Chapter 1: Envy

It's around midnight in the village hidden in the leaves. The full moon casts a peaceful glow on the village beneath, bathing the few citizens still awake with its light. The only sound that can be heard is natures' nightly song made by the buzzing of countless insects and whistling of the wind. Occasionally a tapping noise made by a hammer will shatter this nighttime ballad, but otherwise the song plays on unhindered.

Though some still linger on the villages' streets, most have already retired to their beds and only those rebuilding the town as well as the villages' countless shinobi remain awake. No one else stirs at this time of night, except for one.

Atop the cliff where the faces of Konoha's five great Kages have been carved, sits a lone figure staring at the moon above. A black, "dog ear" hooded robe covers him from head to toe. A black wooden cross the size of a long broom handle rests on his back and a tattoo of the letters "IV" are branded upon his right hand. He looks down from the moon and turns his attention to the village below. In a low voice that seems strained from sorrow he speaks to himself…

"Tell me Konoha," He whispers "How long has it been since I left you? Five years? Ten? Hmph, not that it matters I suppose, I'll have my revenge soon enough. He looks back up to the moon, now partially covered by a small cloud.

"You took five hearts, and sealed them, locking away their memories in their own sorrow. You corrupted the hearts of others until they believed events that never were." He chuckles shaking his head and starts to fiddle with a chocolate coin he pulls out of his pocket.

"You meant to take six, but one got away. You meant to corrupt more hearts, but never got the chance. Now the time has come for me to return the hearts you stole and purify the hearts you tainted." He pops the chocolate coin in his mouth, eating slowly before finally continuing.

"Wait for me, my brothers, my sisters, we'll be home soon. And this time we will not be separated by those whom we trusted."

…

"What's the matter Sakura?" says Choji, his mouth full of dumplings. "Is something wrong?" It is now well into the morning, the sun blasting light across the vibrantly colored land. Sakura sits at a table in her favorite restaurant with Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino. A solemn downcast look rests on her face as she plays with her food. Choji and the others shoot glances of concern to each other. After several tense seconds, she responds.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" asks Shikamaru.

She answers with a slight nod.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Sask-" Shikamaru's question stops dead in its tracks as Sakura quickly gets up and leaves the room.

"Way to go moron." says Ino.

"Aw man, what a drag…"

Her head hung low, Sakura walks through the village at a dreadfully slow pace. The village has become lively since Pain destroyed it some time ago. Bazaar's line the streets with up and coming merchants trying to build a business in the aftermath of Pain's havoc. The sound of nails being hammered into wood mixes with the idle chit chat of the villagers and shouts of playing children. Occasionally a Leaf village shinobi can be seen running here or there, most likely doing something to prepare for the upcoming war.

Staring down at her feet combined with the noise of the bazaar, Sakura fails to see or hear Kiba and Akamaru's warnings as they dash towards her at full speed. They collide right into one another and each is sent sprawling onto the ground. Sakura sits up, massaging her head from the collision. Angry and still a little dazed she says "Geez Kiba what was that for?"

Kiba quickly regains his bearings and starts to defend himself "Don't give me that! We were practically screaming for you to get out of the way! But you just kept walking towards us like some kind of zombie!"

"You did?"

"Yeah! How could you have not heard that?"

Sakura looks down at her feet. With her head clearer and her anger now gone, her face has once again been replaced with its earlier expression of dismal depression.

"Hey Sakura… you okay?"
"I'M FINE!" she snaps, so loudly that Kiba and Akamaru both recoil in pain.

"Ah, sorry. I guess I'm not so fine after all. The uh… war preparations… have been taking their toll on me… I guess. Ah ha ha…" Sakura looks at Kiba with an unsteady gaze and an awkward smile.

Kiba stares back with a slightly puzzled expression and is clearly unconvinced, but to Sakura's pleasure, pursues the matter no further. He stands up to dust himself off and extends a hand to Sakura to help her do the same.

"That's understandable, I guess. Unfortunately there's still way more to do. In fact, that's why I'm here. Lady Tsunade wishes to see you as soon as possible. I was on my way to give a mission report to the hokage and when I got there she sent me and Akamaru to track you down. You'd better get going. With the look on her face, it must be pretty damn serious."

"All right. Thanks Kiba."

