Kaibunkage
Arc I
Chapter IX
"Those who break the rules are trash but those who abandon their comrades are worst than trash. Sasuke once understood that lesson. Naruto and Sakura still do."
- Hatake Kakashi
It had been two days since the failed kidnapping of Uzumaki Shiori from the Village Hidden in Smoke. Fortunately for Naruto, nothing big has happened in those two days. Those two days have been more relaxing than anything.
"Lord Kaibunkage, Kazudan is back from the mission Lady Mei sent him on." Naruto looked up at Chojuro before nodding. Chojuro walked out of the room to retrieve the Smoke Nin, Kazudan.
Kazudan was an odd character, seeing the entire top portion of his face, safe for his left eye, was wrapped in bandages. His visible eye was silver with a white pupil. The only other things that were seen on his face were his nose and mouth. Also, there was a red line that came from his left eye down to his chin. A parallel line ran under the mask, which Naruto assumed went to his right eye. He wore a black yukata and matching pants.
"Report on the Konoha shinobi." Naruto said.
Kazudan nodded. "Hatake Kakashi has not exposed your secret to them nor do any of them suspect that you are the Kaibunkage. The seal that you placed on your sensei is also still intact."
Naruto sighed. "That's good. Thanks Kazudan."
"Hai, Lord Kaibunkage." the man left after that leaving Naruto in his office alone.
His moment of silence was broken by one Hirameki Sayuri.
"Naruto-sensei!" Naruto groaned before looking at the teen. "Don't you know what's in a week?"
Naruto blinked in confusion. Out of all the the enemies he has defeated, his memory proved to be a great foe and women being angry at him for forgetting certain things proved to be even greater. While he could remember things such as his and Shiori's birthdays, other things had to be explained to him as the day came by each year.
"The Festival of Lights!" Sayuri finally answered her own question.
"Oh…" responded the Kaibunkage. "Oh! We have a lot to do then!"
"Duh. Gee Sensei, what have you been doing these last two days? Daydreaming about Sakura?" Naruto's brow twitched. "Sorry. Sore topic. But, let's move on to the festival. We have to send a message to the Hoshikage and the Kazekage and-"
"I need you to be focused until then." Sayuri instantly hushed and nodded. "I have received a message from the Hokage wishing that we meet in Konoha."
"You're not going are you? Those people don't deserve you to show and give forgiveness." Sayuri said.
"They don't even know I'm here." said Naruto. "Anyway, I'm sending Mei as my diplomat. And because this is a diplomatic mission, she is able to choose two shinobi to accompany her to Konoha. She's chosing you and Kazudan."
Sayuri's eyes widened. "M-me? Like on an escort? For a diplomat? The same kind of mission that you had forbidden me from?"
Naruto smiled. "What can I say? Mei-chan made a strong point."
"Am I going to like this point?" groaned Sayuri.
"Yeah. She said that she would have asked Sasame to come along, but that would place you watching her class in the academy. And I can't have you attempting to kill my daughter and her classmates."
Sayuri pouted a bit. "Aw Naruto-sensei! I could've watched them… Though I'm glad I don't have to."
"Shouldn't you be preparing for your mission?" the Kaibunkage asked his former student.
"Oh yeah! See ya later Naruto-sensei!" Naruto smiled as the teen dashed out of the room.
Needless to say, the battle with Gyaku had affected Sayuri greatly. During her spars with Ranmaru, she focused on her techniques using her clan's kekkei genkai instead of her swordplay. Naruto had also seen Sayuri's natural black hair color the previous day, something that worried him. If she began thinking like she did when Gyaku defected from the village…
Naruto shook his head. He did not want to see his student go down the same path Sasuke once did. Naruto refused to end up like Hiruzen and Kakashi. He would defeat Sayuri if needed be and force her back on the right path, even if he hated forcing people to do anything.
"Can we go now? We've been in Wave Country for like two days now." Sasuke did not even glance at the whining Suigetsu. "The bitch ain't coming."
"Patience…" was the Uchiha's response.
Sasuke was not surprised at all that Sakura had a hideout in Wave Country. It was the location of their first serious mission. He guessed it was that mission that made Sakura realized just how weak she was. Regardless, here they were now, in Sakura's hideout, waiting for her return.
"I could do the operation." Karin piped in.
Suigetsu snorted. "Jealous…"
"Shut up!" Karin snapped.
