Chapter 12

Meet Tsubaki

A cold unsettling glare from the Uchiha shook them to the core. His eyes looked at all of the ninjas in front of him. On the far left were Kai and Ino, Ino was shaking with fear with Kai holding her to try to calm her down. In the middle was an unknown woman he didn't recognize, and to the far right were Naruto and Sakura, they were nervous but not afraid. They would do battle to protect their friends if they had to.

"It's been a long while hasn't it Naruto Uzumaki, I've come to talk with you."

"Yeah, I bet, so you can place another head on your mantle?" Naruto said, with a growl.

"It has been brought to my attention that one of you house some sort of phoenix?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Naruto asked, holding Sakura's hand tight.

"From what I understand this phoenix could very well destroy the world if left to it's own devices. So if I were to… let's say neutralize it, then it wouldn't get in the way of our own plans." He said, with his eyes slowly gravitating towards Sakura. "And from what I understand you are the wielder of this bird." His finger now pointing to her. "You, Sakura Haruno, must be stopped."

Before Naruto would step in to try to stop Itachi from making any attack on Sakura, A voice would chime in.

"ITACHI UCHIHA YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

He looked over at Kushina, taking off her ball cap. His eyes opened when she revealed herself to him.

"Lady Kushina… but I thought you were dead, along with Lord Hokage?"

"It's a long story, but we can catch up later. But right now I have a bone to pick with you. I know what you did to Makoto and your family, and I know you after my son to seal the nine-tailed fox. If the fourth Hokage were here today he would be so ashamed of you."

While Itachi didn't feel ashamed of his past aggressions. He was amazed she was still here, alive and well. He didn't know how to process it. He thought for a bit before she would say one more thing.

"If there's anything I know though, sometimes there can be some redemption for even the most evil souls. I'm asking you if you could help us out."

"Help you out, how exactly?" Itachi asked her.

"Right now, we're on the way to Blossom Country to meet up with a seal master to help extract the Phoenix from Sakura-Hime," Naruto said, still on the cautionary side.

It took him a bit, but then he would respond to their request.

"Just this once, I will be of assistance to you Naruto Uzumaki, but know that this is a one-time deal. After everything is said and done, you'll be coming with me, understood?"

"Let's just cross that bridge when we get to it?" Naruto said.

Itachi soon took his place by Kushina as the team soon headed back on the road. Ino was still nervous to be around him. She clung on to Kai for assurance.

"Hey Kai-Kun, do you feel nervous to be around him?" She asked him.

"To be honest at this point Ino, we can use all the help we can get. If any indication proves otherwise, we may have some unwanted company joining us soon." Kai said, knowing trouble may be down the pipeline.

It soon took them a while, through mountains, rough terrain, and across a lake. They soon came to the outskirts of Blossom Country. As they walked through the endless fields of flowers, walked the trails full of grape vines for Blossom Country's wine country. There stood a vast empty area, and in the middle of the vacant land, there was a lone house. Naruto and Sakura were perplexed by the house.

"Hey Kai, is this the place?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"Yep, that's Tsubaki's home."

"What happened to the forest, this seems like there should be some sort of forest or flowers or anything?" Ino asked.

"Tsubaki always told me she liked the area as it is. She can be a very frugal person." Kai said as he started down her long walkway.

"Well no matter the case, let's get going," Kushina said, following him. Everyone else followed as well.

It took a bit for them to finally get to her front door. Kai started to knock. It took at least 5 knocks before the door would slowly open. Someone looked at the other end and it was a very beautiful girl. While the clone looked different than what Kai was used to, The Tsubaki standing behind the door was the Tsubaki he knew very well. She wore a white long-sleeved t-shirt with the right of the shirt drooping down. Her eyes had an exhausted look to them. Her long black hair was an utter mess, and Her jean shorts were slightly unbuttoned. It may look like she just woke up from a nap, but this is how she always looked.

"Yeah… May I help you? Listen the checks are in the mail, so please come back another time." She said, in a very droll tone.

"Tsubaki-Sensei, it's me, it's Kai."

She stopped and looked him over, she stepped out of her house and looked him over. She would then nod her head and open the door, step in, and then close the door.

"HEY! COME ON TSUBAKI-SENSEI!" Kai said, knocking on the door.

She would then open the door give a half-hearted smile and stick her tongue out at him.

"Sorry Kai-Kun, I just felt like pulling a prank on you… Come on in, I just made tea."

Kagome felt like a million bucks, she was fully healed after recovering for two months. Keiko slowly removed the bandages from her arms and legs.

