CHAPTER ONE – INVASION
Sakura Haruno placed her right hand above her left hand and allowed both hands to hover slightly above the abdomen of the wounded ninja. Concentrating, Sakura released a steady stream of chakra and began to assess the gash's severity. The wound's deeper than expected, Sakura thought. His stomach is pierced. Hydrochloric acid has spilt into the bloodstream and poisoned his blood. Dialysis needs to be performed, but the acid needs to be contained before the internal bleeding and other wounds can be treated.
Sakura reached for the container beside her that was full of a brown, viscous liquid that was replete with enzymes, proteins, and progenitor cells. She opened her left hand and touched the surface of the liquid. Molding her chakra into an adhesive, she pulled up the liquid from the container and gave it a round shape until it looked like she had a large bubble underneath her hand. She then directed the liquid over the ninja's abdomen, and using her chakra as a guiding force, made the liquid bypass via osmosis the skin, the abdominal muscles, the blood vessels and nerves, and once the liquid reached its destination and permeated into the internal digestive organs, Sakura used the liquid as a medium to pull and direct the hydrochloric acid back inside the stomach's cavity. Her hands extended the medical liquid over the rest of the stomach, and with great precision, began to stimulate rapid mitotic cell division to repair the punctured tissue. She restored the internal and external layers of the stomach, and strengthened the stomach's outer muscle. Ordering one of the assistants to insert an apparatus in the ninja's veins to remove the poisoned blood, Sakura then began to target specific bones with her chakra as the machine pumped out his blood. She placed her hands over the ninja's breast bone, and then moved to his humerus and shoulder blade bones, his hip bone, his femurs, and—realizing it was necessary because of his excessive blood poisoning—she targeted his vertebrae. She infused her chakra deep into the bone marrow, the red marrow, so the ninja's body could produce new red blood cells. The poisonous blood was soon removed from his circulatory system and Sakura healed the other digestive organs. She stopped his internal bleeding. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. The other medical ninjas could attend to his minor lesions and contusions.
Turning around, Sakura saw over fifty wounded ninjas spread out on cots. Thankfully, she had been able to attend most of them and all were out of immediate danger. The half-dozen medical ninjas under her command were in a hectic buzz removing bandages, cleaning bed pans, and operating on minor wounds. Sakura's left hand cupped her right arm's elbow. She wished her comrades had a state-of-the-art hospital like in Konohagakure, but the large, brown-green tarpaulin tent was the best they could manage.
Sakura walked out of the hospital tent. She heard the peaceful chirping of birds overhead, and in spite of it being summer, Sakura was spared the brooding heat. She was inside the heart of a dense forest and was flanked on all sides by trees that rose as high as the eye could see. Few blades of yellow sunlight managed to pierce the trees' thick foliage, but those rare sun rays that did manage to touch the earth revealed a verdant ground suffused with all kinds of wild vegetation, from beautiful and rare flowers that Sakura never knew existed, to the most malign weeds that continually dilapidated the skin's epidermis if left untreated.
There was a small, dry clearing with an arroyo nearby. Sakura headed toward it and once there, she scooped up the clear, fresh water in her hands and splashed her face, hoping that the water's coolness would help wake her. She was tired. Her limbs felt heavy and her eyes yearned for sleep. Medical jutsu consumed massive amounts of chakra and it drained her, especially since she had just operated successively on forty-two ninjas with fatal wounds, and though she felt she could still push herself even further, Sakura knew she needed to conserve and reserve chakra in case she had to engage in unexpected battle. Kneeling by the creek, Sakura closed her eyes and focused. She began to direct her unused chakra from her legs, abdomen, chest, arms, and other parts of her body. Finally, as she opened her eyes and gazed at her reflection in the stream, she saw the diamond-shaped seal on her forehead glowing in azure refulgence as the visible concentrated blue rivulets of unemployed chakra zigzagged inside the diamond. The diamond's glow receded and became Tyrian purple when she completed sealing her chakra inside. Souzou-Saisei, Sakura thought. Though she had never used it, it was the last jutsu her sensei, Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin and Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure, had taught her. Sakura continued to look at her reflection in the stream and she touched the diamond seal with the tips of her fingers. So much had changed in three years. Her hair was now as long as it used to be when she had trained as a Genin under Kakashi, and her green eyes had hardness to them that didn't exist before. Her body was now a voluptuous hourglass figure that reflected her nineteen years of age, and she had achieved a level of beauty that had long surpassed her sensei's, but that fact held absolutely no comfort. She had become a woman far from the home she loved and now lived in permanent exile.
