It was two weeks later when they'd been gone for probably three weeks at this point Jiraiya got some information about their targets "Apparently your brother is with Tsunade according to what I was told, he's been pursuing her" Jiraiya grimaced.
"So where were they last seen heading, what direction, what town, surely you got that information right" Ay growled, relieved that his brother was fine, hopefully, it would be Bee's own fault if he got hurt for going after Tsunade like he was.
Jiraiya nodded "Tanzaku Town two days ago and if we don't hurry Tsunade will already be gone by the time we get there, so pack up you three and no whining Naruto, your on the last step so be satisfied with that much" Jiraiya ordered.
Prompting a groan from Naruto as he lost his concentration and the balloon popped "Damn it Ero-sennin I was so close to getting it that time and you had to go and…..eh, uh-oh, oops" Naruto ranted before freezing as he realized what had slipped out of his mouth.
Goosebumps broke out on his arms as Sakura glared at him "Naruto didn't I tell you to be more respectful towards people, even if your frustrated you don't call someone by such atrocious nicknames" Sakura whacked the blonde on the head as punishment.
Scolding him viciously to others amusement and Naruto, he bowed towards Jiraiya apologizing for calling him that terrible name "That's what you get for inciting her wrath Naruto" Sasuke smirked having enjoyed their antics.
"Careful Sasuke or you'll get pummeled next understood…good and no more lip from either of you, you hear" Sakura shook her fist at him threateningly and Sasuke nodded like a good little Chunin, Naruto to as she effectively reigned the both of them in.
Darui coughed behind his hand to disguise his chuckle "Quite amusing aren't they these kids" Darui elbowed his partner who'd lightened up considerably in the past couple of weeks, though he was softer on Sakura than the boys.
Cee let his lips twitch upwards for a brief moment "Indeed but we really should get to packing so that we can get to Tanzaku Town before Bee-sama gets bored and runs off again" Cee reminded as he shoved his belongings in his pack.
An hour later they were walking swiftly down the path in the direction of Tanzaku Town, it took them the whole day, barely stopping to get there as the sun was sinking and the moon was beginning to rise as it turned from day to night.
"Surely we can rest for the night, Tsunade won't go anywhere so soon after we've arrived right" Sasuke asked, out of breath from their near run to reach the town they were told their targets were currently staying in.
Jiraiya smirked but nodded while leading the group to an inn and renting a large enough room for the seven of them so they could rest and get some shuteye and a proper meal while they were at it since they'd hardly stopped during the day.
Only snacking on venison jerky to keep them from completely starving "Not going to draw protective seals" Darui commented when Sakura forwent what she called as her usual, instead she merely curled up in her bedroll.
"Probably to tired Darui" Cee shrugged seeing that seconds after Sakura's breathing evened out, Sasuke and Naruto doing the same in a matter of minutes until all three of them were asleep for the night.
And the next morning they split up to search for their targets "By the way Sakura-chan I noticed you started wearing more conservative clothing lately" Naruto noted when he went with Sakura for the day.
"Hmm oh yeah just felt like it is all" Sakura said, not explaining her real reasoning for doing so, that she was tired of being eyed up like a piece of meat by older men 'Its your other worldliness my child' Jashin informed.
Something that she'd already suspected actually, it didn't make it any easier to deal with though "Go check that hotspring out Sakura-san" Cee ordered in the next moment when they found their first onsen.
"Then we'll go check the bar across the street and head for the casino once we're done" Darui suggested, their search proved fruitless as neither place had the two people they were looking for within as they regrouped and headed for one of the various casino's in Tanzaku Town.
Meanwhile the other group was having the same amount of issues "Damn it where the hell is she" Ay raged when after checking their fifth casino they still came up empty handed, Sasuke stayed well away from him and Jiraiya grimaced.
Near dinner time the two groups met up "Alright lets just eat and then go back to the hotel, I'm sure she hasn't left yet" Jiraiya sighed, when the other group provided no forthcoming information about Tsunade or Bee.
Everyone agreed with him however on getting something to eat so they headed for a restaurant/bar and their eyes alighted on the person they'd been searching for all day "Jiraiya and the Raikage what the hell are you doing here" Tsunade shouted in surprise at them.
