Sin and Sin Again
Before you read this, I have changed multiple things around. It DOES follow the Naruto story line BEFORE "Madara" and Kabuto/Orochimaru start the war.
I've stretched it out two years time, so that Sakura and Naruto (etc) are 18.
The manga and episodes have kept them 15/16 for so many years now. .
This is post war, and before many know the truth about the Uchiha Massacre.
This next part might be a spoiler to some, so don't read if you know don't know who Tobi is.
I know Tobi is Obito, but I'm making sure no one knows that yet. So everyone will falsely accuse him of being the wrong person.
This chapter went kind of fast and not very detailed, but I'm more concerned about the later story plot. The next chapter will be good, though. Enjoy. Please review, for suggestions and comments.
Chapter One; Uneasy Hearts Deceive
"I've found a way to rid this world Uchiha Madara.
"We can cleanse Sasuke's heart."
The words hung heavy around the two women. Her emerald eyes stared intensely at her shishou. The fifth Hokage knew her prized apprentice, Haruno Sakura, would do anything for peace; anything for the infamous Uchiha Sasuke. She also knew Sakura wasn't impulsive and hot-headed, but that she was cunning, intelligent, and rational.
"I thought Naruto was going to-"
"If Naruto fights Sasuke, there's a good chance he'd die right alongside with Sasuke. You should know this."
It was true, Sakura knew this was the most possible outcome. She always pushed that thought away and continued to dream of peace. Sakura bit her lower lip softly before focusing her attention on her mentor.
"How can we kill two birds with one stone, then?" Sakura finally managed to ask.
A small smile played on Tsunade's face. "That's where you come in, Sakura."
"What does this have to do with me?"
"I've done quite a bit of snooping lately. Last night I came across something rather interesting." Tsunade stopped and examined her student. Sakura nodded for her go on. "It seems I've stumbled upon something very dangerous. But used correctly, it could save our world.
"It's a forbidden jutsu. No one's really used it, considering how much chakra control is needed. That's why I need you, Sakura."
Sakura's body stiffened. "What...is this forbidden jutsu?"
Tsunade's golden eyes studied the pinkette once more before answering. "It enables someone to go into the past."
Sakura's emerald eyes widened with disbelief. "That's impossible..."
"But it isn't." Tsunade sighed, then continued. "This is real. You can change the past and save the future."
"This is absurd, shishou!" Sakura protested angrily; her hands balling into fists.
Tsunade stood up abruptly, a small scroll slid from her sleeve. She walked towards her tempermental apprentice. "This is the scroll." Tsunade said, handing it to Sakura. She took the scroll with mild curiosity.
Sakura's emerald eyes read each word carefully. She re-read the scroll over and over, trying to convince herself that it wasn't real.
"Do you finally believe me?" Tsunade finally asked; breaking the long silence. Sakura shook her head in response. "Good. Now I bet you're wondering what this will accomplish."
"Yes." Sakura replied sheepishly.
"The Uchiha Massacre is the reason Sasuke is so twisted. His brother, Uchiha Itachi, was in alliance with Madara.
"So Sakura, what if someone stopped the Uchiha Massacre? Sasuke's whole family would be alive, and Konoha would be strong against the Akatsuki and Madara."
"Are you saying I could stop Itachi from murdering his whole clan?" Sakura asked with bewilderment.
"I'm saying you're the best one to try."
Images of Itachi flashed through Sakura's mind like a broken record player. His crimson eyes that carried the blood of many that looked into them. "How am I supposed to convince Itachi to not kill his clan?" Sakura finally asked aloud, bitterness hanging on every word.
"Warn the Hokage and the Uchiha clan. They can stop Itachi. He was a loyal Anbu before he killed his clan. Maybe he can side with reasoning."
"Itachi isn't the type to lis-"
"Sakura, please." Tsunade pleaded. "This is our last hope."
"Then I'll fully accept this mission."
Sakura walked home silently, the cold winter breeze numbed her skin mercilessly. It wasn't like it mattered to her, anyways. The weight of the world was on her shoulders. She'd always burdened the world's fate on Naruto, but now it was her burden. If she succeeded, life would be wonderful; if she didn't... Itachi would figure her out and kill her with the rest of his clan. It was ironic how happy Sakura had been when Itachi's death reached Konoha... and now, she would be attempting to stop him from mass murder. It almost wasn't fair. Sakura wasn't selfish, nor had she wanted to be. She knew she'd be saving Naruto's life as well.
"Hey, Bill-Board Brow!" A familiar female voice called after the pinkette. She turned to see Ino's smiling face.
"Hey, Pig." Sakura said, giving a smile in return. "You haven't called me that since we were kids."
