Chapter 4 Heartache, Misery, and Death

Eiichi awoke in his bed on the morning of the final match of the Kumite. Such things never interested Eiichi much. He lay in his bed, his brain in a fog. He didn't remember much about the last couple of months except he was on a trip somewhere. His wits didn't usually fail him like this, but whatever, it was a glorious morning, and he had business to perform.

The eldest Tachibana yawned, stretched, and threw his legs out of bed. He froze before making his way out of his bedroom however, for there on his dresser stood the most wondrous statue he had ever seen. Made of a silver colored metal, it was two humans, a male and female, intertwined and reaching for the sky. For the life of him, he couldn't remember where he had acquired it, but what he DID remember was that he had more, somewhere, and that he had to share these wonders with as many people as he could. They were going to make him RICH!

Warmed by the feeling of impending wealth, Eiichi made his way to the kitchen area in the loft he shared with his brother above their store, Tachibana Emporium.

He was in the process of cooking some eggs for breakfast, when Eito entered the room and started rummaging through the refrigerator.

"Good morning brother," Eito said sleepily.

"Good morning Eito." The sound of crashing glass made Eiichi turn around. There Eito stood trembling and pale, orange juice and broken glass spread around his feet from the decanter he had just dropped.

"Wh-, wh-, how…" was all he could manage as he stared at his older brother.

"Get ahold of yourself Eito!" Eiichi scolded. "Look at the mess you've created."

"Fuck that! Where the hell have you been, and how the hell did you get here?!"

Rebukes for his brother's cursing died on his lips as he instead screwed his face up trying to remember just how he had arrived there.

"I… I don't remember…." Eiichi stuttered, "…the last thing I remember is being on the ship in a strong storm."

Eito stared at his brother. "You left on a boat 2 MONTHS ago!"

"I have no explanation." Eiichi said quietly. "There is one thing I do remember though. Let me show you."

Eiichi lead his younger brother to his bedroom. When Eito beheld the statue perched on Eiichi's dresser, all protests died on his lips with a gasp.

"The one thing I do remember is I have hundreds of these statues… and they are going to make us RICH."

Eito's eyes lit up with the prospect of returning their family to its former glory.

"Come… I'll show you." Eiichi said leading his brother from the bedroom.

"Ma- May I have one?" Eito asked tentatively, fearing his brother might well say no.

Eiichi stopped and turned to his brother, a grin spreading across his face, "Of course brother."

Eito's face lit up as he hurried after Eiichi.

The Tachibana brothers reached the bottom of the stairs that lead to their modest storeroom. Eito's eyes widened as he beheld the storeroom now filled top to bottom and side to side with crates. He rushed to the nearest one and ripped off the lid with his bare hands. He plunged his hands into the straw packing material, and brought forth one of the magical statues, gasping as he did so.

Eiichi looked at Eito and said in a conspiratorial voice, "Come brother… we have a LOT of work to do!"

The final match of the Kumite was over, and Hirohito was announced as the winner. Sadako Asahina blanched as she heard his name. She couldn't wait to get home and rest. She had expended alot of chakra in her match earlier and she needed the down time to recuperate.

Some time later, Naruto and the rest of the Imperial party were ready to leave. Naruto summoned a Demon Gate, through which he and the rest of his friends and family left.

Sadako had long ago grown accustomed to the lurching effect of instantaneous travel through the gate, but this time through the gate seemed particularly nauseating. She nearly swooned as she arrived at the Imperial Palace. Kaede, who had been travelling next to her, had to reach out and grab her shoulders to help her stay upright.

"Are you alright Sadako," a concerned Kaede asked, "maybe I should walk you home?"

"What am I, some old lady? I got my ass kicked today, nothing more. I'll be fine." Sadako replied patting Kaede's hand.

Kaede watched her friend as she walked away. She couldn't shake the feeling that something besides an ass kicking was wrong with her. She resolved she would look in on her later and turned to make her own way home to get ready for tonight's festivities.

