and down the hall, she entered the usual room where she gives out missions.
"You are going to be given an S-rank" said Tsunade, as she entered.
"Ah, Tsunade-sama that's wrong room" but Shizune was a little late on the warning.
"S-Rank? Yay! Finally you acknowledge how strong we are"
"S-rank?"
Tsunade knew something was wrong. "Who are these children" said Tsunade.
"There's a mistake, Tsunade-sama, they are this way" said Shizune
"Mattaku….what a nuisance" said Tsunade.
Ebisu breathed "Oh…. It's just a mistake" he said with relief
Tsunade went into the right room this time, she inhaled "Team Gai! You're going to be assigned a very important mission"
"We will do our best to successfully execute it" said Lee.
"Team Gai will not fail" said Gai.
"You are to go to Sunagakure and provide assistance to Team Kakashi in whatever the sand has appointed to them" said Tsunade.
"Understood" said Neji.
"So Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun is back" said Lee.
"Now that you've received your mission, hurry up and get going" said Tsunade.
"Understood, Tsunade-sama!" said Gai, then he turned to Lee "Let's go, my student" said Gai.
"Sensei, our goal should be to make it there within half a day" said Lee.
"As expected from my student! We don't have a second to waste! There will be no break!" said Gai, then racing off with Lee.
"Stop it you two, it's embarrassing…" groaned Tenten, walking along.
"Give it a rest, Tenten. There's no use telling them" said Neji, walking with her.
Eventually they caught up with the bushy brow combo.
"Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun has probably gotten stronger" said Lee.
"No doubt" said Neji.
"I'd like to duel with them sometime" said Lee.
"Me too" said Neji.
Then they heard someone sniffling and sobbing, they looked over to their sensei.
"You are –sniff- the best students –sniff- a sensei could ever ask for" then he broke out into a sobbing fit.
Neji and Tenten sweatdropped as Lee sobbed along with his sensei.
Team Kakashi had made it into the village, they were immediately greeted by a suna-nin that Baki sent to inform them of Kankuro's condition.
"Thank god you made it, Kankuro-san's in bad shape" said the man.
"What happened to Kankuro" said Temari, desperately.
"There's no time to waste! Follow me" he said before running off.
They ran to the hospital as fast as possible, as soon as Sakura reached the room, she sprinted to Kankuro's bedside but was taken back when she heard and old lady scream with fury.
"Konoha no Shiroi Kiba (Konoha's White Fang)! How dare you show your face in front of me! Die!" shouted Chiyo with much ferocity for even an old lady.
"Ah, no I'm not-" said Kakashi, but he knew words wasn't going to stop her. "Geh!"
Sasuke and Naruto ran in front their sensei, Sasuke caught Chiyo's punch, Naruto created shadow clones to attack Chiyo, she swung a kick at the clone and it burst into smoke, Naruto shot out of the smoke and tried attacking Chiyo, but she drew back her fist and jumped back, Naruto was heading straight for Sasuke.
"Move it! Sasuke!" said Naruto.
Sasuke just took a step back and Naruto flew back him and collided with the wall, he faced Chiyo once again, and narrowed his eyes.
'This old hag can fight….' He thought "What are your intentions…. Attacking Kakashi like that" said Sasuke.
"This is revenge for my son! Don't interfere!" shouted Chiyo, she charged at Sasuke, who was standing in front of Kakashi.
Sasuke was about to arm himself with a kunai, but an old man jumped in front of him.
"Look closely, Nee-chan. He isn't the Shiroi Kiba, although the resemblance is a quite stunning, and besides shiroi kiba died a long time ago, remember? You got angry and said that you couldn't avenge your son" said Ebizo.
Chiyo looked at Kakashi, who was smiling nervously at her.
"Just kidding, I was just pretending to be senile" said Chiyo, in a disgustingly girly tone.
"Hah?" said Naruto, everyone else just sweatdropped.
