::16::
It felt like Naruto was running faster than he ever had in his entire life. The cold air burned inside his nose and lungs and his legs were beginning to ache. Months of remaining complacent by the wizard's side had left him weak. But still he ran and still Sakura raced ahead of him, the gap not shrinking nor lengthening.
"Sakura!" He shouted, but she paid his call no heed.
Then Sakura tripped, falling to the ground. It was strange – Sakura never tripped over her own feet – but Naruto didn't really care as he heaved a breath before sprinting the last couple of yards toward her. By the time he got there, Sakura had pulled herself up and was sitting hunched over her knees, her arms protectively encircling her stomach.
Naruto stopped, skidding into the snow next to her. He dropped to his knees and hesitantly reached out to her. "Sakura!" He cried, the ache and relief so apparent in his voice.
A guttural scream ripped its way out of Sakura's throat and Naruto instinctively pulled back, wrenching his hands away from Sakura as if she burned him. His heart was beginning to race and he could feel real fear beginning to seep its way into his bones the way the cold sometimes did at night. Sakura was breathing heavily now and he could see her trembling, but she didn't appear to be crying. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Naruto slowly reached for her once more.
"S-Sakura...?" He whispered softly.
His soft voice carried over the heavy silence of Godric's Hollow and Sakura slowly picked her head up, looking at him with wide, watering eyes. "Naruto...?"
Naruto let a small smile tug at his features as he nodded his head encouragingly. Sakura's eyes clouded over and she shook her head. "No..." She groaned. "Harry...you have to go back." She was gritting her teeth as she spoke. "He's coming...He's coming, you need to go back...distraction, distraction, I was the distraction…" She began to mutter.
"Ok, Sakura-chan." Said Naruto in a soothing voice. "Come with me and we'll get Harry. Everything is going to be ok now..."
Sakura gave a shout, suddenly jumping to her feet as she slapped her palms repeatedly against her head. Naruto jumped to his feet, alarmed at what was going on. Sakura gave an alarming laugh as she turned, spinning out of Naruto's grasp when he reached out for her.
"Yes! Dear wittle baby Potter will be alright!" She laughed out in a sing song voice. "The Dark Lord surely has him now!"
Naruto stopped, his eyes going wide with alarm. What the hell was going on with Sakura? That wasn't her voice. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. Behind him, he heard the tinkling sound of a bell as a door opened and chattering voices resounded in the night.
Sakura turned back to face him and Naruto saw madness brimming in her smile. She took a breath and the smile vanished from her face and her eyes turned wide. She started breathing heavily before squeezing her eyes shut and bending to grasp her head between her hands. "Naruto I'm scared…" He heard her whisper.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Naruto took a hesitant step toward her. Whatever it was that was wrong with her, they could fix it. As long as she was with him and she was safe…"I'm here, Sakura-chan…"
"NO!" Sakura looked up and shoved him away with all her strength. His feet flew out from underneath him and he went stumbling backward into a group of Muggles who had come over to see if anything was wrong. As they helped him to his feet, Naruto watched as Sakura tore off through the square, finally disappearing from sight.
A few minutes later, Hermione and Sai limped into the square, their arms around each other. They found Naruto standing alone in the snow, staring off into the spot where Sakura had disappeared.
Harry stumbled into the tent, his skin slick with sweat and his chest burning with pain. In his head, he saw his parents, he saw himself…
No, he wasn't…this wasn't happening…he wasn't Voldermort…
His hands pawed at his chest, at the metal heart that was beating over his own. He heard himself speaking, hissing in a voice that wasn't his own. The metal heart began to beat more wildly and the burning sensation grew. No…fight it…fight it…
It took a few seconds, but finally, Harry gasped for breath, feeling as if he had been submerged underwater and now he was finally breaking free for fresh air. He groaned, turning over onto his stomach as he struggled to his knees. Hermione…Sai…Naruto…they were all still there, back at Godric's Hollow. He had left his friends. Did Voldermort have them now?
No…no he didn't have them yet. He saw the small mousey woman, her hair like a bird's nest under her hat, staring at him as she helped the boy to his feet. Their eyes met as they disappeared with a crack…They escaped. They would be returning soon…
Harry picked his head up and froze as he realized he wasn't alone inside the tent. A girl – the one with the glasses and strange red hair that he had seen before was crouched near the corner of the tent. She was holding what Harry recognized as a kunai in her hand, her face was strangely withdrawn and her eyes wide with fright trained intently on him.