"Bee, where is he" Ay stomped forward, looking around for his brother who was no where in sight, in fact he didn't even sense Bee's chakra, perhaps Bee already knew he was there and had already run off again.
The woman seated next to Tsunade spoke up "He said that he was going to the bathroom a moment ago" Shizune, if he remembered her name correctly announced and just as she said that Bee came trotting back towards them from the bathroom.
Only to stop when he saw Ay stood next to the table "Big bro what are you doing here" Bee inquired, looking nervous as Ay stalked towards him and gripped his face, raging all the while about how stupid he was for running off like he had and what if the Akatsuki had tried to capture him.
The scolding lasted for several minutes to everyone's horror "Okay that explains the Raikage, but what are you here for Jiraiya" Tsunade snorted, focusing her attention back onto her old teammate who looked exhausted.
"Searching for you of course Tsunade….we need you to come back to the village and kick the hospital back into proper shape, our shinobi aren't being healed properly and at this point it's almost as worse as Kirigakure's hospital" Jiraiya informed.
Shizune gasped but Tsunade shrugged uncaring "You haven't changed I see Tsunade" Ay growled, clearly finished punishing his brother for disappearing from the village, dodging the bottle she threw at him with a smirk.
Earning a sneer "My answer is no Jiraiya, the hospital can straighten itself out for all I care" Tsunade scowled, unwilling to return to the village, the argument carried on for five more minutes until something set Naruto off.
"I DON'T CARE IF SHE IS A LADY, I won't allow her to insult my Dad or Old man Hokage, so I'm going to wipe that cynical sneer off her face" Naruto stood pounding his fist into his hand upset that his dream was being mocked.
With that they traipsed outside "Why is Lady Tsunade fighting a kid" someone unexpected showed up beside Shizune and Sasuke shot Sakura a look, she shook her head when Jashin told her that this one wasn't his doing.
Sasuke said nothing yet, mostly watched the one sided fight between Tsunade and Naruto who got his ass kicked with a single finger "Did you have to hit him that hard Milady, he is just a boy" Shizune frowned exasperatedly at her mentor.
Tsunade scoffed but quirked a pale brow when one of the other brats headed towards Naruto and started healing him "Idiot that's why you don't piss off insanely strong people" Sakura grumbled under her breath.
Unaware that said insanely strong person was right behind her now "Jiraiya I'm borrowing this brat for tonight" Tsunade announced suddenly, snatching Sakura up when she was finished healing the idiot blonde and disappearing with Shizune and the unexpected on her heels.
Jiraiya gaping after her "What the actual fuck" Sasuke cursed, unsure of what he should do as he looked in the direction the group had vanished before glancing down at Naruto who was still unconscious from getting flicked.
That's how strong Tsunade was that all it took was one finger to knock someone out "I don't think you have to worry Sasuke-san, it didn't seem like Tsunade was planning on making off with her" Cee assured.
Seeing his indecision plain on his face "Come on we should get to the hotel" Darui suggested, smirking when Sasuke hefted Naruto and carried him the whole way then rather gently placed the boy in his bedroll.
Meanwhile across Tanzaku in an entirely different inn than her companions was Sakura who was seated before Tsunade and being stared at by her, her apprentice and the Uchiha she didn't know "So why did you want me here Tsunade-sama" Sakura inquired.
Confused about the woman's reasoning for bringing her along "Maybe because your as cute as a button and Lady Tsunade has a thing for adorable kids" the Uchiha teased, ducking when Tsunade swung her fist at him, attempting to crack him over the head.
"Who taught you the mystical palm, not the hospital with what Jiraiya just said, but you seem advanced in your training so perhaps there is someone talented in medical ninjutsu back in Leaf" Tsunade demanded to know.
Sakura blinked "I technically taught myself Tsunade-sama and I haven't really seen any other medics with my talent so far since I stopped going to the hospital once I could correctly execute the jutsu" the pinkette admitted.
More staring was the response "You taught yourself, who is your sensei and for that matter what is your name" Shizune inquired, speaking after a few minutes of staring at the girl who was starting to look uncomfortable.
