Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then it wouldn't be called Naruto. It'd be called Sakura or Sasuke.

Thanks to all my reviewers! Without you, the 2nd and 3rd chapter would not be here, and this would be a oneshot still.

Chapter 3

"Why the hell was I woken up at 3 in the morning? It's my time off!"

"Calm down, Ino! It's very important, believe me!"

"This is such a drag."

"Shizune, hurry up with my coffee!"

"Right away, mam!"

"Is someone going to answer me?"

"Yawn… what time is it?"

"3:15 AM"

"Hey, someone wake Shikamaru up, I think he fell asleep."

"Shikamaru, wake up!"

"God Chouji, you didn't have to yell in my ear."

"Hokage, you better have a good reason for this!"

"Take your complaints to Naruto. He's the one that woke me up and called this meeting!"

"Naruto!" all together now…

"Troublesome…"

"Why the hell did you wake us up this early? This is our vacation!"

"Yeah! The festival is tomorrow, er…well today…tonight!"

"Why have you disturbed my sleep of beautifulness? How will I excel in youth and spirit if I do not get the sleep of beautifulness?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way, youthboy."

"Boy? I 'm not a boy! I am a very youthful man!"

"More specifically, a Eunich."

"Neji, how you say that about Lee?"

"It's early, Tenten."

"Um…please, quiet d-down."

"So answer me, dickhead! Why did you call us here?"

"Kiba, don't t-talk that way to N-Naruto-kun."

"Alright! Alright! I'll tell you! Just everybody settle down!"

"Why don't you settle down?"

"Hey Ino, you might want to wake up your teammate there."

"Yeah, some A-list team you got there, lazy-ass and dough-boy."

"Shut-up!"

No explanation got out, and as said before, the Hokage's office was in a complete state of chaos. All the shouting and yelling flew across the room so fast and, it was impossible to hear oneself think, which would be why no one was thinking and so the chaos continued.

Ino was about to strangle Kiba and Kiba was about to strangle Naruto and Naruto was about to use his Rasengan to shut everyone up and Hinata was about to faint and Tenten was about to strangle Neji and Neji was about to strangle Lee and Lee was about to go get some cucumber slices to put on his eyes to keep from getting circles of not-youth and Shino was about to go home and Tsunade was about to open her first bottle of sake for the day and Shizune was about to pull her hair out and Shikamaru was about to fall back to sleep and Chouji was about to pull out his spare bag of chips (for emergency use only) and well…you get the picture…it was pure chaos and discord.

Suddenly, there was a "poof" as 2 more people entered the crowded room. All heads turned towards the new occupants, Kakashi and Sakura.

Tsunade looked up from her sake cabinet and said, "You better start explaining, Kakashi."

The angry buzz of conflicting voices rose to a crescendo as everyone turned their attention to the Copy Ninja.

He spoke in a quiet, normal voice, as if he was commenting on the weather, "I'm sure you all remember Sasuke Uchiha."

And then there was silence…

------------------------------------------------------------------Somewhere Along the River------------------------------------------------------------------

How dare they mock him? He was a great Uchiha, and they were lower than dogs!

He forced himself to look away from the river and instead look at the path ahead. Then he heard another "splash!" and he felt his stomach growl again. 'Damn it!'

Sasuke hadn't eaten since lunch the day before; so after running so much, it was only natural for him to be hungry.

"Splash!" 'No! No! No! Don't look!'

He glanced over in time to see yet another fish jump out of the water and flop back in. 'Damn it!' They were mocking him!

'Concentrate on the mission! Don't think about the fish! The meaty, juicy, delicious fish! They're practically jumping out of the water for me! I should—No! No! No! I don't have the time!'

"Splash!" 'Well, it'll only take maybe a half hour, 20 minutes if I hurry.'

'No, no. I've wasted too much time already. Why the hell did I spend 2 hours outside her window? I was in the damn bush too!'

'She'd want me to eat it…'

'Shut the hell up!'

'…'

'Did I just tell myself to shut up? Hn…I'm going crazy. I've been in the Sound too long. The sooner I kill Orichimaru, the better.'

'Come on, just eat one.'

'What the hell? I'm argueing with my self!'

'No, you're arguing with the smart part of your brain.'

'Are you calling my side dumb?'

'No, it's just I've made all the smart decisions is all.'

'Oh really…'

'Yes. In fact, I was the part that decided not to kill Sakura.'

'Were you the part that decided I had to kill Orichimaru?'

'Yes…'

'…asshole'

…

…

'Hn.'

'Think about it. Eat now, and you'll have more energy to fight later. Plus, you rest awhile.'

'…Hn…'

'It's bad to fight on an empty stomach! Just one fish!'

'Aa…'

--------------------------------------------------------Back at the Hokage's Office--------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright, now that everyone knows what has to be done, let's move on. I want all Anbu members to step forward," commanded Tsunade.

Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Shino, Chouji, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee all stepped forward.

"Let's see…Shikamaru, I'm appointing you team captain. Naruto will be your co-captain.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," answered Shikamaru.

Tsunade then turned to Naruto, who was staring out the window, a frown on his face and his features carrying a serious tone. No doubt he was thinking about Sasuke.

"Naruto?"

In a flash his face brightened and his usual grin appeared. "You know I'm in, Tsunade-baa-chan!"

"Right," she said. 'That didn't last long. But I know he was thinking hard and serious, and he has more than enough reason to be.'

"Kiba," she spoke again, "You'll need Akamaru to track down the Uchiha. If he's as fast as we think he is, he's gotten too far away already to sense his chakra."

"How long ago was he here?" asked Neji.

"About an hour ago now," answered Kakashi.

"Will you be joining us on this mission?"

"Hai," Kakashi answered.

Tsunade looked at the team she had assembled. "Now all we need are a few medics…Sakura?"

"Of course, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade searched the room with her eyes once more. She needed one more medic nin. Her eyes stopped on the Hyuga heiress.

"Hinata, how about you?"

"B-But Hokage-sama, I'm only a chuunin," she answered.

Tsunade scoffed, "Let's see. You're a medic, you've got the Bakuyan, and you're already awake. I think you're qualified."

"A-alright."

Tsunade turned again to Shikamaru, "Okay, now that that's settled, the—"

"Hey wait," said Ino, "I want to go too."

Tsunade sighed. 'Should I let Ino on the mission? I mean, it's only fair since I put Hinata on the mission. I guess Shikamaru's smart enough. Since Ino's only a chuunin, he'd be sure to team her with someone strong.'

"Fine," she stated before pouring herself a cup of sake. "Shikamaru, I'm entrusting you with the rest. Team, give it your best."

"Troublesome," he mumbled.

"Alright Shikamaru," exclaimed Naruto, "What's the plan?"

"Meet me at the north gate as fast as you can. Try to be there in less than 20 minutes. We'll track him from there. Be wide awake and sharp; we don't know what the Uchiha is capable of."

"Hai," they all answered. There were 11 "poofs" and all who were left in the room were Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura.

"Shizune," Tsunade asked, "would you get me one of those muffins from that market down the street? I think they're open 24 hours."

"Of course," she replied before leaving to get Tsunade's breakfast.

Now the Hokage turned to Sakura. Sakura had been about to leave with the others until Tsunade motioned for her to stay. "You wanted to speak with me?" she asked.

"Yes, Sakura. I was just wandering if you were okay."

"I'm fine, but thanks for asking."

"Are you sure you can handle this mission? It's perfectly understandable if you aren't up to it."

"Don't worry, Tsunade-shishou, I'll be okay."

"You do understand, if he doesn't cooperate, you will have to fight him. If your team can't subdue him; it is their job to kill him. It's yours too. After all, he is a missing nin and an S-class criminal."

"…"

"Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear."

"Good, I suggest you prepare for your mission."

"One more thing, Tsunade-shishou."

"Yes, what is it?" she asked.

"If he comes quietly, would it lessen his punishment?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

"Sakura, this is a gray area. The Council would decide his punishment. I only have so much input. But if he returned willingly, it would lighten his punishment."

"And what if he was forced to come back?"

"Oh Sakura…"

"Tell me!"

"I'm guessing a life sentence…or an execution. It all depends on how cooperative he is with us."

"Oh…I remember back on my first day as a genin…our punishment for not working together was that we had to skip lunch…"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

"It really isn't…"

Tsunade watched her apprentice. She hardly ever saw her this way, only when it came to Sasuke, so sad, so serious, but so determined.

"I'm going to go get ready for my mission now, Tsunade-shishou. Wish me luck!"

"Make me proud, Sakura!"

"Ja ne!" There was another "poof" and she was gone as well. Tsunade leaned back and gulped sake out of the bottle. The seriousness of the situation was getting to her. 'Where's Jiraiya when I need him? He used to always cheer me up whenever I was like this…"

Yay! Another chapter complete! I wrote this whole thing while listening to Hawthorne Heights "If Only You Were Lonely" cd. It's like inspiration music or something. I figure this story will have about 8 chapters, give or take.

Ahem, if you were confused in the first part of the story, then I did my job. I figure it went along with the whole chaos theme. I love going back through there and trying to figure out who said what. Some of them, I can't even remeber. But I think I gave enough clues.

One more thing, I'm going to camp for the next two weeks. This isn't a camp where they have compter labs or anything. It's the kind that have cabins and campfires and lakes and stuff. Yay! I can't water ski very good, but I love trying. Anyway, I won't be able to update except on next Saturday (I think), that's when they let us email our parents or whoever we want to email. I'll update then with this cd that I loaded the chapters onto.

Please review. It may seem troublesome, but it makes my day.