Harry's breath caught in his throat and the girl grit her teeth before she pounced on him. She was quick and Harry was in no position to fight at the moment. She pushed him onto his back and pinned his legs down with her knees as one hand went to his throat. She recoiled slightly at touching him, but stayed aloft, her kunai poised above his throat.
"The Bingo Book, where is it?" She asked.
"What…?" Harry gaped.
The girl shook her head and flipped the kunai in her hand. She held it vertically above his throat as if she were going to stab him as her other hand proceeded to frisk him. When her hand moved over his chest, she suddenly froze and recoiled as if something had burned her. Her face paled and she scrambled off him, acting as if she were going to throw up.
Harry scrambled for his wand, but the girl still had her wits about her and she struck out with something that burned blue as it captured his wrists and dragged him forward onto his knees. The chakra chains glowed faintly in the dim lighting of the tent and they burned at where they were exposed to Harry's skin.
She was about to question him about the book once more when there was a sharp crack and Hermione, Sai and Naruto appeared inside the tent.
"Harry…!" Said Hermione gasped.
Karin grit her teeth and attacked before the disoriented ninja could get a grasp on what was going on.
Harry, Hermione, Naruto and Sai were all on the ground, bound completely by Karin's chakra chains which were curled around her forearms. Naruto was scowling at her, having recovered from his episode with Sakura while Sai was still in pain from what he suspected were a few cracked ribs, but managed to keep it from showing on his face. A hooded Oto ninja stood beside Karin, arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at the prisoners.
Things were not going according to plan, but Karin could still retrieve the Bingo Book without blowing up the operation completely. She nodded her head toward Hermione and the Oto ninja obliged by pulling Hermione up to her feet despite Harry and Naruto's protestations. Hermione herself fought to get away, only stilling when a kunai was placed at her throat.
"Let go of her, you piece of shit!" Naruto roared from his spot on the ground.
"Shut up!" Karin snapped, "Tell me where the Bingo Book is."
"We won't give the book up without a fight!" Hermione cried, which caused the nameless Oto ninja to threateningly press the kunai further into her skin.
"Quiet, witch." The ninja said coolly. "I have no qualms about killing. If you're gone, there are still three others that can take your place."
"Doesn't matter which of us you pick," Naruto scoffed as Hermione paled at the ninja's words, "We won't tell your sorry ass anything."
The ninja paused, shifting his attention toward Naruto as he shoved Hermione to the ground. Hermione gave a whimper as she fell beside Harry. As Hermione bent forward, massaging at her neck, Harry noticed her wand sticking out from her back pocket. He risked a look at Karin and found that her eyes were trained on Naruto and Sai…
The Oto ninja bent down, lowering himself to be eye level with Naruto who glared at him. "So you're the Kyuubi kid…" He said, tracing Naruto's whisker marks with his kunai. "I was expecting…more."
"Sorry to disappoint." Naruto snarled.
The ninja made a sound as if he were smirking. "You remind me of your teammate. I heard she has a temper too."
Both Naruto and Sai froze at the mention of Sakura. Karin gave a jerk of her wrists, making sure that they were both secure. She sent a warning look toward the Oto ninja. "Watch your mouth!" She hissed, her voice annoyingly high pitched. "The Master won't be pleased if you reveal – "
The Oto ninja spun toward her, anger. "I know what to say!" He snapped. "And don't think – "
Harry saw that ninja were hardly sparing him and Hermione a glance, as if they didn't even think they were a threat. Well they were wrong. He dove for the wand protruding from the back of Hermione's pants; his chains giving a jerk and alerting Karin. But by then it was too late. He grabbed the wand and took aim.
"Impedimenta!" Harry shouted.
The ninja was quickly blown backward away from Sai and Naruto, dropping his kunai as he was flung into a corner of the tent.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted, this time aiming for Karin. The spell took her surprised and she fell to the floor stunned, her chakra chains disappearing with a snap.
"You did it, Harry!" Hermione shouted, jumping to her feet.
Naruto and Sai both jumped up, ready to attack as the Oto ninjagot to his feet. Wasting no time, Naruto yelled out, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The bunshins materialized; rushing the Oto ninja who backed up to gain more space.