Kankuro began coughing viciously and strangling himself, Sakura quickly turned to him and restrained him from hurting himself.
"Let me take a look at him" said Sakura, she took out her mother's hair needle and clipped in between her lips as she twisted her hair into a messy bun then took it out and pushed it through her hair.
"We're counting on you" said Temari.
"Sasuke, Naruto, Sensei. Do you mind if you stepped back a little?" said Sakura, her voice sounded serious and a little worried, she didn't look back at them though.
Sasuke nodded
"S-Sure" said Naruto and walked out with Kakashi.
Sakura's eyebrows creased as she took a look at Kankuro, she pried his eye lid open and clicked her small flash light on, then she checked the insides of his mouth, she put two fingers into it and Kankuro began coughing.
"O-Oi, who are you" said the medics.
Sakura straightened "Konoha's medical-nin" said Sakura, she flashed them a light smile.
With that, even the medics seemed struck by her beauty.
The others waited patiently outside, Chiyo paying close attention to Sakura.
She laid her head on Kankuro's chest, listening to his weak heartbeats, but she could hear something more than heartbeats, like something is infesting inside Kankuro. Sakura straightened "It seems the poison used on him was with refined metal. It's the type that gets into the muscle and destroys the cells" she concluded.
Everyone was taken by surprise from her conclusion, even Chiyo.
"She could tell that much from just a brief examination…..?" said one of the medics.
"Even the type…." Said the other one, they looked at each other.
"May I see the medical charts?" said Sakura.
The medics jumped a little before one of them lifted the clip board.
"It's here, this shows the poison's composition, though it has a few blank spots"
Sakura took it from them "I can fill those in, his heart muscles are being destroyed as we speak, it may cease to beat anytime now. Even if I prepared the antidote now, it could not stop the damage in time" said Sakura
Temari looked devastated by the news "No way…. Isn't there anything we can you?" she said, very much worried for her brother.
Sakura creased her eyebrows "Please gather the ingredients I tell you" said Sakura, in a commanding tone.
"Yes, ma'am"
"There's one way to save him, but…. It requires drastic measures" said Sakura.
The medics rushed around the hospital, obeying Sakura's every command, once they got it ready, Sakura was ready to begin operating.
"Could you hold him down, it's very delicate procedure and it might not feel good" said Sakura.
They obeyed and held Kankuro down on the bed, Temari over his head, holding him down on the shoulders.
Sakura turned to the bucket of liquid they prepared, she inhaled and closed her eyes for a second and placed her hand, gently on the substance, she lifted it and the substance stuck onto her hand like a bubble. She placed it on Kankuro's chest, but once it connected, Kankuro shot up from the bed and struggled viciously.
They seemed to have lost control over him, but then someone grabbed his shoulders from behind and slammed him onto the bed, Sakura turned to look at the person.
"Sasuke…"
"Make sure to do it right, Sakura" said Sasuke.
Sakura felt less tense and smiled a little, then nodded, she lowered her hand and placed the bubble onto Kankuro's chest once again, her other hand on the other side of Kankuro's chest. Kankuro began to yell and struggle but this time, they made sure to hold him down properly.
Sakura narrowed her eyes. 'Insert Chakra into his body….' She thought as the bubble dissolved into Kankuro's body.
It surrounded Kankuro's heart on the inside.
'Draw the poison out of the cells….'
Purple sinister looking liquid grew from his heart.
'Absorb them into the ball….' She closed her eyes for a few moments before they shot back open.
'Pull them out…!'
She lifted her other hand that was on the further side of Kankuro's chest, the liquid that she inserted began to seep out of Kankuro's skin along with the poison.
Everyone looked impressed with her technique. Once the poison was out, Sakura let go of the liquid back in to the bucket, she breathed out.
"Next" she commanded.
Sakura repeated the process.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Kakashi was waiting outside with Chiyo and Ebizo. Naruto spoke "Ne, Kakashi-sensei… Who was this Konoha no Shiroi Kiba that this grandma spoke of"
"Who you asked….? Mmm…. I think he's best be describe as" Kakashi paused and looked up for a while "my father".