Sakura felt the presence of someone approaching.
"Sakura," a young man said.
Sakura turned her head and looked over her shoulder. It was Shikamaru Nara. He too had changed in the past three years. He had continued to grow taller and his skin had become dark because he was constantly under the sun. He had a more muscular, athletic physique than before, rounder shoulders and pronounced arm muscles. His was now a body of a man that reflected constant engagement in ninja battles. But perhaps the greatest change, Sakura thought, was the thick scar that protruded from his left temple down to the corner of his left eye and dipped up in a crescent shape in the middle of his cheek. It was Danzo's parting gift when Shikamaru openly defied his orders.
"The council is gathering," Shikamaru said. "How is everyone?"
"Stable. All ninjas will pull through."
Sakura got up, wiped away the loose grass and dirt from her knees, and as she walked past Shikamaru, Shikamaru touched Sakura's elbow and pulled her in close to him.
"I know that you're more than capable of defending yourself, but I don't want you wandering alone anymore. That ambush on our squad was no accident. We have a mole."
Sakura looked into Shikamaru's eyes and saw fear, an emotion she rarely saw him express.
"Who is it?" she asked.
Shikamaru let go of Sakura's elbow and took out a cigarette pack from one of the pockets of his brown flak jacket. He lit the cigarette's end and took a long drag.
"No idea," he said, exhaling smoke through his nostrils. Smoke curled carelessly and lethargically around him. "But I'll find the bastard. We're not going to lose people this time."
They had been betrayed before with devastating consequences. Both looked into each other's eyes and read each other's thoughts: Choji. Ino. If they had known that infiltrating a minor Konohagakure base was a trap, Sakura and Shikamaru would've never sent them on the mission. Choji and Ino never returned.
Both walked down the arroyo and soon came across a vast clearing. Trees had been removed and there was wave after wave of tent roofs. Children ran around playing shinobi wars made out of dried tree branches, the women did their laundry in the creek, and several men were returning after hunting down game in the woods. There were close to three thousand people there. They were displaced and homeless because of the war: it was a refugee camp.
When Sakura and Shikamaru entered the camp's borders, the children immediately ran to them.
"Sakura-sama!" the girls called out. "Could you please show us how to look beautiful?"
"Shikamaru-sama!" the boys encircled him, "have you fought today?" They tugged at his rugged arms and clamored for a story. Their faces were smudged with the rich forest earth. In spite of their mother's best efforts, their clothes were soiled by grass stains. The parents soon caught wind of Sakura and Shikamaru's return, and the quickly began to call back their children.
Sakura and Shikamaru walked to the largest tarp in the center of the camp. They entered.
"They're finally here," Temari said.
Sakura entered behind Shikamaru. The tent was full of people. Shino, Neji, Ten-Ten, and Kiba were in attendance. Seats were arranged in a circle and each shinobi was seated in one of the chairs. Behind the seats were ninjas that had defected from Konohagakure.
Sakura assumed her seat and the council meeting began.
"What's the situation in Kumogakure?" Kiba asked.
Shikamaru took out a scroll and with a quick flick of his hand, the scroll rolled across the ground. It was a map that showed the Five Great Nations of the shinobi world, and several arrows obtruded from the Land of Fire into the surrounding four nations.
