Chapter EIGHTEEN

"Nato-sama?"

Itachi looked up at the familiar voice. Was Sakura the last member of their team?

Neji and Shikamaru, who had gone on their fair share of missions with her ever since team Seven had temporarily broken up, as Sakura had been claimed by teams for their missions on a first come first serve basis, weren't as surprised. The again, no one could tell that Itachi was surprised, so it didn't count.

"Come in." Minato's voice took to a sudden gentle tone.

The door was pushed open and a very familiar head of pink hair poked their head in. Sakura blinked at the three other people in the room before entering. She then slipped in the spot between Neji and Shikamaru, as Itachi was directly in front of Minato.

"The reason I've called the four of you here isn't anything too complex." Minato began. "I have a mission for the four of you. Itachi is team leader." He handed Itachi a scroll. "I know this is a weird teaming format. However this isn't an ordinary mission." He grinned. "During this mission, I want each of you to note down how you manage to work with one another."

"This isn't another jab at my wonderful social skills, is it?" Sakura asked.

Minato chuckled. "No, it's not." He then turned serious."Itachi is already an ANBU and has already acted as captain on several occasions. Sakura, Shikamaru and Neji are all respected Shinobi of Ranks Chunin and Jounin, with high skills. I wouldn't be surprised if Sakura and Shikamaru apply for the Jounin exams and pass. Between the four of you, you have a wide range of skills, strengths and abilities." Minato's eyes held a playful glint to them and the four present shinobi already knew where this was going. They were not known as prodigies in their respective ways for nothing.

"If you guys can perform up to the standards set up for you, you guys will be registered as a permanent team. Don't worry," He added. "You're not going to be asked to quit your current teams or anything. It is just that if this works out, your skills will be called upon in times of desperate needs. After all, if you guys became a team, there will probably be nothing that can stop you."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The four gathered outside the office. They had met one another a few times, one of them being during academy times where Sakura had asked for their assistance, as well as fir mission briefings and perhaps once or twice during huge friendly outings. The only relationship they actually had was through Sakura, and the pinkette wasted no time in exploiting this. She dragged them off to Ichiraku, where she forced each of them to order something before finally allowing them to begin discussing the mission.

"We have tomorrow to prepare, and will leave the day after, at dawn." Itachi noted.

Neji frowned. "Isn't that kind of long?"

Itachi had a small frown on his face. "This mission may actually require time to prepare." He shot Sakura a look, then handed her the scroll, wordlessly signaling for her to read it. She was probably the best at cutting out the non important parts, as her inner could help her read ahead.

"Uh...the location is...a small village close to Shimogakure...Investigate the suspicious activity going on...suspected to be human trafficking...Infiltrate and find information...possible relationship to Orochimaru, probably due to the experiments...Shut down the system..."

She trailed off. "The rest is about who's going and stuff."

Itachi nodded. "I believe that we need to discuss this more thoroughly." Everyone nodded. "I will offer my place as a temporary meeting area. Are you two available after this?"

Both Neji and Shikamaru nodded.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Infiltration..." Shikamaru sighed. "I'm not very good at this kind of stuff."

"In filtration is like, sneaking in, pretending to be someone else, snooping around and acting and stuff, right?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru nodded.

"I'm good at that kind of stuff!" Sakura said.

Neji looked ready to protest, but Itachi spoke first. "It may have to be you." He said.

At Neji's glare, he elaborated. "With you and your eyes, then me and my darker attributes, we will easily be recognized. Sakura, on the other hand, with her pink hair and green eyes, will be considered a person worth alot, and with her Inner, will be able to put up an act that is more than convincing."

"How we infiltrate is not specified, right?" Shikamaru asked. He received a nod. "Henges are too risky, as we don't know our enemy. If it comes down to it, I can also..." He trailed off. 'I'll keep an eye on her.' His unspoken message was clearly received by the other two males.

Itachi nodded.

"We need to build up a believable story for Sakura to follow. Outfits will have to be considered as well. Hitai-ate will be stored in a scroll and will be held by someone one." Itachi said. "Once we reach the location, we will scout around and note down the area for in case of emergencies."

"Radios shouldn't be used." Neji said. "Even if our enemy turns out to not be shinobi, there is a possibility that someone will notice."

"Hey..." Sakura spoke up. "How about something like this?"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The team of four met at the gates at the allocated time. Itachi nodded at each of them in greeting, then quickly got to business. "Hyuuga-san, please take the back. Use your Byakugan and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Sakura will switch with you later. I will lead. Sakura, Nara-san, please follow me in that order." He confirmed three nods before he headed out the gates, the rest of the team following.

