Kabuto injected another syringe into the Kimimaro's arm, he had already done so many and yet still had so many more to go before he was ready to be used. Kabuto was still uncertain what the disease was that was killing Kimimaro, even after countless hours of research and tests. Kimimaro was just a boy when he lost his entire clan and became the sole survivor. Kimimaro's lack of medical knowledge about his own clan made trying to save his life impossible, death was inevitable and close.

"What does Lord Orochimaru require of me?" Kimimaro questioned. He laid still on the hospital bed and allowed Kabuto to continue his work.

"You are to extract a high value target for Lord Orochimaru. His body is dying and cannot be sustained by medical treatment any longer."

"…He needs a new vessel."

Kabuto nodded as he continued to work, time of was the essence. "Yes, a younger and stronger body that will sustain him for years to come." Kabuto noted his patient's faint solemn look. "Lord Orochimaru always wanted to have you as a vessel, Kimimaro. You were the best out of the Sound Five. But this illness is killing you fast. If you had known more about your own clan then maybe I could have created a cure for you. You would have been a perfect vessel for Lord Orochimaru."

Kimimaro remained silent, choosing not to argue with his superior. Kabuto continued his work for another hour before Kimimaro had the ability to stand on his own, even then he still needed more injections to walk.

"It does not matter." Kimimaro began to will himself forward. He knew no number of drugs were pumped into his system or what kind of medical treatment Kabuto had planned for him, Kimimaro wasn't going to live much longer. "As long as I can be useful to Lord Orochimaru while I am still alive, I'll die peacefully." The more he moved, the less pain he felt. Maybe the drugs were doing something.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses as Kimimaro began to slowly put together his gear and clothes. "You'll be heading into Konoha. There will be strong ninja that will try and stop you if you are found out. Try and get the target alone and take him quietly with minimal injuries. I don't need to heal him while trying to keep Lord Orochimaru alive."

Kimimaro zipped up his lavender long sleeved shirt. "What's the timetable?"

"No longer than forty-eight hours. I can't keep Lord Orochimaru's body alive much longer."

"Who's the target?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

-Konoha, Hokage's office-

With the events of the last twenty-four hours behind them, Tsunade could finally start getting the village back on track. There were many things to be done that took priority but the first female Hokage decided to start with the issue that had been at the front of her mind. It was such an important issue that she had her top advisor, Shikaku Nara, there with her.

"So Sunagakure wants to discuss a peace treaty?" Tsunade questioned the Sand sibling trio before her.

Gaara stepped forward to answer. "That is correct. The Suna high shinobi and civilian councils have come together and decided Konoha makes a better ally than enemy. We were manipulated by Orochimaru and blinded by our Kazekage's orders. And in the end, it meant nothing. We lost many shinobi, including our Kazekage…our father."

"Speaking on behave of Konoha, we're sorry for your loss." Tsunade answered.

The trio nodded in thanks. "As we are for the loss of your Third Hokage." Temari stated. "During the month we spent in Konoha before the final round of the Chūnin Exams, we gathered that he was very well loved and was incredibly involved in day to day life of the villagers. I can only imagine what that did for the population."

"Shinobi and villager morale never were something we had to worry about under the Sandaime." Shikaku answered. "But Lady Tsunade has been doing tremendously well since she took office. Villagers have adjusted well and welcomed her with open arms."

"Thank you for the kind words Shikaku." Tsunade said. "But we're getting off topic. Does Suna have any demands for this peace treaty?"

Kankurō was the one to answer this question. "The council would like things to return to normal, to having no animosity towards each other. They would also like to reopen our trade routes between our villages."

That caught Shikaku's attention. "Reopen trading? It's been years since Suna and Konoha have traded with each other."

"Suna has suffered greatly because of it." Temari stated. "Sunagakure isn't exactly in the best place for farming. Suna needs a main line for natural foods, medical herbs, and many other things that we can't grow ourselves."

