Chapter 12

The Nothing I've Become

Chouji didn't have the energy to move anywhere for a good while after his fight with Juugo. He still couldn't understand how he had managed to survive against such a monster. He should be dead right now…he thought grimly. But by some turn of luck, he wasn't. He felt like he was dead, sure, but as he pulled in struggled breath after breath, his ribs stinging with intense pain and making sickening popping noises if he inflated his lungs too much, he knew that somehow….he had won.

As his body came to terms with the pain, the Akimichi boy began trying to get up. He shifted and turned but every attempt only left him with clenched teeth and muttered curses slipping from under his breath. Eventually, as he lay there with a shaking chest and a rapidly beating heart pounding in his ears, he was forced to reach down and dig into his ninja pouch. Chouji had always hated medicine, ever since he was a child, because it always tasted so bad. But now, he had no choice. He couldn't get up on his own, so he resorted to pulling out a small military pellet. The sphere was a bit larger than the regular standard of the pellets that were usually seen, and unlike the standard issue, this kind tasted absolutely horrible. The vile bitterness of this medicine was an understatement to its potency, however, and at this point, he'd need the boost just to survive.

With a groan and a wince, the Akimichi boy popped the pill in his mouth, crunching it once in half in his mouth before swallowing the pieces, fighting down a gag. He shifted over and forced himself from the ground, feeling the medicine's effects already coursing through his veins. There was no sign of the man he had been fighting, which Chouji was still confused about. He only knew a little bit about the curse marks, and decided that something so horrible must have simply eaten away at Juugo's body until Juugo pushed himself too far and relied on the curse too much to the point where his body disintegrated. Glad that he was able to accomplish the individual task beset upon him, he sighed and looked about at the destruction surrounding him from his battle. If all of the members of Sasuke's group were this strong, he couldn't help but wonder how the others were faring.

After another breath, he took a step in the direction of Kakashi's location, since it was the closest. His arm circled around his beaten and broken chest, he didn't know how much he could really help, but he knew he had to try.

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"Tsunade-sama, they're here." Shizune informed politely as she stood in front of the Hokage's desk. The blonde woman's brown eyes brightened quite a bit at this news. She slapped her hand on her desk, satisfied, and stood from her chair.

"About time! Hurry and bring them in!" Shizune nodded understandingly and turned to open the door. However, as her hand approached the handle, the door burst open. Storming into the room past a surprised Shizune was a tall, strong-looking man with well-managed hair, fierce eyes, and a green, full-body jumpsuit.

"Hokage-sama! Tell me this isn't true!!" Following closely behind the man was a younger boy who could've been the man's clone; having his own green jumpsuit and similarly cut hair. Behind him, though not following quite as closely, approached two more ninja, a boy and a girl.

"You told them?" Tsunade asked, giving Shizune an annoyed look. The assistant smiled back at her nervously.

"U-um...well they kind of drew it out of me..." She answered timidly, a hint of blush playing on her cheeks as she glanced at the man who burst in first. He gave her a shining smile in return.

Tsunade sighed, "I'm afraid it is, Gai." The man nodded and looked down grimly.

"I feared as much..." Suddenly, the younger clone of the man approached the desk, slamming his hands on the table.

"Please say it isn't so, Hokage-sama!!" He cried, "Sakura-san can't be hurt so badly! She just can't be!!" The boy whimpered, and Tsunade nodded sadly back at him.

"She was…" She answered, glancing away, "There are strong ninja out there, Lee, stronger than you, stronger than Sakura, even stronger than me. Sakura tried to take on more than she could handle." Rock Lee's normally strong and ferocious eyes were soft and torn.

"Then where is she now?!" He asked frantically, "Is she okay??" The third girl in the room, a brunette with her hair tied tightly into two buns and a kind look in her eyes stepped forward, placing a hand on Rock Lee's shoulder gently.

"Lee, I'm sure she's fine. She's probably in the hospital right now, right?" She looked up at Tsunade at her question, then back at Lee. "We'll go visit her, okay?" Tenten offered, trying to comfort the normally strong-willed Taijutsu specialist.

"Actually…" Tsunade replied grimly, "She's not." The entire group looked at the Hokage, while Shizune just gazed at the floor painfully. Tsunade continued,

"Sakura disappeared from the hospital last night. Her injuries were still at a dangerous level though, and what's worse is we fear that she's gone after Naruto's group. That's why I called you all in here so soon after your last mission. This situation is getting urgent." Team Gai looked confused by this news, and the branch member of the Hyuuga Clan, a Juuken prodigy named Neji, spoke up first.

"What situation? Where has Naruto gone? Where has everyone gone?" Tenten nodded.

"Yeah, when we got back we noticed that no one was here…we just thought they were all on missions." Tsunade leaned back tiredly in her seat, rubbing her forehead.

"Well, in a way they are." She looked to Shizune, "If you would, Shizune, since you've already told them so much." She gave her assistant another expected look, and she nodded, looking ashamed again.

