A few days later Sasuke and Sakura began preparing for their mission to Kirigakure "We just got back and your already leaving again" Mebuki frowned taking note of their behavior after literally walking through the door.
"Sorry Mom, Mizukage-sama asked for help to straighten out her hospital and Shishou wants to get a treaty with Mist" Sakura apologized, sorting through what she had in her pack and adding more here or there as it was needed.
Mebuki huffed but said no more because she knew she couldn't argue, her daughter was a Chunin, her skills were in demand "Don't worry though I doubt anything bad will happen" Sasuke assured since Sakura hadn't had any kind of gut feelings, yet, he realized at that moment.
This did not help in the least "Why so unsure sounding then Sasuke-chan" Shisui scoffed, wishing he could just march up to Tsunade and demand to go on the mission with them, which would probably end up with him just getting decked in the face and in the hospital.
Because the woman would refuse to heal him and forbid anyone else from healing him as well in punishment "Great their arguing again" Naruto groaned when the two squabbled ridiculously until Sakura cleared her throat pointedly.
Kizashi chuckling under his breath when the two Uchiha promptly shut up "Honestly" Itachi sighed, not understanding how Sakura could handle those two like she did, he would have straight up knocked them out if he could anyway.
Disadvantage of no chakra since it had been sealed upon his arrival until everyone was sure he was no threat to the village even with his name having been cleared, though it would be unsealed soon, Tsunade had told him so herself.
While Kabuto would probably spend the rest of his days locked up in a cell in the bowels of T&I completely bereft of chakra "You two never learn" Kizashi shook his head when Sasuke and Shisui glared at each other.
Until Sakura whacked them both over the head "Focus Sasuke, pack for the mission now, glare at Shisui later" Sakura raised a fuscia brow daring her teammate to argue, he gulped but did as commanded by focusing all of his attention on packing.
Ignoring Shisui now as he and Sakura readied their packs "There's just a few things I need to get down at the market" Sakura commented, scribbling a list so she didn't forget anything essential, apparently Sasuke needed some things to as he followed her to the door.
"We'll be back in a bit" Sasuke said, surging forward as Sakura made a hand sign and put his hand on her shoulder in the nick of time to be swept up in a flurry of sweet smelling cherry blossoms and a moment later they were at the market.
Sakura snorted at him but marched towards the weapons shop "Just think Sasuke, by the time we return, we'll be ready to start teaching kids at the academy, can you believe it" Sakura chattered as she searched for what she needed off the rack.
For a moment he was confused until realization hit him 'Oh yeah that's right, nearly forgot, what do you supposed they'll have us doing anyway" Sasuke questioned, picking up random weapons and testing their weight or sharpness.
She didn't seem to know either but chose a set of odd looking daggers "Did you just come along to yack because I don't see you buying anything" Sakura asked as she moved further into the market, eyes searching for what she needed.
He spluttered for a moment "No I didn't just come to yack Sakura" Sasuke huffed then moved off to find what he needed for his pack, when he met back up with her fifteen minutes later Mifune and his two men had spotted her.
And the four of them were talking as she dug through a box and pulled out a cloak "What on earth would you need that for" he asked walking over to them, strange objects of his own sealed away in a storage scroll.
That way he didn't get weirded out looks "You do know what Kiri is like right, subpar temperatures, marshes and swamps, mist" Sakura folded the dark colored cloak as she raised an eyebrow on him.
Making him flush "So I still have a lot to learn okay" Sasuke grumbled digging through the box of dark cloaks himself and picking out a dark blue one while hers was a grayish color and shimmered, she would probably blend in better now that he was thinking about it.
But there were no more cloaks like the one she had "Is there a specific reason your going to Kirigakure" Mifune frowned, having heard plenty of terrible rumors about the Bloody Mist Village and he wasn't sure he wanted the two before him going there at all.
"Remember what Tsunade-shishou said, yeah that's our next big mission, we get to straighten out their hospital" Sakura snickered hardly able to wait until she could order the medics around, they would never be expecting someone like her after all.
Sasuke edged away from her "Straighten out their hospital" Okisuke intoned incredulously, having been previously introduced to the Chunin that intrigued his leader the most and he had a funny feeling they might be following the two teenagers on their mission.
