-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, the Elders send Sakura off as a hunter-nin, wishing for her death as a way to weaken Tsunade's political powers. Sakura agrees to prove them wrong, but what she didn't know was that Orochimaru's involved! Oh, god… Just what did she get herself into?

Finally! A new chapter! Sorry it's really late again, but I was a bit busy trying to think of a plot for Mirrorcle World. And speaking about that, this chapter corresponds to Mirrorcle World's Episode Nine. But don't let that fool ya! This chapter is from a view point on Sakura and Sasuke, unlike that one which is more focused on Hinata and Naruto! And if you read Mirrorcle World, read the fight. It's a from Sakura's view of things, so it's slightly different. Thank you and please enjoy!

Episode Ten

~Sai's True Mission, Sasuke's Power ~

"We're going as soon as my clone's ready." Yamato said.

Hinata and Naruto were in agreement. However, the Hyuga heiress didn't really think it was right to leave Sai there just like that. What if he was attacked? Sure, he was a jerk, but she didn't think Naruto would live with it if Sai were killed because of their decision.

The team suddenly jumped out of the way of a kunai shower. Kabuto appeared.

"Sai," he said, "Judging from your situation, I suppose this means you were captured. Since it doesn't seem like you've betrayed us, I'll trust you . . . for now." And he cut Sai's ropes.

"If you two are going to stand in my way then I'm not going to hold back!" Naruto said.

Kabuto started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Watching you truly makes me feel pity!" the medic said. "People change. Sasuke is no longer the Sasuke you knew."

And then, the unexpected happened. Sai got behind Kabuto and put a kunai to the medic's neck.

"What the? What are you doing?"

"You say people change, and here I am."

"What?"

"But there are also things that don't change."

"Sai…" Naruto was completely shocked. "What are—"

"Bonds… I want to see what they're really made of." the Root member said.

"Sai! Just keep him like that!" Yamato said as he made hand signs. A block of wood shot out from the ground and wrapped itself around the Oto-nin.

"Sai, why did you—"

"Why is it that you place so much value in the bonds between you and Sasuke-kun?" Sai asked Naruto. "What exactly are those bonds you speak of? I decided that I needed to know the answer. According to the two of you, I've been unable to get rid of the bonds that formed between me and my brother. If those bonds are so important to me then I might be able to figure something out if I see the 'bonds' between you and Sasuke-kun. That's all…"

Kabuto started laughing then. "The four of you don't know the real Sasuke-kun…"

"What are you laughing about now?" Naruto asked.

"Tell us where Sasuke is," Yamato said.

"He should be done with his training about now back in his inner chamber. There is a large number of rooms strewn all throughout the lair. If you end up looking in each as you go, you might find him. Still, if you aren't careful, you might chance upon a snake as well. Orochimaru-sama keeps his quarters in the same area, after all."

"I thank you for being so honest," Hinata said.

"Oh, no, you really shouldn't be thanking me."

"You expect us, the hunters, to become the prey then?" Yamato asked.

"Precisely. After all, fights aren't decided until the very end."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura kept pacing around. Her arms crossed, she bit the bottom of her lip. She was worried—no, that didn't even describe half of it. Her heart felt as though it would jump out of her chest. It was pounding so fast—she thought it would just stop working. If Sai was there then Naruto and Hinata would be coming shortly, and there was just that very slight chance that they'd find her too. That was the least of her problems. If they were to misunderstand her motives for even being in that place then… She shook her head. She was too afraid to even think of their reactions.

She could always escape… After all, Sasuke had left her in that room alone to go who knows where. He would be busy with his training, and if Naruto and Hinata's presences were to make a big enough fuss then she would be home free. And so, in the end, she decided on another escape attempt. She was about to turn the door knob when it turned by itself.

She almost gasped. She quickly pressed herself against the wall, hoping to conceal her presence. The door opened, almost hitting her in the process. She held her breath.

