Recovery Arc: Rescue Mission

The village was starting to look like its old self again, and the Fifth Hokage was officially announced and inducted in the following days. Tsunade's rock portrait was started, and things began to get organized and flow smoother now that the hierarchy was back in order. Team Seven was back on the duty roster at full strength. As they were standing around at the mission desk, Tsunade came in and looked them over, her eyes stopping on Sakura "Sakura Haruno."

Sakura straightened. "U-um yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Your parent's team was deployed on an escort and protection mission before the Chunin Exams. They should have returned before the attack, and yet they're still not back. Apparently, we received a few updates since their mission went over its due date. The latest is a week old. The message was a request for a team to come extract them and the client from the Land of Hot Springs."

Sakura stumbled back, processing the information. A week since a request for extraction would mean they could be in over their heads and needed to get out as soon as possible. If worse came to worse, they could be- Her thoughts stopped spiraling as her teammates put their hands on her shoulders, steadying her. "Ar- why are you giving us so much detail on it, ma'am?"

She sat down and pulled out a mission scroll. "Because it was a B rank mission, I really shouldn't be giving this to a team of your ranking, but we're short-staffed. My Jonin and Chunin are all very busy, and all three of you apparently made it to the last exam in the Chunin Exams. I read your reports on the impromptu A-rank mission to track down the Suna genin who were trying to unleash a... monster in the village. With that all in mind, I think you can handle it."

Sakura fidgeted, "Um Ma'am, are you sure it's ok for me to be on this mission? They're my parents, and that being said, my judgment may be compromised."

Tsunade smiled and leaned back. "It's because Naruto spoke so highly of you earlier that I am giving you this chance, and your concern right now is another indication that I think you will be able to perform your mission no matter the outcome. Now, will you accept the B rank mission to rescue Team Haruno and their client?"

Sakura looked at her team, who all nodded to her, and she turned back to Tsunade. "Y-Yes Hokage-sama, we will accept this mission."

Tsunade tossed the scroll to Kakashi. "Here it's got all the information we could put together about their mission and their last known location. Head out tomorrow and be safe. You'll be heading towards Kumo, and we've had some unpleasant reports of movement in the Lands of Frost and Hot springs. Try to avoid fighting any of them if you cross paths."

Team Seven bowed and exited. Sakura felt a pit in her stomach grow as they left the tower. She was surprised when Sasuke spoke up first, "We'll do everything we can to make sure they come home safe."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, and Kakashi smiled with his eye. "We're the Lucky Team Seven after all. We'll get this mission done in no time with total success!" Naruto said, grinning as wide as he could.

Sakura shook her head. "Terrible name, but thanks, everyone." she clenched her fist and smiled as best she could, "we'll rescue them no matter what!"

They agreed and went their separate ways to prepare for their departure tomorrow. Once Sakura got home, she was surprised not to see Ino around. She had gotten so used to her friend hanging around it was odd whenever she wasn't at Sakura's home now. Sakura spotted a note in the kitchen written in Ino's typical perfect handwriting. 'Won't be able to stick around here for a while, dad's been getting onto me about slacking off in clan training.'

Sakura shook her head and put the note down next to her parent's note. She scribbled a quick one and slapped it up on the wall where all her family's notes went 'going on a mission will be back in one or two weeks.'

The next morning Sakura was the first to the gate. Anxiety threatened to keep her up all night, but she crushed it only for it to wake her up early and keep her from doing nothing, so she grabbed her pack, made a good breakfast, and ate while she double and triple checked her supplies before heading out.

Sasuke and Naruto showed up at the same time arguing about something, but it died when they saw her. The three stood around and expected to be waiting for an hour or more, but Kakashi-sensei showed up only thirty minutes late. "Wow, you must be taking this mission more seriously than the rest sensei. You're only half an hour late this time." Sakura deadpanned.

Kakashi smiled. "Of course I am, it's an important mission to one of my genin."

Sakura was taken aback for a second but smiled. "Thanks, Sensei."

As Team Seven headed out, the Chunin at the gate smirked, "oh, do you two have permission to leave this time or is the whole team playing hooky?"

Sakura groaned, and Sasuke huffed as Kakashi patted their heads. "I'll keep a better eye on my genin from now on."

It took two days of travel before they made it to the Land of Fire's border. They stopped at one of the border patrol towers. Kakashi talked with the tower commander to get up to date info on the Land of Hot Springs. Team Seven rested there for an hour before heading the Land of Hotsprings. The difference was immediately noticeable as the trees outside the Land of FIre were considerably smaller and less dense than inside. They made contact with the border patrol and gained clearance to enter the land and find their comrades. Though they warned about an increase in foreign shinobi from Kumo and Oto showing up and causing trouble.

