The Turning Point
"You need to be careful with Idate's leg Naruto and you can't be reckless" Sakura lectured as she and Sasuke helped secure Idate to Naruto's back.
"I know Sakura-chan you've told me a hundred times already!" Naruto whined and grunted slightly as his teammates stepped away and Naruto took the full weight of the runner on his back.
"It's because you're so thick dobe that she has to say it more than once" Sasuke shot back a little harsher than necessary causing Sakura and Naruto to exchange confused looks.
"I'd like to see you carry him!"
"Hn I'd never be stupid enough to volunteer"
"Enough the both of you! Naruto the point is your job is to guard Idate and make sure he gets to the shrine safely. Sasuke and I will take care of any threats. Sasuke I don't know what your problem is but you need to cut it out, someone has to make sure Idate gets to the shrine and Naruto volunteered" Sakura spoke up preventing any further bickering between her teammates.
"Hn whatever" Sasuke replied monotone and picked up his travel bag.
"Sasuke you can't just say 'whatever' and just expect us to put up with it. If something is bothering you then you need to actually tell us" Sakura said trying to remain calm.
"What I need to do isn't determined by you Sakura. The only thing any of us needs to do is complete this mission" Sasuke replied coldly.
"Fine if that's how you're going to act then I'm not going to ask you anymore. Naruto you probably need to go now if Idate's to have any chance in this race" Sakura said ignoring Sasuke.
Before Naruto could respond Sakura had vanished to take up her position in the treetops. Idate looked between Sasuke and Naruto before snorting with derision. "Man you two are the absolute worse!"
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked sensing the humour at his expense and craned his neck to try and glare at Idate causing him to almost topple forward.
"Hey watch it will you? I mean you two and women; it has to been seen to be believed that's for sure!" Idate exclaimed and began laughing loudly.
"Hn are you trying to get yourself killed?" Sasuke asked glaring at the runner. "And what about us and women!?" Naruto demanded shifting Idate's weight.
"You're both completely hopeless, Naruto you're just an unending stream of annoyance that would send any respectable lady running for the hills and this guy over here has the emotional depth of a teaspoon! It's just too funny!"
"Listen you idiot I happen to know for a fact there are hundreds of girls in the Leaf Village just dying to get a hold of Naruto Uzumaki believe it! I'm just way too busy working on becoming Hokage to date!" Naruto sputtered quickly.
"Clearly this guy's weight on your back is making you delusional dobe now get going" Sasuke sighed in frustration and followed Sakura.
"HEY DID HE JUST CALL ME FAT?"
"I'M NOT DELUSIONAL TEME ALL THE GIRLS WANT ME!"
"CHA! IF YOU TWO DON'T GET A MOVE ON I'M GOING TO COME DOWN THERE AND BEAT IT OUT OF YOU!"
"All clear down here Sakura-chan. You and Teme see anything up there?" Naruto asked his teammates through the radio mike wired to his collar.
"I can't sense any foreign chakra signals" Sakura replied through her microphone and adjusted the earpiece.
"Hn I stayed back a few metres to make sure we're not being followed. So far it looks clear" Sasuke's voiced crackled through.
"OH MAN!" Naruto yelled loudly through his microphone causing Sakura to wince in pain and pull out her earpiece.
"Was that really necessary?" Sasuke hissed through the mic.
"Oh right sorry. It's just this staircase is so big and I have to carry this guy all the way up it!?" Naruto whined.
From her positon above Sakura had to agree with her obnoxious teammate. The stairs seemed to stretch for miles but in the distance she could see the tall spire of the Modoroki Shrine.
"You're the one who was so excited to do this dobe" Sasuke said through the microphone and landed neatly on a tree branch a few metres away from where Sakura was crouched.
"There is a reason it's called the Spirit Breaker" Idate's voice crackled through followed by another groan from Naruto.
"There's no one tailing us at least not that I can see with the Sharingan" Sasuke said directly to Sakura.
"I'm not sensing any chakra signals either. But those masked guys from the boat were in the Chunin exams as well so I wouldn't put it passed them to try and pull something" Sakura replied curtly.