Summoning his own wand before it could be trampled, Harry tossed Hermione's wand back to her and Hermione flicked it, flinging one of the armchairs at Karin as she struggled to get up. Karin quickly rolled out of the way, flinging out two shuriken from her holster which Hermione quickly blocked by producing a shield to protect them.
The Oto ninja threw a kage bunshin into the bunk bed where it exploded in a cloud of smoke. Sai threw out some shuriken, but the ninja deflected them as he tossed the last kage bunshin off his back where it sailed past Harry before disappearing. Sai grabbed a scroll and his brush from where they were strapped to his back underneath his zip-up hoodie.
He quickly drew a few animals on the scroll before activating them as Naruto engaged the ninja in Taijutsu. Distantly, the sneakoscope which had been set out on the table whizzed incessantly.
Harry flicked his wand, sending another armchair flying at Karin which she neatly swerved around. "Wait!" She called out, surprising the wizards. "Wait." She repeated again, this time for the benefit of the Oto ninja who was still fighting against Naruto and Sai. He sprang away from them, landing a safe distance away as he stood there defensively.
Karin eyed the wizards warily as she held her hands out and gently set her kunai on the ground. "We don't have to fight…we don't want to hurt you."
"Hah!" Naruto scoffed.
"All we really want is the book." Said Karin. "Give it to us and we will leave."
"Like we should believe you!" Hermione cried out. "I'm sure you'll report back to your…masters exactly what went on here and how to find us!"
"You can leave." Said Karin. "I've seen you do it. We'll have no idea where you've gone."
Harry frowned. "This book must be awfully important to you for you to have risked all this. And you've tracked us once…how can we be certain you won't do it again?"
Karin pursed her lips. She and the wizard both knew that she could give no assurances, only her word. And that would never count for anything.
"An exchange of information then." Sai volunteered. He had his hand loosely placed over his cracked ribs, but he did it casually so as to avoid any suspicion. "We give you the Bingo Book in exchange for Sakura's location and if you tell us why she was taken."
"Hardly a fair exchange." The Oto ninja growled.
"I disagree." Said Hermione, her voice shaking slightly. "You went through a lot of effort to find us…I'd say you're pretty keen on having this book."
"Yeah," Naruto snapped, "Why would that teme Orochimaru send you all the way over here if the book wasn't important?"
Negotiations were going to fail. Sai could see it as plainly as he saw Karin's lips tighten and he saw the Oto ninja tense up as if he were getting ready to spring. Which told him that any information concerning Sakura was far more important than any emphasis they were placing on obtaining their lost Bingo Book. Which really wasn't good.
Sai managed to push Hermione and Harry out of the way, just as the Oto ninja pulled his hands through a rapid series of seals.
"Fuuton: Usugiri Kaze no Jutsu!"
Harry and Hermione hit the ground with Sai falling painfully on top of them while Naruto was left to get hit with the brunt of the attack. He was pelted with a gust of wind that felt like tiny razor blades were cutting into him as he flew backward. By the time he picked himself up, however, the tiny cuts had all healed leaving only a series of small scars that would fade before the battle was over.
"Choju Giga."
Two giant beasts leapt at the Oto ninja's back as Naruto picked himself up and charged at the ninja with a punch to the stomach. Sai himself pulled himself up and away from the wizards to help Naruto.
Seeing the two ninja in danger, Hermione reached for her wand only to have Karin kick it away from her. It clattered a few feet away. Karin reached down, pulling Hermione up by her hair when Harry grabbed at her ankle and pulled. It hadn't been enough to pull Karin to the ground, but it was enough for her to stumble a bit and release Hermione. Hermione quickly grabbed her wand from off the ground just as Karin bashed Harry over the top of the head with her fist. Harry groaned, holding his head.
Naruto's kage bunshin disappeared in a cloud of smoke, disorienting the Oto ninja for a brief second. Sai appeared in a shunshin, charging toward the Oto ninja before he leapt up, swinging his legs with practiced ease around the ninja's neck and twisting his body so the ninja fell to the ground on his stomach with Sai kneeling a top him, ninja wire between his hands and cutting into the Oto ninja's throat. His ribs were throbbing from so much movement, but he strung the wire tighter between his hands so that he could feel the wire cutting into the ninja's skin. The Oto ninja suddenly went slack underneath him when the ninja raised his hands and struck out, catching Sai on his injured side.
