Chapter TEN

Sasuke chose that moment to yawn, and instantly the Goddess was deeming it was time someone showed them to wherever they were to rest.

There wasn't much Tsunade could do to convince her otherwise, and she simply called out for Shizune, who she had asked to standby outside the tent, and she hurried to her side seconds later. "Tents have been prepared," she said quietly.

Tsunade nodded, then turned towards the Goddess and her entourage. "This is Shizune," she said. "She will show you to your tents. We are at war, and I am afraid we cannot offer you much comfort."

Sakura waves it off. "I know war," she said vaguely.

Naruto got to his feet and Sasuke was already moving towards the exit when Sakura turned around. "Do you have offensive plans?" She asked. "Or only defensive ones?"

Tsunade glanced at the other Kage before carefully answering. "Our next offensive move was going to be discussed at a meeting tomorrow," she said. "However, with the way the Zetsu grow stronger every day, we've had our hands full with keeping our defenses together."

Sakura nodded. "I will attend this meeting," she announced. "I have fought Kaguya before."

Sasuke held up the cloth door of the tent and Sakura stepped out. Tsunade watched the raven let go of it just as Naruto was trying to follow. The blond growled in annoyance and right after he had stepped out himself, she heard a childish argument break out between the two.

It faded as they were led away until finally, all she could hear was tense silence.

Mei was the first to break the silence. "She was not what I expected," she said.

Gaara nodded slowly in agreement. "I agree. I was expecting someone who-"

"Looked demonic?" Oonoki asked bitterly. "Huge? Like Kaguya?"

Gaara fixed the man with a blank stare. "I was going to say 'looked less human', but yes."

"Do you think she means it when she agreed to help us defeat Kaguya?" A asked. "They are fellow Deities."

"Versions of the story state that Kaguya went against the other gods," Gaara said.

"She will help us, but she has her own agenda," Tsunade said. "That's what it felt like."

Mei nodded. "As long as our goals align, I think she'll stand with us."

"We introduce them to the clan heads tomorrow," Gaara said.

Tsunade nodded. "Perhaps now, we can go on the offensive."

The moment Tsunade had led the small group away, Itachi hurried off to report to his clan while Neji did the same. Kiba was bowled over by his mother then dragged off. Sasori wandered off before Gaara's siblings could find him and Deidara rushed odd after him, leaving Shikamaru to stand awkwardly by himself. He didn't have to for long, though, for Ino and Choji had been a part of the crowd, waiting for him, and they were quick to reach his side.

"You're back!" Ino exclaimed. "Alive and whole!"

Shikamaru thought of the battle against Naruto and tried not to wince at the true panic he had begun to feel during that time. He had probably never feared a single enemy as he had at that point. He wondered how his friends would have reacted if he hadn't come back. "I guess so."

Choji had been following the Goddess and her Guardians with his eyes. "Is that pink haired girl the Deity?" He asked in awe.

Ino nodded. "The pretty one with the green eyes?"

Shikamaru nodded, suddenly feeling exhausted. He wordlessly began to make his way towards his own tent, and his friends followed.

"You have to tell us everything," Ino demanded. "So the whole Goddess thing is real after all? Who were the two guys?"

"She's going to help us right?" Choji asked at the same time.

Shikamaru entered his tent, and Ino and Choji followed without hesitation. They waited impatiently for him to put his things down and sit on his sleeping bag. "The Deity of Spring is a Goddess called Sakura," he began. "The two males are Naruto and Sasuke, and they act as her Guardians. We fought Naruto on our way into the Forest of Death, and he probably could have wiped us out. I don't doubt Sasuke is as strong as him." He paused. "Sakura and the other Deities fought Kaguya in the past, and they sealed her. Sakura is helping us fight Kaguya because she sees it as her duty to do so once again."

"That isn't very reassuring," Choji notes.

"She's a Goddess, a being above ours," Ino said. "Our creators."

Choji bit his lip and Shikamaru felt bad for his friends. It was easy to picture Sakura betraying them, after all. And unlike Kaguya, who was still out there, Sakura was right within their final stronghold.

"She appears to be empathetic towards us," he told them. "Maybe because she once fought Kaguya herself. I'm not sure if she is capable of feeling sympathy though."

Ino glanced over at the main tent again. "It'd be nice to be able to talk to her at some point," she said offhandedly.

Choji's eye widened, but Ino continued before the Akimichi could protest.

"There's a meeting tomorrow," Ino told him. "The one with all the clan heads. We're expected to attend, and I think the Goddess will be invited too."

Shikamaru made a mental note to check in with his father at some point soon; now that he was back, he would probably be expected to join the patrols and whatnot. He sighed again.

Hopefully, he could get at least a day off.

Itachi entered the main tent behind his father early in the morning. Fugaku sat down in his usual seat and Itachi wordlessly followed. When he had returned to his family, both his parents had been pleased with his safety but had reacted differently to the news of the Goddess.

His mother was pleased something had come out of his dangerous outing. Mikoto spent so much time worrying over him and the rest of his clan, crying for every member lost, that he often worried.

