The Uchiha collected himself off the ground, seemingly unfazed as his former teammate gaped at him incredulously.

"The Akatsuki? And w-what the hell d'you mean 'before you die'?!" Naruto stammered in terror. "Sasuke, I have to tell Sakura-chan then! She's a medic-nin, she could help –"

"No." Sasuke cut him off briskly without hesitation. "It's none of your business. There's nothing you can do."

"Damn it, Sasuke! You expect me to just let you die?!" Naruto clenched his fists in frustration, anger and fear mixing into one. Sasuke was still as distant and cryptic as ever.

Sasuke seemed to falter for a split second. "My fate has been sealed…" He met Naruto's troubled look with his cold eyes. "Naruto, focus. The Akatsuki. We have a problem."

"Crap…all right…what about the Akatsuki? Aren't they all dead?" Naruto was merely feigning ignorance towards Sasuke's revelation. There was no way he was going to brush off his best friend's death as if it was nothing, yet pleading with the stubborn Uchiha was hopeless. He would find a way to save him no matter what, even if he had to withhold his true purpose from Sasuke. But how the hell am I gonna do that? Naruto groaned inwardly. He wasn't exactly good at being sly. Within his thoughts, Naruto could practically feel Kurama stirring with disapproval. You're going to risk your own life for someone else's again, aren't you? Foolish boy. The Kyuubi sneered at his jinchuuriki.

"Hn. Listen." Thus, Sasuke explained his discovery.

"A couple of months ago, someone had been ravaging villages, killing the villagers violently and mercilessly. However, their murders left a trail, which I followed and ended up at Amegakure. Yet I couldn't get close. The village is now heavily guarded, with thousands of shinobi watching the outskirts for intruders. Shinobi from other villages are forbidden to enter. Forcing my way in with violence would cause too many civilian casualties and incite panic. But it was too suspicious for me to ignore."

Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "Huh? Why does Ame need so many shinobi guarding the village?"

"This is why I managed to force one of the shinobi guards to tell me what was going on. A group, using the Akatsuki's name, has seized power and created a dictatorship within Amegakure."

"So they're just a couple of copycats trying to be tough? This'll be easy!"

"Do not underestimate them, Naruto. The guard also informed me that this new Akatsuki has every shinobi in the village pledging their allegiance to them. I wasn't able to find out the rest of their motives, however, as I was attracting too much attention. Yet it seems that they are sending their shinobi off to villages, instructing them to cause destruction, and there are rumours that spies have already reached Konoha in hopes of planning an attack. We must infiltrate Amegakure and find out their true resolve."

"So we have to tell Kakashi-sensei then! He's the Hokage now; he'll know what to do!"

"He will only send us on a reconnaissance mission. It's been years of peace, Naruto, and as the Hokage Kakashi will do anything to prevent another war. If Konoha is in danger of being attacked, we must take action discreetly. Exposing it to Kakashi means that the other Kage will get involved and Konoha will lose the element of surprise."

The Uchiha was not a crusader of vengeance anymore. He stood unwavering in his desire to protect Konoha and the nature of shinobi. The resemblance he had to Itachi was striking; he had the solidity of his older brother, opting to protect his village within obscurity. But would Sasuke's obsessive personality allow him to protect Konoha without falling into darkness again? Naruto recognized the severity of the situation; he wouldn't let Konoha, and Sasuke, fall into harm's way. Yet Naruto was still reluctant to hide the true nature of Sasuke's plan from Kakashi and leave the village without a trace. Not to mention the pressing issue of Sasuke's health! It wouldn't be long before his loud mouth forsook everything Sasuke had strategized.

Wait…Sakura-chan…am I forgetting something?

"Damn it! I forgot to meet Sakura-chan at the hospital!" Naruto groaned at his absent-mindedness. "Oh man, she's gonna kill me!" Naruto rushed towards the door, yet turned back to acknowledge Sasuke before he left. "I'm gonna include her into your plan, Sasuke. She's not weak anymore; she can help more than you think. There's no way I would ever be able to leave Konoha without telling her, too."

