Sakura felt her stomach sink as she stared at the two boys. Rin's kidnapping was a story Kakashi had briefly glossed over in her time. She knew how it ended though; with the bright young medic dead. It was a tragic event that had pushed Obito over the edge and Kakashi into solitude.

Still, she knew the chances of the Third okaying a retrieval mission was slim. The chance for Kakashi and Obito to go after her themselves was near impossible. They were two of the brightest of their generation, and for the sake of the village he wouldn't risk their lives for one medic. Still she knew what she had to do.

Without any further explanation Sakura shirked the doctors coat from her shoulders. Throwing it into an abandoned room she began making her way down the hallway and out of the hospital, the two boys right on her heels. She had a small window of opportunity to get her things and be on her way.

The apartment was empty with Biwako at the store, her brothers out training, and her father in his office. Moving forward with determination in her step, Sakura ignored the questions of the boys still following her. Shutting her bedroom door on them she quickly changed and gathered what she needed.

Securing her pack on her back, she left the room to find a quiet Kakashi and Obito, and a severe looking Biwako. Meeting her mother's gaze, she allowed the severity of the situation to show in her eyes. Finally, her mother spoke "Going somewhere?"

"Retrieval mission."

"Sanctioned?"

"No." Sakura watched her mother move towards her, stopping only a few inches in front of her.

"Is this important?"

Sakura's answer was firm and decisive "Yes."

Biwako nodded "You'll need to go quickly. The guards change shift in fifteen minutes that's when you'll need to go. I'll tell the hospital that you got sick."

Sakura smiled at her mother, before turning to glance at the two boys standing a few feet away.

She didn't want to take them. If this mission turned bad, it would be her responsibility to end things and to make sure those two got out alive. It was a sad fact that in comparison, the village valued the lives of these two boys more than the smart little medic Sakura had grown somewhat fond of.

Over the past several months Kakashi and Obito had begun to make names for themselves both separately and together. Their teamwork was very quickly becoming famous and elevating the village's prestige. They were the genius' of their generation.

Still, Sakura understood what it meant to be left behind. The memory of waiting at home during the initial Sasuke retrieval mission had stuck with her over the years. That useless feeling rising whenever she couldn't accomplish a task.

They also had information. They knew where Rin had been taken from, Kakashi had his hounds, and most importantly they worked their best when they were all together. Glancing over them one more time Sakura couldn't help but smile. They had gathered their supplies before getting her.

These boys weren't going to let her leave them behind, and to be honest Sakura didn't want to.

Making sure her pack was secured, she turned to face the boys, aware of her mother's eyes on her "If you two are coming with me, you will obey my orders. If I say run, you run. If I say stay, you stay. I say leave me behind, you leave me behind. If these rules don't agree with you then I'll knock you out now and leave you on the floor, and keep in mind, that despite your abilities you are not on my level yet."

The boys' eyes narrowed, and she couldn't help but hold back a smirk. They didn't like her terms, but they also knew they weren't a match for her . . . at least not yet. Especially with Biwako backing her up.

Slowly, both boys nodded their heads, but that wasn't enough for Sakura, she knew better than to accept a head nod. "Verbally boys, I want a verbal statement. Do you accept my terms?"

They answered together, in perfect unison "Yes, mam."

Sakura smiled "Good. Let's go."

They moved quickly to the other side of the village, to a sparsely guarded area. It was an area that backed up to the forest of death. It was a well known fact, that if one didn't know the area well, you could very easily end up facing one of the many dangerous animals that were known to confront village intruders. Then there was always a chance that they could stumble into one of the many, and vast patches of poisonous plants.

Sakura however knew the area very well, having done several bouts of guard duty there, after making chunnin. She just hoped things hadn't changed too much. Moving through the brush Sakura waited for the opportune time, waiting for the present guard to move out.

As soon as she was sure they were safe to move, she used hand signals to move the boys forward. They moved as one unit, quietly and swiftly.

They didn't stop running until Sakura was sure they weren't being followed. They had the element of time on their side, Sakura wasn't expected to be anywhere for several hours, and the boys had just returned from a mission which meant they had a full twenty-four hours of R&R. Even with that fact, Sakura kept pushing the boys forward with only short breaks to sustain them. Most kids their age probably would have collapsed from exhaustion at this point.

As the day went on she replayed the few details Kakashi had told her in her own time. The shinobi that had taken Rin had been from Kirigakure, and had sealed Isobu into the girl with a timed release that would set the beast free on Konoha.

That was going to be the trick, getting to Rin before that happened. If they didn't make it in time, there would be very little that she would be able to do to help the girl.

