Naruto…I'm sorry… Sakura looks down at the ground, her expression sad. What she did was devious and cruel, but she had hoped that Naruto would give up on Sasuke. You promised me that day that you'd bring him back…and now, you're still trying so hard. I never want to burden you like that again. Which is why Sakura will be the one to end it all.
She stops when she is close enough. The guilt coils around her heart and she thinks back to her friends she had left behind. No, this is her duty. She tightens her gloves, her eyes focused and resolved. The little girl who couldn't do anything back then is gone and this is what she has to do, for everyone's sake; her friends, her family, for the upcoming war, and even for Naruto. The old Sasuke is never coming back.
Kiba was right; Sasuke is with that masked man, Tobi. Sakura gasps. D-did Sasuke kill Danzo? O-or was it Tobi? She watches quietly as Sasuke and the masked man talk and they look over at Danzo's dead body. Sakura clenches her hands and teeth, not only wishing she could hear what they were saying, but also because the Hidden Leaf village is going to be notified of Danzo's death. And then everyone will go after Sasuke. That is what she is going to avoid.
"The Hidden Leaf, then?" Sasuke nods and looks up at the sky as Tobi stands next to Danzo's corpse. Finally, he will have his revenge on his former village and kill the very thing that led to his brother's suffering.
Tobi glances over at Karin. "Sasuke, if you are finished with her, she is of no use to us." Sasuke, too, glances at the unconscious red head. "Us? There is no 'us' and there never was an 'us'." Tobi chuckles. "Come back to the hideout when you've finished. You must rest before you take on The Hidden Leaf." With that, he takes Danzo and vanishes. Sasuke is left alone with Karin. His slow, dangerous footsteps echo in the air as he reaches her. His eyes are black, filled with a dark, sinister cold that cannot be reached, even by his own brother.
Karin looks up at Sasuke, her eyes finally acknowledging his own. For him, there is no turning back and the old Sasuke who had saved her has now been swallowed by this Sasuke.
"Goodbye."
"Sasuke!" I-is this really Sasuke? He was going to kill his own comrade? Sasuke pauses in his attack and looks at her, eyes unchanging at his former teammate.
"What are you doing here?" This is it. I have to get close to him.
"I came here to join you. I want to leave the village so I can help you." Sakura waits, her hand clenching the poisoned kunai. This is not the right time. She has to get closer to him; she has to prevent him from noticing, otherwise… Otherwise I'm dead.
"What do I gain from this if you came? What do you really want?" Sakura jumps over the bridge to the other side where Sasuke and the red head girl are. She pauses a few feet away, her eyes still focused on Sasuke. She has to tread carefully, otherwise he'll be able to see right through her.
"I don't want anything. After all this time, my feelings for you have not changed! Even if I have to betray the village and leave my friends, I still want to be by your side! Please, Sasuke. I'll do anything you want, just let me come with you!"
His eyes narrow slightly. "You don't even know what I want, so how could you know?" "I don't know, but know that I am willing to do anything you ask." Sakura hardens her feelings and her heart. Her eyes grow cold, which is very unlike her as she replies, "Without hesitation."
"I'm going to annihilate the Hidden Leaf!" Sakura hides her surprise. She must keep it together. "Like I said, I'll do anything you ask without hesitation. If you want to destroy the village, then I will help you!" "Do you really think you can betray your own village for me?" This is it. This is what she has been waiting for.
"If that is what you want, then I will gladly do it." "Prove it. Prove that you are willing to do anything by getting rid of her." Sasuke nods in Karin's direction, who flinches and glances over at the pink haired girl. He's not serious is he? He is willing to kill Karin after all that they've been through? Karin looks down. No, this was always meant to be. She had known that this would have been the outcome, but that small voice had hoped that Sasuke would be different.
Sakura masks her emotions as she walks slowly over to the girl. I can do this. This is the right distance for me to make my move. Her other hand grabs another kunai from her pouch, ready for any sudden attacks from Sasuke. She walks past him and stares down at the injured girl, who closes her eyes.
"This will be perfect. You are a medical ninja, so you can replace her." She kneels down and raises the kunai over the girl's body, positioning it just above her upper back where her heart is located underneath. Sasuke moves until he is behind Sakura. He activates chidori the moment that Sakura turns around to throw the poisoned kunai. His eyes widen and he moves out of the way, but not before Sakura jumps towards him with another kunai.
Sasuke aims for her and she prepares herself, allowing him to come close until he is inches from her. She dodges before the chidori could hit and she centers her chakra around her fist as she aims for his stomach. Without hesitation, he molds his chakra to form a sword like chidori and again he aims for her, but the smile on Sakura's face startles him.