Sadako made her way home, thinking back to her battle with Hirohito. Images flashed in her mind, analyzing his moves, her attacks and defenses, and what she could have done better. She shook her head as she removed her shoes at the entrance to her place.

Once inside, Sadako removed her armor, and hung it on a peg by the front door. She softly padded to the bathroom and started running a hot bath. A good hot soak sounded like just that thing to her now.

As she stepped into her bedroom, she felt the familiar pressure against her ankles of her cat Smoke. She named him Smoke because of his gray fur, and of course it was a fitting name for the pet of the Mistress of the Black Flames. He was also one of the most even tempered cats she had ever met. Nothing seemed to rattle him which suited her fine.

She removed her clothing and threw them in the corner, vowing to take care of them later. She ruffled the ears of Smoke, and now satisfied that the human had paid her proper respects, he made his way silently toward the kitchen.

Sadako chuckled to herself and walked back to the bathroom. Deciding that the bath was ready, she hung her ninjato in its scabbard on a hook by the door. She always thought a little paranoia was ok.

Ooohs and Aaahs escaped her lips as she lowered herself into the borderline scalding hot water. She settled into her bath and closed her eyes. Sadako had a photographic memory, and her battles could be played in her mind like a movie, allowing her to pause and rewind, analyzing her tactics, and what she could have improved on.

She used this ability now as she relaxed and reviewed her fight with Hirohito.

She stood panting, her chakra reserves at a dangerously low level. She had to end this match quickly. This devil with the twin scimitars had run her ragged in this match displaying a brilliant combination of mid and short range attacks. The battlefield was littered with the charred remains of trees and bushes as Sadako had used her Black Flames extensively, but had failed to score a direct hit.

She had come to rest in a clearing in the battlefield. She had resolved to wait for him in the open where she could better see him coming. He was in the trees, she knew, but she could not figure out how he was moving around.

She knew now of course he must have been using his shadow-stepping justsu through the trees, using the same technique he had employed to defeat Shikamaru.

Sadako slowly started accumulating black flames swirling around her body. She intended to be ready to fling them at a moment's notice.

She didn't see them coming from behind her, but 2 smoke bombs landed at her feet and detonated obscuring the immediate area behind thick billowing clouds of smoke.

"I can use this to my advantage." she thought to herself. Sadako pushed the flames around her body outward to create a protective dome careful not to expand them further than she thought the smoke ought to be. While she strove to create a devastating flame much like Amaterasu, without the Mangekyo Sharingan, her flames would cause intense damage, but would not cling. Still, if his attack had to come through a wall of flame, it could be a nasty surprise for him to meet her flames in the smoke.

Her defenses primed, she awaited his attack, which was not long in coming. A kunai came whistling at her head making a strange flapping noise as something fluttered behind it.

"Paper bomb!" she thought to herself as she deflected the missile with the ninjato in her right hand, and in her left, she concentrated her chakra. Her hand wreathed in black flames, the smoke started to rotate, drawn to the coalescing flames.

She extended her left arm, palm out, anticipating an attack from the direction of the kunai, still wondering why the paper bomb had not exploded.

Suddenly, Hirohito appeared in front of her, as if from thin air. Unfortunately for him, Sadako's extended palm was pointed directly at his face. His eyes widened as she released the pent up chakra in a fiery blast. The instant she released it however, she was dumbstruck when he just vanished, and all she accomplished was to punch a gaping hole in the smoke surrounding their battle.

"Wait." She spoke out loud in her bath to no one in particular without opening her eyes. The scene of her battle froze. "Back up…" she commanded. The battle started to rewind, until the part where she deflected the kunai.

At the moment of impact with her ninjato, she studied the kunai. "What the hell is that?" The kunai had what looked like a windmill fan on the end of it, not a paper bomb. She let the replay move forward slowly, after the kunai moved off after impacting her ninjato, she looked back down the trajectory of its flight path. After many years of training and using this gift of analysis she had, Sadako had learned that the subconscious recorded everything, even though our conscious minds don't register what they see in the heat of the moment. What she saw, was a tunnel created in the fire and smoke, the fan on the end of the kunai pushing them away to create space, and there at the end of the tunnel was Hirohito staring down the pocket he had momentarily created.

