The clouds drifted by, passing through the heavens faintly. The tree dripped with water. Slowly yet steadily, the water splashed downward, sending sounds of tapping through the forest.

Sasuke hurried forward.

"Wait." Shikamaru spoke in a hushed voice. "We need the element of surprise. If everything goes according to plan, we'll have a much better chance. Under the current circumstances, we stand a strong chance of straight-up losing and dying if we take them in a head-on fight."

"I said it before, didn't I?" Sasuke arched one eyebrow. "I'm not afraid."

"That's what worries me. Kakushiro's serious business. Really, the same goes for Hidan to some degree. We can't kill him. Either of them is going to be tough even to lock down. I know you're worried about Naruto, but rushing in isn't going to do anything but get us killed." Shikamaru exhaled. "Follow the battle plan, keep your head, and we'll have this taken care of perfectly well."

"We've already wasted a day." Sasuke crouched. "But, you are the one who organized us, so I'll take your lead."

"One thing about holding a jinchūriki, at least in terms of movement, is that you don't want to move them that often." Shikamaru paused. "The disadvantage being that they have a tendency to go berserk, and in an open space their chances of escape are very high, barring interference. In a stationary location it's easy to verify their location. Presumably, they're waiting on more members to—"

A twig snapped in the underbrush.

Shikamaru's voice broke off. Behind him he signed for silence.

A silence fell over the group. They leaned forward.

Footfalls echoed through the forest. The trail of a white cloak flashed through the darkness of the forest.

Kōju blinked in shock.

"Hakubo," Soyokaze whispered.

"What the hell?" Tayuya's brow furrowed. "They knew about it somehow. They knew. We have a traitor."

Sasuke grasped the hilt of her sword. She growled. "Danzō."

"Danzō's an ass, but I can't see him betraying the location of Hidden Leaf's one and only jinchūriki. He's not that crazy," Shikamaru whispered. He glanced briefly toward Sai. "Sorry—"

Sai was gone, having faded away into the darkness.

Shikamaru's brow furrowed. "Hmph." He glanced toward the others. "She's making me regret defending Danzō."

Kōju swallowed tightly.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "Okay, this isn't according to plan." He stared down at the white-clad figures.

"You got a Plan B?" Tayuya whispered. Her brown eyes narrowed.

"We'd already planned to let you handle Hidan, so you go and find him and lure him off. Use your imagination." Shikamaru paused. "For these two…"

"How'd they find out so quick?" Sasuke demanded.

Shikamaru paused. "Only one explanation. There's a traitor somewhere in Hidden Leaf. We don't have enough information to make a conclusion right now. We'll worry about that later. Me, Ino, and Chōji will go after Kakushiro. That leaves a two-on-two for one of the Hakubo members—Soyokaze and Sasuke on Akaihi, and Kōju on—"

"I'll handle Akaihi alone." Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

Shikamaru's brow furrowed.

"I've got a slight advantage."

"You're overestimating it." Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "Do you seriously think you can win? Or are you getting angry?"

Sasuke remained silent for a long moment. After a hesitation, she stated, "I might be overestimating it. But, based on the information provided, I think I can probably handle him, at least long enough to extract Naruto."

"You're still using a bladed weapon—" Ino started.

"Understood." Shikamaru paused. He stared down at the battlefield. "Now, we'll have to hope Sai jumps in. I hope her moral sense hasn't atrophied to the point where she doesn't recognize the fate of various persons." He gestured to Tayuya. "Move along."

Tayuya faded away rapidly.

"For the time being, we also need to prepare for a two-on-four situation. In that case their battle power is probably amplified, so teamwork is probably necessary."

The group divided into two, one running rapidly toward the cavern.

Sasuke frowned. How can I lure this guy away? Chances are that he won't split up on his own, so—

"Hakka?" Akaihi turned in a circle. "We have to split up. We have to find this guy soon, right?"

Hakka frowned. "I'm not confident in taking both of those enemies on alone, Akaihi."

"If we run into trouble, just send out a pulse. I'll find you." Akaihi turned away. His eyes narrowed.

"Fine, but I don't have to like it."

Akaihi smirked. He walked rapidly through the forest, disappearing into the darkness.

