Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to update! But I hope this chapter makes up for it. It has a little more action than the others. I know I've been depriving you all of some action.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved and/or alerted! I am so happy!!! Love you all!
Happy reading :)
Eternal
The Blossom Of The Leaf Blooms Twice
Chapter 10 - Touch Wood
Sakura's hands were hovering over Itachi's left eye, a pale green glow healing the damage that her chakra scalpel had inflicted on the area. Itachi's hands were gripping the coat beneath him in a death grip. His face was contorted in pain as Sakura worked her magic, "I'm sorry Itachi-san. I can't numb the area. If I do, you won't be able to blink. That'll increase the risk of infection." she said softly. Thankfully, this was the last eye she would have to work on which meant that Itachi wouldn't be in pain much longer.
'I feel sick' Kisame thought as he watched Sakura operate on his friend. Her hands were covered in Itachi's blood and the remains of Sasuke's eyes were floating in the solution that kept them preserved. Itachi had explained to Sakura that it wasn't the entire eye itself that held the Sharingan. It was the retina which projected the tomoe onto the irises. When the Mangekyo Sharingan was active, it damaged the retinas until the owner went blind so all Sakura had to do was replace Itachi's retinas with Sasuke's and everything would be alright. Plus, Sakura would have much more power on her side when it came to going against Danzo.
"There we go, Itachi-san." Sakura said, finishing the final eye in almost record time. It was as if Itachi hadn't even undergone surgery. There wasn't a single scar left and the light had returned to him. The blurred vision that had once plagued him was focused and sharper than ever. The renewed Uchiha sat up once more and looked around. Sakura had to admit, with part of Sasuke in him, there was a sparkle similar to Sasuke's in his eyes.
"Arigato once again, Sakura-san." Itachi said. This time, he was truly grateful to her. She had saved his life twice in one day. The medic gently pushed him back down.
"You still haven't recovered from the treatment for your illness." she said softly, "You'll be a little sore when the numbing effect of the chakra wears off in an hour or two."
"Hn." Itachi huffed. He didn't like feeling like an invalid. Kisame chuckled at Itachi being mothered by a woman who he'd barely met before. Sakura's hand delved into her medic's bag which was attached to her waist and pulled out a set of bandages. She rested the older Uchiha's head on her knees with a gentleness that only a medic could possess. Her hands wrapped the white cloth around Itachi's eyes, shielding them from the light and dirt.
"You'll need to wear them for a few days." Sakura said before looking up at Kisame, "Kisame-san. While I'm gone, I'll need you to take care of Itachi-san. Make sure he doesn't take the bandages off until I get back, okay?" she dipped her hand back into her pocket and brought a bottle of medication out, "He'll need to take two of these every hour or he'll be in a lot of pain."
"Okay, Blossom." Kisame smirked, taking the bottle from the pinkette. Sai walked up to Sakura who still had a sheen of sweat covering her brow.
"Sakura." he said, his voice thick with concern, "You need to rest before we move on. His operation took a lot out of you." He couldn't understand why she would push herself so hard for someone who would only become a problem later. Had she even thought about what he and Kisame would do when all of this was over? They were both internationally wanted criminals. He hoped she knew what she was doing.
"Sai, I'm not as weak as everyone thinks I am." Sakura sighed, standing up. All traces of her previous fatigue were gone which Sai could only put down to her total mastery of chakra control. Being able to heal her fatigue must be a useful ability, "I need to get to my next target before people back in Konoha realise I'm gone. It's only a matter of time."
'Just how devious can this girl get?'Kisame wondered, 'She's keeping everyone completely in the dark. Even us.'
"Sai. I also need you to go back to Konoha." Sakura continued, much to everyone's shock, "Danzo will realise I've gone if you don't report back to him soon. I don't need trackers on my tail." Sai nodded reluctantly. He didn't like the idea of leaving her to deal with another one of them but she was strong. Her sharp increase in strength scared him enough to make him believe that she'd be alright.
"There's one thing." Kisame said, attracting their attention, "If you're going, you'll need myself and Itachi's help."
"But-" Sakura was about to argue until Kisame raised a hand to stop her.
