Chapter Twenty-Two: The Big Battle
When Sakura finally made it outside she ran into Kakashi and the others. "Sachi? Kizashi? Saki? What are you guys doing here? Furthermore, where's Keiko?" she wondered before all of the children started talking over each other. That's when suddenly Kakashi placed two of his fingers in-between his teeth and whistled loudly before heaving a deep and heavy sigh.
"Can somebody please tell me where my little sister is!?" she hollered.
"The truth is she got stuck in the past again. I'm not quite sure how that keeps happening but all I know is that it has something to do with the old Japanese tree." He explained.
"Well can somebody please find her and bring her back? Ami is in danger. I think that Orochimaru is planning on drowning her." Sakura said.
"What!? He wouldn't! She's just an innocent little baby!" Sachi yelled while activating her sharingan and cursemark.
"Calm down." Kakashi began. "I'll be the one to take care of Orochimaru." He said.
"But what about Ami?" Sakura questioned him anxiously.
"Don't worry about Ami. She'll be fine. I'll protect her with my life. I promise you that." He assured her as she simply just glanced up at him and nodded slightly before she watched him vanish before her eyes.
"What is it Aunt Sakura?" Sachi wondered.
"Oh it's nothing, I was just thinking about something that's all." Sakura told her.
"Really? What's that?" Sachi questioned.
"I'll tell you later right now we have to find Keiko and get back in there to help your uncle." She explained but that's when all of a sudden Keiko appeared. "Keiko!" Sakura exclaimed while breathing a sigh of relief as she lifted her little sister inside of her arms and hugged her tightly. "Are you alright!?" she cried.
"Don't worry big sis I'm fine,.. where's big brother?" she wondered.
"He's back inside Orochimaru's lair, and now that I know you're alright, I'm going back in there to help him fight." She said.
"Not without me you're not." Keiko told her.
"Or me." Sachi spoke up.
"And me." Saki said.
"Count us in." Kizashi said with a proud grin.
"What do you mean us?" Sakura wondered. "You're the only one left." She pointed out as Keiko suddenly gasped.
"Where's Konohamaru!?" she cried.
"Oh shit! I thought that he was right behind me!" Kizashi exclaimed while quickly glancing over his shoulder into the emptiness.
"You shouldn't talk like that." Sakura began. "Your father would be very upset to hear you talking like that." She told him.
"Sorry sis, but that should take second priority right now as our first priority should be finding Konohamaru." Keiko told her while Sakura sat her down.
"Let's split up." Kizashi began. "Sachi and I will go looking for Konohamaru and you and Sakura and Saki can go and help Sasuke." He suggested while everybody else nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like a good plan to me." Keiko began. "Why don't one of you guys go ahead and text us when and if you find him." She suggested as Kizashi nodded back at her.
"Alright, sounds good. Come on then, let's go." He said before they split up inside their opposite directions.
"Oh and don't spend the whole entire time making out!" Keiko called back over her shoulder.
Meanwhile Sasuke was back inside fighting a whole entire group of Akatsuki members. Some of them he was charging at full speed with his Chidori and the other members he was using his sword to attack them. That's when all of a sudden Sakura, Keiko, and Saki appeared behind him.
"Big brother!" Keiko cried out as soon as she saw him and that's when suddenly Sasuke stopped fighting and then turned around to face her.
"Keiko!" he cried as he quickly hurried over to her hoisted her up inside his arms and embraced her tightly. "What are you doing here!? You shouldn't be here it's much too dangerous for a kid." He told her before pecking her on her cheek.
"I'm sorry big brother but we had to come, we were really worried about you." She told him.
"And I'm extremely worried about you right now so you better just go home." He told her as Sakura started fighting the Akatsuki with her super strength along with Saki who was busy attacking them with her shuriken.
"Please big brother just let me fight." She pleaded. "Don't you believe in me?" she questioned him before Sasuke just simply sighed.
"Alright, fine. Just promise me that you'll be careful." He told her while he sat her back down.
"I promise big brother. You can count on me!" she exclaimed.
…..
Meanwhile Kakashi had finally caught up to Orochimaru down by the docks where he was holding Ami hostage. "Let her go!" he snapped before he quickly spun around and spotted him there.
"Oh hello there Kakashi,.. you came just in the nick of time. Your son and his friend were just asking about you." He told him as all of a sudden Ami started screaming her lungs off and Kakashi gasped and suddenly widened his eyes in complete and utter shock and astonishment while Orochimaru quickly stepped aside and revealed that he had the two boys tied to the trunk of a tree and that they were both struggling to free themselves.
"Let us go!" Konohamaru hollered.
"Kizashi,.. Konohamaru,.." Kakashi whispered while glancing down at the boys before looking back up at Orochimaru. "Why are you doing this!?" he cried as Orochimaru simply just chuckled and then sneered at him.
"Because they're both standing in my way to get what I'm really after that's why." He told him. "Although I couldn't manage to get Sachi. She managed to escape me." he said.
"Guess again Orochimaru." Sachi began when all of a sudden she leapt down and off of the top of the tree branch and landed in front of him glaring at him with her sharingan. She clenched her fists and narrowed her eyebrows at him. "I still have a little score to settle with you remember. And you don't have any idea how long I have been waiting for this." She told him as there came a sudden silence and all that could be heard was a light breeze blowing through their hair.