Chapter 11: I've Seen It All
-X-
They walked in silence through the darkness of the middle hallway, opening doors one by one and checking the rooms.
Something about Itachi's sudden change of mission partners told Sakura that he wanted to talk to her in private. Seeing as they just walked away from the battlefield left by Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasori of the Red Sands, she figured it was something about–
Orochimaru. Damn it all, he wanted to know what happened when Team Seven encountered the Snake Sannin in the past.
Truthfully, she just didn't know why the hell Sasuke hadn't told his brother about those episodes. True, they'd managed to hold their ground against Orochimaru thanks to Sasuke and Kakashi's Sharingan. Despite that, they were barely able to escape until Naruto sprouted some tails and punted the Sannin into temporary oblivion.
Damn, damn, damn.
"I know something happened, Sakura, and I know Sasuke swore you into secrecy. Please brief me," he said with that seemingly polite tone that carried a bit of authority, ever so typical of this particular ANBU Captain.
"I don't think I–"
"Sakura," he stopped and turned so fast that she almost collided with his chest. His eyes told another story, though, as they glittered with something more than the intensity they usually showed when he looked at her. "Please tell me. Sasuke is my brother."
She gaped in surprise. Not only because Itachi had just stated the obvious, but also because his voice held a note of something akin to concern.
She couldn't keep hiding this from him.
"Orochimaru..." she sighed. "We first encountered him in the Forest of Death. He... he bit Sasuke, marking him with a curse seal. Afterward, Kakashi-sensei performed a counterseal jutsu on Sasuke, but that didn't stop Orochimaru. He persisted in making a nuisance of himself. He always appeared whenever we least expected him."
Itachi narrowed his eyes, clenching his jaw. "What else?" he asked flatly.
"There isn't much to tell. The cursed seal made Sasuke acutely aware of Orochimaru's presence, so we've had always confronted him. Sometimes we won... some others we had to retreat."
The Uchiha didn't miss the way she subconsciously rubbed her upper arm.
"But... Orochimaru is dead now, right? That seal should have disappeared from Sasuke's shoulder; everything would be fine now... right?"
Itachi stared at her for a long moment and nodded, resuming their walk until they reached another door. Sakura perceived that this one was somehow different from the other doors.
"Ita–"
"Yes," he murmured. "Allow me. Take cover, Sakura."
He heard her move out of the way upon realizing what he was about to do. Quickly, he performed some seals, then pressed his hand against the door for a moment before quickly pressing his back onto the wall. A small explosion followed, after which they peered through the smoke lingering in the doorway.
This was Orochimaru's room.
"We found it," he spoke into his radio. "We will rendezvous in ten minutes."
"Let's look for the–" Sakura stopped herself as her eyes fell upon the black bound book that lay atop the table. "This is way too easy," she muttered as she stepped near the table.
"Assuming that Kabuto wasn't lying," Itachi commented as his Sharingan surveyed the item on the table. "It is a regular journal. I cannot see any chakra in it."
"There's only one way to find out," Sakura said as she threw open the cover. Of course, what she discovered inside the journal was less than pleasing.
Itachi blinked in moderate surprise when Sakura groaned in utter despair at the symbols written on paper.
"Hell if we don't break that code soon," she seethed. "Goddamn Kabuto! I should have known his journal was coded!"
"Sai and Yamato are good code-breakers," Itachi offered, but she shook her head.
"This is not really a standard code," she explained, leafing through the journal with a dark scowl marring her face. "It's a medical code. Everything in here can only be decoded by a medical ninja. Damn it."
"If you teach me how, I could help you."
Sakura's scowl disappeared under Itachi's watchful stare. He made a mental note that she looked quite... endearing, when she blushed.
"Thank you."
-X-
When they finally gathered together, Itachi ordered them to make camp. Sasuke was the only one who protested.
"We need to break Kabuto's journal first," he announced, as he sat next to a concentrated Sakura. "Do you have the scroll?"
"Actually, I think we don't need it," she said without lifting her eyes from the journal. "Even if Kabuto invented a code for his notes, there are certain roots to the standard medical codes. He certainly didn't expect another medic to peruse through his things."
