AN: Okay! I'm sorry I delayed it once again...PLEASE READ CHAPTER 3 OVER AGAIN!!! I RE-EDITED IT A BIT TO MAKE SENSE WITH THIS CHAPTER. Thanks :)

Enjoy! I really hope you do.

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Sakura sprinted through the forest as fast as she could. Having traveled already for a good few miles from the village, she became aware of just how unprepared she was for her journey.

'No matter,' She told herself. 'I don't have the time to be comfortable, anyway.'

She jumped slightly as she noticed the followers behind her.

"Sakura!" The familiar voice of Shikamaru called out.

The pink haired shinobi turned momentarily to see both Sai and Shikamaru quickly catching up to her.

"Kakashi sent us to help you out. Can you hold up for a moment?" Sai asked.

Sakura gave a frustrated sigh as she continued to bolt through the trees.

" I don't have time to sit and explain everything to both of you. If Kakashi sent you, then so be it. Just don't slow me down!"

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to be annoyed. Clenching his fists, he sped up along side her. "Medical ninja or not, you are definitely not thinking rationally. Your feelings for Na-"

The dark haired teen was completely caught of guard as Sakura whirled around and pinned him sharply to a tree.

Her normally bright green eyes now appeared to be darker than the forest surrounding them.

"You don't know anything.."She growled lowly...threateningly.

"Not a damn thing!!"

Beads of sweat fell from her face and her heavy breathing seemed to intensify with the sudden burst of fury she felt.

Sai watched in awe at his comrades' sudden behavior. He still had so much to learn about people. There was no way he could understand the situation before him...especially with his books being back at the village.

As Sakura released her grip on Shikamaru's jacket, she stared at the ground with a mixture of guilt and hopelessness.

"In fourty-eight hours, Naruto will be dead!" She cried, fighting back her tears.

"Mere hours before the poison kills him!"

An intense wind blew through the air, as if nature itself was appalled by this reality.

"So don't tell me that I'm not being rational."

Smoothing out his attire, Shikamaru turned his head casually towards the sky, undisturbed by what had just happened.

"We haven't figured out who poisoned him yet." He stated matter-of-fact.

Sakura's eyes widened. Up until now, she had forgotten about whoever was responsible. A mixture of fear and rage tore at her heart.

Only the lowest, most cowardly enemy would attack someone by poison. This was especially true since the type of poison that attacked Naruto was most likely ingested by the blonde. The thought of someone slipping something in Naruto's ramen while he was happily eating every last drop made her sick to her stomach.

"We're not here to slow your journey, but rather to hasten it." Shikamaru spoke again, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"And if you end up running into trouble, you're not gonna have the time to fight. That's why he sent us."

Sai smiled in agreement as he moved towards the other two.

Sakura met her companions' faces with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry..." She whispered, pressing her palm to her forehead.

"Thank you...Thank you so much."

Both boys were surprised when the medical ninja suddenly sat down on the ground.

Taking the small backpack off of her shoulders, she reached in to it and pulled out a rather tiny book of what seemed to be different medicines and healing techniques.

"Two minutes won't jeopardize our mission." She spoke aloud, though she knew it might cause her own self extreme anxiety.

Shikamaru and Sai listened carefully as Sakura gave the the information that they needed.

"Naruto's bruise-like mark on his lower side is due to the poison attacking his liver. He's bleeding internally...I'm hoping that since he is a jinchuuriki that the progression will be slower..but I can't be certain. There was no way I was going to wait and find out." She paused slightly, moving on and showing them the specific plant they were searching for.

"This is the one..." She pointed to a drawing in the book.

"And we're going to need a pretty good amount of it."

Shikamaru frowned. "Um...Isn't that one of the most poisonous plants known to man?"

The sky began to darken with massive gray clouds, giving warning of the coming rain.

Sakura nodded.

"Yes...earlier we tried quickly testing every antidote known in Konoha. I personally wanted to test the antidote that I made against Sasori's poison to save Kankarou because I had a suspicion that the poison was similar. When I tested the antidote, I watched it do something that we didn't get to witness in the other medicines. Because Sasori's antidote was so much more potent against paralysis, I watched the poison adapt and counter the antidote and then return to its original form.

At that moment I knew we weren't dealing with any average poison that we'd seen before, but this one had an almost parasitic quality.

This led me to the conclusion that there must be chakra molded into the poison somehow." She paused to see if they were following.

"I called Hinata into the room and had her look at the poison with her Byakugan and she verified that there was chakra in the poison. At this time I knew I needed to go back and see if there were any other symptoms that Naruto was showing. When I saw the bruising on his side, I knew it was because his liver was fighting against the poison and was slowly being destroyed. I then doubted we would find a cure by normal methods of designing an antidote. At that moment I was so angry all I wanted to do was kill the poison, which gave me an idea.

Naruto's immune system and liver were already rapidly being ruined and I knew of a plant that was extremely poisonous if left in the body's system for even a short period of time. If our enemy can mold chakra into an antidote I think I can as well...however primitive it may be. My goal is to mold enough chakra in to the poison from this plant, that I'll be able to trace it quickly inside Naruto's body. Once administered, it will begin to shut down everything in Naruto, as well as the poison. My only hope is in knowing that this is the strongest natural toxin known to us and that it will temporarily paralyze the poison so that the chakra is then trying to counter the poison that we injected.

"And then with the chakra you molded in to your poison, you will be able to trace and remove both poisons at once." Shikamaru interjected, fully understanding.

"Exactly. I can't pull the first poison out while its at its full strength because I fear it will instantly kill Naruto." Sakura replied.

"Are you going to be extracting this poison in the same way you extracted poison from Kankarou?" The boy questioned.

"Yes...Its the only way to get both of them out before they kill Naruto....but.. I fear it may be far more painful than Kankarou's experience."

Sakura shut the book quickly and came to her feet.

"We can't take up any more time. Let's find what we need."

Shikamaru nodded, but couldn't help noticing the young woman was shaking slightly as she talked.

He remembered that day in the hospital. Some hidden secrets can't help but reveal themselves over a matter of time.

Had it been any other time, he would have smiled at his logical conclusion, but it didn't feel right. For now he could only feel sympathy for his peer.

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A/N: ::rips hair out:: I was so nervous writing this. I'm not great at explaining medical things at all..which was what this whole chapter was about! I'm so sorry if you guys are clueless. haha Please review...I think...:D

*I hope everyone knows who Sasori and Kankarou are. HAHA

Shikamaru: Why don't you just shut up and let them review. -_-

Shawcross Gal: ::cries: Okay!