Ino's face softened and her blue eyes shifted to her stomach. "Might as well pass your nick-name on to my kid." Ino chuckled lightly. "Aunt Bill-Board Brow."
"I just hope your kid looks more like Shikamaru."
Ino lifted an eyebrow playfully. "And why's that, Forehead?"
"Well you don't want it to look like a pig do you?" Sakura retorted. Ino gave her a cold glare, which Sakura returned easily. The two stared at eachother competitively until they both broke out in laughter.
"Hey, Sakura. Do you remember when I came to the hospital crying?" Ino asked suddenly.
"Yeah. You asked me to check if you were pregnant or not. Why?"
Ino smiled again, then touched her stomach happily. "I just remember how we both cried and freaked out when you said I was. We were worried sick what my parents would say. What Shikamaru would say. And with Konoha on the brink of war...
"But eight months with this little kicker, and I'm happier than I ever could be. It's weird how much hope I have now."
Sakura looked at her friend thoughtfully. Tears welled up in her eyes, then a hoarse laugh escaped her weak lips. "I remember when we told your dad. Inoichi threatened to kill Shikaku for raising such a playboy son. Your mother was trying to calm him down, but it barely helped at that point."
"I'm not scared anymore, Sakura. I'm not scared of Sasuke, Madara, or the rest of the Akatsuki." Ino told Sakura seriously.
"Why?" Sakura asked, but it only came as a whisper.
"Like you said, there will be peace. And I believe that full-heartedly."
xxx
Sakura walked Ino home; the whole time they reminiscent over their past together. It was sad, yet helpful. The mention of Sasuke used to kill Sakura from the inside out, but now it made her stronger. He was an enemy for now, and he hadn't loved her or Naruto.
Sakura stopped by her old home. She watched her mother and father enjoy their lives without her, and she walked towards her own house. The salary she earned from the hospital was extraordinary. She could afford almost anything without participating in missions, but it was a lonely way of living. She always worked. Not that it bothered her. She loved saving innocents lives; it was her duty to the village.
Sakura was almost forced to leave her parent's house at seventeen, they always bickered and yelled at her for coming home late. She never did the chores they had asked, and worst of all, she didn't quit her dream to become head of the hospital and a respectable jounin.
When she became both, her parents were dissapointed. Ino's parents were happier for Sakura then her actual parents could've been. Sakura took pride in her role for the village. She could hold her own weight in the battlefield, as well as keep the others alive. But all that would change when she would go back in time and save everyone.
'How much will the future change?' She thought to herself as she pushed her front door open.
Tsunade told her that Gaara recieved word of Madara's plan for war, and that the time was running out. Pein's attack on Konoha had been bad enough, two years of recovery. Everything the shinobi and villagers worked for would be ruined if Madara attacked. Who would he attack first? Would he go after Killer Bee or Naruto? Or would he attack every hidden village?
Question after question raced through her mind. Before she realized it, the scroll was open and ready to activate on her bedroom floor. Her eyes scanned the words over and over once more. They never changed. To her, this jutsu would be easy to accomplish. It was basically a reversed transportation jutsu, but with a lot more chakra control. Performing this wasn't what made Sakura nervous. It was what she would see in the past. What if she couldn't stop Itachi?
'No. No time for negative thoughts.' Sakura told herself stubbornly. She pulled her hospital uniform off and quickly replaced them with a black medic skirt and a white slender top with a "fish-net" shirt underneath. She put her jounin vest over that, and pulled her knee-high boots on. She pulled her long pink hair into a messy bun before packing numerous things into a small backpack. 'Only the essentials'.
Once everything was finished and packed, she turned her attention back to the open scroll. It was finally time to leave her world, and into the dangerous realm of the past. She sighed and walked towards the scroll. "This better be worth it..."
Sakura bit her thumb until blood started forming. She sat down beside the scroll and wrote '10 years' with her blood. She put both of her palms on the scroll and closed her emerald eyes. Thoughts of her eight year old self passed through her mind. Thoughts of the young Itachi, and thoughts of saving the past filled her mind. Thoughts of the Uchiha alive and well. "Ten years ago." Sakura whispered to herself. In that moment, her body seemed to be dragged forcefully through air.
Sakura woke up quickly, as if she had a horrible, realistic nightmare that she wanted to escape.
"So, you've finally awakened." A deep male voice said, startling the pinkette. She searched her surroundings and realized she was laying on a fairly large bed, and the male who had spoken to her was Uchiha Itachi. He wasn't the Itachi she had known in her time. He wasn't wearing an Akatsuki robe, nor was his menacing Sharingan in use. He was younger looking. His voice was gentle. But he still put fear in the depth of Sakura's mind. This thirteen year old Itachi single-handedly killed his whole clan.
"How did I get here?" Sakura managed to ask the young Itachi.
