Obligatory non-ownership disclaimer.

The trees below were little more than a muddled green-and-brown blur, barely visible through the darkness of the night; and even if they had been more distinguishable, Sakura was too preoccupied to take any significant notice. Her mind was swirling with questions, fears, and uncertainties; and underneath it all boiled a steady undercurrent of anger. Anger at the deaths of Pain and Kisame, anger at her former friends, and most of all, anger at the idea of Tsunade ordering her dead.

Driven by her feelings, Sakura began outracing her companions, and they were forced to increase their pace multiple times to ensure that she didn't leave them behind. Finally, Konan caught up to her pink-haired lover and grabbed her arm. "Sakura, stop for a minute!"

The pinkette obeyed, the panting escaping her lips caused more by the multitude of emotions than by any stretch of fatigue she happened to be feeling. Konan leaned her forehead against Sakura's, concern in her eyes. "Sakura, listen to me. I know you're angry, and you have every right to be. But just rushing in and trying to take all of your feelings out through force is only going to cause more pain for you." She gripped Sakura's hand tightly. "You need to slow down, and start thinking rationally." Sakura, recognizing both the wisdom in the words and the underlying concern beneath them, nodded in agreement. Kissing the blue-haired kunoichi on the forehead, she squeezed her hand in reply.

"Thank you, Konan." Turning, she set off again, keeping to a much more measured pace as her whirlwind of emotion swirled to a halt. The Leaf ANBU had killed her friends, it was true; but they had been under orders to do so. Up until recently, Sakura herself would have contentedly followed through on an order to slay any member of the group of dangerous rogue ninja that she now counted as friends, even family. Just the fact that her perception had changed meant nothing to her former home. The Akatsuki were still their foes, just as much as she herself now was.

When she first came to the Akatsuki, Deidara hated her for her slaying of Sasori, one of the only people he had ever felt kinship with, even though she had been under orders to do so. He had realized the error of his hatred, and made peace with her; she could surely do the same, at least for now. And as for Tsunade's order for her execution… hopefully, she'd have her answers before the day was out. For better, or for worse.

The black of night was fading slowly to grey as Sakura sensed that they had come close enough. Signalling to the others, she dropped down into the shadows of the trees, her companions following her.

"Alright" she said, as the pre-dawn light began to creep into the forest. "The Leaf village is protected by an energy barricade that detects intruders, and instantaneously alerts both the ANBU and the Hokage herself." She paced back and forth as she spoke, feeling slightly as though she was briefing troops before a great battle. "In this case, thankfully, stealth isn't our aim, so the barrier won't be the hugest concern. If anything, it might make it easier to draw Lady Tsunade out."

Hidan cracked his neck. "So, you're aiming to catch the attention of your old bitch teacher. I assume we're going to be on the duty of 'fuck lots of shit up and cause assorted mayhem', which basically makes us cannon fodder. " Sakura nodded uncertainly. "Alright, perfect! Just how I like it."

Sakura looked around at each of her companions in turn: Hidan, displaying his usual careless bloodlust and excitement at the prospect of a bloody battle; Itachi, calm as always, his blood-red eyes shining in the pale light; Kakuzu, his face invisible behind his mask, threads barely visible as they bristled out from underneath his cloak; Deidara, his hand mouths visibly gnashing their teeth in anticipation, he lips pursed; and finally, Konan. Her lidded eyes were clouded with fear, but also shining with determination, her mouth set in a thin, hard line.

Sakura swallowed once, allowing herself one final expression of uncertainty, before pushing out all feelings of doubt and concern. The ritual had become a regular undertaking for her before more important or risky ops, purging any detrimental emotions from her body. "The barrier starts about twenty feet in that direction. This is it: once we start, we don't stop."

"Go."

"Lady Tsunade! Lady Tsunade! The barrier surrounding the village has been breached?"

"Rogue ninja, approaching the village at high speeds. ANBU squads C-H, move to intercept. Black Ops squads A and B will remain here to defend the Lady Hokage!"