"The guy hates you." he laughed, "You think he'll help you after you nearly killed him?" Sakura had to agree with him. Two other members of Akatsuki would probably help her case. Knowing that they trusted her would help to soothe him.
"I guess you have a point." Sakura said, "But what about Itachi-san?" she asked, pointing to the temporarily blinded man, "He'll be unable to take the bandages off for a few days. He won't be much use in a fight."
"Don't worry, Blossom." Kisame smirked, slinging Sameheda over his shoulder proudly, "I'm more than enough to protect you." But he didn't truly believe that she'd need him. His sword told him of how strong her chakras were now. And Sameheda was a very picky chakra stealing sword. For it to be attracted to Sakura meant that she really was strong. It felt weird to be so close to such a person and not be trying to capture them but that part of his life was behind him now. With Akatsuki destroyed, he was thankful for an opportunity to be active again.
Sakura delved into the inner pocket of her coat before turning to Sai and handed a small scroll to him, "This scroll will take you back to my apartment. Just perform the necessary handsigns and it will activate, got it?"
"Hai." Sai nodded, taking the scroll from her, "But won't people know you've gone?"
"No. I've left a shadow clone to do my dirty work." Sakura smirked, "The only person who could tell if it was me or not would be Kiba and I've made it quite clear that he isn't to get anywhere near me." She knew that Kiba's sense of smell would lead to her being found out so she had made sure that Shizune would keep him and any other Inuzuka away from her. Sai laid the scroll on the floor and stood on the designated area before beginning to make the handsigns. There was a downside to Sakura's invention and that was that it took a long time to activate. Sakura obviously didn't want just anyone to be able to use it so she had made it take hundreds of handsigns to complete.
"Itachi-san." Sakura said, "Are you okay to walk or do you need Kisame to carry you?"
That got the Uchiha up. The thought of the total humiliation brought about by being carried to the next location was too horrific to bare. His Uchiha pride wouldn't allow himself to be helped, even by his teammate. Sakura suppressed a laugh as she watched the indignant look on Itachi's face. She knew the Uchiha Clan was strong but very easy to manipulate if done correctly.
Sakura motioned for Kisame to take Itachi and follow her. They had strayed rather far from the beaten path and it would take a while for them to find the target from where they were. Kisame sneakily guided the temporarily blinded Uchiha after the pinkette so that he didn't bump into something. It was funny to see the strongest ninja he'd seen look so helpless and needy.
-
"So he's around here?" Sakura asked, looking around. She knew that they were nearer to Suna than Konoha since the weather had brightened and the temperature had risen rather sharply. Kisame nodded. Although it felt like he was selling him out, Kisame knew that Sakura needed help and had to be desperate if she was looking to criminals to aid her. The forest was long gone and had been replaced by the soft sand of the Wind Country. Kisame wasn't handling the area to well. Since he was more accustomed to cooler areas, his shark-like skin was beginning to dry out so he had to frequently drink water which delayed the group even more.
'I never knew an Akatsuki agent could be such a crybaby.' Sakura thought with a smirk as Kisame sat on a rock and drank more water.
"I know what you're thinking and shut it." Kisame growled, glaring at Sakura, "I'm still strong enough to give you a hard time."
"I doubt that." Itachi chirpped. Sakura's eyebrow rose. That was the first time she had ever heard an Uchiha crack a joke. Apparently, it was a first for Kisame too since he was looking at Itachi with a weird expression. Itachi sighed, "Is there a cave near here?" he asked.
"Yes." Sakura nodded.
"Sasori's in there." Itachi said, "Kisame told me that not far into the Wind Country, there was a cave. In there, Sasori has been hiding out, repairing his dented puppet collection." Sakura nodded and waited for Kisame to finish his massive consumption of water. When the shark man stood up, he walked past Sakura with a huff. She didn't seem to understand the he had needs. The pinkette gently took over the role of guiding Itachi to the cave.
The cave was just like any other, with stalactites and stalagmites all over. The only odd thing was that the walls were dimly lit by candles where the sun wasn't getting in. Sakura's heels clicked against the hard stone as the trio walked deeper into the cave. Her emerald eyes were narrowed as she tried to scan the darkness for any kind of danger. Sakura barely had time to move as a blast of flames came speeding towards her only to be blocked by a speeding bullet of water which met it in the air. Kisame's hands dropped from their positions in their handsigns as he smirked at the pinkette.
