Title: Secrets in Ink

Author: greenphoenix85

Short Summary: Sakura discovers the deepest, darkest secrets of the elder, Danzo, that he has kept from Konoha and it's a secret that can either begin the biggest war in Shinobi history or stop it before it begins.

Pairings: Sakura/Sai, Naruto/Hinata, Sasuke/Karin, Gaara/ooc (ME!!)

Warning: Rated T, but might go up; for very strong language, violence, and adult themes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters.

Introduction:

Many years ago, a terrible Shinobi war broke out, which ravaged the land. Many were killed from all of the Great Five Countries; Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning, and Earth. There was so much hate and blood shed that the entire land literately became the Land of Blood. Families were divided, and friends were lost. There was so much fighting that the Great Shinobi War became the worst war in history. However, no one truly knows how it all began. What brought on this war in the first place? Truth be told, it all began with a love that was so forbidden.

Danzo's Diary

Chapter One

Blink. Blink. Blink.

"Uh…..Tsunade-Shishou, can you run that by me again? What do you want me to do?" Sakura Haruno asked staring wide eyed at her mentor.

Tsunade sighed as she looked at her student with aggravation. She didn't want to repeat it. It was too dangerous to even speak about this mission the first time. Especially when she was in the Administration Offices, nonetheless. Anyone could have heard if she repeated it. If anyone found out about this mission, everything she had done for Konoha would be for nothing and it would bring chaos onto her and the village, itself. If HE every found out about this, not only would she die, but probably Sakura, herself. "Sakura, for the last time, open your ears. I can't repeat this mission briefing too much or someone will hear it." The Fifth Hokage grumbled before shaking her head. "Alright. One more time then. I am upping your rank to Jounin and you will begin training as an ANBU for this mission. You must be ready within the month though for this mission needs to be done ASAP. The mission will be an S ranked one, so it will be highly dangerous." She then sighed when Sakura looked rather hesitant. "Sakura, out of most of the village, you are the only one I trust. I trust Shizune the most but I can't send her on this mission. She's not qualified for it. I would have someone else do it, if there was anyone else but there's not. I need you to do it."

There was a long silence as Sakura took it all into thought. She couldn't believe that Tsunade was making her Jounin already. Much less, having her become an ANBU. Now that was something that she had never even considered on becoming. She had heard the stories. It was a very dangerous job. And now Tsunade was asking her to become ANBU for a mission? "I….I don't think I would make a good ANBU though, Shishou." She said rather uneasily.

"Sakura, if I didn't think you could do this job, I wouldn't have asked." Tsunade said frowning at the pink haired Kunoichi. She then sighed as she folded her hands in front of her. "Sakura, you can do this. I know you can. You are strong and you can do whatever you put your mind to." She told her.

Again, Sakura hesitated but then she sighed and nodded, looking serious again. "All right then, Shishou. I'll do it if you really believe in me." She paused. "But can I ask you why do I need to become an ANBU and what kind of S mission is this?"

Tsunade paused for a long moment as she tried to chose her words carefully. She knew that if she wasn't careful, she'd scare her student away. But she knew that Sakura needed the details. So she motioned her student to come closer, who obeyed immediately. "The mission requires two ANBU. However, there is only one ANBU that I trust and then you. So therefore I need you to become the second. I want you to be trained as an ANBU so that you will be able to do this mission. It's a very top secret mission that requires your full attention. Not even the Elders know about this mission, god forbid that. I don't really want to discuss the full details of this mission, not until I know you're ready for it." She told her pink haired student.

"Shishou, I think I should know about it." Sakura said, tilting her head in concern. "That way I know of what to expect." She stated.

Again the Fifth sighed before shaking her head. "All right, Sakura. But in a moment I'll tell you what it is. First, I should probably tell you what requirements you will need." She paused as she looked directly into Sakura's eyes. "You will be trained by an ANBU, who will be your partner while on this mission. She will be teaching you everything you need to know about ANBU, but like I said, you need to be ready in a month. So it's going to be very hard. It usually takes years to become ANBU but you only have 30 days. It will be hardcore training. You will need to be able to hit a bulls-eye in target practice, excellent in Taijutsu, and expert in Genjutsu, which you already are. And you will also need to be exceptionally swift in Ninjutsu. Your Ninjutsu isn't bad but it does need a little work. However, there is something else that you're going to need." She made a face at the though.

"…….what is it?" Sakura asked a little worried.

Tsunade was still making her face but then shook her head to be rid of it. She knew Sakura wasn't going to like this last one. She didn't like it herself. But it was needed. Especially for this particularly mission, which dealt with HIM. "Sakura, you will need to learn how to lock your emotions up. You can not show your emotions whatsoever on this mission. You can not show any anger, no sadness. No anything. You can't even smile that much while on it." She explained.

