Me: Here it is, chapter 8, just two chapters left. Enjoy

Chapter 8: Betrayal.


"Remember what I told you Naruto?" Jiraiya whispered to the blond boy next to him.

"Yeah." Naruto answered gravely.

The two of them had successfully infiltrated the Akatsuki base under the cover of night. They had ran down seemingly endless hallways and faced traps behind every door but now they faced their biggest problem.

Jiraiya and Naruto clung the ceiling of the roof hiding their chakras with one of Jiraiya's toad techniques. Down 30 feet below them pacing the floor was a certain blonde Akatsuki.

"Hmmm, Danna gets to have all the fun, yeah." Deidara mused aloud, unknown to him that he had spectators. "I wanted to show pinky my art, hmmm."

Naruto's fist clenched at the mention of his friend. It took all of his restraint and Jiraiya's hand on his shoulder just to prevent him from jumping down then and there and demand where Sakura was.

'All in good time' Jiraiya mouthed to him. 'Be patient.' Naruto hated being told to wait when he was so close to saving Sakura, pain stung at his eyes. He was going to get Sakura back for sure. He wasn't going to fail again. This time he will save his friend.


"You insult me Sakura-san." Sasori said blandly over his work, watching the girl out of the corner of his eyes.

Sakura gave no answer for she was to preoccupied with throwing up, her small breakfast now on the ground in front of her in an unsightly puddle.

"I guess I could have expected as much from you," Sasori worked quickly and effectively, it had only been three hours and he was already halfway done with the initial process. "Tell me." He began, looking up from his work long enough to look at the girl, spilling her stomach all over the floor. "If I am not mistaken, Konoha ninja are trained with moralistic values? Per say the value of life?"

"...This is sick...." Sakura spat accusingly at him. Sasori raised an eyebrow at this response, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"This is art, Sakura-san."

"Art!?" She spat like the word was poison. "You call disgracing a deceased person's body art?!" She glared at him, pouring all her anger and hate into it. Sasori's smirk was replaced by an irritable frown.

"You do not understand," He said simply. "I didn't expect you to."

"I don't understand!?" She growled. "Its you that don't understand!" She was screaming now. "You're just some sick bastard that thinks its fun to cut people up and turn then into puppets!"

"Art is eternal Sakura-san." Sasori said, keeping his temper in check. "By turning people into puppets I ensure that they last forever."

"Art is fleeting, Art is eternal!" She screamed. "Art can be what ever it bloody wants to be but when you mix it with human lives then its just murder!"

Sasori resisted the urge to kill the girl, opting a different way to punish her. His hand smacked her swiftly across her face.


"Thats it, un." Deidara growled, finally losing it. "I am not letting Sasori no danna have all the fun, I'm going to show dear Sakura-chan my art as well." Deidara left the room, walking in a quick brisk pace.

Jiraiya nodded to Naruto and the two jumped down from the ceiling, carefully following the Akatsuki. They were silent for fear that the blonde Akatsuki would hear them.

'This place is like a maze' Naruto thought as they followed the blond through a series of turns and doors. 'Argh dammit! Sakura-chan! Wait for me, I'm going to save you no matter what!'

Naruto steps struck the floor harder as his thoughts filled with saving Sakura.

'Kids getting anxious' Jiraiya noted. 'I shouldn't have brought him.' He frowned, thinking hard. 'He's too quick to anger and our opponents are Akatsuki. One wrong move and I'm dead and Naruto captured.' Jiraiya watched the Akatsuki just within their line of vision. 'The smart thing in a situation like this would be to find Sakura's location, then find a quick escape route and wait for the enemy to leave her by herself them rescue her. But I doubt Naruto understands that that is the best plan for a situation like this. Most likely he'll charge straight in and that is the last thing you would want to do.'

Jiraiya sighed, he was for a tough time if he has to protect Naruto while fighting two Akatsuki. He fingered the special summoning scroll in his pocket. The life or death emergency scroll.

"Ero-sannin" Naruto murmured quietly.

"Yeah, Naruto." Jiraiya watched as Deidara approached a locked, steel door.

"Oh Sakura-chaaan" He sings out, removing the "seal" on the door. "Guess who's come to visit you!"

Naruto growled. Seeing that Akatsuki, his enemy, speak to Sakura in such an informal way made his blood boil. And the Kyuubi's chakra flare.


It hurt, it hurt a lot. The burning, stinging feeling that crawled across my skin but it didn't matter. Her mind was on a distant memory.

"This is a C-rank mission" The Third Hokage handed the two gennin a slip of paper. Sasuke took it from him and skimmed it.

"We have to escort a traveler Tea Country." Sasuke summarized the paper. The Third nodded and wished them a successful mission.

'This is...' I thought, recalling the memory. 'That time....'

"Sakura..." Sasuke's voice trailed off as they walked out of the thirds office

"Yes Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked brightly, she was so excited to go on a mission with just her and Sasuke.

"You should not be a shinobi."

"What?" Sakura asks, her Sasuke obsessed mind denying the hurtful words. "What did you say?"


"I said." He turned, his sharringan blazing. "You should give up being a shinobi."


