…I obviously don't own Naruto, since I have no idea what next week's manga is about…

Chapter 11: All Roads Lead to Rome

This was the moment Kabuto had waited for. All his years in the service of Orochimaru had lead up to this point. While he felt slightly uneasy about what he had to do, he knew it was the only way to accomplish his own immortality.

"Orochimaru-sama," he bowed, "you may begin the jutsu whenever you wish. I am ready."

The timing here was crucial. The snake sannin had to be at the moment during the transfer where his powers were completely sapped. At that point, he would be ready to merge with his new body. As long as Kabuto killed him before he managed to completely shift into Sakura's unconscious form, Orochimaru would be unable to retaliate, and no harm would be done to the pink-haired healer. However, if he waited just a moment too long, the sannin would have a strong enough hold to pull the rest of his soul over, even if his original body was dying.

The medic adjusted his glasses. He was aware of a tense Sasuke sitting nearby. In truth, the Uchiha could probably find a way to break his bonds. He had advanced to the point of using eye jutsus. Use of his hands was not necessary. Kabuto didn't doubt that if the raven-haired youth wanted to, he could easily free himself.

Something else was preventing him from leaving.

The grey-haired Sound shinobi smiled. He was sure Sasuke didn't trust him enough to completely leave Sakura's life in his hands.

Even though, in the end, it didn't matter either way. Sakura made a deal with Kabuto. He would see that she honored it. He was sure that, in the future, she would become his superior as a medical shinobi. As a team, they would be unstoppable. They could ask any price for their expertise in any country and live like royalty wherever they chose.

After all was said and done, how Sasuke felt was a moot point.

Orochimaru went through the complicated hand signs required. It was a long, complicated technique and one mistake would mean he would have to wait another week before he could recover enough strength to try it again.

The hand signs completed, a soft green glow surrounded the snake sannin. As Sasuke and Kabuto watched, the green mist slowly began to shift toward Sakura.

The moment the Sound medic waited for was fast approaching. "I'll go ready the serum," he said.

As with Orochimaru's previous body switch, Kabuto was expected to have a warm liquid broth ready for the sannin once he took over the new host. The elixir would speed the new body's recovery from the shock of the jutsu. It was unknown to either shinobi whether or not the liquid would be needed due to Sakura's own healing abilities.

Kabuto left the room.

Sweat ran in rivulets down Sasuke's face. Now it was too late to try and free himself. Any distraction he caused might risk Sakura's life. He was just going to have to hope that Kabuto would return with whatever he was going to use to kill the sannin.

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In the adjoining room, separated only by a thick door of wood, Kabuto calmed his nerves. The plan was simple enough. With the right series of pressure point attacks, he would be able to kill the sannin before Orochimaru was even aware of anything happening.

He picked up the cup of healing broth and turned back toward the door.

"Going somewhere?" A mouthful of sharp teeth grinned.

Before the medic could react, another form slipped behind him, slamming the butt of a kunai against the back of his head.

Kabuto slumped to the floor where he had stood, unmoving.

"That was easy enough," Kisame whispered.

Itachi nodded. "He was up to something."

"Now what?"

"Now we wait for the jutsu to be completed. Once awake, he'll be able to use his new body's medical abilities to recover from the transfer quicker than usual. It will only be a matter of moments before he will be fully able to fight again." Itachi looked down at Kabuto's body. "I'm surprised this one didn't realize that. It makes you wonder why Orochimaru kept him around at all."

Kisame shrugged. "Do you think Sasuke will be too powerful for Orochimaru to take his eyes? He is an Uchiha after all."

Itachi stepped closer to the closed door. "That's what we're here for. If we need to interviene, we will."

The two Akatsuki cracked the door open slighty, and watched the goings on in the next room.

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"I don't like this," Naruto whispered. "We should have seen someone or something by now. It's like the lair is completely empty!"

"You're right." Kakashi shook his head. "We've encountered nothing but empty rooms. Something strange is going on."

"I'm not so sure. When I was within the last of Orochimaru's compounds, many of the areas were like this. It was as if they rotated to different wings of the facility from time to time, leaving the old ones empty."

Naruto looked at Sai. "You're sure? We're not just going in the wrong direction?"

The former ROOT member nodded. "I would also guess that this, like most buildings, is probably all interconnected. There is no 'wrong way' or 'right way'. Perhaps a 'long' or 'short' way, but both will get you there."

Kakashi sighed. "It doesn't help that we've never been here before. I don't think we can say the same for Itachi and Kisame. They seemed rather sure of themselves."

"I don't think we can expect much from them," Yamato added. "It was enough that they showed us this place. We should forget about them for now."

"Forget about them!" Naruto threw his hands in the air. "Are you crazy? They're as much a threat to Sakura and Sasuke as they are to me! They won't leave here without the two things they came for." His expression clouded over. "I did make a promise, and I always honor my promises. It's my way of the ninja."

"And a rather foolish way of the ninja if you ask me," a distinct female voice echoed from the darkness behind them. "I don't even want to know what it was you promised them."

"Granny Tsunade!" The blonde youth's sullen expression lit up. "How did you find us!?!"

She smirked. "It wasn't that hard, Naruto. Jiraiya knew of this place already. It was easy enough to figure out where you'd gone to. Against my orders."

"Jiraiya-sama is here with you?" Kakashi looked around for the other sannin.

"Yes. But he's on the tail of Akatsuki. We saw them enter right before us."