"You know Kagome, we could flee from this place. We could leave them alone." Keiko said, worried about their future.

"Like hell we will, I still want payback from both that fox brat and the phoenix bitch." Kagome hissed, focused on returning the favor. She would retrieve a tracking device in her back pocket from her pants on the floor. She began to study where Ashimaru's chakra was located. "Got a lock on her location, we will head out right away."

Keiko grabs her hand and pulls her back. Kagome looks back with anger at her comrade.

"Keiko, what the hell is your problem?" She yelled out.

"Please Kagome-Chan, stop, We have this new lease on life. Let's make it worthwhile. Start over, just the two of us. Please, for me?" She pleaded, tears running down her eyes.

Kagome was laser-focused on completing the mission. But she saw how scared her teammate was. She puts her hands on her shoulder to try to calm her down. While she was very temperamental, she cared for Keiko so much.

"I know Keiko, but I promise you, once we are done with our mission, we will leave for greener pastures."

She was hesitant about her plan. But she knew she had no choice.

"Alright Keiko-Chan, I will go wherever you go." She said, with Kagome wiping away some of the tears from her face. And just like that, they head towards Blossom Country.

Tsubaki starts to look over Sakura, much to her discomfort. Hmm's and Ahh's flooded the silent room. She then asks the guys to leave the room. Ino and Kushina would only be allowed to stay in the room with them. Naruto, Kai, and Itachi complied with her request. As soon as they left the room, she would tell Sakura to strip down to her bra and panties. Sakura blushed but did as was asked of her.

As soon as Sakura did as asked, she soon snapped her finger and directed Sakura to a specialty table, where she would lie down. Tsubaki would then prick her finger and she would drip some of her blood into a bowl with a powdery substance.

"Hey Tsubaki, I was just curious what that is?" Sakura asked.

"This is a detection powder, once I mix my blood and some water. I will mix it and spread it on your belly. It will start to detect where the seal is on your body. Normally when a creature is sealed in a person's body, the seal is detected on the belly." She said, stirring the mixture and starting to paint it on her body. "It may feel cold to the touch, but this is temporary."

It wouldn't take too long for the mixture to start to take effect. Her belly started to glow with some ancient runes showing. Tsubaki started to write down what the runes would dictate for future reference. But she could see what type of seal it could be. She then told Sakura to put her clothes back on.

"Alright boys, you can come back in." She said, as Kai and the others soon entered.

"So how long before we find out what seal it is?" Ino asked her.

"This could take a short bit, my study room is chalk full of research so give me about 2 hours." She said as she entered her room.

Kai thought for a bit, and he figured it shouldn't take too long to do one important thing since he was here.

"Since it will take a bit, there's something I have to do. I'll be back in two hours." Kai said.

"Wait Kai-Kun can I come with you?" Ino asked her boyfriend.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Kai said, with a smile. As the two of them left.

About an hour later, Kai and Ino came to the ruins of Kai's hometown. Ino's beautiful blue eyes were shaking. Kai wasn't joking when he said his hometown was destroyed beyond repair. She saw Kai not halting at all and moving forward. She would run to catch up with him. He continued to his destination, he figured they were in Blossom Country he would pay a visit. They soon arrived at the graveyard of all of the civilians of the village.

It's been a very long while since I was here last year that he was here. But soon he came to the gravesite of Sena and his son. Ino walked slowly and stood next to Kai. Kai looked down at the stone and his eyes were full of heartache and sorrow. Ino read his emotions and would put her hand in his.

"Hey Sena, long time no see huh? I know it's been a while and you probably would have kicked my ass for not putting in the effort to see you again. But it's been one hell of a journey and now we're one step away from extracting Ashimaru from the barrier." He started to say, tears starting to form in his eyes. Ino stroked his hand, calming him down. "But you'll be relieved to know that I found some of the most amazing people I've ever encountered. They are the kindest and sweetest people one would ever meet." He wiped away the tears. Ino decided that she wanted to say a few words.

"My name is Ino Yamanaka, and I want to say that I will take great care of Kai for you, I promise you I will always be there for him. She said, with Kai looking at her with a grin.

Kai would then place a flower on each of their sites. Ino held Kai as he began to cry like a newborn baby. She stroked his hair and she kissed his forehead. Kai didn't think it would have been this hard, but it was. But with Ino there, it calmed him down. He then composed himself and said his final piece.

