Hello all~ I'm trying to start this chapter sooner in hopes I will update quicker! The last chapter was a bit of a whirlwind, but I think it needed to be done that way. Fingers crossed I'm able to update this story (as well as many others that I have been neglecting over the past few years) quickly. My goal is to publish AT LEAST one chapter every other week (that doesn't always mean it'll be SWM).

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 83: The Aftermath

Xx Kakashi xX

It took a second for Kakashi to verify the corpse in front of him was dead and actually Kabuto. He felt a small bit of relief when the cockroach's chakra faded to nothingness; that was one less person that wanted to hurt his kids.

Rubbing his bicep, Kakashi tried to ignore the pain as he set off to where he had last seen Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru face off.

His battle with Kabuto hadn't lasted very long, but in that time, all three of the legendary Sannin's summons had disappeared from where they had been standing. Kakashi wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing, but he was determined to find out.

It wouldn't do if the Hokage, or Jiraiya got injured, or if Orochimaru was left alive. Kakashi had a personal vendetta against people who went after his team, and Orochimaru was definitely someone who had done that.

It took him only a few minutes to get from his battle to theirs'; they hadn't been that far away from each other.

"Kakashi," Jiraiya greeted him with a nod. Kakashi tried to ignore the forlorn look on the white haired man's face.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked, bowing slightly to Tsunade-sama, who had stormy-like rage in her eyes.

"The Bastard fled," Tsunade said with clenched fists, her tone dangerous. "Again."

"Did he get what he had been after?" Kakashi found himself asking; what purpose would Orochimaru have for attacking the village and then retreating so quickly?

"I have no idea," Tsunade said with a frown, anger seeming to slowly fade. "What happened on your end?"

"Kabuto is dead," Kakashi said, acknowledging the lack of surprise in his Hokage's eyes; it was obvious to him that she had known Kabuto hadn't really been dead the first time, "For good this time."

"Well that's a relief," the blonde Hokage said, her features set in a grim line. Even with the words that were said, Kakashi was sure Tsunade-sama was feeling no relief. "Maybe that's why the bastard left."

"Tsunade-sama!" An anbu kneeled before her, and Kakashi took a step back, unsure if he should stay or go. He still had to find Sakura, and make sure the boys were okay, but Tsunade hadn't dismissed him yet.

"Report," the Hokage barked, and Kakashi felt himself tense at the words leaving the anbu's lips.

"The Council's Wing and the Intelligence Division were both targeted," the anbu stated swiftly. Kakashi tried to ignore the look that was sent his way on the next sentence. "The traitor known as Sakura Haruno has also escaped from the level 7 cell she had been held in..."

Kakashi felt his blood run cold. He knew Sakura would more than likely be held for treason when she returned to the village, he just hadn't known she'd be placed in such a secure level. That and… if Sakura had been able to tell Tsunade-sama everything that she had told them, why was she even being held there in the first place? She should have been held in protective custody, not a jail cell!

"Casualties," Tsunade asked, her shoulders tense. Kakashi knew the woman was ignoring him, and he didn't like it one bit.

"All elders except Danzo-sama are dead," the anbu reported. "As are the guards you placed within the Intelligence building."

"Make a report and bring it to my office in the next half an hour," Tsunade barked, and at the Hokage's next words, Kakashi felt himself enraged. "Add Sakura Haruno's name to the wanted Missing-nin from Konoha; we'll update the Bingo Book to have her in it."

"Tsunade-sama-" Kakashi's voice cracked in anger.

"Find your team and report to the tower within the next hour," Tsunade said, face still set in a grim line. "I want to know everything you can tell me about Sakura Haruno and the way she has been acting over the past several weeks."

"You know-" Kakashi started to accuse, because he was sure Tsunade-sama knew Sakura-Chan was no traitor.

"Dismissed," his Hokage interrupted him again, sending him a quick dismissal with her eyes. Kakashi gritted his teeth before turning and heading toward the village, knowing he wouldn't be able to argue with her on the subject anymore.

His body was consumed with an anger he rarely felt toward the Hokage, but he tried to contain it. He knew he had to keep it together for the boys, or else they'd do something dangerous, like leave the village without permission -something he actually contemplated doing in this moment too-.

It was easy to pick out their chakra signatures after being close with them for so long; the familiar warmth of Naruto like a beacon, calling him to them. It didn't help that the two boys were near the Intelligence Division Building… he hoped they didn't know anything yet.

"Kakashi," Sasuke said in way of greeting, and Kakashi felt his heart clench. The two boys- three actually with the Nara they had somehow brought with them- looked pale and upset.

"What happened?" He asked, stepping in front of the three. He ignored the anbu behind them, running in and out of the building swiftly.

"We thought we'd find Sakura-Chan at the hospital," Naruto said, frown set on his features. "Shikamaru told us she had been taken to the cells below TI and we knew we had to get her out."

