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Three syllables, a word, a name. It may as well been the first time that his voice had pronounced them without a speck of hate- or maybe an ounce of expression."Sakura.."A word meaning of the flowers which had lived too shortly, fallen too early- a fragile and fleeting blossom bruised by the simplest touch. Yet none of these words described her, no, at least not now- but instead the man who had spoken it.A name which probably held no meaning to the man who had spoken it.A person who probably held no meaning to the man who had called her name-When her eyes began to part from their dried, rheumy mucus, Haruno Sakura could only wish to scream- but to her dismay, found herself unable to do so. Her throat was dry and her tongue cracked, she craned her neck and stared up into the dust of the sky and remembered.Everything. But everything didn't matter when this was happening.Sasuke's sunken-in eyes were halfway lidded, his mouth dryly moving to match barely unspoken words. Each movement of his lips seemed to sting- the corners ripped and shriveled, skin flaking off, begging to be peeled. Every tug and syllable seemed to tear a bit more skin each time. "I'm sorry.. for everything." he croaked, as if the things he said were blades digging into his neck. His words were scratchy and unharmonized, like if multiple people had been speaking at the same time- a badly coordinated chorus. Did it hurt so much to apologize?Though almost in-cognizable in tone, there was a valid feeling stuffed into those words- a voice of truth within the lies of his past- that expressed an emotion Sakura would have never expected from him. Regret.During her youth, perhaps it was this that she had pleaded each day and night for- the holiday gift too expensive for such a poor heart- but today, as the changed woman, no longer the girl he left behind, the expected fluttering of butterflies and redness growing in the tips of her cheeks were mere mounds of salty water flash-flooding her eyes until the point that her vision had receded to blurriness.Despite the utter silence spare for the way every breath of his sounded like breaking glass- she couldn't help but feel as if a swarm of birds were cawing incessantly around her- a tornadic discordance to fill every inch of her mind. The sunrise fading blue to a vivid orange only seemed to shade the darkest night sky. Lukewarm blood still poured out of where his arm used to be... the very same one that had taken the life of so many...Her gaze flashed to Naruto, his unmoving, unresponsive figure. She wanted to reach for him- hold him, say it was alright... but her legs were kept glued on the ground, kneeling before the dyin- critically injured Uchiha. Even the arms with the strength to shatter mountains to dust lay limp against her bare and blistered feet, incapable of doing anything at all.Was this justice? Is this the divine punishment he gets because he did all this? Change this, Sasuke- please, just change this."Sakura.." Sasuke repeated, this time even more inaudibly then the last. She then noticed the dried streaks of blood on his mouth again; this time, however, joined by newer bouts of the metallic liquid. "Take... m.."How could Uchiha Sasuke look so.. soft? He was anything but. The Sasuke that claimed to want to become Hokage was unbelievable, and the Sasuke that tried to kill her was unpardonable, but this Sasuke.. lying out on his last moments, practically begging for forgiveness(by his regressively antisocial standards... ha...) was just..."Shut up.." she breathed. "Just shut up."It sufficed.(But it was too late.)________________________________The world had not reacted well when news first hit, recalling Naruto Uzumaki's untimely death under the callous hands of his nemesis to be an "absurd tragedy". A statue had been set over the Hidden Leaf's horizon; the top of the Kage Mountain, above Minato Namikaze's Rushmore-esque depiction, stood a lone shinobi made of stone.The Child of Prophecy had saved the world and finished his duty in a climatic battle with his final foe, and concluded his story. No sequels there. Jiraiya would be proud.Sasuke's name was spat over and cursed upon- dubbed the "most ruthless man of all of shinobi history"- words of ill-wished gossip were commonplace throughout the nations for at least the following six months.At least he achieved one goal. There hadn't been any battles between shinobi villages since. There hadn't been this much peace in years. There hadn't also been such a unified hatred for a single entity since- well, perhaps the Rabbit Goddess herself?So Sasuke might've been right...?Like his previous incarnation, Madara, he'd thought peace could only be achieved through evil.And to her dismay, she found her eye was one of those things that kindled the fire. Whilst her dear friends comforted her for her decision, the strangers and passerby gave cruel stares, and the press gave no hesitance to blasphemies the fact that Sasuke Uchiha had no intention of ever saving the people of Konoha, and would've left them to rot if it had not been for Naruto's intervention.Rumors came and went, and Sakura could recognize the truth that had carried between some that did manage to reach her unwilling ears. It was kind of ironic that the rumors spread like wildfire in a village called the Hidden Leaf. "He tried to murder the woman who loved him five times," (usually followed by "That chick was a psycho for liking such a guy anyway") or "He killed his auto-genocidal brother, only to find out he'd saved him against orders", for example, were more or less true.How prudent of her? 'Loved' was not how she would've stated it, but nonetheless, it was true.The way it had been delivered to her proved it to have degenerated into a fragmented story, however. It had been, in truth, three times and each occurrence was a benefactor of her own accord.The first time, she approached him with fury in her burning emerald eyes- a flawed grin plastered on her features like a mask, a lie of her willingness to betray to Konoha being uttered with noticeable amounts of disdain being the only evidence that her actions would not betray her words. She was no talented liar. In seconds, his Chidori teetered dangerously close to contacting her back, the once-black pupils of his eyes now a burning red-and-purple. If it had not been for Kakashi, she would've died.The second time was more or less alike. When his calloused fingers grew tight over her windpipe, she showed nothing but murderous intent towards him- kunai tucked in a pocket, already in the rage of a battle. Naruto, this time, was the shining white knight who swept Sakura off of her reigns.The third had been a figment of her own perception- a genjūtsu. His fist, punching cleanly through the base of her chest, exiting through the ridge of where her shoulder blades had been- it "had touched her heart". But as she came to, she did not find herself in a heavenly garden, nor a blazing inferno demanding her repent. It was the same, dirt-colored panorama that refused to change, even through her ire and fatigue-intoxicated vision.On the contrary, the rumor about Itachi was more on-the-mark.After Danzo's death, Tsunade released his Root ANBU files to Sakura, placing her under orders to investigate(alongside Shikamaru) the (even more)secretive underground version of her local Black Ops. From the array of case files, she began fishing for familiar names. Through the hoard, one stood out- a dusty looking one, hiding in the corner. As she picked it up, blowing away the gray fuzz, she noticed there had been a photograph paperclipped to the righthand corner. She recognized the face immediately; weasel-like features, recognizable wrinkles, a striking resemblance to her Sasuke(not to be confused with Sandaime's father)- 'Uchiha Itachi'.She consulted Shikamaru before opening the file. The man shrugged lazily but continued to read from his own pick(which was a complete anthology of the interrelations between Konohagakure and Sunagakure). She sniggered, the first thought popping to her head being 'Temari'- the Kazekage's older sister, who, she assumed Shikamaru had taken a liking to. But the boy did not respond in the slightest, which was more of a testament to his laziness rather than proof that the reason of his erudition was merely a speculative desire for insight, instead of a passionate love for his dear Temari.But as she skimmed over the papers concerning the man who had originally owned her left eye, (feeling some oddly placed guilt as she realized she was basically using the dead guy's eye to read private stuff about him; not that a dead man could denounce repercussions, but judging by experience, if Orochimaru cooked up his Edo Tensei again, she would be done for.) she came across a small passage underneath his confidential details.'Name : Uchiha ItachiDate of Birth : 5/9/19XXBlood Type : ABHeight : 157cm at final mission, about 180cm current (estimate)Age : 13 at final mission, 21 currentImmediate Family : Uchiha Mikoto(mother), Uchiha Fugaku(father), Uchiha Sasuke(brother)Affiliation :'Sakura paused as she saw a large scribble over what seemed to say 'Uchiha Clan; heir of Main Family. ANBU Captain.' Next to the obscured text, a burning red font detailed what she had known him as.'S-Class Missing Nin, Akatsuki. Suspected to be partnered with Kisame Hoshigaki*Registered Ninja # : 012110Assignments Completed : 53 D-Rank, 152 C-Rank, 134 B-Rank, 0 A-Rank, 1 S-Rank***See : Kirigakure no Kaijin, in section 'S-Class Missing-nin of Kirigakure' and 'Akatsuki Members'**Details on Pg. 12'She flipped through the papers one-by-one, taking note that they had been out-of-order. Page twelve was more like page four.'Uchiha MassacreAssigned to : Uchiha Itachi**Sidenote : Shisui Uchiha had planned to use his (scribbled) (Outcome : Fail; assignee has perished due to (scribbled))Commissioner :'Marked out with black. No surprise there.Wait. 'Assigned to'? What could that possibly entail? She almost shut the binder closed and moved on, but she was too curious to let the chance pass. It was a strenuous battle of heart and mind, but Sakura eventually let the feline desire get to her.'Mission Outcome : SuccessObjective : Stop the coup d'etat by eliminating the Uchiha Clan.'Her mouth made an 'o' as she felt the waves of shock reverb through her. Itachi wasn't the violent, sociopathic monster she made him out to be, no- this didn't give her the full picture, of course, but she could assume. Itachi was ordered to kill his family, spared Sasuke and urged him to surpass him so that he could untarnish the Clan name. And yet she had wondered why Sasuke had suddenly mourned his brother after years of being hellbent over taking his revenge. And she understood.He wanted only for the best for his young otoutou, going against the Council's orders to swipe the whole of the Uchiha Clan under the rug once and for all. Not only that, but Itachi then joined a criminal organization just to become someone that his brother could kill in exchange for bringing honor to his former clan once again.Sakura had thought of him a scummy traitor who had destroyed her dearest Sasuke-kun's life and tortured him with gory visions at the tender age of 7- but after piecing the jigsaw puzzle that was Itachi Uchiha, came to understand why he did what he did.She hoped Sasuke had felt fully compensated after he finally became reunited with his deceased older brother, notwithstanding the form of an Edo Tensei killing machine. Not that she would ever know.(And that was something she refused to accept.) Deep in her heart, she would not yield the passionate flames that burnt for her friends. What would it take to just see them once again? To feel their sturdy arms around hers once more, in a tentative (given that one of them had been Sasuke) but meaningful group embrace?Tell them she was sorry for being such a failure; for letting them die?There were options to remedy their unfortunate fates- Edo Tensei, but that which would have been not without human sacrifice (she would volunteer to be the penance for the ritual but Naruto would probably hold a grudge on her for leaving them) and her Six Paths of Pain.If the gods had warranted their forthcoming to the lands above, then wasn't it her duty- as a doctor- to accept things as they came? She was not able to save every patient. Period.It wasn't this what made her weak- it was that she needed the crutches of their presence to feel worth anything. She declared she was 'strong,' but she still needed them with her?After some time, Sakura abandoned the idea that she should revive them completely, scrabbling the wishful dreams of reconciliation. She left it at that- a coming forethought that would be subsequently rejected, stamped, and shoved into a 'Classified' folder in the corners of her psyche.Life would move back into place, in slow, languid paces, (but it would never be the same without them.)Sakura looked out her window, the blossoms of newfound spring beginning to bloom upon her backyard. New chrysanthemums from Ino, a few roses that her mother had bought, some local, unidentifiable flowers laid dormant in huddles of tiny, multi-chromatic arrays of buds.The breeze brought with it, new, and feudal smells, from the familiar sweetness of her namesake to the indecipherable scents of fresh food being prepared in houses nearby.It had been three winters since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, so, naturally, the destroyed scenery had slowly, but surely, mended itself(much like the seasons themselves). The ruined, smashed-in buildings were reconstructed and the casualties' families mourned swiftly, so eventually, Konoha's previously decimated morale were painted over with new light despite how agony of war still lingered in the closeted shadows of the populace's minds.During Naruto's funeral service; which had been a public ceremony, she noticed Hinata had not been crying- which was a rare sight because it had concerned the object of the Hyūga heiress's amor- so Sakura approached her with open arms, perhaps wondering if she had snapped or forced herself to repress the painful memory."Hinata-san, are you.. okay?" Sakura asked, pursing her lips; trying to be delicate. "You seem, different, today." she looked back to empty eyes- Hinata's violet orbs were devoid of expression, but her mouth donned a knowing smile."I'm fine, Sakura-san." Hinata replied, her petite hands brushing against Sakura's unstrained (which was something she slowly grew accustomed to, ever since the war had left her permanently on-guard) biceps. "Um.. did N-Naruto-san say anything before.. he.."'died,' she assumed. After some careful rumination, Sakura opened her mouth, inhaling deeply before she began. "...No, I didn't even get to see it myself." Was it so conceited to say the truth? Instead of telling her that he had been 'happy, smiling, regretless and daring, even as he faced his impending demise'? The Sakura before- no, even during the war, would've lied for Hinata's sake(as they said, 'with a fake tug at her lips and eyes like open windows on a winter's blizzard flurry')- but the new Sakura somehow felt differently. "Though, from what I've seen, personally... he died valiantly, Hinata-san. He gave himself up so we could live."The Hyūga's brows drooped, the façade of indifference melting away like the soft December snow that would follow soon after. "T-thank you, Sakura-san." she responded with a candid demeanor, her grasp tracing down to Sakura's wrist from where it had been.She looked as if she had realized something- that something, perhaps, was that Naruto would've wanted nothing more than the shy heiress to leave his legacy at that, and pick up her own pieces instead. "It's okay. I.. know Naruto would've appreciated it." ('It', being your love.) "That I told you."All this time, Hinata refused to meet Sakura's gaze- maybe it had been Sasuke's eye that had intimidated her- well, it should. It was the eye of the person who had mercilessly slaughtered Naruto- and thank karma, perished in the process. Yes, that eye currently belonged to a dear friend of hers- but that made the struggle greater, if anything. Sakura's innocent, rosy cheeks, tainted by the darkness of the deceased Uchiha.Tsunade came forth to the stand, her speech reverberating over the audience. "Uzumaki Naruto was, in life, a rash individual. Son of Namikaze Minato, our fourth Hokage- and Uzumaki Kushina, the former jinchūriki of the Ninetails; he never saw his parents and endured a childhood of neglect and verbal abuse. Despite his rough upbringing, he valued others over all else, which is an honorable quality. He was a boy I took great interest in- he always seemed to be destined for great things. Unfortunately, his life was cut short by his ex-teammate, fittingly, at the Valley of the End, where Madara Uchiha and the Shodaime-sama fought their final battle."The rest of her sensei's words passed Sakura's ears like foreign patois; she felt the hot vibration of her suppressed guilt pound through her ribs- not because of the snow or the icy temperatures, but the guilt. "-and I conclude this obituary with the fact that Naruto shall be remembered in Konoha's history as a figure of legend. I truly mourn his passing, and so shall the rest of our village. His sacrifices will not go unnoticed."It was a closed casket ceremony- Naruto's face was concealed under a protective barrier of wood, a bouquet of flowers to match each side of the box. Ino's family(or what was left of it) had supplied a great deal of the floral arrangements for the funeral, which, Sakura had fully appreciated on his behalf.When her turn had finally came, she hesitated, letting a slow gulp pass through her throat before beginning. "I knew.. Naruto, since he was a young boy in the Academy." Sakura murmured, a low gurgle of heartache following her statement. "He was.. he never gave up on anyone. Even when Sasuke tried to cut him down.. me, our sensei, Naruto continued to support his best friend. I think Naruto connected to Sasuke on a different level than the rest of us did. They both could relate to their unfortunate, formative years.. and Naruto, even when he seemed down, would always retaliate with an uplifting grin. His dream to become the Hokage might of not been fulfilled, but he has always been like one to m- us. He truly deserved his title as the 'Sun of Konoha'.""To be a Hokage," she breathed, letting the cold air form mist around her lips. "He said, wasn't to become the strongest or the fastest of the bunch. He said it was the love one had for their village and the willingness to throw one's life on the line for it was what mattered. And Naruto has shown us that he truly cared about Konohagakure, even to his dying days. That is why."Sakura cried bitter tears that day. She did not mind that the bulk of the village had watched her outburst intently, with pitying frowns and swells of empathy in their chests. She had failed Naruto. The Naruto who would never achieve his sole goal in life.Because she didn't arrive in time to save him.. even when he always did.But that was three winters ago, and now, Sakura was 20. Two decades of hardship and espionage had left her scarred, both of body and soul. She confided in 'What ifs' and 'Could have's, but their novelty had worn off throughout the years. Like she had promised herself, she never got over Naruto's death; but the sting was now dull, like a paper cut or bruise she did not know she had. The blame she crowned upon her head and paraded had become monotonous and less.. spirited. "I deserve to be in their place! I should've kept a close eye on them!" became "I can't help but inculpate myself, even if there wasn't much I could've done." to, finally, "I regret their loss as if it were their blood on my hands."Ever since then, the Uchiha Compound had been donated to charity, (well, more specifically, the Uchiha Manor. The Compound itself was delegated to other homeowners since.. the 'Thing'.) and Naruto's home(after Yamato had remade a perfect copy with his rebuilding wood release) came under Sakura's possession(since Tsunade-sama had been the one lucky enough to be bequeathed his property)- which she vowed to keep as intact as it had been. The national hero's home was something the community would cherish for years to come.She, as well, grew number to the freshness of the anniversary of the deaths of so many each passing fall. It wasn't grief just over the loss of her best friends, but for the entire society. Many had given their lives for the sake of the Allied Shinobi Forces.Since then, good things hadn't failed to happen. She was promoted to the Assistant Director of Hospital in Konoha, and operated a children's wing, which she founded by herself. There was pioneering technology on nerve restoration (based on Might Gai's treatment) and the re-use of somatic cells (following how Tsunade used her chakra to remain youthful)in order to rejuvenize deteriorating organs. Hashirama's cells were a big part of the hospital's regime, considering their properties made them amazing candidates for becoming prosthetics. And since the Ninja way meant even lacking a single limb would hinder their performance, it was a popular method in face of retirement.Ino had gone off to form/strengthen the pharmaceutical branch of the hospital, being a medic nin herself. Her previous knowledge on herbs and flowers led her to become a good pharmacist, being certainly more than competent enough to operate a medicinal supply department. Life was 'good'.Not to be angsty, but they still had scars, physically and mentally. Maybe they didn't hurt like open wounds but their existence reminded her of pain that was once present. So, correction, it was as good as it would get, after suffering through the devastation war had presented them. To shinobi of her shishou's age, this was their third war. There were some, like the Tsuchikage, who had experienced all four. She had great respect for those veterans who kept pushing, despite their old age and trauma.Ino had always told her that the number of patients coming in, being prescribed with medicine for depression or PTSD had been on the rise since the end of the war- that being, compared to before it. Even Sakura took the occasional sleeping pill to help her get a good night's rest.She was still happy, though, because the people who had stayed with her made her joyous all the same. She cursed herself to never completely accept that Naruto could not be saved, after all, and a decree she betrothed herself with on his deathbed was one she planned to uphold.She sighed deeply- and the blossoms flew ahead scattered mid-air before her. "Sakura!" her mother called from the kitchen."Coming, mom," she responded, closing the window.________________________________Naruto's red scarf.It was a chilly winter day, snow falling in gentle waves.Alas, she was too timid to stop the bullies from destroying it.But he never stopped grinning."See you later!" he saluted, before running off into the whiteness of the snow-swept forest.--Iruka-sensei had written today's assignment on the board. "If the world was ending today, who you could spend the day with?"Naruto had struggled with it, in particular. He had no Kushina or Minato to coddle him, nor did he have friends to support him. Who else did he have but himself? "Eeh, Iruka-sensei! The world's not gonna end!""It's hypothetical, Naruto!"Hinata smiled, etching 'Naruto Uzumaki' fondly into her paper.--She wasn't even there when his world had ended.And yet he had been grinning all the same.--The Hyūga woman crumbled to her knees, pressing her face against the familiar Uzumaki Clan symbol on the upper middle half of the military-green door.Years had passed since Naruto Uzumaki died. But the gash had refused to heal.--The dream had ended, as the deep rings purple in her eyes faded back into a solid pallid violet. The blue encasing around her unraveled, as if they were bandages. Hinata was pirouetted back into harsh reality- the destruction before her left a detestable bitterness in her mouth. Neji was dead, Naruto was not her lover, and Hiashi still thought her useless.As she was released (and subsequently fell to the ground) she did not see the beautiful Konoha as it had been, but a half-demolished wreck. After standing stupidly at the sight, Hinata shook her head lightly, blank expression beginning to deteriorate to a worried frown.She looked around to see her two teammates, Kiba and Shino, recovering from the effects of the Tsukuyomi themselves. The Inuzuka was more visibly shaken, but the bug-loving nin was probably stunned all the same. As she approached them, Kiba's expression brightened and Shino seemed to be more aware. Moments later, Kurenai showed up behind them, the pregnant woman being assisted by some dazy-looking Hospital employees."Hinata-chan! You're okay! I'm so glad we're all outta this mess-" Kiba's overly-relieved tone scared her for a moment, but honestly. The whole of Konoha had nearly died- while her teammates knew not to be too socially aggressive to her, this was too much of an emotionally taxing scene to even ask them to control themselves. She, too, was excited under her sobby exterior. Excited to see Kiba- excited to see Kurenai-sensei- excited to see Shino- excited to see N.. Sakura's pink hair was like an eyesore (in a good way!) in the hoard of blacks-and-browns. Hinata's eyes trailed mindlessly to her distant face, and was horrified to see that it had been smeared with blood. Her sleeve was torn out and her arm was burnt. She looked like she was about to slump over unconscious."Y-yeah," Hinata agreed innocuously, tearing her gaze away from Sakura's injuries. "Kurenai-sensei.. You should go back to the hospital..""Hinata, you know I just awoke from the Tsukuyomi like everyone else." she explained heartily. "I needed to see if you all were alright. I wouldn't be able to sleep soundly without knowing that."Kiba 'awwed' before the teammates shared a joyous group-hug before breaking apart from each other. The happiness could not last long as Hinata's gaze wandered its ways back to Sakura's face. Upon closer inspection, she could make out that Sakura's left eye was..The same shade of mauve as Pein's..The blue-haired woman approached Sakura, hesitant in her steps. Strangely enough, Sakura was not surrounded by a group of her friends, nor beaming at the fact that the world had been saved. She clutched a fist close to her chest, looking meek at the sight of her friend."Sakura-san.. your.." Hinata trembled, referring to the blood on the left half of the pinkette's face. The kunoichi in question responded with sharply whipping her head away from the other girl's. "T-that means.. I'm so sorry.." She guffawed for a moment, observing the tomoe that spun around her left eye's rings. No other Rinnegan did that besides Sasuke's Rinne-Mangekyou-Sharingan hybrid eye.Sasuke must've.. because Sakura.. how..? And that left Naruto-"It's okay," the pinkette had replied, her voice husky. "No- I'm okay," she corrected, knowing that it really wasn't all that fine.Ino approached Sakura from behind, pulling the kunoichi into a headlock. "Forehead! You're okay," she cried, her bleach-blonde hair flying around. Sakura flinched in surprise, but began to tremble. "Sa-ku-ra?""I.. ugh, Ino.." Sakura began to shake violently. "I'm.. yeah. But, ...g-gah," with a haggard, rough growl, the pinkette pushed off her friend. "Naruto's.. he's-" turning to face Hinata, Sakura's gaze warmed, as if asking her to brace herself."He's de-dead, and Sasuke.. he's also... Both of them," Sakura spoke mournfully, breaking the news- causing any nin in earshot to roar with shock. Within seconds, the blonde(by association) and the pink-haired woman were shrouded with questions.Kakashi interfered soon enough, separating the crowd to the best of his ability. When that failed, he volunteered himself up as a witness to the whole scene.Hinata froze completely, feeling the blood leave her face."Naruto-kun is.." she whispered through her teeth, biting her bottom lip as hard as she could. As Sakura parted from the crowd, Ino following suit, she shot a regretful look back at her."Kami, I'm sorry, Hinata." Sakura begged, her arms now straddling against Ino's shoulders, as a crutch. "There wasn't anything I could do.. I arrived too late..."Ino looked devastated, too, but she remained unspoken for. Hinata looked at where Sakura had been standing.. and it was obvious why she had been left in solitude. There was a.. no, two bodies, covered in thin, ugly gray sheets. A maroon stain had been dried onto the sides of their lumps, the contours of their chins almost skin-tight, based on how flimsy the fabric was.Hinata felt the bile rise in her throat. She collapsed like a fragile pillar of glass that had been smashed through with a hard mallet. A sour taste began to throttle through her mouth, and Hinata, despite falling into the puddle, scouring her pants a lighter color, tainted by the chunky mud, managed to cover her mouth to catch the vomit that hurled forward. Naruto was... he wasn't dead, no, Hinata, you're only imagining it. Sakura doesn't mean that he died. But it didn't stop.Her hand fails to contain all the intestinal rejections that poured like a waterfall and mixed into a slightly brighter beige in the dirt below, and Sakura and Ino averted their gazes from the pitiful girl. Reduced to a shaking, broken doll who could barely breathe through the whirlwind of emotions paralyzing her, she was pitiful.Naruto-kun isn't dead, you're seeing things.No. Neji-nii was right. It couldn't be. No.. please...I love you.--Hinata whispers into the door, the teardrops staining the door with a saline trail. "Naruto-kun.." how I wish you would open this door and tell me everything is fine... that you didn't really die back then.As if someone had listened and granted her wish, the door creaked open, pushing Hinata away. A sudden feeling of joy rushed through Hinata as she anticipated a blonde man awkwardly rubbing his sleepy blue eyes, yawning. 'Hinata-chan, did you have a bad dream?' he would say and whisk her away.But instead, she was greeted by a pinkette with a very emerald set of eyes. "Hinata, why are you crying?" Sakura asked, her lips thinning in confusion.Hinata Hyūga was standing in her doorstep- well, it was Naruto's home, so his doorstep."I.. I-I ended up making Naruto a scarf," she answered, sniffing away with each, shaky inhale. "E-even tho-ough he's n-n-n-ever.. c-coming b-back.." In her hands, surely, there was a confection of the Hyūga's love for her former teammate- a red, hand-knitted scarf, large in size."Oh. That's why you didn't answer me when I asked whether or not you were knitting.." It was the fourth winter since his death, and she still grieved like it had been just the other week.. in typical Hinata fashion. "I guess you can't control your compulsions.. do you want me to prescribe you anti-depressants?" Sakura added, quite seriously. "It's not healthy for you to react that way. It's almost been half a decade since.. that.""I-I'd like to... move on, too," Hinata blubbered, her face now buried into the velveteen cloth that she scrunched up within her grasp. "B-but whenever.. I.. whenever I see his birthday coming up, I get this su-udden urge to.. so I worked on th-his since October.. b-but.."It had been so, so much harder to convince Hinata to leave behind the events of the past. Sure, Kakashi-sensei had, too, adamantly rejected any sort of forceful removal from a biweekly visit to his student's grave, and Sai would, in his own, socially-dejected way, grieve daily in the form of his bittersweet paintings (usually depicting a fox and a raven), and the rest of the Rookie 9 would blank involuntarily whenever Naruto's or Sasuke's names were mentioned, but Hinata..."W-aahhh, Sakura, I-I just.." burying her navy-blue hair into Sakura's chest, Hinata began to tremble uncontrollably. "..I was going to b-become strong, to d-die for Naruto, because I-I..""I understand," Sakura deadpanned. "how that feels, Hinata. But, do you remember what I said?""H-huh?" Hinata's face rose from Sakura's dampened bosom, her pearly eyes shimmering with fresh tears."Back at his funeral. I said he would've appreciated it, if I told him." the pinkette paused, letting the other girl linger on the thought. "What do you think I meant?""I.. I'm terribly sorry," Hinata murmured, equipped without an appropriate response. She could vaguely remember something Sakura had said five years ago, but she hadn't yet figured out what she had truly meant. "...I..""I meant that Naruto would've appreciated your feelings." she huffed, brushing herself off. "I know he ignored you, but that's only because he was Naruto. He was as dense as concrete." she quipped, stupidly grinning at the thought of Naruto being capable of perceiving romance. "You couldn't really get to him directly, that Naruto. He always needed someone else to tell him, in that sort of stuff.""I know it's kinda weird to mention this now. Naruto was kinda all.." she cringed, a stiff grin beginning to form on the corner of her mouth. "He didn't 'love me', though!" Sakura continued, and she saw the Hyūga's face twist in puzzlement. "I know he was pretty open about that.. but he only saw me as a sister, you know? In the end? And Naruto's thing for me was a way of competing with Sasuke." (Though she wasn't sure why Naruto would think of snubbing Sakura as a way of getting to his lifelong rival, seeing as the Uchiha took no interest in her at all. But then again. This was Naruto they were talking about.) ...(And the fact that her jaded monologue seemed to attain to both boys.)Hinata's sobs drew to silence. Even though she was much to polite to insinuate that it had pleased her in any way, Sakura knew the girl enough to notice a subtle change in her behavior. "..Sakura... I'm su-ure, that, even Uchiha-san.." But her sentence was cut short by an unexpected hug."No more words, Hinata." Sakura cooed, letting the poor girl hide the safety of Naruto's house.________________________________"You're asking me to s-sleep over?" Hinata's voice was drawn and cautious. "Why..?""Hinata, it's about time you learn about the real Naruto." Sakura declared. "How better," she said as she sat on the side of a dark-grey couch, hands knotted in a swift movement of her forearms. "Than to hear it from a member of Team 7 herself?"The rest of the night was drawled over with a continuous storm of Sakura's verbal memoirs; from the bell test to the mission in the Land of Tea, to the fights with Sasuke and Obito's sacrifice. How pervy and demented Naruto was, was a fact Hinata took little surprise to- much to the adverse reaction of Sakura. "I liked everything about N-naruto-kun," she blushed, a folded fist hiding the mumble escaping her lips. The fragmented pieces of Naruto's life that Hinata held within her began to align and illustrate a bigger picture. As the dawn grew fast approaching, Sakura ushered the other woman to Naruto's old bed, while she took the couch(which had been surprisingly easy, even with Hinata's self-sacrificing tendencies).As she was leaving her friend, she heard a thundering noise outside. Bright light filled the entire house, and the ground shook."Wha-" she screamed, looking outside the window. 'What was that just now?' Hinata barged out of the room, breathless."Sakura! What- what- was that.. light?" she looked beyond startled. The two bolted out of the house to get a better look.People were panicking, Naruto's former neighbours were also beginning to open their own doors, appalled looks on their faces. "It's a meteor!" someone called. "We're all gonna die!" everything was brought to chaos.It took ten minutes for the Police Force to calm the commotion. "The proximity of the asteroid to Konoha was too far away for damage. There probably won't be another one," an officer said, robotically. "Please calm down and return to your homes. We have this under control."Sakura and Hinata exchanged concerned looks, but knew fixing whatever damage caused by the 'meteor' was out of their power. And they were high ranking kunoichi, well known for their feats, but trying to help quench the thirst for knowledge from the uproar-ing villagers was out of their capabilities. She would about talk to this to Kakashi tomorrow.The pair returned into the house, Sakura offering a new toothbrush to Hinata as well as one of Naruto's old shirts to wear. The other girl's face turned completely red and she began to melt into the floor, but Sakura coughed out loud. "Hinata..""S-sorry!" she replied hastily, before taking the shirt off into the bathroom and closed the door. Sakura heard a ravenous brushing noise- probably Hinata trying to take her mind off the fact that the shirt she was going to wear to sleep was Naruto's- Naruto's- oh god it's Naruto's.The emerald-eyed shinobi excused herself from Naruto's bedroom (since it was adjoined to the bathroom that had no other entrance) and out into the living room/kitchen hybrid, which featured a black couch. Naruto's singular bed was.. yeah, awkward for two, whether they were good friends with no romantic tension to begin with or not.Sakura stared at the beige ceiling, tinted a mixture of navy and purple by the aura of the dwindling streetlights. The little amount of self-hate she harbored suddenly evaporated- as if telling Naruto's story was the only way her best friend could rest peacefully, and by doing so, a curse had been lifted. "Every detail." she whispered, before letting the darkness furl around her.________________________________"This time.""I'm going to save you, Naruto.""I was always crying," she breathed, her body pulsing with anticipation. She formatted to her signature stance, palms outstretched in an offensive array. "..and giving up before even trying. I made so many wrong turns." she admitted, the harshness in her voice directed to fiend before her. Naruto was pinned on the ground behind them- helpless.It was her one chance to prove her worth to him. If she was to save Naruto, then maybe he'd realize that she was behind him all this time- willing to support him if he were to fall."But you helped me find my way and take the correct path, Naruto." she smiled, but it was a weak and diluted one. Her Byakugan refused to leave Pein's direction, but her 360° vision let her see his worried expression. Her chest tightened at the piteous sight, but she refused to back down. "I always chased after you. I wanted to catch up to you. I wanted to walk beside you all the time." Hinata ignored Naruto's cries, as if unimportant, cast them away to her subconscious. But they were important- everything Naruto has said or done for her were."I want to be at your side, always," her meek, teetering stutter had vanished, leaving the confident side behind. " You changed me, Naruto. Your smile is what saved me. That's why I'm not afraid to die." If he would understand the truth she felt for him, the genuine warmth and love she had kept with her for all these years-The smile strengthened, but her eyes softened. "If it means I can protect you."The words had wanted to leave her lips for so long;She was never brave enough to wipe away his tears;Never strong enough to protect him;Never enough at all to save him;But if it would buy him time, and if it were to mean something to Naruto, then any sacrifice was as trifling as the dirt she stood on. He was her sun- Konoha's sun, the foundation of their inspiration. She would not let him die, even if it cost her the ultimate price.Because he was the one who gave her the courage to say them, in the first place.The words that she could not say.The words she wanted to say.She wanted to wipe away his tears.She wanted to protect him.She wanted to save him.She opened her mouth, slowly, her lips parting, her posture momentarily weakening. With bitter confidence, Hinata confessed the deepest truth within her heart :"Because, I love you, Naruto."Pein's piercing, purple eyes, contrasted by the inferno of his wild orange hair were the last thing she saw before she felt the harsh pull of his Almighty Push...She awoke to not find herself pinned onto the ground; nor was there an impaled sword on the upmost center of her belly. She was being carried, and whoever had been doing so had the intricacy to pillow her head with their arms, and kept her legs in a steady hold, latching to the flipside of her knees. Despite the awfully fast speed that they were taking off in, she had not stirred in her slumber nor had been woken up unintentionally. 'What a considerate person,' she contemplated, before proceeding to surcease the state limpness of her head was in and straighten her spine. With noticeable haste, their palm(which had been supporting the weight of her upper body) moved forwards to accompany Hinata's back when it had jerked forward in wake."You're awake," they hummed, the tone of how they did so a symphony to Hinata's ears. "Princess Byakugan." their voice was obviously too deep to be a woman's, but still remained on a boyish spectrum- even borderline childish."Who're you, s-sir?" she asked in a polite fashion- although the unrecognition and slight suspicion burning in the way she comported herself was clear. With her sight returning, she managed to make out the face of a man who had baby-blue hair and azure eyes to match. His skin was unbearably fair- almost like Sai's.. or, Kaguya's."My name is Toneri. Toneri Ōtsutsuki." he replied cooly. Toneri was not a name she recognized. Ōtsutsuki.. however, was a surname she did know of- Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. And the Ōtsutsuki themselves- the Clan of the godlike beings which had spawned a woman who'd almost claimed the lives of every living being on Earth itself.She dwelled for a moment. Had she been struck down by Pein? Was Naruto-kun alright? Did she manage to bide him time to escape? Was the past three, four years, but a dream born of her hormonally-charged, mortally wounded, teenage mind(How embarassing, she was a Hyūga! How could she even think that Naruto-kun would'be been so lewd in her depiction? The dream-Sakura told her everything-)?No. The experiences were much too real. Naruto was dead, Konoha had been rebuilt, the Fourth Shinobi War had happened and Pein, who had supposedly been attacking her, had been ridded of, quite some time ago. This wasn't Naruto's house, and Sakura was nowhere to be seen. This was not some kind of fever dream she concocted while being rescued by a stranger on the battlefield. She was being forcibly kidnapped. "Let me go- Byakugan!" she protested, snapping her Byakugan on, feeling the surge of power that awakened with the pulsation of her veins."I'm afraid that is not an option." the 'Toneri' man's expression darkened exponentially, but this threatening persona diminished as Hinata struggled in fear. "My, I am truly sorry, Byakuygan-himesama. But it has been predestined that you remain with me." before long, the landscape's saturated greens transformed into dull grays, and Hinata was no longer in Konoha. "But before that, would you grant me the simple joy of knowing your name?"There was no point in lying. This man obviously knew that she had been a Hyūga- with the 'Byakugan-hime' as a moniker, there was no mistaking that he was aware of her status and lineage. Her first name was not of much importance. "...H-hinata.. Hyūga," she sallied. "Where.. where are we?""The moon, of course." he smiled. "Welcome to your new home, Hinata-hime."