"Sena, rest easy. I will make sure Ashimaru is kept safe." He said, kissing his hand and placing it on her gravestone. Both Kai and Ino would bow their heads for a silent prayer, after that they would leave the cemetery.

Back at the cabin, Itachi was sitting on the floor. He was contemplating why he was there when someone handed him a cup of tea, it was Kushina.

"Thought I would give this to you, you've been very silent since we arrived, anything wrong?"

Itachi sat there stoic and quiet. Kushina was hellbent on trying to break through the silence.

"If Minato were here, he would want to know why you did what you did that night, but I don't want to press you on that one. You probably had your reasons, and that is on you. But I would like to know why you are after my son?"

"Like you said Lady Kushina, I have my reasons." He said, with a cold tone. "But one thing I would like to know is why you are here. We heard the reports and saw that both you and lord fourth passed away. My mother was heartbroken that her best friend passed on."

Kushina would then explain what happened to him, that someone who was after Sakura brought her back from the dead and somehow Sakura removed that seal, that would have kept her under his control.

"You know Itachi, I kind of thank the gods for this. I finally get to be in my son's life. But I'm warning you Itachi, I have a bond with you since your brother isn't with us and your mother was one of my dearest friends. But come after my son, and I will tear you apart with my bare hands. Do you understand that?"

Itachi sat there silently, but would mutter 2 words… "I understand."

Sakura sat on a sofa in the waiting area, Naruto was fidgeting with nervous anticipation. Sakura scoots by his side and strokes his hand. He looks back at her and smiles.

"Relax Naruto, it will be alright." She says, trying to calm him down.

"I know, it's just the waiting that's killing me at the moment."

"Not gonna lie, I kind of feel that way too to be honest," Sakura says, looking down at the ground.

"We can only hope that we will get the results soon," Naruto said, with her looking at him. He would begin to laugh a bit.

"What's so funny?"

"I think it's quite amazing at the moment, just knowing my mom is reigning in Itachi."

"Your mom can be quite terrifying at times, but it's interesting to think that just a while ago he was trying to attack us while we were rescuing Gaara."

"That's for sure," He said, as the two of them sat tight and waited for Tsubaki's results."

Ino and Kai soon returned from their trip and joined everyone in the living room as Tsubaki would soon enter the room. She lit a cigarette and soon gave them her results.

"After further investigation, it was like you thought of the seal Kai, it's not a soul-binding seal. So if we extract Ashimaru from Sakura, it will not be as life-threatening as if we were to remove a bijou from a Jinchurichi."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief, but then Tsubaki would go further.

"However, there is still a chance for something that could do one of two things if we were to remove it from her. One is the chance that she could die, but that is a 1 in 100 chance that could happen, and two would be the damaging of her chakra coils."

"Damage to my chakra coils?"

"Whoever sealed Ashimaru in you years ago, had an inkling on an understanding in terms of sealing a force like the phoenix in a person. My theory is that someone interrupted him as he was in the process of doing such a feat. It looked like it was intended to be a soul-binding seal, but like I said, someone interrupted him. So in order to do this, I will need all of you here to help me extract her from Sakura."

"Where do we begin then?" Naruto says, "Is there anything we will need to proceed with this?"

"In two days we can do it, but I will need you to gather up some herbs and some roots. I will provide a map for you." She says, giving a map to Naruto. "It's not too far from this location, but that map will provide the precise location for you. So you, Kai, and the Yamanaka girl will have to go."

"Alright, we will head out first thing in the morning," Naruto said.

"All the while, Kushina, and Itachi, you two will help me prepare Sakura for the ritual. We will have to create a new seal to place Ashimaru in so that could take the entire day then. Then once we have everything, at around 8 am the morning after we begin the procedure. With all of us helping out, we should be able to remove it without any harm to you Sakura."

"I trust you guys, I really do," Sakura says, with a warm smile.

"Alright then, let's get to bed. Tomorrow morning will begin the preparations." Kai says, as everyone soon heads to bed.

The night was relatively quiet, for tomorrow will be baby steps for freeing Sakura from Ashimaru… they hoped.

Thank you once again for reading this fan fiction, I appreciate it 100 percent. Once again I will ask for reviews because I can find out how people feel about it. Since getting back into reading fanfictions and starting to write them again, I find that input is key. So please let me know how you feel about it.

I will be doing these chapters weekly, due to working on a Naruto D20 campaign that I will be turning into a fanfiction down the road. So if you would like to see me release a preview chapter on that one, let me know. But anyway please review. Thank you and have a wonderful day.