Sasuke had been training with Orochimaru for the past year or so. One of the objectives of his masterplan was to defeat the Snake Sannin as he had done before but this time, it was different. It wasn't a test of power (maybe partly) but he was now doing it for Konoha. So he made sure that he knew where all his bases were located, all his experiments and jutsus. He feigned to worship him despite being the arrogant emo boy he was. It was only a matter of time until he tore down the entire empire to the ground. He was going to leave no stone unturned. He documented all his discoveries, memorizing them with his Sharingan before writing it down and sealing it in a scroll. He then gave the scroll to Garuda, his hawk, who would take the scroll back to his summoning world. Another year and he would start destroying his empire bit by bit.

Kabuto had told him that Orochimaru wanted him to meet his latest apprentice, an Uzumaki girl called Karin. He remembered that he had saved her in the Forest of Death during the chunin exams. He met her earlier in this timeline. He secretly hoped that she wouldn't be a fangirl like in the previous timeline unfortunately it was not so. The girl had blushed as red as her hair when she saw him. Seriously, he didn't know what was attractive about him that he attracted girls wherever he went. Maybe it was his bad boy attitude but who would love a guy who didn't bat a single eyelash at her existence? Currently, he was on his way to Kabuto's lab where he was testing Karin on making poisons. He passed by Suigetsu's tank which was in the same lab.

"Hey there Sasuke, long time no see," his voice sounded from the tank. He could turn his body into water and he was constantly in his liquid form. The Uchiha ignored him. "No greeting today? I thought we're friends," he spoke again with a pout in his voice. "But I'd understand why you're so eager to go there. There aren't many attractive females around here," he added. Sasuke stopped to look at the tank. Suigetsu's face came into view. "I didn't think that I was attractive to you, maybe to Sasuke-kun," Karin said as she walked into view, standing beside Sasuke.

"I didn't say you were attractive, you pig. You're just better looking than the gaurds," he snickered. "Hey! Take that back, you good for nothing spoon of saliva," she spat. "You need better swear words than that for me to be shaken," he retorted. The redhead rolled her eyes. "How was your test? Did you pass?" the Uchiha asked. 'Oh my gosh! Sasuke-kun wants to know how I did on my test!' she squealed inwardly. "It was nothing. I could've done it with my eyes closed," she said as she looked at her nails. "As if," Suigetsu snorted. "Hey!" Karin snapped. "My my Karin. I remember telling you not to lie at all times. You failed that test miserably," Kabuto said as he came into view, adjusting his glasses. Karin mimicked the action. "You don't have to say that in front of Sasuke-kun," she pouted. "I've been sent by Orochimaru-sama to call all of you to his lair. He has a mission for the three of you," he told them as he looked down at his genin attire. It was old and worn out. He needed to get a new set of clothes.

"Well, then we better hurry. We wouldn't want to keep Orochimaru-sama waiting," Kabuto spoke. "Hey, what about me?" Suigetsu asked. "We have no space for a bucket of water. Why don't you stay in your fish tank where you are useful?" the redhead shot back with a smirk. Suigetsu was about to protest but the Uchiha beat him to it. "You have a separate mission with me. Karin will be going with Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto," he told him. The Kiri nin cheered whilst Karin sulked. "Why do I have to go with them? I want to go with my age mates!" she protested.


"Our mission is to collect a scroll from his informant. We take the scroll then we leave, nothing more," Sasuke explained. "Sure thing captain," Suigetsu mock-saluted. They were in a small village in Tea Country. The fourteen-year old made sure that everything was in place before jumping down from the tree they were currently crouching in. The other boy followed suit and they entered the village. Sasuke had changed into a navy blue high collared t-shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back, never forget the fan. He wore black pants with grey chest armor along with his sword, the Kusanagi, strapped to his side. Surprisingly, the Snake Sannin had given him the sword earlier. Maybe it had something to do with his progress.