"They're not an issue for us anymore. Naruto took care of them" Sasuke said and his eyes hardened.
Before Sakura had a chance to respond a loud war cry could be heard from the bottom of the staircase. Hoisting Idate up on his back Naruto's eyes burned with steely determination as he charged up the stairs.
"Seriously where is he getting this energy?" Sakura grumbled. "No one even accused him of not having any" Sasuke commented and shot off after him.
Naruto beat those three ninja alone? His development is astronomical and with everything Jiraiya is teaching him his abilities are only going become greater, Sakura thought as she watched Sasuke disappear from view and worried about the future of Team 7.
"What do you mean he's gone?" Sasuke asked standing over Naruto who had collapsed face first at the top of the stairs just outside the entrance to the shrine.
"I told you teme he said something about wanting to finish the race himself and then he ran off" Naruto huffed pulling himself upright.
"Even with the medicine I gave him he won't be too far ahead of us because of his leg" Sakura said having caught up to her teammates and reached into her travel bag. "Unfortunately this map isn't exactly step by step on the direction we should take to get there"
"Why don't we just ask some members of his clan?" Naruto asked and began to look through the crowd of villagers.
"That probably isn't such a good idea, the rival family could accuse Idate's clan of cheating and that would jeopardise the race" Sakura said and her eyes widened as she looked at Sasuke. "Can you use your Sharingan?"
"Hn I can try and follow his chakra signal with the aid of the Sharingan. But I've never done it before" Sasuke replied.
"I don't think we have a lot of options here teme, we need to find this guy and quick!" Naruto exclaimed and Sasuke's eyes narrowed but nonetheless activated the bloodline jutsu.
After a moment of searching Sasuke's eyes focused on a bridge leading away from the shrine and into the mountains, able to sense the smallest trace of Idate's chakra Sasuke allowed his eyes to shift from blood red to onyx.
"Across that bridge, he's about 500 metres in front of us. Travelling slowly because of his leg" Sasuke said pointing out the bridge as subtly as he could.
Sakura nodded and made sure to nudge Naruto in the direction Sasuke had pointed out, there was no doubt in her mind that spies from both families were watching the trio looking for a chance to attack or sabotage
Quickly Team 7 made their way towards the bridge taking care to draw as little attention as possible. Making it past the bridge and deeper into the mountainous terrain Sakura quickly spotted the runner from the rival family nearing the end of an even bigger bridge which spanned the length of a huge gorge.
"Idate!" Naruto yelled and Team 7 watched as Idate was electrocuted by Aoi who was blocking the entrance to the bridge.
He seems to be using some kind of sword powered by electricity, wait could that be the Blade of the Thunder Spirit? The one Idate stole from the Leaf Village for Aoi? Sakura thought as she watched the blade of light dissolve.
"Idate still alive I see, have to admit that's a bit of a surprise and the genin too. What a shame the poison was strong enough or perhaps the dosage wasn't high enough. Either way I suppose I'll make up for that mistake" Aoi said and activating the blade severed one of the rope ties to the bridge.
"Hey what are you doing!?" Idate demanded as Aoi turned and severed the other rope. Running towards Aoi in the hope of stopping him Idate was knocked back with a swing of the blade.
"You really think you stand a chance against me? I wield the Blade of the Thunder Spirit used by the Second Hokage himself. What do you have Idate that could possibly compare?" Aoi asked boastfully.
Two compacted balls of mud flew through the air, Aoi moved quickly to draw out his large umbrella which acted as a shield. As the mud fell onto the ground the violet eyed ninja smirked at the blond boy who had thrown it.
"Am I to engage in a mudslinging fight with children now?" Aoi mocked but Naruto stood his ground "Well I didn't have any kunai to throw so what exactly was I supposed to do!?"
"Stupid dobe could have borrowed some from us before charging in like a fool" Sasuke muttered.
"True but it's not like we were trying to hide out or anything, I suppose a full frontal attack is as good as any strategy not that we have one now. But the mud was a stupid idea" Sakura agreed.
"Guys I can hear you! How about a little moral support huh!?" Naruto whined and looked back at his teammates for encouragement.
