Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 7

"Settle down." Tsunade said. She was sitting in her office with the Konoha Twelve (excluding Sakura, Sasuke and Neji) and Sai. Unfortunately, the news about Sakura, the terrible news about her being in league with the Akatsuki, was true. The cluster of chunins - and genin in Naruto's case - were making a lot of noise. The Godaime had just told them all about Sakura. Naruto, Sai, Lee and Tenten were already in the know. But, to the others, this came as a shock.

"What?!" Ino cried. "Tsunade-sama, this cannot be true. Forehead would never-"

"Of course it's true." Kiba interrupted. "First it was Sasuke and now Sakura. Team Seven is-"

"Is what, Kiba?" Naruto dared him to continue. The Inuzuka shrugged his shoulders in response, not wanting to anger the jinchuriki.

"I can't believe what she did to Neji-kun..." Tenten put her hand to her forehead, still not recovered from the horrifying sounds she heard over the headset. Lee put his hand on her shoulder in a consoling manner.

"He's fine, Tenten-chan." Her teammate said. Of course, he didn't have any eyes or an arm. Although, there were some arrangements in the hospital for Neji to receive a prosthetic arm.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama?" Hinata spoke from beside Shino. "Does this make Sakura... an S-class rogue ninja?" She asked.

"Yes." The Fifth said.

" But Oba-chan-" Naruto exclaimed.

"But nothing, Naruto. She is a part of a S-class criminal organisation. She is linked in with the kidnapping of the Kazekage and the murder of his brother." The group began to loudly speak once again. Some were insulting Sakura, others were displaying their shock and some stayed quiet. Like Ino.

Yes, she was shocked. Yes, she was mad at Sakura. But, maybe everyone here was at fault a little. Ino wasn't stupid. I'm just a terrible friend. The Team Ten Kunoichi thought. She knew of what the others said about her. And, she knew that Sakura knew of it. But, she made no move to tell her. The blonde did try to defend her best friend sometimes, though she didn't try hard enough.

"Quiet!" Tsunade yelled. "Everyone is dismissed except Naruto and Sai." The group left, however Ino lingered outside the door, listening in on what was going on. "Temari of the Sand has received some intel from Sasori." The Godaime began. The battle with Temari, Chiyo and Yamato against the puppet master resulted in the former's win. Although, Chiyo did die after reincarnating Gaara. In his last words, Sasori had announced that Sakura was supposed to meet an Akatsuki spy for Orochimaru at Tenchi Bridge in 10 days.

After relaying this information to the remains of Team Seven, Naruto's eyebrows jumped to his hairline. "You mean, Sakura-chan is going to meet someone... who could know the whereabouts of Sasuke?"

"Yes." Tsunade replied. "And I want to send Team Seven to observe. It could be a trap."

"We'll do it!" The genin exclaimed.

"But, with only you two and Yamato, I don't know if that's wise..." The Fifth Hokage put her fingers on her chin, searching for an alternative. It was just then when Ino barged into the room.

"Tsunade-sama, I apologise for eavesdropping but I'll go with them." She said. "I have knowledge in medical ninjutsu so I can prove useful on the mission. Alongside this, my Yamanaka clan heritage allows me to telepathically relay information. Thus, my skills are appropriate with this type of mission." The girl tried to sell herself as much as she could and it seemed to work.

"Alright. Yamato, did you catch that?"

The man poofed into the room. "Yes, Godaime-sama." He said.

"Okay, temporary Team Seven. Get ready and leave as soon as you can. You only have 7 days remaining to make it to Tenchi Bridge and be prepared to run into the Akatsuki, Orochumaru and Sasuke and Sakura. Dismissed!"

The newly formed team left the office, making plans to meet at the Lead Village Gate.

As soon as they left, Tsunade slammed her desk with her finger, cursing as she did so.

"Ready for round 2?" Hidan smirked, raising his eyebrows suggestively at the pinkette. She only rolled her eyes and finished changing.

"I have somewhere to be." She responded, hearing a sigh in response. Paying no mind to him, Sakura left the hideout. Eventually, she made it to one of Madara's secret underground training spots. It was one of the usual areas that she trained in with her sensei. He was already there, waiting for her.

"Madara-sensei, I was hoping to ask you something." Sakura began.

"What is it?" The man with the mask asked.

