The moment everyone has been waiting for!!! A new chapter with a few same twists!!! Please read even if you have read my previous chapters prior to me deleting them! This is a new turn in the plot that is different from the last. Thank you!

Morning came with the warmth of the rising sun pouring through the moth eaten curtains of the shabby hotel room. All that was heard through the still room was a small moan from the pink haired kunoichi as she pulled the scratchy covers over her head, still half asleep. The act didn't turn out with the much desired effects as the sunlight still wrapped over her in an annoying brightness. After a disgruntled toss and turn, she suddenly sat up with a huff, angrily letting the covers fall from her face and into her lap. "Damn morning," she cursed while rubbing her eyes before blinking and the pure silence that was only disrupted by her own complaints. Something was different, she thought as she glanced around the room to see she was the only one there. Empty…Scanning one last time at the bed next to her that had the sheets thrown back lazily and a vacant couch across the room, she furrowed her brows. Just where were Kisame and Itachi? And what time was it?

With her mood turning darker from irritation, she kicked her feet from the bed and pulled herself to a wobbly stand only to fall back to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. She hated mornings and even more, she hated when her legs fell asleep. A sigh left Sakura's lips while she brushed aside a strand of pink hair from her face while looking over her shoulder out the window. It was suddenly lonely. The sunshine was stale through the curtains and the room silent. Why would they leave her and where would they go? They already hid away the body the night before—

Suddenly the memory of what happened came back to her. Itachi holding her while she let go of her own emotions before she fell asleep. Just what was she thinking? There really wasn't an excuse for her to act out in such a way. Just what did Itachi think of her now? No doubt he too thought she was weak….and annoying…. What a way to start over huh?

"Nothing has changed, has it?" she asked to herself but no answer came. Instead she wiggled her ankle. Wiggled her toes, kicked out her leg. Finally standing, she walked to her pack and pulled out a new black long sleeve fishnet shirt with a second grey t-shirt to pull over. She passed by a chair with her anbu cloak slung over the back which she grabbed absentmindedly, all while wondering why the two men would abscond her there by herself without leaving a note or clue as to what was going on. With an angry growl and hands thrown in the air, she trudged back towards the attached bathroom where she opened the door with a ghostly creak. With a flip of the light, the view of the old tiled counter and a lone shower in the corner came into view, all which had actually been cleaned recently. A hopeful thought that maybe today wouldn't be so bad came to her and the corner of her lips pulled upwards…..

And with one look at the mirror, it was gone and had plummeted back into a frown. Taking a step closer she nearly cringed at the sight of light bags under each of her emerald eyes that stood out more pronounced due to the bloodshot red. Lush pink hair was frizzed in odd angles with her waves taking uneven crinkles and lumps from where she had slept. Two slender fingers poked at her color drained cheeks followed by Sakura letting her hand fall onto the countertop before she rocked back on her heels; taking a look from a distance only to see that it didn't dull her brooding features.

"Damn," she muttered and turned to the shower to twist the knobs, releasing the water from its silver like prison until it rained down to the tile floor. She grimaced at the color of rusted water came from the faucet until after a few seconds of holding her breath it finally cleared to the warm and pure stream. "At least the shower works and is clean," Sakura assured herself with a hand running through her hair and the other testing the temperature.

As she carefully pulled her clothes off and let it pool at her feet, she started with her shirt before pausing. The thought of Shikamaru hadn't left her mind and something new entered where restless thoughts lay. What would happen if they didn't get to him in time? And just where would they start looking? It wasn't like they had an ideal location as to where to start, not to mention that these enemy camps didn't stay in one place for too long. Sighing for what wouldn't be the last time, she checked the shower once more before she stepped in, letting a shiver shake her spine before she relaxed into the warm water but like all good things, she was on strike two when the water touched her burnt left hand.

Sakura hissed in an uncomforted twinge and pulled her hand away from the water but it didn't do anything as the steam searched her palm out and the burning increased. Cursing under her breath, she summoned chakra to her palm remembering that she had forgotten to heal it last night after they had burned the body of Goro and she had accidentally gotten too close. Moments later, the green chakra diminished, leaving her palm clear and soothed from the pain.