Her kunai clashes with his chidori and her punch clashes with his stomach. Sasuke spurts out blood, his ribs cracking and puncturing him in different directions. His chidori immediately vanishes and he is knocked back at full force, but that is not enough for Sakura. She takes out a few of her sleeping balls that she had saved and throws it at him. Before they hit, Sasuke forms a sign. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu! A huge ball of fire covers the sky and burns everything, including Sakura's sleeping balls.
She uses this chance to quickly concoct an antidote and she races toward the fire, her eyes tracing Sasuke's movements. The fireball slowly dissipates and Sasuke drops to the ground, panting heavily. He glances up to see another fist closing in and he tries to dodge it, but his fight with Danzo is finally catching up to him. Sakura connects with his left cheek and she stops, the area around her disappearing. She is no longer with Sasuke and everything is all in black and white. Sasuke stands in front of her and pierces her with chidori. She is unable to dodge and she screams as another Sasuke pierces her with chidori. Another one and another one pierce her, but she is unable to move. What is this? Is this a jutsu? It feels like an eternal nightmare that she can't get out of.
Another one and another one pierce her, the electric currents murdering every cell in her body. This is not genjutsu. Sakura tries to remember the last thing that happened; her fist connected, he didn't dodge, his sharingan activated… His sharingan! Is this the technique that was used on Kakashi sensei when Itachi had come to the village to capture Naruto? Is this that same jutsu?!
Sakura crumbles to the floor, gasping for breath and shivering in pain and fear. Sasuke now stands above her, holding his eyes. He was unable to finish her off with his Tsukuyomi, but she is in a state where she cannot do anything. He grabs the poisoned kunai that she had thrown at him and lunges towards her.
"I still want to save Sasuke and I will be the only one who does it." Naruto…he is beyond saving. He has changed so much these last years and now, there is nothing you can do to bring him back. Thank you, Naruto, for everything. But now, I'm going to finish this. It's only fair to kill the one you love, right?
Sakura's eyes open and she gives herself the antidote just as the kunai pierces her. She clenches her body and her chakra surrounds every part of her body as she sends a kick right at Sasuke.
The kick comes as a surprise. He had thought Sakura was unable to move, let alone fight. His eyes darken as she slowly gets to her feet, panting heavily and feeling the effects of the poison and the antidote in her. She was about to let herself die, but her mission is not over as she glares at Sasuke, who is also gasping for air.
Sasuke vanishes before her eyes. Her heart clenches and she quickly makes a sign, before Sasuke could strike. Substitution Jutsu! Sasuke sees through her jutsu and unsheathes his sword, concentrating his chakra onto the blade. He swings it, but Sakura blocks it using her own kunai. His chakra licks her weapon as she struggles to get an attack on him. She clenches her teeth and pushes forward. Sasuke closes his eyes slowly and opens them just as Sakura pushes past his sword.
Again, she is in that black and white place and again, Sasuke is there. She is surrounded by all of her friends and family, but Sasuke comes up behind her and stabs her mother through Sakura. Another Sasuke stabs her father and she screams as each person falls in front of her.
"You can't even begin to understand my pain." Ino drops to the ground, along with Kiba and Lee. Sakura tries to run away, but she is stuck. "As always, you are weak." Another Sasuke pierces Gaara and Shikamaru drops to the ground. No…No…Stop it! Please, make it stop! Sakura attempts to cancel the jutsu, but it is no use.
Sasuke keeps this jutsu for another few seconds. He is losing his eyesight and his chakra is almost out, but he only has a few more seconds to go. With his other eye, he looks down on Sakura. There are tears running down her cheeks, her posture emanating fear and her eyes…her eyes burning up as each second passes.
"S-Sakura…" Naruto falls to the ground in front of her feet. Sakura looks down at his corpse and screams out to him. Around her, Sasuke's laughter covers everything. Sakura's anger and pain begins to steadily consume her as her chakra streams throughout her body.
"SASUKE!" She breaks through his tsukuyomi and lands another hit on Sasuke's surprised expression. He flies over the big hole in the bridge. Sakura quickly follows him, wiping away her tears and healing her fatigue as she prepares for another attack.
Sasuke stops in midair and lunges at her. Fire style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu! Sakura lunges through the flames, her eyes focused only on Sasuke. The flames screech around her, tearing at her and burning through her coat. Sasuke meets her with chidori, his eyesight wavering, but still focusing on Sakura. He summons up the last of his chakra and pinpoints it into his eye. Clone jutsu! "Amaterasu!" Sakura's clone screams and falls into the water, covered in the burning black flames.
