Watch Tower

Sakura ran into the stair case and noticed the door was sealed off by some red transparent wall. Sakura just hoped now that Umi would be alright. Running up the stairs behind Kaori she listened to her as she gave out instructions and what was going to happen. Sakura simply nodded whit a serious look on her face letting Kaori know she was ready to go.

Shino followed his new team up the steps of the Kage's tower as they headed towards the Aburame who controled the entire village of Kumo. The three of them made it onto a platform with no walls around them, allowing a cool breeze to enter the soon to be battle field. Shino stood there emotionlessly as the enemy before them spoke. Almost as if ignoring his empty words Shino would say "I suggest we either take him out fast or one stays and the other two continue. They know were here so the Aburame is probably bringing the entire village strait to this tower." Shino would await the answer from his partners, personaly he would try taking him out as fast as possible right here right now.

They made it to the top of a plateform that had no walls and was really windy because they were so high up. There were four pillars and a ladder holding up another platform, which is where the Aburame must be held at. Then the guard came down and leaned against the latter. "Most be strong if they only left one person the guard her" Sakura said to herself. Shino gave what he thought should be done in the situation. Kaori agreed, but changed it up abit. She would go on to fight the Aburame as the two konoha peers stayed back to fight the guard. Sakura though that it should be Shino who goes to fight the lady because they were both Aburames. but Kaori probably knew more about her and was more skilled too. Having her battle face Sakura lifted her left hand with the glove spreading her fingers out and tightning her glove with the other hand. "Let's do this!" Sakura yelled out as she dashed towards Darui. Hopping up into the air Sakura knew his blade was drawn yet so it wasn't to dangerous. Coming down with her left fist with a roar Sakura would go to smash him into the ground. But her real intention was not to hit him, it was to get him away from the ladder. And if he did so, hopefully Shino would come in with his bugs. Lets hope Kaori can stop the Aburame from bringing the villages entire shinobi force.

Shino would listin to Kaori's version of his idea. Acording to what they had learned about Shinku, she seemed like a powerful shinobi, and Shino woundered if Kaori had to skill to take on somone that powerful. But now there was no time for fighting and they had to do something right away so Shino decided to go along with Kaori's plan but simply nodding in agreeance. A swarm of bugs begun flying out of Shino's sleeves serounding the Aburame as Sakura tightened her glove. As Sakura dashed forward Shino would lift both of his arms sending forward two streams of bugs to back up his fellow village member. "Go." He would say to Kaori in a relaxed tone as his bugs would be enough to guard Kaori while she went up the ladder.

Sakura was blasted away as electricity sparked all around her body from the jutsu Darui just used on Kaori. Crashing along the roof top on her back, she tried getting back up right away but having been violently electrecuted slowed her movements down for a while. She could not do anything while getting up but watch as Darui stopped Shino's attack and halted Kaori from making it to the top. "That bastard" Sakura mummered as she finally got back up and the effects of being electrified has dumbed down. Reaching into her pouch with both hands she would pull out two kunais with her right hand and a small bag with her left hand. She had an assignment to make sure Kaori made it to the top, and she was going to make it happened. Tossing the sack right over Darui most likely grabbing his attention she then threw her two kunais she was holding, but not dirrectly at Darui. While he would be look up at the strange sack that was thrown over him, one kunai landed at his feet with an exploding already half burnt down. The second kunai zipped right through the sack as hundreds of small papers started falling down all around Darui. Each one being an exploding tag. The exploding tag on the kunai at his feet blew up causing an explotion to engulf Darui. But also setting off all the exploding tags around Darui engulfing him in an even bigger cloud of fire. This should give Kaori enough time to make it to the top. If not Shino could still come in with his bugs.

Shino grunted as he watched his bugs die. More and more would be released from the depths of his sleeves as he said in a low voice "Your going to pay for that." The Aburame watched as Sakura began making her move on the Kumo nin before them. Her attack involved exploding tags so if Shino were to send in anymore bugs they would only get blown away once more. Instead Shino would separate his bugs in tiny "Teams" instead of one massive swarm he made them separate throughout the walless room in small groups. There were now minature clouds of bugs floating through the entire room they were fighting in. Using the bug cloud that serounded him, Shino would create an exact replica of himself out of his own bugs. Now that Dauri's vision was blocked do to the smoke of the explossion, Shino jumped off the platform, out of sight, and used his chakra to stick to the side of the building. His clone would act as the real him, giving him the chance to move around to Dauri's back and sneak attack him. The tiny clouds of bugs and the bunshin would offer Sakura back up while he Shino slowly made his move.