The team of four set a quick pace towards the border, taking only a handful of rests. They made good progress through Yugakure. They traveled mainly unnoticed, avoiding traveling groups of mercenary and, far less commonly, shinobi.

They had set up camp for the night at a well hidden clearing Sakura had found with her Byakugan.

The pinkette reached into her tattoo and pulled out a few packets of energy bars. She tossed them at Itachi, then Neji, who caught them without looking up. Sakura pouted, then grinned when the third packet nailed Shikamaru square on the forehead. The Nara let out a groan of pain, and he reached up half-heartedly to rub the spot.

Sakura opened a packet of her own and nipped at it with quick nibbled. She then collected the rubbish, imagined one of the many rubbish bins in the Haruno Compound, and pushed it back in. Toneri, or Zetsu, or even her, whoever visited first could clear it out.

Itachi then allocated their watch times. Sakura curled up beside Neji, underneath the tree Itachi was sitting on for first watch. Shikamaru, who had been complaining ever since he had been put in charge of the fire, walked back into their temporary camp with a pile of wood in his arms. He tossed a few branches into the fire, then placed the rest a few meters away.

He then staggered over to the tree beside theirs and almost instantly fell asleep.

Sakura quickly followed.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She was woken by Itachi for her watch. Sakura blinked at him sleepily with white eyes, and pushed herself up. Itachi sat on the left of where she had been sitting, leaving space for her between him and a sleeping Neji.

He closed his eyes and Sakura clambered up the tree Itachi had occupied, widening her Byakugan range.

It was halfway through her watch when she sensed it. She slowly straightened, focusing her vision to the area that had caught her attention.

She summoned Mirai, just in case, and left her on the tree, deciding to investigate.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Karin snapped her head to the side and her team stopped to look at her.

"What?" Sasuke asked, not in a good mood. The missions he was sent on weren't even challenging, he wasn't expecting much this time either.

At least he wasn't stuck with some pathetic team. He glanced around. After a lot of glaring, he had managed to convince Orochimaru to let him pick his own team. He had picked a boy from a huge tank who could turn into water, a girl with sensor abilities, and boy with a unique ability which his Sharingan could keep under control.

Now, he wondered if he should have chosen from ability alone.

"Someone's coming." She told him, fluttering her eyes at him. "You should sense them soon."

"What do we do?" Jugo asked.

Sasuke paused for a moment before deciding that he wouldn't mind a fight. "We'll-"

He froze. He narrowed his eyes and rechecked, just to make sure. That was...

Suigetsu's eyes widened, and Sasuke shot him a look.

"We'll what, Sasuke-kun?" Karin asked.

"We'll stay here."

Karin blinked. "What? Why?"

Sasuke glared at her. "Because I said so. If you want to, you can leave first."

Karin huffed.

The chakra signature kept coming closer. Jugo began to shift in nervousness.

"Sasuke-kun-" Karin began, only to be cut off by the sound of a bunch of dried leaves being stepped on.

"Suke." Sasuke whipped around, eyes wide. When had she got there? Just a second ago, her chakra signature was coming from right the bush right in front of them...

Suigetsu whirled around and gaped. "Of my god!" He pointed at her. "You're Sakura!"

Sakura smiled and nodded. "Suigetsu!"

"But father...I..."

Sakura looked down. "Sorry."

Suigetsu shook his head.

"Who are you?" Karin demanded, hands itching towards a weapon. Still, Sasuke made no signs of attacking, so she kept still.

"I'm Sakura, Suke's teammate."

Karin scoffed. "Well, Sasuke-kun's now my teammate."

Sakura blinked, a confused frown marring her face.

"Don't think too much, Sakura." Sasuke murmured. "You'll fry your brain."

Sakura crossed her arms. "Inner says I'm very smart." Her frown deepened.

"You're so smart that you can't think simple." Suigetsu jumped in. Everyone stared at him and he shrugged. "What? It's true."

"I'm also Suigetsu's childhood friend." She added.

Karin glanced at Suigetsu, who nodded.

"And who are you?" Sakura turned her green eyes and fixed it on Karin, eyes narrowing. She then turned to Jugo, who shifted under her look.

"My temporary teammates." Sasuke said, emphasizing the word 'temporary'. He ignored Karin's protests. "What are you doing here, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked, and the grin faded from her face. "Mission." She said. "You?"

"Us too."

