Naruto woke up in the medical tent. Every bone in his body was screaming at him. He was sure he looked like a mummy. He supposed it had been stupid to let those Kumo-nin Karui and Omoi hit him like that, but he still felt like he had done the right thing. Shizune-san said that most of the swelling should go down in a couple of days. Speaking of which, he watched as Shizune entered the tent and looked startled to see him up. He grinned at her which he was sure looked horrible. "I feel like I got hit by Tsunade-Obachan a hundred times." He said. Shizune scowled at him. "You might as well have been with how much you let those two beat you up. Really, what were you thinking?" she scolded him. "I was thinking it would have made me feel better to know someone else realized the full extent of my anger and grief if I was them." He answered easily. Shizune glared. "Sasuke is a criminal now. No matter what you do someone is going to want him imprisoned or dead." Naruto frowned and gripped the covers. "At least if he's imprisoned he won't be so lost!" He said frustrated. He felt powerless since he couldn't do much for his friend.

There was one thing he could still do though. "I'm going after the Raikage." Shizune opened her mouth in shock. "What?! Naruto, you just got beat up by his subordinates!" Naruto fisted his hands in the sheets. "I have to convince him to spare Sasuke!" She gestured to him helplessly even though she knew he was already well enough with his healing rate. "But your wounds…" Naruto met her gaze. "Shizune it doesn't matter what you say. I'm going with or without permission from you. I just thought you should know." After a moment, Shizune sighed in defeat. "… At least let me have Kakashi and Yamato accompany you." Naruto nodded. "Thanks." He was surprised when Shizune tenderly placed her hand on his bandaged head. He looked into her eyes, and read the silent plea in them. "You can wait until morning to leave. You can walk so why don't you go roam around for a while?" Shizune suggested. Naruto nodded. "Yeah." He said. "Maybe that's what I need." He said. He had another important task on his mind anyway.

Naruto left the hospital room and walked towards the ninja academy. Only one other piece to Alien's maze remained unsolved: The girl in his images. After the fuss over the gem had died down Naruto had wracked his brain day and night trying to figure out who the girl was. He didn't know what her face looked like so the town records would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Naruto had finally realized that Iruka-sensei was in one of the images. At this point, he was certain if anyone could tell him about the girl it was Iruka-sensei.

Classes were over for the day so his classroom was empty. Naruto struggled to remember. He could make out the memory of one of the images just barely. His eyes opened and trailed across the seats. That was it. She had sat in the third section over in the front row. The second seat had belonged to her. She had seemed like she was paying close attention to the lesson in the image. She must've been a good student. Just as he was about to leave to search for him, Iruka sensei came through the door with a broom. He looked surprised. "Naruto? What are you doing here? I thought you were in the hospital." Naruto rushed up to him surprising Iruka even more.

"Iruka sensei!" he said. "I need your help!"

Iruka smiled. "Of course, Naruto. What do you need?"

Naruto sighed in relief. He pointed to the desk. "When I was little, and you first became my teacher there was a girl in class right?"

Iruka sweat dropped and scratched the back of his head. "You'll have to be more specific Naruto. There were quite a few girls in class."

"Right. Sorry. This seat over here," he gestured to the seat from his images. "Was there ever a girl with black hair and a dragon tattoo sitting there?"

Iruka frowned uneasily. "Yes there was." He said.

Naruto smiled triumphantly. "Do you remember her name?" he asked urgently.

Iruka's frown deepened confusing Naruto. "Of course I remember her." He said as if forgetting her wouldn't be possible.

"Who was she?" Naruto was beginning to get irritated at his former teacher's lack of response.

"Naruto what kind of game are you playing? Of course I remember Lori. Why are you asking about her so strangely for anyway? You haven't mentioned her in years." He said apprehensively.

Naruto backed up. He was surprised at Iruka's hostility. "Iruka sensei, I'm not playing a game. I keep seeing images her in my head, and it's really important that I know who and where she is. Please Iruka-sensei do you know what happened to her?"

Iruka looked at him sadly. "You really don't remember do you?" he said.

Naruto shook his head. Iruka sighed. "Naruto, Lori was Sasuke's twin sister. She died in the Uchiha massacre eight years ago." All Naruto could do was stand there stunned. Iruka's expression held nothing but pity. "Are you going to be alright Naruto?" Naruto nodded mutely and walked out of the school. Once he was safely outside he cursed and punched a wall. Why did it seem like every time he was close to solving something it just danced away from him again? "Poor little Kyuubi. He's so confused." He heard a voice say out of nowhere. Naruto whipped around to find a red haired, brown-eyed girl sitting on the swing he used to sit on all the time. She looked like she was about his age, but she was wearing Anbu gear. "Who are you? I thought Anbu were supposed to wear their mask at all times." He demanded. She smiled and kicked her legs making the swing move. "I'm Yore, and you're not a threat." She said. "I work for Danzo." Naruto immediately pulled out his Kunai. "There's no need for that." She waved him off. "Not right now at least. I don't give a rat's ass what Danzo wants with you." Naruto felt terribly uneasy. "What do you want?" he asked supisciously.