"How could I do that!" Sakura practically cried. "I have to prove my worth-!"

"What worth." Sasuke glared down at her, Sakura shivered from his intense aura.


"I have to be strong." Sakura defended meekly. "So I can be useful."

"You have no use." Sasuke turned away from her and started walking away.

"Wait!" Sakura ran after him. "I do have worth! I am useful!"

Sasuke ignored her as he kept walking. Desperate to make him stop she gasped his shoulder. He turned instantly and slapped her across the face.


"Don't touch me!" He growled and turned away.

'What an ass' I thought as I now looked back on that painful memory. 'He's such an ass.'

"You really are just a kid." Sasori frowned at me "You are too young to understand true art."

"Oh Sakura-chaaaaaan" Deidara's voice wafted over to my ears. "Guess who's coming to see you!"

"What is he thinking?" Sasori spat as Deidara opened the door to my cell. "Deidara get... lost..." Sasori's voice trailed off. Deidara walked in and stared at Sasori's face.

"Woah Danna!" He exclaimed. "I've never seen you make that face before, un."

"Deidara shut up." Sasori's shocked expression was gone, it had changed to one of pure annoyance. "We have intruders."


"Ero-sannin look! They're leaving!" Naruto's red eyes focused on the two Akatsuki that left Sakura's cell and walked down the opposite hall. "Lets go save Sakura-chan now!" He jumped forward but Jiraiya grabbed him last second and held him back.

"Now just wait a minute Naruto!" Jiraiya held the boy in place. "Before we can grab Sakura and leave we need an escape route. If we take her now and they come back to find her gone their going to know whats up! And we don't know where we're going. They know this place better than we do and they could easily find us. We need to avoid fighting them at all costs!"

"Then we just have to get Sakura out of here before they find her!" Naruto defended. Jiraiya knew that any more attempts to persuade him would just go right through his head. Naruto was the type that doesn't hear what he didn't want to hear.

"Naruto I know you don't want to hear this but-SHIT!!" Jiraiya charged after Naruto as the boy ran to the door.

"Sakura! Sakura!" Naruto yelled, completely forgetting where he was. "Its me Naruto!!" Naruto tore the seal of the door and charged in.

"Naruto!" Sakura's weak voice answered back. She stared in disbelief as her teammate ran into her cell and crouch down next to her.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya appeared in the door way, his expression panicked. "We need to grab Sakura and go!"

"Come on Sakura-chan!" Naruto grabbed Sakura's arm and yanked her up. She screamed in pain as she fell back to the floor, Naruto cursed his stupidity and tried to pick Sakura up. Sakura twisted out of his hold, lading on her good arm.

"Naruto she's injured! Can't you see her leg and arm!?"

"Sakura-chan" Naruto sat by his friend, a comforting smile on his face. He tenderly picked up his friends hand and held it. "Did they do this to you?"

"Naruto..." Sakura panted, tears welling in her eyes. "Its a trap."

"NARUTO!" Jiraiya lungs forward, picking up Naruto and Sakura at the same time. Sakura cried out in pain from her injuries and sudden mistreatment. Jiraiya mentally promised to apologize later but now his main concern was getting the hell out of there. "Shit." He cursed as a cluster of senbon flew by his ear.

"You were right danna." Deidara's smug face appeared from behind a corner, followed shortly after by Sasori.

"They should have taken more care to hide their chakra." Sasori stepped forward. "They even delivered the kyuubi right to us."

"What?" Deidara's jaw drops as he looks from Sasori to the two males standing not to far from them with their prisoner. "That kid is the kyuubi!? Then who's the old guy."

"Jiraiya, one of the three legendary sannin." Sasori heard about Jiraiya from Itachi and Kisame's encounter with him.

"This is certainly interesting, un." Deidara laughed as he molded a clay animal. "I doubt it will be easy to get the two kids from him."

"Deidara our opponent is a Sannin and we have orders not to kill Sakura or the Kyuubi vessel." Sasori watched Jiraiya's every movement, his every breath. They could not afford a single mistake but then again, neither could he.


Jiraiya knew from the get-go that this was a bad idea but he was too stubborn. He let his personal emotions affect his judgment, then again when did that ever stop him. Jiraiya knew the shinobi rule, Show no emotion on the mission, do not be ruled by emotions. He hated that rule, never tried to follow it for that matter. He went with his gut, and it worked.

So then why did he go through with this even when his gut told him not too. Why? Because he knew the pain, of losing a friend.

"Shit he got away danna." Deidara cursed as he and Sasori stopped at an intersection of hallways. When they first attacked him at Sakura's cell he used the special summoning technique he used when fighting Itachi and Kisame. And turned the whole hallway into a frogs stomach. The move gave him the time he needed to escape.

Now here he was, waiting, watching, hoping.

"Can't you sense their chakra?" Deidara turned to his partner. Sasori shook his head, his face passive.

"I can only sense chakra when it flares like before, even then i barely felt it."

"Damn, Leader-sama isn't going to be happy with this, yeah." Deidara molded more clay in his hand as Sasori looked down each hallway.