"Kakashi, he used the same ability as you. And, you both have one Sharingan each. I put two and two together..." She trailed off, wondering if she was being too invasive with her sensei.

"Sakura, yes. It is true. I gave Kakashi his Sharingan. But, I wish to not speak of it." He said.

"Sorry..." She mumbled. "One more thing-"

"What is it?" Her sensei was really annoyed now and Sakura apologised once more.

"I have to leave soon to Tenchi Bridge. It was something Sasori asked me to do before he died." The rogue ninja explained.

"Yes, I am well aware of this." Madara replied. "But, you'll be able to get there quickly. So, forget about that for now."

"Yes, sensei." Sakura said, getting into a stance, now ready to train.

If she did good, she had a chance of getting a hug.

This is bad. Ino thought to herself. Sai had insulted Sasuke and Sakura a few times and Naruto was livid.

"Sakura is the ugly bitch who decided to betray her village. Why would you want to save her?" Sai asked. Even though he insulted the rogue ninja with such venom, his delivery was still very monotone, his voice robotic.

All Naruto could see was red when he looked at the Root member. "I'll destroy you!" He lunged at the pale boy but Ino put her hand out, stopping him.

"Sai-san," She began. "I'll hope you'll forgive Naruto for his manners. He doesn't want you to think of him like that." She smiled at him. Not knowing how to respond, Sai smiled back. Only to fall backwards as Ino quickly punched him.

"Ugh!" He cried as he fell onto his back, metres away from where Ino punched him. Naruto and Yamato's eyebrows jumped up to their hairlines as they observed the attack.

"I, however, don't give a fuck about what you think of me." The blonde kunoichi said. "Speak about Forehead like that again and it will be more than a punch."

Ino's a badass... Naruto thought as Yamato made a cage and threatened to lock them up.

Goddamn, stupid-ass Sasori... Sakura was complaining the entire way to Tenchi Bridge. She didn't want to go through with this meeting in the first place. However, she lost a bet and was forced into doing whatever Sasori wanted.

"He's dead though. Why are you still doing this?" Inner Sakura asked.

"Because I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!" An annoyingly familiar voice shouted in Sakura's head.

"Because..." The pinkette started to think of an answer. "I want to know what Orochimaru is up to. Call it curiosity." She told her Inner.

"That better be the reason."

Days had passed and Sakura finally made it to Tenchi Bridge. She made it just in time.

Standing at the centre of the bridge, she waited for whomever this spy was. In the corner of her mind, she wondered if she would see Sasuke. She hadn't seen him in a long time, not since he left her on that bench with no care in the world for her.

I wonder how strong he has gotten... Sakura thought.

The sound of footsteps on the bridge threw her out of her head. Shock crowded her features, mirroring the person opposite her.

"Kabuto Yakushi." She said.

At the same time, he said "Sakura Haruno."

"Why am I surprised? Once a spy, always a spy, right?" Sakura asked.

"I never thought you would join the Akatsuki. You were just a little girl when we first met, clinging to Sasuke-kun wherever you were." Kabuto smirked at her.

"Let's hurry this up, I have somewhere to be." She said, tapping her foot impatiently but really, she just didn't like him and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"Well, Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke-kun and I often change hideouts to avoid attention. Orochimaru has many spread out across the Shinobi world." Kabuto began. His eyes narrowed for a split-second but then he couldn't stop a smirk from gracing his features.

All of a sudden, Ororchimaru appeared behind the spy. "My, my, my... Little cherry blossom." The silver-haired man jumped to Sakura's side.

"You were followed?" Sakura asked, boredly. In a quick action, a dagger was produced from her sleeve and she swiped at Kabuto. Undoing his previous move, he slid over to Orochimaru.

"You knew?" He asked.

"What spy has the one person we're trying to avoid follow him?" The pinkette asked.

"Little cherry blossom is all grown up... Delicious." Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue. "Why don't you let your friends out of hiding?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. Then, she felt it. Four chakra signatures were hiding behind her. How could she have missed it? Two were very familliar. The other two, not so much.

Quickly, four Konoha ninja jumped to the bridge. Sakura realised that she was surrounded, bang in the centre of the bridge.

"How did you know about this?" Sakura asked her former teammate. "It was that bastard Sasori. He told you before he died. Motherfucker!"