________________________________As Sakura came to, she fumbled in her sheets for a decent minute before standing herself up. She caught herself mid-pandiculation, the events of last night coming back to her. Had she said too much about Naruto? She was brutally honest, when it came to describing things like how Kakashi-sensei and Naruto would frequently discuss Icha Icha- (this being post-Jiraiya, mind you)and giggle over it like a gaggle of schoolgirls. She did say that she didn't care, but poor Hinata might've just been in the high of knowing Naruto more intimately (second-hand, albeit)and not understanding how disturbing it really was."Morning, Hinata!" she said, knocking on the door before entering.Sakura was sodden with confusion. The window had been shattered, and the bedsheets were a mess of said glass- and Hinata was nowhere to be found. Her scarf, too, had vanished with her.She first assumed Hinata had done that- but quickly came to the conclusion there was absolutely no way that it could be the case. Hinata Hyūga was decadent; if she needed to leave in the middle of the night, she would at least leave a note(and would so in the fashion that did not involve smashing a window). And Sakura was an exceptional kunoichi; even outclassing Hinata herself, (despite being a little dopey with controlling the depth of her sleep) and would've heard a loud noise such as glass shattering in the dead of night. So what- or who, had taken her?"Rokudaime-sama! Hyūga-san has been kidnapped."And that's when everything came awry."I know Hanabi Hyūga has disappeared. I've dispatched a four-man squad already for her retrieval. Where were you? I wanted you on the retrieval team." Kakashi answered."I- I was at Naruto's house. No.. what? Hanabi-san has been captured, too? But no, Hinata's been-" Sakura froze. Why? Who? Who would've benefited from their abductions? Taking the heiress and her only replacement would be detrimental to the Clan itself, but since there had been no feuds concerning Konoha's only kekkei genkai wielding family in years. Hiashi had made note of that."..Too?" Kakashi echoed, his voice; which had been low and stoic, grew thin from the forming precipitation on his forehead. "Sakura. When did this happen?"She paused to allow her a moment of respite. "This morning. Last night? Somewhere in between. I was sleeping, shishou. The windows were broken open and she was gone.""You were with her? Where?" her former sensei demanded to know."At Naruto Uzumaki's house, sensei." Sakura whispered, aghast. "She would never have defiled his property like that, nor is she the type to leave without a message,"The gray-haired man stammered for a second, the knowing in his eyes a flashing spark- before fluttering closed. "I see." he sighed. "Was there evidence? Like a piece of fabric, a strand of hair.. anything, at the scene?"Sakura's Sharingan had scanned the bedroom fully once before. "No," she ruefully admitted, hiding her face behind her pink bangs. "There wasn't a trace of Hinata-san left behind."Former teacher-and-student, along with a silent tan-haired woman(who Sakura assumed was his assistant), agreed with understanding gazes, and Sakura took off. There was probably still, something undetectable to her feeble human nose- perhaps a trail of scent- and that alone was hope enough to ask the Inuzukas for help."Kiba-kun!" the aforementioned man clutched his ears in pain, retaliating into an infantile position after hearing Sakura's blood-curdling screech. Akamaru's body tensed as he woke up beside him. "Hinata-san has been kidnapped-"The man who had been previously rolled into a fetal position ironed out in seconds. "Hinata is what?" he stiffened, clearly astonished by the mere thought of his favorite female teammate's(the only one, might he add) unforeseen abduction."I need your help. She was last at Naruto's house with me, but she disappeared.""Sure she didn't just leave?" Kiba reasoned, ruffling his already messy hair(though it had been an attempt in tidying it, in reality)."She was there all night. We were kinda having a sleepover. The window was smashed in, to boot." Sakura countered."And you didn't hear-- you know what, Sakura, it doesn't matter. I think right when I assume that you want me to track her down?" he asked presumptuously, lifting to an otherwise defensive stance. (He was in his pajamas... so.)Sakura nodded violently, taking Kiba's hand (and Akamaru's tail, simultaneously) and launching herself out from where she came from. "Agh, Sakura, let go!" he wailed, his spitting temper set alight. Blushing, he continued with an even more vocal complaint. "What if Tamaki sees me like this?!""Nevermind Tamaki, Kiba!" she retorted, forcefully stripping herself of the amusement she had accumulated while talking to the (basically) human bloodhound nin. Dragging along the pair with her enormous, inhuman strength, taking off at supersonic speeds(or at least that's how it felt like for the poor Inuzuka's stomach.), Sakura left her two unwilling passengers nauseous by the time Naruto's home came into sight. "We're here."________________________________"The scent ends here, Sakura." Kiba stroked his light goatee, looking dumbfounded. "It ends.. then.. it's nothing."On a rooftop, four houses away from Naruto's apartment complex. There was chakra lingering here, however, and it was not Hinata's."You sure?" Sakura's mouth twisted into a lopsided frown, feeling the perspiration gather on her forehead. "Don't you feel this.. odd.. chakra?" she made a waving motion with her hands, pointing out that this energy felt unlike anything she'd ever encountered..Besides Kaguya.But Kaguya was sealed away, and even in the absurd chance that she was freed, she would've attacked Konoha directly instead of committing herself to a nonviolent, political approach."Now that you mention it, yeah." Kiba 'hmmed', before looking up towards the sky. "I can visualize a mental trail.. but weirdly.. it stops, but I can see where she's at.." tentatively, he began pointing his hand upwards into the vast sky, looking awed. "Up to the Moon. But no shinobi's ever gone up there before.. besides Madara or someone..""What.." Sakura chuckled dryly before an inhale restored to a serious peal. "Kiba, there is no time for jokes.""I'm serious," Kiba answered, going on the offensive. Akamaru barked in agreement. "Literally, she went up there. Hinata's up in the moon.""You know I'm immune to genjūtsu, Kiba." she sighed, waving her hand dismissively. "Really, be more original. If we don't find Hinata because you wanted to be funny, I'm going to chakra-punch you into the moon."Kiba began making hand seals as if completely ignoring Sakura's threat. Under his breath, he began muttering something which sounded vaguely like "Tracking Jutsū : Visualisation Technique," and soon enough, a flat screen that resembled a portal began to appear.Sakura looked up ahead for a few seconds, the only thing in her line of sight being the glare of the sun. But the sky was not a powdery baby blue- it was pitch black onyx. The pinkette ogled the scenery blankly. This was not anywhere on the earth. The atmosphere would've not allowed the sun to concurrently visible along with the familiar darkness of a typical night sky. Besides.. she could see, quite clearly, the azure of her home planet shimmer below.And there were buildings. One massive one, in fact. The portal, which had been like a flat TV screen, began to shift the focus; until she could see Hinata and a man- the former donning what appeared to be a bridal gown, dark in color, highlighted by small strands of gold, lustrous fabric. While not being red-and-white like most wedding gowns she'd seen- the traditionality of the hood remained, ...despite how since the beginning of the technological revolution, old-style weddings grew more and more uncommon in non-shinobi villages.And the man. Who the hell was he? Bitter hatred began to pulse through her veins. Hinata's hooded face gave no clue of whether or not she was compliant with the arrangement but considering that Hinata had been kidnapped... under her own roof, to boot!"Kai!" Sakura shouted, trying to release the genjūtsu. But it had no effect because it simply wasn't an illusion. (But wait, did the blackness of the sky just turn yellow? In the window-)"The hell, Sakura!" Kiba stammered, the strain in his voice evident. "Stop distracting me!" The impossibly long distance between Hinata and the two of them would obviously be taking a huge toll on his reserves.Suddenly, the man's eyes grew a miraculous blue-and-white and removed his curled arm from Hinata's back. His head cocked towards the direction where Kiba's jūtsu would've been, if physically present. "Hinata-sama.. it appears there is someone watching us."Hinata's face rose, literally unveiling her hollow expression, but that quickly cleared when she registered the strange man's words. "Toneri, don't be silly," she spoke, her voice barely loud enough for Sakura to pick up on. The words she said might've meant that she was unaware of Sakura's and Kiba's intrusion, but the way she did seemed to indicate she was passing on information. "It's probably a servant, right? The only one with chakra is Hanabi, besides us, and she's... not going to be up anytime soon." she smiled weakly (and honestly), the need for understanding buried into her voice. "And.. the earth is going to.. be.. destroyed.. so, there's nothing to worry about." Her eyes were not focussed onto the portal's entrance, giving clue that it was the man's dōjutsu that had allowed him to pinpoint where the chakra had invisibly manifested.Kiba suddenly collapsed, and so did the jūtsu. Sakura wanted to break through the 'portal' and rescue her friend then and there, but she couldn't- the vision before her grew to the size of a pea before blinking out of existence. "K-kiba! Are you okay?""I'm exhausted," he said, straddling himself in a curled position. His arms wobbled like a baby who had just begun to crawl. "What did you see?"Sakura froze at the sudden question. Did it really take that much concentration..? "There was a man, and Hinata, like you said. She was in a bridal kimono. But the guy.. he knew we were watching.." she shuddered at the thought. Not many were able to identify such faint chakra signals, especially if even the Byakuygan-wielding Hinata had not been able to sense it. "From what I picked up, Hanabi must be with them. And.. not only that, but apparently, the Earth will be destroyed, too."Kiba's scowl deepened. "How are we.. going to?" -save Hinata and Hanabi, and the world?"I need to find the scout team that was sent off for Hanabi. Kakashi-sensei told me he sent a four-man team to track her down." Sakura explained. She picked up Kiba onto her shoulders, him on a more comfortable piggy-back ride(compared to the ruthless dragging). Sakura took Akamaru, who was nudging Kiba's side, into her arms and began to bounce over the rooftops, heading towards the Hokage's Tower."Rokudaime-sama!" Sakura's voice boomed, the doors being flung open. His assistant(?) twitched as she reacted to the sudden noise, but Kakashi kept face. "I asked Kiba Inuzuka for help. He did track down Hanabi and both Hinata," Sakura said, as she put down the mentioned Inuzuka down on a couch by leaning her back. Akamaru pounced out of her embrace, sitting adjacent to his owner."But I assume you have not retrieved them," the Hokage concluded, hands intertwined neatly on his desk."Yes, we haven't. There's more, though. They're both on the moon, and Hinata remarked that she was... well, she appeared to be marrying a guy.." the pinkette gulped, unsure of what to make of the sight of Hinata in her wedding dress, next to man she did not know. The protective inner best friend inside of her clashed with her professionalism and fought for dominance. ".. for Hanabi. My guess is Hanabi is being taken as ransom for Hinata's hand in marriage. But..." she seized her best, enthusiastic expression for this- "The world is going to end, apparently."The Rokudaime's level expression shattered, and Kakashi sat up, the interlocked members slamming down to his sides, but they had made no noise. "What?""Yeah. I don't know the details.. but.. Hinata told me herself." Sakura rued. "Kiba's jūtsu allowed us to track her down.. thanks to the immense amount of strange chakra that lingered where her scent cut off.""Sakura.. no, I know of this. My assistant.. and the Kages, we've discussed this. The moon's surface is breaking apart., and will eventually crash into the Earth." he furrowed his brows. "Knowing there are people on the moon ..This changes things.""See.. there is no way we can get to the moon." Kakashi answered frankly. "I am unsure how we're going to save those two Hyūgas. And about the man," he regained composure and closed his eyes in thought. "I've heard a Clan of Ōtsutsukis- the Sage of the Six Path's mother's clan- lived on the moon." he sat back down, averting his gaze in shame. "Just like Kaguya, this man must've had immense strength. Which brings me to another frightening conclusion." His student's eyes perked up in realization."The possibility.. that he's here to finish what she started..?" Sakura gulped, feeling the spit hotly slide down her throat."Yes." Kakashi replied, characteristically darkly. "her powers were granted by the legendary Chakra Fruit. Say, if another Ōtsutsuki got ahold of it. They'd be granted as much."Even while bedridden, Kiba managed to sputter out his shock in the form of spit."Anyway, the guy you saw is called Toneri," Kakashi added nonchalantly."Yeah! That's right, Hinata said his name was Toneri." Sakura then wrinkled her nose. "So.. what are we.. Naruto and Sasuke were the only ones capable of beating Kaguya. But they're dead.""We'll wait and see. Sakura, I do have a backup plan for you." Kakashi replied, using his hand to urge her pupil closer. She complied, and Sakura walked over towards him."Like you did when you released the rest of the world from Infinite Tsukuyomi," there was a pregnant pause before he continued. "Will use your Rinnegan to control the Tailed Beasts... with their chakra, use the portal dōjutsu to send yourselves to the moon to defeat the Ōtsutsuki, and rescue the Hyūga heiress and her younger sister."Sakura's face paled. How the actual hell would she pull that off? "Kakashi-sensei.. can't we just. Wait and see what happens?" she sweated, letting her uncertainty drawl off like dew on slanted leaves.The assistant gave her a disapproving shake of her head. "Haruno-san, unfortunately, there is simply no other known space-time ninjūtsu that is capable of long-distance teleportation." there was Obito, yeah, but he was dead, too. And his body had been turned into ashes by Kaguya, so there was pretty much no hope to revive him. "Uchiha-san showed the capacity to travel to different dimensions at will. We are simply assuming that this could also mean it has the capability to travel long distances, as well."Sakura had nowhere near the same mastery as Sasuke had with his- her Rinnegan. She had neglected it along with its Mangekyou abilities- every time she stared into the mirror, she'd get a sharp pang in her chest.It hurt to know that his last wish had for her to take it and save the world.. but the 'woe-is-I, I wasn't able to save him' attitude had stunted her progress until recently. She rarely even used it, reserving it for threats (for good measure) or research. She even began adopting a hairstyle that was reminiscent of how Kakashi-sensei would wear his forehead protector over his Sharingan. So, in conclusion, she wasn't even sure if his abilities carried to her."Today?" Sakura pried, weakly."As soon as the team I assigned to find Hanabi Hyūga comes back." Kakashi murmured through his mask. "So yes, today."Sakura didn't know whether or not to sigh in exasperation or start bawling. She'd have to be cold-blooded to.________________________________It was about noon when the scouts came back. Kiba had recovered by then.The expedition team consisted of Shikamaru Nara, Sai, Kō(Hinata's former bodyguard) Hyūga and Tenten Kunai."Sai saw some.. what we suspect is Toneri's, ninjas capture Hanabi yesterday night." the weapons-master explained. "He fought but lost her captors. Last he saw of them, was to the north- a colder region of snow and dense forests."Sakura nodded indignantly. Shikamaru came up to her next, revealing a palm to her. Sakura's eyes widened- it looked to be a clock of some sort, or a stopwatch. "And that is...?""A doomsday countdown." Shikamaru answered, pulling back his hand to bobble limply on his side. "Kakashi's assistant gave it to me. I suspect he told you that the moon was going to crash into earth at some point? Because that's kinda important.""Yeah... about that. He didn't." Mostly because she already knew about the Armageddon, but...! He didn't touch on it directly. Shikamaru sighed."Lazy as always, tch." he shook his head. "How troublesome."Sakura didn't know whether or not Shikamaru- possibly the laziest man alive- was actually being serious. "Um.. okay.""We're going to take off now," Sai called, opening a scroll to draw on. Within moments, inked birds appeared in a cloud of smoke, offering their backs to the six ninjas (and one ninken).________________________________Sakura shivered in the cold, her teeth chattering as she hugged herself in an attempt to keep warm. 'I should've brought a coat!' she mentally scolded herself, while noting that the coat she wore the other day could've sufficed. If only she hadn't taken it off while waiting patiently in the Hokage tower. 'Damn those insulated rooms!' She shot a death-stare at Kiba, who was still wearing a puffy jacket like he did in his genin days.A voice broke the verbal silence. "I see something. A kunai," Kō spoke, his Byakugan flaring. "I'll go retrieve it." The Hyūga's bird soared down towards the ground, and then back up. In his hand, was a kunai with a miniature pink doll.. a keychain, of sorts, on it."What is it?" Shikamaru retorted, his bird drawing closer to the Hyūga's.Kō grunted in surprise. "This..! This is Lady Hanabi's kunai!" he spoke incredulously, and Sakura felt hope burn in her chest. No, it was not hypothermia getting to her senses. Her body was perfectly capable of homeostasis on its own!Kiba was then handed the kunai, and his nose began to flare. ".. the trail's headed over there," he said, pointing northwest. Their v-formation steadily began to curveball and the whole group headed to where Kiba had pointed.A few more minutes passed."Kō, do you see anything?" Shikamaru asked."There's a spring at the bottom of the cave. It appears to be glowing." the Hyūga answered.________________________________"That's the shinobi letter 'a'," Shikamaru motioned, looking up at scripture on the ceiling of the cave, beyond the countless amounts of stalactites. True as Kō as said, the cave's inner river grotto was a blinding cyan. "As in Aun. It could mean, 'This is the beginning'." he stalled before turning to Kō. "Can you see anything on the bottom?""..No." he replied sternly. "It's as if it's being distorted.""Something's distorting your Byakugan?""We'll see when we get down there," Tenten interjected, stretching for the impending swim. Sakura blinked, and turned to Kiba with a creepy smirk. Serves him right for being the only one warm!"Ugh, my coat." Kiba stressed, beginning to take it off. Akamaru yipped in shared distress. He probably didn't want to wet his literal coat, either."I don't think that's necessary," said Sai, scooping a handful of the spring's water into his hand. It magically evaporated(or was absorbed) and his hand was as dry as it had been, moments ago. "When you touch this water, you don't get wet."The group dove foot-first into the spring, and Sakura had instinctively withdrawn herself, expecting coldness or sharp pain. But when she opened her eyes, they did not sting or feel blurry as it usually did to open in normal water.They swam for a while before they reached some kind of border in the water. As Sakura saw Shikamaru pass, he began free falling. This wasn't some other kind of liquid, separated by density or something. This was some kind of insane gravity-defying pool, influenced by human hands, no doubt. As she let her hand pass, she felt cool air.Then the rest of her body went through, and the world went blank..."My name is Haruno Sakura." a long-haired, chubby-cheeked version of herself started to speak. "What I like is.." she looked to a younger version of Sasuke, (who was blushing, even though he had a scowl of indifference that contrasted his darkened cheeks) looking lovestruck. She turned to Kakashi with resolution, before continuing to answer the second question. "..or more like the person I like is," before looking at Sasuke again- "and my dream for the future is.." she then looked AGAIN at Sasuke before unleashing an annoying, high-pitched squeal. Suddenly, she flaxed her goofy demeanor, and she suddenly looked angry. "What I hate is NARUTO!"The scene switched, and Sakura looked a tad older, perhaps after the chūnin exams. Her hair was a lot shorter than it was before. "Stay--"Oh, not this embarrassing, godforsaken moment again. She managed to repress the memory, and then there was another change in pace, this time, with a more.. ruined landscape around them."It's always like this," a 14-year-old Sakura stated, looking pitiful, even with Naruto's sickly form by her lap. "The only things I can do for Naruto.. are so small." Yamato looked sideways to look at her, but he did not object until a few, gut-wrenching seconds later."It's not a problem of small or big," he said with a sympathetic look. "What's important is the strength of the feelings you have for Naruto."The scene switched for the fourth time."Stop acting like you were my sensei, because that time is over, Kakashi."In front of her was Sasuke, and to the left of her, was Kakashi-sensei in a cloak. "I want to kill you so much I can taste it!" Sasuke screeched, an innate sense of INSANITY behind his demented cackle, which was a strangled staccato as if he had a terrible case of dysphonia. The older Sakura stared dumbly at Kakashi's face, which, well, the future-Rokudaime looked nothing short of 'look at how many cares I give, Sasuke. They equal to the number of living relatives you have'. "Itachi, my mother, my father. Bring them all back, and then I'll quit right now."She wanted to chakra punch(murder) the hell out of the last(at the time) remaining Uchiha, but Sakura was fully aware this was a genjūtsu. It was just kinda funny seeing her memories again, in such accurate, pristine way, instead of a.. how do you even describe thoughts?Then it switched.It was a 17-year old Sakura, this time, with a more refined hairstyle, her bangs tucked behind her ears, and the ruffles of her unkempt hair now smoothed out. Her outfit was compromised of a pitch-black, professional-looking suit, and her expression was daunted. Rain poured over her umbrella, which she clutched with desperation. She was hugging Ino at the same time, the corners of her lips twitching in frustration? Sadness? Something like that. It was the mass funeral. Tsunade's speech began like it had before- "Uzumaki Naruto was, in life, a rash individu--"Sakura groaned, slapping her face with her hand, looking miffed. "Kai." she said, sighing to herself. A genjūtsu... what a weird pool indeed. Using memories to trap people in internal sleep? Now, where did she hear that before?She floated over to Tenten's unconscious body and shook it awake. The dual-bunned girl groaned, but sure enough, roust and began to look around. "What happened..?""Genjūtsu," Sakura explained. "I'm immune, so.." she turned away from her before approaching Shikamaru, prodding him to stir him from his sleep. "Wakeee uppp." she said, emphasizing her vowels. Three shakes later, the entire group was up and ready."Is this a trap set by the enemy?" inquired Sai."Yeah. It traps intruders in a Genjūtsu and shuts them away in a world of memories." Shikamaru replied as everyone began taking off again. "Thank goodness that Sakura, who's resistant to Genjūtsu, was with us.""Thanks, Sakura. I was having a nice dream of my brother." the white-skinned man began, in a way that held no sarcasm nor anger. "I appreciate you ripping me out of it." the former Root ANBU cheered, being socially clueless as always."That doesn't sound like gratitude.." the genius nin gawked, perturbed face twin with Sakura's. Even though she had years more experience in raw time spent with Sai, she could never truly get comfortable with his more risqué jokes. Not that this one was('cos it wasn't), but it was touchy as usual.(Because Sai's 'brother' died and told him to tell Danzo that Sai had been the one to kill him. So assuming that he had witnessed that said death was not misguided, to be frank. And the boy had grown up as an orphan without a name until Team 7 had given him his since Root ANBU were supposed to be completely emotionally detached.)Ah, retconning..."Kō. It's another spring. Do you see anything?" Shikamaru quipped as he landed on a branch-like appendage(possibly crystal forming inside the cave)."...No," Kō said, shaking his head."All right, then, be ready to fight as we proceed." the leader ordered, and the rest of them 'roger'ed.Everyone jumped into the second gravity-defying spring, and this time, there was an exit in the far end, a hole that led upwards(so at least this one stayed within some kind of logic). As they clambered up the little tide pool, they saw a dense pile of bubbles. Tenten's hitched gasp for breath was the first thing Sakura heard as she rose to the shore.The bubbles.. were they the same nostalgia-inducing yellow spheres back in that weird illusion area?"This place is.. some kind of bubble factory," it was Sai, standing close to one of the bubbles, gazing at his reflection."It must've been made by the gatekeeper who lives in here," Shikamaru looked around deftly at the hoards of bubbles before him, one hand at his hip.Akamaru yipped as he almost popped one, but his owner yanked him away in time. "Akamaru! Do you wanna have to get your tail saved by Saku--" Kiba froze mid-sentence. "Y'guys hear that?"Kō's Byakugan flashed on, and he shifted into a defensive pose. "Over there!" he yelled, and everyone turned around to see a limb emerge from the shadows. Then another, then three more, then a crustacean's claws- it was a freaking 20-meter tall crab, turquoise in color, with an opalescent highlight on the tops of its shell.The pinkette dabbled in the thought a second too long before choosing to speak. "A crab-" Sakura began but was quickly interrupted by her mission leader."That's the gatekeeper!" Shikamaru concluded, like the resident tactician that he is.Its mouth, which was like a barrel of a gun, which was foaming viciously, began to sputter out a torrent of water. "Scatter!" she heard Shikamaru cry, and she jumped a solid twenty feet backward. "Don't pop the bubbles! Or we'll get caught in a Genjūtsu again!" he did a barrel roll mid-air, avoiding a jet-stream of water.Tenten didn't waste time before pulling out her scroll. A flurry of weapons began cascading down to the crab, but the kunai deflected uselessly before its tough exterior, causing sparks to flare at the friction."Human Beast Mixture Transformation — Three-Headed Wolf!" Kiba yowled, following a poof of smoke which a shadow clone of his emerged from. It suddenly fused with his ninken companion before it transformed into a three-headed dog. Said dog began to tear at the crab's legs, successfully tearing one off at the socket."Super Beast Scroll!" A trio of tiger-like inkings began to jump at the crab, but were blown into splatters of ink at its oversized claspers. "Fujin, Raijin!" the crab began to lower itself towards Sai in an attempt to crush him, but an equally ginormous hand halted its rampage. Two identical giants, both with long, high-up ponytails, stopped the beast's aberrated strength momentarily before the rightmost one kicked at the crab's lower limbs, sending it skidding to a cavern wall, smoke flying everywhere.Before it had the chance to recover, one of the giants tousled its larger limb, catapulting it, this time, to the top of the cave, where another billowy wave of dust exploded around. Rocks began to tumble from the ceiling, the entire arena shaking with the heat of battle."Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!" Kō jostled against a wall, using the rebound of his power to jump back at the enemy, while simultaneously smashing an open palm into the air with deadly accuracy- and a sudden zest blew the crab off its feet immediately, and it lost its firey alacrity. Coming into close combat, the Hyūga bashed mercilessly against the shell, and it began to form web-like fractures. Even Shikamaru took the extra care to bind the oversized crustacean with his shadows, and the rest of the crew began attacking it incessantly. There was biting, gouging, stabbing. Sakura kinda felt bad for the crab.Sakura took the chance at the immobilized fiend out of its misery- yelling her trademark "Shannaro!" before her fist absolutely decimated the crab, its already-damaged armor shattering into a million pieces before it imploded in itself with a satisfying 'crrk'. "Whew!" she shouted, landing squarely on her feet.Kiba dismissed his shadow clone, sending the hideous creature that used to- is Akamaru, back to his original, much cuter form. "Who's ready to book it out of this cave?" he joked, wiping the cold sweat that was dripping down the side of his temples."Me," Sakura complained, no sooner than when Shikamaru began guiding the lot away from the oozing carcass. "I'm so gonna punch Kakashi after this. And that Toneri guy."________________________________Two days later.It actually happened that the cave connected to an underground world, featuring a man-made sun. The sky was the same azure as if they weren't a mile underground, with cumulating clouds up in the air- which had a salty tint to it alongside an ocean freshness. There were also a couple of islands in the vicinity, with one being up in the air. She gaped in disbelief, but her fears were dismissed as an elucidation came belligerently, and expectedly, from the Nara genius. "The surface of the ocean is warped." Shikamaru had said.They'd set up camp in the forest of the grounded island, after a few hours of searching on their avian vehicles, and Sakura slept soundly.The whole of the second day was spent searching- which, they managed to locate a village- which Sai proposed had been a shinobi town, considering the findings of a kunai and multiple nin technologies.Eventually, they came across a broken statue, horned and all, depicting what appeared to be a stylized version of a Senju figurine. The lower half of the religious prince's face disgraced by an ugly indent- her reverential side hissed in disapproval.Shikamaru poised himself before approaching Sakura- "There's some ancient writing over there." (Not that he wasn't adept in the art of decrypting olden text, but the cost-benefit ratio of having a Rinnegan user read it like their native tongue compared to actually taking the time to scan over and translate it left him with a clear choice.) "I'm sure you won't have trouble reading it."Sakura was confused, questioning the spiky-haired boy's motives again. Her? Sure, she was smart, possessing analytical skills rivaling many a great ninja, but to fluidly recite scripture that even Shikamaru wasn't able to- Oh? Sakura wanted to hit herself at the revelation. When she approached the tablet, haunting clairvoyance washed over her. "Ancient oath crossing the path of humanity, just as all else." she chanted."That's pretty impressive," Tenten awed.Kiba rolled his eyes. "Sure you aren't making it up?".."..The fist of the Tensei Eye, the reborn moon, will destroy man." Furtively, the pinkette wondered why she hadn't predicted that the Nara would employ her as his stand-in translator."It's implying that the Tensei eye is what powers the moon," Kō deduced, running a finger on the stone partition, after standing from his squatted position. "Rokudaime-sama was correct in informing us that Lady Hanabi's capture was related to the progressive destruction of the moon.""Kakashi's hunches are pretty good, eh?" Shikamaru mused, and Sai bobbed his head in consensus.Kō flinched and suddenly dug his hand into a panel on the ground. It smashed with a hollow noise, revealing a staircase below. "Come," he ordered, descending the flight of stairs rapidly.As they reached the bottom, Kiba grew frantic. "Over there!"A willowy wisp of a man began approaching the sixtet, who were now rigidly stanched, congregating into a triangular battle-formation. "I can sense the Byakugan.. but it's not the Byakugan Princess." the man belched out a ghostly moan, drawing near Kō.Tenten squeezed at a kunai, but refused to hurt this assuredly civilian man. "Back off, now!" she threatened, one lone foot stepping towards him. The man began to look like he was about to vomit before falling to his knees, writhing with what seemed to be agony. His maw opened in a dislocating, impossible way, and a purple beam of light protruded forward. The ball of light began to shine with an evocable luminosity, and the Hyūga besides them fell forward. Tenten's subdued urge to pounce was then spent on underpinning the Byakugan user."The Tenseigan has been.." he stuttered, a goading wreck of a pause interrupting his last words. "re-vived.." before his head proceeded to detach from his neck, landing on the ground with a sickening 'squish'. White, translucent liquid began pooling around his decapitated torso. "It has to be stopped.. or.. Ōtsutsuki will.." Sakura waited for a continuation, but it never came.Ōtsutsuki. Toneri Ōtsutsuki...They emerged back at the entrance, where the horned statue had been. "Kō, are you alright?" Sakura queried, hands hesitantly hovering over his chest. The Hyūga grunted in contradiction with her fears. "Okay," she said, helping him up."That man said, Ōtsutsuki, right?" the Nara postulated. "That was the surname of the Sage of the Six Paths."..As Kō recovered, Shikamaru had pressured him to tell what exactly had caused him to faint. "I saw.. a terrible vision,""A Clan.. their emblem was a crescent moon with a dot in the center," he recollected, clutching his forehead. "And the other was another non-earthly crest. The general from the moon-tribe announced the 'Tenseigan' activate, then a circular weapon, perched on a small tower flashed.. then the other army combusted.. blew up completely.""That's the Ōtsutsuki symbol," Shikamaru clarified further. "Can't think of any other Clan with a moon incorporated in its sign.""The Ōtsutsuki are people of the moon, aren't they? So they're Hamura's descendants." Tenten said, as she dug into her meal. "Did Hamura have something against his own people? Why would they fight?"The artificial sun was swallowed whole by the horizon, and the sky was a starless lapis."Not only that, but it.. the man who came to us in the burial site," Kō stammered, his composure corroding. "He came to me after the vision. He was the same man as the general who perished. He stated he was a member of the Ōtsutsuki's main branch, informing me that the side-branch Clan had interpreted the 'celestial decree' of Hamura Ōtsutsuki wrongly. Then," he drank some stew that grew stagnant in his tepid kettle. "Proposed that Hinata-sama was Earth's last hope, as she is the prophesied Byakugan Princess."Passively, Kō drew for breath, a conceded frown eclipsing his calm frontispiece. "Hamura himself came to me, accordingly." Tenten dropped her plate. Kiba's jaw slacked. Sakura spat out her tea. It wasn't every day the Sage of the Six Path's brother came around to have a leisurely conversation with anyone. "He said, 'Do not allow the world my elder brother created.. to come to an end.'"Hinata was on the moon, miles upon miles away. How could they uphold such a hefty promise on their own? The torch of hope blew out in Sakura's chest...Sai was sitting on the deteriorated veranda of one of the abandoned buildings, staring at the sky with curiosity. "Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. That was the name of the Sage of Six Paths before he entered the priesthood and started teaching ninshu, the precursor of ninjūtsu."Shikamaru sipped from his cup of soup. "This has all got to be connected with Toneri's abduction of Hanabi." He glanced down at his hand. "Geez, this clock's really going down to something. If we don't go back up soon, it'll be really troublesome."Sakura advanced toward the duo, a dish in one hand, a fork in the other. "What's troublesome, actually, Shikamaru," she deadpanned. "Is who's going to be on dishwashing duty.""I'd die before taking dishwashing duty," Sai stated with a smile on his face. "It's way too domestic."The lazier of the two coordinated with Sai's wishes. "Not die, because it would be troublesome for the sake of the mission, but I'd rather not.""Shikamaru, Sai, you did see what I did back there, did you?" Sakura said, with a fist pulsing with veins thwarting upwards up to her neck. "It'll be you next if you don't start washin'. And Sai, it's not gonna be just death. Torture is kinda part of the mix."Sakura relaxed her vise-grip, her bleached knuckles flooding with a rosy tone. "But you wouldn't subject me to such emotional and physical harm, especially after the one you suffered through the course of the Fourth Shinobi War, right?" Sai asked, still smiling. "Ugly?" that certainly did not help in extinguishing her ire.Acknowledging how fired up the pinkette had become, the ponytailed man crumbled at her feet (subjectively). "How troublesome," he uttered his trademark catchphrase before snatching the plate off of her occupied hand. "You're up for breakfast, though." Sai took notice that Shikamaru had begun to take his leave, and finally got the hint.Sakura was left alone on the ledge and began to recollect her thoughts. There were only a few days until the apocalypse.How was she not supposed to panic?.."Do not panic! This shelter was designed to accommodate every citizen in the land of fire," Tsunade's voice was amplified by the use of her chakra- sending her words clear to the hundreds squeezing their way into the underground safe house. "Everybody please, just stay calm." ANBU, Jonin, chunin, even a couple of older genin were guiding the citizens into the rectangular entrance, but the distress stubbornly deferred the otherwise easy procedure..."I never imagined that his turn to appear would come after the war, when the world became peaceful." Regret was on the tip of his tongue, but A commanded his forces with diligence. His arms were folded, his gaze sternly fixed at the door. "Beneath is the chakra Diffusion Cannon." he said, pointing at the lower compartment of a three-probed machine, two closed sectors on the bottom and one open hatch on the top."We'll blast all the meteorites above the Equator. On top is the Chakra Transportation Cannon." The Raikage looked back at his adoptive brother in an adjoined moment of filial support. "It can transport any target into another dimension. With these, we'll destroy the moon." As a round of meteors began shimmering over the thickness of the clouds, the Raikage craned his neck to see his elite shinobi dispatching the shards with trained velocity. The end was nigh- his hand's counter proffered little, precious time to spare. "Everyone, get the cannons ready immediately."