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What If

Ch.28 Insight

Karin looked down at the ground as she sat in an investigation chair. It had been almost two days since she was brought into custody. It seemed her interrogation was delayed due to some business about choosing the new Hokage; instead Tsunade woke up and was now staring down at her with a very stern look.

"This is the last time I'll say this before you're tortured. Tell me everything you know about Sakura and Sasuke!"

Karin cowered back lightly but kept her vision focused on the ground. Karin knew she was a bit of a wimp when it came to pain but she wanted to at least buy Sakura and Sasuke some time, "You don't betray your comrades, why should I betray mine?"

Tsunade's face loosened as she stared down at the mildly scared red-head, "Because I know one's dying and I may be the only one who can save her."

Karin's red eyes shot up and she could see sincere concern deep in the Hokage's honey-brown eyes. Karin fidgeted for a minute and looked back up at the Hokage with a look of calm worry, "You don't have much time left."

Tsunade's heart tightened a little as she leaned over the desk and gave an attentive attitude, "Then tell me everything you know so I can find a way to heal her sooner."

Karin hesitated a moment but gave into the request; she may be selling out her comrades now but if Tsunade could cure Sakura then that was the biggest gift she could give. "Sakura has this special power, it looks like a white chakra and can destroy anything in sight. It can also heal injuries impossible to survive, I wouldn't be surprised if she could bring somebody back to life, but every time she uses the chakra it destroys her body. She told me that a little over a year and a half ago Orochimaru experimented on her to release the chakra."

Tsunade felt a hint of vile taste in her mouth at the name of her former comrade. Her hate grew for him even after he was already dead.

"Sakura said the chakra runs through her family but is automatically sealed since the affects are so dangerous. She told me the guy her and Sasuke killed had experimented on her family for years and they all died; her mother was then killed for trying to discover the truth."

Tsunade took a slow breath as her suspicions were claimed true. She felt disgusted by Danzo, she was quite relieved he was dead after hearing the truth of the Uchiha and Haruno experiments.

"Sakura uses it a lot in hard battles but once she uses it a few times her body gives into the effects and she'll start to cough blood and sometimes go unconscious. I looked at her body once…She has this horrid scar on her back from the experiment and her insides are worse. It's like there's painful scars covering every inch of inside her body. The only reason she's not dead is because she's mastered the chakra well enough it toughens her body, but still…she uses it so much to fight and heal…she's running out of time."

Karin looked up into Tsunade's eyes with a look of pleading, "She has about a year left to live…and that's without ever using the chakra again."

Tsunade felt her heart crush a little; with how often Sakura used the chakra, she had months. Tsunade sat still for a while as she studied Karin's face; she needed to learn more about the chakra.

_elsewhere in the village_

Naruto sat with Hinata on a grassy plain; they had been sitting there for twenty minutes without a word. Hinata glanced at him in the corner of her eye, he seemed peaceful but she knew he had a lot on his mind. She smiled lightly at his hand placed on top of hers and looked at him with her kindest expression, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Naruto hesitated a moment and gave a small sigh, "It's almost too much to wrap my head around."

Hinata shifted over bringing her other hand on top of his on hers, "Maybe I can help?"

Naruto gave her a sad look, "I don't think Sasuke knows about Sakura-chan…and they've both fallen so far. I know I'll save them but…Sasuke almost killed Ino and then could've accidently killed Sakura-chan if I wasn't there. I had her in my arms when I saved her…I could've taken her home right there but she got away. You should've seen her…She looked so lifeless and brittle in that moment. It really scared me to see her look like she was dying. It made me feel like I failed…"

Hinata tightened her hands on his, "You didn't fail, however it happened you weren't there to stop it, and if Sasuke didn't know then I don't think he was either. I don't think it's your fault she got away either; even if you held onto her Sasuke and Madara would've taken her back somehow. We have to defeat Madara before we have a good chance to get them back."

Naruto's chest tightened a little, "Yeah…I'm just worried she's pushing herself to hard, especially if Sasuke doesn't know."

Hinata thought about it for a moment, "Honestly, I don't think he knows."

Naruto stared at her with a questioning look, "Why?"

"Sakura loves him right? She's probably hiding it from him because she doesn't want him to worry. She probably thinks she'll be a distraction and doesn't want to be a burden to him…If I was in her position I don't know if I could tell you."

Naruto's eyes widened and he grabbed her arms, "Don't ever think that! If anything ever happens to you I want to know so I can help! You'd never be a burden to me and I wouldn't let anything happen to you! I won't ever let you die on me!"

Hinata's lavender eyes widened as a blush slowly ran on her cheeks, she gave a small nod and Naruto gave a small smile. Hinata slowly let a smile grow on her face as she stared at him, "Promise me the same, you'll tell me if anything's happened to you."

Naruto's jaw clenched slightly but he kept his smile on. He couldn't tell her he'd die if he fought Sasuke; she wouldn't let him fight, "Promise!"

_far away in a cave_

Sakura sat in a chair reading over a scroll on advanced earth jutsu and Sasuke slept in the bed beside her. She took a small glance at him; he woke up once after the surgery and ate before Sakura gave him more pain medication and he fell asleep again. Sakura tapped her finger on the scroll as she looked at him longer. She got up and lightly set the scroll down to not make any noise; her medical knowledge said he wake again in a few hours and she needed to find food. She wandered around the cave trying to find the way out so she could hunt.