"Yeah, we're medics you see, while I enjoy going on missions, the hospitals my real turf, the place I excel" Sasuke explained, proud of his achievements and his goal to become the best medic that he could be.
Mifune rubbed his chin at that but was interrupted from speaking as another person joined their group "Dare I ask what your in the market for today Sakura" Shino, the last member of their team sidled up to his girlfriend.
Planting himself firmly at her side as nonchalantly as he could "Was just replacing a few things Shino-kun, Sasuke and I have a mission tomorrow" Sakura informed, features softening as she cuddled into his side.
"Hmm and when might you be returning from your mission, why because you have other obligations to take care of" Shino inquired, looking worried, clearly he wasn't going along but that didn't make him any less assured.
Sakura's smile softened even more and then without even thinking about it or who was stood in front of her she reached up on her tip-toes and pecked him on the cheek tenderly "Gah do you have to do that in front of people" Sasuke flushed red at the display of affection.
Looking clear away from the duo in embarrassment despite Sakura's giggling indicating the moment was over "Anyway as for your question Shino, a couple weeks probably longer depending on how bad Mist's hospital is" Sakura admitted.
Not leaving her boyfriend hanging "Oh I see" Shino nodded, amused at Sasuke's antics, before eyeing Mifune who was eyeing them critically, he and Sakura to be precise and he knew what the man was going to ask before the question was asked.
"Betrothed to one another and we're dating, why because we share mutual feelings for each other" Shino said in his own unique way causing the Head Samurai to stare at them incredulously, then a contemplative expression formed on Mifune's face.
The two were ready for him "Your so young, being bound to one another doesn't bother you" Mifune inquired curiously never having seen someone as different as Sakura was, it was definitely a strange thing to witness really.
Sakura nodded "Perhaps, but I've liked Shino for a long time, so no Mifune-dono it doesn't bother me because I know in my heart that he's the one I want to be with for the rest of my life" Sakura admitted softly.
Sasuke let a smile form on his face in response as Shino nodded his agreement to what Sakura had said "Though you can thank the betrothal on our parents, his and ours anyway" Sasuke snorted suddenly over the embarrassment of before.
Mifune chuckled "One last question before you go, Sakura-san are you from some sort of clan, as I heard it betrothals between different clans are rare nowadays as most choose to intermarry" the bald headed samurai who'd introduced himself as Okisuke earlier questioned.
"Nope, I'm a first generation ninja and my parents are civilian merchants and a couple of oddballs" Sakura declared quite proud of herself because everything that she'd done, she'd done without clan backing, technically.
With that the samurai moved on ending the conversation, Shino nodded to Sakura and then both Sakura and Sasuke body flickered back to the house to finish their preparations for the following morning "I just think Tsunade-sama's pushing you to much" Mebuki huffed during breakfast.
And her daughter shrugged awkwardly "All the work of a Chunin Mom and stop pouting Shisui-ni, it's not cute and very disturbing" Sakura said, shooting Shisui an unamused look, prompting a chuckle from Itachi as Shisui grumbled under his breath.
"Don't forget to take your nightlight and light up" Naruto reminded, uselessly as he found out in the next minute as Sakura showed him that she already had those two items stowed away in her pack then she and Sasuke finished eating and cleaned up after themselves.
And with a nod at one another they headed for the door "We'll be back in a few weeks probably, depends on how bad the hospital is" Sasuke waved, following after Sakura who led the way to the gates where they met the other medics they'd chosen to help them on the mission.
More curiously was the Samurai standing amongst the six medics from the hospital "If you don't mind, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san we'd like to join you on your journey to Kirigakure" Mifune stepped forward at the sight of them asking that with a short bow.
Just a little shocked neither teen could find any complaint about the request "Great, we'd love to have you along Mifune-dono" Sakura smiled brightly, signing her name as she did so before letting Sasuke take his turn.
A moment later they were marching down the path in the direction of Water Country, thirty minutes later both Sakura and Sasuke became very vigilant to their surroundings "It's not like we're going to be attacked or anything you know" one of the medics, Naosu commented.
Unworried about the dangers that lurked outside the village, Sakura curled her lip but it was Sasuke who said it "Don't be naive Naosu-san, anything could happen, including being attacked" Sasuke intoned seriously.
