Sakura watched silently as she sensed Pakkun sitting on the branch of a tree several feet past the village gates, no doubt waiting for her to move before continuing his quiet trailing. As soon as the pair left the Hokage's office, her heart threatened to beat right past her ribcage. She had gone on plenty of dangerous missions before but never has she embarked on one solo. She was so lost in her worries that a tap on her shoulder almost caused her to jump right out of her shoes.

Turning to her right in the direction of the tap, she saw no one. However, her training allowed her to sense a familiar warm presence to her left where Naruto stood wearing a large grin.

"Very funny," Sakura rolled her eyes at the childish joke her former teammate played.

"Heh, sorry."

At least he looked a little embarrassed, she thought to herself as she observed him scratch the back of his head.

"What brings you here, Naruto?"

"I just wanted to see you off," the yellow-haired shinobi lowered his arm, his expression shifting slightly away from his previously happy demeanor. "Didn't feel right to not see you before you leave, you know?"

"Well, I appreciate it." Sakura landed a soft, playful punch on his upper arm.

"How are you feeling?"

"Nervous, obviously. But other than that, I'm mostly excited to finally figure out what's going on."

Naruto nodded rapidly to echo her sentiment before wrinkling his nose and adding, "Looks like that stinky old dog is coming with you."

"Don't call him stinky!"

He looked shocked at her sudden defensiveness before realization dawned on his features. When it did, he bursted into uncontrollable laughter to which Sakura responded only with a scowl.

"I'm sorry, Sakura—" Naruto paused to catch a breath in between giggles, "—I forgot about the whole shampoo thing." More laughter.

"Hmph." Sakura closed her eyes in annoyance and looked away as she crossed her arms across her chest. A deep pout formed across her lips. She debated whether she should hit him but decided against it.

"Okay, okay," he drew in more breaths as he calmed his hysterics, one arm draped across his stomach. "I'll stop."

Sakura finally turned to face him again to see that Naruto had held his palms up in defeat, tears still sitting at the corner of his eyes and a smile on his lips from his earlier fit. The pair looked at each other for several beats as both their expressions morphed to something more solemn.

"I wish I could come with you," Naruto finally said.

"I know."

"Send me a message as soon as you can to let me know you're okay?" he held out a fist to her.

As her fist met his, knuckles hitting knuckles, she beamed, "Promise."

Seconds later, Naruto watched in awe as she slowly transformed her appearance, making her hair grow longer and adjusting her features slightly so that she was no longer Sakura. Her signature pink hair darkened to a light auburn and her bright green eyes dulled. This jutsu wasn't a typical transformation jutsu that could easily be discovered. Instead, she used a technique, with slight modifications, that was passed down to her by Tsunade. With this jutsu, she could alter her physical appearance itself rather than simply creating an illusion. However, she could only alter things very slightly relative to the immense changes that could be achieved with a transformation jutsu.

"Whoa." Naruto's eyes widened as he took a step back to watch her.

"How do I look?" She asked, spinning slightly with her arms out.

"Not like you, that's for sure."

"Good, I can't lure them in looking like me or they might send too many reinforcements and mess up our plan."

"This is crazy," he remarked as he gently lifted a lock of her newly-colored hair in between his fingers. "Grandma Tsunade really taught you everything."

She chuckled, "What did you expect?"

The duo exchanged final goodbyes with Sakura promising to write to him as soon as she could. With a final embrace, she turned away from him and headed past the village gates. She made it several steps before his voice forced her to whip her head back around.

"Sakura?"

"Hmm?"

Their steeled gazes met as understanding flowed between them. She felt her heart tighten as nostalgia washed over her.

"It's your turn this time," Naruto's voice suddenly sounded grave and so out-of-character. "Bring Sasuke home."

"Oh, my dear, I'm so glad you're okay!" The old female merchant exclaimed as she held a hand to her chest.

Sakura, in her disguise, had just finished loudly telling the woman about how a man with dark hair and a weird purple eye saved her from bandits two days ago. In hopes that she would draw the attention of the hunters who previously attacked her, she chose the busiest marketplace on the outskirts of the Fire Country. The small village was mere miles away from where she last encountered them—where she first discovered the extent of the poison they had in their possession.

"Thank you! I'm just hoping I can find that man again to properly thank him. I think this would make the perfect gift!"

"Well good luck and stay out of trouble!" The merchant's kind eyes crinkled in a smile as she handed Sakura two small boxes of dango. She could never resist the dessert so she might as well incorporate it into her trap.

As she munched on the sweets, Sakura meandered aimlessly throughout the marketplace, stopping to admire a stand brimming with flowers. While beautiful, it was nothing compared to the Yamanaka shop at home. An image of Ino carefully arranging elaborate bouquets brought a pang of sadness to her chest. It may have been only two days since she saw her best friend, but she already missed her dearly.

