Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and not me. If it did I sure as hell wouldn't be back for another year of university! I do get to claim the Yominokunis, Yakubyougami and the Tekigougan for myself though!

A Note from Katana Haibane:Well, I took forever to come out with this chapter. I wouldn't be surprised if people were starting to get tired of waiting for me to finish the next chapter. I have excuses and ones that I think are reasonable, but in the end I just can't seem to update all that well. Sorry about that everyone, but all I can promise is just to update as quickly as I can.

Thanks to Rika-Chan 14 for being my beta (and appology for taking so long to post the edited chapter...next chapter coming soon I hope!!)

Chapter 25: Fighting for One

When the smoke inside the Hokage office cleared, the Anbu who had barged in on Tsunade's little conference had a variety of sharp implements as well as a pair of Rasengan held very close to his heart, neck, head and spine. The Anbu twitched as if he was about to attack before he realized that Tsunade also had a kunai held a centimeter from his right eye. Clearly he had come in at a bad time.

"Kami…" Tsunade muttered before she motioned for everyone else to back down. "You must have been rushed Shiro-san if you just burst in here with the tension as high as it already is. What do you have to report?"

A relieved exhalation that sounded suspiciously like 'and most of these guys are Chuunin' echoed around the Hokage office before Hyuuga Shiro got to his feet. Eying the room's other occupants Shiro was only met with stony silence and a curt nod from Tsunade.

"Things are starting to get out of hand Hokage-sama. I don't entirely understand why, but the Council seems to be making a major play for power. They have been using Danzo's agents from ROOTS to spread dissent amongst the civilian population. Specifically, they have been using ROOTS to garner support for their opposition to your actions. Their machinations give every indication that they are trying to prepare the civilian population for your early dismissal from your post as Hokage, Something that has never happened in any other Hidden Village before."

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata all exploded in protest before they were quickly silenced by a slash of Tsunade's hand and a furious glare.

Shiro pinched the bridge of his falcon mask, "This is the first time that I can ever remember wishing that the Council didn't have the political power and legal power to overrule the Hokage if they came to a unanimous agreement."

"I get the feeling that there's still more to this that you haven't gotten to yet, isn't there?" Tsunade asked as she eyed her Anbu Captain. As delicate a situation things had become between her and the Council the news that they seemed to be prepare to dismiss her from office couldn't possibly have been enough to cause the impeccably calm Shiro to get this flustered.

Hyuuga Shiro actually snorted before he spoke again, "You're right. What I have to tell you has to do with Mikomi. More specifically, how the council is using your past actions towards the girl as justification for their growing dissent as well as part of the rumours they have been circulating within the civilian population to increase civilian discontent with the way you have been handling your office. For now you should just be thankful that the Council takes a ridiculously long time to decide any course of action because they have to schedule votes against the Hokage in advance. What I'm trying to tell you is that next week they are voting on whether or not they should declare Yominokuni Mikomi a Missing-Nin of Konoha."

Silence blanketed the office. Naruto's mouth hung wide-open and completely silent for once. Sakura's fists were clenched in rage as she slowly turned as pink as her hair. Hinata had paled so much it looked as if she was going to faint. Kakashi and Tsunade merely hardened their expressions at the news and waited.

"The reason why this could not wait however," Shiro said as he locked eyes with Tsunade, "Is because Danzo's ROOTS branch didn't follow the proper chain of command and report any scouting information directly to Anbu headquarters. Apparently the council held a ballet that they kept secret even from the Anbu directly under my control that gave ROOTS increased autonomy, reporting to the council rather than you Hokage-sama."

Shiro waved his hands in front of Tsunade when it looked as if she was going to explode in rage. "WAIT! Beg your pardon Hokage-sama but there is more. ROOTS turned up two pieced of intelligence that are intrinsically tied to each other but only delivered one half of their report to headquarters. They discovered that Orochimaru has been very busy in a rather secluded section in the northern boarder of Rice Country. It turns out that Orochimaru has been funding a rather extensive archeological dig. We knew that the dig had been taking place for quite a while, even that they had apparently discovered the ruins of a very old hidden village, but what we didn't know is that they had been feeding useable techniques and artifacts to Orochimaru that he has been using to strengthen his village as well as himself. But here's the clincher: they also discovered Mikomi at the dig site."

"What?" Tsunade cut across sharply before anybody else had the chance to speak, "What kind of bullshit is this?"

"Something that I wanted to investigate myself," Shiro answered as calmly as he could. He felt nearly as shaken as everyone else in the room clearly was. He had come across Mikomi more than once since she started staying at the Hyuuga compound. "They had an accurate description of her. Not all that surprising, but they also reported that she apparently had been wearing a black collar around her neck inscribed with a pattern of white–"

"NO!" Hinata nearly screamed, her eyes practically popping out of her head as she activated her Byakugan in her panic, "OH NONONONO!" She locked her panicked gaze on Tsunade, "WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW! I…WE CAN'T LEAVE HER LIKE THAT!"

Bewildered, Shiro just stared at the usually calm and quite successor to his clan. He had never seen her act like this before, "I need to know the significance of that collar if Hinata-sama's reaction is any indication about what is going on. What's so bad about that collar? For that matter, why the hell would Mikomi-san act as one of Orochimaru's personal guard at that dig site?"

Tsunade started pacing back and forth behind her desk as she tried to figure out how to explain this to those present who didn't know, "That collar means everything Shiro-san. It explains how and why Mikomi would be acting as a guard for Orochimaru as well as why this discovery is so convenient for the Council. Mikomi herself once described that very collar to me. Orochimaru had used it to essentially force her to do his bidding. The white seals that are etched on the collar seemed to give whoever knew the right combination of seals to the collar the ability to deliver a powerful electric shock directly into Mikomi's body. It delivered the maximum amount of pain with the minimum amount of damage. Given Mikomi's already impressive natural healing abilities this meant they could torture her for a lot longer than almost anybody else without worrying about harming her. She had had the collar placed on her when she was nine years old. I'm not surprised that it has become ingrained to try and avoid the pain it caused her and to obey Orochimaru to the point where she has become his personal body guard."

As Tsunade described the torturous device everybody in the room stiffened noticeably. Even Kakashi and Shiro. Everyone there had experienced pain and injury during their time as Shinobi for Konoha, but none of them had ever imagined experiencing something like Orochimaru's collar. Kakashi wasn't sure if he would have been able to do much about the collar if it was around his neck and he was far more experienced in his lightning affinity than Mikomi had even thought to be.

