Hello all! Glad to see you come back, it's been a while XD Anyway, this story is so close to ending that I can feel it. LAUGHING BECAUSE I CAN'T WAIT OOPS. Gives me time to work on other stories…anyway, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 8

The Time

Sakura looks down at the ticking sphere in her hands, a slight humming sound filling the air. "I can't believe this is actually the bomb," she mutters to herself, holding the ball high into the air. Glancing at the strange contraption, the medical ninja thinks: if she was able to somehow get this ball as far away from the village as possible, no one would be hurt.

As she recalled, Itachi said the day before, when he thought she was alsleep- someone had to sacrifice themselves in order for one on in the village to be harmed. A dry smile spreads across her face.

Lucky her, then.

Not thinking twice, the girl sprints over the debris in the Uchiha compound, exited through the south side of the compound, towards the woods. It was the easiest, fastest, and least troublesome way out of the village, and within these five or so hours left, she would run to her heart's content. There was no time to alert Itachi and Sasuke- they both are easily an hour away from each other, considering the damage she'd have to go over in order to reach them. By the time she informed them and came back to run, there'd be less than half the time left on the timer. She wouldn't get half as far, and the place had a much higher chance of getting blown up.

If the bomb really was a huge as Itachi said it was, then it was enough to singe forests for miles.

Sweat drips from her forehead at the realization. Would her body be able to keep up the intense exercise? She would have to, or else Konoha, her village, her hometown- it would all be destroyed. Hell would freeze over before the pink haired would let that happen. Gritting her teeth, she pushes on, running as far away from the Uchiha brothers as possible.

Sakura would protect her village, and if that meant giving up her life in the process, then that was fine by her.

She did not, however, notice the two pairs of feet no more than twenty feet behind her, staring after her.

4 hours, 44 minutes, and 9 seconds left

Itachi jolts suddenly, pausing in mid-jutsu. The man glances towards the sky, in the general direction of their female associate. He got a weird vibe from that direction, a sudden chill down his spine. It unnerved him, that was for sure, but he had to focus on his area of the village. He was sure the kunoichi could care for herself, seeing as she had gotten much stronger over the past few years. But, still, the feeling nagged at the Uchiha, no matter how much he tried to shake it off.

Cursing, the man burned down a nearby building, a squirrel running from inside of it. His plan couldn't be more flawless, or simple. Just destroy. What was so hard about it? Yet, something…just something bothered him, and it centered around the pink haired.

Resisting the urge to go after the girl, he torches yet another building. As soon as he was done with this area, he would go to her aid. Hopefully, his suspicious were invalid. 'Hopefully,' thinks the red eyes man, flexing his fingers to prepare yet another justu.

4 hours, 19 minutes, and 52 seconds left

Sasuke ran through the eastern area of the large villages, leaving lightning struck houses in his wake. The place was surprisingly bigger than he had expected, and to torch the place took work. Currently, the teen moved on to the northeastern area, already somewhat destroyed.

It was around this time that he got that strange sensation, a tingle running the length of his spine. His eyes immediately narrowed. "Sakura..?" he whispered.

Not getting an answer, and frankly pushing the girl to the far recesses of his mind, the young black haired focused on the job before him. A crunch from his left snags his attention, and the ninja jumps back, arms positioned to weave signs at any time.

His narrowed eyes, however, widened considerably upon realizing his enemies. "You're..."

"Don't bother to finish it, Sasuke," sneers the brown haired teen, his white dog barking in agreement.

The blind girl turns towards him, determined, with an uncharacteristic frown on her face. "Even if you are Naruto's friend," she begins, "I will not hold back to battle you."

She bends her knees, pulling her left fist backward, towards her shoulder, and holds out her palm to face him. Removing his cloak, Sasuke grunts at their attempts to seem confident.

"Heeeeh…" he mutters, nevertheless, admiring the ferocity of their eyes, "you're confident this time around. Kiba, Hinata."

Both tense ever so slightly upon the use of their names. Sasuke would have to finish this quickly, so he wouldn't run behind schedule and fail to complete his part of the plan.

Grinning manically, the Uchiha cracks his knuckles, "Entertain me."

