Konichiwa minna-san! A huge thank you to all of those that have reviewed, it's so close to reaching 400! (tackle hugs all the reviewers!) I'm glad people like my fanfic! Virtual sweets for all! The previous chapter received a lot of reviews! Yay, Sasuke and Sakura are finally married! A lot of people are hoping Sakura gets pregnant now, LOL!

I spend a lot of time to get this chapter together. Sorry for many grammar and spelling mistakes. There are a lot of scene changes/jumps and I'm sorry if any readers get confused about what's going on. If there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I also added a special scene to this chapter, events that happened in the world of Tsukiyomi! Now on with the story! ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own this fanfic.

Chapter 21: The Hunt

It was late in the afternoon and the sun shined down on the village of Konoha. More rumors were being spread about team seven ever since the gang came back from their unsuccessful mission. Information from the mission somehow leaked out to the public without the knowledge of how. How theses rumor began in the first place was also a complete mystery.

"It's Kakashi's fault that he trained those two to become the killing machines that they are."

"Uchiha and Haruno completely destroyed Sound."

"Two ninjas at their level of power and strength would be able to destroy any village regardless of their force. Konoha could be their next target!"

"I heard the Kyuubi boy didn't stand a chance against Uchiha and Haruno."

"Kakashi couldn't bring down his own former students."

"The Godaime Hokage is planning to have them executed if they're caught."

"To think that the great name of the Uchiha Clan has been destroyed and now the only Haruno has also tainted her name."

It was heard everywhere and always about team seven. There was no way to prevent new rumors from coming about and no way to stop it from spreading. Tsunade had enough trouble with all the paperwork and now she was thinking up a way to help Sasuke and Sakura. She wants the rumors to stop spreading, but it would be impossible. If she told the villagers to shut up about the matter, it would look like she was defending them, two S-ranked criminals. She hated the job of Hokage sometimes and always questioned herself why she took the position.

In one of the local restaurants, the six remaining members of the rookie nine and team Gai were together discussing about their failed mission. More importantly, they were talking about Sakura and Sasuke. It bothered them a lot, especially Sakura betraying them.

"I can't believe that forehead girl choose to be a criminal!" Ino practically yelled out as she slammed her hands on the table. The contents on the table shook and or spilled a little. "She's a good girl and wouldn't do anything like that!"

Ever since they all got together to discuss what had happened, Ino couldn't stop ranting about what Sakura chose. It bothered her to no end while the others tried not to think too much about it. They weren't great friends, but Sakura was the kind of person that put others before herself. Ino was somewhat the opposite, but always kept an eye out for Sakura because of their rivalry.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru said as he yawned. "You witnessed what happened with your own two eyes Ino, what more proof do you want? You also heard what she wrote in that letter to us."

What the Nara genius said was right; those that went on the mission had witnessed Sakura attacking them. She didn't just attack them; she had used the curse seal's power against them as well. They didn't notice any trace of regret on her face when she did so. And then there was the letter she had written to them, saying she would kill them if forced to.

"Have you ruled out the possibility that Sakura has been drugged by Uchiha?" Kiba said as he was cutting a piece of meat from the steak he was eating. "Or Sakura is blinded by her love for him and is just willing to do anything for him."

The three that didn't go on the mission and was apart of the backup team were informed of what had happened, even if they weren't suppose to know. It was hard for them to understand what went on, but they understood the bases of what had gone on. They couldn't image Sakura actually turning her back on her friends and village or her attacking them.

"The beautiful cherry blossom Sakura would never fall in love with Sasuke-san!" Lee shouted with a mouth full of food and stuck his fork up in the air. "She loves me, the beautiful green beast of Konoha."

"Shut up Lee," Tenten said, covering her ears from the shouts. "Sakura is a medic, so being drugged is ruled out."

"And forehead girl told me she had gotten over Sasuke-kun!" Ino yelled out, slamming her hands on the table once again. Those that were trying to eat were getting annoyed by her distraction. She then sat back down and brushed her blond hair behind her shoulder. "We all know that Sasuke-kun would choose me over any other women because I'm much prettier than forehead girl."

Even thought Ino never showed it, there was a part of her that held on to the dream of being with Sasuke. After encountering the S-rank criminal and ordered to heal him, Ion's feelings began to rise again and now she couldn't get the image of him out of her mind. Everyone knew Ino had a crush on Sasuke since their academy years, but never knew that she still liked him.

Ino practically yelled out in protest when she found out that Sakura was going to be on the same team as him. She would never give Sakura the opportunity to show her up; Ino always had to be the better of the two whenever she was compared to the cherry blossom. Now that Kiba had brought up the assumption the two S-ranked criminal could be in love was getting to her.

