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The leaf squad have been wandering for about two hours, searching constantly for Kabuto and the mysterious masked man. But there was no sign of them anywhere, so they kept on going to look further as they almost reached the mountain side. Even though they've been exhausted for quite a while now, they were still able to manage their energy. Kiba and Akamaru hopped on top of the rocks as they sniffed heavily a few times of the scents that were lingering around.
"I swear, they might be hiding here," the dark-brunette ninja said suspiciously.
"No way. There's no way that they're inside," Tenten shook her head doubtedly.
"Though, it does smell like a flower..." Ino said carefully, trying to pinpoint in skepticism.
"Hey. You're right," Choji stepped onto the rocks as he started sniffing through his nostrils and continued on, saying. "It's musky and fruity like sweet pea."
The others paused for a moment when they raised their eyebrows at him strangely until one of them snickered in amusement.
"What the-? Hahaha. Seriously? You actually know those kinds of fragrances. How gay," Kiba remarked loudly as he guffawed hysterically.
Ino rolled her eyes at his comment and retorted back defensively. "Only a guy wouldn't make fun of another guy just because he knows it. More likely, just by insulting him makes you even more gayer. I bet your mom tells you all the woman stuff that she mentioned to you before, so you can marry someone in the family. But wait... I doubt you will."
Tenten, Shino, Choji, and Sai tried to stifle their laughter with their mouths being covered by their hands, much to Kiba's annoyance.
"Grr... Shut up," Kiba muttered with a growl as he looked away, whereas Akamaru whimpered and sweatdropped at him in embarrassment.
On the other hand, Sakura was beginning to shiver a little while breathing stiffly at the sight of the dark tunnel. She noticed this and clenched her fists tightly in a grip, not thinking too much of what is about to expect.
"Hey... What's that over there?" Lee asked in puzzlement.
"There is a passageway, which may lead to where Kabuto and the masked man are. But not that it's a higher chance of them hiding there," Neji stated when he activated his Byakugan and examined through the layers of the walls of the mountain. Then, he saw a hooded figure standing in the middle and kneeling down on the ground to perform their own technique. "How...? What on earth is this person doing?"
Lee glanced at him worriedly. "What is it?"
"Strange..." Neji said without even looking at him directly in the eye as he was fixated on the person he was seeing.
"Huh?" Lee questioned blankly.
"Someone is here," Neji replied quietly.
"What? Who?" Ino wondered.
"Is it them?" Tenten asked.
"No. It's only one person, but this time... It's a lady," Neji answered, which astonished the rest of them.
"Bruh!! No fucking way," Kiba shook his head uncertainly.
"It's true," Hinata agreed as she was suspiciously observing the hooded lady performing her powers actively.
"Does she know that we are also here?" Sai asked in peculiar.
"Hmm. Maybe. Maybe not. But we don't know who this person is. She must be from our side or the enemy's. We must find out," Neji explained.
"This may not be good," the pink-haired kunoichi said softly. "If she knows we are outside from here, then she is trying to lure us into an ambush. I can't believe this is happening all over again. After all, I fought with my inner Sakura so intensely."
"How would you know that it will be like this?" Lee asked.
"Because... I have a hunch that this person has her own ulterior motive against me. My gut instincts are never wrong," Sakura answered plainly and anxiously remembering the time when she fought against her inner self.
"Okay, then. If that's the case, we have to go confront her with a serious interrogation," Neji said thoughtfully.
"Sakura, you should not jump to conclusions. There's no need to worry. That is why it's best to find out," Ino said reassuringly.
"What about the Akatsuki? Who's going to hunt them?" Ino questioned as her eyebrows furrowed.
"Good question. But I think we all need to go take them all together at once," Kiba suggested.
"They are very strong. I wouldn't recommend that since we all need to conquer and divide," Shino pointed out rationally.
"He's right. At least five members in two groups," Sai added monotonously.
"Ehh?! Aren't we doing this the same strategy over and over? Where did it get us to, huh?" Kiba asked sarcastically.
"Jeez. Shut your trap. We may have failed the first time, but this can be our second chance to actually redeem ourselves," Ino argued back and continued on. "Let alone risk it all or nothing at all."
"Hmm," Tenten nodded in agreement and insisted. "Yeah. If you're going to be blunt about this, then you might as well go head back to your division squad. Would you want that?"
Kiba posed himself calmly and answered shortly. "No."
"Good. Now, let's continue," Tenten sighed in relief.
"So are we going to divide now?" Lee mentioned as he looked back and forth between his teammates.
"Yes, we are," Neji answered.
"Okay!" Lee beamed.
"Alright, so you, me, Sakura, Sai, and Ino are in the group to identify the hooded lady," Neji instructed and went on. "Then, Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Choji, and Tenten will be proceeding to the next part of our plan to hunt down the Akatsuki, regardless of who you will encounter. Sound clear?"