Sakura looked at her in surprise. She wasn't entirely sure what her mentor was talking about but she had an inkling. She was pretty sure that Tsunade was trying to tell her that she had to be just like Sai, her emotionally handicapped teammate. "What? You mean…..no emotions period? Like Sai?" She asked, making a face.

Again Tsunade made a face but nodded. "It's just for the mission, Sakura. But yes. No emotions at all. I suggest you try taking lessons of how to hide your emotions from Sai, but he cannot know about this mission. Not even a hint. If he finds out about this mission, it's all over. He will report to his supervisor, Danzo, and if he knows, it will be all over. Everything we've done for this village will fall apart." She told her.

Sakura frowned but then looked worried. "The mission is what then, Shishou?" She asked quietly.

"……" Tsunade sighed before she looked very seriously into Sakura's eyes. "Since your last mission to recover Sasuke Uchiha…..for heaven's sakes, Sakura! Knock it off!" She exclaimed when Sakura curled up into a fetal position, brooding at the very sound of Sasuke's name. "As I was saying, since that mission, I have been very suspicious of Danzo. Especially when he ordered Sai to kill Sasuke….." She began glaring at the pink haired girl when she did it again. "Since he ordered Sasuke's death…..Sakura!"

"Sorry, Shishou." Sakura murmured as she snapped to attention from her fetal position and tried to look serious about it.

"Anyway!" Tsunade continued. "I haven't really started trusting Danzo since he faked a deal with Orochimaru to get to….your former teammate. He's got too many secrets and I don't like it. He's hiding things from me and it's making me feel uneasy. So I need you to find out what he's hiding. But to do that, you must be ANBU. Only ANBU can pretty much go near him without him being all paranoid. It's not S ranked for no reason, Sakura. Danzo might be old, but he's extremely powerful. And he has a lot of authority over the ANBU. Most of them look up to him and he would be Hokage if it weren't for me. But the problem is……well, you know."

Sakura frowned at the thought be slowly nodded. "You're in his way. Do you think he's trying to plan your assassination then?" She asked in worry.

Tsunade frowned thoughtfully but then narrowed her eyes. She didn't like that idea but she knew it was something that Danzo would do. "For his own sake, he better not be." She then shrugged. "Anyway, I need you to be prepared for this. So for a month, you will be trained by an ANBU until I believe you are ready for your mission. In the mean time, you need to convince your teammate, Sai, to teach you how to control your emotions. You can't tell him the exact reason why but it needs to be done." She paused looking at the door. "I think it's time that you met your partner now. Wolf, come on in."

At that very moment, the door opened and in came in a tall ANBU, no doubt a woman. She was wearing the traditional ANBU uniform with a mask of a Wolf face. She had long dark violate hair which fell down to her lower waist. Sakura couldn't make out her eyes because of the mask but she could already tell that this woman was very pretty. She had such a curvy form that it wouldn't be hard for a man to get distracted by her. On her back, the ANBU carried two Katana. And on her right arm, Sakura caught sight of a red tattoo. Still, Sakura was surprised that she had been there. She hadn't been aware that someone was just standing on the other side of the door.

"Sakura, meet your new partner who will be training you the ways of ANBU, Wolf." Tsunade told her before motioning to the ANBU. "Wolf, remove your mask and introduce yourself to her."

The ANBU nodded before she reached up with a gloved hand and took off her mask to reveal that she did have a very gorgeous face. Her eyes were a deep brown. "Hello. My name is Yugao Uzuki." She said, with a moonlight like voice. Sakura just nodded as she bowed at the waist to her. "Hello, Yugao-chan. I'm Sakura Haruno." She told her.

"Yugao, you've been briefed on the mission already so there's no need to repeat what I've told Sakura. You are to train her as if she's becoming an ANBU. Teach her everything she needs to know. The codes, the fighting styles that's expected. Everything." Tsunade told her. Yugao only nodded as she bowed to her again to the Fifth. "Very well, my lady." She looked over at Sakura again. "What is going to be your new name?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked frowning.

Tsunade shook her head as she leaned back into her chair. "She means your ANBU name. The ANBU don't usually go by their given names. They go by symbolic names; usually animalistic or Elemental. Yugao, here, is Wolf." She told her.

Sakura slowly nodded in understanding as she took in the information. She was starting to understand what she meant. She had to come up with a new name that suited her. She could have just came up with a simple one, like 'Cherry' or 'Blossom', but then that made her pull a face. She was already called that and ANBU names were suppose to hide her true identity. So it wouldn't work. So what else would work?

After a while, she settled for Panther and told the two other women her new name.

