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Chapter Four- Veritas

"So, where are we supposed to find Neji?" Naruto asked. He clasped on his cape and brushed the frost off of his legs. He stepped towards her, twigs and leaves crunching under his boots.

"He said he would be by the Heiwa shrine. It's a little south of we're we are now," Sakura said. She rechecked the map to plan the closest possible route to reach the Hyuuga. They had about five hours to travel over a hundred miles—it would be difficult. Breaking into Akatsuki's headquarters would be even more of a challenge. Sakura tried not to think about for the time being. One thing at a time.

"Good, I can't stand any more of this cold! It sucks we couldn't even light a fire to warm us," Naruto said.

"I know, but we can't risk being seen, the smoke would be a dead giveaway. You're the number one target right now!"

Naruto frowned and look away. "Killer-Bee is too…"

Sakura sighed and tried not to give her friend a pitiful look. It would only make him more depressed. She felt a twinge of guilt for treating him so unkindly when they were at the academy; all this time he had to deal with a demon forced inside his body, as well as the hatred the rest of the village directed at him.

"Are you ready?" Sakura asked. She winced at a pulled muscle on her shoulder blade. They had slept huddled together underneath a tree. The wind was fierce and the pine didn't provide them much protection. The fact that Naruto didn't make some corny hit-on for cuddling with Sakura for body heat only showed how miserable their night was.

"Yeah, let's go!" Naruto said. He grinned and became his old self again.

The young ninja darted off onto the trees and sped as fast as they could. For a good hour or so, they were silent. Talking would only distract and delay them. Sakura peered over at Naruto every so often. His eyes were narrowed in determination. She hadn't seen him like this since the mission to rescue Gaara. One that he had failed in—is this how he looked when he set off to find Sasuke three years ago?

As one hour drifted into the next, the sky lightened and the scenery became greener. The sun rose over the horizon and warmed the crisp air. Sakura knew they were close to the Heiwa shrine. By this point, her legs ached with every push off a branch, but they couldn't afford to rest. She was grateful Naruto was a few feet away from her; her stomach was growling something fierce. Other than the measly breakfast of leftover rations and stale blueberries, they hadn't had anything to eat.

They traveled for another forty-five minutes, and soon they could see a small town in the distance. Sakura stopped and gave a sigh of relief. "We've found it. The shrine should be a mile south of town." They pushed off, even faster than before, towards the city's edge. There lay a small meadow surrounded by a crystal blue lake, with cherry blossom trees just beginning to bloom. A few feet away from the lake, was the Heiwa shrine. It took proud and ancient; its tall pillars a deep shade of crimson. Sakura smelt the faint scent of soil and flowers. They landed and ran towards the site. Naruto called out Neji's name and raced down the stone pathway that led to the entrance. Sakura followed closely behind him. Her heart hammered—what if Neji had already left? It must have been torture for him to willingly wait while he knew his cousin was in danger.

"Neji! Where the hell are you? We're here!" Naruto bellowed. He kept turning around, as though the Hyuuga might have been sneaking behind to surprise him.

Figuring there was little else to do, Sakura called out Neji's name as well. They had spoken quickly before going their separate ways, but she knew this was the place he wanted to meet.

"Tch. And to think I was about to leave," a deep voice that could only belong to the Hyuuga himself muttered. He trudged up the stone steps, carrying a bag of vegetables. Other than the worn expression that shadowed his eyes, he appeared to be healthy. He dropped the bag next to him and scrutinized Naruto with his piercing gaze.

"You know the whole story then?" Neji asked, glancing at Sakura.

"I do. And don't worry, we will save her. Hinata once put her life on the line for me, and I'll do anything to make sure it won't happen again," Naruto said.

"Hm. Then we must leave now. I've been formulating a plan for the past few hours, I can explain what we're going to do on the way," Neji said. Sakura was relieved to hear this; the Hyuuga was by far the best strategist among them. She hadn't even had time to think of what their attack angle would be once they reached the Akatsuki headquarters.

