This is my sketch of Masaaki. Meh. He looks a little girly ;)

Suigetsu's POV

Suigetsu gritted his teeth in the effort not to scream as Orochimaru pulsed currents of electricity through him for the hundredth time. If he wasn't in a tube of water, sweat would be pouring off him in buckets.

The pale man watched him carefully, scrutinizing his reactions and scribbling things down on his clipboard. Every time Suigetsu clamped his teeth to keep from making noise, a ghost of a grin crossed his face, like he knew exactly how much pain he was causing him and was enjoying it.

"You're doing very well," Orochimaru commented after the one hundred and fifty-seventh time. "With the last test subject, his heart stopped after fifty-three pulses."

Suigetsu glared, clutching his stomach as spasms continued to tear through him. "N-no...more..." He hated himself for begging, but with each time, he felt like it would simply be better to die than go on. But Orochimaru always stopped it seconds before it killed him, saying, "I have too many plans for you to die so soon."

Now, the snake man smiled. "I think you're right, I've gained more than enough data from these tests. Why don't we move on to the next thing on my agenda?" He flicked some switches attached to the tube. The water began to shake and bubble, and a warm woosh of water burst out from under his feet. It steadily grew hotter, to the point where Suigetsu felt he was being cooked alive. He looked at him in dread. "What are you doing?" He half didn't want to hear the answer.

"Looking into how sudden, slow, or moderate changes in water temperature affect your liquefying abilities."

Suigetsu groaned.

Sasuke's POV

The stone wall slowly screeched open, sending up a cloud of dust that obscured the person behind it from Sasuke's view. He tensed, waiting for it to clear.

The figure stepped into the cell. He was wearing a flowing white robe with his white wings slightly extended at his sides. The figure glimmered as he stepped closer.

Sasuke might have almost thought the sight was beautiful had he not recognized the face of the brown haired, green eyed man. Instantly, his lip curled back in hate, and he lunged forward, forgetting he was bound in chains.

Masaaki sneered, strolling up to him and grabbing his chin. "You little brat, you planned this all, didn't you? Didn't you!?! You and your wretched brother!"

Sasuke jerked his face, throwing his hand off. "I have no idea what you're talking about." he clipped.

Masaaki scowled, his handsome face contorting. "Your eyes. Don't play dumb, I know you know exactly what's going on!"

"I DON'T!!!" Sasuke shouted. "So shut up!"

Masaaki slammed his fist into the wall. "Your eyes won't activate! They're useless to me unless they're activated when I take them! Our medics know how to activate it by force, but it's not working with you. They've confirmed a sort of barrier jutsu that won't allow the eyes to transform."

Sasuke laughed, remembering suddenly.

"This is if you ever get caught, 'kay, Sasuke? I did it to myself too."

"I bet that's driving you nuts, huh? After all the work spent to capture me, you can't even get what's right in front of you."

Masaaki stared at him, his green eyes alight with rage. "You will surrender your eyes to me, Uchiha. Whether you like it or not."

Sakura's POV

Sakura woke to a throbbing headache and a feeling of panic in her heart. She sat up immediately, gasping. "S-Sasuke? Where is he? Where am I?"

"Calm down, Sakura," a familiar female voice reassured her from behind.

She whipped around, twisting up her sheets. Her teacher sat beside her, checking her IV.

"Tsunade-sama! What's going on? Are Sasuke and Suigetsu back?"

Her teacher looked at her for a while before answering. "No."

Sakura felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She began trembling, a violent shuddering that made the Hokage look up in alarm. "Sakura! What's wrong!"

"H-he came to r-rescue me and now h-he's g-gone!" She wailed. "I wanted to fight with him b-but I wasn't s-strong enough! He could be DEAD!!!"

Tsunade glared at her before slapping her across the face. Sakura looked up at her, stunned. "Ts-Tsunade-sama?"

"Pull yourself together, Sakura! Even if he is dead, crying and wailing won't do a thing right now! We've got a crisis on our hands, and everyone needs to keep a clear head!" Tsunade snapped.

Sakura took one last shuddering sigh and nodded.

Tsunade looked at her in approval. "Now then, that redhead girl is explaining--"

"Oh right! Karin!" Sakura cried, snapping up. "I've gotta talk to her!" She bolted out of bed and out the door.

"Sakura!" Tsunade yelled angrily from behind her.

Itachi's POV

"Lord Masaaki...is the key to the Mizuno clans' power?" Itachi stared incredulously at Karin.

The bespectacled girl nodded. "The commoners aren't supposed to know that, but the rebels have been collecting a lot of information on him. Do you know the story of how we Angels were given our power?"

"Yes," Itachi replied. It was told to every single child by the time they learned to talk. "The two gods of the day and the night decided to create two clans that resided in the sky. Each clan was granted the power of one of the gods, in order to carry out their duties in their stead. Each member was granted an equal amount of power, and none were granted more than others. The two relics of the gods, which were used to grant people their abilities, were hidden away afterward, so they wouldn't be misused; the Scepter of Light and the Helm of Darkness."