Fugaku, on the other hand, had been upset that there was a being with the power to possibly stand up to Kaguya hiding away all this time while mankind was slowly pushed to the edge. Itachi remembered Kiba reacting in the same way and could agree that it was a reasonable view.

Itachi understood why some people thought like that. Kiba had reacted in the same way, after all. Still, curiosity seemed to win him over an Itachi was glad when his father agreed to attend the meeting. The usual members were there. Itachi and Neji shared a nod and Sasori lazily waved in his direction when their eyes met.

The Goddess was yet to arrive and Itachi was relieved by that fact. Some expected members were still absent, and it would be very awkward if all those present could do was stare at the Goddess while they waited. The Goddess was very pretty, in an exotic, inhumane kind of way. It was a kind of beauty that screamed danger, and yet lured you in.

Almost as though mirroring his thoughts, or perhaps out of sheer coincidence, Sakura entered the tent moments after the leader from a clan in the Land of Lighting had settled in his seat. Instantly, eyes were on her, taking in her appearance. Naruto was behind her but Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, and Itachi had a feeling the raven was sleeping. The blond theatrically pulled out the chair for the pinkette. He then ignored his own, simply sweeping the seat to the side, and once again took his place by the Goddess's feet.

Tsunade cleared her throat to start the meeting. "Perhaps we should begin with introductions," she said. "We were a little bewildered yesterday, but is there a specific name we should call you by?"

Sakura blinked, as though the thought had never occurred to her. Itachi had to admit it was a good question. Was referring to a Goddess merely by her name rude?

"You can call her Sakura-sama and grovel at her feet," Naruto called. "The only one allowed to call her Sakura-chan is me!" He whined when Sakura smacked him lightly.

"Pay him no mind," Sakura said immediately after. "Sakura is fine."

Tsunade nodded. "Very well. Present here are those who lead the clans that make up the majority of our fighting force," she said.

Sakura smiled. "I am Sakura," she said. "This is Naruto, and our third companion, who is currently not present, is Sasuke."

"Why is that?" Someone, a man who Itachi recognized to hail from the Land of Water, asked.

"He's napping, 'ttebayo," Naruto told him. "Long travel is too much for his delicate skin."

Sakura smacked him again. "Ignore him," she said. "Though it is true that he is currently resting."

"Shall we begin?" Gaara asked. When he received no complaints, he raised his hand. Temari stepped forward and spread out a large map on the table before them. On it were markings from previous meetings. There were colored pins indicating ally forces and white pins that symbolized Zetsu. There were small flags that pointed out Zetsu sightings that had yet to be confirmed while small blocks represented temporary patrol bases.

Sakura eyed the map in a nostalgic sort of way. No one said anything as she swept her fingers over the paper. Finally, she looked up. "Kaguya," she said.

Tsunade nodded, and began telling the tale from years ago, back when the Zetsu had first appeared. Itachi knew the pinkette had heard the story from the hunting party, but she patiently sat through it again.

"You said yesterday that Kaguya might no longer be in the Otsutsuki ruins," Gaara said. "But from our intel, it appears as though the Zetsu are continuing to appear from that general direction?"

Sakura placed her hands on the map, leaning over it. She was muttering under her breath, too quietly for Itachi to hear. Finally, she seemed to come to a conclusion. "I will have to visit the ruins to know," she said. "Perhaps she is using the Otsutsuki chakra still in the ruins to create them."

"What are they really?"

Sakura closed her eyes. "Former humans," she said. "The Otsutsuki clan were Gods that had given up Godhood to become the first humans. Kaguya did not like that. Long story short, the White Zetsu were once humans that Kaguya consumed. She is digging up the graves of those who were once kin."

There was a moment of silence, and Itachi thought that perhaps the Goddess was mourning. Then it was gone. Sakura opened her eyes, revealing sharp green orbs, and she was once again sweeping her gaze over the map.

"The Zetsu are not affected by physical limitations such as fatigue, but they can be killed," she said. "Sasuke will join your night patrols, while Naruto will stay with those during the day. The priority will be to clear the Zetsu that are threatening to surround this camp. Once that threat is gone, you will further your offensive plans. Currently, we need to focus on removing the possibility of this base being swarmed while the fighting force is out."

"Won't it be faster if Sasuke and I just go out and smack them around a little?" Naruto asked.

Sakura eyed the map, eyes flickering over the colorful pins. "Could you do that without causing a single casualty from this side?" She asked. It was not a rhetorical question, merely one of curiosity, and Itachi once again wondered how the Goddess perceived human life.

Naruto frowned and tilted his head in thought. "That's might be a little difficult, 'ttebayo."

Sakura nodded. "Then that won't do."

Itachi let out a soft sigh of relief he hadn't realized he had been holding in. The Goddess before them could not possibly understand what a single life had come to mean to him. Over the course of the battle of survival against Kaguya, everyone standing with him in whatever role they undertook had become important.

He did not want to lose anyone else if he could help it.