"Both of you, quiet," Sasuke now had his Sharingan activated. "She's here."
Karin stood quietly, finding Sakura's chakra scent. She then grimaced after realizing that she was there.
Sakura opened the door to the small home to see Team Hebi there. She eyed the large Jugo first. As much as it pained her the day afterwards, she would need the Yin Seal Release to beat him. Her next target was Karin. The redhead woman did not appear to be much of a threat. Sakura allowed a smirk to come on her face as she thought about just taking Karin out then and there. Afterwards, her eyes looked at Suigetsu and grimaced. He had Zabuza's sword and she was willing to bet that he was good with it. Still, she was determined that she could beat him if she kept her distance, maybe a genjutsu or two. Finally, she looked at Sasuke.
"Well? What are you doing here?" was the only thing Sakura could think to say.
The Uchiha smirked. "You've grown bolder." The smirk soon disappeared as he continued, deactivating his Sharingan in the process. "I need you, Sakura."
"Need me?" Sakura questioned.
"Hn. I'm going to fight my brother soon and I need you to transplant his eyes into mine." stated Sasuke. "You can do that, can't you?"
"…" Sakura stood quietly before giving a small shrug of her shoulders. "I could if you can do me a favor."
Suigetsu and Jugo glanced at their leader. Not a lot of people negotiated with the Uchiha because not a lot of people were given the option.
"What's the favor?" Sasuke's voice caused his three teammates to gasp a bit.
Was he really going to go through with it?
"I need you and Naruto to return to Konoha with me." stated Sakura. "I want to make things right. Erase everything that has happened. Kill Danzo and place Tsunade-shishou as the temporary Hokage until Naruto takes it up. We will all go search for Itachi and watch you kill him. You will return with us and start your clan all over again, in Konoha, like it's supposed to be."
"…" The statement had caused an uneasy feeling to disperse amongst the room. Suigetsu's hand idly moved for the blade on his back before Sasuke held his hand up, obviously catching this act. "Don't." Suigetsu narrowed his eyes before Sasuke addressed Sakura. "No."
Sakura grunted. "You're no different than Naruto. So what is your reason for not going back?"
"If you're not going to do what I've asked," Now Sakura tensed as Sasuke's Sharingan blazed to life once more. "Then you're a waste of space."
"Why won't you return?" the pinkette asked angrily.
"Because… I have no reason for that pathetic village or its pathetic people. I will restore the Uchiha Clan to its former glory without pathetic people like you holding us down." Sakura clenched her fists. "I must say, you running away was unpredictable. I was actually impressed. Still, you're the same when we first met. You're annoying."
Sakura gave a small laugh as she reached into her pockets to retrieve her gloves. She put her gloves on, making sure to tightening them before her laughter stopped.
"And you're still a teme." was Sakura's response.
"That does it! No one talks that way about Sasuke-kun!" Karin shouted as she came for Sakura. Sakura waited for the last possible moment to respond, her knee driving into Karin's stomach. Karin slumped onto her knees in front of the pink-haired woman.
Sakura grabbed a fistful of Karin's hair and held the redhead, much like Tsuchi Kin held hair during the Chunin Exam.
"Another fan girl," sighed the pinkette. "When will they learn?"
"Let go bitch!" Karin shouted.
Sakura began to pull upwards, causing Karin to rise onto her feet. Taking her free hand, Sakura gripped Karin's throat.
"Here's a little tip…" Sakura said to Karin. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself. So stop trying."
Sakura's next action caused Suigetsu to reveal his blade as Sakura launched Karin out of the home through the door behind her. Karin's body rolled on the grass outside as Sakura smiled at the other members.
"I'll be right with you three. Let me take out the weakest link first." Sakura said sweetly before moving towards Karin.
"That does it!" Suigetsu said as he moved to attack Sakura.
Sakura instantly rolled out of the way before running through hand seals. Sasuke's eyes actually widened as Sakura inhaled before exhaling a fireball for Suigetsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu). Suigetsu was able to dodge, though highly confused on how Sakura learned one of Sasuke's main attacks.
Sasuke, too, was stunned by this, but kept his face stoic.
"Should I help them?" Jugo asked Sasuke.
"Do as you want." Sasuke said. "She has made it clear that she doesn't want to be of service."
Jugo began to laugh maniacally. "Then let's kill her!"
