Two hundred ninety-nine days after War's End…
Gaara:
Four years ago, the Jinchuuriki named Gaara would have relished this slaughter. Three years ago, he would have been conflicted, shocked. Six months ago, it would have horrified the young Kazekage, and he would have given his life to prevent it.
Now, he can only watch, unable to understand, as the Leaf and Sand rip each other apart.
He should've known it would be a trap.
Temari, Temari, she told him to believe, reassured him that her source was good. He learned years ago to listen to his sharp, courageous older sister in matters of judging the intent of others. He took her advice and led his people here. He even called the other kages to Konoha to take down the rogue village.
And now she's dead.
It kills him to just sit here while his people – all those hopeful believers who trusted him, followed his cause – die in a sandstorm of insanity.
Knowing that he could've waited makes it worse. The other villages could be days, perhaps only hours away.
The empty gnawing in his stomach is the short gap between confidence in his abilities and pride.
Figures approach. Two, three, six. Gaara flexes his fingers, but quickly realizes they're not coming to attack. He can tell a lot from the vibrations in the ground, from the fall of a footstep on his precious sand and grit. These figures stumble toward him with awkward motions: not injured, lacking direction yet somehow purposeful. Not living beings.
Kankuro's puppets.
They have no strings.
The ice in Gaara's blood cracks. So they got you too, Kankuro.
He doesn't need them to tell him what happened. What with the filthy sixth Hokage's – Gaara can't bring himself to call the monster by his real name – purge through Konoha, there are few shinobi who could match Kankuro strength for strength. He wasn't overwhelmed by force, or a puppet would have been destroyed. If he'd made it to…the Hokage…none of his puppets would have survived.
No, Kankuro was ambushed, taken by surprise. And from the reports Temari gave him, there's only one genjutsu user left to do it.
The Hokage was not the only one who led Konoha to its murderous rage.
"Where did she kill him?"
One of the puppets lifts an arm. It points toward the Hokage faces carved into the mountainside.
At the very least, I can give Kankuro's spirit peace.
Sakura:
From her vantage point, it's clear to Sakura that the Leaf will lose.
Not at first. It's to her incredible surprise that the battle below may well end in Konoha's favor. She'd had Shikamaru call the Sand because out of all the villages, they had the most recent combat experience against the shinobi of the Leaf. With so many of Konoha's best dead, at her hand or at Naruto's, it should have been an easy contest.
She'd underestimated how ferociously her village fought when under siege. No prisoners, no mercy. For the civilians too, which explains why they're taking up arms and joining the fight in the streets.
Including her parents.
I will tell you one more time, kunoichi. Get in the fight.
No. She's holding herself back, waiting for Zetsu's inevitable appearance and ensuring that Naruto himself doesn't get involved. And yet even without him, without her, Konoha is going to win.
Or they would, if they were to fight just the Sand.
Sakura swallows hard, pushing down the sting of her tears. Konoha, you're so strong. So brave. What have I done to you?
The dust clouds in the distance herald Konoha's doom. For her to see it as one mass from here, there must be tens of thousands of them.
How many did you call, Gaara? The other three kage? The small villages too? Has Naruto replaced Tobi as the greatest threat to the ninja world?
The darkness in her mind snarls, slamming into her consciousness so hard that she sees stars, but Sakura holds firm. She doesn't have to hold out much longer, and that knowledge gives her the strength she needs. Eventually, Konoha will fall. Naruto will stand alone against the world.
When he sees his dream has failed, he'll act.
And what will he do, kunoichi? Infinite Tsukoyomi was my solution to a failed dream. What makes the fox boy any different?
Panic. Sakura growls, hoping to hide it from the Sharingan's curse. Neither you nor I will be here to see it.
Laughing shadows dance in her mind. You have no idea, do you? Floundering in the dark, praying someone can show you the path. If you could've convinced –
It falls silent. A sharp prickling stabs her Sharingan, little specks of dust floating on the breeze. Sakura blinks a few times reflexively, but when the pain only intensifies she realizes this isn't dust in her eye. It's sand.
She grins in spite of the pain she knows is coming. Goodbye, Tobi. This is how we die.
When the grains of sand rocket through the Sharingan, piercing the eye a hundred times and tearing it to a pulp, she screams.
When she recovers, she can't move. A blessing.
Not that she can't move, but that she's alive at all. There's pain in her unseeing Sharingan – now a bloody socket, judging by the fluids running down her cheek – but otherwise she's unharmed. Gaara must have questions if he's taking her prisoner before executing her. She'll have time to tell him what he has to do…and hope he listens.
This is it.
"Sakura." Gaara's voice is as dry and relentless as the desert he's come from. "You are dead. The sand around you will be your coffin. How much I hurt you before that moment depends on what you tell me about your lover. Now, where is he?"
Sakura waits for the voice to comment, but Tobi says nothing. It takes her several seconds to remember that with her Sharingan destroyed, he probably was as well.
Unable to stop herself, she starts giggling. She'd forgotten how light it felt to have only one mind in her body. "He's gone."
Agony lances through her side, choking off her laughter. "No games, Sakura." Gaara's voice is impassive, but his red eyes are like fire. "Naruto is gone?"
"No," Sakura gasps, coughing up blood. This wound will kill me soon, unless Gaara lets me heal it...not likely. "Tobi. Sharingan destroyed, when you did, I mean - Naruto's coming here."
Gaara's expression turns colder. "Good. I will kill -"
"No."
More sand pierces her side. Gritting her teeth, Sakura tries to writhe away from it, but the sand and dirt hold her body firm. Gaara's words are gloating. "And who will stop me?"
"Don't...fight him," Sakura says. "Show him. What he did. What -"
"What are you talking about?" With tears blinding one eye and blood replacing the other, Sakura can't say what he looks like, but he at least sounds confused. Good. He's listening.
Taking as deep a breath as her sand coffin will allow, she fixes a stare on Gaara's blurry face. "Even with this curse, he's...still an idealist. Naruto still fights for his dream. Not because he...truly believes he is, but...because he can't go on if he doesn't. Convince him. Show him what he's done. To his dream. He'll do the rest. He has to."
Silence. Sakura focuses on blocking out the ever-increasing pain flashing through her torso.
After a minute, Gaara clicks his tongue. "And if he doesn't relent, then -"
"He will. He'll be alone, Gaara. Think about that." He has to, Gaara. I don't know what he will do, what he can do, but Naruto is the only one who has a chance of undoing all this.
Or at least bringing it to an end.
"I...see." The wind picks up, whistling. "I'll talk to him first. If it helps us defeat him, I will thank you. Until then...go to hell, Sakura."
Sakura shakes her head, maybe to clear her vision, maybe in refusal. She can feel every grain of sand pressing against her body, which suddenly feels awfully fragile. She can't move a muscle, no matter how she strains.
She's not ready. Not for this.
"Gaara, wait, you can't–"
The sand squeezes, crushing her body from every side.
Crunch.
A/N: Endgame.
