The Uchiha can not be trusted. The truth is they brought that calamity upon us seven years ago, and now we have proof that they plan to usurp control of Konoha for themselves. An untamed evil runs in their blood. None is innocent. Not even you. Let none live, then take your own life in apparent insanity, or we will face that demon again, and war will spread across the land once more.

Danzo to Itachi Uchiha 93rd Year of the Leaf

Working Document for Research: Haruno, Sakura Date: 30 April 112th Year of the Leaf

Classification: Secret

When I arrived at training ground three this morning Kurenai-sensei was waiting as usual, but there was no sign of my opponent. Confused, I started to ask if he or she was late, but then I saw my teacher's eyes flicker, and I knew instantly that I was being put into a genjustu. Saplings began to sprout around me, one at a time.

"Sensei," I began. "What . . ."

"Do not struggle Sakura. This is just for communication purposes. Do as I tell you and someone will be by to collect you after sundown. Make no movement or sound to indicate you were just under a genjustu. Understand?"

I nodded. Once again, I understood, but I wasn't understanding why.

The genjustu ended. I blinked, but acted like nothing had happened.

"Your final battle has been postponed, Sakura." Kurenai said out loud. "Meditate here until I come back for you. Consider all your past battles this time."

"More meditation, sensei?" I whined. When Kurenai asked me to do exactly as she said, I hadn't counted on more meditation.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed slightly, but in a sweet voice she said. "You can't ever get enough of it, Sakura. See you later."

I did as I was told, but I don't think I really got much out of it. I reflected for a long time at the Konoha memorial. And I did notice that there wasn't a single Uchiha name on it. The pointed blue-grey stone seemed to be trying to tell me something. It was as if the haunted souls of those lost in battles past had the answer to all my troubles, but I couldn't understand them and they were frustrated. Before I knew it, it was night - and it was beginning to rain. That's when she appeared.

A woman in a tan trench coat that covered tight fitting kunoichi mesh for a top and leather combat pants landed behind me with barely a sound. I had not seen this woman in . . . over a year. The fact struck me as odd. Had that much time gone by already?

She grinned so broadly at me as lighting flashed behind her that she looked almost demonic and scary.

"Alright princess pink," Anko-sensei said. "Follow me, and don't fall behind."

"A-anko-sensei? What . . . "

Her broad grin vanished, becoming a scowl with glaring eyes.

"Don't speak. Quickly now, there's no time!"

All I could do was wonder what exactly there was no time for as she set off through the trees at a break-neck pace. I almost couldn't keep up with her, and she kept giving me glares over her shoulder as we crossed Deer Creek into the Nara clan territory. It began to rain as we leapt through the trees, and the storm picked up in intensity. I found myself wishing I had thought to bring a poncho with me. It wasn't long before I was completely soaked in a torrential downpour.

My eyes widened as we slowed and Anko leapt to the ground at her chosen destination. I began to state the obvious for the eccentric teacher.

"This is . . ."

"Yes," Anko said as she opened the front door to a large estate of polished red wood. Inside. Quickly!"

It was the Nara Clan estate. I found myself in a common area with two stairways. The stairways lead up to hallways that led off in opposite directions. The large sitting room was full of comfortable looking furniture and all the trimmings of a hunting lodge. These included a large moose head on the wall opposite me, and several stuffed birds of prey. There didn't seem to be anyone home.

Anko had closed the door behind me and remained outside. There was no sound except the howling wind and the rushing sound of a heavy rain outside.

"Hello?" I called. "Is anyone here?"

At least it was warm inside. I wanted to sit down, but I was afraid to get anything wet. After several moments, I heard footsteps. A pair of large doors to my right swung open, and there stood four individuals. They were wearing hooded white Konoha issue ninja ponchos. I couldn't tell who they were in the low candlelight of the room, and I began to feel uneasy. The lead figure pulled out a kunai. It was a strange looking weapon, with three prongs and a white handle. As soon as I saw the weapon I drew one of my own.