"Then explain why he was protecting Sakura?" Neji asked in a cool collective voice after taking a sip of tea. "Why did Uchiha protect Sakura the way he did and didn't ask you to go with him?"

Ino was left speechless without an answer to backup what she had said. Sasuke had protected Sakura like his life depended on it. He didn't let anyone hurt her and used his own body to shield her from any harm. The Hyuuga prodigy was right in what he said; damn him for being so smart.

"Sasuke-kun is just using forehead girl," Ino said as she violently stabbed her piece of chicken on her plate. "He wouldn't want a beauty like me to get hurt in battle! Anyways, Sasuke-kun can't get enough of me!"

"B-b-but w-when you were h-healing h-him during our m-mission," Hinata said stuttering, looking down at her fidgeting finger. "Uchiha-san h-had o-ordered you t-to stop."

"That's true," Neji said, pushing the empty plate away. "He didn't let Ino finish healing him and was bitter toward every one of us."

"Sasuke-kun told me to stop so that I wouldn't waste my chakra," Ino said before sticking food into her mouth. "See, he does care about me."

"I doubt it Ino," Kiba said before sticking the piece of meat into his mouth. "He ignored ever fan girl and most females that came near him, remember?" Kiba said with a mouth full of food before swallowing it down. "But since Sakura was on the same team as him, he could have directed all his attention toward her instead."

"We can't assume anything," Shino said as he pushed his glasses up. "The only ones that know Uchiha and Sakura-san well are those in team seven."

"Unfortunately Yamato and Sai became a part of team seven recently," Chouji said, munching on a large bag of potato chips. He had finished his dish and was still hungry. "Sai hanged out with Sakura a lot, but he doesn't know a thing about her and Kakashi-sensei is almost impossible to track down."

"Then that leaves us with Naruto," Shikamaru said sighing. "But it won't be easy."

"W-w-why is t-that Shikamaru-san?" Hinata asked stuttering.

"Remember how Naruto was acting yesterday when we asked him about Sasuke and Sakura?" Shikamaru said as he sat up straight to explain to everyone. "I have a feeling that he's keeping a secret from us and I have a hunch that it involves both Sasuke and Sakura."

"It's true that Naruto has been acting weird ever since Sakura was kidnapped by Sound," Tenten said. "Then when we encountered them, Naruto's personality changed even more."

"That's not the only thing that's been bothering me," Shikamaru said. "I was able to get some detail on what went on when Sasuke and Sakura assassinated Konishi Aki. They stormed through the building and from what I gathered, the place was heavy guarded."

"Usually in a heavy guarded place," Neji said calmly. "You would be spotted easily no matter how well you know the layout of the place."

Tenten nodded. "And with the color of Sakura's hair," Tenten said. "They would have been seen easily."

"Sasuke is an S-ranked criminal and so is Sakura," Shikamaru continued. "I found it odd that they completed their task as if it was a mission assigned to them by Hokage-sama."

"Their main target was the only one dead, right?" Shino asked. "And everyone else suffered from injuries of all types."

"Yeah," Shikamaru answered, nodding. "Naruto may know something that possibly involves the assassination."

"What are you trying to say Shikamaru?!" Kiba yelled irritated of waiting. "We're not geniuses like you here!"

Shikamaru waited until he had everyone's attention before he spoke.

"Whatever Naruto is hiding from us, it involves his two teammates," Shikamaru said seriously. "The only ones that probably know and are sure to be in on it are Hokage-sama herself and Kakashi-sensei."

"Are you implying that whatever Naruto is hiding, he must have told Tsunade-sama and Kakashi-sensei?" Neji asked. The Nara genius nodded. "This has just become a pain in the ass."

"It makes perfect sense if you think about it," Shikamaru went on. "Naruto's behavior was strange and hyper back at the Hokage's office. Then there's Kakashi-sensei being completely passive about it as if the mission wasn't a big deal."

"But he did warn us to get out of the office if we didn't want to get yelled at by Hokage-sama," Lee said with a huge mouth full of food.

"But I doubt Kakashi-sensei left though," Neji said.

"W-what a-are w-we g-g-going t-to d-do?" Hinata stuttered out.

"Asking Hokage-sama herself is out of the question," Shino said. "We could lose your position as shinobis by assuming that Hokage-sama is hiding something."

"But what Nara said makes sense," Neji argued in. "We could present this to the elders and have them decide what to do."

"But what if we're wrong, none of us are willing to risk losing our position as ninjas" Tenten said. "We could always go through the files and mission reports to see if we can find background information or anything that involves them. This way we have something to prove our theories."