"Right, let's go!" Naruto said.

"We should bring some of the vegetables you brought," Sakura said. She began to pack in some of the smaller food items in her pack. "My rations and pills are running low. Are you well rested? How is your chakra supply?"

Neji nodded and said, "It's good. I knew you would arrive anytime, so I didn't use any jutsu. We can leave immediately." His words were short, and Sakura knew he was more than ready. Satisfied her teammates were healthy and energized, she assented with a smile.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" she asked.

All three ninja leapt into the air. Sakura tossed a cabbage she fished from her bag in Naruto's direction. He caught it and began to eat. Actually, more like began to tear into it like a starved bear, but they had little time to replenish themselves. She bit into a carrot and focused on traveling as fast as possible. The fresh vegetable tasted heavenly to her; she closed her eyes for a few seconds to relish the flavor.

"So, we've had experience from the last time we invaded their headquarters. It wasn't an easy task, and we were too late to save Gaara. Now, the stakes are higher and Akatsuki has more man power to spare," Neji began. Sakura swallowed the last bit of carrot. Her throat was dry and the vegetable felt like sandpaper.

"I figure whatever obstacle we run into, they will want us alive. At least Naruto anyway. We must be vigilant and constantly on guard," Neji said.

"We've grown a lot since we had to rescue Gaara. We will have Hinata with us by the end of tonight. Maybe even that Tobi guy will be captured or dead! Even if we couldn't save Gaara…he still made it out okay, right?" Naruto said.

Sakura knew Naruto was trying to be optimistic. But they couldn't ignore the facts; the only reason Gaara was alive was due to Chiyo's sacrifice. Unfortunately for Hinata, there was no one to harness that kind of power to revive the dead. Neji was thinking the same thing, if his frown was anything to go by.

"Is their base at the same location? How do we even know we're going in the right direction?" Naruto asked.

Eager for a change of subject, Sakura replied, "Ino gave me some classified information. Her father works in the intelligence gathering department. He was able to find out hints of where their base is. She told me where they might be, but it's only a rumor. We're not really certain."

"A rumor is better than nothing," Neji said.

Naruto and Sakura murmured their agreement and the trio lapsed into silence. Unlike when she traveled earlier, these hours seemed to fly by. The kunoichi dreaded this encounter—she knew Tobi had something planned for them. Doubts began to emerge in her mind…should they have tried to bring more teammates…what if one of them was captured? Kakashi would have been useful, even Gai. Their sensei would be furious at them for embarking on such a dangerous mission. And Tsunade, what would she think of her apprentice when she found out she put Naruto in such danger? With almost no preparation? The more Sakura thought about it, the more she realized that three teenagers, no matter how talented, were no match for an entire army.

She knew they couldn't turn back now. Neji and Naruto wouldn't stand for it. Plus, this was probably the only way to save Hinata. The alliance would have considered her a lost cause. A sacrifice willing to be made to prevent the Kyuubi from getting into the wrong hands.

"Are we nearly there?" Neji asked. His voice was tight and interrupted her thoughts.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, if Ino's information is correct, we are an hour away." She didn't have to look at the map anymore—it was engrained in her memory at this point.

Neji's response was to push off the trees even faster. The air had grown warmer and sweat prickled down Sakura's neck. Naruto cast off his cape long ago. The sun began to decline in the sky; it must be late afternoon. Impatience radiated off the Hyuuga as he hurtled through the forest.

After a few minutes, the blue sky faded into lavender. The air grew foggy. Sakura sniffed and look around. Why was it so misty? She could see large boulders ahead in the distance. The kunoichi flung out her arm to stop Neji and Naruto. They immediately landed on the ground and the three huddled together.

"Do you see the boulders? That's the hideout," Sakura said. She pointed to the small note she had scribbled on it when Ino told her.

"Does that explain why it's so cloudy?" Naruto asked.

"It could be some kind of Genjustu," Sakura said.