Sai cried out and the wire went slack in his hands. The Oto ninja jumped up, pushing Sai off him. He sent another kick into Sai's ribs which had the ANBU ninja seeing stars. With a growl, Sai saw two shuriken whiz by the Oto ninja's head. The ninja turned and with a snarl, Naruto was suddenly jumping toward him, Rasengan in hand.
Sai could instantly see the mistake that Naruto had made. He should have used his Rasengan while the ninja was distracted with Sai. Now that he saw Naruto, the Oto ninja could easily side step the Rasengan and shove the kunai that was already in his hand into Naruto's back or slit his throat just as easily. If Naruto fell and with Sai's injury, they would all be easy pickings…
But oddly enough, the Oto ninja merely side stepped Naruto's wild attack and baited him into another corner of the tent. Sai narrowed his eyes at the missed opportunity. Why had the ninja spared Naruto's life when he made it very clear only minutes before that they were all dispensable to him? A sudden idea formed itself in Sai's mind.
Hermione hit Karin with another stunning spell. Harry quickly scrambled up, massaging his neck as Karin shrieked in anger and threw her kunai at Hermione. Hermione yelped and ducked just in time as the kunai hit one of the armchairs behind Hermione. Karin poised to charge again when Harry pointed his wand.
"BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Harry bellowed.
Karin faltered as Hermione stared at Harry with wide eyes as the smoky figure of Harry quickly solidified into a human. Karin snarled out a curse and quickly swiped at the illusion with her kunai, making it go off in a puff of smoke in which Hermione grabbed the kunai from the armchair and flung it at her.
Karin didn't have time to dodge it as it hit her squarely in the shoulder. She staggered back from the impact and stared down at the injury with wide eyes. The metal heart was beating as wildly as Harry's own, craving blood and urging him to kill, but with sweaty palms he sent a stunning curse instead, knocking Karin out cold.
Harry placed a hand over his heart as he and Hermione stood there in silence for a moment, each in disbelief at what they just did. The moment didn't last long as suddenly Naruto flew into them, knocking them to the ground.
None of this would be ideal, he thought as he quickly peeled off his sandals – newly Transfigured, thanks to Hermione – and his socks before quickly chucking them into some unknown corner of the tent. But luckily for him, the rough canvas of their tent was clean and white and as close to paper as he was going to get.
The ink was cool and wet upon his feet and his ribs burned and ached as he moved. He felt tired – oh so tired – but as a bunshin prodded him to keep him moving, he remembered why he needed to do this.
Harry pointed the wand at the ninja, trying to get a clear shot as Naruto and the ninja rapidly fought hand to hand. The ninja stopped for an instant and Harry took his shot while the metal heart crowed with glee. "Crucio!"
But then, as if performing a fatal dance, the ninja whirled out of the way as Naruto was directed in the spells path. Naruto however, jumped out of the way just in time.
"Watch where you're pointing that thing!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder.
Harry slowly put the wand down, at a loss of what to do as Hermione tried sending out another stunning spell. She missed, much to her frustration, but luckily, the Oto ninja dodging her spell had put him in the path of Naruto's kunai which raked across the ninja's chest.
Hermione suddenly clutched at Harry's arm. "Where's Sai?" She asked anxiously.
Harry looked around. It was true – the dark haired ninja was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Only Naruto was engaged in the deadly dance with the Oto ninja. It was as if Sai had suddenly disappeared.
Why would Sai leave? That thought angrily crossed Naruto's mind as he warily circled the Oto ninja, keeping mind to make sure Harry and Hermione were behind him. No, Sai hadn't left...he could still feel him faintly, somewhere inside the tent. Had he gotten knocked out and was lying someplace Naruto couldn't see? That was likely. Naruto realized he had been so angry, so keyed up in the fight he couldn't remember the last time he saw the dark haired ninja.
He could see the Oto ninja panting slightly in exertion. Naruto himself felt physically fine, too amped up on adrenaline to really be bothered by anything. He had this guy on the ropes now. He was a slippery bastard, always managing to slip his way out of Naruto's attacks, but he couldn't last much longer. Then he would get his answers concerning Sakura.
Naruto charged the ninja before dropping to the ground to perform leg sweep. The Oto ninja anticipated Naruto's move and jumped backward before back flipping away and sending out two shuriken. Naruto dodged one and used a kunai to deflected another. The Oto ninja landed a few feet away.