..Shikamaru and Sai had gone off to the artificial moon 'on a hunch'. They returned with news- Toneri and Hinata were hiding within its confines- they had been attacked by nin with the Ōtsutsuki's emblem. All they needed to do was infiltrate it and kill the centerpiece of the Armageddon; the Tenseigan.Early in the dawn, the entire group prepared for a surprise attack.Sakura was awoken by Akamaru's long, gentle licks, and she sat straight, wiping her cheek. "I'm ready." she told herself. As promised, she was the one to wipe off the dishes at breakfast.They soared into the sky, taking Sai's and Shikamaru's lead.Careening herself towards the odd feel of the bird's back, Sakura slumped against its gliding shoulders- up until Shikamaru's daft command, in which she perked up to. A hole was opening on the side- and her leader sent the bird diving towards the opening's caster, before binding him with his shadows. Everyone followed behind him, slipping into the hole. A palace came into view- probably the one she saw when Kiba had performed his tracking visualization jūtsu.Breaking into the castle, Shikamaru ordered Kiba, Akamaru, Sakura and Kō to find Hanabi, while the rest of them would search for Hinata and Toneri."I smell Hanabi over there," Kiba motioned, taking his nose off of the young girl's kunai. Sakura quickened her pace, suddenly grabbing the reluctant Hyūga and the two Inuzukas in a similar manner to how she had done before- and summoned her chakra to boost her speed. The inner surface of the moon- the terrain where extravagant palace neared the edge of its domain, faltered before disintegrating under the pure rebound of Sakura's feet. She was propelled into the air at incredible speeds, crashing through a window and landing roughly onto a wooden floor, denting it.Okay, an understatement.Crashing through it, and ten other floors...Kakashi's eyes widened. Lee's Sixth gate managed to destroy half of the meteorite, but the other half was intact- it curved in a pommelling motion, before regaining traction- heading straight down to Konoha. An evacuated, civilian-less Konoha.. but still.He wondered if the fate of the village was secure. He would have to trust.. to believe in the expedition team he sent for Hanabi. To hope that the candle of sanguine he had lit would not flicker out.The burning yellow of the falling projectile was not so bad at all. It gave him solace."And when we need you, you're gone, Naruto." he respired, accepting his fate...Shikamaru looked stunned, freezing mid-battle. The massacre before him- the piles of crookedly placed marionettes wasn't the reason why he suddenly stiffened, but something else. He didn't feel the pulse of the doomsday clock anymore."What's wrong?" Tenten asked."The clock. It's gone. And Toneri's still alive, so that.." Shikamaru looked destitute, his persona flittering into a very bothered scowl. "Konoha. It's been destroyed.".."Hanabi.. that's terrible." The face of the young girl was tarnished by thick bandages. Her eyes were missing. Sakura couldn't believe it.. Toneri had stolen her Byakugan? And perhaps, Hinata's, as well?"Hanabi-sama!" Kō screamed, falling beside the weakened form of his beneficiary's younger sister. "I swear an oath to rid Toneri of his callousness, for now, you have been subjected to such horror at such an unseasoned age.."Sakura tried her hardest to ignore the Hyūga's pensive reunion, even with Kō's deranged yowls of grief. Turning them into familiar static, she coped- along with averting her eyes to take her mind off reality... and then- on the ground, was Hinata's scarf- the one she made for Naruto, torn and ripped apart viciously. "Hinata," she whispered, clenching her fist around the mangled yarn..."Ninety percent." The Raikage repeated. "Ninety-five percent.".."Fire!"..Kō had picked up Hanabi, and was propping her unmoving body along in his arms. Shikamaru had regrouped with them after noticing that Toneri and Hinata had vanished after the trio had battled off his marionette (since they didn't bleed) militia. Quickly, Sakura came to learn of what happened to Konoha. To Kakashi-sensei. To the everything she had worked to protect up since she was only twelve, when she received her headband- the village of the Hidden Leaves..And here she said she was going to be a hero- and everything she stood for and extolled was now completely nil- only a crater on a map of villages- a story told by mankind throughout the generations as a prime example of what not to d- oh, wait. There was going to be no mankind anyway to save after this. They'd managed to get this far, but they had to rout just like this because.. who knows? Who cared at this point?Sakura couldn't continue denying the devastation, and with gratuitous temperament, began punching ungracefully at every intact surface she saw. "Shannaro! Shannaro!" dozens of pits decorated the floor, all evidence of her deep inconsolability.If it weren't for Kiba's fearful yelling, Sakura might've ended up destroying the very platform they were standing on. "Sakura! Stop!"The tears that remained stinging in the verge of her corneas let loose. "Dammit, Kakashi-sensei! If only I stayed back home. I would've destroyed that stupid meteor in a blink of an eye, goddammit!" Tenten grabbed at Sakura's wildly protruding fists, but they cowered and instead offered solace, and Sakura couldn't refuse. Sakura slobbered herself over the weapons-master, swearing her regrets into the base of her flak jacket."We have another problem." Shikamaru sighed, tugging at Sakura's sleeve. "There seems to be a laser beam of mass destruction heading straight for us. I can tell it's going to be real soon. Seems Kiba was totally right all this time, eh. We are on the moon. The real one.""There's one solution. Kō! You saw the Tenseigan, didn't you.""I'm thinking that the cannon's going to be fired because the moon was going to crash back onto earth. Find the weapon. It might be the only hope in getting enough chakra to go back home."The older Hyūga lent Hanabi's figure over to Tenten, before launching himself off- Sakura tailed him with as much force and rigor as she could manage. His Byakugan was fully activated, scanning the surroundings in inhuman speed. "There's a distortion in the center of the crescent moon." he announced, before an 'I see!' permeated almost giddily from his turned-away position. All this happened within the span of ten seconds.1 minute twenty-two seconds before the fire. It would've taken only 1.3 seconds for the laser to launch, engage, and shoot the devastating beam to destroy everything around them, considering the distance to the moon and earth were exactly that- a mere 1.3 light seconds.The two of them barged into the small spherical structure and spotted a bright energy source in the middle of the room. Like a miniature sun-within-a-moon. Some weird juxtaposition this was.1 minute, nine seconds before fire. Kō valiantly attacked the glowing light first, but to no avail. Sakura was sure a weapon of planetary devastation like the Tenseigan would not be unguarded, so she proclaimed that Kō combine a dual attack with her and destroy it like that. (Since there seemed to be a running theme with how blood ties were plenty a good reason to start the extermination of a whole race.)"Shannaro!" she screamed, and their bonded attack shattered the glowing light, leaving only some odd, purple balls floating in the air like a bunch of levitating grapes.Kakashi-sensei was dead because she wasn't there. Team Seven's- with the exception of herself and Sai- legacy had only amounted to this much if she and he were to perish now.Another Hokage gone far too soon, plucked away like the most beautiful flowers in the garden. Kakashi died as his mentor had- Minato Namizake's name would be inscribed next to his, teacher and student, protectors of Konoha, casualties for their village.How would Sakura face the rest of the surviving Konoha? With all her avowed loyalty and camaraderie she had for her sensei, she would have to suck it up and accept it, just like how she did with Naruto's and Sasuke's deaths.When it was too late, she was rising from the dust to reclaim her right. That is how Haruno Sakura operated. But this time, she would be a hero!Thirty-two seconds before the fire. Sakura unleashed her Byakugo, the black diamond pattern stretching over from her forehead to the soles of her feet. The combined energy of many years of disuse proved to be sufficient. The Hyūga helped Sakura absorb the faltering energy before it scattered- and Sakura felt an almost divine power was at her disposal.Ten seconds before the fire. The pinkette felt invincible- the pressure of gravity felt like a trivial remonstrance that would bend at her feet as she sped out of there in a lightning-fast celerity, to summon a portal in front of her, and then, on top of that, be able to cram everyone in there in time. Her friends had no chance to react before she projected them into the receiving end of the dimensional hole.Two seconds before fire, she was darting all over the place to espy any trace of the final Hyūga. But as a blinding refraction of light signified the pre-charge of the cannon down on earth, she knew she had officially run out of time. With a heavy heart, Sakura threw herself into her portal, knowing Hinata was still at large.. and that she would never see her again.One second before fire, Sakura's gate closed, and she landed on her bottom, skidding across the ground like an injured bird would after falling from the sky. She felt sick, the induced vertigo for expending so much chakra at once causing her to vomit haplessly onto the dirt floor."-ve percent,""Fire!"There was an earthquake- no, rumble? It shook the ground with such power and strength that it knocked Sakura out. Even as her eyes closed, they were illuminated by the light of the cannon, her vision a bright orange.________________________________A/N : This chapter kept crashing because of the size and that's why there may be some errors. I don't have a Beta reader, mostly because I'm embarrassed of my drafts. I ended up rewriting 10 times or so because it kept crashing... I think I like the previous versions better than the one I have right now. :C

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Sakura was in a fūton.The cotton fabric drew flat as she shifted her arms, deflating under her weight and padding again into size as she moved further.Comfort.Which was a thing she ...wasn't expecting?Last time she had been awake, at least to the best of her knowledge, she had slammed straight into the ground at light-speed-oh-my-kami-miles per hour and she had probably broken her nose in two falling face-first onto whatever terrain she was lucky and (apparently) merciful enough to pass out on.But this was just too perfect- her hand instinctively reached for the bridge of her nose, to find not even a fracture in the cartilage underneath.And even more funnily, the amount of chakra she possessed didn't appear too far drained from th exhilaratinging maddness that the helpful absorption of some old dead space incarnate's power had on herself.Rather than feeling too full, she found herself feeling inbound- just like the blanket resting on her body, as she uncomfortably resigned from her fetal slumber. The power, whether it was the fault of some measure of paradoxical undressing syndrome or the incredible convenience of that left eye of hers, felt numb and insignificant.She could only really tell she still had some, some of it left- in the fact that despite the numbness and the cloudy pillowing of the fūton, she did feel a third nature of chakra that fluctuated around her body in indiscreet amounts. She had gotten used to the remnants of Sasuke's chakra... the bits and pieces of every patient she had treated with medical ninjutsu, slowly fading, but there was a bigger presence there.It was nothing like she had felt before. Unless it was some undisclosed, secretive medic-nin who treated her in her sleep and brought her to this sanctuary (it definitely was just a tent, and by the smell of it, she was in a damp cave or something equally squicky and moist.)Carefully, with light steps, Sakura made her exit. Outside was what seemed to be the entire population of Konoha- and more.Like the entire Fire Country had been gathered into a single room.People as far as the eyes can see, and literally. Chakra signatures made a flaming hot white bunch throughout the colder upper-crust, the ceiling of the cavern. A few more rested atop gentle hills of stalactiting soil, and fewer still unseen to the bare eye above the walls themselves.Puddles of water were forming on lowering slopes on the cave floor. The air was bearably humid. This.. was she still in Konoha? Caves of this size only existed in the unindustrialized countryside (they were pretty much the reason why the whole area was uninhabited, too, but she wasn't going to get in-depth with the cultural technicality now).Other than the more-than-surreal danger of a rippling disease epidemic developing in such close quarters, in such conditions, which her medical doctorate pleaded with her to somehow deal with such a severe calamity! Warning! she had better things to do!In the midst of her mystification, a firm hand twisted her around in a little loop, forcing her to face the assaulter.As her viridian eyes focused on the stranger's face, she realized it wasn't a stranger at all."K-kakash.." His familiar, disheveled platinum locks covered the upper half of his face, but the recognizable scar that drawled onto the equidistant ends of his face dismissed her doubts."Shh." The Rokudaime breathed through his mask, silencing the girl with a finger pressed up her lips. "It's two in the morning, Sakura."As her sensei retracted his hand from what he must've guessed, a silent Sakura, he was proven wrong."But! You were dead, sensei! Your assistant's countdown-clock disappeared from Shikamaru's hand..""Not me. I didn't die." he said, disdainfully, resettling his hand on Sakura's mouth to shush her. Said hand begun to shift down into his gaze, as his expression tightened. "..My Lightning Cutter was able to further halve that falling asteroid, but the people on-ground weren't as lucky. Only the troop that took out most of the meteor and I were able to make it out unscathed... oh, also- In-"She choked. "And the moon?"As much as it pained Sakura to avoid the question, she didn't want to know who died. It would completely crush her to discover now, how many of her precious friends had to give their lives for the betterment of the ultimate cause (especially after the damage to her psyche following the failure to impede Hinata's... hopefully, all it was slowing down her ultimate rescue and not much else.)The Rokudaime's saturninely head-shake told Sakura it was a fruitless endeavor to keep pressing. The matter at hand was surely confidential, considering the close proximity of citizens, who, if informed of the apparently tragic news, would surely riot. And then it would be totally out of the remaining Shinobi Force's control. (One average ninja versus five civilians, doable. Three-thousand against a million, you have to be kidding.) "That, Sakura, is a private matter.""Also, where am I?""The fallout shelter.""Is everyone okay?""As good as ...possible. Tsunade-sama brought Katsuyu to her summons, and she's healing the injured. Mostly burns.""Oh..""Do you want to assist her? Here, follow me."She was surprised to see the extent of the makeshift infirmary- crowds of medics catered to anguishing patients, and in the middle of it all was her shishou, next to the towering slug-summon."Tsunade-shishou!" This reconciliation was a godsend in the midst of the turmoil. Finally, with relief in place of the insecurity, Sakura threw herself at her sannin mentor. She was met with a stiff response, but the hardening alarm in Tsunade's triceps reworked itself into welcome.The Godaime squeezed at her apprentice's sides, giving into the desire of comfort. "Sakura!" she cooed back, leaning over the pinkette like a protective mother hen. "Did you succeed your mission?" Ebony bags under her eyes, the crassness of her normally luscious lips, the former Hokage had evidently worked tirelessly in the effort of keeping the wellbeing of her people in peak condition.Her mission was to rescue Hanabi Hyūga on the moon, so, in fairness, she did what she was told.No, actually, that had been Sai's, Shikamaru's, and Tenten's objectives, but Kakashi had said 'defeat the Ōtsutsuki, and rescue the Hyūga heiress and her younger sister.'There was a notable pause in Sakura's relaxation, and the sannin took full notice, bringing her student's head closer to the nape of her neck; the bottom of Sakura's chin being positioned over her mentor's shoulder. "...Partly," Sakura admitted, not wanting to completely disappoint the high expectations Tsunade usually conformed to. "A cannon was to fire from Earth and we had to escape. Uh, also, we were on the moon? Toneri's goal was to marry Hinata and they just... both ran off.""That's mighty capricious of Hinata." Tsunade mumbled, what tended to sound like disbelief rolling off her tongue. "She was so in-love with Naruto, so what changed?""..Hanabi," The rest of her labored breath was spent explaining Toneri's abduction of Hanabi, and the stealing of her Byakugan. Her older sister had offered herself as his bride (or something to that effect) in order to further keep her safe."An auspicious time to curry favor," Tsunade remarked, letting go of Sakura, and kneeling over a sickly patient, forming a seal to begin the healing process. "But still, it wasn't good enough to persuade him to stop the destruction of Earth, it seems."Sakura turned away without offering a signal of acknowledgment.For the next three hours, Sakura used the rest of her expendable chakra to patch up the oncoming slew of new victims, who had 'gone out to survey the area for signs of new asteroids or natural disasters' and got carried away.She returned to her tent when her body's physical capabilities began slouching under her chakra's inflexible equilibrium- that is, when she was too exhausted to fully utilize her innate power, she failed to keep her meticulous control over her chakra. That made surgeries unpredictable and potentially dangerous.Curling back up beside Tenten, Sakura rested her head against a suspiciously adamantine pillow.Sleep yet...Sakura sat by her tent, eating a pre-prepared ration- it wasn't nearly as good as the home-made food her mother usually made her, but it at least was palatable, unlike how her own cooking tasted."So.. Kakashi-sensei." Sakura returned her fixation towards the Rokudaime, grabbing his collar with a backhanded grip to drag him closer. "Now that the time is more ideal, will you tell me the state of affairs up on the surface?" She swore she heard a 'gulp'- and her keen eye caught sight of the slight bob down his neck- and Sakura felt a cramp form deep in her intestines. In actuality, the cramp was simply visceral pain being transmitted to the nociceptors of her stomach muscles, but the squeezing pain was just as distracting as her previously smothered worries.".. Sakura, it's hard to tell you this after knowing all the losses you've had to go through. Now, Shikamaru, Sai, Kō and Kiba have already been told, but.." He tried his best to remain collected,"Ino was our messenger back at Konoha.."Hold on.She didn't want to know this.A pit formed in her stomach.It grew three sizes.It dug and dug and the sinkhole that it created collapsed and collapsed on and on itself.Sakura screamed.The 'was' cried louder than anything else Kakashi had said. The only word that mattered was the dictation of whether or not she was or is. She'd lost every single one of her closest, dearest best friends, and now she was reprimanded by the whiplash of her failure AND the complete bereavement of her cherished Konoha.No matter how she and Ino bickered in their own, downright outwardly cruel way- they were dear to one another. It was how they operated- two people who liked taking their frustration out on each other as a method of snuffing out their stress (in the most humane way possible)- and while she had threatened torture, among other savageries, upon her blonde compadre- she could've never wanted her to really die.Sakura tried to stifle a second rampage, but failed- the inner torrent of boiling anger blew up like volcano- her moralities, the wills of a protectress, and self-restraint left her tout de suite- not caring who got hurt, just that this fury would pass.Her fist glowed with chakra as she rose it high into the air, invigorating an overhanging punch, straight down to the ground- "No, no! Stop, she's not dead! You're going to kill everyone in the shelter!" Kakashi's frenzied plea, much like Kiba's had, stopped her in her tracks. It wasn't the first time this had happened. "Goodness, Sakura. Way to be bipolar."She didn't so much as resume a neutral stance. Just stayed there, living proof of her vindication an inch away from the ground."She's back with Tsunade." Kakashi noted before the cherry-haired girl began dashed towards where she had come from. "Wait! There's something more important than that! I.. oh."She ran.Instinctually, abandoning the ninja stance she had honed for a decade shed itself behind her rapid pace.The darkness had pieced but eclipsed yet the feeling of guilt that remained. Failing, failing, falling to this depth and yet she still had the audacity to threaten the safety of the others for her own relief? Despicable. Degenerate. Dirty.I'm sorry, Ino.She ran past the blurring crowds and fumbled past the tents and the rolling hills, all a bludgeoned smudge of green and brown.Despite being a medical ninja she was nonetheless willing to feed her delusions with driven anger.And if it really were the last days on earth, let vindication feed whatever will she had left."Ino!" Sakura's desperate bellow was muffled by the jitters of staff member's carts, rolling on the bumpy graphite with loud 'krrr's. "Ino, where is Ino!?"She latched onto the first medical-nin that was misfortunate enough to cross her path. "Ino, Yamanaka. Bleach-blonde hair, peacock-blue eyes, purple getup. She's the Hokage- Rokudaime Hokage's messenger? Where is she?" The nurse quailed with fear, and abashedly pointed her towards a general direction- a makeshift facility housing the more seriously injured patients."Ah, Yamanaka-senpai? She's at the intense care sector."With unbound, steadfast haste, the pinkette stormed off to the mentioned sector.She recognized some old faces- Kitō- who healed Neji when he almost died, and Iō, a jonin who supported the Allied Shinobi Forces(although they both looked drastically different, she saw them from time-to-time as cohorts and cooperated on several occasions for surgical operations that required multiple shinobi). "Excuse me, Kitō-san!" she called, her pace now a little more than a speed-walk.'The iconic yellow shawl is quite a stickler,' she thought. "..Haruno-san," Kitō addressed rather formally. "..Are you here to see Yamanaka-san?" 'Did I really make that much of a ruckus?' blushing internally, she rationalized the possibility that she had been overly blinded by emotions.The last time that happened, she almost ended up murdering the thousands of innocents who were taking refuge in the shelter. 'Never again.' she swore to herself, the blush now visible in the form of a vermillion stain on her cheeks. "Y, yes." Sakura replied, rubbing the back of her neck with her thumb. "Is she stable? Is there anything I can do?""..Oh, no." Kitō said quite indifferently. "But we do need more medical shinobi right now." Sakura looked puzzled- 'no'? Did that mean- it had so many different connotations! Did it mean it was a forlon cause, and Ino was dead..? "We would be glad to see you assist us again like yesterday.""Sa-kura!"She turned around. "I-ino?"..The medic-nin who she ran into earlier had informed Ino that Sakura was looking for her, and instead of Sakura herself initiating the reunion, it was the Yamanaka who corralled her first.As it had turned out, Ino Yamanaka had come out mostly unscathed. She, Lee, Kakashi-sensei and an assortment of jonin who helped on the offensive formation were the only ones she survived the calamity back at Konoha. She was clearly injured, but her wounds were dressed and compressed with poultices and bandages. Her long, flowy hair was now about half its former length, it now being uneven and strangely burnt-smelling."Ino, how did you.." mentioned Sakura, trying to be polite as she began tending to a man's bruised calf.The other girl was wiping a burn wound off of an ANBU's side. "It was all thanks to my Earth release," she mumbled, mostly focussed onto the task at hand. "You remember when I did my Practice Brick Technique? I've r~e~a~lly improved since then."So Ino must've used an Earth release shield to save herself. "But the communicator was destroyed in the blast. I blacked out, and Lee was carrying me back here, that bastard." She sounded like she was absolutely scandalized, gagging mockingly for the sake of melodrama. But there was a certain solemn in her voice. While she tried to remain the Ino Sakura knew and loved, the recent tragedy made even that hard.Sakura felt her upper lip quirk as she reimagined how odd and nonsensical it would be to see Ino, of all people, all down in the dumps. (Alas, she was seeing that now.) "Trauma to the low fibula, muscle abrasion. There's no irreversible damage at all. You'll be walking in a few hours, here." Sakura set her hand onto the irritated flesh, the green of her practiced skill seeping into the bruise. It disappeared into the peach of the man's skin, and he hopped off, thanking her for her generosity...A week passed down in the shelter, and Sakura had difficulty tracking down her friends. She did manage to have a heartfelt meeting with her parents- but the moment was blighted by her father's never-ending wisecracking.She and Tenten continued sharing the same tent, having quaint conversations on occasion. The brunette looked conspicuous- as her hair was no longer in doubled buns, but adjoined into a single one on the peak of her head. The master weapons-woman had assumed a more comfortable hairstyle due to there no longer being any ninja duties that required her to be sporting her regular, stiff do. However, since there was not a single instance since their first meeting at the Chunin Exams that Sakura had witnessed her without the twin-buns, she was struck with a mix of fear and gratification(in a similar way to when Sakura had first seen Kakashi-sensei's masked face bare.)Ino and Tsunade continued their work, and were too busy to properly socialize while they were in the 'zone'.Kakashi pulled Sakura to the side again, (and Tenten as well) this time, being more succinct. "Sakura, the reason I brought up Ino last time is that the last message she received before the impact was from the Raikage. Tenten, as you may have seen, he shot the cannon. And he brought you all the way back here. ""I realize," Sakura stated bluntly. So Kumo was the one responsible for her almost-death? Mental note."Yes, so. The status of the moon.. post-cannon, per se.. is,""Halved and shattered."Halved?..Sai looked scorned.The heat of the licking fire was already.. enough. It's difficult to draw when you were surrounded by this disgusting heat.His mission was to gather water and food for the civilians back inside. The shelter had a stock of dried meals and such, but Tsunade expected the meteors to get worse and worse. For a good reason.The moon had lost one half and was currently on its path towards the earth. The atmosphere and sheer friction would probably piece it apart, (or the strength of gravity as it approached the earth's form) and the Raikage's cannon could fracture the pieces, but the sheer size of the moon would entail for a little more difficulty. Currently, as Sai noticed, the moon looked a little larger than it usually did, shining a little more yellow and looking a tad brighter. It was definitely coming.As for the fire?A small asteroid had impacted on the ground before him and caught a portion of a forest he was hiking through on fire. He possessed the Water release, so he did try to quell it with a dose, but it seemed to go out of control. The fire burnt near but Sai didn't move.He filled multiple buckets' worth of canisters with water already, so it would be a complete waste if he just fled. The whole point of water-beats-fire is that the water cut off oxygen from the fire. It wasn't that water had a mystic property that made it 'strong' against fire, it was simply that it cut off its fuel."Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!"Sai dug into the fine granules of sand, but this wasn't a method of fire extinguishment in itself. See, the sand was immune to burning because the fire simply wasn't hot enough- it was still orange in color and Sai had not seen so much as a small flicker of blue. But there was a limit in how far he could take this jūtsu. Much of the forest was just foliage and dirt, not stone.So instead he dug a pit with the sand and stockpiled his finds in the center before jumping off onto an unburnt tree, landing swiftly onto a branch. One man (given that he wasn't a specializer nor an expert in Water release jūtsu like the Nidaime) couldn't achieve what Sai needed- but two or three might have a decent shot..."There's a forest fire in direction of Tanzaku, Rokudaime-sama.".."Currently, I see there is no reason for us medical-nin to leave our posts," Ino argued."Sakura, Ino, I know you are occupied, but you possess both the Earth and Water releases- it'll help, since where I'm sending you is.." Judging by the glint in both kunoichis' eyes, Kakashi would need to phrase his next sentence with care. Humor their inner pacifist. "..there's a huge fire. Several shinobi haven't returned yet from scavenging... I am worried about them." Protocol demands them to."What?" The confused reaction then sent Kakashi into an equally confused stillness. Sakura and Ino knew nothing of the new policies that were set in place, and while the pinkette was the Godaime's apprentice and fulfilled her duties at some point, but would've never encountered a situation such so peculiar as this had been.Neither had he."It's not foolproof, but in the case of a natural disaster during a crisis, shinobi forced to return to their shelters. That is, if it's not in the case of a war or other man-made conflict.""Kakashi-sensei, Toneri is a man.""Toneri himself isn't crashing down to earth."Ino's ballistic grin tutted back into a questioning, owlish frown. "Who..? Wait, moon guy?""Pardon. I know the two of you are exceptional healers. This is why. If," and he emphasized the last word with clear-cut malice and worry, "If in the case that there has been an injury- which is most likely, for a normal nin of the caliber-" that he had sent off to scavenge- he, nor Tsunade, would not commission young, inexperienced shinobi to recklessly meander among the ever-increasing incidents of fires and spontaneous meteors- "would not struggle on escaping a forest fire unless they had been incapacitated or maimed.""That is my mission." He handed Ino a rolled-up scroll, as proof of its authenticity. "B-rank.""Yes, Rokudaime-sama." Taut as a string, Ino and Sakura reformed to their civilized, 'in-front-of-a-Kage' mannerisms. "We will dispatch with haste."________________________________The fire was thick and the air was dense as a brick. Oh, a better analogy would've been as dense as Naruto, but that was a hyperbole(on the fire's part). Hinata rarely had crossed her mind in the past few days, but whenever she did, Sakura was left with a dour bitterness in her mouth.Irritation crossed her neutral expression. "Ino, can you take over the water shield for a sec?" she inquired, proposing they turn over shifts. She let go of the chakra hold she had on the water, and before the barrier imploded on itself, another wave of power supported it in her stead.While looking discontent at the almost warningless switch that Sakura had just pulled, Ino still spoke with a tone of reassuring merriment. "What's the matter, Forehead?" were her words- but they, like previously mentioned, were not harassing in any way."Just tired," said Sakura, plainly.Ino grimaced in annoyance, but her face quickly abandoned the touch of her palms as she relocated it, pointing at the distance. "Sakura, can you see way over there?""Ino-pig, Sharingan doesn't work like Byakugan." Sakura heaved, inflating her cheeks up like a miniature balloon. "No, actually, sure it does! I just can't see through your vagueness.""Whatever, okay? I'm talking about the canisters over there, in the weird sacrificial ritual circle." The turquoise-eyed female was irritated at Sakura's ambiguity but didn't dare quibble with it. Ino was the one requiring full concentration, regrettably so. She was the one holding up the only barrier between them and the raging fire.________________________________"Sai! What are you doing here?"Sakura was trying very hard to keep a shield of water steady around her and Ino. Multiple shinobi were sent out to search for Sai and the others who went to Tanzaku.As it appeared so, Konoha was destroyed and the shelter was placed southwest of the village, a couple miles away from Tanzaku Gai, a city (now abandoned, as its inhabitants now resided in the shelter) renown for its gambling opportunities (how Tsunade.)And now the two girls had found Sai sitting quite calmly- no, standing, in the deepest part of a pond, probably to avoid the fire. "Oh, good to see you, Sakura, Ino. Are you my reinforcements?"Sakura had while traveling all the way here, seen the extent of the damage that the landscape had suffered through. She couldn't sense any animals and the sky was thick with the fallout. The impacts of asteroids left dust up in the air, making everything but the shine of the moon obscured. She suspected that maybe this would be the second Ice Age- food would be scarce and flora would struggle to thrive. Not only the fauna or the general ecosystem would collapse, but.. um, everyone would die if the moon came crashing. "Sai, just get out of there. We can't stop the fire." Sai didn't object and climbed out to shore, his stomach-cut shirt pressed tightly to his body, the excess moisture dripping like rain from a roof. Ino's throat shut tightly against its own walls, and she found it hard to swallow.This was the first meeting between Sai and Ino since.. 'When was that?' ..a year ago. Sai was transferred to the regular, Godaime-controlled ANBU after his team dissolved and Ino was employed at the Konohagakure State Hospital as a pharmacist (continuing her Flower-shop thematics by selling herbs.. and now, a mix of medically-licensed drugs.)See, Ino.. after her beloved(though his fangirls could argue otherwise) died, she didn't know where to turn to next. Not only was Forehead the catalyst to his fate and the last person to ever talk with him- (she envied Sakura with a burning passion for this) but the unresolved feelings just plain loitered, and Ino was left with confusion in her heart.Something bugged her. Back in the Tsukuyomi dream, where her father was alive and proud of her popularity, she also experienced the joys of being sought and courted by Sasuke and.. Sai.Infinite Tsukuyomi entailed for one's sincerest desires, the world of their longings. An eternal euphoria. Now, Ino was not that aggressive, and it was a time of great trifles and trouble, but a girl could appreciate some well-toned abs every now and then.She felt her face boil. Sai? That Sai that called Sakura 'ugly' and her 'gorgeous'- well, technically she was still calling Ino 'ugly'. He was opted to say it in the opposite way so he could cater to his friends' emotional needs. The life of a Root ANBU was that scary. No social life, no social skills, no chivalry or filial appreciation.Sakura jabbed her friend on the side, causing the bleach-blonde to jump in retaliation. "Ino," Sakura said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her volume at a minimum. Sai would not be able to make out anything, based on the harsh crackling of the fire, but it came out that way, mostly due to a force of habit. "Stop drooling over him and let's get going.".."Ino-pig, looks like you've finally moved on!" Sakura slapped harshly at Ino's back- although the blow wasn't assisted by a slurry of chakra, it stung like hot metal being branded into her spine. "The days of 'Sasuke-kyun, aishiteru!' are finally drawing to a close.""Billboard brow, you clearly don't know what you're talking about. Those days have been over since Orochimaru. I'm not into used goods." Ino hissed with all the venom she could muster. It was a running gag since the snake sannin was quite the "predator". Who says he meant it when he said he needed Sasuke's body?The inner fujoshi in both of them cackled but there was no way in hell they were going to do it out loud."And 'sides, you gotta admit the guy has a decent bod--" (Was Ino using her mind invasion technique? No, no- she wasn't even talking about Sasuke, but Sai.) Coincidences aside, Sakura sniggered out loud, earning a scolding glare from the resentful Yamanaka. "I mean, it's not so hard on the eyes. Aesthetics considered.""Sai, would you mind switching spots with me?" Sakura asked, too sweetly- too thickly, like honey trickling down a wall. Her eyelashes fluttered with threatening speeds and her hands were intertwined at the side of her cheek. On cue, the pale-skinned man was swapped on sight and was standing in the middle of the two girls instead of on the leftmost edge."Oh my god, you used that teleportation jūtsu thing just for this." Mock-punching the side of Sakura's forearm, Ino huffed. "Your limit is like one, isn't it?""Yeah," Sakura panted, grabbing her knees in a 90-degree position, expressing truth to Ino's statement. Sakura's purple eye was shut with overuse. "But Sai can't lose focus, can he? It's better I let him switch like that instead of risking this water-barrier and us dying. The three of us don't have enough chakra to summon water, and we left the last pond behind miles ago." she winked deviously- "And practically speaking, Sai has better control if he's in the middle. The barrier's strength was faltering on the right side."Sai was mostly puzzled by the conversation, but based on notes and verbal tricks he was passed down by his predecessors, he imagined it was one of those 'girl talk' things that he mustn't, for the life of him, interfere with. So he kept walking as if he were deaf while the other two at his sides bickered like schoolchildren.But through the unceremonious chatter, Sai could see something else up in the sky- next to the moon, a giant asteroid. After some dedicated excogitation, Sai came to an acceptable conclusion. "We're going to die," he said, matter-of-factly.The women stopped flapping their gums aimlessly and stiffened. "Sai, what?" The frontier between Sakura and Ino just shrugged in insouciance."Look." He presented the giant asteroid heading towards their direction. And he continued with grace and smile- "We could've avoided this, you know, but it was thanks to your lovely argument that we are going to die.""Not if I have anything to say about it!" said the two, in unison. The both of them tore through the water barrier with plucky speed and Sai flinched as his chakra returned to him. Sakura was 'shannaro'ing and Ino was crying out for battle. Battle with a hunk of rock, but a battle nonetheless.Sai was left in the flames, but he was trained for these high-risk situations. "Super beast scroll!"While mounting his bird, Sai noticed the girls had severely misinterpreted the timing of the impending danger and were now descending back into the forest fire. He summoned two more of his birds and the two slipped out of their jeopardized panic. "Sai, that thing's not getting here for a couple of minutes.""We can't escape the impact range.""No duh." Ino augured physically, her hands forming a charade version of a scale. "So we have to beat it or we're going to seat it."The next few minutes were spent devising a sort of plan. Sai's Super Beasts were handy when it came to combat, but pure taijutsu would not shatter the outer-spatial projectile. Sakura was still not strong enough to completely neutralize the threat, and Ino was not a physical attacker.Sakura then remembered that she had previously performed a combination jutsu with Kō.So that's what they needed to do.Cheer loudly- "Alright. Let's goooo! Triple water jutsu!"Form into an awesome triangle- "Combination Jutsu : Tsunami of--""Tsunami? How lame!" Sakura booed, lowering her arms and dispelling her side of the combination jutsu. "Cliche, overblown- how typical of you, Ino? Like, I had 'battle-inflicted haircut' down first. You're jealous."Ino smacked a fist up against a curled palm, grinding her teeth. "It's not cliche! I'm not jealous! Or do you just wanna go, Forehead?!""Well yeah, Ino-pig, you can try, but you don't hold a candle to me!""Guys.""Hah?! Can you honestly say that with your figure? Flat as a washboard, Sakura!""What'd you say? At least I don't have clammy burnt hair like you! When's the last time you showered?""Didn't you say-""Guys."Mediators were usually in-tune with their own emotions. They knew what to say because with the understanding they had within themselves could rub off on those who did not (or refused to acknowledge). Sakura had made a good intermediary to her teammates for she had the patience to interceder the fiery temper of her friends, and of the such, most two-male one-girl teams faced and overcame these problems. (Tenten, Neji, and Lee were more of a convoluted three-way mediatorship however and Hinata's team was also an exception.) To say Sai was not a very good mediator... would not be a lie."You're so insensitive, Forehead!""At least I'm not swooning over Sai while people are about to die, here!" Sakura laughed manically, clutching her belly with such desperation- it looked like she had the worst case of constipation ever."I never!" Like she had been struck with whiplash, Ino pulled away from her congregated position and pouted heavily, effectively ruining whatever progress Sai and she had made. The water gathering before their hands fell uselessly onto the forest bed, splashing at their feet.Sakura sneered at the (expected) negative reaction. "You so did!""Nu-uh!" spat her shorter-haired adversary, coming back to a semi-defensive-offense snarl while thrashing her upper limbs."Guys.."Sai remarked to himself on how 'Naruto and Sasuke' the two girls beside him began to sound. But the next few sentences exchanged had him sold."Sakura. You're dumb as a blunt mallet! Clearly, you wouldn't understand how sophisticated I really am..!" 