"Line of sight." she breathed. When he appeared in front of her out of thin air, it was because he had instantaneously travelled from outside her protective dome to right next to her, and he had needed a line of sight to do it. She had sensed no chakra build up or release as with the Emperor's shunshin. This meant that any warrior trained to battle other chakra using warriors, would be at a severe disadvantage.

This epiphany made sense of what happened next, but made it no less painful. She continued her analysis.

The instant she released it however, she was dumbstruck when he just vanished, and all she accomplished was to punch a gaping hole in the smoke surrounding their battle.

Her brain had just registered his disappearance, when intense pain blossomed in her lower back. Hirohito had appeared behind her, and ran her through with his scimitar. His strike had pierced a kidney and ruptured her spleen, and she knew she would bleed out if she did not receive immediate medical attention.

Sadako pitched forward to land face first on the ground, her life's blood spreading beneath her. Her flames extinguished, and when they puffed outward, they took the smoke with them. Now the audience could see Sadako defeated with Hirohito poised over her prone body, ready to deal a two handed death -blow to the back of her head.

"HOLD!" the announcer/referee shouted.

Hirohito stopped reluctantly, as he realized he and his prey were no longer concealed. He climbed off of her, and slowly made his way to the exit.

The referee announced the winner, and then promptly called for the medics…

A crash in the kitchen roused her from the scene playing out in her mind. The sounds of her cat scrabbling through the kitchen, his agitated meow, abruptly cut off, had Sadako leaping out of her bathtub and unsheathing her Ninjato, the water on her body hissing to steam as she gathered her chakra to release black death at anyone who had invaded her home.

Her still naked, but now dry form, stealthily entered the kitchen. Her heart lurched as her eyes were drawn to a noise created by her cat Smoke, the poor feline now impaled to the wall by a kunai, his little legs still scrabbling from wild nervous impulses that no longer had a functioning brain to regulate them.

Sadako swallowed her grief, there would be time for that later, after she killed this murderous bastard. "Come out you fucking coward!"

Slow clapping greeted her challenge as Hirohito stepped out from behind a pillar from the upstairs balcony to stand behind the railing looking down appraisingly at Sadako's naked body.

"For a warrior, you manage to maintain a woman's grace and beauty. I approve!"

Sadako replied by thrusting both her arms out, palms out, black flames pouring forth to engulf the balcony, the surrounding wood detonating due to the instantaneous heat up to incredible temperatures.

As soon as she had launched her attack, Hirohito teleported to her right side and launched a magically enhanced punch at Sadako's head. She had anticipated this tactic, but not the enhancement to his strength. She managed to raise her right arm to protect her head and duck a little. The punch landed on her right shoulder and pain exploded throughout her body as she rocketed away, through a wall, landing in a dresser in the guest room, that was instantly turned into kindling.

Sadako knew she was in trouble. Her right arm was dislocated, and she had no armor on to absorb the punishment she was taking. Cuts and scrapes now covered her body, and it was only a matter of time she knew before she was fatally injured.

She crawled out of the ruins of the dresser and closed her eyes tightly as she heard his approach.

"Your cat put up more of a fight..." he said chuckling, "..oh wait… you have no chakra. More's the pity."

With her eyes screwed shut, she painfully raised her right arm as if in supplication. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her upright, the lightning bolt of pain almost making her cry out.

"Shame I have to kill…" is all he managed as Sadako used one of the first techniques she ever learned in training, she snapped her fingers. A blinding flash of light emanated from her fingers and enveloped the room.

Hirohito cried out as he released Sadako to bring his hands to his eyes. Sadako hit the ground running as she snapped her eyes open, and gave Hirohito's throat a left handed chop as she ran by. She was in so much pain, she could hardly put any strength behind the chop, but she was satisfied with the gurgling sounds he made as he struggled to catch his breath.

