Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or related characters they belong to the respective owners. OC's are mine.

Chapter Twenty Five:

Shikamaru held up a hand as his group approached the gate, "Alright, we don't know how far away the enemy is we'll move in formation. Kiba and Akamaru will take point. I'll follow them, Naruto you're behind me I want you to cover the left flank. Choji you're next, cover the right flank. Neji will be covering the rear. Are there any questions?"

Kiba, Choji, and Neji shook their heads, but Naruto started scratching the back of his.

Shikamaru frowned, "Yes Naruto?"

Naruto grinned, "Uh…yeah, why are we doing that? Why don't we just go out there and kick their butts?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Unlike you Naruto the rest of us don't have unlimited chakra, plus even if we did we have no knowledge about who these opponents are. It's best to plan for any eventuality when facing an unknown foe."

Naruto nodded his head, and then stopped suddenly, "Umm I don't get it."

Kiba face palmed while Neji turned to Naruto, "Naruto, these Sound Nin may very well be Chunin or Jonin rank. You remember our battle in the Land of Waves right. Those ninja were Jonin, which is why our sensei fought them while we provided support."

Choji frowned, "Well, they weren't very good Jonin…it took our sensei about five seconds to deal with them."

Shikamaru sighed, "That's because of the trap they set. If I hadn't been hidden there with my shadow jutsu then the fight would have been much longer. This is why we must always plan our attacks, especially if we're fighting as a team. Rule number one of this operation is not to get separated."

Everyone nodded as they moved toward the opening gate.

Sasuke was walking from the Uchiha district, but stopped as he spotted someone walking toward him. He dashed into an alley and watched as Sakura came into view. She walked past his hiding spot, and Sasuke frowned. He stepped into the street behind her and spoke, "What are you doing out so late Sakura?"

Sakura jumped and turned quickly, "Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah, so what are you doing out here so late?"

Sakura bowed her head, "Sasuke…I overheard you talking to those Oto Nin…"

Sasuke looked surprised, "What?"

Sakura sighed, "After Master Jiraiya told me and Naruto to leave so Lady Tsunade wouldn't get after us for the damage you two caused with those attacks…Naruto stormed off, and I decided to talk to you. Kakashi said he'd go talk to you so I followed him. I waited till he finished, but before I could show myself the Oto Nin popped up."

Sasuke frowned, "That was over an hour ago Sakura…what did you do after that?"

Sakura bowed her head again, "I wandered around trying to think what to do. I know I should have gone straight to Lady Tsunade, but I didn't want you to get in trouble. I figured I'd come back to find out what you were planning then…then I'd decide what to do."

Sasuke sighed, "So you've not told the Hokage about that yet?"

Sakura shook her head, "What was I supposed to say? I saw you meeting some enemy ninja and discussing plans to defect to Orochimaru. Don't you remember what he did; he was willing to kill Naruto and me to get to you Sasuke. He would have killed me if Kakashi-sensei hadn't shown up with the other Jonin and forced him to flee."

Sasuke frowned, "What?"

Sakura hugged herself, "After he put that seal on you and messed with Naruto's seal, the both of you were out cold. I guess he was planning to make a clean job of it, because he turned on me next. I don't even want to think about what he was planning, because the stories I've heard are enough to leave nightmares. Kakashi-sensei arrived with Hyuga Koga and that Zabuza guy from Kiri, they attacked Orochimaru and he fled."

Sasuke rubbed his shoulder where the seal was, "You said they drove him off? How'd they do that, he's a Sannin, he should have wiped the floor with them."

Sakura shrugged, "He just fled maybe he knew others would be arriving soon to back them up."

Sasuke examined the building around them, "It doesn't matter…I'm going to go Sakura, and you shouldn't stand in…"

Sasuke's words stopped as he turned his face to look at the hand pressed at his chest cloaked in green chakra.

Sakura smiled sadly at Sasuke, "I'm sorry Sasuke, but I can't let you do that."

Sasuke smiled, "You've been holding back."

Sakura bowed her head, "Never show all your tricks…even to your comrades. Koga-sempai taught me that."

Sasuke's eyes rolled up and his legs became weak. He had the sensation of falling just before his world went black.

The Sound Four were waiting about a quarter mile from the village where they could easily watch the gate.

Kidomaru huffed as he turned to Sakon, "What's taking that brat so long? I thought you said he'd come willingly, are we going to have to go back in that dump of a village or what?"

Sakon sighed, "Be patient Kidomaru. Lord Orochimaru assured me that Sasuke would come, I have complete faith in Lord Orochimaru, don't you."