No words were spoken when Kakashi reached into his leg pouch and pulled the thin disk that Kitoushi had given him out of it. He set it down on Tsunade's desk, the glowing electrical display facing the Hokage.

"I managed to salvage something out of this disaster already Tsunade-sama. That disk there was given to me by the man I've secured to work as an insider within the Akatsuki for us. Mikomi's father." Tsunade nodded before Kakashi continued, "I made a bargain with him. He feeds us information about the Akatsuki, every scrap that he can get his hands on, and I'll notify him when we have something concrete about Mikomi's location or better yet, a plan to rescue her."

There was no need for Kakashi to say anything else. His meaning was clear and he had left it within Tsunade's hands to decide on their course of action.

"Then intend to use him," Tsunade said with growl, "If he's really going to hold to his end of the deal we have to uphold our own. Use that thing however it works to send word to him." A scowl slid across Tsunade's face before she muttered, "I never would have imagined Kitoushi of all people to be capable of harming anyone. He was such a good physician…"

Tsunade snatched the disk Kakashi had laid on her desk up, looked at it for a moment then tossed it back to him with a nod. Kakashi held the disk in his palm and examined it for a moment before letting a trickle of chakra flow into the device. Without even a click the electronic display that had been showing his current location slid upwards to reveal a miniature panel beneath with initials etched into the buttons as well as a miniature microphone with a transmission button and speaker. A few of the initials jumped out at him: UI, HK, Dei, as well as YKB for Yakubyougami. With only a moments hesitation Kakashi tried to push the YKB button, and then sent a small surge of chakra running through it. Then he waited.

One minute, then another passed with everybody waiting impatiently for a response. Kakashi went to try to contact Kitoushi again when he felt the disk suddenly start to warm up in his hands in a way that clearly wasn't from body heat. Kakashi looked aground the room again before he sent another surge of chakra into the now glowing YKB button. He didn't have to wait long to get a response.

"I take it that is you Kakashi," a quiet voice came from the speaker. "I sure as hell hope that you've got something to tell me about where Orochimaru is keeping Mikomi. I haven't had a chance to look for her myself until last night."

"We've found her," Kakashi replied just as quietly, "Orochimaru has been keeping her close. He's forced her into servitude again. Another shock collar or so it seems. She is with him in the northern edge of Rice country at an archeological dig site. Have you seen it before?"

Silence fell over the room again before Kitoushi's spoke again, "Yes. When are you leaving?"

Kakashi eyed Tsunade for a moment before she nodded her assent to his unasked question. "Shortly. Meet me on the southern edge of the forest near the dig site. I'll be travelling with three others. Contact me again at dawn three days from now. We'll be there then." With that said, Kakashi snapped the disk closed again with one hand.

"You heard the man," Tsunade barked at the three Chuunin in the room, "I want you ready to leave as soon as you can. You have the rest of the day to get ready to leave and to rest. You will bring Mikomi back to us."

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata didn't say a word as they nodded grimly before leaving the Hokage's office.

Sasuke could barely contain his urge to slit the throat of every single Sound ninja that passed by him as he wove his way through the Village Hidden in Sound. The sight of the same people he had worked with under Orochimaru sickened him now. He could remember quite clearly that nearly every single one of them had liberally abused the power and prestige working under Orochimaru had afforded them, especially the elites. He had heard the rumors and the boasts that many of the male ninja made. Knocking out a 'fool' who had gotten in their way, the perversions they forced on an unsuspecting girl who had crossed their paths; the usual cruelties and the moral abandonment.

Sasuke felt ashamed that he had ever counted himself as a member among their populous. Of course, the cursed seal hadn't afforded him much of a choice at the time.

A slightly cruel grin that was at home on any of the Sound nins faces broke through Sasuke's anger. He may have lost all sense of morals during the time that Orochimaru had influenced his mind but he had not forgotten anything about the Village. The incompetent buffoons at the gates hadn't even given him so much as a second glance when he had flashed the hand signs for an urgent message.

Pushing his visions of eviscerating a rather infamous ninja who had garnered the reputation as a rapist to the back of his mind, Sasuke forced himself to concentrate on the job at hand. He had to find out where Orochimaru was keeping Mikomi.

While his Henge disguise of being just another scared Sound face might work on the guards, the number of people who were allowed down into the lower chambers of Orochimaru's underground fortress was small enough that each person allowed access knew each other by sight. Sasuke wasn't an idiot. He knew that had he tried to impersonate anyone of authority in the Village he was just as likely to be found out as not; doubly so if he dropped his disguise entirely since the news of his death would have circulated like wildfire in the village. It wasn't a risk that he could afford to take, even if the chance he could be stopped by anyone short of Orochimaru himself was slim. He couldn't risk it, not without ensuring that Mikomi was safe first.

'Besides,' Sasuke thought wryly, 'even the biggest fool in this would get suspicious if anyone got too close to Orochimaru's 'little weapon.' But how can I get verification on her location in this festering armpit of a dead monkey.'

That none of the Genin and Chuunin had seen Mikomi hadn't come as a real shock to Sasuke. The fact that the standard Jounin recruits hadn't encountered her either had come as a shock. None of the usual sources of information and gossip amongst the ranks of Sound Nin had any information whatsoever. He certainly couldn't walk into the elite's headquarters in Orochimaru's fortress to ask around for information. He would be found out in a second.

Of course, the idea of wandering around the Village all day was just as unappealing as trying a direct assault on Orochimaru's lair without at least having a general idea of where Mikomi was being kept.

Sasuke abruptly stopped dead in his tracks when he realized where he had been heading while lost in his thoughts. He was on the street that ran parallel to the stone wall that joined with Orochimaru's fortress itself. Perhaps infiltrating the fortress blind was his only option after all but Sasuke was going to be damned if he didn't try looking into the shops and smithies this near the viper's den. They at least had the best chance of coming in contact with someone who had encountered Mikomi. He had already wasted two hours trying to glean some information from people who hadn't even seen her. Especially frustrating after taking a day and a half to get to the Sound, a full half day wasted avoiding the large number of patrols that had moved over the ground near the Village Hidden in Sound.

