Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of the Merc and the Medic. Enjoy the 2500-word chapter. I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto and a few others do.

(Shin's hideout.)

Sakura continued to crack the ground, whoever put the earth cuffs on her had put a good job. He still didn't have the ability to keep her stuck to the ground.

"I'm coming, Marmora." She stated before watching more cracks form in the cuffs.

(With Marmora)

Marmora managed to form a Sea Sword, a small one. He started sawing the cuffs on his arms. He continued thinking about what Shin had said.

"I'm special? I think that man has his eyes screwed on wrong. I can't have special powers… I can get these damn cuffs off though." He muttered while he continued to cut, small bits of ice began to fall off the blade. He felt blood dribble from his mouth and cuts. He was pushing his body… But he refused to give in.

he was about to sigh before he felt one chain snap and then he grinned as he was able to form another small Sea Sword.

He slashed the other chain snap and he fell to the ground. he looked around, ready to fight and armed with the sea sword wrapped around his arm.

"Ok. You made your move, time for mine." Marmora muttered, he felt exposed… Then again, Shin had said something about experimenting on him.

He couldn't afford to try fighting Shin at the moment. He was hurt, he had to find a way out. He guessed Sasuke and the others were hunting for him, he had heard that Sasuke had been able to pull off the impossible.

"I should get that prisoner free; I get them back; we have an easier chance of getting out with more support. I'm not going to let him torture someone else." He muttered before he snuck out the door.

'I have to keep out of the way of those clones. I can easily take down any number of Danuja's thugs… But as for those clones? I get caught by them; I'll be back to square one.' He thought to himself, he hated not having access to any of his gear and he felt exposed and vulnerable without any shoes or upper body clothing.

"I swear to the Kage if I get out of here, I'm never going to deal with doctors again unless Sakura recommends them." He muttered before he jumped onto a rafter beam.

(With Sakura)

Sakura continued to strain her arms before she heard more cracks and then one cuff shattered. She sighed and then she looked at the other cuff.

She grinned before she punched her other cuff. She blinked and stood up. She looked at the door and walked to it.

"I wonder if…" She said, turning off her seal to preserve her Charka. She would have to build up more Charka and add to the seal later.

"Shin, you're an idiot if you decided to bring me here and expect to hold us here." Sakura said, she pushed at the bars with all her strength and got no response.

She was well aware that Orochimaru had gone after her teacher. She hummed and decided to not waste time trying to smash down the bars. She would end up making too much noise if she broke the bars anyway and then she'd have to fight her way out.

"I wonder if…" She said before she looked at her hands, she hadn't used it in years. She wondered if it even worked for her still.

She made the summoning signs for Katsuyu, she guessed the bars were reinforced for her… But for acid? She doubted Shin expected Sakura to be gutsy.

She sighed when nothing happened for a few seconds before she saw the smoke for the familiar slug. Sakura smiled from ear to ear.

"Lady Katsuyu!" She said while the slug crashed through the ceiling, she cringed before she quickly dispelled the summon, she didn't want Katsuyu destroying the entire building.

She looked at the destroyed room and sighed, she didn't expect for Katsuyu to be summoned at full size and smash through the entire room. She sighed and prepared to fight.

(With Sasuke and Karin)

Sasuke easily fought off the squad of thugs. He saw that 3 of Shin's clones who came after him.

Karin kicked one of the thugs to the ground before Sasuke knocked one of the clones down with a Chidori. He turned to be kicked back by another clone.

They were fast and tough, and he was dealing with slowly increasing soldiers.

They wouldn't be enough, but he assumed that Shin wasn't ready to fight him or wanted to weaken him first.

He sighed and ended up summoning Susanoo in its humanoid form. He swatted the clones aside before preparing to go all out on the clones.

He didn't know much about the clones before and didn't expect to deal with them and Shin at once.

"Why is he sending out everything at once?" Karin asked before she scored another kick which knocked another thug to the ground before she finished him off with a Kunai.

"Because he's stalling for time." He said, he saw the clones retreat before another wave of thugs and an armored figure come out after him.