3 hours, 39 minutes, and 4 seconds left

Tsunade walked down a deserted street in her village, eyeing all the destruction with a sense of unease, anger, and bewilderment. Who in their right minds would dare to devastate their country once more? The Akatsuki? They are much too busy, prepping for the war, and not to mention they had already attacked their village. A neighboring continent? Not likely, they were also readying for the war.

Tsking, the woman kicks a rock, and it flies into a window of a small convenience store, shattering the glass. "Who could be behind this..?" she mutters disdainfully, glaring at the debris covered road.

"Tsunade-sama."

An ANBU appears to her left, kneeling. Sighing, the busty woman waves the formalities off. "No need, please stand."

The man stood, adjusting his uniform. "Isn't it unsafe for you to be out here, alone, while there are intruders in the village?"

The blonde's eyes darken at the comment. "Are you trying to keep me holed up in that office of mine while chaos erupts in my village?"

The man looks uncomfortable, eyes averted. "Well, ah, no-"

"Then do tell me," the Hokage cuts off, livid, "what exactly it is that I should do."

The man remains silent, his lips forming a straight line. Tsunade sighs and backs off the poor guy. "Thank you for looking out for me," she says quietly, "but as the Kage of this village, nothing of this sort shall be under way as I simply sit in my office."

"Yes," the ANBU agrees.

With that, the man vanishes, and the woman is left to face to hectic, burning houses alone. Turning a corner, the important figure comes face to face with a man in a black. Narrowing her honey colored eyes, the woman calls out to the person just as he began to flee.

"You! With the cloak! Who exactly are you, and what are you doing to my village?"

The person pauses, looks back slightly, but not enough for identification, before taking off. "Wait!" Tsunade yells, immediately following the man, "just who are you?"

Cursing loudly, the man picks up his speed. Tsunade furrows her eyebrows. The voice rang a bell, but she didn't know whose.

3 hours, 2 minutes, and 18 seconds left

"Let's go, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cries out, leaping over the debris to follow his former teammate.

Sighing, the silver haired ninja clamps a calloused hand over his mouth. "Idiot, if you talk so loud, she'll obviously find you," he chides. "Focus on concealing your chakra and shutting your mouth."

"Sorry," Naruto says, not an ounce of truth to the words.

The two continue to follow the girl, even after she had mysteriously sprinted out of the Uchiha compound. It seemed to the two loyal ninja that the girl had found something of ridiculous value. Curious, and ordered to follow her anyway, the blonde and silver haired stalk her further and further away from the village.

"Sakura!" Naruto calls out, and the teen ahead of them turns back, a terrified expression on her face.

"Naruto? Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" she asks hurriedly, her breath coming in short spurts. The oldest of the three narrows his one good eye. She looks extremely exhausted…just why is she running so desperately fast?

The girl had stopped, but at a considerable distance ahead of them. Panting at their pace, Naruto slows down until he is close enough, and his teacher stops beside him.

The three stare at each other for a few, catching their breath, before Sakura speaks again.

"Why are you guys here? Get away from me as soon as possible, return to the village!" she cries, shooing them away.

"What are you even doing, Sakura?" Kakashi asks, frowning. "What's that in your hand?"

Gasping, the ninja looks down and swiftly conceals the object in her cloak. "It has nothing to do with the likes of you, so please! Go back to the village, for your own safety!"

"Why did you leave in the first place?" Naruto fires back, a dangerous glow in his eyes.

The girl makes a frustrated noise. "Just leave me alone! Trust me!"

She flies off again, leaving the two in the dust.

Coughing from the small dust cloud, the two stare at each other with an unreadable expression adorning their faces. "Trust? She's messed that up a while ago, with Shizune," says Naruto, and Kakashi agrees grimly.

"Should we go back to the village, though?" the blonde asks, staring after the retreating form of Sakura.

"Of course not," the ninja spits, starting after her again. "Hokage's orders."

"Alright…" Naruto says reluctantly, following his teacher.

There are 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 32 seconds left until the bomb detonates.

Liked it? Time is running out fast! XD Alright, hope you enjoyed. Like, fav, review, all that jazz. See you all in chapter 9!