"Easy, Sakura," a very familiar voice said.

It was the voice of someone who was supposed to be very far away. The voice of a man I had not seen in what seemed like far too long.

"Shikamaru!" I gasped. "I thought you were . . ."

Shikamaru turned a dial on the wall near him and a fire lit itself in a stone hearth that dominated the room.

"Hurry and take a seat by the fire, Sakura," Shikamaru said. "I'll explain everything."

The other three ninja came further into the light of the fire and threw back their own hoods. It was Shino and to my surprise, both Kakashi and Kurenai-sensei.

I just stood there, blinking for a moment.

"Yo, Sakura." Kakashi-sensei greeted me with a little wave.

Shikamaru looked a little annoyed.

"Geez, if you just stand there dripping like that you'll catch a cold for sure. Hurry up and come in. We've gone through a lot of trouble for you, you know."

He threw me a small towel, which accepted and began to dry my hair with. I removed my boots and my flak jacket and set them aside by the doorway before making my way over to one of the two leather upholstered couches by the hearth.

Kurenai looked at Shino as I made myself at home. "Is she clear?"

I squealed in alarm as a tiny insect leapt from my rain-dampened hair.

"She has no recording devices or listening type jutsu on her," Shino confirmed.

The fact that he was still wearing sunglasses in the middle of a rainstorm was just creepy to me.

"And the perimeter is secure?" Kakashi asked.

Shino turned toward him.

"The bogotai flies I have dispersed will let us know if anyone approaches, we are secure."

"What's going on?" I asked. "Where'd Anko-sensei go?"

"To impersonate you for a while," Kakashi said.

"M-me?" I asked. "But why?"

"Because ever since Naruto left you've been under constant surveillance, Sakura-san," Shikamaru explained. He came over and sat in a chair across from me, and groaned like an old ma who'd been on his feet all day.

That annoyed me. I should have noticed something like that by now. And for what purpose was it?

"Who ordered that?" I asked in a dangerous tone.

"Hokage-sama of course," Shikamaru said.

Now I was hurt. My own master? Why? I shook my head in bewilderment.

"I don't understand," I told them all.

"Tsunade-sama is playing a dangerous political game right now, Sakura," Kakashi sensei said as he came over to sit as well. "She had you watched in order to appease member of Danzo's camp, but the compromise was that it would be members of root watching you."

"But why does anyone think I need to be watched?" I asked.

"We're all being watched, Sakura." Kurenai said, joining in. "And we are constantly watching Root too. Everyone smiles politely but no one trusts each other anymore. Such is the state of the village."

"But Danzo has a particular interest in you," Shikamaru added. "Because of your closeness to Naruto."

It was starting to make a little bit of sense now. I should have guessed. Everything always came back to Naruto after all. So Danzo didn't trust me. So be it. I wasn't going to let that stop 

me from completing my training. In that moment I remembered what I was supposed to be doing today.

"So, I won't be training today then?" I asked.

"Oh, you'll be training all right," Kurenai said. "We just have business first. Shikamaru, please continue."

"The reason I'm still in Konoha is that I never left with the rest of my clan," Shikamaru said. "You're aware that the entire Nara clan was deployed recently, correct?"

I nodded. "Yes, but I didn't have the clearance to know why."

"That was to protect you. If you knew, the council would have considered you a security risk."

"This stinks of Danzo again," I said.

"Exactly," Shikamaru said. "My clan was called in by Suna to hold off an advance on their northern border in the hopes that negotiations could take place. We are the clan most capable of slowing the advance of an army without using lethal force."

"An army, advancing on the Wind country?" I was shocked. How had something this big been kept secret.

"Yes," said Kakashi. They are Rain Country regulars supported by ninja from the Hidden Rain. They blame the Wind country for economic sanctions and accuse the Wind of siphoning off water without paying for this resource.

