Disclaimer: Naruto: Not mine since 1999
Uchiha Itachi didn't trust Danzo to leave Sasuke alone, so instead of setting his brother on a course of revenge against him that night, he took the child with him. Now, years later, the Uchiha brothers are famous missing nin, and Uchiha Sasuke would do anything for his beloved brother. Even if that something is forcing an unwilling pink-haired medic nin to heal Itachi. Sasusaku.
Chapter 3
Apparently, Tsunade couldn't see the genius of the plan like Sakura could.
The medic had gone into the Hokage's office asking to talk about the Uchiha incident. Her master had agreed, since the only information she had gotten was a brief report from Sakura before they sent out reinforcements.
The meeting had started out fine. Sakura explained in detail what had happened in the forest with the Uchihas. Then, she told Tsunade about the crow and the genjutsu.
The news that there had been an attack on her apprentice in Konoha had not gone over well with the Sannin. Nor had Sakura's plan, which led to the current situation.
"But it will work. It's the perfect plan," Sakura told the Hokage for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"Absolutely not," Tsunade slammed the table. "I am not sending you in all alone to the Uchihas. It's too dangerous."
"You trained me yourself. You know that I can do this. Why don't you believe in me?"
"It's not that I don't believe in you, because I do. You're my apprentice, and you are a capable medic and shinobi. But this is a suicide mission. I wouldn't send anyone in, much less someone I care so much about."
"But—"
"Absolutely not. Look. Everyone knows how incredibly protective Itachi and Sasuke are of each other."
Sakura could agree with that. She remembered one incident when a leaf jounin was ripped limb from limb by Uchiha Sasuke about a year ago for cutting Itachi's arm. The wound hadn't even been that deep, but the man hadn't been able to revel in the fact that he had actually landed a hit on the famous missing nin for long.
According to the rest of his team, retribution from the younger Uchiha had been swift and brutal. Sakura shuddered at her memories of the pieces his teammates had brought back to Konoha.
"There's no way you would get out alive if you did manage to kill Itachi," Tsunade stared down the younger medic. "And even if you did, Sasuke would hunt you down for the rest of his life. That's just how the Uchiha are. They're too dangerous."
"Exactly!" Sakura exclaimed. "They are too dangerous, and right now, they're hunting Naruto. They will never stop. Naruto will be in danger from Akatsuki his whole life, and who knows how long that will be if they manage to catch him. If I do this, it will take out one, maybe two, of the most powerful Akatsuki members, and I can get intel on the rest of them in the meantime. This could save Naruto, and possibly all of Konoha. Because if Akatsuki is dangerous now, what will they be like once they have all of the tailed beasts?"
"Sakura," Tsunade began, but her apprentice just continued on.
"Please, Tsunade-shishou. This is something I have to do. And I'm going to do it, whether I have your support or not. I will not let another one of my comrades die when I have the power to do something about it."
Tsunade looked at her apprentice thoughtfully. So this was what this was about. The Hokage knew the girl blamed herself for not being able to do anything about Naoki and Lee's deaths. Those were what had pushed her to become stronger to be able to protect others.
Naoki had died on one of Team Seven's first missions, a C-rank escort mission to wave country that should have been an A-rank.
None of the young genin had stood a chance against the boy with the ice kekkei genkai, and the Hyuuga boy had been killed. Sakura, however, thought it had been her fault for not being strong enough to help. According to Kakashi, it was after that mission that Sakura had asked Kurenai to start training her in genjutsu.
Lee's death had shaken her, too. Though she had not been as close to the boy, he had died in her arms after facing Gaara in the chunin exam finals, when the sand jinchuriki had transformed into the Shukaku to mark the beginning of the invasion on Konoha.
Sakura again blamed herself, believing she should have been able to do something. That had marked the beginning of her training as a medic and was what had made Sakura request that Tsunade teach her.
Tsunade knew her hands were tied. If Sakura was stubborn about anything, it was protecting her loved ones. All the Hokage could do now was to make sure the girl didn't go into this dangerous situation without support.
"Fine, but I expect you to communicate with us as much as you safely can. And you need to make sure that you kill Uchiha Itachi before his eyes are completely healed. He's already dangerous enough as it is," Tsunade finally conceded. "And you will only take your shot when Uchiha Sasuke is either far away or otherwise occupied. Understood?"
"Yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you," Sakura beamed. "I won't let you down."
"Well, I might as well turn this into an official mission," the Hokage sighed. "Pack your things and say your goodbyes. Tell everyone that you are going on a long term solo mission. I'll call here the few people who I want to inform about the true nature of your mission."
