The annoying sounds of beeping awoke a certain white-haired male from his deep slumber. He squinted his eyes as light shone through the widely opened curtains of the white room he laid in.

The first thought that came to his mind was Nagato. His former student. The first emotion that came to him was sadness. Where had he gone wrong? Then the first realization came upon him. Where was he?

Jiraiya tried his best to sit up but his body simply wouldn't let him. The pain almost blinded him each time he tried.

Nagato had truly tried to kill him and yet he wasn't sure how he had survived.

"Jiraiya boy..." Called a soft voice.

Jiraiya only knew two beings that called him that and they were both toads. Shifting his head painfully to the side to see Fukasaku sitting elegantly on the window sill, his body wrapped in bandages.

"Hmm" Jiraiya groaned. It was too painful for him to speak yet but his eyes held the guilt and shame he felt at failing his mission and almost getting his masters killed.

"I know. It's okay" Fukasaku's calm, soothing, voice whispered over to him. It was enough to lull the Sannin back into his healing slumber.

___

"I'm growing worried" Sakura bit her lip as she stood in front of the Hokage with her team apart from Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi glanced her way, feeling the same but otherwise remained silent as he watched Yamato step up to the girl with a comforting hand on her shoulder. Kakashi didn't hesitate when the boys stayed behind, trusting in their abilities but now with three days that have passed and no sign of them, he wondered if he should have hesitated.

Sai remained quiet at the back of the group but he, too, wondered if they would make it out alive when Naruto's mentor and a Sannin barely made it out with his life. Sai had grown accustomed to the presence of team 7 and though he contributed little to the conversation, he was learning how to live and truly become the person his brother would have wanted him to be thanks to the team.

"Perhaps we should send a rescue team?" Sai questioned only to receive a shake of the head from the Hokage.

"No, although the village is led by the Akatsuki, the village of Rock has settlements in the region. Our treaty is already holding on by a thread, this would only push it over the edge." Tsunade sighed into her hands as she crossed her fingers under her chin.

"The rescue team wouldn't attack those settleme-"

"The mission was meant to be top secret. If the Iwakagure discovers we were even in the region, they'd become suspicious and start assuming the worst. It's not a worth the risk" Kakashi interrupted Yamato with his usual casual tone though Sakura could sense the underlined tension the man hid so well.

"Not worth the risk?" Yamato grumbled, dejected.

Tsunade sighed, her worry for the boys overwhelming. Truly, she could send a rescue team with a diplomatic guise but then she would have to run it by the elders and she knew Danzo would never agree to it. Kakashi knew it too which is why Tsunade could guess he was standing in the corner of the office with a grim expression.

Still, she wanted to try and bring them home.

"We could speak with the elders-"

"That won't be necessary" Came a harsh, cold, voice that interrupted the Hokage.

Everyone shifted their stances to see Danzo standing in the doorway.

Sakura immediately glared harshly at the old man, not going unnoticed by him and her Sensei.

"Danzo..." Tsunade muttered in mild surprise, the man always seemed to sneak his way into conversations without anyone realizing it.

Clearing his throat, Kakashi glanced at the man with suspicion clear in his eyes "I assume you know the situation?" He asked.

Danzo ignored the Jounin as he narrowed his eyes at the young pinkette in his own suspicion. Just what could this girl know that could cause so much hatred toward him?

"Have you been eavesdropping again, Lord Danzo?" Tsunade bluntly questioned with narrowed eyes.

Danzo shifted his eyes to Sai, his so called spy within team 7 though as of late, the boy has made himself scarce which raised alarms in Danzo's head.

He would have a word with the boy later.

"I merely passed by when I overheard your conversation." He casually revealed.

"And if we wish to meet with the elders?" Tsunade continued with frustration in her tone.

"That won't be necessary, I approve of a team retrieving the Uchiha survivor and the Jinjuuriki under the guise of diplomacy" Danzo smirked.

Kakashi could feel a bad joke coming on.

Before anyone could thank him or depart, he spoke up again "But it will be a team I put together".

And just like that, whatever relief the team felt had crumbled with a sense dread taking its place.