The girl, Yore, seemed to look right into his soul. "Let me guess." She said. "You're running out of time." Naruto was taken aback. "Have you been spying on me?" The girl ignored his question. "What else did Tallah tell you hmm? That your memories are missing? That the world as you know it literally hangs in the balance? Did she tell you how it's all her vessel's fault, and how she gave up her freedom to keep your mind safe?" Naruto gritted his teeth watching the girl as she circled him like a predator. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about." Yore blinked at him and laughed cruelly. "Good Lord you really don't do you? At least I know I did my job. But seriously, she couldn't even tell you her name. I swear this is totally worth the world burning."

Naruto had had just about enough of the girls antics. He threw his Kunai and was surprised when it just barely grazed the girl's cheek. Yore blinked and ran her finger across the scratch. She scowled and suddenly the amount of kill chakra she was emitting skyrocketed. "I'm so tired of seeing blood." She said. Suddenly she was in front of him grabbing his face in her hand. "You're lucky I'm so convinced the Dragon will fail, otherwise I'd kill you right here. Tell Tallah I can't wait to see her vessel's blood on my blade." Before Naruto could blink the girl was gone, leaving him frightened and with another mystery on his hands.

Sakura woke up in a daze. It took her a minute to register where she was. She finally realized she was in one of the Konoha medical tents. She looked around in surprise. She didn't remember arriving in Konoha. The last thing she remembered was worrying about Naruto sleeping at the hotel in Suna. As she looked around she was even more surprised to find Ino sitting beside her.

"Ino," she said. "What are you doing here?"

The platinum blonde girl scowled. "What do you mean what am I doing here forehead? I'm entitled to see my injured best friend."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "So where am I anyway?" she asked.

"Since the hospital was destroyed during Pain's attack, Shizune set up another medical tent for you. It's right next to Tsunade's."

Sakura nodded. That made since, but she was a little uneasy. Why was she in the medical tent in the first place? She didn't recall being injured. She examined herself a little bit. Wow she was definitely sore. She saw several bruises around her arms. They looked like…chains? Had she been chained up? What had happened to her? She was about to ask Ino when she noticed how puffy and red her friend's eyes were. She frowned in confusion. "Ino, have you been crying?" Ino hurried to wipe her face. "I…well…yes." She stammered concerning Sakura. "Why?" Ino dismissed her with a wave of her hand. "I'll tell you in a little bit ok? First things first though. What happened to you? Shizune informed me, Shikamaru, and Dad about the situation in Suna so you can tell me anything." Sakura sighed. There went her question. "I was hoping you could tell me." Ino blinked in surprise. "You don't remember?" Sakura was confused. "No. Should I?" Ino looked incredulous. "Well considering you have a cracked sternum, three broken ribs, bruises all over you and chain marks surrounding your body, yes I thought you would at least remember something." Ino said sarcastically with a slight edge of worry. Sakura was beginning to worry herself. "No, Nothing."

Ino frowned. "That's not good. Look I'll be back later ok? I have some stuff to do, and then I'll bring my father back here." Sakura tried to grab her skirt. "Wait, you didn't tell me why you were crying!" She shot Sakura a sad smile as she left."Later ok?" Sakura laid back down in confusion. Why wouldn't her friend tell her what was wrong? More importantly why was her head pounding so hard? She felt like she had been electrocuted. She blinked. Where had that come from? She didn't know how it felt to be electrocuted. Although last time she had seen Sasuke it looked like he had been more than willing to grant her the experience. She frowned, and then jumped when she heard a voice from the other side of the room. "You are awake." Sakura groaned. She knew that voice. "Sai what are you doing here?" She turned her head to face the pasty white male. His face was expressionless as always.

"I was told to watch you until Inoichi got here with Shizune. She thinks your body has been healed enough now for them to examine you."

Sakura blinked. "I didn't think to ask how long I had been out."

"You've been unconscious for three weeks." He said without skipping a beat.

Sakura bolted upright in the bed in shock. "Three weeks!?" She winced at the pain caused by her sudden movement.

Sai nodded. "Yes, and a lot has happened in these weeks that you have missed."

"Tell me." Sakura demanded.

"Lord Danzo has officially been appointed the new Hokage. You and Naruto were immediately requested to be returned which is why you are here instead of in the Sand. Also…" He paused seeming to consider whether or not to continue.

"What is it Sai?" Sakura asked wondering what he was reluctant to tell her. "She told me to wait, but you should know. Danzo and Kumogakure have formed an alliance simply for the cause of hunting down and killing Sasuke."

Sakura froze. She felt numb. She felt sick. She didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to think about anyone else getting hurt. She wondered how Naruto had reacted. She suddenly realized she hadn't seen him yet. "Does Naruto know?" she asked Sai.