"How has Sunagakure been surviving then?" Tsunade was genuinely curious, she hasn't had much time to look into other villages ways of trading and economic prosperity.

"Local merchants and other small-time villages within the Land of Wind and some in the surrounding lands." Kankurō answered. "It's been very inconsistent over the last several years. Suna has been having to put most of its money into trading and nothing else. Trading with another major village again would boost Suna's economy and allow for more funding into other aspects of the village."

Shikaku stepped forward, showing his complete interest and attention. "What's in it for Konoha and the Land of Fire?"

Gaara hardened his look. "Name your price."

That answer surprised both Tsunade and Shikaku. They were willing to agree to anything. That is an extremely desperate move by the Suna high council. But there was no immediate need for anything that Suna could offer to Konoha, and the Land of Fire as a whole. It was laid out, in detail, that Sunagakure was hurting financially and did not have much to offer in the ways of trading.

Shikaku knelt and whispered into Tsunade's ear. Tsunade listened intently before leaning back to respond by whispering back. The trio waited patiently as the two discussed.

The Nara clan leader and Jōnin Commander stood back to his full height and looked at the three genin. "What's Suna's full shinobi force look like?"

That was a question the three weren't necessarily expecting but were prepared to answer nonetheless. Temari was the first to answer. "As in terms of numbers, Suna have shinobi in the low twenty thousand. We have many battled experienced shinobi and many promising academy students that will graduate within the next few months."

"What about capabilities? Strengths and weaknesses."

Kankurō spoke next. "Suna shinobi are known for Futon jutsus and are resilient in battle. Suna shinobi are very offensive in battle. But that can leave openings or not analyzing everything about the opponent. The academy have begun to train away from that in recent times."

"What about special capabilities for mass causality?" Both Temari and Kankurō looked at each other curiously yet with concerned eyes. That told Shikaku that they were not aware of what he already knew. "I figured as much. It is an older secret. But I'm sure the three of you will learn about them soon enough."

"Are you talking about the Tailed Beast?" Gaara questioned. He wanted to be sure that they were not wanting that beast, that was one of the few rules to their treaty.

Shikaku shook his head. "No." His answer was simple and left no room for question. "I've had my questions answered. What about you, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade crossed her hands in front of her face and leaned forward on her elbows. "Konoha will accept Suna's offer of peace on one condition."

Gaara nodded. "And that is?"

"Before that, there's vital pieces of information you must know. What I am about to tell you three is top secret information, not even our own council knows this information yet. After giving you this information, you will be able to decide if you accept or not. But no matter what, the information does not leave this room. Understand?"

The sibling trio nodded sternly, leaving without a peace treaty intact was not an option for them. It meant everything for them individually and Sunagakure as a whole. The council gave them strict orders to accept any demand Konoha gave them unless it pertained to the Tailed Beast inside of Gaara or giving away their own top-secret information. Even then, they were still instructed to accept the demands if they were reasonable.

"Not too long ago, our sources discovered information about two great villages making an alliance for military purposes. Kumogakure and Iwagakure have been building up their shinobi forces over recent years and are beginning to mobilize."

"For what purpose?" Kankurō questioned.

"For war, Kankurō." Gaara answered. "My assumption is that Konoha would be the target."

Tsunade smirked. "That's a good guess. You're correct. Tensions have been high and our relationships with both villages were never good after the Third Shinobi War. We had treaties in place that kept the peace but there was nothing done to ever fix relationships. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before Iwagakure or Kumogakure made some sort of move towards war."

"Why are you telling us this?" Temari questioned. "Why are you telling us, simple genin, before your own council?"

"Because we need an ally of our own." Tsunade said, watching all the information click simultaneously inside the sibling's heads. "And the reason I'm telling you three before Konoha's council is because I'd rather bring a declaration of war from two great villages with some type of plan in place than nothing at all."

There was a hard silence that followed because what seemed like the weight of the world fell onto the genin's shoulders. History could be made or lost and it all depended on the next few words spoken.