"Negotiations are happening in secret so that the Hidden Sand saves face," Shikamaru said as if he somehow reached into my mind and plucked one of the questions swirling there out. "But my clan's mass shadow bind jutsu will last only around three days with twenty four people holding over five hundred in place."

"Five hundred!" I exclaimed. "How do they even hold that many for three minutes?"

Shikamaru smirked with pride. "A very disciplined rotation of members and chakra. Plus a great many soldier pills. It's pretty impressive, but it can't be kept up indefinitely."

My mind was reeling as I tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. It was a lot to deal with all at once, but I thought of another piece.

"But . . . didn't the man that Jiraiya-sama sent back from the Hidden Rain for interrogation say that that village was recovering from a civil war?"

"That is true," Kakashi-sensei said. "But Ibiki found out more. The Hidden Rain's leader, who we know to also be the Akatsuki leader, had planned this invasion for several months. Pein has the Hidden Rain convinced that war is the only way to end their troubles. Thus, the Hokage and the Kazekage both expect the negotiations to fail."

"And Danzo," Shikamaru added, "is demanding that Konoha deploy in full force immediately. The Hokage is doing her best to delay that as long as possible."

"And not just to stop a war," Shino said, breaking his usual silence.

"But to keep from leaving Konoha vulnerable," I said in realization. "Does she expect an attack from the inside?"

My two teachers looked at each other pointedly.

"You're as sharp as ever, Sakura" Kaskashi-sensei said with a smile I could see form even through his mask.

Shikamaru pulled open a skinny drawer on the side of the coffee table that was centered between the couches, and pulled out a fine wooden Shogi board. He began to set up the pieces.

"Ever play Shogi, Sakura?" Shikamaru asked.

"Uh . . . this doesn't really seem like the time," I said.

"I'm just trying to illustrate a point." Shikamaru said as he began to set up the game pieces not at their starting locations, but as if it was already in the middle of a game.

"Right now this player here has left his king open. His pieces are extended and spread out too far, see? All you would have to do from your side is make one or two moves to win. Would you be confident of your victory at this point?"

"I suppose so," I said. "Are you saying the player that is vulnerable right now is Konoha?"

"Yes," Shikamaru said. "Go ahead and win the game for your side if you can."

I attacked immediately by moving my knight into position. In one move, Shikamaru responded by taking that piece and threatening my own king.

"You moved too early," Shiakamru said. "Which is exactly what I wanted. You still needed one more move before you went for the win."

"I'm not sure I follow you," I admitted to the Nara clan heir.

"Though we are vulnerable right now," Shikamaru said. "If we can lull Danzo into acting too early on whatever his plan may be, we stand a much better chance of thwarting it."

"I see," I said. "So how do we get him to move too soon?"

"It begins here," Shikamaru said, and he handed me the Kunai that he had taken out when he arrived. Until now he'd been holding it in his left hand as if he were afraid to put it away or let it out of his sight.

The weapon felt much lighter than a normal Kunai, and I recognized from my training with chakra embedded objects that this throwing knife was loaded with it.

"There's a message for her that came with it," Kakashi said as he handed a small scroll to Shikamaru, who in turn handed it to me.

I unfurled the scroll which only had two sentences on it. But my heart leapt into my throat as I recognized the handwriting immediately. It was Naruto's.

"A gift for Sakura-chan." The note read. "I am always at your side."

"Naruto," I whispered as I struggled not to cry in front of everyone.

"When Yamato and I went to investigate your incident at the valley of the end, Sakura, we were forced to spit up. Yamato traveled downriver towards the sea, following what we thought to be team Hebi's trail. He has not reported back yet. I traveled up river to the base of Mt. Source looking for Kabuto. But the Hokage had ordered me on another errand in this part of the country as well; to check on Naruto's progress. I didn't find Kabuto, but I was greeted by a sentry of the toad sages, as Mt. Source is nearby the dimensional entrance to Toad Mountain. He was hopeful I had come to take a big headache of their hands."

Kakashi laughed as he told this part of the story.