With a small hum whispering from her lips, for she as determined not to let her day be any worse, she stepped from the shower and quickly pulled on her bra and boy shorts, not daring to use the towel hanging from the rack. Who knew if the hotel actually washed those regularly, something she was not willing to chance.

A sudden draft shook through her bones from the cracked window above the shower where she wasted no time wrapping her cloak around her shoulders before turning back to the sink. Cloned green eyes stared back to the matching pools of emerald from the reflective glass of the mirror with fingers twisted in the worn fabric of her dark cloak that hung from her shoulders as her eyes drank in her appearance from the mirror that she stood before in a haunting silence as she traced the scars that stained her once flawless skin. Standing unbelievably short at 5' 3" didn't give her much skin but who was she to complain? Sure she was short but that just meant she was more agile and flexible to out maneuver weapons. Smaller target too… But her positive outlook on her height hit the inevitable road block there and she only shook her head at her unsolvable dilemma. Shame and embarrassment stripped at her pride, from the images of the night before, though she held tight to it, repeating that she didn't regret having so many emotions after what had happened to Shikamaru and her strange feelings for her new team. So much had happened in so little of time. Only months ago was it that she was training for anbu and Akatsuki were the enemy. At that moment, Itachi was the adversary and Sasuke was the lost soul that she vowed to bring back with Naruto…. Only a month before that, she had to deal with a new team mate, Sai, after defeating Sasori of the Red Sands…. That was when there was no talk of a war. There was no talk of the foreshadowing of death…. And everything was temporarily back to the way it was supposed to be.

Blinking slowly she looked up to meet her own reflection, not focusing on the small details but to see her naked form with only her cloak, bra, and a pair of boy shorts keeping her hidden. Behind her hanging over the top of the shower was her soaked shirt and pants that she had drying from when she had washed them while she took the second shower that day. Her darkened hair clung in wet waves, soaking her cloak till it clung to her back like a second layer of skin. The heat powdered her cheeks with a warm blush seemingly adding an innocent sight though Sakura only scowled coldly at her reflection.

With her healed hand unraveling from her cloak, she traced a scar just below her left ribcage where a pale patch stood out from the effects of a sword that was supposed to have taken her life at the hands of Sasori. It reminded her so much of what Sasuke would have done to Naruto if Sai hadn't interfered.

"Sasuke," spitefully rolled from her lips… The damn man had changed from the teammate she had once knew and that made her wonder if he was anything like Goro now or even Orochimaru. Was he really just a cold killer with no bonds left? This war only meant that they were now officially foes and this would mean that sooner or later, they would meet. Especially if it was her who was on Itachi's team now. Sakura did not envy the day that she would see him again. And the possibilities of just what would happen on that faithful day wasn't something she wanted to ponder over.

With the thoughts slowly coming to an ease, she lowered her cloak from her shoulders but still leaving it around her elbows while she turned to peer at her back. Only a few small bruises from Goro pushing her against the wall were visible but nothing that a quick 15 second heal couldn't fix up. Before she could search more, there was a low twisting of the brass knob at the front hotel door, making her jump before shrugging her cloak back on hastily. She wasted no time running into the room before making a dive for the bed to pick up her katana incase it was an enemy, just as the door opened. Gasping she turned towards the intruder and wrapped her cloak tightly around her still damp body with her other hand holding out her blade defensively.

Itachi was the first to meander inside in a way that only Uchiha Itachi could with an air of casual calm under his undeniable confidence, a strange perpetual look being sent her way from his dark irises, with Kisame just behind him. "Meh," the blue man chuckled. "I see we came in at a perfect time," he teased while examining the door with his free hand, letting it swing back and forth, emitting a strange creak from the brass hinges before shutting it behind him.

Sakura only scoffed bitterly, still watching Itachi out of the corner of her eye as he walked to a small deuce table with a bag in hand and both eyes still on her. "Don't be a baka," she started towards Kisame, pretending not to notice Itachi. "If you try to make this a regular habit of barging in then don't be surprised when you're punched through a wall. " She placed her blade back inside her sheath awkwardly with one hand while the other stayed wrapped around her to keep her cloak from opening on its own. While turning her back to the two men in this rather awkward position, Sakura hastily buttoned her cloak, all while Kisame's grin grew and Itachi emptied the bag unreceptively. Before any teasing comment could make it from Kisame's mind to his mouth, she finally turned around to face both shinobi with her cloak buttoned enough to hide her scarred torso and underwear but still failed in finishing as she unintentionally gave them a view of the top of her black bra and her bare legs. It was Itachi, however, that tried to suppress a smirk while he glanced at her up and down from the corner of his eye, taking note of how her buttons were unmatched and sloppy from her haste.