Neither elaborated.

"I have a gift for you." She turned to Suigetsu. She tugged a scroll from her arm and tossed it to him. Suigetsu caught it, and was about to open it when Sasuke stopped him.

Suigetsu glared at him, but was ignored as Sasuke shot Sakura a look. "It's not the...scroll trick, right?"

Sakura pouted. "Aww. You ruined it."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Sakura sighed. "Nope."

Sasuke withdrew his hand and Suigetsu opened the scroll and was met with a face full of smoke. After it cleared, he stared at the blade in his hand.

"The Kubikiribocho." Suigetsu stared at it in shock. "Why-"

"You and Mangetsu always wanted to be a part of that group." She smiled. "Besides, I haven't used it once and I think you're way more Kiri than I am."

Suigetsu smirked.

"I need to go now." Sakura said. "I left Mirai in charge of guarding, but I think everyone knows I'm gone."

Sasuke nodded.

"Wait-" Karin was cut off.

Sakura raised her hand. "Sorry, Inner said to not talk to you, or I might catch your stupid."

Sasuke cracked a split second smile at this.

Karin gaped at her in outraged shock.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to change her mind. Instead, she offered the Uchiha a mock salute. Feathers burst out around her, and Kurogarasu appeared in a flurry of black feathers. "Bye."

Sasuke nodded while Suigetsu waved. Sakura grinned, then Kurogarasu was flapping its wings and they took off.

"You're outfit's ridiculous!" Sakura called out, looking at Sasuke.

"Who was that?" Karin demanded.

"Sakura." Suigetsu told her.

"Like...ugh...aren't you worried she'll report you or something? You should have killed her!"

Sasuke fixed her with a glare. "If she had any intention of reporting us, why did she show herself to us?" He asked coldly. "Why did she give Suigetsu a very dangerous weapon?"

Karin opened her mouth, and not able to think of a reply, closed it again.

"Besides, we're lucky she wasn't looking for a fight." Suigetsu piped in. "She was freaky strong even when we were small."

"We're strong too! And there are more of us!"

"She's a different kind of strong. I can feel it." Jugo whispered. "It's like she radiated power."

Suddenly, the scroll Suigetsu had been holding began to vibrate. Sasuke whirled around to look at it and opened his mouth. "Dro-"

And the thing exploded in a splatter of paint.

Maybe now people would underestimate them and pick a fight with them. After all, who feared a bunch of shinobi covered from head to toe in yellow paint?

Sasuke would get his revenge.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next day, the team moved out again. No one brought up Sakura's departure from her post during the night. Mirai did a good job tying them down and none of them wanted to face Sakura's tears (and her wrath) if they damaged it.

They reached the area mentioned on the scroll when the sun had begun to set.

"If I were kidnapping people to sell and experiment on, I'll target people during the night, when they're resting." Sakura said.

Itachi nodded. "We'll search the area. Note down any important details. We will start the main part tomorrow."

Itachi assigned one Byakugan user to each pair. Itachi and Neji went off to look around the further area while Sakura and Shikamaru were to scout around the village close by. They agreed to meet up in half an hour, unless something happened. They were each given fireworks to send up if their lives depended on it. After all, while it would call the other pair in for backup, it would also most likely mark the fail of their mission.

Sakura and Shikamaru transformed themselves into a pair of travelers and handed the people by the gates a notebook with a Genjutsu cast over it to look like a passport. They were scanned through quickly, before being allowed in.

They walked around for a while, pretending to be looking around.

"How's the batch today?"

Shikamaru paused and tugged on Sakura's hand. The girl stopped and Shikamaru subtly pointed behind him, where a pair of men were talking to each other.

"Went pretty well, if I do say so myself."

"So?"

"A red-head, a white haired kid and a very pretty chick."

"I really don't get boss's obsession with unique colored ones."

"Me neither. Still it gets us money. There's nothing more I can ask for."

The two walked off after throwing their cigarettes onto the ground.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"We spotted several spots concealed by Genjutsu. The illusion was pretty good, higher Chunin to Jounin level." Neji said. "There were also several locations nearby with the signs of a scuffle. It looked like someone tried to cover the marks afterwards, but there were signs of chakra being used left behind."

"The most recent wasn't too long ago." Itachi said. "The last place we found had a campfire with the remains still burning, as well as blood on the ground. No one actually bothered to hide that one."

"We heard a couple of guys we think are related to the kidnappings." Shikamaru said.