"Nope, not in here."

"That's it for this floor. Let's try the next floor."

And the door shut.

That had been way too close for comfort. Knowing that, Sakura fell to her knees. But something didn't really sit well with her. Was that Naruto? Working with Sai?

So . . . he didn't betray them, after all… She was glad, but now her worry increased tenfold. Naruto and Hinata were here! And if she were to escape now, she'd be spotted for sure. And not only would she be spotted, but her cover of going to visit her relatives would have been exposed.

Oh, god! What was she to do now?

Taking a cloak from a nearby rack, she glanced down at the mark on her arm. Escaping would only hold a physical meaning. Mentally, she knew she would never be able to escape Sasuke's grasp on her now.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, jeez… You two are so alike…" Sai said. Naruto and he were taking a break since they had run non-stop, searching all the rooms on that floor. "You and my brother… I mean, he was loud and impatient, unrefined…" He took out the picture book from his backpack. "But still, just like you, he took on anything he did with everything he had. Watching you somehow brings back memories of—"

He stopped, talking then. He took out a pencil and opened the book to its unfinished pages, drawing as fast as he could.

"Sai, what—"

"I remembered," the Root member said, "I remembered what I wanted to draw…"

The finished picture showed the two brothers smiling and holding hands.

"I wanted to show my brother this… This picture of our dream…"

"Well, then, Sai…" Orochimaru was suddenly there. "Which side do you intend to take?" He attacked, but Naruto and Sai jumped back. "Looks like you choose to side with them, Sai . . . or whoever you are."

"I'll deal with things here," Naruto said. "Sai, you go look for Sasuke!"

But Sai didn't move.

"NOW!"

"Ok… I'll find and rescue Sasuke-kun…" And he took off.

"So . . . you've come to take Sasuke-kun back, have you? I must admit, you do have conviction, but do you truly think things will turn out so well?" Orochimaru asked.

"Yeah, I do!" Naruto yelled, making a hand sign. "First, I'll defeat you! Then, I'll take Sasuke back!"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sai came to a stop. There were two hallways. Which one should he take? In the end, he decided to use his ninjutsu. He took out a scroll and started painting a few dozen of mice. They came to life and started the search.

He heard footsteps and quickly turned around, kunai in his hand.

"You…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Oh, my… What happened to all that spunk you had a moment ago?"

Naruto was now feeling the stress of having used the Kyuubi's chakra before. It was hard for him to move too quickly.

"Naruto-kun!"

Hinata and Yamato came then.

"So it's Orochimaru again…"

At the sight of Naruto's backup, the Sanin was now bored. "Naruto-kun, I'll let you live for the time being. Just try and make sure you kill at least another Akatsuki member for me. But more importantly, I have business to take care of with Sai, so if you'll excuse me…" And he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Of course, she had been worried. If this battle had turned out to be just like the last one, she wouldn't know what to do…

"Where's Sai?" Yamato asked.

"He went to look for Sasuke," Naruto said. "We need to do something before Orochimaru finds him!"

"Hey… What's this?" Hinata asked, picking up a book from the floor.

"Was that from Sai's bag?" Yamato asked.

"I believe so…" the Hyuga answered, looking through it. Her eyes widened at the contents.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?"

"Naruto-kun… This . . . this is a Bingo Book… And Sasuke-kun's picture is in here…"

"What?"

"So it all makes sense now…" Yamato said.

"What makes sense?" Naruto asked.

"Sai's mission . . . it wasn't to be the go-between for Orochimaru and Danzo at all. His top secret mission is the assassination of Uchiha Sasuke."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I don't understand you at all…" Sakura said, glaring at the boy in front of her. She took off the hood of her cloak. "First, you're recruited by Danzo to be Naruto's new teammate. Then, you stage a betrayal… And now what are you doing? Are you just leading Naruto and them on or something? Are you trying to get them killed?"