All too aware of the man's eyes, her blush darkened and she crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously as if to shield his view of her. Not being able to stand the inelegance that seemed to have found her, Sakura opened her mouth to ask where they were at but her voice lodged in her throat as her eyes landed on the two containers of take-out food in Itachi's hands. Blinking all irritation away she lowered her arms while pointing to the plates. "Is that for me?"

Blinking himself, Kisame looked to the plates where she pointed at in Itachi's hands before he smirked. "Figured you were hungry, kitten. We had an early breakfast while you were asleep and brought you back food… It was all my idea!" he stated proudly while stepping over to the couch. Itachi, though, watched Sakura as she stepped over to him, ignoring the fact that it was him who had decided to bring her food and not Kisame. Instead of voicing anything, he handed her a pair of chopsticks and a container, taking note of her pink cheeks and how she avoid straight eye contact, much to his amusement.

"Thanks," she muttered and managed a grin before walking back to the bed. It was only a few steps away that she heard an echo of following foot falls only to mean that Itachi wasn't going to stay in place like she had thought; or better yet, hoped. Sighing she spun on her heels and stopped right in front of him where he merely looked down upon her with a curious raise of his brow.

"Problem, Kunoichi?"

"Why are you following me?" she said shortly.

"Some of this is my food as well," he only replied lazily with a twitch of the corner of his lips as he brought the second container to eye level as proof.

Sakura only narrowed her eyes at him, refusing to look away all while he stared back. Seconds ticked by while she studied him, trying to inch her way under his twisted words. He was just like a jigsaw puzzle. Every time she thought she had started to figure him out, he would mix the pieces around and add new ones. Jigsaw Prince 101…. And she was losing.

After a moment of both staring, Itachi allowed a smirk to pull his lips before walking around her and to the table.

"What are you thinking," she questioned as she turned to face him with her glare weakening from her perplexity.

"Hn… What makes you believe that I was thinking of anything... Haruno," he waved off indifferently. "Perhaps I'm just hungry and want to eat as well?"

Sakura didn't look convinced which was evident in her scowl. What was with him? When she had wanted to not be ignored, this was the last person she would have thought to be her "companion". All she knew for fact was that he killed many people, not that she was one to judge. No, she wouldn't judge. She was merely pessimistic, was all. Keeping a negative outlook when she was technically "at the mercy of Itachi's strange ways" and in a blue man's company would keep the surprise to a minimal.

Itachi was watching Sakura the entire time as she still stood in the middle of the room and watched him with distant eyes; the same look that he got whenever he was thinking deeply. While raising the chopsticks to his mouth, he paused before it reached his lips and lowered his hand slowly. "Should I bring you over here myself?" Itachi asked lazily.

Sakura blinked and shook her thoughts away. "What?"

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were more interested it eating him then what's on your plate. What were you thinking?" Kisame interrupted from his spot on the couch with a sly grin forming, finished with a wiggle of his eye brows.

Sakura glared. "Nothing," she brushed off and walked to the opposite side of the table before pulling the old rustic chair out for her to sit on across from Itachi.

"Why are you wanting me to sit over here with you anyway?"she asked in true interest.

"…….Because Kisame and I were talking this morning," Itachi started after a moment of tense silence while setting his food down and leaning against the back of his chair. "It's about last night."

Sakura nearly choked right then and she could only imagine how wide her eyes were as they darted from Itachi to Kisame then back. The fact that Itachi would even consider talking to Kisame about her pouring out her frustrations on the Uchiha's shoulder last night was just too hard for her to comprehend.

"Something about what Goro said just didn't add up to the story he gave us," Itachi continued, all too aware that Sakura was stuck on a different subject then what he had intended. Again the smirk threatened to grow.

"G-Goro?" she clarified with relief flooding through her. "Oh… Right. Well what was it?"

