-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

Yay, here's another chapter! And I just want to take this chance to say thank you for those of you who have read my story and for those who reviewed. I really feel like I'm actually accomplishing something with this story. But again, there's going to be a little small bit of skipping in this chapter. But really, I'm just forwarding the useless stuff, kay? I know you guys want to see more NaruHina stuff, so I'm trying to add that in more here and there. Please enjoy!

Episode Eight

~Sai's Betrayal, His Resolve~

"What you say…" Orochimaru asked, "On what basis should I trust it?"

Sai didn't answer, keeping on an impassive face, and reached back into his backpack.

Kabuto pounced him from behind, tackling him into the ground—a kunai to the boy's head. Everything from Sai's backpack fell out, including his paint set . . . and an envelope.

"What is that?"

"Come on, calm down, Kabuto." Orochimaru chuckled. "From today onward, this kid will become our subordinate."

". . . Can we trust him?"

"Please, look inside the envelope." Sai said to the Sanin. "It's for you from Danzo-sama."

And when Orochimaru peeked inside, he gasped. "This is…!"

"What's inside?" Kabuto asked.

"Kabuto, please. Release that kid," the Sanin ordered. "He's coming with us…"

Kabuto did as he was told, putting away his kunai and getting off of Sai.

"Sai, was it?" Orochimaru asked. "Shall we go then?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . what happened to Sai?" Naruto asked, clutching his still hurting stomach. He got a good look of the now destroyed bridge, and his eyes widened.

"Sai . . . he's right now moving with Orochimaru," Yamato explained, having some kind of telepathic talk with his shadow clone who had completely witnessed the Root member's betrayal.

And before Naruto could yell out a loud "WHAT?", Hinata asked, "Wh-what do you mean? What's this all about?"

"Follow me…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"First, the bridge's destroyed, and this crater's made…" Naruto said, observing the place where Sai's conversation with Orochimaru had taken place. "How is it that all this happened while I was unconscious? And why was I unconscious in the first place?"

Yamato was about to answer but, when he saw Hinata's worried expression, he quickly stopped himself.

"You . . . Orochimaru got to you," Hinata answered instead. "He hit you on the head and left you unconscious…"

"So that's it!" Naruto said, quickly blaming himself for being too weak. "Damn him! I'll—" But then he tripped over something. Typical Naruto…

"Na-Naruto-kun!" But when Hinata saw what he tripped over, she picked up the small picture book. "Sai's things are scattered all over the ground…"

"He dropped those things and left them there," Yamato explained. "I guess even he couldn't keep his cool when it came to Orochimaru."

"Yamato-taichou, you know what happened?"

"A clone of mine was here until a little while ago," the team leader said. "We've been communicating through a radio transmitter." (A/N: Oh… So he's not psychic. Oops, my bad…)

"Did . . . did something happen to Sai?" Hinata asked.

"After a discussion with Orochimaru, he followed them back."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"My clone was too far away to hear anything," Yamato said.

"I wonder what they talked about…"

"He . . . he might have been taken by force!" Hinata exclaimed, suddenly worried again.

"No, it didn't seem like it." Yamato explained. "He approached Orochimaru on his own and handed something to him. It was almost as if he was trying to get on Orochimaru's good side."

"Hey, hold on a second!" Naruto yelled. "He may be a jerk, but he wouldn't betr—"

"No…" Hinata had a different opinion. "He just may have… He works for Danzo, after all."

"Who?"

"Sai's superior," Hinata answered. "He's an old man who thought poorly of the Third Hokage's ideals and despises Tsunade-sama."

Yamato took that into account for a minute. "It's quite possible that he's relying on Sai to set his own plans into motion… Perhaps Danzo entrusted Sai with a top secret mission that had nothing to do with our own."

"So you're saying Sai was on a completely different mission from ours from the very beginning?" Naruto asked.

"Just about…" Yamato said, trying to figure out Danzo's motives. "What I'm about to tell you is no more than conjecture upon conjecture, but it's not out of the realm of possibility, so brace yourselves. Danzo . . . may well be intending to destroy Konoha as we know it."

"WHAT?"