"I don't need to answer to you," Sai replied. "Your arm is injured, is it not?" he asked, seeing her massaging her right arm.

Sakura didn't say anything, glancing down at her arm.

Sai couldn't figure out what her expression held. Was that the look of disgust she had on?

"Why are you up? Is this another one of your escape attempts?" he asked her, dropping the subject.

". . . Yes."

"You're unsure."

"What?" Sakura almost scoffed. Who was he to tell her what she really felt?

"If you really were trying to escape, you'd be doing everything in your power to accomplish that. And doing everything in your power would mean getting Naruto-kun's help, does it not?"

Sakura could have almost laughed. Of course, she knew that. Getting Naruto's help would definitely be to her advantage. However, there was just one problem. ". . . He doesn't know I'm Konoha's hunter-nin."

". . . Ah… I guess that does pose as quite the problem, but lingering around is not going to do you any good."

"I'm not stupid. I know that . . . but Naruto's . . . he's reckless. I want to make sure he's okay before I decide anything." And then she turned to leave.

"I thought I owed you a death…"

The kunoichi stopped in her tracks. Really, this boy was something else. ". . . You didn't betray Naruto completely… But if you continue to work under Danzo's influence and wind up hurting either him or Hinata,"—she turned back to glare at him—"I won't let you go next time…"

And with that, she turned the corner, putting her hood back on.

Sai went back to finding the Uchiha. He concentrated and waited. It was only a matter of time before… Found you!

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Who's there?"

"Caught me red-handed," Sai said from the door. "Still, I've acquired the upper hand here."

"What is it you want?"

"I intend to bring you back to Konoha!" the ANBU Roots member said. "Although I did originally come here to kill you, I want to see if I can protect those bonds between you and him that he holds so strongly…"

"Bonds…? You woke me up to talk about bonds…?" The anger in the Uchiha's voice was evident.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As the team kept searching the hallways, they heard a loud explosion.

"What was that?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura, too, had heard it. Damn it… He can be so cranky when he wakes up… Looks like he blew up his room this time… She sighed, resisting the urge to shake her head. Guess I better go back before he turns that anger on me… Damn that stupid Uchiha and his wonderful way of expression things…

And in actuality, she knew that, if her Inner were still around, she'd be yelling at her, saying that this was the perfect time for her to escape and that she was only looking for an excuse to watch the fight she knew would occur.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Sakura arrived shortly at the scene, but she hid in the shadows of the doorway, continuing to hide her presence from her friends. Right now, Naruto had run out into the clearing with some man (whom she presumed to be the Yamato she had heard so much about) walking behind him.

"Naruto, so you came too?" she heard Sasuke ask. "Then should I be expecting Kakashi?"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Yamato said. "But Kakashi couldn't be here unfortunately, but I'm here in his place. We, Team Kakashi, are going to be taking you back to Konoha."

"Team Kakashi, huh? If I remember correctly, Sakura was the kunoichi on the team, not the Hyuga. Whatever happened to her? Died already? She was always weak…"

Sakura wanted to punch Sasuke at that point, but she held back, not wanting to expose herself. She ignored the little voice in her head that told her Sasuke said those things to actually help her situation.

She saw Naruto clenched his fists. "You have no idea what you're talking about… She's out on leave…"

Sakura's eyes fell to the floor. She felt so guilty about lying to him. She glanced up at her ex-teammate. Was he feeling the same about this? In fact, did he feel anything at all about this?

So he's not going to risk exposing her… Perhaps there's something going on. Sai thought, also watching the Uchiha carefully. He unsheathed the short sword on his back.

"Sai!" Hinata exclaimed.

Sakura's eyes widened then, her heart falling. She couldn't deny that she was worried about the Uchiha, but she didn't want a fight to occur. She just didn't want to see Naruto fight Sasuke again, her thoughts going back to that fateful battle on the hospital rooftop.