"Yeah, and since Naruto is a loud mouth," Kiba said, swallowing his food. "Getting that knuckle head to talk should be easy!"

Shikamaru looked over at the male Hyuuga. "What do you think Neji?"

The Hyuuga prodigy nodded in agreement. "This is our only way to approach to find out what Naruto is hiding. I suggest we don't draw any attention to ourselves, especially from the Hokage and Kakashi-sensei."

"We should split into groups so we can cover more ground," Shikamaru insisted. "We'll meet back here at eight thirty to discuss what we were able found out. Neji, Lee, Chouji, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru will go and search for Naruto."

"No worries," Kiba said. "We'll track Naruto down and make him talk!"

The five shinobis and Akamaru left the building in search of the blond knuckle head.

"I'll go to the library to see if I can get any background information or history about the Uchiha Clan," Tenten said, getting off her seat and heading toward the exit. "If I come across anything that has to do with Sakura's family too, I have it down."

"I'll a-accompany y-you Tenten-san," Hinata said getting up to catch up to Tenten.

After the two left, Ino turned to Shikamaru.

"What does that leave us with?"

"We're going to look into their permanent records to get information on them," Shikamaru answered, getting up from his seat.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Ino yelled out once again. "I'm going to find out more about my Sasuke-kun while I'm at it too."

"Troublesome woman…"

"What did you just say?" Ino yelled back at the lazy genius.

"Nothing…"

Shikamaru and Ino left the room, determined to find out everything they could like everyone else.

A figure stood in the shadows, unnoticed the whole time while the ninjas were talking, and had heard everything that was discussed.

—xXx—

Back in the Hokage's office, Shizune was organizing the mess that was left. Tsunade was busy trying to think how Sasuke and Sakura could be pardon from facing harsh punishments. Kakashi had left not too long ago, saying that he had an errand to run. None of them knew where Naruto went, but knew he was up to something.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said as she placed a pot of hot tea on the desk. "You need to rest."

She poured a cup of the warm liquid and handed it to the Godaime. Tsunade took the cup taking a few slips ever so often.

"I know, but still have to think of something to help them," Tsunade said, massaging her temples.

"Actually we have a bigger problem on our hands now," Kakashi said as he appeared in a puff of smoke, putting his favorite book away in his pouch. "The Nara genius and Hyuuga prodigy are suspicious and have drawn the others in on trying to find out about Sasuke and Sakura."

Tsunade immediately sat up on her chair. "What?!" The cup in her hands shattered after gripping it so tightly.

"They're trying to find some answers," Kakashi said. "They've divided themselves into three groups; one group in searching for Naruto, another is going to the library to dig up whatever information they can, and the last group is going to the permanent records."

"Where is Naruto?" Tsunade asked seriously.

"I can't find him anywhere," Kakashi answered. "I have two of my ninja hounds searching for him already and will help Naruto avoid them."

"Shizune," Tsunade yelled out. "I want you go get the permanent files on Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura right now and bring them to me!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama, I understand!"

"Kakashi go with her!"

"Hai…"

Shizune left the room in a hurry with Kakashi trailing behind. Tsunade sat back into her chair, rubbing her temples and let a frustrated sigh out; things were starting to turn into a mess.

The weather was horrible by the border of the Rain Village. Water constantly showered down on the earth, drenching everything it came in contact to. Unfortunately for those that live in the village or by the border, they would barely get the chance to see the sun for that the rain wasn't nature's doing.

In a deep cavern on a hill, a fire was lit to keep the individuals warm. They took shelter the moment the rain began to downpour. Their straw hats were set aside as they took the time to rest and replenish their chakra.

"Are you still going to go through with it Itachi?" the missing Mist ninja asked as he set his large weapon aside.

"Aa…"

Kisame looked at the person in front of him who he had been partnered up with for years. To think that after being in the origination for so long, Itachi would finally turn his back on them and destroy them.

"But it won't be easy…" Itachi said as he opened his eyes, revealing his onyx orbs and not the crimson Sharingan eyes. "Of all of them, he's the strongest."

There was only one person the Uchiha was referring to, and that person was their leader. Not too much was known about him, but he was the strongest person in the origination. The rain that fell upon the earth was under his control. He could stop it, make it drizzle, or pour heavily down on the earth; it made people look up to him as if he was some sort of celestial being.

"Yeah I know," Kisame said as a smile made its way across his face, revealing his shark teeth. "That would mean he's the first to go."

Itachi closed his eyes and leaned back to rest. "But she'll be there too, the angel."

The angel referred to one of the members of Akatsuki that worked alongside their leader. Like their leaders, not much was known about her. She was called the angel because it referred to her position in the origination.