Kidomaru crossed his arms and sat against a tree, "What's so special about this punk anyway?"

Tayuya glared at him, "Shut it already, don't you know we're standing in plain view of their sentries, make too much noise and they're sure to spot us." She turned to Sakon, "Why the hell are we standing here anyway? Why don't we stick to the trees where we have more cover?"

Sakon glared at her, "It is simple Tayuya if we hid in the trees we'd not see Sasuke leaving the village. Besides, the reason I chose this location is because the main gate doesn't have live guards, instead it's protected by a seal, we were lucky to not set any off while entering or exiting the village."

Jirobo frowned, "Why was it so easy?"

Sakon grinned evilly, "Because we still have allies within Konoha, they just don't know they're working for us."

Tayuya frowned, "Hey? The gate is opening. What the heck does that brat think he's doing?"

Kidomaru stood and moved to his teammates, "Hey, that's not Sasuke…that's a squad…it's just a coincidence they're coming this way right?"

Sakon frowned, "Of all the double crossing…that little brat must have sold us out."

Kidomaru rounded on Sakon, "What? I thought you just said Orochimaru said the brat would come with us."

Sakon ignored him and turned to the others, "Grr…we can't jump to conclusions. They might just simply be departing on a night patrol, or a covert mission. In any case we'll move out find a better hiding place."

Sasuke awoke to find himself bound to a chair in a dark room, "Huh…what happened?"

"Uchiha Sasuke…what happened to Haruno Sakura?" An altered voice sounded from somewhere above him.

Sasuke frowned, "Sakura? I don't know…the last thing I remember…she knocked me out!"

A blinding bright light appeared before him and he could scarcely make out the silhouette of a man, "Did she? What reason did she have to attack a fellow ninja of the Leaf?"

Sasuke bowed his head, "I was planning to defect…to join Orochimaru."

The silhouette man's head tilted, "You admit to an act of treason?"

Sasuke frowned, "Yeah, so what? Why should I stay here in this weak village that has done nothing but hold me back? I'm an Uchiha; you should all be worshiping the ground I walk on. I'm one of the greatest…"

The silhouette man interrupted him, "…One of the greatest what? Greatest ninjas, hardly, you were found unconscious in the street. The medics said you were knocked out by a simple medical jutsu which froze your chakra network, from my understanding it's something similar to being placed in a sleeper hold, just minus the damage to the throat."

Sasuke fumed, "Sakura! She's not the weak little fan girl I thought she was…damn how didn't I notice?"

The silhouette man sighed, "So you don't know what happened to Haruno Sakura?"

Sasuke strained against the bonds, "I already told you, she knocked me out, the next thing I know I'm here."

The blinding light turned off plunging Sasuke back into darkness. Suddenly another light turned on revealing Sasuke was in a room similar to an operating theater. Looking around Sasuke saw the upper level where people could observe the operation was filled with ANBU, standing before him where the light had been was a hooded ANBU whose mask had the Konoha symbol instead of an animal representation.

Flanking that man were the ANBU Dog and ANBU Snake.

Arashi/Minato crossed his arms, "Uchiha Sasuke…how disappointed your father would have been."

Sasuke glared, "How dare you talk about him. You never knew my father!"

Minato smirked behind his mask, "Oh how dreadfully wrong you are. If your father was standing here with me now, I know exactly what he'd do and say."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "What?"

Minato pulled a kunai, "He would hand me one of these, turn his back on you, and ask me to make it quick."

Sasuke swallowed, "No, you're wrong…"

Minato bowed his head, "Your father died for this village. He would have done anything to ensure the safety of the people, it wasn't the civilians themselves he was angered with, merely those who thought themselves capable of running a shinobi village."

Sasuke turned his head, "And where were they when he needed them? Everyone in this forsaken village left my clansmen to die; no one came to help us."

ANBU Dog stepped forward, "You're wrong on that…dead wrong. Hyuga Koga was able to fight off the genjutsu that put the rest of the village asleep. He immediately went to your clan's district; he fought your brother, and nearly lost his life in the process."

Sasuke grumbled, "That shows how week everyone in this village is; only one person was able to fight off the genjutsu."

Kakashi removed his mask, "No Sasuke. Koga wasn't the only one to fight off the jutsu. He was just the only one who could see where the attack was coming from. We arrived not long after Koga was beaten; his body pinned to your clan's district gate was the scene that greeted us."

Sasuke looked surprised, "Sensei?"

Anko removed her mask, "You're lucky Arashi is so sentimental. The commander isn't exactly known for his leniency."

Kakashi sighed, "Sasuke, were you really planning to abandon the village?"

