..Chapter Four..
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Tsunade sat waiting in her office, sake in her hand. The bottle was off to the side. All paper work had been cleared from the top of her desk. Done or not, she did not need anything distracting her on her desk when she finally gave the news to the team. Only one file sat there before her. A report from Shikamaru. It didn't take the kid long to get his information, it seemed.
She'd already looked it over and she wasn't looking forward her own orders. Not at all. It was too dangerous. She had no choice though. The oddity would not go away. Nara had no clue how to be rid of it. He only knew the energy it emitted was a nonfluctuating stream. While it was good it wasn't growing it still wasn't good it wasn't ebbing away either.
She couldn't leave it there. And she didn't fancy babysitting it until it went away. Other villages would eventually notice. And regardless of how much care she took into keeping it confidential the risk was too high.
Sakura and black haired shadow master had both deemed the entity safe. Coming back should not be a problem. He'd assured her the wormhole was a doorway. And like any door it had an exit. The same exit could be used to return. This he knew without a doubt. And if anything went wrong after they entered all they had to do was send a massive overload of chakra from their bodies. It would disrupt the entity enough to 'spit them back out', as he put it.
The whole thing had her uneasy... and she hated being put between a rock a hard place. However, if anyone could come out of this mission successful it would be Team Kakashi.
The knock sounded at her door.
"Come."
All four team mates came into her office with mixed looks. None of them had been informed previously that they might be doing this accept Kakashi. She watched as the four of them stood before her.
"You all know about the entity."
They nodded.
She sighed and interlaced her fingers together on the desk. "I have a complicated mission for you. It's above any rank on the books. I wouldn't even call it ANBU class." She rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to prepare for this. When she dropped her hand her eyes turned to them all.
"Team Kakashi," she addressed them with a voice of command, "You're mission is to go to The Valley of End and engage the entity. You will enter it and try to find out how to remove it's presence." She paused, trying to gauge their reactions. Either they were too shocked at her orders to speak or didn't have any problems with this. "You may take whatever items you think are needed with you. But only needed ones." Her eyes narrowed. "I don't think I need to impress on any of you the delicacy of this mission. We're talking about time here. And we have no idea what to expect."
"How... how do we get back home?" Naruto sputtered, obviously worried. She wasn't surprised. The whole ordeal was out of the ordinary.
"After we figure out how to get rid of it that is..."
"Shikamaru has informed me a large burst of chakra emitted from your body will send you back. That is if you get stuck." She turned to look at Kakashi. "On the other side of the hole will be an exit just like it. If you have no problems you'll wind up wherever it opens to on the other side."
"After that?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah," agreed Sakura, "we don't even know what's on the other side. How are we suppose to get rid of it?" This whole thing sounded like a bad idea. "Don't you think we should wait until we have more information?"
Tsunade shook her head and downed her sake. "I'd love to. I don't have that luxury. Shikamaru has told me to get any more information out of this object would take years of study. Years, Sakura. Do you know what that means?"
"Hmmm..." Naruto offered through narrowed eyes. "It means our enemies will have time to find out about it."
"Itachi," Sasuke muttered with venom in his voice.
Tsunade nodded. "Understand, I don't enjoy giving you this careful task. But know I wouldn't trust anyone else with it. We're talking about a gateway in time. Our time. We have no idea to when it leads or where. I'm trusting you all to be cautious and only stick around long enough to get rid of the entity. Alright?"
"Yes," all three replied. Kakashi nodded.
"Very well. Be safe." She gave them one more long, good look. As if trying memorize their features. "You're dismissed."
ooo
All four lone figures dashed through the forest. A hawk was in flight overhead. It's loud screech signified they were close. Sasuke gave a nod to everyone and they nodded back. Their footbeats on the tree branches were unheard, silent and barely left a visible memory of them passing through.
Sasuke glanced over at the flash of dark green and deep pink. He watched the burst of chakra from her booted foot leave a small trace of injury in the bark. He smirked as ebony strands whipped over his features.
Sakura had grown up quite a bit. Naruto was right. She'd changed. He was happy for it. And while he missed the blushing fangirl from days of old, the new, confident woman who gave him a sisterly hug was a welcome change. He'd thought about her in the years that passed. He even thought of dating her for a while when he returned. After Itachi was taken care of he would have to begin taking care of his responsibilities. One of them included finding a wife and having children. He need heirs to revive the Uchiha clan. And while his social skills had improved over the years with Kakashi's guidance he was still nervous about the prospect.