Hakka exhaled. "Hah. This is pretty scary." She walked along the forest. "I'm unfamiliar with this forest, so I'll have to rely on someone else."

"It's lucky." Kōju grinned.

"Yes, too much so." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "It smells like a trap. But we don't have much choice here."

Kōju nodded. "Ideally, if we could finish off one at a time, that would be ideal." She paused. "But we don't have that option. Under the circumstances, if even one of them lets off a warning, there's a risk of us losing Naruto-kun. We're not doing that again. Well—give me a holler if you need help."

Sasuke nodded.

The group dispersed to their tasks rapidly, fading away into the darkness once again.

Revenge

The sky darkened.

Hidan dashed out of the cavern, his hand grasping the scythe. He drew in a sharp breath. "Shit, shit, shit!" He glanced from side to side. "Okay, okay. Game face on. Time to slaughter some monsters, immortal or not." He exhaled, his face growing calm. "Okay. Kakushiro won't cut off my head, probably."

"Hey! Limp-dicked faggot!"

Hidan's head swiveled rapidly.

Tayuya laughed loudly. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, you damn moron! Come at me! I'm going to fuck you in the ass. Oh, wait, you like that kind of thing, don't you?"

Hidan's brow furrowed. "It must be very hard being born with this kind of impediment."

"Eh? Fuck you, I like cursing!"

"I MEAN YOUR BRAIN, YOU BLOCKHEAD!" Hidan's eyes widened. "Only a true idiot would taunt Jashin-sama's loyal follower like this! I will tear off your head and throw it to the crows! Bastard!"

"If you want to prove me wrong, come at me, bottom bitch." Tayuya grinned.

Hidan exploded into motion. The scythe sliced through the air, cutting in half the tree before him.

That's a damn impractical weapon, no matter how you look at it. I mean, even for drawing blood? Probably used for religious reasons, but no matter how you look at it, it's a pain in the neck to swing that thing. He's going to be at a disadvantage inside a closed-up space. I should lure him into a canyon. Her eyes narrowed. After that, we'll see what happens.

Hidan's eyes blazed with rage.

Revenge

The forest thinned toward the cliff. The smell of the sea breeze whispered over the edge of the cliff, carrying with it a strange odor of decay.

Sasuke walked forward, her hand grasping the sword at her side.

Akaihi's lips curled upward. Beneath the mask, glimmering light surrounded his face.

Sasuke tensed. Her grip on the sword adjusted rapidly.

Akaihi turned around. "You're not a very good shinobi, are you?"

Sasuke's left eyebrow rose.

"I mean that you chose to follow me in a place where you couldn't hide."

"So it was a trap?"

Akaihi shrugged. "If you like." He tilted his head to one side. "I just wanted to draw out the irritating bugs that had been following me."

Sasuke's face remained impassive.

Heh. So she's the same type as me. "You're probably thinking about how you can cut open my body, aren't you?"

"Heh. No."

Akaihi's expression grew confused.

"I was just thinking, I'll be leaving quite a mess for my ancestors to clean up." Sasuke shrugged her shoulders. Her arm grasped the sword briefly. "Still, it's not my business to complain. Come, then. Let's cut you in two."

Akaihi's eyes narrowed. "That's why I dislike Leaf ninja, you know. I think you know why too—you're wrong!"

The sky darkened.

"Don't you get it? There's nothing up here, and nothing up there! Nobody's watching us when we sin! So I'm going to embrace it!"

"Hm." Sasuke's brow rose. "So you're saying that you don't have that tendency?"

Akaihi snorted.

"In this case, your thought is itself a form of belief."

Akaihi's brow furrowed. "Eh? How do you figure?"

"You don't know whether there's more to life than this."

"I've never seen any proof of it."

Sasuke sighed. She drew the sword out rapidly. "Well, it doesn't matter either way to me. I didn't come here to debate philosophy. I came here to rescue someone precious to me, and if you get in my way I'll cut you down. It's that simple."

"That simple, huh?" A faint grin crossed Akaihi's face. "You know, I think you make a poor shinobi, but a good samurai." His smile faded. "I hate fucking samurai. That's why I left the north-lands to begin with. I can respect shinobi, though they still have too much honor for my tastes. There's nothing you owe allegiance to other than yourself—"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Way it seems to me, you're preaching here when there's no need to. You're sure you're different from them?"