"This is it!? This is your grand plan to beat Aoi, to throw a couple of mud balls at him and hope for the best!?" Idate demanded from his position on the ground.
"Gah! Not you too, why is everyone so quick to criticise me!?" Naruto asked unhappily before performing the Shadow Clone Justus sign. Immediately three clones appeared and one began moving its hands in a fast circle above the Naruto's outstretched palm, creating the Rasengan.
What is he doing? Focusing all his chakra like that to the point where it's visible is incredible! Idate thought as he watched the clone's hands spin faster and faster and the ball of chakra grow larger in Naruto's hand.
"Right here I come!" Naruto exclaimed as two of his clones charged forward and were immediately destroyed by Aoi as was another who attempted to attack from above.
Through the white cloud of smoke of the destroyed clones Naruto burst forward and thrust his arm out containing the Rasengan which clashed against the stolen Blade of Thunder. Sakura and Sasuke watched closely as Naruto began to struggle against the blade and was eventually thrown back, the Rasengan completely destroyed.
"How is that even possible? That blade completely wiped his jutsu out" Sakura asked Sasuke in a low voice, the Uchiha boy shook his head in response.
"I suppose I should have mentioned there is nothing that can destroy the Blade of Thunder, chakra in any form is rendered useless to its power. Your ball of chakra though impressive might as well have been water to this blade" Aoi declared.
"In any case now that you're aware of what this blade can do I suppose it's time it served its purpose. I don't make the same mistake twice and this time I'll make sure the ground runs red with your blood. You first then Idate" Aoi said turning the blade to face the runner.
"Hn let's not play this game, there's three of us and only one of you" Sasuke said.
"Which means you'll be the one to remain here, dead" Sakura added pulling out her kunai and throwing one to Naruto who caught it with ease.
"How heroic, friends staying together to the bitter end one for all and all for one. Pathetic, it is disgusting to rely on the abilities of others to make up for the ones you lack on your own. It is interesting that someone of such high prestige as the great Uchiha clan would lower themselves to a team with these riff raff"
"Shut up! You don't know anything about friendship or teamwork you lowlife!" Naruto shot back and glared angrily at Aoi.
"Oh look I've upset the orange one, although I suppose he's right I don't. Neither do you Idate, always running away from your problems. Like the night I tortured your brother for information on the scroll you stole, running away like that although I suppose your dear brother did tell you to run didn't he. Only get in his way is what I recall him saying, I wonder how your brother is doing now. I hope those scars I gave him weren't permanent"
"Hey you jerk you better watch your mouth!" Naruto exclaimed and made a move to charge at Aoi once more.
The violet eyed traitor was already one step ahead and tossing his umbrella into the air caused a shower of senbon needles to pierce Naruto's flesh. Throwing a series of kunai Sakura was able to deflect some of the needles but the damage had already been done.
"The original point stands although there might be three of you, you are only mere genin and I wield the Blade of Thunder so if you'll kindly wait a few moments while I kill Idate it will be your turn to die soon enough" Aoi said with a sickening smile and moved to strike Idate.
The sound of thousands of birds chirping filled the air as the light from Sasuke's Chidori drew Aoi's attention away from Idate.
"Hn this will be interesting. My Chidori against the legendary Blade of Thunder" Sasuke smirked and swung his arm backwards.
"Sasuke what are you doing? Your Chidori is concentrated chakra same as Naruto's, that blade will slice clean through it" Sakura said watching Sasuke worriedly.
"The Chidori requires greater strength and skill to wield than the Rasengan" Sasuke replied simply and Sakura saw Naruto glare at Sasuke's angrily.
"Well well from the way you're talking it seems as if you believe you can beat me with your little jutsu. Let's see how great the last of the Uchiha clan is" Aoi mocked and Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he ran forward.
The mountainous terrain was covered in a blinding white light as Sasuke's Chidori clashed with the Blade of Thunder. Sasuke gritted his teeth as he felt the force of the blade hit his body, pushing the Chidori further.
Smiling the ex- Leaf ninja brought the full power of the blade down on Sasuke who struggled under the force. Within a few seconds Sasuke's jutsu was completely gone and like Idate the Uchiha boy was exposed to the full electric power of the blade.
