Sakura, Naruto and I laughed. We were all smiling together as we held our popsicles in the air. It felt so good to be with my team again, but at the same time it felt so, so wrong. I was a traitor among them, they were two Shinobi's who haven't committed a crime in their life. As for me, that's a completely different story.

Suddenly, Sakura elbowed Naruto. "Hey, Naruto-"

I coughed as smoke surrounded us. I waved my hand in front of my mouth.

"Sakura?! Naruto?!" I shouted, glancing around through the smoke.

There was a cough, "Kanji, is that you?!" I could hear Sakura shout.

"Yeah, it's me!" I replied back, "Is Naruto near you?"

"I'm not sure-... KYAAAAAA!" Sakura screamed.

My eyes flew open, "Sakura!" I shouted, pushing through the smoke over to where I heard her scream come from.

I coughed while doing so, but my efforts paid off. It took me a few seconds to have the same reaction that Sakura had. I didn't scream like her though, I did however twitch in anger. The smoke that was everywhere came from someone and...something. Sakura looked over at me with an angered expression.

"Is this a joke of yours?" She asked me through clenched teeth, "Are you trying to make me mad?"

I shook my head, "Of course it's not, why would I purposely try to anger you?! I don't want to receive another brutal hit from you!" I defended myself.

Sakura cracked her knuckles and walked towards me with her gloved hands slowly inching towards my face, "Kan...ji!" She growled out.

I gasped and threw myself behind a tree as Sakura brought her fist down on me. The ground on where I was before shattered into pieces and there now lied a crater. I swear dropped at the giant hole. 'Dear Jashin, this girl has some strength.' I thought horrified yet impressed.

The tree I was hiding behind exploded into little pieces of lumber, I squeaked and covered my face. "Sakura, stop!" I shouted.

"Not until you tell me what happened!" She shouted, "And by that, I mean why you pranked me!"

I rose an eyebrow as I ran around to avoid her, "What do you mean pranked?! I didn't prank you or anyone, and that's a fact!" I defended, giving my side of the story. "I can't even try if I wanted to, I'm under ANBU watch."

Sakura jumped down from a tree, landing in front of me. A small crater appeared under here. I sweat dropped. 'I'm glad I wasn't standing underneath her.'

She frowned and slumped over, "You're right, I forgot about that. Sorry, Kanji." She apologized.

"It's fine," I muttered out.

She walked over to me with her hand grasping her chin, "If you weren't the one to throw that smoke bomb or whatever it was, then who did it?" She asked.

I shrugged, "I honestly have no clue. On the other hand, why don't we go look for Narutooooo-..." I trailed off, looking over to Sakura in confusion. "Wait, Sakura."

"Yeah?" She asked.

"You said I pranked..." I stated, "What did you mean by that?"

Her eyes widened, "Oh, that! Over there by the small clearing we were close to, where Naruto was standing before was a log. Normally, you'd see those when someone used a substitution justu." She explained.

My eyes widened in horror, 'Naruto was never here...or is this one of his pranks?' I thought.

"-so it was an immediate thought to assume it was you're fault. I mean, you did just come back to the village and you're still considered a criminal." She said.

"I know that, Sakura. There's no need to rub it in my face, you know? I prefer that you keep your mouth shut." I spat out suddenly, making Sakura go quiet.

She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck nervously, "You're right there, sorry. I went too far there." She stated.

"Anyways, Naruto wouldn't pull a prank like that, would he?" I asked.

She cocked her head to the side, "I have no idea, I mean he did pull all those pranks during the academy." She murmured.

"Yeah, but I don't think he'd go this far." I said, running over to the clearing where Sakura said Naruto was last at; or the log at least.

I pushed past bushes to get to the small clearing. When I did, I noticed pieces of wood splattered against the ground. I kneeled down and scanned the wood, searching for any piece of evidence that could have been left behind. My fingers touched a cool metal, I rose an eyebrow ad grabbed the small piece of metal. The symbol of the ring brought back memories.

My eyes slowly widened in horror, "Oh, my, Jashin... No way." I gasped.

I dropped the item in my hand and ran for my life, I could sense what was going to happen. Things were about to change, and these changes could be devastating. I spotted Sakura in front of me. I took this chance to warn her.

"Sakura, run! Go to the center of the village and get all the citizens into a shelter, now!" I ordered, pure seriousness in my voice.

Sakura's eyes were wide, "But why?!" She demanded.

I shook my head as I bit my lip hard enough to draw a decent amount of blood out. I bit my finger and made a series of hand signs, my eyes hard. I spun around and slammed my hands against the ground. 'I can't really explain the feeling I'm getting, but all that I can do is warn her!'

"Summoning justu!" I shouted, a large weapon appearing in my hand. It was a large blade, the blade from my childhood.

Right as my weapon was summoned, a giant centipede cane crashing down. The floor shattered on impact and Sakura gasped very loudly.

"Kanji!"

I looked over my shoulder and smiled, "I'll be fine, just run and save the others! Warn everyone and inform the Hokage about the situation at had before it's too late!" I shouted.

She nodded and started to run off into the distance. I couldn't help but flinch each time an explosion went off in the near distance. The Leaf Village was getting attacked, and I knew exactly why and by who.

I smirked and looked up at the centipede, "Well then, it seems like the Akatsuki have made their move." I mused.

The centipede crawled towards me, brushing past my Akatsuki ring with the symbol for devastated on it.

"Now, where are you, Pein?" I asked.

I held my weapon tightly, I swung at the centipede and shouted. Killing it almost immediately. It was pretty weak for an enemy that Pein produced, sadly, I can only assume this isn't the only one that's been summoned. 'I can't believe we fell for a small trick like a clone.'

"Come and get me."