"Someone needs to be more careful, Blossom." he teased. Sakura had forgotten that Sasori's body was rigged with numerous deadly weapons.
"Kisame..." came the deep voice from the shadows at the other end of the room which made the shark man look over at him, "Who would have thought you and Itachi would have sunk to helping Konoha?" That made Kisame chuckle darkly.
"What can I say?" Kisame smirked, "This Blossom got to me, I guess."
"She'll kill you when she gets the chance." the voice said as the man who owned the voice stepped out from the shadows that he was hidden in. Sakura's eyes narrowed. Sasori looked no different to when she had fought him five years previously. Of course, he wouldn't have aged would he? Not with his body preserved as a puppet. Sasori's gaze dropped onto Sakura with a look of disgust on his youthful face, "I know that from personal experience."
"I'm not here to kill you Sasori-san." Sakura said, "If I was, I would have done it by now."
"Oh really?" Sasori asked. If Sakura didn't know any better, she'd have said there was a hint of a laugh in his voice. But she wasn't mistaken when she saw the slight amusement on his face. It seemed he had retained some of his more human traits after all. It annoyed Sakura to think that her target was seriously underestimating her, "You couldn't do it last time without Chiyo's help so how do you expect to do it this time?"
"She was able to break my jaw." Kisame smirked, "And cure Itachi's illness. I would think killing you would be a simple job, Sasori." It felt a little strange being praised by a wanted criminal but Sakura wasn't about to argue with him. Not if he was going to help her.
"Hn." Sasori grunted. He didn't want to acknowledge any growth in the woman he had held a grudge over for five years. She would always be the weak little girl who needed an old woman's help to defeat him. His eyes locked on Itachi who was still wearing his bandages, "It seems she did more than just that, eh Itachi?"
"Maybe." he said, "But that is none of your concern. All you need to know is that we are here to bargain with you. Not to fight." Sasori snorted and sent the stinger in his stomach cavity flying at the pink haired medic. She dodged easily before noticing that it was following her. The poison on the cord and the stinger itself was sure to be even more deadly than the one she had removed from Kankuro.
"Fat chance." Sasori spat, "But I have to thank you. You brought my prey to me and spare me the task of making her wait to die." With that, he released another stream of fire which grazed the airborne Sakura, making her hiss as she landed. Sakura removed her coat which was now aflame and threw it aside, laying the massive scroll on the floor. Kisame's eyes widened when he saw the well developed form of the pinkette. The fire began to consume her coat, making the flames bigger and more hungry.
'I guess I'll have to beat him to get him to listen.' Sakura thought as she ran with blinding speed towards Sasori. Her new found power thanks to her inner self releasing the seal made Sakura faster than ever. Her fist connected with Sasori's chest, just short of where his heart was, causing his puppet body to fly into the wall nearby and lose an arm and half a leg. The chest had a heavy crack in it where she had hit him.
"Hn. I guess you've improved a little." Sasori said, "But remember. I don't feel pain." Kisame stepped forward to help Sakura but was answered by a kunai grazing his cheek.
"No." Sakura said, never taking her eyes off Sasori, "I need to defeat him alone."
"At least use this." Kisame said, detatching his massive sword from his back. Sakura was wary of the sword since she knew from what Guy had told Kakashi that it didn't accept anyone by Kisame as its master unless it became attracted to their chakra, "Don't worry." he smirked, seemingly able to read Sakura's mind, "Sameheda kinda likes you, Blossom." He threw the sword over to Sakura who caught it before letting the tip fall to the ground.
'Damn it. This thing is heavy.' she thought.
"Careful! It's a little heavy." Kisame called over.
Sakura's face went blank, 'Now he tells me.' she thought as she channelled some of her chakra into her arm which allowed her to swing Sameheda around as if it were a kunai. Sasori looked at Kisame incredulously. It was a sight you didn't see everyday, Kisame helping someone.
