Author's Note: First of all, if you guys are going to criticize me, then make sure you read my story right first. Second, I'm not trying to make Sasuke seem weak, but do you want me to beat the villains in the chapter they are first seen in?! Third, I know that it's not perfect and I'm trying to improve on my combat writing and this is my first story so cut me some slack. I'm not even a freshman in high school yet either so I make a few more mistakes than the average writer. Also, you have to give me time to explain some of THE VILLAINS' powers first. I'm not mad, just a little frustrated that a few of you aren't giving me the time to explain some things in the story. Sorry for the rant, but just keep it in mind before you go against me. Enjoy!

"It took you long enough to get back here!" Kenshi yelled as Kurushimi entered a room that was deep inside the hideout.

"I had quite a bit of fun..." he replied with a smirk.

"Don't tease me! Tell me what happened. I'm not the only one who wants to know."

There was a quiet shimmering noise and a chair made of chakra formed in the middle of the room. Kurushimi sat down and told his friend what happened and said that he should only tell the others that it had been a success. After he'd finished, Kenshi smiled eagerly and rubbed his hands together.

"I can't wait to get some action!" the swordsman exclaimed. His smile turned into a frown of worry and his hands froze in place. "What if he doesn't come? It's only four days before the limit."

Kurushimi sighed and glanced at the swordsman. "He will come. But, not alone. The memories of his that I've seen tell me that he'll try to come alone. However, his comrades will not allow it. The Uchiha might get a head start but they'll soon catch up to him. They know his personality so much that I think they've already figured out his intentions."

Kenshi stared at the man in wonder. "Hm, I hope you're right. The more people that come, the more fun I'll have. Who all do you think will come with him? What are their skills?"

Kurushimi pondered for a minute. He hadn't thought of who all might come with Sasuke and he started to look through some of the Uchiha's memories again. Kenshi waited in anticipation.

He finally spoke. "That's a good question. After looking through some of his memories, I think I have an idea. The kyuubi's jinchuriki for sure, Naruto Uzumaki. He's one of the main ones that we need to worry about. Also, I think that even the Hokage and Kazekage will come."

Kenshi gasped. "I understand the Hokage since you told me that Kakashi is his former sensei, but why the Kazekage? When you explained the memories you stored of him, it sounded like they hated each other."

"True," he paused, "but after going to the festival, I think that they seemed on the same page. I also think the same for Gaara's siblings, Kankuro and Temari. Another person I expect to come is a former ANBU named Sai. They weren't on good terms in the memories, but after the festival, I can tell that quite a few things have changed."

Kenshi shook his head. "That many people? I thought Sasuke had done bad things to all of them."

Kurushimi scoffed. "He has, but that's not even half of the people I think are coming. A few more are Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka. I put Choji Akimichi out of commission for a long time, so he won't be coming."

"Hmm... That was a good idea, taking him out. Now they can't use their team move."

"I purposefully left him standing out of the three. I had already chosen one of them to take out. Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka along with his dog Akamaru. That's some more."

Kenshi laughed quietly. "Seems like Sasuke has more friends than we thought."

Kurushimi smiled. "It gets better. Rock Lee and Tenten. Their other team member, Neji Hyuga, is dead."

The swordsman frowned. "Aw man. I was kind of hoping I'd get to kill two Hyugas. Well, I guess it's better if I only have to deal with one Byakugan. Anymore people you can think of?"

Kurushimi thought for a minute and then started to chuckle. "How could I have forgotten?!"

Kenshi was eager to hear what his friend was talking about. There were already so many people that he was going to enjoy killing and torturing. "What? Who did you forget?"

The male with strange eyes stopped laughing and had an evil smirk. He turned to the swordsman. "Sasuke's lover... An expert medical kunoichi. Sakura Haruno."

Kenshi was restraining himself from jumping up and down in joy. "Oh man! This is gonna be so much fun! Let me kill her in front of him! I can't wait to see the look on Sasuke's face!"

Kurushimi smirked at his friend's desire. "I agree that it will be a lot of fun. But, as I've already said, she's a medical kunoichi and completely capable of taking care of herself. Nonetheless, Sasuke will probably make sure to be in close range of her at all times."

Kenshi frowned. "Ugh! From what I've already heard, she'll be quite a challenge fighting by herself. Now I have to worry about Uchiha fighting with her at the same time?! I thought you said that he didn't like her that way."