Sakura wandered the marketplace for another hour and into the late afternoon before making her way into the forest. As she left the bustling streets of people behind, she could feel her heart rate quicken. Without the safety of the crowd, she suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable. Normally, she would scold herself for these insecurities but she knew it would be an advantage if she were to keep up the innocent civilian disguise. In a flash, she saw a figure jump her from behind. Her remaining box of dango, now forgotten, dropped to the grass as she ducked to avoid the attack.

Looks like it worked and they underestimated me, she thought to herself as she sensed only one assailant in the vicinity. Prepared this time, Sakura moved faster than any ordinary eye could perceive and pinned her foe's arms behind their body. The movement slammed the ninja into the ground face-first and she placed a knee on their back to hold them in place. Through quick observations, Sakura noted that this attacker was a woman with a similar shade of hair as her disguise. She said a silent prayer of gratitude. It would be much easier for her to adopt this woman's identity.

With some effort due to the unknown woman's thrashing, Sakura successfully tied her wrists together and behind her back using rope from her weapons pouch. For extra measure, she tied additional rope around the woman's torso and legs before propping her back up against the trunk of a tree.

Sakura removed the woman's ANBU mask and studied her face. The girl was no more than Sakura's age, most likely one or two years younger. But what shocked her the most was the expression her enemy held. It wasn't anger or hatred. It was fear.

"Why did you attack me?" Sakura demanded.

The girl trembled slightly but stayed quiet. While frustrating, the silence was a relief to the kunoichi. It confirmed that the pair were alone and that no additional hunters were coming to the girl's rescue. She likely knew that screaming would do her no good.

"Answer me," Sakura produced a kunai and held it to the girl's throat. When her command was met with more silence, she gritted her teeth and pushed the blade closer to the girl's skin, drawing a droplet of blood from the wound.

"I don't know," the girl's voice was barely above a whisper.

"You're going to have to give a better answer than that," she drove the blade deeper.

"I'm serious! I don't know! I was just doing what I was told" The girl's gaze fell upon Sakura now, her eyes frantic. The expression on her face caused Sakura to jerk the blade back as a sudden guilt overcame her.

"Then who gave you the orders?"

Silence met her again. But as Sakura reached closer to the girl with the kunai, she answered.

"Root," the girl murmured, "It was Root."

Sakura's eyes narrowed at her answer as she lowered her weapon. "Prove it. Show me your tongue."

"I—I don't have it. Not yet." At Sakura's questioning gaze, the girl continued. "I'm still in training so they haven't given it to me yet."

"Why—"

"Please don't ask me anymore! If they find out, they'll kill me and my brother!" she interrupted her captor with a shout.

"Listen," Sakura's voice softened as she knelt until their faces were level. "If you tell me everything, I can help you—you and your brother"

"Help us how?"

"I can't tell you the details but you'll have to trust me. I'm trying to take Root down."

The girl studied her for several long minutes before finally speaking, "All I know is we were told to find a man with red and purple eyes. They didn't tell me why or even who he was."

"They, as in Root?"

"Yes, I—I think so."

"Why are you and your brother in Root?"

"They raided our home and took our younger siblings and our grandmother captive. They said they needed recruits and that they would only let them go if we followed them." The girl's eyes filled with unshed tears. "I don't want to kill anyone for them, I promise! I had to do it!"

"Don't worry, I understand," Sakura mustered up as much sympathy to her face as possible. "Now, tell me more about this recruitment thing."

"I don't know anything, I swear. All I know is that we have to follow orders and if we do well, we get rewarded with the Mark."

"The cursed seal on your tongue," Sakura confirmed.

The girl nodded.

"Are you sure that's all you know?"

The captive girl's nodding intensified at Sakura's question.

"Okay," Sakura stood and faced towards a small area of the forest. "Pakkun, we're ready."

As the ninja hound bounded into view, Sakura concentrated on the girl's features and manipulated her own until two identical women were side-by-side with one standing and the other still restrained on the ground.

"What's your name and your brother's name? I also need all the information about your family and the people you speak to inside Root."

"Wait stop, what are you doing?" The girl shrieked and struggled against the ropes holding her as Pakkun clamped his teeth gently around one of her feet, ready to drag her back to Konoha. Her eyes widened in shock and horror as she took in Sakura's mirror image of herself.

"I'm going to become you and get information. Then I'll help your brother get out and I'll send people to get the rest of your family."

"No, you don't understand! They sent me after you and if I—or you disguised as me—come back without a prisoner, they'll kill my brother!"

"What do you mean?"