The two teens entered the village wearing long dark cloaks. It was slightly cold. The small village was peaceful from what Sasuke observed. "We'll meet the informant at midnight then we go back to the lair. You have four hours until we regroup, spend your time wisely," the Uchiha said. "You're allowing me to do whatever I want? I thought you'd have me on a leash or something," Suigetsu spoke, showing his surprise. Sasuke gave an inaudible grunt. "You know, I guess you're not so bad after all," the white-haired ninja said with a grin. Sasuke waved him off. He could track him down at any given moment.

He passed by a stall which was selling anko dumplings. "You look like you need anko dumplings, my boy. Here, try one for free," the old woman said as she stretched out her hand. The dumplings were white, orange, pink and blue. It reminded him of his team, Team 7. He rarely thought about them, not because he didn't want to but because he didn't want to suffer a severe case of home sickness. He took it and thanked the lady for her kindness before continuing his trek in the village. It was then that he noticed a flash of pink from the corner of his eyes he almost missed it.

He stopped. There was one person in the whole of Fire Country whom he knew had pink hair. It was Sakura. He stalked towards the corner he'd seen her disappear as he covered his head with his hood. There was a shout and a crash then several groans. He covered himself with a genjutsu and peeked into the corner, catching the familiar sight of the sleeveless red qipao dress with a white circle on the back. The pink hair was slightly long, brushing past the shoulders. There was no doubt about it, it was Sakura alright if you counted the chakra which was screaming bloody murder.

In front was a group of seven men, all unconscious except for one. "You better tell me where the hideout is located otherwise I'm cutting your family jewels and I mean it," she said as she unsheathed a short katana which was strapped to her left thigh. That was new, he didn't remember Sakura ever having a katana in the previous timeline. "If you think a pathetic excuse of a ninja like you whose focus is on their looks rather than how to be a better shinobi, then I'd rather die than tell you anything," he said as he spat a bloody tooth at her. "You just don't seem to get it, do you?" she asked as she put her blade to his throat. "The hideout is just north of this village, at an abandoned warehouse which was used by Orochimaru. It's for housing captured girls for experimenting on recreating genes," she told him monotonously. "How did you..." he trailed as his eyes widened fearfully. "I was confirming something and you did the job for me," she said as she slashed her katana across his throat, blood spurting all over her dress.

"I can look pretty while kicking ass, you scum," she said as she kicked his lifeless body. "Damn, I got blood all over my dress. I have to get a new attire," she muttered as she wiped the blade on her dress before sheathing it. She turned around. "You don't have to hide. I know you're there. You can't hide from me using a genjutsu," she called out. Sasuke dispelled the genjutsu and came into view, with the cloak still covering his face. "Who are you?" she asked as she put one hand on her hip. "My identity doesn't concern you," he replied in a clipped tone. "Does that explain why you were spying on me?" she said as she walked towards him. However, instead of stopping in front of him, she passed by him. His Sakura would never do that. She wasn't aware whom she was speaking to.

"Aren't you going to dispose of those bodies?" he asked as he flash-stepped to walk beside her. "No, if the others find them, it's all good for me. It's a warning of what I'll do if I ever find out that you're working for Orochimaru," she said as she clenched her fist unconsciously. "Orochimaru?" he asked, his interest piqued. "Well, it isn't exactly a secret so I'll tell you. I've been sent by my master to stop the trafficking of girls by Orochimaru in this area. That snake is kidnapping girls at an alarming rate. He uses them to recreate genes by taking their eggs and then doing Kami-knows-what with them in order to create whatever psychotic idea he has. And so I found his base after I saw three girls being captured by the men I killed earlier. I followed them and the rest is history," she spoke as she tore off the lower half of her dress. It wouldn't do her any good walking with a bloody dress around town.

"Aren't you shaken that you've just killed someone's father perhaps?" he asked, curious as to what her reply was. He had to admit, he had never seen this version of Sakura and it scared him a little. "Well, I just put a lid on my emotions when I'm doing stuff like this. This is actually my first time and I don't want to mess up. In all honesty, I'm a medic. Killing someone isn't my thing but if need requires then I'll have to," she said as the two began walking towards the gates. "I took this mission because of Orochimaru. He took someone very precious from me. I just wanted to vent out my anger by disrupting his activities," she told him as they stopped at the gates. "Someone precious?" he asked. She gave him a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head. "If I told you it was a boy, you'd probably laugh at me but it's the truth. I may not show it to my friends but deep down inside, I feel like a part of me died when he left," she said with a chuckle. She looked at him straight in the eye. "I usually don't go around telling people my feelings like I did now but for some unspoken reason, I felt I could talk to you. I'm a weirdo, aren't I?" she laughed as she bonked herself on top of her head.

