Prepare for trouble! And Make it Quintuple!

Sakura was not liking the way things had spiralled out of her control so fast— it made her feel like a piece of meat— a very sensual piece of meat, granted— being fought over by a pack of wild dogs.

However, it was her own powerlessness that Sakura hated most of all. Sheltered by her comfortable life in Konoha, and having all of this power at her fingertips, she had allowed herself to get lulled into a false sense of security; she had forgotten the mindless cruelty that mankind was capable of— she sure as hell wasn't in Kansai any more; or anywhere else in Japan, for that matter.

The okami of the ryokan where Sakura's misadventure had started— the female cultist named Koremitsu, the woman who had poisoned her food— she had just been an ordinary woman, without even a hint of chakra running through her system. But among all of Sakura's foes, she had been the one to bring her closest to death, so Sakura swore to herself that she would never underestimate anyone ever again.

"Keep up, you're falling behind!" shouted spider-boy Kidōmaru, who was bringing up the rear. "This place is crawling with Yu-nin, and the last thing we need is unnecessary trouble!"

"How far 'till we reach your hideout?" Sakura shouted back, panting slightly. "In case you've forgotten, I'm still poisoned, and you haven't let me detoxify myself!"

Apparently, some important bloke in the Land of Lightning was getting married, and plenty of V.I.P.s from all over the known world had been invited to attend— which meant that the Yugakure shinobi had their hands full patrolling their land, which stood between the Land of Lightning Peninsula and the rest of the shinobi continent. It wouldn't reflect well on the Land of Hot Water, if they just allowed highwaymen to waylay the important guests passing through their lands. Their economy was mostly based on tourism, after all.

"We're here!" Sakon announced as soon as Sakura had voiced her complaints.

"Finally," grunted Jirōbō. "Ugh, carrying this woman feels so obscene."

Sakura glanced at the fat boy, who was carrying Tsunade's and Shizune's unconscious bodies on his back, the lucky bastard. But if he so wanted, or if Sakura made one wrong move, he could crush their heads, and that would be the end of them…

"Hah?" spat Tayuya, staring up at Jirōbō. "Ya got a problem with women, fatass?"

"Just the ones who have potty mouths," Jirōbō growled, glowering back at Tayuya.

Ding! The System's software update is complete! The continuous improvement feature has been unlocked! The reward roadmap has been partially initialized!

Inner Sakura: '!'

"Over here," said Sakon, beckoning for the rest to join him.

It seemed like Orochimaru had secret bases all over the continent… and that they were also very well concealed. If Sakon had never started digging up the patch of grass under his feet, Sakura would never have guessed that it concealed a sort of manhole!

…

Sakon was the first to enter the dark hole in the ground, followed by Jirōbō. Sakura was made to go third, and then Kidōmaru and Tayuya closed the march. As Sakura climbed down the ladder, electrical emergency lights flickered to life around her, bathing her in a sickly green light, but after only a few seconds of descent, she had already reached the bottom.

This place was rather barebones, as far as secret laboratories went. There wasn't much here in the ways of scientific equipment— unless you counted sleeping cots and half-empty emergency supply closets. In all likelihood, nothing much in the Land of Hotwater had piqued Orochimaru's interest, except for the Valley of Hell, maybe— there was a map of that on the wall.

Sakura fixed her gaze on the large barrel sitting in the middle of the room. Unless she was mistaken, this was the sealing container in which the Sound Four were supposed to place Sasuke, in order to induce his Cursed Seal to enter its second state…

"I see you've found Kimimaro," Sakon purred in Sakura's ear, sending chills down her spine.

"I don't understand," Sakura blurted out. "What makes you so sure that I can heal Kimimaro's disease? For all Orochimaru knows, I could have been bluffing to save my life, back when I told him I could do it during the Chūnin exams…"

Behind Sakura, Kidōmaru and Tayuya slid down the ladder, before hopping off one after the other.

"Let's just say that Lord Orochimaru has a certain interest in your Kekkei Genkai," said Kidōmaru, with a wide grin plastered on his face. "I also had a few of my summoned spiders keep an eye on you during your travels. You gave me quite a shock, when you slashed the white-haired Sannin out of nowhere! But it's only when my spiders got in to get a closer look that I realized that you had instantly detoxified a poison that the Slug Princess herself had compounded, with only a swing of your sword! A bit unusual, as far as Medical Ninjutsu goes, but hey, as long as it works!"

"And let's just hope for your sake, and theirs," added Tayuya, tilting her head towards Shizune and Tsunade, "that you succeed."

Sakura's mind raced, as she considered all of her available options.

In her state, there was no way she'd be able to fight all four members of the Sound Four at once, especially in this cramped environment. And if she healed Kimimaro, then she'd be facing the Sound Five!

A sickening thought suddenly occurred to Sakura.

"What's my guarantee that you'll let us go, once I've done as you've asked?" said Sakura, desperately trying to maintain a level voice and to push down the mounting horror building up in her breast.

"You'll just have to trust us, dear," said Sakon in honeyed tones. "But if I were you, I would do as I was asked…"

Sakon's words confirmed Sakura's fears. If Orochimaru indeed placed so much importance on her that he would have the Sound Four stalk her instead of Sasuke, then could it be that he actually wanted to use her body for the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, instead of Sasuke's…?

"Don't do it, Sakura," Tsunade groaned. "Orochimaru is a two-faced snake— once he's bitten down on something, he'll never let go of his prey…!"

At some point, Tsunade had awakened from her alcohol-induced coma and staggered to her feet. A glimmer of hope lit up within Sakura's breast— until she remembered that Tsunade still had haemophobia.

Sakon quickly slashed his palm open with his teeth, before turning his hand towards Tsunade, to make it so she could clearly see the crimson blood dripping down his forearm. Upon catching sight of the red stuff, Tsunade immediately tensed up; her eyes grew distant, as if she were seeing Vietnam flashbacks… and then she started shivering uncontrollably; biting at her nails to comfort herself, much like a child would…

"So much for the legendary Sannin," Tayuya sniggered.

"Wait, don't hurt her!" Sakura cried out in a panic, upon seeing Jirōbō lumbering towards Tsunade. "I'll cure Kimimaro, just don't touch Lady Tsunade!"

It's at this moment that Sakura hatched a cunning plan— a way to even the numbers. She was done being tossed around between mad cultists and mad scientists— now was the time for her to seize control of her destiny!

"Then better get to it, top-heavy," said Tayuya coldly. "Or cow-tits here gets it."

"Don't say swears, Tayuya," said Jirōbō irritably.

"I'll just need to summon my sword, since I'm more comfortable with it," said Sakura, as she slowly reached into her cleavage. "Wouldn't want to accidentally hurt your friend, would I…?"