Hey. So this is chapter 28. Enjoy.

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In Tsunade's office, she was working away with her paper work. The woman sighed, 'Now I know why Jiraiya didn't take the hat... FUCK ALL THESE PAPER WORK!'

As the woman continued to curse the ones who made her be Hokage, the woman didn't notice the crow perched on her window. Only with a caw did she notice its presence.

The woman turned to see the crow and her mind could barely register the fact that it had a Sharingan when everything changed colours.

Tsunade heard a voice speak, "Senju Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage."

She turned to see Itachi standing there in his Akatsuki robes. The woman spoke, "Itachi. What are you doing here?"

The slayer of the Uchiha clan replied, "I'm here by using that crow, to cast a genjutsu. But that's not important. Just a few moments ago, four Oto shinobi came into the village and captured Sasuke."

Tsunade's eyes widened, "What? How?"

Itachi replied monotonously, "That is irrelevant. As of now, they are heading for Orochimaru's base, you know of the details of my agreement with the late Sandaime Hokage, yes?"

Tsunade sighed, "Fine. I'll send a team to retrieve him."

Itachi nodded, "Good. You should make haste, they have covered much ground already. They are probably headed to Otogakure."

The genjutsu dispelled and Tsunade found herself staring at an empty window frame. The woman sighed and spoke, "Anbu, bring Hikari to me now."

The woman felt a chakra signature vanish from one of the hiding spots of the Anbu who helped guard her. The Hokage sighed, she didn't even have the time to hand out the promotions to the Gennin.

After a moment, the Anbu returned with Hikari. The blonde asked, "Tsunade-baasan, what's wrong?"

The Hokage stared at her god-daughter, "A few moments ago, Uchiha Sasuke was taken by four Oto shinobi. As of now, I am officially promoting you to the rank of Chunnin. Gather a squad of four, anyone is okay, including yourself, and retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. They are headed for Otogakure, so you should head towards that direction."

Hikari nodded, "Got it, then I'll bring Asuna-chan, Suguha-chan and Sinon-chan."

Tsunade nodded, "Good, now go, we can't let the Sharingan fall into Orochimaru's hands."

The younger blonde nodded before she turned and left the office. Hikari didn't like Sasuke, she didn't hate him, but the girl was certainly annoyed. Even so, the girl wouldn't wish Sasuke getting captured by someone like Orochimaru, especially since it would mean having the Sharingan falling into Orochimaru's hands.

To be frank, Hikari didn't care if Konoha lost the Sharingan. True, it played a huge part when the Uchiha clan was alive, but now, it didn't make much of a difference. But when it came to Orochimaru, that was different.

The Snake Sannin was most probably an enemy to Konoha. If the Sharingan became Orochimaru's, well, an army of Sharingan users that could cast powerful genjutsu at a glance AND see things in slow motion along with memorizing everything with photographic memory, that was terrifying.

Hikari quickly reached her home. She entered to see the three girls and Kirito sitting there talking about random stuff.

The blonde spoke, "Girls, we have a mission, pack up ASAP. I'll tell you on the way."

The three girls nodded as they quickly went to get their equipment. Hikari just quickly grabbed an equipment scroll and waited by the door.

Kirito asked, a bit worried, "What's wrong, Hikari-chan?"

The blonde kunoichi sighed, "Sasuke got captured by some Oto shinobi. We're going to bring him back. We can't let him go to Orochimaru."

The blacksmith nodded, "I see. Well, good luck then."

Hikari nodded as the three other girls came down. The blonde nodded at her sisters, "Let's go."

The four girls said their goodbyes to the swordsman as they quickly left the compound. It was around 5.30pm, so they had to be quick.

As the four girls reached the gates, Sinon asked, "So, what's the mission?"

Hikari replied as they exited the gates, "Long story short, I got promoted to Chunnin, Sasuke got captured by some Oto shinobi, we're bringing him back so his Sharingan doesn't fall into Orochimaru's hands."

Suguha nodded, "I see."

Asuna sighed, "As much as I don't like him, I wouldn't want him to be captured by Orochimaru."