'Usuratonkachi' translated to 'thin hammer'- useless."Are you? Ino, you... teme!"The blonde momentarily flinched but seemed to grow smug in understanding. Curtly, she pressed in closely, holding Sakura's collar with a threatening downward jerk. "... Two can play that game! Sakura, you dobe!""Teme!""Dobe!""Teme!""Dobe!""Guys!" Sai snapped around, pivoting himself towards their potential exodus, his hands positioned on a scroll that had been resting in his pocket. It was only then that Ino had noticed how strangely orange the daylight around them had suddenly become. "Super God Scr-"Sakura could not make out what was being said next because of the overwhelming volume of the noise that followed :Ka--BOOOOOOM________________________________When Sakura noticed what exactly was happening, it was too late already.The glorious, hearthful embrace of the concluding explosion was a welcome warmth that felt so familiar-- while her skin screamed with pain her heart refused to share its suffering.'Naruto, this is so soon, but I'm coming to you..!'And with a ferocious tug, she suddenly felt trapped, unable to breathe.Everything felt grainy. The air around her felt impossibly dense --like she was buried six feet under gravel. She was unable to breathe, unable to move, unable to open her eyes.It was complete isolation- with the sparing of her own thoughts.'Is this what death feels like?' she asked into the solitude, hoping for an answer.No answer, as expected. As her life flashed before her eyes, an unrelenting desire to live washed over her. She tried desperately to move her legs- but they were regrettably sealed into place. The saudade was interchanged by the desolate feeling of repentance. She ruined Ino's and Sai's lives along with her own because of.. something so silly. That trivial little thing had cost her her life.The voice in her head- not Inner, but a sickly representation of herself- began to chime in out of nowhere. '...Good job, you deserved it. Every part.'She began to choke- her mouth tasted like sand, too. Everything around her had just become sand. Nobody had told her the lick of fire would feel so similar to millions of granules of sand being embedded into her skin. The pain was usually described to as a searing jolt followed by the burn of raw flesh- and if visualized, depicted similarly to the virile sparks of firecrackers..."Ino, Sakura.. just a bit longer."Is this how Sakura Haruno died? Her epitaph would read- 'Last words are not even worth putting- such a petty argument it was'.Not a single person would attend her funeral (out of shame) and children who snuck into graveyards would vandalize her headstone while snickering senselessly. (Ino's would be the same, so it was worth it.)There was silence for a very, very long time.Before she was ruthlessly yanked up from the ground, that is...When the three of them emerged from the ground, the only sight before them was a giant rock, lying placidly on the ground before them- a slight crater formed by the sheer weight of it- instead of the explosive, firey destruction that was previously expected. Sai explained that he summoned his God Scrolls, thus stopping the pathway to obliteration. As planned, the trio extinguished most of the remaining forest fire before setting off home.Sakura and Ino reflected heavily on their actions, refusing to speak for the duration of their travels back. Sai took the rest of his canisters and gathered firewood. The journey home was awkwardly silent.On the way back, they found several injured shinobi, and Ino and Sakura dealt with their wounds(at least enough for them to make the walk back to the shelter).After reporting the conclusions of their mission, Sakura retired to her camp. Tenten was nowhere to be seen, possibly out scouting for supplies like Sai had been doing. In fact, she didn't even get to see Shikamaru, Kiba(by extension Akamaru) or Kō after the whole ordeal on the moon. But the situation outside spoke for itself.________________________________"The status is... clear, and Raikage-sama is asking for agreement on shooting the second laser," said Ino. "What is your command?"Tsunade and Kakashi looked troubled, but their resolve was better structured by the buoyant promise of the moon's destruction. This meant the apocalypse might come, but it wasn't assured like having half of an almost-planetary solar body crash into the side of the planet."Give him permission." The current Hokage mumbled, glancing towards his predecessor with a betwixt and between sort of uncertainty. Tsunade nodded solemnly.________________________________When the first blast had come, Hinata shuddered. Her friends- she'd sensed them at her wedding; (if only the faint signature hadn't gone through) were they alright? The seconds passing the obliteration of half of the moon led her to conclude that they were dead. Their chakra signatures spiked before disappearing completely.But Hinata had no control over her actions- no way to succor- she was stuck in her own body, unable to move to her will. Whatever Toneri had done, was restricting her freedom to control herself. Still, she tried so hard to regain dominance over her own body- despite failing miserably.When Hinata noticed that Hanabi's chakra had gone awry, too, she crumbled into such a depression that she simply gave up. The day Toneri removed the binding energy from her chest- and when Hinata reacted obediently, he didn't put it back.She'd become a shell of herself, but she listened- and pretended to care, at least, and that's what mattered. Defiled of her purpose and crowned a pariah, Hinata Hyūga was good as dead.That is probably what the people on Earth assumed, too.What little Hinata could muster.. for instance, earning Toneri's trust. The dojutsu he possesses is what, from he's told her, the key. If she could simply take it for her own... reclaim her youngest sister's eyes.. her pride, the Hyūga Clan's joy...Hinata Hyūga does not betray... Or, past tense. Did not betray, before this creepy Hamura-crazy lunatic came into her life..."Toneri, I.. please, let me go."His voice is cooing, like a mother to her baby. "I'm afraid I cannot do that, my dear Byakugan-princess.""My dear husband," she responded sweetly, while unbeknownst to him, mimicking his tone. ".. I can't be with you if you keep my locked up like this. Let me keep you company; you've lived only with puppets for your entire life. Do you shun skinship?"A red blush teetered into existence on Hinata's face. Was she really trying to get Toneri to open up to her? What kind of demented person lay underneath? She shrunk backward, not expecting a response. To her surprise, the door opened, and the blue-haired Ōtsutsuki appeared(with distinct skepticism in his subtle inching towards her). "No.. while I have lived in seclusion, if that is what you wish, I shall do it."Now that he'd come to a tepid stance, she was a little more comfortable revealing her ulterior motive. "Toneri, please. Just tell me what happened to the earth. I am... my home rests there, even if..." she bit the side of her cheek, awkwardly gazing to the side. To one it may have seemed as if Hinata was being shy, but truthfully, the threads of her charade were fraying. She didn't particularly enjoy lying.. but it had to be done. "if.. my heart is with you."Toneri's withdrawal vanished, but his brows were braided together, his part-scowl, part-disheartened frown remained. His agnosticism was oddly contagious, and Hinata swiveled away from her husband, avoiding his trail of sight. "Byakugan-hime, do you truly feel that way?"Determination began to boil in the deepest pits of Hinata's stomach. She swayed around again, and was met by the turquoise of his Tenseigan. Those Tenseigan eyes.. that rightfully belonged to Hanabi."W-why else would I want to be n-near you?"She was someone Hinata really, truly loved. Indeed, if she stared only into those eyes, their fulgent coloration reminding her of Naruto... The words would find themselves holding spurious, but also- at the same time- bonafide feelings. Hinata rooted her vision deep into Toneri's, and kept herself fixated. She loved Hanabi. She loves Hanabi. She loves Naruto."I love you! So much, N-" she made the mistake of squeaking out more than necessary, but it could still be fixed- the 'N-' was displaced as a slurred 'and'. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. Please, don't do this.. Hagoromo's des-scendants are stronger than you think!"A sublime holiness was birthed in those Tenseigan eyes before he crashed onto Hinata- and while she was expecting something else, but instead, she was given a doting embrace. "I love you, too, Hinata-hime."Toneri wishes to believe, even throughout her obvious stutters, that she simply is an all-around mousy girl. Even when the words she spoke were supposed to hold a confidence. 'I love you'. It's not 'I love you, or at least, I think I do,' it was 'I love you, so much,' period. If the words had been written on paper, they would mean just that. But the cadence of her anything but picayune confession was a fumbling, inconsistent one- not very convincing, in other words. That is, if they were true.Hinata is, strangely jubilant, hearing the right words from the wrong person. She lets herself be comforted by his broad shoulders and even hugs him back. It reminds her of Sakura, in the most sentimental way, and she can almost conceptualize her in place of Toneri. Eventually, she sighs, rejecting his firm hold on her, her hollow expression invisible through the wall of her bangs, and turns away from Toneri for the third time. "Tell me, please. If you want.. us to work, t-then you wouldn't keep secrets from me, right?"She never thought she'd be blackmailing her way out of a sticky situation, but desperate times call for desperate measures. With a glittery, jovial sparkle in her pale-violet orbs, she grins as she initiates the hug- it's uncharacteristic for Hinata, but it's like hitting two- no, three birds with a single stone. Her 'brother', Neji, was always adamant on efficiency, so it brought her a nostalgic type of pride along with the added benefits of raveling Toneri into her plan and saving her friends back on earth.There's a pungent silence before Toneri gives his answer. "I suppose there is no harm in telling you that." he smiles faintly. Toneri strokes the back of her head, affectionally- there's a childish hesitance to his movements. But that was understandable- despite being wed, the 'couple' had only ever hugged twice. Who could've thought the annihilator-to-be; the predestined murderer of the billions on earth, would have a soft side?She realizes Toneri is a gentleman- maybe not so much when it came to sealing control over her body to assume decisive dominance over her or trying to vaporize the world down there with a weapon of mass destruction, but he never once tried to force upon contact. Even during the first hug, even despite the fact that he had been the forthbringer of the embrace, he waited until she 'poured her heart out' and confirmed her 'love for him'.Or maybe it was wishful thinking. Perhaps he only wants a perfect porcelain angel as a bride, and only submits to her standards to keep her tame.'Is this,' she pondered, Sakura's face flashing before her mind once again, 'What she feels like?' But she disagrees, knowing what empathy she felt for this man had derived from his primal similarity to Naruto.Frankly, if Hinata could, she would reform Toneri in a Naruto-like fashion. But she doesn't possess the palpitating passion Naruto had, neither the inspiring, fiery tenacity that drew others to him. Like her namesake, she is simply 'facing the sun'. Hinata cannot save Toneri.It's just a little shy of being a pity.________________________________Tsunade is worried, now, more than ever. She's pulling at her hair and grinding her teeth, ruining the perfect physique she had sustained forcibly for all these years. The epitome of youth now looked fruitless and unruly.Patients were wracking in by the dozens. Everyone sent out either did not come back or returned with more to fix than they'd repaired. Food supplies would last for perhaps another month, but in case the fallout was years-long, resources needed to be restocked daily to keep the nonperishable items in check. It's a harrowing future, one Tsunade doesn't want to live through, but the power of human sacrifice is what had kept the shinobi world intact for all these years.Her lips haven't touched an ounce of sake since the mass departure- drunkenness wasn't going to keep her sharp on her senses. It stressed her out, immensely, but retaining her precision while doctoring her patients outclassed her own needs.It's Kakashi who she ends up collaborating with- which is expected of a successor and his predecessor, but, it seems like an unlikely pairing nonetheless. The whole ordeal is overwhelming, even for the both of them combined.The stress is unbecoming of Tsunade- Sakura, her one tutee and protege, almost died during the retrieval mission she assigned her to just a day before. Konoha had lost some of its greatest ninjas years ago, so her wellbeing mattered much to the safety of Konoha- logically, even though Tsunade would've valued her life (as a person) high-up anyway."Tsunade-sama, a message from Iwa." Shizune comes over, tapping the Godaime on the back. Tsunade snaps back over, irritation brimming from the pout she's giving.A heavy wheeze escapes the well-endowed woman's lungs. "Read it out, Shizune." When Tonton comes to nuzzle her, she doesn't respond. Too tired."Addressed to Lady Godaime and Lord Rokudaime of Konoha,As myself, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, am unable to present myself in person, I have settled for lettering instead. I apologize for this. However, since we are in a time of great need, we suspect you will appreciate that we happened to cross a potential solution. My chief advisors have brought up a rather shady, but promising hypothesis: your pupil, Haruno Sakura, possesses the dojutsu of the last Uchiha-The Rinnegan, as you may know, is capable of rebirth through the Outer Path. While your forbidden jutsu, such as your Nidaime's Edo Tensei, have been sealed thoroughly with excelling fuinjutsu, there were still percolations. We assume Uchiha Obito had a variant of Space-Time jutsu; time manipulation. It is a forbidden one, perhaps formely present within your vaults, if the sources prove veritable.In conjunction to the possible revival of Uchiha Obito, we hope we are second to inform you that the sovereignties of Kumogakure have summoned the Nine Tailed Beasts in their domain. I realize you will not willingly subject your student, as I understand as a mentor myself. Regrettably, while we do not know the exact conditions of the time manipulation scroll, there is textual evidence that suggests it is a kind of 'revival' jutsu.I am aware that Konoha's libraries are no longer in service, thus I have ordered my delegates to search the other countries for possible references. So far, it is leaning towards a 'reincarnation to one's genesis'- as in, a restarting of their life.There are also records of failed attempts on executing this technique; there have not been any successful tries thus far. An excerpt we found yesterday notes the requirements for a successful trial is to 'have the chakra levels of a Senju and a life-force rivaling that of an Uzumaki'- meaning a person such as yourself, or theoretically, your apprentice.In conclu-" but before Shizune could continue reading the formal notice, Tsunade barked out laughing."I really doubt that old bastard Ōnoki wrote this." Tsunade retorted, rolling her eyes. "It was probably his granddaughter... Kurotsuchi, was it? He's way too prideful to say 'sorry' that many times.""Tsunade-sama, I told you not to drink!" Shizune whined, yanking Tsunade from her cowling posture."I didn't, dammit!" Tsunade whines back, falling limply on her chair, the grace of a Hokage nowhere to be seen. "Where's Kakashi? It was addressed to 'Lady Godaime and Lord Rokudaime', wasn't it?"________________________________When Hanabi woke up, Kō was overjoyed. The Clan head had finally recovered.Indeed, the 'Clan Head'. Her father, Hiashi, had untimely passed back at the destruction of Konoha. This blind little girl was now the pioneer of the Hyuga Clan. She seemed sedated- at the same time as becoming reduced to a mess.Undoubtedly, the callous criminal that was Toneri had tortured this genin- maybe she wasn't frail, but she wasn't old enough- leaving a lasting impression on her. She squeaked at every touch and seemed to be filled with the flashbacks of her kidnapping.Hanabi mumbled in her sleep, thrashing about in the midst of her night terror. "My eyes! My eyes! Stop!" her airways desperately struggled to keep up with her volume, her arms tightly bound against the nearest sturdy object, wriggling in the middle of her bed like a dying slug.Kō and his six-person-squad had escaped with only their lives when the cannon first hit the moon. Hinata had been left behind, the girl he was assigned to protect with his life. He was her bodyguard, and her little sister was sort of an added responsibility when it came to these sorts of critical situations.The Hyuga clan had mostly recuperated in the safety of the campsite, the branch members being securely located... and most of the main branch, as well. The missing members were Hinata and Hiashi, but everyone knew what became of them. So they didn't ask.Hanabi's mother bawled over her daughter, being the soft-spoken woman, just like her eldest child. Hanabi rarely responded with a coherent answer, which added to the Clan's failing mentality. They had lost the head and the heiress, and now a genin was the head of their Clan. It was a calamity.Not even the former Hokage could treat her emotional distress. Hanabi would cling onto his arm, scratching deeply into the skin of his tricep, (while he stood at the side of the bed, trying to coax her vice grip off his arm) while recanting verbally her experience back on the moon. Kō tried to phase it out of his system, but the details were vivid and haunting. Tsunade had tried to convince her to rest, but she screamed and screamed until she passed out. (One of the only times she was not adversed by touch, but it wasn't a welcome behavior anyway.)Now, due to the lack of her eyes, Hanabi had no real visual replacement to sound out her memories. It was decided that they would make her a new pair of eyes with Hashirama's cells, but at a later date, when things weren't so hectic. She wouldn't have her dojutsu, nor a perfect vision- for the cloning of flesh left room for error, and the eye's anatomy itself was definitely finicky. "We'll see if we can implant her DNA into my grandfather's, just to see if the Byakugan will recreate itself. But these stem cells... we can't choose for certain what they turn into, so it's a very challenging process. But if they do merge, she'll have a diluted- less pure, as if she was a half-Hyuga, Byakugan." Tsunade explained, giving him a bit of hope. "But it's very unlikely. Even getting her nerves, which definitely have been damage, back into peak shape for the transplant is going to be rigorous. We can mend the damage but due to the current... circumstances, we can't work on their rejuvenation."Her mother was enlightened by the prospect and remained doggedly faithful. "Lady Hyuga, it's only a small chance. Having too much faith in an uncertain possibility is bound to give backlash."But the stubbornness of the matriarch- or, moreover, a mother, prevailed. "I won't give up on Hanabi. She's the only one I have left," she sighed a whispy sigh, her eyes showing incredible sorrow at her husband's death. Her elder child was now off in the moon, married to the man who had effectively doomed all of humanity to a death sentence. Against her will, maybe, but married, still.Each night, Kō looks longingly at the sky, sneaking out from the shelter. It's unlike a Hyūga to disobey rules, but Hinata-sama was on the moon and she was alive. Toneri's plaything, perhaps, but alive, still! Still beating, still a chance to rescue her from a fate worse than death. It was his role and duty as her lifelong bodyguard.No matter the distance that seperated them, the bonds of the Hyūga would not diminish.________________________________Uncertain..If one word could describe Kakashi's mental state, it was 'uncertain'.Konoha- destroyed, the entire populace of the Land of Fire present inside one shelter, the majority of Leaf ninja scavenging out resources throughout the day. The Feudal Lord had his own room and such, but the rest of the country's people lived in poor conditions. There weren't enough tents for everyone, so some families of over five shared for-two cabins. Waste was disposed of by means of digging a further trench to fill up, a little farther away from camp to keep things hygienic. Water was brought in from a stream up ahead, as the underground shelter did have a public bathhouse. But the line was always long and shinobi would rather go to the spring in person rather than wait here.The townspeople are forced to remain within the confines of the safehouse, because there's no telling when or where another asteroid would hit, without the high-tech gadgets back at the now nonexistent Konoha. A hundred years of history and blood, sweat, tears, was wiped clean off the face of earth by a giant rock.This uncertainty stemmed from here- not being aware of their next plight, unlike if it were a human threat- since those were somewhat predictable. Kakashi read the letter from the Land of Earth over and over again, closing his eyes in tandem to his emotions."Kō Hyūga, report for duty." he spoke, opening a scroll to summon the man. In seconds, a flustered Kō appeared beyond a gust of smoke. His still expression was widening, resembling shock.This was the closest he'd gotten to an off-guard shriek. "Lord Rokudaime..!" Kō had been out without permission again, not that Kakashi knew."Shikamaru informed me before that you had a strange vision of sorts. Involving Hamura?""Yes, sir.""Tell me, Hyūga. You have Hamura's chakra, yes or no?""Yes... sir.""This 'Tensei' eye is the Ōtsutsuki kekkei genkai?""No.. sir. The Tenseigan is a weapon harnessed by the Ōtsutsuki. We destroyed it, but following this the cannon forced us to abandon Hinata-sama.""Interesting. But Toneri had a dojutsu, didn't he.""It was unlike what I've ever seen before, but he apparently needed to steal Hanabi-sama's eyes to achieve it." he practically shuddered- well, he was shaking his head, but the emotionally detached Hyūgas never showed much, so it was common sense to take a mile when given an inch. Unless you were the Hanabi of the past or Hinata when she's particularly happy. "I'm unaware why he'd do such a thing. The Tenseigan was a mass of light encasing several hundred pairs of Ōtsutsuki eyes. The ocular power was destroyed.. but theoretically, it could be reused.""Slow down.""The eyes weren't ruined." he, in response to Kakashi, did slow his words. "He may be planning to reform the Tenseigan... unless, he doesn't need to."Kō's eyes snapped open, having suddenly answered his own questions. "If the Tenseigan is really an Ōtsutsuki dojutsu.. what's to say it wasn't awakened by Toneri?"Scratching his chin, the middle-aged Hokage diverged his attention from the possibility of a faraway attack- to a direct one. "...Toneri having the Tenseigan? A hundred Byakugans making the ocular power... and no Clan possesses purer Byakugan than the Hyūga." Kakashi began conspiring himself, much to his internal dismay."Then he's preparing." the Hyūga further deduced. "Rokudaime-sama, this is bad- no, devastating. It means we aren't in the clear anymore- he will attack us himself!"________________________________"I love you,"Hinata doesn't mean any of them. But it makes it easier to pretend if he's nice to her.Even though she's now free to at least control her own body, Hinata needs to earn the rest of Toneri's trust. Slowly, she's being let out more and more from her palace chambers, not only when she's forced to dine with him or bathe."T-thank you,"Is something she believes is invaluable. You can never thank people enough- it's a happy feeling, gratitude. At least to Hinata.She half-means what she says, so it's not a lie. She loves Toneri's eyes- her little sister's eyes. Maybe she can see through his sight, and she hears and knows that her elder sister is right there with her even through the darkest times."Ssorry,"She apologizes for every little thing- it's like Hinata to do something like that. She's sorry she isn't able to reform him- and that she has to betray him.She bitterly looks at those glowing orbs, wondering how he had changed those pure, white balls into a flowered azure. She asks but doesn't get much of an answer. "Please, Toneri. I must know, you've been pained by it for so long. I know some medicinal jutsu if you wish for relief..."A week, exactly, Toneri has been ransacked by sudden seizures of pain. It started out as a weak jolt or two- then he audibly grunted every time it happened, and now, he was convulsing on the ground, clutching his temples in restrained torture. "It's only natural, Hinata-hime. The Tenseigan.. is maturing.""Tenseigan?""..Yes. It is the dojutsu I have been granted with my Byakugan. Once exposed to an Ōtsutsuki's chakra, it will mature into a Tenseigan.. the weapon of ultimate destruction." Toneri explained, wiping his mouth with a small cloth, nonchalantly, uncaringly. Hinata wanted to shout with anger- it was her sister's Byakugan; it wasn't 'my', because those eyes belonged to Hanabi and weren't his. "I promise you, the Earth itself will not be harmed, just its inhabitants."Hinata tried to smile at this, but her mouth forced itself back into shape, causing her face to twitch. "Oh, of course, thank you, Toneri." she gurgled, trying to laugh to cast off her doubts. "You are very generous.""...Ah, it is my pleasure," he says..."May I be allowed out of my room, dear h-husband?" she's indignant- there's progress, but it's very few and far between. "It is very lonely with only puppets who tend to me. Your studies, may I visit them?""... perhaps, not now, but past dinnertime." Toneri's disembodied voice- from outside of her door, calls back, muffled by the wall between them. She feels his presence leave, and she's left without a chakra signature to detect but her own. Where even was she..? Really, she knew of Hanabi's status and that the Tenseigan was his sacred kekkei genkai, born out of the need to destroy the earth's inhabitants. But beyond that, it was a blur.The sensual deprivation makes her numb. She wants to feel the crispness of sensation again, even if its only a piece of literature- not getting her any closer to her goal, but... "May I at least have a book? Something to keep me company?" she whispers, mostly to herself, looking at the canopy of her bed.Apparently, something heard her, because there were a few clicks and shakes by the door. It was almost devoid of a chakra signature- it sure did have one, because the puppets were enchanted. It creaks open and a servant-doll offers her a small booklet.Gratefully, Hinata takes it from the puppet and it closes the door with a sharp 'click'. The noirette then falls onto her mattress, sinking into the comfort both literally and symbolically, though she rolls over to submerge on a fresh side of the bed. After closer examination, Hinata notices that the cover is completely plain and without inscription."The Tale of Genji", it's written on the first page of the hardcover, by someone called Shikibu Murasaki. She's finished this story before, but hasn't read it since she was nineteen. The topics weren't too appropriate for a young child, so it was always on the top shelf of the Hyūga library where immature eyes wouldn't see. It was only one downcast, rainy afternoon that Hinata picked it up to read, listening intently to the rat-ta-tat of the storm phasing throughout the sky.Having nothing better to do, Hinata starts the book."Chapter 1The Paulownia CourtIn a certain reign there was a lady not of the first rank..."..Chapter fourty-one comes to a close. Hinata turns the page, expecting 'fourty-two'."Chapter xKumogakure"It's a blank page besides that. Nothingness. Simply the words, 'Hidden in the Clouds'.Death. Genji is dead, and so are his loves. Sigh, what a tragedy...Hinata doesn't like tragic romance. It's either love lost or never found, or painfully unrequited. Or never noticed, like in her case. But Genji... he was on the path of failure to begin with, with his complex tale of romance. Every lover he took he grew bored or she had died. For him it was joy; only that it was short-lasted.The book was just too sad.Hinata subdues her urge to cry at the sad occurrence, as she'd gotten attached all over again to the protagonist. Unlucky in love, a poor, half-blooded child whose father threw out of the line of succession. Something about him reminded her of herself. "Hinata-sama, dinner is ready." it's Toneri's voice. She doesn't know if she welcomes his presence or not, but she is definitely hungry, so the news itself is welcome. Steadily, she grabs the nearest object by her bedpost and slides it in the blank page of the book, as an impromptu bookmark.Dusting herself off, Hinata goes to the door and knocks, signaling that she is ready to exit. "Yes, de-ear." Following her approval, the door creaks open, slowly, at first, before accelerating. Hinata steps out cordially, with refinement. The book's imperial themes have rubbed off her, even if she was from a pretty prudish Clan, to begin with.When she gets into the better-lit light of the dining hall, she figures that Toneri is wearing Naruto's scarf. "Oh, you're w-wearing the scarf I made, T-toneri. Do you like it?" acting even more timid than she already is, she snugly situates herself at one end of the table, while her 'darling husband' smiles at her briefly before walking across to his side."Yes, Byakugan-himesama, indeed, I do. I would love it if you wove me one of my own, however.." almost shyly, Toneri tucked in his chair, his abdomen hitting the edge of the dinner table."Oh, stop with the formalities. 'Hinata' is fine," Although she did not understand why she was the 'Byakugan Princess', (in actuality she hadn't wondered about the term and accepted it as one of endearment up until now) she knew it all tied in with the Tenseigan nonsense. He needed her sister's Byakugan to form the Tenseigan. So these two kekkei genkai definitely had to do something with each other. She was the heiress of the Hyūga... so maybe that made her a Byakugan 'Princess'...? "And, of course I wi-ill. Anything for y-you.""Thank you," Toneri doesn't look out the window, but says this- "The moon is quite full today, Hinata-sama." Jovially, he picks up his fork and knife and begins to eat the food prepared for the two of them. Hinata turns to look at the sky outside, but... its yellow completely and has no stars nor moon to be found...The next night, however, is when everything changes. He screams louder than ever before, his stentorian bouts of pain crippling his body. Hinata looks in fascination; it's a sick inclination she's never truly felt before. When Hinata looked at Toneri at that very moment, she no longer sees the man she failed to save. She sees him in a sadistic light- how cruel was retribution from the gods- pain the eyes that don't belong to him?He's crumpled on the ground like a pile of dust, while Hinata eats her dinner in quiet. Happy, happy, Hinata- it was better than driving herself to insanity. Let it stir him up, the pain! Then he'll know how much of it and sorrow he's caused her.But as he had said so before, it's all because of his Tenseigan. His agony ends prematurely when his skin flashes a luminous sapphire, his features blending into a blob of green flames.She's seen no such power like this. Not even Naruto's immense thew and chakra rivaled this new form- a single horn protruding from his forehead, his cloak now billowy and freely moving to the flickers of this miniature inferno. The design on his chest moves to his collar- a set of mitsudomoes on either side. Sweat pools in the crevices of her palm as her amazement solidifies into horror. "What.. w-what is t-that, Toneri?""The Tenseigan has fully matured," he says to himself in a soft, off-spoken manner. As he rises from the ground, the Hyūga feels a sinking in her stomach. This.. the weapon of destruction, was complete. "Hinata-hime, I will leave shortly. Stay put in the castle walls.""Stop, Toneri! You.. you'll get hurt!" she lies again, the discontent unhidden this time. She doesn't try to touch him in fear of getting burnt- is it real? The flames? "You don't need to do this, p-please." The sinking feeling deepens when all she can muster are those few words. She can't say anything that'll lead him on to discovering her true motives... or anything to make him reconsider his actions.She follows him out of the castle- in his speed, he tears down the hall and the staircase. Hinata struggles to keep up with his speed, thrashing about as she tries to conjure a way to stop him. "Toneri, stop!" pleading, the navy-haired woman halts to an idle when he does, too. The sky is not the familiar strepent mustard-yellow, it's pitch black- the castle isn't still floating aimlessly in it all, its grounded. She's not been outside for a few weeks now- she sees the damage done to the right wing of the castle. Hinata's not on the earth at all- she was on the moon! "You can't- you... just can't. Stop it, Toneri, please!"He stops, the light brightening the side of his face that turns to meet her gaze. He's not human anymore- he's- he's-"No.. this ultimate power... I will do as the celestial decree has commanded of me and massacre the filth of Hagoromo's brood."________________________________Sakura had been summoned again, suddenly teleported mid-sentence while she was eating a cup of ramen with Tenten and Ino, a brief respite from healing and scavenging. It didn't take her long to recognize the two people standing vanward of her. "So, shishou, Sixth, why did you call me over here?"Kakashi and Tsunade exchanged looks, before the Rokudaime handed Tsunade a roll of paper, which in turn, Tsunade extended over towards Sakura. "You see, this scroll has the power to turn back time. It is experimental and highly dangerous.. but we fear we may not be able to save the earth, so we are willing to test it."This did not ease Sakura's puzzlement. "And.. why are you telling me this?" she imposed, looking distraught at the sudden avowals."We have a mission for you," Her gray-haired sensei professed. "It has to do with this time-traveling jutsu."She questioned, a cattish curiosity sparking up at the mention. "Does it involve me guarding this scroll?" In fact, even while living in these conditions and having to expect the world's destruction at any point in time gave her little aplomb, not even to think about missions or anything a constructive ninja society would have. Because society was utterly ruined and ninjas were now basically caretakers. How backward.Not able to think of another reason besides the unreasonable, she stopped at that."No," Tsunade breathed in tersely, those vibrant beige orbs turning black in the darkness, as she receded into the shadow. "Sakura, you will be traveling back in time to save Sasuke and Naruto."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

So they had a solution to this huge, huge problem, but they were going to assign her.Sakura.Admittedly, she was strong; perhaps one of the best kunoichis there were, but she... the past her, wasn't quite up to the task. There wasn't much about her to be worried about until recently.Key term, recently. That applied quite a bit in terms of 'time travel'. The act of going beyond the normal realms of time, either into the future or into the past.And saving her old teammates was a event in the past, and that was also not 'recently'.In layman's terms, she was going to get stomped on by everyone left and right without her chakra or abilities. Unlike some people, most of her skills were rather circumstantial. Maybe she'd have her chakra-punches, but she wasn't some Lord-First DNA splicer (even if she did it now and kidnapped Kabuto to forcibly infuse her with the magic tree-man cells, she wouldn't have it in the past, no thanks to the multiverse) who could afford to spam her invincibility technique to make use of her small reserves.Part of her understood, though. Being shishou's one apprentice and the Rokudaime's only surviving student, (Sai was more of Yamato-taicho's acquaintance than Kakashi's protégé) it would make sense that they would choose her. They trusted her with every fiber of their being.But she shoved that part away, replacing it with un-Sakura-like stubbornness."Why me?" she asked, not bitterly- but hoarsely, breaking out of her trance. "Isn't it better if you or Tsunade-shishou did this instead?""I can't. Only you or Tsunade have the capability to survive such a trip, Sakura." her former instructor declared, fiddling the scroll in his hands. "Time.. is finicky. Nobody's used this experimental jutsu just yet, so we don't know what it'll do. In case it's a dud, your regenerative chakra will save you.""However, my direct influence on either Naruto or Sasuke are much more limited. Say, even if I returned, my actions may have greater repercussions than yours... that is, compared the positive changes." the large-busted woman inquired, trying to resolve her student's growing doubts. "The conditions that we've managed with this scroll imply that the user travels back to their genesis... meaning, their birth.""You could just stop Orochimaru, in that case," Sakura argued. "Or kill Madara, save Obito or Rin, forbid the Akatsuki from forming. Nagato was Jiraiya's student, was he not? I wasn't even born when half these tragedies occurred. Heck, even saving Naruto's parents- Yondaime-sama and Uzumaki-san!""Again. Sakura, twenty years has a lot less impact than almost-sixty." the Rokudaime reasoned. "Things could change. For the better or for the worse, we don't know. Tsunade alone cannot stop the horrors of the Third Shinobi war, nor can she possibly stop all of these events.""And I can't do this alone, either!""Besides, like a pure reincarnation jutsu," in reference to Chiyo's life restoration technique, the baton had been passed to the Godaime- "The sheer amount of chakra needed to turn back time fifty years-" (she 'corrected' Kakashi's sadly rightful statement of her age) "... perhaps not in body, but still, the soul- is much more difficult than twenty. Even with my large reserves, I may not make it."Sakura still managed to find a loophole. "I used my Byakugo back at the moon. I don't have enough."Kakashi was quite over arguing. "Do you remember how the beasts are willing to lend you a hand? As the only living wielder of the Rinnegan, you are capable of utilizing the chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts."Sharingan- and also, Mangekyou, was capable of controlling(in this case, harnessing their power) the tailed beasts, but not to the mastery Rinnegan had. However, the demise of the entire Uchiha Clan and the fact that no Uchiha, dead (or dead.. I guess.) had Sakura's healing ability gave little hope of becoming a promising rebuttal.Sakura and both Tsunade were able to transfer chakra through Katsuyuu, but it was mostly an added benefactor to the contract that she possessed with the slug summon, and specifically for medicinal ninjutsu. There were others, like Karin of the Uzumaki, but she was currently M.I.A.- supposedly in hiding along with Orochimaru and it was just too difficult to track her down in short notice."Remember, Sakura. I do not have the motivation you do. The incentive you possess outweighs mine tenfold." Tsunade came closer to her apprentice, placing protective hands over her shoulders. "This old lady who's already lost quite a bit," she sighed, her chest compacting, "-can't compare to your fresh wounds.""I know, shishou." the pink haired woman frowned, brushing off her mentor's hands. "You already said why you can't go, I understand. But can't you just take my Rinnegan? And like, use it for yourself?"Completely ignoring her question, Tsunade continued to rant. "There's a lot of things that could go downhill- what if Naruto had died because his parents didn't? Madara rewrote his death the first time it happened. Even if I killed him, in his old age, he could just find another catalyst for his will. Predicting an event that'll happen in twenty years is a lot easier than.." she 'ahem'ed, glaring daggers at her current Kage- "Fifty."The events that had led up to.. well, the era in which Sakura had been born, were relatively alright. "Risking the stability of their history could be detrimental to the progression of Konoha. Preventing the entire Third Shinobi war would possibly lead to prevented births-" (there had been an incline in birth rates after every war) "-or deaths. What if someone like Naruto hadn't been born? How would we track down The Sage of Six Path's two sons? What if they were not Konoha-born? We know of only two incarnations of Indra- Madara and Sasuke. Two of Ashura's- Naruto and my grandfather. We speculated it would occur within the same bloodline, but the Uzumaki were almost decimated and my Senju blood was scattered and practically impure by the time you had been born. The Uchiha were destined to die out or be locked up like they had if Obito defected, but how would I just tag along on one of Team Minato's missions? Besides, Madara had plotted this even before my birth...""Too many contradictions and stipulations," Kakashi added, hopefully.It was driving Sakura crazy. "Yeah, I get it! Just hand me the scroll, shishou." she 'hmpfed', pouting as she snatched it borderline rudely out of the taller woman's clutches. "Anyway, do I use it now?""Not exactly. We may still be able to salvage the situation." the Rokudaime consulted, turning away from the women before him. "It's our last resort. Just in case, though, the Bijuu are staying near Kumogakure. They're helping with charging the Raikage's cannon. We'll send you there now with the power of the body flicke-"..The touseled cave suddenly became a sandy-brown room with a red rim on the window sills- the sun was bright and shining into her eyes. After hovering with legs that weren't properly prepared to support her weight, she landed on her bottom.Her thoughts eventually caught up to her jet lag- what was that, though? It just seemed so... forced. She hadn't expected anything so cantankerous from her shisho... but it just.. Her two former teachers were practically milking her for answers she didn't have. 'What if Naruto wasn't born?' 