"Yeah. We got it," Choji gave him a curt nod.
"No problem. I knew you would make a good choice of choosing each one of us to team up together," Tenten said chuckling impressively.
"Thanks. Anyway, let's go..." Neji said.
The rest of them nodded in confirmation, whereas the pink-haired kunoichi gazed down, sighing deeply to herself with contemplation in mind. The two groups began to separate from each other as the first one walked inside the dark tunnel while the second one resumed their search for Akatsuki's whereabouts.
"You ready? Because I'm not. What if this person is in disguise? Probably, she's wearing a different costume or something," her inner Sakura thought curiously in mind.
"Okay, now you are making me even more uneasy," the pink-haired kunoichi said in annoyance.
"Hey, chillax. I'm just thinking rationally," she said defensively.
"How is that rational? You're more likely creating these imaginary thoughts that you have there," Sakura rolled her eyes in irritation.
"Sorry... Hey, listen. We need to remind ourselves that we can't go extreme with our powers. Otherwise, we will not be able to withstand who we are fighting," she stated.
"I know. Thanks," Sakura said softly as she breathed in and out to calm her nerves.
Lee and Neji decided to use the candles they were holding, along with Sai and Ino following behind them. They noticed that the walls were damaged and a few insects were moving in each tiny holes.
"Hmm. I found it," Neji said shortly, using his Byakugan.
"Where?" Lee asked blankly.
"You see. There are three passageways. One is upnorth, east, and west," Neji answered.
"Are we splitting up again? This is becoming redundant," Ino groaned sluggishly.
"It is what it is," Sai quoted.
Ino looked at him with a boring stare and said. "You make it sound like things are so easy."
"I'm just trying to lighten up for us," Sai said.
"Right," the blonde-haired kunoichi sighed and glanced back at the front of where they were walking.
"Okay, guys. I think one person is going to have to take the upnorth... I'll do it. Neji, you go with Lee. Ino, you go with Sai," Sakura concluded.
"What?" They questioned confusedly in unison.
"It's too dangerous if you go alone. Why not three people and then the other two?" Lee pointed out clearly.
"Hey... We are all taking risks here. Please don't doubt me," the pink-haired kunoichi reasoned with her eyes narrowed.
"Sakura-" Lee got interrupted quickly.
"No. It's okay, just go on. I'll be fine," she nodded in reassurance.
Lee, Neji, Ino and Sai gave worried looks at each other, but accepted her decision.
"Alright. Suit yourself. Remember, we got each other's backs," Ino said smirking coolly.
"No problem," Sakura smirked back in determination and sighed. "Let's go."
"Right," they replied in unison.
From that moment on, they began to walk further into the three passageways without stopping. There was no malicious activity lurking around the corner, which they haven't sensed any other presence aside from the hooded lady figure that they discovered.
Meanwhile, the other division squads are having troubling fighting against Madara Uchiha and Muu, but thankfully, the current Five Kages joined together as they promised.
"Inferno Destruction!" The Uchiha exclaimed when he made hand signs that unleashed huge flames of fire towards them.
"That technique has a huge reach!" One of the shinobi allies yelled out, whereas he and the others have counterattacked hastily, using their Water Fortification jutsu. They spit long splashes of liquid out of their mouths, colliding in opposition to the flames.
However, they didn't know that he disappeared until he reappeared above them. They were slow to respond when Madara kicked his own foot through one of the shinobi's abdomen, much to their surprise. The Uchiha pulled out his sword and made a quick spinning move that slashed them off.
"Naruto! Hurry and have your clone go into that mode!" Gaara commanded.
"The truth is, I can't anymore! I used up too much chakra!" The blonde-haired ninja said coherently.
Then, Madara attempted to strike his own sword to the ninja's left side of his stomach, but Gaara immediately reacted to this by shielding him with his sand defense. The ninja didn't get injured or severely wounded. Instead, he fell back down on the ground safely.
"Sharingan!" Madara said as his eyes began to shift into a different transformation.
Another ninja suddenly froze into his own spot while he was holding his own huge sword, but was pushed back harshly with a loud cry of pain.
Aside from that, Muu formed his hands in the shape of a triangle that releases his power, much to Onoki's dismay.
"Crap. While my body is about to split apart, I can't use my dust techniques," he said, narrowing his eyes at him in frustration and reminded his allies out loud, saying. "Sensor types, keep your eyes open for Muu."
In just about a few seconds left, a voice shouted that alarmed everyone to their astonishment.
"Super Giant Ball Rasengan!" Naruto exclaimed, carrying a blue sphere using his right hand, ready to throw it across Madara's direction. Onoki initiated to use EarthCore Shift technique by placing his hands down on the ground, forming a tall square object that lifts Madara up to get hit by the Rasengan.
