Chapter 7: Grandfather and Grandmother Haruno
"Yota, no!" they all shouted as they got close. A lightning bolt stroked him early before they reached him, leaving them shocked and speechless. They were staring at the spot and hearing Yota's laugh, the same laugh they recalled back from their childhood. The others behind watched them, feeling pity for their loss of a friend. They took a moment to recover for their loss and narrowed their eyes straightforward; in addition, they will never forget their dear friend.
BAM! Kabuto slammed his palm hard on the edge of the grid monitor and swapped the pebbles away. "That stupid little brat!" he snapped with his other failed task. "I guessed he held a stronger will than the last time, but his friendship with those little fools was what helped him gain strong will for his body."
Even so, Yota took his own life, yet Kabuto wasn't giving up. Thus, he still has more summoning jutsu for other edos. "I shall show my face to them and convince Sakura for the last time," he smirked darkly. "If she still refuses, I will give her one big surprise."
(~~~~~~)
The six friends were staring at the spot where Yota struck himself to save them. They couldn't believe that Yota erased their memories about him, so they won't grieve for his death. Furthermore, they would live happy with their normal lives. After many years, they forgot their childhood friendship and how it started with meeting Yota. Then, they finally met him again and for the last time; they all promise for Yota that they will always remember him and their playful childhood friendship.
Suddenly, they jerked when they sensed a chakra coming and jumped away. There appeared Kabuto with a sly look, hiding his anger. "I never thought that you would receive such sympathies, Sakura, except you despise one" Sakura scoffed while glaring. She did felt for Deidara and Yota, except for Sasori.
"I will ask you one last time," he offered out an open hand "Give them to me."
Her friends turned to her. The chuunins were very eager to know why he only wants Sakura and what does she have that he wants. The suspense as their curiosity was growing bigger. Sakura glared, "I am not changing my mind."
"You are never and will ever have my wife," Sasuke intervened. He stood protectively in front of her; therefore, he refused to lose his beautiful wife and the mother of his children. Along with him, his children came beside Sakura; Shina and Daisuke took her hands and Ryosuke hugged her waist tightly. Her family was always with her which was why she loves them so much.
Itachi next stood, "I'm not going to lose my sister or have my family torn apart again." He also stood in front and beside his little brother. Indeed, he doesn't want the past to come back and destroy his family. Furthermore, the others stood in battle stance and with their weapons in hand.
"Two devoted brothers for the Haruno girl." Kabuto chuckled with amusement, " Sasuke, I have understood why Orochimaru was so interested in you and I noticed your curse mark is gone by the help of Haruno."
Curse mark? The Uchiha children grew confused about it.
He next added, "Itachi, I have never excepted that you would be forgiven and become a Leaf ninja again after your time as a missing-nin." They both didn't say anything back but glare at him.
He could see how they both care for Sakura, and they were protective with each other. "Anyway, I have something for you," he grinned, "but only for you, Sakura, which you will either like or won't like it."
Sakura released her children's holding and patted the brothers' shoulders to stand down. "Sodesuka? Are you going to summon another dead friend of mine?" she asked coming between the brothers but was held back from going any further.
"You already faced your two friends," Kabuto smirked, "how similar they were, they both loved you." He placed two fingered hands together and summoned two coffins up. Then, he lifted his hands opening the coffins, except the front, and sent out threads of chakra into the corpses.
"You will meet two people for the very first time." He ended, "I will watch how you will take it. Now rise!" he stopped as the front lids dropped and he hid into the shadows.
(~~~~~~)
"GASP!" Sakura froze stiff for seeing two familiar figures, "No, it can't be!" The others have no idea who they were.
There stood was a man with glasses; he had mid-length, dark grey hair tied in a low ponytail and dressed in a white attire. Another was a woman with long brown hair and dressed in a light blue kimono.
"Ugh! Koko de nani ga okotte iru no?" the man was concerned about uncertain things. He was feeling strange and unsure about himself. He wondered where he was.