___

As the leader of Konoha struggled with levels of frustration that were surely unhealthy, Sasuke and Naruto battled for their very lives.

Their opponent was strong, a lot stronger than they had previously assumed.

As Naruto sailed past Sasuke toward one of the orange-haired men, Sasuke realized the kind of power behind their opponents hands wasn't something that could be defeated so easily as they have defeated their foes in the past.

Naruto grunted as an unknown force pulled him toward the man with spiky short hair. The void eyes and harsh glare on the man's features never wavered even as Naruto created a Rasengan in his hand, aiming for the one pulling him.

The blonde had been able to master the one-handed Rasengan but his new Jutsu still had a long way to go before he could confidently use it.

Before Naruto could reach him, another of the men knocked into the blonde from the side, taking him off-guard.

He grunted as his body hit harshly against the water before slamming into a broken wall, likely broken from Jiraiya's battle.

Sasuke watched the attack unfold whilst keeping his red blazing eyes on the others, who stood watching with bored expressions.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes as he watched the men carefully. Naruto appeared back at his side with a huff.

"Anything?" The blonde asked as he shook the debris off his clothes.

Sasuke continued glaring at the men "We know they see as one but there's no way to tell which one is the real one."

Naruto glanced at the Uchiha "Your Sharingan can't pick it up?"

Sasuke glanced back "Chakra flows through the rods in them all but other than that, there is no difference between them."

"Through the rods..." Naruto muttered in thought. He recalled reading a scroll on a Jutsu similar to the Inozuka mind transfer technique, only this Jutsu could split the users' mind into multiple bodies. Unluckily for the blonde, he never got to finish the scroll as Sakura had pulled him out of the library to train.

Though there was a particular memory about that scroll that troubled the blonde but his mind simply wouldn't remember what it was, especially when two of the men lunged forward.

"Tch!" Naruto kissed his teeth before gathering his chakra and, for lack of knowing what else to do, attempted to counterattack the two with his new Jutsu.

At first, he created a normal-looking Rasengan before it transformed. It became brighter with jagged blades of wind reaching out of it. The blonde pushed his hand above his head so that he wouldn't be cut by the blades before the size of the Rasengan grew to over twice its size.

Sasuke watched from the side with wide eyes at the blonde's sudden attempt. His red eyes shifted back and forth to the opponents that were making their way closer with each breath.

It was now or never.

Naruto let out a loud cry as he threw his hands forward and somehow releasing the Rasengan shaped similar to a shuriken toward the two men.

They saw it coming, of course, but only one was quick enough to jump out the way.

The other one became caught in the almost web-like chakra, unable to move, before the Jutsu grew into a brighter light and imploded.

The explosion was larger than anything Naruto had created with his own chakra. It created a Shockwave that sent dust from the debris and water from the dam toward all directions.

Sasuke barely managed to see Naruto clutch his arm with a cry of pain before the water washed over them.

The Uchiha knew Naruto wouldn't be able to use anymore Jutsu for the time being which meant he was out of the fight, whether the blonde liked it or not.

With precision and mostly luck, the Uchiha managed to swim over to the blonde and grab onto him before shunshining away from the area.

Panting, Naruto groaned as his arm seemed to be tearing itself apart from the inside out. The only sign that something was wrong with his arm was the growing red blotches appearing a little at a time.

Sasuke kept his eyes peeled for the men but somehow knew they wouldn't follow. He could tell the men, or rather man, had bigger plans. Whether for them, Konoha or the world, he didn't know.

"Can't stay here." Sasuke muttered before he forcefully pulled his teammate to his feet and slung his uninjured arm over his shoulder and disappearing into the night.

___

Eventually, the pained moans from the young Jounin let up and the two men sat close to a small fire deep within the woods but away from the rain.

Naruto's sleeve had been rolled up with minor medical ninjutsu applied by Sasuke but alas, it was not his area of expertise.

With a sigh, Sasuke poked the fire with a stick as he eyed the bloody bandages wrapped around Naruto's arm.

