happy holidays! sorry for such a late update.

This is isn't my first rodeo.

Like I told Lady Tsunade, I've had tabs on Sasuke and Orochimaru when I still lived within the Yamada Clan Compound, always sneaking through the veil at the top of the valley, escaping for sometimes a week at the most. They were very small, miniscule, barely anything tabs, but it's been enough to keep me sane being stuck back in the Hidden Snow, knowing that Sasuke was still alive. In Orochimaru's scaly, creepy hands, but, alive. The main point is, I managed to discover some of Orochimaru's hideouts, and why he chose to stage some of them so close to the Hidden Leaf (okay, so maybe it's not so close to the village, but it's close enough) is beyond me, but it works in our favour. Maybe Sasori knew of this hideout's location, too, and that's why he chose to meet Kabuto at the bridge.

During those days of freedom, I'd manage to scope out the territories, all the while, developing small outposts beneath the earth, and marked with a small patch of blue flowers next to it. Inside them, non-perishables, extra weapons, medical supplies, and a small cot, for when I wasn't quite ready to return to the Hidden Snow yet. I have one nearby here, as luck would have it. We may need to restock on the way back. Or, if it comes down to some kind of battle again... well... I just hope it doesn't.

Because I don't think we'd survive it if it did.

"This is the place, huh?" We come to a running halt next to his clone.

"The entrance is straight ahead beneath that rockpile," his clone tells us. I crouch down, my palm to the dirt, and activate my Sensory Scope.

"Do you think... Sasuke's under there?" Naruto says, his eyes fixed on it.

"There's a good possibility," Sakura replies. "Kari, can you sense anything?"

"Mm... It's no good," I announce, standing back up. "This is one of Orochimaru's hideouts that he decided to reinforce for extra protection. Probably with some kind of barrier Ninjutsu; I can't sense a thing from out here, and I genuinely doubt it'll be any different inside."

"At the very least, there should be clues of some kind," Captain Yamato says.

"All right, then let's go!"

"Wait a minute," our Captain says, throwing an arm out to stop Naruto. With his other, he places a hand on the back of his clone, and in mere seconds, the wood form it returned to is reduced to mere seeds in the palm of his hand. "You can go after you swallow this, Naruto."

"... huh?"

"Don't worry," he says. "It's safe. You guys, too," he adds to both Sakura and I. "Now, even if we get separated, I'll know where you guys are right away."

"No way!" the others chorus.

"If we swallow it, a plant isn't going to... you know, grow inside me?" I ask, extremely wary of the little rice-sized bit in his hand.

"This seed is a transmitter used for tracking only," he reassures me. "It's a Ninja Tool that resonates only with my chakra. It's the same thing I placed in Sai's clothing and food."

"This seed... I get it! That's how you were able to track him this far," Sakura says.

"When did you do that, Captain Yamato?" Naruto asks.

"Do you remember when I got out of the hot spring first?" he asks him.

"Come to think of it... That's right, you did!"

"Now you know why I went to the trouble of letting you guys enjoy the hot springs and magnificent food at my expense, right?"

"And not just out of the goodness of your heart to bring the team together, now that makes a lot more sense," I muse.

"And, Lady Tsunade Told me to take caution with Sai," he says. "And she was right. I'm glad I took care of things ahead of time. But never mind that; swallow that, quickly."

And so, we do.

"All right. Let's get going, you three."

"Okay!"
"Right!"
"Yeah!"

-

While I've discovered a number of the hideouts, I'd neglected to ever enter one. What made it such an ideal opportunity was the fact that I knew how to hide my chakra, no matter how hard anyone tried to find it. But I wasn't stupid enough to enter something belonging to Orochimaru without being one-hundred percent sure that he wasn't in there when I was. At least, not alone. In this scenario, both he and Kabuto are here, along with Sai. And considering that Orochimaru is here, Sasuke must be, too. It's a win-win. Er, kind of.

"Listen, everyone," I say, stopping them once more, before we can get started. "What I was trying to sense for before, wasn't chakra, but bodies of chakra. It's easier to sense when multiple people are together in one secluded place," I explain. "Despite Orochimaru's reinforcements put on this hideout, you almost always can sense large bodies through it. So, the fact that I couldn't sense anything through the ground is a good thing. It means there's most likely less than a handful of enemies with us here. Still, it is Orochimaru and Kabuto. And, Sai, most likely, if the truth of the matter is that he's defected. So, if it's alright with you, Captain Yamato, I really think we should have a specific formation for entering this hideout."

"What did you have in mind, Kari?"