"So it is breakable," Shisui asked as he joined them. Sakura nodded, smiling faintly.
"I only need a bit of time, but I can do it," she confirmed, only to let out an unladylike snort. "Who would have figured that Orochimaru was allergic to lactose and regular penicillin. We could have defeated that creepy bastard with Naruto's rotten milk."
Kakashi let loose a laugh. "I'll scout the perimeter."
"I'll go with you, Kakashi-sempai," Yamato offered.
"Explosive-expert, puppet master, suiton-expert..." Sakura mumbled as she delved deeper into the journal, forgetting everything around her.
Shisui smirked as Sasuke sat under a tree in front of them. "Something wrong, Sasuke-chan?"
"Shisui," the cold, veiled warning came from his other cousin, effectively cutting off any barb that the elder Uchiha could have teased the younger with.
A tense moment of silence went until Shisui stood up to join Sai on his patrol, leaving the Uchiha brothers with the pink-haired kunoichi. She didn't notice how Sasuke's eyes narrowed at his brother, and she certainly missed the disapproving frown Itachi directed at his otouto.
"She spilled the beans, didn't she?" Sasuke asked in a low tone.
"Leave her out of this," Itachi said curtly. "I still cannot comprehend how my little brother thought it of little importance to tell me of something as significant as having a cursed seal. I wonder how you managed to hide that from Chichiue."
Sasuke bristled instantaneously. "He doesn't pay any attention to me, thanks to you, aniki."
"Oh? I thought I was doing the right thing in sparing you from the demands of the Clan, Sasuke."
The younger Uchiha stood up. "You don't know a thing about me! You don't even know me anymore; you're so wrapped up in your duties as an almighty ANBU Captain! I wonder why they haven't chosen you as the next Hokage, or the bearer of the Will of Fire."
Everything happened fast enough to trigger Sakura's shinobi senses. With a sharp gasp, she started her eyes into the most surprising scene. Itachi was holding down Sasuke into the ground, pulling the collar of his shirt. She didn't realize when the hell Itachi had stood up and gone to Sasuke, but the clipped, angry tones managed to filter through her ears fast enough to understand they were in the middle of a really nasty argument.
"I never pegged you as a jealous child, Sasuke," Itachi intoned mildly as he held the other male to the ground with enough force to subdue any attempt to break his hold as the older Uchiha lowered his upper body to whisper into Sasuke's ear. "You must thank the Gods that Hahaue is not here, for she would have been really disappointed."
"Shut the fuck up!" Sasuke hollered, with his Sharingan activated. "You have no idea of what I feel! You don't feel shit about Hahaue; you don't have the right to mention her!"
"You displease me," Itachi said coldly as he released his brother and stood up.
"Do not touch me, aniki," he snarled as he righted his clothes. "I have had enough of your superior protection. I can take care of myself."
"You're a fool, Sasuke."
The younger Uchiha lunged for his brother, but a sudden screech stopped him.
"Stop it! Goddamn it all, stop it, both of you!" Sakura yelled, red in the face thanks to her anger. "Lose your head again, Uchiha Sasuke, and by Kami I'll trank you."
"What is it to you?" he snarled back. "This is not your damn business!"
"You made it my damn business when you started arguing in front of me, you idiot! And I'll not have you brothers fighting about your Mother, of all things!"
"You know nothing about this!" Sasuke hissed, and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"What, I don't know what it's like to lose my mother? Newsflash, Sasuke: I lost both of my parents to the same disease that took your mother away! And for your information, Tsunade-shishou, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto and you are all I have left in this world! Don't insist that I'm a clueless moron – to my face or behind my back – when the only moron I see here is you! You should thank Kami you still have a father and a brother, even if you don't like them!"
"Sakura–"
"Shut up, Sasuke, I don't want to hear it. I'm going to the creek to wash up, Itachi-san, excuse me."
Passing by Shisui and Kakashi, both of whom were stunned into silence, she made her way to the nearby stream. As she left, everyone could hear her muttering curses about the annoying, arrogant and stuck-up Uchiha clan.
-X-
It took a while for her to calm down.