The name 'Panther' made Tsunade raise eyebrow but she just shrugged while Yugao smirked at the name. "Panther, huh? The Pink Panther." She said, almost teasingly. Sakura made a face, knowing that choosing Panther might have been a bad idea. There was no doubt that her new partner would resist teasing her now. Tsunade just shook her head as she held up a hand to Yugao to drop the teasing before looking at Sakura. "All right. From now on, you are Panther. You will not use this name around your teammates though. Only when you've become an official ANBU. Kakashi and probably Yamato knows about your new rank and very little about your new mission but not all. They know that you're training to become ANBU and that's all they will know. Naruto and Sai have no clue, nor are you allowed to tell them. Your new training as Panther will begin first thing in the morning." The Fifth paused for a moment before making a face. "Sakura, there is one thing I would like to discuss with you. What is your opinions on tattoos?"

Sakura's eyes widened at the very word. She hadn't even thought about tattoos before. Her mother had always told her that she was never to mark her body with tattoos if she could help it. She always said that tattoos were a way to destroy your body. But then again, now that Sakura thought about it, her mother had a tattoo of an old boyfriend's name on her ankle with a heart surrounding it. Sakura, herself, though never even thought about getting a tattoo. "Tattoos? Um…..well, I really wasn't planning on getting one, if that's what you meant. But if I have to, I will." She said, glancing at Yugao's tattoo on her arm.

Yugao just nodded as she looked at her through heavy lidded eyes. She reached up and touched her red tattoo on her arm, before nodding. "All ANBU bear this marking. It's a symbol that stats that one is a dangerous assassin for the ANBU. Bein one, even for a mission, you must have one. If you try and fake the tattoo, you will only get caught. And if you get caught, there is a heavy price. Pretending to be an ANBU like this means death. So it will be better if you get one." She told her.

Tsunade only nodded. "Don't worry, Sakura. After the mission, if you don't want the tattoo, I can take it off for you. I know a technique that deals with tattoo removals." She told her.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura nodded. "All right, Shishou. I'll do it then. When should I start?" She asked smiling.

"We will begin tomorrow, early morning." Yugao told her, her voice rather emotionless all of a sudden. Sakura looked rather surprised by how she talked but then nodded. She knew it was probably better not to argue and listen to her new partner. So with a bow to Tsunade, the pink haired girl was starting to leave. But Tsunade called her after her, making her stop in the door way. "Remember, try to talk Sai into teaching you about controlling your emotions." She told her then allowed her to go.

Sakura made her way through the village trying to think of a way of how she was going to convince Sai, of all people, how to be emotionless. She knew it was going to be very hard for her. Especially for her. She was full of emotions. How in the world did Tsunade expect her to be able to lock up her emotions like Sai? Well, either way, Sakura knew she would have to convince him without any suspicion. Nor give him any ideas. But then again, he was an idiot as it was. It shouldn't give him any ideas. Still it worried her. What if it did give Sai ideas?

'Ugh!! This is so going to be hard! More than less, difficult! Besides, I absolutely hate Sai! He's so rude and obnoxious! Not to mention he's so inconsiderate!' Sakura thought savagely to herself. 'And he keeps calling me 'Ugly'! What's the deal with that?!'

"Hey, Ugly."

Speak of the devil.

Sakura's face turned very red from anger when she heard the usual nickname that she just thought of. She felt her fists ball up tightly until she cracked her knuckles before she turned slowly around and glared at the pale ninja in black. He was walking towards her, carrying his stupid sketch book and with that stupid fake smile on his face. Sakura so wanted to punch it right off his face, but knew if she did, she would never get him to teach her.

So she swallowed her pride and tried to be nice. "Hi, Sai." She hissed through gritted teeth before she suddenly came up with a sudden idea. She knew this had to be her chance. So she slouched her shoulders, looking very pathetic. "How are you?" She murmured, sorrowfully.

As she had hoped, Sai blinked before tilting his head to the side. He had caught onto that she might have been upset about something. "Hmm? It something wrong?" he asked quietly. Sakura just turned slightly away, forcing herself to look a little embarrassed and waving a hand at him. "Oh! No, no, no! Everything's fine." She said trying to sound very unconvincing. "I'm just……well, don't worry about it."

"Oh. Okay." Sai said now turning away.

A sharp tick appeared at Sakura's temple as she glared at his back. She couldn't believe this guy! She was doing the worst acting possible so he'd get the idea that something was wrong and he was still being inconsiderate. So with a look of rage on her face, she lashed out and grabbed a hold of his jacket before yanking him after her. "On second thought, why don't you join me for lunch and I'll tell you all about it!" She growled between her teeth as she dragged him down the road. It looked rather odd with her dragging him, while he looked very puzzled as he let her.

Soon they were sitting at the Ramen stand, eating ramen together in silence. Sakura was still trying to think about how she was going to talk Sai into teaching her about emotion lessons. She had no idea how to even begin. She glanced over at her teammate, who ate his ramen silently while staring forward. He didn't look at her at all as they sat next to each other. So Sakura decided to just jump right to it. So she slouched on her stool, looking pathetic again. "You know, Sai. You are so lucky." She said, catching his attention.