Having learned from multiple experiences "Right" the woman grimaced, but kept up with the grueling pace that was being set, others doing their best to do the same as they hurried down the path to Kirigakure, never knowing of the confrontation that was about to happen.
~Two Days Earlier~
Inside a certain Akatsuki base, in Amegakure, like what happened with Minato, someone was brought back, a long thought to be dead friend to the leaders of Akatsuki, he just suddenly sat up, the same age as when he'd died.
Konan and Nagato had no clue as to what was going on as Yahiko stared at them wide eyed after they'd explained things to him "You turned Akatsuki into a criminal organization, how could you Nagato, Konan, recruiting S Class rogues, killing people that's just…" Yahiko ranted.
Looking like he was about to be sick as he gave a little retch but nothing expelled from his stomach "What else could we have done Yahiko-kun, you were dead, that man promised we could see you again if we did it this way" Konan frowned.
Not sure how to handle having her crush come back to life still a sixteen year old "There were other choices like not becoming criminals" Yahiko snapped, brown eyes glaring at his friends who were no longer the people he knew.
With that he made up his mind and stormed off by the time Nagato and Konan realized that he'd left it was to late they had no idea where he'd gone, which unfortunately for him he'd wandered into Fire Country territory and he had no idea he was about to have an encounter the likes of which he'd never had before.
~Now~
Three hours after leaving Leaf behind they were approaching a good stopping point so that the other medics who weren't use to long travel could rest for a bit and they could eat lunch, at this point Sasuke was pretty certain that nothing to terrible was going to happen.
How wrong he was because the moment they stood to continue their trek a streak of orange shot down in front of them and Sakura slammed her fist into it "GET BACK" she shouted urgently as the unknown was thrown with great force into a tree.
It fell over with a crack and Sakura pulled out a kunai "He's not getting up, I think you hit some kind of traveler Sakura" Sasuke pointed out after a moment of the guy not moving, unconscious or dead he didn't know so he activated his sharingan to check and the guy was still alive.
Sakura kept her guard up though "He's no traveler Sasuke, he's the Leader of Akatsuki, I would recognize that hair anywhere" Sakura admitted, heart beating against her ribs harshly in fear, was the Leader after her now as well because two of his agents had gone rogue on him.
She didn't know but letting her guard down would probably prove fatal for all of them "Then allow us to tie him up" Mifune moved toward the downed shinobi swiftly a roll of rope in hands then made sure the enemy was tied up expertly where he wouldn't be able to escape easily.
After a couple minutes of just eyeing the guy warily Sakura felt safe in putting her kunai away only to whip it out again when he groaned, waking up from his impromptu and rather painful nap "Fuck what hit me" he cursed, in unbearable agony.
"That would have been me, so Leader-san what do you think your doing in Fire Country so near the Leaf Village, after Naruto perhaps or Itachi or Kisame maybe, well if you think I'll let you touch them your dead wrong" Sakura glared furiously at him.
Edging closer, brandishing her weapon threateningly "Who're you calling Leader-san, and I don't know who those people are, my names Yahiko and until two days ago I was dead" the orange haired male huffed at the girl in front of him.
"Sounds an awful lot like what happened to Lord Fourth" Sasuke chimed in, losing the tension from his shoulders as Sakura lowered her kunai again, eyeing Yahiko before nodding as she believed him.
With that Yahiko was untied and healed, Sakura kept a careful distance from him after that though believing and trusting were two different things after all "I take it we met, while I was dead I mean and my supposed best friend was using my body" Yahiko asked.
Looking sour about the whole ordeal "Unfortunately Yahiko-san, I assume it was Nagato-san that was doing all that and on his orders I was brought to him while he was using your body" Sakura nodded with a grimace.
Mifune and his left and right hands put their hands on their swords at that "He could still be, being used" Urakaku said not trusting Yahiko in the least, seeing who he was affiliated with, Sakura at the very least seemed to be a little more rational.
As she didn't make a move towards her weapon again, Sasuke firmly at her side "No, Nagato's jutsu doesn't work like that, it has to be a dead body otherwise he can't control it" Yahiko shook his head, glad that Nagato had explained it all to him before he'd just up and left.