The lady wondered, "Doko?" She looked around and saw unfamiliar people, staring in front of them. "Matte! Weren't we dead?" she remembered the night of the massacre and looked down at her hands.
The man also recalled his death and couldn't understand what was happening. Before he could speak, Sakura shouted out angrily to Kabuto, "What have you done to them?!"
In the shadows behind the trees, Kabuto had a sly look with a smirk uncaringly. Without speaking, he just gave out a laughter which enraged Sakura. She tightened grip her swords and shook, That bastard!
"Dare?" the man asked her. Her face expression showed that she knows them, but he first wanted to know who she was.
In an instant she sheathed her katanas, Sakura lifted her hands openly at them and slowly walked toward them. In words, she was telling them to calm down and she was not an enemy. She hesitated but quickly spoke, "Ojii-chan…obaa-chan…"
Everyone turned stunned when Sakura indicated those two reanimations were her grandparents! However, her grandparents don't recognize her. The Uchiha children widened to see their great-grandparents and went between their father and uncle to have a better look.
Everyone (except the Hozukis and Jugo, and the chuunins) noticed a striking resemblance of Hanzo from Lord Haruno. Minus the chuunins, their real question was 'How Sakura knows they are her grandparents?' They remembered that they died when Hanzo was a kid. The Uchiha brothers recalled from Hanzo's letter mentioning—he never told her anything about her grandparents.
Lady Haruno asked, "Nani?!" She got surprised from being called Obaa-chan and meeting a young woman claiming to be as her 'granddaughter'.
"Who are you for real?!" Lord Haruno asked her again. He suspected that she was lying, only trying to play tricks with them. "How are we your grandparents?"
"Haruno Hanzo!" Sakura revealed, "My father!" The name of their son stopped them, "I am his daughter and your granddaughter, Sakura!"
Sakura?! Her name also proved that their son named her after the flower of their clan. Thus, they and their son always celebrated the blooming of the cherry blossoms every spring.
"Hanzo…!" Lord Haruno said. Hanzo? He survived the massacre? Besides, he had many questions he needed to ask his granddaughter and son about their lives. He was also wondering where Hanzo was, and why he wasn't here with his daughter.
"My son, Hanzo!" Lady Haruno exclaimed. "A father to a daughter?"
To Kabuto:
"This is such an amusing sight," Kabuto smirked. "Haruno elders meet their unknown granddaughter for the first time."
He created a handsign then chuckled, "Let's see a battle between two families fighting each other."
To Sakura and the Harunos:
"Sakura," Lord Haruno called her. "Where's—!" he and his wife got electroshocked internally. He did fast handsigns and blew Fire Style: Great Eagle Flames! A giant flame shaped like an eagle flew toward them.
Everyone tensed by the strong power and covered with an arm, feeling the burning on faces from the flame. Some of the chuunins stood close with their parents, and Ryosuke grabbed onto his older siblings.
Sakura did fast handsigns, "Water Style: Water Panther Jutsu!" She blew water out, and the water panther roared and splashed at the fire. It steamed smoke after the fire died away, and she waved the steam away with wind.
The Uchiha children were relieved that their mother stopped the fire attack. "What's happening to him?" Shina asked. She couldn't understand why he attacked while he was talking.
"This is how the Reanimation Jutsu works," Sasuke explained. "They are controlled to attack against their will."
.
The Haruno were allayed that everyone survived; also they noticed their granddaughter used water and wind (part of the elements). Lord Haruno vanished and Lady Haruno instructed where he was, "Up!"
"Ojii-chan!" Sakura jumped up toward him. As they encountered, they both similarly blocked their combo attacks at the same time.
"Where's Hanzo?" Lord Haruno asked, repeating his question. He swung his left arm to slash her, but she leaned back avoiding it.
"He and my mother died twenty years ago," Sakura replied. "Madara killed them during a mission!"
Lord Haruno widened from hearing of his son's death, yet he needed to know more. "But how did he survive the massacre?"
"My father was the only survivor and Madara had a change of plan." Sakura talked while she punched his punches. Then he kicked from above so she jumped back away; then, she stopped one kick with both wrists crossed. She pushed him back which he flipped back and ran at her.