"The bodies were poisoned," Sasuke said, fists clenched at his sides. "And they fucking put her hair on their bodies to make it look like she did it."

"How do you know-" Kakashi started to ask.

"It's Sakura," Sasuke said easily sending a glare back at him. Kakashi knew he was stupid to ask the question, but he was making sure their minds were in the right place; he needed to make sure they knew their teammate wasn't capable of this. "We summoned Pakkun to try to find a trail. He said someone else's scent was in the air along with hers... He said their scent was 'off, but familiar', whatever that means."

Dread filled his stomach. This had been the Akatsuki member. He had taken Sakura-Chan like he had said he was going to, and he had tarnished her reputation and name while doing so. Just because he and the boys knew she was innocent did not mean the village would.

"We need to head to the Hokage Tower," Kakashi said, locking eyes with each boy in the group. "Shikamaru… you should probably head to the hospital to-"

"I'm going to the Hokage's office," the Nara said with determination. "And there's nothing you can say or do to stop me."

Kakashi didn't have it in him to fight with the boy and nodded instead; he was sure they would all the allies they could get. "Let's go then."

Xx Shikamaru xX

Shikamaru didn't know what to expect when he entered the Hokage's office but seeing her and Jiraiya-sama's exhausted expressions definitely wasn't it.

"Hokage-sama," Shikamaru felt Sakura-Chan's sensei tensely nod at the other two; noticing the serious and tense way he held himself. He was like a coiled spring, and if Shikamaru didn't know Kakashi-san's self-control was extraordinary, he would have thought the male would attack the two Sannin.

"You brought one extra," Tsunade said while her eyes strayed to Shikamaru. Shikamaru could only feel his shoulders tense at the attention. "But it saves me from having someone bring him to me later.

"Sometime between three hours ago when the invasion started and now," Shikamaru took a breath at the steel that was in the Hokage's eyes. "Sakura Haruno escaped from a holding cell below the Intelligence Division. Her cell door was torn from the inside out and all shinobi guarding the building were found dead. It is obvious to me-"

"You can't be serious Baa-Chan!" Naruto raged from a few feet away from him. Shikamaru felt his chest tighten when Tsunade's eyes landed on Shikamaru. "Sakura-Chan isn't a traitor!"

"Shikamaru can confirm what he and Shizune saw yesterday," Tsunade said, slamming a rough hand down on the desk in front of her. Shikamaru froze when he felt Team Kakashi look to him in surprise. "An Akatsuki member, the same organization that is after you, Naruto, was found in her lab at the hospital. She has been working with the member on developing a poison.

"Not reporting a break-in to the village is enough to get a punishment or a demerit," Tsunade continued. Shikamaru felt dread low in his belly. "But working alongside one is treasonous. When Sakura returned from her mission with you, she refused to say anything."

"Tsunade-shis-" Sasuke tried to interrupt, but the cold look on Tsunade's face stopped him.

"Enough," Tsunade said, arms crossed over her chest with a stern look on her face. "I want a full report from the mission that you three were sent on before this all started. After that, each of you will be interviewed by Ibiki and Inoichi to try to gain any more information from the missing-nin known as Sakura Haruno."

"Tsunade-sama," Kakashi's voice was cold from beside him, and Shikamaru felt his shoulder's tense at the man's voice. He had never heard Kakashi-san speak with such an aggravated tone before. "Sakura Haruno is a-"

"Missing-nin," Tsunade said, eyes just as frosty as Kakashi's tone. "That is all I will hear on the subject at this time. Now, Shikamaru head down to meet Ibiki. The rest of you will tell me about what you found on the mission."

Shikamaru could only nod, refusing to bow in his state. He felt numb as he turned around, not looking to the rest of the people who had been in the room with him. Had he caused this? Had him wanting to be helpful and water Sakura-Chan's plants ultimately caused her to be branded as a traitor?

Even if that was so, Shikamaru knew that Sakura-Chan wasn't one. Watching the girl for five minutes would prove to everyone how important her precious people were to her; it would prove that she would never leave them behind…

Unless she had to? Had the Akatsuki member been such a threat to them that she went with him willingly? Shikamaru felt his mind swirl with possibilities as he headed out of the Hokage's office. If Sakura-Chan had been-

"Shikamaru," Shikamaru flinched at being caught so off guard by his own father; he hadn't even sensed him. Looking up from the ground, Shikamaru felt himself flinch for a completely different reason.

His dad looked worn, tired, and strained. Had his dad's own battles from the invasion caused this? No, Shikamaru thought, as he made eye contact with his father and saw the immense sadness within his eyes. Why did his father look so emotionally drained?

"Shikamaru," his father tried again, and this time, Shikamaru didn't flinch, not even at his father's hoarse tone. "We… we need to go to the hospital."