It wasn't pretty just to stop the internal bleeding. There wasn't any part of his arm that wasn't damaged. Veins and chakra points. Sasuke wondered if he would be able to heal. If his chakra points would heal.

"You can't do that jutsu again, To" Sasuke stated as if it were a simple fact.

Sweat ran down the blonde's temple as he continued to struggle with the pain though he still had enough energy to glare up at the Uchiha "It worked, didn't it?" He grumbled.

Sasuke remained silent as he wondered if the blonde knew the true risk to the jutsu.

Sighing, the Uchiha glanced up at the sky, it was only dusk. They were too far away from the village to continue without seeking medical help and they were too close, for Sasuke's liking, to a compound run by Orochimaru.

A compound that held a unique individual perhaps able to aid the blonde Jounin but it was a risk in itself as Orochimaru himself could very well be at the hideout.

Still, the nine-tails seemed to stay dormant as Naruto grit his teeth in pain. Sasuke wondered if he should tell his teammate about the plan but decided against it as the blonde would surely think he was going back to Orochimaru. At least, that was Sasuke's reasoning behind the secrecy.

Standing up and killing the fire, Sasuke stared at Naruto expectantly though the blonde responded with a confused expression.

"It's still dark" He complained but stood anyway.

Sasuke said nothing as he began to lead the way to the hideout with Naruto following shortly after.

After a few hours, Naruto seemed to understand they weren't going back to the village and came to a halt.

"What are you doing, Ke?" The blonde narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the area more frequently now.

Sasuke glanced at his teammate "The village is too far"

"So, where are you taking us?" Naruto shifted into a defensive stance. He trusted the Uchiha, the blonde would easily give his life for his teammate but they were in unknown territory and the Uchiha hadn't included the Uzumaki in his plans which wasn't something the blonde was accustomed to.

"There's a compound." Sasuke revealed after a long internal battle deciding whether to knock the blonde out or simply tell him. Clearly, telling him won out.

"Orochimaru's compound?" Naruto glared at the Uchiha.

Sasuke said nothing as he simply watched how his teammate began to react.

At first, Naruto could feel his blood boil at the stupidity of his surrogate brother but then took a deep breath and glanced around the area.

"If he catches us..." Naruto trailed off and for the first time in a long time, he felt afraid of what awaited them.

The snake had taken Kakashi from them and almost Sasuke. Naruto was sure he'd let the Kyuubi take full control if he ever saw that man again but at the same time, he knew how strong Orochimaru was to have been able to take on Kakashi and alter the curse mark on Sasuke without his knowing.

"Then, at least we can end him once and for all." Sasuke stated with a determined expression. It was enough for Naruto to feel reassured and ready for their next potential battle.

Nothing further was said between the two as they continued walking for another two hours but Naruto came to a halt. The pair stood in the shadows of the forest with large trees surrounding them. There were massive trunks above their heads where one could easily have a full-scale battle without ever touching the forest floor. Unfortunately, that way of passage wasn't available to them as any sudden movements caused extreme pain the blonde which left them on the forest floor, vulnerable to animals and enemies from above.

Little light shone through the leaves but one could easily see someone moving through the shadows as they disturbed the light.

Naruto glanced around the area, feeling out with his chakra. Sasuke simply watched at the ready.

Without a moments warning, Naruto lunged at Sasuke and pushed him further into the darkness. The blonde struggled to keep from crying out in pain as he landed on his injured arm. Sasuke was quick to shift the male against a tree before glaring out with his Sharingan, trying to find the enemy Naruto had sensed.

As the Uchiha glanced back to the spot they were once in, he found a large amount of kunai in their place, specifically his place.

As Sasuke felt a somewhat familiar chakra, he stood straight and with a sigh, walked out into the open.

Naruto tried to grab him but only flinched at the pain making its way back to his arm more painful than before.

"Come out" Sasuke ordered with an air of calmness around him. Whatever fear he had felt previously was now nonexistent.

As the mysterious figure stepped out of the shadows, the Uchiha began to regret his decision of coming to the compound but knew she would be Naruto's best bet in getting back home.

"Sasuke..." The woman greeted with a void expression as she pushed up her red glasses.

"Karin."