Surprise, Brand new Chapter for everyone. I would like to thank you all for reading this story. It really makes it fun that you are taking your time to read something I have been putting some time into writting. What I ask for in return is if you could review it. Because I'm planning this to be ongoing as a series. But I can only do that if you guys review it and tell me what you think. I welcome it, so I hope you enjoy chapter 11

Chapter 11

Departure

Two months later…

In a giant room with a chair, sits Shinku Yamamoto sits swirling a glass of wine. His evil eyes glued to the door, expecting Keiko and Kagome to enter with the pink-haired kunoichi he's had his eye on for quite some time. A knock would soon hit his door, and Ogre and Toma soon entered the room and kneeled before their boss.

"They're late, I've given them a full two months to bring me the girl and they failed. And what troubles me more is that the woman I gave the gift of life has abandoned me as well." He said, sipping some of the wine in his glass.

"To be honest sir, we figured they would fail you. Not to brag sir but if you would have sent us, things would have turned out differently."

"You may be correct on that one Toma, so now I want you to do what they couldn't do. I want you to go after her. Do whatever it takes, kill, kidnap, destroy. Get me that phoenix! Because if you don't I will take matters into my own hands. Is that clear?"

"Absolutely sir, me and Toma will take care of it for you," Ogre said, as the two of them headed out.

Over the past two months Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura were helping train Kai and show him how to control his chakra and help him get battle ready. It helped how fast Kai learned. Ino would sit there with Lady Kushina and watch Kai grow. Kushina was impressed by how Naruto was growing into a great sensei. Hoping that would lead to great things in the future for him as it did Minato.

"All right everyone, lunch is served," Kushina said out loud, just as Sakura delivered a fierce punch to Kai, sending him to the ground.

"Oh my god, are you alright Kai?" She said tending to any injury.

Kai gave her a thumbs-up, making her smile. They would join everyone. Kakashi loved having Kushina back, especially her cooking. One of the best things when Minato was their sensei was her doting on the team. He wishes everyone was back as well.

"So how's the food?" She asked, everyone.

"Very good Lady Kushina," Kai said.

Naruto downed a plate of chicken rice and almost choked.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI, YOU WILL CHOKE IF YOU DON'T SLOW DOWN!" Kushina yelled at him.

He would chuckled as Sakura would tap him on the head.

"Honestly Naruto, try to eat more slowly," Sakura said, with her wiping away some of the sauce from his lip.

"Thanks, Sakura-Hime, I'm sorry Mom I'll try to slow down."

Kakashi thought for a moment, how everything at this point was so quiet. His eye was on Sakura's hair, how the black highlights were still there. He knew she was still in mortal danger and hoped that whoever Kai communicated to would come through.

After lunch, they would get right back to work. Kakashi-Sensei asked Kai to come over and it was time for him to relieve him of the training he put him on 2 months ago.

You see, 2 months ago, Kakashi had Kai train with weighted chakra seals. Once mastered, his speed would increase tenfold. Kakashi knew Might Guy trained Rock Lee with weights so since Kai was training with seals this would be the best method. He told Kai going forward to wear them every day, with the exception being when he went to bed. Each of them would weigh about 50 pounds on the arms and legs, and 100 pounds on the body.

"It weighs quite a bit, Kakashi-Sensei," Kai said, struggling to finish the sentence.

"It will for a while, but I know you will master them. Come to me in two months and I'll release them."

The moment Kakashi removed the seals, Kai's body felt lighter than a feather. He felt so nimble, he felt like he would run laps around the training field and it would take less time than before.

"Wow, it's incredible. Man, you weren't kidding when you say that it would increase my speed and my strength, thanks Sensei." Kai said.

"I figured that once you get the hang of something like that, you will gain more speed and strength to help in any battle. Guess we can call it a day."

Over the past two months, Tsunade gave Kushina her own home and Naruto would finally move out of his old apartment and moved in with his mother. Sakura would also move in so she would be in the safe vicinity of Naruto. She didn't want her parents to get mixed up with this enemy that was after her. Kai and Ino would share the apartment together. It was right above the flower shop so it was a convenient location for her.

