Hey, guys! I will be making AMV for this pairing and will publish it soon in this chapter.
Anyways, please read & review!
The Iron Country has never alter its own season and always snows throughout the decades. Never has it been spring, summer and fall. At that moment, the blonde-haired ninja was currently in meditation mode while he was sitting outside the wooden terrace.
"If I just keep on as I have been doing, I'm never going to find Sasuke. It's sennin mode that I need to use. First, I should work on extending how long I can hold it for," he said calmly to himself.
"Naruto! Come back inside already!" Yamato called out loud.
"Hm?" The blonde-haired ninja got startled when he sense a few presences of his friends waiting down on the ground. He quickly got up and made a slight approach.
"There you are! Finally!" Kiba exclaimed in relief.
"Sakura! Sai! Kiba, and Bushy-Brow!" Naruto said surprisingly, but solemnly.
"Why are you all here?" Kakashi asked in curiosity.
"Naruto… There's something we have to talk about. Something that you should know," the pink-haired kunoichi stated softly, much to his puzzlement.
During the day back in the summit, the Tsuchikage was asking for any volunteers, regards to leading the shinobi alliance.
"We need a qualified leader among us. Anyone want to take the opportunity?" Onoki asked, glancing around at the others.
"I think having Raikage take up the responsibility is the best option," Mifune suggested.
"Didn't you say that he was unqualified because of his emotional nature and reliance on strength?" Onoki reminded.
"There's no question when we consider that the 8-tails is still alive. Raikage is also more composed than he was earlier. What I said earlier was hasty… Please forgive me," Mifune uttered and continued on. "Also, as you all cooperated earlier, our counterattack was swift. Furthermore, the Eight-tails, which will be the key to success, can only be controlled by Raikage."
"Mizukage, Kazekage, are you two alright with that?" Onoki asked for reassurance.
"This is no time to be arguing here. I'll trust Raikage," Mei said concernedly.
"Let's entrust it to the Raikage," Gaara confirmed.
"Onoki of the Scales, as the only one who has fought with Madara, your information is indispensable," Raikage A stated grimly. "Cooperate with us!"
"You're talking down at me like you're giving orders, same as ever," Onoki pointed out.
"You don't have to believe in me. But at this rate, the shinobi world as we know it will end. We've got no choice to put aside our self-interest and cooperate!" Raikage lectured logically.
"It's better than losing the war, I suppose. Now what is your decision?" Onoki asked.
"Alright. If you all voted for me, then I guess I'll take this as a consideration," Raikage A nodded in understanding and agreement, much to everyone's gladness.
"The Shinobi Alliance is hereby formed! We've got to tell those damned fellas first, though," Onoki mentioned with a smirk.
"Right," they responded back in unison.
"Okay, okay. We should all start working, then," Kankuro called out confidently, whereas Remark nudged him on the shoulder to keep quiet.
"Shh. You are not the one to dictate, so let the leader do the talking, remember?" The ponytail-haired kunoichi clenched her teeth as she laughed nervously.
"From now on, we have to all separate and plan another meeting, sometime around next week. Anyway, let's all go home first," Raikage A instructed gently as he can without raising his tempered voice.
As soon as the rest of the Shinobi and Samurai started to exit the conference room, the red-haired Kazekage was still standing on the spot, which made his siblings curious.
"Uhh… Gaara, are you alright? Are we going now or what? What's in your mind?" Kankuro took a little peek at him.
"Yeah. Tell us…" Temari murmured blankly.
The red-haired Kazekage tilted his head down a little, closing his eyes for a moment of concentration and began to reopen them. He slowly speak out in a deep concern. "Let's go and find Sakura…"
Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened in surprise and confusion.
"What?! Why?" His older sister questioned in peculiar.
"Just follow my lead," Gaara answered simply without looking at them directly as soon as he started to leave the room as well.
"Okay…" she said softly until she and Kankuro realized that something serious must be happening.
In the meantime, the pink-haired kunoichi was staring gently at Naruto's eyes and took a few steps forward slowly. The rest of the leaf squad are waiting to see what she was about to tell him. For all they know, they remembered that they cannot say anything, except her.