"That's right," Karin broke in. "But you see, our clan has slowly become corrupted over time. We've divided ourselves into social classes, which was never meant to happen. It started with the more naturally talented ninja, who wanted even more power. They built themselves up to the point of being called royalty, and it's stuck that way ever since. When Masaaki came into power, he was more tyrannical than the rest. He set out in search of the Scepter of Light, and was successful in finding it, though all details of his expedition were kept completely confidential from everyone else. Masaaki has been swindling the power from his own people, bottling it up inside of himself. I believe that he is looking to contain all of the power that the gods once did. The Sharingan he is after will only make him that much more powerful, with control over both day and night. The results would be catastrophic for the people on the earth plane."

Naruto's eyes widened. "But...if he's got Sasuke right now, then..."

"Don't worry," Itachi reassured him. "Sasuke should be safe right now."

"He's safe?"

The four ninja turned around to see Sakura standing there, peeking out from around the corner.

"Sakura-chan!!!" Naruto cheered, pulling her into hug. "You're okay!"

Sakura pushed him off. "Go on, Itachi, please continue. Sorry for interrupting. I already heard what Karin was telling you before."

Itachi nodded. "I put a jutsu on Sasuke and myself after our most recent fight with Masaaki. The jutsu only allows his Mangekyou Sharingan to come out when he wills it, not by force. He and I knew if either of us were captured, we couldn't let the enemy activate our Sharingan for us, which is possible through medical ninjutsu. The jutsu works by sensing unfamiliar chakra being directed to our retinas, and places a barrier between it and the part of our eyes that unlocks Sharingan."

Sakura slowly nodded, understanding. "So...the Mizuno can't get to Sasuke's eyes unless he himself activates them. Then he must still be alive!"

"Though in what condition, I'm not sure," Itachi murmured.

"Umm..." Karin began tentatively. "Suigetsu..."

Sakura placed her hand on Karin's arm. "Don't worry. We'll rescue Suigetsu too. He's alive, trust me." She'd grown quite attached to the shark-like boy as well.

"We'll?" Itachi asked. "What do you mean by 'we'll'? I'm the only one who will be going. It's too dangerous for the rest of you."

"No way!" Naruto yelled. "No way I'm leaving it all to you! I'm coming too!"

"So am I," Sakura said firmly, stepping forward. "I care about Sasuke and Suigetsu too!"

"I suppose it won't hurt if I come along?" Kakashi asked, albeit a bit half-heartedly.

Itachi sighed, shaking his head. "And how on earth do you three expect to get up there? None of you can fly."

That gave them a pause. Naruto scrunched up his face, thinking. Then it perked up. "I gotta idea! Itachi, you could carry me up there!"

"Hah?" Itachi snapped, a vein standing out in his forehead. "Me? Carry you? Naruto, you're an idiot!"

"I'm coming!" Naruto said resolutely, crossing his arms in defiance. "I'll grab onto your shirt and hang on the whole way if I gotta! Besides, I'm strong! I can even kick Sasuke's butt! Think of how much help I can offer!"

"I-if Naruto's going, then I'm going too!" Sakura stamped her foot.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "You two sound like a couple of little kids. Who would even carry you, Sakura? There's no way I'd waste my energy holding two people."

"Karin can carry me!" Sakura offered.

"Hah!?! What do I look like, your personal taxi? First I drag your butt down to the earth plane to save your life, and now I gotta take you back up? I don't work for free!"

"I'll pay in cash!"

"No!"

"Please, Karin," Sakura begged. "I want to rescue Sasuke just like you want to rescue Sui!"

Karin hesitated. She fiddled with her glasses. She tugged a strand of hair. Finally, she sighed. "Only if Itachi's bringing Naruto. If he's not, he's carrying you."

Sakura blushed. "No way!"

"Itachi is bringing me!" Naruto glared.

"Fine," Itachi grumbled. "If it makes all of you shut up."

"I guess I'll be staying then," Kakashi sighed, though Itachi wasn't sure if he was really all that depressed about it. They were going on a possible death mission. "I'll go inform Lady Tsunade about your plans. When do you think you'll leave?"

"Tomorrow." Itachi said. "Sakura needs time to heal, and so do I. It's hard not to leave this instant, but Sasuke made the mistake of going when he wasn't at one hundred percent and ended up getting captured. We can't risk making the same mistake."

Naruto nodded. "Alright!"

Karin let out a little huff of air, and mumbled something about how hungry she was.

Sakura giggled a bit, then quickly covered her mouth.

Itachi shot her a look. "What?"

She smiled through her fingers. "You're still in your hospital pajamas."

Itachi blushed and rushed back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Votes and comments are appreciated! It's really motivational when I get them!

Love to all my beautiful readers :)