"Fuuinjutsu..." A disembodied voice called out, but no one seemed to hear it.
The Oto ninja shifted his foot – a preparatory movement as he readied himself to charge Naruto – and suddenly froze. Naruto paused, eyes wary as he watched the ninja glance down toward his foot, giving it a tug. But oddly enough, it didn't move, as if something were trapping it in place.
And then suddenly Sai was there, as if he had never been gone and had been standing in that very location the whole time. There was also a large gaping hole in the side of the tent, where there hadn't been one before, but Sai didn't give them time to contemplate that.
"…Koshi Tandan!"
With a deafening roar, the face of a huge ferocious beast suddenly jumped toward the Oto ninja. Hermione gave a wild shriek as the beast tugged at the ninja's foot. With a shout, the ninja fell backward, flat on the ground and was dragged forward, disappearing into the canvas itself.
Naruto dropped his kunai to the floor, his eyes wide.
The canvas bloomed suddenly with dark ink and all at once the image was there. He hadn't had the time to paint in his usual style, with precise and steady lines, the ink smooth and flowing. Instead, this image was hurried and rushed; a poor homage to the sumi-e style. The tiger was a large and bristly thing; his fur made up of harried, dry brush strokes and large ink splatters with partial footprints hidden in-between. And trapped beneath the tiger's paws was the Oto ninja, rendered in the same dark brush strokes as if he had been painted there by Sai himself.
Hermione clutched at Harry's arm, her eyes wide with what she just witnessed. Even Harry didn't know what to think as the metal heart remained still on his chest. He had seen Hermione perform incredible magic before, but this was something altogether different.
"Holy crap, Sai!" Naruto exclaimed. "You could have – "
Naruto suddenly stopped, as he got a good look at Sai. He was suddenly looked much worse than he had been two seconds ago. A visible sheen of sweat covered his forehead and his bangs hung damply in front of his eyes as he fell to his knees before the canvas. His bare feet were black with dried ink. Sai ignored them as he focused on the ninja who was shouting obscenities at them from underneath the giant tiger's paws.
"Shut up!" Sai suddenly shouted, slamming his palm down on the canvas. The wizards jumped at the sound of his voice and even Naruto looked at him in surprise.
"I have questions and you will answer them." Said Sai through gritted teeth. The Oto ninja muttered something that neither Naruto nor Sai chose to translate. Sai's lip curled and he looked at the ninja in disgust.
"Where's Orochimaru keeping Sakura? I know you know." Said Sai. There was something different about Sai's voice and Naruto was painfully aware of it. He sounded…normal for once. Totally and utterly human.
"You won't learn anything from me." The ninja hissed. "Keep me here in your pretty painting if you want but I will tell you nothing."
"You fool." Sai said, giving out sarcastic laugh. "How can keeping Orochimaru's secrets be worth it?"
"You don't understand; you're Konoha trash." The Oto ninja sneered. "You're loyalties to your village are only because you were born there. You don't know what Orochimaru has done for me, for all of us."
"He's a psychotic bastard that's obsessed with power!" Naruto spat. "He doesn't care about you!"
"He doesn't have to care about me! What has your Hokage done for you, aside from send you to your deaths? What matters is what he has already done for me. Go ahead, continue questioning me. I won't give you a thing."
"Give me Sakura or I'll cut you limb from limb!" Sai shouted. Naruto blanched. He didn't think he had ever heard Sai yell like that before.
"You don't have it in you, you Ne bastard. You think that keeping your emotions hidden keeps you strong, but you are wrong…it keeps you weak." Said the Oto ninja, as he struggled against the tiger's paw. "What do you care what Orochimaru and the Dark Lord does with Sakura Haruno? You don't care about her, she isn't your friend-"
Sai suddenly yelled out, letting loose a string of obscenities as he hung his head. One fat teardrop rolled from his face and hit the canvas below. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, Sai whipped out a kunai and stabbed it into the canvas. Hermione and the Oto ninja both let a scream, each horrifyingly shrill and ugly.
"Sai!" Naruto called out, his eyes wide.
Sai released his grip on the kunai slowly and wiped at his eyes before pushing the sweaty bangs from his forehead. "You're wrong. Sakura is my friend." Said Sai through gritted teeth. "Now tell me what you know or I'll put a kunai through the other eye."