Tossed onto the ground Sakura watched as her teammate stood up again wiping blood from his lip. Aoi began to chuckle loudly "Seems all that I heard about the last surviving Uchiha was true, you are a pathetic child unworthy of your bloodline abilities and the name Uchiha"
"Don't talk about me as if you know me. Take back what you said now" Sasuke said his voice taking on a completely different tone as the Chidori crackled to life again.
What is he thinking? Can't he see that a direct attack with a build-up of chakra is completely useless? That makes my chakra infused Tai jutsu attacks are completely useless too. How exactly are we going to get passed this guy and keep Idate competitively in the race? Sakura thought.
When it became clear that Aoi wasn't going to take back what he said Sasuke let out an angry roar and charged for the Thunder Blade again. Sakura could tell that the Uchiha boy wasn't thinking clearly, Naruto single handily taking on the Rain ninja and beating them as well as Aoi's insults to his clan and the unsettled matter with Itachi wouldn't be helping his mindset. They needed a plan and quickly.
Sasuke smirked in satisfaction; his jutsu had more power this time because he had activated the Sharingan. Aoi seemed surprised at the strength of the attack as well and quickly applied greater force behind the blade to ensure the Uchiha boy would not claim victory. The blade began to crack under the force of the Chidori and it seemed as though the entire weapon would shatter in seconds but as before the power of the Thunder Blade was too strong and Sasuke's attack dissolved leaving him completely open.
Aoi moved quickly and with a simple twist had ensnared Sasuke in the powerful electrical field of the Thunder Blade. Sasuke withered in pain as the light from the blade covered his body.
"As I thought, the last of the Uchiha is a great disappointment and a waste of my time" With a careless flick of his wrist Aoi lifted a now unconscious Sasuke into the air and threw him down the huge gorge and into the depths below.
Sakura froze as she watched Sasuke disappear from view before her mind threw her into action. "Naruto hold him off for as long as you can, I'll be back soon"
"Right you got it Sakura-chan!" Naruto replied determined as ever. Aoi didn't try to stop Sakura as she ran past him with lightning speed and hurled herself over the cliff after Sasuke.
Sakura tried her best not to scream as she fell hundreds of feet after Sasuke towards a huge pool of water, even from the height she was falling at Sakura could tell the water wasn't deep enough and the jagged rocks protruding from the depth didn't instil much confidence.
Her mind suddenly remembered the fact that Sasuke had been thrown over the cliff a few moments after she had herself meaning he would hit the water first. Keeping her eyes trained on the Uchiha crest protruding from Sasuke's back, Sakura rummaged through her ninja bag until she found the kunai attached to a strong length of ninja wire. Making a sloppy loop with the rope and kunai Sakura threw the length of it down and manage to secure the loop around one of Sasuke's ankles.
Great Haruno now you've got Sasuke you actually have to slow yourself down, Sakura thought and recalled the lesson in chakra Kakashi had given Team 7. Focusing the chakra to her feet Sakura was able to (after a few moments of sliding down the rock face) finally stop herself and Sasuke from falling any further.
Gritting her teeth Sakura took a few moments to mentally assess her situation. She was now gripping the rope holding Sasuke dangling beneath her with only the chakra in her feet gripping the rock face holding her steady. Sakura sucked in a deep breath and pulled tighter on the rope, Sasuke weighed a lot more than she did and was inevitably causing the greatest struggled. Reaching once again into her pouch and taking care not to spill the contents Sakura withdrew a second kunai and looped the remaining end of the rope through it.
Assisted by a small amount of chakra to her hand Sakura managed to pull apart two heavy looking rocks and wedge the kunai in there which took the weight of the Uchiha boy, with the room to breathe a little Sakura had to move fast that kunai and rope wouldn't hold for much longer. Looking up above and taking care not to drop her teammate Sakura spied a rocky ledge that they just happened to miss whilst falling to their deaths.
"Of course, so typical the only safe place to land and I miss it completely" Sakura muttered and began the painstaking climb having removed the kunai and wrapped the rope around her wrist.