Then they both air-kicked sideways, "he took my father and lied to him that Konoha was responsible for the massacre." They both double-kicked their kicks and gymnastically swung legs while hands on ground.
(~~~~~~)
On the other hand, Kai watched every movement with Lady Uchiha's taijutsu. He became very fascinated with her ability; it was similar as if she was also an expert like him. She handled blocking every enemy movement with ease, like she can read every move.
(~~~~~~)
Lady Haruno asked as she ran around them with a kama-yari, "Nani?" While Lord Haruno and Sakura were still fighting, Lady Haruno swung her weapon down to hit her but missed, only hitting the earth.
Sakura jumped and flipped backward, and she slid back to a safe distance. She stood back up, "He made him his apprentice and brainwashed him with vengeance for ten years." Lord Haruno narrowed his eyes, and Lady Haruno held anger inside that Madara used her son after telling him lies. "My father also fought my mother, but she told him the truth about Madara and took him to the Leaf."
"Your mother saved him?" Lord Haruno asked which she nodded. "She must have been a brave kunoichi, and we would have thanked her if she was here."
Lady Haruno jerked when her hand moved itself, My body is moving by itself! "Levitated Pull!" Sakura lifted into the air and pulled her toward Lady Haruno. She flew toward her with her kama-yari. Quickly noticing, Sakura pulled out her katanas and connected its holder tips together which they turned into a guandao.
She and her grandmother both swung their weapons forward, but Sakura fastly stabbed the kama-yari to the ground and like monkey-style swung to the right. "Nice defensive dodge, Sakura!" Lady Haruno was relieved that her granddaughter survived from her attack.
"This is one of my training I learned from my father," Sakura shared while sliding back. She stopped herself from going any further.
"What about…" Lord Haruno paused for not wanting to say the cursed name, "Madara? Where is he?"
"He will might be summoned soon," Sakura said back, and the chuunins have no idea who this 'Madara' was. The Harunos were stunned to hear that Madara was dead. Truthfully, the others also have the same feeling as Sakura that Kabuto might summon Madara within time.
Before the Harunos asked, she stated knowing their question, "I killed him!"
"Eh?!" the Harunos both shocked. "How did you—"
"I completed the Haruno prophecy!" Sakura shared. Her children were finally going to see her power and hear about her secret.
To show them the truth, she first swung her guandao and stabbed it on the ground, leaving it standing there; then she clapped her hands in praying posture and slowly opened them. Everyone watched her, and her arms opened widely with six balls—light, fire, water, wind, earth, and dark—and the fifth on top of them—red lightning. Around her shared illusions of the dark blue dragon and white wings behind her back.
All the chuunins were stunned to see her secret power, mostly the Uchiha children. The Harunos were highly infected by the Haruno completed power.
Lord Haruno commented, "So it's true, you really are our granddaughter. You are my son's daughter." They were also proud that their son raised his own daughter very well and taught her with wisdom.
After showing them, Sakura started sharing her story, "Madara tried to kill me the day I was born and then after my parents died. He revealed my father's dark secret from his sharingan."
The Uchihas and everyone else went silently, listening Sakura explaining them about her father. The Uchiha children were very eager to know about their [Sakura's side] grandparents. They wanted to know about them and what happened to them long time ago.
"He showed me the massacre, covering the whole clan with fire and death." She clinched, "my father was left alone with fear and grief after he found you dead in the house. Later, Madara took him in and trained him to kill without mercy when many Leaf ninjas tried to save him but failed."
They all hardened with shock and learned how she recognized her grandparents. She continued, "Luckily, my mother was the only one who made it through and saved him by telling him the truth about Madara. The Third Hokage knew his innocence and welcomed him to be part of Konoha. Eventually, my father fell in love with my mother and they had me."
She clutched her fist, "Their life wasn't happy because Madara had been in hiding, torturing them with fear and killing their friends. They were also scared for my life. That day when my parents were assigned on a mission, he showed me how he killed them and watched them die in vain."