"Naruto… I know that these past few days have been awful lately. But I just want to say that I love you…" The pink-haired kunoichi said smiling, much to everyone's shock and continued on. "I love you because I care about you. You've become my best friend ever since and I cannot stand seeing you chasing after Sasuke. I don't think we can be more than friends. Our friendship is valuable than us having a relationship, of course. I didn't came all the way here to confess to you because I don't want to lie to you. However, I'm obviously telling you that it's best not to go after him and forget the promise that we made. Don't do this for me anymore, Naruto. You've suffered enough…"
Kakashi nodded in agreement silently as he and the others were watching them discuss the issue.
The blonde-haired ninja sighed tiredly and said sadly. "But Sakura… This is not about the promise. I know your feelings towards Sasuke is still there and nobody will ever replace that. As a friend, I care about you and him. And even if it means bringing back Sasuke will make things right and be back to the way it was. He was not just my rival, my friend. He was also like a brother to me."
"I know, but what if he doesn't come back…? What if Sasuke already made his choice to stay in that path and be that way? Remember, he tried to attempt to kill you during that mission with Yamato and Sai. The thing is-" The pink-haired kunoichi got interrupted without finishing her sentence.
"Sakura! Stop it, okay?! Look, it doesn't matter if Sasuke is trying to kill me. Hell, I will bring him back over my dead body. You and I both know that we still care about him and will do everything we can to save him from himself… Don't try to convince me to change my mind because I never will. That's final," Naruto snapped back angrily, which further irritates Sakura.
"Save him…? You're going to save him rather than yourself and let others watch you die…? Is that what you want, Naruto…? The pink-haired kunoichi asked quietly while her eyes was starting to narrow slightly and argue. "You're important to all of us here! I understand your decision, but you also got to respect others as well. Sasuke is already a wanted criminal, so why go for all the trouble? Don't throw yourself away..."
The blonde-haired ninja got startled by the way she stated those words and said. "Look, I know why Sasuke is so obsessed with revenge. He loved his family and his clan. I think it's because he loves them so much that he can't let it go."
"Then why did he join the Akatsuki after he defeated Itachi?" Kiba questioned in annoyance.
"That's not what happened. The truth is-" The blonde-haired ninja got interrupted quickly without giving the answer.
"Naruto!" Kakashi warned, much to Sakura and the others' puzzlement and astonishment.
The blonde-haired ninja sighed tiredly and changed the subject, saying softly. "Anyway, I want to help Sasuke and it doesn't have anything to do with my promise to you, Sakura…"
The pink-haired kunoichi, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes at him and nodded firmly, saying. "Alright, then. If that's what you want, then go ahead... Kiba, Lee, Sai. Let's go!"
Sakura quickly turned around and walked away impatiently from Naruto and the jounin leaders. She held her tears back from her eyes in thought. "Naruto… I'm sorry, but I've also made my choice. I'm going to be one looking for Sasuke and face him myself."
When they began to travel on the way back to the leaf village, the substitution of Sai came out of his hiding and confronted Naruto, who was about to enter inside the wooden cabin.
"Sai… What are you doing here?" He asked curiously.
"It's a clone," Kakashi noted.
"Listen, I'm going to tell you the truth that Sakura couldn't tell you," Sai said with a blank expression.
"The truth…?" Naruto repeated in suspicion.
"I thought something was up," Kakashi said.
"What's going on, Sai?" Yamato interrogated.
"Look, Sakura came here to tell you something that she and your friends had decided…" Sai informed.
"I knew it… I noticed a strange look in her eyes that she was hiding something after all," Naruto pointed out.
"I understand now why she couldn't tell you…" Sai muttered.
"Hey, tell me…" The blonde-haired ninja demanded.
"Okay, the leaf is going to eliminate Sasuke. That's what all your friends are planning," Sai answered, much to Naruto's dismay.
He cleared his throat and questioned firmly. "Does Sakura really understand that?! How could she-? She loves Sasuke, though!"
"Sasuke is helping darkness take over this world. If he's allowed to live, he will just be the spark that starts an international war. He's a criminal now. After the Akatsuki had attacked the leaf, the ninjas could no longer turn a blind eye to the fact that Sasuke is working with Akatsuki. Sakura isn't stupid and she's not so much of a child as to not understand other people's circumstances," Sai explained.
"Then, why didn't she just tell me right away?!" Naruto questioned in frustration.
"It probably wasn't easy. She knew it would hurt you, but still… She thought she'd lessen your burden by giving up on Sasuke. But you still said you wanted to save Sasuke. I think that's why she couldn't tell you the truth. She was thinking of your feelings and she probably knew you'd say that. She actually asked me not to tell you. She wanted to do it herself and she said it was her duty," Sai stated.