"You must be rather special if Sameheda is letting you wield him." Sasori said, "But that butter knife won't help you here." Sakura's eyes narrowed as she noticed one of Sasori's scrolls disappear and reappear, floating above Sasori's head. If she wasn't mistaken, Sasori really wanted to finish this off, "Now then." he said as the scroll opened. He tried to open his right chest cavity where the hundreds of chakra strings were hidden but it was jammed, "What is this?" he asked in shock.
"You really think I'd allow you to use that technique on me again?" Sakura chuckled, "I know full well that your body feels no pain but your jutsu relies on your physical form being intact. If you can't get to the chakra strings, you can't control those damned puppets, can you Sasori-san?" Her look was smug as Sasori's cold eyes met hers again, "I didn't come here unprepared. I'm not that stupid anymore."
"I was right." Sasori snapped, "You are a pink haired bitch."
"That's my name, don't wear it out." Sakura laughed, "Are you ready to talk or do I have to wail on you a little more?" Without his most powerful technique, Sasori's power was reduced sharply but he was still a large threat. Kisame was smirking, baring his pointed teeth. There was nothing more thrilling than a good fight, especially when the chakras involved were so strong.
"Talk? With you?! I don't think so." Sasori said, sending a jet stream of water towards Sakura which she used Sameheda to block. The sword shook itself to dry off with a growl. The pinkette saw that, in that short time since he attacked, he had drawn another weapon. A puppet to be precise. Sakura's eyes widened when she recognised the puppet's likeness, "You like my little puppet?" he smirked.
'No....It can't be.' She thought, her eyes widening considerably.
The puppet was tall with extremely long white hair which was tied back into a ponytail. The face of the man in question had two red teartrack marks running down it from the corner of each of his eyes. Sakura's grip on Sameheda tightened as her eyes began to well up, "Jiraiya-sama." she whispered. Kisame was shocked too. To think that Sasori had taken control of one of the most powerful ninja to walk the earth. It was incredible and scary at the same time.
"Yes...Five years I've had this puppet." Sasori chuckled, "I found him floating in a lake, nearly dead. Thankfully, he wasn't in too much of a state to fight back. Converting him was fairly simple, after cleaning him up of course." Sakura's emerald eyes were aflame with immense anger. She couldn't believe that he would desecrate the corpse of Naruto's godfather. The blond would never forgive her if she allowed it to continue.
"Sasori-san." Sakura growled, "Get rid of that puppet this instant. Or you can say goodbye to everything."
"Don't we need him?" Kisame asked.
"There are others." Sakura snapped, "Sasori-san is a missing-nin from Suna. How much would they owe me if I brought him back to them? I'd say enough to help with my plan don't you think?" she was making this up as she went along. Sakura hoped the possibility of retribution at the hands of his people would scare him into cooperation.
"You think I'm scaredof Suna?" Sasori asked, that laugh nearly creeping into his voice again.
"No. But you should be scared of me." she said, confidence returning to her. She knew that, no matter how powerful Jiraiya had been when he was alive, that he would only be as powerful as Sasori could make him. If Sakura kept one step ahead, she could beat him. Sameheda let out a form of low growl and began to twitch. Sakura glared at Sasori and lifted it up, preparing for an attack. When Sasori's fingers began to twitch, Jiraiya's hand stretched towards her. Chakra began to whirl around in his palm.
'Rasengan.'Sakura thought. The pinkette ran and slashed the air with Sameheda, causing the chakra in Jiraiya's hand to dissipate thus rendering the attack useless. The puppet was barely able to block a kick to his chest delivered with frightening force.
"He's reinforced his skin." Kisame muttered, "Blossom won't be able to smash Jiraiya."
Sakura sighed, jumping back from the former Toad Sage. How was she supposed to fight something that not even her immense strength could destroy? Sameheda could stop any Rasengan based attacks but she didn't know what else Jiraiya would have up his sleeves thanks to Sasori. The puppet master's look was smug. He knew that he had Sakura in a bind. His fingers twitched again and, this time, Jiraiya's body ran at the pinkette, his arm outstretched. The limb transformed into a massive blade that was almost as big as Sameheda. On top of that, it was dripping with poison. Typical Sasori.