"But she shouldn't be that hard to deal with," Kisame said as he threw a stick into the fire to keep it burning. "With all the jutsus you were able to learn through your Sharingan, she would be a lot easier to deal with compared to our leader."

"Assumption could be your undoing, Kisame," Itachi said calmly.

The shark like man snorted at the remark. "I've make all sorts of assumption before going into battle and I'm still here," he said pointed his right thumb at himself. "But that's just how I am, and you know that."

"Hn…"

"I haven't seen you this worn out Itachi," Kisame said, putting a few from twigs into the fire. "And you seem really bothered by something very serious. It has to do with your brother Sasuke, doesn't it?"

Itachi didn't answer the question he was asked. He just sat where he was in silence.

"There's one thing that has been bugging me Itachi," Kisame said in a serious tone.

The older Uchiha opened his eye lids slightly to look at his partner before closing them again. "Go on."

"You said that kunoichi got out the Tsukiyomi before the second day was about to end, right?"

"Aa…"

"What I want to know is how she got out?"

Itachi remained silence. Kisame waited for his partner to reply to his question. He was curious to know what had gone on that forced Itachi out. All the victims he knew who had gone through that torture stayed unconscious forever, in a coma like state never to awaken. The only ones that did get out of it were Sasuke and Kakashi, but they had the legendary sannin Tsunade there to cure them. In Sakura's case, she was able to go through it once and remain conscious. She went the torture a second time only to block Itachi out of her mind before it finished, but was unconscious.

"I don't know…" Itachi said. "All I know is that was another soul in her mind that acted as a shield to stop me from continuing on."

Screams of pain echoed through the vast desolate area. The red sky never changed as the black clouds slowly floated by in the sky. The ground was flooded with about an inch of water. No visible form of life was around except for two.

Her neck, wrist, and ankles were tightly chained to a cross. Her eyes were gazed down, spacing out, the emerald shine gone; every breath she took in was slow and small as if she was drawing her last breath before slipping away into darkness. She was completely worn out, but refused to give in.

"How much longer so you intend to stay conscious Sakura-san?" the cold calm voice of Itachi asked.

She didn't answer or say anything. The cold metal blade of a katana ran across her unwounded abdomen, back and forth; it wasn't real, but it was there. When she least expected it, the blade was forcefully shoved into her flesh. A piercing scream escaped her lips from the unbearable pain that flowed throughout her body. None of the metallic liquid was visible upon her body that it seemed like the painful cry was just an act.

"The second day will end soon," Itachi said as he pulled the blade out of her flesh. "Do you think you can handle one more day?"

"You won't get your chance to continue," a voice said from behind.

Itachi turned around to see who had just said that, but was forcefully kicked back. Landing on the wet ground on his feet, Itachi looked up to find out who had attacked him and saw her. He thought it was a genjutsu, but that wasn't possible.

There stood, to what Itachi assumed to be Sakura, for she looked exactly like her except for the lettering on her head that said inner.

"Get out of my head and stay out," she said to Itachi, full of rage.

She began to charge at him, ready to attack. As she neared, he gripped the katana tightly and slashed her arm. Distracted by wound's pain, Itachi forcefully kicked her back and she landed harshly on the damp ground.

Seeing that she wasn't going to get up, he headed back toward kunoichi hanging dearly to her life. As he neared her, Sakura's eyelids were slowly beginning to close.

"You're finally willing to give up now," he said as he eyed her. He brought his left hand up and lifted her head. There were visible bags under her eyes as she tried her best to keep her heavy eye lids from closing. "Tell me, what does my foolish otouto see in you?"

"That doesn't concern you at all Itachi," a voice from his left said.

Itachi tried to avoid the attack, but he wasn't fast enough. Yet again, he was kicked forcefully away. After a rough landing, Itachi looked at his attacker, thinking that it was the same person that attacked him earlier. Oh, was he wrong.

She stood by the unconscious Sakura, her facial expression stoic. She looked exactly like the pink haired kunoichi, except for the few minor differences. The skin tone was a light chocolate brown, her hair was long and dark red, her lips a dark blue, and her eyes golden instead of the emerald green.

"Who are you?"

She didn't answer and turn toward Sakura. The older Uchiha stood up, watching as she grabbed the chain and yanked it off effortlessly. She caught the body of the pink haired kunoichi and laid her down before turning her full attention at the Akatsuki member in front of her.

"Will you leave on your own?" she asked as she clenched her fists tightly. "Or do I have to force you out?"

"I intend to finish what I started," Itachi answered as he appeared behind her with the katana against her throat. "I will get rid of you if I have to."

