Sorry for the delay! Finals took longer than expected!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

Chapter 10

As the night progressed, Sakura made mental notes on how often the guards observed her. They walked by the room every hour making certain that she was still there and every two hours, they would open the door to inspect the room. Sakura remained passive, sitting on the large bed in the room, appearing as dejected as she could.

When morning finally arrived, Kabuto made his appearance to take her breakfast and to check the restraints. To Sakura, it was a half-hearted inspection verifying her belief that he underestimated her abilities. Few words were exchanged between the two as he went about his chore of checking his prisoner. As long as she remained docile, they paid little attention to her. Mumbling his goodbye, the now Sound leader left her in the room.

Sakura slowly ate her breakfast as she contemplated her next move. The guards moved like clockwork, so planning her escape would be easy. She would wait until the guard finished looking in on her, and then activate her chakra storages to overwhelm the restraints. There wouldn't be another guard by the room until an hour later, which was more than enough time to escape. No one would physically check on her for an additional hour after that. She decided to leave a clone in the room until she was safely away from the lair. All she would have to do is wait until the sentries looked in on her next, wait a few minutes, and execute her plan.

Her hope was that she had enough chakra stored to break free of her bonds. A shiver went up her spine as she thought about what Kabuto had in store for her. She would rather die than be touched by him. Making a firm resolve, she promised herself that she wouldn't fail.

The group finally reached the lair where Sakura was being held. Masao had come with a few of the experienced monks to assist with the rescue. He and his men were stationed on the outside perimeter of the hideout to make sure that no one left or could ambush the Konoha shinobi while they implemented their plan. Hopefully, all would go well without any snags. Oto was not one to mess with, but Masao was confident with Sasuke's plan. If anything happened to Sakura, Masao didn't know how Kakashi would react. He said a silent prayer as he stood in the shadows waiting for the signal that the Konoha shinobi started their attack.

Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin quietly slipped in and took out all of the guards replacing them with their kage bunshin, so no one noticed that they were missing. They didn't need Kabuto tipped off before everyone was in place. Karin used her chakra sensing technique to locate where Sakura was being held. She noticed that Sakura's chakra levels were severely repressed and was concerned for Sakura's well-being. Karin notified the rest of the team via their headsets of her findings.

After the guard looked in on her, Sakura waited ten minutes before finally commencing her escape. Activating the first chakra storage petal, she felt a burst of energy pulse through her arm and felt the first restraint break free on her left arm.

'Hmmm…l that was easier than I expected,' she quietly told herself.

The second restraint was not as easy. After 30 minutes of trying, she still had not removed the restraint. Sweat covered her brow as she took a small break before she activated the next stored chakra point. She had two petals left and was running out of time. If she couldn't disable it in the next 5 minutes, she would be out of chakra and luck. There would be nothing else she could do if she couldn't get her left arm free of the restraint. She could break off the ones on her legs, once her arms were free. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the task at hand, determined not to become Kabuto's next experiment. Activating both petals, a surge of energy raced through her body.

Kakashi steeled himself for what he was about to do. He had to convince Kabuto that he was under the control of the toxin so he wouldn't give himself away before the rest of the team could find Sakura. Knowing that her chakra was suppressed set everyone on edge. Kabuto was a wily opponent and no one would put it past him of having a trick up his sleeve ensuring that the pink-haired kunoichi could not escape his grasp.

Suigetsu and Karin came up beside him henged as the guards at the door that they were about to enter. The plan was to act like he was still under the toxin's control, while Suigetsu and Karin brought him to Kabuto. Taking a deep breath, he nodded to the two that he was ready to enter the hideout. They all steeled themselves for the mission they were about to begin.

Walking through the corridors, Karin located where Kabuto was in the hideout. The two former Oto shinobi masked their chakra so Kabuto couldn't sense who they were. Karin was well aware of the range that he could sense their chakra signatures and made sure the group was well masked. If Kabuto recognized who they really were, the plan would fail. Kakashi also suppressed some of his chakra so the new leader wouldn't view him as a threat.

Walking boldly, the threesome found their way to the door, where Suigetsu boldly knocked.

"Enter," Kabuto commanded, irritated by the interruption. He had been readying himself for Sasuke's arrival.

"Sir, we found this man wandering around the main entrance," Suigetsu mumbled.

Kabuto looked up in surprise. He never expected the infamous Copy Nin to grace his presence on this day.

"Well, well, well," he smiled menacingly, "You finally have arrived. What a pleasant surprise."

Kabuto looked into the glazed eye of his prey, satisfied with the results of his labor. It was an inopportune time, but once he had dealt with Sasuke, he would proceed in the final steps of his toxin experiment.

"Put him in with the girl," he directed, "I will deal with him later. I have more pressing issues at hand."

The two guards nodded and escorted Kakashi out of the room. They couldn't help but smile at the initial success of their plan. Kabuto was distracted enough that he didn't notice anything amiss. As the group wandered down the hall, Karin confirmed where Sakura was located and gave the signal to Sasuke and Naruto that the first part of the mission was completed.

Sasuke stood in front of the lair with the scroll that contained the items and money that Kabuto requested in the ransom note. Naruto remained in the forest masking his chakra, watching the events enfold below. Sasuke briefly nodded before bellowing to Kabuto that he was there as promised.

Kabuto made his way out the entrance flanked by his Oto shinobi. Little did he know that the minions that flanked him were kage bunshin of Karin and Suigetsu. Juugo was also henged as a guard next to Kabuto.