Using any form of chakra on her hands to assist in pulling herself up was out of the question given the precarious nature of the rock face; despite her chakra manipulation skills Sakura decided it was best not to risk it. Once again Sakura found herself feeling thankful for Lady Tsunade's punishing training regime as she gripped onto one rock and hauled herself up using another.
Wiping sweat from her forehead Sakura finally reached the ledge and pulled Sasuke up by the rope attached to his ankle. Glancing down at the rushing water bellow combined with the jagged rocks Sakura decided that the climb back up to the ledge wasn't all that painful. Sakura gently placed her hand against Sasuke's neck and felt a steady consistent pulse although the Uchiha prodigy showed no sign of waking.
Hearing the clash of kunai coming from the clearing above Sakura knew she had to get back up there to help Naruto protect Idate and get him to the finish line.
Easier said than done how exactly am I supposed to get up there with Sasuke? I can't chakra punch my way out of this I'll destroy the whole cliff side and send us all to a pretty wet grave. I could always leave him down here on this ledge, no but then there's no telling what will happen to him! Right so I need to get myself and Sasuke back over the top of this cliff without destroying the surrounding area, great totally achievable, Sakura thought sarcastically.
"Well reasonably speaking there is only one course of action. I need speed and power to propel myself over the cliff whilst potentially piggy backing my heavier than me teammate. I need chakra" Sakura declared speaking to no one in particular.
Pulling Sasuke over her back Sakura winced as she took on the extra weight, chakra to ones feet required correct balance and consistent flow in order to work which would be harder as with the extra weight Sakura was not as agile as before. Taking care to keep Sasuke well balanced Sakura made the necessary hand sign and felt the familiar rush of chakra to her feet. Focusing on keeping a firm and consistent balance on the flow Sakura took a few steps backward before charging forward at the rock face like she had done with Team 7 in the Land of Waves.
Noticing she had made it half way up the rock face Sakura smirked a little, if only Lady Tsunade could see her now. A muffled groan came from her back and the pink haired teen realised that Sasuke was slowly coming around.
Dammit Sasuke of all the times to wake up, Sakura though and willed herself forward seeing the top of the cliff in sight. She was less than a metre away when she felt the rocky surface beneath her starting to give way.
"Sakura? What are you doing?" Sasuke mumbled and lifted his head which caused Sakura to wobble a little bit before regaining her balance.
"Um Sasuke don't take this the wrong way but this would be a really great time for you to be unconscious again" Sakura said through gritted teeth and having slowed right down took a few precarious steps closer towards the cliff edge.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped and opened his eyes to see the gigantic drop below, "Sakura why are we standing upright on the rock face of a cliff?"
"Probably because that weird umbrella guy threw you over it and then I jumped over too to go and get you and now the only way back up is chakra to the feet and you're making it really damn difficult by moving around so much!" Sakura exclaimed almost losing her footing for the second time.
"Hn, just put me down Sakura I'll get up there myself" Sasuke said a little annoyed and attempted to move again.
"Hey hey stop it! If you haven't realised we're at least a hundred feet from the ground standing horizontally in mid-air!" Sakura snapped.
"Well what exactly do you suggest we do to get out of this?" Sasuke shot back.
"Don't turn this around on me Sasuke I was doing fine until you woke up. In my travel bag there's the rope attached to a kunai that I used to stop you from falling, now that we're up far enough we can use it to wedge between one of those top rocks and pull ourselves up" Sakura replied trying to remain calm.
Realising the precariousness of their situation Sasuke manoeuvred himself quickly to undo Sakura's travel bag and remove the rope with the kunai attached to it. Seeing an open crevice between two solid looking rocks Sasuke threw the kunai with precision and managed to wedge it in. Tugging on the rope Sasuke quickly gave the end to Sakura who began to pull herself up. Feeling his strength returning the Uchiha boy channelled chakra to his feet and was able to climb up the rock face unassisted.
Sakura huffed but soon followed gathering the chakra in her feet and scaling the face of the cliff, making it onto solid ground Sakura quickly unhooked the rope. Sakura quickly surveyed the situation and let out an audible sigh of relief when Naruto came into view looking alive but exhausted. Aoi too seemed to register their presence but showed little sign of caring and instead charged up the Thunder Blade with his eyes fixed on Naruto.