Sakura smiled as both her and Kaori's attacks were succesful. Sakura waited for the smoke to clear before she made her move again but heard Darui use a type of jutsu Sakura had never heard of or seen before. Out of no where a large amount of laser beams started bouncing all over the platform destroying Shino's bugs at the same time. Sakura was so concentrated on all the laser beams bouncing around the room that when the beams came in for her, she noticed them to late to dodge them. Putting her arms up as a guard Sakura was blasted right off of the platform as she flew acorss the air. Smashing into the side of another building she shortly fell down to a platform around that building. She was still pretty high up in the sky but not as high as the Raikage's tower. Sakura now had a frustrated look on her face as the one guy was stopping the three of them. Quickly getting back up to her feet she would run to the end of the platform she landed on. Hopping ontop of the railing she pushed off of it jumping right on the side of the Raikage's building. Sakura was now running up the side of the building on an angle heading right for Darui's location. Once making it to the platform, she pulled herself atop of that railing and pushed off of it right for Darui with her left arm cranked back. While in the air she would swing her left arm with the same amount of force as her cherry blossom taijutsu. If it connected with Darui's face, it would definetly brake all the bones on the right side of his face knocking him out at the same time.

Shino was shocked when he herd his bugs dying in swift numbers and that his bug clone had been destroyed. Thanks to the help of his surviving bugs, Shino knew that Sakura and Kaori where hit off of the platform, and if he didnt help them they would fall to their deaths. Using the aid of his bugs that were still alive to tell him where Sakura and Kaori were falling from, Shino would release two clouds of bugs sending each of them towards his two team mates. The bugs would float under both females catching them in the air. Bringing them back to the platform Shino would make his move before they made it. Releasing a swarm the size of a water dragon jutsu, the swarm of bugs would dart forward, gliding across the platform with incredible speed. The swarm would smash right into Dauri, hitting him with crushing force. Sweeping him off of his feet the bugs wouls swiftly wrap around his body incasing him inside a casket of bugs. Floating in the air, still with the safety of the platform bellow, the bugs would swiftly begin draining Dauri dry of his chakra, and do to them incasing him he would be unable to move to perform any hands seals. He was finished. And if he had managed to dodge Shino's sneak attack, the remaining bugs hanging in the air would sweep down onto him, and the newly created swarm would continue its attack on the Kumo nin. The two clouds of bugs then braught Sakura back onto the platform, and Kaori's would carry her all the way to the top seeing as the ladder was broken.

Sakura was saved by Shino's bugs, thankfully. Sakura whipped the sweat off of her forehead as the bugs brought her to the platform as she was releaved she had not died. Her expression quickly changed to a look of shock. "Black lightning!?" Sakura said as Darui created a black panther destroying all of Shino's bugs and attacking the forest Shino was in. The guy electricuted himself as Sakura made it to the platform again. "This guy really is tough. No wonder they left only him to protect the Aburame" Sakura said to herself. Knowing Darui was probably going to attack Kaori again stopping her from making it to the top, there was only one thing left to do. And because Darui and herself were the only ones standing on the platform now was her only chance. Lifting up her arm with the glove she would let out a thunderous roar as she punched the platform with enourmous strength using her cherry clossom taijutsu. Instantly the platform would start cracking, braking and splitting apart. The pillars holding up the high level were no longer stable because the ground under them was all broken up and uneven. Therefore the pillars broke, and because there was nothing left to hold up the high level it would start falling down towards both her and Darui. Because she was right at the edge she simply jumped over the railing and stuck to the side. Sakura formed a single hand seal when the upper level collapsed and broke apart because the pieces of it would all fall off of the side down towards her. So as she got hit she replaced her self with one of the other broken pieces. Landing ontop of all the rubble as the borken pieces continued falling down, Sakura looked around to see where Darui was, as well as the female Aburame.