"So he's my replacement then, is he?" Sasuke asked. "He was spouting some kind of nonsense between Naruto and me. One more pansy for the group, quite the fit I'm sure."

"It's true that my top-secret mission was to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke," Sai told the team.

That fact made Sakura regret her decision of letting the boy live. I should've taken care of him when I had the chance…

"But those orders don't matter anymore."

Her eyes widened at Sai's words. Just exactly where was this speech going towards?

"Now I want to think and act for myself. Because of Naruto-kun, I feel like I might be able to remember something… Remember how I used to feel before… Something which I can't help but feel was very important to me before…" He pointed the sword at the Uchiha, something that angered Sakura more than she'd have liked. "I may not know you all that well, but I know there's a reason why Naruto-kun chases after you with so much passion. In order to prevent his bonds with you from being broken, in order to keep them intact, he's doing everything he can."

Sakura glanced at the blonde, her eyes almost watering. Knowing his hardships, she just couldn't bare the fact that it was the promise he had made to her that was also fueling his cause.

"I still don't have a good understanding of it myself but you, Sasuke-kun, should have a good understanding of it yourself." Sai said, his vocalizations finally ending.

"Sure, I did," Sasuke said after a short while. He really didn't like this guy. How in the world did this weirdo end up as his replacement? "And that's why I severed them. I have other bonds to carry now. Fraternal bonds, forged through hatred… Having too many bonds causes one to lose focus, weakening their strongest wish, their greatest desire…"

"That's true…" Naruto said after much consideration. "But if that's true then why didn't you kill me back then when we fought? Is that what you call 'severing bonds', Sasuke?"

"The reason is simple, and it wasn't that I wasn't able to severe my bond with you. I simply didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing me attain power by submitting to his plans."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked the same question that went through Sakura's head.

"There's no need for me to tell you… Still, the one thing I can say to you is that, back then, I spared you on nothing more than a whim of mine." And in a split second, the Uchiha was standing with the group, right in front of Naruto with his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

He's fast… Sakura thought the same as Yamato. When did he…?

"Come to think of it, isn't becoming Hokage a dream of yours?" she heard the Uchiha ask his ex-teammate. "If you had the time to be looking for me, you would have been better off training. Don't you think, Naruto? And that's why, this time, you're going to lose your life, all at a whim of mine."

As he unsheathed his sword, Sakura tried her hardest to supress the urge to rush out to stop him.

"Like there's any chance that someone who couldn't even save his best friend would become Hokage, right, Sasuke?"

The scene that played out happened in only a few seconds, but Sakura couldn't help but feel useless if she had been placed in Hinata's position.

As Sasuke brought his sword close to Naruto's neck, Sai jumped in the way, grabbing Sasuke's arm. Naruto quickly flipped so that he was behind the Uchiha. And using this distraction, Yamato quickly made his hand signs. But Sasuke was a step in front of them. Without making any hand signs, he used a jutsu, his Chidori Nagashi, and lightning shot out of his body. Even Yamato was shocked into a frozen stance when he saw Sai and Naruto being deflected to the ground.

The Haruno couldn't believe how fast the three were dispatched. It was only now that she realized the full extent of her ex-teammate's power. Her worry increased, not for Naruto this time but for Hinata who charged at Sasuke with her Gentle Step.

Though the Hyuga had Sasuke dodging for a while, it only meant that he had more time to send his chakra through his sword. Hinata saw this with her Byakugan but, when she realized what he was doing, she had no time to dodge. And when he was about to stab her through the heart, Yamato stood in the way, protecting the Hyuga heiress.

"Yamato-taichou!"

The Uchiha smirked. "Your choice of defense, quite the mistake… You see, the Kusangi I hold here is a little special. It's the kind that can't be blocked."

He sent his Chidori through his sword, Sakura observed. By doing so, not only does it make the sword extremely sharp, he also deprives his opponent from freedom of movement through numbness… She glanced at the Uchiha again. Sasuke-kun…

"Enough, Sasuke."