Hikari nodded, "Same here. That's why we have to hurry, if his Sharingan falls into the wrong hands, it'd be bad."

Sinon chuckled, "I don't think Sasuke was ever qualified to be considered the right hands."

The three other girls laughed at that. Suguha nodded, "Maybe, but Orochimaru is worse."

Sinon spoke as they readied to move, "Before we go, I'll summon a cat to track where their going."

The three girls nodded as Sinon summoned a brown cat. The cat looked at Sinon expectantly, "So, Sinon-san, what do you want?"

The girl spoke, "We're tracking an Uchiha, you remember their scent right, Rei?"

The cat nodded, "Of course, I can never forget their scent, those stupid copy cats."

The cat looked around before he nodded, "Got a trail, he smells of lightning too. He's also with four others, they reek of snakes."

Sinon grinned as she looked to the other three girls, also sharing the grins. The archer nodded to her summon, "Lead the way."

Rei nodded as they jumped up onto the trees, beginning their chase as they started to leaped through the trees.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest, Sakon spoke, "Alright, Sasuke, before we bring you to Orochimaru-sama, he wanted us to activate your second stage."

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, "Activate it? How?"

Sakon took out a small bottle containing pills, "This. Once you take it, you will forcefully activate the second stage, but the cursed mark, as the name states, is cursed, so it will eat away your body in a few moments, if left unchecked."

Sasuke asked again, "Then, how will this help?"

Kidomaru smirked, "Fuinjutsu, we're not as good as Orochimaru-sama. But with all four of us, we can seal away that side effect, and you will feel nothing, so you will only be in a stasis condition."

Sasuke took the bottle and stared at it for a while. Tayuya frowned, "Stop being a pussy and just take the fucking pill!"

Jirobo frowned, "Tayuya, stop it. He has the right to be hesitant. He has no idea just how capable we are, he's been living in the safe, weak place that is Konohagakure after all."

Sasuke had enough, he didn't care if. Itachi or Orochimaru became strong while they were in Konoha. He was progressing at a slow pace, too slow, and he hated it. The Uchiha opened the bottle and took a pill.

Without any hesitance, he swallowed the pill. For a moment, he felt nothing. Sasuke asked, "I feel nothing, I thought it was gonna hurt?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the pain came. Sasuke grapsed at his chest and the mark as he yelled in pain.

Sakon spoke urgently, "Hurry, if we make one mistake, he will drop dead."

Tayuya huffed as they leapt into action, "Shut it, you fucking son of a bitch!"

They surrounded Sasuke as Sakon pulled out a barrel. Jirobo hurriedly placed him into the barrel as they all went through handseals, "Shikoku Mujin!"

Black mist started to flow into the barrel, sealing Sasuke in it and also placing him in a stasis condition. Sakon then brought out four sealing tags and channeled chakra into them, "Fukoku Hoin!"

The tags tightened on the barrel, sealing it tight. Sakon sighed, "Okay, this should be fine. Let's take a break."

Sealing Sasuke took quite a bit out of them, so taking a break would be for the best. Besides, they weren't in a hurry to return to Otogakure. No one disagreed, so they sat down by the trees and took a break.

Meanwhile, some distance away, the group of four kunoichi were closing in. Rei stopped and Sinon asked, "What's wrong?"

The cat replied, "We're here. They're probably taking a rest. So we should be careful."

The girls nodded before Suguha spoke, "I'll summon a bird to see what they're doing."

They nodded as the katana user summoned a small bird. The bird nodded to Suguha as it flew straight up. Then their eyes glowed, linking Suguha's eyes to the bird.

This was one of the techniques the summons taught Suguha, to link their senses for recon missions, and it worked well.

Suguha spoke, "They're resting, I don't see Sasuke there. But there's a barrel in the middle, probably Sasuke's in there."

Hikari nodded, "What else?"

Suguha continued, "Like Rei said, there are four of them. One female, three other males. And if what I'm seeing is correct, they may be around Jounin level."

Hikari looked at Sinon, "What do you think we should do?"

Sinon pondered a while, "We ambush them. Hikari-chan, can you make paralysis seals to hold them there?"