"Deidara, we're splitting up. You take that one and I'll go down this one."

"Roger danna."

From his spot on the ceiling, hidden behind a partly fallen section Jiraiya watched the two Akatsuki walk away from him. 'Good they're going the other way.' He silently prayed thanks that both Naruto and Sakura had remained quiet. He jumped down and run for the life of him.

"Ero-Sannin!" Naruto struggles in Jiraiya's arms as they somehow made it out of the Akatsuki base and into the sunlight. "Let me go! Its Sakura that needs our attention!"

"No..." Sakura moaned quietly. "I can't leave."

"What are you talking about." Naruto asks slowly, Sakura tried to look at him but his innocent face made her want to cry.

"I need to prove him wrong..." Her mind didn't know what she was saying, but her heart did. Going with Jiraiya and Naruto would just take her back to Konoha. Then what would she do?

Everyone would rush to her and marvel and complement at her survival against the Akatsuki then her life would return to its normal. Boring. Useless. Self.

She didn't want to be a hindrance, she wanted to feel... not wanted. Wanted could just mean 'wanting companionship' or 'wanted for being a friend.' She needed to be wanted, she wanted to be used. Not siting on the sidelines while Sasuke and Naruto did all the work.

But here with the Akatsuki, she may have not been wanted but she wasn't being useless. For days, weeks has she stood tall against harsh treatment and has yet to tell the Akatsuki anything that they wanted to know.

Standing up to the Akatsuki was proving her worth. Her worth as a shinobi.

Sasuke told her that she could never be a shinobi, that she should give up. Now she has found something that proved she was a good shinobi and she wasn't going to let that go.

"Sakura-chan! Are you talking about Sasuke-teme!?" Naruto refused to look away from his friend, he brain couldn't wrap around that fact that both of his friends wanted to leave him.

"Naruto I-" Sakura didn't want to tell Naruto her entire reasons for wanting to leave him, to leave the village. Who could live in a place where she wasn't wanted. 'I also don't want him to come after me.' Sakura thought. The Akatsuki initially captured her to use as bait anyways so if she cut all ties with Naruto then...

There was a loud, thundering explosion as the ground beneath them shook and trembled. Bursting forth from the brown dust cloud was clay bird emerged. They all recognized the blond Akatsuki riding it.

"Found you, yeah." His smooth voice calls down to him. "Danna they're right right where you said they'd be."

Jiraiya made a desperate grab for the two genin but a cloud of poisoned needles got him. The shapr needles covering him like a steel covering,

"Ero-sannin!" Naruto was torn between friend and teacher, a feral growl pushed past his lips as he created an army of clones. " Damn it all! I will beat you!"

Despite all of Naruto's efforts he stood no chance against two Akatsuki. With the last of his strength Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and used his special summoning scroll.

And they were gone.

"They escaped danna!" Deidara yells from his bird.

"Stop stating the obvious." Sasori irritably called back. He wasn't too worried about losing them. His poisoned needles would kill him in three days and the kyuubi would probably come back seeking revenge but what he didn't get was his pink haired prisoner.

She laid mangled on the ground, her broken arm twisted awkwardly against her side.

"Deidara head back to base." Sasori instructed his partner. Deidara looked as if was about to oppose but he heard the threatful undertones to Sasori's order. Sulkingly he flew back to the base. "You are by far the most complex prisoner I've ever had." He told the genin as he crouched down beside her. "Why didn't you escape when you had the chance? Why didn't you head back to your village?"

Sakura turned her head, just enough to make eye contact, a strand of hair partially covering her eyes. Those emerald orbs burned with a fierce pride and an untamable will. It was like a storm was raging behind that sea of green.

"I'm no use to Konoha." She said, her gaze never faltering. "Why return to a place you're not needed."

Sasori observed her for a moment, he half heartedly wondered what made the kunoichi think that if she had no place in Konoha then what use would she be to the Akatsuki? The more he thought about it the more it interested him, and then an idea occurred to him.

"You are of no more use to Akatsuki Sakura." Sasori told her, her gaze wavered but stayed strong, that fire still burning in them. "But you may be of use to me."

Sakura slowly lessened her gaze, watching the puppet master with weary eyes, like a dog that has been kicked to many times. "What do you mean." Her voice was low.

"I want you to be of use to me Sakura but only if you can prove that I can use you."

"Tell me!" She gasped, her eyes wide. "I'll do anything"

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask of you."

"I don't care what it is, no matter what I won't fail." It took all of her limited will power to not look desperate.

"So impatient" He smirked down at her. "it's all good though, I hate waiting." Without another word or warning he pulled a vial from within his robe and injected the purple liquid into Sakura's pale skin. "This poison will partially paralyze you for three days and kill you the fourth. If you can crawl back to base before the poison kills you then maybe I will have some use from you."

He slowly stood up with smooth movements and left her. "I really do hope you make it back." He said to her. "I think this is one thing I can wait for."


Me: Yosh! Only two chapters left! So give me some reviews! Oh any my contest is officially over! I will be contacting the winners in a few days or so.

So please! Tell me what you think of the story!!