Just a little something else for your viewing pleasure while I complete the 4th chapter...

Dawn was coming soon, and with it would come danger.

Quickened footsteps could be heard in the forest outside Konoha, but no one paid them any heed. The ninjas at the gates of the famous village kept their eyes and ears open, but the first and only suspicious sound of their early morning shift quickly glided away from their ears, fading into the distance as quickly as it had appeared.

Had it come from within the city? The two guards scanned each other's eyes for knowledge, and found nothing but surprise. Shrugs followed, and thought was postponed until later. Their purpose was to guard entrance to the Leaf village...not to stop cats from escaping their owners. Some genin would find it later. It would take a day for them to find out it wasn't a cat.

Meanwhile, a small 12-year-old girl shifted to a stop and turned around to face the village. Her black hair tossed about her head from her momentum change, and the girl grunted as her pack attempted to toss likewise. As she adjusted her pack, she took a deep breath and calmed her panicked heart. She'd need to hide a few more times if she was going to escape, and this much adrenaline wasn't going to help. Now that she was clear of the walls of Konoha, she slipped off her chuunin vest and her forehead protector and hid them in the bush. It would be easier to travel if no one recognized her for a shinobi. The girl quietly wiped the sweat that had accumulated on her brow, and attempted to ignore the apprehension that was trying to freeze her movement.

Silently, the chuunin said her final goodbye to the village that had raised her and moved onward before fear could overtake her.

It was time to follow her sensei.

Yondaime: Strength of a Nation
Chapter 4: A Man with Weaknesses

Interlude: Snake Hunting

"She's wandering, I tell you..." A deep voice echoed within the hall,slowly drifting out of the hall and towards her.

"How can you be so sure?" Another voice, this one much calmer and light. Both voices were approaching quickly from behind.

"I can't picture that a little girl would weave such a crazy path to something she knew the whereabouts of. It's a waste of her time. She'd be better off covering her tracks and taking a more direct path to...to something."

Fingers drummed on a desk impatiently. The conversation happening behind Uchiha Sazuka was one she had much experience with. She'd argued the same thing silently to herself the day before. But she'd done so silently...not interrupting other people's work. She was nearing the completion of her night shift; one more report to file for the night's cases and she would be done. But it was getting hard to concentrate...

She had to admit, this was the oddest case they'd seen in a long time. It had been ages since a missing ninja report had been made on someone so young as Mitarashi Anko. And it had been even longer since a shinobi had purposefully left the village on their own without warning. This case combined the two rarest events to be found in a Konoha investigation into one tight, confusing package.

The fact that the girl was gone from the city (thus removing the case from Konoha police jurisdiction and into the ANBU's) had not stopped the speculation among the cops. Everyone had their own opinions on what the girl was doing. Had she broken down and quit being a ninja? Or was she hoping to reunite with her old master? Many thought that the weapons, forehead protector, and chuunin vest she left behind gave the answer...she had quit. Sazuka was not so certain.

Finally, Sazuka gave in and turned her chair around to face the two off-duty police that were behind her. "You're forgetting that this isn't your ordinary 12-year-old." Something within her grimaced at her choice of words. Ordinary wasn't a good word. No shinobi was ordinary. "This shinobi is even more extraordinary than normal...this is Orochimaru's student we are talking about. She probably knew she wouldn't be able to cover her tracks effectively against ANBU and hunter-nin, and decided to weave to confuse her pursuers."

One of the folks glanced Sazuka's way and frowned. She'd jumped in opposing his argument, and he got a bit angry in his response. "I'm telling you, this girl has absolutely no idea where she's going!" He balled a fist for a moment, and Sazuka watched him carefully until he seemed to get himself under control again.

Once he was no longer in a yelling mood, Sazuka replied. "At first glance, she does seem to be wandering...but I doubt she would have tried something so drastic as to leave Konoha with no clue of whether it would work. She has to know...or at least suspect something." Sazuka silently wished the case were still in her jurisdiction. The ANBU were good with criminals, but this girl was not one. Anko's style of mental maneuvering was closer to Sazuka's own than an S-ranked criminal's...and approaching her like an S-ranked criminal would only lead to so much caution that she'd never be located.

The other man in the conversation turned to face Sazuka. "Do you think she had some previous knowledge that Orochimaru was leaving...perhaps she knows where he was going?"

Sazuka shook her head. "Considering Jiraiya found him with a 6 hour handicap, I doubt Orochimaru knew himself where he was going. This was all quite hasty...I doubt Orochimaru expected to be caught." But, it was possible that Anko knew enough about Orochimaru's nature to guess where he'd go...that possibility seemed unlikely to Sazuka, however. Especially when she considered the way the girl was weaving through the forest like a fly evading a swatter.