A sigh. "Well, I personally don't like to look into people's love lives but I kept quite a few of his memories with them together. They were very interesting." He turned his tone into one that mocked them. "She still loves him after all he's done. The boy tried to kill her many times, but she didn't care."

Kenshi was highly amused. "That's so sweet. Now you've got me on edge. I call first shot at her. I wanna see how Uchiha reacts."

Kurushimi sighed. "Very well... I'm actually anticipating his reaction as well. Hmm, so it seems that we're dealing with a lot of great shinobi, including the 'New' Legendary Sannin."

Both of the males laughed in excitement. When they settled down, Kurushimi spoke again. "While we wait, I should explain some of my plans. You see, when they enter these caves, I can watch and hear every move they make."

A gasp. "You can? Can I do it, too?"

"No. Only I have the power to do so. It has to do with my eyes. I'll explain more later. Right now, we need to talk about our opponents' skills."

The swords master listened eagerly as his friend told him what to expect out of their incoming enemy.

Sasuke continued to make his way through the village, not wanting anyone to see him. He had to do this by himself. That man had stepped way out of line when he threatened the innocent people and his comrades. He still didn't know what the male wanted with him, but that was irrelevant at this point. All that mattered to him now was keeping them safe.

Wrapping the bandana around his head, Sasuke continued to make his way past clueless villagers at top speed. Speaking of speed, he wondered if he'd have a reunion with Kenshi. He stopped in a dark corner as thoughts began to invade his mind. He didn't want to leave again and he'd just come back a few weeks ago. Of course everything in his life screwed up again. That was the story of his life, he was a gigantic screwup. This time though, Sasuke would be leaving without saying goodbye. The urge to go back to the apartment hit him hard. Why did it have to come to this? Quickly trying to shut everything out, he took a deep breath and started moving again.

Instead, the Uchiha thought about what would happen if he didn't go. Images of his friends being killed or tortured filled his head. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke realized just how much he hated Kurushimi and Kenshi. They were after him for some unknown reason and they had an army. If Sasuke did not go, then his comrades would take the blow for him. Even if all the innocent people in the world hated him, they didn't deserve to take the damage. Whatever it was he'd done to make Kurushimi come after him, Sasuke was going to find out what it was.

Finally reaching the way out of the village, he looked around one last time and decided that it was safe to walk. Sooner or later, Kakashi would figure out and come after him. Hopefully, Sasuke would've found out where Kurushimi's hideout was by then. He wondered what Naruto and Sakura would do when they found out that he'd left. A small smirk crept onto his lips as he thought of their reactions. They would look for him until the end of time if it came down to it. They were definitely what you could call true friends...

Sasuke stopped again in the middle of the empty road. How could he possibly do this again? This time he wasn't going to say goodbye and he most likely wouldn't be coming back either. That man had a ton of followers and there was no possible way that he could defeat all of them by himself. Once again for perhaps the millionth time, he told himself that no one else had to get hurt if he went. No innocent person would have to suffer for something that was his fault.

Narrowing his eyes and frowning at the ground, he remembered the first time that he'd left. All for power and revenge, all of it. He didn't listen to Kakashi when he told him to let the past go. That was impossible for him to do at the time and he still couldn't do it now. Back then, it was his false hatred for Itachi and now it was how much he'd hurt everyone. The only thing that he had let go was getting "revenge" for Itachi. Clenching his fists, he thought of how he had ignored Itachi's will.

"My entire life has been a complete waste. No matter what I do, I always end up hurting people! Is that really ALL I can do?!" Sasuke continued to yell and curse at himself.

Turning his gaze to the night sky, he wondered what he would be leaving behind. His eyes widened slightly at the realization of how similar this was to the first time. What he wanted the most was to have a future here, with his team, his family. However, last time revenge had been more important. This time, saving them was his priority. This time, he would be doing something that helped them, something that was selfless.

"Maybe then, I can feel like I've earned some of their forgiveness..."

Sasuke wanted to kill himself on the spot for thinking that. He whispered to himself through gritted teeth, "What am I thinking?! I'm never going to truly earn it! It doesn't even matter anyway, I've made up my mind!"

The last Uchiha started moving again at a slow pace. If he looked back now, he'd only become more infuriated at himself. Sasuke had to do this. It was the only option. Trying to shut out all thoughts of his team and only focusing on finding the hideout was tough.

He had made it all the way to that stupid bench and couldn't help but scowl at it as he walked towards it. The thing he hated most about the village was that horrible bench. In fact, Sasuke wanted nothing more than to burn it to the ground at the moment.