Yet, first one hour passed, then a second, and even a third with Sasuke having nothing to show for it. He felt every passing minute grating on his nerves. The usual patience that he normally drew upon for espionage and information gathering deserting him as thoughts of the pain Mikomi might be going through continually intruded on his thoughts.

Irritated at his own failure, Sasuke walked into a shop without even bothering to glance at the name. He took in the clothing racks as well as the rest of the empty room at a glance before sighing and walking over to the display near the counter. His thoughts were in such turmoil that for the first time in over a year he missed something obvious that he should have noticed right away: the advertising sign next to a pair of gloves that had an intricate seal woven into the material.

As luck would have it, Sasuke was reaching for the gloves as a woman came from the back of the room saying "Welcome to Kishi's Nin App–" The woman's casual voice broke off in a strangled sob at the same time Sasuke felt the hair's on the back of his neck rise and his Henge break with a crack.

Sasuke watched in astonishment as woman – Kishi – bowed very low and didn't let her eyes leave the ground as she started babbling, "I'm sorry Orochimaru-sama I didn't realize that you were going to grace my humble presence with your great shop – I mean my humble shop with your presence of great…uh…and is there anything that I can do for you? I apologize for my rudeness and feel free to take any supplies that you require and as you can see those gloves are able to break through even the strongest Henge…"

Recognition dawned on Sasuke as he glanced at the small woman bowing behind her own counter, even as he felt a little uneasy that somebody thought that he was Orochimaru.

Sasuke felt his skin crawl at the thought of Orochimaru inhabiting the body he had left behind upon his death.

"Look at my eyes Kishi-san," Sasuke said softly, relaxing his posture as much as possible, "Is it possible for me to be Orochimaru if I don't have his slitted eyes? Hell, I know very few people ninja or otherwise who have as cruel eyes as him."

Kishi slowly raised herself from the bow that had left her looking straight at the ground and into Sasuke's eyes. Fear and apprehension shone in the woman's eyes at first, a look that visibly leached out of her. A look of awe slowly worked its way across the woman's face as glanced at her advertized gloves and the back at Sasuke's face and eyes.

"Is that-" Kishi swallowed hard before she could continue in a voice that sounded as brittle as thin ice, "Is that really you Sasuke-sama? How…Orochimaru told everyone that he had taken your body for his own…I saw him when he came in…everyone thought you were dead inside…"

Sasuke felt his hopes soar. From what Kishi had been saying it sounded like she had seen Orochimaru in person. Not only that, but he had been in and out of Kishi's shop throughout the year he had lived and trained with Mikomi while he had still been a part of the Sound so she was one of the few shopkeepers who would be able to recognize Mikomi on sight.

"I swear on the name of my clan that I am Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke intoned softly, "The last of member of the Uchiha clan. I am not Orochimaru." He paused for a minute, trying to figure out how he was going to explain why Orochimaru had his body. Then it clicked. "I was being held by Orochimaru at one of his other facilities that he has hidden amongst the various elemental nations. He held me in the facility nearest Mizu. He…cloned…my body somehow. Made a copy of it for himself. The process also freed me from his control."

A tired sigh escaped Sasuke. Not an intentional one that he had used in the past to garner sympathy from the right information sources, but a sigh drawn from his stress and exhaustion.

"I've been looking around the Sound trying to find where Orochimaru is holding Mikomi. I came back for her. I tried to free her once but I have heard that Orochimaru has her back under his control." Sasuke leaned closer into Kishi before he spoke again, "I refuse to let anything else happen to that girl. She's been through too much and I want to get her out of Orochimaru's clutches. Do you know where she is?"

A nervous expression slid onto Kishi's face and she just stood there, one hand reflexively balling the hem of her shirt in her fist.

Feeling like crap for doing it Sasuke played his trump card, "Kishi-san, did you know that Orochimaru stole her from her family? He kidnapped her and killed her mother and father before her eyes when she was only nine years old. He gave her over to a man by the name of Sadisuto…"

Kishi's face became emotionless as Sasuke spoke but he could see her eyes hardening into twin pools of icy emerald. When Sasuke mentioned Sadisuto's name Kishi's eyes whitened into a thin, white line.

"I didn't know," Kishi said, straining to keep her voice neutral, "I never suspected the bright girl that you brought here had been through anything of the sort. Orochimaru brought her in here to replace her clothes that he claimed were damaged during training." Kishi's voice suddenly rose as her rage slipped into her words, "That viper was careless when he came in here, in my shop. He didn't pay any attention to me; thought that he was so much better than I was. Mikomi-chan's face had remained completely blank and emotionless the entire time she had been in here until Orochimaru talked about where he wanted to take here. She confused me, because the moment she was told where they were leaving for, a pleading look flashed across her face as she looked me in the eye for just a second before turning away. The look she gave me confused me, but that was all she did"

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Orochimaru mentioned to Kabuto-san in passing that he was going to be bringing her up to an archeological dig site on the northern edge of Rice country."

Sasuke locked his eyes onto Kishi's. "Thank-you Kishi-san, you have no idea how much help you just gave me," Sasuke brought the Sharingan to life and began to make a lightning fast series of hand seals out of sight, "But I'm afraid that it would be too dangerous to your well being and my own for you to remember telling me any of this. Not for a long while anyway. I'm sorry."

"NINPO: Illusion of Memory Jutsu!"

Four pairs of feet in soft soled shoes didn't even make as whisper of sound as the slid through the underbrush surrounding a rather expansive hole in the ground. Three sets of eyes continually scanned the area for any sign of movement while the final set of eyes watched everything her Byakugan could take in. Their movements led them inexorably towards the archeological dig site that Orochimaru had been financing for the last several years.

Team Seven and Hinata may have been running for the past day and a half, but the break they took to wait for sunset and the soldier pills they had all taken left them feeling as refreshed as if they had rested for a week. They had a goal. They had a semblance of a plan. They had the sun at their back as it began to set to take advantage of the long shadows and blindness it caused anyone looking in their direction.

They were going to take Mikomi away from Orochimaru no matter what it took.

Hinata slipped her hand up the trigger for her throat microphone. She spoke silently in her throat, but the microphone picked up every word, "There is nobody to our rear and I still haven't spotted anything on the other side of this brush. I don't know what is going on but we should have picked up a sign that Orochimaru was about, some sentries at least."