Kai was strolling around Konoha, he was still on the lookout for any sign from his connection when he sat on a bench looking up at Hokage Monument. He sat there thinking, he feels stronger due to the effort from Naruto and his friends. His time here in Konoha has been amazing, he's found a new person who he's fallen in love with, great friends like Naruto and Sakura, a great teacher in Kakashi. He finally feels like he's found a home.

Footsteps soon interrupted his thoughts, he turned around and saw Sakura behind him.

"Hey Kai, I came to heal you after our training session. Sorry, I guess it just happened too fast."

"Thanks, Sakura, I appreciate it."

She soon healed any injury that he obtained during their training session. And after that, the two of them sat there.

"So, how has it been between you and Ino?" Sakura asks him.

"Very nice, since Ino has moved in with me, it feels like having Sena back in my life. I couldn't have asked for anything more." Kai said, with a smile. "What about you and Naruto?"

"I absolutely love it, you know when we first got into team seven I had feelings for Sasuke."

"You mean the Uchiha?" Kai asked her.

"Yeah, it was a one-sided affair. Sasuke didn't care for me in that way at the time. He was more focused on trying to get revenge on his brother. I constantly look back at that time as me being a burden on our team due to my one-sided crush on him, so when Sasuke and Naruto left the village a few years ago, I trained with Lady Hokage."

"I see, I bet it was an improvement to you. Watching you and Naruto spar earlier, I probably would have never guessed that you were that bad of a ninja. But then yet again, I never had the pleasure of meeting you guys years ago."

"Hey Kai, I was meaning to ask you a question about Kushina."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"The notes that you gave us made mention that the seal that brought her back, would link her to a hypothetical puppet master, wouldn't she be dead or back under his control?"

"I have been thinking of that as of late, to be honest, my theory is simply this, I think that when Ashimaru awoke, she used your body to bypass the resurrection seal to break any control they may have over Kushina. But did it in a way not to send Kushina back to the afterlife."

Sakura trembled, she didn't realize she had that much power now. While it felt good, it just felt too overwhelming for her. Kai noticed this and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked back and saw him smile.

"Sakura, I promise we will find a way for you to get out of this. No need to worry anymore. I know any day I will be hearing from my connection. To remove Ashimaru from you."

"Thanks for the words of confidence Kai, I appreciate it," Sakura says, getting up from the bench, she stretches her body and starts to head out. "Let us know when you find out when we should leave." She said, looking back at Kai and giving him a thumbs up. Kai returns the thumbs up.

Back at team seven's training ground, Naruto was having a friendly sparing match with Kushina. Kushina was handling going toe to toe with her son. It was mostly just for them to have fun.

"You know Naruto, I seemed to have your number the last time we did this. And last time I recalled you hardly used your shadow clones." She said, mocking him.

"I feel I don't need them to beat you." He returned the jest.

Sakura soon arrived to watch the two Uzumaki would spar. She enjoyed watching them have such a blast together.

Naruto would then produce a few shadow clones. Causing Kushina to smile and laugh.

"What's the matter, I thought you said, I feel I don't need to beat you?"

"Things change mom, you're a lot tougher than I thought."

They went at it, it didn't take long for Kushina to flatten Naruto and his clones. Sakura huffed and got up from her seat and went to check on Naruto.

"Are you alright Naruto-Kun?"

"I don't know, I could use an aspirin."

She lifted him up and sat him down. She healed him per usual.

"Next time don't be reckless, you worry me to no end."

"I'm sorry Sakura-Hime, I don't mean to. But I just can't help myself sometimes."

"Just be careful next time Naruto-Kun."

Kushina watched how these two really care for each other. Over the two months since being back, it's been wonderful watching these two interact with each other. It reminded her of the love she and Minato had for each other.

"Alright kids, I have some stuff I have to tend to. I'll see you back home." She said, giving Naruto a kiss on the cheek.

As she walked away, Sakura saw Naruto smiling.

"Hey Naruto, Kai brought up something a little while ago."

"What's that Sakura?"

"I think that when I healed Kushina a few months ago, he thinks that the enhanced chakra flowing through me at the time. Fully healed your mom, where it overrode any type of manipulation or destruction effects from the seal that the people who are trying to get to me used on her."

"You think so, Sakura?"

"It could be, Every weekend we do a check-up on her and there are no signs of a seal placed on her. So it's a possibility."