"Fine." The Uchiha's expression wavered as if he had something else on his mind, but he remained silent as usual. He didn't have to tell Naruto twice that Sakura was never to know about his impending demise. Sasuke watched his friend's back retreating from him as Naruto bounced out the door.

Haruno Sakura stood at the entrance of the Konoha hospital, trying to tame loose strands of her pink bob that the wind seemed hell-bent on messing up. A gaggle of nurses were already leaving for the day, waving farewell at the medic-nin. "See you tomorrow, Sakura-san!"

"Hai!" She responded cheerfully. Sakura was still waiting for Naruto to meet her like they originally planned, clutching her half-eaten bento box from lunch that she had promised to him. Baka…he's late again…

Sighing dejectedly, Sakura started walking through the town towards her apartment. She knew there was no point in feeling hurt over Naruto's forgetfulness- it was just his nature. No matter what, Naruto still meant well. Making her way past the various shops of the Konoha town square, she waved greetings to familiar faces and stopped to chat with fellow shinobi. Sakura's pleasant demeanor seemed infectious, as everyone around her always stopped what they were doing to share a smile with her.

Not long before she reached her apartment did she hear the thundering footsteps and cries of "SAKURA-CHAN!" trailing behind her. Sakura turned around to see a breathless Naruto racing down the street, practically shoving villagers out of his way to catch up to her. Sakura's cheeks flared with embarrassment at the sight.

"Sakura-chan! I'm so sorry! Something came up!" Naruto skidded to a stop in front of her, wheezing as he tried to regain his breath. "But you have to come over right now!"

"You know, Naruto…" teased the kunoichi as she stuck out her tongue and poked his shoulder, "It's not nice to keep a lady waiting then try to invite her back to your place."

This time, it was Naruto's turn to be embarrassed, his face flushing scarlet. "No…no! It's nothing like that, Sakura-chan! Just…we need your help!"

We? Sakura gazed curiously at her best friend. "Eh?"

The shinobi grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Heh…promise me you won't freak out, okay, Sakura-chan?" Before she could respond, Naruto grabbed her hand and dragged away from her apartment door. "Trust me! Just come!" Startled, Sakura reluctantly followed Naruto. "Oh, I saved the rest of my lunch for you just like you asked."

"Really? Sakura-chan, you're the best!"

Sakura entered the apartment with Naruto at her heels, clucking at the site of the typical clutter that greeted her. She placed the bento box on the kitchen table, but it took only a matter of moments before she felt the familiar presence in front of her. Sakura didn't even have to look up to know who it was. And when she did, she felt every molecule in her body go numb.

"Sakura." He stood casually in front of her, as if his arrival was the most normal thing in the world. He still looked the same, yet somehow different. The same stoic expression lingering on his features, those icy black eyes that cut through her soul. Sakura's hands automatically flew to her forehead, remembering his touch.

"…I'll see you soon."

Yet she also felt a stinging pain in her chest, remnant from his hand driving through her heart from an attempt to kill her during the war. It had been a genjutsu to subdue her, she knew that; yet the sensation of it had certainly felt real.

"S-Sasuke-kun…you're back? Welcome back! How are you?" The medic-nin felt her cheeks grow pink as she heard how disgustingly perky her voice sounded. She rushed to hug her friend, yet he stiffened in her arms until she let go.

"For now." Only Sasuke could manage to say one word and have it sound like he'd said nothing at all. He also ignored about half of Sakura's questions in typical Uchiha fashion. Sakura looked quizzically at her former teammates. This clearly wasn't the vibe of a joyful reunion- something was up.

Naruto looked longingly at the bento box on the kitchen table, sighing in dejection before he turned to his two friends. "You better fill her in, Sasuke, if she's going to come on this mission with us." Except the fact that you're dying…

While Sasuke explained the situation once more, she knew she should have been paying more attention to the severity of the mission. However, her eyes stayed fixated on the solemn determination radiating off the Uchiha, the kind that used to make her want to follow him to the ends of the world. Her twelve year old self would have been reeling right now, but she wasn't twelve anymore.