Sakura had no clue what Jugo's problem was, but she was taken back a bit about his sudden change in attitude. He then came for Sakura with speeds faster than Karin yet slower than Suigetsu. Sakura caught his right arm changing into an axe.
"That's new…" Sakura mused as she began dodging Jugo's wild swings.
Sasuke watched this with a small sneer of disgust. His team, his handpicked team, was meant to be the strongest of Oto. For Sakura, the weakest member of the former Team Seven, to brush through them like this was impossible.
Sakura was able to put space in-between her and Jugo that allowed her to use a familiar hand seal, one Sasuke would never forget. And in an instance, there was a perfect Shadow Cloneof the pink-haired woman. Jugo came for Sakura once more while she and her clone prepared another set of hand seals. Sasuke was quite curious as to what was about to happen to the rampaging Jugo as the real Sakura launched a second fireball that blended with the mud that the clone Sakura fired (Fire and Earth: Magma Covering). The dual-elemental technique actually piqued Sasuke's interest. Jugo jumped into the air, dodging the attack completely, and raised his transformed arm above him. Sakura was forced to end her technique and move out of the man's way.
"This isn't going well…" she said quietly.
"Hold on for a second Jugo," Suigetsu was confused as to why Sasuke spoke, but kept quiet nonetheless. Soon Sasuke had a full-charged Chidori surrounding his left hand. "I will finish her off myself."
Sakura gasped as she watched Sasuke slowly make his way towards her. With every step he took, she remembered how angry she was at him; for Naruto's injuries, Naruto's eventual defection, Kakashi's more-than-normal lackluster attitude, and even her own grief.
"You…" Sakura said as her Yin Seal Release activated. "You bastard!"
Sasuke paused in his steps as Sakura raised her fist and slammed it into the ground sending a fissure, as well as large stones and dust, his way.
"Holy shit!" commented Suigetsu as Jugo, who was near Sasuke at the time, was completely blown away by the force.
The Uchiha, on the other hand, simply steered away from the attack.
"You…" Sakura growled. "It's because of you that all of this happened! We could've all had what we want if you would've just stayed in the village!" Sakura produced a kunai and pumped chakra into it, producing one of her own versions of Chidori. "And if you don't want to go back to the village… Then you shall die right now!"
Suigetsu watched in complete fascination as Sakura ran towards Sasuke with the exact same technique in her hand. It would be quite ironic for Uchiha Sasuke to die by Haruno Sakura with Chidori.
However, that would not happen today. Sasuke released one of his hand-like wings that swatted Sakura away. The woman slid on her feet, making sure to keep the lightning around the kunai alive.
"You don't have what it takes to use that technique." Sasuke said.
"I'll show you, shannaro!" was Sakura's response.
Naruto sighed heavily as he watched the battle through the crystal ball in his office. He knew this would happen since his fight with Sakura. She would meet Sasuke and he would show her what Naruto has known for years now. There was no going back. None of them had the Will of Fire inside of them any longer since each of them has abandoned their friends and home. The only thing they can do is go on with the way life was now and make the best out of it.
"Oh boy…" Naruto said rising from his seat.
"Something wrong, Naruto-sensei?" Ranmaru asked.
"I'm going to be stepping out for a while." Narauto said. "If Shiori-chan needs anything, get it for her if I'm not back."
Ranmaru frowned. "Where are you going?"
"Out." Naruto said as he walked out of his office.
Ranmaru's frown never left his face before he moved over to the ball on Naruto's desk. He groaned when he stared into the crystal ball to see absolutely nothing, mentally questioning if Naruto saw anything earlier at all.
Karin could not believe what was going on in front of her. Haruno Sakura, the weakest member of Team Seven, was holding her own against Jugo and the man had gone into his Curse Seal's second stage. And if that was not shocking enough, she was doing so while dodging Suigetsu's blade! Karin shook her head as another question came into her mind.
If Sakura was this strong, then how strong was Naruto?
"Hold still!" Suigetsu called as he raised his blade once more.
Sakura spat a needle towards Suigetsu's direction to halt his advance for even a second. Suigetsu dodged right and the needle buried itself into the ground. Sakura leaped backwards, dodging the blade again. However, she was unable to counter Jugo's chakra blast that sent her flying uncontrollably backwards. Her body rolled on the ground before she growled and wiped some blood from her shoulder.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Sakura called as she slammed her palms onto the ground.
