Disclaimer:
I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.
Arc 2:
Chapter 9: Getting the Job Done
"We're definitely dealing with a heavy, metal-based toxin," Sarada informed Sakura. The intense rhythmic tapping was one of the things Sarada's mother had taught her to recognize from a young age. In hindsight, perhaps it was because of what happened to Kankurō that Future Sakura was so strict when it came to recognizing poisons. Clearing her head from those thoughts, Sarada focused back on the heartbeat. It was too fast for her liking, making her frown in concern.
"The kind that destroys muscle tissue?" Sakura asked her. They didn't run into poisons like that too often.
Sarada nodded. "Seems so," she said as she lifted her head from his chest. "It's destroying the integrity of the cells."
"You're able to learn all that, in one look?" The medics of Suna sounded shocked, but Sarada didn't have time to be proud of herself.
"According to his chart," Sarada looked at the clipboard in her hands. "It seems that the cardiac muscle will be weakened to the point where the heart will collapse and cease functioning altogether. It's doubtful we'll be able to come up with an antidote in time."
"What are you saying?!" Temari snapped angrily in misplaced panic, her brow creased in worry as she stared down the two medics."There's nothing you can do?"
Sakura and Sarada looked at her in understanding before looking at each other. Sarada had a determined look in her eyes, and Sakura nodded. "We're gonna need a few things, and we'll need them quickly." She told the medics. "This is gonna be pretty crude but, it's the only option we have."
Sarada tied her hair up as well, adjusting her glasses. The medics went to get the things Sakura wrote down for them while they got ready for the procedure.
"Are you ready for this?" She asked Sarada. The girl nodded, stretching her arms. "We can do this," Sarada said confidently.
The medics came back with large pots filled with the medicinal herb water and placed them on either side of Kankurō. Two next to Sakura, two next to Sarada. They both placed their hands on the water at the same time, preparing to start.
"Hold him down and don't let him move," Sakura told the other medics firmly. "This part of the procedure is not going to be easy for him."
"Alright," Temari positioned herself near Kankurō's head, holding it down while the other medics grabbed his other limbs.
Sakura and Sarada extracted water bubbles from the pots, both of the bubbles glued to their palms. They held the substance steadily above his chest.
"Ready?" Sakura asked Sarada.
"Ready." She answered.
"Here goes," Sakura inserted the bubble into Kankurō's chest, and he started screaming in pain, his body thrusting up off the table. The medics struggled as they held him down, his thrashing making it harder to keep his back pinned to the table. Sarada took her cue and inserted another bubble to his abdomen, his piercing scream from the intense pain sending chills down their spines. He managed to break the medics hold, shooting up into a sitting position.
"You need to hold him down!" Sarada ordered, pushing Kankurō down with her free hand and maintaining the pressure until the medics grabbed him again
(Interview)
"He was really in pain and He was on the verge of getting hysterical. So I did what was logical and necessary just to calm him down. This procedure, from what I know can eat up a lot of anyone's time."
-Sarada
Gotta pour my chakra into his body, Sakura tried to concentrate despite the screams of pain. She focused past the painful sounds Kankuro couldn't hold in and allowed the bubble to sink into the joint between his shoulder and his arm, straight into his heart. She could feel how the muscle was slowly weakening. "Sarada," she said warningly to the girl.
"I got it," Sarada answered, sinking her bubble into his bloodstream.
Purge the toxins from his cells and force it to the surface, Sakura tried to picture the toxin floating up and being sucked into the bubble. Draw it into the bubble, and extract it!
She moved her hand up and pulled out the bubble, this time with remnants of the poison in it. On the table's other side, Sarada did the same, but quicker. Unlike Sakura who was dealing with the delicate heart organ, Sarada had to move quickly or the kidneys would have collapsed from the poison. She moved her hands in an almost hypnotic way, but Sakura didn't look away from her mission.
"What's that?" Temari looked at the bubble in Sakura's hand. "Is that the poison?"
Sakura didn't answer, making quick eye contact with Sarada, who nodded. She counted to three in her hand before completely taking out the bubbles simultaneously with Sarada.