It wasn't the first time that she had lost her temper with Sasuke, but it was the first time she had lost it like this. It was like everything she had bottled up for years just leapt into her mouth. As she sat on a rock on the bank of the creek while she washed her face, she realized that the tension she felt in her chest had disappeared after she gave her teammate, a one Uchiha Sasuke, the reality check of a lifetime. She was still pissed, but that was another matter altogether.
Yet, she was determined to never cry again because of anything Sasuke said. It hurt, yes, but mostly because she still regarded him as a close friend, perhaps in the same place that Naruto had in her heart.
"Sakura-san?" she heard a voice calling to her. It was the pale young man, Sai, who was also coming to the stream to refresh himself after his patrol.
"Sai," she greeted flatly. She was still angry, and it showed. It didn't really help that the few times Sai interacted with the members of Team Seven, he had behaved like an ass.
Calling her an ugly hag certainly played a big part in her general dislike of the guy, but when he opened up to Sakura and Naruto she understood why he conducted himself that way.
Being a former ROOT operative, raised and taught to be a killing machine and not to know about emotions was more than a reason to be an abrasive bastard. He just did not know how to act. Luckily for him, Naruto worked his social magic with him and proclaimed himself as Sai's first friend, disarming the pale ANBU with a true smile and the offer of a real friendship after what happened to his nii-san.
"Are you okay, Sakura-san? You seem... uglier than usual."
"Sai, if you appreciate your delicates hanging where they are, you would be wise not to piss me off more than I already am," she shot back, glaring at the ANBU. "Especially if you're going to be near me for the next hours."
"It's okay. I heard the commotion myself and I... kind of understand why you exploded that way," he said, tilting his head to a side. "Taichou is right; Sasuke-kun is a fool."
"Shut up Sai, you're not helping," she rolled her eyes, standing up again in unconscious hurry to keep moving. She stayed silent for a long moment, staring at the water while Sai just studied her face as her expression alternated between annoyance and distress. "We need to get him back. Kami-sama, I miss my brother."
Something shifted in Sai's face, as he nodded and his lips curved in a little smile. "Don't worry, Sakura-san. We will."
-X-
Nighttime fell over the Konoha shinobi. Itachi had spoken to Kakashi, and both agreed that Sasuke needed to be separated from Sakura for the time being. Sakura's loss of temper had taken Kakashi by surprise. He was very much aware of how much she loved her teammates, especially the younger Uchiha. There was no reason for him to disagree with Itachi regarding the situation. Much to Sakura's amusement, she was transferred under Itachi's command while Sai went with her sensei.
She didn't complain, though. The tactical decision put a wide berth between herself and Sasuke. It was probably for the best, seeing as she was finally over her crush and Sasuke's holier-than-thou antics annoyed her more than Naruto's usual silliness. Maybe she was going for the usual scorned woman scenario, but she honestly didn't care.
That was why she complied with Itachi's order to go outside the perimeter with him in order to send a message to their Hokage. Sasuke had hissed under his breath, but she didn't notice it. However, Shisui did, making him smirk in unholy glee at the significant glare that the young Uchiha sent to his older brother.
Running next to the dark-haired prodigy, she understood why his team was the most demanded by the village's clients. Itachi's mind never strayed from the task at hand, hands flowing smoothly in the jutsu that connected them straight to a conference to Tsunade.
"You seem preoccupied," he noted in a murmur, watching a hawk flying high and away from them.
"I am," she confirmed. "I'm scared for Naruto. I fear..."
"I know," he nodded. "Chances are that they don't know that Sasori is dead yet."
There was another matter that worried her sick, but she wasn't going to talk about it with him. Those goading, taunting words that Sasori had spoken to Itachi in his deathbed were unsettling enough for her, especially when a sharp pang spread in her chest whenever his presence was so close to her. She knew he was gorgeous (her mental roommate remarked on this rather loudly and quite often), and intelligent – brilliant, actually – not to mention how powerfully skilled he was.
Apparently, he was so remarkable that had brought the Akatsuki's attention upon himself.