As they headed for Yugakure to confirm the last known location for Team Haruno, Naruto groaned, "it's so humid here."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "maybe if you wore something other than that jacket all the time, you wouldn't be suffering so much."

"Pft it's the best jacket ever. Why would I need something else?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Naruto, please tell me you have more clothes than that."

"Of course, I have three pairs of pants, plenty of underwear and socks, a couple undershirts, and this jacket."

She shook her head, "You need more variety in your clothes. Especially for a mission to somewhere like this. You're gonna suffer in that jacket."

Naruto huffed "yeah yeah. You'll see, I'll be perfectly fine."

A day later, Naruto was pulling his jacket off as they entered Yugakure. His black undershirt clung to him with sweat. A woman in a light blue flak jacket with the Yugakure symbol on its shoulders approached. "Konoha shinobi. I'm Tagami. I've been sent by the higher-ups to help you find your missing squad."

Kakashi nodded, "you have information on their last known location?"

She nodded and motioned for them to follow. She led them into one of the various hotels and slid into a side room and unfurled a map on the table. "Your shinobi came through the border with their client and got here no problem."

"Who's their client?" Kakashi asked.

"Some bureaucrat for the Land of Fire he was here to discuss trade deals with some of the spring water distributors. Things were going fine till their hotel was bombed, and the team hid for some time before they fled the village. We did an investigation." she handed over a scroll, "Though we couldn't tell who did it. Your missing team was last seen headed southeast. I'm a tracker, so if you wish, I can help you."

Kakashi rubbed his chin as he looked over the map. "We'd appreciate the help. I'm Kakashi, this is Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura; they're my genin team."

Tagami nodded to each of them, "I'm sure you're all capable if you were sent on this mission." her blue eyes locked onto Sakura "you look similar to two of the Konoha shinobi."

Sakura nodded, "they're my parents. I'm here to get them back."

Tagami smiled bright, pushing a stray strand of black hair back behind her ear, "well, I will do my best to get you to them."

As they headed out, Naruto asked, "hey Tagami-chan, you're a jonin, right?"

Tagami nodded. "Yep, and I'd say I'm the best tracker in the village. I usually have a genin team, but they're running their first mission without me to help them."

"Wow, they must be really good then."

She smiled "top team of their year. They're clearing roads of bandits so travelers can stay safe."

"Oh yeah, I remember now Yugakure doesn't take missions outside the Land of Hot Springs. You keep to your own borders and use tourism and spring water sales to maintain the village." Sakura said.

"The village that has forgotten war," Kakashi said from the back of the group.

Tegami laughed, "yep, that's us. Our allies hated the decision, and our enemies were glad to hear it."

They traveled down through the fields and into the woods until the sun started to set. Kakashi had them make camp while Tegami and he set the perimeter. Sakura's watch came in the middle of the night, and she was surprised to see Tagami awake. "I can keep watch; it's alright."

Tagami smiled up at Sakura while she rubbed a thumb on her Hitai-ate tied around her thigh. "It's alright, Sakura-san. I can't sleep anyways. I guess I am more nervous about my genin than I care to admit."

Sakura smiled nervously. "You're a jonin-"

"Ha, that's what they keep telling me."

"It means you're a strong enough kunoichi to get there. How did you get there? How did you figure out you were so good at tracking?"

Tagami smiled, "you're struggling with your training, aren't you?"

She leaned back and looked up between the branches of the trees at the stars. "It was different when I was your age. The Third Shinobi War was going on, and I showed some decent leadership, so they promoted me to chunin."

She laughed, seeing Sakura's intensely focused face. "It was the jump to jonin that was hard for me. I was exceptional at tracking, but I lacked in combat, and my success rate as a team leader could have been better. I thought I'd just end up in the tracking corps as a special jonin, but then I met a missing-nin from Kusagakure. She was on the run after not following the orders of her superiors. I don't know how, but I got her to teach me, and it just clicked. It all seemed to come together, all those lessons I half-understood and the style of fighting she taught worked so well for me by the time she had to run again I had made jonin."

"What did she teach you?" Sakura asked.

"It was more of how she taught. She knocked everything into place for me. Being born into a clan can help give you a leg up like your team, sure, but a shinobi's ability is measured by the amount of effort they put into training and fighting. A good sensei can make you shine brighter than you thought possible."

Tagami looked over to where she was reasonably certain Kakashi was sleeping. "I'm sure Hatake-san is a good sensei, but maybe ask around your village to see if someone is willing to help, and don't forget to train and train and train every aspect of yourself, not just what you're good at."