Sadako sprinted to the kitchen and slid behind the counter. Ignoring the shooting pain in her hip, she ripped open the refrigerator door, and fumbled through a box of pills on the top shelf. With the arrival of the Akimichi clan, the Empire had been introduced to the medicinal pills that clan provided. One of those pills, a blue one, Sadako now clutched in her left hand. The blue pill was an experimental one that was supposed to exponentially accelerate a person's chakra regeneration. Sadako had never held much stock in pills, but she took one more look at her now still cat. This galvanized her resolve, and she popped the pill into her mouth, swallowing it.

The effects were staggering, and immediate. She felt her chakra center explode as she generated chakra at an incredible rate. She jumped up from behind the counter, and leapt over it to land lithely on the balls of her feet. Hirohito was just walking out of the ruins of the guest room, and looked at her curiously. Before he could say anything, Sadako clutched her stomach, cried out in pain, and collapsed to her knees.

"What have you done to yourself my dear?" Hirohito queried as he studied his foe. "Oh my, you took something, and now you've gone and killed yourself. Tsk, tsk"

Sadako felt like her body was on fire. She was wondering what the hell the pill had done to her, when she looked at her hands. She would have cried out if her belly wasn't in the grips of spasms that would not recede. Her arms, and now her hands had what appeared to be veins of blackness spreading through them. She looked down incredulously at her body, at her stomach specifically, where a spider web of black lines radiated out from where her chi center would be.

"I do love to watch a good spell at work, but I'm sorry dear, you've seen how I really fight, and I'm sure you've figured out by now, we are not chakra users like yourselves. For this you must die before you can spread this information and formulate a defense." Hirohito chanted a magical phrase Sadako didn't understand. "Doesn't mean I don't get to play with you before I kill you."

Sadako had just enough time to look up before a giant luminescent fist hit her in her injured right side. If she had any pain receptors that weren't overwhelmed at the moment, she might have registered the fact she had just crashed through the front wall of her house, shattering yet more bones in her ruined body.

When the inevitable impact with the ground never came, she felt like she was floating. "So this is what it feels like to die." Sadako said to herself.

When she felt her body gently placed on the ground, her head cradled to protect it, she managed to look up and see the worried face of her friend, Kaede Kuriyama, Protector of the Divine Winds, her long dark hair swirling about her head, staring down at her.

It was then Sadako registered the roar of the winds Kaede had used to catch her friend. "It's a damn good thing I came to check on you, but what the hell happened to you?!" Kaede asked.

Her reply was the remaining front wall of Sadako's house bursting outward, and a triumphant looking Hirohito striding out of the rubble.

Kaede caught the debris in her winds, her right arm cradling her friend's head, her left outstretched, channeling her chakra to make the Divine Winds respond to her command. They rotated violently, carrying with them anything not nailed down. This included trees, bushes, debris, all whipped into an impenetrable circular barrier using hurricane strength winds to propel them.

Sadako managed to moan something that Kaede didn't catch. She leaned her head closer never taking her eyes off Hirohito.

"N-No… r-r-run." Sadako managed before her head lolled back, her eyes rolling up into her head. Kaede looked at her friend, now covered head to toe in a spider web of black lines that pulsed with her weak heartbeat, and then looked back to Hirohito who was reaching behind his back for something.

Her decision made, Kaede released her jutsu which caused the debris storm to explode outward at hurricane speeds, causing Hirohito to reflexively cover his face as debris impacted on his magical shield he had before him. This gave Kaede the distraction she needed as she used her winds to assist her in leaping away with her friend in her arms. Three such leaps and she was almost half a kilometer away.

Hirohito sighed and brushed the dirt off his armor. He took one more look at the still form of poor Smoke. Chuckling to himself, he said, "Still a helluva toss." as he turned and vanished into a shadow formed by the ruins of Sadako's house.

Naruto found his voice as he croaked, "I-Impossible. I killed you!"