Sasuke frowned. He knew that Tsunade had the weakest summon amongst the Densetsu no Sannin, so why would Sakura use it now? His frown only furthered when a slimy tail swatted Suigetsu away and the smoke cleared.
"Alright Ibuse," Sasuke was now showing his surprise on his face as Sakura stood amongst the former summon of Salamander Hanzo; Ibuse. "Let's finish this!"
The salamander seemingly agreed with Sakura and awaited as Sakura finished her hand seals before the duo launched a combination attack towards Team Hebi (Fire Release: Salamander Flame Jutsu). The purple flames rushed towards them which forced Team Hebi to backtrack, Karin actually being carried by Sasuke. When the flames reached their limits, Sasuke stopped and set Karin down.
"I see…" the Uchiha mumbled before he bit his thumb and ran did hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"
In a puff of smoke, Sasuke had summoned Manda to the battlefield. As norm, the snake was going to protest to whomever summoned him, but his eyes landed on Ibuse.
"Sssooo, it'sss you again." Manda hissed. "You won't be sssooo lucky thisss time!"
Sasuke, who was atop of Manda's head, was unprepared for the snake's haste to charge for the large salamander. Surprisingly, the salamander dug beneath the ground quickly, taking Sakura with it. Manda soon followed with the intent of swallowing the salamander whole.
"Who knew she had so much fight in her?" Suigetsu said aloud. "Seriously Karin, you have some major competition."
The ground shook a bit and the three were forced to move from their spot as Ibuse shot forth from the ground, the lower half of its body wrapped by Manda. The large snake attempted to bite the head of Ibuse, but Sakura shot a large fireball that caused Manda to steer right. It was that instance that Sasuke shot a beam of lightning towards Sakura (Chidori Sharp Spear). The pinkette leaped off of Ibuse to avoid being hit, but soon found herself being punched by an enraged Jugo.
As Sakura's body rolled until she came on her back, Ibuse had finally regenerated its poison and spat the mist in Manda's face. The snake hissed in agony before diving underground, releasing Ibuse from its hold. Sasuke, who had left Manda's head before Ibuse could launch its attack, now glanced at Sakura as she stood up.
"Like I said," stated the Uchiha coming for her. "You're annoying Sakura!"
To everyone's surprise, Sakura grabbed Sasuke's wrist and looked at him to reveal her Yang Seal Release.
"This is for Naruto, shannaro!" Sakura called as she punched Sasuke with vigor.
The Uchiha's body went airborn and skipped off of the ground a bit before coming to a complete stop. He looked up to see Jugo charging for Sakura in a murderous rage, a growl reaching his throat.
"Kill her." Sasuke ordered.
Sakura easily dodged Jugo's punch before landing an upwards kick that sent him directly into the sky. Sakura went after him, her body becoming more and more of a pink blur as she landed several alternating blows on Jugo from different places. Soon she was seen above him, fist cocked back.
"Reverse Lotus!" she shouted before landing a powerful punch that sent him plummeting towards the earth.
Suigetsu and Karin saw the crater form around Jugo as he hit the ground hard, Sakura landing on the rim of the crater.
"Who's next?" Sakura asked angrily.
"I am." Sakura flinched. She had not seen nor heard Sasuke coming behind her. She immediately attempted to elbow him, but felt him catching her arm. "You think that seal is something… You should see mine."
Sakura felt nails digging into her skin before she was spun into a punch that caused her to stumble a bit. Despite the battle she was in, she immediately concluded that Naruto was indeed stronger than Sasuke in the physical strength department. But her mind then turned to a more important matter.
Sakura moved away from Suigetsu's swing before she fired a Mud Bullet at the swordsman. The attack landed which caused her to smile. Earth-related techniques, especially those that revolved around mud, stopped his little kekkai genkai temporarily. So long as the muddied earth absorbed more and more moisture, he was solid.
She could punch him now.
However, before that, Sakura was forced to defend herself from Sasuke's kick that was targeted for her face. She and Sasuke made eye contact long enough for her to see the reflective glow from her eyes in his.
"We don't have to fight Sasuke-kun." Sakura said seductively. "We can-"
Saskue gripped her throat. "Do you think that your eye technique can defeat mine? You're pathetic." Sakura felt herself rise from the ground. "And now I shall finish this."
Feeling hopeless at the moment, Sakura attempted to kick Sasuke as hard as she could, only for his free hand to block it. Her eyes turned to Ibuse, which was busy with Manda. She then turned to Sasuke and watched a snake slither from his sleeve to her shoulder and bit her. She screamed in pain.
