Disclaimer: uhhhhhh,no, i do not own naruto, and you should probably know that already.

yeah, I re-worked this chapter a little bit too, like i did with 1-3. This really isn't all that different, but I add a few things that might make it more believable. Hope you enjoy it.

Sakura shoved her things into her bag, racing out of her hotel room. The teen ran into the street and turned to face the mountains that bordered the city as they stretched through the continent. They stood directly north of her position, looking dark and ominous with their tall summits submerged in thunderous black clouds. The kunoichi shivered with anticipation as she headed out of the city.

Ten minutes later Sakura stood at the foot of the mountains, gazing in awe of their astounding height. "Holy crap. I thought they were big in the city. These things are colossal!" She shook her amazement from her head, and centered her thoughts around what she was about to do. Oh course the obvious problems came to mind; would they let her into the city? What if she was found by a patrol? What if she got lost? Who knew, it might not even be Naruto the two men were cursing.

Stubbornly, the pink haired jounin pushed back her doubts; her heart clung to the hope that she might only be a few miles from the hyperactive blonde. Strengthening her resolve, the teen set off towards the north.

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The kunoichi was unwilling to stop before she reached her destination. She had been running through the forest at the base of the mountain range for nearly two hours, and hunger and fatigue were definitely setting in. The kunoichi berated herself for not eating before she began her little adventure.

Letting her thoughts wander a little, she considered the possibility of having to search up and down mountains for the city. At first, she had logically assumed that city was more likely to be at a low altitude than a high one. A high altitude would provide protection yes, but it would also make a city harder to reach, and secluded. Now, she wasn't so sure.

Sighing, the pink haired teen decided to put most of her thoughts towards memorizing her surroundings.

The woods she was running through were magnificent. The trees were gorgeous, tall and strong. Sakura was surprised at the variety and density of the forest, no two trees of the same type stood together. It gave off an air similar to that of a garden, painstakingly groomed and watched over by a caretaker.

As the Konoha jounin continued to observe her surroundings her senses became immediately aware that she was not alone. She jumped back just in time to avoid what would have been a devastating punch to the head. She landed, instantly going into a defensive stance. She looked through the swirling dust to study her attacker, or six attackers. All of her senses instantly sharpened to full capacity.

The initial assailant was now standing up to his full height and turning to look at the teen. His five friends had circled around her, crouching in the trees. They wore ANBU type masks with northern style clothing: matching black baggy pants and loose black t-shirts.

"Who the heck are you?" The kunoichi asked loudly, irritated that someone was delaying her.

"I think we should be asking that question." The man standing in the clearing replied bitterly. "You're to obviously not from around here, and we can't risk you telling anyone about our little operation, so unless you want you ass handed to you on a silver platter, I suggest you start talking. "

Sakura had no idea what they were talking about, and she said so. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The teen continued to stare at her adversary. Suddenly, she recognized the man's voice; she'd heard it before. It was Auoshi. The medic-nin gasped, realizing just how much trouble her little side trip had gotten her into.

"Ah, remembering now are we?" Auoshi sneered. "What, did you honestly think we wouldn't notice you'd been listening when half way through our conversation you jumped up and headed straight for the mountains? We are not stupid men. And on second thought, who you are doesn't really matter. Unfortunately for you, we can't let you leave these woods alive. Wouldn't want you telling on us now would we?"

"Oh crap. I'm in way over my head here. I need a miracle at the least." The teen's thoughts raced wildly. All of her senses were pushed as hard as they could, fighting the fatigue and hunger from her body. Her mind prepared to go up against six opponents, each more skilled than herself.

"Ha, she's about to piss in her pants. She knows each of us could kick her ass in a one on one fight. Poor kid, she's got no chance." Smirking under his mask Auoshi charged the pink haired kunoichi.

Sakura skillfully swung to the right to avoid the advancing ninja's fist. Deciding it best to give up on offense, she jumped into the air to doge an oncoming kick from behind. All six of the men were coming at her now. She quickly made a clone, using it to successfully evade a mid air attack. Her maneuver, however, placed her the direct path of another onslaught, sending her crashing into the ground.

Auoshi and his men left her no time to recover, launching a devastating combo at the stunned jounin. Sakura was hurled through the air, landing hard on her shoulder ten feet away from her opponents. Lightheaded, she staggered to her feet. She could not believe these men were beating her this badly. She had expected to lose of course, but also to do some major damage in the process.

The medic ninja did not appreciate getting her butt kicked by a bunch of arrogant drug dealers.

The teen was losing the fight to stay awake. Her head was in too much pain for her to try and heal herself. Not to mention Auoshi was ready to charge at her now, his mind focused on finishing her off.

The kunoichi didn't really care. She knew she would collapse before he reached her anyway. Auoshi's fist glowed with an unnatural light as he began his final attack.

As Sakura slipped into dark void of unconsciousness, a blonde ninja blurred into view and blocked Auoshi's fiery onslaught. The jounin couldn't believe her luck as she collapsed on the ground.

Okay, not much has changed here, just a few things thrown in to make Sakura's defeat more believable (I hope). Not much to say, it's early and my brain isn't working but oh well. If there are any spelling errors or grammar errors, let me know, I didn't exactly send this to my beta reader before post.

If you want to review, than review, if you don't, fine by me. If you want to flame, be my guest. (not that anyone really has, which is good)

Colonel Z