"Sasuke! Sakura! You're okay!" The blonde boy exclaimed and Sakura raised her hand to confirm that fact.
"Don't think the arrival of your little friends changes anything, I'll destroy you and make sure they follow soon after" Aoi spat waving the blade around for emphasis which caught Sasuke's eye.
"That blade, before I was thrown over the cliff I heard it crack. There's a weak point and if it's hit again it'll probably shatter the whole blade" Sasuke whispered to Sakura as he kept his eyes trained on Aoi.
"You think Naruto will realise?" Sakura asked making sure to keep her voice low.
"Probably not. I don't know either way if that blade isn't destroyed then we have no chance at all of getting out of here" Sasuke replied.
"You're right. I don't think he's going to notice I mean I can't see anything either and we're roughly the same distance away from Aoi as he is. Do you remember which end of the blade you cracked?" Sakura whispered as Naruto and Aoi began exchanging words.
"Top corner I think. What are you going to do?" Sasuke asked. Naruto began gathering chakra to perform the Rasengan ignoring Aoi's aggressive taunts.
"This" Sakura replied as she too began gathering chakra to her fist. If Naruto misses I'll destroy the blade myself but even if he does hit that crack Sasuke made then I'll punch this guy over the cliff, give him a taste of his own medicine.
Naruto let out an almighty battle cry as he ran forward with the intent of finishing Aoi once and for all. A few moments after Naruto set off running Sakura did too, however she made sure to keep her movements as quiet as she could. Aoi seemed none the wiser his attention solely focused on Naruto, the infamous Thunder Blade paused ready to strike and annihilate.
Having gotten much closer to the blade than before Naruto immediately identified the crack and realised Sasuke had given him an opportunity to finish this fight once and for all. Quickly redirecting his attack Naruto forced the ball of chakra directly onto the crack and shattered the blade completely.
Aoi froze and gawked at the broken Thunder Blade and the power that the insulant blonde boy in front of him possessed in order to destroy it. However this moment of utter shock did not last long, in a fraction of a second the girl with pink hair Aoi had seen jump over the cliff after the Uchiha boy was standing right in front of him. The last thing Aoi saw was a fist surrounded by bright green chakra directed straight for his solar plexus.
Sakura watched triumphantly as Aoi's body sailed over the cliff to surely hit the jagged rocks and unsettled water below. Naruto grinned at her happily and Idate let out a huge sigh of relief, Sasuke too made his way over to the group however Sakura noticed he was deliberately avoiding making eye contact with Naruto.
"Alright that guy totally didn't stand a chance against us!" Naruto yelled and victory punched the air. Sakura laughed a little at the outburst and Idate shook his head completely amazed at how Team 7 had handled the situation.
"Hn Sakura, the race" Sasuke interrupted and Naruto gasped loudly. "Holy crap Idate we have to get you to that finish line!"
"How are we going to do that? Aoi took down the bridge across the cliff and that's the only way across" Idate said and Sakura had to admit he did have a point.
"I have an idea; one part of the rope is still attached. If we all climb on to that rope and then cut the end the perpetual motion should give us enough force to get to the other side of the cliff" Idate spoke up and Naruto nodded eagerly.
"That works for me let's do it" Sakura affirmed and within a few minutes all of Team 7 plus Idate were safely on the other side of the cliff.
"Okay let's get going we gotta beat that other guy and make sure Idate wins!" Naruto exclaimed
"There he is up ahead! Run Idate run!" Sakura called out from above as she, Sasuke and Naruto matched speed with Idate from their position in the trees above.
Gritting his teeth Idate gathered his strength and shot forward like a rocket, seeing the rival runner from the opposing family up ahead only motivated him further. Determined to prove to Team 7 that he wasn't going to give up Idate willed himself on further and began to gain on Fukusuke.
"Come on Idate you're almost there!" Boss Jirocho called out from behind the white tape marking the finish line which was getting closer and closer.
