AN: I've decided to make this a short story, and not go into the whole Fourth Shinobi war skit. While there will be action and all that, it's mostly going to be romance between the two MC's.

3: Truth

Sakura would be forced to stay in the hospital for another week before she was finally freed, and allowed to return to active duty. In that time, both of her male teammates were put through the proverbial gauntlet by their sensei. While they were allowed to go on missions, both were forced to work doubly hard to earn Sakura's pay as well.

Sakura had protested the form of punishment, but Anko was adamant about it, and wouldn't be swayed. Sasuke and Naruto had no problems with it either, both feeling responsible about Sakura's condition. It also provided multiple opportunities for the two rivals to work together. Sakura felt slightly jealous that they were going out on missions outside of the village, the girl herself having never been allowed outside the walls as a child.

Her parents had been heavily protective of her, even now that she was a kunoichi. Which brought up another problem the girl had to face. Her parents, being former shinobi themselves, wanted her to have nothing to do with their former line of work. Neither of them had made it passed their Genin days, and were slightly bitter towards the profession, though many people they called friends were shinobi themselves.

The moment her mother, Mebuki Haruno, had heard about her hospitalization, the woman had rushed to her side, and demanded that she quit at once. Sakura and her mother were very much alike in many aspects. The most prominent likeness was their shared tempers. Kizashi, her father, knew well enough not to get in the middle of the two when a full blown row was brewing unless his wife demanded his opinion. It was from him that the girl got her pink hair.

Of course, the man wanted her to quit as well, but respected her enough to allow her to continue unless she started frequenting the hospital as a patient more than he cared to see, which was already one time too many.

It took Anko of all people to get the girl's mother off of her back for the time being by threatening to call the Hokage out on them for harassing her student, who, as soon as she took her first steps as a kunoichi, was deemed an adult, and more than capable of making her own decisions, as well as finding an apartment away from her very much overprotective parents.

That shut the woman up.

Sakura, as a kunoichi, still lived with her parents, of course, but it was common for shinobi families to remain in a tight-knit, but for some striking out on their own was also common place. Point of fact, the only reason that the girl hadn't moved out was the sad fact that she hadn't really worked enough to make any money to pay for a place, and she wanted to be sure that she could actually make it on her own.

Finally, however, things settled down after she began to recover, and got out of the hospital.

What had gotten on her nerves the most, however, was the fact that neither Sasuke or Naruto would visit her apart from Naruto's little delivery while she was asleep. The chocolates were delicious, of course, and the flowers had quickly become her favorites over cherry blossoms for which she was named, but she wanted to see him...them.

She kept telling herself that, but the embarrassing fact of the matter was that her feelings were completely muddled after their time in the Forest of Death. Sasuke, of course, was still the most eligible bachelor in their village, apart from the legendary Copy Ninja she had heard about from Ino. But having gotten to know him for that short time, she realized that all he did was train, train, and train. His mind was set in getting stronger so that he could put an end to his brother, and nothing else was going to get in the way of that. Despite Anko's warning, Sasuke Uchiha was not thinking of the future.

And then there was her blond teammate. Always grinning or smiling, even when things looked sour. She'd never seen him truly angry except when the leech had taken hold of her, and Sasuke had burned it off. She recalled a moment, before the poison began to effect her, his normally beautiful blue eyes turn a shade of red so dark she thought she was looking at someone completely different.

"Hey, Forehead!" Sakura winced as she was brought out of her thoughts by her least favorite nickname. She rolled her eyes as she left the hospital, and was greeted by her former rival. Ino gave her a wave as she came up to her, smiling from ear to ear, "Finally out, huh?"

Sakura nodded, sighing, "Yeah, finally," she said, and smiled at her before grabbing the young woman in a hug, "It's great to see you again, Ino!"

Ino squeaked as Sakura's natural strength threatened to crack a few ribs, "Urk, g-great to see you, too, Sakura...ribs! My ribs!"

Sakura released her a second later, "Sorry about that," she giggled, "What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you busy with your team?"

Ino shook her head whilst rubbing her left side, "Nah, we've got the day off," she said, and smiled back, "So, how is it being on a team with Sasuke and Naruto?" She asked, practically drooling for details, "I bet Sasuke's amazing as usual! He's always been so cool since academy!"