"Temari…Kankurō…leave us. I would like to speak to them alone."

"But Gaara-" Kankurō tried to argue but was stopped when Temari placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course, Gaara. We'll be right outside." The two left their youngest brother in the room with Hokage and her advisor.

Tsunade and Shikaku were curious, to say the least, about why the jinchūriki of the One-Tail wanted to speak to them by himself. Maybe he knew something the other two did not.

"Lady Hokage, are you aware of the choosing process for the Kazekage?"

"Vaguely. It's been a really long time since I've been to Sunagakure and I haven't had the time to study up on other village's customs." Tsunade remembered that Jiraiya had mentioned this very thing not that long ago.

"The position of Kazekage has been a family tradition since our very creation under the First Kazekage. There has only ever been one outsider to grace the title. After the Third Kazekage went missing during the Third Shinobi War, his son was to be the successor. But my father, Rasa, challenged him and won the title of Kazekage."

Shikaku was starting to put the pieces together. "Does that make you or one of your siblings next in line? Is that what your trying to say?"

Gaara nodded. "Because my father was an outsider, a new lineage began with him. But to answer your question, that's what Temari and Kankurō think. I know something different."

Tsunade was able to see the rest. "Suna's council has already chosen you to be the next Kazekage. That's why they sent you and not someone more high ranking."

Gaara nodded again. "Negotiating a peace treaty between our two lands was a test to see how I could handle diplomacy."

Shikaku snickered. "You call that negotiating? You said we could make any demand and you'd agree with them."

"Those were the council's instructions. Sunagakure needs this treaty this just as much as Konohagakure does. A deal needs to be made or it could spell the end for both our villages."

Tsunade let out a heavy sigh. "You're more right than I want you to be. We do need each other." The Hokage stood from her desk and moved to stand directly in front of Gaara. "Konohagakure agrees to the terms Sunagakure has laid out." She extended her hand. "What say you, Kazekage? Will you be our ally in the coming battles?"

Showing some emotion for the first time during this entire meeting, Gaara smirked and shook the Hokage's hand. "Sunagakure agrees as well."

Shikaku closed his eyes and smiled in approval. Now he can create more strategies that involve the Hidden Sand. Tsunade moved back to seat behind her desk but could not get rid of the proud smirk of her face. "Now that's out of the way I can finally inform the council about everything. Not a day goes by I don't dread doing it. Don't you agree, Shikaku?"

The Nara clan leader sighed. "Yes, it will be troublesome."

Tsunade sighed as well. "After that meeting has taken place, and I don't plan on postponing it much longer, I'll send the proper paperwork and we'll iron out the smaller details. I'm sure the council will want to put their spin on the treaty. I'll try minimize that as much as I can."

Gaara nodded appreciatively. "Thank you."

Tsunade nodded. "I suppose that's everything then. I bet you want to get back to Sunagakure as soon as you can."

"Actually, my siblings and I were hoping to stay the day and leave tomorrow morning. We just arrived last night and need the day to rest and refill our supplies."

Tsunade was more than happy to oblige. "That's not going to be an issue, especially after what you did for us against Orochimaru."

Gaara bowed, respectively. "Thank you Lady Tsunade, Master Shikaku. If you need us for anything, please don't hesitate to come find us." With those parting words, Gaara left the office.

Tsunade stood from her chair and grabbed her green jacket that was hanging on the back of her chair. "I'm sure you have much to do now so you're excused now, Shikaku."

Shikaku nodded. "Now that we have Suna on our side, I'm going to come with more concrete battle strategies. I'll be busy for a while. I'll be in my office." Shikaku left the door open behind him.

Tsunade put on her green jacket and followed. 'I should go see how Jiraiya is doing. I'm sure he's driving Shizune and the other nurses nuts by now.'

-Konoha Hospital-

"Even while injured from previous battles, I was still able to fight at a high level and save my fellow shinobi from certain doom!" Jiraiya proudly proclaimed to the small group of nurses that were intently listening to his story of heroism from he called 'his glory days'. "Then I held off the enemy while comrades escaped to safety."