Watching her eyes lowering, Itachi noticed a glimmer of uncertainty in her gaze before she looked away. He was certain that her worry for her brother was encompassing her very soul, but the uncomfortable blush that dusted her features led him to think that was more to her thoughts that rescuing the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki only.
"Did you finish breaking Kabuto's journal?" he asked, making her look at him again and nod. "What did you find?"
"He... described the Akatsuki's individual skills," she began, opening the black journal. "The blue-skinned one, Kisame, is a Suiton-expert, whereas the blond guy that Naruto and Sasuke fought at the Fire City is an explosive expert."
"Seeing as he is a missing-nin from Iwa, we can be sure that this Deidara can use Doton as well," he said with an approving nod. "What about the others?"
"Uhm... it seems that they were nine, but suddenly Orochimaru defected from the organization. The date of this particular observation is a week before our Jounin Exams, so..."
Itachi turned her head to stare at her. Sakura fidgeted nervously, gripping the journal in an attempt to calm herself.
"Sakura," he said softly, one of his hands rising to trace her cheek. "Trust me."
She stared back. "I think... I think Orochimaru defected the Akatsuki because he thought he could lure Sasuke out during our examination."
His hand stopped his soft caress of her face. "So you think he was after the Sharingan."
"Yes," she breathed, nodding. "I don't know why he picked Sasuke, though. He could have chosen some other Uchiha, like Shisui... or you..."
But somehow it was understandable, a nagging voice rumbled in the back of her mind. Sasuke was the weakest link of the Head Family. Uchiha Fugaku's Sharingan was far too overused to be of any usefulness and Itachi...
Itachi was targeted to become one of them. One of the Akatsuki.
Orochimaru was far too fond of his life to cross the Akatsuki. Of course, if the criminal organization wanted the older brother... he figured he could have the younger.
Shisui was already too settled in with Hana and his life to be persuaded to leave the village. Itachi and Sasuke, she concluded, were the most likely to be influenced to change loyalties.
But Sasuke had stayed, and Itachi was still there. Sakura looked up at the Uchiha ANBU Captain, eyes swimming in confusion.
"Why didn't you leave with them?" she asked in a whisper. "You... could have gone and be free... from..."
Itachi understood, and once more, pieces of his mental puzzle called Haruno Sakura clicked together.
"I didn't go because I have a brother to protect, and a family to lead," he answered smoothly, ever so softly, his fingers resuming the tracing of the contours of her face. "I also have a duty to fulfill to Konoha, and..."
His calculated trail off made her blush furiously, especially when the fingers caressing her face went around the back of her neck and pulled her lightly towards him.
"I would like to think... I have a certain someone to look forward to my return."
Sakura closed her eyes willingly when his lips touched hers in a brief, chaste kiss.
-X-
His senses prickled, making him stiffen around Sakura's body. Pulling away from her, Itachi noted that she had picked up the eerie feeling as well.
They shared a gaze, and she watched in secret awe as his rich onyx eyes charged swiftly with the crimson and three-pointed, demonic look of the Sharingan.
Stepping away from her, his hand went to his ninjatô as Sakura clenched her fists.
But when a dog broke in Itachi's vision field, a new feeling of dread entered their senses.
"Pakkun!"
"Sakura, Kakashi needs you back at the camp," the pug said between pants. She nodded, taking off with Itachi leaping at her side as the dog led them back. "One of the ANBU encountered someone in his patrol... and the fight got out of hand."
Oh no.
"Who?" she asked, pressing a hand to her chest full with dread. "Pakkun, tell me who!"
"A pale young man, I don't know his name."
A steely arm circled her waist as another hand grabbed the pug by his collar. Feeling herself teleported, she realized what Itachi had done. But the sight that greeted them back at the camp was nothing short of terrible.
Sai lay in a pool of blood, his previously neatly combed hair matted with the sticky substance. Shisui and Kakashi were next to him, as Yamato tried to clean his many, many wounds.
"Holy Kami-sama," she breathed as she ran to them. Dropping to her knees, she pushed chakra frantically to Sai's chest, scanning the extent of his injuries. "Who the fuck did this to him?!" she snarled, ripping the ANBU's shirt from his body to work without hindrances.