Shikamaru's mind flickered through the reasons as to why his father would be so distraught and why he would need to go to the hospital, and the only reason he could come up with was-

"Mom?" his breath left him. He had just seen his mother a few hours ago, right before the invasion. What had happened in that short amount of time that she had needed to go to the hospital? From what he had seen of the battle, no one went near the Nara compound. "What happened?"

Shikamaru's heart clenched; could he have prevented whatever had happened? If he had stayed with his mother instead of going to the hospital right away could he have-

"She was poisoned," Shikamaru's heart sank. "She's barely hanging on… The doctors don't think she's going to make it."

Xxx Sakura xxX

When Sakura woke, she wasn't surprised to find her limbs and eyes feeling sluggish. It felt like she had been out for at least three days, and Sakura was sure that she was well outside of Konoha by now.

Had Zetsu made it to Amegakure with her like he had intended? If he had, then he was much faster than Sakura had given him credit for… more than she wanted to give him credit for.

Opening her bleary eyes, Sakura tried to focus on what she could see around the room she had been unconscious in. It seemed as if she had traded one cell for another; all walls except one were concrete, and the other wall was made steel bars. There was a light humming in the air, that made her believe there was a type of chakra draining seal surrounding her.

She had agreed to go along with the mission like Tsunade-sama had said, but that didn't mean Sakura thought anything other than her being killed would come from it. She had "let" herself be taken, even during an invasion where-

Shit. Orochimaru had invaded Konoha again, and she hadn't been able to help at all. Were her boys alright? It was too soon for them to be back from the mission, right? And what about Shikamaru-kun? He would be okay, too… He'd have to be.

Sakura bit her lip before trying to sit up on the bench she had been placed on. Bringing her hands together, Sakura tried to course chakra through her body, only to notice it barely there; was it from the chakra seals that surrounded her cell or-

"You'll have to earn your right for chakra," a voice spoke from behind the bars on the other side of her cell. Sakura blinked away the fuzziness from her eyes, an obvious side effect from the drug Zetsu had injected her with and tried to put a name to the voice that spoke. "Zetsu believes you will be of use, and Leader-sama is allowing him to keep you."

It was the monotone voice and dark hair that allowed her to recognize the person who spoke.

"Itachi-san," Sakura felt herself inch a little closer to the familiar silhouette before she stopped. She had tried not too think too much on what she had unknowingly figured out (or started to figure out) in Tsunade-sama's office, but if what she believed was true, that Itachi-san was still somehow loyal to Konoha, then he may be a potential ally here.

That didn't mean she was going to do anything about it right away, though. Because if Itachi-san wasn't what she thought he was, or someone else was listening, then she could kiss whatever miniscule chance she had at helping Konoha and protecting her team goodbye.

"I'm surprised Zetsu isn't here…" Sakura found herself saying after the silence stretched for a bit too long. She wasn't expecting the Uchiha to say much. From what she gathered from their first two meetings, Itachi was more silent that Sasuke-kun used to be.

Sakura wasn't able to read the Uchiha even as he took a few steps closer to her cell; even if the room had been lit with a thousand suns, Sakura was sure she would not be able to read much on the Uchiha's face.

"He is in a meeting with Leader-sama," Itachi spoke; Sakura felt his eyes land on her forehead. "They are discussing if you will remain in this cell while you work, or if you will be allowed to go to Zetsu's greenhouse and lab."

Sakura didn't say anything; knowing which she would prefer and would allow her a little bit more freedom, but she didn't want to seem too eager. Instead, she watched as Itachi's eyes remained on her forehead, something in his look that she could not decipher. Was there something wrong with her hair? Her forehead protector?

Bringing her hands up to untie the knot, Sakura loosened her forehead protector before turning it over in her hands. When she saw the slash mark over her beloved village's symbol, she felt the grip on her hands falter; her forehead protector landed on the ground in a noisy clatter.

Zetsu had done it, knowing she'd never do it herself. The mark of a traitor, the thing that ensured she would never be able to go back to home. What else had Zetsu done, Sakura wondered.

"Hn," Itachi's voice broke the deafening silence. It stopped the rapidly growing negative thoughts that were flying through her head. "You seem surprised by the mark even though you have been branded as a traitor by your village."

It took everything in her not to flinch or shudder; she knew he was expecting a reaction, but she wasn't going to give him one.

If Itachi-san really was a loyal Konoha shinobi, then they'd hopefully be able to work together to defeat Zetsu and Orochimaru… If he wasn't though.

Shaking her head slightly, Sakura was about to dip down to pick up her forehead protector when she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Without even thinking, she glanced upward, eyes meeting a familiar red; she felt a sudden longing for Sasuke-kun when she was brought forcibly into a genjutsu with eyes that looked so similar to his own.