Sakura wanted to agree with her, but..."Well, I can tell you that he's definitely dedicated," she relented, scratching the side of her nose, "But really, the shocker came from Naruto." Ino perked up at this, sensing a tidbit of good gossip. "He pretty much out-shined Sasuke as far as our training went. He's a lot smarter than we gave him credit for."

"Naruto?" Ino frowned, giving her friend a look, "Are we talking about the same Naruto that loved playing pranks on the entire class, and the faculty? The guy that graffitied the Hokage monument like a dozen times?"

"The very same," she giggled, remembering some of his more stellar pranks, including planting a super-sized stink bomb in the faculty room when Tsume Inuzuka had been on hand. That had been an interesting day. Poor Kiba had complained for a solid month about the smell in the academy being too much for him to handle.

Ino shook her head, "Okay, let's say I believe you," she said, feeling a little skeptic, "What's he out-shined Sasuke in?"

"Can we talk while we walk?" Sakura asked, "I want to let my parents know I'm out."

"Sure, but spill," she insisted, "I heard from Hinata's sensei that you guys got saddled with a Jonin from the T&I department."

"Anko Mitarashi," Sakura supplied fondly, "She's not so bad, really."

"Pfft," Ino waved her off, "Just tell me what you meant about Naruto beating Sasuke?"

Sakura thought for a moment, "Well, you see...Sasuke's kind'a...really...lazy."

"Lazy?"

"Lazy," Sakura nodded, frowning, "I was surprised about it, too, but all he ever does is train himself into the ground, but that's it. He never helped me, or Naruto while we were in the forest on our survival training. Naruto practically did everything."

Ino frowned, crossing her arms under her chest, "Okay, so he's a typical jock, big deal."

"Well, Naruto has more muscles than he does, so what does that tell you?" She countered, immediately regretting it as Ino's face lit up like a firecracker, "Uh, oops?"

"You'vre seen them without their -?!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Sakura shouted rapidly, "I mean I've seen them without shirts, but that's it!"

Ino was drooling by this point, "Oh, gods! What I wouldn't give to have a look at the hunk of man meat!" She squealed, making Sakura flustered beyond belief. Did the crazed blonde have any idea what that sounded like, and in public no less? She turned to the rosette with stars in her eyes, "And you're telling me Naruto's more hunky than Sasuke?"

Sakura blushed madly as she remembered both boys coming back from bathing once. Sasuke at least had his jacket hanging around his shoulders, but Naruto was outright shirtless. The blond had looked like a spiky-haired stone carving come to life! "Well, yes, yes he is." She admitted.

Ino cooed in delight, "You are so lucky!" She sighed dramatically, comically slumping, "I got stuck with the old Ino-Shika-Cho spiel. Meaning I've got Choji and Shikamaru as my eye candy, or lack there of." She moaned, making Sakura giggle at her expense, "Speaking of Naruto, do you know if he's got himself a sweetheart?"

Sakura jolted a little. 'Naruto with a another girl?' She felt a enormously unexpected spike of jealous wash right over her like a tidal wave. "Uh, no, I don't think he does...why?"

Ino giggled, "Well, you see, about a week ago, he came into my family's shop while I was minding the register, and he had a box of molten-core chocolates under his arm, you know those heavenly bonbons the Akimichi make?" Sakura nodded, immediately blushing, "Well, when he came in, he also had these beautiful bundles of magenta mountain lilac, and asked if he could buy a vase for them." She giggled, "I tried to tease it out of him, but he wouldn't tell me who they were for. Mum was the word with him for once!"

Sakura felt insanely guilty, "Uh, Ino?" Her friend turned to her, "I...I was the one he gave those to." She admitted, much to her friend's shock, "The chocolates were really good, too..." she finished lamely as Ino's eyes went wider than a Sake cup, "Uh, Ino? Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Ino muttered, then beamed, "Sakura! I didn't know Naruto could be that sweet! Lilacs symbolize so much about the heart and the soul!" She gushed, "Do you know what magenta ones mean?"