Hikari nodded, "Of course, so, we use paralysis seals to seal them?"

Sinon nodded, "And we take Sasuke back."

Suguha spoke, "Hikari-chan, I'll have each of us carry a small eagle. Once we're all done, send the eagles up."

The three girls nodded as they quickly went to work, with Hikari quickly making the seals while Asuna, Suguha and Sinon took their positions to set them. They couldn't use Hikari's clones since the usage of chakra would alert them of their presence. But summoning a small eagle required really less chakra, so that was fine.

With the Sound Four, Sakon spoke, "Guys, we're moving in 15 minutes."

The other three nodded begrudgingly before a strange sight caught his attention. Above them were four birds, circling in the sky.

The two headed ninja spoke, "Hey, do eagles circle around each other in the sky?"

The three other Sound ninja looked up before their eyes widened as they felt a small pulse of chakra. Then all of a sudden, they couldn't move a single muscle. Sakon cursed, "Fuinjutsu..."

Jirobo grunted as he struggled to move, to no avail. The other two also tried to move, but couldn't.

Then they heard Suguha speak, "Nice job, Hikari-chan."

The four girls came out of the bushes and stared at the four Sound shinobi. Kidomaru growled, "So it was the four of you."

Hikari nodded, "Sorry, but we'll be taking Sasuke back."

Tayuya glared at her, "Fuck you."

Hikari glanced at the barrel as Suguha and Sinon stood beside them, looking out for potential enemies, "He's in the barrel, isn't he? Using such abominations as makeshift seals. Orochimaru taught you them, right?"

Sakon didn't reply as Hikari started to bring out her sealing equipment. Asuna drew her rapier and looked at the four, "Sorry, but this is the end."

Sakon chuckled, "The end? Not really, this is just the beginning."

All of a sudden, all four of their cursed marks activated, sending a pulse of chakra that broke the paralysis seals.

Without warning, the four of them shot forward, knocking Hikari and Asuna to the ground as Sakon grabbed the barrel and leaped into the trees with his teammates.

Hikari cursed, "Dammit!"

The four girls quickly recovered and leaped into the trees, chasing after them.

As the girls gave chase, Jirobo spoke, "Guys, I'll hold them back. You three get the Uchiha back."

Tayuya frowned, "You trying to play hero, fatass?"

Jirobo ignored the insult, "No, at the speed they're coming at, it won't be long before they catch up to us. Sending the boy to Orochimaru-sama is more important."

The man then grinned darkly, "Besides, its been a while since I let loose."

Sakon nodded, "Fine. But don't take too long."

Jirobo nodded and stopped on a branch as his team continued forward. The man turned to see the four girls coming.

With Hikari and her team, they all noticed the huge man waiting for them. Suguha spoke, "You three go ahead, I'll deal with him."

Sinon nodded, "We can't afford to waste time, so having one of us deal with him is better."

Hikari nodded, "Good luck, Suguha-chan."

But Jirobo wasn't just going to let the other three pass so easily. The man pushed his palms into a handseal and roared, sending a wall of mud at them.

Suguha rushed forward and channeled wind chakra into her katana, sending a blast of wind that dispersed the mud.

The swordswoman jumped over the man and landed in front of Jirobo, blocking him from going after Hikari, Asuna and Sinon.

Suguha brandished her Tempest and spoke coldly, "Your opponent is me."

Jirobo knew he wouldn't be able to stop all of them. But at least he could deal with this girl and the others later. The man nodded as he took a stance while Suguha pointed her katana at him.

Then they charged. Jirobo channeled chakra into his arms, enforcing them as he swung his fists at the smaller girl. Suguha responded by swinging her katana at the man.

The blade clashed against the fist, pushing against each other. Jirobo was surprised by the amount of force behind Suguha's attack and he was glad to have enforced his arm, otherwise he would have lost it.

The girl was also surprised that Jirobo's arm remained intact. She had expected the arm to be blown away, or at least wound him. But apparently the man wasn't one of Orochimaru's ninja for nothing.

Suguha leaped away to dodge a swipe from Jirobo's other arm. The man spoke arrogantly, "So, what will you do? Your sword can't cut me."