"'Went pretty well, if I do say so myself.' 'So?' 'A red-head, a white haired kid and a very pretty chick.' 'I really don't get boss's obsession with unique colored ones.' 'Me neither. Still it gets us money. There's nothing more I can ask for.'" Inner chirped, mimicking the voices of the men.

Itachi nodded, deep in thought. Finally-"We'll go with Sakura's original plan." He decided.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The leader of the group smirked and pointed through the trees.

His group mates followed the tip of his finger.

"We're lucky today. Look at that."

A girl with pink hair and green eyes was sitting on a sleeping bag by a camp fire. A boy sat next to her. A third sleeping bag was laid down, though its occupant was nowhere to be seen.

"I'd say a noble girl, a traveling merchant, and his son." One of them said. "The girl's dressed like a rich princess. Definition of exotic, I'd say. The boy doesn't look to be on the same social ladder, but I think it'll be fine. There are plenty of weird geezers who'll buy him. He certainly has the figure."

"Should we swoop in now, Takeshi-san? While the father isn't here?"

"We don't know their relationship is really as you think."

"But if they were more than travelers, they probably would have noticed by now. Also, they're still children, teenagers at most. I think it's likely." The leader, Takeshi said.

"Let's just get this over with. I'm sure boss'll praise us."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Speak a little louder and I'm sure Itachi and Neji can hear you too." Shikamaru muttered. He was dressed in a pair of civilian clothes he had brought from Konoha.

Sakura giggled. She was simply wearing her Otsutsuki robes. Her hair had been put in a neat bun above her head, styled by Itachi.

"My mother taught me how." He said, and that dropped any questions. One simply does not question Uchiha Mikoto.

"What do you think?"

Shikamaru frowned. "They have more chakra than normal thieves. Rogue Chunin, or very low Jounin level at most."

"So, shinobi."

Shikamaru nodded.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Who's there?"

Takeshi smirked and nodded at his men. They sprang out from where they had been hiding. They wanted to capture these two as quickly as possible. It would be bad if the third came back, whoever he was.

The two struggled to their feet. The boy tried to drag the girl away, but they were quickly restrained and dragged apart. The girl looked ready to scream, so the man holding the boy pressed a knife to his neck. The boy choked out a gasp and the girl clamped her mouth shut.

"That's a good girl." Takashi smirked and nodded at his men who gagged the two. They then tied their wrists behind them. Takashi inspected them one at a time, starting with the boy. He roughly grabbed his chin, and dug his nails into flesh when the boy tried to pull away. He turned his head from side to side. "Not bad, actually. Has that defiant look that some geezers like to break." He grabbed the boy's arm and roughly dragged him up. He ran his fingers over the skin there. "Really not bad."

He then turned to the girl. He placed a finger under the girl's chin in a more gentle manner and made her raise her head. He rubbed his thumb over her cheek and nodded. He smirked at the fear in the shaking girl's eyes. "This one's perfect." He forced his thumb into the girl's mouth and pulled out, watching the salaiva trail from the trembling lips. He ran a finger over the collar of her white kimono robe. "I'm curious, actually. You want to know if her hair's natural?"

The boy went slack in the grip of the man holding him. His eyes were wide in horror.

The girl began struggling again, and this time, Takashi let her.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Uchiha and Hyuuga were perched far enough away that they wouldn't be sensed. They were concealed by one of Itachi's more detailed Genjutsu, and were suppressing their chakras as much as they could. Neji had his Byakugan activated, while Itachi was using one of his crows.

Neji felt the spike in Itachi's chakra. Though he could see with his Byakugan, it was only the basic chakra outlines. He took his captains movement as notice that something bad had happened. The Uchiha made a few hand seals, casting a henge on himself. Then he was gone from his tree, leaving Neji there.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Takashi-san, someone's coming."

Takashi looked up, annoyed. "The third?" He asks.

The one who had reported nodded. "He has more chakra than a civilian."

"Tch." Takashi drew back and nodded briskly at his,men. "We're leaving. We don't want to cause a mess out of this."

A cloth was forced across the mouths of the captives, and they were both out in a few seconds.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Shikamaru was roughly jolted awake when he landed heavily on a stone surface. His breath was knocked out of him when Sakura landed on top of him not a second later.

He heard evil cackling before the door to their cell was slammed shut.

He waited for the footsteps to fade before he slowly sat up, carefully making sure not to wake Sakura. He gently lay her down onto the ground. He held a hand over her face, and relaxed once he felt her breathing strong and steadily.

It seemed like the first part of their plan had worked.