'If Madara dies, someone else might come- who?' She didn't know! And she wouldn't know the answers to the divergences she would create in her world.What could possibly make her more of an ideal candidate than Tsunade? She- plain civilian ninja Sakura, didn't have the same political affiliation, the Kage-status, power and potential to be hailed around as birthright. 'Surpassing' Tsunade or not, her mentor was a legend in her time and this- had she taken the opportunity, would only enhance that. Sure, Kakashi couldn't travel because the jutsu was unstable and supposedly had the chance of becoming life-threatening, or that the process of being thrown in space-time would require the presence of self-healing capabilities... but, it didn't excuse Tsunade. Oh, no, Tsunade was the one who created Creation Rebirth!The Rinnegan in place her left eye could be easily transplanted to her shishou. Then she'd simply have to tap into the Bijuu's reserves and execute the Time Traveling Scroll, go back, expose her grandfather's best friend/prevent him from falling into the darkness, if that was even possible, and live life in the best way possible. Maybe even save her lover, and her brother Nawaki, and then some- poor Jiraiya might've not even died if Pein didn't come along. The excuses of 'predicting the future' damn sure applied to Sakura, too, even if they were on a smaller scale.So why exactly were the two Hokages conspiring to send her back instead?She looked up to see a man in a Kumogakure vest. Then another. Then another- she was completely surrounded by Kumo ninjas. "You're Haruno Sakura, right?""Y-yes.""Come."..After she was lead to the Raikage's office by the Kumo personnel, she found herself face-to-face with a couple of old faces. The Tsuchikage's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, Subaku no Gaara's sister, Temari, Chōjūrō- one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and finally, Darui, the Sandaime Raikage's former student."Hello, Haruno-san," the Iwagakure kunoichi was the first to approach her."Oh, Kamizuru-san. Greetings," Sakura recognized the growing authority in Kurotsuchi- perhaps she was well on her way on inheriting her grandfather's position. The Land of Earth would probably not send her as a delegate just for her bloodline.Chōjūrō, as well, seemed to be more poised than the last time they'd interacted. (Admittedly, it was during battle, and that tended to give a more mosaic-esque view of oneself) Perhaps the Mizukage sought him out as a potential heir of the Kage title, too. "Kamizuru-san, so.. if I may ask, why are you all gathered here?""We're meeting to report on the status of our countries," Temari stated. "Otherwise, we've been helping Kumo out with the meteorites. The cannon needed more chakra than expected, because of the second time 'round, the shattered pieces of the decimated moon needed extra precision to get rid of.""I see." she responds politely, looking at the Suna kunoichi with familiarity."For today, your assignment will be to assist us," says Kurotsuchi, pursing her lips. "There are some casualties and injuries, and you are Lady Godaime Hokage's apprentice, thus, I would assume, an expert healer."Healing? Again? Well, who's to complain, if it meant saving lives, her tired state was practically irrelevant. "Understood.""First, could you report on Konohagakure's situation?" Darui interjected, but he wasn't loud."...yes. Konohagakure and the rest of the Fire Country are currently sheltered away in an underground haven, we've been sending out shinobi to gather supplies. The village itself... has been destroyed."There was a silent shockwave spreading throughout the room, as even Kumogakure's infrastructure had remained intact for the most part. "... this complicates things," Temari admitted. "Konohagakure's scroll libraries had some forbidden jutsu that could've been of use to us, such as a fuinjutsu that would be capable of sealing the moon."Sakura detached herself from the conversation. Konoha was destroyed and... everyone on that trip besides the few jonin, Kakashi, and thank goodness, Ino, had died. Diverting her mental confliction away from her fallen comrades and focusing on the situation at hand, she brings up the weapon that is supposedly the salvation of the problem. "The Raikage's cannon...?""The Raikage's cannon still needs more chakra if it wants to completely destroy the moon," Chōjūrō states militantly- something quite different to the Chōjūrō she saw before. "The first blast didn't get rid of the entire moon if you remember. Neither did the second.""Yes," Sakura recalls the ordeal with Sai and Ino, remembering the asteroids crashing down in front of them... "I do. So am I supposed to help with the charge?""No, but you are to stay here." announces the Kiri-nin, Chōjūrō.Sakura is getting progressively more and more confused."We're aware of your dojutsu's capabilities, courtesy of Kamizuru-san here," Temari says, looking cautiously at the one bang hiding Sakura's left eye. "It was also her idea, what Tsunade-sama and Kakashi-san have presented you."The time traveling stuff was all Kurotsuchi's idea? "...Oh. You see, I just thought it wasn't so viable. I mean, time travel?" She chuckled awfully robotically, trying (and failing) her best to fake a genuine expression. "Hah, silly, isn't it?"The Iwagakure kunoichi seemingly looked discredited for half a second but put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "It's very real... Haruno-san. If Toneri cannot be stopped the only way to save humankind rests on your shoulders."Did she ever say she liked responsibility? No, she didn't."That is to say... no pressure." Kurotsuchi also smiled, but there was a dark air about it. Uncertainty.She'd only realized it at the moment- but there was a very likely chance- given everything she had gathered, the situation was worse than a matter of being pragmatic. She, if the gathered efforts of the Alliance failed, would most likely would've had said goodbye to the ones she loves- for the last and final time already- and she would never see them again. Even though there was a possibility that in fact, the library's destruction had ruined her chances of saving the future, she prayed and prayed until she fell asleep- so far strung that the very hint of conflict left her mind.Sakura Haruno, you asked for it- you wanted to be a hero. Now, pay up for your wish..."Sakura, you know it's really bad to keep worrying like that?" It's Ino, who's sipping a cup of jasmine tea, her eyebrows furrowed and twitching. "Drinking sake's gotta be hepatic since you can't even stomach a cup."Uncaringly, the pink-haired kunoichi chugs from her ochoko, flourishing in the alcoholic burn sliding down her throat. "It's just that Naruto's being so utterly and completely frustrating, Ino. He won't admit to Hinata that he's completely head-over-heels for her, even though the girl's been after him since we were twelve!" she takes another sip, letting out a well-deserved groan. "Worse than Sasuke.""Nah, he can't be worse than Sasuke," Ino chimes in, giggling through her hand. "But, on the other hand, I know he looks like he has a total brother complex with Itachi, but I swear he loves you back."Sakura laughed. "Try telling that to Tsunade-shishou. She's all like, 'Sakura, get over the guy, he clearly has no idea how to cater to a lady's feelings, he's incompetent.' Some days I think she's telling the truth." Her face was a brazen vermillion from the impending drunkenness. "Remember how all the girls"-hic-"used to throw themselves at Sasuke's feet? I mean, they still do, but like, even you and I...""I so don't want to remember that, but I get your point. Maybe he really is incompetent, figuratively.." Ino then interjects, trying to divert attention from the depressing topic of the youngest son of the Uchiha Head. It always got Sakura into a grueling, if not brooding mood, drunk or not. "Say, did you hear about Neji and-""Don't tell me. I'll ask him-" she hiccups, "-myself. If that guy's seriously into someone, I'm going to go to her house and take her out for sake." she said, internally sympathizing with the unfortunate girl who had to receive the stoic man's affections. Her own situation was grueling, not having a very expressive somewhat-significant other.Maybe it was fraternizing with the enemy, per se, as if Sasuke and Neji hadn't developed a Clan-rivalry already, to talk to the lady- maybe even man who was... well, her 'technical enemy' by family relations. "Back on track... Hinata's so, just, ugh," she glugs her drink with inexperience, almost choking on it. "C'mon.. the only time she's ever asked him out was back when we were genin... hell, even my parents got together earlier than them and I don't even know how my mom puts up with my dad.."The beach-blonde diva hair-flips casually, refilling her teacup with piping-hot tea. "Speaking of parents. My dad was talking to Godaime-sama the other day and apparently," seemingly fathers enjoyed torturing their children, "Naruto almost confessed to Hinata by the moonlight but chickened out because he was called on a mission or something. It was the week when Toneri decided to show his pretty blue-haired self down onto earth..."Sakura yawned as she thudded the bottle down, marking it empty. "Awh, yeah..."-hic-"Man, he's totally into Hinata though. But I'm adamant about Naruto getting with his dream gal, okay? Friends over hot hunks..."The Nanadaime Hokage steps in the room with her husband. "Sakura! Ino! This is a medical office, not a playground for gossip." Tsunade retorts, snatching the empty bottle from the table. She retaliates in shock when she finds out it is completely empty- drop-less to the bottom. Her strictness vanished and was replaced by impression. "My, my. Is this really the same Sakura who couldn't drink a single shot?"But before Tsunade could take out her own beer from the mini-fridge in the leftmost corner of the staff room, Dan ushers the feisty lady out of it. "Tsunade... you're due for a surgery in an hour. Alchohol messes with your concentration," he says it softly, before letting go of her arm. Tsunade gives him puppy-eyes but the calm man doesn't relent, although he seems tempted.Swaying her attention from her passively stubborn husband, she releases the pent-up stress on Sakura. "You're needed in the intense care sector in thirty minutes," Tsunade says, moving away from the fridge, pink ornamenting her flawless cheeks, making it very obvious- a fact Dan was smug- well, if his serene Godaime-like smile counted as smug. Seriously, Minato's grin was like the grin of the gods. "Ino, you should go back to your post in the pharmacy soon. They got a fresh new stock of Gemfibrozil to shelve and your fellow employees are complaining that you're always off here with Sakura..."Ino shrugs, but takes her half-empty tea and dumps it into a thermal bottle, along with the teapot's contents. "Thirty minutes- I'd rather you prep during that time than completely lose it for the sake," Ino says rather daintily, grabbing Sakura by the shoulders to stabilize her. "Let's go, before I lose my job."After she's dragged into the station, Sakura greets Karin, who's managing the paperwork alongside Kabuto. But the friendly greeting turns into a dazy rant in a matter of seconds. "Yo, Uzumaki.."-hic-"Tell your cousin he better man up and...""Haa? Naruto isn't my cousin, Sakura, how many times do I have to..." she retorts, not even caring that she was completely drunk. In a very reserved manner, she offers her arm to Sakura. "You're drunk,"- she may not care, but she did know. "Now, it's not every day I let someone bite me-"There's a loud noise erupting from the other side of the room. "You sure about that, Ka-chan?" a certain fanged shark-man barked, his laugh tearing the bandages off of his side."Dammit, grr, Suigetsu! You're supposed to be back in Kiri by now! And for the last god-forsaken time, I'm not your mother!" Karin scorns, holding her fist offensively while a vein pops on her forehead. 'Kaa-chan' was 'mother,' and 'Ka-chan' sounded pretty much the same. She was only twenty-one! Not old enough to be Suigetsu's mother! Bastard! The bespectacled woman scoffs passive-aggressively before turning back to Sakura. "Seriously. He thinks annoying me is his dignified version of a book-club hobby.""Frankly though, it is enjoyable," Kabuto remarks, clicking his pen, enthusiastically humming the tune of some made-up jingle."Shut up, Yakushi. Or else you'll be seeing Uzushiogakure when I'm done with you." And truth be told, the Village of the Swirling Tides had some really swirly-looking buildings. And Karin would know, being a native- she wasn't talking about being nicely offered an onsen vacation ticket to Uzushio, she was talking about being beat to a pulp so hard that he saw stars and swirls.Sakura catches Karin off guard when she sinks her teeth into the skin of her forearm, and the redhead yelps, appropriately so. The refreshing chakra revitalizes Sakura's displeasing, unpresentable state, and her mind clears."Thanks, Karin... sorry," she states as she basks in the afterglow of relief. "Now. Suigetsu, I know your friendly reunion with your best buddy here is nice and all, but the Intense Care sector is not reserved for patients who have clearly fully recovered. I'll have... Kabuto check you out."In disgust, Suigetsu yanks back, almost pulling on his bandages again. "Check me ou-""...Of the hospital. Don't make it 'chuck you out', Hōzuki-san." she high-fives Karin as they both cackle like witches."Girls... are scary," the white-haired man says, shaking. The one in a short ponytail nods in agreement, heading off to the lobby.Turning to Karin, she recovers her 'serious face'. "Who's in here? Who needs surgery? Tsunade-shishou informed me I needed to get her within thirty minutes."The ginger female takes the clip from the white desk nearby, adjusting her lab coat. "... Looks like, this time, it's... Rin Nohara. She's hospitalized for internal bleeding all over- her lung collapsed, too, because her Bijuu is acting up again. You'd better check up on her now, they're trying to keep her stable while people begin to repair her internal damage. The Sanbi's healing makes it easier but she's really frail."Sakura, now not-drunk, (and knowing to not stall any longer with small-talk) rushes off into the emergency room."Doctor Haruno," the medical assistant says, as the electrocardiographic machine beeps a little slower. "She's still unstable.""What have you done so far?" she asks, knowing her medics would've probably taken enough measures taken already to prevent unnecessary suffering."We've set her rib bones back, she'd gotten a flail chest. We're setting her down with her legs elevated, at least until you or another doctor came along." the nurse responded, looking down at her paper. "Her internal bleeding hasn't stopped or eased, we checked, she'll need your help to to repair the damage."Even though Karin and Kabuto had been on-post, it was still extremely early in the morning. Not (or not as much as during normal hours, though a few times they'd be summoned for advanced procedures) very many experienced doctors were taking the early-morning shift- Tsunade knew fully of their antics and thus assigned them to work then anyway. 'Darn,' she thought to herself. 'I am a little sleepy. Karin fixed most of my fatigue, but maybe I should've had tea instead of sake...' Sakura began her work, coming a little closer to the brunette laying mostly motionless on the surgical table, hands pressed on Rin's chest. Green chakra grew over her and sweat dribbled down the side of her face as her concentration poured in to aid the woman before her.First, the bone had been pre-set by the medic-nin already, it was easier to heal without the risk of damaging the lung further. It took a total of five minutes to completely mend the first rib that had been broken since they were more than cracks and normal would need steel boosters and months of time to mend. The second rib took far less. It wasn't a clean break, only a fracture, making it a lot easier to fix.She repeated the process with the rest of Rin's shattered chest, and soon her ribcage was back to its normal shape. Now for the lungs. Sadly she wasn't able to do anything with medicinal chakra alone- unless she somehow found a way to pump chakra into her lung and combine that with wind-style jutsu to artificially replicate tube thoracostomy, but she didn't have the time to experiment on this further, especially when it was already a delicate procedure.From there they would just hook her up to an oxygen machine and return her to her hospital room before giving the unresponsive woman an IV drip. Her lung collapse was ruled out for being spontaneous, given the signs of a broken rib cage and sternum, so that method of treatment wasn't considered.But the internal bleeding was still a problem, so she positioned her hands on Rin's stomach. "Have you identified which organs?" and the nurse began enumerating the damaged areas and Sakura hovered over where each should be, sending pulses of green around the radius of injury.An hour passed until Sakura had Rin back into top shape- not with a collapsed lung, but she would heal on her own, after all, it was better not to interfere with this breed of injury. Most healthy adults did. Going out into the waiting room were her sensei and his former teammate, the Hachidaime Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha."Hachidaime-sama!" Sakura says, rubbing the dark circles beginning to form on the bags of her eyes. "Obito! You're here for Rin... don't worry, she's fine..."The Uchiha glomped Sakura, hugging her, moaning something about 'Uwwhha, Rin, she's okay,' while the current Hokage patted his friend on the back. "So, sensei, why aren't you back at the Kage Office already? There's no way your assistant would let you starve off time here with us," Sakura asks, curious."It's two in the morning, Sakura." The gray haired man took the chance to explain, putting a finger up against his student's lips to shush her. It was... strangely familiar. "We came back from a political meeting in Suna, but we felt a serious charka signature. It felt like.. Naruto, the Kazekage's son- Gaara, or Rin," Kakashi admitted. "She acted up and it was the Kazekage's son who had to restrain her, but she almost rampaged on the villagers. I had so much paperwork to do. So much... damages. Did you know the Kazekage's wife almost beat me to death? She looked like such a sweet woman.. but in the face of her village..." he practically shivered."Another jinchūriki? Well, admitted, there are nine of them. Unless you count that one time you almost turned psycho, Obito-sensei... then, ten..."Obito looked sheepishly at the both of them, going beet-red with embarrassment. "Look, Nidaime-sama had some things to say about the Uchiha being discriminated against, okay?" Obito answered, peevishly. "Madara-sama wasn't wrong,""And yet here we are," Sakura sighed, yawning into her flattened hand. "Your plan failed and the world is still at peace." Thankfully Madara's weird undead body- wait, no, scratch that, he actually somehow completely revived himself- had been detained and every now and then she was to have a psych session (it rotated between at least a dozen med-nin in that field or ones with generally more power) with the second Hokage, albeit he needed to be restrained by twenty ANBU-level shinobi and having to have his chakra sealed.Once, he almost stabbed Sakura with a kitchen knife she was using to make a salmon sashimi with. From then she just asked Shisui and Itachi to come over and be her personal bodyguards against 'Grandpa Maddie-hime', and they dual-Susano'oed him into submission. Then the job in rehabilitating the dead-now-living Madara was transferred from the medical division to the Uchihas entirely, taking in their founding father with welcome arms. He and Mikoto- Sasuke's mother- actually became besties. Blergh. Her mom actually went shopping with the two of them a few times, it was gross.She thought it was gross when Itachi went through the 'nail polish and long, feminine hair' stage, but she grew used to it and actually missed it when his glorious tresses were trimmed down to his shoulders and his fingers grew calloused and uncared for. And Madara, he, too, was brimming with feminine charm. All Uchiha had some. (Maybe except Obito.)"I wonder who would have business in Suna of the jinchūriki," Kakashi-sensei looked bemused as he pondered the possibilities. "I mean, you had to enslave Rin and Naruto the last time you turned into the Juubi's jinchūriki. Maybe you could tell if you just remembered the signature? Aw, Obito. You couldn't kill them because you love~ them."Obito looked dejected, looking like 'I wouldn't dare hurt my darling wife! And your brat is actually a pretty nice person.' but he did just mumble in typical-to-his-lineage fashion."Was it a bigger political meeting? Maybe it was just Killer Bee," Sakura states, humbling the possibility of a reunion with the rapping Hidden Cloud man."Eh." Kakashi says without much thought. "Probably."..It's around when the sun drowns itself out of the horizon. Perhaps 6 or 7, but there seem to be a shortage of watches. Summer makes the days last quite a long time, after all.Tenten and Neji took out Sakura for some gyoza, insisting it a quadruple friendly hangout with 'Sasuke's memory'. Forgetting completely about her drunken creed, Sakura doesn't ask the Hyūga man about his 'person of interest'. Pushing the sake away this time, wettening her lips in memory of her first hangover- Karin merely cured the symptoms but the alcohol had lingered in her body to wreak havoc later."Where's Lee-kun, again?" Sakura asks, eating a side of anko dumplings that Tenten had kindly offered to her, winking, calling it a 'peace offering', which Sakura didn't completely understand but thanked her anyway for."It's a double-date for your dignity, not a Team Gai plus Sakura reunion," Tenten 'tsk'ed, shaking her head vigorously, taking a bite of Sakura's dumplings. "This place really is great! Choji recommended it to me, now I see why.""Tenten..." the pinkette stops for a second. "Double-date? What do you mean?"Neji coughs.Tenten coughs, too. "Well, you see, Sakura, we've-""You've," Neji corrects in a reprehensible tone."I've," Tenten says with a sneer on her face. "Ever since Sasuke came back to the village- you know, after making sure Kaguya wasn't going to start acting up again, the unpredictable rabbit-goddess she is," the dual buns on her head straddled back and forth as she motioned with her hands. "Team 7- your team, it's been quite the divide...""What she means is that you barely hang out with anyone anymore." says the Hyūga, quite bluntly. "Naruto's off finding romance- with my cousin," he growls out the last part with mock hatred in his voice. "Now that it's finally peaceful. And Tenten thought you've been too absorbed with work to relax and converse normally with your best friends.""Or maybe something even better?" Tenten adds."Oh...?" Sakura purrs, suddenly gaining vixenish quality with her half-lidded eyes. Her oddly seductive way of sitting up from her chair resembled a curling body of a snake lured out by the trance of a flute. "A-are you... insinuating that I should do... with Sasuke... the nast-""No!" Tenten yelps, switching to her iconic shocked face, her eyes turning blank as she tries to stop Sakura. "No-no-no-no, hundred times no, Sakura."Her wiggling eyebrows stop dead in their tracks, and her shadowed gaze turns back into a pool of shimmering, figurative innocence. "Hohhh, I was going to say 'nasturtium picking'. Ino suggested that a bouquet of nasturtiums would send a clear message to Sasuke that I was joking when I called him Tsundere..." When she received a very disapproving look from the couple, she rose her hands in defeat, sitting back down. "...and yes, I jest." the pink-haired kunoichi murmurs. "Anywho, I know we don't go out together as often... but I have a job, and he has a job. There are priorities, ya know?"Neji and Tenten look at each other. It's true that since the war, they've grown out of their childhoods. They are no longer adolescents- even their age-induced mental purity had been stripped since the very emergence of death and violence- their genin days- at the start of the chunin exams- so, now, when they had been through an entire world war, there was no argument. They were young adults- if they had been non-shinobi, they'd been fledglings leaving the nest, finally becoming independent and getting a stable income- renting their first house- maybe even starting a family. If anything, that crude innuendo was supposedly the only thing Sakura should be doing- providing the next generation of ninja to protect the village before she would possibly perish without doing so in the line of duty. This is how it had always worked.They don't mention it again.Sakura pays her part- a third, of the gyoza and bids the pair goodbye, and she heads to her home, after visiting a convenience store to buy a bottle of water... and some pickled plums. Something made her feel like she needed a cold shower, badly, but she compensated with a cold slurp of the clear liquid.As she headed homeward, she accidentally finds herself walking toward the direction of the Uchiha compound- what was she doing? She backs away, realizing her mistake.But then a familiar Uchiha slides behind her, with the same silence he always seemed to carry with, she stiffens at the sensation of his presence brushing closely to her light chakra field. It makes her back bristle with anxiety- because she knows who it is. "S... Sasuke-kun.""Kun?" it's definitely Sasuke, alright."Kun...?" Sakura repeats. "Sorry, oops. Sasuke. Hi, ...uh, darling." she turns around to meet his dark gaze, her lips quivering ever-so-slightly with nervousness. "Weren't you on that mission to Iwa or something...?""I was." he replies, nodding while closing his features."Was," Sakura repeats again. She was picking things up from Tenten and Neji."Stop that.""Stop what?""That.""That..?"In frustration, Sasuke just stops saying anything at all but brushes closer against her. Words mean nothing to Sasuke, if only Sakura would see that..."Want some.. umeboshi?" she offered, mostly out of the will to break the silence. "Here..." she doesn't even wait for a proper agreement or disagreement before just tearing open the plastic packaging and swiftly taking out the sweet stuff inside.After handing it to Sasuke, Sakura averted away from him, knowing full well Sasuke disliked sweets. "Here... anyway, I'm going home," she announced demurely. The titular man ahead of her was alluring as he was unavailable, but she didn't want to face him, not today.All that with Neji and Tenten saying that she should hang out more... with Naruto, with him. But Sakura's not a child anymore, okay? She doesn't want to be a liability. She's a respected heroine and to be continued to be classified as such she can't show her vulnerability. All is good, and good was hard to maintain.When they were supposedly 'in love' but barely talked, it just felt plain inorganic. Like she was devoting her emotions to a rock. But for the man of her dreams, a loveless relationship... though it hurt, she felt, was worth it, to keep lying to herself. Maybe it would be granted if she hoped strong enough. It worked with... Lee, I guess, with his infinite resolve for mastering Taijutsu."Sakura.. Take..." Sasuke says, his stare digging into her soul. He looked tired, there were faint bags on his handsome face and Sakura broke the contact. Why did his words hurt to listen to? But suddenly, he finishes his sentence- "...Take me with you." -and then the pain and suspicion melts away.She shrugs and decides to string him along. "I love umeboshi." she says, eating the pickled plum with delight. "Sasuke, you like it too, right?""I know," he says, taking one for himself and chewing into it, at first, hesitantly, and deciding he enjoyed the sweetness. Despite his utter dislike for the sugary flavor, he enjoyed it- like someone enjoying the bitterness of tea or the spiciness of wasabi while dominantly disliking those flavors. "I do.""Using the least amount of words possible to convey your feelings," Sakura sighs, eating the delectable prune with a widening mouth, smacking her lips briefly before chewing it. "So Sasuke-like. So utterly and frustratingly tsundere."He was silenced by the comment, looking agitated. "On second thought. I'm just going home." the raven-haired man retorts, stuffing his hands into his pockets before turning away. Sakura doesn't stop him, nor does she wave goodbye. "...see you. Sakura. Tch."If Sasuke could describe the heated romantic tension between them, he'd call it 'you're my insignificant other,' just to act all bitter and uninterested. But Ino was totally right. Screw that doubt or whatever, Sasuke totally is so obsessed with Sakura that he can't even stand being made fun of for that very fact."Tsundere." she spits, before opening her house's gates, looking back. "And I'm never seeing you again, loser!"- wait, why did she say that? Why did something in her tell her that she'd categorically never see him ever again? Why was there dread when she looked at him like he'd died and she was staring at a ghost?Sasuke looks like a lost puppy. (It's pretty cute, but not as cute as Naruto's adorable widdle whiskered cheeks. Guilt tripping won't work on her.) It's his turn to not say anything as his silhouette grows darker and hazier as he walks away. Immense contriteness floods in Sakura's chest, but she ignores it. She'll see him tomorrow, and he truly hadn't been hurt by her trivial comment on his 'dere' type, had he?Pay no mind... Sakura. Enjoy your umeboshi and imagine the good days, back when this silly excuse of a BF(F) was a spoiled brat who was even more hyperactive than Naruto himself. Mikoto showered him with love and Fugaku, well, with the Tsundere genes running well in the family, being himself. Itachi was no exception to this rule.Speaking of family... she wondered if her mom had prepared her dinner yet or what. She's an adult now, but the Obito/Madara incident has left her very little time to do things herself, so where's the harm? Mebuki likes cooking, to an extent. Too bad this trait didn't pass through- she [Sakura] was pretty tragic at it- couldn't even make curry without accidentally turning it a blobbish shade of neon green. Not to mention the blood-curdling food pills.But home is where the heart is and women, too, can only be won through their stomachs. And her abdomen growled in dissatisfaction. Plums, apparently, the measly amount in the mostly-air spare the silica gel and five plums in packaging were not nearly sufficient..."I'm back.""Welcome home,"Then, unexpectedly, the ceiling began to crack."Isn't that concerning?" says her mother, looking up at the crack. Mebuki and Kizashi then exchange glances at the interior blemish like its a particularly red and bulbous zit."It seems concerning," Kizashi adds. "Is that normal?""Oh, that's normal," Sakura says, observing the webby crease in the concrete above. Wait. Hold on. That's not normal.Huh..? Wait a second. Was there anything about this that was anywhere near standard? There weren't eight Kage, there were six. Why was Naruto alive? Neji? Sasuke-Obito-Rin-Madara-Jiraiya-Dan-they're all supposed to be dead! She wasn't- couldn't be in Konoha.. Konoha was destroyed! She was supposed to be in Kumo!And realizing the fault of her dream, Sakura frantically screamed...And it were those frantic cries woke her up.The room was slightly cold- she noticed it even before she opened her eyes. As realization began to settle in, she desperately looked for a clock or something to signal the time-- the ombre dawn was glowing beyond her window, the full moon dusting behind the vivid saturation. Sakura blinked, slowly, as her eyes and ears adjusted to the overwhelming sensation. "It's Toneri- he's here! Sakura, you need to leave!"When she understands, she's up- her supine body snaps back into place like a rubber band. "What? Now?" There's no time for mental preparation- no time. No time at all! Sakura can't even begin to imagine the collateral damage he's done already. Was he in Kumo? Or was it simply information relayed to them by the other countries?She's ushered out of her room by Kumo assistants, both in their shinobi gear. She doesn't have time to get dressed up- the end was nigh. (Although it's embarrassing wearing nothing but her pajamas, personal dignity is not a concern right now.) The countdown that had temporarily been paused started ticking again, this time, at a faster rate than before. As she stormed down the staircase, she saw chaos- everyone was screaming."Kiri was obliterated! One man, one man! One man did this!" cried one official, throwing himself at the wall. "We're doomed! Dead! To hell with the Hokage's plan, we're already too late!" another pulled at his hair, tears dripping down his rolls. "Iwagakure is done for, too, the Tsuchikage was killed in one blow- we're going to die!"It looked like a hillbilly gathering of 'The End is Near' crazies, but really, Sakura knew that they weren't psychotic lunatics. It was truth. "Our own Raikage!" cried one man, kneeling on the ground in dissolution. "Raikage-sama is dead!"No sign of 'Konoha is doomed,'-- not yet. She felt her heart collapse on itself at the same time as regaining traction. But Sakura ignored it the best she could, as she smashed through the doors and began running at top speed. The cave she was set to go to.. if she could reach it, then she'd be fine! The bag containing her scroll waved unbuckled at her side, bouncing off her thigh every step she took. No goodbyes.There were no goodbyes because this wasn't goodbye. Good always prevails over evil!Right?________________________________"I bestow total devastation for you, Hagoromo's failures!"Armies came in response to Toneri.The new sensations- the real, beating hearts, the bodies filled with blood and bones, like himself, not the wooden puppets that held no life, no love. The new people he met would not last another day, but he was solemnly grateful for their presence. Even if they were evil and filthy; no matter what they said or claimed to do. 'We'll protect Konoha!' 'Our friendship will defeat you!' So sweet, so childish, so naïve to their own vermin and disease. It rang like a serenade in his head as she slaughtered the useless drones, a violent but justified culling of the vilest creatures on the planet. Slash, splish, squish. This divine punishment was the only way secure retribution!The second coming of the earth! Oh, no, it wasn't he that should be grateful, it was them. They cared so about their earth that they threw away their lives for it, and yet they didn't realize it was them themselves who polluted it with false ideologies, insane rhetoric and merciless slaughter. He looked down at his victims, those tainted with his first taste of blood- and looked forward for the billions that would follow.It was so much fun killing those sinners. The ichor that infested their veins was a testament to their guilt! No less, no more, just the fact they had been syndicates to his ancestral devastation meant just as much as a blade to the throat. Hinata's clan, the Hyūga were moon-people like himself- less corrupted than the filth that went against his ancestor's decree: meaning she could be spared, being one of the purest of Byakugan, sans her young sister, without incurring Hamura's wrath- oh, beloved Byakugan-princess! How he loved her! The same princess who loved him!So when he finally annihilated all the strays wandering around, bloodthirst leaving his immediate thought, Hinata's memories became so clear to him. When he'd placed the orb within her, it was like they possessed a singular mind- those names, such as 'Naruto', 'Hiashi', 'Neji,'- even though he's never met them before, he can clearly decipher every detail she knows about them as if they were his own memories. But he feels rage. They've all hurt her, in some way or another, he feels it through her eyes.So he knew just who to target, who to make suffer.(If only he knew they were already dead.)So when he comes to 'Konoha'- the village where Hinata-hime came from, he is delighted by the destruction left behind. But that delight melts to ecstatic anger when a large force of shinobi comes to combat him- the strongest, he assumes, is the blonde woman in front, her aura tenfold to that of most of her men. They're alive, and they needed to die.With the snap of his fingers, a large ray of light goes smashing through the cataclysmic scenery. It explodes, in a neat line, and the screams of many rings out like a vociferous cacophony of birds. The leader of the group looks shocked. She's hurt. She's not happy, so he's ha-But he's surprised by a sudden brightening in this large-busted woman's eyes, as she smiles. He can barely register her face from so far away, but she sees the twitch in the faraway image.An ugly frown disfigures the Ōtsutsuki's serene countenance, and he charges another fatal light, this time, at the woman below.But a shrill cry deploys his bomb too early, and it explodes meters away from his hands, combusting mid-air instead of on the ground where it would engulf them in flames."I'll kill you if I must, Toneri!"It was Hinata; her fists plummeting into his back. Toneri gasped at the sudden assault, but his cyan flames swerved out of the way in the nick of time. "I will not let you harm the people I care for!" In a flash, his fiery grasp sent Hinata onto the earth, and she shrieked in retaliation.Even through his snowy-white skin, his light-blue eyes shining with the iridescence of the Tenseigan, he looked impossibly wicked. "Byakugan-hime, I did not expect you to betray my trust. But alas, you will do what I say..." his grip tightened around her wrist, and Hinata yelped in pain. ".. and as punishment, you will be rewarded with the deaths of those you love."Hinata screamed as he dug his claws into her chest, pushing a bulb of light in. As she fell backward, but not before digging her own fist into her chest, pushing the sphere out. "No!" she screams, dashing forward with rage in her white eyes.It hurts it hurts it hurts- he's never been betrayed before, for as long as Toneri can remember. What did this mean? Her love for this pathetic, cruel world exceeded that of the one she carried for him? Were all those words lies? Was he too hopeful? The flames almost spike into a hellish red as he grows cold. But as soon as the blood left his face, it came back with another emotion.It's anger- more than he's ever known, and it floods into his head.Toneri doesn't want to truly harm her- but she betrayed his trust. The trust he extended out to her and her alone. He's mad. "I suppose you don't have a choice," he tenses, grabbing both of her hands without the delicacy he has had before- this time, it's a martyrous cracking noise that rings out into the void. Hinata screams, loudly, like an animal dying in a trap, before falling limply at Toneri's feet."These hands... they will never defy me again!" he screams, leaving Hinata defenseless on the ground. Her arms were broken- she was a whimpering mess, her yowls unheard by her husband, who simply proceeded to abandon the attack, teleporting both himself Hinata back on the moon...It's only a few minutes later, after Hinata is safely locked up in the palace bedchamber. She won't betray him ever again once she has no reason to.The first person he kills that has any value, is the lady in the navy-blue dress, her hair pinned upward like a little fountain. Even though the lava she spewed as incredibly hot- a rare release type, indeed, she and her forces were not strong enough to stop them. 'Mei', was it?The old man with the big nose. He, too, was formidable, but like a dying flame- no, the last piece of earth clinging to a dirty rock, is washed away by Toneri's power. 'Ōnoki.' Not even the dark-skinned lightning-man with incredible speed can save them, as he falls. At this point, he doesn't even want to keep up with the number of fleeting features that come into view, even though his subconscious matches those blurry faces with names from his memory. They're all like ants to him- he doesn't even think of considering them unique anymore.Countless faces come in and out of sight, their determination wiped clean by the power of his fist. Toneri kills, kills, kills until he's completely deaf to the terrified screams. Civilians, he assumes, the defenseless, the sick, the weak, the children, the old. All dead.He goes back to 'Konoha' for one lengthy, sick look at the blonde woman, cowering, alone, as the sole survivor of his heavenly rapture. He beams, his teeth flickering between his sky-blue fire, as he begins mentally valuing her suffering. What would destroy her? What would make her just as sad and demented as...But he thinks its too much of an effort, and that he's had his fun, and the world should just be destroyed in a single wave of his hands instead of him killing off humankind one-by-one.Oh, to think he thought he was human? No, Toneri is not human, he is so much more. It proved to him when Hinata betrayed him that he had none of that cowering insolence!"'Tsunade', are you?" he asks but doesn't get an answer.Annoyed, he decides to finish her off. Boom.But she doesn't die- her body begins slowly rebuilding itself in front of him, the flesh reconstructing itself from the ground-up.She was interesting.