"Don't worry. It won't kill you. Just stop you from dodging this!" Sasuke said before flinging Sakura towards the mud-covered Suigetsu.
Her limbs were numb and she was heading directly for Zabuza's Decapitating Carving Knife. It was probably ironic that she would die by his sword considering that her first near-death experience was here, in Wave Country against Zabuza and his sword. She thought that since he was dead, the blade would never be able to frighten her again. And yet, here she was, seconds from being slain by it.
"Rasengan!"
Sakura's body fell and slid on the ground, her arms and legs unable to lift her up. She forced more and more chakra into her body in an attempt to override the paralysis as she did against Gyaku, but found the process working slowly.
"To think," Sakura's eyes widened once Naruto's voice reached her ears. "Kakashi-sensei had the nerve to call you the mature one. You're running around starting fights for Kami-sake." Sakura wanted to berate the blond, but she was still unable to turn herself and see him. "Well teme, this is quite the reunion eh? You, me, Sakura. All we're missing is our sensei… Then again he was never on time."
"Naruto." Sakura was now able to move her head and turned to see Sasuke standing with an indifferent look on his face. "I knew that we would meet again… I promised myself that when we did, I would kill you."
"It won't be today." stated the Shodai Kaibunkage. "I have things to do. I just came to pick up a certain someone. I'm sure you won't mind."
"I have no further use of Sakura. She's refused my offer to aid me in my conquest." Sasuke said.
"Right… Which one again? Killing Itachi or restarting your clan?" Naruto teased. "I'm sure she'd be willing to do the second one."
"Ba… Ka…" Sakura struggled to say.
"You went to meet with Dōsame. Why?" Naruto questioned.
"Whatever I do is none of your concern." Sasuke replied.
"It is, so tell me." Naruto said.
Sakura caught something moving before she spotted Jugo.
"Naruto… Look… Out…!" she said.
Sakura saw Jugo fire a larger chakra blast than earlier. In fact, this one was sure to take out her and Naruto. That is until she saw a transparent black wall appear in-between Naruto and the blast. The chakra was absorbed before vanishing completely.
"Two can play that game." Naruto said before the blast reappeared above Naruto's head, this time heading for Jugo.
Sasuke stood in utter shock as Jugo was thrown backwards by his own attack. There were no hand seals required, just two hands being held in the air and a simple point. That was all Naruto had done to block and redirect Jugo's attack.
"Dispell Ibuse." Sakura twitched a bit at Naruto's breath on her neck, but did it anyway. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath."
Again she did what she was told, unable to see Sasuke's face.
Orochimaru's current apprentice was beyond words at the moment. First, Sakura had surprised him by her prowess. She had successfully defeated Jugo and would have defeated Suigetsu and Karin as well if Sasuke had allowed it. Her ability to summon Ibuse was also an applaudable feat. Next was Naruto's comings and goings. He appeared in front of Sakura before Suigetsu could slice her and shoved a Rasengan into the Kiri native's stomach. He proceeded in defeat Jugo while standing in one spot and then vanished.
"Sasuke-kun, Jugo and Suigetsu are seriously hurt." Karin's voice snapped Sasuke back into reality as she neared him. "We need to leave and find them some help."
Sasuke looked around. There were a few dying purple flames from Sakura's combination attack with Ibuse, a few normal flames that Sasuke and Sakura had caused, and several downed trees in the thick forest. He then turned to Sakura's mostly undamaged cabin.
"We'll heal them here. I'm sure Sakura has something in here that can help." was Sasuke's response before he moved for Jugo.
"I'll learn how to transplant Itachi's eyes." Sasuke paused and then looked at Karin, who was currently bowing at him. "I'll make myself more useful to you."
Sasuke had half the mind of slapping her at the moment. His original intentions were for Karin to keep guard with Jugo and Suigetsu while Sakura did the operation. While Karin was an adept medic, Sasuke did not want her mind more focused on him when she should be focusing on their surroundings, making sure that no one interfered. Thus, she had her purpose.
Still, he didn't since he had not voiced his plans.
"Hn." Sasuke replied before walking towards Jugo once more.
Sakura sat on the hospital bed for the third time in her life, her eyes on the ground.
"Well?" Naruto, who was standing a few feet in front of Sakura said. "Did you finally see what I was telling you?"