She didn't flinch one bit from the words Itachi said to her. She closed her eyes and chuckled. Itachi didn't know what was going on, but had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Whether or not it was Sakura's own genjutsu interfering with Tsukiyomi, he had to be prepared.

"Did you forget where you're at?" she questioned. "When you're here," she suddenly appeared behind Itachi, kunai pointed directly at his heart. "You play by my rules."

What happed then on was almost a complete blur to him. All he knew was that the ones that kicked him out of the kunoichi's mind was different from the first he had encountered.

'I will find out how you did it…my dear sister-in-law….'

Shizune hurried over to the quarters where all the permanent files of all ninjas of Konoha were kept at. Kakashi was tailing slowly behind, his eyes focused on his favorite book of all times. When they reached the door, there were two ANBU masked ninjas standing at the door, guarding the pace from any entries.

"State your purpose here," the one with a fox mask said.

"It's an emergency," Shizune answered. "We're here to get a few files Hokage-sama requested."

The two ANBU ninjas looked at one another then turned to face the two.

"You may enter," the one with a dog mask said. "Inform us when you are done."

They two high level ninjas opened the door for Shizune and Kakashi to enter and closed it behind them afterwards.

"Sakura's files are closer to get," Shizune said as she walked past the long aisles until she reached a certain one.

"While you're there Shizune-san," Kakashi said as he walked past her putting his book away. "Take my records out too."

"I don't understand Kakashi-san."

The silver haired man stopped and turned to face the woman. "Knowing the Nara genius and the Hyuuga prodigy, they'll go through whatever source they can to finds out about those two." He turned back and walked past the aisles. "And that includes looking into those that are connected to them too."

She understood now; the original members of team seven were special. If anyone was to look into their permanent files, too many secrets the past Hokages, especially the Sandaime had kept confidential involving the three would be out and the entire village would know. What was written in one file was bound to be found in the other and this was the only way to keep those secrets a secret.

The Sandaime Hokage placed the three of them on a team for a reason and under the care of Kakashi. It was like he knew something was going to happen when those three first became ninjas and made a wise by putting those three in one team.

Shizune went down the aisle, searching for the two files until she finally spotted it. Lucky for her, Sakura's and Kakashi's were right next to each other and that saved her a lot of time. The words Kakashi had said to her played in her mind. It was true and it met more files had to be taken out. She proceeded out of the aisle to get the records of several other shinobis.

Kakashi walked past the aisle with his hands in his pocket and stopped at a particular spot.

'Sensei's records should be taken out too…'

Kakashi quickly grabbed that one particular file then went to get those of his students.

—xXx—

They stood on the roof top of one of the building in the heart of the village of Konoha, searching for the loud knuckled headed blond.

"Damn," Kiba swore. "We can't find his scent anywhere!"

Akamaru kept sniffing the air, hopping to be able to catch his scent when the wind blew. Several groups of bugs came flying toward the group and hovered around Shino.

"They can't find anything either," the bug master said. "Have you been able to scene his chakra Neji?"

The male Hyuuga was using his clan's blood limit; veins at the side of his head were pumping chakra into his eyes. He closed his eyes, ceasing the flow of chakra as his eyes turned back to the plain milky white.

"I can't find his chakra anywhere," the Hyuuga answered. "It's like he completely vanished."

"We could always go over to his place to see if he's there," Chouji said with a mouth full of chips.

"I agree," Lee said. "Naruto-kun would usually be there or at his favorite ramen stand."

The Hyuuga prodigy nodded. "Chouji, Lee, you two go check the ramen stand. If he isn't there, meet us at Naruto's house."

"Hai!" the two shinobis said then left.

"What are we going?" Kiba asked the older male.

"We're going to his place to see if he's there."

The three shinobis jumped from roof top to roof top until they reached the apartment where Naruto lived at. Kiba, being the impatient person that he was, began to bang on the door loudly.

"Naruto open up!" Kiba yelled. There wasn't an answer or the slightest sound that indicated someone was inside. Getting frustrated, Kiba banged the door harder to the point where it might fly off its hinges. "We know you're in there so open up already!"

Shino grabbed Kiba's wrist to stop him from actually breaking down the door.

"There's a possibility that he's at the training grounds," Shino said.

"He's not there," Lee said as he and Chouji entered the hallway. "I went to check while Chouji went to check the ramen stand."

"Damn!" Neji cursed as hit the wall beside him. There was only one thing left they could do to try to find the shinobi they're looking for. He went into his pouch, taking out the radio and put it on. "You all have the radios right?" They all nodded. "We'll split up to look for Naruto. If you find him, use your radio to contact the rest of us. We'll approach him as a group not individually. Understood?"

"Hai!" the other four shinobis uttered as they put on the headset for their radios.