The moved the bubbles into empty pots and went back to work. "Another!" Sakura commanded.
"Right!" The medics nodded and replaced the medicinal waters on both sides.
Sarada was already inserting the bubble again when she froze.
"What is it?" Sakura stopped her hand before she inserted the bubble on her side.
"The poison," Sarada frowned. "I can't find it."
"What do you mean, you can't find it?" Temari asked in a panic.
"It's because it became to thin. I can't feel it," Sarada explained.
"That's not good," Sakura clenched her teeth. "If it's in his bloodstream, it can get to his heart, fast."
"I know," Sarada nodded. "If only I could see it-" she suddenly raised her head as if she had an idea.
"Do you have anything?" Sakura asked her, noticing the determined look in her eyes.
"I might," Sarada said unconfidently. "But I need you all to close your eyes."
"What?" Temari asked her in anger. "This is no time for jokes!"
"It's not a joke," Sarada's expression became surer and surer. "I need you all to close your eyes."
The medics looked at Sakura, waiting to see what she decided. Sakura looked at Sarada, who gave her a pleading look. Nodding, she closed her eyes. She didn't see what happened next, but it seemed as though all the others closed their eyes too.
She heard the rookie breathe deeply before there was a sudden spike of chakra from her. It was subtle, but Sakura had a feeling she felt it before somewhere. She was fighting the urge to take a peek.
As for Sarada, she finally had the freedom to handle this the best way as possible, she leaned over Kankurō's body and scan it up close. Suddenly, she stopped over the area just below his ribs and moved her bubble over there. Sarada inserted the bubble, making Kankurō scream and struggle.
"Please hold him down!" She exclaimed, as her eyes turned red, activating the Sharingan.
The rest all did as they can with their eyes closed. Kankurō continued to scream for a couple of moments before Sarada extracted the bubble again, pulling out the poison that got away.
Kankurō stopped struggling and was about to open her eyes completely when she saw it.
A flash of red in the rookie's eyes.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Sarada told them all, and Sakura opened her eyes fully, still trying to understand what she saw.
It was probably just Sarada's red glasses reflecting the light in the room.
"It's your turn," Sarada told Sakura as she dumped the poison in the bowl. Sakura nodded and expelled all thoughts not about her patient away, focusing on extracting the rest of the poison.
They might be able to save him after all
(LATER ON)
Everyone waited outside while the operation was ongoing.
A conversation was immediately kickstarted by Naruto himself, who was curious about one thing.
"So the White Fang of Konoha was your father?" He asked.
Kakashi simply nodded." Well, Yes Naruto considering our hair." He explained.
"I apologized again for mistaking you as him young man." Lady Chiyo added, she wanted to let him know once more that she didn't mean't to attack him.
Kakashi turned to her and smiled." It's alright Ma'am, I understand." He said, before turning back to his orange book.
Who was this White Fang guy?" Himawari asked Boruto, both of them sitting on the floor against the wall in front of the bench.
"He was a great shinobi of the village," Boruto explained to her, their conversation attracting the attention of the four people on the bench. "He died a long time ago, though."
"Oh," Himawari looked up at Kakashi apologetically. "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei."
"It's okay," Kakashi smiled at her. "No harm done."
Himawari smiled before turning her eyes towards a certain orange book." Hey, Isn't that makeout tactics?" She asked.
It is," Kakashi blinked in surprise. "Do you know it?"
"Mhm," Himawari nodded, staring at the cover intensely. "Nobody would tell me what's it about, though."
"Oh," Kakashi coughed. "Well it is-"
He wasn't able to finish his sentence as the door to the emergency room finally opened revealing the exhausted two Kunouichis.
How did it go?"
Sakura wiped her forehead, sighing in relief. She smiled at them. "We removed most of the poison," she told them while Sarada wiped her hands with a cloth. "I believe that ought to put him out of any immediate danger."
The rest of the medics sighed in relief as well. Kankurō now laid quietly on the table, sleeping more soundly. It had been a few hours since she and Sarada started the procedure, and it was almost noon now..