Shino watched as a black patner made out of lightning ran through his army of bugs like they were nothing. Tearing them to shreds, it zoomed right past Shino into the forest bellow. The forest woudl set ablaze, the fire spreading like wild fire around the whole moutain. Clear from the fire, Shino would slowly begin edging towards the rim of the platform to see what the situation was. As he slowly made his way, the whole platform began to shake when suddenly the pillar snapped like toothpics bringing the whole ceiling down. Collapsing hard onto the surface with Dauri stood, some of the falling peices of the platform came strait towards Shino. Jumping backwards avoiding the incoming peices of platform, Shino would release a cloud of bugs that he would stand on. Floating in the air with a good distance between him and the platform, he would look over to Sakura with amazement. "What strength.... for a girl." Kaori would still be floating on Shino bugs beside the platform as he did, waiting to see what happened next.

Sakura was looking around but couldn't find the black shinobi or the Aburame. Could they be under the rubble? Sakura remembers seing Darui jumping onto the top room most likely to save the Aburame. Being the room fell off, could they have fallen of as well? Sakura looked over to Kaori as she yelled out an order to Shino. Sakura looked over the edge and could not see anything. The smoke was blocking her vision completley. But she jumped off the side sticking the the mountain peak as she started searching for the two shinobi as well. But it was going to be a difficult task with all the smoke that was coming from the forest below.

Shino hovered ontop of his bug clouds that stood over the platform, as the three of them had no idea where Dauri and the Genjutsu nin were. They did not know if there were crushed by what had fallen do to Sakura or if they were hiding in the massive smoke cloud that formed a ring around the moutain. Making no sign of acknowledgment to Kaori's deman, Shino simply left his arms as two fairly thick strips of bugs zig-zaged out of his sleeves. The two lines of bugs would disperse, separating from each other. To the human eye it would apear as they vanished in thin air, and that was the point. Shino made them all seperate, so if Dauri was alive he wouldnt see them coming. One set of bugs were sent into the ring of smoke, and the others were sent to search through the tiyn cracks under the rubble to see if they had been crushed by Sakura's attack. After about a minute of waiting, Shino lifted his right index finger where there was a singal bug facing him. Looking at it as if it were speaking to it, the Aburame lifted his arms ahead of himself as two thick strips of bugs came out and fused forming one massive clouds of darkness. "Found them." Shino whispered to himself. The bugs that had been sent into the cloud of smoke found Dauri and the Aburame and thanks to the smoke they would be even more invisible. So slowly one by one they crawled onto the clothing of both of them so if Shino's upcoming attack would miss he would still have some of his destruction bugs on them. The massive ball of bugs were sent forward moving into the ring of smoke strait, towards their enemy. Giving out their location to Sakura and Kaori, the clouds of bugs would dive into the smoke clouds and collide right into both of them. Instantly trapping both of them within the massive ball of black bugs. The ball was so dense that they would be unable to move and the bugs would begin sucking their chakra dry. Pulling them out of the smoke cloud, the black ball would hover over the city, far from the platform so if they somehow managed to brake free from his escapable jutsu, they would plumet to their deaths.

"Found you" Sakura said as she clenched her gloved fist getting ready to strike, but didn't. She was frozen. From both shock, and fear. Those red eyes. "Itachi..... Uchiha......" Sakura whispered under her breath, so frightened she could barley speak. Her suprised look quickly changed into her battle face as she got down into a stance and twirled out a kunai from her pouch gripping onto it. "When did Akatsuki get here? Could they have been behind all of this the whole time!? That would explain why they captured all these jinchurikis. But why get help from an outside source?" Sakura was in a bit of a bundle if Itachi was with Kumo.

Just when Shino was about to initiate his attack and take out Darui, someone threw a kunai in his direction. Never changing his stance to avoid the incoming projectile. The swarm that serounded Shino simply intercepted the Kunai looking as if they had devoured the weapon. Seconds later it would drop to the surface of the platform, never making it near the Aburame. The cloud of bugs that he floated on would turn around in the air allowing Shino to face the incoming hord. Watching as Kaori made the first move to attack the incoming Kumo forces, Shino's eyes shot wide open when his bugs contacted him and told him there was an Akatsuki member on the moutain. "How did he get here without my bugs seeing him." Knowing his exact location, Shino would have to help out Kaori with the hord before he went to assits Sakura. Still floating above the center of the platform, Shino would send the clouds of bugs that he had originaly planned to attack Darui towards the hord. The cloud of blackness would sweep down the moutain, past Kaori like a carpet, colliding into the enemy forces. Knocking a chunk of them off the moutain, serounding some preventing them from move any further and lifting them off the moutain to drop them to their deaths, and floating around the faces of some leaving them destracted. This would allow Kaori to take out any remaining Kumo nin while Shino's bugs cleaned up the rest. Meanwhile, the bugs that had succesfully made it onto Darui and the other Aburame would being slowly draining them of their chakra.