"Well you're good at dispelling them, right? I've always struggled with it…so did ero-sennin," Naruto said. He looked away and frowned. "I wish he was here."

"You'll make Jiraiya proud," Sakura said. She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him.

Meanwhile, Neji had been silent. He was peering at the boulders and leapt onto a branch. He jumped a few feet higher until he was at the very top of the pine tree. Even from ground, Sakura could see the spidery veins of his Byakugan bulging out of temples. Neji took a step and within seconds he was on the ground again. He cleared his throat and announced, "I can see more of those plant ninja. There are hundreds of them. They're waiting to ambush us the second our chakra signatures are detected. We need to come up with a method to infiltrate their base. If we're noticed, it's certain death for all of us."

Naruto nodded and Sakura asked quietly, "Could you see Hinata?"

The Neji's eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "But that doesn't mean she's not there. We have to try."

"True, do you have a plan?"

"Yes, I'll run it by you guys and see what you think. Now that I've seen their base and I can predict their move against us, I can tell you what our options ar—" Neji paused midsentence. There was a faint rusting sound. The Hyuuga whirled around and threw a kunai towards the mist. Sakura and Naruto flung out their own weapons seconds later.

"What the hell was that noise…?" Naruto whispered. They stood in silence, listening hard. A crow flew out of a nearby tree. Its leaves fell and scattered on the earthy ground.

"Oh," all three said. Sakura nearly wept with relief. It was only a harmless animal.

Neji took a deep breath and continued on, "So, this is our plan of attack. Now listen carefully…"

"Naruto, your elbow is jutting into my back."

"I don't have any room in here. I mean, this isn't exactly that five-star hotel we stayed at," the Uzumaki said.

Sakura scowled and rolled her eyes. She hoped Neji's idea would work. The consequences were too great if they failed. She sighed and wrinkled her nose—the urge to sneeze had just come on. Sakura bit her lip and focused on the large rock that was pressed against her ribs. Sneezing would most certainly give their location away.

"Do you think he was able to see her now? I mean, we're closer to the base," Naruto whispered.

Sakura pinched her nose and said, "If Hinata was here, Neji would know about it by now. But remember, we have to wait for his signal before we do anything."

"Yeah, it's too bad that signal means hundreds of plant freaks chasing him," Naruto muttered.

"It was the only way this would work. We had to create a decoy if we even wanted to have a chance at getting in. Tobi expected either Neji or you to arrive."

Naruto grunted in agreement and shifted slightly. They were both wedged between two boulders that were closest to the headquarters. Sakura had been able to map out the best way to sneak around. Their chakra was concealed and they had located the weakest point of the base. Sakura expected it to be brimming with Genjustu traps or something but they had easily made it to the entrance of the base.

Neji had jumped right into their range. He flared his chakra and made it out to look like he aimed to launch a foolish attack. Tobi would buy it; there was enough at stake for Neji to make such an amateur move. At this point, Naruto and Sakura had separated from the Hyuuga. He would send a smoke bomb into the air the second he was detected. For now, they had to merely wait.

Sakura wrung her hands together. Her palms were sweaty with anticipation. She was almost too scared to blink—what if she missed the signal? Naruto looked at her and said, "Don't worry, Neji is a tough guy. If anything, I feel bad for whoever is facing him!"

Sakura smiled weakly and rested her head against the cold rock. It was difficult to breathe in her position; she had to twist her hips every so often. A thought flashed through her mind—what about Sasuke? He would be here…he had fled with Tobi shortly after their last meeting. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. Her childhood crush attempted to murder her. She realized how emotionally weak she was. And to think Sasuke's brother was alive and well; what would he think?

She a clammy hand grabbed her shoulder. "He sent the signal! Let's go!" Naruto said. Sakura opened her eyes and saw that smoke was indeed exploding into the air. The night sky darkened into gray. She could sense hundreds of other chakra signatures racing towards a target…

They both crawled near the boulder. Naruto climbed onto one and helped Sakura up. She charged her fists and took a couple of steps back.

"Ready?" Naruto said.