________________________________Panting, Sakura made the arduous journey to the sacred cave underground. It was much like Konoha's shelter, so she first thought there would be evacuated Lightning citizens would be taking refuge there, but it was utterly empty under inspection.What she knew was that Killer Bee was to 'chaperone' her- well, more like just watch over her as she took in the Bijuu's chakra. She would have to be careful, however, as if her body was unprepared she could possibly die as a result of an overload of power."Bee? Hello? Hey, Bee!" she tried to find the jinchūriki of the Eight-tails- but perhaps he was arriving with the rest of the Beasts. A sinking feeling hindered her from making too much noise after that- you never know what your enemies could pick up. Had Toneri been in Kumo at the time- she was unsure.It only was a matter of minutes before the promised beasts made their appearance, and Sakura was feverishly holding her breath. Despite seeing them in tow during the final moments following the Great Shinobi World War, this was a far different context.Sakura sat in the corner of the cave, the sobbing tinkering in and out of her mind. Would she just give in to her desires and cry? If Toneri destroyed Kiri and Iwa, there was a possibility that Konoha had... no, it couldn't of.She doesn't know if she's the only person alive on earth now. What if she is- the whole situation pressures even her- a seasoned kunoichi who lived through the Fourth War at the front lines where she has seen it all.Eventually, though those negative thoughts were banished alongside the thundering footsteps of the nine Bijuu and an extra human guest.When Sakura saw Kurama, he had this hellbent, bittersweet expression that confused her- maybe it was difficult seeing his favorite jinchūriki's former teammate? The only other person with her was Killer Bee, the Gyuki's jinchūriki. (Also the only person who had a tailed beast sealed inside them in the world, ever since all the vessels perished, the exception being Gaara, who's Ichibi had been extracted years earlier.)She looked away from Kurama. Kurama meant Naruto and she wasn't willing to think of him at this time. Damn it, she was over the crying phase already. She really has a low tolerance for emotional stress, doesn't she?The internal troubles went away when the last jinchūriki started to holler out some beats. "Time to get it started, oh! Sakura-chan, yo! Start the assimilation, go!" the late Raikage's adoptive brother was still rapping. Even in the middle of the devastation of the entire planet. Thank you, god, for this one solace, for surely she would have gone insane with the intense pressure put on her for the whole entire world's only chance at salvation.Not knowing whether to dig an ostrich hole into the ground and shove her face in it or to actually consummate the plan in motion, she simply let a pair of parentheses form on the corners of her lips and settled for a half-way."Alright!" she yowled, a tad too enthusiastically. Her Rinnegan's tomoe performed an elaborate twirl and the beasts fell into a somewhat-trance. Their eyes shifted to match hers- and while the only jinchūriki seemed iffy that his partner was being 'used', this was the only way even hope of being able to gambol around in the sunlight again. Or rap, for that matter.A sudden prickle was detected in her hands- then it surged upwards to her shoulders. The pinkette twitched, unsure of if this had been pain- or something else. The electricity spread exponentially throughout her body, and the familiar Byakugo-like symptoms began to arise. The same kind of gravity-defying strength she'd experienced only a few weeks prior.When she was done with the ritual, she opened her eyes to see the beasts panting with tire. They'd be safe here, though; a giant underground cave was probably exempt from being abolished by an asteroid, considering the ground above would hit first. She summoned her Rinnegan portal- this time, with more ease than the time on the moon, and stepped out to where she had been when she left the Konoha shelter....Except that it had been obscured beyond recognition.The ceiling had been punted through and there was a stunning crater in the place of where... well, everything, was.In shock, Sakura stammered helplessly for a few, irritably gangling moments. She couldn't sense any survivors. There were no cries for help or bodies to be seen. Did this mean the entirety of the Land of Fire... died? Vaporized by the impact of the falling meteor? Or did they evacuate? Regardless of the answer, she had the scroll with her, she could fix this.. she had the chakra...Furiously, Sakura jammed her gloved hands into the satchel on her back. It didn't take long, but every wasted millisecond could make a difference. When she located the scroll, she yanked it out, eyeing it curiously before opening it-'This is it!'The scroll's contents were soon blurred by the sudden, snowy illumination- a brilliant arctic-blue light enveloped her, hindering her vision.________________________________"A shame. You were admirable- if only everyone were like you."Tsunade was probably the one stickler from the entire assortment of people he had battled that day. Unlike everyone else, she could take multiple hits. She always grew back, after each mortal wound, being tossed around like a ragdoll yet still remaining alive, rendering her practically immortal. She was interesting, unlike the others who were remarkably, on her level in terms of strength, possessed a life force that counterbalanced death itself.Eventually, though, she ran out of chakra. And like a candle without a wick, that woman's honeysuckle eyes grew matte and the black lines marking her seal regressed into the purple diamond on her forehead. Senju Tsunade, you will at least be remembered as having some value on the battlefield. Impressive.His pleasure did not last long as an unsettling thought reached the forefront of his mind. The orb of light he transplanted within Hinata allowed him to gain control over her- overtake her thoughts, as well as her body. Now, incapacitated in her room, she would be unable to try anything.Hinata-sama's mind was riddled with his stupid, golden sun-kissed hair and his idiotic smile. Toneri could sense every emotion- every sob that trembled from his lovely bride's being. His face never left her damn mind.Naruto-kun this. Naruto-kun that. It was so... endlessly aggravating! His crap-stuffing grin was unbearable, his whiskers tracing the sides of his cheeks. He was human and yet he had the marks of a beast! How foul- a real disgrace.Thinking of his brightness made Toneri sick to the stomach. Not even that one memory- the final memory of that douchebag, where his positively eleemosynary ruling matriarch had been puking, of all things, violently onto the ground compared to how disgusted he felt.It was a primal urge that ground his gears to no extent. The pieced moments of his description is frequently replaced by an explanatory and humble female voice, narrating a past event with him in it. No visuals, just this one voice paired with the darkness. Like Hinata-sama had been taking notes from a second party just to learn about 'Naruto'.Why did she think of him? She knows its useless to ask for help. Nobody can overcome the power of the Tenseigan- Toneri would obliterate all life within seconds if it weren't for the incitement of torturing this man who is digging at Hinata-hime's sanity. Maybe he doesn't know this, but 'Naruto' has hurt his beloved, sweet, (traitorous) Hinata-hime. The final memory of him he can dig up from her is his figure lying on the ground, muddy and clearly sleeping while Byakugan-himesama is shaking with sorrow.Inconsiderate little fool.Everyone- not that he couldn't stop them if he caught air of it anyway-capable of stopping the destruction of the Sage of Six Path's world is dead, spare the few strays he missed and the couple of shinobi that managed to escape the majority's massacre by foolishly hiding away somewhere. But those bloodthirsty rats would meet their maker very soon, so it mattered little.Naruto.. where to find Naruto. He doesn't remember ever killing him- he must be alive, because his memory is so fresh in Hinata's mind. Then he remembers- the night he secured his Byakugan, he saw the statue on the cliff-side- it was Naruto. He must be a bigshot in this.. 'Konoha' of theirs.Another mindly intrusion deviates Toneri's focus. This time, instead of Naruto alone, he's paired with a pink-haired kunoichi, a masked man in the middle, and a boy with the sassiest look of intimidation Toneri's ever seen. 'Sakura'. 'Kakashi'. 'Sasuke'. If he found those three, then he'd find Naruto and personally deliver justice to his front door.________________________________Identically to when she first came to Kumo, she landed on her bottom on a stone-cold terrain. Opening her eyes duteously, Sakura pursed her lips, distraught. The jutsu was supposed to send 'one to their genesis', so why was she clearly still an adult? Unless it sent her body back, too.. in that case, why was she here, of all places? She was born in a hospital, not a cave.The scroll in her hands held the answer. 'Body Flicker', it read. Just like how the Yondaime Raikage's was flashy and featured blue lightning, this was Kakashi's variant. His had summoned a pure stream of light in place of his regular, deadly Raiton. At the same time, it varied as a summoning jutsu. Her current Hokage was nearby.Turning herself towards her Kage, she clenched her fist, while observing it wondrously- testing her grip strength by grappling each of her fingers back and forth. "Sensei. An explanation, now."All the dotted evidence she had so far. The scroll not working, Tsunade refusing to volunteer, the mission being assigned to her.. just on the tip of her tongue.The pieces of a scattered kaleidoscope eventually made a whole picture, if you had the patience to match all the parts together.Her chest contracted as she envisioned Hinata's face. Things like 'puzzles' or 'parts of a whole' just made her remember. She couldn't stop thinking about it- when the knitted scarf(oh, could she stop with the references to Hinata?) that is your family has been ripped to shreds by distance and death, you mourn them, didn't you?Hinata had been taken right under Sakura's nose.Even when her single-tracked mind ran on a set path, she couldn't help but turn her head to the side once in a while.CrackHer knuckles were ready and her fists were balled. "Sensei..." she roared, her voice impossibly deep and rough. Kakashi visually tensed, as even the Copy Ninja himself feared the tempest of the Savage Pink Leviathan.The bargain of choosing either the life of everyone ever or letting Kakashi be spared of her wrath was like an obvious choice.It wasn't long before Sakura's trained eyes picked up on the petty state of her Rokudaime. He was scorched by the flames and his outfit was torn in places, especially after the destruction Toneri had inflicted the entire world with, just a half-hour prior. How he managed to survive was beyond her, but she was glad he did.Kakashi scrawled up by Sakura, clutching his burns desperately as he looked up to the pinkette. Why hadn't the scroll worked? Sakura was panicking- the Bijuu's chakra was swirling inside her, all this energy had wanted to just... explode! She bent down to his stature, before swiping a healing touch over his shoulder. She tsked as relaxation momentarily phased over what was visible of Kakashi's face, but was replaced by his previous strain. "I'm not healing the rest of that if you don't talk," she threatened.It seemed to work. "There is no Time Travelling jutsu... here, Sakura. You are simply the only one left with Obito's chakra... the one who has the information we need."The clues were making sense now - maybe in a retarded, sloth-paced way, but they were. "What!?" the pink-haired kunoichi gasped, disbelief clouding her judgment. "Why would you lie about this, Kakashi-sensei?""We needed to.. prevent.. p-public outcry. We needed you to believe this, too, because if you had known there was a chance that... well, you might not take it and try to fight Toneri yourself." And they both knew that would not have ended well."Oh." she sighed, before crouching over and easily repairing the damage her sensei had been racked with. As visible relief drew over the masked man, he gained the strength to stand up and guide themselves to a safer clearing..."Rinne Rebirt-"Her paltry sensei found this was the perfect time to finally remind her of a very crucial point. "Sakura, you know we don't have Obito's body."Sakura rolled her eyes and refrained from finishing her sentence. "Right.""And you'd die if you used that. Didn't you see what happened to-" as if speaking his former teammate's name was a sin, Kakashi chose that time to be a fairly sufficient one to hack out some congealed blood onto the grass. Sakura swore she'd patched him up into a privy! "-Obito?"After reviving Madara, the younger Uchiha in question's hair turned a disgusting ivory. Not even the salt-and-pepper of old age, just... white. While it wasn't the worst color, it was so emo- in the worst possible way. If her pink hair was exotic and her sensei's frostbitten silver was edgy, that white hair of his just screamed 'I'm emotionally broken'(and also an Uchiha).Sure, blood red or pure, unadulterated black (not the dark gray most had) were atrocious all the same, but white had reached peak prevalence when it came down to the Uchiha aesthetic. Hell, even Madara had white hair... twice.Yes, she got it. Uchihas had the 'Curse of Hatred' thing going for them, and that's what made their moralities perverse; but after passing through the tribunals of being a lovelorn wreck and an actual wreck(after being stabbed/emotionally abused/fatally wounded by an Uchiha), she was sick of their constant deplorable behavior. That was enough for Sakura to completely change her mind.The only way she could channel her anger in such a dire situation was humor, it seemed."Just do what Hagoromo did." her sensei implored.Ah, yes. The final moments before she was knocked out by Sasuke and returned only to find him and her other best friend dead. That was a good memory to recall.Remembering Obito's chakra- then calling it out of her circulation, was a difficult process. If she was correct, sharing her Yin release with another person (like she had with Kō or Obito) resulted in a little drawback of the receiver's Yang chakra- which wasn't a part of her natural chakra affinity. Thus, his chakra still remained within her -just like how Hashirama's chakra awakened Madara's Rinnegan- laid dormant, kind of like a benign tumor, within her system.She had contacted him through her palms (which had been on Obito's shoulders) so she channeled her focus there. Sure enough, Obito's signature was present, however weak it was. Her violet orb began to impulsively twitch shut, but Sakura willed it in her to keep it open. Dragooning herself to strain her Rinnegan like this was new- she only utilized it on the sporadic occasion, so there was no overexertion, but it needed to be done. "Outer Path: Pure Lands Soul Summoning Technique!"It was hazy, at first, like a small candlelight that was about to go out- but the blueness of her chakra grew into a resurging flame- and the two estranged friends were reunited once more. Obito's form was staring back down at them, a puzzled look on his face."I'm.. no. I'm not alive. Sakura? Kakashi? Did you two...""No, Obit-" the Rokudaime swabbed his forearm onto his lips, wiping some residue blood that pooled in his throat. "-o. Simply putting, the world's going to end, you better remember that time-traveling jutsu or we did this all for nothing."His blue form teetered to the side, as if contemplating something. "I guess I do. I've never actually done it because it's going to take a lot of chak-""I have the Tentail's chakra." The floating spirit's face contorted, looking ghostlier than possible. For god's sake, the guy was already dead (his hair was off-white, despite being dyed blue by the chakra and his face was still marked by the disfiguring spiral scar) and he looked like... worse than death. Sakura jittered internally before rephrasing her sentence, this time, in a more calculated manner. "No! I'm not saying the Tentails was... what I mean, is.. I have all nine of the beasts' chakra."Relieved, Obito's deathly expression resumed to a neutral. "Sadly, it's not a skill I can demonstrate," he said, pointing at the woman's left Mangekyou-Rinnegan hybrid in understanding. After explaining how it could "only be self-administered," as previously predicted."Before I do this, there's something I need to ask.""Sensei.. I have a question. The people in Kumo told me Toneri destroyed Kiri." Truthfully it had been screams directed to no one in particular, not a direct address to Sakura... however, that detail is trivial. "What happened?""So you haven't heard... I stayed behind from Konoha's remains because I knew the scroll would lead you to me. But at the shelter.. Toneri showed up, obviously undefeated by the Allied Shinobi Force's troops." he explained, carefully dodging the topic of her friends' current statuses. "I had a hunch it wouldn't work out. So I used a stronger version of the body flicker to disperse the citizens around the Land of Fire. Toneri got in, destroyed the camp and stormed off, looking for Naruto.""Why Naruto..?" Sakura's eyes widened. "He's dead.. why is he looking for him?""I don't know, but he knows who I am and who you are. You should be careful for the time being. Hide your chakra signature." Following his statement, Sakura tried to hide the insanely huge field of power to the best of her ability. The thing is, hiding your signature used up chakra, much like trying to close a box that has too much inside often led to spillage. So technically it was eating away at such a level that it was rather counter-intuitive since Sakura didn't usually have this much-shelved power.The kunoichi steadied, closing her lids in concentration. "...Okay. Obito, teach me how.""This technique is called the 'One's Life Genesis Jutsu'. Dragon. Hare. Tiger. Bird. Ox." His hands weaved the signs as he spoke them, slow enough to process fully. "Horse." he finished, but didn't bend his fingers to match in a triangular shape, and his voice went on unaccompanied. He couldn't demonstrate, after all."A variant of Space-Time jutsu and speed-enhancing tactics, it allows the compression of gravity and gathering of exotic matter to cause a worm-hole large enough to be stable. Hence why it takes a large amount of chakra." The scarred man drew an imaginary loop- which connected to another loop into the air to symbolize the worm-hole. "From there, the reason why I suppose Kakashi chose you, is the intense amount of radiation that comes from it. Your DNA would be fundamentally damaged beyond repair if you were just any person. Also, you'll be traveling faster than light through this tear in space-time and will be thrown back into the past.""Yeesh. It won't affect me when I officially come back as a kid, right?" Sakura didn't want to suddenly get cancer or die of radiation poisoning as a baby. If it meant her consciousness(soul) transferred back as well, would she have the same hormones and cranial structure? Or was the mind a separate entity, connected to her chakra? Was she going to perish early due to some somatic error or due to the Hayflick limit? (She already stressed her bodily functions with her Byakugo enough) Would this baby-bod work like a clone?!She was beginning to sound like Tsunade when she was listing off her worries! But it was justified, alright? If she died then everything would've been for naught. Who else has the Rinnegan and Creation Rebirth other than Sakura? Nobody! Breath. Sakura. Deep breath, 1.. 2.. 3.. exhale. Too late to turn back now, especially with all the 'catching up to Naruto posthumously' deal."No. It's just that... surviving the journey is pretty hard. Once you're past that, though, everything will be perfectly fine." Obito divulged, patting Sakura on the back with a transparent hand. "Don't worry... apparently.""Will you be alright here? After.. I leave?" turning to Kakashi, the pink-haired shinobi asks with pursed lips. "The world is going to end... I can't leave you to face Toneri. Do my actions change the world in this timeline... or am I creating a new one?" From the time-travel science journals Sakura had skimmed, there were a few noting the fact that time-travel, theoretically, wouldn't change her past. She wouldn't gain new memories all of a sudden just because she went to the past. If nothing she could do in this new reality would change the future she came from, it would be so bittersweet.Obito shook his head. "From what I know, since this change is a paradox- you won't be in your current body- it'll erase this future or pause it." That gave hope back to Sakura, and her concerned frown softened. Perhaps he was lying, but it didn't matter. "It's not purely scientific, after all. Chakra, as we know, was originally alien to humankind."Sometimes she thanks Kaguya for being the alien fruit-eating inter-dimensional traveler she was/is. Bending reality, logic, time, whatever. Screw science or the 'natural order of things,' chakra did what it wanted. "Kakashi-sensei. Obito." "Now, go," Kakashi says, extending his forelimb to her. "Go save humanity."She threw herself over her sensei in a familial hug. "Thank you, for everything. I promise to save this future. I'll never lose sight of my goal for as long as I live!" Truly, even if the last moment of this Kakashi would be her cracking her knuckles venomously at him, it was something to be cherished. She burns the faint blur of his silver tresses into her mind with the power of the Mangekyou, unwilling to forget. "... for believing in me, even when things are looking this down... I won't let you be disappointed.""You better, Sakura. You're my only remaining student. Make me proud." Kakashi began to smile a little, returning the gesture with a fatherly fondness. After a heartfelt silence, the Rokudaime's chin left Sakura's shoulder. "Hey, I'd like it if you didn't prank me as much the next time, you know? Also, tell Naruto to do the things his mom told him to, don't let Sasuke seek dangerous power. Maybe teach Sai a few things about being discreet in the right way.""Mmhm, yeah.. I will.""I'm sorry for never paying attention to you, Sakura. You always felt the need to be as good as Naruto and Sasuke... but you are special in your own way, and-" -but suddenly he stood up defensively, breaking away from the embrace. "Sakura. I feel Toneri's chakra signature. It's coming closer..!"Sakura, too, noticed the immeasurable source of power shine like a flaming beacon in the darkness. She didn't recognize it- his chakra hadn't even held a candle to the puissance of this incoming projectile, but if Kakashi said it was Toneri-He noticed them- he was coming for them! The seconds were clocking in more sluggishly than Sakura had processed, and thus the mere fractions of this minuscule measure of time started losing momentum. Her perception began dulling to slow-motion, as her body dragged behind her racing mind. Her chakra pooled into her core, the suppression cleared and now a dark halo around Sakura's figure. Remember- dragon- hare- tiger- bird- ox- horse!"Sakura! Now!" Obito yelled..."One's Life Genesis Jutsu!"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A breath of wind and scatter of leaves brushed Sakura's bangs away from shadowed eyes, revealing her mismatched pupils, now glowing in a similar yellow shade the moonlight. The moon- which was broken and powdered, yet appeared so much larger than it had been in the night sky ever before- it was drawing nearer the earth every passing second.The weight of the earth rests on her shoulders, the fate of each living being on this planet she calls home is reliant on her. Obito had taught her moments ago- and now it had become her millstone to complete her mission.Dragon- hare- tiger- bird- ox- horse! The hand signs came in and out, the fluid motion of her fingers too fast for her own right eye to see.It was all because of his dampening presence- Toneri- drawing closer and closer, his signal bursting in volume as he neared the clearing. His footsteps were grinding the brittle rock underneath, the crunching audible from even where Sakura was standing. Time was running out.Suddenly, a stream of light blinds her- much like an explosion. The nearby flora is immediately charred with a cobalt blaze, and Sakura doesn't even have as much time as to blink before those footsteps turn into cries.Fire was spreading rapidly across the scenery- a wisp of azure flame caught in her vivid locks, but she battered it off with haste. The cacophony of Toneri's breathless vociferation- "Where is Naruto?!" blends to the orchestra of the crackling fire. Through the bushes, his ebbing and flowing cloak descends into the clearing, the hate in his flowered eyes turning the peaceful lilac into a treacherous storm."You! You're Kakashi, aren't you? You know where he is!" As Toneri's vexation suddenly turns to her sensei's- the tantalizing plumes of the rapid oxidization dances up her legs- but she doesn't care, the adrenaline pumping in her veins going on overdrive to mask out the unbearable sensation.Toneri's ire manifests itself into his fists- charing towards Kakashi at an unpredictable speed- but as the danger comes into close quarters, Sakura intervenes. "Amaterasu!" she yells, the all-encompassing flames beginning to devour its sapphire brethren. 'It's only a temporary measure- it's only temporary- everything will be over, soon-'Unable to control the hellish power without the presence of the second Sharingan, Sakura just murmurs a silent prayer to the gods. As Toneri falls back in awe of the blackened attack, he flinches, opening up just the right amount of time for her to finally perform the jutsu."Sakura, now!" screams Obito, grabbing onto the pinkette's shoulder. His head is turned to Kakashi in their final adieu- his blue spirit flickers and shimmers like a dying supernova and his form scatters back into Sakura's body- re-absorbing his chakra. Every part counted.The Rokudaime looks at his final student now, black pools softening before she annunciates the decisive words-"One's Life Genesis Jutsu!"As soon as the '-u' is finally pronounced, Sakura feels the ground swept beneath her. She's floating- she's flying- she's moving in such a rate her mortal senses cannot keep up at all- everything she sees is a shadow of the past- she sees a rainbow ring in the center of her vision, which slowly lessens in size, until the bright blue dot in the center of her sight is the last trace of worldly light in view. Pain unlike anything she's ever endured comes from all corners of her limbs, into her chest, her head, the wholeness of a united agony so strange to experience. Not even the cloying fire running up her thighs, born of Toneri's resurgence, has compared to half of this pain.She is everything and she is nothing. All begins and ceases to exist. Rolled out into the thinness of a noodle- smushed back into a pea all at the same time. Her power drains away, yet it is still as bountiful as when she had first cast the jutsu. Sakura's head rings in an endless echo, a back-and-forth, repetitive noise that will not go away. An annoying buzz, a constant gong being crashed and cymbal-ed over and over and over- it's all in her head- she blocks her ears through the warping, but it only sounds to a louder volume. She wants to scream, but no noise leaves her throat. Or, perhaps it did, but it had been left behind miles ago like a man jumping off a racing train.For the third time this week, Sakura is having a near-death experience; she's a little number to the shock. After all, Sakura's that type of person: self-sacrificial, try-hard. Death doesn't scare her anymore, she noticed, after losing everyone- she only realized Kakashi had declared her his 'only living student' just then and knew they had perished as well.Much as if that solemn realization had been the key all along, the echoing stops, the pain ceases, and there is nothing. Crisp sensations dull into a lousy slumber, and everything goes to a desensitized flatline. She is left with only her thoughts.________________________________Following a routine checkup at the gynecologists', Mebuki Haruno finds herself sat down by the doctor. "Congratulations, Mrs. Haruno!" When the woman blanks as a response, the doctor is quick to affirm her; showing the results himself, a paper laden with happy news befit a new mother. "You're pregnant- the due date is April the 3rd- you're three months in, already!" her face is stilled by the declaration, but it's not before the stiffness is replaced by an ear-to-ear grin.A son or a daughter, which one would it be? She dreamt of having a bouncing baby boy or girl to sit in her lap and tell him/her stories. After her whirlwind romance with Kizashi Haruno and her timely marriage to him, she was always sure they would have a child. A first-time mom, Mebuki was unsure what to think of it- perhaps she would ask around.Walking down the street, she sees Mikoto Uchiha and her young son talking to Kushina Uzumaki- or, we could now say, Namikaze, chatting. "Oh! Mebuki?" the Uchiha matriarch notices her slinking by, even without the keenness of a Sharingan. "Hello, what are you doing here?""I'm... uh, I came back from the hospital," Mebuki said with a strained voice. Wasn't it more customary to tell her husband first than her friends? Oh, well, she didn't like lying, and since Mikoto was an experienced mother maybe she'd give her some sound advice..."You're not hurt-dattebane?" Kushina yelped, looking quite distressed at Mebuki's slouched position and what looked like a limp from her perspective."No, no. It was for something else," she admits, regaining a straightened posture and a beaming smile. "Kushina, you should have one too!" she says before skipping away.'Daww, Mikoto's son was looking at her weird but, at least the war had been done and over with.There was always a resurgence of babies after a period of war, so maybe Kushina would heed her advice and have one herself. Even despite her overtly ambiguous hinting at such a thing.Anyways, Kushina would have it good when she had a child. The Yondaime Hokage was a marvelous husband- and more decisively, he made an amazing househusband. At least every time she went over to Kushina's, he was the one cooking, he was the one doing the chores, and boy, were the dishes sparkling and the food delicious. Or maybe its because they had guests over."...A checkup?" The redhead mumbled with a look of consideration on her face. "I guess it doesn't hurt.".."Kizashi-sweetie! Are you home?" she calls out, sparkling with happiness. She spots the locks of carefully gelled hair peeking through a blanket, snoozing off in the living room. "Guess who's going to be a dad?" she loudly proclaims, making sure to scream this in his ears.Kizashi groaned as he woke up from the couch, obviously taking a nap on his one day off. He wasn't a lazy man, but he was tired out from work. "...You?" he says, groggily, drugged under the haze of sleep."Me." Mebuki repeats sarcastically, rolling her eyes deeply as to roll them back into her head. "Really, Kizashi?" disappointedly the woman sits right down next to the man and pouts. "You are going to be a father, so sit up-"The pink-haired man suddenly sat up straight and squawked like a duck. "Whhaaaaaaaat." he inhaled sharply first, pitching his voice high before it slowly raised down to a low rumble in his chest. "Mebuki, y-you're-""Yep, I'm due on April the 3rd," she beams, and Kizashi hugs her tightly. The couple embraces happily, erupting into a fit of giggles and laughter. "Names?" she says, snorting at the thought."Isn't it too early?" Kizashi sniffles, but still begins rubbing the very slightly swollen belly of his wife like she was a round and full nine months. He then jokingly pulls out quite the expected sentence- "You were just pregnant, but I thought you were getting fa-"Mebuki gave a hard slam to the top of his head- thank goodness for his unbelievably dense and cushiony hair he didn't get a concussion. "Kizashi..." she warns through clenched teeth. "Don't finish that sentence or you won't have a mouth to talk out of.""No, really, but what kind of name?" Mebuki continues, playing quite the innocent role. Kizashi groans at her innocuous ploy, dragging his hand down the length of his face, brushing against rough stubble.Eventually, they decide on 'Hana'- 初夏 - if it's a girl- a flower, a budding blossom that blooms past winter. 春野はな; her name will mean a new growth during summer, a new phase in both the Harunos' and Konoha's lives. If it's a boy, they will name him 'Chikashi'- 親 - for just like the female counterpart it stood for a blossom of hope and a will for the future. A child is their hopes and dreams, and she feels excitement whenever the thought crosses her mind.________________________________Six months fly by. The Haruno household is now filled with child-proofed buffers, stairgates, a crib with an interactive mobile, bottles with formula stockpiled in the back, clothes for neonatal children. As she had thought, Minato and Kushina Namikaze announced their new status in parenthood and even the Uchiha welcomed a second unborn child. Many others such as the Hyūgas or Naras, even the Aburames, and Inuzukas announce the birth of new children.She wonders if her child will get along with them, will they become friends? Will perhaps one of them become more. Oh, my? How presumptuous. Hana or Chikashi wouldn't dare dream to be a shinobi, no, no. It was only normal not to. Nonetheless...Even as an expecting mother she daydreams of the day her grandchildren would look back with large, watery eyes, murmuring whisps of 'grandma' and 'grandpa' [of course, referring to Kizashi] while she hovered over them (like the helicopter-grandparent/parent she was/is).Then she'd be seasoned and elderly... kami forbid the onset of wrinkles, the loose skin, the sagging, the white hair and loss of sense. She didn't want to be senile but that is the price to pay for grandbabies. Where would she get retired?She always liked Sunagakure, despite it being a desolate desert without as much as an oasis to provide cool in the blazing sun. That's why she's had her honeymoon there, despite Kizashi's constant complaining about the oncoming heat stroke (and equally common cases of dehydration). Perhaps when their daughter- as the doctor had pointed out after a routine ultrasound would enjoy it too. Maybe a vacation was overdue. The retirement thing was too much commitment to a distant future, byway of around thirty or so years, so she dismissed the thought. Being an old Suna native versus an elderly couple who lived in the temperate Konoha conditions before moving there was begging for an early release.Vacation-planning was arduous... so maybe not today, but next week. Next week sounds nice.Or.. maybe next month? Next-next month. Next year.Nonetheless, Mebuki eventually forgot- keeping it only on the back of her mind, just but a lingering thought.The days were getting longer and longer as December passed, bringing soft snow and incrementally further moonlit 6 o'clocks. March rolls around to Hanami season, which was well considered in alignment with her expected arrival; she, as they'd found out, was due early April or late March. The season of bloom."My Hana," Mebuki pats her growing stomach. The tender life within, what would she look like? Where would they go? Each of her hopes and dreams implanted them firmly on this unborn child, a wistful, hopeful-yet-I'd-love-you-always kind of thought pooled in fragments.Each passing day, throughout the sickness and happiness grows more and laborious in wait. It wasn't hard to become impatient.Eventually, the day does come. The buildup of nine rigorous months of daily sickness and odd cravings, the release had come to the rescue, but it was a pyrrhic victory..."KIZASHI HARUNO, YOU WILL PAY FOR DOING THIS TO ME! I'M NEVER HAVING KIDS AGAIN!" ...is what the hospital halls were filled with, echoing down each corridor and every room...Relief is washing over Mebuki- the pain that straddled her body has now relaxed, and she is calm.The doctor hands her the newborn with gloved gentleness, and finally, the Harunos are a family of three. When Mebuki notices the pink hair growing like a patchy grassland on her head, she wants to say the name out loud- Hana- finally- she'd waited nine months for her arrival- "Ha-"But then again, as he hadn't spoken in a while, agape in awe of his newborn daughter, Kizashi dawns upon his delayed reaction and interrupts her."Her hair- it's so pink." he muses, eliciting a glare from the glowering mother before him. Sheepishly, he continues his thought, if with a lot less enthusiasm:"Mebuki, you know, why don't we name her... Sakura?"Mebuki stares weirdly at her husband as if months of planning had been thrown out the window- which in fact it did. "Wait, what? We decided on Hana, re-mem-ber?" she says, weakly, but surely. Absently, Kizashi takes his baby in his arms, coddling the child happily, chuckling as he rocked her."Sakura!" he says, and the child, somehow not bawling, seems to smile or twitch in response. "See? She likes the name, let's go with Sakura. For her hair."The man knows the rest of the year will be just as joyous.Only it wouldn't.________________________________One tranquil, soundless night is disrupted by a sudden roar. It reverberates through the house, shaking the furniture and fine china stocked on the shelves. Mebuki jolts awake and tugs Kizashi into a state of awareness as well, though it takes a few seconds of loud screaming and violent coaxing. Looking out the window is a terrifying beast- orange pelt, red eyes as thick and ghastly as blood, with long, threatening claws. Nine furry tails twisting and turning in tandem, and the sight of a raging fire and destroyed nearby buildings leaves the two of them utterly speechless.Her mouth gapes open uselessly as she scurries to her precious daughter Sakura- who seems almost distraught by the fiasco, before evacuating their home as quickly as possible. The streets are chaos, people are screaming senselessly and thrashing about in shock. The discord does not calm down even with the introduction of protective shinobi, who are plucking the crazed civilians into safety. Soon enough, they were rescued as well.While Kizashi never dabbled too far into shinobi business without his wife's utmost consent(perhaps they deemed it too dangerous to even mention), but he recognizes the beast- not by its riveting orange fur or monstrous fangs but the nine swirling tails on its back. Frozen in shock; it takes a little more than a dozen moments of analyzing and reanalyzing for the Harunos to click that their only viable path was to escape.They didn't know who had been its Jinchūriki; Kushina's status had been well-guarded, at least from the general population, her entire life.He doesn't get to see that Kushina has died. He doesn't get to see Minato performing the Reaper Death seal on half of the Nine-tails then sealing the rest of it into his son. He doesn't even hear about until a few weeks later.The two of them only come back to the city the very next day, in ruins...Kizashi looks away bittersweetly. Their lives had been spared from this tragic time, only a year after the last Shinobi War had ended- conflict was a never-ending cycle in this world, it seemed. But not without the cost of another."No.." she can only whisper as Kushina and Minato Namikaze's names are among the deceased. She cannot say anything even when she's present at their funeral. She doesn't cry- they weren't that close, and the baby boy that they had was a demon- the Nine-tailed monster that murdered his own parents.Come to think of it, the same thing had happened to the Kazekage's son and mother. Maybe Kizashi was right in loathing Suna.At least he was a baby boy until he had the beast sealed inside him. Then the line was a thin one; just plain awful, that a parent could do this to their own child. Subjugating then to life without future, only to be judged by the beast within.She knew, and hypocritically yet she still judged the infant- cuddled up in a caretaker's arms, eyes closed and unidentifiable, only to be recognized by the saffron shade of his spiky hair. It reminded her exactly of Kushina's husband. She never would have believed the two would do something so devious, but, perhaps it was for the best in the long run; and the other choice, may it be born or aforementioned cowardice or love, to flee would be a demeaning and selfish option.Some questions didn't have perfect solutions, after all.The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi took his role back from retirement and declared that nobody ever mentions this incident ever again.She can't blame him for the condemnation, maybe he wants to be able to look over Konoha again- his wife has died that day; so had his apprentice's prodigy and both Hiruzen's own would-be (and short-lived) successor.Perhaps listening to her friend- once-friend chatter about her childhood had its downsides, too. If there was one thing worse than knowing too little it was knowing too much.Mebuki isn't a shinobi. She's not someone who has had to suffer being a broken child who fought through war. But that doesn't mean she doesn't empathize. Everyone she meets- even the little girl in her crib seemed to wail slightly in shared sorrow; never too loudly, like it was but a disregarded secret. Kizashi shakes his head, holding their child up to his chest while rocking her to sleep.Mebuki holds Sakura in her arms, sniffling as she observes the chaos being molded back into order- reconstruction, rehabilitation. So many lives were lost, and...This is why she never became a ninja. They live fast, die young, and there's no predictability in your life. Minato and Kushina were perfect examples of a happy couple- and now a percentile in a research paper for death among shinobi-kind. They didn't deserve it- Minato especially- he was Hokage for far less than a year before he died, so his face stood barren on the mountainside without as much as a single achievement (as Konoha's Kage) next to his name.She didn't want a friend to become a decimal point in a percentage or to be forced away from society because of a misconception. But it happened regardless of what she wanted- or what the other mothers wanted.Only the Sharingan could control a Tailed Beast- the council is highly suspicious. They place an order upon the Uchiha Clan to be moved into a singular complex to be monitored constantly. "'The Uchiha will now live in a compound'," Mikoto sighs, sorrow folding over her eyes, repeating the order of law in one hand, as if she couldn't believe what she was reading. Although the elders had just said this was for their own safety, she knew better. Everyone believed an Uchiha, one capable of controlling the beasts with the Sharingan, was the perpetrator. As ridiculous and counterproductive that action of harming their very base of operation sounded there was no other scientific explanation. Her youngest son is in her arms, wailing as if he knew what was happening, and the mourning has dulled her lachrymose eyes to a sullen, dry, parchment-gray.They bid the cheery- well, as blitheful one could be in her shoes, farewell, not knowing what to do. "I'll see you around, Uchiha-san," she mutters, giving Mikoto a clandestine stare.