"Itachi-san," Sakura breathed, surprised to be strapped to a cross. This genjutsu Itachi-san had put her in was strong; the color surrounding her was a distorted crimson red. She could feel Itachi-san's chakra, usually so suppressed, surrounding her; it was almost calm and serene, much like a koi pond would be.

"Tell me what happened," Itachi said simply, and Sakura blinked before a katana appeared. The long sword floated in the air, an inch above her stomach. Sakura was sure the pain from the katana would be intense, even if this was only a genjutsu.

Sakura didn't know whether to talk or not; her previous strategy of sitting back and waiting to see if Itachi-san was an ally or not complete invalid now that she was faced with the potential threat of harm.

She didn't know what to say as the katana pierced the skin of her stomach, an agonized scream wrenching itself from her lips. She had known pain before; had broken bones and been placed in the hospital for a great deal of things, but it had never felt like this, and even though the pain was excruciating, she knew it wasn't real.

Gritting her teeth together, Sakura's eyes met those of Itachi-san's. She knew she wouldn't be able to read him, but if she was able to remember their interactions well enough through the pain, then she knew she'd be able to tell if Itachi-san was loyal to Konoha or to Akatsuki; she'd know if she was able to trust him or not.

"S-Sasuke-kun was s-safe," Sakura breathed out, noticing another katana had been placed just above the first one. "The l-last time I saw him."

The katanas seemed to hover for a moment, and Sakura breathed out a slight sigh as both swords disappeared. In a swirl of calming chakra, the only thing left of Sakura's genjutsu wound was a faint ache in the back of her mind.

"And that was?" Itachi asked, face void of any emotion. Sakura knew better, remembering the picture she had found of the two Uchiha siblings so long ago.

"On a mission outside of Konoha," Sakura said, feeling the bindings on her wrists and legs loosen. "He shouldn't have been there when the invasion started."

"Orochimaru's." Itachi tipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Were you a part of the invasion?"

"No," Sakura said, trying to read Itachi-san's features and truly know whether to trust him with her mission or not. "I was held within a cell when the invasion started… Zetsu came to collect me before I could do anything."

The chakra surrounding the genjutsu flared mildly before she felt him release it. Sakura blinked for a second when the crimson world around her faded to black. When she woke in the world of the living, she and Itachi were in the same positions they had been. It seemed only seconds passed, but Sakura felt the drain the genjutsu had taken on her body. Her stomach where she bad been stabbed was still sore, and she wondered if she would feel that mental wound for days to come.

"What are you doing here, Uchiha?" Sakura heard Zetsu's voice. Sakura blinked once before falling to her knees; her hand found her forehead protector and she clenched it tightly. "I brought her here."

"Unfinished business," Itachi's voice spoke from in front of her, and for the life of her, Sakura still couldn't read him. They're interaction in his genjutsu really didn't give her much on whether she could trust him or not; the sword to the stomach hadn't inspired any sense of Konoha loyalty, though.

"That's right," Zetsu said, still watching from outside of the cell. "She was on your little brother's team with the Copy Nin, and… Leader-sama was more than happy to hear she was also on the Kyuubi's team."

Sakura felt her heart clench. Had her coming here hurt Naruto-kun's safety more than her staying in Konoha would have? No, she couldn't have. He would be safe back in the village with Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei.

"Bait?" Itachi asked, though Sakura barely heard him. With the minimal amount of energy she had left, all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep, but she knew better.

"Likely," Zetsu said. Sakura looked up to see a smirk on his face. "Though the village will likely want her to be brought back in a body bag. Her poison killed a lot of people when we left."

"Wha-" Sakura felt her breath leave her. She knew he would do more than just slash her forehead protector, but she hadn't actually expected him to kill people and frame her for their deaths'.

"It was more potent than we had been expecting," Zetsu said with a grin. "And this is just the first stage. Their bodies fell quickly."

It was enough to leave her light-headed, in a bad way; the thought that even if she hadn't actually killed people, her poison had. And it hadn't just been people, it had been people from her village. Her people. If he had used it on any of her precious people, she didn't know how she'd come back from that.

"Hn," Sakura had forgotten Itachi-san was still there, even if he was right in front of her. Glancing upward at the noise, Sakura tried to fight back the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes.

It was just a moment of eye contact, but Sakura thought she saw something new within Itachi-san's eyes, an understanding.

Without another word, Sakura watched the Uchiha disappear in front of her. Still on her knees in the cell, Sakura's eyes glanced up to look to the thing that had brought her here.

"Leader-sama said you could leave the cell," Zetsu said matter-of-factly. "With an escort. I don't always have the time to take you to the green house to work on the poison. Others will watch you, and a seal will be placed on you to keep your chakra drained.

"Stay useful," Zetsu continued as he turned around to leave. "Or I'll eat you."