"I couldn't do it without her, for a rookie, she is quite good." Sarada praised the raven haired teen, who had just untied her pony tail.
Temari was able to let go of the pressure as she headed to a wall and then collapsed against it, sinking to the floor. She rested a hand on her heart and breathed in and out.
"He's not completely out of the woods yet," Sakura said, making sure everybody was listening. "We are still making the antidote, to eliminate any toxins from her body."
"I see," the shinobi she remembered was Kankurō and Temari's sensei nodded. "Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask".
"You remind me of the old Slug Queen, Tsunade." Lady Chiyo commented, as she approach the two girls, especially Sakura from before told her. "Isn't it strange, you turning up in our village like this?"
"Well, after all," Sakura re-tied her headband. "Well, I think we'll need to thank sunade-sama for that." She gestured." And Sarada here, she is a rookie by the way but she did well."
Sarada simply waved her hand and smiled." Hello Ma'am" She greeted, while the old lady nodded as a response.
After all that attention that she was temporarily receiving, she gave an exhausted sigh. Anyone could tell on what shd had beem through during that operation was tough.
It was at this time that her teammate approached her.
"You did great Sarada!" Boruto said, approaching the raven haired teen.
Sarada instinctively headed to the blonde and rested her on his chest." Yeah, pretty tired if you ask me." She said.
Boruto nodded and smiled." Yeah, I understand." He said, before continuing.
"Can we talk in private for awhile?"
(INTERVIEW)
"I could really tell that she drained from that operation, and she did good job on saving a life."
-Boruto
(LATER ON)
As the day finally continued, a large part of the mission was accomplished. The team managed to arrived in time and had somehow saved the Kazekage's brother before he succumbed into the poison that was inflicted to by none of other than Sasori of the Sand.
The white haired man, who was thinking about what had happened earlier on today, sighed. He found himself a quiet area to rest for awhile, as it was quite an eventful day for him. First, he had managed his student's temper of bursting his frustrations towards the rookies, second, he had guided them throughout the journey and all that it entailed and lastly, he was mistaken for his father.
The ordeals had really tired him out by this point, but of course it was his duty to help the Sand Village and he would never give up.
The white haired jounin, rubbed a hand over his face and sighed yet again. What had gotten to the Lady Hokage? Just where did she get these new rookies? There was really something about them and he had to find out, or maybe he was just tired and going crazy at the same time? Maybe he really should stop reading his orange books.
"Kakashi-sensei?" The voice of Naruto then interrupted his thoughts, he thought that no one would be able to find him here but he was wrong. He looked up to the blonde himself, staring at him.
"Yes, what is it?" Kakashi asked.
"I think you're being called inside, They wanted to talked to you for awhile."
(LATER ON)
The sound of hot tea could be heard being poured into a cup. The Sarada and Boruto found themselves inside the building's small canteen area. Sarada was a bit bewildered and confused that the blonde wanted privately talk to her and for what actually?
Was there something any important to talk about?
"Sarada-chan." The raven haired girl's thoughts were then interrupted by the blonde himself as she looked up to see her teammate carrying the tray of snacks, which consists of some sandwiches and two hot chocolate milks in a mug.
"Oh thank you Boruto." Sarada thanked her blonde teammate, who finally sat down in front of her.
There was a bit of silence that took over their area. They quietly enjoyed their food before the blonde finally spoke up.
"Uhmm, there is something that I wanted to ask." Boruto said as he munched his sandwich.
"Yes, what is it?" Sarada asked. She was a bit confused right now.
"Did you used your Sharingan awhile ago?" Boruto asked. The blonde saw the whole thing, but he just wanted clarification from the girl.
Sarada just kept quiet for a few moments before finally deciding to talk." Well, Yes I did use my Sharingan, but before that I told the rest the closed their eyes so they won't see anything.' She explained.
Boruto nodded in understanding." I see." He said." Just be careful next time, it's pretty tough for us to reveal anything about our ablities if you know what I mean-ttebasa." He said.
