Sorry for the long wait guys! I've been so busy with college and work. Ugh, algebra is kicking my ass! Guys if you're going to review anonymously, at least use a name because I have many just called Guest.

Thank you twinkletoast, missjewels (btw, I really don't care if you stop reading my story lol), Shadows, w, JerrieHigarashi16, KawaiiShyGirl, theheartstourniquet, and cristina. , and the guests who reviewed.

Not much romance in this chapter, but the next one will definitely have quite a bit! Just setting it up here. Also the story as I said wasn't meant to be long so there are only a few more chapters.

Sakura resurfaced from underneath the crystal clear pond. She flipped her darkened rosette locks over her head and hooked stray strands of hair behind her ears. A bath was just what she needed. Although Sakura had grown used to the extremely humid atmosphere of the cave, all the extra training definitely made her feel gross. She had long since outgrown her despair over not having things like toothpaste, shampoo, and bath soap. Still, she was more than ready to take a scalding hot shower and maybe comb her hair that was now wild and uncontrollable.

Turning emerald eyes up to the ceiling, Sakura gazed at the small hole half way up the long wall. She had first discovered it her third day of being with Itachi. That was the only way she was able to keep track of how much time had gone by other than by asking the large dragon. Sakura swam lazily over to a large, flat rock surface where her clothes had been lying. It was in an area that was out of Itachi's line of vision. Although he was a dragon, when the two of them were not in the Sharingan World, he was still a male and she was uncomfortable undressing in front of him.

Sakura hauled herself up onto the warm surface and reached for a rock a little smaller than the middle of her palm. The rugged service rubbed against her finger tips as she reached up and drew another line on the wall to match the collection that had already accumulated over the last few weeks. She had been in this hell hole for three weeks now. One more and she would be free. On this rock, there had been a lot of tears, a lot of unquenchable anger that she had experienced. No matter what, she hated Itachi for forcing her to stay in this piece of shit cave with nothing to do, but be tortured by her thoughts. That was one reason she had thrown herself so hard into their training. Sakura wanted to be one hundred percent sure that she would be able to perform this Jutsu to remove Itachi's curse.

One question that plagued her often was what would happen once Itachi was freed of his curse. Was he only immortal because of it? If not, how would he adapt into today's society? He most likely would be stuck to her hip so there was no getting rid of him once this was over. Sakura's brows knitted in frustration. Why did she have to come out here on Ino's stupid ass hunch? If she hadn't, this whole situation would have never happened. Sakura had even attempted once to return out of the area she had came through, but it no longer existed. There was nothing but stone grey walls mocking her.

After sitting for a while and letting her skin dry, the young woman put her clothes back on and walked to the opening of the cave. She took one glace at her reflection before walking inside. Her hair had grown a few inches and was wavy without her flat iron being able to keep it in place. Disheveled bangs had grown just barely over her eyes so Sakura had started to sweep them to the left side of her face, a face that had lost a bit of its roundness from working out and cutting all unhealthy habits out of her diet.

"Sakura."

"Yes?" she called, feeling the warmth of the cave starting to engulf her.

There was the sound of chains shifting before an answer was given. "We will return to the Sharingan world and I will teach you the words and signs of the Jutsu. Combining this with your chakra is the final step to freeing me."

Those word brought joy to her heart, but also dread. She was freeing a mass murderer. What if he turned around and killed innocent people again? Her thoughts were cut off by Itachi's eyes beginning to spin. Sakura felt the sucking sensation she had grown accustomed to and soon the crimson and black world of the Sharingan was surrounding them. Itachi moved in front of her in his human form. Sakura's face remained the same, but on the inside, her hatred for this man and her infatuation were at war with each other. Every time she saw this tall, handsome figure gazing down at her, Sakura felt confused.

"Let's practice your hand to hand combat with your chakra to warm up," Itachi said, taking a step back.

Sakura responded by pushing her chakra to her fist and moving at lightning speed towards her opponent. Itachi was impressed with how far this girl had come within such a short amount of time. He blocked a kick aimed at his head and could feel the power behind it. She clearly was a close contact type of fighter. Itachi had watched her pull a full growth tree out of the ground by its roots and smash a large crater into the ground during their training. She knew exactly how to make her chakra work to her advantage.

Itachi and Sakura continued their spar for a few more minutes before Itachi signaled for them to stop. "Now, there are thirteen hand signs with this jutsu along with the chant you will have to perform with it, " Itachi said. "Watch carefully."