Chiyo's eyes widened immediately, her finger trembling as she pointed it at Kakashi.
"Y-You're White Fang's son?"
Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.
Ebizo nodded "No wonder…You're a splitting image of him…" he said.
Kakashi chuckled nervously, unknown whether its due to flattery or unsureness.
Sakura had repeated the procedure for over 6 times all over Kankuro's body, and finally she let out a sigh "I've removed most of the poison…. His life is no longer in danger" she said happily.
The medics let out a sigh in relief as they let go of Kankuro.
She smiled as the medics praised her.
Naruto walked in and stood next to Sasuke, both of them eyeing their kunoichi teammate with admiration.
"Sakura-chan… Is really amazing" said Naruto.
Sasuke found himself agreeing with him.
Temari took a few steps back and leaned against the wall for support, she slid down to the ground and breathed nervously as she had almost lost her brother.
Sakura turned to her "We can't relax yet, there's still traces of the poison in his system, We'll need to make an antidote"
"Understood, if there's anything you need, just name it. We'll provide it" said Baki.
"Then may I ask if there is any medical herbs in the village?" said Sakura.
"Yes we do" answered a medic.
"Good, can you remove the bandages?" said Sakura.
"Will do"
"Oh and prepare an IV drip"
"Yes ma'am"
"And save some of that poison, I'll need it later"
'Sakura-chan…. You're so cool….' Thought Naruto.
'Not bad' thought Sasuke.
Sakura pulled out her hair needle and let her soft pink hair cascade down her back, some rolling down her shoulders, she shook her head a little.
Sasuke and Naruto felt a rush of warmth as they laid eyes on her.
"You're just like that slug-girl"
Sakura's pupils rolled to the side of her eyes as she looked at Chiyo.
"I'd never thought they'd send a woman like you to help us" said Chiyo.
Sakura turned to her and smiled brightly "Soka, Tsunade-sama is actually my master, we're are here on her orders" said Sakura, when she turned to her two teammates, Naruto looked stunned, his face all red and out of this world. Sasuke had covered the lower part of his face, his eyes trying their best to avoid eye contact with Sakura.
The medics approached her "Here is a list of the medical herbs" handing her a piece of paper.
"Arigatou…"
Chiyo and Ebizo stared at her.
"Nee-chan…. Times are changing, slowly but surely" said Ebizo.
Chiyo smirked and her eyes sparkled with interest.
Naruto and Sasuke exited the room, Kakashi was outside with Baki.
"Baki-sama, there's a reply from Konoha's Hokage" said one of the decoders.
"Thanks" Baki took the scroll from them, he unrolled it and glanced at it before handing it to Kakashi.
"A message from the Hokage"
Kakashi took it and read it.
"What did Tsunade baa-chan say" said Naruto, impatiently.
"She sent Gai's team her for reinforcements" said Kakashi.
"Bushy-brow Sensei's team?" said Naruto, his lips twisted into a smile "I bet everyone's gotten stronger"
"Neji's already a jounin" said Sasuke.
"Alright! We don't have time to slack off! Let's go after the akatsuki right now" said Naruto, he was running after the door.
"Even if you say that, do you know where they are?" said Kakashi.
Naruto paused "I don't….." he said reluctantly.
"Loser"
"What did you say you bastard! Wanna fight?" said Naruto.
"I'll take you on anytime" said Sasuke, aligning his eyes with Naruto's, sparks shot out of their eyes.
Kakashi ignored his student's squabble and turned to Baki.
"How are you tracking the Akatsuki?" asked Kakashi.
Baki turned over to Kankuro "Kankuro went out alone and ended up like, the pursuit squad we sent never came back, judging by the situation…. They're already….. Also, One of the village superiors are missing. I'd like to think he wasn't taken down so easily" said Baki.