"Sakura…." Lady Haruno felt apologetic for hearing the torment and lonely sadness her son and her granddaughter went through. In addition, the Uchiha children felt hurt for their mother's loss and the death of their grandparents.
"Matte, what was your choice to open the last gate?" Lord Haruno was very interested to hear that from her, and the others were waiting for her answer.
Sakura closed her eyes, "After he showed me the truth, I felt rage grew within me because he destroyed my father's life and then mine. My father and I had the same dream, but Madara took it away before we could make it a reality. He killed the family my father loved and took advantage of his suffering. He then killed my beloved mother and father, so I challenged him…to the death."
The chuunins were surprised from her secret.
She slowly opened her eyes, "During the battle, I fought him with the first two gates. I then found the secret of his immortality (everyone widened with shock), so I defeated him but it wasn't over yet. He tried to attack the Leaf, and I had no other options but to open the last gate to defeat him. My choice was to protect my village and restore peace, the Leaf is what my father and I value so much to protect because it is our home."
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Everyone was amazed with her, and the chuunins finally understood the reason why the whole village gets excited every time they see her. It was likely that they had studied from the academy about the two heroic Leaf ninjas against the Akatsuki. However they found one, they don't know who the other is?
The Harunos were also impressed from her wise choice, so they could have been so proud of her and their son. She is the first Haruno in the family to complete the prophecy out of their previous family members.
"One more thing," Lord Haruno returned serious and asked her, "Who are those two men with you? They both look like Uchiha bloodlines." He looked at them with a disgusted glare which everyone could see; however the Uchiha brothers don't mind because they both understand his reason.
Sakura could see her grandfather's hard face, and everyone could see that he hates the Uchiha for one particular reason. Her bangs covered her eyes with a guilty conscience She shook with nervousness about how he will react when she will tell him that she is not a Haruno anymore.
Her grandmother looked at them for a momente and turned back to her granddaughter. She noticed her face carrying shame. She began to fear for assuming what it might mean and how her husband will take it.
"Ojii-chan, they are Uchihas." She answered with heaviness, "…they are my family." Her grandparents turned at her with shock. "I am not Haruno Sakura anymore, I am 'Uchiha Sakura' for fourteen years!"
"Nani?!" Lord Haruno exclaimed as she pulled out her necklace showing the Uchiha symbol as proof that she was telling the truth. It implied that she wears the Uchiha necklace daily, and her cherry blossom necklace she only wears for special occasion.
"The man on the left is my husband, Sasuke," she introduced them "and next to him is my brotherly brother-in-law, Itachi." They both bowed their heads to them politely. "The three kids with them are mine." The Harunos looked at the children who were staring at them silently.
Lord Haruno clutched a fist in disgust to the idea of his granddaughter as an Uchiha. "My own granddaughter?!" he shouted and everyone winced, "You married an Uchiha! You produced new descendants of Madara!" The Uchiha children gasped that Madara is their ancestor!
"Haven't you realized what you had done to your own kind? Didn't you already know that you are the last Haruno alive?" Lady Haruno tried to calm him down from threatening their granddaughter, but he wouldn't listen. "They are the bloodlines of Madara! The murderer of our family and our clan!"
"I never had regretted my life!" Sakura shouted at him, panting hard. She managed to stop him from giving her more insults about her family, and he must understand her. "I never did, not slightly a bit. You have no idea what he had done to the Uchiha clan; he killed them the same way he killed our clan."
The Harunos got suddenly shocked for the death of the Uchiha clan, so they decided to hear the other side of story, "Madara cursed them all with darkness of hatred, and he became a threat to the whole shinobi world and even to his own. Although, you are right about one thing. It is true that my own family has the blood of our murderer, which my father and I despised them for it, but they are innocent and we couldn't hate them." She admitted her partial agreement.
She explained otherwise, "After my father became a Leaf ninja, he made friends with an Uchiha family and the Fourth Hokage. They created a bond together with a strong, connected friendship. Madara considered all his own so weak for having sympathies instead of desiring power and planning coup d'etat against the Leaf, so he killed them all in cold blood." That part stunned them for Madara committed conspiracy and murder to his clan.