"N-no, but - "

"First love," Ino simpered dreamily, "Heavens, if a boy gave those kind of flowers to me, I wouldn't care what he'd look like, he'd be worth a few dates at least to see if we fit together!"

Sakura blushed all the way to her hairline, "F-f-fit t-t-to-together?!"

"Not like that, you pervert!" Ino snipped, giggling, "I mean that if we were a good match!" She sighed in delight, "Man, and you got them from Naruto of all people! Now I'm actually feeling jealous!"

Sakura frowned, "Well, I don't really think that Naruto knows what they - "

"Let me stop you right there, sister," Ino giggled, "I asked him if he knew what they meant."

"Oh, gods..." Sakura was mortified, "You didn't!"

"I did," Ino giggled, then gave her the softest smile she'd ever seen on the blonde gossip queen. "And you know that he had the tenderest look on his face when he told me that they were meant for his first, and only love?"

'Only,' Sakura shivered, her inner voice strangely quiet. She frowned for a moment, "Uh, Ino, you hear a lot, right?"

"But of course," she said with a slight flourish, "You are talking to a Yamanaka, and we are known for being able to read people like open books, whether they're talking or not." She giggled, "What do you want to know?"

Sakura sighed, "What have you heard about Naruto; and I mean from the older generations, not the ones from our class."

Ino looked at her a little surprised, "Seriously?"

"Seriously, Ino, I wanna know," Sakura said as they passed into her neighborhood.

Ino crossed her arms again, "Okay, so, I don't know how true it is, because it happened when Naruto would've still been a baby," she said, sighing, "A few of the older shinobi said that it was his fault that a few of their family members were killed. And this is like right at fifteen years ago, understand? I don't know how they could call him a murderer when he was just a baby?"

Sakura was equally confused. Fifteen years ago had been the fabled Kyuubi attack. What did Naruto have to do with that? "Anything else?"

"Only that most of the older shinobi don't like him at all," she said, "Same reasons, different person, same target. Only a few of them actually think he's going to be a good shinobi himself."

"Like all of the Jonin sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Bingo," Ino said, "You got an idea, there, Forehead?"

Sakura shrugged, wondering just what was going on. "Uh, Ino, I think I'm gonna go have a talk with Naruto, instead. You mind?"

Ino shook her head, "Not a bit, but I think he's going out on an out-of-village mission today." She said, "Actually, I think he might already be gone. I saw Anko-sensei at the gate earlier."

Sakura groaned, "I'll stop by anyway to see if he's still there." She sighed, and bade her friend good-bye before jogging off.

(*)

Hiruzen chuckled as he watched the young woman jogging through the village via his crystal ball, and smiled, "Such is young love." He chuckled, and rose, "Yugao, I'll be heading out for a bit," he said to the unseen Anbu in the room, "Accompany me, won't you?"

"Of course, sir," said a woman's disembodied voice.

The Third Hokage smiled and vanished from the room in a swirl of smoke.

(*)

"Naruto lives here?" Sakura said out loud in astonishment. The apartment building she had arrived at had seen far better days, and looked somewhat unfit to live in given the decrepit state of the outer walls. Still, it was the right address, so she ascended the stairs, and found the right apartment number. Unlike the walls of the building's exterior, the walls on his floor were...clean, particularly around his door.

The door was scored and scarred, however, and looked to be barely standing.

"What in the world?" She frowned, and rapped on the door lightly, "Naruto? Are you in?"

"He's long since left, my dear," said a wizened voice behind her.

Startled, Sakura whirled around with a shriek, backing away hard into Naruto's door, and...crashed through it. The Third Hokage nearly chuckled at the sight when the girl looked around herself in embarrassment. "L-Lord Third?"

"Good day, Sakura," he chuckled as the girl rolled to her feet, dusting herself off. "Forgive me for frightening you, but a kunoichi should always keep on her toes, you know?"

"Y-Yes, I...what am I gonna do about this?!" Sakura wailed, looking at the mess she had caused, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean - "

"Sakura, look around yourself," he said, pointing with his pipe, "The room itself is a mess beyond the door, my dear."