"You're so brave, Master Jiraiya!" One of the nurses gushed.

"And strong too!" Another nurse yelled like a schoolgirl.

While the nurses continued to completely fangirl over the Toad Sannin and his heroic tale, Tsunade was standing outside the hospital room and listened. And no matter how many times she's seen or heard him trying to court a female, or a group in this instance, it always annoyed her, and she even felt a twinge of jealously. But that was her own fault she felt that way. She gave him a chance once, but it just was not the right time and did not work out.

Pushing those memories to the side, Tsunade slide the door the rest of the way open and entered the room. She put on her doctor personality that demanded respect. "Why are there so many nurses in this one room when you all have other patients to attend to?"

The nurses all looked ashamed, but Jiraiya was quick to try and bail them out from a scolding. "That was my fault, Tsunade. I shouldn't have kept telling stories when they had jobs to do."

"Oh, they knew what they were doing." The blonde Hokage walked through the nurses and stood before Jiraiya's bed. "Storytime's over ladies. Get back to work." The group hurried out of the room and rushed back to work.

The Toad Sannin sighed. "It's rare when I can boast about my adventures like that, it feels good sometimes. I'm proud of my actions that day."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't peep on me for your 'research' before missions and maybe you won't injured."

"…I have no idea what you're talking about."

Tsunade smirked as she checked over his charts. "The last of the poison will, if it hasn't already, be filtered out of your body as long as you keep taking the medication. As for your stab wound, how do you feel?"

Jiraiya felt over his bandaged midsection. "It's still pretty sore. But considering that if it wasn't for you I would be dead or dying, I'm not going to complain. I'm still impressed by your medical ninjutsu, even though I've seen you in action for years."

Tsunade shrugged as she changed out the IV bag. "It wasn't that hard. I just isolated the poison and slowed the blood to your extremities, which in turn slowed your blood loss from your wound. That gave more time to close the wound while extracting the poison from your bloodstream."

Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle. "For any other medical ninja that's stuff of legends. You really are the best."

Even though the Sannin was blushing slightly, her modesty took over. "No, the First Hokage was the best. I pale in comparison to my grandfather."

"Still, to be in the same conversation with him is nothing to ignore. He was a shinobi truly worthy to be called 'God of Shinobi'."

It had been so long since the two of them had been able to just sit down and talk. It was a nice feeling for the two Sannin to have again.

"Do you think someone will ever be able to live up to the First's legacy? Hell, even Minato's?" Tsunade questioned absentmindedly, not expecting a legitimate answer.

"Naruto can."

Tsunade couldn't begin to fathom the shock she felt. That was a statement that carried so much weight behind it. "W-What?"

Jiraiya nodded with the utmost confidence. "I know he's young and still has a lot to learn. But I have this strong feeling deep in the pit of my gut. He's the one."

The memories clicked in Tsunade's brain as the words left Jiraiya's mouth. "Are you talking about that prophecy from when you were a kid?" Jiraiya's silence answered her question. She sighed. "Are you still on that? I'm not saying I don't believe Naruto will be a great ninja one day but your last two pupils didn't-"

"Are you really going to lecture me? You gave him that necklace. The last two people who've worn that necklace…" As much as he wanted to finish that sentence, Jiraiya knew better. "I know in the bottom of heart and soul that Naruto will be great. He will be the one that finally whips the world into shape and stops this madness."

It was so rare that Jiraiya conveyed his deepest thoughts and emotions to someone. Tsunade was intent on listening to his every word. "How are you so sure? What makes Naruto different from them?"

"Because he has to be. Naruto needs to be the one who breaks the mold and achieves what the others couldn't."

"What does he need to achieve?" Tsunade questioned.

"Peace and understanding."

Suddenly, Shizune burst through the door with a frantic look on her face and panic extruding from her body. "Lady Tsunade! Come quick!"