Itachi studied her with his arms crossed over his chest and the look on his face clearly saying he was deep in thought, though Sakura wasn't entirely sure if it had anything to do with the topic at hand. It was then that she remembered that she was semi naked under her anbu cloak which added a thin pink to her cheeks….

"He said that they had Zetsu and Nara, however the reason behind an enemy camp keeping them alive just doesn't make sense."

Sakura's heart dropped a little at those words though she couldn't deny that she had come across the same thing. "So you think that the camp killed them off already?"

"Hard to say," he replied flatly.

"The risk of keeping either Zetsu or Nara is something that they wouldn't want to take. One could escape or send out help of some kind and if that happened, it would only be a matter of time before they were found," Kisame added while leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Not to mention that for them to take prisoners would make moving the shinobi camp much harder," Sakura added while letting her hand cup her chin in thought. After a moment she continued. "Why would Goro lie about something like that? There wasn't any benefit on his part if he lied about Shikamaru and Zetsu being alive."

"That's what Itachi thought," Kisame clipped in.

"There must be another reason for it and if I had any idea on the end result I would say it had something to do with the meeting in five days," Itachi pondered.

"With Ryuu and Orochimaru?" Sakura blinked. "No. That doesn't make sense."

"Think about it," Itachi argued quietly. "Konoha is a village that many countries would never fight against. Same with Ame and Suna, so if you want to get allies in a war like this then you would need to show that Konoha isn't as strong as others thought. By taking in prisoners that would mean that we have a weakness. Especially so early in the war."

Before Sakura could say anything, Kisame added, "Don't forget that Zetsu is Akatsuki and Nara is well known through Konoha. Obviously people with names like them will be good motivation."

"So you think that Shikamaru and Zetsu will be at the meeting this weekend? But….But why? I mean I can't imagine them taking so many risks just to put them on display…. If they are still alive," Sakura pointed out.

"That's what caught me as well," Itachi admitted. "Though what if Ryuu has plans for them?"

This didn't sound good. "Plans?" Sakura asked skeptically. "Like what-"

"Execution," Kisame interrupted. "Kill the two enemies in front of other Village leaders and you have a riot ready to fight."

"But-"

"A member of Akatsuki and a shinobi from Konoha. Two ingredients to start an alliance bond." Itachi said quietly.

"But....."Sakura stopped and thought it over. It made sense and if it was true then they could be in more danger then they thought of it worked. "What are we supposed to do?"

Itachi closed his eyes and sighed while shifting in his seat to lean closer. "You won't like what I have to say."

"I think I'll live, Itachi," she retorted.

Opening his eyes, he studied her firm expression for a moment before continuing. "Obviously what we are supposed to do is go back to Konoha with this information and have the Hokage make the next decision…."

"But," she pushed.

"But we wouldn't make it in time to Stone until it was too late if we were sent to help Zetsu and Nara."

With the crescent moon filtering through the many clouds, a group of six landed upon high branches with the roar of leaves whipping through the wind around them, sending leaves fluttering in all directions. The leader of the six licked his lips in anticipation while his hair rippled around him, all as two dark yellow irises stared down upon what would be mistaken as a mountain when in truth it was a well placed genjutsu, hiding the once abandoned building underground.

"Is this it?" Sasuke asked irritably next to his mentor though his answer came from the white haired medic behind him.

"It is."

Sasuke tossed a glance over his shoulder at Kabuto who smiled back challengingly.

"Sasuke and I will take our leave," Orochimaru replied. "Keep your distance you three." With that said, he jumped from the high branches with Sasuke behind him, leaving Team Hebi with Kabuto.

"What? He doesn't think we can be trusted?" Karin scoffed loudly.

"Wow. Since when have you gotten smarter?" Kabuto commented sarcastically while pushing his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

Karin glared while Suigetsu's laughter was carried off by the harsh wind. Sasuke was far from caring about what happened in his absence.

All too focused on the task at hand, he allowed Orochimaru to unseal the genjutsu before both made their way pass the barrier where a film of swirling colors spun much like the colors of a bubble. The harsh wind disappeared as they passed through, leaving them both in silence despite the taps of the Sannin's sandals against cobblestone floors. Sasuke sent one last glance over his shoulder at the now blocked entrance before following down the dark hall were, much like Orochimaru's hideout, had many doorways on either side of him however this held many collapsed sections of the ceiling missing from what he assumed was once a fire before such a building was abandoned, letting damp, blue moonlight glow through the rafters.