"Don't think about it. Keep your focus on the mission," he repeated in his mind over and over.

As impossible as it seemed, he was actually managing to keep the thoughts of what happened there so many years ago in the back of his mind. That was one of his worst memories and it inhabited his nightmares often.

After quickly passing that atrocious bench, he heard a whizzing sound and stopped. Catching the single kunai that had been thrown at his shoulder without turning around, he sighed heavily. He whispered under his breath, "Just when I think I've pushed it to the back of my mind. Only I have this kind of luck..."

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Without looking over his shoulder, he tossed the knife back to his attacker. "Go back Sakura."

She put the weapon back in her bag. "I'm not going back without you. Sasuke, you still have a few days before the limit."

"I'm going alone. He only wants me and no one else will get hurt if I go alone."

She huffed. "So you're just going to walk to your death?!"

"If it means saving everyone else, then yes."

"What would you say if I told you that a lot of others want to come?"

He was slightly surprised and he hesitated to reply. "I'd still say that I'm going alone."

"Do you think I'm going to let you?"

Sasuke thought about that bench. He didn't want to do this again, but it seemed like it was his only choice. Right now, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it, so instead he kept trying to talk her out of it.

He turned his head and smirked. "You're so annoying..."

Sakura rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "Gee, I haven't heard that before..."

He frowned. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"You're the one making it harder. Me and a lot of others have agreed to come."

"This is my fight. None of you need to get involved."

She huffed again. "Why do you always try and do everything by yourself?"

Sasuke thought for another minute. This was getting him nowhere at all. If he didn't hurry up and do something, then, well he didn't know what would happen then. All that he knew for sure was that he was losing time to move. The more time he lost, the more time it would give Kakashi to catch up.

Sakura noticed that he was becoming slightly tense and knew what he was probably about to do. As she figured, he was gone in a flash and he appeared behind her. She caught his hand without even turning around. She heard an audible gasp as she turned around to a disbelieving Uchiha, still having a tight grip on his hand.

She sighed. "First of all, you can be easy to predict sometimes. Second, if you're gonna leave me on that bench again, you're gonna look me in the eye and do it this time."

Sasuke was too stunned to speak. Was he really THAT predictable?! Now that she knew of his true intentions, he couldn't bring himself to leave her on the bench again. That was the only reason that he hated the bench so much.

She let go of his hand. "What are you waiting for? I'm not stopping you."

All he could do was stare. She was giving him a free getaway but he couldn't take it. His heart started to thump loudly. She really knew how to pressure him, that's for sure. Sasuke finally closed his gaping mouth and they stared each other down in silence. After what seemed like forever, she pushed him back and moved out of the way.

Sasuke was utterly confused until a hand made of sand moved his bandana so that it covered his eyes. Then, as he reached up to pull it off, the sand covered both of his hands and locked them together behind his back.

"Now!" the Kazekage shouted.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a strong gust of wind from Temari's fan made Sasuke fly backwards. He flew for a short time and his back slammed into something hard. He heard the object click in front of him and he assumed that he was trapped inside one of Kankuro's puppets. There was another creaking noise and something sharp pierced his arm. After struggling for the next few seconds, he realized that the thing that pierced him was some kind of paralyzing poison.

"What took you so long?" Sakura asked casually.

Temari closed her fan and spoke. "We would've been here sooner but Naruto kept trying to stop us and come here first."

The sound of a lot of feet plopping next to them was heard. Naruto started yelling. "Let me at him! I'm gonna kick the crap outta that idiot!"

"It's already been taken care of," Kankuro said as he came around from behind the puppet. "By the way Sasuke, if you somehow break my puppet, then I'll snap your neck while you're still paralyzed."

Sasuke was still in shock at the sudden attack and started to struggle again with no luck. His body had been completely paralyzed and he had gotten livid. "Let me out!" he screamed.

More footsteps came towards the puppet. Kakashi said, "Sasuke you are not going anywhere tonight. We've decided that we're coming with you."

"We?" Sasuke already knew the answer to that. It was going to be Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura.

The Hokage cleared his throat and walked back to the group of shinobi. Sasuke's mouth dropped in shock as he realized how many people were there. Kakashi cleared his throat. "Me, Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Lee, Tenten, and you."

"No! I can't let any of you come! This only concerns me!" Sasuke shouted desperately.