Sakura smiled and hurried back to her home, eager to start her plan.
Hours later, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Neji, and Tenten were gathered in Tsunade's office. Kakashi of course was the last one to arrive, though he had been told to come immediately hours earlier. It was a good thing Tsunade had gotten used to compensating for his tardiness.
Sakura had walked in just as the Hokage had finished explaining Sakura's mission to them, and the atmosphere was tense. She saw that their faces had expressions ranging from surprise to worry, especially on Kakashi. Sakura's former sensei looked like he wanted nothing more than to object to the plan, but he said nothing.
Tenten looked concerned for her friend, and Neji's face seemed even more serious than usual. He was no doubt remembering his recent encounter with the two Akatsuki members.
Even Shikamaru's normal slouch was slightly more tense with the severity of the situation and the risks of the mission. Sakura was sure he was probably questioning the sanity of everyone in the room for going along with the whole thing.
"This is the team I have set up to extract you in case anything goes wrong," the Hokage told Sakura as her student walked up to her desk.
Sakura nodded. Tsunade's choices for the team made sense. Neji would be able to assess the situation from afar with the byakugan, giving Shikamaru time to come up with a tactic that would be the most effective. Neji and Tenten had almost flawless teamwork and could cover almost all fighting ranges. Kakashi's sharingan would be key in fighting the Uchihas, as it quite possibly made him the only one who could look Itachi in the eye without being affected by Tsukuyomi.
"I am giving them a jutsu that will summon them to your signal. If you activate it, they will be alerted go to your location. But keep in mind that it's not a teleportation jutsu, and that they won't be able to come immediately," she continued. "So use it at the first sign that you believe the Uchihas are onto your plan, and that you can't get out on your own."
"Understood," Sakura replied as blonde medic gave her a little scroll with a seal and showed her the hand signs to activate it.
"Use Katsuyu to communicate with us. I will summon her twice each day for any new information you might have, and for information on your location. Only summon her when you can do so in absolute safety, though. Other than that, this is your plan, and you know what to do."
Then the Hokage addressed the rest of the room. "As far as the four of you go, I'm not sending you on any important or far away missions until Sakura is back safely. I need you all to be prepared to help her on a moment's notice should things go astray."
The four jounin nodded their assent as she handed them each a scroll with a similar seal.
"Also, this mission is top-secret. Akatsuki has spies in Konoha, and the Uchihas were very clear that Sakura was not to tell anyone of their offer. If this gets out, it could put her in danger."
"But what about Naruto?" Sakura demanded, realizing the blonde wasn't in the room. "He should know."
"Naruto would never let you go, at least not without him," Tsunade reasoned. "And if he did, he would demand to be part of the extraction team, which we can't have, since Akatsuki is after him. It's best if he doesn't know."
Sakura felt a touch of guilt weigh down on her chest as she nodded her assent, but her master was right. Besides, she fully planned on returning from this mission, so Naruto would never even need to know.
"Sakura," Tsunade placed her hand on her apprentice's shoulder and smiled proudly, "I believe in you. Stay safe, and come back soon."
Sakura walked towards the village entrance.
She had just said goodbye to Naruto. He was the only one she hadn't talked to before her meeting with Tsunade and the extraction team, since she had been sure Naruto was going to be one of the ones informed about the true nature of her mission.
Like her goodbyes to Ino and her parents, it had been uneventful. Anything different than her normal farewell before a mission would have been suspicious, and she didn't want them to worry.
She still felt guilt that she couldn't tell her best friend about what she was about to do, but it was for the best. She just didn't want to leave him out of such an important decision. The significance and danger of what she was about to do did not escape her. And though she was confident she could do it, something still felt wrong about not telling Naruto.
Reaching the gateway out of Konoha, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her, holding a little orange book.
"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?"
"Sakura," Kakashi began hesitantly. "I'm not sure how I feel about this mission."
Sakura opened her mouth to reply but Kakashi interrupted her.
"It's not that I don't trust you, but Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke are dangerous. I know nothing I can say will stop you, and I know you want to help Naruto, but just be careful," Kakashi told his student, his worry evident in his visible eye. "Those two are on a whole other level."
Sakura nodded.
"When I fought them about three years ago, they were out of my league, and I can only imagine that they've gotten better. Itachi is calmer, but more powerful. However, Sasuke has something of a temper and is more likely to attack. Their teamwork is impeccable. Never look in their eyes. They move fast, and both have been rogue ninja for years, so they're smart and can sense lies. Stick to the truth as much as possible. Watch your temper and don't attack them prematurely."