Sakura laughed out loud. "Impossible!? Nothing is impossible!" She inched her face towards Naruto's until they were nose to nose. "You were so smug when you had the Kyubi inside you, reveling in the power you had over others."

Naruto's brow furrowed as he said, "I NEVER thought of myself as better than you, or Sasuke. I only wanted to get stronger so I could protect people and the village."

"Bullshit Naruto! You and your confidence… you were only that confident because you felt superior to us!"

Naruto's eyes softened. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Besides trying to kill me and destroying my village?!

"No, this is about revenge, I get it. But I should have killed you. How did you survive?"

"You want to see? Let me show you!" Sakura intoned words of power, focusing on her index and middle finger on her right hand, that she held in front of herself. Her fingers started to glow blue, right before she thrust them at Naruto's forehead. Powerless to move, Naruto could only grimace in a soundless scream, as Sakura's fingers bloodlessly penetrated his skull.

"See!" she shouted as she poured power through her connection to Naruto.

And Naruto saw…

She hurried to her house, her thoughts currently swirling around her children. When she arrived, the sounds of combat were drawing closer. The explosions, the shouts of comrades, the screams of the dying, all getting dangerously close.

Sakura burst through the front door shouting, "Kimiko! Akira!"

Both children came around, their eyes showing the red swirled pattern of the Sharingan followed closely by Ao, their protector. He was a Chunin level ninja and was hand-picked by Sasuke before he left the Village. Her heart lurched every time she thought of that. Hopefully, now that Orochimaru had attacked, that meant Sasuke would be free to leave with her and the kids and get far, far away from the Villages, the Empire, and all of the political bullshit.

Kimiko said, "We want to fight mommy! We can help!"

It was amazing the twins already had the Sharingan eye. Sasuke even said that he couldn't recall Uchiha children developing so early either. Of course he said it was because of their strong Uchiha bloodline, never mind that Sakura had had a hand in that too.

She shook her head, "No, you will go with Ao, outside the city."

Both children cast their eyes to the ground, obviously disappointed by their mother's declaration.

"Ao, do you remember the house Sasuke had built a few kilometers to the West?"

"Yes mistress."

"Take the children there and await the arrival of either Sasuke or myself."

"How long do I wait?" Ao asked the question because currently both parents were locked in a war for the survival of the Leaf Village. Sakura understood.

"If in a week, we have not arrived, then we will not be coming."

Ao bowed, and without another word, he took the kids by the hand and led them out the front door.

Her children never cried, or shouted. Their courage made her heart swell with pride. This galvanized her resolve, and she grabbed her specially made Jo staff. It came to her armpit when stood on end, and it was about 2.5 cm in diameter, but it was made of solid steel. An average person could not wield it effectively, but when Sakura channeled her will into her physical strength, she could shatter boulders with her staff.

Jo in hand, Sakura made her way towards the Hokage Tower, the last place she had been ordered to defend. Her children away from the embattled village, she could now focus on winning this battle.

She rounded a corner by the hospital, and saw a Leaf shinobi she didn't recognize, being set upon by 2 Sound ninjas. One, a female, had the shinobi pinned down by a glass shattering shriek emanating from her mouth. Another Sound ninja was preparing to deliver a death blow with a katana held over his head in a 2-handed grip.

Sakura channeled her will and leapt towards the embattled Leaf shinobi. As she arrived, the Sound ninja's sword impacted Sakura's Jo, shattering at the hilt. Sakura didn't give the dumbstruck ninja time to think about his next move as she got a grip on her staff, spun on her heal, and delivered a devastating blow to his back that launched the hapless ninja towards the third story of the hospital.

The other Sound ninja's eyes widened as she shifted her screech attack to Sakura. Sakura turned towards her and spun her staff faster than the eye could follow, shredding the ninja's attack. Two strides brought her up to her opponent. Sakura swung her staff at the ninja's mouth, and removed her head at the upper lip in an explosion of bone and blood. The rest of the dead ninja, gurgled as it toppled over.