They would have to work quickly, finding out as much as they could before they were ready to be sold. They could no longer contact Itachi or Neji. Unless something happened, they were alone. If it came down to it, he was sure they could escape.

"Shika?"

Shikamaru nodded at Sakura, who carefully sat up. She glances around, quickly assessing their situation.

"There are plenty of prisoners coming and going. I don't think they have security measures on each and every cell. We aren't wearing chakra repressors, so I think that if it comes down to it, we'll be able to burst through." Shikamaru said.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"We're back boss!"

A white haired teen looked up from where he had been carving a small statue of a tree out of a slab of stone. "How was it ?"

"Pretty good. We caught some merchant's son and a noble girl."

"Oh?"

Takashi took this as a sign to continue. "She's a rare one, that girl. You wont find pink hair and green eyes just anywhere."

Takashi looked up when he heard the clang of metal hitting floor. "Boss?"

"Bring this girl to me." The teen said. "That is an order. Bring her to me."

"How about the boy? Do I bring him too?" Takashi asked, unsure of why his calm and collected leader was acting like this."...Bring him in too." He decided.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The two shinobi sensed the men coming towards them ages before they actually appeared.

"Get up. Boss wants you. "

Shikamaru slowly shifted backward, trying to project a fearful aura. He felt Sakura do the same.

The two men stormed in. One grabbed Sakura by the arm, dragging her to her feet. The other yanked Shikamaru up, and they were wordlessly pushed through the underground corridor.

Judging from the rock structure and the dampnss of the air, Shikamaru concluded that this was, in fact, an underground base.

They stopped in front og a door, and one of the guys knocked.

"Come in."

The voice belonged to a young, white haired teen. The two men yanked the two roughly into the room and forced them onto their knees in front of the boss dude. Apart from the second at the beginning, Shikamaru couldn't catch anything as his head was forced down.

"Thank you. You may leave."

The two men began to protest, only for a strong killer intent to come down on everyone in the group. Even Shikamaru began to feel the pressure.

"Leave." The two men did as told, and the KI resided.

Shikamaru carefully raised his head. He stared at the familiar vibrant green eyes. He glanced beside him to Sakura, who's eyes were wide.

"Tochi?"

"Sakura?" The teen asked at the same time. He glanced at the pink hair. "No..Sakura-sama." He gracefully slipped into a bow. "I...when I heard of the pink hair and the green eyes, I thought, but I wasn't sure, and..."

Sakura shot Shikamaru a 'I'll tell you later' look, and turned back to Tochi.

"Why are you here, Tochi? You...Senri-sama..."

Tochi's eyes widened. "Please, Sakura-sama!" He burst out in a surprising moment of desperation. "I beg of you release the sin on my name!"

Shikamaru frowned, his thoughts reeling.

"We were children, unsure of why the rules were placed. Now I am aware." Sakura straightened herself, projecting the air of a clan head. "I, Haruno Sakura, unbind you from Banishment. May you serve every drop of blood within you to atone for the sin you have committed."

Tochi pressed his head into the ground, further that Shikamaru thought possible.

"I swear upon the blood running through me to serve the Haruno clan for all eternity."

And beneath the confusion that came with the sudden change in the atmosphere, Shikamaru understood. This teen was a banished of the Haruno clan.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sakura explained to Tochi the occurrences of after he had been banished. She told him about the Massacre and her kidnapping, and about Konoha. She then told him what she was here for.

When Shikamaru tried to stop her, she had shrugged him off. "Tochi is a part of my clan. He is therefore bound to me. In a way, he is like an extension of myself." And Tochi had looked so happy.

He had listened to the end, then told them his part. How he had been banished from the clan for sneaking out when he was four. "I thought the punishment was death. However, Fuji, one of the caretaker of the children, tossed me a bag and released me through the tunnels, where the seals activated and I found myself outside. I had my awakening then. I was able to survive in forest. It was a month after the event when I learned of the massacre. However, through my Inner, I knew that the new heir had been chosen. I knew at least someone was alive. I was working for Orochimaru already, and I decided to use this to my advantage."

"So this place is related to Orochimaru." Sakura murmured.

Tochi nodded. "I was a mere child when I was released. I wouldn't have survived for long. Orochimaru picked me up. If I worked here, I could look for the heir without heading out. I could do it without being suspected of anything."

"I did not think it would be you." Tochi bowed. "Have you taken a name, Sakura-sama?"

Sakura shook her head. "Everyone was gone when I came out." She said. "So...no."

