The Return

Chapter 15

 The Words You Said

Sakura flew through the trees as fast as she could with Naruto by her side. She was furious and yet, she knew she couldn't stay mad at Sasuke. Back when he was a wanted criminal, she tried to hate him more than anyone else. Even during their darkest days, she couldn't bring herself to harm him. She knew that deep inside, he felt the same way. He wasn't much of a talker, but after their first date overlooking the sea, she was sure he meant it when he said he loved her. Sasuke wasn't the type to kid around or play with people's feelings. When he said something, he meant it. She had to find out the truth of why he refused to take her with him on this mission.

"Sakura? Um...would you mind telling me what the heck's going on? I know Kakashi sensei told you to take me on this mission, but what are we doing exactly?" Naruto asked.

Sakura clenched her fist in frustration. "I'm gonna knock Sasuke into next week if he doesn't tell me the truth! That's what's going to happen! Shannaro!"

"Aah!" Naruto doubled back, sorry he ever brought it up. 

They carried on for a few kilometers before Sakura stopped and turned back towards Naruto. She sighed, willing herself to calm down. He deserved to know the mission details after all. She explained how Sasuke was going after a group of rogue ninjas bent on destroying the hidden villages with a deadly and undetectable chakra-stealing poison.

"I see, so Sasuke went alone, I guess," Naruto said. "But wait, why are we chasing after him?"

"Did you hear the part where I said undetectable chakra-stealing poison?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "If Sasuke gets caught up in it and there's no antidote then...then..." she trailed off.

Naruto looked ahead through the forest. "Sakura, Sasuke is the strongest shinobi I know. I'm sure he'll be alright. I'd say he just went by himself so as not to cause the Leaf any trouble. You know how he is with this sort of thing. It's just like with the exploding human's incident."

Sakura smiled and recomposed herself. Naruto was right, Sasuke wasn't the type to ask for help, she knew that better than anyone. Still, she and Naruto would be right by his side if he needed backup.

They continued onwards for a few hours until they came to a clearing. Sakura held up a hand and jumped down onto a path. It was unusually quiet. Something felt off but she couldn't figure out what it was.

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, use your nine-tails chakra and sensory perception. I've got a bad feeling" she commented, looking around cautiously.

"Right" he nodded before donning his nine-tails form. He glowed with yellow light and used sage mode to sense nature energy around them. He looked back at Sakura after a moment. "There's a group approaching. I'm sensing dark chakra from that direction." He pointed to the right, down a narrow path through the trees.

Sakura nodded and they pushed forward, keeping an eye out for the enemy. Was it the group of rogue shinobi? Perhaps if she could get a closer look at the poison and collect a larger sample, she may be able to decipher its chemical properties and make an antidote. She shook her head, if it was undetectable it would be too risky to get in close. They'd have to keep their distance for the time being.

They raced through the trees until Naruto held up his hand and pointed down towards the ground. A small town was coming into view as the sun began to set like fire over the forest beyond. A group of four shinobi stood in black robes on the hillside overlooking the village.

Sakura and Naruto split up and tailed them as they made their way into the village. It was a quiet place lit dimly with lamps. There was nothing unusual about it, to say the least. So, why would they be targeting this place?