"It seems Naruto has been much more than they bargained for. Anyway, he's made some progress, but the Sage's feel he isn't quite ready yet. Anyway, the toad gave me that to give to you."

I felt my spirit begin to crumble as I stared at the weapon in my hands. I had hoped that Kakashi was going to tell me Naruto was ready to come home. Still, just the news -any news - of him was something.

"Nevertheless," Kakashi continued. "The Hokage has decided to bring Naruto back, covertly."

I sprang to my feet. "Really! That's great! Wait . . . covertly?"

"To force Danzo's hand at a time of our choosing," Shikamaru said. "Which means we only have three days to make this happen. That's when my clan will run out of chakra and the attack on the Wind country will resume. There's no point to all of this if war breaks out."

"But what if Danzo's plan doesn't rely on Naruto's absence at all?" I asked.

"What will matter is if Danzo thinks we have evidence that connects him to the Kyuubi's attack seventeen years ago," Kakashi said. "But producing that evidence will be up to Naruto and his training."

I chewed my lip as I tried to work out what the evidence was. What had Kakashi found? I had suspected Madara might be behind my attack from my research. But . . .

"So, we think Danzo is connected to Madara?"

"Jiraiya did," Kakashi said. "And Tsunade is trying to follow up on his lead."

"But the trick is going to be to make Danzo think we know everything he is up to, even if we don't," Shikamaru said. "That's why we need Naruto now."

"He's going to need an escort," Kurenai said. "As we have to assume Akatsuki knows where is by now, even though they can't get to him where he is until he leaves that pocket dimension. But the Hokage can't send regular ANBU, or Danzo will know. We need you with us."

"I would have been mad if you left me," I said. "When do we leave?"

"First thing in the morning, but first you have to beat me," Shikamaru said.

"So you're my opponent then?" I asked as I began to formulate a plan.

Shikamaru sighed. "It's troublesome, I know. But Kurenai-sensei said you had to prove yourself against me or you wouldn't be ready for this mission. I haven't been able to say no to her yet for some reason. And, based on your encounter last week, we think there's a good chance we could encounter Sasuke."

"Are you prepared for that, Sakura." Kakashi-sensei asked me seriously. "Are you prepared to kill him if it comes to it?"

I tried to work out some brave answer. I thought hard about what to say. I needed to convince them that I was ready, but the truth is I wasn't sure. All I could do was return his stare and give my best determined nod.

"But I won't let it come to that," I said.

"If you prove capable of providing the support we need from you for this mission," Kurenai said, changing the subject and saving me from the uncertain stares I was getting from Shino, Shikamaru, and Kakashi-sensei. "We will rendezvous back here at zero five hundred hours. Don't use your normal routes through town, and don't go home. Anko is taking your place there as your cover. Do you have someplace you can go? "

"Yeah but, why not just stay here?"

"Pfft," Shikamaru scowled. "Just like a woman to invite herself over to somebody's hou-ouch!"

Kurenai-sensei surprised me my giving Shikamaru a lump on the head before I could even start to turn red with anger.

"Anyway," Shikamaru said rubbing his head. "Our training is likely to draw attention. We can't afford to remain here once we do that. In fact, we better radio Anko-sensei and tell her to double back now."

"On it," said Shino.

"Good luck, Sakura." Kurenai-sensei said with a smile. "Make me proud."

"I will," I said confidently. "And I won't be left behind! We'll bring Naruto home."

I turned and faced Kakashi, who had been there from the beginning.

"And if Sasuke shows . . . he's coming back with us - Alive."

From the Training Journal of Haruno Sakura, 30 April 112th Year of the Leaf

Fighting a member of the Nara clan is dangerous. Fighting one a night is almost impossible, as the limit to the range and accuracy of their basic shadow bind technique is nearly limitless at night. Fighting someone as smart as Shikamaru Nara at night, in the rain, in a one on one battle is probably suicidal, if not downright insane. I am glad he is on our side.