That got his attention a little. He tilted his head towards her, in blank surprise. "Hmm? Why do you say that?"

Sakura sighed as she looked into her ramen, somewhat playing with the remaining noodles inside the cup. She kept her eyes a little heavy lidded, as if she was sad about something. She had to play this part right to make Sai help her. "You're just so lucky that you have no emotions to express. You're so good at hiding them. Sometimes I wish I could." She said, hopelessly. She saw Sai tilt his head towards her, looking intentively at her. He was no doubt very curious of why Sakura was like this. She felt herself smirk inwardly but had to force herself not to in front of him.

'Cha!! I think we got 'em!!' Inner Sakura cheered with a fist raised.

Sai, however, narrowed his eyes a little at her before looking back at his bowl of ramen. "Why?" He asked dryly.

Sakura just shook her head as she poked her noddles with her chopsticks and then stirred them around. "Oh no big reason, I guess...well, I'm getting tired of over reacting all of the time when Naruto does something stupid and you keep calling me names." She then gave him a sharp look as she pointed at him with one chop stick. "That hurts my feelings by the way, when you keep calling me...well, you know." She said making a face.

"What, ugly?" Sai asked harmlessly though there was a hint of a smirk on his face.

The pink haired girl's eye started to twitch as she started to glare at him but fought herself to keeping calm with a dull look on her face. She just wanted to punch Sai's lights out right about for his carelessness of the usage of rude names. "Yeah. Ugly. It really hurts my feelings, Sai. I'm getting tired of it. I just wish I could be able to mask all my emotions as good as you could. It would hurt your feelings if I kept calling you ugly all of the time." She said, not being able to mask her anger. She was very happy when Sai drew back a little at her sudden fury. She knew this was usually a time she started punching him. However, she wouldn't do it this time. "Or maybe I should call you an Emo. It really suits you, you know." She said dryly.

"What's an Emo?" Sai asked, tilting his head, looking almost innocent when he asked that question.

Sakura just sighed as she shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Never mind. That's besides the point, Sai. I'm getting tired of being so emotional. It makes me look weak. Especially when someone has the nerve to say Sasuke's name." She found herself shudder in grief when she said the name herself. "It just hurts to even think of him. I hate the fact that it hurts. I wish I could be more like you." She said before getting a bright eyed look and looked at him. "Hey! Maybe you can teach me, Sai! You know, teach me how to lock away my emotions that way I'm not so emotional. Wouldn't that be..."

Sai looked at her blankly before he looked away from her. "No." He simply said as he lift his bowl to his mouth.

Sakura blinked in surprise before her face fell into a look of anger. She even felt her hands ball up into tight fists until her knuckles cracked. She couldn't believe he didn't let her finish what she was saying. Well, he was always a rude one but seriously! She even felt a small tick on the side of her face as she began to glare at him. "Sai, it would mean a lot to me if you would teach me how to be emotionless like you." She said, trying to keep herself from blowing up on him. However, Sai didn't look at her as he drained the ramen broth then set the bowl down again in front of him. He even started to stand up as if to leave but he stopped when Sakura lashed out and caught his wrist, looking pleadingly up at him. "Sai! Please just teach me! I can't stand it anymore!" She begged, hoping it would work.

Sai just blinked once as he stared her blankly in the eyes before he slowly shook his head. He reached over and gently took her hand clasping his and pried it off. He didn't let go of her hand just yet as he motioned to his blank face. "This look, the one that I always wear," He began calmly. "This look would not suit you. So, no." He told her before he pulled out his money bag and pulled out a few bills. Sakura had been too surprised when he said that to even realize that he was suddenly gone by using his Ink teleportation Jutsu.

But after a long moment of staring at where he had been standing, she finally realized that he was gone. "ARGH!! I hate him!" Sakura groaned before grabbing her purse and starting to pull out her money to pay for her ramen.

"Uh, Sakura." Ayame, the Ramen girl said softly and catching her attention. She had been gathering up Sai's money when she realized something about how much there was. "You probably don't have to pay for your ramen. Your friend also paid for yours."

Sakura blinked in surprise as she looked at the money in Ayame's hand then realized it was true. Sai had paid for his and her bowls of ramen. If that was any other day, she would have thought that was sweet of her emotionless teammate. Instead, she was severely pissed off. Balling up her fists tightly, she stood up as her face went completely red. "ARGGHHH!! So he can buy me lunch but he can't teach me how to be emotionless?! I'll kill him when I get my hands on him!!" She screamed in rage before storming away from the ramen shop, leaving a very shocked Ayame and stunned customers.