The Hokage's tower was a site of carefully controlled chaos, a hornet's nest of ninja and administrative workers running throughout its many corridors and rooms. In the midst of it all, Tsunade was walking through the crowded hallways, Shikamaru at her side.

"Lady Hokage-"

"I know. I've expected this ever since Shino reported that the task force had been destroyed."

Forgetting himself for the slightest second, Shikamaru reached out and grabbed Tsunade's arm. The older woman turned to look dangerously at him, and he froze; however, he rushed on. "You realize that you are almost certainly her target, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade nodded, her eyes closed. "I'm aware, Shikamaru. But I am still the Hokage, and I must be present in the defence of the village. If Sakura truly wants me" Her eyes opened, and for a split second Shikamaru thought he saw a flicker of pain flash through her eyes. "She can try and come and get me. I welcome it."

Shikamaru nodded shortly. "Yes, Lady Tsunade."

The Hokage's eyes turned hard. "One thingbefore you go, Shikamaru- have the former members of Team 7 report to me. If they resist," she raised her voice, noting the shadow ninja about to interject, "Make it clear it is an executive order from the Hokage."

Shikamaru closed his mouth and nodded again. "Yes, Lady Tsunade." Without another word, he disappeared into a pool of shadow.

"Hit him again! Again!"

Hidan laughed maniacally, unperturbed by the volley of shuriken that had buried themselves throughout his torso and arms. "Hit me again, then, motherfuckers- see how much good it'll do you!"

One masked ANBU ninja seemed prepared to take Hidan up on his challenge, as he swung down from the gate before which the fight was taking place. Landing lightly, he pounced at the immortal, unsheathing his katana with a sharp, grating sound. Suddenly, a small white object hurtled at him from the trees, and the figure exploded spectacularly. Deidara dropped down from the limb he had stood upon, hand mouths chewing furiously, preparing more of his deadly explosive clay.

Swinging his arms out in front of him, a flurry of small clay doves shot out toward the walls of the village. A series of explosions shook the village, great chunks of masonry falling down onto the streets beyond. Screams began ringing through the town, villagers running in panic from the besieged front gates.

Hidan leaped and landed beside Deidara, grinning and shouting challenges at the ANBU. Under cover of his banter, he quietly asked Deidara: 'Have the others headed into this fucking hole yet?"

The blonde nodded once. "Itachi and Sakura and taking the lead. Konan and Kakuzu are following, since they're more or less useless when it comes to navigating the village." As he spoke, one of his bombs exploded a bit more forcefully than he'd anticipated, and sent a great pillar of stone hurtling at him and Hidan. Trying to dodge, Deidara braced himself for the impact-

But none came. Opening his eyes, Deidara saw with a shock that the massive chunk of rock had disappeared. Even as he frantically looked left and right, wondering what could have possibly happened, a figure stepped out of thin air in front of him and waved. "Hello, Deidara-sempai!"

"Tobi!" the explosive ninja cried, half in frustration, half in some form of strangled relief. The relief was short-lived, however, as a wave of Leaf ninja leaped down from the crumbling walls. Realizing that Deidara's bombs would completely decimate the structure soon, they had finally decided to bring the fight to the Akatsuki. Deidara only had time to brace himself for a second before the assault crashed over him like a tidal wave.

An explosion shook the village, causing Kakuzu to look up, frowning slightly behind his mask. "I didn't expect Deidara to engage this quickly, or this violently. This doesn't sit well with me." Beside him, Konan was walking in silence, her eyes on the back of Sakura's head as she slowly kept step with Itachi, both threading their way through the familiar alleys and side-streets of Konoha with extreme care.

Itachi held up a hand and gestured for the others to stop. "The Hokage's tower is directly ahead. Two Black Ops squads are stationed outside, preventing access to the main entrance; you might be hard-pressed to get inside." he looked at his companions. "I'd say this is the end of the line for us." Outside the alley, partially shielded by a low half-wall hiding the Akatsuki members from view, Sakura could see the Hokage's plaza, dotted with fully-geared Black Ops ninja. Behind it, the polished white stone of the Hokage's tower glittered in the early morning sun.