She stepped out into the battlefield, not wanting this to drag on any longer and hoping that she could stop the fight. Seeing Sasuke almost stab Hinata gave her all the confirmation she needed to know that the Uchiha would kill if he had to.

She refused to meet the gaze of any of the Konoha shinobi, keeping her gaze focused on her ex-teammate. She didn't know if the silence was a good or bad thing. She could only hope that Naruto and Hinata couldn't see past her veil.

She stopped right in front of the Uchiha. It was a reckless decision. She had seen Oto nin getting cut down for doing less than what she was doing while Sasuke was bent on a target. She sincerely hoped that she was the exception.

Meanwhile, Sai watched on with anticipation. If his observation from been right from the first time he seen these two together then perhaps she could tip the balance towards their favor.

Sasuke's blazing eyes shifted towards her. "You were to stay in your room." The pretense of civility had disappeared. His voice was flat and icy.

Sakura was not fazed even in the least, wondering if he was afraid she'd use this as her chance to escape or afraid that she'd be found out by Naruto. But she pushed back those thoughts, making a note to herself to ask him later.

"Can't you behave yourself?" she said, teasing him. Her hand extended out of the safety of her cloak—that strange marking decorated her arm.

So that's why she kept caressing her arm before… Sai thought. Just what is that strange mark?

She rested her hand on top of Sasuke's, on the hand that held his katana. She glanced over at the Hyuga then back to the Uchiha. "There are ladies present," she added, hoping that he wouldn't misinterpret her reasoning.

Having absolutely no idea who she was, Team Yamato (except for Sai) watched on in astonishment. How was she—a hidden, undersized (compared to Sasuke), and possibly fragile girl—able to cause a moment's hesitation in the Uchiha? And if it was because of a whim then screw the f***ing Uchiha. (A/N: Sorry, I only curse in my character quotes, not in the narration of my stories.)

"Heh, you have an ulterior motive," were his words before he stabbed his sword deeper into Yamato. He watched her for the slightest of facial changes.

"I only came to check out the explosion," she said, her face staying impassive, but her nails dug into his hand, and that only added to his suspicions. "Thought you blew yourself up. Now, I'm wishing you did."

He almost smirked. "Then explain why you're getting so worked up."

"Because . . ." she said, her grip loosening. "You don't trust me." And it was semi-true. She couldn't believe that, after spending almost a month with her, he still couldn't believe her completely.

However, it was at that moment when she felt that same burning sensation on her left wrist—of which, may I add, that she keeping hidden from Hinata's view as she would be able to recognize the bracelet she wore—from earlier that day. She quickly glanced over at Naruto, her worry confirmed.

Hinata followed the girl's gaze, her own eyes widening. "Naruto-kun!" She ran to his side. This isn't good… Should I block his chakra points before the Kyuubi's chakra spreads? If I do that then he'll be totally defenseless against Sasuke…

And in his head, the ramen-loving ninja was arguing with the Kyuubi.

This is your chance, Naruto… the fox said. Show him… Make him see how our powers are not to be trifled with…

But Naruto didn't say anything back.

What's wrong? Why the hesitation? the Kyuubi asked, forming outside of his prison. You need my power, right? Well then, who do you want to kill?

"Your face! I don't want to see it anymore!" Naruto yelled.

Why is it that you grow fearful?

"Shut up! I don't need your power anymore!"

But the Kyuubi laughed. Oh, really? Then remind me… Who was it that came here, shouting, "Lend me your power," every time something came up? You should know that you can't do a damn thing without me! Remove this seal once and for all! If you do then I'll entrust all of my power to you…

"Get lost!"

But it was then that a shocking (A/N: and I use that word loosely) visitor came into Naruto's mind.

Ah, so you're an Uchiha… Congratulations on making it this far…

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked.

"I'm able to see it now…" the Uchiha said. "So this was your secret power then… It's hard to believe that something like this existed inside of you." And then…

Pop!

