(A/N: eh, kinda short, but that's ok. It's all about Sasuke! And a new ANBU team! Joy! Umm… not really much else to say. Please RnR and Enjoy!)

Sasuke and Kisame stood ready, and tired. Across from them stood Shikamaru and Lee in practically the same condition. Looking at Rock Lee now, Sasuke could hardly see the crippling injuries Gaara had given him so long ago. Similarly, Sasuke could barely recognize Shikamaru, a once lazy ninja, now determined and amazingly strong. The thought that they had once been working together, if not friends, in the same village crossed Sasuke's mind. But, as he gripped his hand and felt the ring for Scarlet and saw the glint of his headband, that Itachi once wore, Sasuke reminded himself that they were not of the same village anymore, and could never be friends.

The fight escalated again as Shikamaru bound Kisame with his shadow technique and Lee jumped forward to attack Sasuke. Dodging the attack easily, Sasuke returned an attack he had copied earlier. When Lee attacked again, Sasuke turned to the side to dodge. Completely disregarding Kisame, Sasuke flew into full combat with Lee. The old rivalry between them flared and both were lost in battle; each only seeing the other and nothing else.

Kisame struggled against the Shadow Bind Jutsu to no avail. He flinched when he felt a burning in his leg, but was unable to look down because of Shikamaru. Shikamaru smiled when Kisame grimaced in pain. Both of his legs felt like they were on fire. He knew Shikamaru couldn't be causing this pain, because Kisame would have made the same movements. So who could be doing this?

As the biting pain spread up to Kisame's waist, Shikamaru spoke, "I suppose I can't leave you like this to die, without knowing what is killing you. So I'll let you see." Shikamaru tilted his head down and so did Kisame. His eyes trailed down and landed on the moving black mass that covered his legs and waist. He let out a shout of terror when he realized what it was. Bugs.

Hundreds of bugs were slowly making their way up Kisame's body, biting his skin and consuming his chakra as they went. Out of the shadows came the third member of Shikamaru's ANBU team: Shino

Shikamaru looked up so Kisame was facing him again. "That must really hurt," Shikamaru commented in a conversational tone, "I honestly don't see much of a point in holding you anymore." And with that, Shikamaru's shadow lowly retracted back to him.

Now free to movie, Kisame's hands clenched into fists and he fell to his knees. He defiantly threw his head back and let out a scream. Shino looked across at Kisame without emotion. It wouldn't be long now until he passed out from Chakra loss. Sure enough, only moments later, Kisame's struggling slowed and he fell forward.

Shikamaru watched Kisame for a moment before saying, "Don't kill him. We need one alive," his eyes trailed over to the fight between Sasuke and Lee before continuing, "And I'm pretty sure he's going to be the only one alive if Lee has his way."

Shino snorted, "Lee always has his way." He held out a hand and the bugs that had covered Kisame slowly returned back to Shino.

Lee gave a powerful attack and Sasuke flew backwards. Even with the first two mental gates opened, Sasuke was being beaten by Lee. Sasuke turned his attention over to Kisame. He knew Lee would wait until Sasuke got up to continue the fight. Lee was an honorable ninja, he did stuff like that.

"Why are you late, anyway?" Shikamaru asked as he waited for the bugs to completely disperse from Kisame's body.

"That boy with the white wolf became trouble. The fight would have lasted longer if some cat hadn't jumped in and said something to the wolf. Then the wolf said something to the boy. And the boy just ran off." Shino concluded with a shrug.

"Did the boy say anything?" Shikamaru asked, seemingly interested in the strange occurrence. Sasuke turned the remainder of his attention to Shino. If he had been fighting Leon, and Kotori had brought news bad enough for him to abandon the fight, Sasuke had to know what it was.

"Yeah. He told me he surrendered and said, 'if Yukie would have stuck with Orochimaru, I would have stayed to fight you. Be grateful Yukie left the Sound; you guys just might have a chance to beat them now.' But it's not much help to us," Shino said, looking down at the hundred or so small bugs still on Kisame.

Sasuke looked back over at Lee, who was panting and favoring his right leg. Sasuke knew that he wasn't in much better shape. But the news about Yukie leaving Orochimaru made him wonder. Orochimaru must have done something horrible to her. That thought alone gave strength to Sasuke, and he stood. Orochimaru could have hurt Yukie, he could have crossed the line; enough to make her leave. Whatever he had done, Sasuke would find out. But for now, he had to defeat Lee and the rest of his team… at least knock them down long enough for him to get away.

Finding his strength, Sasuke ran forward and unleashed a chain of attacks. They were strong enough to throw Lee back, hitting his head on the side of a building. Shikamaru sent out his Shadow Bind jutsu to immobilize Sasuke. Having seen his attack before, Sasuke jumped back to a safe distance. Once there, he ran a full circle around Shikamaru and moved in once his shadow had fallen behind. Sasuke spun on his heel and back-handed Shikamaru's face with his fist. Shikamaru fell back, stunned. His cheek started to redden and he fought to calm his sudden dizziness. Sasuke jumped into the air and kicked upward, hitting Shino's chin and blowing his head back, causing him to lose his balance.

Sasuke grabbed the unconscious Kisame and flung him over his shoulder. He disregarded the few bugs and ran from the group, carrying Kisame like his weight was nothing. He knew where Orochimaru was and would demand an answer. Orochimaru no longer controlled Sasuke. Meaning Sasuke had the power he needed to find out what Orochimaru had done to Yukie.