"You, as mission leader, then Sakura, Naruto, and then myself. You may have tabs on us, Captain Yamato, but I need tabs on all of you, as well."

"Okay, then. No arguments with that," he says. "Everyone, keep your guard up. Kari, we're counting you on you to protect our backs."

"I won't let you down," I say.

"So, then, how will we infiltrate?" Sakura asks, pulling her gloves on snug.

"We'll go by the book, and infiltrate from underground using Earth Style," our captain tells us. "First, we'll open up a pit in this area, and then, once we've made a degree of progress digging, we'll move forward little by little by digging a tunnel, heading for that rocky area where the entrance is."

"Right."

"Okay. Let's begin." After making several hand signs, Captain Yamato slams his hand against the ground in front of him. In the cut of a circle, the earth begins to crumble away and disintegrate before us, creating a deep, black pit. "When I give the signal, come down in order," he tells us, and then jumps into the hole. A moment later, a sharp whistle echoes out toward us.

Sakura exchanges a glance with us before jumping in, and once she has, I turn to Naruto, and try to speak quickly.

"Naruto, this mission is important," I say, "so don't think I don't know that when I say this, but please. Be careful when we're down there." Noting the hard expression on his face, I decide to lighten my words. "Seriously—if you get too overzealous this time, this place is probably going to cave in and crush us to death before we can save Sasuke."

"Kari, that's not funny." The second whistle comes. And Naruto jumps before I have the chance to defend my joke, or I guess, my idea of a joke, since he thinks so little of it.

The third whistle comes about ten seconds later, and I jump in after them. Unable to see exactly where the ground is, I land a bit roughly, and have to take a second for my ankle to stop pulsing.

"My joke was funny, by the way," I tell Naruto. "Your sense of humor is askew."

"What joke?" Sakura asks. I'm about to tell her... before I realize just who I'd be telling it to.

"I-I have a feeling you might find it unfunny, as well, now that I think about it," I murmur, sensing the back of my head to be in danger of receiving a concussive slap if I did. "L-Let's get going, Captain Yamato?"

"I'm afraid we can't yet," he says to us. "This place is surrounded by rocks, like I thought."

Quickly, I look past him, and take note of the huge wall of stone barring our path. "Damn."

"I'll just blast a hole in it with my Rasengan!" Naruto says, as I'd expected of him.

"Jeez, that's exactly what I meant by overzealous!" I hiss, forcing his raised hand down. "The point of coming this way is to avoid the enemy finding us; a huge Jutsu like the Rasengan will be like a moth to a flame." Realizing this, Naruto grimaces.

"We have to be quiet all the way in," Captain Yamato tells us, awhile feeling along the rock wall.

"But how do we do that?" Naruto asks. After a moment, our captain stops, and places his fingers against a specific crack in the rocks.

"The harder the rock, by just applying a little force to a small crack..." Turning one of his fingers into a sharp piece of wood, Captain Yamato begins to break through the rock wall, and by increasing it size, he expands the wall until it crumbles around its shape. "... and just like that. Now, please limit your use of chakra from here on. Orochimaru will notice that we're here, after all. Okay, let's go."

One by one, we empty out of the tunnel, in order of formation, and into an even larger, properly sculpted set of tunnels, lit candles littering the walls every few meters.

"A successful infiltration, more or less," Sakura says, eyes wide and trained.

"First, we need to find Sai," our captain tells us. After a moment of silence, "This way."

Minutes pass that Captain Yamato has us running through these halls. I can't imagine that Orochimaru had this place built for himself; like a majority of his hideouts, this one must've been commandeered from a long time ago. But it is humongous. I'm bored of running. I just want to finish this part of the mission. Finally, our captain does end it.

Stopping just before one of the doors, he waits a moment before sticking his finger at the keyhole and unlocking it, then opening it, and finally, with half his face stuck inside it and the frame, "I knew I'd find you here," he says. Pulling it open all the way, he allows us all to enter, one by one. Sai faces us, wearing that terrible fake smile of his again.

"I'd expect no less from the Anbu Black Ops under the direct command of the Hokage," he says.

"Now tell us everything," Captain Yamato says. "What's this about?" And once more, Naruto's impatience betrays him, having run up to Sai and bunching his shirt up in his fist. I sigh.

"You jerk! Why did you betray us?!" he demands through his teeth.

"You shouldn't make too much of a commotion here," Sai tells him. "Things will get troublesome, you see."

"You jerk!" he repeats, enraged.

"Naruto!" Sakura snaps from behind him. Clicking his tongue, Naruto lets go of his shirt with a shove, and Sakura steps to Sai, hand outstretched with his storybook in it. "Here," she says. "It's yours, isn't it?"