"Suppose that, in order to remove Tsunade from the position of Hokage, he intends to conspire with Orochimaru to attack the village," Yamato clarified, foretelling the worst of worst situations. "So that he can build his 'ideal' Konoha from the ashes of the former and once again take center stage but this time as Hokage! And the reason he's making his move now may be that Danzo feels that Orochimaru is in a position where he's willingly to bargain, having attacked Konoha once and failed."

"No . . . no way!" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "Then Sai's top secret mission is—"

"To earn Orochimaru's trust and serve as a liaison between him and Danzo?" Hinata finished the question.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

As the team traveled through the forest, Hinata's arm had begun to hurt her again, but she tried to ignore it. It's nothing… she kept telling herself. But when she reached out to grab a branch, the pain grew even worse. Distracted, Hinata missed her target and began falling.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto moved quickly. He was not going to let get hurt! He caught her just as she was about to hit the ground. "Hinata-chan…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Hinata, daijōbu desu ka?"

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine…" Hinata tried to smile. "It's . . . it's nothing to worry about, Naruto-kun…"

But Yamato knew better. The Kyuubi chakra entering from her wound is like poison… Something like that can't simply be healed by Hinata's level of medical jutsu… For Naruto to endure it…

"How did you get that injury, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Oh . . . th-this?" Hinata glanced at the wound on her arm. "I . . . I was careless. Orochimaru attacked me . . . but it only hurts a little bit… I can barely even feel it…"

"Hinata-chan, you shouldn't be putting yourself in danger like that."

"Let's take a little break here," Yamato said. "Hinata is our only medical nin. She's needed if we are to complete our mission successfully."

"I'm . . . I'm fine!" Hinata argued. "Be . . . besides, we need to hurry! If we don't leave now—"

"It's true that I did say that we should hurry, but there's also the saying, 'rushing only leads to disaster.' There's a difference between hurrying and rashness, you know." He turned his attention back to the ramen-loving ninja. "Naruto! For the remainder of this mission, I'll be taking Sai's place as your partner. While we have time, let's decide on our attack pattern. Can you come over here for a bit?"

"But—"

"Daijōbu, Hinata-chan!" Naruto flashed her a smile. "It's just some man-to-man talk! There's no need for you to be involved!" And then he followed Yamato.

Here will do… the team leader thought, glancing at the distance between them and Hinata.

"So . . . what should we do first?" Naruto asked.

"Right, before that, there's something I need to discuss with you first, Naruto." Yamato said. "The one who hurt Hinata was you, Naruto…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"So . . . that bridge, that hollowed-out landscape, and Hinata-chan's wounds… I did all of that?"

"Correct," Yamato answered. "Hinata didn't want to hurt you, so she lied… That Kyuubi strength that you have, I have a special ability that enables me to suppress your jinchūriki power, so you shouldn't worry… However, that is only when I'm close to you. In short, I really didn't have to tell you the truth right now or anything, but the reason why I'm telling you this is that, if you use that strength, you might have a faster chance of saving Sasuke. But relying on the Kyuubi's strength isn't your true strength. Relying on the Kyuubi will not only hurt yourself but others around you, close to you. You should have realized that by now. The reason why you didn't try to stop releasing that power is because you got impatient, right?

"From now on, I'm going to suppress your Kyuubi chakra completely. However, if you think that that will make you weaker then you're greatly mistaken. You're strong enough to not need to rely on that power. Your true strength isn't from the Kyuubi's power, and the reason you're able to stand its chakra is because of the strength of your own chakra. If you want to save Sasuke, use your own power, not the Kyuubi's."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"You're late… Orochimaru, did you forget about how you were going to teach me a new jutsu this afternoon?"

Sakura would've flinched if it wasn't for the fact that she was sitting on the floor, thanks to the other fact that Sasuke had paralyzed her. Currently, she was trying to send her chakra through her body to stop the numbness. She shifted her eyes to Sai. Who's he…?

"You fail to mind your mouth, as always…" Kabuto sighed.

"Oh, do please calm down…" Orochimaru said. "You had your ex-teammate here to entertain yourself with. And instead of training, I happen to have come by a little present for you. He's a shinobi from Konoha, just like you… I figured you could bathe yourself in nostalgia, talking about your old village…"

"Greetings, my name is Sai."

"Get lost," the Uchiha snapped at the Root member.