Kakuzu nodded, shrugging off his Akatsuki cloak. "As good a day to die as any, I suppose." Flexing his muscular arms, his stitches burst open, his masses of twisted black threads emerging like hungry snakes searching for prey.

Sakura bit her lip, looking at them both, suddenly realizing what this meant: both of these men were prepared to fight, and more likely die, for the sake of her personal vendetta. "Kakuzu… Itachi… I-" Kakuzu placed a finger over her lips, silencing her.

"It's alright. I'm prepared to do this. You have a full life ahead of you, I've lived more than my fair share of full lives as it is." Itachi said nothing, but his face said it all: he had no more intentions of backing out than Kakuzu. "Go get your answers, Sakura."

A lump rose in Sakura's throat. "Thank you. Thank you both." Wiping away a single tear that had trickled out of her eye despite herself, Sakura gripped first Kakuzu's, then Itachi's hand in a gesture of farewell. "I owe you both."

Kakuzu didn't reply, but he shared a significant glance with Itachi at her words. Then, he turned away, his tendrils burrowing into the ground where he stood. Itachi turned likewise, his body transforming into a small school of crows as he turned. Without warning, the ground in front of the Hokage's tower exploded, scattering ANBU ninja like discarded paper in a strong breeze. Taking a deep breath, Kakuzu leaped from the safety of the alley and engaged the Black Ops, casting them about the plaza with his tendrils. A few Jonin stationed on the front stairs of the tower readied their weapons, but were suddenly enveloped by a swarm of crows. Without warning, one of the ninja's crumpled bodies skidded down the stairs, leaving a crimson trail of blood in its wake.

Hidden in the alleyway, Konan and Sakura listened to the sounds of battle intensifying radically, and the muffled explosions coming from the gates. Konan breathed out, a long breath, and looked at Sakura. "Even with Itachi and Kakuzu are distracting the ANBU, we're going to have a fair bit of trouble getting ourselves inside without being stopped."

Sakura nodded, bending down to the ground, one palm placed into the first. "That's why WE'RE not going to." Konan pursed her eyebrows in confusion, but just as she was about to ask, the ground in front of the pair rippled, and a familiar venus flytrap-shaped covering emerged.

"Are you ready, Sakura?" White Zetsu asked, opening his plant covering. Black Zetsu was silent.

"I am." Sakura knelt down beside the head and shoulders of Zetsu where they emerged from the ground. "Can you transport us both at once? We won't get a second chance at this."

Zetsu nodded, his plant-like exterior growing wider, spreading to more than twice its normal size. "Both of you step inside, and I can take the two of you at once." "Hold tight." Konan and Sakura huddled close to Zetsu as his bloom closed around them and darkness took hold. For a few brief seconds, there was silence. Then, with a rushing sound, Zetsu opened his shield, and Sakura and Konan were expelled out into the open air.

They found themselves in the Hokage's office, directly across the room from Tsunade's desk. Four Jonin- two on either side of the desk- reacted almost instantaneously, hurling a flurry of small, wickedly-pointed blades toward the trio. Sakura's chakra wings erupted out of her back, wrapping around her and Konan, blowing books from shelves and statuettes from pedestals. A bust of the First Hokage shattered as it fell to the floor.

Outside their protective chakra shell, Sakura heard a sharp grunt of pain from Zetsu. Opening her wings as the assault subsided, she only just caught a glimpse of the two-coloured ninja gingerly pulling a blade out of the side of his face, before he slowly slid down into the stone floor. He was never seen by either Sakura or Konan again.

The Jonin surrounding Sakura realized their first strike had failed; they had no chance at launching a second. At a swift gesture from Konan, a cloud of small slips of paper swirled out from her body, engulfing the gathered ninja in a fluttering sea of white. Konan's paper wrapped around the elite ninja, pinning their arms and legs together, rendering them completely immobile. Tsunade alone remained untouched, surrounded by four mummified bodies. Sakura slowly walked toward her.