"... thank you," he says, taking it from her.

"It was an order form Danzo, right?" she further inquires. "Danzo's teamed up with Orochimaru and is planning something. You were chosen to be the messenger between them. Just what are they planning?"

"... he's planning to destroy the Leaf Village once again, isn't that right?" Captain Yamato says, when Sai refuses to answer. Once again, radio silence, until Sai's false smile grows even wider.

"No, that's not—""I can tell right away that your smile is a lie!" Naruto says angrily, cutting over him. "And what you're saying is a lie, too!"

"Sai," I plead, stepping in front of the others from the back. "Are you really okay with Danzo and Orochimaru destroying the Leaf? Destroying our home? Your home? They're the bad guys here... so be the good guy."

I sigh, exasperated, when he once more, refuses to speak. "Damn it, Sai," I swear.

Seriously... he's truly okay with letting Danzo get away with something so cruel? I get that he's a member of Root, and Danzo is his superior, but this also affects Sai in more ways than one. His home will be destroyed. I doubt Danzo's going to offer any kind of Asylum for anyone, especially those working under him. That means his family will be destroyed, too. Any friends he may have, although based on his crappy personality, I sincerely doubt he has many people to call friends... Jeez, does Root even teach them any compassion—scratch that. Yeah, they don't.

"Now that you've found me," Sai suddenly says, "my mission is considered a failure. I can't handle all of you guys by myself, and... if you know that much, then there's no point in hiding anything." His slight pause has me growing more and more nervous. "You're absolutely right. We're going to crush the current Leaf Village."

"What?" Naruto growls.

"Current Leaf Village?" I repeat, confused by his choice of words.

"The real mission I was given was to gain the favour of Orochimaru," Sai explains, "and create an opportunity for collaboration in order to destroy the Leaf Village."

"Do you even hear what you're saying?!" Naruto asks him. "Doing something like that—""That's not all," Sai goes on, cutting Naruto off. "I also have the duty of secretly sending information about Orochimaru to Lord Danzo. In other words, I am also a spy."

"Keep talking," Captain Yamato says, extending a kunai toward him. "Own up to everything you're hiding."

"So, what you're saying is, while proposing the collaboration with Orochimaru, you're trying to outflank him?" Sakura says, and Sai gives half a nod. "You've been given such a dangerous mission..."

"Orochimaru will definitely betray us," Sai says, still smiling, "once the Leaf Village has been crushed."

"So, then, why bother risking something like that if you know of the outcome?" I ask.

"We'll always have the advantage," Sai answers. I sigh deeply.

"I really hate being right sometimes," I mumble, referring to what I'd assumed back at the crater.

"Danzo really does want to make the Leaf Village his own after all, huh?" Sakura says lowly. "You made preparations for that all by yourself..."

Slowly but suddenly, Sai reaches into one of his bags and pulls out several thin brown scrolls and begins laying them out on the desk behind him.

"The information I wrote out transforms into small animals," he explains, and the quick scrawl starts to lift off the parchment, "and carries the information out while protecting itself, you see. This ability of mine was valued highly, and so I was selected for this mission."

"People are going to die again if things go the way they did like last time," Sakura says, her eyebrows furrowed. "Do you even know why you're doing this?!"

"No idea," Sai says. "They're my orders."

"Sai..."

"Let me tell you one more thing," he says. "Sai is the name I was given just for this mission. I'm nobody. I'm a tool for Lord Danzo. I don't exist. So, no matter what you say to me, it's pointless."

"... then why do you care about that book so much?" Sakura demands. And to my surprise, Sai gasps, his smile gone, and his eyes, momentarily, saucers. "The two kids on the cover... are you and your older brother, right? That's why you hold onto it with such care, because it's the only thing that proves your existence, right? ... you haven't been able to discard your emotions as completely as you say. Even Shinobi can't completely do that.

"As proof of that, when I handed the picture book to you earlier... you said, "thank you", and took it. You were relieved to get it back because of that."

Sai lifts the book in front of him. "Why does having this picture book prove my own existence?" he asks her.

"The reason why you don't want to part with that book is that you can't forsake yourself as a younger brother. Know why? It's because your bonds with your older brother... were that important to you. You don't want to erase the bonds you have with your older brother."

"... bonds," Sai repeats quietly.

"Sorry," Captain Yamato says, raising his kunai to him once more, "but we had a look inside the picture book. Only the picture in the center-facing pages is unfinished. Sai... I also know that you're from The Foundation. And I also know that you've received special training from Danzo in order to suppress your emotions."

"Special training?" Naruto repeats. Is that why he's so good at being horrible? I wonder.