"I guess this is where we part ways. I have to evacuate the girls and deliver them to the village head then destroy the base. So, farewell," she said as she turned around and began walking towards the forest. "Wait," he called out. She stopped and turned to look at him. The moon wasn't full yet it provided enough light for him to carefully analyze her face. She looked exactly the same as he had left her but he knew that inside her heart, she wasn't the same teen he had left. "I'll help you," he suggested. "Why?" she asked. "Because I said so," he replied in a clipped tone. "Give me any reason to trust you. For all I know, you could be working for Orochimaru himself and have been sent to kill me or you're just an enemy ninja," the kunoichi retorted as her eyes narrowed perceptively. "I'm neither of those, just a nobody who shares the same interests as you," he replied. "And what are those?" she asked. "I want to destroy Orochimaru's empire."


She had agreed that he could join her on the condition that she would kill him if he did anything funny. Deep down inside, she knew she stood a snowball's chance in hell against him if his chakra reserves were anything to go by but she had to appear tough. She had to lock away her emotions when she took the lives of those men. If that boy hadn't been spying on her, she would've broken down in a fit of tears. "I'll take out the gaurds. Just get the girls out of the base. Five minutes and then come out," he told her. The pinkette looked at him quizzically. "If we're doing this, shouldn't I at least know your name or see your face?" she said. They were standing just below the hideout. "I can't tell you my name or show my face," he replied. "What? Are you hiding an ugly scar or something?" she teased. "Let's just say I have a face you don't want to see at this moment in time," he retorted. "Mmmmm, I guess you're really ugly," she said with a pout.

The boy took out the gaurds at the entrance and she raced towards the cell she had the seen girls locked up. She found fifteen girls in total. "Are you here to take another one of us? If so, I refuse to let you take another one. Take me instead," a certain brunette said as soon as she came into view. Her heart broke at their poor state. "No, take me. Just don't take Sayaka-san. She's the village head's daughter," a girl with red hair piped in. Soon enough, all of them were making noise, wanting to get out. "I'm going to break you out but you have to be quiet," she said acting as though she hadn't heard them. Murmurs sounded amongst the girls. The first girl, Sayaka, decided to speak. "Are you really going to break us out?" she asked, her tone hopeful. Sakura wanted to reply but doing so would be starting a very long conversation. "Are there more of you?" the kunoichi asked. "There are some boys who got captured when I was captured but I don't know where they are. The rest of the girls were already taken. We were fifty, now we're only fifteen," Sayaka replied. Sakura nodded her head in understanding.

Using her chakra enhanced strength, she bent the metal bars, creating enough space for three girls to come out at once. "Stay here whilst I look for the boys. If I don't come back in the next two minutes, I want you to run out of here. Go down this hall, take two lefts turns, three right and then you're out. Got it?" the pinkette instructed. Sayaka nodded. Sakura sensed for chakra signatures within the vicinity, there were seven in total with another one snuffing out of existence. She decided to go where there were three signatures huddled. She found two boys in a room, each of them tied up to a chair and gagged. Another one was sleeping on a hospital bed. She shook the two boys awake. She cut the ropes and removed their gags. "Do you remember what happened before you came here?" she asked the sober of the two. He shook his head no. "I want you and your friend to run out of here. Do you understand me?" she said. He nodded. She gave him the direction and soon enough, the boys were out of the room.

