Her Destiny

Mission Plan

Temari and Kankuro were loving the extra time in Oto. Temari got to teach the genin all about wind chakra and its uses, and Kankuro had even taken on a team of promising puppeteers, getting pointers from Sasori every once in a while. The two were thick as thieves now.

Sai and Temari were living together, Temari teaching the poor man about the finer points of how to deal with human feelings and such.

Sakura sat behind her desk, contemplating their next move. It had been a year since the alliance had been agreed upon, and she knew that at some point Gaara was going to want his siblings back. The upcoming exams would probably be the trade off time. She had kept to her word, training up several of his genin teams after sending some of her medical staff to Suna to teach them some of the techniques that they used here.

'"Obito," She called to the man standing with several of his colleagues.

Obito turned around, instantly alert for any threat. Over the past year, the man had really grown. He was confident in his abilities and he had a good relationship with everyone that comprised the inner circle. She had also managed to reduce the scarring on his face, leaving the skin much smoother, though there was still evidence of trauma.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"You and one of the others, go find Pein and inform him of our alliance with Sand. Maybe we could do something similar with Ame."

Everyone looked at her like she was insane.

Sakura only shrugged. "We haven't heard much from them. Figure we could check in and let them in on our plans."

They nodded. Obito gestured to Itachi and Sasori, who both nodded.

Within moments they were gone.

Shisui walked over to his soulmate. "Alright, sweetheart?"

Sakura sighed. "Just tired. Kumo and Iwa are still causing all sorts of problems, and even though Tsunade said that Mist wouldn't be a problem, I can't help but feel like they are up to something."

"Do you want some of us to go check out what's going on over there? Kisame still has some contacts there. Maybe he knows something."

Shisui was worried about his soulmate. She was pushing herself too hard. There were always going to be issues, but she was seeing things that weren't there. Maybe it was just the constant attacks that had her feeling as if something was going to happen.

He kissed her temple, a soothing gesture, and she sighed, relaxing just a little bit.

Shisui walked over to the others and asked Kisame what he had heard.

"From what I've gathered, Mei just took over. The village has been doing much better now that she has taken control and taken up the Kage position. There are some that think that a woman in such a position is leveling on blasphemy, but other than that, they don't seem to be having too many problems. Why?"

"Sakura feels like something is going on," Shisui explained. "Tsunade said that Mist wouldn't be an issue with anyone, and I'm assuming she knows about her former student at least residing in Oto. Konoha won't attempt anything against us, and even with Tsunade stepping down and giving the hat to Kakashi, I doubt we will have problems. Kakashi probably has a fairly good idea of where Sakura really is. He wouldn't jeopardize their relationship by doing something stupid against Oto."

Several of the others nodded. "Maybe we send a genin team to see what's going on? One of the more experienced. Just a basic mission that takes them close to Mist, nothing overt," Deidara put forth.

Hashirama nodded. "We don't want to make it seem like we don't trust them. Maybe have the genin take a scroll requesting a meeting. That would give them the opportunity to see most of Mist. They could report anything odd when they get back."

Tobirama nodded. "It's probably our best plan of action at this point."

"We should send one of the teams that have been trained by Tobirama or Itachi. They have more training in strategy and tactics relating to observation than any other team," Minato explained.

"Send Kai, with Shinzo, Karoi, and Gin. That was one of Tobi's first teams. They've passed the exams. It might look a little odd if we didn't send chunin to take an official missive. Genin might just insult them."

Kisame snorted. "Everything offends Ao. Better to send that group than a bunch of fresh meat. I would offer to go, more as deterrence than anything, but Mist still has a grudge."

"Then let's plan on sending Kai's team. The sooner the better. An Otokage on edge is never a good thing," Hidan said, cringing at the memory of Sakura nearly tearing him in two with a punch after he had come up behind her a little too quietly.

Shisui told Sakura of the plan, which she wrote down as an official mission, before calling the team and giving them the mission. "Don't do anything stupid, or I'll send you back to remedial training with Tobirama, and I'll make sure that he makes it painful."

The team left soon after, gathering their supplies and heading toward Mist, intent on getting the meeting request to the new Mizukage.

Not too long afterward, the telltale sign of a portal appeared in the office, Obito, Itachi, and Sasori walking through, with Pein, Konan, Zetsu, and another man.

Sakura looked to the three men of her village, brows raised. Obito shrugged. "They all insisted on coming."

The unidentified man strode toward Sakura, pausing briefly to give a small bow. "Hello, Sakura-san, I am Nagato Uzumaki."