The angered fellow spoke again. "How does she think she's going to find Orochimaru? He's been on the loose for a week..." There was a bit of doubt in his voice, as if he was considering what the others had said but was still quite skeptical.

Sazuka shook her head and noted the conclusion of the conversation she'd had in her own mind the day before. Reaching for a coffee cup on her desk, she volunteered the conclusion her mind had offered her. "You're right. She won't. But that's not her goal." Sazuka turned back to her computer and quickly typed up the rest of the report. Logging off, she grabbed her coffee cup and rose from her seat, passing the two surprised debaters.

"She's actually hoping he'll find her. She's just stalling his enemies...and making as much noise as she can."

Uchiha Sazuka was quite gifted in her ability to understand the minds of others, and it made her a perfect addition to the police force. She was a detective, a battle-hardened veteran of the ANBU who had turned her instincts away from the missions of the battlefield and toward the mission of solving crimes. But with that ability to understand others' minds came a mind that few others understood. A dissonant note in the music of the police department's work, Sazuka often went against the grain on hunches. Without waiting for authorization from the chief or an elder, she would interrogate, investigate, and even instigate. It was a testament to her ability to read people that nearly all of these cases were successfully solved due to her efforts. It was a testament to her battle prowess that she was not dead after the ones that had gone wrong.

This was one of those cases...a case where her hunch had proven so strong it was impossible for her to ignore. The Mitarashi girl was waiting for Orochimaru to find her...and using the ANBU and rumors floating through Fire Country to alert him to her presence. He would know what to do to get her out, even when she didn't. Sazuka had no experience with Orochimaru, but she honestly had to wonder if he would come to the girl's aid. Was she precious enough to him for him to weave a path so close to the Leaf again? She wondered if the same thought had occurred to Anko yet. Blind faith is dangerous, little girl...

Sazuka's feet had found their way to the outer gates of Konoha without conscious thought, and she knew then what she was going to do. My case or not, she thought, I can speed things up by finding the girl. The ANBU were hunting Orochimaru and treading carefully, Sazuka expected. Sazuka would do the exact opposite, her gung-ho instincts declared. I have the night off...I'll find this girl.

Biting her thumb, Sazuka formed five quick hand seals and brought forth a large wolf, about half her height. Petting the creature's grey fur lightly, Sazuka smiled. Kora had been her personal ally for 3 years now, locating murder weapons and murderers alike. Earlier, she'd grabbed the forehead protector of Anko, wrapped tightly in a plastic bag and labeled as evidence, and wrung it out a bit with her hand. She'd catch hell for it later, but for now, she volunteered that sweaty palm to the wolf. "Kora...get the scent from this sweat." As the wolf's nose approached her hand, she couldn't help but feel a bit of confidence. This'll be over in no time.

There were many advantages to having a wolf as opposed to a dog track for you...the main one being that wolves were predatory, and would always take the best track to a target. They were less easily distracted. The downfall was noted 5 hours later, when Kora suddenly howled and sprinted off. Wolves were also aggressive...and if Sazuka didn't move soon, Anko might be dinner.

She had little to worry about in that department, however. A mile later, she found her wolf, its fur charred on the right side, and its mouth bloody from a large gash in its neck. She remained in the trees, not coming down to check it for vital signs. It was definitely dead, or else whoever had killed it would have finished the job. Immediately, she knew this wasn't the work of a little girl, chuunin or not.

"Anko...you were careless to allow yourself to be followed like this..."

Sazuka's ears perked up as she heard the edgy voice not too far away. Apparently, she'd called it properly. Orochimaru had come for Anko. Searching in every direction for them, she eventually saw them both casually walking away.

"I've never seen a wolf in Konoha before..."

Orochimaru glanced over to his student. "Surely, you've heard of kuchiyose..."

Anko answered glaringly, "How would I, if you don't tell me..."

Orochimaru chuckled lightly and whipped out a kunai. "Right, you are..." He tossed her a kunai. "Cut yourself."

Sazuka was slightly amused by his teaching methods, but business needed to be handled soon. The detective had bit off more than she could chew, she suspected. With a shutting of the eyes and a moment of concentration, Uchiha Sazuka activated her Sharingan, and opened her eyes.

"What?" She covered her mouth quickly, realizing she'd said that aloud. Still yet, it made no sense...there he was, clear as day with Anko...but neither had any chakra flowing through them. Genjutsu.

Suddenly, her body stiffened as the world flickered in and out in front of her eyes, and she was back. With a scowl of intensity, she turned around and faced the real Orochimaru, who was approaching her position in the treetop from behind. He smirked and licked his lips, then spoke as politely as possible to Anko. "This Jounin has talent, it would seem. She escaped the illusion in little under 10 seconds..."

Sazuka glared at him. It was as if he were belittling the whole situation just by being polite. It felt like he just didn't care who she was at all.