________________________________Three years pass.She's three years old, Sakura Haruno.She's nothing like her past self- she'd not a meek child- at least, internally. It's the earliest, fully cognitive thought she can remember- everything from her birth to her infancy remained in obscurity, most likely due to her body suppressing the trauma of new life. So when she becomes two and a half and says the first lengthy sentence, her parents are overjoyed.She chooses these words without much thought, but they seem to have a significant resonance within her parents. It's a hot summer day, and it's when her mom offers her a popsicle. "Thank you," she said, mostly on reflex. The next phrase is something like "for the food," but the insignificance of the saying makes it immemorable.The first time she distinctly notices that she is looking into a mirror, Sakura comes to the conclusion that both her eyes were her usual emerald-green. Her Rinnegan didn't stay- and if it did, her parents would've been freaking out and people would stare. She wasn't bullied as a three-year-old, children that age were too innocent to go picking on others. At first, it was weird not having her abilities anymore, but she never used them in the first place- (but having the option to resort to them was always reassuring)- but she got used to it.Mebuki loves singing songs to her- a quality her mother lacked the first time around. It's odd- Sakura has never cried as a tot, earning her the moniker of an angel. While she doesn't recall why her mother enjoyed singing her lullabies, she assumes it was because of her baby's odd sleep schedule. Weirdly enough, her psyche had remained intact and thus she followed a semi-regulated sleeping pattern, as fuel to her parent's constant (passive) boasting. There's already differences-which worries Sakura, but she concludes that her personal family life has had no grand ripple effect in the community.She's often taken out to visit other mothers (and their children) of the village; heck, she's even met people much too reserved and therefore largely unlikely to be out-and-about like Neji Hyūga, the icicle contending only to Sasuke post-death-of-his-entire-family. (But much like Sasuke, Sakura ended up declaring Neji not the same man as he was when he was three as she concluded he was not always a silent type.) Not that three-year-olds had interesting conversations, but Mebuki's role as a member of the Konoha Mothers Alliance makes her a socialite of sorts.One day, she meets Hinata Hyūga and Kō, the pair walking down the street. The short-haired Hinata looks away shyly, not returning Sakura's intent stare. Mebuki turns to face Sakura as she freezes to a stiff statue in the middle of the street, eyes glued onto her former friend. A frivolous fire the strangest cyan shade comes to her mind, a bitter pain dulled by years of time spanning over her body, before a sharp yank breaks her concentration.A desolate feeling reminds her of a past event. The tug of her heart begging her to cry. Sakura doesn't understand why this memory makes her so woeful...Flower-viewing festival is at its fullest during mid-April. Sakura and her mother attend the town square meetup to watch the languid falling of cherry blossoms and to eat dango at the vendors. As her mother hands the money over to saleswoman, giving her daughter a stick of the sugary ricecakes. Sakura sucks away at the dulce, enjoying the taste. While she is distracted, she doesn't notice another family come walking over to the stand.It's been a while, hasn't it? She hasn't met with any Uchiha in three years.Sakura had last met Obito as she departed with her sensei while Mebuki hadn't seen Mikoto since the Kyubi incident. Mother and daughter both had elation fill their hearts as they turned to familiar- yet fresh faces of those whom they'd known in the past(or the future?)"Oh! Mikoto. I haven't properly seen you in so long! Did you bring your sons? Look how much Itachi has grown. So has Sasuke! He's the same age as Sakura?" her mother says."Mebuki! Yes, it's been a while. Your daughter is looking adorable as ever. She's three, right? Sasuke's around that." an unidentifiable voice flaunts back. "Itachi, have you met Mrs. Haruno's daughter yet? Go say hi."Sakura is snapped out of her reverie by Mebuki tapping her on the shoulder, and the dango almost falls out her hands. She glances to the side- and it was... it was... the face on the bingo book, the red Catherine spinning-wheels turned onyx- the nightmarish scowl now a childish grin- it was Sasuke's brother!"My name is Itachi." says the eight-year-old boy in front of her with kindness she didn't expect. And, oh, look at that, he's already a ninja. There's a nicely polished forehead protector is right on his head to testify to this fact. "Hello, what's your name?"She then sees a young Sasuke cooped up behind Itachi, tugging on his sleeve defensively, glancing at her and then at his brother, switching back and forth. Actually, he's holding on for dear life on his older sibling's robes, the cautious distrust written all over his chubby cheeks. So they were really that close before... that happened.It's hanami season and the smells of spring that flowed through her window as a nineteen-year-old comes back with a feeling of strong nostalgia.This is.. two years too early. She was initiated in the Academy the year she met Sasuke and that was when she was five."MynameisSakura!" she blurts, the phrase blending into a catastrophic tangle of words- which was understandable because she only just realized that she had been standing there, staring into the void, saying nothing. Great first impression for your possibly-now-not-future-best-friend.Somehow, he understands. "Hello, Sakura-chan," The elder Uchiha smiles but turns to his little brother, who is practically fluffing up with discomfort. He starts to mumble in a motherly tone to his younger brother, trying to push him to interact with someone else besides him."Come-on, Sasuke. Introduce yourself. Do it for your aniki, it's time you made friends..." (Which was kinda brutally honest on Itachi's part, actively insulting yet- only looking out for his brother at the same time.)After thirty inelegant seconds of convincing- which most three-year-olds would've probably lost interest by now and fled the scene, but Sakura had stayed, being the mental adult- he relented. "S-sasuke. I'm Uchiha Sasuke."She hopes when Sakura offers Sasuke her hand, that he will not push her away. She doesn't want to give him unwanted attention like before- she doesn't want to become just one of his fangirls.. even if her feelings go further than that- she wants to be his friend, not his clingy lover. Even so, without thinking, she smiles widely and draws near- quite an aggressive gesture- "Okay! Let's be fwriends, Sasuke-kun!"Surprisingly, through held breath, Sasuke takes her hand and shakes it, reciprocating the deed. "Y-yeah." And 'twas the start of a beautiful friendship.________________________________"Sasuke-kun," Sakura says, gently, side-glancing the young boy. "Why don't you play with the other kids?"The park is busy and people are flooding in in this tranquil Saturday evening. Itachi has a day off after a mission well completed and is looking over the two children, as per Mikoto's request. "They... they annoy me," he answers with a grunt. "The girls, more than the guys. They won't stop bothering me, I hate it.""Bothering you with what?" Sakura asked, knowing plainly what that 'what' was. But a maiden shall play coy."Stuff." Sasuke regresses into his emotional shell, avoiding the question with a half-hearted reply. Sakura peers at his sneer before turning away from him. "...nii-san has to deal with it, too," saying it more with an asking, unsure tone, Sasuke darts over to his elder brother, who wasn't really paying attention to the small duo's awkward conversation.While Itachi wasn't paying attention, this did not mean the omnipresent Uchiha was in any way startled by the sudden bearings of his brother's throwing himself at him. "Oh? What's wrong, ototou-kun?"He puffs his cheeks up annoyedly as if expecting his sibling to perfectly understand every non-legible mumble he had blabbed onto to Sakura. "Nii-san! You weren't paying attention!" he says angrily, kicking the dirt below him childishly. The dust cloud dissipates, settling some dirt on Itachi's snowy white bandages, but Sasuke pays no mind to the slightly dejected expression his brother is giving."Sorry," he apologizes softly. "But, Sakura-chan is willing to listen," he says with a brotherly intuition. In his mind, getting him to rely on others besides himself(Itachi) makes Sasuke evolve in the terms of his already limited social skills."Yeah? I am." Sakura cheers, swirling a strand of her pink locks between her fingers, twining it with a loose curled-over knot before releasing the thing, letting it splay on her shoulder. "Sasuke-kun, I'm sure I'll be able to help you out!"The smaller Uchiha squints accusingly at his brother, before taking a hint of a look at Sakura. Then back to Itachi-niisan. "But she doesn't know-" Itachi puts a finger on his brother's lips, silencing him."Sure she doesn't right now, but she'll understand, right?""But she might say-""Might," Itachi clarifies."Ugh," Sasuke moans.Sakura is almost impressed at Itachi's quick subjugation of his aggravated sibling. She appreciates the support that he's giving her, she could say. Friendship with Sasuke came in many different steps, as she experienced first-hand on two separate occasions, so she figured that it would be a fact to accept he wasn't going to be responsive or open about himself. Unless it came down to his brother or the rest of his precious family coaxing him out of the dilemma."Sakura." Sasuke groans this time, with a very noticeable 'I'm only talking to you because I'm seriously obligated to say this, not because I wanted to,' vibe emanating from his every being before he turns sharply to her. "Annoying girls chase me around, I don't like it."Pause. Sakura appears to think for a second."Have you.. ever told them out loud that you don't like it?"From experience, Sasuke's lack of response to a child Sakura had given her a sort of hope- it's only when Sasuke actually responded negatively that she was disheartened. The smallest of gestures were turned into hints of romance in her overthinking, semi-hormonal preteen brain and she assumed the aloof Uchiha was no more than bluffing every time he had coldly pushed her away. So maybe, as an ex-fangirl, could understand their mentality."...I... no, I didn't." Sasuke murmurs with seceded bewilderment."Well, you know, you could give it a try," Sakura states, elongating the 'could' to add a hint of persuasion."I don't want to talk... I.. fine," having no other choice, Sasuke pouts again and whips his head away from Sakura's direction. The pinkette grins.________________________________Setting aside the fact that Sakura had found Itachi scary, he wasn't a bad guy. The stereotype of him being a bloodthirsty, completely psychotic man who would kill her on a whim was quickly overtaken.Moreover, she noticed that he was a more interesting person that thought of previously. He wasn't a bloodthirsty precursor of a future ANBU, he wasn't a problem child who showed obvious signs of a mental issue, and instead, he was a surreptitious 8-year-old who somehow had the wisdom of a council of old sages, sprinkled in with some childish innocence and curiosity. Of the Uchiha she frequently interacted with, he was the more lean and accepting fellow. "Ita-niisan, what's that?" asks Sakura, quite wondrously (she knows clearly what that is, but she shouldn't). Itachi is holding a little paper box in his hands. On the front is a generic brand of cough suppressant, and Itachi slips a pellet onto his hand by popping the packaging."Allergy medicine," Itachi says, glugging a sip of water before swallowing the pills."What are you allergic to, Ita-niisan?"He doesn't answer. Rather, he stiffens and sets it aside, hand gliding down the side of his sat posture.Why in the world this boy felt the need to hide his allergy like it was some kind of detrimental weakness- to a toddler, no less, Sakura did not even begin to ponder. (Her first thought is to ponder the ruthlessness of a Clan's head branch; perhaps even minimal deficiencies were shunned) But she knows, from the few moments she's had with Chibitachi, that he isn't going to bend like hot iron, even under her vaporous cuteness. "Okay, nevermind, then."Kind and alluring, yet secretive and powerful. No wonder Itachi had a fan club all on his own. Sasuke's likability came from his aloofness and cool behavior, paired with (current) adorability.People tended to cling onto figureheads that were unachievable- whoops, not to brag, but there had been a Sakura Fanclub too, just only after the 4th War had it been properly founded, however. It largely consisted of newer generation shinobi who previously would have looked up to Tsunade, but as Team 7's era's Sannin's last surviving member she was sculpted as one of the three shinobi gods of the war and thus rose in visibility. Like a new Madara-Hashirama-Mito trio."Itachi-kun." At first she thought she heard the wind wrong."Itachi-kun!" Then she assumed a friend of his had come along."Itachi-kun!!" Perhaps something happened? It sounded like multiple voices screaming in unison."ITACHI-KUN!" Owowowow my ears ow—Speaking of fans, there were quite a few of them storming by- all girls of ages through six and twelve, featuring a nice mix of genin and academy students(some who previously had Itachi as a classmate, and the genin who had him now) suddenly swarming the boy, who had barely gulped down the small cup of water, like a hive-minded gang of wasps. And like their namesake, the girls cried out in unison- "ITACHI-KUN!!"Sakura's little kid ears could not take the intense Hertz of the ravenous scream, and she blocked the sides of her head with her small palms, face scrunching up in dismay. Her first encounter with the fangirls, who already seemed insufferable enough as a first impression, wasn't going too well. "Ah.. yes. I'm currently occupied on watching some children," Itachi says. "I'm busy. I'd greatly appreciate it if you left me alone,"He was talented in the art of excuse-making, as he was talented at kunai-throwing and flame-blasting. It was no surprise mental deceit was part of his evolving arsenal.It may seem plain at first, but there were a few signs of ingenuity; if he had said 'Watching Sasuke' or 'Sakura' or both, one, Sasuke would be in danger of being prowled on by the elder, more ferocious fangirls and two, Sakura in the risk of being accused of 'stealing their man' and therefore presented with some real danger. 'I greatly appreciate it,' isn't sugar coated, it is plainly his words; and to think that Itachi would enjoy being treated with kindness by them- oh, what a joyous day?There is no "come back later," or "next time," to suggest he wants to see them ever again, only the hint of a suggestion that leaving him alone is the main point. If they were smart they would understand; no, if they hadn't been blinded by infatuation, moreover, then they would have picked up the animosity and moved away. Unless they were Naruto in girl form and refused to relent.Or... maybe Sakura was just thinking about Itachi's random statement with too many expectations in mind.________________________________"Do you want to learn about Naṟ̸̓u̷̖̮̱̖̮̟̫͉̺̖̼͒̅̍͛͂̾̊͒̉́̈͜͠ʇ̴̧̧̧̡̧̠͔͎͓̟̪̳̫̱̳̱̙̟̗͓̰̣̠͈̝̹͕̫̻̜͍̗͍͙͇͎̱̞̝͉͉̮̜̭̩̖͚̭̰̳̪͓͗̓̿̓͗́̍̆̅̿̂̾͂̇̊̔͐̏̍͒̔̿̎͌͂̊̉̇̒̇̔͒̔̐͑̇̒̎̑̕̕͜͜͜͝͝͠͠ͅ0—"After a moment of thought, Sakura comes to understand the sullen heartbreak that comes with the young Hyūga heiress's appearance. A memory- which made no sense,- of the world's end. Her expression of gladness was screwed into devastation before another wave of guilt crashed upon her at the sight of an empty bed.They had known each other once before, it seemed, and whatever event had occurred had severed their relationship. Quite afraid of a negative reaction, Sakura refrained from acting on pursuing a friendship with her.Sasuke's older brother- usually free during the weekends as a genin, would leave time to oversee his young sibling as well as supervise Sakura- would notice her humbled drawback. "You seem troubled, Sakura-chan," he says calmly.Again a flash of a memory- one of shrouded pain and suffering comes to light as malice on Sakura's face, but another voice in her head tells her that she has long forgiven the boy in front of her.Whatever that meant."No, Itachi-niisan, I'm fwine!" She responds on autopilot, but her mind is elsewhere, beneath the clouds."Sakura. Pass me the shovel," demands a young Uchiha, looking at her with a plain stink-eye. He's making a sandcastle- featuring tapered pillars made with cookie-cutter buckets and drip-towers made with slightly wet sand drizzled on top of an existing structure. Sakura hadn't paying attention to the artistic integrity of the piece just yet but she passed the red utensil without reply.Hinata was walking by again on her designated morning stroll, as a precluding act to her training- which like in the case of heirs or heiresses would begin at around the age of four or five. (She was out practicing her Byakugan, as calm focus had been foreseen as yielding better results. She 'still' could not toggle her Byakugan, to Hizashi's chagrin) She was currently two, so that meant she wasn't overstepping her boundaries of she had requested a moment of her time...Despite herself Sakura doesn't go immediately to Hinata. The memory of a black fire intermingled with blue flames, the one she had before, became a little clearer as more figures and imagery revealed itself- a man with a flaring coat of an ivory-diluted-turquoise, her 'sensei''s final promise to her... some kind of emotional barricade is divesting her ability to interact with Hinata."Sasuke-kun, don't be rude." Sakura remarks in such a detached way even she found herself surprised. "I'm not your nii-chan, (who'll do facile tasks like that for your sorry tush) I'm your fwiend."..A full week goes by before Sakura finally musters the courage to interact with Hinata. "Hinata-chan! Hello!" joyously, she approaches the elusive heiress, currently shielded by the protective Kō.Hinata backs away, not defensively but timidly. "H-h-h-hello?" she clearly phrases it as a question, in disbelief that she had just come over on a whim."Hinata-chan, ne, do you want to play with me?" she extends a hand while Kō looks mostly disapprovingly at the interaction.Surprisingly the bodyguard doesn't interfere, leaving Hinata to almost hesitantly accept the offer. "..S-s-s-s-ss-sure..." she fumbles with her words as she warily looks at her caretaker for guidance, but as she receives none, decides that there weren't enough cons to decline..."My other fwiends?" Sakura asks, swinging on the swings while standing, holding onto the rails before using her body to give the swing a little more of momentum. "Oh, there's Sasuke-kun and Itachi-niisan and I also have.."You,And yet now I don't. "Well, actually, I don't really have any good fwiends-"(an over exaggeration)"-besides them," she clarifies."Oh, um. Could y-y-you tell me about them?"Why was this so familiar? Deja vu kept coming and going and she was baffled by the inexplicable nostalgia. "O—h. Alright. Sasuke-kun's... a Clan leader's kid like you, he's Uchiha Sasuke. He's a little on the bickering side-""B-b-iggering?" Hinata asks, confusedly."Oh, I mean, he fwights a lot." she explains. "Not with fwists but he talks," as Hinata's expression slowly borders terrified, she continues. "But he's nice in the inside, he just doesn't know better.""O-oh. What about Weasel-san?" Hinata cocks her head, wavering unsureness finessed in her eyes. "Is he your p-p-pet weasel?""No, he's Sasuke-kun's aniki."Hinata sank into her swing, physically shrinking with embarrassment. "O-o-o-h, I'm-m-m sorry," she says, very quietly, her downturned face flushing hard."It's 'kay," she assures the timid child, looking at her as the swing began to decelerate before ultimately stopping. Sakura, being too short to hop off on her own, gestures for help to the reluctant Kō.But he helps her anyway. Chivalry is a good trait for Hinata-hime to possess. "So, Ita-nii is really nice. And strong. He's already a ninja," she says in an almost bragging manner. "I think he's cool.""Y-y-yeah." Hinata agrees, but almost bursts out into laughter as she is unable to get the mental image of a ferret-like creature playing alongside the blurry image of 'Sasuke' and Sakura. "U-u-u-m, Sakura-ch-san,""-chan is fwine.""Sakura-c-chan." She now whispers, shushed by the pressure put on her- she'd already messed up, didn't she? Sakura was never going to be her friend if she kept this stuttery streak! "W-would you.. like to.. you know.. um.. be.. b-b-be frien...""'Course!" The pinkette beams, while simultaneously helping Hinata off her own swing. "Actually, I was waiting fwor that!"________________________________A normal day at the playground with her father, the sun yellowing over the clouds, a typical spring afternoon. Sakura was kicking the dirt around with Sasuke, their budding bromance- or, uh, in other words, friendship, still yet to bloom.Itachi-niisan isn't here today, instead, we get Sasuke's cousin, Shisui.He's a boy of average height for his age, slightly curly hair and strangely long eyelashes, just like Sasuke's older brother. All Uchiha seem to have wrinkles- with the exception of Sasuke.That Shisui from the Itachi files, he who has been 'taken care of.' So he was an Uchiha after all. He's a tad older than Itachi, perhaps 11 or so.Now, at first, Sasuke was still cold and distant as he always was. It took him a while to phase out of that self-centered 'every girl is only out to try and fangirl over me' mindset and for him to accept Sakura as a platonic comrade instead of a lecherous fan, but it did happen. Two grueling weeks of convincing and re-convincing and everyday meetups, courtesy of Kizashi Haruno and Mikoto Uchiha's phenomenal and newfound friendship.The days of taking a back seat to his wife's friendly ventures no more, Kizashi is now an honorary mother in the alliance's eyes.It seems the Uchiha woman is a magnet for friends, which isn't surprising due to her all-kind nature and sunny personality. She allows her father to get into- modishly stating it, "in touch with his feminine side".Sakura has found herself enjoying pranking Sasuke at his expense. Or anyone for that matter- if you're around such an emo and unresponsive boy such as Sasuke as much as she was, you'd find it gets to your head quite quickly.While she wouldn't have acted outrageously, or a little crazy for that matter otherwise, there was a lot of mental setbacks that came with acting like a child. You can't express your feelings, you can't move or run like you used to, and you can't do anything like go outside by yourself. Privacy is a thing of the past and the only way to cope with it is to salvage any alone time by laughing at Sasuke's sorrowful state.Since Shisui is a responsible 'adult'- well, he is a chunin, after all, he's allowed to look after Sasuke all by himself, like a big boy. Maybe a chunin that had only become a chunin that very same year and was still practically a genin with exceptional abilities, but at this point in Konoha history, chunin were just about considered mature enough, anyway.To be honest it was the very same matriarch who kindly asked the young lad to also equally-kindly take care of her youngest son while she was away on a Clan meeting; Shisui (or Sasuke) still being too young to participate and all.The Clan meeting, however, Sakura felt as she overheard the conversation between cousins, that it had to do something a lot more sinister than a simple family gathering. Why else would the kids be excluded? Even the supposedly 'mature' ones?"So this is your gal pal, huh, Sasu-kun?" Shisui blabbers about with a grin. The younger Uchiha pouts but gives into 'cousin Shisui's awesomeness' as the older one begins to brag. "Ah? You know, gal-pal, are you a fan of his brother? Sure you are- but you two, remember this: I'm stronger, and cooler, than your nii-chan!" (He was only saying this to discreetly impress Sakura but failed with the fact that the randomness of the leap between topics was quite evident.)Shisui happened to be the only Uchiha boy of the three she'd heard and known of who genuinely liked having a flock of tweenage fans gush over him. Sakura, of course, only knew this on passing mention.But Sasuke adamantly denies. "No! Nobody is stronger than Itachi-niisan." he says, almost like a warning. "You're cool, Shisui-nii, but not as much as my older brother." Sakura just stares with her upper lip twitching, jaw hanging low, looking confusedly at the interaction between the young Uchiha and the elder, of which she's never interacted before.She mindlessly scurries along in the slide, back onto the monkey bars- but she's not expected to be strong enough to climb those, so she just kinda fumbles and attempts to latch on but ultimately chickens out. Shisui has to help Sasuke go down the slide, much to the younger Uchiha's absolute contemn, being outdone by a hyper-eccentric little girl."Shisui-nii," Chibisuke complains like the baby he is. "I don't need help. Go help her instead." he flails his arms to ward the older Uchiha off, and he doesn't object. Shisui goes over to Sakura instead, sighing something to the extent of 'chunin shouldn't be taking D-rank missions like babysitting...'"What's your name, Sasuke's little buddy?" Shisui smiles, his... nondescript mannerisms clicking back on from exasperated to full gear in the milliseconds it took Sakura to turn around again. He cocks his head downward, his curly hair too short to fall on front of his face, leaves her with a plain view of his expression. But he leans towards her, blocking out the sun with his head. It grows dark. He didn't mean it that way, but...Little.She's not flat-chested, shannaro!(She is, being a prepubescent toddler made this one fact clear, yet she thinks this out on impulse.) She punches him in the face, sending him flying backward and into the concrete of the fence.Shisui gasps loudly in surprise as he blinks, seeing that he wasn't embedded into the wall behind him like he thought. "... Nope. I'm not even asking for your name. You are officially a little devil."Litt- "Oh? If it isn't Uchiha-san."Shisui turns to the noise, and Sakura does as well. Sasuke is too busy being a premature emo and crouching down by the sand pit, counting the granules of sand absent-mindedly. It's none other than Hinata and Kō.Shisui and Kō know each other. They begin to talk, but the Hyūga seems guarded in the way he carries himself- Uchiha are still regarded as potential traitors to Konoha, but outright disrespect is not something Hiashi-sama condones."...Sa-sasuke-kun, S-sakura-chan, hello." Hinata bows respectfully, and the boy, having never met the heiress beforehand, shyly looks away. "U-um.. Sakura-chan talked a-about you," she clarifies, trying her best not to look like some creepy stalker- oh, what if they did?"Hinata-chan, meet 'Suke-kun, Sasuke-kun, meet Hina-chan." the pinkette child proudly proclaims, introducing her two friends to one another. "I hope you get along! You two are both Clan he- I mean, main-branch kids, right?"Sasuke's interest is suddenly piqued by this additional information. He's never really had friends before Sakura- didn't feel the need to devote any time to anyone- but she's shown him patience and unending affection, and at least proved she wasn't just out to ogle him- so he's never had someone else nearby in a similar situation to him. "You're the Hyūga.. daughter?" he squeaks childishly, his eyes poking through to her beneath thick eyelashes. He would say 'heiress' if he knew the word, but he doesn't so he compromises."Y-you're.." mumbles Hinata, trying to point out the obvious to the other Clan member, timidly looking far-off to the side while avoiding his face at all costs. Sakura only sighs internally as the two desperately try to outspeak one another, but they are too silent to really get a conversation raring."You know what would be fun?" Sakura interrupts their sad attempt at a real interaction and pulls the two kids into an uncomfortable armlock. "We should practice being ninja in the forest!" and then she basically kidnapped Chibihina and Chibisuke, running off into the wilderness without Shisui's knowledge.But Kō noticed, and he was flaming mad. As Sakura almost stealthily exited the playground's borders, Kō snagged her by the collar, loosening her grip on her two friends strung to her side. "Excuse me, girl. Didn't I tell you, you were not to rough house with Hinata-hime?""...Kō-san, my sincerest apologies. But, Hinata-himesama is only trying to train to prepare on becoming a kunoichi in the future, with me," she states with a bluntness that borders flavorless; earning frowns of confusion from Sasuke and Hinata, who are utterly disillusioned by the sudden glassiness (and punctuality) emanating from their sole- well, one of two, now, friends.Kō returns the favor. "Take it up with her father, then."She doesn't hesitate to do exactly that.________________________________日向(Hyūga)Ding-dong.Sakura stood at the gateway to the Hyūga household, giving a second glance at the wooden hyousatsu in for verification. Below the surname is the three names of the house's patrons-HiashiHikariHinataIt's the right house, alright- grand, low-roofed architecture, dark furnishes and pillars, a manmade pool in the center plaza of the open-halled home. Hinata had moved out (Clan heiresses didn't simply move out) and gotten her own place after she turned nineteen, but seeing as even genin Hanabi crashed at her older sister's instead of her own home, there had to be something wrong with the main branch's residence. But Hyūga Hisashi's harsh demeanor kind of explained his two daughters' subtle indisposition against him, even from Sakura's point of view.Hanabi wasn't born yet, considering her half-decade age gap between her elder sister. But there was an empty space towards the bottom of the hyousatsu, like they planned to introduce another family member in the near future. However, she did want to meet Hinata again and secure a friendship with her.After patiently waiting for the better part of a minute, observing the grand manor with a semi-concentrated fixation, the door unlocked and a kind-faced woman with long, raven hair peered out. "Oh?" she says reflexively, noticing that the mystery guest wasn't a prankster who pressed the bell and left, it was a too-short-to-see child who was around the same age as her daughter. "Ah, hello there. Are you here to see Hinata?""Yes, Hyūga-san. May I come in?" Sakura says, bowing respectfully to the woman. It must've been Hikari Hyūga, Hinata's mother, who up until now, she hadn't been formally introduced to.She looked at her like, 'ah, what a well-mannered child,' as she creaked the door open a little further, allowing Sakura to pass through. "May I speak to Mr. Hyūga, first?" asks Sakura, guiding her tone to sound as if borrowed from a Hyūga noble instead of a commoner's. She isn't a Clanswoman, she's just a civilian, (then again, imagining a 'Haruno Clan' was fun) but espionage missions had taught her to sound more exotic."Danna-sama? He is..." she murmured, but it did sound odd that a child was trying to secure a meeting with the Clan Head. Unsure whether or not if this polite child had intentions "worthy of my time!", she turns to ask. "...Currently available, but, may I ask for the reason?""I would like to be granted permission to train with Hinata Hyūga, ma'am," Sakura answers, dipping the crook of her neck downwards, not raising it until Hikari makes a noise of confused approval and walks off to a far-off sliding door, closing it behind her, leaving Sakura to stall outside. Even without pressing her ear to the door, she can make out a muffled conversation happening inside its walls.Hiashi would approve, too, if she could prove her own worth as a kunoichi to him- wait, she's not a kunoichi, she's not even in the academy. She's only a toddler, barely able to muster words like 'permission'. Hikari surely noticed her premature maturity and was bargaining with her options. The sliding door rolls open again, and Sakura walks inside after noting Mrs. Hyūga not fully walk outside, but stand there in wait."So this is the child who wants to train with my daughter.." Hiashi scratches his chin, ivory pupils scanning over Sakura's form. "She doesn't bear a Clan crest I can recognize. She's a civilian." Unlike his wife, Hiashi Hyūga is not a questioner- he just states things like it is, apparently. Asking questions would mean being below them or something, according to the middle-aged man's aspirations."Yes, sir." Sakura confirms, kneeling now. "But I assure you I am capable of helping Hinata-sama with her training." Essentially, Hinata wasn't training at the tender age of three, but she would begin at four, when she was to go into the Academy the following year. "I am capable of elemental ninjutsu, genjutsus and taijutsus, but I do have other abilities." Hiashi ogled her with disbelief at the statement.Sakura wasn't going to go crazy with the reveal of her abilities. In fact, not even her mother really knew about her innate power. So she'd stick with basic, slightly-impressive ninjutsus and weak everything-else, making taijutsu her main prowess- that was more acceptable when concerning villagers' children. Besides, Hyūgas were trained in the secret art of the Gentle Fist Technique, making sure Hiashi would be certain that she had value to Hinata."Demonstrate," Hiashi commands, clearly suspicious of Sakura's declaration. Sakura nods, expecting this fully. She steps out of the small room, and Hiashi raises his brow. Perhaps he was awaiting her to be capable of summoning water and bending it to her will- she could, but that would be unrealistic for a kid her age.Stepping towards the pool, Sakura performs some lousy hand signs, calling for the water below her. Sure enough, the water globs up from the body and she swerves it around mid-air. After a spectacle, she drops the water back into the pond, causing a spray of faux rain to come showering down. But a second before the water hits the pond, Hiashi yells a 'kai'. His face is one of bewilderment.An illusion that showed little to no flaw, that even the Byakugan master had been caught off-guard by her unexpected tactic. He had only noticed due to the small refraction of light hitting the water had been off by a microscopic degree and broken out of his immersion.Sakura had, even if she admitted to not practicing much, stressed on learning genjutsu after she was given the Rinnegan from Sasuke. It was a lot easier with an ocular crutch by her side but it didnt mean she wasn't capable of a genjutsu without it. If she was immune to genjutsu, why didn't she try to master it as well- it would never work against her in combat, so regardless of what she did it wouldn't be a loss."And that was a genjutsu, sir." Sakura says, smiling smugly. She had Shisui to thank for the bit of inspiration to mentally torture some very annoying people. (Oh, wasn't it obvious? That wall-punch was a genjutsu.)________________________________It was another full month before Sakura met Ino.Sakura and Sasuke are playing by the brook. Now, it's not like they were playing conventionally- no, they weren't splashing water and catching minnows, they were training. To take a moment's rest from the daily exposure to childish energy, (which was potentially 'deadly' when taken on nonstop for three years) Mikoto and Mebuki refrained from watching their children too closely.And it also turns out that Sasuke was not only a lot bubblier and friendly as a child he was also a lil' crap with an older brother/father complex. No wonder he had no friends (except herself, of course. And it's not because she has a bias due to knowing the less-coquettish version of him that everyone admired from afar. This Chibisuke was cool in his own way..! Besides, he was always popular.)"'Kura-chan." 'Kura'- a nickname the result of his inability to pronounce 'Sakura' quick enough- it was dainty. Sasuke had only ever replied with a slow, passive "Sah..kura," But his snappy "Kura"s were just as enjoyable to hear. Another happy finding is that Chibisuke also has more manners than his older counterpart- he adds honorifics. "My otou-san was teaching me how to do a katon, but I just can't do it properly..."She holds her latent power a still a secret to avoid being questioned about them- Haruno aren't known for prodigies unlike the Hyūga or Uchiha, they're a civilian family with no value to her surname. It's rare moments like these where nobody's looking that she can show her potential- and Sasuke is trustworthy, at least in the spoken department. He most definitely won't go around town saying- 'Sakura-chan can uproot trees 'ttebayo!' like Naruto. Not even as a bright and charming child, in contrast to the, 'I'm an avenger,' persona."Sasuke-kun, I'll show you how to do a katon!" Sakura says, pressing two fingers separate from a fist and blowing a decently sized flame from her mouth. She can perform weak fire jutsus, although nothing significant or effective enough to use in real battle due to her natures being Earth- Water- and Yin (technically Yang, too) releases, sadly. It's a shame she must wait for Kakashi to teach him. "Let's see you doing it now, Sasuke-kun!"The boy looks stunned at the display and then performs his own fireball. The result is... a success, but it's not as impressive hers(which wasn't that great at all). Sakura frowns, betwixt. "Sasuke-kun, you're trying to use too much strength. You put too much chakra into your attack, really fast, that not all of it has time to get to your mouth.""Chakra?" he asks."Chakra. It's the flow of power in everything's bodies, we use them through jutsus." Sakura explains, trying to sound a little confused herself. "It's a pretty big problem for us kids. Sometimes we try to force things."He tries again, following her advice, and the flame glows a little blue with added heat. Sakura's heart feels like it sank deep into her chest.Oh god.Blue flames, like Toneri- his entire body was made of the same icy fire.Because of Toneri- everyone was dead. Everyone had died a tragic and horrible death. She wasn't three. All the memories of a past life so far weren't her randomly happening to find herself in this weird circumstance where she was really over twenty but looked like a child- she came here for a reason.Sakura remembers clearly now, the distraction of her lollygagging antics and perpetual frittering disappearing to reveal her past; Obito had successfully taught her the genesis technique- and she traveled back in order to save Naruto and Sasuke from dying. Or, at the very least, finding someone who could stop the end of the world. Someone needed to stop Toneri."Uh, are you okay, 'Kura-chan? You really like staring into space, don't you?" he states, sounding very unimpressed."...Oh, sorry, Sasuke-kun. That was just really awesome," she responds cooly, assuming an alibi quite charismatically. "You got the heat down, all you need to do is spread the chakra out a little bit. It works like a field. You know, if you see a lightbulb, the light is the brightest the closer you get?""Okay. Lemmie try!" He nods, eyes sparkling. His second attempt glows less blue-ish but spans the width of the entire creek, just a few inches short of the flammable trees. "You think I'll be as good as nii-chan?"Well, Itachi Uchiha is freaking scary, forgiven/an innocent child or not. Maybe Chibisuke will surpass him someday, but she'd rather have her tiny B.F.F.F.S.W.W.F.T.L.T.(best friends forever since we were friends last time) to be a fragile cherub a little longer. They grow up so fast... "Maybe not your nii-chan, but better than me!""But you're..." he can't find the words, so he sucks on the insides of his cheeks, pondering the topic for a minute. Then Chibisuke heralds the worst possible answer- "You,"Was that an insult? Dammit, Chibisuke, basically making Sakura question her very self-worth, even as a child."W-well, Sasuke-kun, I'm actually really good at this. I could beat your nii-san if I wanted to!" she challenges, punching a fist into an open palm repetitively. (Though, theoretically, even kid Itachi could beat Sakura- hasn't she seen what that man was capable of before?) 