"Alright, move out!"

With that said, the five shinobis jumped off into different directions, hoping to find the knuckle headed blond ninja.

—xXx—

Shizune and Kakashi were heading back to Tsunade's office with a stack of files in their arms. Well Kakashi was carrying most of it while Shizune only had a few so that she would have one hand free to open doors. When they reached the door, they just entered without knocking.

"I only asked for the records on Sasuke and Sakura," Tsunade said as she watched the two enter. "Why do you have more than requested?"

"The records of other ninjas that have detail involving them have also been taken out Tsunade-sama," Shizune answered. "Kakashi-san insisted that we take these files too so that certain confidential information doesn't leak out."

Tsunade nodded, understand their intention. "Whose recorders have you taken out?"

"The past Hokages, the legendary sannins, the members of team seven, and the records on other Uchiha members that we found," Shizune said.

"Good work," Tsunade said. "Bring them to my quarters, I'll be looking threw them tonight."

"Hai!" both Shizune and Kakashi said before exiting the room.

Tsunade turned her chair so that she faced the vast view of the village. The only thing she could do has already been done, but she worried about Naruto. Knowing the knuckle head, he wouldn't say a thing about them and would so whatever possible to protect them.

—xXx—

Tenten and Hinata were at the library digging up books about the history of Konoha. They sat at one of the tables in the corner, going through all the books they had gathered from the shelves that talked about the history of Konoha.

"Have you found anything Hinata-chan?"

"Iie…"

"Damn," Tenten cursed. "This is harder than I had expected."

Minutes began to turn into hours, and still they couldn't find anything. One passage, one sentence, or even just the name Uchiha or Haruno would help give them something to go on.

"Tenten-san…" Hinata whispered. "I-I think I-I've f-f-found s-something."

Tenten's head shot up from the text she was reading and looked at the Hyuuga heiress.

"What did you find?" Tenten asked eagerly.

"I-It's n-n-not m-much," Hinata stuttered as she turned the book around so Tenten could read it. "B-b-but it d-does m-mention s-s-something a-about t-the Uchiha Clan."

Tenten hurried and read through the passage on the page. Seeing that the information would probably prove valuable, she pulled out a piece of papers from her pouch and began to copy the important information down.

Founder of the Uchiha Clan was a man named Uchiha Madara. He was alive during the founding of the great village of Konoha. He had fought a grand battle against the first Hokage at the Valley of the End.

"This is the only piece of information we could get after searching through all these books," Tenten said then sighed. "At least we found something."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "We s-should p-p-put t-these b-books back n-now."

"Yeah…" Tenten said as she closed the open books. "It's getting late and we should head back to the restaurant soon."

—xXx—

Ino and Shikamaru headed toward the building that kept all the records ever documented. It would be difficult to get pass the ANBU guard without a good reason for going there, but the Nara genius had everything covered. Shikamaru had an idea of how to get pass the ANBU guards, but whether or not they will buy his excuse was what bothered him the most.

When they approached the door, they were stopped by the ANBU guards.

"State your purpose here," the one with the fox mask said.

"Umm…" Ino was trying to think up an excuse so that they could pass. "Well…"

"We're here to find out some information on certain ninjas," Shikamaru said seriously. "Tsunade-sama wanted us to take a few notes instead of having to take all the files out."

The two ANBU guards looked at each other, somewhat confused since Shizune and Kakashi were there not too long ago with a stack of files with them when they left.

"Shizune-san and Kakashi-san were here not too long ago on an errand for Hokage-sama," the other ANBU guard said.

"Since Tsunade-sama didn't want to have too much paper work in her office," Shikamaru said. "She asked us to help her gather some information. We're helping in an ongoing investigation."

The two ANBUs bought the excuse and let the two enter in the room. When the doors were closed shut behind them, Ino let a sign of relieve out.

"For a second, I thought we wouldn't be able to get in," Ino said.

"Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru said in a very low whisper so that the blond couldn't hear it.

He walked past the rows of aisles until he reached the one where they would find what they were looking for. He entered and began to look for the tag with the familiar name.

"Whose records are you looking for Shikamaru?"

"Sakura's records," he answered out bluntly.

"Good," Ino said happily. "I'll go and look at the records belong to my Sasuke-kun. When you're done meet me there."

She didn't wait to get a reply from the Nara genius and just went past the aisles toward the end of the room.