"Yes. In fact, he and two of the Kumo-nin engaged in an argument. They wanted the information you two had on him to help them know how to engage and eliminate Sasuke. Naruto refused after realizing he could not bring himself to sell out Sasuke, and offered to shoulder their anger instead. They gladly accepted, and he was in a hospital for about a week. Danzo and the other Kage's have decided to have a Kage summit to discuss war preparations. Naruto doesn't want Sasuke to die so he decided to leave the village with Kakashi and Yamato to beg the Raikage to spare his life. He is using the summit as an excuse to get near him."

Sakura could feel her eyes widen as everything sank in. "What is he thinking?! I have to go after him! I have to try and stop him!" She had every intention of bolting out after the blonde idiot at that moment when a hand shot out of nowhere and held her down. She looked up in surprise. Shizune's black eyes looked back into hers. They were intense. Sakura realized even if she tried to run she probably wouldn't make it past the woman. "You can do that later Sakura." She said. "We have matters to attend to beforehand though." She motioned to a figure behind her Sakura quickly identified as Ino's father. "Hello Inoichi." She said. "Hello Sakura." Inoichi said kindly. Ino has told us that you don't remember what happened to cause any of the injuries you received." "No I don't, but I don't see how that's important when Naruto is risking his life to go save Sasuke!" She practically growled. Shizune scowled at Sai who took that as a sign to leave.

Shizune sighed in exasperation. "Sakura, I want you to let Inoichi scan you mind." Sakura's eyes widened at the request. "Why?" Shizune looked troubled. "Gaara informed me after you and Naruto left that the thieves have also robbed several of the facilities in Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure as well." Sakura nodded Gaara had told them as much when they had arrived. Inoichi cleared his throat. "Shizune informed me one of the thieves has shown a talent for Genjutsu on several occasions. We need to make sure whoever attacked you didn't take anything vital pertaining to our village defences." Sakura reluctantly complied understanding the reasoning. "Alright." Inoichi nodded.

As he sifted through her mind he frowned in worry. When he was finally done he turned to Shizune in frustration. "This was definitely intentional memory suppression. I've never seen anything like it before though." Sakura looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" Inoichi shook his head. "Whoever suppressed your memories didn't want you to recover them anytime soon. I've never seen a wall so thick. Your opponent had a serious amount of chakra at their disposal for something this strong." Sakura's mind flashed to a black and white image of chains around her arms. She blinked trying to make sense of it, and was frustrated when it was suddenly gone again. "Why was my memory suppressed?"

Shizune piped up. "When Naruto found you one of the thieves that escaped from prison, Airi, had you on her back. Naruto said she just handed you over to him and left." Sakura frowned. "Why would they go to such trouble?" Shizune shook her head. "I don't know." As Sakura panicked about what the thief might have taken Shizune pulled her from her reverie. "There is something else you should know." Sakura looked up curiously. "What is it?" Shizune sighed. "The day Naruto left Sunagakure, the archives was attacked again in broad daylight." Sakura's eyebrows shot up. Shizune continued. "He engaged the girl, Tia, and discovered something interesting. The girl had a green gem in the pack. Naruto said he felt strange waves coming off of it, and that he believed the gems are what the thieves have actually been after. The rest of the things stolen were all a cover up as we originally suspected."

Sakura's eyes widened. The thieves were actually after a green gem? What was so special about such a tiny thing? She would've assumed they were just after money, but something told her there was more to the gems than that. "Did Gaara know anything about it?" she asked. Shizune shook her head. "He said the information is still barred to him." Sakura sighed in frustration. All of this was happening while she had been knocked out cold. She had to do something. Shizune patted her on the head. "I have other things to attend to, but I'll be back later so get some rest." Sakura watched her go. The idea of resting any longer disgusted her.

"Sai!" she called out once Shizune was gone. "Are you there?"

Sai poked his head through the tent flap. "Are you alright Sakura?"

"I'm fine. Help me gather up the others. I don't care what Shizune or Inoichi or Danzo say. I have a plan."

Airi watched as Ryu explained to the others how they were going to retrieve the gem from the Land of Iron. Most of the guards would be stationed around the Kage Summit, and not where the gem was kept. It would be easy as long as they didn't get caught. She scanned everyone around the room. Lori was in her regular clothes for the first time in a while. She had on her brown cargo pants, her black half-sleeve T-shirt, and her blue cut-off vest with her black ninja shoes. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that ended at her shoulders, and her Sai were strapped to her back. Everyone else had on their usual combat wear as well. It was funny seeing Al, Riyu, and Ryu all wear pretty much the same thing. She supposed this was natural though considering they were all from the same clan. She still got chills every time she saw Riyu's dagger tail wrapped around his chest though. (1) Ryu had his weapon scrolls ready as well. As she looked on, Airi couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. The networks were deteriorating faster now. The dreams of death and destruction were becoming more frequent and vivid for her and Lori. One way or another something was going to happen on this raid.

(1) See chapter three for description of outfit and weapon