"I found you lying unconscious in the middle of the Uchiha compound. Very unsual. We'll discuss why later." Itachi said calmly. He stood up and gave her a gentle half smile. "I've prepared some tea. I'll be back in a moment."
Itachi walked out from the room, sliding the door gently behind him. Sakura was in awe. He wasn't anything like the Akatsuki Itachi...
Sakura examined the room she was in. It had navy blue walls, the flooring was clean-cut wood. There wasa small wooden desk across from the bed she was on. There was an unscathed hitai-ate ontop of it. Konoha's symbol in the middle proudly.
"So he is still good..." Sakura muttered to herself. She didn't hear Itachi come back into the room.
"Excuse me?" He asked, obviously confused. Sakura looked at him quickly and was taken aback by his expression. He seemed weary of her, but held a tray holding both steaming cups of tea gracefully.
"Oh, nothing! Don't mind me." She dismissed as innocent as she could.
He set down the tray on the desk that had the hitai-ate on it. He picked it up and held it out to her. "Were you referring to this?"
"I.. uh, yes." She admitted embarrassed.
"It is called a hitai-ate, or a forehead protector. For the Hidden Leaf Village. It is my symbol as a shinobi. But you..." Itachi paused, examining her, "are not a shinobi."
Sakura almost scoffed at that prediction, but decided to play it off. Maybe it was best to keep him thinking she was a civillian, and when her chakra returned, she'd surpress it.
"Although you dress like you are." He noted aloud.
"Well, you see, I'm not from here. I like to travel, and I buy clothes that seem to suit the village I'm in." She lied quickly.
"Oddly enough, you do not seem foreign." He said, making her nervous. "What is your name?"
"Sakura."
"No last name?" He questioned further.
"Not that I know of. My parents... died when I was young."
"How unfortunate." He said dryly.
"I assume you have parents." Sakura stated hopefully.
"Yes." Was his reply, which relieved her. "Now, let's discuss why you were in the Uchiha Compound."
"I was just roaming around the village and this was a place I came across. I didn't know it was... off limits." She bit her lower lip. "I guess I passed out from exhaustion. My apologies."
"It is fine. You're just lucky I found you, and not my father."
Sakura recalled Sasuke and Itachi's father, Uchiha Fugaku, as being a cruel man. And the head of the Uchiha Clan. "Does he know I'm here?" She asked quietly.
"Yes. He and my mother both know. He said you are my responsibility, until you are strong enough to leave."
"Itachi-Nii-san!" A small male voice called out. Itachi looked up, and a small smile replaced the cold expression he had previously. The door slid open clumsily, and an eight year old Sasuke walked in excitedly.
"Come train with me, Nii-san!" He demanded playfully.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I'm busy right now."
"No. Go play with him." Sakura said suddenly, surprising both males. Sasuke had just taken notice of her, and gave her a triumphant smile.
"What she said! Please, Itachi-Nii-san!"
Itachi looked at Sakura to make sure she was really okay with him leaving. She shook her head. "I'll be okay. It's just fatigue."
He nodded and exited the room with the grateful Sasuke.
Once she was alone, she began looking for the backpack she had carried with her.
To her relief, it was beside the bed. She snatched it up and looked through her things, and thankfully, they hadn't been touched. Itachi hadn't gone through her things. If he had, she would've been found out and caught in a lie. She knew that Sasuke barely had brotherly time with Itachi, so she'd said that impulsively.
If she succeeded with this mission, Sasuke would be at his happiest.
Sakura started to hear distant voices. She tried to listen in, and she didn't recognize it as Itachi or Sasuke's voice. From the sound of it, it was a hushed conversation. Something she shouldn't hear. But this was the past, and she had to learn everything she could.
Sakura slid the door open and crept through it quietly. She closed it behind her and silently followed the voices that beckoned her. She finally reached a door that contained the hushed voices and listened in.
"The Uchiha's are dominant over this stupid village."
"It's about time we take back control, eh, Fugaku?"
A male voice spoke up. "It is, indeed."
"Good thing we have your Anbu son on our side! We can finally be on top."
"It's decided, then. The Uchiha's with rebel against Konoha, with the aid of Shisui and Itachi."
Sakura let the words sink in. An attack against Konoha, led by the Uchiha clan? That was never mentioned before...
Sakura ran away from the room as fast as she could. Not caring if she caused noise, and not caring if she used the chakra she had recently gained.
"Just what is going on?" She asked herself through gritted teeth. She had to inform the Hokage of this time.
Something slammed into Sakura, hard enough for the air to be taken from her lungs. Her green eyes widened when she realized she bumbed into Itachi, and he had hit a pressure point. His eyes were blood red, and just as scary as they had been ten years in the future.
"Shit..." She cursed, then fell into darkness.