"I don't think that means anything" Kakashi replied, "He's just as likely to work alone as he is to use the people at his disposal. Either way the numbers look small."

A crackle passed over the radio ear piece they were all wearing before Naruto's voice came through, "Mikomi-chan at least is here with him. That's what Shiro-san said anyway."

Silence fell over the team as Kakashi clicked his throat microphone five times to signal temporary radio silence. Nobody had any desire to accidently give their position away before they had gotten close enough to at least know if and where Orochimaru's guard were placed. Even the insignificant sounds made when they used the throat microphones could be enough.

They continued to move silently through the brush until they entered a copse of trees that seemed to be overlooking the crater that they were just starting to make out.

Hinata spotted the Sentry that was moving through the trees first. She double tapped the radio and paused before she tapped it once again. It was the signal for 'danger, one target'. Judging the distance to be far enough away she keyed her mike again and pointed out the location of Sound Nin that was hiding in the trees.

Kakashi cursed mildly under his breath. They were very lucky that they had decided to approach the dig site at sunset otherwise they would have been spotted from the vantage point in the trees. The sun or the moon would have provided enough overhead light to catch part of their clothing. "Sakura, Naruto, I need the pair of you to remain here and watch our approach in case we miss anything moving from another direction. Hinata, you're coming with me. I need your eyes to make sure we don't lose the sentry and to warn if he is looking in our direction. We need a silent take down so that we can set up that copse for our own uses."

Three long clicks in rapid succession came over the radio in ascent before Kakashi and Hinata started moving towards the tree line. Hinata keep her Byakugan activated and her senses tuned to look for any movement around her while Kakashi slid his headband off his Sharingan. Progress was slow as they weaved towards the trees as they stopped every time that Hinata spotted the man looking in their direction. Sound and movement was the enemy now just as much as the eyesight of the Sound Nin in the trees.

When the pair entered the copse Kakashi seemed to fade into the shadows even more as he slinked off to get into position. Hinata kept her eyes on the sentry, counting down from thirty before making her next move. At thirty seconds, Hinata reached out with her foot and set it down on a twig and applied just enough pressure for it to make a cracking noise.

As expected the Sound Nin whirled immediately at the foreign sound and hurled a kunai in the direction that the sound came from. Hinata slipped her leg out of the way as the kunai thudded into the ground where her foot had been just a moment before. She was also careful to leave the edge of her shoulder peaking out around the tree along with her leg. The tight, navy blue t-shirt and pants standing out just enough in the slanting light to allow the sentry to spot her. Hinata watched as the man started to leap through the trees towards her before passing right by an unseen Kakashi.

The Sound Nin never knew what hit him. Kakashi's hand blurred out from around the tree trunk and caught the other ninja's chin. A sharp twist and a faint crack were the only sounds anyone could hear in the copse as Hinata spun out around the tree to catch the falling corpse before it could make any more noise.

Hinata shuddered slightly as she watched the man's chakra circulatory system slowly fade away as life left him rather than just winking out the way she had seen it before. It was the first time she had seen killed by having their neck broken.

Setting the corpse on the ground, Hinata called Sakura and Naruto into the trees to regroup as Kakashi cast a genjutsu over the dead man's body to keep him hidden for as long as possible.

"We've got to find any other sentries that are around the site before we make our move," Kakashi whispered without bothering to use the microphone with nobody else around, "and it would be best to do it before the sun goes all the way down. We would have a better approach if we had the sun at our backs again."

Three heads nodded understanding as Sakura spoke up, "How do you want us going about this Kakashi-sensei? Are we going to split up or move as one?"

Kakashi thought for a second before he replied, "We need this done as fast and silently as possible." Kakashi removed the smaller pouch he had strapped to his left leg across from his kunai pouch on his right leg and handed it to Sakura, "I want you to remain here with Naruto to watch your back and scout out the dig site. These binoculars have a coating to eliminate almost all reflections and the light at our backs makes them safe to use. Report anything of interest and plan a way to get Mikomi out of there; if we can avoid Orochimaru that would be even better. Hinata, you circle around to the left and take down every sentry you come across. You can't afford to be soft here so you need to aim to kill. They won't hesitate to do the same to you. Naruto, form a dozen Kage Bunshin and keep half here and send the other half ranging wide around the dig site to try and find Kitoushi and bring him here. The time frame is thirty minutes. No mistakes from any of you. We can't afford them."

Nobody hesitated. They just spread out and moved off to do their appointed tasks.

It had been a long, arduous – not to mention extremely boring – half an hour for Naruto. Sitting in trees and spying on an enemy had never been much his style and it had been even worse after Sakura had spotted Mikomi. She had been standing next to a figure cloaked and hooded in black and had looked as docile and as listless as cattle. If it wasn't for the way her lifeless looking eyes continually scanned the area around the dig site they would have through that she was just their for ornamentation.

Then there was the collar. Both Naruto and Sakura felt shivers travel up their spines every time the looked closely at it through the binoculars that Kakashi had given them. It was hard to imagine having either to obey a bastard like Orochimaru or else face the imminent threat of electrocution. That was one experience that neither ninja ever wanted to experience.

The grim reality that Mikomi was faced with had finally sunk in for Naruto as well. It was not until he had witnessed Mikomi's expressionless face that he had ever considered how hard it would be to resist such a torturous device, especially if you had been lived under its shadow for four years of your life already.

He tried to image what it must have felt like to get electrocuted, or even to be struck by lightning for that matter, but the only electrical attack that he had ever had been when Sasuke's Raikiri had pierced his chest. All that he could remember was unbelievable pain focusing around his torso.

Sakura whispered to Naruto, "Hinata and Kakashi-sensei should be reporting in any minute now. You should probably dispel the six Kage Bunshin you sent to look for Kitoushi to see if they have accomplished anything."

A brief look of concentration flitted over the blonde's face before it seemed to slacken just as much for a moment as information came rushing back in. The frown that appeared told Sakura all she needed to know. A sullen look crossed Naruto's face as his impatience at doing a seemingly pointless task combined with the frustration that came from sitting around waiting for so long.

Neither of the Konoha Ninja could wait for Hinata and Kakashi to break the radio silence.

With a slight crackle their earpieces resounded with Kakashi's voice at last, "NS this HK and we have chips. Even odds on the gamble so bet on four black. Place your bets and then we'll party."

"Sounds good, we'll place two chips then spin the wheel," Sakura replied.

