While Sakura and Karin were battling it out in the forest, Naruto and Sai, Sakura's teammates, were sitting at the counter of the IchiRaki ramen stand, contentedly munching on ramen.

Naruto finished gobbling up his lunch and sighed happily. "Aaah!" He glanced over at Sai who was methodically picking at his ramen. "Doesn't get any better than this, does it Sai?"

Sai's expression was blank. "If you say so."

"I do!" Naruto exclaimed. He leaned along the counter and, using his chopsticks, pointed at Sai's half-empty bowl. "That right there, my friend, is the secret to true happiness," he whispered conspiratorially.

Sai raised an eyebrow at his teammate. "Sure."

Naruto shook his head and sighed, "Sasuke didn't believe me either. but, whatever, you guys are missing out." He perked up. "Hey, are you going to finish that?"

It was Sai's turn to sigh as he pushed his bowl over to Naruto who immediately dug in with gusto.

Sasuke was brooding.

This was hardly usual. Even as a kid, Sasuke was prone to going off into a corner and thinking dark thoughts. Naruto called it sulking. Sakura preferred to think of it as some sort of meditation. His fellow Hawk members saw it as planning, plotting if you will, like he was some sort of tactical genius. Whatever. People could call it what they wanted. Sasuke didn't care.

This time Sasuke was dwelling on something he cared not to think about. The past. His (former) friends. This was unusual. When Sasuke made the choice to leave Konoha behind, he vowed to urge himself of such nonsense and to only focus on what lay ahead. In short, nostalgia was not his thing.

But this time he couldn't seem to help it. Perhaps it was because he was so close to his old home, sitting in a clearing, a couple short miles from Konoha itself. Being so close made Sasuke uneasy, though he'd never admit it to his teammates. Good thing they were gone. Suigetsu and Jugo were off, tying up some loose ends for him, and Karin was out scouting. So Sasuke allowed his unease to show, just a little bit. He wondered what would've happened if he had stayed. Would things be better?

Sasuke shook his head in frustration with himself. How could things be better? He had all that he wanted. Itachi was dead. He was in possession of great power and assurance that he, not his brother, was the strongest of the Uchiha clan. He even had fr- comrades. Not friends, comrades. Who needed friends? They are the chains that pull you back from achieving true power.

Frustration boiled inside of him. Frustration at his inability to resolve such useless internal conflicts. He got up from his seat. He was going. Where he didn't know. Just somewhere.

And with that he took off into the forest.

"Ugh!" Sakura grunted as Karin landed a hard blow on her solar plexus. The wind knocked out of her, she collapsed on the ground. Karin gritted her teeth in a wolf-like smile and kicked her again.

"See? You're weak!" Kick. "Too weak to even stand up against me!" Kick "It's a good thing Sasuke isn't even here to see you like this!" Kick "He'd be DISGUSTED!" Kick "You." Kick "Are." Kick "SO." Kick "Pathet-AH!" On the last kick, Sakura's hand lashed out and pulled Karin's foot out from underneath her. Karin fell to the ground hard, her glasses flying off her face. In one fluid motion, Sakura leaped up and revealed a small kunai concealed in her other hand. She slashed out at Karin's face. A long, thin slice appeared along the entire length of her jawline, deep red against her now pale skin. Karin lashed wildly out at Sakura, who leaped out of the way just in time. Karin touched her fingers to the slash. They came away bloody. She was surely going to scar.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"