Sakura looked around, frowning, but soon found out what he meant. The apartment was piled with old instant ramen cups stacked in odd places, as well as other food containers strewn all over the place. Only the bed and the bathroom area was spared. "Oh, boy, it's a disaster in here!"

"It is indeed," Hiruzen chuckled, "Rather than simply worry about the door, why not help me clean this mess while Naruto's away?" He smiled, "I'm sure he would appreciate it."

Sakura giggled, "Well...do you know where he keeps the garbage bags?"

It took a little doing, but between the young kunoichi and the elder shinobi, the apartment was cleaned of garbage and scrubbed hard enough that Hiruzen thought that the paint would peel at one point. Sakura was just finishing up washing Naruto's bedding and hanging it out to dry while the man had Yugao procure some tea from his home, which was now on the brew.

As Sakura finished her work, she sighed, and sat across from the village leader, frowning, "Sir, why does Naruto live in a place like this?" She gestured to the apartment complex in general, "This place looks ready to fall down around his ears."

Hiruzen sighed as he poured the two of them a cup of tea each, "In truth, I've asked him the same question," he said, taking an appreciative sip, "As you might know, my dear, Naruto has very few worldly possessions." He gestured around the spartan rooms of his apartment, "And, as he grew up in this very room, he's grown quite attached to it." He said, sighing, "It's quite possibly the only real home that he knows."

"And all this junk food?" She gestured to the multiple piles of garbage bags outside the door, "He can't possibly live off instant food alone?"

Hiruzen chuckled, "For a time, he did, but I thankfully managed to teach him how to cook," he said, smiling, "And, to my surprise, he learned to forage for himself outside of the village walls, and in some of the training grounds. From what some of my Anbu have witnessed, he rarely needs to buy food unless it's winter time when most edible plants have gone from the world until the spring breathes life into them."

Sakura took a small sip of her tea, not really tasting it as several questions still floated around in her mind, but she was unsure if she should voice them to the man. As if picking up on her worry, the man chuckled, "A foolish question is only ever the one that is never asked, Sakura," he smiled, "Worry not, only Yugao is here to hear us, and I can assure you that she won't breathe a word of this to anyone should you ask that it not."

Sakura bit her lip, and took a deep breath, "Naruto...is hated by the older shinobi...because they think he's a murderer." She shook her head, "I can't believe that. He doesn't seem the type to murder someone, and the way they all talk, it was the night of the Kyuubi attack." Hiruzen remained silent as the girl spoke, silently smiling on the inside, "Naruto wouldn't have been more than a day or so old when all of this happened."

"Not even that, my dear," he said, "Naruto was born on the tenth of October, just as the leaves were beginning to turn in preparation for the fall. It was to be a joyous day when he came into the world, yet it became one of sorrow."

Sakura's eyes widened impossibly, "But the tenth was - "

"The day that the Kyuubi attacked, yes," he nodded, "You are quite smart, my dear. Please, tell me the thoughts that are bothering you."

Sakura looked at him, and began to tremble. Though she knew he was a gentle man, this was her Hokage, haled as the God of Shinobi, a man to be feared and respected. The calm exterior, she knew, could be hiding something that she didn't need to see. "Naruto...he's related to the Kyuubi somehow, isn't he?"

"Indeed he is," Hiruzen set his cup down, "Seeking knowledge to better one's self is a noble cause, and seeking knowledge to aid another is even more so, but seeking knowledge to harm another is a great sin, indeed." He said, no hint of anger or malice in his voice, "Tell me, my child, for what purpose do you seek this knowledge?"

Sakura shook her head, "I...I don't really know, honestly," she said, "But it's not to hurt Naruto, so you don't have to worry - "

"Oh, but I do," Hiruzen sighed, "You see, bar having any sort of parentage to help him grow, this whole thing has made the boy the village pariah." He said, "I've looked after Naruto for most of his life like one of my grandchildren, so I can't help but worry for him from time to time, especially when someone he hold so dear is close to a secret that could ruin his relationship with them."

"I could never hate him," she admitted, smiling a little, "He's...he saved my life...he's so warm and caring, even when I know that some people try to hurt him in other ways, he just keeps smiling. When I'm near him, I can't stop smiling. He makes me laugh so hard sometimes that my belly hurts. And when we were in the Forest of Death, he..." She trailed off, a realization beginning to settle in as the elder smiled at her kindly.

