I made sure to have more than one chapter started before I posted all my edits and updates. I hope you all enjoy the continuous action. I have no idea how many more chapters I have left in this story, though it will probably be done soon. I have a lot of other stories I need to focus on too, but I want to make sure this story is done right.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Written: 9/4/18

"There's an emergency at the hospital," Tsunade told the group as they were headed toward the gates. Their secret weapon was hidden within the circle of strong Konoha shinobi, and Tsunade could not wait to see Orochimaru's face when she used it against him. "Katsumi, report."

"A Sound shinobi has infiltrated the hospital," Katsumi said as her eye stalks wiggled. "It appears they have been poisoning the shinobi since the very start of the invasion."

"Shizune," Tsunade gave her apprentice a look, her body tensing at the news. "I'll need you to head to the hospital and help Sakura scan all of the patients. Make sure you guys keep everyone alive until I get there."

"… There is one more thing Tsunade-sama," Katsumi spoke, and Tsunade knew if slugs could frown then Katsumi would be frowning at this moment. "Sakura-sama was poisoned when she confronted this woman… she says she only has enough chakra to focus on keeping lines of communication open… not on healing herself."

"Fuck," Tsunade heard Genma's voice as he moved to stand beside Shizune. If this had been any other time, Tsunade would have chided Genma for his use of foul language in front of a lady such as Shizune, but Tsunade shared Genma's sentiment entirely.

"Fuck," Tsunade echoed and clenched her fists together. "Genma and Shizune head to the hospital. I want you to find Sakura and try to help her filter the poison out of her system. I need you to also tell the hospital staff what is going on!"

"Hai Tsunade-sama," Shizune said with a bow before the two sprinted off in the direction of the hospital.

"I'm going to crush that spineless snake," Tsunade promised as she glanced back to her secret weapon. "We're going to crush that spineless snake."

"Hn."

Xxx xxX

"Your chakra is weaning, Sakura-sama," Katsumi's voice felt much further away than her shoulder. Sakura blinked bleary eyes at the stairwell in front of her.

She had been surprised no one had come this way in the past fifteen minutes, but then again, Sakura was hoping the hospital staff had been informed of the red headed infiltrator and had been working to save the patients in the hospital who had been poisoned for much longer than she herself had.

"I have enough chakra left to sustain your summoning for a few more minutes," Sakura said as she panted slightly. Bile was dripping down her mouth from the continuous retching she had been doing earlier; she had done her best to excrete the poison in a way that would not cause her chakra to drain.

"I'm going to dismiss myself Sakura-sama," the slug told her, and Sakura had a hard time focusing on her words. "You'll be able to dilute some of the poison in your system, so you will be able to stay conscious longer."

"But communications-"

"Everyone knows what happened Sakura-sama," Katsumi told her, and that statement allowed Sakura to breathe a bit easier. "And Tsunade-sama is already on her way to the final battle. We no longer need to keep communication open."

Sakura allowed her shoulders to slink down slightly, before she nodded to the slug. "Everyone will be worried when you dismiss yourself so suddenly."

"I have already informed Tsunade-sama of your condition," the slug said defiantly. "Genma-san and Shizune-sama are on their way to the hospital to find you as we speak."

Sakura wanted to tell the slug that there were more important people they should be tending to first, but she couldn't find it in herself to argue. Sakura couldn't remember the last time she had been so exhausted, and the constant drain from the poison and her summoning wasn't helping. Katsumi was right, if the slug could dismiss herself, then maybe Sakura could concentrate a bit more on trying to get the poison out of her system.

"I'm going to take a sample of the poison back with me," Katsumi told her as she slid down from Sakura's shoulder to the injection sight. "That way, when you summon me back, we'll be able to find an antidote to help the rest of the ninja in the hospital."

"I am so grateful to have you as my summons," Sakura told her in between slight pants of breath; she really was lucky to have Katsumi.

"Once I dismiss myself," the slug told her, her eye stalks wiggling, "you should have enough time to get some of the poison out before you faint."

"I'll summon you back as soon as I have the chakra," Sakura nodded before she stopped herself; nodding seemed to only increase the dizziness she felt. "Or I'll have Shizune do it."

"Be safe Sakura-sama," Katsumi told her before she poofed out of existence.

It took Sakura a second to appreciate the lack of strain on her system with Katsumi gone before she started to focus on the problem at hand.

The poison, which had been slowed by the tourniquet on her leg, was still spreading through her system at a steady rate; had been for the past twenty minutes. She knew she would have to use the poison extraction jutsu she had recently used on Hayate, though, she did not have a water source to utilize.

Bringing her hands together, Sakura slowly, but effectively, completed a few hand signs. Feeling something other than bile rise out of her throat refreshed her a bit, and just as she shot the water out of her mouth, Sakura concentrated her chakra around her hand and willed the water to form a bubble.

She wasn't sure how many times she would be able to do it, Sakura thought as she panted and moved her hand to sit just above the injection sight, but she would do what she could.