"A blue haired woman, she was wearing an Akatsuki cloak," Yamato explained. "I saw her fleeing when I heard one of Sai's tigers roar. The fight must have been very silent and quick; I didn't realize that she was around–"
"Enough," Itachi said as he kneeled next to Sakura as she pushed great amounts of green healing energy into his teammate, but she was looking at Yamato with her mouth hanging open.
Sakura breathed deeply. "Blue-haired kunoichi?" she asked tightly. Both Shisui and the mokuton user nodded, watching how the emerald-eyes darkened with utmost rage. "Fucking bitch," she hissed, clenching her teeth to control her temper, but her frantic look overrode everything as she passed her glowing hand over Sai's chest. "Sai!" she yelled. "Don't you dare to die on me!"
Everything was silent in the camp as it started to rain. No one seemed to pay attention, as Sakura's energy was the only thing moving under the onslaught of Mother Nature. It was as if the skies were trying to wash Sai's blood away.
"No!" she shouted. "Sai! No! Nononono! You have to live, you bastard!"
"Sakura, your chakra is almost depleted," Kakashi warned softly.
"NO! I have to save him! This is my way of the ninja!" she screamed. "SAI!"
Said ink-user opened briefly his eyes, fixing them on hers.
"Sak–..."
"Shut up and stay awake!" she shouted. "I will save you even if it is my last act!"
Sai shook his head weakly. "...No...you have...to save...him. My friend."
Sakura choked back a sob, inhaling sharply. Sai's lips curled faintly in a little, sincere smile.
"Thank you...and thank hi...him for me..."
"Sai, no... you need to live to tell him that in person," she said, sobbing openly now, her tears mingling with the rain that fell on her face. "Sai... no, SAI! I will save you!"
Her dwindling chakra – depleted due to the several preparations she had done for the upcoming battle in Amegakure, her patrolling duty, and the emergency attempt to heal the socially-stunted ninja who was finally beginning to open up to others – flared once again, stronger than before. Suddenly, two pairs of arms all but dragged her from Sai's motionless body, much to the remaining ANBU Alpha operative's surprise.
"He's gone, he's gone," Kakashi repeated in her ear, as she struggled blindly to release herself from Shisui and Kakashi's restraining embrace.
"No!! I have to save him! He's my brother's friend! I have to save him!!" she wailed, despair making her voice shrill and frantic.
"He wants you to save Naruto for him," Shisui murmured softly, as she collapsed on Kakashi's chest. "That is his last wish."
The rain seemed to fall harder, but it did nothing to drown Sakura's cries of anguish and grief.
-X-
The Konoha shinobi were ready to set out, after giving themselves a minute to say goodbye to their fallen comrade. Yamato, Shisui and Itachi were the last, following the White Ops' regular procedures for the operatives that were killed in action.
Sasuke and Kakashi had taken upon themselves the patrolling of the area. Sakura had been left behind to let out her grief for the young man whose budding friendship with both her and Naruto had seemed to fascinate him so much.
However, what was eating the pink-haired kunoichi inside out was something very simple, but terrible.
She had failed her nindo.
She had failed to save Sai's life, and thus she had been mercilessly struck in the face with the fact that she wasn't as strong as she thought.
How could she save Naruto from the Akatsuki's clutches if she couldn't save her own comrades, her nakama?
Wallowing in harsh mental recriminations and frustration, she failed to see a tall, lean form approaching her.
"Sakura," a deep murmur made her look up slowly from her hugged knees. Itachi was standing in front of her, almost towering with his white uniform drenched by the earlier rainfall. "It is time. Do you wish to see him one more time?"
Sakura shook her head, lowering her gaze back to her knees until she noticed that he hadn't left her to her own devices. In fact, he had crouched to catch her eyes once more.
"A shinobi's life is hard," he said softly, his onyx gaze never wavering from hers. "But, no matter if our nakama falls, we must strive forward. It is the basic principle, Sakura."
"How can you say that?" she whispered, her eyes dull with muted desperation. "He... I couldn't – it's my fault–"
"Listen to me," he commanded in that soft tone he had used in her home when asking for her sincerity. "If you think it is your fault he fought back against an ambusher, then it is also my fault for not protecting him either."