Pushing that particular thought to the back of her mind, she focused on the details. In the original timeline, Rin had been captured on the same mission she had been on this time. The only difference, was that Kakashi had been with her. They'd been ambushed by Kirigakure nin, not too far away from the village, and Kakashi had been able to go after her almost immediately. That meant they were already drastically behind schedule.

The only good news she had, was that they were close to where the kidnapping had taken place, and there had been no rain recently which meant, there would be a sent to follow. It definitely wasn't the worst situation she had been in. Content with her assessment she allowed herself to start planning the retrieval.

They reached the site of the kidnapping site in under six hours, and the sight that greeted them wasn't pretty. It appeared that half the team had been slaughtered and the other half was severely injured, there was also the fact that they had beaten the reinforcements to the sight.

Using her chakra to search the area, Sakura found there were more than a few enemy shinobi nearby keeping watch. She considered taking them out but decided against it. They were observing for some reason, and she wanted to know why.

Taking a few precious moments Sakura examined the few remaining men. While injured none of them were critical. There would be at least two medical nin accompanying the reinforcements, and with that she decided to save her chakra. She was still a little low from her shift at the hospital, and with the possibility of facing a tailed beast Sakura wasn't willing to waste any.

After a few minutes she caught the distinct chakra signatures of the reinforcements. It was one distinct chakra signature that forced her into finalizing her plan. Turning to Kakashi, she gave the order to summon the pack. It was a fascinating thing to see the pack materialized in front of her. They appeared just the same in her time as they did here, and she couldn't help but wonder about a summon's aging process.

She waited for only a moment and then she moved. Grasping both boys at the base of their neck she inserted just enough chakra to knock them out. She caught both boys before they hit the ground, and laid the gently down. She didn't have time for the argument she knew would have happened, and she wasn't willing to risk their lives any farther.

Then she turned to the pug.

There was no animosity in his eyes, only a look of amusement. Before she could say a word the ninken spoke "We're supposed to cooperate with ya, that's what we've been told." Sakura raised an eyebrow in question, as Pakkun used his hind leg to scratch behind his ears. "The toads sent a message to us, from their sage, saying we needed to cooperate with the pink haired woman. They don't usually send those messages unless its' urgent. And their prophet is usually right. So what do you need?"

Sakura smiled at the typical straightforwardness the pug presented, and she allowed herself to take a small amount of comfort in it. "I need you to track Rin."

The pack wasted no time on chit chat and immediately began running. Sakura followed close behind allowing them to run in a tight formation. The run only took half an hour, but the sun had already set hours ago, and at the sight of the cave they were heading straight towards, Sakura couldn't help but scowl. Navigating a pitch black cave at night was not something she was looking forward to.

Still, it provided her an amount of cover that she wouldn't have usually had. She was able to silently slip past the two guards at the mouth of the cave noting the masks marking them as hunter nin; something that made Sakura pause for the slightest of seconds before pushing forward.

Silently she followed the dogs to an unconscious Rin. She wasn't all that far from the entrance of the cave. She was meant to be found, she was meant to be taken, she was meant to destroy her home. Leaving the young medic unconscious, she hoisted the girl onto her back, and began making her way out of the caves.

She ran into no opposition, finding even the guards at the entrance gone. Making a split second decision, she changed course. Instead of heading towards the village she headed away from it. She ran for nearly two hours, traveling farther and farther into enemy territory, with the pack on her heals. To their credit they never questioned her, never questioned why they were running away from their safety net.

When she finally felt as though she had put enough distance between herself and the team she had left behind, she stopped. She was right near a lake, and with another day or so of travel she would be in the heart of Kirigakure.

She had no desire to go there however, she was already deeper into enemy territory than made her comfortable, and she had no desire to go any farther. Giving the hounds and order to hide, she waited, for the men who had been following her since the cave.

Setting the girl on the ground, Sakura once again set out her chakra to probe the area. Finding that everyone had arrived, she turned to address the trees. "You might as well come out you're not nearly as well hidden as you think." Placing her hands on her hips, she waited.

She wasn't disappointed. Slowly the Kiri shinobi appeared, their masks slowly becoming more visible, as the sun began to rise. There were six total, all spread out in front of her, blocking her clearest escape route.

She waited a moment more, and when no on else showed she spoke again. "When I said everyone, I did mean everyone."

The Kirin nin in front spoke before anything could happen "This is everyone, little girl. Your fate is sealed."

It took everything Sakura had to not role her eyes. She hated dramatics, she hated idiots even more. The idiots in front of her weren't hunter nin. She was willing to bet that they didn't even belong to Kiri. And she knew they had no clue about the two groups that were hiding in the trees to either side of them.

Staring them down Sakura stated "I was talking to the other two groups that have been following us." She watched them stiffen, and allowed a small smile to come over her face. "Judging by your reactions, I'd be willing to bet that you didn't notice them. I'd be willing to take it a step farther and say that you aren't hunter nin." The further stiffening confirmed everything.