Sakura's victory was short lived however. As she turned to the unknown shinobi, a series of explosions rippling through the first floor of the hospital lifted her off her feet, and threw her backward.

As she sat up, sputtering, she looked to where the Leaf shinobi had sat, and all she could see was a pile of rubble with a crimson stain spreading from beneath it. She blinked at where the hospital had stood, and saw that it had collapsed.

She didn't have time to mourn those killed in the attack, she had to get to the Tower.

Minutes later, she arrived at the tower after passing numerous scenes of destruction and carnage. It was hard to believe that anyone would have made it to the rally point.

Sakura surveyed the chaos surrounding the Hokage's Tower. Leaf shinobi faced off against Sound ninja everywhere. Lady Tsunade and a one armed Jiraiya were fighting Orochimaru and his aide Kabuto.

Sakura tensed as she prepared to enter the fray, when suddenly the fighting stopped, as all the combatants tried to determine the source of someone slowly clapping.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP

Steeping out of the smoke, and the one clapping, was Naruto himself, accompanied by the redhead that Sakura had seen with him before.

"Life's end. Isn't it beautiful? It's almost…tragic. When life ends, it gives off a final lingering aroma. Light is but a farewell to those on their way to die." Naruto said.

Sakura only half listened to the Dobe's prattling as she inched her way towards where Sasuke was standing, his Chokuto dripping blood, dead ANBO at his feet. Sasuke looked unhurt, for which Sakura was relieved. She thought that the time to make their escape together was now, while everyone was distracted by Naruto.

Sakura paused, something Naruto said catching her attention.

"Never let it be known that I don't keep my word," he said, "I told the both of you in Suna that this was just the beginning. As my father brought about Konoha's rise, so I will bring about its fall."

Sakura was dumbfounded by his arrogance. "You? Bring about the Leaf's destruction? Ha!" she snorted, "You were so full of yourself Naruto, even back when we were kids!"

"People change when you don't see or hear from them in years Haruno," he replied, "even me."

The rest of his reply was lost to her. She had quit caring what he had to say. Sakura continued to slide around the perimeter of the people that were now focused on Naruto, inching her way towards Sasuke.

When she had moved enough to see behind the Emperor, the direction he had come from, she froze, her heart in her throat. There around 15m behind Naruto was Ao lying on his back, his sightless eyes staring at the drama unfolding at the base of Hokage Tower. Of Kimiko and Akira, there was no sign. There was however, enough blood around Ao's body to make up for him, and 2 small children.

As tears welled up in Sakura's eyes, her breath started coming in short gasps. Her eyes snapped towards the conversation going on with Naruto, when a resurrected Asuma said, "You used us… all of us… just so you could destroy Konoha."

Naruto said casually, "Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? I sure do. This was something that Hinata and I had come up with while we were fighting in the Unification Wars as a joke."

The rest of Naruto's statement was lost to Sakura as her blood was roaring in her ears. In her head, her pain consumed her, "My village destroyed! My children lost or more likely dead! All because of Hinata and Naruto making a fucking JOKE!"

It was all Sakura could do not to cry out, her anger and hatred building until she was unknowingly channeling her chakra into her fists and arms. Her grip tightened on her Jo until her fingers were making indentations in the staff.

Her hatred of Naruto was so enflamed, she nearly jumped at him when Orochimaru said, "Kill him… we'll send his head to his wife."

She gasped when Naruto flashed, and destroyed the reanimated corpses of the First and Second, as well as killing Kabuto, while punching Kakashi and Sasuke so hard they flew backwards. Her husband got to his feet, lightning coursing around his Chokuto as well as the corpse of Kakashi.

Sakura bunched her legs, coiling to spring at Naruto and exact her vengeance alongside her husband, when Naruto and the mysterious figure standing next to him released a storm of kunai. Sakura parried with her Jo, but before she could recover, Naruto blinked into existence in front of her. Sakura's breath exploded from her lungs as Naruto slammed his sword, to the hilt, into her gut. With a casual expression on his face, Naruto twisted the blade and then drew it sideways, opening up her insides. She managed a gasp as Naruto withdrew his sword, and she collapsed to the ground as Naruto vanished, on to his next victim.