Itachi looked up again to see Sakura's piercing eyes staring right at him. In seconds, other noticed and they too looked at him. The pinkette did not say anything, however, and she merely turned back to the map soon after.

"You do not have to waste so many men here," she said a while later, indicating towards the rivers, where they secured drinking water.

"Water sources are important to humans," Hiashi said curtly. "We-"

"Kaguya does not know that," Sakura said dismissively. "We do not need food, we do not need water. We are superior beings, we do not need to know of lesser lifeforms. Kaguya loathed humankind since it began, and was sealed for thousands of years. Kaguya does not know mankind to be anything more than mere insects. Do you know what insects need to survive?"

Itachi knew, for he had read a book or ten about it, but he held his tongue, seeing a point the Goddess was making.

Sakura swept her finger through the pins, knocking them away from where they had been stations around the riverbanks. "Move them," she said easily. "Now, these spots were your numbers are thin? Leave them like that. This-"

"You want us to spare our men, only to not send them where they are needed?" Fugaku demanded, and Itachi winced at the mockery in his father's tone.

Sakura looked up and eyed the man as though she were looking at an interesting and yet, a troublesome specimen which she had to chose between keeping and tossing aside. "If there are no men within the vicinity," she said slowly like she was talking to a toddler. "Naruto or Sasuke can easily clean up. If you do not want to lose your men, I suggest you keep them away while they are at it."

"You want me to go do that now?" Naruto asked, getting to his feet. "We still have some time until sunset; I can go there and be back before then."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "The moment you or Sasuke actually fight, Kaguya will know I am here."

"And what happens if Kaguya finds out you're fighting with us?" C of the Land of Lightning asked.

"The two most likely outcomes are; she will immediately focus all her forces to this base in an attempt to eradicate me, or she will double her efforts to find the artifacts she is most likely out looking for."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. Right, the artifacts the Goddess would not tell them about.

Sakura continued. "I doubt it will be the first, because to kill me she will have to kill all of you, and as I said, she cannot risk doing that just yet. I will not be surprised if the attacks on this base lesson. She will know I know what she is doing, and she might gather her forces around herself in an attempt to slow down whoever might go after her to stop her."

"Will that make approaching the ruins easier?" Itachi asked. "From what you said, it appears as though we won't know anything for certain until we investigate them."

Sakura glanced his way before she turned to Naruto again, her mind apparently made up. "Check in on Sasuke before you go," she said. "He does not have to wake up. Just let him know you are leaving so he is aware."

Naruto grinned, understanding what she wanted. "He'll wake up if I tell him I'll be gone," he said, laughing. "But I got it."

"Do you need a map?" Sakura asked.

Naruto shrugged, then shook his head. "I just kill the Zetsu where I won't hurt any humans int he crossfire, right?"

And just like that, the blond headed out of the tent.

Itachi stared after him, and Kankuro was the first to speak up. "So, uh, he's just gonna go out and kill all the Zetsu?" He asked.

"In this area," Sakura corrected.

"In this area," Kankuro repeated. "All the Zetsu in this area."

Sakura nodded.

"Just like that?" Kankuro asked.

Sakura nodded again.

Kankuro leaned back in his chair, eyes wide in disbelief. However, before anyone could say anything else, Sasuke burst into the tent. He wordless approached Sakura and sat down by her feet, not seeming to notice, or not caring for, the gazes of everyone present on him. Sakura leaned down and whispered something to the raven, fingers running through his hair, and Sasuke leaned his head against her knee before he closed his eyes.

Sakura smiled faintly before she turned back to the map once again. "Next, I would like to address the positioning of the rear guard..."

There were two different reactions to Sakura's sudden interference with plans.

Kiba could hear comments and whispers of annoyance and even anger the moment the Goddess left with Sasuke in tow, but he could also hear words of awe and even respect.

Kiba himself was unsure of how he felt, and from the troubled expression on his mother's face, she felt the same. Tsume seemed to notice his gaze and grinned. "She sure was something."

He nodded in agreement.

The woman sighed and slumped in her chair. He saw several other clan heads, namely Fugaku and Hisashi, looking at her with disapproval in their eyes but his mother ignored them.

"What did you think of her?" He asked curiously. His mother was a strong woman, and he was curious how the Goddess had appeared in her eyes.

"She definitely knows what she's doing," Tsume said immediately. "And she seems to know how to do things to get it. Still, I worry that her methods are the methods of the Gods, and I don't know if we humans will be able to keep up with them."

Kiba glanced down at his hands. The praises and complaints from those around him seemed to grow louder.

They had finally found a breakthrough, but why had any of them expected for things to go just as they had wanted them to? Had they thought that they could control the Goddess and make her act how they wanted her to through prayers?

Desperate actions were almost never thought through, and great power came at a great cost. He wondered what the payment for trying to recruit a Goddess would be.

He wondered if it was too late to be wondering about it at all.

Update~ (Was a tad bit D: rushed)

Darque: So yeah, it's just humans vs Goddess and friends interactions for now.

Raven: Individual interactions and stuff will come soon.

Darque: Indeed.

Raven: Yeah.

Read and Review~