She turned to the boy sleeping on the hospital bed. Several tubes were connected to him. She didn't want to mess with whatever wicked things were being done to him. She checked the IV to see what was being fed into him. As soon as she touched the bag, his eyes snapped open. Immediately, burn marks began to spread all over his body. She knew those marks like the back of her hand. It was a Curse Mark. She jumped away at the exact moment a clawed hand was swiped her way. The boy suddenly appeared in front of her with crazed orange eyes and a menacing grin. He spun and kicked her into the wall. Her back hit the wall with a loud crunch and she swore her spinal cord had snapped in half. The transformed redhead shot towards her but she lashed out her fist at the last second, catching him an uppercut which sent him careening into the roof. She removed her body from the wall and staggered towards the door. She couldn't heal herself at the moment. Suddenly, the boy had grabbed her by the collar and spun her into the roof she had just punched him into moments ago.

The force of the throw teared open the roof and she was floating in the air above the ground. She saw the village lights ahead of her. She was pretty sure she was going to die as the boy broke out from the ground, ready to devour her as soon as she made contact with the ground. Instead of falling down, she was suddenly being carried bridal style. Still in midair, her savior threw a sword which caught the redhead right on the forehead. He slumped lifelessly as she landed on the ground. She turned to look at her savior, it was the same boy from earlier. She had completely forgotten about him. "Where were you?" she asked. She noticed that he made no effort to put her down. She wanted to peek into his hood but he told her that he didn't want her to see his face and she didn't want to break his trust so she looked at his chin instead. "Are you hurt?" he asked, ignoring her earlier question. "If snapping my spinal cord in half counts then yes, I am hurt," she replied. She didn't feel her back. "Where were you?" she asked again. But he didn't reply, opting to look at her instead. "I know I'm pretty that you'd want to stare at me all day but you've got to answer my question. Where were you? Did the girls manage to get out?" she asked again. "You're really annoying." Those were the last words she heard before blacking out.


She woke up with a start. She was lying on the ground and just outside the village with the fifteen girls and two boys huddled around her. "Thank Kami you're awake Sakura-san. We were getting worried," Sayaka said as she took Sakura's hand. She groaned as she sat up, her muscles screamed in exhaustion. "What happened?" she asked as a glowing hand went to her back. Someone had done a quick job of healing her spinal cord, not completely though. It hadn't snapped in half, just moved out of position a few centimeters. "Shinobi-san healed your back and made sure that we were all out of the hideout before destroying it completely," Sayaka replied. Sakura nodded her head in understanding. She would finish her back later. "Is anyone hurt? I'm a medic and I can heal you," she said as she stood up. "We would never impose on you Sakura-san. After all you did for us, you deserve to rest. I'll ask my father to have a room made for you so you can rest. We'll let the village medics take care of us," Sayaka said reassuringly. She let out a deep sigh. If it hadn't been for that shinobi, she'd most likely be dead. She still hadn't improved after all. She was still weak and useless. A sudden thought came into her mind. "Who told you my name?" she asked. She never uttered her name to anyone during the entire ordeal. "It was Shinobi-san. He told us to tell you that it was nice to meet you and that he would see you around," the redhead recited his words. Sakura held her chin in thought. 'I never told him my name. Perhaps I told him absentmindedly,' she thought. "Okay. Let's go back to the village," she told them.


"Damn Sasuke, you were late by at least two hours. The damn informant almost refused to give me the scroll because you weren't there," Suigetsu complained. They were making their way back to the hideout. "Hn," Sasuke replied. "If you wanted to play around with your girlfriend, you could've just said so," he added. Sasuke stopped and snapped his head to look at him. He sent him a questioning glare. "No need to glare, jeez. I saw you walking with a pinkette wearing a Konoha headband. That's were you came from after all before joining Orochimaru-sama," the Kiri nin said. "Did she know it was you?" he asked. "That doesn't concern you," the Uchiha replied. "Being discreet, mmmm. I wonder how Karin will feel if I told her that her dear Sasuke-kun had a date during his mission-" He was suddenly pinned to a tree with the Kusanagi on his throat. "You tell no one, absolutely no one about what happened on this mission otherwise I'll tell Orochimaru that you were the one who messed with his scrolls the last time you were released," he warned in a deadly tone. Suigetsu motioned zipping his mouth.


I'm done with chapter. I haven't updated in a long time and for that I'm sorry. But this chapter is longer than my usual chapters so I hope you enjoy.

Read and review.

Tozoonana

AfricanFire