"I know, I'll be careful next time." She gave her teammate an assuring smile, before taking a sip of her hot chocolate milk.
"I really didn't expect to be thrust into that situation, but I guess, I was really needed." She added.
Boruto shrugged." Well at least you save the day." He said, earning a smile from his teammate.
You know, I think this whole Observer thing is getting out of hand." Boruto commented. He was really doubting the position that the Hokage had assigned them.
"What do you mean by that Boruto?" Sarada asked.
Boruto then wondered." Well, if we were to put the current situation into a perspective, they were not really observers, they were Shinobi now.
"You got a point." Sarada sighed and agreed.
It was only a matter of time before they would find themselves at the front rows of the mission.
"Plus who knows whose out there besides the Akatsuki fellas." Boruto explained." It'a big world out there."
(INTERVIEW)
"The only thing we can do is to expect the unexpected. At one point we'll be fighting for our lives."
-Boruto
"Hey guys!"
It was at this time that Himawari entered the area, interrupting their conversation. Both lf them shifted their attention towards the lavender haired teen, who seemed to tired from running.
"Is something the matter Hima-chan?" Boruto asked.
Himawari, who finally was able to catch her breath, she stood up straight as she beared some interesting news for the two.
"Uncle Kakashi sent me here, he wants to brief everybody regarding the mission." The Uzumaki girl explained while the two older teens took glances at each other then turned their eyes towards the lavender haired girl with puzzled faces.
Himawari on the other hand was a little confused. Why were the two giving her weird looks like that?
(MEANWHILE)
Sakura sighed as she took a deep breath. with the help of the other medics, procedure has now been completed. The antidote was finally made and injected on brown haired teen, cleansing the remaining poison inside his body.
As of now, he was still recovering his energy back at the ward room.
Sakura sat down on of the chairs in the infirmary. It was really a tiring procedure to be honest, but with the help of the raven haired girl from a little while ago, the process had been sped up and the procedure ended on a peaceful note.
Millions of thoughts were running through on her head. She was wondering about the raven haired rookie. She had to admit that she really had the skills of a medic-nin, but how did she managed to learn all of this? She came from a small village that have no shinobi or medical experts. So the question was, who taught her the skills?
Around this time, she suddenly felt a a sharp pain in her head. her world, began to spin around her, but after a few moments it stopped. Although, it wasn't over yet as images of a certain place started to flash before her eyes. It was revealed to be Konoha but the place was very different to what it was now, plus the fact that it was destroyed.
An image of a certain person also flashed before her eyes, it was a person who she recognized, the person being none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself, but he older than he appeared to be.
"Sasuke?" Sakura muttered as the memories began to fade away. One of the last things that she saw was herself trying fighting an unknown enemy and at the same time protecting a certain person.
The memories would soon abruptly end. The pain finally gone and she was back into reality.
"Hey, you sure are pretty stressed Sakura-chan." The familiar voice of Naruto interrupted the silence as well as her thoughts, as the blonde teen arrived at the scene.
The pink haired Kunouchi then looked up and saw her teammate giving a confused and concerned look.
Naruto was also worried about her. He just went up to check up on his older teammate and childhood crush, but all he saw was his teammate holding her forehead in pain.
"Are you alright?" Naruto, with a concerned voice asked.
Sakura just gave a slight smile. "Yeah, I'm fine Naruto, I'm just tired from the journey, the fighting and saving lives, that's all." Sakura explained and assured the blonde, not telling him of what she thought she saw from before..
"Well, if you need something, just call me okay?" Naruto then said as he headed back to where sand siblings are.
As for Sakura herself, this was the first time that she had this kind of headache, and she had no explanation for it. But she just deduced that this was some kind of lucid dream or something similar.
Sakura sighed and massaged her temples yet again. The pink haired girl could only hope that she wasn't going crazy.
(Interview)
"And I thought the headaches were permanently gone, Now it's back and is being its usual pain in butt.