"I really do hope so Sakura-Hime."

Late that night, Ino and Kai were both sound asleep. Ino was curled up next to Kai. Both were holding each other in a tight embrace. Suddenly Kai picked up a familiar chakra signature, not an enemy by any means, but it felt familiar. He knew it could be only one person. He slowly moved out of bed, so he wouldn't interrupt Ino's sleep. He felt the signature up on the roof and sure enough, there was someone standing on the roof.

A figure stood there, wearing a white tank top and black scarf, they wore black leggings, they also wore black ninja boots, and a gigantic scroll strapped to their back. Their long black hair flowed in the wind. Red eyes looked right at Kai as he approached the figure.

"I figured it wouldn't be too long before I would get some sort of communication from you. How's it going Tsubaki?"

The beautiful woman smiled at Kai and gave him a hug.

"It's been a while Kai-Kun, sorry it took me so long but you know how it is sometimes. I thought I would send one of my blood clones to make the communication to you. Sure beats using pigeon sometimes."

"It's like I wrote in the letter I sent you, Ashimaru has officially awakened and while not as threatening as once thought, enemies are now on the move to try to take Ashimaru from Sakura Haruno. We need to find out if it will be easier to extract Ashimaru without her dying."

Tsubaki didn't take long to come up with a solution. She handed Kai a note, it will contain her address.

"Start your journey first thing tomorrow, you should be able to get to my place in less than 2 weeks if you travel by foot."

"Alright, we'll get with Lady Tsunade tomorrow and start our journey," Kai said, the clone winked at him and would vanish.

Ino was awakened by the sound of Kai packing up some stuff. She would rub her eyes and would sit up.

"Kai-Kun? What's going on?" Ino said, with a yawn. "It's 4 am, is there anywhere you're going?"

"I finally got a message from my connection. We will set out as soon as we talk to Lady Tsunade."

"Hey Kai-Kun, would it be alright if I came with you?" Ino asked.

"I don't see any trouble with it. Besides we could use more people on this mission."

Ino got out of bed and started to pack her stuff as well. It took them half an hour, but they would get all of their stuff packed and put into a storage seal. They were on their way to Kushina's to tell Naruto and Sakura about the news.

Naruto and Sakura were in bed when they heard the sound of knocking echo through Kushina's residence. Naruto would be the one to answer the door.

"Morning, who is it?" His eyes adjusted to reveal Kai and Ino. "Oh hey, what's up guys?"

"Get your stuff, my connection came through."

This caused Naruto to gather up his stuff and would wake Sakura from her sleep. The both of them started to pack. This would awaken Kushina from her sleep. She would see Kai and Ino in the living room.

"Good Morning you two, what's up?"

"Kushina, Kai finally got the message he was looking for. We will be departing soon."

"Where exactly are you guys going to?"

"As I've said in the past, it's on the outskirts of Blossom Country. There is a small cabin in a vast forest where she lives. She is considered by many to be one of the ninja world's experts when it comes to inspecting every kind of seal ever to be created. Her name is Tsubaki Kishimoto."

Kushina smiled and told them to sit down and have some breakfast before they met with Lady Hokage. Naruto and his friends would then eat one of the biggest, heartiest, meals they ever ate. Naruto would kiss his mom goodbye and Sakura would hug her farewell as well.

"Alright guys be safe." She said, waving goodbye. However, as soon as they left, she went to her bedroom and started to pack as well.

In Tsunade's office, Kai and everyone would gather and hand her the letter he finally would receive from Tsubaki. She thought about it for a moment and would agree to them heading to Blossom Country.

"Alright, the four of you will head out right away. So please be careful the lot of you."

"Will do granny, we will be back soon," Naruto said, with a smile.

Suddenly Kushina entered to room with her own travel bag.

"Hold on, I want to come as well." She said.

"Do you think that's wise Lady Kushina?" Kai asked her.

"No offense Mom, but people think that you are dead." Naruto chimed in as well.

"Nonsense, if I dawn a disguise and an alias, I should be fine. Besides, I can help with preparing food." She said, with Tsunade rubbing her temples.

"Very well, you 5 are dismissed. Have a safe journey. And remember if you fall into any trouble, find a way to get ahold of us and we'll send some reinforcements."