"So we meet again, Sasuke," the new Oto leader sneered.

"Hn," Sasuke said indifferently, "I see you have been making some changes to yourself. How disgusting."

Kabuto laughed at the man that murdered his mentor.

"A better improvement, wouldn't you say Sasuke?"

Sasuke was sickened by the sight of him. He wanted to attack the revolting man and wipe him out of existence. He kept his cool knowing that Sakura's life was in his hands and didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize her.

"Let's get on with this," Sasuke scoffed. "Where's Sakura?"

"Safely tucked away," Kabuto sneered, "Do you have the items that I requested?"

Sasuke held up the scroll.

"If you wouldn't mind opening it, I would like to see everything before we make the trade," Kabuto demanded.

With a huff, Sasuke opened the scroll with the proper hand signs so Kabuto could look over the contents. The former medic looked over everything meticulously to make sure everything that he had stipulated was accounted for. He needed some of the supplies and money to put his final plan in motion. All was present within the scroll, so he could move forward to the next step of his plan. Hopefully, the raven haired man in front of him would comply with minimal complications. Kabuto didn't fool himself. He knew that Sasuke did not come willingly, but if he wanted to assure the release of his team mate, there might be less of a struggle. Timing was the key to his plan to capture Sasuke.

Scanning the landscape around them, he could not sense any shinobi nearby. Kabuto could sense a team on the far perimeter of the grounds, far enough to not make a difference if they had to attack Sasuke. He was still wary since a high level shinobi could mask their chakra signature so he could not sense them. Sasuke would have to be lured into the lair before he executed his plan.

"Looks to be in order," Kabuto mumbled.

Sasuke snapped the scroll shut and replaced the seal.

"First you give me Sakura, then I will give you the scroll," Sasuke stated, staring intently into his opponent's eyes, daring Kabuto to make a wrong move.

The two men stared at each other, neither backing down. Everyone could feel the tenseness in their glares. Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu took an unconscious step back due to the negative energy radiating off both men.

"Hmmm…if you want your team mate, you will have to follow me, Sasuke," Kabuto finally said, "I had to suppress her chakra so she wouldn't do any damage to me or herself."

Sasuke just glared at the man in front of him and nodded. 'He must think that I'm an idiot,' Sasuke told himself angrily as he followed the man into the lair. If Sakura was not in danger, he would have took the spliced man before him out with one blow. The arrogance that this man irritated him to no end. Taking a deep breath, he fell in behind Kabuto.

Kakashi waited a few minutes until he went to Sakura's side. He didn't sense any listening or visual devices so it seemed safe to let down his façade. Sakura was lying on the bed that was in the room with chakra restraints on each limb. She seemed totally drained and listless when he came by her side. Anger rose up in him as he wondered what Kabuto had put her through.

"Sakura," he said gently as he stroked her face. "Sakura, it's me, Kakashi. Can you hear me?"

Slowly, Sakura opened her eyes and saw the concern on Kakashi's face.

"I'm just tired. These chakra inhibitors are taxing," she said as she smiled up weakly at him closing her eyes again.

Tenderly, he kissed her and pulled her into his embrace.

"Don't worry, just rest. We will be getting you out of here shortly," he told her quietly.

Activating his sharringan, he noticed that one of the devices was disabled on one arm and the other was severely damaged. Sakura must have used all her reserves trying to release herself. 'No wonder she is so tired,' he mused as he stroked her hair.

Kakashi heard a sound down the hall and quickly withdrew from her taking up his glazed eye stance. His senses were acutely on edge to make sure that he wasn't taken by surprise now that he knew that Sakura couldn't defend herself.

Kabuto led the procession down the hall towards the room that Sakura was being held. He mentally berated himself for putting Kakashi into the same room as the woman now that Sasuke was following him. Quickly, he came up with an alternate plan so Sasuke wouldn't be aware of Kakashi's presence there. The room had an adjoining area so he could accomplish capturing or killing Sasuke. Walking past the door where Sakura was being held, he led Sasuke to the adjoining room.

"Stay here with my guard and I will bring her to you," he told the Uchiha heir.

Closing the door, he made his way down the short hallway to retrieve the pink haired woman. He brusquely went past Kakashi, who was sitting in one of the chairs, and grabbed Sakura's hand to pull her up.

"You stay here," Kabuto whispered to Kakashi receiving a nod that the man understood his direction.

Kabuto dragged Sakura through the door and closed it. As soon as the door closed, there was a commotion heard by all in both rooms. It sounded like a battle was ensuing, there was a short cry, and then silence.

Sasuke looked at the rest of the group in confusion wondering if they should intercede or not. Kakashi stood from his chair wondering how he should proceed. Both sides flew into action once the heard the cry from Sakura. Flinging the doors open, they were greeted by a stunned Kabuto staring down at smoldering remains. The four restraints still had flames on them as both groups entered the doors.

Sasuke and his group were in shock as they looked at the scene before them. The next thing that was heard was Kakashi's chidori as it tore through Kabuto. All the man could do was stare down at Kakashi's fist as it plowed through his body.

"They are not designed to detonate that way," Kabuto murmured as slumped to the floor, dead.

Kakashi cried out in agony as he looked down at what was left of the woman that he loved so dearly. His legs gave out, making him collapse helplessly next to the charred remains. Silent tears flowed down his face as he pounded the ground before him. If only he would have responded faster, Sakura would be still with them.

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