Naruto couldn't help but grin despite the situation. He hated having to speak in code, especially since he didn't understand why they only bothered before the critical parts of the mission. It just confused him. However, the code Kakashi was using had always been one of his favourites. Especially since he had come up with it after watching Jiraiya's gambling at an odd game called Roulette during their travels. He had used black for targets they knew and red for unknowns. It was a calming to know that they would be dealing with people they had fought before.

Of course, the fact that they knew who they were fighting against meant that they were probably known for a very good reason: they had been strong enough to fight and survive encounters with Konoha ninjas.

Hinata tried to remain calm by relaxing against a tree trunk, her Byakugan inactive. She could feel her pulse racing, her muscles tensing up, and could have sworn that she felt her chakra start to race through her body faster than usual when she was not directly using it. The adrenaline that was surely rushing through her body was making it harder than usual to focus as well. A shudder rippled through her body for a moment before she forced it to stop after a sharp look from Kakashi.

For the first time in her life, Hinata had taken the life of another human being. Instead of feeling the horror and discomfort that she had always envisioned the act would bring all she felt was a sense of righteous anger. Three times she had silently 'eliminated' a Sound Ninja on patrol and three times all she had felt was a furious anger flaring inside.

She wasn't sure if she should be grateful that stress hadn't caught up yet or sick to her stomach for feeling so little. Well, she had twenty minutes to try and refocus herself for the final part of their plan.

Taking her time, Hinata closed her eyes and began to breathe as deeply as possible while remaining silent. She couldn't fail her friend, not when so much was riding on her rescue. Her knuckles turned white as she curled her hands into fists and clenched them as hard as she could. She refused to allow her friend to suffer anymore and if that meant that she had to learn to take life rather than save it so be it. The time was long past that she accepted what it really meant to live the life of a ninja.

Using a trickle of chakra, Hinata forcibly slowed her adrenaline output and calmed herself down enough to regain her self control. With another trickle of chakra Hinata slowly activated her Byakugan so that she could be ready for anything that could happen.

A frown slipped onto Hinata's face when she tried to get a closer look at Orochimaru's face hidden within the confines of his black cloak. She could see Mikomi, Kinniku, and Kabuto's faces just fine but for some reason Orochimaru's features seemed to just slide away from her eyes. She could see the chakra that was causing the phenomenon to occur but she couldn't figure out why she couldn't look beyond it without delving right into his chakra circulatory system. She tried again and again to adjust her eyesight to penetrate that annoying shroud that Orochimaru seemed to have erected to hide his face but nothing she did seemed to affect it. She tried to shift her vision to the same level she had used to identify those Sound Ninja's who had attempted to infiltrate Konoha so long ago using the faces and Hinata still was unable to see anything.

'This doesn't make any sense,' Hinata thought for the twentieth time in the last five minute, 'there has never been an ability that could mask a person from a Hyuuga's eyes completely. I don't think even Otou-san has heard of a masking ability that could deceive our eyes.'

Frustrated, Hinata tapped Kakashi on the shoulder. She motioned for him to unveil his Sharingan once again and motioned for him to get as good a look at Orochimaru's face as he could. Kakashi's eyes widened when he understood what she was getting at and he pulled his headband away from his left eye.

Hinata allowed her focus to move away from Orochimaru and sent her vision racing across the field a short distance until she spotted Sakura and Naruto moving through the grasses. They had covered close to three quarters of the distance to where Orochimaru was staying with what was left of his bodyguard retinue when something else caught her eye.

Shifting her concentration once again Hinata focused on Mikomi and Orochimaru. They were just standing there, although it looked as if Orochimaru was leaning in to speak with Mikomi. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it still had caught her eye for some reason.

It wasn't until the cloaked figure of Orochimaru turned in her direction that the hairs on the back of Hinata's neck stood on end.

There was a blur of motion from Mikomi and suddenly the ground split open in an eruption that lanced towards Hinata and Kakashi.

Abandoning all pretenses at trying to remain hidden, Kakashi and Hinata dove out of the way of the attack and into the open ground. Hinata was already sliding into the stance for the Jyuken and Kakashi had a kunai in his left hand. Moments later Kabuto and Kinniku stood ready to fight as well, although they were distracted when Sakura and Naruto burst into the clearing and drew their attention.

In the same amount of time that it had taken all eight ninja to get themselves into the dig site and ready to fight the three archaeologists who had been working in the area finally realized what was going on. All three of them abandoned their work and sprinted for ramps that led down into the dig itself.

Orochimaru just started laughing.

Mirth filled Orochimaru's changed and oddly familiar voice as he started at Hinata and Kakashi from the voluminous depths of his cloak, "I should have expected something like this would happen. You fools always were soft enough to come after somebody you considered a friend or else a part of your village. A futile gesture, since I own the girl. She simply cannot refuse to do anything that I tell her to do."

"BASTARD!" Hinata screamed, "I WON'T LET YOU HURT HER ANYMORE!"

Orochimaru and Mikomi were the only two who didn't react to Hinata's outburst. Everybody there knew how soft spoken and shy the Hyuuga heir usually was and to see her expressing such open hate and anger on her face was very different than how she usually acted.

"Kukuku, so the little princess has some fire in her eh?" Orochimaru laughed arrogantly, "But you're just as ignorant as the other three. Mikomi-chan is my little weapon and it doesn't matter what you meant to her before. If I command her to kill you, she will."

Hinata's seemed to grow even larger in rage as Sakura screamed back, "Then you're the idiot you damn snake. She would never kill her friends no matter what you did to her. She's not that kind of person."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, "We know her. She's our friend!"

Everyone could hear the humour in Orochimaru's voice, "Oh really? Well pinky, let's see how right you are." Orochimaru nodded his cloaked head in Hinata's direction, "Girl, you're going to try to kill the Hyuuga as if you were trying to kill me."

Mikomi's head jerked almost involuntarily in Hinata's direction and she started towards her. The stare was so devoid of emotion that an involuntary shudder worked its way down Hinata's spine. A gasp escaped from Sakura while Hinata continued to stare wide eyed at the girl she had become so close to.

"No," Hinata almost whimpered as she took an involuntary step backwards, "y-you d-d-don't want to do t-this M-Mikomi-chan. No…"

Hinata's eyes were locked on Mikomi's own as the purple haired girl bore down on her. Hinata could at last see some life behind those eyes; she could see the pain that glowed within them as if from a distance. Hinata couldn't help but shake her head in denial as Mikomi continued to slowly advance towards her.

