Chapter Two: The Power Of Speech.

As soon as the last members made their way through the door, it creaked shut behind them, of its own accord, with a loud click. Kakashi who was stood protectively near his two youngest comrades, placed a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder, when she flinched at the sound. He then looked to the silver-haired traitor, suspiciously; though he was only stood, leaning against the wall, tapping his foot impatiently-- the sound echoing off the carved stone walls.

The corridor was mostly shrouded in darkness, the only light being the flickering flames of the torch lights, placed along both sides of the walls; creating strange tribal looking patterns, that danced across their faces.

"Now we're all here, lets get a move on." Kabuto said, sounding a little too excited, as he clapped his hands together, before he pushed up from the wall; straightening his glasses, he began to lead the way.

The corridors were eerily quiet, as the small group of shinobi travelled through the complicated, maze-like structure of the base; the only sound being, the soft patter of their steps.

Being the leader of the group, Kakashi's mind began to wonder. If he had made the wrong decision in accepting the invitation, from Orochimaru's untrustworthy subordinate, it could potentially put their lives in danger-- the lives he was responsible for. He couldn't take the pain of loosing anymore comrades, than he already had; which was why he had agreed to this risky invitation in the first place. The mission he.. No they, had been given, was to find out if the information they had received was true, or to retrieve Sasuke, at all costs. It was becoming increasingly more dangerous to have such a powerful clansmen on the enemy's side, as the hokage had put it; but this was not the reason why he, along with the other members had accepted it. Sasuke was their long lost comrade, who they still to this day, would do anything to protect, and at the moment, even though he didn't seem to notice or care, was in danger every second he spent in the Snake-sannin's company, as his apprentice.

Since the time he had lost his own comrades so long ago, the silver-haired jounin had decided to never let anyone in, to never let feelings get in the way. But there was just something about team seven, that reminded himself of his own team; and somewhere along the way, lost in his own memories, he had let them worm their way into his heart. And as cold and arrogant, the little Uchiha brat was, he too, had managed to worm his way in. In the little amount of time that they had spent together, Kakashi realized, that Sasuke was just like him; a lost boy that took a few wrong steps, that landed him in the wrong hole. But team seven had pulled him out of that hole; and now, even if it cost him his life, he was going to pull the raven-haired boy out of the hole, he had created for himself.

And so, he continued to weave through the long, narrow corridors, with his comrades by his side, in hopes to save their lost sheep.

Sakura had noticed, that as they got closer, their pace had steadily increased; so much so, that if they upped the pace anymore they would be jogging, at a shinobi's speed. Her heart was pounding, like the rhythm of a drum in her ears; and her palms felt slightly clammy, but she couldn't tell whether it was from their fast pace, or the amount of adrenaline running through her veins. She knew they were nearly there now, she could feel his chakra, surrounding her like a strong aroma; so sweet to her senses, but deadly to another's. It was definitely his, no doubt about it, she would recognise it a mile away; but it was so different now, still calm and calculating, just like him, though it was darker now, colder. It was mad how, just from his chakra, she could tell that so much had changed; it wasn't as welcoming, as it used to be to her anymore. It felt too thick, much like a snakes deadly venom, it was dangerous, powerful; you only had so long to suck it out, before it consumed you, killed you.

The pink-haired kunoichi could hear high-pitched squeaks, and the scuffle of tiny feet. She had no idea where they had come from, but as she looked down, her vibrant green eyes confirmed, that it was indeed mice. She tried her best to hold in her gasps, and screams; as the small brown vermin scuttled their way past, weaving in and out of their way. She truly couldn't understand how Sasuke had ever managed to live in such creepy, dirty places like this; as she remembered, he was more the clean freak type of guy, than the messy teenager.

As they got deeper and deeper into the base, the smell of damp invaded her nose. She felt bad for Kakashi with his hyper-sensitive nose; and thanked Kami that Kiba and his companion Akamaru, didn't so happen to be on this particular mission. She really didn't like this place at all. It was dark, cold and damp; with vermin, and all sorts of other creatures, running rampant. But what she didn't realize was, that there was a lot worse to come.

It felt like they had been walking for miles, going round and round in random circles. The pink-haired kunoichi had no idea how Kabuto knew his way so well; if it were her, she would have gotten everybody lost by now. They had been walking for roughly fifthteen minutes now, Sakura deduced, they were in too deep if something were to go wrong; she couldn't help but think it was all a trap. She willed herself not to think to much, or panic about it though, it wasn't like she was there alone, she had her team, and they would keep her safe-- just as they had in the many dangerous missions, they had gone on together.

Green eyes sharpened, as she looked ahead; sending small, undetectable, amounts of chakra to her ears, she listened intently, to the sounds coming from up ahead. She wished she didn't though, as pained screams, and angry shouts, pierced her ears. Just what kind of place was this? Sakura had a feeling, she wouldn't want to know. She wondered if anyone else could hear them too, and then she remembered Naruto had the Kyuubi's enhanced senses.