"Woof!"
Sakura smiles and lets out a small laugh. "And you too, Akamaru!"

After saying goodbye, Sakura releases a small sigh as she watches Kiba and Akamaru take off. She then turns around and proceeds to the small, ANBU littered area reserved for the hokage after the destruction of the village.

Upon entering the room Sakura quickly notices the heavy scents of differing herbs. She's sure most assume it's because Tsunade is a medical ninja who experiments with different natural remedies, but Sakura knows it's just to hide the even heavier smell of alcohol. She looks forward and sees Tsunade sitting at a desk piled high with various papers, scrolls and maps. To the right is Shizune, carrying her trademark pig in her hands while to the left stand three others each of whom she was not expecting to see.

"Captain Yamato? Sai? Kakashi Sensei? What are you doing here?"

Yamato looks at Sakura and says "We were just wondering that ourselves. Apparently we're going on a mission, though we haven't been briefed yet."

Kakashi turns to Tsunade "This is a pretty strong group, milady. I'm assuming this is no war preparation excursion?"

"You're right Kakashi. This is an S-Rank mission."

Everyone stands in silence as the weight of her words sinks in. This definitely wasn't for war preparations. The question stood though. What would it be? The most obvious answer would be something to do with the Akatsuki, but now is far too early to strike a blow against them. Especially with only a single four man team.

"Milady?" says Sakura, a mixture of fear, confusion, and concern permeating her lips.

"Quiet. And stay that way until the end of the briefing. Now as for this mission, you are going after a rogue ninja, NOT Sasuke." Tsunade quickly adds as a sudden rush of horror appears on Sakura's face "You are to track him down and eliminate him on sight. Don't bother talking, just kill him."

Yamato clears his throat. "Excuse me Lady Tsunade, just what exactly has this rogue ninja done?"

A smile creeps up on Tsunades' lips. Not one of enjoyment, but rather of frustration and agitation "I don't know." She says simply.

The room is once again silent. Did they hear that right? They're being asked to kill a ninja who, so far as anyone knows, has done absolutely nothing wrong other than leave the village?

"Lady Tsunade," says Sai, "As I recall, a rogue ninja who has yet to commit a crime was to be apprehended, not assassinated. He must have done something."

Suddenly a voice that seems riddled with age is heard from behind Sakura. "It is not what he has done, but what he will do."

Sakura as well as the others in the room face the door to see the village elder Utatane.

"Utatane!" Exclaims Kakashi. "What have we done to earn your presence?"

"Yes Utatane," seethes Tsunade who is clearly upset by the presence of the elder. "What HAVE we done?"

"I just came to clear things up about the mission."

"You mean you know what he's done?" asks Sakura.

"Again it's not what he's done but what he will do. As of yet he has done nothing. In fact I'd even go so far as to say that he's never committed a bad deed in his entire life. But that will change soon. And it is my entire fault. I cannot tell you why, only that this must be done. Believe me you don't want to know the truth behind this. It is a painful and cruel one. Just know that by taking his life you will be sparing him from an agony that has tormented him for many years."

'The target is a boy named Akumu Taka. He excels at genjutsu. His skills in it easily surpass even Itachi's Tsukuyomi. And his taijutsu and ninjutsu are no laughing matter either. He will fight back, but he will not kill you even if the odds are easily in his favor. He will incapacitate you and he will run away. You must NOT let that happen, understand? Good, now go. And do not fail."

Kakashi, Yamato, Sai and Sakura all leave the room to begin their mission, leaving the others behind.

"Why won't you tell us more about him, Utatane?" asks Tsunade.

The village elder turns towards the door and stares at it in silence quite some time. When she finally speaks it is little more than a whisper. "Tell me Tsunade, if you killed all of Sakura's friends and loved ones then exiled her from the village after placing a curse on her, what would you do when she sought revenge?"

"Utatane…"

"What I did was not quite that extreme yet at the same time was far worse. It is the greatest sin I have ever committed, and these aching bones of mine wish they could take back what they have done. As always, I thought I was doing it for the safety of the village. But the truth is I was jealous and afraid. Afraid of something that did not exist and jealous of something that did."

"I stole five hearts that day. I should have stolen all six, but I could not bring myself to steal the last one. Now I shall atone for my sins, in the only way I know how."

Without another word, the village elder left the room, closing the door behind her.