"Hello, sensei." Konan stood directly behind the pink-haired kunoichi, all senses alert for any warning of danger; but Sakura only had eyes for her former master.

"You ordered me killed." It wasn't a question.

Tsunade snapped, launching herself forward. She swung her clenched fist at Sakura's stomach, her chakra-augmented muscles preparing a devastating blow. Before Konan even had time to cry out in surprise, the blow landed.

Tsunade blinked in surprise. Her fist had collided with Sakura's glowing palm, her student's own superhuman strength enough to offset the force of her strike. Sakura closed her hand, grabbing Tsunade's fist with surprising force, and leaped upward. The pair of ninja crashed through the ceiling, hurtling toward the sky, taken off guard, Konan leaped after them.

Sakura landed lightly on the building's roof, a few meters away from where Tsunade crashed down. Struggling to her feet, Tsunade was shocked to discover slips of chakra infused paper assaulting her, binding her body tightly. Thrashing madly, her brute strength nullified by the sealing nature of the paper, Tsunade felt her entire body becoming encased, from her toe to her neck, pieces of paper reaching up to cover her mouth-

"No, Konan- stop."

Konan looked almost as surprised at the order as Tsunade did; but Sakura's voice was unyielding, her face firmly set. "Release her."

Konan grimaced, but waved her hand, Tsunade's paper cocoon retracting back to the paper ninja's arms. Tsunade stood up, panting slightly, and readied herself for Sakura's next attack. However, it didn't come; instead, Sakura simply walked forward and stood in front of her old teacher.

"I didn't come here to shed blood, Lady Tsunade. I came here for answers. Shikamaru told me that I was being executed by order of the Hokage when he attacked the stronghold." Despite herself, Sakura swallowed, emotion welling up inside of her. "I need to know, and I need to know why."

Outside the Hokage's tower, Kakuzu and I

tachi continued to battle on. Wave after wave of Leaf Shinobi continued to throw themselves at the duo, only to be cut down, throttled, or torn to pieces. But the long struggle combined with such short hours of rest the night before were finally taking their toll. Kakuzu's reflexes were growing sluggish, and he could tell Itachi was faring no better. Three of the waterfall ninja's hearts had already been destroyed, and at the rate the battle progressed, the others would soon follow.

Beside him, Itachi finally fell, pierced by so many kunai it was shocking he had remained standing for this long. Kakuzu lashed out at his killer, severing his head; barely a second later, a bright flash lit the area, and a beam of brilliant chakra lanced forward, shooting through the Waterfall ninja's fourth heart. Blood spurted out of his stitched mouth, but still Kakuzu fought on. His Earth heart had survived thus far, so his Iron Skin continued to protect him from the brunt of the kunai and other weapons that were attempting to pierce his skin; but he knew it wouldn't last. There was no victory to be had here, not for him.

Without warning, a lancing pain sliced through his calf, toppling him to one knee. Wincing at the sudden injury, he heard the ground behind him erupt, and a lean figure leaped out, landing before him. Looking up from where he now knelt on the paving stone, he managed a twisted smile.

"Sasuke Uchiha. What an honour." The young Uchiha stood before him, his flak vest splattered with blood, a long white blade held in his right hand. "You're a friend of Sakura's, aren't you?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but otherwise his face didn't change. "I don't know anyone by that name."

Kakuzu laughed, a harsh laugh that quickly dissolved into a bloody cough. "Ahh, the fabled Konoha sense of camaraderie. How inspiring."

The young Uchiha didn't rise to take the bait. "The ninja of the Leaf hold their comrades in the highest regard possible. I have no comrades by the name you give, and as such, they mean nothing to me." As if to hammer home a point, Sasuke sheathed his blade, then raised his right arm, electricity beginning to swirl around his outstretched hand. The sound of chirping birds filled the air. "Any last words?"

Determined not to let the Uchiha have the last word, Kakuzu smiled again. "Your brother always spoke very highly of you, you know."