A flicker of recognition crossed Orochimaru's face as he looked into her eyes. "Ah...I see...you are Uchiha. Those eyes...the Sharingan...I see now why you managed to escape."

It had been a good jutsu, she would admit. But, he seemed a bit too impressed. Orochimaru motioned to Anko, and she leaped down and out of the way. The Jounin felt the urge to say something, and quickly and authoritatively spoke. "You're both under arrest by the Konoha Police."

Orochimaru ignored her comment, and continued. "I have never actually faced a Sharingan-user in combat...I have only heard of them." He looked her directly in the eyes, and a smile crossed his face. "Forgive me if I refuse to be arrested without a battle...I do not believe you can defeat me, but I'm curious as to what you can do..."

Sazuka found herself entirely off step...the calm with which this man spoke...it was as if nothing disturbed him. He hadn't even considered the possibility that he could lose, she decided. I'll have to fix that for him.

Orochimaru caught the look of defiance in her eyes and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Come now, you can't believe this will go well...you must know you stand no chance. You should have brought backup." He noted that her eyes were not the same...one pupil had three small tails extending from it, while the other had two. This was curious to him...did that mean there were different levels of mastery? "I will have fun testing your ab--"

With no warning at all, Sazuka dashed forward, and Orochimaru gasped at her speed. Quickly, he raised a kunai and blocked her sword strike, but she released the weapon at the last moment. She drew her hand back to her holster, and threw a heavy peppering of shruiken at his chest in one quick motion. Orochimaru felt the blades puncture his gut and yelled in pain. What? This can't be! What amazing speed...

Orochimaru allowed the force to spin his body around, and quickly leaped from the trees down to the forest floor. He twisted his legs in midair, hooking them around the kunai that was thrown his way as he fell. Glancing upward, he saw that she was diving down toward him. Who the hell is she?

As he landed on the ground, he sprinted and rattled off hand seals as if it were second nature. Pain pierced his midsection and dissolved his concentration for a moment, and he had to begin anew. Absurd! One attack pierced me this deeply...

It was for this reason that he wanted immortality. Foolish, unexpected battles like this should not be allowed to end the life of a man so powerful. It just seemed like such a waste to him. But he knew that if he didn't turn this around quite quickly, that was exactly what would happen. Orochimaru glanced back behind him and noted that she was gaining on him. Timing it perfectly, he waited until she was in range and turned towards her...

...only to be entirely overpowered by a shooting pain in his ribs. The split second of incapacitating pain was enough to strike fear in Orochimaru's heart. Sazuka dashed forward toward him, aiming her sword for a piercing strike to the heart...and all Orochimaru could feel was pain. Vivid pain.

Too vivid for one who had experienced true pain and grown used to it like a shinobi. Orochimaru's mind combatted the logic that said he should hurt, and all of a sudden he didn't. Blinking, he found himself looking directly into the girl's eyes again. But on second glance, he realized he was still in the treetop. With a deep breath, Orochimaru closed his eyes and smiled. He could still feel a throbbing in his ribs, but not nearly as badly as before. Reaching for them and checking the skin's sensitivity, Orochimaru parted his lips to speak. "I have to say I am impressed. That's only the third genjutsu I have ever fallen for...and I believe it's because I wanted you to be that good that it worked..."

Sazuka was impressed too. Such a genjutsu against such a willfull target had taken much mental strength...it was hard for her to even take a step forward while she had been performing it. The hope that she could walk up and stab him in the neck while doing so had been a bit of a long shot in the first place. Still, she had to be impressed with someone who could shake off an illusion so quickly afterwards. Most folks would have fallen from the tree in pain...he hadn't moved anything more than a hand yet.

Orochimaru surprised her by looking her directly in the eyes again. "I hope that wasn't your best move, because you won't fool me with another genjutsu, no matter how skilled you are."

No more words were needed. The fight began genuinely, and Orochimaru was all the more surprised for the result. Once again without warning, Sazuka dashed forward and drew a sword with precision and speed. Orochimaru noted that she was nearly as fast as her illusion, and quickly vaulted himself out of the treetops and to the ground. He would not allow the same thing to happen that had happened in the illusion.

Instead of following him, Sazuka quickly formed a tiger seal and began shooting fireballs after him. She watched as he evaded them in midair, throwing his weight to either side to change his trajectory just enough.

Sazuka smirked. This was going to be fun.

Anko watched the dance of death from a safe distance, keeping an eye on both competitors. The smirk on her master's face suggested that he was only toying with her...attempting to see what she was capable of before he killed her. This wasn't surprising; Anko had never actually seen a match where Orochimaru had become serious. He was just too good.

Using his snake jutsus like the expert he was, Orochimaru quickly pinned the girl onto the defensive, and Anko watched as Sazuka's eyes searched for an opening. The girl was good too...perhaps she'd see something unexpected.