"Understood Tsunade-Sensei, we will." Ino and Sakura both said at the same time.

And with that, all 5 of them were on their way to Blossom Country to meet with Tsubaki to find a way to remove Ashimaru from Sakura.

For almost half a day, they stayed on track. Only making pit stops to eat and to rest up to rest their feet. They would continue through rapid rivers, mud, and rocky terrains. They would find it slowly starting to get dark. Kai and Naruto would gather up some wood to start a fire. Ino and Sakura would help Kushina clear out the area so they would have a place to sleep.

Kushina would cook dinner for the 4 of them. Sakura and Naruto sat together as did Ino and Kai as they would eat for the night.

"Amazing meal as always Kushina," Ino said, causing her to blush.

"It makes me happy I'm able to help out for you guys. Besides it's been too long since I've been away from the village."

After dinner, Naruto and Sakura would turn in early. But before they would fall asleep they would gaze at the night sky. Naruto looked over at Sakura and saw her eyes were shimmering like the night sky was.

"Nice night, you couldn't ask for a more beautiful night," Naruto said.

"Yeah, laying under the starry sky is a way to start off this mission."

"To be honest Sakura, it's amazing that you aren't worried about going to see this Tsubaki woman. Are you sure your alright about this?"

Sakura thought for a bit, she looked at Naruto with such optimism that it was infectious.

"Of course I am, I know that I'll be safe with you guys. As I said before, I know everything will work out in the end."

Naruto pulled her in close and kissed her. And stroked her hair.

"If you are content, then I am as well. Good night Sakura-Hime."

"Good night Naruto-Kun." She said as the both of them fell fast asleep.

Kai volunteered to keep an eye out for the night. Ino sat next to her boyfriend, placing her head on his shoulder. Kai noticed she started to yawn.

"If you are tired Ino-Chan, you can go to bed. I'll be fine to watch over the camp."

"No, I want to stay guard with you Kai-Kun." She said in protest.

"Alright, Alright, that's fine." He said, trying to calm her down.

As the both of them watched the fire, Ino would hold his hand and smile. She felt so complete right now. She had fallen so hard for him.

"Kai-Kun? Have you decided?"

"Decided on what may I ask Miss Yamanaka?"

"What are your gonna do after Ashimaru is extracted from Sakura, will you stay in Konoha or head back to wave?"

"It's been an amazing few months, but they have been a blast. I wish to continue the adventures, so you gonna be stuck with me for as long as you guys will allow me to?"

Ino kissed him and hugged him.

"I will allow it Mr. Komoto." She said, with the both of them laughing quietly.

After the morning hit, they were once again on the road. Kushina would dawn a baseball cap, a long-sleeved shirt, and white pants with a kunai pouch.

"You know Mom, you could have disguised yourself a bit better than that," Naruto said.

"Don't want to be too conspicuous son, I doubt I'm even in the bingo book at this point," Kushina responded.

Naruto would begin to feel a familiar presence around them. Sakura started to get that as well. Ino and Kai were unaware of it, as Kushina felt it as well.

"Hey Sakura, do you feel that weird chakra signature?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, everyone stay on guard," Sakura responded.

"Are you sure guys, I mean I don't sense anything?" Kai said.

"Yeah, you guys are acting silly. There can't be anything more than bandits in the area." Ino said.

"No, it feels very ominous," Kushina said, cracking her knuckles.

Around them was a murder of crows. All looking at them. Ino got close to Kai, He could tell she was terrified.

"Alright guys, what's with the crows?" Ino said, shaking with fear as Kai held her.

Naruto and Sakura knew very well what this could entail, so they were ready. Kushina knew what this was as well. Suddenly the crows looked at the five travelers. Their eyes dawned on the Sharingan. And would all let out a caw. They would all fly and start to assimilate the shape of a human.

"Damn it, why now, why here?" Naruto screamed as he knew who exactly it is.

The shape would finally show a man in a black cloak with red clouds. He was looking down at them. While Naruto and Sakura knew who this was, Ino and Kai didn't.

"Is that Sasuke, he has changed after all of these years," Ino said, with Sakura and Naruto looking rather pissed.

"That's not Sasuke Ino, that his older brother, Itachi Uchiha," Naruto said.