"So, it does seem like she is part of the Akatsuki. It wasn't an act." Kabuto said to Orochimaru. "Looks like Sasuke-kun's team is broken for good."

"Don't talk about him!" Naruto yelled at the spy, his eyes turned red.

"Fore- ...Sakura." Ino whispered loud enough for her former best friend to look at her. And with such hate.

I could try and capture Naruto... Sakura pondered. But this is too much attention, I better leave.

"See you around." Sakura said, forming a hand sign as she dissolved into cherry blossoms.

"No!" Naruto screamed.

"That's the second teammate you let go." Kabuto said to him. In repsonse, Naruto unleashed a tail, furious with what the spy said.

Amid the chaos around her, Ino noticed something. She could still feel Sakura's chakra. It was close by, as if she was waiting. She couldn't let this opportunity go to waste.

As the bridge broke, Ino darted off into the forest, mentally apologising to her team. But there were three of them, so they would be fine, right?

The Yamanaka girl raced to where she could feel Sakura's chakra. She had to bring her back, she had to!

The Cherry Blossom Transportation Technique was very useful for a quick getaway. However, it had some limitations. First, there was a radius in which Sakura could travel and, second, there was a time limit after she used it, making her wait before utilising it a second time.

So, she leaned on a tree and waited. She could have ran on and jumped from tree to tree but she wasn't bothered. She didn't feel like it.

"Sakura!" Ino shouted, finally reaching where her former friend was waiting.

"Ino." Sakura said upon seeing her. "What are you doing here? Go home."

"I'm not leaving, not without you." She stood, rooted to the spot, a look of fierce determination was spread across her face. "We thought you were dead..." Her voice slightly broke. "We sent a squad to see if you were there-"

"And you didn't find me. Blah, blah, blah. Shocked, right?" Sakura rudely interrupted her. "Let me put it in words a blonde will understand, me no go Konoha. Understand?"

"Why? Why join the Akatsuki?" The Yamanaka asked. "Do you really want to capture bijuu? Extracting them kills the host, you know? Do you really want Naruto to die?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. How did she know that Narutk was a jinchuriki? Did he tell her? It was a secret that was kept by the heads of Konoha, why would Ino know that?

"I know that extraction kills the host. Remember Gaara? He's supposed to be as dead as his brother." Sakura replied. "The Akatsuki gives people what they want. But you wouldn't understand, none of you Konoha scum would!"

"I'm taking you back home!" Ino shouted, getting into a battle stance.

"You're going to have to drag my dead body back then!"

Immediately, branches shot out of the tree, latching onto Ino's body. With a chakra scalpal, the blonde sliced away the branches and jumped to safety on the ground.

However, more blocks of wood shot out of the ground, restraining Ino's arms. Then, her legs were bound together- making her fall to the floor - before a long branch wrapped around her entire body.

Dagger in hand, Sakura sauntered towards her restricted friend. She was ready to kill the Konoha chunin now.

"I'm not going to fall behind you, Forehead."

"Bring it on, Pig."

But, Ino wasn't with them... Ino constantly defended her. Ino was her best friend.

Sakura was now standing right infront of the blue-eyed girl. Her former friend stared up at her, eyes wide.

Even though she was a part of this criminal organisation, even though she had severed her bonds with the Hidden Leaf, she still loved Ino.

Ino was always there for her. Ino was there for her when Sasuke left. Ino was there for her during the Chunin Exams. Ino was there for her when her parents died.

How can I kill her?

Sakura put her dagger back in her sleeve. "I don't want to kill you." She said before dissolving into hundreds of cherry blossoms.

As soon as she left, the wood wrapped around Ino slithered off like a snake and freed her. The blonde shook her head, confused as to what just happen. Sakura had looked at her with intent to kill and then... What she said at the end... Was Sakura still in there? Did she still care? Was she hiding behind this terrifyingly powerful persona?

Ino didn't know how long she had been sitting there when Naruto and Yamato had found her.

"Ino-chan, are you okay?" The Dobe asked her.

"I saw Sakura." She replied.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, fearfully.

"She almost killed me." Ino said. "Almost. She spared me." She looked at Naruto, her eyes wide. "She's still there." A lone tear slid down her cheek.

"Please, we need to discuss what to do next." Yamato interrupted them. "We need to deal with Sai."

"What"s wrong with Sai?" Ino asked. Her teammates exchanged sad looks. "What happened? Where is he?"