Sasuke's eyes widened, and his hand shook, just slightly. Without warning, he buried his hand into Kakuzu's chest, electricity arcing out onto the ground. The Waterfall rogue ninja laughed once more, his blood splattering across Sasuke's face, before his life left his body.

Sasuke removed his bloodied hand and clenched his fist, saying nothing for a moment. Then, he turned from his foe's crumpled corpse, signalling to a group of other nearby ninja. "The Hokage is in danger. Let's go."

Sakura stood face-to-face with Tsunade. For a moment, neither spoke; then, Sakura broke the silence abruptly.

"Lady Tsunade… I need to know. Did you, or did you not, order me killed?"

Tsunade bowed her head, and to Sakura's surprise, tears began flowing from the corners of her eyes. "Sakura… I loved you as a daughter. For years, you have been one of the most important things in the world to me." Raising her head to look at Sakura, the pain on her face gave her the appearance of a broken, defeated woman. "I didn't want you to have to die! I wanted to save you! But the councillors… They overruled me. They convinced me to make the order."

"You became an enemy to the village, Sakura! And a dangerous one, at that." Tsunade kneaded her forehead with her hands. "I had a village to think of! I couldn't place one person over the good of my people, no matter how important that one person was to me. I'm sorry, but that's just… that's just the way the world works. Perceptions change, friends become foes, and the world continues as if nothing had every happened."

Sakura nodded, closing her eyes. "Deep down, I thought so. At first, I tried not to believe it was possible, but now I realize… this is no longer my home. This village holds nothing else for me." Clenching one first in front of her, she looked down, almost sadly. "I'm sure you, of all people, understand."

Tsunade straightened up, visibly pulling herself together. "All too well. But, you brought the most dangerous individuals in the ninja world to my village, and allowed them to run rampant, killing all who opposed them. You say you did not come to shed blood, and yet through your actions, you shed more Leaf blood than has been shed in recent memory." Raising her hand, Tsunade cast off the dull green cloak she wore, exposing her grey shirt and exposed shoulders. "I cannot allow you to leave this place alive."

Sakura crouched down, her fist pressed against the ground, chakra gathering at the point of contact as she prepared herself for battle. Seeing her do so, Tsunade shook her head. "I don't think you understand, Sakura. I'm no longer holding back."

Without warning, Tsunade was standing behind Sakura. The pink-haired kunoichi spun around, but she was too slow; Tsunade had already planted a kick straight into her side. A gasp of pain escaped Sakura's lips as the kick threw her backward, and she slammed into one of the stone pillars adorning the roof of the Hokage's tower.

Konan growled, the sound rumbling from the back of her throat. Stepping forward, she squared off against the Hokage, paper slips beginning to storm about her like an angry swarm of insects. Her body split apart, becoming a mass of paper, blending in perfectly with the storm of whiteness covering the roof. The swirling mass of paper expanded, engulfing Tsunade in a blizzard of flying bits of paper.

Tsunade shielded her eyes, squinting and trying in vain to see clearly through the almost zero-visibility of the paper storm. Behind her, the pieces came together to reform Konan's upper body, and she silently raised her hand, a spear of paper pieces forming in her hand. Stabbing forward, she tried viciously to impale Tsunade with the spear. Hearing the sound of the attack, the older woman swung around, her chakra-infused hand slamming into the improvised weapon. With her other hand, Tsunade thrust a jab into Konan's half-formed chest, causing her to reform her entire body in shock, falling to the ground. The blue-haired woman winced as Tsunade placed her high-heeled foot on the side of her head; however, before she could deliver the killing blow, a black-gloved fist shot out of nowhere, slamming hard into the side of her head.

Tsunade stumbled, and Sakura pressed her advantage, delivering a storm of blows to Tsunade's stomach. Coughing up blood, the blonde-headed Hokage leaped incredibly high, landing atop the giant carved head of the Third Hokage. Sakura followed, as Tsunade jumped down onto the vast expanse of green, grassy field behind the mountain carvings. Konan stood shakily before following the battling kunoichi.