That was when the earth shook, he allowed the smallest amount of a smirk to grace his face.

(With Marmora)

Marmora was knocked to the ground by a falling piece of rubble, he shoved it off his wounded back and sighed before he looked around.

"I command everyone to engage the pretender and his wife… I will deal with our guests… I seem to have given the Uchiha's allies a lot less respect then they deserved." He heard over a loudspeaker before a chain shot out from the wall and pulled him to the ceiling before it wrapped around his wrists. He was pulled into the main chambers, an arena of giant pillars over an endless pool of water with snake statues around it.

"You have to be kidding me…. Damn snake ninja and his trap hideouts…" He muttered before he heard footsteps coming his way.

(With Sakura)

Sakura searched the main lab and found broken chains. She smiled; Marmora had escaped. She leapt through the rubble and into a room.

She nearly plummeted down before she heard a voice.

"You ruined months of planning in a few weeks." She heard and looked up.

Shin stood with Marmora above him. He looked hurt but was still able to look at her, showing he was still alive.

"Marmora!" She yelled; Marmora chuckled before groaning. He was clearly aware that trying to break free at the moment wasn't a good idea.

"My backers won't be pleased by this... But at the very least, I was able to ascertain that you and your comrade are far more trouble then I thought…" He said, he heard a snap of chains.

He knocked Marmora backwards before he leapt from one pillar to another and landed next to Sakura.

"What took you so long, you guys go out for lunch?" He joked, Sakura slugged him in the arm and frowned when she saw all the bruises on his bare chest and face.

"I'll be fine. I can still fight the rip off science project here who somehow thinks he's superior to Sasuke." He said, Sakura sighed. She didn't have time to heal Marmora and fight off Shin at the same time.

Shin rushed at them, Marmora met him head on and punched at him, he blocked it before Marmora shifted his other hand into a Sea Sword.

He blocked it but groaned from a cut from it before he knocked Marmora to the pillar, Marmora growled and leapt towards another pillar.

Sakura rushed at him next, he was forced to block a punch that knocked him back, he drew a Kunai he had taken from Marmora and turned to counter Marmora.

Marmora blocked the Kunai with his right arm sea sword before he headbutted the man back and onto the pillar.

"You have all those eyes and you're not even using them? you think your superior to Sasuke?" Marmora mocked, he didn't know even half of what Sasuke could do, nobody knew Sasuke but Sasuke himself and his friends.

He did know Shin's eyes were a lot more dangerous then anything Shin could do.

"Hmm…" Shin hummed before facing the duo of Shinobi. He put a handprint on the pillar and then lifted his hand.

"You don't even know what you are, do you? I am well aware that I can't achieve my goals... But your master has hidden a lot from you. You think I'd waste my time with a regular mercenary over 2 of Naruto Uzumaki's teammates?" He asked, he grinned as he sent the fragments at Sakura and turned all of his attention to Marmora.

Sakura rushed through the wreckage, she flipped off a small remains of a pillar before grabbing it.

She tossed it at Shin while Marmora flipped off the man and rushed over the pillar which slammed into Shin.

"WORTHLESS GIRL!" Shin yelled as he roared in pain before he summoned parts of the pillar to his missing stump of an arm.

He slammed Marmora to the ground before kicking him through a pillar and into the water.

"He could easily defeat me if he used that move, he had studied…." He said, Sakura landed on a pillar as Shin vanished into the shadows.

Sakura looked around at him as more of his clones dropped in.

"I had already delayed both of your allies long enough for the rest of my clones to retreat for my next plan… I'll kill both of you and be gone by the time the Uchiha imposter finds me…" He said before he leapt from a pillar at Sakura as did 3 of his clones.

She went to use a substitution Jutsu before one of the Clones grabbed her arm. She slugged him back before another knocked her to the ground.

"No." Marmora said while Shin knocked her to the ground while she managed to graze him.

"I told you… I will not underestimate you again." He said, Marmora's eyes widened as he contemplated the move. He had only tried it a few times.