"Thank you, Tagami-san I'll remember what you've said."

Tagami smiled. "I hope you do." she tapped her Hitai-ate. "I'm going to try and get some sleep."

The next morning they were up and moving before the sun was out heading southeast. Tagami stopped and crouched low "shush, someone, is up ahead."

The team crouched down and looked up ahead to see five Kumogakure shinobi looking over several bodies. One of them cursed, "those damn Konoha basterds killed them. Where's the tracking team?"

"Three miles west, sir. Following a different lead."

"Tsk, call them back here immediately! No way all of this blood is only our peoples." he marched off, and Tagami motioned for Team Seven to follow her. The group snuck around, and once they were far enough away, they continued heading southeast.

Sakura felt a pit in her stomach grow. There was definitely too much blood for just the couple of bodies back there. 'What if one of them is hurt? What if it's serious? What if-'

Sakura's thoughts stopped, and she looked over as Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine. You're a good shinobi, so I'm sure your parents are even better. We'll find them."

She thanked him as they kept moving. The trees thinned, and eventually, they were moving across an open field where Tagami stopped again. "Damn it. Hatake-san, if the bingo book is right, you have ninken summons correct?"

Kakashi nodded, "I do. I'll summon them."

"Good, I can't follow the trail any farther."

Naruto looked around and kept an eye out along with the others as Kakashi summoned his hounds, and they started sniffing for the scent of Konoha shinobi. "Hey, Neesan, don't you have a summons or something to help you track?"

Tagami rubbed her cheek sheepishly. "Wish I did trust me. There aren't many summoning scrolls around here. The five elemental nations have most contracts, and others are... dangerous to obtain. Contracts in my village are kept for the best of the best, and my higher-ups seem to think that means clans only."

"Wha? That sucks!" Naruto complained as they started to move again.

Tagami shrugged, "I take satisfaction in completing every mission without one. Just to show them, I'm the best, even without it."

They followed the pack as they tracked the scent. Kakashi glanced over his shoulder, "we have company. Looks like we've been noticed."

The others looked back to see about a dozen yards away at the tree line, a three-man Kumo shinobi team exiting the forest. "We'll have to fight them," Tagami said.

They came to a stop, and Kakashi looked at his genin. "You three work together. Tagami and I will handle the other two."

Naruto was going to complain, but the seriousness in Kakashi's face kept him quiet. He looked to his teammates, who flanked him as they pulled out kunai and got ready.

Kakashi cursed as one of them ran back into the woods "He's mine you guys take out the others quickly." he flickered away as Tagami moved to the left as senbon slid from her sleeves and she threw them at the kunoichi across from her. Their fight erupted quickly, and they moved away from Naruto and the others.

Sakura gulped, looking at their opponent. He was a lean but well-built guy with two chokutō swords that he drew slowly "of course, I have to deal with the brats. Well, come on, you little Konoha whelps, let's see how easily I can kill you three."

Sasuke and Naruto both looked pissed in their own ways. Sakura set her stance and was determined to do more. "Be Careful we don't know his skill set, and he's way too confident. He's either that good, or he's underestimating us that doesn't mean we have to do that same."

Her teammates nodded, and Naruto opened the fight with six shadow clones running in to see what their foe will do. Three were cut down by his swords as they tried to attack from the front and above. He turned quickly and avoided number four before stabbing the clone through the back. He blocked with his swords as five and six kicked simultaneously. He grinned, and lighting covered his blades, shocking the two clones and making them dispel.

Sasuke looked surprised by that before looking at his kunai for a moment. He refocused quickly. "Naruto, distract him, Sakura, try to limit his movements, and when an opening presents itself, I'll hit him with a Chidori."

Naruto huffed, "I've got a new jutsu. I could take him out easily."

Sasuke's eye twitched "how about we use it as back up plan, Dead Last."

"What did you say?!'

"Shut it, he's coming!" Sakura yelled as she jumped back, avoiding his first sword. Naruto narrowly avoided the second, and Sasuke took a kick to the chest when he tried to attack from behind.

"Come on, kiddies, no time to doddle fight me!" he charged Sakura, who had to keep falling back as the Naruto clones came in. He paid them little attention, just dodging or swinging his swords without looking at them and kept pushing Sakura.

She cursed as she landed and changed tactics. Sakura pushed forward as he was swinging at Naruto clones and got inside the reach of his swords. She pulled back, and he braced for the punch to his chest. It still sent him back several feet and made him stagger, which gave Naruto and his clones a chance to grab him.

