Naruto Hakitori – Phoenix Chronicles

Part I

(English Translation)

Original Fan-fiction in spanish written by 'Septimo Hokage'

. . .

PROLOGUE: A NEW PROMISE

Sakura sighed. She was very exhausted. Very early, the day had been a non-stop. From before dawn she had been working in the hospital: treating the wounded from the battlefield, operating the most serious cases, healing mortal wounds . . . her chakra was at a very low level, but at least this was the last operation of her shift.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah, it's just that I'm tired."

"It would then be convenient to you to rest. You are very pale."

The girl stared at the ceiling. The dim light of the operating room, now empty, fell to her shoulders giving her skin a whitish almost a sickly color. Sakura accepted the advice and decided to go home to rest.

Upon leaving the hospital, she saw how the sun was leaving giving way to night in a beautiful twilight that had nothing to do with the battle that was raging outside Konoha. It had not even elapsed a decade since Naruto terminated the Fourth Great Ninja War when the shadow of war fell back on the world.

'There will be others like me. Even being defeated, the human being is greedy and wants to be superior to their peers. While this is so, Madara will remain alive' those were his last words ... Would he be behind this situation?

Calm and without haste—thinking as she walked—she arrived home. There, her parents received her warmly and invited her to dinner. She waved back, but declined the offer, alleging fatigue. In her bedroom, she looked a picture that she would never forget. The Team Seven, long ago, had been united and now was separated by the war. She lay on her bed and slept, indulging herself in Morpheus' arms, completely, only with a weak plea on her lips:

'Please, that nothing happens to them.'

Again, she was working but this time it was four o'clock in the morning. The wounded arrive not stop from the battle, according recounting, those were in better conditions were seen in favor of Konoha.

All Konoha hospital was in chaos. Sakura had barely slept since, in the middle of the night, several ANBU had come to return her to her workplace.

Two hours had lapsed. She approached the counter when a group entered arming a stir. A circle formed around the newcomers.

"Quickly! Quickly! We need a doctor!" a nurse pleaded.

Sakura rushed to treat the wounded that came from front. Among the knot that had formed, she could see a blond boy. Then, the worst was feared. She ran after him, it could not be. . . When she saw him she relaxed, but he was stained with blood and in shock. Beside him, was a black-haired genin on the stretcher, and another two young ninjas that were totally gone. An unsightly wound covered his entire left and right sides.

"Naruto . . . oh my god."

"Sakura-chan! Heal him!" he burst into mourn.

Sakura set out to do so. She concentrated and quickly gathered her chakra to heal Naruto's pupil. However, when the technique had already begun one of the nurses stopped the kunoichi indicating that the boy had died.

Sakura ignored her. She tried to use her healing jutsu. The chakra flowed out into the gennin's body. Nothing happened. She tried again with more insistence as she called two doctors. Nothing happened.

'Please, please' the young girl begged.

Her pleas were in vain. Sakura covered him with a blanket and immediately her heart torn in two when she heard a piercing cry of pain from Naruto.

"HIKARU!"

The two teammates from Naruto's team began to mourn. Sakura noticed as pain assailed him too.

"I'll take care of them; all of you—proceed with the others wounded," Sakura ordered the nurses.

"The war is again at our doorstep?"

"In what served the sacrifice of the brave ninja who gave their lives fighting Madara?"

"It's true . . . even our Hokage has been unable to avoid it"

"Darkness lashes this world again. . ."

"We won today, but at what price?"

And other comments that Sakura avoided for Naruto and his apprentices. In fourth part, Naruto served them a cup of tea and a blanket to the young children. After they swelled to mourn, they curled up together in the clothes heat and fell asleep, exhausted from combat.

Naruto had not said anything more. He was deeply depressed and Sakura could know that was on the verge of collapse. She crouched down and stared into his sky-colored eyes when she gave him a faint kiss on his cheek.

Ten years had passed since the fourth great ninja war end. A little over six months, three gennin had been entrusted to the Hokage – Uzumaki Naruto: Hikaru, Sora, and Yuna. Naruto had endeavored himself in order to properly instruct them.

Naruto glanced at her and looked around for her shoulder. Sakura gave it to him stroking her hair as she consoled him. When he had calmed down, she asked:

"What happened, Naruto?"

The blonde-haired swallowed and, dropping the lump in his throat, told her everything.

"We were surrounded . . . he remained, all of the mercenaries they had hired were fleeing or dead . . . damn it! Damn it. . . Sakura-chan, I warned him, I told them: Let the Lord of Seven Faces for me, run for reinforcements, but — cursed is the time that I taught them that the most important thing was teamwork! Hikaru took the decision not to abandon me and . . ."

"As it was logical, Sora and Yuna too."

"Yeah, I threatened to turn them into toads but he said: Sensei, respecting rules is the most important, but fighting for friends it's even more. . . DAMN IT! In what served me controlling the nine tails chakra?"

"It's not true Naru—"

"It is, Sakura-chan! If it had been strong I would have said no but why did not I? Because I saw in them the hope that so long I had kept. Damn it all. Sakura-chan, everything was going well, we started fighting, and I monitored their every move. I wasn't willing to lose; I had so much to lose. DAMN IT! I am the Hokage — I must protect them, and yet, we experienced one of our worst attacks. I am the Hokage, the Hokage who didn't keep his word: I couldn't bring Sasuke back . . ."

"Stop blaming yourself for what happened to Sasuke!" Sakura scolded him, she never wanted to know about him, but Naruto looked like he was not forgiven by himself. She just knew, or wanted to know, that Sasuke had disappeared after defeating Madara and Obito.

Sakura imagined the rest but Naruto pursued his explanation.

"We face death. Another coward who hides behind a mask, a seven-faced mask. Sakura-chan, I was stupid. He used his genjutsu and caught my students but I resisted. I continued fighting against him. Even the nine tails chakra mode didn't let me gain an advantage. . . It was like coming to confront to—"

"Madara?" Sakura anticipated, fearing the worst.

"No, no, no. Hell! Someone attacked me from behind leaving me paralyzed!" Sakura was surprised. "I do not know how, but Hikaru broke the Lord of Seven Faces' jutsu and confronted them. Obviously, it didn't cost them defeating him. Almost about to die, Hikaru used a rasengan, impacting it on his chest, freeing his teammates."

"Did they saw it?" she said, terrified at seeing the gennin.

"Yes, they saw how he sacrificed for us. With what remained of energy, he summoned a toad that got us here."

Sakura's eyes filled with tears and then, she hugged Naruto with all her strength, telling him: "I'm sorry, Naruto, I'm so sorry."

"Sakura-chan, you don't have to sorry my mistakes. I will resolve this issue. I am the Hokage. My duty is to protect the village and its villagers as if they were my family. I will not fail them. Hikaru's death will not be in vain. I promise you. I'll finish with this new menace, which is the Lord of Seven Faces."

"Don't do anything stupid. Please, I ask you for the two . . ."

"The two?"