Tochi nodded. "I shall give you all the information I have on Orochimaru. Is there anything else you would like?"

Sakura shook her head. "That will be all."

Tochi bowed, the moved away.

"A Haruno." Shikamaru said the moment he was out of hearing range.

Sakura nodded. "He was a banished. He wasn't there for the ceremony, so I guess he survived. He was no longer a Haruno then."

"He was banished for rule breaking."

Sakura nodded. "As head, Senri-sama has the power to banish and end lives of all Harunos. And as the current head, I have the power to lift that." She frowned. "But sneaking out and going up to land was a sin punished by death. Why..."

"Fuji, the person who let him go, was a caretaker, right? Maybe she felt sorry or something."

"That can't be. All Harunos will die at the command of the head. They will never disobey him. Besides, Senri-sama would have known the moment he stepped out alive. He compound is under the full control of the head. The head can feel everything. I can feel the bird perched on the roof of the nursery this very instant."

"So the previous head let him go." Shikamaru said.

Sakura didn't reply, the pieces coming together. Maybe Senri had known of the coming massacre, of the born Otsutsuki heir. The Haruno had been around for ages. It was likely that no one wanted the name to die out on the whim of Toneri. Before, they were mere puppets, but they had begun to change. They had begun to make their own decisions for their clan. Breaking a rule meant that the rule breaker had a will strong enough to defy the rules placed by the Otsutsuki generations ago.

Perhaps the Banished were released for a reason.

And Sakura could feel it.

The emotion behind this decision, this defiance.

The desperation to become more than what they were created for.

The wish to preserve the Haruno clan.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"This is more than we hoped to gather." Sakura said, passing the folder to Shikamaru. "Thank you."

Tochi flushed. "Please don't waste such words on me." He bowed.

Sakura smiled. "If things hadn't gone this way, we would have had to spend a long time here, trying to fish out information."

"We just need to wait for Neji and Itachi." Shikamaru said. Tochi had helped them send out a message to their teammates, making sure to tell them about Tochi. They would be sneaking in soon to meet up, and they would destroy the base. Tochi had told them that none of the shinobi here were above Chunin level.

Sakura had gone through the mission details with Tochi, who had offered his help.

There was a knock at the door, and two shadows slipped into the room. The genjutsu faded, revealing Neji and Itachi. Shikamaru had written about Tochi in detail, and they both nodded briskly at the white haired teen, who returned the greeting.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hyuuga Neji. " Sakura told him. "This is Haruno Tochi."

"We have studied the map given us, and we have decided that we should destroy the base from within." Itachi said. "We must make sure that nothing is left-"

"Orochimaru!" Neji's warning alerted them all to the rapidly approaching chakra signatures. "Along with Kabuto, Sasuke and three more."

His Byakugan flashed as he pointed. "Rapidly approaching."

Though the chakra signature was far, and wouldn't be able to be sensed by normal shinobi, now that Neji had pointed it out, they could keep an eye on it.

"He isn't supposed to come here today!" Tochi snarled.

"You are willing to turn against the man that saved you when you were a child?" Itachi asked Tochi.

Tochi nodded briskly. "Of course. At Sakura-sama's command, I would do anything."

Itachi nodded. They all had questions, but that could wait.

"Tochi." Sakura said in a crisp tone.

"Orochimaru comes one a fortnight to gather all that weren't sold to the black markets. They're used for experiments."

Sakura turned to Itachi. She could now sense the Snake Sannin's chakra too, and her Byakugan wasn't even activated.

"We wont escape this without a fight." Shikamaru pointed out. "Orochimaru most likely knows we're here anyways."

"Prepare for combat." Itachi said. "The final part of the mission is to shut down this system. We cannot leave before then."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Well, what do we have here?" There was an explosion, and an entire wall was taken down.

Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sasuke and his team appeared in the smoke.

"Tochi, what is the meaning of this?" Orochimaru turned towards the white haired teen.

"My apologies, Orochimaru. The head has called, and as one with Haruno blood within my veins, I must answer." Tochi was impassive, standing obediently behind Sakura.

"You said you weren't from any clan." Karin burst out.

"That was because I wasn't." Tochi replied. "I was banished for my sins by Senri-sama. Now, Sakura-sama has given me the chance to redeem myself."

Sakura glanced over at Sasuke, noting that his eyes held no recognition. Sakura took a deep breath. Neither side made any moves to attack, but it was obvious that both sides were preparing.

"Remember the mission." Itachi said.

That was the signal, and the area exploded into a battle field.