"But if she knew what Naruto's reaction would be, that means she never meant to tell him in the first place, right?" Yamato asked for reassurance. "What is she planning?"
"This is just a guess, but I think she probably…" Sai trailed off of his words quietly.
"She means to kill him herself…" Kakashi finished his sentence, furthering Naruto's shock and disbelief.
"Is that true, Sai?!" Yamato asked.
"Probably," he answered and continued on. "Sakura smiled and said she'd work with everyone else. But this time, I was able to tell it was a fake smile."
"No way… She can't… She loves Sasuke so much…" Naruto stuttered nervously.
"That's why… I don't think she can just stand by and watch as he plunges headlong towards evil. She wants to save him from a life of evil because she loves him and I think she's prepared to do whatever it takes, even if it means killing the one she loves. And she also knows that might make you hate her. That's why her way of making up for trying to saddle you with a lifelong burden. She's always relied on you too much. So now, she's going to do everything alone," Sai concluded.
"Sai… Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked sadly.
"I may not have meant to, but it's partly my fault that she decided to do this. That's why I told you. I couldn't let her do it. I'm part of Team 7, too, you know," he stated.
"I see…" Naruto murmured as he started to think about the memory of his beloved team that slowly began to shatter into pieces of broken glass.
All of a sudden, a few footsteps had landed on the ground, which made him turn around to look at them in surprise.
"We have something we need to tell you right away. We'll tell you everything that happened at the Five Kage summit," said Temari and explained the whole incident with fighting against Sasuke and Danzo's betrayal.
"I see… I had no idea the summit had turned such a battleground. But Danzo…" Yamato replied in disappointment.
"I wasn't really into the whole Hokage thing, but even if I have no choice now, I still have to get back to the leaf and ask everyone what they think," Kakashi noted.
"Madara said he was going to start a war. This is no time to take things slow," Temari reminded.
"I think everyone will agree. Let's continue as if you were Hokage, Kakashi," Yamato announced and continued on. "It's too dangerous to take our time and let Akatsuki and Madara get the upper hand."
"Well, I guess you're right. Thanks." Kakashi said dully and glanced over his right shoulder to look at Naruto, who was staring gloomily on the ground.
"Naruto… Just so you know, this will be a war to protect the Eight-tails and Nine-tails. In other words, you. For the sake of the ninja world and as the Kazekage, I will guard you with my life. If Sasuke Uchiha stands in the way of the ninja coalition, I will show no mercy. He doesn't even see you anymore. He only sees his own darkness. You have told me that you would become Hokage. I have become Kazekage. If you are prepared to bear the title of Kage, then do what you must as Sasuke's friend," Gaara encouraged as he placed his left hand upon his shoulder.
On the contrary, the blonde-haired ninja nudged a little to remove his hand away and said quietly. "There's something I need to tell you…"
"What is it?" The red-haired Kazekage asked curiously.
"My friends came here and convinced me not to go after Sasuke by myself… And Sai told me that Sakura is… planning to get rid of him…"
Gaara's eyes widened in shock, including Kankuro and Temari and asked. "When…?"
"Right after she left for just a couple of minutes ago and before you guys arrived here," Naruto answered.
Kankuro huffed, saying. "No way…"
"It's dangerous…" Temari said worriedly.
"Yeah. It's not easy to fight Sasuke and after all, you guys had experienced his skills and techniques of his style of combat," the blonde-haired ninja pointed out.
"Gaara… What do we do? Are we going to go after her or go back to the village to inform everyone that war is on the line?" Kankuro asked beside him.
The red-haired Kazekage narrowed his eyes slightly and said determinedly. "Don't worry… I'll handle this."
"Huh?!" His siblings were puzzled and confused.
"What do you mean?" Temari questioned.
"Listen to what I'm about to inform you and Kankuro, alright?" Gaara instructed sternly without turning his head around to look at them.
Both of his siblings was staring at the back of his head and nodded in understanding with a quick unison reply, saying. "Right."
Then at that moment, the red-haired Kazekage moved his eyes' attention on Naruto as the two of them had already figured out what they are about to do. They were always thinking about the pink-haired kunoichi, who recently left to go and track down Sasuke herself.
More of understanding part can be the hardest the decision to make.
Even so, love can lead to blindness.
Perhaps, even a slightest mere of illusion.
TO BE CONTINUED...