Tsunade snapped around in full doctor mode. "What is it, Shizune?!"

"Chōji Akimichi's condition has worsened! He needs you immediately!"

Tsunade nodded and quickly followed. She stopped at the door and momentarily glanced at Jiraiya. "We'll finish this later." She said before rushing down the hall to save the boy's life.

-With Naruto-

The spiky haired blonde continuously fidgeted with the busted lock on his apartment door to try get it locked so he would not get robbed while he was out. But it really didn't matter if he locked it or not, the door would just be broke off the hinges, like it always was, and the robbers would make entry anyway. Naruto finally was able to get it locked and continued his way to meet up with his team.

The boy wondered why Kakashi called this meet up for. It was a bit strange honestly. Konoha was just one day removed from a full-scale assault from Orochimaru. But if it was important enough to cause the full team to meet up then it must be worth it.

Naruto made his through the village, towards the training grounds, but could not help but notice the stares the villagers, and even some shinobi, were giving him. He was well used to the stares by now. He could even hear them talking about him. Sometimes he hated this sensitive hearing.

"I still can't believe he was promoted to chūnin…"

"The village really must be desperate for ninja if he's a chūnin…"

"I'm pretty sure I saw him attacking other Konoha ninja yesterday…"

"I also heard the beast in him was let loose and Master Jiraiya was able to stop him before anything bad could happen. We really need to be careful from now on…"

Naruto kept his head down and walked on, choosing not to engage.

'Nothing I do matters to them…'

-Outskirts of Konoha-

Kimimaro was able to find a good vantage point that overlooked a good portion of Konohagakure. He had been informed by Kabuto that the village was on high alert from Orochimaru's assault and he's seen the roaming patrols on the wall surrounding village. He has also seen a couple openings that would allow him to slip through undetected but decided to wait.

'If I made entrance now then I could be easily spotted.' Kimimaro thought. 'But I need time to search for the Uchiha. Searching in the daylight will be just as difficult searching after nightfall. I can't waste anymore time.'

Feeling the deadline was closer than it was, Kimimaro waited for his opportunity and leapt into the village and began his search for his target.

-With Team Seven-

All four members of Team Seven stood before their sensei, waiting for him to tell them why he called them to the training grounds. They were only one day removed from fights of their lives, none of them could imagine that this meeting was about training. Or at least they were hoping it wasn't.

"So, what's this meeting about, Kakashi?" Sasuke was the first to voice his confusion.

"Yeah, sensei?" Sakura chimed in. "I was hoping to have the day off, especially what we went through yesterday."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you three about." The silver-haired jōnin said, standing there with both hands in his pockets. "The three of you have been through a lot in the last few weeks. From Sakura traveling with Master Jiraiya to bring back Lady Tsunade to myself, Sasuke, and Naruto being hospitalized from fight two rouge ninja. I'd say the three of you have some well-earned time off."

"Seriously?!" Sakura questioned, overjoyed. Even Sasuke felt like a little time off would be beneficial. The only one that didn't look happy about the news was Naruto. He had barely said a word the entire time the team was waiting, he just looked lost in thought. And it was something everyone took notice too.

Kakashi nodded. "I'm going to talk to the Hokage about it but I'm sure she'll be on board with it. My plan would be to give you a week off completely then take it slow for training the following week before going back into missions on a regular basis. Now that doesn't you can't train in general. Time off is time off, use it as you see fit. Like you would normally. How does that sound?"

"That's a great idea Kakashi sensei!" Sakura was ecstatic. Her parents had been bugging her that she was never home anymore. Taking a few days to spend time with them would be perfect. "Don't you think, Sasuke?"

"Taking a day or two off doesn't sound too bad." The Uchiha prodigy answered. Naruto remained silent, lost in his head.

"There's talks about there being a festival a few days from now." Kakashi recalled.

"A festival?" Sakura questioned. "Now, that would be fun. There hasn't been a festival in a long time. What do you guys think? Do you want to go as a team?"