They all heard of the Chidori's chirping, and the Kumo shinobi looked back at Sasuke, who was charging in at full speed. He thrashed against the clones and Naruto holding him in place. Sakura tried to run in to help when she realized Naruto couldn't hold him, but the Kumo shinobi threw the real one as Naruto's clones dispelled, and he collided with Sakura.

Sasuke cursed as the shinobi turned and grabbed Sasuke's wrist just in time. "Oh, nice you almost had me, but no luck." he lifted Sasuke, who spasmed as electricity shot through him, and his Chidori disappeared. He tossed Sasuke to the side and looked back to Naruto and Sakura.

"Naruto, keep him busy, I'll check on Sasuke, and then we'll try your new jutsu."

Naruto grinned, "Don't take too long, or I'll beat him myself."

Sakura ran to the right, and Naruto flooded their enemy with clones. The Kumo shinobi was busy cutting them all down, giving Sakura time to get to Sasuke as he was getting up. "You ok?"

Sasuke nodded and rubbed his wrist. "I'll be fine. Any ideas?"

"Naruto's new jutsu, he keeps mentioning?"

"Anything else for if that fails?"

"Uh, kiln move?" Sakura said with a shrug.

"Do you have enough chakra?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I haven't used much yet, so yes. Are you good to do it?"

Sasuke stood up and said, "I'll be fine." he activated his Sharingan "let's go."

They ran into the fight as Naruto fell back out of it to prepare himself. Sakura was quick enough to keep pace with the shinobis divided attention, and she packed a hard enough punch nowadays that he was wary of her but not as much as the Uchiha on his left.

They were overwhelming him, and he'd probably use a raiton jutsu soon. They glanced over at the light and noise coming from Naruto. He was holding a swirling ball of chakra that was spinning faster and faster as he ran in "Rasengan!"

Sakura blocked the shinobi's punch, and Sasuke kicked him in the head, staggering him as Naruto's jutsu made impact. There was a horrible ripping sound, and the shinobi shot back into the trees spinning like a windmill. They heard a sickening crunch as the shinobi hit a tree, and he fell limp and lifeless blood splattered all over the trunk.

They looked at Naruto, who looked a little shocked. "That uh-" he blinked "I didn't think that would kill him."

"What the hell was that?" Sasuke asked, looking dumbfounded.

Naruto shook the shock of his first kill from his face. "The pervy sage taught it to me while we were going to get Tsunade-baachan. It's apparently a move the fourth Hokage made." they stood in silence, and Naruto suddenly blurted, "The fourth Hokage's my dad, and my mom was Kushina Uzumaki. Apparently, there's a thing called a tail beast sealed inside me kinda like Gaara, but mine is called the Kuybi!"

His teammates blinked, and he took a shaky breath. "I've meant to talk to you guys about all that, but I got nervous and wasn't' sure how you'd take it, and I just killed that guy, and I know it's what shinobi do but-"

Naruto shut up as Sakura hugged him, and he saw Sasuke give a thin smile "it's alright, Naruto. You're still just a huge goofball and kinda an idiot, but most importantly, you're our teammate, so it's ok." Sakura said, pulling back.

He nodded and looked around, "where do you think the Kakashi-sensei and Neechan are?"

Tagami and the kunoichi she was fighting were both staring at the genin squad. She shook her head and looked at her opponent, both of them were bleeding from various nicks and cuts. "Look, you're in my homeland. You attacked me, and when I kill you, I will not be at fault. Your people know the rules of our land, so just run back to your boss and tell him whatever."

"Tsk like hell, I will. I'm gonna kill you, and when my backup shows up, we're gonna kill the kids then the rest of the Konoha scum in this land."

Tagami groaned, "fine, guess we do it the messy way." several senbon fell from her sleeves, and she threw them. Her opponent deflected them, and they came in close, making Tagami resort to taijutsu. As they fought, Tagami stabbed several senbon into her opponent's arms and legs. The kunoichi fell back and gasped as she felt the tug from the senbon, and the ninja wire glinted in the mid-morning light.

The wires all lead back to Tagami, who held them in her mouth and grinning as she spoke, "Raiton: Shokkuwaiyā!"

The kunoichi tried to pull the senbon out, but she didn't get them all in time as the lighting tore down the wires and hit her. The woman screamed and spasmed as she collapsed. Tagami walked up and kneeled, slipping a kunai in between her opponent's ribs. "Should have just run when I gave the option."

As she walked over to check on Sakura and her teammates Kakashi appeared looking none the worse for wear. "Oh, Hatake-san good timing. You've got some pretty strong genin; they took care of their opponent before I finished mine."