"Well what do we do with him Sakura, your call as mission leader technically" Sasuke glanced to his teammate who frowned deeply, then to Yahiko, the others on the mission and finally the samurai before back to Sakura.
Who sighed softly "Turning back is not an option, so the next best is to have Yahiko-san with us, while you send Umo to inform Tsunade-shishou about the situation, then she can get in contact with Jiraiya-sama" Sakura declared.
Yahiko nodded at that, liking the idea of getting in contact with his old sensei very much "Good, then perhaps he can come and get me from wherever your going and take me back with him to Leaf, cause that's who I was trying to find but I got lost" Yahiko rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Four minutes later Umo was flying back to Leaf and they continued their trek forward "By the way you have one hell of a punch for a little girl" Yahiko commented suddenly, remembering the pain he'd been in before she'd healed him.
Sakura gave him a half smile, attention on her surroundings more on edge than before because someone could come after Yahiko at any time "She's learning from the best" Sasuke scoffed lightly keeping his sharingan activated.
That way he would see someone coming at them from a mile away, Yahiko deflated slightly, especially when for another four hours no one said another word until they found a place to set up camp in an abandoned cave.
"Check the back Sasuke, create an escape route if need-be then set up as many traps as you can, I'll do the same at this end, Naosu-san please gather herbs, Igaku-san fetch a few pales of water please, Kenko-san collect berries please, Genki, Herasu and Iryo hunt please" Sakura doled out orders.
Leaving the Samurai and Yahiko out because she had no control over their actions and she couldn't command them like the others but soon dinner was boiling away over a quickly made fire, all of them safe within a barrier, an escape route just at the other end of the cave if they needed it.
Yahiko eyed the two teens warily then worked up the nerve to ask a question "No offense but why are you the one in charge, shouldn't they be the ones barking orders at the two of you" Yahiko inquired after a few minutes.
In which they all waited patiently for dinner to be ready to eat "Usually, but seeing who my shishou is, I was put in charge for the duration of this mission" Sakura explained simply, plus there was no way she'd ever argue with Tsunade it would result in unbearable agony probably.
"And the three of us here are simply tagging along, though it surprises me to see how easy protecting others comes to you Sakura-san" Mifune added with a small quirk of his lips, making the girl blush a little.
While Sasuke smirked "She's always been like that" the Uchiha said, remembering as far back to when she'd gotten his pencil back for him, that's when their friendship had really started, she hadn't even cared that she had a bruise as long as he was happy she was happy.
Then Naruto had joined their ragtag group of friends followed Kiba, Shikamaru and Ino, Hinata was mostly Naruto's teammate but Sakura did seem to have a sort of friendship with the girl and Choji kept mostly to his teammates himself.
Sakura shrugged un-repentantly "Not going to argue that huh" Okisuke raised an ebony brow at the girl who shook her head before informing them all that dinner was ready and they could eat now, in fact she was the first one to have a bowl of delicious soup.
Before she sipped at it carefully for a bit, others simply digging in because they were hungry "So another question, do you two usually go overboard or is this just a special one time occurrence" Yahiko nodded at the booby-trapped cave entrance.
"Every time Yahiko-san, Sasuke and I are danger magnets so we can never be to careful really, being excessive like that is a must to be honest just so that we can protect ourselves and whoever is with us at the time" Sakura grimaced.
Glancing out of the cave for a brief moment "And if you think that's bad, you should see our house, it's covered in seals that electrocute you if you try to enter with bad intentions" Sasuke chimed in.
Mifune raised both eyebrows at that, inwardly pondering the strangeness of the two children before him "Whatever for, surely no one would try to attack you in your village right" Urakaku spluttered horrified at what they were hearing.
Sasuke and Sakura grit their teeth "Not now maybe but when we first became shinobi, Danzo Shimura was running an illegal organization called root and he sent operatives after Naruto to kill him just because of what he has sealed inside of him" Sakura growled.
Crushing her wooden spoon in remembrance until it was practically dust "Your friends a Jinchuuriki huh, yeah Nagato told me what his goal was all about and protecting this Naruto won't be easy especially with that Rinnegan of his" Yahiko informed.
Neither Sasuke or Sakura spoke after that simply quieting down until eventually they all laid down to get some rest and three days later, one of which was spent on a boat, the last two traversing swamps and marshes the large group made it to Kirigakure.