Once she tuned in, however, her emerald eyes widened more and more at the Uchiha's proposition. "Wait…a new Akatsuki? No way…But how am I supposed to just leave the village without telling anybody? Tsunade-sama would know right away! And my job at the hospital! You do realize someone must've noticed your arrival, right? It'll look suspicious enough if Naruto and I just leave without a trace!"

"Make an excuse." Sasuke shrugged, as if it wasn't his problem. "If you can't handle it, don't come."

Sakura felt as if she had been slapped in the face. After everything he had seen from her, he was still questioning her abilities. Thankfully, Naruto relieved the awkward tension as he placed a reassuring hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Sakura-chan…he's right you know. We have to do this! And," he proclaimed, grinning at the kunoichi, "I believe in you!"

Sakura smiled gratefully at Naruto, yet didn't quite share the same enthusiasm. The plan was definitely rash and dangerous. It would be stupid to think that she and Naruto could just stroll out of the village without anyone batting an eye. Tsunade-sama…She groaned inwardly. Surely her master would have her head if she knew what they were up to. Above all, Sakura was frightened at the notion of infiltrating a foreign village without any backup whatsoever. Even if she died in battle, Tsuande would probably resurrect her just to punch her lights out for ever attempting such a daring mission. Yet she couldn't just reveal her reluctance to her former teammates. Naruto, on one hand, felt practically no fear – he was always willing to put his life on the line. And Sasuke…Sasuke was the same, yet if she even dared reveal any of her qualms to him…

"And you're sure it's serious?" Immediately Sakura regretted this silly question. There's no way Sasuke would have returned to the village if it wasn't. Luckily (or unluckily- she still couldn't decide) for her, Sasuke ignored her as if she was a mere fleck of dust. "So it's settled. We leave tomorrow."

Naruto whooped in excitement, pumping a fist in the air. "All right, Team 7 back again!" He looked at Sakura appreciatively, as if she had just done him the biggest favour by accompanying them.

Of course, Sakura didn't know the real reason why Naruto wanted her to join them so desperately.

Okay, so she couldn't help feeling slightly thrilled to be reunited with her friends as Team 7. It was hard to stay doubtful when Naruto's goofy grin reassured her that everything was going to be alright. As for Sasuke…Sakura still felt a small inkling of longing for him. It was hard not to; he had left with such promise that he'll see her again, etched into her forehead from his touch. Yet Sakura felt that any affection he had shown to her before he left was clearly a sign of her delusional mind. Sasuke's return just proved that he still considered her to be the anchor that weighed him down.

"Sasuke-kun…" The kunoichi turned to the Uchiha, hoping to ask him questions about his journey. What was life like outside civilization? What had he seen? What did he learn about himself on his journey? If she couldn't be the object of his desires, she could at least be his friend. Yet before she could even complete her sentence, the Uchiha was gone.

In the trees adjacent to Naruto's apartment, a shadowy figure crouched in the leaves, surveying the scene sinisterly. Good, they hadn't noticed him- his chakra suppression had worked. A small smile played on his lips. So, this was the famous trio that had singlehandedly saved the shinobi world. The meddling Uchiha, the obnoxious Kyuubi with the everlasting chakra reserves, the girl with the surprisingly deadly strength; he knew all about them. He silently thanked the old man in the previous village for pointing him to Sasuke's direction- after a round of torture, that is. Shame that I had to kill him, sneered the figure, not apologetic at all. He had to take precautions in covering his tracks now that the Uchiha was hot on Ame's trail. But they wouldn't get far- now that he knew what they were up to, he couldn't wait to relay his discovery back to Ame.

Vengeance will be upon you all.

A/N: So this chapter ended up being longer and slower than the last. I dragged out too much dialogue and inner feelings, I know, but it's just pretext for the action that's coming up! Sasuke ended up being kind of an asshole (more than usual) to Sakura in this chapter but it's all relevant as the story expands. Reviews are much appreciated!