Kakashi nodded and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I saw on my way back. I see Jiraiya-sama is teaching you some advanced things."

Naruto nodded, "yeah, he said it was dad's move and that I should know how to use it."

Sakura saw a pensive look pass over her sensei briefly before it was neutral again. Sasuke, on the other hand, looked annoyed and wasn't hiding it. A dog's howl caught the team's attention, and Kakashi spoke up, taking the lead "come on, they found something."

The team headed to the hounds gathered by the entrance of a cave near the rocky shoreline. Naruto looked out over to the horizon, his eyes seemed fixed on something in the distance. Sakura patted his shoulder, and he seemed to snap out of it, "you good, Naruto?"

He smiled sheepishly, "huh? Oh yeah, just feels like there's something out there."

Kakashi looked at them before turning his attention to the cave and held up a hand "hold." He continued forward on his own, "Team Haruno, this is Kakashi Hatake of Team Seven; we're here to extract you!"

Sakura tensed and then felt relief as she heard her mother's voice start the passphrase for chunin. Once it was concluded, Team Seven and Tagami were able to enter, and Sakura nearly ran when she saw her mother standing at the ready. Her father had bandages around his arm, and their teammate was on the ground, unconscious. "Sakura? What are you doing here?"

She held back tears and smiled "we took the mission to come rescue you. I couldn't just leave that up to some other team. I know how difficult dad can be when he's hurt."

Her father groaned, "hey now. It's not ok to talk about your old man like that."

Sakura's mother smiled at them but quickly got serious as she looked at Kakashi "why did it take you so long to get here? Our last report was sent over two weeks ago. We've been running and hiding trying to get back to Konoha with Hokeno-san." she motioned to the ragged-looking bureaucrat who was sitting near their injured teammate.

Sakura and the others tensed, wondering what Kakashi would say. He looked around, "there was an incident that caused delays on us being able to process the message. You'll get a debrief once we're home."

Mebuki looked annoyed, "fine, but we can't move. Mita is injured pretty badly."

Tagami stepped up and said, "I know basic medical ninjutsu. I can take a look at him and see what I can do."

As she healed him, Sakura watched intently, "I've been looking into advanced first aid and some healing jutsu, but I haven't had a chance to learn any yet."

"It's gonna take a lot of hard work to get it right and to get good at it, but since you're from Konoha, you probably have access to plenty of material."

Once Tagami was done, Mita groaned, but he could stand, "I don't think you'll be able to do much fighting, but you'll live."

He thanked her, and Hokeno-san pushed his thinning gray hairs out of his face, "a-are we going to be able to get back now?"

Kakashi nodded, "yes, sir, we'll get you home safe and sound."

Hokeno nodded, "g-good No offense, shinobi, but I hope I don't ever have to come back here."

Tagami smiled. "I apologize on behalf of my land for the way you were treated. We'll endeavor to improve our security."

Pakkun ran in, "Hey pups, we got incoming. Best get out here."

Kakashi cursed. "I'll take command. Mebuki-san, Kizashi-san keep Mita and Hokeno-sama safe. Team Seven with me." He looked at Tagami. "You best run before it's too late."

She laughed "sure and tell my superiors that I let murders who disrupt the peace roam around. Kumo started this, and they started it in my land, so I'll make em pay."

He nodded, and as they moved, Sakura pretended not to see the looks her parents gave each other. They had left before all her training and were understandably worried that their daughter was unprepared for this fight. She'd have to show them how she's improved.

They exited the cave and saw eight Kumo shinobi waiting for them, the leader of which they recognized from earlier. He growled, "You bastards have some nerve killing our own. We're gonna put you down. Especially you Copycat ninja."

Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate, "remember your training. Fight as a team and watch each other's backs."

The fight was organized chaos. Sakura's parents stayed back, and Tagami assisted them with anyone who got too close. Kakashi was taking on several opponents at once while Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura took on those who were left. Naruto's clones swarmed people left and right, leading them into Sakura and Sasuke, who would finish them. Once the fight was over, they made a run for it, heading straight for the border, pushing their speed with chakra.

Once they were getting close, Sakura felt like she was going to collapse. She had to stop using chakra before she ran out, and she could tell Sasuke was reaching his limit. Even Naruto, for his bottomless pit of chakra, was slowing down. Tagami stopped as they reached the border "here's my stop. You lot get back home and come visit sometime I'll get ya a discount at a hotel."

Naruto and the others waved, and before they parted, Tagami patted Sakura's head, "keep at it and become a cooler kunoichi than me."

Sakura nodded enthusiastically, "I'll do my best."