Sakura refused to meet his eyes. She was weak. That was all she kept telling herself. No matter how much training she received from Kakshi, Kurenai, and Tsunade, she was still weak. And because of her weakness, Naruto was forced to save her like he once did years ago during the Sound/Sand Invasion or when they were sparring with Kakashi and he had taken several blows meant for her.
"Sakura, you're going to have to speak sometime." said the Uzumaki.
"Sorry." Sakura said quietly.
Naruto frowned. "What are you sorry about? I didn't get my ass handed to me, you did." Sakura looked up to glare at Naruto. "I told you that he was going to beat you."
"Why do you even care? It's obvious that you and he are both too far gone to bring back anymore!" Sakura shouted as she rose from her seat, disregarding the cold stare the Smoke Shadow was giving her. Instead, she stood directly in face. "You and Sasuke are no different! So why don't just go ahead and kill me now?"
Sakura was unprepared for when his hand met the middle of her breast and gave her one strong push. Her eyes widened once she heard glass shatter and realized that he had shoved her out of the window. Before he was out of view, she saw the Kaibunkage's eyes on the floor before her descent disallowed her to see him standing on the fourth floor of the building.
"Damn you…" Sakura muttered as she closed her eyes. The poison Sasuke had given her plus her own techniques backfire had rendered her useless right now. She would need at least a night's rest to restore her chakra.
Before she met the ground, a pair of arms had caught her, holding the pink-haired woman bridal style. Sakura looked to see Naruto's angered face. How he reached her in time was a question in her head, but what she really wanted to know was why.
"You don't know what you're talking about," was all the Kaibunkage said as he stood Sakura on the ground. "Sasuke and I were similar but now… Now we're nothing alike."
Sakura just looked away. "I can't tell."
"Why? Because I refuse to go back to Konoha? Is that it?" If she questioned his feelings before, his voice clearly answered them. He was pissed. "Open your eyes Sakura! I have a village to protect now! My daughter was just taken out of her home from someone I thought I could trust!"
"Yeah? Well what about the other people Naruto? The people you once swore to protect!" Sakura retorted. "Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-shishou, Jiraiya-san, the list goes on! You abandoned them and now they live in a hellhole because you couldn't keep your promise!" Naruto's shoulders noticeably moved when she said the last part. "You're supposed to become the Hokage! You were supposed to bring Sasuke back! But you failed! You failed me!"
"What?" whispered the blond as he stared at Sakura.
By now, several ANBU had gathered around the scene in the street to protect their leader at all costs. Sakura paused in her rant to see the jonin ready to attack her at the simple word of the person she was currently berating. Surprisingly, Naruto lilfted a hand and waved them away. She looked to see the Kaibunkage beckoning her to follow him through the streets.
"Come." Naruto spoke calmly before walking away. Sakura followed, casually glancing at the other shinobi and civiliains stared at the duo as they made their way to Naruto's destination. "I think I understand what you want."
"And what is that?" questioned Sakura.
Naruto remained silent as he led her towards the foot of the mountain where the Kaibunkage Mansion lay. He led her into the back of the home where his gardens were located and let her eyes roam the area.
The area was simply beautiful to Sakura. The stone path led into a forest of assorted flowers and trees with a small wooden bench near the entrance to the floral maze. She was so caught up in the view that she did not see Naruto walking away until he cleared his throat.
"Coming?"
Sakura did not verbally answer, just following him. The feeling of pain from her forcing her body to move was ignored due to the pleasant and serene area. She soon came to a rather large pond with small stone toads that surrounded it. In the center of the pond was an islet where a single, healthy tree stood.
"This is my Tree of New Beginnings." Naruto said. "I come here every so often to get a grasp of reality every now and again."
Sakura gave a curious frown. "Why do you call it that?"
Naruto looked at the stone toads around the area. Of the accounted seven of them, six appeared to be weeping while the seventh one remained grinning. Sakura was even more confused as Naruto stared at the seventh toad and then focused on it herself. To her surprise, the toad began to "weep" as well.
"Watch." Naruto said pointing to the tree.
Sakura gasped in horror as the one tree on the islet in the middle of the pond was suddenly set ablaze. She stood in shock as the poor thing was burnt to the ground and soon the flames died as well, nothing but dead bark, burnt leaves, and ashes in its place now.