She hadn't realised that she had stopped, not until she felt that familiar, calming hand on her shoulder. She looked up -as she was a lot smaller than he- and was met with Kakashi's dark orb, staring at her intently. It became obvious to her then, that her team leader had misunderstood her hesitation; he must have thought it was something to do with the rapid rate, in which they were growing closer to Sasuke, he mustn't have been able to hear the sounds of the prisoners; the heart wrenching screams and pleas, for whoever it was to stop.

Turning to her left, over Kakashi's shoulder, emerald eyes widened as she took in the appearance of her rapidly changing comrade. Through the dim lighting she could see a pair of red orbs, staring straight at Kabuto, with such angry intensity, that it scared her. Naruto had indeed heard what she had, and he was now starting to loose control; the Kyuubi taking advantage of its host's emotional state. But she wasn't going to let that happen, not now, not here; not when they were so close to getting Sasuke back.

Turning back to her team leader -who had too, noticed Naruto's Kyuubi induced state- she leaned in, and whispered, "We can hear screams, they must have prisoners here. I'll deal with Naruto."

Then running a hand through her short pink tresses, Sakura cautiously approached her best-friend; after a nod of agreement from Kakashi and Yamato. She could tell by looking at his shadow on the ground, that his nails had transformed into long, fox-like claws; which looked creepy to her, considering their current location. She felt a shiver run down her spine, though, she took Naruto's large hand in her own; clenching her teeth slightly, through the pain of the Kyuubi's chakra, seeping its way through the blondes skin, and burning hers.

"Naruto.." she started softly; and his threatening gaze turned to her. She took a deep intake of breath, and squeezed his hand tighter. She was so busy worrying that he might lash out at her; that she missed his eyes soften, at her action.

Sakura knew that she shouldn't be scared of him when he was like this, he was her best-friend, and long-term comrade, her hearts-brother; he had swore that he would never hurt her, that he would never let the Kyuubi take over, so much so that her life was in danger. Even so, he contained one of the tailed beasts, the most powerful-est and cunning of them all, at that. So it wasn't that wrong of her to be even a little afraid, right? It wasn't her fault that she was struggling to keep down the rising fear, that was building up in her stomach, and creeping its way up her spine.

Gazing back fiercely into his crimson orbs, looking at lot more confident than she felt, she tried to persuade him, "Don't do this Naruto. Don't let it take over when were so close. Were in the same base as Sasuke now, we cant let him slip through our fingers."

His eyes were still blazing a bloody-red. She could hear Kabuto sniggering in the background, she couldn't help but wonder if he actually had a death wish, but she left him to her sensei and continued, "You remember what Yamato-taichou once told you, right? If you really want to save Sasuke and protect me, do it with your own power, your own strength, not the Kyuubi's; If you truly want to see Sasuke, look at him through your own eyes, not the Kyuubi's. When we finally see him, do you want him to look back at his best-friend, or the Kyuubi?"

A small fox-like growl left the back of his throat; though the wood-user didn't have to intervene this time, as the red bled out of his eyes, leaving them a crystalline, sky blue. His canines and claws slowly retreated, and the whisker like marks on his cheeks faded out a little. Naruto collapsed onto his hand and knees, breathing hard.

"Naruto!" the blossom-haired woman called out, anxiously. Dropping to her own knees, hands glowing green with her healing energies; she placed her palms on his chest, to assess the damage done to his body. From what she could see; his skin was pale compared to his usually tanned pigment, and his skin was slightly teared, here and there.

Sakura could honestly say that she hated it when this happened. As a medical ninja, as well as from what she had been told, she fully understood that the critical damage from the Kyuubi's chakra, along with the accelerated healing process Naruto's body goes through; that, as much as it may seem the tailed beast helps him in battle, all its really doing is drastically shortening his life.

With his body healing more or less by itself, the pink-haired kunoichi quickly felt for his temperature, as she asked, "Daijoubu?"

After a small coughing fit, he straightened up on his knees, and looked into her glassy emerald orbs. "Am fine, as usual, Sakura-chan. What about you though?" he asked pointing to her slightly burnt hand. He could smell their burnt flesh in the air, and coughed a little more. "Why did you touch my hand?" He then asked, raising an inquisitive brow.

After quickly healing her burnt hand, she carefully helped him rise back to his feet, before bonking him over the head, "Baka! What are you complaining for? It helped, didn't it?"

Completely ignoring her questions, he whined, "Ouch, Sakura-chan.. What did you do that for?"

The kunoichi was readying herself to whack him atop the head again, when Kabuto interrupted, and she thought he needed the punch a heck of a lot more, than Naruto did.

"What a touching moment, you two, really; but if your done now, can we move it right along. We should have been there, like, yesterday. Orochimaru-sama is going to be mad."

"Che, I didn't know you could be so sarcastic, Kabuto-kun; about yesterday."