". . . Even when I force myself to smile, it seems I'm the type of person who ends up being hated, and Naruto-kun didn't seem to care much for me the whole time too…"

So that's Naruto's new teammate… Sakura thought, glancing back and forth between the Uchiha and this really pale guy. He doesn't really look like Sasuke… But . . . why is he even here?

"But you know, in comparison with him, I think I'll get along with you much better."

And in that small second, the sound of birds chirping could be heard.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing his arm before he could harm the Root member.

"How admirable," Sai said, that fake smile on his face again. Was he trying to compliment her? "To see lightning and not think life is fleeting[1]… You must hold some kind of position in his heart since you know he won't harm you…"

Sakura stared at the Root member. Did he want a death sentence?

The Uchiha stopped his jutsu then but activated his sharingan. And the moment Sai looked into his eyes, he fell to the floor.

Sai wiped his face. Sweat…? I'm supposed to feel nothing, have no feelings… Yet . . . by just looking at his eyes, does this mean I fear Sasuke deep within my heart, despite being unable to recognize it myself?

"It'd be a good idea not to tease Sasuke-kun too much," Orochimaru advised. "You see, he's even harder to deal with than I am."

"I don't care to deal with trash like that," Sasuke said. "Orochimaru, it's time for training now…"

"It seems he's been looking for you all this time," Sai said as he stood up. "For the last three years…"

Sasuke said nothing, though Sakura was a bit saddened by that.

"Naruto-kun considers you almost like his own brother," Sai continued. "That's what Hinata-san told me."

"I only have one brother," Sasuke said. "He's the one I want to kill…"

Sai said no more after that.

"Anyhow, I'll be leaving now…" Orochimaru said as he handed Kabuto the envelope from before. "Use these to compile a Bingo Book for our ninja."

And when Kabuto opened the envelope and took out the papers, his eyes widened. "These are copies of the profiles of the Hokage's personal troop division…! And they would seem to be the real thing…"

At these words, it was Sakura's turn for her eyes to widen. She glared at Sai. Her hand rolled into a fist. Just who is he?

Sai smiled at her. "So you must be Tsunade's student… Danzo told me I might meet up with you…"

Sakura didn't say anything, her ears catching onto the name of Sai's superior.

"He told me to kill you if I get the chance."

She scoffed. "How nice of him…" Her fist shook. "Tsunade also told me that Danzo would be restless… I wonder how he'd take it if Konoha finds you pummeled to a pulp…"

"Hey, now…" Kabuto said, trying to stop a fight. "I know you two aren't from the same political party—"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Gee, what ever could have given you that idea?"

"—but I don't want you two to start an unnecessary fight." Kabuto continued, ignoring Sakura's comment. "Sakura, you may be our honored guest here but, if you do anything to—"

"Enough," Sasuke said. "Sakura!"

She knew what he meant. "Aw… And I thought you'd leave me here… So much for trying to escape again…" the kunoichi sighed, but really she was grateful she was getting out of that room. She didn't want to be surrounded by too many criminals for any longer nor did she like it.

And as she passed Sai, she smiled at him. "I owe you a punch for insulting Hinata-chan and, for betraying Naruto, you owe me a death…"

"I'm looking forward to it," Sai replied, a smile still plastered on his face. "You're Tsunade's student, and Hinata said you defeated Sasori of the Akatsuki. I want to see for myself just how strong you really are."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Here, huh?"

"Yep," Yamato answered. "The entrance is right below that rock formation in front of us."

"Okay, let's go then." Naruto said.

"Hold on," Yamato held out a hand to stop him. And he took out two pills. "You can go after you've swallowed this, Naruto. And here, one for you too, Hinata. Even if we end up getting separated, with those inside you, I'll be able to locate you immediately."

"What are these?" Hinata asked, looking the pill over.

"To put things simply, those seeds are tracking devices. They're a tool of mine that respond only to my chakra. Those are just the same as the ones that I planted in Sai's clothes and food."

"I see…" Hinata said, still looking at the seed in her hand. "So . . . this is how you were able to track him."

"When did you manage to—"

"Don't you remember?" Yamato asked Naruto. "How I went back to the room before you three at the hot springs? Now you two should understand why I went out of my way, using my own money, to treat everyone to such a lavish stay at the hot springs. Everything was just like Tsunade-sama said. Taking precautions with Sai has sure paid off in the end."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Here we are," Kabuto said, opening a door. "Come inside." He lit a candle. "This shall be your room. When we don't have anything for you to do, we expect you to quietly behave yourself in here." He moved to leave the room. "If something comes up, we'll call for you."