Naruto laughed. "When someone attacks our comrade, then it concerns all of us!"

Everyone nodded or grunted in agreement.

Sasuke was in deep disbelief. All of them had agreed to come. The thought was stained into his mind until he truly comprehended it. "Why?" he asked.

Kakashi gave another speech. "Whether you like it or not Sasuke, we're coming. We consider you a comrade and as Naruto just said, when someone attacks one of our comrades, it becomes a concern to all of us."

Naruto spoke again with a serious tone. "We trust you Sasuke. Now it's time for you to trust your comrades."

Sasuke frowned. He had no choice but to accept the fact that they were coming. If he tried to leave again, they'd stop him in a heartbeat. He heard another clicking noise and Kankuro's puppet opened. Sakura removed the bandana from his eyes and he saw every single one of his comrades smiling and looking eager.

The Hokage was apparently waiting for an answer from the paralyzed Uchiha. Sasuke glanced at everyone one last time. "Hn..."

Naruto jumped in joy. "I was gonna kick your butt if you still said no!"

"Preparations begin tomorrow," Kakashi said. As the others confirmed that this was the end of their meeting, Sakura pulled Sasuke out of the puppet. She wasn't even trying to be gentle either, letting his head fall facedown into the dirt. Her way of moving him so that he could breathe was by kicking his head to one side.

"I'll take care of this by myself," she stated. After her proclamation, the others slowly made their way back to the village. Naruto cackled at his fallen friend as he passed.

After everyone had left, Sasuke glanced up at the kunoichi towering over him. "When will I be able to move again?" he asked boredly.

Taking one of his arms, she began to drag him back to the apartment. He knew that she could've picked him up with one arm if she wanted, but he guessed that this was part of his "punishment". He grunted as his face hit a rock.

She finally answered. "Probably not until tomorrow morning."

He sighed, which quickly turned into another grunt as he hit a bigger rock.

He tried to speak without getting dirt in his mouth. "You're not going to leave me alone for long again, are you?" He knew the answer before she even began to reply.

"Nope!"

Kenshi watched as some of the others trained. Leaning against the damp wall, he thought about the enemy's skills. It was definitely going to be a tough fight, even with the size of his and Kurushimi's army. To be honest, Kenshi didn't think that any of the people in the army were up for the challenge. They were worthless to him most of the time and he could care less if any of them died. He watched as Kurushimi walked over to him. There was something that was bothering him, sometimes it even confused him.

Kenshi looked at Kurushimi from the corner of his eye. "Tell me again why we're after Sasuke. He isn't the one who actually caused the problem. I thought we ended it a long time ago."

Kurushimi stared at the swordsman in complete disbelief. "Have you forgotten all about what happened to us?! We must rid this world of all Uchiha, even at the cost of our own lives."

Kenshi's head twitched at the question. "Of course I haven't forgotten! But..." He trailed off.

Kurushimi sighed in annoyance. "Exactly. All Uchiha are evil and Sasuke must be eliminated. Anyway, after all he's done to make this world suffer, I think that we'd be doing everyone a favor."

Kenshi pushed his back off the wall and faced the other male. "What about the others? They haven't done anything."

The man with strange eyes scoffed. "Anyone who helps an Uchiha has committed a crime in my book. When Sasuke and anyone who helps him is dead, no more innocent people have to die."

Kenshi narrowed his eyes and frowned at the ground. Finally, he nodded. "I guess you're right. I don't know what I was thinking! They are criminals if they help Sasuke!"

"Don't get anymore of those crazy thoughts stuck in your head. We are going to succeed with our plans in the end."

"I don't know. Neither of us expected him to catch up with me. I thought you said that his Sharingan wouldn't be able to keep up!"

"I said that it wouldn't be able to follow you for awhile. However, I didn't expect him to get adjusted to your speed that fast. Your abilities are still a mystery to him though. That fight was merely a test so we could see his abilities."

Kenshi smirked. "He didn't seem to have that many!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. We didn't see half of his powers."

The scarred man gasped. "What?! If that wasn't the half of it, then we're going to get destroyed this time! Why didn't he use more of his powers?"

The male with strange eyes looked at the others training and pondered. "Did something that you say set him off? Did he get frustrated with your movements?"

The swords master laughed; a lightbulb had gone off. "Whenever we talked about that girl, his attitude and movements changed completely."

A small smile. "Interesting..."

They watched their training followers in silence for the next few minutes. Kurushimi noticed that his friend was still acting weird, so he spoke again.