The ninja remained tight lipped, nursing a hand over his bloody eye.
Sai waited for a few seconds before he stabbed the kunai through the canvas again, mere millimeters away from the ninja. "Tell me!"
"She's in a house! …They call it a manor. I've never seen her, but everyone knows that she's there. It's where Orochimaru keeps all the ninja that aren't out doing his bidding."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance while Naruto rushed forward to crouch next to Sai. "You can't tell me that's all you know!"
"I swear that's all I know!" The ninja cried helplessly as Sai plucked the kunai from the canvas and gripped it loosely above the other eye. "It's a huge house with lots of furniture…and dungeons. I've heard people talking about some sort of dungeon."
"That could be the entire United Kingdom." Hermione whispered, as she pulled her mouth away from her hand.
"I swear that's all I know." The ninja said again.
"Dammit!" Naruto hissed as he stood up and began pacing in front of the paper.
Sai pursed his lips and felt that was all the information he would receive. "Arigatou." He said. "But I'm not done questioning you yet."
"What?" Spat the ninja. "What else do you want?"
"I want to know why you didn't kill Naruto."
Behind Sai, Naruto stopped pacing and looked at Sai confused. Hermione bit her lip and turned to Harry confused.
"I don't know what you are talking about." The ninja mumbled.
"Bullshit." Sai cursed. "When Naruto charged you with his Rasengan, he left himself wide open for an attack. You could have easily killed him, but you instead sidestepped him. Why?"
"I didn't-"
"Yes, you did!" Sai yelled. Spittle flew from his lips and Sai turned away to wipe the sweat from his brow. He felt miserable, but as soon as he was done with this line of questioning…
Sai turned back to the Oto ninja. "Yes, you did." He repeated, although his voice was strained. "I saw you. Now tell me why you did it. Does it have to do with what is written in the Bingo Book?"
"What?" The ninja asked dumbly.
Sai turned to Hermione and thrusted his hand out impatiently. Hermione shook her head, giving him a helplessly expression which caused Sai to glare at her. Perturbed, Harry nudged Hermione, nodding his head. Reluctantly, Hermione pulled the red book from out of her pocket and handed it to Sai. The ninja cursed silently at the sight of it as Sai impatiently flipped through the pages.
Finding the right one, he held it open by the spine and held it close enough so the image of Naruto filled the ninja's vision.
"If found, contact Orochimaru or the Dark Lord immediately. Do not harm." Sai quoted. "Is that the reason why? Why doesn't Orochimaru want him hurt? What does he have planned for him?"
"Just kill me." The ninja muttered. "I'm not telling you anything."
Sai plucked his kunai out of the ground where he left it. He spun it deftly in his fingers.
"Go ahead. Stab my other eye out. I still won't talk. You won't get one more thing out of me."
Sai stared at the ninja as he toyed with the kunai in his hand before he flung the kunai across the tent, scaring Hermione, and slammed his palms down on the ground. He felt like a failure, he felt like he had failed Naruto. He had one job and he couldn't even…
His head ached and his heart was beating too fast for his liking. He was suffocating, he was drowning, he couldn't last…
Sai turned to Naruto, Harry and Hermione. "Burn the canvas." He said.
"No!" Naruto said, alarmed. "Sai, you can't give up yet – "
Naruto abruptly stopped talking as Sai suddenly passed out in front of him.
Glossary:
Arigatou-Thank you
Jutsu:
Fuuton: Usugiri Kaze no Jutsu-Wind Release: Slicing Winds
Fuuinjutsu: Koshi Tandan-Sealing Jutsu: Tiger Vision Staring Bullet
Bingo Book
Undesirable #7
Konan
Status: Missing Nin (Amegakure), Known member of Akatsuki
Family: Unknown
Akatsuki partner: Pein (see Undesirable #6)
Security Status: UNTRACEABLE, too dangerous to track at current time. Will pursue once more resources are available.
Edit:: When I first wrote this, I gave Sai the ability to trap his opponent within one of his drawings and called it a dark art sealing technique. Now, upon doing these rewrites, I was looking up some information for Sai and what do I find? That Kishimoto canonically gave Sai the same technique I wrote about years ago! Imagine my surprise! I've updated the technique name to its canon one for the update