Yet here I was, wearing an off-white poncho at night and leaping through trees trying my best not to get caught by shadows that crept at me from every direction. The key was to keep moving, because getting caught would in all likelihood mean instant defeat. I was doing pretty well, but I had to have a small green glow stick lit or I wouldn't be able to see the shadows coming for me at all in the cloud-covered night sky. The drawback to the light was that once Shikamaru had found me, there was never any way to hide from him again. Nor could I find any way to connect for a genjustu attack.

The rules this time were as simple as they could be. Defeat Shikamaru by any means necessary. He had no goal of his own except to defeat me. I still don't understand why defeating Shikamaru proved I was worthy of the next phase of training, among other things, but I understood that failure was not an option.

Shikamaru was doing two things at once, maybe even three, knowing him. He was driving me where he wanted me to go, and keeping me distant from him. At one point I thought I managed to trick him and break free by using a signal flare to divert his shadows for a fraction of a second. I leapt toward him, reading both a powerful chakra blow in my right hand and an aerosol spray in my left. But he disappeared, or more accurately he sank into his own shadow. I landed on the spot where he had been, and was almost caught by a three separate shadowy lines snaking their way toward me.

I punched the ground to change the terrain enough to allow me to escape, but the impact set off three exploding notes Shikamaru had planted beforehand, and I was blown backward twenty or so yards. If Shikamaru had used any higher yield I would have been missing limbs, but blowing me up was not his plan. Only the short time I had to prepare and plan before the fight saved me. As I was being rocketed through the air, I injected my leg with a special steroid. It was just some of the normal steroid that I might inject an electrocution patient with, but slightly modified in the minutes I had before this contest in the rain began.

Next I tried a replacement technique as his shadows caught up with me. It was no use. Though I managed to divert my motion and end up ten meters away, I found myself right in front of Shikamaru, and trapped by the shadow bind. Shikamaru seemed bored where Naruto would have been ecstatic in his victory.

"If you give up now," Shikamaru said as he walked us to within five paces of each other. "I won't have to choke you unconscious."

I gritted my teeth and hissed angrily, as that was about all I had control of on my body.

"You did well, Sakura," the Jonin squad leader complimented, "but it looks like you weren't ready after all."

I felt the eyes of two teachers on me, wondering what I would do. I struggled to move, to fight, if I could just even breathe on him I might have a chance. The shadows started to snake there way up my body. Hands formed at the tips, they reached for my neck. My muscles trembled as I willed them to move.

Come on damn it, work! I commanded the steroid injection with my mind.

The hands closed around my neck, not to suffocate, but in a sleeper hold.

Work, damn it!

The hands began to squeeze. My eyes felt like they would pop out of my head as Shikamaru began to cut off my blood supply to my brain. I summoned all the chakra I could muster to keep me conscious, but it was only a matter of time . . .

SHANNARO!

In the dim light of my green glow-stick I could see Shikamaru's eyes grow wide as I was suddenly able to grab hold of his own shadow by building chakra into my hands and pulling. It was like he was suddenly being overwhelmed in an arm wrestling match. Instead of trying to win, he was trying not to let his own hand be the one to be slammed to the table. He let the shadows slip away and leapt to the trees for cover.

"You won't get away!" I called after him as I launched myself from the ground.

"You must have injected yourself with something back then," Shikamaru observed from a tree branch as I caught up with him. "Looks like I can't get the easy win. How annoying."

He was holding his breath and I could tell he was spiking his chakra at random intervals just in case. I don't think Kurenai told him what he was up against, so I wouldn't doubt if he hadn't simply deduced the purpose of my training.

"Still," said Shikamaru as he leapt backwards away from a two punch combo of mine that tore a tree in half, "You won't be able to escape if you get caught again."

He threw two kunai with explosive notes. I dodged appropriately, but the explosion wasn't what I expected. A huge flash blinded me for several seconds, and I was forced to go to ground or risk knocking myself out against a tree.