"Think of it like this. We already know what sets him off, what makes him forget to be careful. Even if he does have extraordinary abilities, how can he make use of them if he can't control himself? That's exactly what happened in our fight a year ago."

The swordsman felt a rush of confidence overtake him. "Hmm... This seems too easy. We already know one of his weaknesses, so I guess that means we have an advantage there."

"Kenshi, as I've already said, don't get ahead of yourself. That definitely is something we can use against him, but that can also make him unpredictable and stronger. We got lucky last time that it set him off in the wrong way. This time, he will be coming with her and lots of others that will keep him under control. I also think that he's going to know what's coming and keep himself in check."

"So we don't have an advantage then?"

Kurushimi huffed. "I didn't say that. What I'm trying to say is that we need to test him again and see his reaction."

"Don't forget that I've already called first shot at the girl. When will we make our first move?"

"They haven't left the village yet. Be patient. I still need to decide what we are going to do first. It all depends on what they do." After finishing, Kurushimi started to walk away. He stopped and tilted his head to the side. "Kenshi, you shouldn't underestimate the two of us."

His friend gave him a look of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It won't matter if he can keep up with you or not. I have plans and all you need to do is stay alive." He didn't let Kenshi have a chance to respond before he began to walk again.

The scarred male stared after his friend in silence. He still had second thoughts about that "no more innocent people will have to die" thing. Even though he'd agreed in saying that Sasuke and his friends were criminals, his mind contradicted it.

Sasuke didn't say anything else for awhile. He was getting extremely annoyed with the amount of dirt gathering on his clothes and the side of his face, but he knew that he probably deserved it. When they made it to the apartment stairs, he squeezed his eyes shut along with gritting his teeth as his head thunked against each step. She was still dragging him when she opened the door. She left him in the doorframe when she went inside.

"Are you just gonna leave me here?" he asked with indifference.

She came back with a box of wet wipes. "You're not coming into my apartment when you're covered with dirt."

"Who's fault is that?" he asked as she sat him up against the railing.

She rolled her eyes and scrubbed his face until it was red. After she finished his face, Sakura sighed and stared at his filthy clothing.

"Are you going to make me sleep on the couch naked?" he asked mockingly.

She kicked his stomach and dragged him in while shutting the door. Then, she threw him on the couch and adjusted him so that he was facing the ceiling. Placing his cloak and chokuto down beside the couch, she asked, "Is that a good position?"

"Hn," he replied. He watched as she walked to her room. "Lock the front door!" he yelled after her. Her response was shutting her bedroom door. He frowned and shouted again, "If anyone attacks us in the middle of the night, it's not my fault!"

Sakura didn't respond and Sasuke started to stare at the ceiling, not that he had much of a choice. He thought of how eventful the last hour or so had been. He knew that a couple of people were going to insist on coming, but never that many. Now, there was hope, a chance. Kurushimi had never said that Sasuke had to come alone, and now some of the greatest shinobi to ever exist were going after him. A burst of confidence surged through the Uchiha's paralyzed body. That surge of confidence was quickly replaced by a wave of worry. This man had an army, so how could a small group take all of them on without a casualty? Sasuke thought about what Naruto had recently said.

"We trust you Sasuke. Now it's time for you to trust your comrades."

The corners of the Uchiha's mouth curved upward to form a small, barely visible, smile. His best friend was right, the one thing he needed to do the most right now was trust his comrades. These people were some of the best ninja to exist and they had always stood their ground when a tough challenge came along. They'd fight and protect each other until the very end. The only things that Sasuke needed to be concerned with at the moment were the preparations and finding Kurushimi's hideout.

He closed his eyes and thought of everyone going on the mission and Naruto's words. He whispered to himself.

"I'd trust all of you until the very end..."

IMPORTANT NOTICE: FROM THIS MOMENT ON, ANY CRITICIZING REVIEWS WITH CURSING/SWEARING OR HATEFUL TERMS WILL RESULT IN BEING REPORTED AND/OR BLOCKED! IF YOU CRITICIZE, DO IT IN A CIVILIZED WAY AND GIVE ME SOME TIPS ON HOW TO FIX THE ISSUE AND IMPROVE MY WRITING!

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed! Please give me time to explain things in the story before you harshly judge it. I can't explain everything in one chapter. It takes time and it also is part of the story, so be patient. As I said in my first note and the notice above, please think about those reasons before you criticize certain things...