"When the Fire of the burning leaves finally die out, all that will remain is Smoke and Ashes." Sakura hardly heard Naruto as she stared at the spot on the islet. "And from there, new life shall begin from the Ashes and a new will erupts from the Smoke." Sakura's green eyes soon saw a small bud poke from the ground. "That is the history of Kemurigakure no Sato."
"How… How does it do that?" she asked in amazement.
"A few seals." answered the Kaibunkage. "But do you get it, Sakura? Do you understand why I prefer to stay away from Konoha? My flames… The passion that I once had for that village is gone and in its place is my love and devotion for this village."
Sakura's eyes had yet peeled away from the small bud poking through the burnt ground in front of her. She was so awed by the event that had taken place in front of her that Naruto's voice hardly registered in her brain.
"Daddy!" Naruto turned with a grin as Shiori ran into his arms with a huge smile. "The festival is coming!"
Naruto smiled though he was mentally kicking Sasame in the face. Every year, Shiori would visit for the lights, and every year Naruto had to deal with the blonde at her most energetic. So he figured that this year, he would keep it a secret until the day of the festival and let it be a surprise. It seemed that Sasame had other plans.
"I know Shiori-chan." Naruto swore his daughter's eyes began to sparkle, forcing him to smother a groan of protest in his throat. It was going to be hard putting her to bed tonight… "Shiori-chan, where is Ranmaru-kun?"
"I left him!" Shiori said cheerfully, obviously not knowing the trouble she was about to get in for leaving her guardian behind.
Naruto frowned. "And where did you leave him at? I know you did not come here from the academy without him-"
"If that's possible, Naruto-sensei." Naruto's eyes left his daughter's to see Ranmaru standing with his hands in his pocket. "Not that she isn't a good escape artist, because she is, but there isn't anything that can get past my eyes."
"I didn't think so." Naruto said as he lokoed back at his daughter's sheepish smile. "Shiori-chan, don't run off without someone watching you. I don't want anyone snatching you up and running off with you."
"Sorry Daddy…" Shiori said.
Naruto only grinned. To solve the problem of someone running off with Shiori again, Naruto had placed a seal on his daughter like he did on Sakura. Now, no matter where they were, he would always be there.
"Naruto-sensei," Ranmaru stated. "There is rumor that the Mizukage is meeting up with Orochimaru soon. With Lady Mei away, do we go ahead and convene with the council anyway or…"
"We will have a meeting with the council and then a separate one with the jonin." Ranmaru nodded, though those sounded like the beginning of war preparations. "I don't want any genin or civilian to hear this until I give them word."
"Hai." Ranmaru said before his eyes landed on Sakura. "Um… What about her, Naruto-sensei?"
Sakura saw Naruto give her a small look over his shoulder before returning his attention towards Ranmaru.
"Keep an eye on her." Naruto said.
"Can I play with Sakura?" questioned Shiori using her famed Puppy Eye Jutsu.
Naruto stared at the blonde in his arms, his façade holding up for as long as humanly possible before he craved.
"Only if she wants to." said Naruto.
Shiori then turned her attack onto Sakura.
"Please…" she said.
Sakura flinched. Shiori's eye technique was just as strong as hers without any way of countering it. And as much as Sakura wanted to decline the girl's plea, she found herself defeated as well.
"I will play with you." Sakura said.
"I knew you would!" Shiori said before squirming in Naruto's arms. Naruto sat his daughter on the ground before she instantly moved to grab Sakura's hand. "I had a dream about this last night! You did a really cool trick by spitting fire!"
Ranmaru saw Naruto's shoulders slumped a bit and grinned. His former sensei was prideful in his abilities, borderline arrogant at times, so it was no surprise that Naruto felt a bit downhearted about Shiori's excitement of Sakura using the Great Fireball Jutsu while Naruto coulde form white fire or something greater than that.
"Ranmaru," Ranmaru's smile faltered. "Round up the council."
"Hai." Ranmaru replied before being doing what he was told to do.
"Sakura," now it was the pinkette's turn to look at the Kaibunkage. "I'm going to trust you to stay within the area. The farthest you can go is to the ramen shop, okay?" Shiori seemed to nod for the both of them, causing Sakura to smile a bit. "And Shiori-chan, don't wander off without her, understood?"
"Hai Daddy Kaibunkage!" Shiori replied with her normal salute.
Naruto gave his daughter one final smile before vanishing from his spot. Sakura felt an awkward silence wash over the area as she was now babysitting a child she did not know until purple eyes lit in excitement and stared up at the medic.