His childhood had never been easy; at least before the death of his family. His father had always been an overbearing disciplinarian. His mother made up for it much of the time. And his brother... well, that was the confusing part. Sasuke, despite all his years living in hatred and regret, still had a hard time stomaching what Itachi had done. He'd never been an easy person to read. But he'd never displayed anything but love in regards to Sasuke.
So why... he found himself asking, and not for the first time, had he done it? Everything in his character argued otherwise. From killing his best friend to killing their parents. And years later, when Kakashi had broached the subject, Sasuke admitted he saw something betraying his brother's eyes that night. He'd taken the time to think about it then as he was now.
And Sasuke knew he wasn't a bad judge of character. Kakashi had commented on it more than once in regards to Stalker. The red shouldered hawk helped guide him in that respect more soundly than before he left Leaf.
It was humorous now that he thought on it. Originally he'd taken the hawk with him to relay messages to Konoha during their trek. But as the years passed he'd become increasing close to the feathered creature. He'd become a valuable asset during information gathering. He was also a good friend. He found the more time he spent with Stalker the more he aligned his chakra with him and easier it was to understand him. He finally understood why Kiba kept so close to Akamaru.
Stalker let out another high pitched screech. Sasuke drew his attention upward. "We're there, Kakashi."
The tall, silver haired former ANBU agent kept his gaze ahead. "Alright." Once they reached the clearing all four members stopped and landed gracefully on the stone surface. The water rushing over the edge of the two lone figures. Kakashi looked up and gazed.
"Kakashi, there." Sakura pointed.
He turned towards her pointing finger. There in the center of the water, right at the base of the falls, was the entity Tsunade told them about. It swirled inward. Blue and black energy mixed with what looked like white flecks resembling stars. Electricity bounced around the edges.
"Weird..." murmured Naruto.
Sasuke just narrowed his gaze as Stalker landed on his shoulder, wings fluttering back into place. "Hn.. Kakashi."
"Yes?"
He pointed up the two tall statues. "Who are they?"
"You don't know?"
Sasuke shook his head.
"Really?" Asked Sakura with surprise.
Sasuke shrugged, one hand on his hip. "Why, should I?"
Sakura pursed her lips. "Now that I think about it you were absent from the Academy the day we reviewed the history of this place in class."
"I don't remember myself." Naruto blinked.
Sakura smiled. "No, I'm sure you wouldn't." She sighed and looked up at the two historical figures frozen in time. A gentle breeze came by and tussled her hair. "But I would have thought an Uchiha descendant would know the story. Very well," she smiled and pointed to the figure on the left. "That is the man known as Uchiha Madara, one of the oldest known members of the Uchiha clan. And the other is the First."
Sasuke and Naruto nodded.
"I recognize him now that you mention it," Naruto murmured looking up.
"Hn... we were told about Madara in the clan as children. I've never seen his face though." He paused, still looking. "He killed his brother, right?"
Sakura nodded. "Yep, the reason is lost to history though. Either that or too confidential to repeat. Anyway, a great battle ensued here between those two. Madara wanted to be the first Hokage. He felt affronted when the village chose Hashirama instead. You see, he was one of the first people to bring the village of Leaf into being."
Kakashi nodded. "That's right. And a great battle broke out. Madara used his Sharingan to call the Kyuubi to the battle. Some even speculate he was the one who brought it to Leaf years later."
"You can control a Bijuu with the Sharingan?" Sasuke blinked in surprise.
Kakashi shrugged. "I've been told. But no one else has ever been able to do it since then."
Sasuke looked over at Naruto. Neither said anything.
"We need to get going," Sakura suddenly said.
"We do." Kakashi looked over at his three team mates. "Do you have everything you need?"
They nodded.
"Very well. I'm going to go over everything with you one more time before we leave. Pay attention." He paused as their eyes settled on him. "This is a delicate mission. Tsunade has trusted us with it's completion. We are to enter the wormhole, find it's cause and erase it's existence. Nothing more." He paused again, making sure they were listening still; making sure they understood the missions seriousness. "We're not to dawdle. Running around in another time, the past, can have serious repercussions on the future. Even being there is a bad idea. Let's make this as quick as possible. Understood?"
"Yes, Kakashi."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei."
"Yes, sensei."
All three agreed and he gave a single node before turning to the swirl of black and blue. "You three will go in first one at a time. I'll follow afterward to keep a cover on your backs. Alright? Go."