Sasuke shrugged, meaning he was indifferent and that it didn't matter if they went together or separate. Sakura understood the gesture and turned to Naruto for his answer but did not receive one. Both Sasuke and Kakashi turned their attention to the silent blonde.

"Naruto? Are you listening?" Sakura moved to stand directly in Naruto's line of sight, finally snapping him out of his trance.

"Hm? What did you say?"

"Were you paying attention at all to what Kakashi sensei was saying?" Sakura asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Naruto's demeanor didn't change. "N-No, I wasn't. Sorry."

Sakura backed off slightly. Naruto never acted like this. He just looked so sad. Something was obviously bothering him.

"Is there something on your mind, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, voicing his concern. "We are a team and teams have to trust one another-"

"Yeah yeah, I know, sensei. You don't have keep repeating yourself. I'm just not…comfortable talking about it with other people."

Sakura cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean, Naruto?"

"I just…never had someone to talk to about this type of thing. I wasn't sure who I could talk to about this."

Sasuke chimed in. "If this is a bodily issue than you can just keep that to yourself. Everyone goes through it at some point in their lives."

Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke's comment and sighed. "Just forget it. It's nothing."

Sakura glared at Sasuke, a relatively rare thing to occur. "Ignore him, Naruto. Please, tell us what's bothering you. We're a team, you can trust us with anything."

The blonde in question remained silent for quite some time. They could tell he was contemplating what he was about to say.

"I…wasn't strong enough."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto sighed again, as if he was ashamed of what he was about to say. "I let Orochimaru use me as damn puppet and attack the village. I really fucked up…"

Sakura recalled the events of yesterday and what she had to go through to break him free of Orochimaru's jutsu. She already tried to convince him, but it seems he still needed some reassurance. "Naruto…none of that was your fault."

"But it was, Sakura!" Naruto finally snapped. "If I was stronger than Orochimaru wouldn't have been able to mess with my head! I hurt people!"

All three were taken back out Naruto's outburst, it seemed this was something was really bothering him. They remained silent as he continued.

"And the villagers couldn't give a shit about what I do! Whenever something bad happens they end up blaming me for it, even if I had nothing to do with it!" Naruto wanted to say more but he stopped himself. "I'm just so damn frustrated…I need to be by myself for a little bit." The blonde turned and began to walk away from his team.

Sakura moved to go after him but Kakashi stopped her by placing his hand on his shoulder. She looked back at her sensei and he shook his head. "Give him some time. He had a lot on his mind."

"But I promised-"

"He's not alone, Sakura. We're all here for him and are ready to listen. Just give Naruto time to cool off and calm down. Then go talk to him. I suggest both of you go together. It'll be better for him and you two as well."

The two young teenagers nodded in understanding and turned back to their sensei.

"Do have anything else for us sensei?" Sasuke questioned.

The silver haired jōnin shook his head and pulled out his favorite book. "No, that's it. I apologize for the timing today. I will reach out when something comes up. See ya." The man vanished gracefully in a swirl of leaves, leaving the two teammates alone in the field.

Seeing how there was no point in just standing there, Sakura decided to move things along. "Do you think Naruto's calmed down enough to talk to us, Sasuke?"

Sasuke took notice of the time of day, night was just about to take over. "Let's give him the night, Sakura. We'll go see him first thing in the morning."

"A-Are you sure?"

Sasuke could see the concern in Sakura's eyes. He nodded. "I'm positive. He will be more levelheaded about things after getting some rest. He just needs some time to himself."

Sakura nodded slightly. She wanted to help Naruto through this, but she knew Sasuke had a point. She trailed behind Sasuke as he led the way.

"I've finally found you, Sasuke Uchiha."

The two teammates froze and instantly went into battle sense and stood back to back, with minimal space between them. They scanned the surrounding area for any suspicious activity. The moon light helped slightly but the advantage was with the mystery person.