"But you weren't there!" she protested, irritated at the Uchiha ANBU Captain. Why couldn't she mourn in peace? "You–"
"Exactly," he cut her off smoothly. "I was not even in the same location. And you were with me. You can not blame yourself for the decisions Sai made."
"But I couldn't save him–"
"Sakura, neither of my teammates is blaming you. Not Shisui, not Yamato. And as Sai's Captain, I am not blaming you either."
She fell silent, belatedly realizing that this was Itachi's way to reassure her and set her back onto her feet, so to speak.
"It is unwise to wallow in regret when he told you to carry a message in his behalf," he continued softly. "Let us be on our way and show our targets the real meaning of the word 'retribution.'"
If Sakura was surprised for his awkward, albeit sneaky attempt to restore her self-confidence, the sudden cold steel of his tone when speaking the last sentence made her notice that he was as troubled as she was regarding Sai's demise.
Onyx eyes stared back at emerald ones, for a moment showing the extent of the meaning of his words. The pink-haired medic finally understood.
Seeing her nod, he stood, a hand outstretched and waiting for her to take it. Behind, a clone of him lit the modest pyre that served as Sai's last step to the afterlife.
"Come. We are leaving now."
"Hai."
-X-
It was almost nightfall when they finally reached the outskirts of the Village Hidden in the Rain. True to its name, it poured non-stop.
Six figures stood over seemed to be a cleft in a high chasm, a little away from the falling rain. Something was odd, especially with the lack of that sweet aroma that brought the precipitation of water over the earth. Calling for a halt, one of the brown-cloaked figures turned to the rest of the group.
"This rain is not natural," Itachi said, with his Sharingan alight. "It is too massive and it's charged with chakra."
The smallest of the cloaked figures cleared her throat. "According to Kabuto's journal, this might be the Akatsuki Leader's doing."
"Such massive Suiton manipulation!" Shisui exclaimed softly, his own Sharingan eyes examining the rain falling a hundred meters ahead. "If it's his doing, he must have great reserves of chakra."
"We need to hurry," Sasuke said with a business-like tone. "We do not know if they had begun extracting..."
"There is the strong possibility that we could be outnumbered," Yamato piped in, "if they found replacements for the members that were defeated. Kakuzu, Hidan, Sasori and Orochimaru."
"But there's also the possibility that they hadn't filled those places just yet," Kakashi said. "I have to agree; this is way too dangerous. But I'm positive that I'm speaking for my team when I say that for Naruto we are capable of everything."
Sakura and Sasuke nodded firmly at their sensei's words. Yamato sighed.
"Besides, I owe that kunoichi the beating of her life," Sakura's hard voice was heard from under her hood. "That was Konan; Kabuto described her as a paper-jutsu expert."
"Sakura, I don't think it's–"
"She's mine," she cut Yamato off sharply, turning her turbulent emerald eyes to stare at him. "I owe that to Sai, at least."
"And we also have a message to deliver to the Akatsuki ourselves," Shisui said, letting out a little growl. "Konoha is not above introducing their enemies to a world of pain in return for what they have done to us and our comrades."
Itachi nodded in approval at his cousin's statement. "I spoke to Hokage-sama and she agreed to send back-up. Maito and Nara's teams should be arriving by mid-morning."
"But–"
"However," Itachi continued smoothly, glancing at Sakura. "We are not going to wait. We have to proceed now."
She nodded seriously, looking at the downpouring sky again. "But how do we pass that rain curtain without being detected?"
"Easy," Shisui grinned grimly, holding out a scroll with the Uchiha crest on its binding. "We teleport ourselves in."
-X-
It was so dark that Sakura couldn't see beyond her nose. The teleportation performed by Itachi and Shisui went without a hitch; those two must be a formidable team, if they were so in tune with each others' dynamics, she deduced.
Breathing startled her, making hers hitch. "Relax, it's me."
She heard something crack and soon Sasuke's face was lit by a lantern. The light made his face glow with that sick greenish color of the mission-fare lamps.