The Kyuubi was gone.

Unbelievable… To think you'd be able to suppress my power… I may not see you again, but . . . I warn you… Don't kill Naruto… You'll end up regretting it…

And now, back to outside of Naruto's mind, Sakura and Hinata just stared in awe as Naruto returned back to normal.

The Kyuubi's chakra… Hinata glanced back at the Uchiha. Just what did he do?

Sakura also stared at Sasuke. If her veil didn't cover her face, Hinata would've seen the confusion written across her face.

It was then that Yamato decided to get the sword out of his chest. A wooden block pushed the sword out, surprising both Sasuke and Sakura. And suddenly, a large wooden structure enclosed on them.

"See the trouble you get me into?" Sasuke asked of the girl.

Sakura had no chance to retort as he broke out of the enclosure, his arm wrapped around her petite waist. They landed on higher ground. She, looking down, began to realize her slight fear of heights was returning. Seeing that, Sasuke almost rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you get it?" Naruto yelled. "Your body's going to be stolen by Orochimaru anytime now!"

"If that happens then it happens…"

His answer shocked everyone there, Sakura the most. However, she continued to play the role of one of Orochimaru's followers and pretended as if she didn't care. After all, she shouldn't after all Sasuke did to Naruto… Plus, this battle had clearly shown that Sasuke would gladly kill them if given the chance… She wanted to scream out to Naruto to let go of his promise that he made her… But she was too worried, too scared, about his reaction to finding out that it was her under that cloak.

"You're still quite the kid, Naruto." Sasuke continued. "Revenge means everything to me. As long as I can have my revenge, I could care less what happens to me or the whole world, for that matter. Let me make it clear for you: for both me and Orochimaru right now, killing Itachi is impossible. But if I am able to accomplish that goal through nothing more than offering Orochimaru this body of mine then he can have my life and my afterlife."

This was when Naruto would've gone Kyuubi. How could he even think like that? Just how could he be so consumed by his hatred?

"Konoha, indeed… I'm through with you."

Hinata, unlike everyone else, however, had been watching Sakura carefully as the Uchiha spoke. Just who exactly is she? A friend? No, if Sasuke had severed his bonds then he wouldn't be making new ones… She tried to stare past the hood's veil as Sakura fist clenched at the words that were just said.

Hinata almost gasped at her breakthrough. Did her eyes deceive her? Were those Sakura's emerald green eyes she saw?

Without thinking, the words just came out of her mouth. "Sakura-san?"

Sakura's heart almost stopped when she heard Hinata's words. Apparently, she had not counted on the fact that Hinata's eyes would be so sharp as to make out her physical features. (A/N: Let's just say the cloak is protected by chakra so that Hinata's Byakugan couldn't see past it either.) But now what? What could she do?

Sakura could feel her body tremble. She glanced over at Naruto who seemed as though he had a sword stabbed through him. Don't look at me with those eyes… Please…

"It would appear you're not as good an actress as you think…" Sasuke's words knocked her back into reality.

"Shut up! I don't . . ." She glanced at the Hyuga. "I don't know what she's talking about!" she lied, trying to keep her cover. "I've never seen them in my life before!"

"Suit yourself…" And the Uchiha started making hand signs. "This ends here…"

"NO! SASUKE-KUN!"

Done with this chapter! So . . . yeah… Thank you and please review!

POLLS!

Okay, we all know that Naruto doesn't meet up with Sasuke again after this, but SPOILER ALERT: I'm changing that. All I need is a mission for Naruto to go on. So as readers, I'm giving you all the chance to voice out any of your opinions. What mission should Naruto go on that places him in the same vicinity as Sasuke?

Also, how should I end this battle? I posted this poll on Mirrorcle World, but no one had any idea of what I should do. So . . . I time-skipped a bit. Now, I want to fix that. So . . . how should this battle end?