She nodded and darted towards the entrance. Her arm swung into the rock with force she never thought possible. The boulder shattered into millions of fragments with an ear-splitting crack. They raced into the base, their hands gripped with kunai. Sakura immediately prepared to dispel any Genjustu—but she sensed none.

The headquarters was just as she imagined, gloomy and only lit by scarce candles. The faint smell of mold filled her nostrils. As Sakura's eyes adjusted to the dim light, she strained her senses to spot any traps. Naruto was breathing heavily and scanned the area. A few feet ahead, there was a path that led to a cliff. The grays walls seemed to stretch ahead for miles.

"This was almost too easy," Sakura murmured.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Naruto said. He took a few steps ahead of her. His fingers gripped the shuriken.

"And you're most certainly correct."

Sakura gasped and turned around. Neither of them had said anything…where did the voice come from? Naruto immediately summoned several clones and prepared to create a Rasengan. He didn't bother masking his chakra any longer.

"Ah, didn't you learn your lesson the last time? That move doesn't work on me," the deep male voice said. It echoed off the cave walls. It was impossible to locate the source, Sakura realized with frustration. She glanced at the entrance, but it was blocked at though she had never broken into it. They were trapped. Genjustu?

The sound of footsteps radiated off the walls. As they grew louder with every step, the kunoichi's heart thudded faster. A figure emerged from the cliff. His orange mask glowed in the darkness.

No.

Tobi walked towards the frozen Konoha ninja. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked one knuckle at a time. "It seems like you're caught, Uzamaki Naruto."

Sasuke marched down the long, damp hallway. With the cave's convoluted pathways and random traps, it was not the place for any visitor. He kept his Sharingan activated on a constant basis—having the world after your head instill paranoid habits like that. Itachi knew what that was like. Sasuke grit his teeth together. A lone candle flickered down the hallway, but that was his only source of light.

Sasuke found relief in living in near total darkness. When he was outside, traveling with Taka, almost everything reminded him of Itachi. The bladed grass he would crouch low in when they played hide and seek. The cafes his brother would take him to if he begged long enough. The innocent smiles of children running by, their hands clutching their older siblings'…

These were small joys he would never experience again. Sasuke would give anything to simply erase his memories of the good times. They were parasites to his mind—always living off of his wretched existence. Revenge gave him life. It forced him to live in the moment and take control of the present. How could he ever live at peace when Itachi and his family suffered?

That's why Konoha will fall.

Sasuke bit hard into his lip in concentration. He had debated long and hard about taking his brother's eyes. Although the Uchiha already had the powerful Mangekyou Sharingan, he needed more if he wanted to be a real threat to Konoha. Tobi told him he had taken Itachi's body right after he fell unconscious. It was preserved in the lab, so the offer would always be there.

Sasuke decided he would talk to Tobi. He hated to ask for help, but the guy had enough experience to know what tools would be crucial in a war with Konoha. He turned to find the masked man. He would probably be in the main room with that creepy Kabuto. Sasuke kept a wary eye around Orochimaru's servant. I should have killed him when he was weak.

Within a few minutes, Sasuke had reached the largest component of the base. He spotted Tobi and stepped into the room when he paused. There were other chakra signatures—and they were familiar. Sasuke squinted and masked his own chakra. He knew both of those traces from anywhere….it was Naruto and Sakura.

He cursed and ducked behind one of the large boulders. Should he kill them now? Tobi needed Naruto, but Sakura would be useless to them. He could hear Naruto's obnoxious yell. Sasuke cocked his head and stood still. For now he would listen.

"Where is she?" Naruto shot at Tobi. His clones surrounded him and he was glowing in the Kyuubi's chakra. He had mastered the power of his tailed-beast. Despite the gravity of the situation, Sakura couldn't help but to admire how far her friend had advanced.

Tobi stayed silent and merely looked at Naruto, at those he was an interesting painting he was trying to study. A single kunai twirled in his hands.

"She's dead."