"Ah my sensei is Kakashi Hatake and I'm Sakura Haruno or Sakura Uzumaki if you prefer it's my adopted last name" Sakura introduced herself properly by giving out both of her last names that she usually mashed together sometimes.
Tsunade lifted a pale brow "Uzumaki, like the brat who challenged me" Tsunade questioned and Sakura nodded with a smile "How is that possible though, his parents are dead so there's no way you could be adopted by them" Tsunade scoffed.
"Was adopted before they passed sealing the nine tails into him, and that's not true anymore, Lord Fourth…Dad came back somehow, speaking of people coming back, I thought all but Sasuke and Itachi of the Uchiha's were dead" Sakura explained.
Looking to the unknown Uchiha "Hehehe yeah I was saved by Shizune-chan, Hokage-sama knew but I asked him to keep it secret, Shisui at your service Sakura-chan, I hope Sasuke-chan hasn't been to much trouble" Shisui greeted.
Shaking Sakura's hand "Minato's really alive…perhaps I should go back to the village, I won't make it that easy on you all though, for now lets get to bed, tomorrows probably going to be extremely trying" Tsunade mused before shrugging.
Sakura sighed, realizing that she was without any of her stuff "Psst over here Sakura-chan" Shisui whispered, beckoning her towards the bed that he was laying on, not daring to be to loud as Tsunade had already nodded off to sleep.
It was nice of Shisui, she supposed but there was no way she was sharing a bed with him "No offense Shisui-san but that's to much to ask right after we meet" Sakura whispered back before stalking over to the corner and curling up on the floor.
Five minutes later she was snoring softly "Could have just shared the bed with me" Shisui frowned a little surprised that she hadn't trusted him right off the bat, he would never stoop so low as to try anything on a young girl like she was so he didn't understand what the problem was.
"Do you blame her Shisui-san, she just met you, of course she's going to be wary until you prove yourself as trustworthy to her" Shizune said from the couch, eventually they to drifted off into a restful sleep.
And the next morning after breakfast they met up with the others again "Sis are you okay, that Granny didn't do anything to you did she" Naruto was the first one to Sakura to absolutely no ones surprise.
Tsunade glowered at him for the granny comment "Baka your just asking for another beat down with her fist aren't you" Sasuke scolded, shooting imperceptible looks at his cousin who shouldn't be alive yet here he was alive.
Naruto cowered away from Sakura not Tsunade to Shizune's confusion "So Tsunade have you given my request some thought" Jiraiya ignored the Chunin's antics as he focused his attention on his old teammate.
"I have actually on three conditions, first, that blonde brat manages to get the rasengan down in a weeks time, second, the Uchiha brat learns something in that same time frame and last, Sakura agrees to train under me for a week, you have to last and not give up" Tsunade held up three fingers.
Listing her conditions, like she'd said, she wasn't going to make it easy on them "Your cruel Tsunade but you have no idea what your getting yourself into by training that brat" Ay snorted, pointing to Sakura.
Who smiled innocently at him, he knew better however and sneered until her smile turned into a full blown grin that had Darui chuckling behind his hand even Cee couldn't hide his amusement as he smirked openly.
Jiraiya chuckled at their reactions as Naruto and Sasuke edged warily away from their teammate, Tsunade curled her lip wondering what the bloody hell they were on about no doubt "Well times a wasting lets get to training Sakura" Tsunade declared.
Gripping the girl by the back of her qipao shirt and dragging her off outside Tanzaku Town with the others following them even the Raikage who had decided on staying a little while longer, Bee wouldn't be running off again thankfully so he could relax for another week.
Eight minutes later they found a wide open field to train in and Naruto got to work on mastering the rasengan while Shisui approached Sasuke and offered to teach him a new fire style jutsu that he could master over the week.
A fair distance from them were Sakura and Tsunade who faced each other "Ah hang on Tsunade-sama I don't want to use it against you but it's kind of a reflexive habit, here hang on to this for me will you Naruto" Sakura said suddenly.
Whipping out a decent sized weapons scroll "Giving up something that could be potentially used as an advantage against Tsunade is not a good way to go wee" Bee rapped obnoxiously once Naruto had stowed the scroll away in his pouch.