Seeing he needed the extra motivation Team 7 began to call out words of encouragement and within a blink of an eye Idate had managed to sneak in front of Fukusuke by a few centimetres and had crossed the finish line. The crowd erupted into thunderous applause and Naruto joined them enthusiastically. Sasuke and Sakura exchanged tired looks of satisfaction from a job well done. Idate ran all the way into the shrine and placed the blue orb which represented his family down before collapsing on the floor in disbelief that he had won the race.
In a few moments Idate emerged from the shrine to greet the crowd and be presented as the winner of the race. Team 7 stood off to the side happy that Idate had completed the race for his family and that they had completed the mission successfully even without the assistance of Kakashi.
"Alright guys I guess that wraps things up. Time to head back to the Leaf Village and rub it in Kakashi-sensei's face that we don't need him!" Naruto grinned resting his hands behind his back oblivious to the exasperated looks Sakura and Sasuke exchanged.
"Hold it just one second. That's enough stop this ridiculous celebration!" A voice called out and Sakura turned to see the head of the rival family approaching the ceremony.
"What do you want?" Jirocho asked.
"It seems Idate was assisted for part of the leg of the race, he rode on the back of a hired ninja" The rival head explained venomously.
"What did you say?" Naruto asked. "Where exactly is the proof to back your allegation?" Sakura asked her eyes narrowing.
"I thought you might ask that so here take a look at this photograph" Pulling out a piece of paper from his cloak the rival family leader showed the photo to Jirocho along with Idate and Team 7.
"Contenders must make it through the whole race of their own volition and strength. That means Fukusuke is the real winner and not Idate"
"You can't do that. There was nothing in the rule book we were given about accepting assistance" Sakura piped up ignoring the dirty looks the family head was giving her.
"She is right of course, there is no such rule. The Wasabi family are well within their rights to retain this win. Perhaps the Wagarashi are so keen to pronounce themselves the winners to hide the bribes they have been accepting, wouldn't you say?" The lord of the Land of Tea stepped forward and produced a photo which depicted the head of the Wagarashi dealing bribes.
"B-But" The head of the family began to protest with no avail.
"You can't honestly expect me to declare you the winners simply because you wish it. Not to mention the actions of violence and extortion reported to me by several people of the Port. From this day forth the Wagarashi family is no more" The lord declared and the crowd cheered even louder than before.
Sasuke moved unsteadily on his feet still quite shaken from the battle with Aoi, despite everything that had occurred Sakura still wrapped an arm around Sasuke and led him gently towards the dock. Naruto followed behind scrutinising his two teammates together, Idate ran to catch up with the blonde boy and chuckled to himself when he realised what Naruto was fixated on.
"Don't worry kid you'll get it one day. Anyway I'm here to see you all back to the boat safely, the Leaf Village sent an envoy to collect you and one of the officials said my brother might be on board!" Idate exclaimed and Sakura turned.
"Really Idate that's wonderful to be able to see your brother again after all this time" she said smiling genuinely.
"Not to mention you can explain everything that happened with that Aoi guy" Naruto added as an afterthought.
"Right I'll make sure he knows, hey Sakura what's wrong?" Idate asked as he saw the pink haired girl freeze in her spot.
"Hn Sakura what are you looking at?" Sasuke asked as he watched his teammate scanning the crowds in front of them.
Team 7 and Idate had just entered the now bustling market place when Sakura had seen it.
A neatly swept back bun full of cherry blossom pink hair.
Unmistakeable.
Then as quickly as she had seen it, the woman with the cherry pink hair disappeared back into the crowd. Sakura vaguely registered Sasuke and Naruto's voices but her mind was completely transfixed.
Her mother was here, in the Land of Tea searching for her father. Sakura needed to find her there was no question.
"Naruto take Sasuke and get him back on the boat to the Leaf Village his wounds need to be taken care of properly. Tell Tsunade to examine him herself" Sakura muttered and pushed Sasuke gently in Naruto's direction.
"Sakura where are you going?" Sasuke asked panic seeping into his voice. "Sakura-chan we need to go home!" Naruto exclaimed.
But Sakura simply blocked them out and moved forward through the crowd at a frantic pace. One minute Sasuke saw his teammate's bright pink hair and the next she was gone.