When Mikomi was only a dozen paces away from Hinata Orochimaru spoke again, "Oh, and Mikomi-chan, how about activating you Sharingan to tear the girl to shreds; as if she was me of course."

Shock flared upon Hinata and Kakashi's face as they saw Mikomi's eyes invert in colour once, then again as a fully matured Sharingan blossomed into being. Slowly, a tear leaked out of the corner of Mikomi's left eye, the only sign that anything remained of the girl that had found a new home in Konoha.

Then Mikomi struck.

Only the speed of Hinata's reflexes prevented Mikomi's first punch from taking her head off. Hinata reflexively slapped a palm into Mikomi's shoulder to seal off a tenketsu and temporarily paralyze Mikomi's arm, so she was caught off guard when Mikomi reversed directions and smashed a dead-arm blow into Hinata's stomach that sent her tumbling to the edge of the clearing.

Chaos erupted above the dig site.

While Mikomi slowly stalked towards the stunned Hinata, Kakashi and Orochimaru engaged each other. With a loud clang the pair of them clashed with a pair of kunai each, both aiming to kill – with a throat and kidney strike respectively – and countering a fatal strike from the other in the same instant. A flurry of sparks flew as the pair danced with their blades for a moment before Orochimaru snapped a kick into Kakashi's chest and knocked him down onto the uppermost ring of the dig site.

Kabuto and Kinniku were thrown off balance as Sakura created a furrow of her own in the earth before she launched herself at Kinniku.

Kinniku steadied himself and with a burst of speed managed to intercept Sakura's next punch just as she started to swing an overhead blow intended to split the ground again if the punch missed. With a wild grin marring Kinniku's still gaunt face he was caught off guard as Sakura instantly followed up his counter with a vicious head butt that caused him to lurch backwards unsteadily. Kinniku's reflexive slash with his chakra fang was the only thing that kept Sakura from putting her fist through his skull as he stumbled backwards attempting to clear the cobwebs from his head. Spinning away, Kinniku began to retreat to refocus himself with a furious Sakura following.

Despite stumbling from Sakura's attack, Kabuto was able to get his feet underneath him in time to destroy a pair of Naruto's Kage Bunshin with his chakra scalpels. Gritting his teeth, Kabuto looked around to discover that he was surrounded by nine other Narutos. It had been hard enough for Kabuto to fight the kid while he has still been relatively untrained, but this fight was bound to be different. Training with one of the Sannin would do that to a person.

Two running strides brought Kabuto to the edge of the circle of Naruto's as he attempted to break through. A quick duck brought Kabuto underneath the kick and the punch the Naruto pair swung in his direction, leaving him enough room to slice cleanly through the Kage Bunshin. A glancing blow to his neck and kick that struck him cleanly in the ribs was all the explanation that Kabuto needed for why it had been so easy to escape Naruto's circle. Rolling with the attacks Kabuto sprang to his feet facing that Narutos only to get pushed by the sheer weight of numbers supporting Naruto's assault.

For Hinata her entire world had shrunk down to herself and the nearly emotionless human being attacking. It didn't matter that she had her Byakugan activated since Hinata's concentration had been channeled into trying to defend herself from a Mikomi that wielded a Sharingan.

Mikomi had always been able to recover from having her tenketsu sealed remarkably fast, and to Hinata's frustration the Sharingan only seemed to elevate Mikomi's already impressive resistance. Time and again Hinata had thought that she would be able to at least slow down the juggernaut that Mikomi's Tsunadean strength and newfound Sharingan had created only to discover her blows being shrugged off or else fought through. On the other hand, Hinata hadn't been caught off guard again since that initial blow that had nearly ended the fight.

Hinata's feet were a blur as she spun around Mikomi's axe kick. Even as the kick ripped up the ground in another trench Hinata had let her momentum carry her body into a vicious roundhouse kick that sealed off a pair of tenketsu in Mikomi's ribs. The blow managed to throw the expressionless girl off balance for the first time in the entire fight. Hinata knifed her hand towards Mikomi's neck in an attempt to knock the stronger girl out when she noticed the massive flood of chakra rocketing out of Mikomi's hands. Tucking her body into a roll, Hinata changed her attack into a one arm handstand on Mikomi's shoulder. As the ground beneath the pair of them exploded in a torrent of stone and earth Hinata's other hand slapped down on Mikomi's other shoulder and used it as a springboard to get clear of the attack.

In midair there was little that Hinata could do as she watched Mikomi tear a chunk of earth from the ground. Hinata forced herself around and had fired up a Rasengan in right hand and brought it around to meet the rock that was almost a big as she was. The second the Rasengan hit the rock Hinata released her control over the sphere of energy in an attempt to destroy it. The shrapnel from the rock caused Hinata to close her eyes and turn her head to the side for a moment as fragments flew around her body. Several shards caused nicks along the right side of her face and one glanced off her forehead while others caused cuts to erupt up and down her arms and legs.

When Hinata opened her eyes again as she hit the ground, it was to see Mikomi sealing once again. Hinata knew that she couldn't afford to hesitate anymore. Despite the odd tear that she saw shimmering down Mikomi's face the girl was fighting for keeps, and with that Sharingan activated it was even harder to land a decent blow. Hinata had to close the distance even if it meant infighting against someone many times stronger than she was.

Pumping chakra into her legs, Hinata sprinted towards Mikomi. The second that Mikomi finished sealing, Hinata saw the chakra concentrating in the other girl's chest leapt to the side just as Mikomi attacked.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!"

Hinata rode the buffet of air into a spin that put her back on her feet that much closer to Mikomi. In a rush Hinata cut off a tenketsu in Mikomi's right shoulder and followed it up with a simpler uppercut that ended up hurting her knuckles more than Mikomi's chin.

The next several minutes were spent in a dance that would have ended in disaster if Hinata had of missed a step or had slowed down even a fraction. If it hadn't been for her own prodigious speed Hinata might not have even been able to land a blow on Mikomi, as even the ones Hinata had managed to land had steadily changed from solid strikes into glancing blows. The worst part was that Hinata knew that she wasn't slowing down at all yet.