"Danzo began his military campaign into Kumogakure twenty-six days ago, but he has yet to penetrate Raikage's defenses. He was expecting reinforcements from Kirigakure after the Hyuga Clan conquered the Land of Water, but it appears Kisame arrived in his village six days ago. Kisame has prevented the Hyuga from crossing the ocean and invading Kumogakure from the south. Also, I can't confirm if the rumors are true, but it's believed Danzo himself engaged with the Eight-Tailed Beast."
"Killer Bee?" Ten-Ten asked.
"Yes," Shikamaru said.
"I hear he's the greatest swordsman in all of the Five Nations," Ten-Ten said. "Kumogakure's refugees constantly tell of his exploits and power. Is Danzo dead?" She intoned her question with hope.
"No," Shikamaru said. "Danzo was able to keep up. He put Killer Bee in check."
Sakura's green eyes turned to the map on the floor. It would take a lot more than that to take Danzo down, Sakura thought. She had experienced firsthand the raw power of his swordsmanship. Pain had invaded Konohagakure, had left a giant crater in the middle of the village, but her master had been able to save everyone. As Naruto battled Pain, Danzo and his ANBU ninjas attacked Tsunade. The ANBU ninjas set a parameter around them and formed a seal that didn't allow Gamakichi to escape with Tsunade. Sakura did her best and was able to take out three of Danzo's ANBU ninjas on her own, but when she launched her attack at Danzo, Danzo easily countered her every move with effortless grace. "Stupid girl," Danzo said, "out of my way." He never removed the sheath from his sword, but in a brief display of swordsmanship that Sakura had never fathomed possible, she felt successive blows all over her body. She was unable to counter even one of his hits. She saw from the floor, with limbs in pain and bones broken into pieces, as Danzo killed Tsunade.
"On the other side," Shikamaru pointed to the southern side of Konoha in the map, "Iwakagure has proven to be the thorn on Danzo's side. He invaded the Land of Earth first, but Konoha has yet to establish complete control over Iwakagure's populace."
"This is all interesting," Neji said, "but why did you ask us to come?"
Shikamaru got serious. He sat down in his chair, interlaced his fingers together, and placed his mouth behind them. "Konoha's troops are spread thin all over the ninja world," he said, "and all of the ninja nations are engaged fighting Konoha's ninjas on their own soil, but if there is ever a moment to invade and rescue Hanabi, that moment is now. Without the Hyuga's support, Danzo loses his most powerful military branch and this war may finally turn against him."
Sakura saw Neji's face remain expressionless, but his fists were tightly clenched, and he had unconsciously activated his Byakugan. He was still unable to forgive himself. Neji had stayed behind after Sakura fled half dead from Konoha. No one really knew Danzo's true intentions then. With the Elders' support, Danzo ascended as Rokudaime Hokage. At that point, only Sakura knew the truth—that Tsunade had been murdered by Danzo's hands—but the whole village had assumed Pain had been the culprit. Why wouldn't he be? Sarutobi and Minato had sacrificed their lives to save the village from invasion, so it was assumed Pain targeted Konoha's seating Hokage. Danzo convincingly played his cards well and eulogized Tsunade's brave efforts against Pain at her funeral, but his plans for the future of Konoha soon became apparent. As Rokudaime Hokage, Danzo exploited and nurtured the division within the Hyuga family branches, but Hiashi saw through Danzo's plans and refused to allow the Hyuga to become the Hokage's pawns. Neji blamed himself, but no one in Konoha would have thought that a Hokage would have taken it upon himself to personally kill the head member of the Hyuga Clan. With Hinata missing after she left Konoha to find Naruto, the main family branch's heir, Hanabi Hyuga, become a prisoner in the Hokage's palace. She was the future of the clan, the only viable link to keep the main branch going, and since no one knew if Hinata lived, none of the Hyuga dared oppose Danzo. Neji attempted to rescue Hanabi and for his efforts, he was banished and the Hyuga Clan, who was worried about Hanabi's well-being, disavowed him.
"When will we go?" Neji asked.