'It is so on, Sasuke.' she growls to herself. She's not going to hit him, him being the adorable angel-face he is, (and she's against child abuse, being the former children's clinic director) but she could give his mind a good lesson in integrity and peer empathy."I doubt it, 'Kura," he giggles.Unfortunately, their 'beautiful' private time together is interrupted by the insurgence of voices parting the slow whistle of wind phasing through the oaken timberland. Mebuki and Mikoto are nearby, searching for their kids. "Sakura-chan! Time to go home!"Sakura grabs his forearm to pull him up the steep hill surrounding the creek, but he says something. "'Kura-chan!"As Sasuke turns, his mouth opening to continue- Sakura waits patiently, grabbing onto the root of a tree to keep their balance. Will he thank her for the expert advice?No. He just sticks his tongue out like a cheeky bastard, 'nyeh' sound effect included. A tick forms in her eyebrows."Bye, Sasuke-kun!" she lets go of his hand and waves with a smile and a cheer, proceeding on abandoning him in the woods. (Sometimes, she wants to just smack him.) Whatever the repercussions, that little crap needs to learn this very valuable moral...After being scolded like a petulant kid (she, sadly, actually is one) for an hour, Sakura is walking home by the sunset. She passes the playground, her mother's hand in tow. Suddenly, Mebuki stops walking, causing Sakura to jolt backward.In a blizzard of sequences, Sakura is then shoved all the way into the playground by her mother's grasp, then placed in front of a very familiar face."Oh! Mrs. Yamanaka, long time no see," Mebuki squeals like a sorority girl. The rococo brunette with un-Ino-like, but equally featureless red eyes also squeals back, losing her regality in 0.2 seconds flat. It's the ever-illustrious and alluring mating- I mean, talking, ritual between Konoha mothers.. Sakura sheds an inner tear at the beauty of nature."Sakura-chan! Come on, introduce yourself," her mom cajoles, pushing her towards Ino. Sakura notes that she doesn't remember meeting Ino as a three-year-old; their earliest interaction was probably when she was seven. Guilt pangs in her chest as she remembers that the last time they had talked was when the asteroid had hit the scavenging-grounds and Sai had to rescue the both of them. But she reminds herself that this Ino and that Ino are completely different people, and should be treated as such.Ever since her first proper phrase, Sakura has tried to keep her vocabulary age-appropriate. She stutters on purpose and slurs her 'f's. The risk of being interrogated for being constantly suspicious later on in life is too great to ignore. "M-my name is Sakura." she says, coyly, offering her hand to the bleach-blonde girl."Ino Yamanaka," the other girl says, proudly. "Hi!" Sakura notices that her extroverted personality had always been the case, very quickly. As if repenting for her last life's actions, she forms a budding friendship with her former best friend like it's the mission she came here for.This is how her mission begins. There are a million thoughts in her head. There's an overarching plan, however, and that is: prevention. Most of Akatsuki's core members had been recruited throughout her lifetime, (unlike members like Nagato or Konan, who had been there from the beginning) originally, so she could accurately predict which ninjas would be targetted. All she needed to do was stop 'Madara'(Obito) from approaching them, then convince them to join her side instead.She ponders to herself on who exactly had been recruited to the Akatsuki during this time. Someone older than Deidara or Hidan. Deidara had joined the Akatsuki after becoming a missing-nin to Iwa, and Hidan was turned into a Jashinist experiment as a young boy, but only became a member in adulthood. Chronologically, Itachi was a member that had been stationed before either of those two, and he was thirteen. Currently, however, he was eight, (as confirmed by their meeting with Mebuki and Sasuke's mother) buying her five years to stop the coup in place of him. She knew for sure that the second iteration of the Akatsuki only started hiring their mercenaries since the end of the Third Shinobi war, effectively placing the majority of the endgame components of the terroristic group as non-members at this time.Sure, she could outright visit them and force them to not join last-minute, but it was important to keep in mind that people didn't break just because a masked random came over and tried to kidnap them once. Tobi didn't brainwash them into becoming missing-nin.She knew for sure there wasn't much she could do for Sasori, as the files stated he was a defector to Suna for as long as... perhaps, almost twenty to fifteen years at this point. His motivation to join was for protection... and Sakura could not reform him by telling him he needed to live on his own or ask for protection from Suna again. Gaara wasn't Kazekage until his father died and thus, there was no inside source that Sakura could rely on in the Hidden Sand to make sure he wasn't executed immediately for his crimes. Besides, he lacked the blind faith in strangers that would make one susceptible to nonconsensual rehabilitation anyway.Kakuzu wanted money- that was his motivation. She wasn't rich or anything- who would trust a three-year-old child with their life savings? They were civilians, too, making the financial matters worse.Kisame. He had joined after Madara (Obito) had convinced him somehow. From the Hokage's reports downstairs (that she frequented since the end of the Fourth World War)she gathered intelligence that he had betrayed his mentor after some sort of tragic event when he was nineteen. The details were fuzzy in her mind, and she doubted they were that insightful anyways. Hold on, wasn't Kisame around that age at this point? Old enough to be useful to Obito, but not old enough to find his way in life or be completely jaded and corrupted by the hardships of war to be completely uninterested in his treacheries.Maybe last time, he was... but the shark-man was not going to join the Akatsuki if she had anything to say about it.________________________________So it was a plan. Not a very detailed nor sophisticated plan, but it was a general guideline. Planning too far ahead was like throwing a dart in the shadow not knowing if there even was a target.On her small notebook, enchanted by a light genjutsu to appear as if the only contents within were scribbles or poorly written sentences pertaining along the lines of 'I like cats. He drinks water. They run fast.', were notes of her future plans. Elementary sentences that may be impressive in the eyes of a three-year-old's parent, but nothing beyond rudimentary.The blueprints to her aspirations were all written here. A clear timeline should be made now so she could begin executing her mission at last. Kisame would join the Akatsuki shortly after being made a swordsman, but looking at Kiri bingo books- (civilians of the Leaf were allowed brief, undetailed pamphlets just in case they encountered enemy shinobi while traveling outside the ninja villages) his face was nowhere to be seen.'Good,' she thought. 'I don't want to go all the way to Kiri to find out Kisame already left.'Thankfully, Sakura realized, her chakra levels had stayed the same due to the transferring of her soul. She was able to leave a shadow clone back home before taking off for Kiri.She's henge-d herself to take the form of an older woman- based mostly off of her 20-year-old self, same shoulder-length hairstyle, same Byakugou seal, the Rinnegan. But her face was covered by a bear mask- for she assumed posing as an ANBU would let her pass through Konoha's possible intervention and ward off any suspicious passerby. Technically, her physical prowess has diminished since her rebirth, since taijutsu and reflexes weren't mental processes. But her chakra had kept her relatively strong- and she secretly trained in the forests like she did when she was seven (after wanting to impress Sasuke as a child).As for why she chose the bear as her masked persona? She read from a western spiritual (in her past life) that in the foreign countries to the south considered bears to be a provider of strength in the chaos of a helpless time. There was also quite a few medicinal connotations that came with the bear, so she could continue her legacy in a symbolic way through her new identity.Sakura was a blank slate in this life, and this new character was an even blanker one. What would she claim? Did this person have a motivation? A backstory? In order for a persuasive alter-ego to function without error, she needed to have answers to their potential questions.For the time being, as she left the gates of Konoha, she pretended to be just a traveling visitor civilian with no special attributes (her temporary form was that of a plain brunette woman in her teens). She suppressed her chakra the best she could and awkwardly passed through the walls without much issue. She received some strange glares from a few of the guards, as she was strutting through the gate like she was severely constipated. One of them even asked if she needed medical assistance, to which she vehemently denied.Her mentor had given her tips on forming a convincing, long-lasting transformation- like the one she utilized to keep her youthful appearance, so she wasn't worried that she would be discovered. She'd improved majorly in that department, despite being already decent in her henge jutsu. But being in close quarters with criminals could affect her in drastic ways- imagine if her guise dissipated mid-battle. A three-year-old little girl, traveling the wilderness and hunting potential Akatsuki members? Implausible beyond comprehension! She'd be ruined for life when people found out about her true identity. People would torture her only to find out about the past/future. And there would be full-blown wars if the world knew the truth.Maybe Obito would act earlier this time or something horrible like that, using his Rinnegan to revive Madara sooner than the world was prepared for. Sasuke could potentially be killed for the actions his future self would commit, and the future criminals would also not be spared from this fate. Meaning, there was no road of redemption for the people she wanted to save if she was caught. Orochimaru might forcefully take Edo Tensei again and prioritize it to go against free will in specific, making those who broke out of the jutsu in the first iteration unable to. The risky thing with revealing information is that there were always a couple of leaks that made it to enemy ears.What if Naruto was abducted as a child, completely helpless? If the world knew of his heroic deeds in the past, then he would be instantly freed of his mistreatment, but this revering attitude towards him would come with sanctimonious consequences. He was loud, and boisterous- obviously, this is why Minato's last name wasn't the same Naruto's, since knowing he was the son of the fourth Hokage would damage him in ways that either made him susceptible to enemy attacks or unable to progress due to his overconfidence.Not that Sakura had met him/interacted interpersonally with the Naruto of 'now', but she'd often heard of murmurs of the 'he-who-shall-not-be-mentioned screaming that he wanted to be Hokage, that annoying brat,' in the marketplace every now and then. So it was a childhood passion that carried into later life.Maybe now's not the time to be happy to be learning things about the younger versions of her future comrades...Her chakra made it easier to keep the self-impersonation since her 'soul' still remained to dissonate to her old form, even if her body was that of a toddler's. Since she was literally portraying herself, it was efficient as it was accurate. Nobody would suspect a tyke like her to be this new, unknown figure. There were other people with pink hair, not just Sakura! And nobody would see her secondary identifying characteristic- her viridian eyes, through the shadow of her mask unless they possessed the Byakugan and saw through it entirely. And all Hyūgas(the only wielders of the Byakugan, besides the ones stolen- Ao, for example) were Konoha nin, and she was to never meet them in direct combat due to her planned affiliation.Honestly, (she wasn't lying for an egotistical reason whatsoever) henge wasn't too hard to keep up with. She could probably set up camp somewhere and sleep with it fully on for days, considering her expendable chakra levels were high to begin with.The first night was lonely, to say the least. Since being placed in her four-man squad, Sakura was used to the team setting. She was sent on solo missions before, but the comfort of having Sai and Naruto (sometimes Kakashi-sensei, too) was something she accidentally began to look forward to, only to remind herself that they were not her teammates. Not now. She took her 'normal' appearance, it was easier. The mask was an actual thing she bought from the local plaza as she'd planned for this specific occasion months in advance. The clone back home would have enough chakra to last a few weeks.She took most of her week using long-distance teleportation tactics to get herself all the way over to the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Fire Country, passing through all the normal, non-shinobi villages with ease. From there she would have to board a ferry or ship to travel to Kiri.Funds were hard to come by, but she made some income by hunting wild boar or other creatures in the forest. Being a ninja had its perks, even in the non-shinobi world. By no means was this way of life sustainable for Sakura, but it was not permanent, and maybe that had been enough."What lovely hair you have, miss," a middle-aged lady inquired. "Is it natural? If it isn't, the dye-job is fantastic." She was more of an exotic saleswoman- she had an assortment of medicinal herbs and shinobi gear at her stand, so it was not as shocking to Sakura as she might've been, had it been a normal merchant saying this. It was uncommon to make small talk that referred to something other than the items for sale(or a nonspecific positive jab at the buyer's integrity and intelligence/beauty/handsomeness)."Thank you, and yes, it's natural." evenly, the masked kunoichi fumbled with the wallet in her hand, gathering the ryo hesitantly as she scanned the items on display. "I was thinking of mixing a food pill together. Do you have any of the herbs on this list?" she dropped the money back into the case, and instead slipped a note, her fingers stretching the third slit on the lithe purse. It was new, (and stiff) because Sakura didn't want any item on her being that could connect her back any further than her departure from Konoha. Besides, her weird kiddy coin pouch would make her a subject of ridicule.The lady politely took the paper in Sakura's offering gesture and skimmed the paper with a smile decorating a deepening laugh line. The lady read the paper out loud- but it was only a half-hearted mumble to herself. "...-uth mushrooms ..hawkweed, a belladon..." Unexpectedly, the merchant woman didn't simply show her the goods she had in stock and pursued the conversation a little longer. "You seem knowledgeable, too. Are you from the Hidden Leaf?" It shouldn't have been an insult to injury as she weirdly took it as, for she was wearing an ANBU mask and a vest that was unmistakably the purple-gray of Konoha's black-ops flak jackets.As the only(as it was intended to be) Hidden Ninja village of the Land of Fire, they were well-known throughout the country, their elite('s existence) perhaps even more so. The herbs she requested were semi-rare flora that did not grow in the general vicinity. Some were especially difficult to harvest or to prepare/use. This either indicated she was a ninja on a retrieval mission for some herbs (in that case, she could've shopped closer to home and not have pretended to have another purpose for the purchase) or she was talented in medicine and truly meant that she wanted to make the pills.Sakura paused. Was she going to take that cover? Would it make her suspicious if it was known that she was from Leaf? This was the Fire country, her home turf, but since her persona had no accomplishments under her name as of current, she couldn't plausibly expect gossip to spread just because of her odd outwardly disposition. It could die with this lady if Sakura was lucky to have met someone who didn't mean much when they spoke, and only did so for the pleasure of their customers. "No," she decided. If Kiri caught word, they could shove her off as a spy. The leader was currently... (technically) Obito, so, it was a possibility she couldn't deny. "I'm from a distant land far south," she said, backhandedly referencing to the thought of her bear mask."You do seem to be wearing a Konoha mask, though," she whispered, wondrously. "My husband was a shinobi once, and while I don't have a knick for the ninja business," she swatted at the air dismissively as she said that- "He used to go on 'missions' or report to that side of the country.""There are ANBU in almost every country, ma'am," she responded, stoically, resembling that of a teacher scolding a child. "Yes, I am a shinobi, but I'm not a native nor a local here." she paid for her supplies wordlessly and left to the harbor, making sure to purchase a ticket before boarding. It would be a heinous journey, indeed.As she walked towards the border guards, (now in a less conspicuous, normal-person disguise that she had while phasing through Konoha's gates) she figured they were not shinobi. Since they[the commissioned ninjas] usually came trudging through towns with a 'letter of consensus' addressed to them by the Hokage himself, (as it was Hiruzen at the moment) and were ushered onto a separate dock reserved for private vehicles or exclusive ferries. Citizens getting caught up in shinobi business was not good news, so they segregated the ninja from the civilians as soon as possible.Of course, contact between both worlds was not forbidden at all- encouraged, even, but when it came to travel, there were a few cases where innocent lives were endangered due to enemy warships targetting said ninjas(while piracy was the citizen's naval equivalent). 'Normals' were sources of income and shipment, that being augmented tenfold during an economic boom, but nin were ticking time bombs waiting to explode. Espionage and deception were a shinobi's greatest skill, and it was unfair to let these villagers get caught in the crossfire.Her none-the-wiser appearance didn't suggest to the guards that she was very noteworthy, so they only gave her a quick, scanning look before asking her to state her business in Kiri. Knowing their 'leader' was tyrannical now, it wouldn't help if she suggested something oafish and unimportant like tourism. "Employment," she said. Miraculously, the guards didn't press further and let her through after checking her credentials and ticket(that thing was expensive).The ride would take a few days, so she might as well. Sakura retired to her assigned cabin- a quaint room illuminated by an orangish light, a bed to the leftmost side and an empty drawer for her belongings. In her satchel, Sakura carried her herbs in a pocket, her wallet in another, and her mask in the biggest pocket. She did carry a scroll containing her clothes- well, in case the henge wore off and she was to resort to her normal body. Another scroll had some extra supplies, like bandages- a toothbrush,Tired, Sakura locked the door before turning off her transformation, throwing her three-year-old body into the comfort of the bed in the corner. Hopefully, there wasn't such a thing called 'room service' on this ship, because things could get mega awkward.________________________________"Thoughts you have lying awake in bed"The boat rocks to and fro, and Sakura thinks she's going to get sick. The boat has almost reached the harbor- by the way, she's in her civilian disguise -and soon she would be setting foot on the Land of Water. She takes a sip from her cup, which she sets down, taking a bask in the salty air. The boat toots with arrival and it rears towards the dock. A man in a uniform yells out instructions to safely un-board.Sakura pads her way off the staircase prepare below, and yawns. She'd have to go to a forest to use her teleportation skills- which, in fact, had developed quite a bit, making her probably viable to entirely moving from said forest to Kiri. The Fire Country was a lot larger than the Water Country, so, her practicing those skills again and again back at her homeland made it easier to perform now.It wasn't nearly as long-distance/ranged like her Rinnegan granted her, but she doubted that eye would ever come back to her. Actually, she wasn't even really 'teleporting', she was moving at a rate so fast the eye could not see. She'd seen A- the Raikage, do this before she left the previous timeline, and she was summoned through that 'Body Flicker' technique multiple times. Most ninjas knew how to perform this to varying degrees, but Sakura was spamming it like the world was going to end (again).Thus, her competency in the 'Body Flicker' teleportation technique had gone from 'maybe twenty-meters' to 'three miles'... and wherever else it was going now. She pops a food pill into her mouth, but despite the disgusting taste, she remained intrepid. It's been a few years since the last time she ate a food pill- more than five or six, since she didn't bother cooking one up during the peace following the Fourth Shinobi War. But she still had the skillset and impeccable memory to re-create her nutritional biscuits. She really didn't want to go hunting again.She did have money in her pocket, though, and some more in that bag, enough for a few days, just to settle into the new, much more humid temperatures. Thankfully her real attire underneath the henge didn't require a change since long-term transformations suspended the body from muck and stuff as long as the outer shell remained clean. (I.e. if she cleaned herself up it wouldn't be purely cosmetic, everything that applies to the henge applies to her 'real' body, except in its equivalent position)It's not like this advanced henge was an illusion that concealed its inner's injuries, or like an exterior shell, or even a trick of the eye- it was more like Tsunade's 'rejuvenation jutsu' than a standard henge-no-jutsu, which would poof when the form/the user's concentration was disrupted. That's why if she was hurt where it showed she couldn't fake not being hurt. That was the downside to this technique, because- for example, if she was cut on the cheek in her non-disguised form and someone had seen her, then three seconds later the fake comes in with the same injury? Wasn't it at least a bit suspicious?Thankfully, she was a fantastic medic-nin and would probably heal exterior injuries on a whim, without too much focus nor time needed. But in the possibility that there was a real fight with an enemy that- for whatever reason, was trying to link her identities together... that's the thing with being a double agent. Eventually, you're going to have to pick a side.Back on track, however, Sakura was now heading towards the nearest inn for a place to stay. She wouldn't stay long, but it was best to prepare for the rigorous journey still ahead. Kirigakure stood nigh as the Hidden Shinobi village and depending on the situation she might need a broker to smuggle her in or of the sort.Annoying.. that's what she thought of having stubby limbs and motor skills that rivaled only that of a cripple. Age was a crippling thing, at least in the shinobi world. Either you're too young or too old to fight because time moved on no matter what you did- unless you were Sakura Haruno, but still, she was still biologically three right now..Three, three, three. All things come in threes, three genin in a team, three apples for a discount of 20%, three alter egos thus far. Sitting down in the quaint dorm, she turns on the lamp near the bedpost and takes out her notebook.It's still convenient to stay fully mobile, (at least while she was working, unlike in the ferry when time in private had been reserved for respite) like a functional adult instead of a stubby tyke who slurred her f's. Talking about herself here, if you hadn't noticed.Yes.. she really took mobility for granted. Take Gai for example, wasn't he completely crippled hip-down? Or was he just unable to strain himself- oh, god, it's been three years since she's even thought of Gai. He.. he was with Kakashi when it happened, so that means...Anyways, Gai had almost irreversible damage to his chakra systems. The forced opening of the gates already pushed the body past the limits of the limits, making whoever performing the taijutsu endeavor would have a lot more to worry about than chakra exhaustion, like in the case of ninjutsu or genjutsu.The Eighth Gate of Death- called that for a reason, pushed one past the limits of the limits of the limits- for the lack of a better analogy, and that, like when someone didn't eat enough carbs to satisfy their calorie outtake/didn't have enough fat to sustain themselves, would start burning muscle. Same here, despite his lack of skill with ninjutsu and having lower levels of chakra (he could still do ninjutsu, take his henge for example) meant the disturbance between the balances of his natural chakra and this almost invasive power began attacking his own body. His cardiovascular system pumped so hard and way too fast that it completely oxidized his muscles until the point of his veins scarring over, producing incredible amounts of heat, burning him inside-out.Now that is when certain death is basically unavoidable- if it hadn't been for the Sage of Six Paths, Gai would of died- after the exhilaration his heart, his lungs, his ligaments, his entire body suffered, it was certain that the technique in question would also be last-resort. And it was the last thing Gai did as a ninja, which is basically like a death in the shinobi world.So, in turn, for Maito Gai's sake, don't take mobility for granted.Suddenly remembering that the entire planet's burden rests on her shoulders made her chest feel like they were Tsunade's size. If only.But, obviously, that is not a possibility.________________________________Kirigakure's perimeters were dotted with shinobi guards. It looked like a convention for weaponry, something Tenten might like. Much like The Land of Fire's gatekeepers, the process was similar. "State your name and business.""Ayaka Kimura." Sakura says, brushing her brown bangs to an upsweep at her ears. "I'm here for employment as a merchant."One guard queried, "Your goods?""Rare herbs, food pills," she says, taking the bag's contents out. "I'm also a doctor," she didn't mention that she was a medic-nin, however, since revealing her ninja status could throw her for a loop. But mentioning that she had a secondary purpose in Kiri would add some kind of strength to her argument.They made her fill out a form to authenticate her stay in Kiri, as a temporary travel visa. Ayaka Kimura, age 17, proficient in medicine and a herbal saleswoman. They showed her in the gates, and Sakura begins her quest.The first day is always the hardest. Unlike when she had become a chunin and began integrating with higher-up ninja, faced with minimal hazing and similar adversities, Kirigakure was more "each to their own". By default Sakura was given a small lot on the city plaza to sell goods, which she did for a while, seeing as money was still a necessity until she could find some shinobi income at the official ninja squads of the Hidden Mist. That would require a godsend opportunity, or a straightforward genin application. Which she seriously didn't want to do, just in case she found the Mist took ninja ranking as seriously (Naruto was still a genin at the time of his death and he might've been the strongest man alive) as Konoha had.Sakura was mostly relaxed for the entire day, even though the occasional alarming flicker of unknown chakra came into range. She assumed it was Kiri ninja off-duty.Thirteen hours later Sakura returns to her inn and smothers herself in the pillows, ready for a good rest...Day two, Ayaka leaves her room to have lunch. The motel wasn't bad, it was just alright, but Kiri's corrupt government rendered it not very luxurious. She'd rather not cook her own food, and the food pills don't taste very good anyway.While she looks through the streets worth of food, an unassuming woman comes up to her with a small smile- "Try that one over there, you are looking for places to eat, aren't you?" It was sudden and unexpected but Sakura appreciated the stranger's attentiveness. Looking at the sign she decides her stomach was craving some good old yakisoba after all and she walks toward the store.She sits down at the bar for something to eat when she notices something suspicious. A group of hooded figures are talking very quietly- Sakura strains her ears to hear, despite her aversion to eavesdropping."Now that we've met up, there's something we need to discuss.""Damn, the Mist has some scary guards. Though I did manage to find an entrance through the cove at the beach."The female of the group, her face covered by a hood, hisses at him. "Shut up, idiot, people are going to hear you.""There aren't any ninja here, ya idi- ahmean missus. Civies don't know what they're talking about, nobody'll even listen to 'em. " says the daunting man, laughing with a rasp.Now Sakura had an urge to just outright attack them, but she didn't know if they were the only ones here or if there was a greater force to deal with."But isn't it logical or whatever to think that there is always someone watching?" A lankier, smart-sounding man retorted. "This isn't a game,""In this dump? It's the most unassuming place ever, I would be genuinely surprised if any of these people aren't completely drunk to the point of complete incompetency," the woman continued to unwitting (and indirectly) insult Sakura. But it didn't take much to get her red-faced and hot'n'bothered so technically anything goes with her. "It's like keeping a stupid disguise up all day everyday even if you know nobody's watching," yet another unknowing insult. Look, Sakura kept her henge up not because she was afraid to be discovered but because it was more convenient! "Besides, we're only one of what, a dozen troops? They'll never even know it was us."Sakura fidgeted in her seat. This woman was not being coy at all, (even though a few seconds ago she was extremely silent) she was just putting up the goods in the marketplace for everyone to commemorate by. Wait, wasn't she the one complaining about how they should be quiet? Maybe Sakura wasn't the only fickle one."Isn't that right?" she turns over to Sakura, causing her to flinch. She swore inwardly as she had made a reaction even when she had purposefully kept herself steady to look completely innocent. "Little snitches like you should learn to stop listening to other people's conversations."Oh, sweet mother of Jashin. Sakura stiffened up as she prepared to bolt out of there, but she was sure there was nothing to fear. There was no kunoichi parallel to Tsunade Senju, thus the same would go to her inheritor, which was luckily for herself, Sakura. How did this woman sense that she had been watching? By the looks of it, she didn't look like a combat type. Perhaps it was her specialty to detect enemies while the grunts were the foot-soldiers to her conquest."No, I wasn't trying to 'snitch'," Sakura repeats the word with frank nonchalance. "I'm just a merchant-doctor in the city with a travel warrant. So what if I was eavesdropping?" She stated, even as the lady pulled up on her, clashing foreheads with the woman who towered over her sitting frame. Her face was thin and wasted away, but held a feminine charm that reminded her of the several short-term disguises she wore on seduction missions. Being an elite jonin left such missions far and few, but she was still taught how as a part of her kunoichi training. A few seconds later, she regretted that thought, noting that perhaps it was only profiling; maybe this woman wasn't the non-combative, passive type that would rather outwit opponents- it was pretty counterintuitive to reveal themselves so loudly. Unless there was a strategy hidden beneath that she simply didn't catch."You think you really... anybody could tell you are a shinobi." the lady hisses through clenched teeth, baring her fangs for Sakura to see. Did she seriously forget to- oh, she had completely forgotten, just like a child who covers her eyes during hide-and-seek that thinks nobody can see her just because she cannot see them. Being idle in her post and switching to her comfy inn every twelve hours for two days while not suppressing chakra was a warning as loud as a scream for help."We knew there was a elite ninja in here. You've been trying to take us down," she grinds her teeth. "Well, you're surrounded, and far too late to stop this overtake," she growls again, poking at Sakura, dot on the center of her small(er, as her alter ego has, very purposely, quite the drastic facial dissimilarity to her own) forehead. Sakura then noticed how there were at least sixty jonin-leveled ninja signatures in the 50-meter diameter, suddenly revealing themselves. That was a lot. This was indeed, as the woman had said, an overtake. And Sakura was caught up in the fray whether she liked it or not.A massive fight had broken out almost immediately, the hooded figures unmasked themselves while the rest of the jonin jumped Sakura. She didn't know how to fight them- like usual? This was the first time in her current form that she had been subjected to combat. She wondered if her body could keep up with her abilities or not.In the breadth of a moment she was sure she could see a barrage of senbon and kunai fly towards the passerby. She shot a thicker version of the string of chakra used in puppeteering to deflect the projectiles, but still registered a clear miss on a couple of them.She dodged instead, but these- these- Amegakure ninjas were going to murder the innocent if she didn't capture or... Sakura prayed to the gods the soil would be wet enough, this being Kiri, however, perhaps the 'miracle' she thought happened was simply coincidence. She had an idea. Going out of the building as a riot of fourty nin trailed doggedly after her, she used her seals; Water and Earth, in a simultaneous fashion. "Ayaka of the Mud Release" sounded nice, not to mention, believably exotic. Not the name, of course, it sounded stereotypically Land-of-Fire, but the 'kekkei genkai'.Nobody could blame or point fingers at lit'l Miss Sakura Haruno born into no Clan to be a possessor of a rare bloodline limit all of a sudden. It was a perfect debut. It all happened within a single second- courtesy of the constant use of teleporatation jutsu had allowed her to feign inhuman speed. 'Ayaka' took the muddle of water and soil, propelling it around the territory where she had sensed the most enemies, before solidifying the barrier. From there she extracted the water rapidly, before scattering it through the air in the form of mist. The ninja inside were locked in there permanently, just as long as she flooded the walls with a steady stream of chakra.But it seemed she had underestimated them, as a threatening spired lines began to crack the dome's base. From one second the slightly foggy, yet blue sky had turned pitch black, every ninja trapped within had flailed around to destroy it. When that failed they took the only logical option and dug down. Ayaka took more of the mud. She calculated her risks. She had already used a lot of chakra in that split-second decision to use the mud technique, then use the barrier jutsu along with it. After studying her Rinnegan abilities in the last life, while she barely used the dojutsu itself she did, mostly out of boredom and a combination of failed medical experimentation, managed to create ninjutsu capable of being potent in battle. The barrier technique (using a concept of inverse-Chibaku Tensei) was one originally used to be a sort of sustained animation kind of jutsu where Sakura could keep the cells of the patient's body alive (if there were internal injuries she could quarantine an organ while using chakra to make sure nothing depleted on the rest of the body) while she could manipulate anything inside the chakra barrier's contents.It's also why she could... cave the walls in if she wanted to.Looking around, she still saw bustling crowds- now yelling for help and too scared to move. Many children were hugged by their parents, and the lower-ranking shinobi that were off-duty had kunai pulled out, ready to counteract if duty called. 'Ayaka' scanned the area for a sign of unwelcome, but it appeared most of them were considering that Ayaka was the one who had trapped most of the enemy bin and automatically registered her as an ally.There was a couple of choices here. Wait until official shinobi came to the rescue and gamble civilian death and infrastructure destruction. Kill them, be hailed as a hero of the Mist (maybe an exaggeration) for the violence and brutality, save the village some extra fees for repairing the damage caused to be surrounding area. And whomever who owned the business that was ransacked probably was out of town, killed, or on the enemy's side anyway.But should she really? She disliked killing unless she absolutely had no other choice. It's not like she hasn't killed anybody, even Naruto had killed hundreds of Zetsu (albeit one human being, unless counting Sasuke, then two). But listening to the hapless cries of children (not the Chibisuke kind of babyish bawling) tugged on her heartstrings... letting these ninja die honorably on a field of battle, instead of prisons were...SMASHThe ground began to rumble as the few Earth users trapped tried to dig their way out. Sakura knew there were going to make it out soon and there were way too many people to protect to just let that happen. Ayaka knew what had to be done, and with a heavy heart accompanied by a noise eerily similar to that of when (sociopathic and young) Gaara's sand prison jutsu had been executed rang out. A bony crack or a bloody squelch quashed by the hardening soil.The earth dispersed as Ayaka cooly withdrew the muddy mixture while facing away from the violence. Sakura really didn't want to see what she had done, and it wasn't for the sake of charisma that she had been turned back. It was not how Sakura would've handled the situation. But it indeed was what one of the Bloody Mist would do..."This is Ayaka." a Mist jonin began.So Sakura's grandiose plan to stop Kisame from becoming a missing-nin was to join the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist by pledging full loyalty to the 'Mizukage'. Obito was, yeah, the real Mizukage, but she was supposed to be none-the-wiser. Still using her 'plain-Jane' henge form, she had infiltrated Kiri's base by imprisoning an entire raid of spies... helping out citizens... turning in her mortgage on time. She was going to do literally everything it took to earn the Mizukage's trust within the shortest interval of time possible.Mist was a lot more lenient than the Leaf when it came to their ranks. If this were Konoha, no matter the power or ability she possessed, she would be placed in the genin rank. But since she showed plenty of potential, she was promoted to jonin straight away.It took a deal of convincing. The execution of an entire battalion of spies was only the very beginning in her intricate multi-step scheme. Moreover, she presented herself as an orphan from a southern country (just like her pink-haired, less 'common' looking counterpart) who wanted to join a ninja village to prove her worth. Kiri was a little disapproving to her at first, but her valiant acts of heroism set those worries aside.Since the leader of Kiri was supposedly a callous and bloodthirsty individual, Sakura just did as she was told- and more. It was gut-wrenching to kill for this purpose, but a ninja's life was to do as their clients had wished. Kisame not joining the Akatsuki meant even more lives than the ones she took here and now would be spared later on. The Akatsuki started off as hired mercenaries, so, it was only natural. She reminded herself the people's blood she now had stained her hands with, that those men and women were only trying to destroy the village. If anyone did that to the Hidden Leaf she would surely do the same.If it were Konoha, she would've probably taken them prisoner instead of killing them, but in the Mist, things worked differently. And even in Konoha those prisoners were executed, (unless offered to a trade of their own or complied without the aid of extreme physical torment) anyway! So she had cut off the extra days/months/weeks/years, even, of torture and information-culling that occurred in-between the capture and... release. From life.It was actually ethically just. It's a mercy-kill, not a violent slaughter. Kirigakure probably doesn't even have torture regulations, if the tops of the village were maniacs who enjoyed suffering and wracking discord over their own nin."Ayaka Kimura at your service." she bows down to the shinobi before her, before the jonin hands her a Kiri headband matching her dark gray flak jacket, instead of the blue one she received in the beginning as a genin.A rather rude man burst out laughing at the sight. "She's going to be a jonin? This girl?" His teeth were sharp- his breath whistled through his gaping maw as he chuckled loudly. "A widdle orphan brat's becoming a jonin? I knew he looked like a twelve year old himself but I didn't know our Mizukage was this desperate."The slightly misogynistic remark (the last bit was referring to the Yagura's preferences in women as being the reason for her recruitment) didn't stick to Sakura- after all, even she would label her current outlook as feeble or unremarkable, as well, but never comment on it actively for the sake of etiquette.To the fanged nin's shock, Sakura smiled in return, meeting his gaze without trouble. "Actually, good sir. Little as I may be it really doesn't describe the rather large influence I will have on you, my designated personnel. Per se, I outrank you," Ayaka (Sakura) stated."Call me Kimura-taicho. From today on, I will be your squad captain."She then continued to unleash her valor- the hidden chakra that she suppressed opened up. (Again, she was actually trying to impress them while looking calm as possible) Every ninja present backed up involuntarily at the surprising pressure. "And here is our first mission- accompanying the Cypher Division as sentries on estate around the continent- we'll also be accompanied by a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist's very own apprentice."None other than, you guessed it, Kisame Hoshigaki.