Home, sweet, home. Though unlike Sound's base, this seemed to be a rather small building with tall pillars on either side of the walls until they reached the end of the rather short hallway that met with two double doors; two gas lanterns illuminating the dark brass tinted handles. Orochimaru's hand rose to the door before pausing, looking back with a pleased grin, then swinging open the large door to reveal an enormous room with lanterns scattered across the walls and long wood floor that spread out like a dance floor. Carefully, Sasuke stepped in after Orochimaru, taking in all that he could with first glances, sweeping the room of any tricks.

It was then that he realized that they weren't alone after a shift in the shadows drew his crimson attention, making him stop in half stride. A dark eye stared straight through Sasuke who stomped down on the sudden shiver that threatened to ripple through him. Dark suffocating chakra rolled in crashing waves from the dark shadow figure as an intense silence filled the room. Crimson stared back anxiously, unaware that this stranger was sizing him up.

"Ah, Orochimaru," the deep voice started, finally tearing his gaze away while stepping from the shadows as if melting to the nonexistent light. "Is this how you wanted to tell him?

"As inconvenient as it may be, I'm sure you were looking for a reason to get out of the village, yes?" Orochimaru grinned.

"Hmmm," the man said lightly while looking back to Sasuke then to Orochimaru. "It was bound to happen at some point."

"And what is it that you are talking about? If you want to talk to me as an inconvenience the just cut to the point and explain what's going on with Akatsuki," Sasuke retorted flatly.

The man turned to face Sasuke fully, letting the Uchiha take in his full appearance of onyx unruly hair and fully chiseled features; pale complexion, that stood out from the black undershirt, fishnet sleeves and dark carmine armor strapped to his built frame. He was considerably taller the Sasuke, only inches taller than Orochimaru, but even Sasuke could tell his power far outweighed both of theirs.

"The thing is, Uchiha Sasuke, that this information is worth something…."

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, willing to hear the price for the truth.

"Simply that you will learn all the information you desire if you promise your loyalty to myself," his dark voice soothed while he set a hand to his chest for emphasis.

"Getting ahead of yourself don't you think?" Orochimaru wondered with a sly smirk.

"No use cutting corners," he said to the Sannin then turned back to the puzzled Uchiha. "I guarantee you won't have any regrets."

"How do I know what you say isn't a lie?"

"There are other ways to get what I want without wasting my time with lies," the man said while pacing the length of the room towards Sasuke who stood his ground. "Besides," he started as he circled the youngest Uchiha who kept his eyes ahead, waiting to hear what this man had to say. "If you want to know about everything like your brother, then I am the only one to tell you…"

"And how is it," Sasuke retorted slowly, watching what he said not to insult the shinobi, "that you have these answers?"

"If I told you everything then where would the fun be?"

"……..Who are you?"

The man walked in front of Sasuke, toe to toe with the youngest Uchiha, both dark eyes staring into each other, one hold sinister plans. "Some… call me Ryuu."

For the first time, Sasuke blinked and a tense shiver rolled down his spine though he hid it well. Ryuu was the one in charge of this entire war, the mind behind it all. No wonder his chakra was venomous and now he stood within two feet of him. "But that isn't your real name…."

"Is it?" Ryuu asked with raised brows. A silky chuckle vibrated through while he turned around to a lone desk at the back of the room where he took a seat. Blinking back his anxiety, Sasuke followed until he was a few feet from the front of the mahogany desk. "When you say you want loyalty, you mean?"

"It doesn't matter what it depends on. Loyalty in general if that answer makes you feel better," Ryuu's lips pulled to a grin while he laced his fingers together in front of his face.

"It doesn't," Sasuke retorted in a low tone.

"Then there is no pleasing you." Ryuu glanced across the papers sprawled over the top of his desk before looking back to Sasuke. "You want revenge. You will have it. All I want is to have you understand what I have planned and that you are not allowed to act with my say so. That would be all. This information is powerful and as such, I want you to keep in mind that we have more important things to do then to clear your conscience."

Sasuke stayed silent.

"Is that a deal?"