As Sai looked around his small and dull quarters, he asked, "Did the news of her betrayal not spread yet? How come I did not hear of it?"

"Her?" Kabuto asked, stopping in his tracks. "Oh! You mean the Haruno girl… She's here but not by her own will, if that's what you're asking."

"You've captured her?" Sai raised an eyebrow.

"Captured, invited, welcomed… Call it whatever you want. Orochimaru just keeps her here as an honored guest. I suppose he thinks Sasuke-kun needs the entertainment. I don't understand it myself. If it were up to me, she'd be dead by now. But Sasuke wants to keep her alive, so no one touches her. She's very troublesome actually, trying to escape every now and then…" Kabuto shrugged, walking out of the room. "Sorry to have to do this, but I'm going to have to lock this door from the outside. After all, you're… Well, you understand."

Sai had no protests as Kabuto shut the door. When he knew the door was locked, Sai pressed his ear against the wooden structure. Kabuto's footsteps were getting further and further away…

Sai backed away from the door and took out a small book from his backpack. He flipped through the pages, reading the information on them.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

The door creaked open, and Sai quickly stuffed the book back into his bag.

"And look who we have here…"

And in came Yamato, Naruto, and Hinata.

Sai smiled. "The Hokage-controlled ANBU, impressive as always…"

"Why don't you tell us about what's going on here?" Yamato suggested, but Naruto had other plans.

"You!" he yelled, grabbing the collar of Sai's shirt. "Why did you betray us?"

"You shouldn't make too much noise here," Sai said. "It'll mean trouble."

"Why, you—"

"Na-Naruto-kun!"

Naruto held his glare for a few more seconds before releasing the Root member.

"Here," Hinata said to Sai. She held his picture book in her hand. "We found this. I believe this belongs to you."

"Thank you," Sai gladly took back his novelette.

"You're . . . you're here under Danzo's orders, right?" Hinata asked. "Danzo's planning something through working with Orochimaru . . . and you were chosen as the go-between. What is it that he's planning?"

Sai didn't answer.

"He's plotting the destruction of Konoha, right? Another war with Oto?"

". . . No, actually—"

"We all already know of your fake smiles!" Naruto yelled. "And the same goes for the lies you force them through!"

"My mission ended in failure the moment you found me," Sai explained. "And I can't very well take the three of you on by myself, so . . . since you already know so much, there isn't much reason to hide things anymore. Just as you say, we're going to destroy Konoha as it exists."

"Why, you…" Naruto's hands rolled into fists.

"We wanted to weaken Tsunade's political power, so we sent her apprentice away. She should be dead by now."

Naruto's fists shook.

"But in order to completely destroy Konoha, I was to gain Orochimaru's favor thus giving us a chance for us to ally with him. That was my true mission."

"Keep talking," Yamato commanded, pointing a kunai at Sai. "Tell us everything you know."

"You… Do you even realize what you're saying?" Naruto asked. "What it means—"

"That wasn't all," Sai continued. "I was also supposed to secretly transmit information on Orochimaru to Danzo-sama. In other words, I was also assigned a mission of espionage."

"So the mission was to ally with the enemy, then use and outwit him in the end… And that enemy is Orochimaru?" Hinata asked. "It's a dangerous mission…"

"Once Konoha falls, Orochimaru is guaranteed to betray us in the end. My mission was intended to allow us to always stay one step ahead of him."

"Danzo wants to make Konoha his own, obviously." Yamato said. "And you, on your own, were assigned a mission to make that possible."

"I was singled out due to the special abilities I have," Sai explained. "The ink I write with becomes small, living animals. They protect themselves from harm as they carry information out to their destination."

"If Konoha becomes a stage of battle again, countless of people . . . so many of them will die!" Hinata said. "What you're trying to do is going to have very real consequences! Do you . . . do you even understand that?"

Sai just shrugged. "I just follow my orders."

"Sai . . . you're—"

"Just to let you know, 'Sai' is just a name that was assigned to me merely for the purpose of this mission. In reality, I'm nobody. I am nothing more than a tool for Danzo-sama. I don't really exist. As such, whatever you say to me, it means nothing."