Clenching her teeth together, Sakura tried to refrain from thrashing her body about as she tried to suck the poison from her system. Leaving the bit of water in her leg longer than was probably necessary, Sakura brought the water bubble out of her leg and frowned at the amount of toxin that was still within her body.

Bringing her hands together again to do the water jutsu again, Sakura felt her eyes lose focus and she quickly blinked them to refrain from passing out. Bitterly, Sakura realized she wouldn't be able to use the water bullets to extract the poison from her system any longer; the poison didn't leave her with the ability to concentrate and do both.

Digging into her kunai pouch, Sakura frowned before grabbing a kunai. There was another way to flush out the poison, she was sure, but she wasn't sure she'd be able to stay awake long enough to stop the bleeding that was sure to stem from it.

"You better not be about to use that on yourself," Sakura winced when she heard stern words coming from below her. A figure flickered in front of her, and Sakura found herself being pulled flush against someone's chest. "You know you wouldn't have enough chakra to heal yourself after that."

Sakura felt her eyes close at the warmth of male in front of her, and she breathed in his familiar and enticing scent.

"Hayate," she breathed against him and felt his arms tighten around her.

"You have no idea how worried I was when Katsumi disappeared from my shoulder without any warning," he said as he leaned away from her. "What happened?"

"Someone infiltrated the hospital," Sakura said after a moment. Her head was cloudy, and she knew it wasn't just because of the man who kneeled before her. "They've been poisoning our shinobi steadily for the past few days… She poisoned me."

He quickly held her at arm's length, his eyes scanning up and down her body until they rested on the makeshift tourniquet she had made herself.

"The injection sight?" He asked as he brought his hands down to hover over her thigh. He felt helpless in this moment; not knowing what he needed to do to help. "What do you need?"

"Water," Sakura said trying to fight the pull on her consciousness. "Or Shizune."

Hayate nodded his head before he picked her up and started to head back down the way he had come. After Katsumi had been dismissed, it had taken him little to no time to pinpoint her chakra and find her. Even with the minuscule amount she had, Hayate had been able to find her easily; he would always be able to find her when she needed him.

Just as he exited the bottom of the stairwell, Hayate's shoulders sagged in relief at the sight of Shizune and Genma entering the hospital.

"Shizune-"

"Set her on a gurney," Shizune ordered as she ran over to his side. Hayate found one and deposited Sakura on it before standing aside. Sakura was still conscious, though she was barely holding on. "Tell me as much as you can."

"Injection sight left thigh," Sakura started after taking in a breath. "Poison disrupts chakra usage, causes fatigue in limbs and body, and severe dizziness. Unknown whether it would be fatal or not."

Nodding, Shizune barked out orders at the two brunettes who were still beside them. "Hayate go get me several bowls of water," she said, her tone sounding eerily like Tsunade's and Sakura's when they were serious. "And Genma, go inform the rest of the hospital on what's going on."

"Be wary," Sakura panted, "of a red head with glasses… She's the one who poisoned-"

"Stop talking," Shizune barked at Sakura, and Hayate bit his lip knowing how serious the situation was for Shizune to be talking to her patient that way.

"Summon… Katsumi," Sakura breathed out one more time before her eyes began to close. Hayate felt himself panicking as the pinkette lost consciousness.

"Damnit," Shizune said before taking her glowing hands off of Sakura's body. Quickly doing a set of hand signs, a poof was heard, and a smaller version of Katsumi appeared.

"Katsumi-san," Shizune said before her hands started to glow green again. Hayate set the first two bins of water down beside her and took a step back. "Sakura said to summon you before she passed out."

"Mother and I were able to analyze the poison," Katsumi nodded her slug head as she slid onto the gurney next to Sakura. "It appears the poison first breaks down the victim's chakra, and then attacks the body starting at the least vital organs and ending at the most vital. If Sakura-sama was still able to use chakra, then the poison hasn't been able to affect her system nearly as much as I had feared."

"She probably passed out from chakra exhaustion," Shizune said with a frown as she drew a water bubble into her hand. Bringing it down over the injection sight, Shizune had to dodge back as Sakura's body unconsciously thrashed against her. "Hold her down Hayate!"

He did as she asked, but he did so mechanically. How had this been able to happen to her when she had been so close to him? Hadn't he just been thinking about how much he had wanted to protect her?

Hayate watched as Shizune brought out the bubble of water, a dark purple liquid clouding the water. "Is that the poison?"

"Some of it," Shizune said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to need a lot more basins of water."

"I'm on it."

Xxx xxX

It was a fitting place for a final battle, Tsunade thought as her eyes swept over The Valley of the End. She was ready for this to be the final battle between the three of them, and as her eyes caught sight of Jiraiya, she knew that at least one of the Legendary Three would not be leaving this place alive.