"Hn. As long as I get my revenge against Itachi I don't care what it takes," he answered coldly with narrowed eyes but blinked when this made Ryuu rock his head back, emitting a dark laugh.

"Itachi?" he started with a sinister smile curling his lips. "No, not him…."

Orochimaru licked his lips.

"Uchiha Itachi is innocent…."

"And the other option?" Sakura asked Itachi with furrowed brows, dreading the next alternative.

"The other possibility is that we act on our own and head to Stone Country now to infiltrate the meeting." There was a long stale pause that pulled at the air around them while Itachi let it sink in. "Of course this would mean that we acted out of orders, also referred to as 'rouge ways'," he added.

"They wouldn't think that we would just turn against Konoha, would they?" Sakura asked in mild shock.

At this Kisame snorted and kicked up his heals on the arm of the couch while pulling his hands around the back of his neck. "Com'on kitten. We aren't exactly the law abiding citizens you think we are."

"But Tsunade knows you would keep your word—and she knows I would never go against Konoha—"

"Tsunade isn't the one in charge." Itachi interrupted coldly.

Sakura's brows pulled together in confusion at the sudden bitterness, but Itachi for once avoided her gaze. "What do you mean? She's the hokage."

"This is a Democracy, not a Monarchy," he answered flatly, pulling his intense stare straight to hers, daring her to push him on the subject. However Sakura was smart enough to realize when she was on a narrow path and kept quiet, keeping this small information in the back of her mind for later thinking.

"Your Council Elders will do everything they can to lock our asses up," Kisame added. "And even if that would cause some uneven ground with Ame for breaking Konoha's word, I don't think the Council will back down."

"I have faith in Tsunade….," Sakura insisted, staring down at her long forgotten food. "But are these really the only two options?"

"It will take five days just to reach Stone. We aren't even sure if the meeting between the Kages are on Saturday or Sunday. Not to mention but if we were to leave this afternoon, that only gives us a few hour window to receive the extensive arrangements. Everything will come into play at that point." Itachi stood up and began to pace the living room. "We'll have at least four different Ops, ready to attack anything that could endanger their Kage at the drop of a Senbon, not to mention standard guards, anbu, teams, and plenty of witnesses, leaving our plan to only work with perfect precision."

"Spying on allied countries, sabotage, extortion, disguises, plenty of running and killing, kidnapping back the kidnapped AND if we're lucky, assassination," Kisame summed up in a slurred speech, clearly drifting off in a small nap.

Sakura blinked and set a hand to her forehead. "That's impossible."

"What are you talk's bout kitten? You'll have me," Kisame snickered beneath his arm that was slung over his eyes.

Sakura said nothing, only shaking her head as if to clear the whole mess up. Itachi had stopped his pacing while watching Sakura pick through what was at stake.

"There isn't even a possibility that Shikamaru and Zetsu are alive, though," she said quietly to Itachi, finally dragging her emerald eyes to meet his.

"You're right. There isn't."

"On one hand we could die trying to bring back two corpses, though we would be able to ruin Ryuu's plan and keep Konoha, Suna, and Ame with a good hold on this war, not to forget that we could end up in prison if we make it back alive because we would be "missing-ninja" for acting on our own….. and on the other hand, if we don't go then we could end up making one of the biggest mistakes in this war…."

Itachi said nothing.

The stakes were high.

"Damn…. This is a mess."

The truth…. The overpowering, suffocating truth that latched to his ankle and pulled him under the crashing, roaring waves of hatred and error. All he knew had been a lie. All the choices he made in life to bring forth his vengeance were directed to the wrong man this entire time while the real corruptors were still out there living their lives as peaceful as the next puppet masters. The sick bastards would pay for this. Pay for making Uchiha Itachi kill his own family. Pay for corrupting the village. Pay for sending orders to kill the innocent Uchiha clan because they feared of their powers. The faintest question of whether what Ryuu said was true was pushed from his mind. Of course the Uchiha clan was innocent. They wouldn't rise against Konoha in a coup d'état. That was preposterous! All that he felt was the raw white hot hatred burn deep through his narrowed scarlet eyes. Revenge was said to be a double edged sword… A two headed cobra…. Well Uchiha Sasuke had larger fangs then this cobra. If he had killed Itachi then those words of revenge would have been more then true…. But he knew the truth. Itachi was innocent. The eldest brother had been forced to kill the family but spared Sasuke just for Sasuke to later take Itachi's life when he was strong enough so his older brother would no longer live the guilt.