"I have heard enough," he smiled, reaching out to pat her hand, and sat back, "Naruto, like many others throughout the land, is our village's Jinchuuriki." Sakura looked at him with confusion, the term unfamiliar to her, "A Jinchuuriki translates roughly to a human sacrifice. Not in the normal sense mind you, but due to the fact the moment he became one, he was set for greatness beyond that of any shinobi that now resides in this village."

"But why do people hate him if he's going to be so great?" Sakura asked, somewhat angry.

Hiruzen sighed, "Because, my dear girl, Naruto isn't just related to the Kyuubi, he is its jailer."

Sakura nearly dropped her tea. "J-Jailer?"

"That is what I said, my dear," Hiruzen sighed, "That is what a Jinchuuriki is. A person that has the unfortunate fate of having one of the nine Tailed Beasts sealed away inside of them." He said, watching Sakura become paler and paler with each word that he spoke. "Normally, we try to keep their identities a secret so that they can have some form of normalcy in their lives, but sooner or later, someone finds out. With Naruto, hatred of the Kyuubi grew to hatred to hatred of its container. Naruto was outed as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi before he was old enough to understand, and no one wanted anything to do with him."

"But why - ?"

"Hatred can make people do terrible things, Sakura," he told her, taking another sip of his tea, "That includes the ultimate cruelty that makes a child believe he doesn't exist."

Sakura felt herself go cold, "That's why he pulled so many pranks."

"It is," he said, nodding, "He figured out that if he caused enough trouble, then others would see him, and he would know that he truly exists."

It was quiet for a long time between the young kunoichi and the Hokage, the girl trembling with barely contained rage. Then, the Hokage rose, "I would like to ask a favor of you, Sakura." He said, making the girl look up at him, "Right now, Naruto and Sasuke are out on border patrol, but once they return, and you rejoin them, I will be having your team go out, and retrieve someone for me."

"Retrieve someone?"

"Yes," Hiruzen smiled at her, "It is high time that I retired, and spent what little time I may have left with my family," he said, sighing, "but that is not the favor I would ask of you." He looked down at her, "Naruto has very few that openly care for him, myself, Iruka, and Anko being among them...so I would ask you to look after him for me. He needs someone else in his life."

Sakura looked down at the table, "I've...not been the best of friends with him..."

"That was in the past," he chuckled, "Now, however, I feel that there has been a shift in the wind surrounding the two of you." He smiled at her, "You care very deeply for him."

"W-Well, yes, I do, but - "

"And," Hiruzen went on, "He loves you with all his heart."

That stopped her, because she knew that much was true to a certain point. He had all but admitted it to her when they were out foraging. "Y-You're talking like you know when you'll die."

Hiruzen chuckled, "No one really knows when they'll pass from this world, Sakura," he said, smiling, "But as I once told Naruto, one must be prepared to part from those they love at any point in time. All we can do is prepare, and prepare those we love for that time, and make sure that they can go on without us."

"And...you're sure that Naruto would - "

"He is my grandson in all but blood, Sakura," he said, sighing, "Aside from Iruka, whom he views as a father figure, I am the only real family he has ever known." He smiled, "Though, soon, however, I must recall someone to the village that would view him as a child of their own as well. If the two of them meet, Naruto may react violently, and that would cause the Kyuubi to react as well." He sighed, making the girl frown, "Strong emotions like anger, and fear cause the chakra from the Kyuubi, which also courses through Naruto's natural system, to take the forefront. His features will change to those of the Kyuubi itself. I've seen it happen."

He sighed once more, and started for the door, "I'll have someone come by and fix this before the day is out." He said over his shoulder, "And thank you for cleaning this place up. Naruto will certainly appreciate it."

Sakura watched the man go, frowning at everything she had learned. It was far more than she had bargained for, but she was happy in sense to finally know something about the blond young man that seemed to occupy her mind so much lately.

But to come to find out that he, of all people, held something so dangerous inside of himself. And that the village hated him so much for keeping the Kyuubi locked away. She, of course, knew the story about how the Fourth Hokage had destroyed the monster fifteen years ago, but now she knew the truth of the matter. And Naruto had been suffering in silence for it.