"However, my husband and my brother were the only Uchihas alive."
The Uchiha children gasped to another loss, this time from their father and uncle. "For the record, Madara forcefully threatened my brother to do the massacre and to join the Akatsuki; if he refused him, he would have killed the person he held precious. So, he accepted him and slaughtered his whole clan but left my husband alive, the only survivor."
That very part stopped a heartbeat of the Uchiha children and the chuunins after hearing the past of their father and uncle's dark past. "My father knew that the massacare would badly affect my husband because he went through the same loss himself. Sasuke sworn revenge on Itachi and would do anything to revive his clan, so he departed the Leaf to gain power from the Sound for three years."
.
The Harunos turned to the Uchiha brothers engraved from their family loss. Furthermore, the Uchiha children turned to ask their father and uncle. Ryosuke first started, "Itachi-ojisan, you did something bad?" Itachi sadly looked down at him and didn't answer him.
"Ojisan, you were part of the Akatsuki?" Shina sadly asked him, but he didn't look at her nor gave her a response. Although, the Harunos have no idea what the Akatsuki was, but it sounded that it was an organization of rouge ninjas.
She next asked, "Otosan, you left Konoha a long time ago?" Sasuke sadly looked at his daughter but also didn't answer.
"Answer us!" Daisuke told him to speak in a rarely hard voice, but Itachi and Sasuke both clutched fists and shoulders shook without responding. It irritated Daisuke for not being answered.
He turned to his father. "Otosan, it is true that Itachi-ojisan was forced to commit murder of our grandparents?" Sasuke looked at his son for a while but turned away with shame.
He lastly asked them both, "You both were missing-nins to Konoha?"
(~~~~~~)
Back to the others, the chuunins never knew that the Uchihas had a painful past and never told or said any word to their children. They endured painful sorrow and moved on with their loss. They couldn't believe that Madara killed two clans—Itachi was forcefully convicted and lived in rogue; Sasuke left as a witness and turned dark with vengeance; and Sakura faced tragedy and lived alone without any relatives.
"Ie!" they heard all heard Shina's cry. Therefore, she hugged her uncle tightly, shaking from crying in tears. Shina? Itachi was stunned by his niece's embrace. "I don't believe it! I don't want to believe it! Itachi-ojisan is not a murderer!"
Kai and Haru could see the hurt she was having and the doubt for her uncle.
"That's right!" Ryosuke joined embracing his uncle. "Itachi-ojisan is our uncle! We love him, and he is our second father!" He also shedded tears for him.
Itachi was flabbergasted that his niece and nephew were standing up for him. He slowly wrapped his arms around them and embraced them back tightly for loving him so much. Furthermore, he never wanted them to take his secret so hard nor to know that he was previously something else than a loving uncle.
Daisuke was feeling furious about the sufferings his parents and uncle went through, and it was caused by his ancestor. To take away his frustration, he went to embrace his father which surprised him. Daisuke? Sasuke looked down at his son.
Hana and Mori could predict the feelings he was having for his family and the ire for his ancestor.
"We may be the descendants of this Uchiha Madara, but never in life will my siblings and I be like him." he clutched on his father's coat. "If this murderer is summoned soon, I won't hold back in hesitation when I see him."
The Uchihas could feel the resentment Daisuke was having. "I want to make him pay for what he made my uncle do and how he made my parents suffer for killing the family they loved." Sasuke embraced him back because he doesn't want his kids to feel or show pity for them.
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The Harunos were awakened by seeing the true face of the Uchiha—they were different from what they thought and have some comparison with their lives. Furthermore, the three children refused to believe the substandard of their family and unacceptable toward their ancestor.
From what they predict, their son Hanzo has raised his own daughter with wised morals and honorable family tradition. Then, their granddaughter raises her children similarly. As a result, she changed the fate of the Uchiha clan after Madara's death.