"So basically…. You've completely lost track of them" said Kakashi.
"Yeah…. Unfortunately" said Baki, bitterly.
"Baki-sama!" the medics in Kankuro's room called, Naruto and Sasuke stopped fighting, but Naruto was still pulling on Sasuke's cheek and Sasuke was trying Naruto away on the forehead.
"Kankuro has regained consciousness"
They quickly entered the room as Kankuro slowly opened his eyes, his pupils explored the room then they fell on Temari.
"Huh? You're back already? Temari" said Kankuro.
"Ee…. I heard that the village was in danger" she said.
"Sorry…. For making you worry" said Kankuro.
"Idiot…. Don't say unnecessary things" said Temari.
"Baki-san, please take me to where Kankuro-kun fought" said Kakashi. Baki looked at Kakashi in question "I may not look it, but I am pro at tracking, if I can get a hold of their scent-" said Kakashi.
"There's no need for that" Kankuro cut in, forcing himself to sit up "all my puppets…. Have been recovered right….?"
Meanwhile….
Sakura was in the greenhouse, creating the antidote.
"I'd never thought that Sunagakure would have so many medical herbs" said Sakura, sounding satisfied.
"We do, but it's rather difficult to grow them in a greenhouse" said a medic.
"Especially tomoshiri grass… we have very little of that" said the other medic.
"Not at all, this is plenty, enough for three anti venom shots" said Sakura.
Kankuro was twitching all over, his expression still hasn't recovered since the operation, but he endured it for now.
"There were two guys….. one of them has Gaara, all you need is Gaara's scent and incase they split up, I cut off a piece of mask from the other guy and held it in Karasu's hand" said Kankuro, he pointed his finger at his puppet's beaten up hand and it opened up, revealing a piece of clothing.
"Hee… still putting up a fight even when you're down. Nothing less from a Sand Shinobi" said Kakashi, examining the fabric.
Kankuro managed a weak grin, then his pain started acting up, he winced in pain and held his side, trembling.
"Kankuro, are you alright?" asked his sister, her eyes filled with concern. But Kankuro wasn't looking at her, he was staring straight at Naruto and Sasuke. Temari noticed his gaze and turned to them too "Ah, they came all the way from konoha just for us" said Temari.
"You two….. Uchiha Sasuke and….Uzumaki Naruto. Haruno Sakura's teammates…huh?" said Kankuro.
Sasuke just rolled his eyes over at him, looking at him with no feeling. He thought probably that was Sasuke's way of saying hi. Unlike Sasuke, Naruto answered him with a "Hey"
Kankuro closed his eyes. "I see….." (Ironic isn't it, he closed his eyes and said 'I see')
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu"
There was a burst of smoke in the far side of the room and eight cool looking hounds appeared out of the smoke.
"The eight ninja hounds has arrived" said Pakkun.
"Pakkun!" said Naruto.
"Oh, Isn't that Naruto? Long time no see, Sasuke too" said Pakkun.
"Looks like you haven't changed at all" said Sasuke.
"You both too" said Pakkun.
"Eh? We have, look. We're a lot taller now" said Naruto.
"Yeah, Yeah, let's end the conversation here, I'll need you to work now" said Kakashi, holding a piece of fabric above one of the hounds noses which caused him to sniff at it impatiently. Soon the whole pack was taking in the scent of the fabric.
"Find out where they're headed" Kakashi withdrew his hand and with one command, "Go" and all the dogs were off in a flash, except for Pakkun.
"We'll get in contact with you once we find out" said Pakkun.
"Alright! We'll leave as soon as Pakkun gets back" said Naruto, excitedly.
"Shut up for a while, Naruto" said Sasuke, noticing Chiyo and Ebizo approaching Kankuro. But Naruto, thinking that Sasuke just wanted him to shut up for his own selfish reasons got angry and opened his mouth to protest but Sasuke punch him in the face with the back of his hand as Naruto is just next to him, that'll keep Naruto quiet for a while before he goes on a rampage.