Suguha narrowed her eyes at him, "There is nothing I cannot cut."

(Note: The way she is saying it is 'Watashi ni wa kirenai mono wa nai')

Jirobo smirked, "Oh, then shall we put that claim to test?"

The man raised his fists. The girl responded by charging again, this time channeling wind chakra into her sword, making it glow a light green.

Jirobo saw the glow and decided to add more chakra into his arms just in case. The arm and the sword clashed. This time, Suguha's sword managed to land a deep gash on his arm, making the man grunt in pain as he leaped away to dodge a slash that would have left him without his head.

Jirobo narrowed his eyes at the girl, 'This girl, she's not some ordinary kunoichi. Her movements are precise, not one move wasted. If I didn't reinforce my body, I would be dead. I can't take her lightly.'

The man spoke, "Let's see how you deal with this! Doton Kekai: Doro Domu!"

Jirobo slammed his palms on the ground, quickly forming a huge dome around Suguha before she could dodge it.

The girl looked around. There was barely any light for her to see. Then she felt her chakra leave her body, a familiar feeling whenever Hikari used her chakra chains in their spars.

Suguha cursed, 'He's absorbing my chakra... I need to end this fast.'

She then heard Jirobo's voice coming from the outside, right in front of her, "How's that, girl? You can feel your chakra leaving you, right? If you don't do anything, you will die like the piece of shit you are."

Suguha growled at that insult, the man was too arrogant, the type of men she hated. Raising her sword and channelling wind chakra into it, she swung her blade at the walls.

The slash managed to form a solid gash on the wall, but before Suguha could make another, the wall quickly reformed.

She heard Jirobo's voice again, "You can't break the wall, no one can. It is indestructible!"

Suguha just tch'd as she looked around, well, she saw nothing, but at least she knew where Jirobo was. The girl thought a while, 'The dome can rebuild itself, so the only way I can get out is the deal more damage than it can rebuild, I wish I knew Hikari-chan's Rasengan... Ah whatever, I'll just improvise.'

The girl closed her eyes and extended her senses. She could feel the chakra around her, and she focused in on the dome. The girl needed to find the weakest point of the dome and force her way through.

After a while, Suguha pin-pointed on the location where the dome was the weakest, the exact opposite of where she previously struck.

Suguha slowly walked towards that direction before she stabbed a kunai into the wall, sure enough the kunai went in quite deep.

Suguha nodded to herself before she charged her blade with lightning chakra. The girl wasn't as good as Hikari when it came to lightning manipulation, but it was decent enough.

The girl sent a series of slashes at the wall before it crumbled to pieces, surprising Jirobo as Suguha leaped out of the dome.

The man narrowed his eyes, "How did you break my walls?"

Suguha didn't reply. Instead, she charged forward and swung her blade at the man. Jirobo barely avoided the attacks before he leaped away.

The man charged again and threw his fists at the girl, but all of his attacks missed as Suguha was too small and too fast.

Jirobo grunted as Suguha landed several small gashes on his arms and legs. It was only due to his body enhancement technique that the girl's blade did not slice his limbs off cleanly.

Jirobo cursed, if this kept on going, it would be a matter of time before Suguha wore him down and killed him. He needed to end it quickly.

The man slammed his fists on the ground, causing a huge a huge crater. Suguha quickly leaped away, so she wasn't caught in it.

But Jirobo wasn't aiming to hurt her with that, no, he was just trying to put some distance between them. The man focused on his mark, allowing it to expand over his body.

The man stared at the girl, "I will end this now, you have no chance at winning."

Suguha stared at the cursed mark user. The girl spoke, "A power up, I see. But, you're not the only one with something like that."

Normally Jirobo would have charged forward and end his opponents swiftly, but before even registered her words, nature chakra flowed into Suguha's body.

The girl's hair turned to a light blonde colour and grew to waist length. Suguha quickly tied up her hair with a band as her eyes turned to a light green.

Jirobo was shocked at the transformation. He had believed, no, he knew that he and his team, now along with Sasuke, were the elite, and that the cursed mark was their trump card, their ace in a hole against their enemies.