His brother only wanted Sasuke to rebuild the clan on a new foundation of honor and nobility. Konoha would pay. The truth was out and as Sasuke stood in the middle of Ryuu's and Orochimaru's attention, he swore that Konoha would burn under his hand. Both shoulders shook and his scarlet eyes ignited wildly, giving the posture of a snake coiled stiffly and ready to strike.

"Sasuke, I believe you gave me your word," addressed Ryuu from the five foot he stood in front of the youngest Uchiha.

There was a tense pause before Sasuke raised his eyes to the dark haired shinobi. "Yes and I keep my word but in exchange I want to have a larger part in this war."

There was the slightest pull of Ryuu's lips and the sinister eyes shimmered coyly through the shadows. Orochimaru, though was the first to address Sasuke on his bargain. "You have a large hand in this already. You don't think I would be keeping you from a mission now do you?"

"You kept the truth from me," he snapped disrespectfully though he only received the same grin from the Sannin as always.

"I think," the tall menacing shinobi started with his carmine armor hanging boldly, yet loose, over his shoulders. "That in order for you to have this… larger part, as you said yourself, you will need to take orders from a different stand point… Isn't that right Orochimaru?" he asked the last part in a different tone over his shoulder to the snake sannin whose grin dispersed immediately.

"Am I to assume that you would like the entire team?"

"Well," his dark gaze turned to Sasuke. "That's all up to him isn't it?"

Sasuke blinked but his expression never changed an inch from the sinister scowl. "My team… They'll come with me to serve under… Ryuu," the youngest Uchiha decided. If Ryuu was calling the shots then that means Sasuke would have more control over the situation with Konoha. The downside to that would be he was always travelling and his training wouldn't be as usual between bases.

Ryuu felt his inner power rise pleasurably and a gleam entered his dark irises. "Then it is settled. We are to stay here for the remainder of the week and when it comes time to this weekend, there is a major meeting that I will attend to in Kumogakure."

"Cloud? And what business would you have there?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"A meeting between Mist, Cloud, Stone and Sound about allying in the war against Konoha, Ame, and Suna," Ryuu explained as he turned and started walking away to his desk. "Konoha is known for their militia as well as Suna. There is no reason to underestimate them. And with Rain with them, then it gives them an advantage that I wish we had."

"And what is that?"

"Rain is a village of rogues; all killers and bloodlust shinobi. True they live in peace among each other, though that doesn't mean that they fight clean. The village itself is run by one man who believes himself a God and they are loyal to the end. A single command from him and they take any means necessarily to accomplish it."

Sasuke stayed quiet for a moment before something came to mind. If Konoha would burn then what of the people he knew? Not that he cared, but some of them would prove valuable to him in the future. What of Itachi? There wasn't a reason to kill his older brother. In fact he would rather find somewhere in this war a way to fight along side him like never before. How would he be able to pull that off though? It would be simple to tell Itachi his plan, right? If that was the case, Itachi would want his own revenge on Konoha and with the last Uchihas fighting with Ryuu then that would give a full advantage over the others.

"Now I trust you Sasuke," Ryuu said curtly. "I don't want you or anyone else going on your own without my permission to partake in any battle. I will be absent 95% of the time so you have virtually free rein."

"Gone? That's a long time. And where exactly do you go?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

The dark Mizukage chuckled. "No matter how powerful you are over the time you kill, you can't have everyone do the work for you. I myself am a spy in a very delicate situation that I can't blow."

Orochimaru licked his lips. "Konoha doesn't even realize that all the information they are whispering among themselves is a scream to all of us with Ryuu as a spy there. And very close to Tsunade…"

Sasuke couldn't help but be impressed. Ryuu, being as powerful as he was, still was able to stay in a very low key position….right under the Hokage's nose.

So Sasuke only learned the partial truth….. Wonder how it will play out? So much drama and so much more to go!!! Can't wait! So it's building up to this major meeting!!! Next time we'll see what Konoha is up to!!!

Anyway please review! Let me know! I want at least………..10 reviews before I update. That's a set goal because I do have other stories I have neglected for a while. Any questions then please ask!