Sasuke bowed his head, "Yes Sensei…"

Kakashi nodded, "Then I have no choice. Uchiha Sasuke, I hereby suspend you from active duty. You will be striped of your rank, and equipment. A chakra seal will be placed on you to inhibit your use of jutsu. After a trial before the Hokage further action may be taken, including but not limited to the removal and destruction of your Sharingan."

Sasuke pulled on his bonds again, "You can't do this to me! My mother wouldn't allow this."

"I wouldn't?" Sasuke turned to find his mother standing next to the Hokage and the two Senju brothers. Mikoto bowed her head, "Sasuke…your actions will have dire circumstances for our entire clan. If you are permanently dismissed, we will have no ninja left in the village. Thus we are of no use to the village, we will be a burden."

Tsunade sighed, "Arashi…have a team take Sasuke to a holding cell until further notice. Once Shikamaru's team returns with either the Oto Nin, or their corpses we'll sort this mess out."

Hashirama stepped forward, "Lady Hokage…perhaps you should inform Uchiha Sasuke of the council's other decision."

Tsunade nodded and turned back to Sasuke, "Seeing as it will affect you as well. If the council and I find you guilty, your clan's dojutsu will be destroyed utterly. We will not allow it to fall into enemy hands."

Sasuke turned to his mother, "Mother?"

Mikoto sighed, "I proposed this act Sasuke. First your brother and now you…"

Sasuke was pulled from the chair and his hands restrained behind his back. He turned to Tsunade, "Where's Sakura?"

Tsunade shook her head, "Arashi told you, we don't know. We found you lying in the street and she was long gone. I had ordered her to locate you and attempt to persuade you to reconsider betraying the village; if she failed she was to perform her duty as a kunoichi. You do know what that means?"

Sasuke struggled, "Lady Tsunade! You have to find Sakura…I think…I think she's going after Orochimaru."

Kiba crouches and signals the squad to halt.

Shikamaru frowns, "What's wrong?"

"Someone just used a smoke bomb near here…it's not the kind used for the body flicker technique." Kiba covered his nose, "It's the kind my clan uses to keep other clans like ours and the Aburame from following, covers and destroys all types of scent trails."

Shikamaru frowned, "Hmm…someone doesn't want us following them. How'd they know we'd use your method of tracking?"

Neji with his Byakugan active scanned the area, "Perhaps it is Sasuke. No doubt he spotted us near the gate and doubled back for a canister of that smoke."

Naruto grumbled, "There's no way Sasuke would betray the village. I know he's arrogant and a real jerk…but…"

Shikamaru sighed, "Naruto, I know you don't want to think badly of your teammate, but not everyone is your friend."

Choji sighted and looked to Shikamaru, "Hey Shika let me handle this." Choji turned to Naruto, "Hey look Naruto, whenever Mizuki-sensei was being hard on you who was it who backed you up?"

Naruto frowned, "You guys."

Choji nodded, "Whenever you had a bad day who tried there hardest to cheer you up?"

Naruto pointed to Kiba, "Kiba or Hinata-chan."

Neji fumed, "Use respect when referring to Lady Hinata."

Choji ignored him and continued, "Who made sure you always had food, clothes, and didn't get overcharged at the shops?"

Naruto scratched his head, "Umm…Hayate-san, Yugao-chan, Lady Tsume, or Hiashi-sama."

Shikamaru smirked, "Well, didn't here Sasuke's name come up in any of those groups."

Naruto huffed, "What does that matter?"

Kiba sighed, "Naruto, remember how Sasuke has been focused at getting back at his brother. He's so focused on that he's had no time for friends or anything else. Heck, my cousin even told my mom what he said about your clan."

Neji turned to Naruto, "Uzumaki, what they are trying to convince you of is that while you may view Sasuke as a friend, he may not or more likely does not view you in the same way. To him you are merely an obstacle in his path, a path that leads ultimately to his brother."

Naruto bowed his head, "You guys may be right…but he's still my teammate. I can't just abandon him."

Shikamaru sighed, "Naruto…even if we bring him back alive…abandoning the village and consorting with known criminals is high treason. That's a capital offense."

Looking at the somber faces of the others Naruto spoke, "What's that mean?"

Neji being the eldest spoke, "He'll be stripped of his rank, his chakra will be sealed, and at an appointed time he'll be executed. His name will be erased from our rosters, and we'll pretend we'd never heard of Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto looked shocked, "What? Baa-Chan wouldn't really do that right?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Since he's the last Uchiha Ninja they may wait for another, or just take some samples and do the whole in vitro thing."

