Walking was the easy part, conversation was what proved difficult. Kakashi sensei gave her a whole new team to complete the mission with, yet she was still as useless as ever. Her degradation continued as talking became a common allergy. It was not for a lack of trying, but even Nayu shut up and ceased her yapping. And in the heat of the day, the silence was deafening.

Sakura observed her new team with a watchful eye. The men of the team had stuck close, leaving her to wonder if they previously knew each other. Nayu and Sakura remained just behind the two other members; the blondes arms behind her head as they walked along.  Bright blue eyes that mimicked the sky above them gazed at the trees just beyond them.

Sitting in the tree branches, birds chirped; their song rang in the ears of the four party members. With the silence being far too much to bear, Sakura's mind chose to run wild of the potential outcomes of this mission. No one in their four member party had ever fought side by side before, let alone on a mission as time sensitive as this. All it would take is one delay and all hope would be lost. She would never retrieve Sasuke; never receive Lady Tsunade's approval; and worst of all, she would be a useless failure. These three long years of hard work and sleepless nights would have all been for nothing. Sakura attempted to shake these thoughts aside. Now was no time to doubt herself. Being Lady Tsunade's pupil must count for something, otherwise why would the Hokage have kept her around for so long. 

"Hey Sakura, you good?" Snapping out of her own thoughts, the pink haired kunoichi looked at Nayu with a surprised expression.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just caught up in my thoughts." Sakura responded honestly. Placing an awkward smile on her face, she worried that the blonde would not buy into the staged expression. 

A moment past as Nayu appeared to contemplate Sakura's words. Lips pursed, Nayu's face contorted with thought. "Makes sense." The pink haired kunoichi sighed with relief. This girl was strange, that's for sure. "Say, are you bored?"

The question caught her off guard. "I mean, it's certainly quiet, but that's alright."

Nayu laughed deviously. "Let's change that. Watch this." Such a drastic shift in demeanor caught Sakura off guard. Without hesitation or a second thought, Nayu chose to make the mission interesting, and all it took was five seconds and a great throwing arm.

The pink haired kunoichi watched, bewildered as Nayu made good on her word. A rock in her hand, Nayu reared back and threw the rock with great velocity. It flew past Captain Yamato and the boy names Sai before landing on the ground in a rather anti climatic way. Sakura gave a half hearted laugh, "Was that it?" 

"Do you doubt me? It's all in the timing, my dear comrade." Nayu's smile proved to be contagious once again. 

Despite the promise to alleviate the boredom, Sakura was left to her own devices once again. Not quite the team she hoped for. 

Nayu let out an awkward laugh. "That usually works." she confessed.

"What does?" Confused as to what throwing a rock would do, the pink haired kunoichi waited, curious for an answer.

"Usually there's a small explosion of petals and stuff, but that might have been a dud."

"I'm still confused." Though Sakura understood what Nayu was saying, the words failed to be understood. Casting a glance behind, Sai's blank expression showed a modicum of worry. 

"You see," Nayu began "I work with genjutsu and illusions; tricks I picked up from my grandparents. When I throw a rock, it usually exploded with different things. Just suppose I need a little more practice with it." she sounded embarrassed.

Sakura smiled and chuckled. "I'm sure it will work soon."

The group of four walked over the stone Nayu had previously thrown. As the distance became greater, a puff of smoke revealed the stone to be a boy dressed in the clothing of an anbu black ops; pale blond hair appearing to have a sheen as the grease weighed it down. Quick as the transformation ended, the boy leapt off and into the woods that surrounded him.  There was a mission that required his intervention.

With conversation once again being sparked, it was Captain Yamato that spoke up now. The group came to a halt. 

"Since we seem to be in high spirits, I believe we should debrief each other on our skillsets. None of you have worked together previously, so as a freshly assembled team, it is best we understand each others skills and abilities before we confront the enemy." his blank stare caught Sakura off guard. Though not a terrible idea, was it best to talk about this in the open? Her concerns were pushed down.

Trust Captain Yamato, Sakura, she thought to herself. This is no time to doubt your team.

"Sir, will we be given the chance to practice together before confronting the enemy?" Sakura asked, unsure if anyone else would.

"If we keep on time, then yes."

"Then would it not be wiser to share this information then? Being out on the road and sharing sensitive information such as this doesn't seem like the strongest course of action." Wishing she could bite her tongue, all Sakura could do was wait and hope she was not out of turn for saying that.

