~A/N: I know a lot of you are looking forward to more action, and as I look back on these past couple of chapters, I definitely can see why. They were definitely not my best (partially due to time constraints, partially due to just general plot stuff) but hopefully I'm back with more of the action/adventure type writing that I know I enjoy most. Ideally, I would have been able to post twice a week, so the less actiony chapters wouldn't have had to take so long, but I promise there's plenty of action from here on out!

Thirty-One: Confrontation

Sakura found a place to stand near the back, by recruits she didn't know. She hoped they wouldn't know her either, and therefore be suspicious that she wasn't standing with her friends or the other medical officers.

They ended up having to wait another fifteen minutes before Kaoru and the rest of the commanding officers arrived. From the direction they came from, Sakura guessed that they had probably been meeting in the command tent. She hoped they'd met there, because it would make her mission a whole lot easier. Kaoru's tent was on the other side of camp, completely away from the gathering, so it would make stealing the battle plans even easier.

Sakura tried to listen to what the officers were saying, but no one particularly important was talking, and she just couldn't bring herself to care. Her mind was far away, on more important things.

Satisfied that she had waited long enough, Sakura quietly slipped out the back, silently enough that not even the recruits standing next to her had noticed she'd left.

Luck, it seemed, was on her side, because the man standing guard was one she had treated numerous times before, and she knew for a fact that he liked her. He had also been on guard duty a few times when she had snuck out to see Kakashi, and she always made a point to talk with him. It seemed like all of her efforts at being nice were about to pay off.

"Hey Ichiro," she said quietly, walking toward the man with a smile on her face.

"Kaiya? What is it? The ceremony is still going on."

"I know, but one of the recruits has gotten really sick, and I need to go get some supplies from the medical tent."

Sakura tried to make her voice sound tired and annoyed, and it seems it worked, because Ichiro nodded sympathetically.

"Something going around?"

"I'm afraid so," she lied. "I just hope it wasn't in the food. That could pose a real mess for everyone."

"Yeah, that would be bad, especially considering how things are sure to heat up around here now."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Well, I better go get those supplies. Hopefully this will be a fluke, and I won't have to treat the entire camp for a stomach bug. There's no way I'd have enough supplies for that."

"Sure. And good luck, Kaiya. I hope it doesn't end up being too much trouble for you."

"Thanks," she said, waving goodbye, and thanking her lucky stars that she had befriended such friendly people in enemy territory.

Sakura felt only a twinge of guilt at taking advantage of the man. She knew it was necessary for her mission, so she didn't regret it, but she did hope that he wouldn't get in trouble for it. After all, she felt like by this point, Kaiya Nagasawa had earned their trust, and he would be completely justified in believing her. She was head medic.

Once she was out of sight, Sakura doubled back toward the command tent, which was in a direction different than her med tent. She moved stealthily around the assembly, conscious of her surroundings in case there were guards patrolling the area. She didn't think there would be, but it didn't hurt to be careful—especially when she was so close to completing her mission. The medic could have gone the long way around camp, but she was a shinobi, and stealth was one of her specialties. Besides, she didn't know if she had the time a trip around the entire camp while trying to avoid guards would take.

Because she was still being overly cautious, however, it took her nearly ten minutes to reach the command tent. Sakura didn't know how long the assembly was going to last. She assumed that it wouldn't be short—the three leaders were sure to speak individually, of that she was sure—but she knew she couldn't count on it being too long. The last thing she wanted was for all the elite soldiers to show up as she was making off with the battle plans. But as long as she stuck to her plan, Sakura was fairly confident she would succeed.

The first hitch in her plan came in the form of guards, stationed outside of Kaoru's tent. Sakura sighed; she should have known they wouldn't leave the command tent unguarded. She took it as a good sign, however. It meant the battle plans were probably inside.

The medic looked the guards over, analyzing their apparent strengths and weaknesses. There were two of them, and although neither man looked like a shinobi, they both looked like capable fighters. One looked particularly strong, and Sakura wondered if he could use chakra.

She racked her brain, searching for a strategy that would let her slip past them without making any noise. She would just sneak up behind them and knock them out, but they were far enough away that Sakura didn't trust that she would be able to hit the second man before he could raise the alarm. There was one way she could think of, but the medic was hesitant to use it.

Her new genjutsu, if it worked, would allow her to knock them out without them ever knowing what happened. To them, it would seem like no time at all had passed, but it would give her enough time to sneak up behind each man.

The only problem with her plan was that the genjutsu wasn't perfected yet. And it was untested in combat situations, and Sakura wasn't sure she wanted its first test to come in the form of a highly dangerous, top-secret ANBU mission.