Sakura was wrong. It seems like Itachi was going after the Aburame meaning they weren't behind everything. But it doesn't mean Itachi is on Sakura's side now. She still cant trust him. Before Darui knew it there was a second Itachi in front of him slicing his throat causing him to roll down the side of the mountain. "What?" Sakura said to herself. Just like that Itachi goes and kills one of Kumo's shinobi. Even though Sakura was fighting him, she didn't intend on killing the shinobi. She was after the Aburame, not the Kumo nin. Before he could get to far down the mountain Sakura bolted down the side headed right for Darui. Once reaching him she came to a sliding halt grabbing him by his Kumo vest and using chakra on her hand against the wall as well to hold Darui. With one tug she lifted him onto her shoulder and started moving side ways away from Itachi and Shinku. Once she was out of side she quickly made her way to the top where Kaori was ontop of all the ruble. By the time she got there and put Darui down he had already lost a lot of blood and some of it was on her back. Putting both her hands over the cash on his neck, she instantly started healing the wound closed with a green aura. Looking over to Kaori and all the Kumo bodies laying on the ground, Sakura would say "The girl we were after has waken up. And there's another Uchiha Akatsuki member there also after her."

"Tell me where you're keeping the Jinchuriki." Itachi answered coldly. The next second, his body started dissolving into bugs, and so did Sakura's. Inches of flesh were melting away into buzzing flies by the second. Shinku chuckled and then jumped high up into the sky, landing on the obliterated mountain peak. She would find that she was not alone. The instant after she had landed, Kaori landed a few meters away. Shinku could tell what the chef's intentions were just by the expression on her face. Also by the blood all over her and the butcher knives she was holding.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you betrayed us. Hinode couldn't see it, but I did... He will never love you. You're just a little runt, and now I can finally put you down." Shinku said to Kaori. A fire raged in Kaori's eyes as she gripped the butcher knives so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Stay out of this!" she shouted, and Shinku made a confused face. The Aburame clone noticed Kaori wasn't looking at her, but someone behind her. Turning around, she met Itachi's eyes once again. "I'm going to ask one more time. Where are the Jinchuriki." Somehow, every time he asked that, it didn't sound like a question, but instead, it sounded like an order. "Guess I shouldn't have expected any less from an Akatsuki member. Not to mention an Uchiha..." Shinku muttered with a nervous smile. "I said, stay out of it!!!" Kaori roared again, letting her arm swing. She released the blade that hand was holding, and it looked like a disk as it spun through the air passed Shinku and right at Itachi's throat. A shadow clone appeared in front of him, caught the butcher knife by the handle, and then burst back into a puff of smoke. The knife fell and stabbed into a rock with a 'shink' sound.

Still waiting for Shinku's answer, Itachi just stared like a statue at the Aburame clone, as if Kaori's attack had never happened. "Heh... I'm sorry, tough guy, but you're not going to get that information out of me willingly." Shinku said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Then unwillingly it is." he answered flatly. "Wait!" Kaori cut in, "I used to be part of their group, I know where they are keeping them!" Itachi turned to look at the chef-nin, letting her know she now had his attention. "I'll tell you, but you have to let me kill her. By myself!" she said, pointing at Shinku with her only butcher knife left. There was a short moment of silence as Itachi thought about it, and Shinku looked back and forth between the Uchiha and the cook. "You have 3 minutes. If you're lying, I will kill you." Itachi finally broke the ice. Shinku and Kaori both smirked, but for different reasons. "That's more than enough..." Kaori said as she readied the knife. "You 2 think you can mock me with these games? I will destroy all of you!" Shinku roared as an aura of flies began to manifest around her.