-Sakura
(OFFICIAL MEMBERS)
The meeting was then held back in a different location, which was an empty infirmary, probably from the Second or Third Great Shinobi wars, or something similar. Those who were present, were the three rookies and Kakashi himself. This seemed as if it was going to be a closed door, rather private meeting.
Boruto and Sarada were just even more confused. They were probably thinking the man had already figured it out, and they could only just have to prepare themselves if they were going to tell the truth.
On the other hand, Himawari was giving them weird but worried looks. Why were the two looked so worried and what was to worry about? This was just a mission briefing, they surely were safe?
Kakashi could only sighed in response." Alright guys There is nothing to worry about , I just needed to speak with you three regarding the mission." He explained.
Both of the Uchiha and the older time traveling Uzumaki's eyes widened. They thought at first that they'd been finally exposed, but it turned out, they were not. Their thoughts quickly turned to the mission briefing, but not after a suspicious glare from Kakashi, as well as a worried look from Himawari.
"First I will have to apologize for this but you three will not be observers anymore." Kakashi added which gave surprised reactions from the trio, as they were not expecting this.
"So that means, we're going to be doing this mission as official members now?" Himawari asked. This breaking news had really made her excited.
Kakashi simply nodded. "Yes, and later there will be a brief meeting regarding the search for the captured Kazekage." He added.
Himawari was just really jumping in excitement right now. She really wanted this opportunity to proved herself and she knew that this was gonna be her time to shine.
As for Boruto and Sarada, they were just glancing at each other and wondering of what could possibly go right and wrong this time. It was like a sudden promotion that they were not expecting. They turned eyes to the main instructor of Team 7, who gave them a smile.
"Well, wish you guys the best for this mission." Kakashi said. He then stood up from a chair and headed for the door.
By the time he reached the door, He suddenly stopped his tracks and then turned around to face the trio again." Oh and by the way, The Leaf Village has sent another team to assist in this mission." He informed the trio before fully going outside.
There was silence in the room. The trio wondered on whose team was sent to assist them. It was just full of unexpected surprises today. Has difficulty of this mission increased? Maybe that's why another team was sent. Who knows?
On the other note, Himawari could only anticipate and wondered about that team that will be sent. She then asked herself, "Can this team can handle the challenge of this mission?"
(Interview)
"When Kakashi-sensei told us about playing a bigger role in the mission, We were definitely glad and I myself was very excited! Not because of being in the moment but because of giving our best to help what we can."
-Himawari
REINFORCEMENTS
(Somewhere in the vast forest)
To all the things that Neji had been through. This was going to be the toughest challenge of his life yet. The first was easy, Lady Hokage assigned him and the team on this mission to assist Team 7. Second, as soon as his little cousin found out about it, there's nothing that he can do now, and lastly, his little cousin had apparently joined in the mission at the approval of Lady Hokage herself which he found strange and impossible.
"Hey big cousin, why are you silent for?" Hanabi asked. She was getting really annoyed that her cousin wasn't answering her questions.
Neji, on the other hand just kept silent. He really didn't want to argue with the younger Hyuuga. In fact, he had gave up, there was really no chance of winning an argument with her. You either get trashed talk or just lived to see yourself become a verbal punching bag.
"I really don't wanna talk about this Hanabi." Neji replied. These were the only words that came from his mouth before he completely shut his mouth up.
"You know, if this is about concerning me, then you don't have to worry because I'm going kicked those Akatsuki butts outta of this world." Hanabi said. She was just really pumped up to join in this mission and to also watch over her big cousin, just in case if he did anything stupid that would have risked his life.
Neji could only sigh back to his cousin. His best choice was just to go with flow. He turned his eyes to the rest of the team, as he had heard snickering coming from them, and his thoughts and suspicions were confirmed about those who were snickering at him or chuckling at him, especially about his predicament. The brown haired Hyuuga secretly whined about this.
"Why does she have to babysit me?"
(Interview)
"As expected, here comes my courageous cousin to the rescue.(Sighs)
-Neji
"Well, as you all know, my job is simply to make sure that my cousin doesn't get himself in trouble."
-Hanabi
CHAPTER ENDS.
AN: Thank you for reading the chapter.