"Kankuro…" began Chiyo.
"Chiyo baa-sama, Ebizo jii-sama" said Kankuro.
"I want to hear it from you once again….. there's no mistake that one of the opponents is Sasori, correct?" said Chiyo.
Kankuro looked depressed once she mentioned that name.
"Was he, Kankuro?" said Ebizo, pushing him once more.
"Yeah…." Kankuro replied bitterly "He said it himself that he was Akasuna no Sasori" said Kankuro.
"Akasuna no Sasori right? It seems I may be able to ask a few questions about the akatsuki from you, I'm counting on you" said Kakashi.
Sakura was trying out the anti-venom serum on Sasori's poison, she dropped the substance on the poison, for a moment the medics thought they had failed but Sakura didn't doubt her work one bit and then the poison started to burn away. Sakura smiled "We did it". The medics looked impressed with her.
They brought it to the hospital for Kankuro to drink it, by that time it was already evening, Kankuro reluctantly drank the serum, as Sakura held the cup up for him to gulp it down, during the process he hands looked like they wanted to stop Sakura from pouring the substance down his throat but he knew it was for his own good, and controlled himself. Even so, Sasuke had his eyes fixed at Kankuro, preparing for anything that he might do to Sakura, but nothing happened so he loosened his guard.
Kankuro sat back and started coughing, probably because of the distasteful medicine, Sakura knew it didn't taste good, even just by looking at him.
"Just rest till the trembling stops" said Sakura.
"You all should call it a day too, we have prepared rooms for you" said Baki.
"But, we have to go after Gaara as soon as possible" said Naruto.
"We'll accept the offer gratefully" said Sakura.
"But Sakura-chan" protested Naruto.
"Being impatient won't bring Gaara-kun back, it's best to leave it to Pakkun and the others" said Sakura, but in reality she really wanted to run around and search for Gaara. Kankuro could see it in her eyes.
"Besides, you'll need your rest if you don't wanna slow us down, idiot" said Sasuke.
Naruto fumed "That should be my line you bastard!" shouted Naruto.
Kankuro was touched by how much they cared for his brother and remembered the time Gaara had talked to him about joining the regular squads, Gaara's words hasn't faded from his memory, they were as clear as if it was only yesterday that Gaara was still thinking of joining the regular squads.
"Haruno…. Sakura" he paused, everyone looked at him, Sakura looked at him innocently, but at the same time, curious.
"I leave my brother to you…." he said.
Everyone, especially Temari, seemed taken aback by this. Sakura's lips softened into a smile "Mm! I'll definitely bring him back" said Sakura.
Naruto gave his signature cheesy grin "The Kazekage's gonna owe us for this"
Sasuke and Kakashi smirked, though Kakashi's wasn't visible.
"Wait a minute, How did you know I sent Pakkun and the others, Sakura" said Kakashi.
"All these years, Tsunade-sama had put me through rigorous chakra control training, I guess it must've automatically widened my range of sensory, now there's no a chakra within 50 kilometers I can't find" explained Sakura.
"You're pretty awesome, Sakura-chan" said Naruto.
"You think so?" said Sakura rubbing the back of her hair, flattered.
'This girl… could she be the one that Gaara's been talking about…..?' thought Baki.
Next Chapter: Sacrifice to Save
"Sorry we're late"
"I must commend you for being able to create an antidote for my poison"
"Let go of Gaara! You bastard!"
"We're too late….."
"I've lived long enough"
So what did you think? What is as bad as I thought? Or as good as you described. I wanna know, in your reviews. Some of your reviews really made my day, I love them. Thanks for your encouraging words. Really, really. Thank you. and I bet you're disappointed cause there's not much action in this one, but it would be too long if I wrote everything in one chapter, but I promise the Sakura and Sasori fight will be in the next chapter. So please be bear with me.
Reviewers I liked/loved
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