'Does he know?' She wondered, and then shook her head, 'Of course he does; don't be stupid, Sakura,' she berated herself, 'But how do I...what do I say to him?' She got up to take in the laundry she had set out to dry, noting that it was already dark outside. She had spent the entire remaining day at the blond's apartment.

She felt tired as she made up his bed, nor did she feel like facing her parents at the moment with so much on her mind. She sat on the edge of his bed, leaning her head against the wall. Without really meaning to do it, she drifted off to sleep.

(*)

"Keep up, you two!" Anko shouted over her shoulder, "We're right along the border, so any other shinobi could take a shot at us!"

"You got it, Sensei," Naruto called out while Sasuke remained quiet. The two were still on rocky terms, but they were tolerant of each other, even though Naruto still blamed Sasuke for what happened to Sakura.

Currently the team of three was bounding through the trees ghosting the border of the Land of Earth, Rock shinobi territory. The two younger shinobi knew very little about the shinobi themselves, other than the fact that they had a deep-seeded hatred of Leaf shinobi thanks to the Fourth Hokage's actions during the war.

"Once we make the sweep, we're heading back to toward the Leaf," Anko called out again, "But keep your eyes peeled. It's too quiet for my liking. We should have at least seen a sign of other patrols out this way, especially this close to the border."

"Do you think it's an ambush?" Sasuke spoke up.

Anko frowned at the thought, but didn't rule it out. The current Tsuchikage was known as a fence-sitter, but that didn't mean his men were. Glancing back at the young blond, her frown deepened, 'If they spotted him, then...' She stopped and landed on a branch as her two youngsters landed beside her.

All of them crouched down, the elder kunoichi scowling, "You're right, Sasuke," she said, "This is an ambush."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "What do we do?"

"Naruto, you've got good eyes, sharp ears, and an even sharper nose," she said, singling out the blond tracker of their team, "Can you pick up anything?"

Naruto nodded and took a short jump to a neighboring tree. He then closed his eyes, focusing on his senses.

A small breath of wind ghosted through the trees, bringing with it the a quiet keening sound 'Wire?' He thought, listening closer, 'No, wires.' He corrected himself, and caught the scent of oil. Blade oil. It was different than what he and his teammates used to keep rust from their weapons, a different ingredient? With the scent of oil came the scent of sweat. 'One...two...no, there's four of them,' he frowned, 'One of them's a woman, probably the medic, our their secret weapon...she smells like...ash?'

He frowned and looked back at his team, "Four of them, along with traps, dead ahead of us." He said, "The area's littered with razor wire."

Sasuke blinked, impressed. 'I didn't know he was that good at tracking?'

Anko smirked, "Alright, good work, Naruto." She said, gesturing for him to come back. As he landed next to them, she bit the inside of her thumb, "Summoning Jutsu!" She hissed, slamming her hand against the branch. A puff of smoke erupted, and four large snakes appeared, earch with the thickness of a human arm.

"You summoned us, Mistress?" The largest of the group hissed, flashing a pair of long, sharp fangs.

Anko smiled at the serpents, "Sorry to have to make you work so soon, but we have four enemy shinobi ahead of us, along with a large number of traps." She said, "While I can't tell you to kill them, I do need you to raise some hell and chase them back across the border."

The snake chuckled, and dipped his head, "Consider it done, Mistress." He said, "But I will not make any promises. It has been a long time since I have tasted human, and my fangs do so ache to sink into something so soft."

Anko just waved them off as they slithered down the trunk of the tree, and down into the forest floor. She turned to her students, "We'll hunker down here for a little while, then we move out back to the village when my summons let us know about the Rock shinobi. Until then, let's get comfy." She said, "Naruto, I want you to find yourself a hiding spot and keep those ears and your nose open. If they fail, we'll need to know right away."

Naruto didn't waste any time before he launched himself into the greenery above them, immediately disappearing from sight. Sasuke frowned, "How does a person with that much orange on manage something like that?"

