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chapter twenty-eight

"Feel what you need to feel and then let it go. Do not let it consume you."

- Dhiman

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AYO YOUR GIRL MISSES SASUSAKU SO HERE *throws a bunch of fluff in your faces* ENJOY THE CHAPTER MY DEARS

-Silverwolf735

Sasuke and Sakura had embarked on their own adventure practically from the moment they woke up. Kakashi and Sakura had spent a couple hours talking about it before he'd sent her to bed last night, and Sakura told Sasuke their plan before he slept as well.

"Naruto is going to handle the physical part of the fight with Kisame and whoever he brings with him. I trust that he can handle it. Besides, I gave him a wild card to work with." Kakashi informed Sakura, bringing his feet up to the couch and snuggling into the comfy blanket Sakura had been under a couple seconds before Kakashi stole it from her. "You and Sasuke have a different job."

Sakura's brows twitched upward in thinly veiled suspicion, as she vied for her blanket back. "A different job? You're splitting us up?"

"I'm going to be busy keeping Minato and Kushina from immediately coming home to check on their kid, so you two are the only ones left to take the job." Kakashi shrugged, before wincing. "That's going to be a painful endeavor. Kushina won't let anyone stop her from getting to Naruto."

"What is the point of all of this?" Sakura asked. "Why can't Sasuke and I be with Naruto?"

"There are multiple things going down right now." Kakashi told her, holding up one of his hands and lifting a finger. "One- it's estimated that some time tomorrow morning, two Akatsuki members are going to arrive at our doorstep. Probably literally at Naruto's doorstep." Kakashi held up a finger. "Two- Kushina and Minato are going to leave sometime tomorrow, because the only way that Kisame and his partner are going to drop by is if they're certain the Hokage is gone. Naruto will be home alone. Minato and Kushina are going to be at the Hokage Tower safe and sound, and Minato has a kunai all prepped and ready in case of emergency." Sakura nodded along to this. "Three- tomorrow morning, I'm going to wake up my wild card and convince him to help Naruto. Sasuke will have to be out of the house by this time."

Sakura blinked. "You're using Itachi?"

"Yes, but Sasuke can't know." Kakashi stressed, glaring at his student. "I mean it, Sakura. If Sasuke finds out that his brother is going to be fighting Kisame and his new partner, he'll flip out. I love the kid, but he's overprotective of Itachi. He seems to always forget that Itachi is canonically the second most powerful Uchiha clan member as far as the village knows, second only to Shisui. Kisame was reluctant to go up against him in their first life, and Itachi's even more powerful in this one because he has proper training, and isn't ill like he was last time."

Sakura's lips pursed. "Kakashi, I don't like the idea of keeping this from him. That sounds like an accident waiting to happen."

"An accident?" Kakashi scoffed. "This is hell waiting to break loose, and I know it. But we don't have a choice. We need Sasuke with his head screwed on tightly when we send you and him to follow Kisame and his new partner as far as you can possibly get."

"So that's our mission?" Sakura's eyes narrowed. "You want us to follow them back to their nest."

Kakashi sighed, having been found out. He pulled another blanket off the back of the couch, wrapping himself in it. "Jiraiya is the best intel finder the village has, and the man has close to nothing on this new Akatsuki. They were quiet in our first life, but they're silent now." Kakashi pointed out. "We've been here for years, and the only confirmed Akatsuki members we know about for sure is Kisame."