He showed her the first three signs and then told her to repeat them. The first two Sakura had no trouble with. The third one, she had difficulty making.

"Like this," the Sharingan user said, moving his hands to place hers in the right place. Her hands...they were so soft. Despite all the training they had done, her hands lacked the dryness that often accompanied combat. He locked eyes with the shorter woman and she gazed back at him with those deep emerald orbs. That strange twinge in his chest that had been showing up lately reared its head and Itachi quickly let go. There were more important things to be thinking about. His freedom was only a week away...and so was the most important battle of the world's life.

"Try again."

Sakura laid down after her bland meal. Over time, she had discovered a grass at the bottom of the pond that when cooked with the fish gave it a seasoned flavor. Sometimes it was a good change of pace from the smoky flavor from Itachi's flames. One thing Sakura decided after this was over, she would never eat fish again.

The jutsu training took a lot out of her. Once she would get to the third sign, which was when the actual chant started, she felt as if all her chakra was being drained from her. Itachi said it was because it was being pulled towards her hands, but she had to learn how to keep the flow going until the last word and sign. That proved harder than Sakura ever imagined. It felt as if she was playing tug of war with an elephant.

Still, the most memorable moment was when Itachi placed his hands over hers. A warm feeling had started in the pit of her stomach and when they locked eyes, everything else seemed to melt away. Unfortunately, Sakura was too exhausted to think and tired orbs closed silently. Within moments she was asleep.

Once again Sakura was running through the inky darkness. That eerie voice that had been haunting her was resonating deep within her mind and causing terror feel like it was choking her. There was no escape, no way out. Sakura looked around frantically and all she saw was darkness.

Suddenly, there was a tiny spot of light that seemed like it was millions of miles away, but the faster she ran, the bigger the spot of light grew. Hope began to flood Sakura's body as she attempted to use her chakra to make her legs run faster. It felt as something was trying to slow her down, but she pressed on until finally she threw herself into the embrace of the light. Sakura quickly put an arm over her eyes to shield them from her extensively bright surroundings. After a few moments, it darkened and beryl orbs opened to study the new area. A warm drop hit her nose and the young woman looked up to see a darkened grey sky.

"Sakura..."

There was that voice again, but this time it did not provoke fear. The sense that engulfed her was that it had to be acknowledged. Sakura moved through what seemed to be the Forbidden Forest towards the voice. Was this still a dream or could she possibly have been able to escape?

"Sakura..."

The voice was now behind her so Sakura whirled around to see a figure standing behind her. He wore the same cloak as Itachi. His skin pale as moonlight and his spiky hair bright orange. His eyes were deep purple with rings circling his pupil. What caught her attention the most was the many piercings that lined his face. Who was he?

"Sakura, the war of the Uchiha Clan is not yet over."

Sakura moved her soaked locks out of her face. "What do you mean?"

"Once you return Itachi to his human form, the war will continue."

That's exactly what she was worried about, but she was in far too deep now to turn back. But if she freed Itachi, would dozens of innocent people be killed? That couldn't be it if Itachi supposedly killed his entire clan.

"What should I do?" Sakura asked. "Who are you?"

"I am Pein," he answered. "I placed the jutsu on Itachi in order to keep him away from the remainder of his clan. They will find out where he is soon enough. The Ultimate Sharingan is what they seek."

"What is that?" Sakura questioned, thoroughly confused. "Who is after him? What am I supposed to do about that?"

Pein moved forward quickly and pressed two fingers into the center of her chest. Searing pain radiated from the area, causing the female to fall to her knees, gasping for air.

"Defeat them."

Sasuke gazed over the large map in front of him of the Forbidden Forest. There were markings all over it and an area circled in red pen was what had his attention. Finally, they had a location. That idiot blonde spilled everything to him without batting an eyelash. It didn't matter that this was an investigation and he was not an any position to speak with her. Still, it worked. The dragon's location had been pinpointed and once he had been freed, the Ultimate Sharingan would be his. There was no doubt in his mind or his father Fugaku's that this Sakura Haruno was the chosen one to release the curse. The fact that she looked almost identical to Itachi's wife was just icing on the cake.

The initial plan would still be fulfilled. It did not matter that hundreds of years had gone by. That had only given Sasuke time to better plan for it. Sasuke had witnessed the one thing he hated over and over during his extended lifetime and now he could finally put a stop to it.

"We'll meet face to face again soon...Itachi."

Yep so the dream in previous chapters was Pein attempting to make contact with Sakura. She just did not have the ability to do so at the time. What do you think?