Neji turned to Shikamaru, "Captain shouldn't we be getting on with our mission?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Right. Neji you and Kiba swap. With Kiba's nose out of order he'll be better at the rear until it clears up. Neji's eyes should keep us from running into any ambushes."

Sakon turned to the other three, "It shouldn't be long now. The last I checked they were stopped just over the last rise, looked like they were having some sort of conversation."

Kidomaru frowned, "Then why didn't you take care of them then?"

Sakon grumbled, "Even if they're just a bunch of Konoha trash, I'm not dumb enough to take on all five of them on my own."

Tayuya sighed, "Too bad Kimimaro isn't here. He'd wipe them out before they even knew what hit them."

Jirobo frowned, "Hey Sakon? How we going to do the Four Black Fog Battle Formation when Sasuke shows up with those punks tracking us?"

Sakon sighed, "That's why we're waiting here. When they get close enough we'll strike them with our best techniques. If memory serves the brat in the bright orange jumpsuit is the second target Lord Orochimaru told us about, the one he'd be very grateful for if we disposed of him?"

Neji sighed and deactivated his Byakugan, "They're just ahead, waiting in the trees."

Shikamaru nodded, "Naruto send a group of clones like you did during the second stage. Just Henge them into us instead of team 7."

Naruto shook his head, "Umm…no can do. Doing three clones and turning two into two separate people that is fine, but five and then turning four into other people…the clones won't be perfect."

Shikamaru shook his head, "Not perfect then, just believable."

Naruto nodded and started the process of making the duplicate squad.

Meanwhile…

Orochimaru sat in his underground base and watched some of his lackeys spar. He ignored then, as he didn't really care how strong any of them were. They were merely more of his pawns.

Currently he only had six pawns he actually cared for. Well, care may be too strong of a word. He would prefer they didn't expire too quickly, and if any of them did die, well then they were weaker than he thought.

Orochimaru turned as he saw two of his favored pawns enter the chamber.

In the lead was Kabuto, his ex spy in Konoha, whose cover was blown by a bad choice in disguise. Kabuto had paid for that blunder when the recently resurrected Yondaime Hokage drained a large portion of his chakra. Kabuto had barely escaped when the Yondaime had left him to a couple ANBU to finish. Following that humiliating defeat Kabuto suffered a second when Uzumaki Naruto bested him.

The second flanking Kabuto was a tall white haired man with two red dots on his forehead, his cursed seal of earth visible at the base of his throat. Kimimaro knelt before Orochimaru.

Orochimaru frowned, "I did not summon either of you, why are you here?"

Kabuto bowed, "Well master, seeing as we've yet to receive the signal from Sakon and the others I must insist you change bodies immediately."

Orochimaru looked down at his useless arms, "I will use Sasuke's body and none other."

Kabuto sighed, "Master, would it not be more prudent to change now, and once Sasuke arrives to prep his body. If you prepare it properly you may get a longer use from it that past bodies, especially if you insure it's compatibility with your…err…essence."

Orochimaru grinned, "Would that not also give you more time to prevent my acquisition of an Uchiha body?"

Kabuto mock gasped, "Master? I would never…it's merely that after the failure with Itachi…"

Orochimaru waved him off, "Never mind Kabuto, so why is Kimimaro here, you already told me he's useless as a vessel due to his illness."

Kabuto smirked, "Oh, nothing really. I just felt he needed a little stretch after being stuck in the lab for so long."

Kimimaro bowed his head, "Master, if you so wish this new vessel I will go and retrieve it."

Orochimaru smirked, "Very well Kimimaro, I will leave it to you to ensure Uchiha Sasuke arrives at our base."

Kimimaro bowed then turned and left the chamber.

Kabuto watched him leave, and once he was gone turned back to Orochimaru, "Master? Kimimaro's condition is deteriorating quickly…he should be confined to base so I can monitor his condition."

Orochimaru sneered, "What use is a corpse. Kimimaro has served his purpose, it is time we disposed of him, and if he takes care of any one interfering with Sasuke's arrival. Would that not be a more valuable use of his remaining life?"

Kabuto nodded, "Yes master, it's just…what I learn from his body may assist in finding a permanent solution as to why your bodies keep rejecting you."

Orochimaru chuckled, "Don't play games with me Kabuto. I know you placed devices within Kimimaro's body that will transmit all the data you need. Besides, if he loses control of his blood limit, I'd much prefer he'd be as far away from here as possible, finding new bases is such a tiring task."

End Chapter Twenty Five

A/N: Next chapter will have some more action; this one was just the setup. Hope you all enjoy, and review.