"It's the same as the evil practice," our captain continues to explain, "once conducted in the Village Hidden in the Mist, in order to take away emotions."

"That's where Zabuza's from!" Naruto realizes.

"That graduation exam of theirs, when they'd have to kill each other in order to graduate," I recall sadly. "Oh, Sai..."

"Looking at the flow of the picture book, it appears that you're defeating enemies and taking their weapons and armor. On the faces at the centerfold... you will end up fighting your older brother. You killed your brother—""No," Sai says, almost immediately.

"I was planning on giving this to him. But when I was just about finished with the picture book, he... He died from sickness," he finishes with a smile. I narrow my eyes at him.

It's a sore subject. Even for someone like Sai, or anyone from Root, apparently. Something happened to Sai's older brother, and that's why he just chose to lie to us about how it happened. His brother didn't die from sickness. He did die, but as a Shinobi... there's just no way.

"In The Foundation, there were many children of broken families brought about by battle," Sai says. "He was one of them. I became close with him, like a brother. We weren't related, but he often said nice things about my drawings. In this picture book... what I wanted to show him most of all... was what were supposed to be the final pictures on the facing pages. But after he died... I couldn't remember what I was going to draw."

Something suddenly sends a chill up my back.

"I hate to interrupt, but we need to go," I announce. "Kabuto's coming this way."

-

Bound in thick, wooden bands, we deposit Sai on the ground outside, and leaning against a large rock mound. It was a bit of a hassle getting him through the hole we'd entered from – we didn't want to risk him pulling some stint and getting away while we were trying to get away, ourselves – but we were just lucky.

"Unfortunately, Sai, I'll be having my clone stand guard over you here," Captain Yamato tells him.

"All right," Naruto says, and punches his fist into his palm. "We're back to square one. Time to save Sasuke!"

"... I wouldn't bother," Sai says, turning his head away from us. "I... met Sasuke. He always has Orochimaru with him. You'd have to fight Orochimaru again. You'll end up being hacked to pieces... and turned into a test subject if you pursue recklessly. And..."

"And what?!" Naruto demands.

"Sasuke said he doesn't care about you," Sai answers. "Sakura said you think of him like a brother. And yet... for a guy like that, why...? Why are you trying so hard to save him, going so far as to oppose Orochimaru and put your life at risk? Why is that? When nobody's ordering you to do so?"

I half-expected Naruto to get on his two knees and pummel Sai into the rock form behind him. His tightly-bound fists, his rigid stance, his slack shoulders... but now, he's smiling. Smiling.

"I used to really hate Sasuke," he says. "Even though, like me, he didn't have a family... he was elite, and I was always at the bottom. But it was actually fun being with him. He's... he's the person who acknowledged me more than anyone else. Sasuke... is my friend. It's a special bond I was finally able to make. A bond."

"Even so," Sai says. "Even so, with Orochimaru as your opponent..."

"It doesn't matter who the opponent is!" Naruto says, grinning. "If my arms get torn off, I'll kick him down. If my legs get torn off, I'll bite him down. If my head gets torn off, I'll stare him down. If my eyes get torn off, I'll curse him in my grave! ... even if I get chopped into piece, I'll take Sasuke back from Orochimaru."

"... w-well, let's just hope it doesn't come down to that," I laugh nervously.

"Agreed," Captain Yamato says. "We'll go after I create a guard—""Whoa, move it!" I have to suddenly shout at them. Not only has Kabuto's chakra suddenly appeared from nowhere, but so has a great hail of kunai. Luckily, everyone is able to avoid it in time, but Kabuto has landed in front of Sai.

"I thought we'd completely given our pursuers the slip," he says. "I guess I should say I expect no less from Lord Orochimaru's test subject."

"You sure are persistent," Sakura points out.

Kabuto chuckles. "Sai. Judging from your condition, it appears you've been captured."

"Don't interfere," Naruto growls at him. "I won't go easy on you."

The two clones that had been sitting at the top of the rock form behind Sai finish forming the Rasengan between the two of them, and the one in its care races down to the bottom. However, Kabuto is able to fend against it by kicking Naruto's clone away from him.

"It's futile," Kabuto says.

"Guess we won't know until we try!" he shouts back, and four more clones appear and race toward him, covering the four points around him.

"You've got it wrong," Kabuto says, and having grabbed one of the clones by the wrist, he twists him around in a circle, all the while, avoiding the other clones, and snapping the wrist of the clone in his hands. "I'm not talking about that."