"Can you breathe fire like a dragon?" asked Shiori hopefully. Sakura giggled but nodded. "Can you show me? Please? We can go to Daddy's training spot!"
"You're not supposed to wander in the woods Shiori." Sakura said. She was more worried about another kidnapping attempt than Naruto's anger for some reason.
Shiori shook her head, blonde hair spilling everywhere. "No! The training ground here!"
"Oh…" Of course Sakura felt a little ashamed that she had not thought of that herself. Every kage, to her knowledge, had a training ground within the village. "I guess I could show you then…"
"Good!" Sakura swore she heard her sore body berating her as Shiori led her by hand towards the training area. "You're really pretty Sakura."
"You think?" asked Sakura.
Shiori nodded again. "Yep! So does Daddy!"
"Oh really?" said the pinkette as her mind was going through several of scenarios to use the information against Naruto. "Well, thank you Shiori-chan. You're really pretty too."
It was well into the evening once Naruto returned to the gardens to retrieve his daughter. Of course, when he found her, he was thoroughly shocked at the scene. Sakura's body sat upright against the base of the tree, her overused body finally temporarily shutting down and fast asleep. Leaning against the pink-haired medic was an also sleeping Uzumaki Shiori.
While the sight was every bit of the heart-warming picture as it sounded, Naruto did not know what to think about allowing Shiori and Sakura to bond. The last thing he needed was for his energetic daughter, who could already restrain the Nine-tailed Fox, to gain monstrous strength and a temper to match. Or worse, she becomes the fan-girl to an emo brat of the village. No. He did not want that for his daughter. Plus there were Shiori's constant visions of Sakura that startled him. Why was Sakura in so many? And how did Shiori just automatically come to trust her?
Naruto let out a quiet sigh. When he had promised Shion to help her 'create' a new priestess, he clearly underestimated the entire situation. Raising his daughter, with or without her mother, was sometimes harder than it sounded. Shiori was an Uzumaki, so she had great vitality. Added with the fact that she will eventually go through her priestess training, and one could assume that she will be the greatest seal master of all time. Her bizarre ability allowed her to unconsciously restrain biju as well as defend or attack an untrustworthy person. She had Shion's Foresight ability that occurred randomly, normally while she was asleep. There were times when no one told Shiori what they were feeling, yet she could automatically tell that something was wrong. Naruto has also deduced that, due to her direct lineage, that she could also be compatible to be a jinchuriki.
All in all, Naruto was looking at his most powerful weapon lying beside a woman he had fought against not too long ago. It pained him to think about the decision of Shiori's training, but Naruto had the strongest feeling that she would save the village, if not the world, one day and he had to prepare her for the event someday.
But for today, she was still just his daughter.
Thoughts aside, Naruto moved to gently pick Shiori up, not expecting Sakura's hand to move and grip his wrist tightly. Green met blue for a tenth of a second before her hand released his wrist, a brush of pink adorning her cheeks.
"Gomen, Naruto." she whispered.
Naruto gave her a suspicious nod, but moved to grab Shiori. After the child was gently in his arms, her head resting on his shoulders, he looked down at the tired Sakura.
"You need to get some rest as well." he told her in a quiet tone. "You can use one of the spare rooms here if you'd like."
"Thank you." Naruto watched Sakura painfully stand up. He was no medic, but he knew chakra exhaustion when he saw it. "She wanted to see what Konoha looked like, so I showed her."
Naruto gave a small nod before leading Sakura towards the large Kaibunkage Estate. He would have to thank his former teammate for putting Shiori to sleep, as she had been having trouble going and staying asleep since Shion's death. But if Shiori ever said the words "Cha!" or "Shannaro!" he would probably nail Sakura with a good-sized Rasengan. Believe it.
"Did it work?"
"It worked perfectly. The DNA is enough for me to replicate it as I have done so with my own foe. Soon, I will have the greatest warriors on my side. You did well, Aku."
The aged brown-haired man gave his superior a bow.
"Thank you, Madara-sama."
The masked-man nodded before moving further into his laboratory. His replication of Uzumaki Shiori had to be perfect. Having someone who was a descendant of the Sage of Sixth Paths, as well as a daughter of a sage, meant another potential Rinnegan user. But the fact that she was also a priestess by blood made her all the better.
Soon, the world would be his.