"We weren't expecting Samurai to be in your party and who is that fellow there" Mei frowned, worried that the group was here to do something entirely different than what she'd asked them there for and there was also the concerning matter of the extra that she hadn't been told about.
Then again he could be one of the top medics so what did she know "Don't mind us Mei-san, we simply tagged along and have no intention of causing any trouble in your village, these two intrigue us and we'd like to watch over them while their here" Okisuke cleared his throat.
Gesturing at Sakura and Sasuke "As for your question Mizukage-sama this is Yahiko-san, we picked him up on the way here and felt that it was best that he stay with us until we returned to Konohagakure for his own safety" Sakura stepped forward explaining the situation.
Mei narrowed her eyes at that "For his safety, you don't think that whoever is after him would come here do you" Mei questioned now more worried than before, thankfully Sakura shook her head confusing her massively.
"The people who'd be searching for him would probably not expect him to be so far away so wouldn't think to look here so everything's fine for now" Sasuke interjected, hoping they could get down to talking about why they were their soon.
Relieved Mei decided it was time to talk about their mission "You two and anyone you've brought with you will be reforming my village's hospital, it will be a tough thankless job but I have high hopes for you eight" Mei stood.
Intent on escorting the group to the hospital herself, several streets later they were standing before it, "It looks normal" Sasuke commented only to get whacked over the head, Yahiko shuddered and edged away from her warily while Sasuke focused chakra into his hands to heal the bruise.
Mizukage giggling at their antics "Right, shall we go in so that I can introduce you to the staff" Mei suggested and just to be sure Sakura put a cream under her nose that would numb her sense of smell for the time being.
Because she had no idea what kind of horrors would be found on the other side of those doors, a minute later Sakura closed her eyes feeling sick even though she couldn't smell it, blood was painted on the walls in a horrifying display.
Sasuke squeezed her hand in reassurance "Let me handle the clean up part okay Sakura" the Uchiha whispered to his sensitive teammate, despite all her preparations, one could never truly prepare for something as horrific as this hospital.
She shook her head "I'll be fine, besides this is a group effort and if Shishou finds out I didn't pull my weight my head will roll probably" Sakura grimaced, Tsunade was like that after all, then she focused forward as they came to a stop.
Their escort spoke to someone who could have been the Head Medic, and fifteen minutes later everyone was gathered in the largest meeting room "Everyone, Konohagakure has sent us help to reform our hospital, so until they leave, their the ones in charge.
"What ain't no way I'm listening to outsiders Mizukage-sama especially two little brats like them, they don't know nothing of what we've been through so I won't have it" a belligerent idiot shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.
Having suspected this, Mei shot a look at Sakura, who nodded in resignation, in a flurry of sweet smelling cherry blossoms she was before the idiot gripping him by the shirt and lifting him off his feet "Want to say that again" Sakura raised a fuscia brown, at her most intimidating.
Mifune chuckled under his breath as the man paled and shook his head rapidly "Good, glad we could come to an understanding, now here's whats going to happen, this hospital will be cleaned from top to bottom, everything will be scrubbed" Sakura declared.
Doling out the first of the many orders "Until then, all new and current patients will be healed by us, Naosu, Igaku, you two will heal new patients, Kenko, Genki will heal current patients, Herasu, Iryo you two will be with me" Sasuke clapped his hands.
Taking control as well, since he was half responsible for the completion of this mission "Before you all go….Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu" Sakura halted their disappearance, concentrating on the specific summon she wanted and out of a plume of smoke came a larger Katsuyu.
That split into smaller Katsuyu's so that everyone had one "Don't want communication to be an issue, if any of you have a problem, inform me via Katsuyu and I'd like to see the patient records room" Sakura informed.
With that before Mei's very eyes the room cleared out swiftly and she was left to head back to her office to work on paperwork, leaving the Leaf Shinobi to do their job and it wasn't until hours later near dinner time that any of them emerged from the hospital.
Bone tired and smelling like death and disease "Go take a bath Sakura" Sasuke nudged Sakura off once they'd found an inn who would take them, and paid for rooms for the next long while for however long they'd be there, Sakura did just that gladly before flopping down on a bed to rest, Sasuke doing the same in his room as the others did in theirs and they slept the night away.