Akaihi's brow furrowed.

Sasuke shrugged. "Again, I don't care. But it seems like you do, a lot more than you ought to. Maybe you're trying to reinforce your beliefs."

Akaihi's eyes narrowed.

"Or maybe you're just looking for an excuse to slaughter. Either way, I don't care—but whether it's that way or not, I'm going to kill you."

Akaihi's hand tightened on the sword at his side. "You talk tough, but you're dealing with an invulnerable man. No matter what you come at me with, I'm going to send you into death!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. She glanced at her sword briefly. Whispers rose from the blade. Kh—I thought it would be easier to do this. I'm not using you yet. I want to figure out what this guy's deal is—what kind of technique he mastered.

The whispers slowly quieted, but not before a drop of blood fell from the hilt of the sword.

Revenge

A silence fell over the forest. The echoes floated through the dark sky, the cold wind blowing through the trees and whistling through the shadows.

Kakushiro stalked forward. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced from side to side. She glanced over her shoulder rapidly.

A knife shot by Kakushiro's ear.

Kakushiro gritted her teeth. She glanced over her shoulder. A warning shot?

Shikamaru groaned.

Kakushiro snorted. "Evidently not." She turned around, facing the three people quietly. "I've killed a lot of people, in the time of my life. So you attacking me means you're ready to die?"

Shikamaru nodded. "I don't think I'm going to die, but on the off chance, I'll go to the Nara with pride."

"We won't go alone, either!" Chōji shouted.

Shikamaru's brow furrowed. He glanced sideways. "Blast it, Chōji."

Chōji looked sheepish.

Shikamaru nodded. "Okay. Yeah, we'll be frank. We came here to kill you, for our mentor and the lessons he left behind for us."

The forest darkened as energy gathered around the fingers.

"Hmph!" Kakushiro stared at the three fighters flatly. "You came to fight me to the death, in defiance of your mentor's final wishes?"

"That wasn't the character he left behind for me." Shikamaru paused. "That's one I carved in my own heart."

"Keh-heh." Kakushiro sighed. "You'd probably make a good bounty later in life, but this catch and release program is quite risky. Most seem to come back with designs of vengeance on me." Black tentacles whipped from her back. "I'll exterminate you freely!"

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.

Ino clapped her hands together.

Chōji inhaled sharply. His body enlarged rapidly.

Kakushiro's eyes tracked around the group. No surprise, there. I think they're the first group to charge me immediately after the death of their mentor. Her hand rose. Come to your deaths!

Revenge

The forest glimmered with the fading lights of empty embers, the sunlight dancing off the leaves.

The air glowed rapidly, white energy twisting around Hakka's fingers. She stared upward.

Kōju drew the sword free of the restraints. She leapt down from the tree branch, placing herr back firmly against the tree. "Come! Let's take her out together, Soyokaze-san!"

Soyokaze nodded.

Hakka sighed heavily. "I don't take pleasure in my old age from disciplining children, particularly in such familiar cases as this. Soyokaze-san, it's regrettable that I had to fight you in this way. I do not enjoy battling old students—it leaves a scar in my heart. But." She raised her arms. "Since you clearly won't let me past to claim that jinchūriki, it's about time I taught you the terror of the White Sands."

Kōju's eyes widened.

Soyokaze's hand clenched into a fist.

Hakka extended her arms. Blades snapped outward rapidly from her arms.

"What does her power look like?" Kōju asked briefly.

Soyokaze paused. "That blade is comprised of many tiny blades. It acts more like a laser than anything else, given the precision of her control." They lifted their fist.

Kōju swallowed. "How is it against metal?"

"It'll have some difficulty, but she's fast enough it probably won't matter."

A silence fell over the battlefield.

Kōju swung back the sword. Her green eyes narrowed. "Fair enough. I suppose I'll have to finish you with my own sword, then." Her hands rapidly moved through the kata again, demonstrated a firm, flowing, technique.

A/N: I'm a bit out of practice, so getting used to writing this again will take a few tries. Please forgive any mistakes in that process.
Additionally, my work schedule has changed. Consequently, publication of chapters, starting next week, will occur at 4:00 PM Fridays.