"A few days ago, " Shizune started, thumbing through her clipboard, "After Haruno Sakura returned to Konoha badly injured, she carried with her information on a Level A threat to the safety of the Leaf Village. Uchiha Sasuke, a fugitive rogue ninja of Konoha and former member of Team number seven, labeled a class S enemy in the Bingo book, plans to return to Konoha with a team he's pulled together…and destroy it. So, yesterday, two teams were formed to handle the imposing threat. Team A consisted of Hatake Kakashi; Jounin, Uzumaki Naruto; Genin, Akimishi Chouji; Chuunin, and Hyuuga Hinata; Chuunin." Shizune paused then, touching her thumb to her tongue and turned to the next page on her clipboard. Team Gai continued to stare at her, their eyes wide. "Team A's mission was to intercept Sasuke's group, and stop them. Alternatively, Team B consisted of Yuhi Kurenai; Jounin, Inuzuka Kiba; Chuunin, Aburame Shino; Chuunin, and Yamanaka Ino; Chuunin. Their mission was to begin searching for the remaining members of Akatsuki that are known to still be alive, and eliminate any members they can find. Also, last night, Nara Shikamaru was sent to track down Team B and assist them. He left immediately after returning from the mission he was on, much like you will be." Shizune finished her report with a deep breath, looking up and over at Tsunade now.

"Thanks, Shizune." She told her with a nod, "So that's the situation so far. We don't know how things are looking now, but as I said, we think that Sakura has gone after them; Team A to be specific for obvious reasons. The missions these teams have been assigned to are ranked to be at least S Class or above. Obviously, the rankings would call for more forces under normal circumstances. But we're not in normal circumstances. Our forces are already spread thin enough, so I'm sending them backup as it becomes available. That's where your team comes in, Gai. Is everyone caught up so far?" She asked, looking about to the ninja gathered before her. They all nodded promptly, still wide-eyed, but now looking more worried than anything.

"These missions are critical to the safety of Konohagakure. If they fail, we all die. Is that understood?" The Fifth Hokage asked seriously, and the team gathered before her nodded quietly. Rock Lee straightened and brought his hand up to his forehead in a firm salute.

"Understood, Hokage-sama! We won't fail! That's a promise!!" He assured, and Tsunade could only smile faintly.

"Alright then, here are your assignments: " She started, looking at them all with firm eyes. "Since you're the only backup we have at this point, we'll have to split you up in order to help both Team A and B. Rock Lee, Neji, " Her gaze focused on Lee, then Neji in turn. "You two are to track down Sakura. Though she's a medical ninja, her injuries aren't easily healed, and she's already low on chakra to start with. She most likely won't have been able to get far. It's important that you find her and bring her back here to finish healing properly. You'll receive further orders when you bring her back, understood?" She explained and Rock Lee's face brightened happily.

"It will be an honor to rescue Sakura-san, Hokage-sama!" Lee replied enthusiastically, pumping his fist in the air. Tsunade nodded, she knew that if she hadn't assigned Rock Lee to getting Sakura, he would've done it anyway.

"Tenten, Gai, " Tsunade started again, looking at the remaining two. "You will each be sent to assist either Team A, or Team B. The Jounins leading each group should fill you in on any updates when you get there. Tenten, you'll be sent after Team B." Tsunade looked over at Gai, "As for you, Gai, you'll be tracking down Team A. Team B isn't too far from here, and Shikamaru sent coordinates to us in his last report. Kakashi also sent us a location recently, so neither of them should be too hard to find. As for Sakura, Neji's Byakugan can take care of that. Is everyone clear about what you must do?" She asked once more, making sure that the ninja understood their instructions. The group nodded again, looking a bit nervous, but also very serious.

"One more thing, " Tsunade added, leaning forward to place on her elbows on the desk, intertwining her fingers in front of her nose as she looked at them all with dire seriousness. "As I said, this mission can mean the destruction or salvation of Konoha, the home we all know and love. But don't be afraid. I have faith in all of you, just as I have faith in those I've already sent. In no other generation have I seen more talent than yours. You young ninja will be the ones to safely carry on the traditions and responsibilities of Konoha when all of us older folk have passed on." This made the three younger ninja look a bit nervous, but Tsunade just smiled, "And I could not feel safer saying that. Konoha will be in safe hands, that's what I believe. You all and your peers have all been trained and have grown under the guidance of the most talented ninja of their generation. And don't forget that just as they've been with you so far, your instructors will be with you to fight this fight too. I am confident in all of you." She finished with a strong smile, leaning back again.

The looks on the faces of Team Gai at that point could be described in one word: Determined. All of the fear or doubt the ninja had been feeling to that point was completely gone. Their eyes shined brightly with courage, and all at once the group saluted their Hokage, smiling broadly.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" They responded proudly, and both Tsunade and Shizune smiled warmly at them.

"Alright. Then you're dismissed." She said firmly back to them, "Good luck to all of you."