(~~~~~~)
"Ojii-chan," Sakura looked at him with straightforward and he listens, "no matter what your objections are, I love my family dearly." She turned to her family who stared at her.
She spoke, "My husband has been the love of my life since childhood. He did experienced grief and loneliness after he lost all his family. He eventually learned that revenge was never the answer to restore his life back and my parents had hopes for him."
Sasuke warmly smiled at her because she and her parents understood the pain he was suffering inside. "My love for him was what saved him from himself and brought him back to Konoha. We formed our life together ever since."
Next, she added, "My brother is the only sibling my husband and I have, and the only relative for my children. We all love him very much."
She continued, "We took care of each other and created a brother-sister bond when I fought for our justice. I saved him from death twice and brought his life back." Itachi felt touched from her warmhearted speech and really appreciated how much she cares about him. "My parents never doubted his true self because they had trusted him and he had their promise for a long time."
"My three children," she lastly added "they mean everything and the world to me. Along with my husband and brother, we never told them about our past or secrets, but we decided to tell them when the time was right."
They looked at her but with sad eyes, "Until this unexpected day, they now know our secrets and their ancestry of Madara, the founder but the murderer of the Uchiha clan, including the Haruno clan. In spite, they have the blood of Haruno in their veins, along with the blood of Uchiha. They are the new generation who will carry the elements and will pass it on to the next."
She turned back to her grandfather, "Ojii-chan, no matter what your objectives are, my love for my family won't change a thing. I love them all as I love you both. I don't want to hurt either of them or you."
Lord Haruno made a small smile from his granddaughter's strong speech, and Lady Haruno smiled for seeing the similarities between Sakura and Hanzo. They both have the love for their family and willing to protect them; also they both honor their family name.
To Kabuto:
Kabuto enjoyed hearing the whole telling-story from Sakura while she was convincing her grandparents about the Uchiha clan. Not forgetting his goal, he lifted a handsign for the Harunos to create a jutsu to attack Sakura.
"She will receive the most powerful curse mark of Orochimaru," he chuckled with her secret plan, "and then I will take the chance of absorbing the elements into my body."
When he finds the perfect chance, he will appear in surprise while she was distracted with her battle (but he might not, Sakura has excellent sensory for any chakra nearby).
Back to the Konoha team and the Harunos:
The Harunos were engraved from their granddaughter's strong will and love for her family. It reminded them about a legend of their clan that has passed down from their family through generations. Regarding the fact, it was the bloodline of the legendary Haruno that was flowing in her veins.
Lord Haruno was about to say, "Saku—tsk!" Lady Haruno also jerked, so Sakura noticed and quickly took her guandao pointing out in defense. "Sakura, be careful!" they both created hand signs and planted their left hands on ground, "Summoning Jutsu!"
Sakura saw the black jaguar from her grandfather and the cougar from her grandmother. The cats screeched loudly at her. Then, she watched her grandparents' resistances on their weapons—her grandmother tried to drop her weapon, but her grandfather was holding on his right wrist to prevent reaching his.
"Sakura, I can't anymore!" Lady Haruno failed to fight resistance and set herself in battle stance. Her cougar growling was ready to fight.
Sakura saddened for her grandmother and felt tears forming, but she shut her eyes and opened them hard. "Wakatta, there is no other way." She swung and pointed her guandao at her, accepting the challenge.
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Kabuto was very looking forward to this new coming fight and waiting for his chance. Sakura is his target; she will be a perfect masterpiece for Orochimaru, better than Sasuke was.
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Lord Haruno moved back, including everyone else, still restraining himself with the black jaguar in front of him. The Konoha team was very disheartened to see grandparents being possessed to fight their own granddaughter, and Sakura grew more furious how Kabuto was controlling her grandparents like puppets.
It was ironic when she fought against Madara and had no choice to unleash the last gate, so this was what was happening here right now. She must fight her own grandparents even if it hurts so much.
"Sumimasen, ojii-chan, obaa-chan." They both smiled warmly at her, for she made a wise choice and they don't both blame her.