Anko giggled, "You'd be surprised. But when we get back to the village, I'm going to have to ask the Hokage about letting you learn a jutsu invented by one of the Sannin. He could literally disappear right in front of you, and not even move."

"Sounds useful." Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, it is, but he used it in the worst possible way," Anko groaned, "He used it to spy on women while they were bathing in the hot springs."

Sasuke looked at her as if one of her snakes had sprouted out of her nose, "You're kidding?"

"This is the one time I kid you not, my oh-so-cute little Genin." She said with all seriousness. "He seriously invented it for that sole purpose. But as luck would have it, it served a greater purpose to our Anbu forces - "

Naruto suddenly dropped out of the branches, "It worked," he said, "I can hear them moving away from us, as well your snakes chasing after them." He explained, "One of them must have gotten hit, though, I can only hear three of them."

"Good," Anko grinned. "Then let's get back to the village and report this to Lord Third. He'll want to know if those boulder brains are up to something."

With that the trio lept off into the forest.

Naruto smiled as they went, hoping that Sakura would soon be out of the hospital -

"Earth Style: Earth Spear!"

Naruto whipped around just in time to see a large black shaft of stone coming right at Sasuke's exposed back. Acting before he had time to think, he doubled back and shoved the Uchiha out of the line of fire...only to take the spear himself directly in the chest. The impact set his ears to ringing, drowning out all other sounds as he fell from the branches.

He saw Sasuke breathing fire furiously at another person while Anko went after another. Soon, however, the forest floor caught up to him, and he knew nothing else except the dull ache in his body.

{Drip}

'Water?' He thought tiredly.

{Drip}

He opened his eyes and found himself in a very strange place. He lay in a shallow pool of water, staring up at a massive barred cell. Behind it, he could hear the breathing of something truly massive.

A growl erupted from the cell, along with the thunderous crash of a massive footstep. "Pathetic." The creature said as Naruto now peered up at two gigantic red eyes. "Putting yourself in danger for that Uchiha weakling." It said as its form became slightly visible. Nine thrashing tails waved about in an angry manner as a sneering smile appeared beneath those glaring red eyes. "Any other day I would simply sit by, and watch as you slowly bled to death," it sneered coldly, "Unfortunately, should you lose your life, then I shall also perish." A miasma of red bubbling chakra leaked out from the bars, and swirled around the blond, "Be grateful that you still yet have use to me."

Back in the real world, Sasuke kicked an attacking Iwa shinobi away from him and breathed out a massive ball of flames at him, "Bastards!" He turned his attention to the one that Anko was fighting before another landed in his path. The two of them locked blades with their kunai, sparks flying from the metal, when a massive chilling wave of raw killing intent washed over them.

Their battle halted.

"Oh, shit, I was afraid of that!" Anko shouted, and looked at the shinobi she had been fighting, "If you're smart, you'll leave before he gets back up here!"

"Piss on that you Leaf bitch!" He growled, preparing to attack again when a monstrous roar rose up from beneath them.

Sasuke looked down, and saw a red glow from the forest floor, "What the hell is that?!"

"That," the woman sneered, "Is an out of control Jinchuuriki," she growled, alerting the two remaining Rock shinobi, "And these idiots are the ones that set him loose!"

As if responding to her words, a massive red creature slammed into the man she had been fighting, dragging the screaming man into the branches where they were treated to the sound of ripping flesh, and breaking bones. The leaves turned red in a shower of blood as what remained of the Rock shinobi fell through the branches in pieces.

Sasuke took the distraction and pierced the man he was fighting through the neck, and kicked him off the branch as a low, rumbling growl sounded from the branches above them. "What...what is going one here?" He asked, looking up in the branches, and saw the leaves withering right before his eyes as they fell from the tree.

"What's going on is that we're in more trouble than we can handle," Anko frowned as a large claw appeared from the branches, crawling down the trunk, "I've got what we need to subdue him, but we could really use your Sharingan right about now."

Sasuke frowned and channeled a little chakra into his eyes, turning them red for all but a moment before they returned to black. He couldn't use them yet. "Sorry." He said as the creature crawled lower.

"Don't be sorry, just be careful," she said, never taking her eyes from the beast, "We're about to be in for the fight of our lives."

AN: Stopping it right there.

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