Unfortunately, the plan did not succeed when Madara ultimately dismissed it after summoning a gigantic purple creature. Thus, Naruto and his shadow clone were pushed back on the side, whereas the
Inside the darkest tunnels, Sakura stopped in front of the huge boulder as her eyes landed on the seal tag that was placed on the left side. She read the words that should be unsealed, so she activated it using her chakra. Once she pulled it off, the huge boulder automatically moved to the side, giving a little quake, opening the way to the empty space area.
The pink-haired kunoichi was glancing around the room until a girl hovered above her with a one swing motion of her kunai knife.
Sakura quickly looked behind her as she completely defended herself using the kunai knife she was gripping onto as well.
Both of the kunai knives clashed against each other in a loud ringing noise, making them stepped back against each other to guard themselves.
"You are one heck of a bitch," Katsumi sneered.
"I may be a bitch, but at least I don't go around snooping into other people's business and destroying lives. I guess I'm just allergic to fake," Sakura said and continued on. "Let me remind you. I've faced demons in battles and now, the next one is just right in front of me who needs a little saving."
"Hm. I think you should be the one who needs it, because all elsewhere, you're going to die where you belong," Katsumi screamed as she started attacking her with the kunai knives.
Sakura dodged them as she stepped back, but her eyes widened when Katsumi flashed behind her and knocked her with two purple metal spike balls that scratched her shoulder blades. The pink-haired kunoichi yelped out, but luckily it was only a substitution puffing out of smoke.
Katsumi growled in anger, yet decided to smirk maliciously as she landed her feet on the group with her hands holding the weapon. "Hmph."
The pink-haired kunoichi breathed out and questioned in concern. "Why are you doing this? I don't understand why you hate me so much."
"You don't get it... You see, I'm the one that Gaara loves. I'm the only person who is able to make his life complete. But no, you just decide to step in and ruin everything," Katsumi sneered.
Sakura shook her head in confusion and narrowed her eyes at her further. "What are you talking about? I never did anything to destroy your relationship with him. In fact, it's you who is ruining it yourself. Yet you have the audacity to step in and murder someone you barely even know. For your information, Gaara and I are just friends."
"Bullshit! Everytime I hear those 'we are only friends' thing is just utter bullshit. I know that there is something going on with you two," Katsumi cursed and pointed out angrily.
"Wow... You must be delusional," the pink-haired kunoichi chuckled slightly in sarcasm and gave her disappointed look on her face and muttered quietly. "I always thought that you are good for him. I thought that you trust him because you love him. I guess you don't..."
Katsumi raised an eyebrow and remarked. "You have no right to dictate that. I do love him more than you do. It just so happens that you've become such a pest in our lives. You're only jealous because he loves me."
"Jealous? Look who's talking..." Sakura said calmly, keeping her glare at her and continued on. "You must be hallucinated."
"How so?" Katsumi asked rhetorically as she quickly flashed out again and reappeared in front of her as she trapped her using an Purple Electrifying-Square Barrier successfully.
Sakura stumbled back on the ground, but got up as soon as possible. She looked around and threw the weapons out of her pouch, which backfired towards her stomach and legs that were starting to bleed.
"Argh!" The pink-haired kunoichi cried out at the shock waves, but she made sure that she stood up steadily despite the scratches around her.
"You're never going to escape. This barrier is not ordinary. This has a time limit. If you dare to make a single move or even try to break it using your pathetic techniques, it will electrify you. In addition, this will enclose you like a snap of a twig once your whole body is disintegrated into small pieces..." Katsumi described as her eyes glint wickedly at the sight of her exasperated look and continued on with a smile. "You have 5 minutes till you end up in hell."
Sakura inhales through her nostrils as she clenched her teeth in annoyance. "Damn it...!"
"Wait... I know a plan," Her inner self said confidently.
"What is it?" Sakura asked curiously.
"If we used one of our new techniques, we will be able to escape," her inner self stated.
"I don't think it's going to work. But you're right. We're going to try," Sakura agreed.
"Yeah. Let's take this bitch down," her inner self said grinning widely.
"Right on," the pink-haired kunoichi said as she started to close her eyes and tilt her head down to concentrate.
"What is she planning?" Katsumi glared at her in suspicion and called her out loud, saying maliciously. "You know, closing your eyes and meditating won't get you anywhere!! It's four minutes, you better say your little prayer before you lose your soul!"
At that moment on, the brunette girl started to laugh sadistically as she controlled the barrier to decrease the size of it, which began to torture Sakura by electrocuting her with the shock waves.
"Shit! She's manipulating it!" The pink-haired kunoichi groaned in pain, but continued to composed herself.
"Concentrate! Don't give in! We can do this!" Her inner self encouraged.
Then all of a sudden, her vision blacked out for a split ten seconds until they reopened again to see a light shining upon the beautiful creature in front of her. Sakura fluttered her eyelids to see it clearly in awe.
TO BE CONTINUED...