When she passed over the gigantic stone effigies of Konoha's leaders, Sakura and Tsunade were facing each other, both breathing heavily. Konan fluttered down to join Sakura, placing a hand on her lovers shoulder and whispering in her ear. "Love… you have your answers. Don't throw away your life needlessly."

Sakura closed her eyes. "I know, Konan. But I can't leave it this way. Not until-" Sakura's sentence died in her throat as she and Konan realized with a start that Tsunade was suddenly standing directly in front of them. Reaching out, she grabbed a hold of each kunoichi's shoulder, then slammed them both into the ground. Crying out, Sakura swiped uselessly at Tsunade with her foot as she toppled, but the Sannin dodged easily. Then, she lifted her hand and signalled.

Sakura struggled back to her feet, looking her former sensei in the eye. To her surprise, she realized that Tsunade had begun to tear up again, sadness etched onto all features of her face. Then, a figure appeared over the top of the Hokage mountain.

Kakashi stood atop the Third Hokage's carved head, his Sharingan flashing in the light. His masked face was hidden, as always, but the small area of skin visible was enough to see the conflict he was feeling. Tsunade saw him and said simply "Do it."

Kakashi raised his hands, then slammed them onto the ground.

Earth style: Pitfall Trap!

Without warning, the ground below Konan, Sakura, and Tsunade opened up, forming a pit several meters deep. The three kunoichi fell, Konan only barely managing to unfurl her paper wings and catch Sakura on the way down; the effort drained her, however, and her wings crumbled as they hit to dirt floor.

Kakashi stood on the rim of the pit, the pain in his eye visible even from that far distance. Sakura gazed up at him, at the figure that had so often been a vision of strength, of trust, in her life. Kakashi stared back, and as he did, a single tear rolled down his cheek. At last, he spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Tsunade stood up and shouted at him, sweat pouring down her dirty-stained face. "Kakashi! DO IT!"

The mirror ninja raised his hand, and with a thrill of terror, Sakura saw the sunny sky grow grey, towering black clouds gathering directly above the pit. With one final look of pain at what he was about to do, Kakashi slashed his hand downward.

Great Lightning Blade: Heaven-Piercing Bolt!

The clouds erupted, and a massive spray of electrical energy shot out of them, hitting Kakashi's outstretched hand. The lightning arced from his hand and burst forward, taking the shape of a great, charging dog that raced down into the pit. Closer and closer it drew, sizzling with energy, bolts of wayward lightning splitting off and striking the earthen walls.

Sakura's eyes widened, and she grabbed Konan's hand. Looking her lover in the eye, she smashed her lips into her blue-haired lover's, closing her eyes. Disconnecting, tears welling up in her eyes, she hugged the paper kunoichi close. "I'm so sorry, Konan."

"I love you."

With a final crash, the pit was completely filled with lightning, and Kakashi was forced to turn away from the blinding light. When it had finally subsided, he looked back. The pit was empty, no bodies to be seen: the force of the jutsu had disintegrated any evidence of the lives he had just ended.

Behind him, a party of ninja walked toward the edge of the hole, Shikamaru at their head. Kakashi turned as they reached him, and even Shikamaru was surprised at the tortured look on his face. However, when he spoke, his voice was strong.

"So passes Lady Tsunade, Fifth Hokage of the Land of Fire."

Shikamaru bowed his head and was silent, and the rest of the assembled Shinobi followed suit. Then, He raised his head. "We'll begin arranging funeral rites immediately. In the meantime, a new Hokage must be named…" he placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "The responsibility will most likely fall to you, my friend. The silver-haired ninja simply nodded. The rest of the party turned to return to the ruined village, but Kakashi turned to the great pit that still yawned behind the Hokage Mountain. Bending down, he reached into his vest, placing a photograph down before the hole.

"Goodbye, Sakura."

And he walked away, leaving behind the small picture of Sakura Haruno to sit where it lay, before the wind picked it up and bore it away.

Good lord, that was a long one.

As always, reviews are appreciated.