'For fuck sake. Why won't this guy listen to me?' Sakura wondered as she dodged yet another attack from Jiraiya. Flecks of poison landed on her face as the blade swung in front of her face. 'It looks like normal jutsus won't work here.' she thought, "Kisame, Arigato but I'd rather work with my own weapons for a bit!" she called over to the shark man as she threw Sameheda back to it's true master who caught it in one hand.
"Suit yourself." he smirked, hooking it to his back again. He wished Itachi could see the fight in front of them but the Uchiha could only sense the chakra building up. That didn't compare to having an image.
Sakura ran a safe distance away from Jiraiya and eyed them up dangerously. She raised her thumb to her mouth and bit into it, causing a small amount of blood to flow. After wiping it onto her other palm, she performed a flurry of handsigns before slamming the bloodied palm to the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" she shouted. A massive plume of smoke erupted from the point where her hand hit the ground, flooding the room and blinding everyone. Eventually the smoke began to thin and disperse, revealing Sakura stood atop her massive summon; a slug which towered over the entire battlefield.
"If I can't smash it." Sakura shouted, "Maybe Katsuyu-sama can melt it!"
"I'll do my best Sakura-san." the slug said in her feminine voice. Sakura braced herself as Katsuyu reared her head and prepared her deadly attack. Sasori's fingers twitched, causing Jiraiya to jump and try to swing the massive blade down to strike Katsuyu before she could complete her preparation. Unfortunately for Sasori, he overlooked the fact that Sakura was still able to move. Jiraiya's attack was stopped just in time by Sakura gripping the puppet's arms and leaving it dangling in front of Katsuyu's face.
"Do it." Sakura ordered.
"But Sakura-san...I'll get you too!" gurgled the slug with a mouthful of slime.
"I'm a medic. I'll be fine." she smiled. With slight hesitation, Katsuyu finally released the contents of her mouth. The acid slime sprayed all over Jiraiya and Sakura, scalding the pair of them. The pair of them fell to the ground, still covered with the corrosive substance. Sakura threw the now useless body of Jiraiya to the side and Kisame took it as his cue. His hands flew into the necessary handsigns as he ran over to the pinkette who was groaning in pain as the slime ate away at her body.
"SuirÅ no Jutsu!" he said, holding a hand out. Sakura became engulfed in a sphere of water which, rather than being used for its intended capture purpose, was being used in order to wash the pinkette off. He quickly released the jutsu, causing the water to fall to the ground, taking the remainder of the slime with it. Sakura fell to the floor, panting.
"Ari...gato." she gasped, as she stood up slowly. Kisame nearly cringed when he saw what Sakura had done to herself. Half of her skin was burned away, revealing bone and muscle tissue in the worse affected parts.
"Blossom, you're hurt. Let me handle Sasori." Kisame offered. Sakura shook her head and chuckled.
"I'm not a great medic for no reason." she smiled as her entire body began to glow the trademark pale green that indicated the Mystical Palm Technique. Kisame watched with great interest as Sakura's skin and muscles began to repair themselves right before his eyes. Sasori was stood, wide eyed. He couldn't believe that she had done something so reckless as to nearly kill herself to destroy his puppet.
'No. She was never in danger.' he thought, 'She had it all planned out.'
The glow around Sakura's body faded eventually and she sighed with a smile, "See? I'm fine." she said, "Protecting me will have to wait." she winked before walking away, towards Sasori. Her pleasant demeanor was gone in an instant, "You are defenceless. Now then, are you going to admit that you're outclassed and help me or do I have to arrest you and take you to the authorities in Suna?"
Sasori glared at Sakura. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. His most powerful puppet and technique were useless to him now. He turned his head which Sakura took as meaning that he had admitted defeat, "Okay then. Kisame! Get my scroll. I have a job for the three of you."
Did you enjoy the little action I put in there? I should probably explain the whole Jiraiya= Sasori's new puppet thing shouldn't I? Well...I did a little research on his human puppet technique and read that he converts a 'still living' person. I had to change the circumstances of Jiraiya's death a little to fit Sasori in. Pein still fought him but only gravely wounded him and left him for dead. Did that clear it up?
I'm relatively new to writing prolonged fight scenes. Was it alright or do I need to do better?
OH! Please vote on the poll on my profile! You can have a say on who gets to get in the way of our dog boy!
Thanks for reading,
Eternal :)