"Your pupils were adjusted for night vision right now," I heard Shikamaru say from behind me. "After an overload of light like that, you should be blind for about another seven seconds. Can you evade me until then?"

"I . . ." I stumbled forward as I threw a Kunai toward his voice. "I no longer need to evade."

I felt eight arms of shadows bind me like rope. I fell to the ground, helpless.

"I'm not sure what you mean," said Shikamaru. "But with this type of bind, which I can only do at night, I'm not restrained by forcing you to mimic my own movements. You are effectively paralyzed. Sorry, Sakura it's over."

"Yes it is," I sighed. Then three open my perfectly un-blinded green eyes and smirked. "For you."

My body dissolved into thousands of tiny sakura petals. Shikamaru's eyes danced back and forth as he tried to follow the swirl.

"Wait." He gasped. "When did . . . you couldn't have!"

I let the upper half of my body appear in the swirl as it danced around him.

"I wasn't sure it would work either." I told him. "After all it was only based on theory I read in my studies. But we as humans actually have six senses. Taste, touch, sight, smell, hearing, and . . ."

"The sixth sense we get from chakra," Shikamaru finished for me.

My image nodded, then dispersed into the swirl of petals, which I began to solidify and sharpen. One petal cut across his shoulder, tearing the cloth in his mind and drawing blood. He winced in pain.

"I didn't realize it would work until I grabbed hold of your shadow to push it back from me," I explained. "But I felt the chakra to chakra connection right away. Your technique pours a lot of chakra out into open space, which made it easier."

"Interesting," Shikamaru said with a wince as another sharp petal cut his leg at the knee. "But I've faced genjustu before. I wonder why she wasn't able to do what you just did."

"I've read that report on that mission to retrieve Sasuke a thousand times," I told him. "Seems that kunoichi of the Sound village you faced was very specialized in sound genjustu, wasn't she? She was probably limited, and probably didn't have as good a teacher."

Shikamaru smiled. "You got that right." Then he shrugged in his typical fashion. "Well, I don't feel like getting cut to ribbons, even in my mind. So, I give up."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Yeah."

After I had released the jutsu, Kurenai-sensei came over to me to congratulate me, but her eyes looked troubled. She took a breath, hesitated, and then embraced me.

I was stunned. I wasn't sure how to respond but to slowly embrace my teacher back.

"W-What is it, Sensei?" I asked.

"It's probably nothing, Sakura," Kurenai said, placing her hands on my shoulders. "That was impressive. I . . .I've never known anyone since Itachi to be able to connect chakra to chakra like that."

"But, that's not what's bothering you, is it?"

"No," she admitted. "What illusion were you using on Shikamaru?"

"I thought I might turn all my petals into tiny cutting weapons, and then they would swirl and cut until the enemy . . ."

"Don't ever use that one on friends," Kurenai interrupted.

Startled, I gasped. "A-all right."

"Promise me, Sakura." She said. "I can't be certain, but if I read the situation correctly, you actually severed and began blocking nerve endings in his mind. You didn't do any more damage than an alcoholic beverage would have, but if you were to use that vision in full force . . ."

"I understand, Sensei."

"See you tomorrow, Sakura. Even though we'll be traveling, we're still going to train."

I said my goodbyes to everyone and headed back to town. I would be staying with my parents this night. As uncomfortable as that was, I knew it was time to handle personal issues once and for all.

COMMENTS:

Here is my best attempt at deep political intruigue and mystery - based on possiblities in somebody else's story of course.

Did I fool anyone? Nope - it wasn't Naruto, not yet - but at least you know I'm moving in that direction.

I really wanted Sakura to fight my number three favorite character behind Sakura and Naruto - Shikamaru. So I squeezed this fight in, and I hope it doesn't seem like for no apparent reason. Kurenai is very much tied to Shikamaru as a chracter now, and I felt this fight would really put it all together for Sakura. She's brains as well as brawn.

Anyway, please comment - help me advertise if you like it - and I'll crank out the next exciting chapter soon enough!