"Right before you?" Yamato looked over at the rest of team seven. "Then more than just Itachi and Kisame are here with us."

"What!?!" The Hokage stomped over to him. "Who else is in here!?!"

"Uh, we encountered some other Akatsuki, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade closed her eyes and shook her head. "Alright. I think it's about time you filled me in."

But before Yamato could respond to her, Naruto stepped between them. His expression was unforgiving. "Okay Granny Tsunade. Just as soon as you fill us in."

The blonde sannin glanced at the faces around her. Now was as good a time to tell them as any.

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By the time Sasuke realized Kabuto wasn't going to come back, most of the green mist had left the snake sannin's body and had transferred over to Sakura's.

For whatever reason, Kabuto had abandoned his plan, and now Sasuke realized it was too late for him to do anything to help his former teammate. All he could do now was try and free himself. And then…

And then what? Sasuke froze in thought. You'll do what? Kill Orochimaru? Kill Sakura?

This time, it was not anger that flowed through the Uchiha—it was intense sorrow. He had no choice. Orochimaru would come for his sharingan. That was the entire purpose of this charade.

Sasuke would have to kill him.

The Uchiha was snapped out of his thoughts as a warm hand touched his shoulder. He tensed at the contact, realizing that the chair Sakura had been sitting in was empty. The leather straps that held her down were snapped.

Another hand touched his opposite shoulder.

"Ahhh, Sasuke-kun. I must admit, I know why you were so fond of this girl now. The power within this body is quite impressive. Much more than I thought it would be. I am quite pleased." It was Sakura's voice, but yet, it wasn't. Orochimaru's own voice blended in with the words.

A warm sensation began to spread though Sasuke's shoulders. The pleasing feeling momentarily dulled his senses. It reminded him of when he had loaned his own chakra to Sakura. But he had no idea that being touched by her power would feel like this.

If he could remain in contact with this feeling, he felt as if he could live forever.

But then Orochimaru spoke again, shattering the feeling of comfort.

"Yessss." Sakura's beautiful face appeared next to his own. "This is exactly the way things should be."

Sasuke watched as her tongue licked her lower lip. It was disturbing evidence that the Sakura he knew was gone forever. Her once friendly green eyes held a sinister undertone.

She was mere inches away from him.

Orochimaru stepped around the Uchiha and stood directly in front of him. He extended his new hand and grasped Sasuke's chin.

"I want you to relax, Sasuke-kun," said Sakura's voice. Orochimaru leaned in closer to him. "Relax."

The warm healing sensation flooded him again. It started at his neck and coursed down trough the rest of his body. He felt himself giving in to it.

"That's right," Sakura's voice whispered. "Let me help you forget."

Orochimaru reveled in his newfound power. Much more was possible with this new body than he had expected. The strength alone was worth it all. But the healing power and chakra control were beyond his wildest dreams.

He just had to keep Sasuke complacent. Another wonderful use this body had. The Uchiha was already struggling to remember it wasn't really Sakura Haruno who stood before him.

In just a few moments, he would have Sasuke where he wanted him.

Sasuke stared at Sakura's face. Something within him was screaming, but he couldn't quite understand why. As he looked at her face, however, he knew it had something to do with it.

And then, just like that, he realized what it was.

Sakura looked cruel. The look in her eyes, the pleased curl of her lip—it all was out of place.

Angry Sakura, he had seen. He'd seen her cry. He'd seen her determined. He'd seen her happy 90 of the time. Never, in all the years he'd known her, had she ever looked cruel.

"S-Saukra…" He forced the word out.

The young woman before him smiled. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"…you're not…"

Sasuke fought against the part of him that didn't want to break contact with her. He fought against the thought that Sakura—the real Sakura—was right there next to him, her hands on his face.

But it just wasn't her. That smile wasn't hers. She wasn't his Sakura.

"You're not Sakura."

The smile turned into a smug smirk. "You're wrong, Sasuke-kun. I am the only Sakura Haruno there will ever be."

For some reason, those words broke the hold Orochimaru had over Sasuke. The Uchiha snapped back into reality.

"No." He focused his energy on the leather ties still holding him. "This ends here, Orochimaru."

The sannin stepped away, and allowed the Uchiha to break the ties. It didn't matter how he killed Sasuke, only that he managed to retrieve the sharingan. He would just have to do it the hard way. He hadn't taught his pupil all his secrets. There were still many ways he could win.

Sasuke cast the straps away from him and stood. He studied his opponent a few feet away. It's not Sakura. He would have to keep telling himself that.

He waited patiently as Orochimaru took a step toward him.

But the attack never came. Instead, the sannin's hand went up to his head and he stumbled backward a few steps.

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"Now?" Kisame whispered, as they watched Orochimaru falter.

Itachi shook his head. "No. I may regret it later, but this has the potential to end up in my favor either way."

The blue man shrugged. Far be it from him to ever understand what was going through his partner's head.

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Coming soon: Chapter 12: A Clash of Titans

Author's note: I'm rather ashamed that it has taken me so long to get this chapter online. I can only say that I've been terribly busy, and I just haven't had the time to sit down and finish it. The next chapter will have all the guts and glory that some of you have been itching for. Yes, that means at least one battle scene, probably more.

As a side note: For those of you who are interested, I will be posting some of my original short stories on writing(dot)com. If anyone wants to read them, let me know and I'll send you the information.