With a twist, Hinata leapt up and slammed her foot into Mikomi's hand when it was fully pulled back and used it as a launch pad to get some distance and hopefully a moment's respite. Hinata's concentration wavered for a second as she landed and tried to catch her breathe and caught glimpses of the other fights around her. Naruto and Kabuto were engaged in a game of cat and mouse with Kage Bunshin and chakra scalpels amidst other physical techniques. Sakura and Kinniku were still going strong although the strain seemed to be getting to Kinniku as his genjutsu were being brushed off by Sakura with ease. On the other hand, Kakashi was being hard pressed by Orochimaru despite using his Sharingan for the entire fight. A welt was already swelling just below Kakashi's Sharingan eye and Orochimaru didn't seem to have a scratch on him.

The brief second passed and Hinata's focus snapped back to Mikomi and her already sealing hands. Hinata pulled a pair of kunai and explosive notes from her pouch and hurled them towards Mikomi at the same moment that Mikomi unleashed her technique.

"Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"

This time Hinata was forced to release the Byakugan to prevent her eyes from being blinded by the brilliant flash created by the detonation. It lifted her clear off her feet and tossed her spinning into the shrubs around the clearing. She hit the ground on her back and left shoulder hard enough to steal her breath away even as she relaxed her body to take most of the strain out of the fall. Rolling several times, Hinata finally managed to stagger to and reactivate her Byakugan and was stunned by what she saw.

The blast from the fire jutsu triggering two explosive notes had left a shallow, but wide crater just shy of seven metres in diameter and the effect from the torrent of air showed in an even greater area. All of Naruto's Kage Bunshin had been destroyed and he seemed just as dazed as she was. Kabuto was hauling himself up from one of the few drops into the dig site that were not above a ramp, apparently having been caught in midair. Sakura was rubbing her stomach as she pulled herself onto her feet, a shattered clod of earth lying around her. Kinniku had ripped a piece of his shirt to tie around his head to cover a bleeding wound on his forehead as he warily glanced at his dazed opponent. However, Orochimaru and Kakashi continued their deadly dance as if nothing had happened, although Orochimaru did show the first signs that Kakashi had managed to land a blow as there was a small stain on his right forearm. Mikomi was just calmly walking towards her.

Hinata gave a start when she realized that had seen Mikomi heading in her direction for the last several seconds, apparently unharmed except for singed eyebrows and soot streaking her body. An involuntary shudder ran through Hinata as she forced herself to once again look into the emotionless eyes of her friend that was trying to kill her.

Once again Mikomi rushed to attack Hinata, and again only after Hinata had shifted her focus back to Mikomi. It was an odd thought Hinata had. No matter how mercilessly Mikomi attacked her she always seemed to wait until Hinata had enough attention to respond.

The other fights faded into the background as Mikomi leapt high into the air with her foot raised in an axe kick already. For the first time that Hinata could remember she suddenly found herself wishing that she had some distance attacks besides kunai that she could use against an opponent.

Hinata waited until the last second to avoid the kick, remembering how this one tended not to cause any backwash of damage, and slipped so closely behind Mikomi's descending figure that some of the purplish-black hair swept over her own shorter blue. Ignoring the tremor her legs felt through the ground Hinata spun into a kick that connected sharply with Mikomi's left hand as it shot back over her right shoulder. A gasp was forced from Hinata as Mikomi's hand closed over her foot before she could pull her leg away. Another moment found Hinata flying through the air even faster than the explosion had hurled her, directly into the path of Kakashi and Orochimaru's fight.

Everything happened almost at once. Hinata slammed into Orochimaru with enough force to throw even him off balance, giving Kakashi the opportunity he needed. Orochimaru hissed like an actual snake and twisted his body in a manner than should have been impossible for a human being around Kakashi's kunai slash at the last moment to save his life, but earned a cut on the cheek and the loss of his hood. The same moment that the kunai pierced Orochimaru's face that same strange illusion that hid his face was nullified by the physical disruption.

Nobody moved as the face of Sasuke Uchiha – twisted by Orochimaru's serpentine influence but with unmistakable Sharingan spinning – was revealed in the light from the setting sun.

Kakashi instinctively backed leapt away from that familiar face with a stunned expression on his face and cautiously lowered himself into a fighting stance. Without thinking about it Naruto and Sakura sprinted to Kakashi's side and flanked him.

As Hinata got to her feet to join the other three she felt Orochimaru seize her left arm just above the elbow and hiss, "I'm going to punish you for that little girl."

Stars flashed before Hinata's eyes as Orochimaru's first blow struck her in the temple, followed by blinding agony as she felt his foot smash into her arm in between his hand and her shoulder. The audible crack that preceded Hinata's scream announced to everyone present that Orochimaru had snapped the bone in half even before she was thrown to the ground at the feet of the other three with her arm bent in a place it shouldn't have been. Kakashi barely had enough time to get in front of Hinata to catch the girl as well as the kunai that an emotionless but crying Mikomi had thrown at her.

From the depths of Kakashi's cradled arms Hinata gasped out, "Why are you still trying to kill me Mikomi? Why Mikomi-chan…?"

Orochimaru laughed unpleasantly once again before he spoke. The reason for his familiar, but changed, voice was disturbingly clear to everyone present. There wasn't any doubt as to how Orochimaru had managed to get close enough to Mikomi to capture her without showing even the slightest signs of resistance.

"Come to me Mikomi-chan," Orochimaru said in a mocking voice, "I think the Hyuuga's had enough for now. Same with you other two, get over here." Just like the first time that Orochimaru had commanded her Mikomi gave a little jerk before calmly walking over to stand perfectly still at Orochimaru's side before Orochimaru gave her a pat on the head. "She's my good little pet now, you see? Of course, her collar doesn't exactly give her a choice to begin with."

Another hideous cackle erupted from Orochimaru at the horrified looks that appeared on Hinata, Sakura and Naruto's faces while Kakashi just narrowed his eyes in anger. Kakashi sounded like he was trying to grind rocks in his mouth when he spoke, "You mean that accursed thing is forcing Mikomi to do what you want? That is beyond disgusting even for a piece of shit like you."

The open derision on Orochimaru's face was enough to rile up all four Konoha ninjas, "It is far more than that fools. It suppresses even her will, in fact, I control her will!"