"Well, it's not like I've really got any other choice," she muttered to herself. "I've got to try it sometime."

Sakura crept forward into position, slightly behind and to the right of the two guards' position. Taking a deep breath and preparing herself for the worst, the medic closed her eyes, gathering her chakra like Kakashi had suggested the last time they had worked on it in their apartment.

They had been careful to make sure no one would notice they were shinobi, and so they refrained from training outdoors, but that didn't stop Sakura from putting a very skilled genjutsu up around their walls so they could have a few hours to themselves to train every now and then.

But that had been over a month ago, and Sakura's memory was a little rusty. She hoped she was doing it right.

When she was satisfied she had the proper amount of chakra, she opened her eyes and leaned forward, making the necessary hand signs.

"Warp!" she whispered, activating the genjutsu.

Neither man moved, instead remaining motionless in place, so Sakura took her opening, sneaking up behind the weaker man and knocking him unconscious with a well-placed blow to the back of the neck. He wouldn't suffer any permanent damage, besides maybe some soreness for a few days, but it would be awhile before he woke up again.

Sakura moved to the second man, already focusing on the entrance to the tent, when he surprised her by turning to face her.

"Wha—" he gasped, a confused look on his face.

Sakura fell back, startled that her genjutsu had been broken already. Had it been her concentration, or was the man really able to use chakra like she had wondered?

Her question was answered quickly when the man pulled his arm back like he was going to punch her, bringing a small bit of chakra to his fist. It wasn't enough to cause Sakura much worry, but she still didn't waste any time in taking him down. She had to be a little rougher with him, but she hadn't killed him. He would probably be out a bit longer than his friend, though.

Sakura hesitated a second, waiting to see if anyone had heard the commotion and was coming to check it out. When no sounds were heard, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and slipped quietly into the tent.

Before entering the tent, the medic would have thought that Kaoru was probably organized, but she quickly found out that wasn't the case. Papers were strewn everywhere, and she wondered what had gone on during the leaders' meeting. She wondered if there had been a disagreement.

Sakura shook her head, clearing out any thoughts that weren't related to finding the information she was looking for. She only had a limited amount of time, and she wanted to find the plans as soon as possible. Her interaction with the guards was making her uneasy.

She started with the desk, knowing that would be where she would keep the plans if she were in Kaoru's position. She also knew her desk wouldn't be that cluttered, but she ignored the thought and went to work searching through the files, keeping an eye out for anything else that might be important as she did.

She came across a roster from some of the other camps spread throughout the Land of Silver and tucked it away in her pocket, knowing Lord Sasaki would probably find that interesting as well. She hoped he wouldn't use it in a way that would hurt the rebels' families, but as ANBU she couldn't be worried about things like that.

Finally, after what seemed like far to long in her mind, Sakura came across the document she was looking for.

"Aha," she said, grinning as she pulled the scroll out of the bottom drawer.

Sakura wanted to look them over—she was curious what the rebellion planned to do—but she knew she needed to make her escape. She'd wasted enough time searching, and she and Kakashi would have plenty of time to look through the documents as they made their way back to Konoha.

Sakura turned, hoping to make her escape as quickly and quietly as possible, but she stopped short as the tent flap was brushed aside, revealing a very startled-looking Kaoru Shiba.

To her surprise, the captain looked just as shocked as she did.

"It was you all along," he whispered, looking at her with wide eyes. "When I first saw you, I thought you looked so much like that kunoichi who worked with the Copy Ninja. It was those eyes. But I thought I was crazy. I convinced myself I was just seeing things, because I had been the one to catch Hatake. But it really was you."

"Surprise," Sakura said, using sarcasm to hide her own uneasiness, although she was glad that she had at least been able to successfully convince him that she was Kaiya Nagasawa.

Thankfully she had enough presence of mind to let her eyes drop back to the desk, as if she hadn't found what she was looking for yet. She wasn't sure if Kaoru believed her, but it was worth a try if it could buy her a few precious seconds to escape.

"It took you long enough. I never could quite tell if you were onto me or not. But I guess you weren't after all. The difference between a shinobi and a soldier, I suppose," she sneered.

Kaoru's eyes narrowed. "Yes, but now that I know it's you, I'm afraid I can't let you leave. And don't even think about calling for help. I assume Hatake is hiding around here somewhere. He doesn't strike me as the type to leave his subordinates in enemy territory alone."

She shook her head. "Ah, Kaoru. You've already made your first mistake."

"And what would that would be?"

Sakura smirked. "Assuming I'm Kakashi's subordinate, and that I need his help."