Sakura could barely register the screams of Sasuke as he lay crippled after Naruto shredded the tendons in his arms and legs. Her consciousness fading, tears fell down her cheeks as she realized she would soon see her children, and she would not live to avenge them.

The carnage was over, all the Konoha and Sound forces dead or scattered.

As the light faded from her eyes, Naruto was standing there saying something. All she could hear was Sasuke's screams however. She thought to herself, "I wish he would just shut the f…"

"Sakura"

Sakura's eyes fluttered as she tried to identify the speaker realizing it must have been in her head.

"Sakura, do you hate him? Do you want revenge?"

"What a stupid question. Of course I do."

"Prove it. 5m behind you is a storm drain. If you make it inside, you will survive what's coming, and we will help you get your revenge. Fail, and you were not honest about your desire for revenge."

Sakura gasped in pain as she rolled her head to locate the storm drain. With the pain in her gut, it made it difficult to crawl towards it. She barely registered the fact that Naruto and the 3 people with him had vanished, and the only sounds that remained were the sobs of Tsunade and Sasuke.

4m

She wanted to call out to Sasuke, but it took all her focus just to bite back the pain and crawl towards her supposed salvation.

3m

The pain was so intense, Sakura had to pause to catch her breath. The pain made it difficult to channel her will to give her strength, but if she faltered, she just conjured an image of her dead children.

2m

Sakura fell face down, and she almost gave up, but the disembodied voice she had heard played through her mind again, "Fail, and you were not honest about your desire for revenge." Sakura gritted her bloody teeth and crawled on.

1m

Sakura almost passed out from the pain, her goal almost within reach. She heard a strange sound from outside the village, like an immense energy build up. "It must be the village's destruction coming..." she thought to herself. She used her chakra amplified strength to lift the storm drain cover. As she levered her legs into the hole, she cried out, the pain sharp in her gut. As a gathering rumble started, she glanced once more to where Sasuke had been, but couldn't see him. She didn't have time for confusion however, as she saw a huge ball of energy coming towards the center of the village.

The ball detonated right next to Hokage Tower, just as Sakura dropped into the drain, screaming in pain. Flames shot down into the drain through the open hole as her world exploded. Sakura's screams renewed as the left side of her head and face were blasted by fire.

Hands from the shadows lifted her and pulled her into the cooling comfort of darkness. Sakura, her pain receptors over-loaded, started to lose consciousness, the last thing she heard being the disembodied voice of her savior.

"We are pleased Sakura Haruno."

Naruto's eyes snapped open when Sakura removed her fingers. It felt like he would have a migraine for a week. Tears streamed down his face from the emotions coursing through the vision she had given him.

Naruto blinked apology, "I- I'm sorry Sakura, but I didn't kill Ao or your children. This.."

Sakura exploded, "STOP IT! Stop dodging your responsibility Dobe! Whether your hand held the blade or not, it was your thirst for vengeance that killed Akira and Kimiko! It was your playing judge, jury and executioner that destroyed the only home I've ever known and crippled my husband for the rest of his life.

Naruto swallowed hard and cast his eyes down as he considered her words. His thoughts drifted back to the conversation he and Hinata had, "…all of them deserved to die. They had ruined the dream of Konoha, and squandered the Will of Fire." she had said.

Naruto's determination galvanized his eyes hardening.

"No," he said through gritted teeth, "I refuse your judgment. Konoha was corrupt, cancerous, it needed to die. If your children were collateral damage, then so be it. If you're an example of the potential for your children, then the world is well rid of them."

Naruto thought he might have pushed too far as Sakura's breathing became more ragged, but he needed her angry, unfocussed.