But what Jirobo didn't know, is the very thing Orochimaru based the cursed mark on, was the sage mode. In fact, the cursed mark, even in stage 2, paled in comparison to an incomplete sage mode.

Jirobo was about to experience that. The man, despite being arrogant, knew that Suguha was far stronger than he was now, the power she exerted was proof of it.

Suguha stared at him as she raised her sword. Jirobo growled and charged, raising his arm before he swung it downwards.

Then the next thing that happened shocked him, instead of parrying with her katana or dodging the attack, Suguha just raised her left open palm, and stopped the attack.

Jirobo gaped at how the girl stopped one of his punches, which could have shattered boulders easily. The man quickly pulled away and landed several feet away from the girl.

The man threw away any hesitation for using the second stage, but unfortunately, Suguha wasn't about to let him start the process to activate the second stage.

As soon as Jirobo landed, Suguha vanished in a burst on speed, and in an instant, Jirobo felt his arm burst with pain as Suguha sliced his arm off cleanly.

But the girl wasn't done, not giving Jirobo time to even scream, Suguha turned and swung her sword. In one flawless stroke, the huge man's head fell to the ground.

Suguha let out a breath as her sage mode deactivated, taking off her hair band as her returned to normal. The girl quickly leaped onto the trees as she chased after the others.

Meanwhile back in Konoha, Kirito was in his shop, forging another sword. Klein was outside at the cashier, the blacksmith found having the man around very useful, it gave Kirito a lot more time for himself and forging weapons.

As he hammered the piece of metal, Kirito felt a presence behind him, a presence he hated. The young man spun and swung his hammer, to hit the flat of the Kusanagi.

Kirito growled as he pushed against the sword, "Orochimaru, why are you here?!"

The snake sannin smirked evilly, "I came to see you, yet you try to take my head off. I feel so hurt."

Kirito growled, his eyes flickering to yellow, as he grabbed one of the swords lying around and swung it at the snake.

But Orochimaru wasn't a snake summoner for no reason. As soon as the blade touched his neck, Orochimaru melted into mud, reappearing several feet away.

The sannin chuckled, "Don't be so cold, Kirito. I just wanted to tell you something."

Kirito narrowed his eyes, pointing the blade at the traitor of Konoha, "I don't need to listen to anything you say."

Orochimaru's grin widened, "Even if it concerns your little Jinchurikii? You do know, I sent four of my ninja to retrieve Sasuke-kun, your four precious girls are on a mission to bring him back to Konoha, ya know that, right?"

Kirito glared at the man, "If you do anything to any of them..."

The swordsman's eyes glowed yellow for a while, and Orochimaru found himself unable to breathe for that short amount of time. But it ended as soon as it came.

The sannin smirked, "That depends, you see, I am but a mere clone. The original is still in Otogakure, or at least he should be. I believe giving the girl to the Akatsuki would keep them off my back, don't you think so?"

Kirito growled and swung his blade at the smirking man, but his sword clashed against the clone's Kusanagi.

The clone of Orochimaru spoke, "As of now, they should be headed for the Valley of the End, see if you can reach there in time, Kirito."

Orochimaru cackled as he blocked another slash from Kirito, "And don't tell Tsunade, it would be bad for me if she found out, and it would be bad for you if the Jinchurikii was captured by the Akatsuki, right?"

The clone melted into mud as Orochimaru's laughter faded into the wind.

Kirito growled before he quickly grabbed his swords and put on his coat as he rushed out of the shop.

Klein asked," Oi Kiri-no-ji! Where you goin? "

The swordsman shouted back as he ran out of the shop, "I have an emergency! Look after the shop for a bit!"

Klein didn't have time to reply as Kirito was already gone.

As Kirito flew out of the village, no one noticed the crow perched on the walls of Konoha watching the disappearing red and black figure of Kirito, a Sharingan in its eye.

The crow then flew away, following the young blacksmith.

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Done. Review please. So in the next few chapters, or after the next few chapters, I will be closing the poll for whether Kirito gets UBW. So go vote please.