By this point, Kakashi was almost rambling, and Sakura already knew all this, having examined the files they had on both Uchihas.
"I know, sensei," Sakura smiled softly at him, knowing his protectiveness was partially a result of losing Naoki. "I know. And I will be careful. Thanks for worrying about me."
Kakashi smiled tentatively back, still obviously concerned. "Stay safe," he told her.
"I will"
With a small nod, he disappeared, leaving her to her mission.
Sakura took a deep breath, straightened her pack, and left without glancing back.
The Uchiha Hideout was intimidating, and not much of a hideout if you asked Sakura. Not that the powerful clan had ever really needed a place to hide. Except for when their prodigy when nuts and killed them all, Sakura thought, morbidly.
The "hideout" was conspicuous: a mountain carved into tiers, looking more like a temple than anything, with towers on both sides.
The place was surrounded by forest and looked largely abandoned, which she supposed probably suited the Uchihas just fine. They seemed like the kind of people who liked their privacy.
As Sakura neared the mountain, she looked around for a door. The only entrance she could see was in the building on the top tier. Smart, she admired. They'd be able to see intruders coming from miles, and it would make it hard for anyone to sneak in. Which means they probably already know I'm here.
Sakura made her way to the top of the mountain. The building there seemed to be some sort of grand hall, marked with the Uchiha crest.
A set of large doors were in the front, and that was the only entrance Sakura could make out. Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm not trying to sneak in or anything.
She could sense both of the Uchihas' chakra signatures inside the building, and she knew they were waiting for her to come in. Steeling herself and taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and pushed open the doors.
The first thing she saw in the hall was a large chair at the front, almost like a throne. Uchiha Itachi was sitting in it casually, seeming all too relaxed for the situation, as if he had just been waiting patiently for a guest to arrive.
Sakura noticed Sasuke's absence not a moment too early.
She dodged the blow the second she guessed it was coming. From the way he had come at her, she guessed his intent had been to knock her out by hitting a nerve in the back of her neck, rather than hurt her, which made sense. They needed her to heal Itachi, but they couldn't have her knowing how to get around this place by herself.
"Really?" she glared at Sasuke. "I come here to heal your brother, and you attack me?"
Sasuke returned her look and was just about to come at her again when Itachi spoke up.
"What changed your mind, Haruno-san?" he asked, tilting his head. "You seemed very adamant about not healing me when we met before."
"Your little gift was very persuasive," she muttered, not having to fake her anger. Sakura decided that it was best to follow Kakshi's advice and tell as much of the truth as possible, and she wasn't lying when she said that the genjutsu had affected her.
"I see," was all he deigned to reply.
After a several moments of heavy silence, Sakura spoke up. "We might as well get this over with. I'll examine your eyes so I can see where I am going to need to start with my healing."
Sakura certainly didn't want to start healing the man, but she needed it to seem like all she wanted to do was heal him and leave as soon as possible.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed with slight confusion at her statement, but relaxed when he saw his brother nod.
Sakura walked up to the older brother, but just as she was about to reach him, her path was blocked by Sasuke.
"How do I know that you're not just going to kill him instead of heal him?" he demanded. "I know that healing chakra can do as much damage as it can fix."
Sakura panicked in her head, shocked he had guessed her actual plan so early. Not that she had been planning on killing Itachi while the brothers were still so suspicious of her, but other than that, he had been spot on.
Trying to keep calm on the outside, the medic answered "Do I seem suicidal to you?" She looked at Sasuke incredulously. "Never mind. Don't answer that," she mumbled, thinking back to when she had winked at the Uchiha right before attacking him during their first encounter. Maybe she was suicidal after all.
"Regardless," Sakura continued, "I'm here to heal your brother. Feel free to stand right here and watch as closely as you want. I'm not going to attack him, but I do need to assess the damage," she told him, switching quickly into medic mode.
Sasuke looked to Itachi, who simply nodded at him. The younger brother took a step back, but that was all, still maintaining a close distance at which he could attack Sakura before she would be able to harm Itachi.
Hopefully he'll loosen up a bit. If he's like this every time I heal his brother, my plan will never work, she groaned in her head.
Stepping up to Itachi, she steeled herself. She knew that she was going to have to actually heal him a bit at first before her plan could be set into motion, because anything less than that would raise suspicion. But the idea of helping the mass murderer who was after her best friend did not sit well with her.
She looked at her hand while she cloaked it with green healing chakra, contemplating if what she was about to do was worth it.
Reminding herself that it was, she looked up into Itachi's sharingan, and then her world went black.