"What?" he asked softly; Sakura shook her head.
They were cramped in a storage room. Looking around, she noticed that the stone walls were sweating. Pressing a hand over the wall, she felt the cold seeping into her skin.
"I think we're underground," she murmured, cleaning the moisture in her hand on her cloak. "Near a lake or some large water body."
Sasuke grunted noncommittally. "Let's found the others."
"Sasuke," Sakura murmured, looking directly into his crimson glare pleadingly. "We have to save him."
He stared at her for a long moment, and then nodded with great determination in his eyes. "We will."
Opening the door carefully, he wordlessly gave the lantern to the pink-haired kunoichi, who hid it under her cloak and followed him out of the room.
They rendezvoused with the rest of their group in a hall that clearly had seen better days. Shisui had his ninjatô unsheathed, Yamato had shed his cloak for better movement and Kakashi had done the same. Sakura handed the lantern back to Sasuke, pulling her gloves on. Preparations were ready.
"I can feel several chakra signatures moving above us," Yamato said. "It seems that this place is packed with nins."
"It is of no importance," Itachi answered lightly. "We are teleporting again."
Before the others had the time to blink, he pointed to a map of the city that was pinned to a wall. "This construction might probably have been the administration building of the village. According to the map and the readings of the chakra signatures, the Akatsuki have to be nearing that location to the northeast," he explained, pointing at a massive square indicating a building – a tower.
"Well, this is it," Shisui said, swinging his blade expertly in a mid-arc. "Are you guys ready to roll?"
"This is suicide," Yamato muttered, but nodded all the same. Kakashi directed one of his eye-creases at the wood-summoner, hands in his pants pockets.
"I'm sure it feels that way," he said. "But I think the motto, 'A ninja who breaks the code is trash but a ninja who abandon his teammates is worse than trash,' applies accurately in this particular situation."
"I'd die for him."
All the males fixed their eyes on the only female of the team, who frowned in retaliation. "Don't look at me like that. I'm willing to give all for all. He's my brother, my family. And I'd die for his sake if that's what it takes to get him back."
"Let us hope it doesn't come to that," Shisui murmured, looking at his older cousin. Both Uchiha flashed a string of hand-seals, and soon they disappeared to a roofed alley near the other building.
Sakura and Sasuke were the first to gasp when they recognized Naruto's chakra signature.
"He's in there," he said, finding her eyes and nodding. She gritted her teeth.
"Alright, we'll charge inside and crash their ceremony like Tsunade-sama said," Kakashi instructed. "But you have to remember, Sasuke, Sakura; don't lose your heads. Watch your tempers."
Both jounin nodded, and Sakura cocked her fist.
Despite everything that had been said and done, nothing prepared the Konoha ninja for the spectacle that had been presented to them as soon as the wall was teared apart by the female's fist.
A humongous statue, resembling a pair of cuffed hands in front of another sculpture with several eyes, towered over them. Six figures stood on the fingertips of the statue, but an immense ball of blue chakra between the hands quickly drew the attention of the newcomers.
Naruto.
As if on cue, their blond-haired nakama let out an earsplitting scream of unfathomable pain.
Sasuke snarled in fury, unsheathing a katana, while Sakura's shriek of rage marked the only warning for a livid stomping of her foot, cracking the floor in a chasm that opened a line to one of the hands, the cracking of the stone thundering the massive hall.
"This is the day you all die, Akatsuki!" Sasuke roared, his body crackling with electric chakra.
It had begun.
-XxX-
KEKEKEKEKEKEKE!!! XD
I know you will curse at me, but come on, tell me this cliffy isn't beautiful. XD
I have to say, I adore Sai. He's a lovable dork, and I was all sad the day I wrote about his demise here in this story (not to mention that I also had to kill him in Refraction, damn). However, I managed to pull this chapter easier than the previous ones, maybe because I had planned this outcome and recreated it in my head long enough... or maybe because the battle scenes are becoming my true specialty. :'D
All in all, I hope you like this chapter. Many love and thanks to my dearest RapturesRevenge for her thoughtful comments and cheering up when I was feeling like down.
And to all of you, thanks for reading!