"No…." He muttered, but his thoughts began to turn back towards the move.

Sakura went to stand before another clone slashed her legs, she hit the ground and knocked them away, Shin had already seen this coming and flipped into the air before slamming her to the ground.

He grabbed her by the neck and molded his stone arm into a spike.

"You will die forgotten, Ms. Haruno… Just like I believe Dagger did… That is his name? I am right, Marmora, yes?" He asked, Sakura went to kick back but her legs hurt at the moment and the pain blinded her.

"NO! ARCTIC ARMOR, SAMURAI OF THE SNOW!" Marmora screamed, making a few hand signals.

Shin dropped Sakura only to feel massive pain as his entire right arm was sliced off at the shoulder and he was slammed into the wall.

Sakura turned to see a sleek but nightmarish being made out of ice, it had spikes jutting from its wrist. She saw claw like fingers clutching at Shin's throat, lightly drawing blood, it had two majestic wings with bits of snow coming off them.

The being turned and Sakura was met with glowing blue eyes and the armor similar to a samurai but with a much spikier and more armored looking helm.

It looked like a very demonic Samurai and it held a katana made out of ice.

"I knew it… You have a spark of the ice dragon Kuraokami Kagu…" He said before he was slammed into the ground and then flung into the water.

Shin, too awestruck, slid alongside the water before his clones rushed towards them.

Sakura pushed her fingers into the earth and pulled up a boulder and threw it at the clones, they moved to dodge it.

Marmora blew through them, a gust of wind parting them before he shot spikes of ice from his hands.

Shin dodged them, twisting to the side before Marmora threw him towards Sakura before turning to the clones.

Sakura dodged a few swipes of Shin's kunai. She was kicked in the stomach but powered through the pain to headbutt him again before she slammed her arm into him in a clothesline like move.

"FULL BLOSSOM: CHERRY BLOSSOM CLASH!" She yelled as she cloaked her arm in Charka.

Shin tried to get away but was slammed into the pillar hard enough to shatter it and all the ones surrounding him.

One of his clones kicked Sakura off the pillar before she dug her fingers into the pillar to stop her fall.

The clones took their heavily damaged leader upward, wanting to kill the man, but they knew stronger people wanted him alive at the moment.

"You might have the power of Kuraokami, but you don't have his experience or control… Sasuke Uchiha will fall… The Uchiha clan will be reborn through blood… MY BLOOD… As will this world." He said before a small creature landed near them.

The creature teleported them away. Sakura turned to look at Marmora just as his armor vanished.

He slammed into the water and was still, his breathing shallow. Sakura gasped.

"MARMORA!" She yelled before diving into the water, she grabbed Marmora and slung him over her shoulder.

"You die and I'll drag you back here myself…" Sakura muttered, the ceiling exploded and Sasuke looked down on her while she slowly shifted to wall walking.

"You defeated Shin." Sasuke guessed, Sakura looked at where Shin was.

"He'll be back…" Sakura said, she slowly climbed out of the hole. She looked at a comatose Marmora.

"I saw that Charka…" Sasuke said, Sakura slowly started to carry Marmora, worried a wrong move would hurt his wounds worse.

"We can talk about it next time…" Sakura said while she started to carry the unconscious Marmora back towards Sasuke's house.

"We need to tell Naruto about this." She said, not looking over her shoulder.

Sasuke nodded, Orochimaru needed to know as well. Sakura knew one thing.

They had yet to see the last of Shin. She looked at Marmora every few seconds and frowned.

Marmora had come to help her at full power. She was beginning to realize the truth.

She cared about Marmora… The same way she used to care about Sasuke.

Author Notes

Phew, another chapter done! I'm sorry about the fight scenes. I wanted to draw them out but I didn't know what I wanted to write. I also want to point out Marmora isn't supposed to be stronger than Sasuke and Naruto… Maybe equal, but that will take a while. I will also try to make Shin tougher, consider this a warm up. Next chapter will be on Thursday or so and will show Sakura healing Marmora, the aftermath and Sakura's feelings about Marmora. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!