With that the two kunoichi faced one another again and then Tsunade smirked and was before Sakura in the blink of an eye, she went sailing through the air "I see nothing special…huh" Tsunade commented only to feel a hand attach itself to her ankle.
"Don't underestimate me Tsunade-sama" Sakura emerged, fists swinging, glad that she'd managed to use two consecutive jutsu at a split seconds notice to avoid getting flung about like a rag doll like her clone had.
Tsunade directed Sakura's fist to the ground and it exploded beneath their feet "Not bad Sakura, clearly Hatake's been training you right" Tsunade whistled, jumping back when the girl came after her again.
Not allowing her to maintain much distance it was a good plan, Sakura was a short ranged fighter obviously, or that's what she thought until she got further away and a jutsu came flying after her "Doton: Earth Spike Wave" though Tsunade dodged it neatly with minimal effort.
Sakura made another hand sign to create a second shadow clone, calculating out her next few moves as she did so before having her clone throw her "Is she crazy" Shizune gaped at Jiraiya who was watching the spar with furrowed brows.
Analyzing it basically "Sakura's quite smart actually, she has a tactical mind and a knack for strategy apparently" Jiraiya shook his head, wondering where Sakura had learned all that she could do, surely not from Kakashi.
Kakashi didn't teach her fuinjutsu that was for sure so not everything Sakura could do was from her sensei, it was amusing though to see Sakura hold her own against Tsunade who was clearly getting frustrated about not being able to get her hands on the pinkette.
Until Sakura uncharacteristically tripped and got punched in the chest, a loud crack echoed in their ears and Sakura dropped dazed from the sudden pain radiating through her body "Shit Tsunade what were you thinking hitting her like that" Jiraiya cursed.
Rushing over to the two, Sakura still sprawled out on the ground "I…I'm okay it was my fault" Sakura waved his concern off as she rested a glowing green hand on her chest to heal her four broken ribs that Tsunade had given her.
"Heh you've got guts brat and I've never seen someone get back up onto their feet after being subjected to one of her punches" Ay smirked, watching as Sakura slowly stood, still healing herself but on her feet and still awake.
Even Tsunade was impressed at her tolerance "L..Lets me just say that this is not the worse thing to ever happen to me Lord Raikage" Sakura grimaced, concentrating more fully on her task until the pain started fading with the help of her immortality.
Jiraiya frowned before understanding hit him square in the gut "YOU…You were the one on the roof with Sarutobi-sensei and the Kazekage as his captive and he had his shinobi inflict torture wounds on you" Jiraiya burst out in realization.
Sakura visibly cringed in response before taking a deep breath "I did what I had to Jiraiya-sama for Naruto, Sasuke and the village when Baki-san came after me it was either that or be Danzo's dog" the pinkette intoned flatly.
Reigning in her temper, Jiraiya winced slightly, wanting to say more on the subject but it wasn't his job to scold her for her reckless actions almost a month and a half ago at this point "Torture, you were tortured" Cee blanched.
And she nodded grudgingly "Right if your finished lets get back to training and this time don't trip" Tsunade snapped, intervening on Sakura's half because she was starting look like she was contemplating bolting and she wasn't done with the girl.
So with that they resumed their spar once Shizune had checked to see if Sakura had healed her ribs efficiently only to find them perfectly mended not a fracture to be found "Ouch you look like you had it rough today Sakura" Sasuke said.
Hours later when Tsunade and Jiraiya had gone off to drink, Sakura looked like she'd been through hell honestly, the ends of her hair was singed, her clothes were in tatters and nearly every bit of uncovered flesh that he could see was covered in bruises.
She shot him a waning smile, probably still letting the matter from earlier that morning bother her "Hey so what caused you to trip anyway Sakura-chan, the only reason you would do so is if he said something" Naruto questioned.
Looking warily around him since they were on their own for the time being, Sakura glared at the ground in response before dragging them by the wrist down an alley to set up a sound-proofing seal "Apparently Orochimaru's here somewhere in Tanzaku Town" Sakura admitted.