"This—this was my test. If I fail, they'll kill my brother. They said that he had to take responsibility for me if I messed up again." The girl was desperate as she pleaded with Sakura, "So please, you can't just take my place."

Sakura pinched her nose and closed her eyes in exasperation. This was becoming more complicated than she originally hoped. She racked her brain for a new plan, kicking herself for not thinking this far ahead. When the thought came to her mind, she opened her eyes to meet Pakkun's gaze.

"What are you thinking?" the ninja hound asked. At the sound of Pakkun's voice, the girl shrieked and jumped as best as she could while restrained to get away from him. The kunoichi and ninken both ignored her reaction.

"Pakkun, I'm going to need you to report to Kakashi-sensei that the plan had a slight change. I'll still infiltrate Root, just not as a member."

"You're not serious," the ninken replied as he realized her plan.

"It's the only way to make sure no one gets hurt."

"You could get hurt."

"I'm a kunoichi of the Leaf. I won't go down that easily."

Sakura's now-brown eyes steeled against Pakkun's lazy gaze. After a moment of heavy silence, he relented with a sigh.

"Kakashi's not going to like this."

"He doesn't have to, but I think he'll agree that it was the best choice."

The girl, who was silently looking between Sakura and Pakkun throughout their exchange, finally piped up. "What are you two talking about?"

Sakura trained her gaze on the girl who looked back nervously as she still leaned to one side, trying to get far away from the strange, talking dog.

"You're going to capture me. Or rather, I'm going to let you capture me."

"You're going to be my prisoner?" Her girl questioned incredulously.

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "I'm going to be your prisoner."

Sakura, who was now back in her original disguise of a girl with light reddish-brown hair and dull green eyes, followed quietly as her captor dragged her along. Her wrists burned from the friction against her restraints and she had to fight the feeling of claustrophobia that threatened to creep in from the blindfold across her eyes. The girl, who informed Sakura that her name was Sachie, was shaking as she held onto Sakura's upper arm and pulled her towards her comrades who were waiting at a campground on the other side of the forest.

Earlier, they had set the plan in motion and Pakkun was to report the mission change to Kakashi. Sakura would now act as Sachie's prisoner to make sure that Root didn't harm her brother or the rest of her family. It was just a minor adjustment, Sakura reassured herself. She would still be on track to achieve the purpose of her mission.

Pakkun had acquiesced to her sudden change of plans and with a few disgruntled mumbles, he turned and headed back in the direction of Konoha. While Sakura assured Pakkun that she had a plan for once she actually was inside Root, she knew that the hound could see right through her. Truthfully, she had no idea what she would do from there. It was going to be twice—no, three times—as difficult to get information as a prisoner. But she could see that she had no other choice.

With her lack of vision, Sakura nearly fell face-first after tripping on an unknown object on the ground. Sachie's grip on her tightened to steady her and a quiet apology tumbled out of her mouth.

"Don't do that. Don't apologize to your prisoner," Sakura hissed into the girl's ear. She swore she heard the girl mumble another apology but she paid it no mind, distracted by the two new chakra signatures she sensed in her surroundings.

"Hey look, Sachie actually did it" A male voice announced, the sound of the man slapping Sachie on the back reached Sakura's right ear.

"We knew you could, Sachie. Plus just one look told us that this girl would be easy," piped up another male voice to Sakura's left. She could feel him thumb a lock of her auburn hair. "It's a shame we're going to have to turn her in, she's quite the looker."

"Hey," Sachie slapped the man's hand away. "No touching the prisoner, she's mine."

"Someone's a little possessive."

"It's my first success, I can't risk anything happening to her before I bring her back to the captain. Speaking of, let's get going. I think we may have stirred up some commotion earlier and I don't want to draw anymore attention"

With huffs of agreement, Sakura could hear the men begin to pack up their things. To her right, Sachie was no longer shaking but her tight, sweaty grip on Sakura's arm gave away her anxieties.

The men, who were now packed and ready to leave, returned to where the two women stood. One of them leaned down close to Sakura's face, so close that she could feel his breath waft to her cheeks.

"What's your name, pretty girl?"

"Mariko," Sakura answered. She picked this name with her goal in mind. Truth, the name meant, and truth was what she sought.

"Cute," the man scoffed.

A sudden pressure radiated from the back of Sakura's head and the last thing she remembered was the feeling of moist grass and dirt slamming against her bare cheek.

A/N

Hello! I had a burst of inspiration and spent the weekend writing so you all can expect another update before the end of this week. I would also like to take the time to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read my story. Your support means so much to me and keeps me motivated to continue writing. I would like to especially express my gratitude to everyone who left me kind words in the comments. I hope I can continue to meet all your expectations as the story progresses!

With much appreciation,
ArtfullyPoetic