Suddenly, she did. The Konoha cop reached a hand back and performed a couple of seals that were familiar to Anko. "Hidden Snake Hands!"

Anko had only seen Orochimaru use that jutsu, and in fact, she had only seen him do it just before...

This was just too good. The Sharingan can copy techniques? Apparently, his information on the Sharingan was incomplete. He had thought it was simply an eye technique for seeing through genjutsu and ninjutsu, and honing attention to details...but this was beautiful!

Even as the girl grabbed him within her snake projectiles, Orochimaru found himself smiling in excitement. This! This is what I need to make my dream a reality...yes...

This girl's body...she would be the perfect host for him.

What on earth is he doing?

Anko continued to watch the fight, and noted that Orochimaru was toying around with her far longer than he normally would have. Didn't he realize what was happening?

This woman, whoever she was, had slowly begun to pick up on Orochimaru's jutsu and style. She seemed to be developing her own counterstyle to his moves. Now, the fight was dead even, and Anko felt anxious. The longer this goes, the more she'll get in his head...this isn't good. As Anko watched, Sazuka gained the advantage, surprising Orochimaru with a barrage of powerful techniques...Anko ducked away as fire blazed through the area.

When she peeped her head back out, she found herself amazed.

Orochimaru was on the defensive, and the woman was pressing her advantage...her blade to his kunai...

Uchiha Sazuka had just performed the battle of her life...it wasn't over yet, but she was quite confident in her advantage. Orochimaru was using every bit of force his body could muster to keep her sword from reaching his head, and his strength was slowly giving way. Her sharingan glowed with focus as she watched him carefully, waiting for the moment when he'd make a break for it.

One of his hands released from the kunai, and quickly began forming hand seals. Sazuka caught the motion and quickly released her weapon, reaching back for her holster as she had in the illusion. She saw Orochimaru's eyes widen as he realized his mistake. He'd forgotten her speed, and he'd pay for it.

The shruikens peppered his midsection once again, and Sazuka swepther right hand down and caught the handle of her sword. Spinning with her body's momentum, she pulled a full 360 and prepared to sweep the sword across Orochimaru's neck, decapitating him...

Sqwirk!

"OROCHIMARU!"

A kunai struck skin, and pressed through into the abdomen of Uchiha Sazuka. Her arm froze at Orochimaru's neck, and a moment later she collapsed in a heap on the ground. Mitarashi Anko stood over her body, her eyes wide, her lungs doing overdrive. She made it.

"Kukuku...That was quite unneccessary, Anko."

Anko turned toward the voice and saw Orochimaru, unharmed. He pointed a finger behind her, and she turned back around to face a pile of disgusting wax, peppered with shruikens.

It seemed Orochimaru was just a bit too good at kawarimi. A frown crossed his face as he considered what had happened. "You are far too brash, Anko. You could have at least checked to be sure it was me before going in there."

Anko bristled at his chiding comments. "I was trying to save your life."

"If there's ever a situation where I need you to save my life," Orochimaru spat out, "then I will alert you ahead of time. You were told to stay out."

Anko felt a bit of fear come over her...she had learned not to disobey her sensei quite early on, and she hoped he wouldn't do anything rash...

Orochimaru weighed out the day's events. On one hand, he'd just lost the perfect plaything...a prideful ninja whose body was well worth whatever he'd have to do to get it. But, he'd learned a lot about the Sharingan. In the span of ten minutes, he'd evolved that Uchiha from a basically good fighter to a supremely dangerous threat, even to himself. Her ability to copy techniques intrigued him. In the hands of one like himself, it would be unstoppable, and he'd have a great chance at actually succeeding in his bold ambitions...

And best of all, there were more where this one came from...perhaps even more talented Uchiha existed.

Not to mention, he'd picked up his previousstudent today. Anko, while still rough around the edges and too stupid, had proved her loyalty today by killing a Konoha Jounin. True, the Jounin wasn't actually dead, but she may as well have been, for all the bleeding. With no medical ninjas around, it was almost guaranteed that she would die. Anko hadn't even shown a moment of remorse after killing the woman...perhaps she had some promise after all.

Orochimaru concluded that the gains of the day had greatly outweighed the losses, and decided against punishing Anko. Remaining silent for a moment, he then turned and began to walk away from Anko. If a single Uchiha could track Anko's scent all the way to here, the ANBU would not be too far behind.

"Come, Anko. We are leaving."

Just a little something extra that popped into my head while I was working on the next real chapter of SoaN. I'll probably get the last part of Chapter 4 out by this Friday, but no guarantees...

I know the fight scene's a bit rushed and not that detailed, but it was already running a bit long for my liking(to say it's just a side thing), and I didn't want to spend hours writing a full fight scene between Orochimaru and some random OC of mine who loses...