Sakura throws a smoke ball in front of her and it momentarily blinds Sasuke. Damn it! His vision blurs and he doesn't see her come through the cloud of smoke nor does he see her fist coming in contact with his face. This time, he grabs her fist and gathers the last of his remaining chakra in his other hand. Sakura's eyes widen, but she is unable to avoid Sasuke's chidori as it pierces straight through her. He twists his hand and the chidori rips into her and blood escapes out of her flesh as she attempts to get away from him. His chidori disappears and he backhands Sakura.
No! I have to…I have to kill him! Sakura falls straight into the water, weaving a sign so she can stop the bleeding. It's no use, she's out of chakra. The air leaves her body and bubbles rise to the top. Sa…Sasuke!
Sasuke tries to catch his breath, but it's no use. He no longer has any more chakra left to finish her off as her head breaks out of the water. He slowly gets up and walks towards her, his intent clear as he unsheathes his sword. This time, she will die.
Sakura also gets up and grabs her last kunai from her pouch, lathering it with poison. The two look at each other as they walk towards the other. Sakura closes her eyes and exhales. Her resolve is stronger than ever and if she dies, then it'll be up to Naruto to save Sasuke. She sprints towards him, her poisoned kunai ready to strike just as Sasuke aims for one final slice.
His sword makes contact first, but Sakura keeps moving forward. If she could just get one nick on him, then it's finished. Sasuke goes to pull out his weapon quickly, but he is too late as Sakura's kunai pierces a part of his shoulder. Yanking the sword out of her, he immediately feels the effects of the poison. His teeth clench in anger.
Sakura gasps, unable to keep her eyes open. She slips in and out of consciousness as she attempts to stop the bleeding. She smiles sadly. Of course, I'm not strong enough to kill him. Naruto…I'm sorry. I thought that by killing Sasuke, your burden would be gone and everything would get better. I was prepared to bear this burden by killing him. By killing the one person she has loved, she would be able to forcefully free him from his darkness, from destroying her village. Blood stains her clothes, her hand also soaking in blood that rushing out to freedom. She clenches her teeth in pain, her eyes staring at the kunai that rests next to her. Sasuke already has the poison in him, but what it he gets help? What if Tobi is able to heal him or someone else heals him? Then what would she have come here for? What would've been the point in coming? No, I have to end this. Even if means that I die in the process, I have to make sure Sasuke is dead. I have to!
Sasuke stops in front of Sakura and she looks up into his emotionless eyes. This is it. She has to finish him off, that's what ninjas do in battle. Sometimes, there are sacrifices. She grabs the kunai and makes one final attempt just as Sasuke makes the last kill. I'm not going to make it! At the last second, Sakura drops the kunai and all the strength she has mustered up has left her.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi grabs onto Sasuke's arm and pushes him away from Sakura. He was really going to kill her. Sasuke…how far you have fallen. He turns back to Sakura, getting a good look at her. Sakura, you have gotten strong indeed. Sakura avoids Kakashi's eyes and winces. Her wound is too deep and needs to be healed immediately. If only she had been able to save some of her chakra, but she knows that if she had done that, then she would've already been dead.
"Sakura, there is no need to carry the burden by yourself anymore. It should've never been your burden in the first place. I should've stopped him, but instead, I had let him go. As the leader of Team 7, I should take full responsibility of this." He turns to Sasuke. "Sasuke. You know that following the path of revenge will not get you very far. Do not let it posses you!"
At this, Sasuke laughs. His laugh is maniacal, not like him at all. He stops, but there is no smile on his face. He glares at Kakashi. "I will stop if you can bring back my family. Bring them all back; my mother, my father, Itachi and I will stop right now!"
"I don't want to kill you, but I will if I-" "You could never kill me! You are not my sensei anymore. She couldn't kill me-" Sakura looks down. "So how are you going to kill me?" "Sasuke…" "I want to kill you. You don't know how long I've been waiting to kill you with my own hands and you are right in front of me." Sasuke holds his hands out, his sword still in his hand. Kakashi doesn't notice Sakura getting to her feet nor that she is performing the clone jutsu. He does not notice her grabbing the poisoned kunai and the last thing he feels is her hand hitting the back of his neck.
Sakura runs towards Sasuke and he taps his arm. Shuriken appear from the smoke and they aim themselves toward Sakura. She doesn't have the strength to dodge them, so as they pass her, each one slices through her. Her wounds refuse to let her move, but she forces herself to run straight for Sasuke, straight for the kill once again. Sasuke unleashes chidori and runs head on for her, his thoughts empty. He could care less if she dies, but fighting Kakashi would prove that he is ready to move on to bigger things, like Konoha.
Kakashi sensei…Naruto… Sasuke's chidori disappears and instead, unleashes Susano'o just as Kakashi jumps between his former student and Sakura. He uses his sharingan to eliminate the explosion that come at them.
"Kakashi, I will show you difference between the real sharingan and the fake sharingan!"