"Well to be fair, there is a lot you don't know about me, Sakura-chan." he added the suffix as deceptively sweet, as she had to him. "And Naruto-kun, am sure Orochimaru-sama would appreciate it if you kept the Kyuubi on a tighter leash, from now on, as we do need this base." Getting in the last snide remark, he continued to lead the way, as though nothing had happened.

Kakashi had to bite his tongue, and hold his students back, from brutally murdering him then and there; otherwise the mission wouldn't have gone as smoothly as he would have liked.

Following the purple-clad shinobi, to the end of the gloomy corridor, Sakura watched him suspiciously, as he went through a series of seals. He then placed his open palm on the stone wall. After a bout of anxious silence, filled with the low rumblings, and the grating of stone on stone, a large section of the wall, slowly started to disappear underground. Revealing another long corridor, with a large metal door on the other side.

The small group cautiously followed him in, watching on as the passage closed up behind them. Sakura thought dryly to herself, that there was going to be no easy way out, she would have to use force. As they slowly approached the door on the other side, the shouts and screams could be heard, loud and clear, to the other members.

The pink-haired kunoichi was going to question, what the hell was going on, when Kabuto spoke up, "Their just prisoners, no need to worry. I would have taken you a different route, but I'm afraid this one is the quickest. I assure you, what you are about to see, you will not like; but you are shinobi, am sure it will be nothing you cant handle." he laughed maniacal, then he proceeded to open the large, metal door.

As they stepped in, the pained screams, and anguished shouts, went right through the pink-haired kunoichi. The stench of stale blood and death, hung in the air, like a thick fog. The whole corridor was lined with small cells; crammed with, what looked like, Orochimaru's test subjects.

As they continued down, the blossom-haired kunoichi noticed, with a small gasp, that some of the prisoners were heavily wounded, some had missing limbs, and some were beast-like. Was that they cursed seal? She thought to herself; Naruto had explained to her, how Sasuke had looked when he had first used it. Grey skin, hand-like wings, longer nails, thicker hair; these were just some of the similarities Sakura noticed, in the victims in the cells, that matched the description, the blonde had given her. Only she realised that not everyone's transformation was the same, each had their own unique traits.

Tears leaked out of her eyes, as her emotions got the best of her, and she shouted furiously at the silver-haired medic, that didn't seem to have any problems, with the way he treated other people. "You and Orochimaru did this to them, didn't you!!" It wasn't a question, she knew her statement was true. " You monster!! ..How could you?!"

Sakura had made to run and attack him; but surprisingly enough, it was Naruto that stopped her. The blonde had grasped her hand tightly, as she tried to push past him. "You said it yourself, didn't you, Sakura-chan. " He started gently, pulling her in for a hug. "Don't do this, don't let your emotions take over, not when were so close. Were in the same base as Sasuke-teme now, we cant let him slip through our fingers."

He squeezed her slightly around the waist, as he finished; and she squeezed him back in understanding, as the tears continued to fall. She couldn't handle anymore; the smell, the sight of the prisoners, and their screams. Pulling back a little, she placed a glowing hand on her stomach, to quell the nausea.

Kakashi approached his students with his head slightly bowed. Although at first the two never got on, now they were like the role-model, perfect comrades. After all his strict teachings and rules about team work, it seemed it had gradually paid off. If only his lost comrades Obito and Rin were here now; if only they had had the chance to be teachers, right along side him. He knew for definite, that if that were so, there would be more students out in the shinobi world like his. With the exception of Sasuke of course, but he was mentally corrupted, before he became the student of Hatake Kakashi, so it wasn't really his fault-- as he had tried to tell himself many a time.

Placing a comforting hand on each of their shoulders, he spoke appraisingly to his blonde student, "Well done, Naruto. Nicely said." He then gave the two an eye crinkling smile. "Though you pinched the words off of Sakura, you sure threw them back at her marvellously."

Some of the very first words, the silver-haired jounin had spoken to his team, had been the words that his deceased best-friend had told him; and they guided him through the rest of his shinobi career, from a boy to a man. It was a strange concept for a shinobi to think about, but it crossed his mind anyway; it was amazing to him, how powerful words could be. How if you word them carefully enough, they could get through to people, reach the bottom of their soul, and touch them in places, that could bring out any emotion; even possibly change the way they think. This level of using words, was a whole other level of power, in his eyes; a brilliant weapon to wield.

Kabuto, who had been rolling his eyes through the whole thing, was stood tapping his foot impatiently, again; though this time, he kept tight lipped. It was becoming increasingly obvious that the two younger shinobi wanted him dead, and if it wasn't for their jounin sensei, he probably would be by now.

The pink-haired kunoichi heard a small sigh pass her sensei's lips, before he ushered them forward, with his hands still placed firmly on their shoulders, he guided them down the corridor; Yamato and Sai in tow, as Kabuto lead the way.