"You were gutsy to try to attack Konoha, Orochimaru," Tsunade called from across the valley. The long haired male stood nearly alone; there were only twenty or so nin left beside him. One in particular caught her attention; a red haired female with a distinct chakra signature and glasses. "But being gutsy won't help you here."

"Oh Tsunade-hime," Orochimaru's tongue swirled out to lick his lips. "Being gutsy had nothing to do with me invading your little village. It had everything to do with getting my beloved Sasuke-kun back, which you have seemed to deliver to me now, so thank you. I promise once I kill all of you here, I'll make sure to leave no body left alive in Konoha to mourn you."

"That's a shitty promise asshole," Naruto barked, coming to stand beside Tsunade. He glanced back towards the raven haired male Orochimaru was talking about before he smirked. "Especially because Sasuke-teme isn't here to go back with you."

"Sasuke-kun needs my help to become strong enough to defeat Itachi," Orochimaru glared smugly at the blond haired teen in front of him. "Or did you forget that he left you and your precious Konoha behind?"

Tsunade was quiet as the conversation played out, and she watched in satisfaction as Sasuke started to step forward. All were quiet as the male spoke.

"I cannot learn anything more from you," Sasuke's red sharingan eyes were spinning as he looked across the valley to Orochimaru. "And I knew you just wanted me for a host… I am done with your tutelage."

Tsunade looked confused as she watched Naruto burst out into giggles; Sasuke's glare turning from Orochimaru to Naruto easily.

"You just said toot, Teme!"

"Shut up Dobe," Sasuke said as he rolled his eyes. The dynamics of the two had changed so rapidly in such a short amount of time. It had only taken Tsunade two days of intensive therapy (aka Naruto stuck in a room with Sasuke) for the Uchiha male to finally break back out of his shell.

There had been a lot of screaming at first, a lot of physical attacks, and a lot of threats on everyone's lives, but ultimately, Naruto had been able to ware Sasuke down.

Orochimaru seethed from across the valley, watching the two ninja interact. Tsunade grinned at the man's rage; whatever poisoning of Sasuke's mind he had done over the course of three years and been undone in the matter of two days. Naruto really could be a miracle worker when he wanted to be.

"I'm going to kill you all," Orochimaru raged as he brought his hands together. Tsunade was ready for him, as was Jiraiya; the three all finished their hand signs at the same time and yelled, "Summoning jutsu!"

"Naruto and Sasuke," Tsunade called behind her. "Make sure that red head doesn't intervene with the battle."

"Sure think Baa-Chan!" Naruto called before heading over to the red head, Sasuke trailing wordlessly behind him.

It didn't take the two of them long to get to the red head, but when they did, he was surprised by her reaction.

"Sasuke-kun," the red head all but purred out his name as she attempted to launch herself at his body; Sasuke swiftly dodged to the left, meaning the red head missed his body completely. "Orochimaru-sama had told me you were kidnapped!"

"Hn," Sasuke barely glanced in her direction, but still acknowledged her. "Karin. I am no longer working with Orochimaru."

"Then I won't either!" Karin said eagerly, trying to attach herself to his side again. Naruto took a step back and watched the interaction from a far, a grin was starting to spread across his face. "I'll do whatever you want to do Sasuke-kun."

"Seems like you have a loyal follower," Naruto wiggled his eyebrows at his best friend before trying to muffle a laugh. "If you're really here to help Sasuke-teme then you should help us take down Orochimaru."

"Don't call Sasuke-kun Teme, Baka," Karin glanced back in Naruto's direction for a second before she turned and looked at Sasuke again. "Tell me what you need me to do, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke rolled his eyes but sighed. "Fine."

Xxx xxX

The battle between the three Sannin was less dramatic than anyone could have imagined. The three knew each other's weak spots, but when it was two against one, the two won handily. Ultimately, it was both Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki who administered the finishing blows; sending Orochimaru's head in one direction with a chidori while a rasengan sent his body in the other direction.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were both a little peeved at the two for finishing the fight when they hadn't been invited to, but ultimately, Orochimaru was dead, so there wasn't anything to worry about.

"We should head back to Konoha," Tsunade said, glancing in the direction of the red head they had somehow acquired from Sound. "You have a lot of people you're going to need to heal and a lot of questions that still need to be answered."

"Hai Tsunade-sama," Karin nodded as she bit her lip. "I'll hand out the antidote as soon as we get to the hospital."

"You better," Tsunade said with a glare. "Sakura is definitely not going to be happy when she see's you… I will allow her to pick out your punishment when we get back."

Karin flinched but nodded her head. As long as she was with her precious Sasuke-kun none of it really mattered.

Sorry if this last bit felt like a cop-out. The story wasn't supposed to focus on Naruto, Sasuke, Tsunade, or Karin but I felt like this little bit would have been lost if I had just ignored it, or not written anything about it. I'm thinking there might be one or two more chapters. My goal is to have them posted within the next week so then I'm able to focus on another one of my stories! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!