A moment later the leaves rustled and two separate groups appeared on either side, just behind the fake hunter nin.

It took everything Sakura had to not go completely stiff. While she had sensed their chakra, she hadn't sensed how much there had been. It was a testament to just how well these men had hidden their chakra.

To one side stood A, Killer B, and several other Kumo nin that she didn't know. To the other stood the Fourth Mizukage, Ao, and several Kirin in she didn't know. The Kiri nin she understood, she was deep into their territory. However, she didn't understand why the Kumo nin were here.

Either way she was outmatched, and if she didn't play things correctly she would end up dead. Of course, one of the fake Kiri nin, decided to make a move and any thought of a plan went out the window as everyone moved.

Taking Rin in her arms she moved out of the way of the attack. The spray of blood alerted her to the fact that her attacker was dead, but she refused to look back and confirm it. The clang of kunai told her that it had turned into a full out brawl.

Taking shelter in a nearby tree, she kept Rin on her back, and turned to see the result of the massacre. Sure enough, the imposters were dead, and it appeared as though Kiri and Kumo were going to face off. A groan from Rin, informed her that they didn't have time for it.

Leaving her perch Sakura landed gently on the ground, slowly eyes turned to look at her. She could read their expressions fairly well; curiosity. Why would she come this deep into enemy territory? Why wouldn't she flee when she had that chance?

Going into this mission, Sakura had known Rin's chances of survival were small. The girl had sacrificed herself in the original timeline to protect the village. That one death had sent Obito into a downward spiral and Kakashi into a life of solitude. She couldn't allow that to happen.

She had very quickly come to the conclusion that there was going to be only one way to save Rin. She had to remove the tailed beast and administer immediate medical care to save the girl.

For that she needed room, space, and somewhere for Isobu to go when he had been removed. Somewhere where Kiri would be able to find him, and seal him in Yagura. She had spent a fair amount of time in Kiri during her time; after Konoha had been destroyed and they'd been making a last ditch effort to win some sort of ground.

Of course, when she had formulated the plan she hadn't planned on the learers of two enemy villages being around.

To continue with the plan would be a dangerous choice. Kiri could possibly use Isobu in the war. They could use him to gain ground, and it would throw everything off.

Then again, Isobu had ended up sealed in the Fourth Mizukage anwyas. There was also the fact that at some point Obito had taken control of the Fourth Mizukage, and had been able to control him. With any luck that wouldn't be happening this time.

Obito had already been saved from his fate as one of Madara's lapdogs, but that didn't necessarily mean that Kirigakure wasn't slowly falling under Madara's control or about to. The fake hunter nin proved that.

Sakura very clearly remembered Kakashi's warnings about the bloody mist. About what a horrible place it had been. All of which had been due to Madara and Obito.

However, the thing that stayed in her mind was Naruto's account of what had happened when he met his fellow jinchuriki. Isobu and Yagura had been one of the few pairs to achieve complete harmony. Naruto had gone even farther into his recounting of how kind the young looking man had been.

Konoha was her main concern. Making sure that those she cared about got through everything alive was her mission. That task in and of itself was gigantic, she shouldn't even have any space in her mind to worry about another village; however, she couldn't help it.

A Jinchuriki's life was often miserable, and lonely. Yet that man despite everything had succeeded at becoming one with the beast sealed inside him. And that was more astonishing to Sakura than anything. It was also worth investing a little bit of time in. Even if, at that moment, it was an enemy village.

So here she was, committing high treason all in the name of peace. If word of this ever got back to anyone other than her father and possibly Minato, she would become an enemy of her village. She was gambling big time.

Slipping Rin off her back she propped the girl up against the tree trunk, and let out a whistle. Immediately, the dogs appeared, and surrounded Rin in a protective ring. Turning to face her opponents, she allowed her gaze to slide over the Kumo nin, before focusing on the Kirin in; Yagura in particular.

The man's eyes were slightly glazed, and she couldn't help but scowl. He was already in Madara's pocket; at least to some degree. Madara wasn't as strong as he had once been, especially without Obito. If she was able to get close enough to insert a burst of chakra, she should be able to break the control.

Then, maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to negotiate something.

AN:

This chapter is really late getting up. I'm a senior in college and things are very quickly piling on. I'm hoping to be able to get on a schedule and update every two weeks? Maybe? Don't quote me. It's looking like I might have a designated writing time . . . I'm hoping. Anyways, I do have the next few chapters planned out. This particular one took a twist I wasn't planning, but I like how I turned out. Don't forget to vote in the Rin poll. I'm going to keep it up for another three days I think and then, her fate will be decided. Wow that sounds ominous. Till next time.