"In that case," Hinata said, "Tell me why you care so much about that picture book you carry around with you!"

Sai had no answer. He hadn't expected that question. He looked down at the book he held in his hand.

"The two children on the covers, that's you and your brother, right?" Hinata asked. "You carry that around because that's the only thing left that proves you really do exist, am I correct? You didn't manage to get rid of your emotions despite what you say. Even for us shinobi, abandoning our emotions completely is impossible."

". . . Please explain," Sai said. "Why would carrying this book serve to prove my existence?"

"The reason why you refuse to let go of that book is precisely because you find yourself unable to forget your existence as someone's brother. Do you understand why?"

Hinata took Sai's silence as a no.

"It's because your bonds with your brother are very important to you."

Sai's eyes widened.

"The reality is that you don't want to erase the bonds between you and your brother."

"Bonds…"

"Sorry to say, but we took a little peak at the contents of that book." Yamato said. "The picture on the two pages in the center is the only part of the book unfinished. Judging from the rest of the book, you and your brother would have ended up fighting on those center pages. Sai, I know that you are a part of ANBU's Root, and I know that Danzo has given you special training to relive you of your emotions—training identical to that of the godforsaken tradition that was once practiced in Kiri, the village of bloody mist. Sai, your brother was killed by none other than y—"

"You're wrong!" Sai said. "I had intended to give this as a gift to my brother but, just when I was about to complete it, my brother . . . he died of illness." And he said this with a smile. "We weren't connected by blood, but he complimented me quite a bit on my drawings. Root was filled with a great number of children who had been separated from their families due to battles, and I had gotten close with one of those children, calling him my brother. This picture book… The picture I wanted to show my brother the most, the one in the center… I . . . after my brother died, I couldn't seem to recall what I wanted to draw."

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

Once Kabuto unlocked the door, he walked in. Nobody was there, and he knew something was up.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Unfortunately," Yamato said to the now tied-up Sai. They were just outside Orochimaru's hideout. "We're going to have to leave you here with my clone to watch you."

"Hmp!" Naruto cracked his knuckles. "Now to get back to what we came here for. It's time to rescue Sasuke!"

Sai just stared at Naruto and then looked down. "It'd be better if you gave up now," he said.

"I met Sasuke-kun," he continued, shocking the blonde. "Orochimaru is always with him. If you continue to go after him, the best you'll manage is being torn to shreds and turned into guinea pigs. Besides, Hinata-san said that you care for Sasuke-kun as though he were your own brother, but he said he doesn't care about you anymore… And despite that, do you really intend to go up against Orochimaru of all people, just for him? You're going to put your life on the line just to get him back? Why? It's not like you've been ordered to do this."

Naruto smiled. "Way back when, I used to hate him but, when I got used to being with him, I realized he's really a lot of fun to be around. He's the person that, more than anyone else, accepted me and my existence. Sasuke is my friend, and he represents bonds that I waited so long to receive, so that's why…"

Bonds…

"Plus, I made a promise to Sakura-chan! I'll make sure he's back in Konoha, waiting for her just like everyone else!"

". . . Are you sure this Sakura-chan is trustworthy?" Sai asked. "How would you know? She's just another person. Who's to say that she'd—"

"Of all people, she's the last person who'd betray me! I trust her as much as I trust Hinata-chan here!"

Na-Naruto-kun… Hinata almost blushed.

"Still, all for a promise…" Sai continued. "That's not much of a reason especially if it means going up with people like Orochimaru…"

"I don't care who I have to fight. If he rips my arms off, I'll kick him to death! If he rips my legs off, I'll bite him to death! If he rips my head off, I'll stare him to death and, if he gouges my eyes, I'll curse him to death! Even if I'm torn to shreds, I'll find a way to take Sasuke back, no matter what!"

[1] = a haiku by Basho

I really hated this chapter… It was boring… There's nothing really fun… I really hope the next chapter will be… Sorry you guys for this really boring chapter! I promise the next one shall show a bit more NaruHina, it will be a bit more exciting! Thank you and please review!

POLLS!

Since they're going to meet up with Sasuke soon, I'm going to need some ideas of how that how go. With Hinata there, there's bound to be a huge difference. So what do you think I should do for it? Write down any suggestions in your reviews.