Before the two boys could ask she continued "He wants Tsunade to heal someone for him in return he said he'd bring back her two most important people that's why she set the conditions because in a week he's coming back to hear her answer to his request" Sakura explained.
"Great so we'll probably be having a confrontation with him is that what your saying….why does our life have to suck so bad that we get Orochimaru continually coming after us when all we want to do is avoid him like the plague" Sasuke groaned.
Bashing his head against the cement "So what we have six days to come up with a plan to keep Sasuke from falling in his slimy hands and prevent him from finding out that your one of Jashin's followers" Naruto inquired.
Earning a nod, with that the seal was undone and they headed back out to explore some more "Where do you think your going Sakura, your staying with us at our inn remember" Tsunade reminded when the lot of them met up again and she stopped Sakura from joining the guys.
"I know but I'd at least like to get my belongings from the room, I've been wearing the same outfit since yesterday to" Sakura shot back, dodging the whack when Tsunade tried to hit her on the head and running into the hotel to get her stuff.
Tsunade was not amused but a few minutes later they were back at the inn she had rented, Sakura off to take a bath and change out of her ruined clothing, when the girl came back, she unrolled her bedroll in the corner she'd slept in the night before and crawled underneath the covers.
Having eaten already and within minutes she was out like a light for the night, Shisui waited until he was sure Tsunade and Shizune were asleep themselves before making his move "Psst Sakura, wake up, I need to speak with you about something" Shisui shook the girls shoulder.
He'd been concerned when she'd mentioned something about Danzo and not wanting to be his dog "Mm Shisui-san what is it" Sakura cracked her eyes open reluctantly when the man kept pestering her and asking her to wake up.
"Not here, follow me" Shisui shook his head, heaving her onto her feet and pulling her from the inn room, down a few halls to another room "I rented it earlier and put up seals to make sure no one could eavesdrop, so about Danzo" the Uchiha explained.
Facing her as soon as he'd shut the door "After we got back from our first mission, I was injured pretty badly during it so Hokage-sama placed me under anbu watch, Danzo found out and wanted to know why and tried to use the sharingan in his eye socket to control my mind" Sakura admitted.
Meeting his gaze fearlessly "As Sasuke politely told me it was your eye Shisui-san under his bandages and somehow I managed to throw his control off so he's been after me to join root since, now your turn is there anything we might need to know" the rosette finished.
Shisui twitched indicating that he was hiding something important "Fine, since you were honest with me just now, Orochimaru approached Lady Tsunade, he wants her to heal someone and the bastard promised to bring back her lover and little brother if she did" Shisui relented.
Seeing no point if she'd already guessed that they were hiding something "Tsunade-sama does realize that the people he brings back require living sacrifices right, Orochimaru could only bring them back as reanimations, which he could control" Sakura asked.
"Unfortunately I really have no idea what Lady Tsunade is planning, I hope though that with her latest actions that she doesn't intend on accepting but we'll have to see in about six more days" Shisui admitted.
And since it was still rather early he gestured to the beds "What now Shisui-san I'd like to get back to bed" Sakura huffed, exhausted from training for hours with Tsunade since she couldn't use her little perk of immortality to re-energize herself around people who didn't know.
That would just cause complications she didn't want or need on her hands "Come on Sakura-chan for a bit, I'd like to get to know you so that you can trust me as well as you trust Sasuke-chan" Shisui put his hands together winking and grinning as he begged her to indulge him.
"J..Just for a little bit I guess, hey what are you doing" Sakura sighed only to immediately regret it as he settled her in his lap on one of the beds as he leaned against the headboard 'Why are guys always like this' she scowled inwardly.
Rigid in his hold "Relax I'm not going to hurt you, your fine see" Shisui soothed, mostly keeping his hands to himself now "So why don't I start with something simple, what's your favorite thing to do" Shisui asked.
When she eyed him warily "Play trivia games I like to challenge myself on how much I can remember and you, what's your favorite thing to do Shisui-san" Sakura repeated his question right back at him.
Still tense but glad that he wasn't doing anything, it was two in the morning when Shisui finally relented and led them back to the room they were sharing with Tsunade and Shizune, so they could get back to sleep for the rest of the night.