—xXx—

Neji, Shino, Kiba, Chouji and Lee were scattered, searching individually for Naruto, but with no luck. Neji was using his Byakugan to search for any signs of Naruto's chakra. Shino had his bugs scattered around the area of the village he was searching to find Naruto's unusual chakra. Kiba and Akamaru were searching for Naruto scent, hoping that would lead them to him. Chouji went to all the local restaurant he thought Naruto might have went to, when it was really all his favorite restaurant he was going to. Lee on the other hand was running around the training areas in search of the blond ninja, thinking that Naruto would be training to get stronger.

"Anything yet guys?" Neji asked trough the radio as he came out from the academy.

"Negative," Shino reported.

"Searching for him is making me hungry."

"I, Rock Lee, have searched everywhere, but still no sign of Naruto-kun." Then there was a pause. "I see Sai. I'll go and ask him if he has seen Naruto-kun."

Lee ran over the raven hair artist.

"Sai, Sai!"

Sai looked up from his sketch book to see Lee blocking his sun light.

Sai smiled on of his fake smiles. "What do you want bushy-brow?"

"Have you seen Naruto-kun anywhere?"

"I haven't seen the dickless wonder anywhere," Sai said then turned his gaze back to look at unfinished art. "You're blocking my light."

"Sai hasn't seen Naruto-kun!" Lee shouted into the radio.

Everyone winced at the loudness directed into their ear.

"What about you Kiba?" Neji asked as he jumped off to check his next destination, trying to stop the ringing in his ear.

"Hold on, Akamaru might have found something."

The other four ninjas stopped in their tracks to listen over the radio.

Kiba and Akamaru were heading toward an abandoned area of the village. The more they walked the less people they saw around. Akamaru had to pick up a faint scent and was able to follow it. Kiba followed his animal companion until the dog stopped and looked straight ahead, whimpering in fear.

"What is it Akamaru?" The dog just gave a low bark and walked back to stand closer to his master, still whimpering. "So his trial goes on here boy?" Kiba asked as he patted his dog's head. Akamaru only gave a small nod to answer the question. "Alright, that's good enough for me."

"What did you find Kiba?" Neji asked through the radio.

"Akamaru found where the Naruto's scent leads to but," Kiba said.

"What's wrong?"

"The guy is scared and to tell the truth, I am a bit too," Kiba said.

"No worries, I, Rock Lee, the handsome green beast of Konoha shall battle the evil!"

Everyone winced from the loudness of Lee's voice.

"Kiba, shoot up a flare," Shino said. "We'll be able to pin point your location and meet you there in a few minutes."

"No problem."

Kiba reached into his pouch and took out a flare. Pulling off the cap, he threw it up in the air and it exploded into a red light so that the others could find his location.

Suddenly the wind began to blow roughly at the two, as if trying to force or push them away from proceeding any farther. Kiba brought his arms up to shield his face while Akamaru stood behind his master, whimpering in fear.

"Where the hell did this wind come from?" Kiba yelled.

The wind kept blowing for a while longer before it died down a bit.

"This place is giving me the creeps Akamaru," Kiba said in a low voice as he rubbed his dog's head.

Soon the other four shinobis arrived, feeling a bit uncomfortable about being on this side of the village. It was deserted with no sign of a living being anywhere near by or close to the gates that stood ahead.

"Finally you guys are here," Kiba said as he faced his comrades. "This place is haunted."

Neji raised a brow. "Haunted?"

Suddenly strong gust of wind blew toward them, forcing them to leave the area. The gang held their ground, putting up their hands to cover their face from the fierce wind. It died down a bit, but still blew, gesturing for the shinobis to leave.

Akamaru began to whimper again and stood behind his owner, eyeing the closed gates ahead.

"Akamaru is really shaken up," Chouji said.

"He's not the only one," Shino said as he pushed his glasses up. "My bugs are also afraid, I just don't know from what."

There was a pregnant silence. Usually animals and insects could sense ominous thing human beings couldn't, and this was happening.

"Where does Naruto's trail lead to?" Neji asked, finally breaking the eerie silence.

"Toward those gates," Kiba said, pointing to the abandon area ahead. "The scent we followed is fresh, so Naruto is either in there or passes by here not too long ago."

"What is this place anyways?" Lee asked. "I haven't been on this side of the village before."

Neji walked toward the gates, the other following behind.

"Whatever this place is, it's been abandoned for years," Shino said as he glanced around.

As they neared the gates, many unusual sounds were heard. Chouji began to stuff his mouth with more chips, Kiba stood closer to his dog, and Lee's legs were shaking while his body remained still. Neji quickly made a few hand signs and active his Byakugan. He scanned through the walls, but found no source of chakra.

"I can't find a signal chakra," Neji said as he ceased the flow of chakra to his eyes. "He could be deeper-"

"No way Hyuuga," Kiba said, cutting of Neji. "There is no way in hell am I going in there." Chouji and Lee nodded their heads in agreement. "Let's just report what we got to the others and figure out another plan."