In a quick pace all three members were ahead of him. It didn't take long for each one to disappear in a flash of light beyond the darkening shadows of the wormhole. Kakashi had to smile at their lack of hesitation. They were no longer those same kids who'd fought over two small silver bells. And even after all the years they'd spent apart they were still operating as a team.
As he lept forward and into the darkness, expecting to fly through a void he found a pain in his chest. Second later he was engulfed in cold water. He pulled upward, coughing and broke the surface of the water. It was then he realized, dread slicing through his gut, he had never made it through like the rest of them. They were in there, alone and god only knows were. Without his guidance. Kakashi, for some reason had been...
Denied entry.
ooo
The first thing Sakura saw was darkness. An unending room of darkness. It seemed to go on for miles. She couldn't even hardly see beyond her own nose. She looked down at her hands, trying to adjust her eyes. Barely, just barely, she could see the pale skin of her hands.
Where the hell were they? A cave? She didn't feel a stone surface or gravel beneath her feet. She took a step back, bumping into someone. She turned swiftly and hands grabbed her upper arms.
"Sakura?"
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Sasuke."
From behind now someone touch her her shoulder. "Naruto?"
"Yeah. I was afraid I lost you back there. Both of you. Where the hell are we?"
Sakura tried to look around, her eyes narrowing. She still couldn't see anything, not even her team mates. "I've no idea. Did anyone bring a flashlight?" Their silence was enough of an answer for her. She wanted to smack them both. However, she hadn't brought one either.
"Sasuke, see if you can read anything in the darkness with your Sharingan." It sounded more like an order than a request. "We need to find Kakashi."
He released her and instead took her hand. "Alright. Naruto, take her other hand. We need to stay together in here."
Sakura felt a warm hand take her other one and smiled slightly as she waited for Sasuke to use his clan technique. A few moments passed. "Well?"
"Hm... " He shut his eyes and dispelled the technique. "Nothing. There's nothing but endless darkness." He turned as Stalker gave a screech. He understood immediately. "Of course," he muttered feeling like an idiot.
"What'd bird brain say?" It sounded like Naruto.
He grunted at the rude nickname but answered anyway. The situation was too dire for him to start an argument. "His eyes are nearly a hundred times better than the human eyes in the dark. And even he says he can't see shit."
"That is a problem," muttered Sakura. "What are we suppose to do now? If he can't see this isn't normal darkness. We must still be in the wormhole."
"Then why aren't we moving?" Naruto asked.
"Maybe we have to find the exit ourselves?" This from Sasuke.
"A good guess, shinobi of Leaf. A good guess indeed. But none of them are correct entirely." A voice echoed around them.
All three members of team Kakashi tensed up. Their eyes dashed around, but nothing was made visible to them. Nothing.
"Who are you? Where is Kakashi-sense?" Naruto demanded, his free hand holding a kunai.
"You mean the son of The White Fang?" The voice seemed to muse. "At least that's what my mind can... recall. How irritating." He sounded like he was grumbling to himself.
"Please," Sakura spoke up, "we've come here with a mission regarding the wormhole. Is it your doing? Do you know where Kakashi is?"
There was a long silence and Sakura felt Sasuke tense up next to her. The grip he had on her hand tightened. And then the voice was speaking again.
"Hm, you'll have to excuse me. A few millennia of existence and your mind tends to fog up. Allow me to shed some light on the situation, hm?"
Above them a brilliant light suddenly shone down. All three looked up and Sakura released their hands. She drew them up to cover eyes narrowing them as she tried to see above her. Just then ahead of them, another light turned on above a short figure.
She blinked.
There, under the white light from who knows where, stood a short, feeble looking old man. His head was bald save for the long hair starting around his temples that flowed down his back and across his shoulders. He was covered in white robing. In the center of this robing was a silver stitched symbol.
Her eyes widened.
It was the Leaf symbol and yet... it wasn't. Around it was what looked like an hourglass.
His face was ridden with wrinkles but looked kind to her green eyes. His were large and black with a hint of blue. His nose was as round as his cheeks and his ears were pointy and elven-like.
When he spoke, it was in a soft and kind voice. It was almost feminine and nothing like the booming echo from earlier.
His rested on Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto, The Red Demon of Konoha." Then they turned to next one in line. "Haruno Sakura, also know as the master of One Million Flower Strikes. And Uchiha Sasuke," he said finally, turning his eyes to the ebony haired male, "apprentice to the Copy Nin Kakashi. You I know by one name only. Revealer Of Secrets."
He smiled and addressed them as one, his hands spread wide. "I welcome you all, to the Gates of Time."
