Book 2: The Three of Us

Chapter 35: A Calculation of Hope

I have no excuse for this late update. Writers block? Maybe. Laziness? Very likely. Schoolwork? Possibly. Besides it being spring and gardening work having picked up some around the farm, life has been relatively uneventful. Definitely not in a bad way, we appreciate the uneventful times in our life. 

:::

Sitting in her chair, Tsunade looks out the window as she speaks, "We leave in two weeks. Small groups have already been sent ahead to work alongside the other villages."

Itachi's lips pull down into a frown, "What's the update on our asset?"

Looking towards us her shoulders slump forward in exhaustion, "Contact has been made and negotiations have begun."

Having just been filled in on who our asset really was, I couldn't help but worry. Crossing my arms across my chest, I give Tsunade a heavy look, "I don't know how you can trust him. He's a traitor to this village."

The tense atmosphere is broken by a loud yawn coming from Shikamaru, "As long as he knows he'll benefit from the situation, we have nothing to worry about. Plus, he wants the Akatsuki defeated just as much as we do. Turning on us would put our victory at risk." His blatant disregard of the seriousness of the topic makes annoyance build in me, even if I know it's all an act. The lazy and detached attitude of his was as much of a shield as it was who he really was. 

I give him a glare, "You've never even met him."

Shikamaru gives me a flat look, clearly not impressed, "Unfortunately I'm the smartest person in the room and after studying him, I've thought up a hundred different ways this could go about and none of them include him betraying us. He's a logical man, and he knows that the best course of action is to comply with us."

"This is Orochimaru we are talking about. He is the one responsible for Lord Thirds death," I hiss out. Despite my mixed feelings for Lord Third - and the part he played in causing the rift between the village and the Uchiha clan - he didn't deserve to die. No one deserves to die, no matter how much I dislike them. 

Tsunade leans back in her chair, turning it to face me directly, her gaze and voice holding a sharpness to them, "Sakura, I appreciate your concern, and it truly is a valid concern. However, we've made deals with him in the past and he's always kept up his side of things."

I match her gaze just as intensely, "Deals none of you knew of until recently. Deals not made with the Hokage involved."

Tsunade lets out a scoff, "A detail he is not aware of." 

"Fine. But just so you know, I don't approve."

***

Walking through the village, caught up in my own thoughts, I can't help but be in a sour mood after the meeting we had. They were all right but I couldn't help but worry. We're making a deal with the devil and I do not approve, and I made sure to make that very clear to everyone. To clarify, I'm not angry at Tsunade, Itachi, and Shikamaru. I'm angry at the whole situation. But we need this, it will give us the upper hand against the Akatsuki. Taking a deep breath, I pull myself out of my thoughts, and focus on the world around me. 

The village is bustling with people, rebuilding efforts in full swing at this point. New buildings were being put up everywhere, shinobi working alongside civilians to get the work done faster then either could alone.  Scattered around, I could see the black and orange jumpsuit that Naruto is famous for. Hundreds of his shadow clones could be seen, jumping from place to place. He had taken on the task of painting the finished buildings, a talent that seamlessly transferred over from his years of pranking. Added to that his never ending supply of chakra, the work was being done at record breaking pace. At the cost of some of the buildings being ridiculous colors but it seemed to put a smile on everyone's face more than it annoyed them. 

It put its own smile on my face and pulled me out of my spiraling mind, allowed me a moment to feel a little bit of happiness. That smile of his has always been contagious, even when he drives me insane. Naruto was just like that, it was impossible not to be sucked into his orbit. Now that the village was able to move past their own prejudice, they could finally see and appreciate that side of him. There's still some good that comes of the bad. Naruto has always been good at reminding me of that. 

Two weeks. That's the time we have left until we need to be ready for war. The very thought of it makes me nauseous. Despite our best efforts, so much about our enemy is unknown. There are still Akatsuki members our there we know nothing about. Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzu and Pain have already fallen. Leaving Deidera, Tobi, Zetsu, Tashiro Kenta, and one other powerful shinobi who's name is unknown to the world. Tashiro Kenta was an unknown up until recently when Gaara was attacked and taken by the Akatsuki. He hales from Ishigakure, and has the ability to combine his earth and wind release to create magnet release. 

The other, the one who has gone by so many names, the bingo book decided to call him the Poison Death. Living up to his name, no enemy has fought him and survived. The ones who were able to escape him quickly died from poison. Other than that, there's no known information about him. Even his picture in the bingo book is nothing more then the side view of a cloaked figure, hood up and a black mask over his face. At some point, we'll face him and plenty will loose their lives. If I had time to study the poisons he uses, I would be able to create an antidote. However, these poisons are so potent and fast acting, they leave no reliable trace behind. Each body I have examined has had varying degrees of nerve damage, evidence of cardiac arrest, and even a stroke. The only thing to connect the bodies was the inability to figure out what kind of poison was used. 

Since returning to the village, my main task has been studying these poisons in an attempt to create an antidote, with the help of Anko of all people. Working in the lab with her made it very clear how unsuited she was for this sort of work but she's the only poison specialist with enough knowledge to work on this. After failing a hundred times over, all that was left was to create a medication that directly reduces the symptoms, and just hoping that the person is strong enough to survive.