Sakura lowered her staff to point at Naruto's head. Naruto had to think quickly. "So, still the coward, eh? You need to shoot an unarmed helpless man? Don't you want a shot at the title?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she considered his words. "You're right. It's past time for your first lesson. One rule… you can't leave the bubble of the spell or we will be in different time streams, and the match will be over.

That was exactly what Naruto was hoping. He fully intended to launch her ass outside the bubble into the waiting arms of everyone outside the time bubble. He was confident they would know what to do.

Sakura intoned more words he didn't understand, but they had the hopeful effect of releasing him from the time bubble. As soon as his limbs were free, his eyes reverted to the Rinnegan, and he channeled his will towards Sakura.

"Almighty Push!" he yelled thrusting his arms forward.

Invisible bands of energy raced towards the still smiling Sakura, and when they reached her, they bent around her and didn't move her one cm.

Frowning, his arms became metallic as he shifted into the Asura Path, and he leaped at Sakura. Naruto brought his fist down with enough force to smash boulders, but Sakura merely raised her arms crossed fashion, and took the blow on her forearms. Her feet sank a couple of cm into the floor, but she appeared otherwise unharmed.

As soon as his attack was finished, Sakura counter-attacked. She spun her staff at his feet, knocking them out from under him. Naruto fell heavily onto his back, but he had to quickly roll backwards to avoid Sakura driving her staff into the floor where his head had once been.

When Naruto regained his feet, he shifted once again to Deva Path and drew his O-katana. Once again leaping to the attack, he immersed himself into his kata cycling through lunges, parries and slash attacks. Sakura was always faster however, blocking his attacks with her staff, as it moved and spun in a blur.

Just as he was about to give up and try something else, Sakura threw her arms wide as if inviting a thrust. Not one to pass up an opportunity, Naruto got a two-handed grip on his sword and thrust with all his might at her heart. He was shocked when his thrust stopped short, hitting some barrier that surrounded her. Naruto pushed as hard as he could, but could not penetrate whatever it was that surrounded her.

Sakura, chuckling, lowered her staff and planted the crystal end against Naruto's chest. He heard the energy build up, but had little time to react as Sakura said, "My turn." and released the pent-up energy into Naruto. There was a bright flash, and a deafening boom, as Naruto hurtled backward, crashing into his throne.

As Naruto slowly lifted himself up from the rubble of his throne, Sakura made her way to the wall where Sasuke's Chokuto rested and she reached out to grasp it and remove it from the wall. "I'll take this." is all she said.

That done, Sakura just stood there and chuckled. "I think that's enough for your first lesson. I can't destroy you too soon, you need to suffer." She turned and pointed to the still kneeling Hirohito, "I present to you a parting gift. Hirohito has… displeased me, so he's yours to do with as you please. But know this Dobe, that is the last gift I will give you. From now on, I will only give you heartache, misery, and death. Until we meet again..."

Sakura slammed the butt of her staff against the floor, and in a flash, she and the magic bubble disappeared, releasing the others from the time stop effects. Numerous kunai flew in to where Sakura had stood when she first arrived, and Gaara's sand swirled there as well. With no target for his sand coffin, Gaara caught the errant weapons that filled the airspace until people realized the palace was no longer under attack.

"Arrest him!" Naruto shouted pointing at Hirohito. Immediately, the floor rose up to surround and immobilize the warrior. A clan member stepped up and placed Hirohito under a genjutsu to render him unconscious.

As guards removed Hirohito to interrogation, Hinata gasped as she saw Naruto cradling his left arm. "Naruto, are you alright!? What happened?"

Naruto tried, unsuccessfully, to shoo away Hinata's ministrations. As other concerned friends and dignitaries crowded around the Emperor, he turned to them, and answered their numerous questions with one line… "Sakura's alive," he said, his voice lowering, "and she is pissed!"

-Sorry this chapter took awhile. I had a hard time integrating Snafu's story into my own through Sakura's memories. The holidays took up quite a bit of my time too. Hopefully back on track now. Feedback is welcome. Thanks for your patience.