Captain Yamato hummed in response. "While that is a valid point, time is of the essence. And there is no sense in wasting it if we can share intel while moving. This way, we can formulate strategies to work together before engaging in the fighting portion of this mission."

"I see." the only words she could find were weak and ineffective in displaying her thoughts correctly.

"Besides, we should all be able to tell if we are being followed or not. Now, let's start." Captain Yamato prompted the group to begin moving again. He was the first to speak. "My abilities work as both offence and defense: that being my wood release." 

Everyone's ears perked at the two words Captain Yamato uttered. Wood release? The first Hokage's jutsu? Sakura thought in bewilderment. 

"Sakura, you're next." 

Her mind worked quickly to accumulate the answer. "I'm a medical ninja. Beyond that, I can pinpoint my chakra into certain area's of my body to increase their physical power, such as my arms or legs." 

Definitely Tsunade's pupil, Captain Yamato thought. "So medical ninjutsu and taijutsu. Nayu?" 

The blonde kept her arms behind her head while they carried on down the dirt road. "Well, guess you could say I'm pretty good at genjutsu and a few earth style jutsu's." Nayu shrugged. She looked unsure and a little defeated. 

Again, Captain Yamato hummed and in repetition, called the next team member. "Sai?" Nayu threw him a glance that went unnoticed by both Sakura and Captain Yamato. Sai noticed this and responded clearly. 

"I am profficient in ninjutsu." Sakura was curious about the simplicity in his answer. To her surprise, the Captain appeared to be okay with it. 

"Well then," Captain Yamato carried on "we've made some great headway today. Allow me to treat you all this evening." 

Surprised doesn't even begin to describe the feeling Sakura was feeling. Up ahead was a bathhouse, steam from the hot springs rising above the fence surrounding it. 

The team got settled in the bathhouse, Sakura and Nayu on one side, while Sai and Captain Yamato were on the other. 

"Aren't you coming in Nayu?" Sakura's eyebrows creased. Was she not feeling well? Concern rose in her chest. 

"Nah, I'm alright. I have a few things I need to do anyways, so go ahead."

Though unexpected, Sakura figured she would ask later. Maybe she really was busy.

The door slid closed behind Sakura. Nayu's expression grew dark. In her hand were a few small stones, hardly larger than marbles. She moved silently around the room, carefully flicking the stones outside and into the grass. In her bag was a scroll, which she unraveled in front of herself. A small report was written inside before the scroll was sealed away. 

Nayu took in a deep breath. Tapping into naturally heightened senses, she heard no one nearing her location, nor anyone outside her doors. Perfect. Casting the appropriate signs, a clone appeared in a plume of smoke. 

"Take my place." she instructed before once again weaving a few hand signs. "Flying Ryjin." she whispered. This time, she teleported to the nearest marking made years ago. 

*************

Evening had long since set in, the moon in the sky cast all the light one needed to traverse the land. 

The four members of the new team Kakashi slept soundly, stomachs full from the meal Captain Yamato bought for them. 

A rustle in the bushed brought Sai out of his sleep. He searched the room for anyone, finding himself alone, just as he should be. Sai tilted his head up. A shadowy silhouette was above him, kneeling on the ceiling. His heart skipped a beat. "Fox," the word was barely above a whisper, merely hot air. Fear left him in a choke hold. "What are Lord Danzo's commands?" he spoke, chills climbing up his spine as the anbu shifted his location from the ceiling to just in front of him. In the anbu's hand was a scroll. Sai took it without hesitation. He glossed over the writing inside. Really? he thought. 

"The role of Nayu is pivotal to the success of this mission." Fox spoke with clear diction. His chakra was silent, nothing indicating that he was alive or present in the room with Sai. Not even the greatest sensory ninja would be able to find him. "Ensure that you make no mistakes when accomplishing this task. Lord Danzo expects nothing less from you."

"Of course." Sai glanced down for only a moment, but Fox quickly disappeared from the room. His breathing became ragged, eyes wide after encountering the anbu. It was unsurprising that he was on this mission, he always knew that Fox was using the transformation Jutsu in order to play the role of Nayu, but for him to show up before Sai was unexpected. 

Sai quickly swallowed back the fear he had of this anbu. Now was not he time for failure. Not when his position in this mission was as vital as it was.