With a glowing hand, Kabuto slices through the three clones, and they disappear. My eyes are barely able to keep up with Captain Yamato's hand signs, but he's got a Wood Style Jutsu chasing after both Kabuto and Sai. "Kari, you get Sai," he orders me.

"Roger that," I say, taking off after Sakura. Part of the wood branches off and punctures the ground before me, just as I've arrived to it, another created for Sakura on the opposite side. I leap up, with Sakura heading the attack and creating a distraction through her battle cry, I leap toward Sai, who is held under Kabuto's arm, as Sakura aims for Kabuto. However, the sheer power behind the swing of her arm throws me off balance, and my intended silent rescue of Sai goes noticed by the enemy, who jumps far out of the way before either Sakura or myself can do anything about it.

"Damn it!" I curse, sliding along Captain Yamato's wooden forms.

Kabuto and Sai have landed on the ground below, and to my surprise, he frees Sai, slicing through his wooden bonds with his hand like it was made of butter. They don't already trust him, do they? That doesn't sound like a move Orochimaru would make.

"Man, it's truly pathetic watching you guys," Kabuto calls to us, "especially you, Naruto. Watching you..." He chuckles. "What I mean is, it's futile even if you were able to beat me... People change. Sasuke isn't the old Sasuke anymore."

And it's as if something switches inside him, like one of his words triggered him into switching sides – or maybe it's that he was never on their side at all – that has Sai pinning Kabuto to the ground with his arm twisted up behind his back.

"Whoa," I breathe.

"Wha- What's the idea here?" Kabuto demands. "Your mission was to be the liaison between Lord Orochimaru and Danzo!" Concerned, I slide myself down to the ground, careful not to cause my own distraction. And now that I'm closer to the scene, I catch a softer expression on Sai's face when he speaks to Kabuto.

"People change," he says, repeating Kabuto's earlier words. "The same goes for me."

"What?"

"But there are things that don't change. Bonds. I want to see for myself."

"Sai," Captain Yamato calls, "keep a hold on him." Weaving his hands together, several wooden tendrils snake up from the ground and wind themselves around Kabuto's strained body, knocking him toward the ground. A sudden burst of irritation sweeps through me from the look on his face, and I stalk toward Kabuto, grabbing one of the wooden pieces, dragging him toward the large mounds behind us, and throwing him toward it. He grunts. The irritation subsides.

"Sai... What the heck are you thinking?" Naruto asks him, at the same time that our captain creates a Wood Clone of himself.

"Why are you so hung up on your bonds with Sasuke... and what are those bonds?" Sai wonders. "I want to know. From your perspective, it seems I can't erase my bond with my older brother... If it's something that important to me, then I might understand if I see your bonds with Sasuke." A small smile appears on his lips. "That's all."

Out of nowhere, Kabuto begins to laugh.

"And what's so funny?!" Sakura snaps on him. Rather disturbingly, he looks up at us, slowly.

"You guys don't know the real Sasuke," he says. Captain Yamato steps toward him.

"Where is Sasuke?" he asks. Kabuto smirks at him. "Tell me."

"... he's probably done with his training right about now... and is a room deeper inside the hideout."

"It's true that Sasuke was training with Orochimaru," Sai tells us. "I don't think what he said just now is a lie."

"Alright, then let's get to it—""However," Sai says, cutting across Naruto, "where exactly is this room deeper inside?"

"I dunno, there were so many when we first entered the tunnels," I point out. "The only reason we found you was thanks to Captain Yamato. I'll be no help if we try to track him; my scope is useless in there. And even so, I'm sure Sasuke's chakra has changed since the last time I sensed it, just like Naruto's and Sakura's did."

"I don't know, either," Kabuto tells us. "A room deeper inside doesn't mean just one or two rooms."

"In that case, we'll just search every single one of them!" Naruto says. Kabuto laughs again.

"You're right. You might find it if you search at random," he says. "However, you could stir up a serpent's nest."

"... we could end up finding Orochimaru's room, instead," I realize aloud after inferring what he means by 'serpent's nest'.

"Thank you for speaking honestly," Captain Yamato says to Kabuto.

"No need to thank me," he tells him.

"Are you saying the tables will be turned on us?"

"Yeah."

"You jerk!" Naruto shouts. Captain Yamato throws up his hand to bar his path.

"That's something we won't know until we try," he says, unfazed. "Let's go."

"Ah, before that," I say, and I crouch down in front of Kabuto, taking one of his restrained hands in mine.

"What are you doing?" he demands. I shrug, and start displacing my own chakra.

"Just borrowing some of your chakra. Not that I need it, of course," I add with a chuckle of my own. "But you being all tied up, well, you certainly don't need it, either."