Neji nodded. "Alright, let's get out of here."

—xXx—

Shikamaru had no luck in finding Sakura's records and decided that he would look for Kakashi's, but to no avail. He walked past the aisles until he reached the one where Ino was at. He could tell from her angry face that she couldn't find Sasuke's record.

"Did you find forehead girl's records?" the blond asked as she kept of searching for the one particular record she was so interested in.

"No," he answered bored. "I couldn't even find the records belonging to Kakashi-sensei."

Ino stood up and faced her teammate. "Well I had no luck at all. I couldn't find anything on my Sasuke-kun."

"What about Naruto?"

Ino crooked a brow. "Why the hell would I want to look at that idiot's records?"

The Nara genius signed. "Troublesome… Did you see Naruto's records here?"

"No," she answered plainly, crossing her arms over her chest. "So what are we going to do now genius?"

"Troublesome… We head back to the restaurant and hear what the others were able to find out."

—xXx—

Shizune and Kakashi returned to the Hokage's office after dropping off the records. Kakashi's ninja hounds hadn't return to report whether or not they were able to find Naruto.

The sun was beginning to set and Tsunade sat in her office, her mind spinning with so many problems to handle. She pulled open the drawer on the right side of the table and took out a bottle of sake and three small cups. She placed the cups on her desk then poured some of the alcohol into it.

"You two want some?" she asked.

The two other adults nodded and took a cup, drinking its contents.

"Kakashi," a voice from outside the window said. The said person looked out the window to see Pakkun and another one of his ninja dogs beside him. "We kind of found where Naruto might be at."

"What do you mean Pakkun?"

"Well the two of us followed his scent to this creepy area of the village," the small pup said. "Those youngsters followed his scent there too, but didn't find him anywhere."

"Did you find him?"

The small pup shook his head. "Neither of us wanted to go any closer to the place, same with those kids. We just hid, waited until they left then came here to report back to you."

"Good work, you two may leave."

With that said from their master, the two dogs vanished in a puff of smoke.

"It's getting late now," Tsunade said pouring herself another cup of sake. "The two of you can leave now and get some rest."

"Hai," the two said in unison.

Kakashi left in a puff of smoke.

"You should get some rest too Tsunade-sama," Shizune said before leaving the room.

"I know."

Tsunade turned her chair around to face the view of the village. At least half of their problems were solved for now.

—xXx—

They were gathered in a secluded corner area of a restaurant, away from the ears of the customers. After their food had arrived and they knew the waiters and waitresses wouldn't bother them anymore, they began to talk.

"Did you guys find Naruto?" Tenten asked as she began to cut the fish meat on her plate.

"No," Kiba answered bluntly before sticking a piece of meat into his mouth

"But we did follow his scent to this creep abandon area of the village," Lee said with a mouth full of food.

"Well Shikamaru and I didn't have any luck," Ino said stabbing her fork violently into her food. "I couldn't find anything on my precious Sasuke-kun!"

"Naruto is nowhere to found and the records belonging to the original four members of team seven are missing," Shikamaru said. "Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei, or Naruto could have heard of our plans and went ahead on hiding the information from us."

"Tenten-san a-and I-I w-were a-able to f-f-find a little i-i-information a-about t-t-the Uchiha Clan," Hinata stuttered in a low voice.

Tenten pulled out the piece of paper with the copied passage from the book. "This was the only thing we could find." She read it out loud for everyone to hear as they ate. "There wasn't anything else on the Uchiha Clan."

"Well there has to be something else mentions in the texts about the Uchiha Clan," Ino said with a mouth full of food. "They're one of the greatest clans ever!"

"If the Uchiha Clan was that great," Shino said. "Why was Sasuke the only Uchiha in the village?"

"Something must have happened and only the adults know about it," Shikamaru said. "I suggest we try to ask our parents to see if we can find out any information that way."

"Then what are we going to do?" Chouji asked.

The Nara genius sighed. "We'll think up another plan to get more information."

Well that's the end of this chapter! The next chapter shall be long as well!

Yes, those nine remaining rookies are curious of what's going on and you will have to wait to find out whether or not the secrets of the Uchihas will leak out to them! If you didn't catch it, in the world of Tsukiyomi, inner Sakura tried to beat Itachi, but failed. The one that did save Sakura was another inner I created that's consumed by the curse seal. This inner had a special part in this fanfic, so she'll be back in later chapters.

I know people might get tired of hearing this over and over again... I'm taking the time to edit the past chapter to make some minor changes and add some stuff.

Well that's it for now, until next chapter. Please review! Virtual sweets for all!