Naruto stepped back in shock. Sakura's throat felt like it was closing in. They had been too late—this is why Neji couldn't sense her chakra. Now the older Hyuuga would die as well…this had been a horrible mistake. Her legs shook with terror.

"You liar," Naruto roared and flew towards Tobi. Within a second they were clashing—their speed was incredible. Sakura could barely keep up with her eyes. Flashes of sparks and chakra lit up between the two ninja. Naruto's clones dived into the fierce dual with a Rasengan, but they flew through Tobi like a ghost. The masked man's mysterious jutsu enabled attacks to go through his body.

Naruto threw a punch aimed at Tobi's neck. He dodged it when inhumane reflexes and jumped back a few feet. Naruto was sent flying back as well. He landed roughly next to Sakura and gasped in ragged breaths. Blood cascaded down his head.

"She was a mere pawn to force you to show yourself. You have failed over and over again to save your friends. Instead, they suffer for you. You hid from us, like a coward, and her death was the price you had to pay," Tobi said. His voice lacked remorse and even a scrape of humanity.

Naruto flinched at his words and shook his head. "No…no…"

"And tomorrow, Sasuke will destroy your beloved home. Your best friend might as well be dead. You can't save him—so long as his brother is gone, no one can."

Sakura's cheeks were wet with tears. First Hinata and now Sasuke. From the small crevices of the cave walls, the plant ninja crawled out. They stared at Sakura and Naruto with an eagerness to kill. Their glassy eyes glinted in the light.

"But don't worry," Tobi continued, "You will not be alive to witness Konoha's destruction. Capture the boy, and kill the girl." The plant ninja shifted. Hundreds of them clung onto the walls.

Sakura thought wildly. An insane plan formed in her mind—she would have to act now.

"And if his brother is still lives? What would Sasuke do then?" she asked. Her voice quivered.

Tobi looked at Sakura for the first time and said, "Sasuke killed his brother in battle."

"No, Itachi is alive," she said.

"Impossible. I took the corpse myself. His eyes were as lifeless at the Hyuuga's." Naruto growled and started to move to attack again, but Sakura motioned to stop him.

"You're wrong. He survived the battle. And when Sasuke finds out, there will be no incentive to wage war with Konoha," she said. Naruto stared at Sakura, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

Tobi shook his head. "Do you take me for a fool? I ensured Itachi would die after the massacre. It was his plan to be killed by Sasuke in battle, but I took precautions incase he had seconds thoughts. I poisoned him with a lethal drug that would shut down his organs, one after another, over the course of several years. Uchiha Itachi is dead because I needed him to be. Now, we won't delay this any longer."

Sakura retreated back a couple of steps. Her hand clasped onto Naruto's. They would die fighting together, at the very least.

The air thickened. Sakura struggled to take a breath in but her lungs felt like they had been plunged under water. The pressure increased and she clutched her chest. The cave faded into a blur. Sakura could hear the sound of crows cawing and black feathers enveloping her and Naruto. They formed a tornado around the two ninja; the wind tossed her hair in disarray. She took in one last desperate breath for air before falling unconscious.

Sasuke could hardly breathe himself. He managed to keep his chakra concealed; no one would notice as he stumbled down the cave's hall. He shut his eyes and resisted the urge to be sick. So that scum had poisoned his brother. And what Sakura had claimed…was it true? She was desperate for time to stall, she could have blurted out anything. But out of nowhere, they had disappeared in a flock of crows. He could hear Tobi's furious voice echoing along the walls. The whole situation was so bizarre Sasuke couldn't wrap his mind around it. Could it have been connected? How would Sakura even know about Itachi's existence?

He would have contacted me. He wouldn't let me live in misery over his death.

Sasuke smashed his fist against the stone. It dented and cracked the wall. Blood trickled down his hand, but the he didn't notice. Tobi was first on his hit list. He would no longer be manipulated like a fool.

End of Chapter Four

I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible. I know Itachi hasn't been seen in a while...but that may change. ;) Thanks for any suggestions!