"Who's there?!" Sakura called out.

"Show yourself!" Sasuke demanded.

"As you command, Lord Sasuke."

The voice came from their blind spot. Neither of them had time to react. The man hit Sakura with a powerful kick and launched her away, leaving Sasuke alone with him. Sasuke's two tome Sharingan manifested itself in record time and gave Sasuke ability to block the man's next attack. He tried to pull away but the man and already grabbed ahold of Sasuke.

"Let me go!" Sasuke shouted as he struggled to break free.

"I apologize for this Lord Sasuke, but I don't have time to play." Kimimaro fiercely grabbed ahold of Sasuke's knee. And immediately a sharp object the boy's knee and pierced through clear to the other side.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Sasuke screamed in agony as he was dropped to the ground. He clutched his profusely bleeding wound.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted. She was no doctor but even she could tell that Sasuke's knee was done for. "Who are you and what do you want?!"

"You are of no concern to me. Leave now and your life will be spared."

Sakura drew her kunai from her thigh holster, showing her intent to fight.

Kimimaro looked at the girl emotionless as he extended his hand. A sharp white object pierced through the palm of his hand and he gripped it like a sword.

Sakura looked on in dismay. "Is that a bone?!"

Kimimaro pointed the bone sword at the pinkette. "This is my kekkei genkai." He began to move towards her. "Now…let's dance!"

Sakura blinked and Kimimaro was practically on top of her. She considered herself lucky when she blocked the first few attacks. But it was clear that Sakura was completely outmatched, this man's taijutsu was off the charts. She tried to jump away but Kimimaro was quick to grab her like he did Sasuke. There was no wasted movement and there was no time to save herself.

"L-Let her go!" Sasuke shouted, reaching out in a desperate attempt to save her.

"I don't dance with trash."

Sakura felt a brief searing pain before her shock took over and everything went numb. She barely registered that she was dropped to the ground and she could faintly hear Sasuke screaming in anger. Everything felt cold, and she felt paralyzed.

Kimimaro had no time to spare, he needed to start the ritual. He calmly walked back over to Sasuke, while simultaneously grabbing a small jar of pills from his pouch. Sasuke was already writhing in pain so this next part wasn't going to be too difficult.

Kimimaro knelt down closer to his target. "Don't worry, Sasuke. The pain will only last for a little while. Once I'm done with the ritual, you'll be more powerful and fully healed. And it's all thanks to Lord Orochimaru."

Sasuke snarled at the man. "Fuck you! I'm not doing anything for that bastard after what you just did to Sakura! You're gonna pay for that!"

Kimimaro fiercely gripped Sasuke's jaw and held his mouth open. He popped open the jar and a single flick of his thumb. "You will bend to Lord Orochimaru's bidding." Kimimaro dumped the pills into Sasuke's mouth and force fed them down his throat. "Everyone will bend to Orochimaru's bidding."

As soon as the pills slid down Sasuke's throat, he instantly began to thrash and grab at his throat in more intense pain.

'I have to be quick or this was all for nothing.'

Kimimaro pulled out a small scroll, unrolled it, and slammed his hand on the seal that was etched onto the paper. A large cylinder casket, with an equal sized purple belt around it and different black seals on it, appeared in plume of white smoke. He quickly put Sasuke in the casket and jumped away.

Executing a series of hand seals, Kimimaro created a dark seal barrier over the opening of the casket that incased Sasuke inside. And for an added measure, he placed seal barrier tags around the casket as well. Kimimaro placed his hand on the casket and took a moment to catch his breath.

'I wasn't sure I was going to be able to pull that off. Normally, a sealing barrier requires four users. I hope that doesn't hinder the process overall. He needs to be a deep coma for his body to get used to the increase to Level Two or else he will die…'

Finally, being able to catch his breath, Kimimaro hoisted the casket onto his shoulder and jumped away into the night…

Leaving the still bleeding Sakura alone in the field…

"SAKURA!"