A furious roar erupted from the nearest stand of trees at Orochimaru's words and a black blur streaked across the open area only to resolve in front of Orochimaru as Kitoushi, his enormous black blade hurtling towards the snake's neck. Once again Orochimaru's disturbing flexibility saved his life as he twisted sideways below Kitoushi's blade before launching a double-footed drop kick into the tall man's chest.

Battle erupted anew as Kakashi engaged Kinniku, while Naruto hurtled after Kabuto again and Sakura tried to stave off Mikomi. Naruto managed to send several of his clones off towards the stand of trees that Kitoushi as well as Kakashi and Hinata had come from as the fight started.

Nobody noticed as yet another pair of eyes began to observe the fight from the same trees that everyone else used for their approach.

Sasuke felt an incredible surge of hatred for Orochimaru. The fact that Orochimaru had taken over his previous body didn't bother him as much as the collar that was latched around Mikomi's neck. It was a disgusting object that never should have seen the light of day.

His gaze travelled over to the figures of Orochimaru fighting a man with a massive black sword. Sasuke felt a grudging respect for the man to be able to wield so large a blade so easily. Fingering his own sword, the black Kusanagi that Shinigami had given to him, Sasuke itched to abandon his watch and try to kill Orochimaru immediately. Sasuke paused a moment before shaking his head. Sasuke knew quite well that Orochimaru was no fool and that his senses were already primed for battle. Besides, Sasuke couldn't risk Orochimaru sacrificing Mikomi to save his own life.

As the Naruto clones entered the copse of trees and began to try and take care of Hinata Sasuke melted further into the trees, performing a simple genjutsu to mask his presence further. Once he was sure that Hinata and the Naruto clones wouldn't spot him, Sasuke funneled chakra into his ears to enhance his hearing.

"…just because I'm your girlfriend doesn't mean that you should baby me Naruto," Hinata's strained but surprisingly calm voice immediately invaded Sasuke's enhanced ears, "I need…just set the bone for me please…"

Sasuke only blinked for a moment before he used his chakra to refine his hearing to pick up extra sounds emanating from the fight by the Sound's dig site. Mostly clanging and jutsu names met Sasuke's ear, and not much else beyond curses rang out from the fights. For a good five minutes Sasuke sat and listened, trying to assess the situation before one voice rang out clearly in his mind.

"YOU GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER YOU SNAKE FUCKING BASTARD OF A TADPOLE! GIVE ME MIKOMI!"

The man in black that was fighting Orochimaru had said that, and it was quite significant to Sasuke and apparently Orochimaru as well. Sasuke barely restrained his own gasp of shock that Orochimaru failed to contain and Sasuke was sure that he saw recognition pass over both his own face and the distorted image that Orochimaru wore.

When Orochimaru stumbled to dodge the swing of the great sword that was wielded by a man claiming to be Mikomi's father – whom he thought was dead as Mikomi had told him as much – as well as fail to counterattack into the large opening that had been presented as the man overextended himself. It was his chance and Sasuke took it.

Without anymore hesitation Sasuke burst from the trees with his cloak covering his features from every angle except for head on and ran in between the fight between Orochimaru and Mikomi's father. Just as Orochimaru managed to land an uppercut on the other man's face to knock him back, Sasuke ran between the pair. Without giving Orochimaru time to react Sasuke punched Orochimaru in the stomach before purposely allowing the Snake Sannin to see his face.

The grunt from Sasuke's sucker-punch turned into a gasp of shock. Orochimaru's face flashed through astonishment, amusement, disbelief and then fear in the same short period of time as Sasuke's face met his own version of it, Sharingan for Sharingan. Sasuke snapped a kick at Orochimaru's chin that was just barely blocked before he took off in a blur of motion towards Mikomi and Sakura.

Without giving either girl enough to realize what was going on Sasuke hammered his fist into Mikomi's temple to knock her head down before ramming his other hand into the back of her neck to knock the girl out completely. Catching the girl, Sasuke was forced to snap a back kick into Sakura's chest to get her out of the way before he took off heading northeast.

Sasuke gave a grunt of admiration as his eyes tracked a sudden blur of black using a technique that was too fast for his Sharingan to copy. It resolved into the man claiming to be Mikomi's father and stood directly in his path of escape. He glared angrily down into Sasuke shadowed hood as he brought his sword around. Before the man had put any real strength into the attack he stopped it as he stared wild-eyed into a face identical to Orochimaru's, just without the amphibious corruption.

Jerking his head, Sasuke motioned for the man to follow him away from the fight. Curiosity tinged with fury remained on the man's face before he nodded reluctantly before he let Sasuke pass by him before following.

Sasuke had been running in silence through the night for the last seven hours with the man who was apparently Mikomi's father running right along with him when he finally stopped within a very small clearing. After an hour of fleeing from Orochimaru, Sasuke had tried the combination of hand seals that had been required to open up the last collar that Orochimaru had made for the girl.

When the first attempt hadn't succeeded using only one hand Sasuke had moved Mikomi onto his shoulders and had tried a dozen more times using both hands. When that didn't work Sasuke attempted various combination of hand seals that culminated in the strange hand seal that Orochimaru had used as the final seal the first time; all the while Mikomi's father had been watching him impassively.

He had gone through over two thousand hand seal combinations that were variants from Orochimaru's other seals and not one of them generated a response from the collar.

After he leaned Mikomi against the trunk of a tree Sasuke forced his fingers through the tight fitting collar to the front and back of Mikomi's neck. As he started to pull Sasuke fell the collar begin to give off an electric shock that began to build up and roar through him. The harder he pulled the stronger the electrical energy coursed through Sasuke's body and the harder it took for him to remain focused on trying to tear the collar from her neck.

Just when Sasuke thought that his strength might give out on him a second pair of hands closed over his own and yanked with ferocious strength. A loud crack and a vicious bolt of electricity erupted from the collar, passing by Sasuke's face within a centimeter before striking a nearby tree.

With a cheer Sasuke started to sink to the ground to try and relax, the tension that had been energizing his body leaving him.

Before Sasuke had gotten halfway to the ground, the same pair of hands that had helped free Mikomi gripped Sasuke's shoulders viciously. Caught off guard Sasuke was bodily hauled onto his feet before he was hammered into a nearby tree hard enough to crack the bark.

A hawkish, red-eyed stare burned into Sasuke's own black eyes before the man growled, "Just who the hell are you and why the fuck do you look just like that bastard who had captured my daughter?"