She pursed her lips as she took a few more turns but only seemed to be going farther under ground. She sighed prepared to turn back but got hit with a sudden eerie feeling. She paused for a moment and looked in the direction it was coming from. She instinctively began following the feeling, knowing it felt familiar. She took slow footsteps as the feeling became stronger and felt her nerves pick up in the back of her mind; it felt like that intense, horrid feeling she felt when heading towards the Leaf Village. Sakura stopped for a moment and analyzed the feeling, it reminded her of something else too.

She tried to place her mind on it as she took more steps forward. Cold sweat formed on the back of her neck as she felt a demonic pressure coming from behind a wall. She stood there a moment as the prescence, that made her even feel fear, taunted her from behind the wall. She slowly lifted her hand to the wall and began to press against it. She watched the wall slowly crumble as she felt like she could almost remember where she had also felt it before. She formed a small hole in the wall as her mind remembered and her eyes widened.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura quickly turned, prepared to fight, as Madara came into view with a different outfit and mask than before. Sakura lowered her fist as she glared lightly at him, "I need my way out so I can find food."

The masked man studied her, knowing it was a lie, "I don't think crushing walls will help you…Let me escort you out."

Sakura narrowed her eyes as Madara shifted his hand in a leading gesture; he wanted her away from that room. She clenched her jaw and began walking forward without saying yes to his offer. Madara gave a small smirk as he led her and then gave a grave frown, he didn't need interference. He was hoping Sakura hadn't picked up on her other ability yet. The one thing Orochimaru wasn't able to get from Danzo's file was the whole reason he needed Sakura. Her chakra was so powerful because her clan had been in charge of watching the tailed beasts before the villages were created. The chakra Haruno's possessed came from the whole purpose of controlling tailed beast. The Sage of Sixth Paths left them that power and it was the power that he needed to also bring the tailed beasts back into one creature.

Sakura paced through the halls as she could see sunlight come into view. Why? She left Madara without a word as she went to search for food. Why in the hell can I sense tailed beasts?

Sakura finally recalled the same sensation came from when the Hachabi appeared and the small glimpse she got from that room only confirmed her feeling. It was only a small look but she saw a large humanoid monster with nine eyes; if she hadn't lived with Orochimaru she would've thought it was just a monster but he had explained it to her as a tool Akatsuki used to steal jinchuriki's tailed beasts. Sakura kicked a rock through a few trees and watched as birds flew in panic before she killed and grabbed a few. She didn't understand why she could feel tailed beasts and when Team Taka was on the way to Konoha she was the only one to feel it.

She collected some berries. Is that why Akatsuki wants me? Because I can sense tailed beasts better than others? Sakura frowned as she started walking back with the food. Whatever the hell they want, I'm not helping!

_the next day_

Naruto waited as he stood in front of one of the newly built houses. He glanced up as he met familiar jade eyes but they were paired with long black hair. A woman who looked a few years older than him in a green t-shirt and navy skirt looked at him.

"May I help you?"

Naruto looked at her features one more time, "You're Sakura-chan's big sister right? Is Yume here?"

Yuko's eyes widened at the name of her sister and Naruto's characteristics matched up with al the stories she heard, "Naruto…yes, come in."

Naruto followed her into a decently sized one-story house. There were a few dirty, slightly torn photos found from the wreckage on the wall but it was otherwise bare. Naruto took a deep breath as Yuko knocked on a door and slowly opened it. He frowned so see Yume sitting on her bed, next to what he assumed was her brother, and miserably curled against the wall.

Yuko frowned, she panicked as well when she heard the news of their reunion and Sakura's assassination order but she had to be the calm one for her siblings, "Yume, Naruto wants to talk to you."

Yume slowly looked up with red rims around her devastated eyes, she was a wreck. Naruto gave a small smile and sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the twins, "I heard you saw Sakura-chan."

Naruto's eyes twitched with sadness as tears grew in her eyes, "I want you to know I saw her really close after you."

The three Haruno siblings looked up with hopeful attention. Naruto gave a small smile, "I want you to know she's okay and even though I missed my chance to bring her home I'll be getting another one soon and I won't fail."

Yuko's lips curved upwards a bit; Naruto really was a loyal friend. Naruto gave an encouraging smile and stood again, "I'm about to leave for a mission, but I wanted you to know."

Naruto slowly stood and was about to leave the room. Ryuu watched him with doubtfulness, "Naruto…Sakura-neechan said she was glad to see us one last time…is something wrong with her?"

Naruto hesitated as his face twisted slightly with misery but he quickly forced a smile on and turned back at the twins, "Of course not! She's perfectly fine, she kicked my butt when I saw her."

With that the twins relaxed and Naruto left but Yuko had seen his twist of expression. Her little sister was in danger and she was going to save her!

_a few hours later_

Yuko took confident steps as she strode towards the Hokage's tent, she could tell something was up. Yuko was going to become a jounin next month but the test was cancelled due to the village attack but she could tell by their behavior something big was going on. Now not only did she need to find out what was going on with Sakura but also she wanted to know why the higher ups were in such a frenzy. Yuko sighed as she nonchalantly passed the guard to Tsunade's tent and walked straight in, "Hokage-sama"

Tsunade turned and searched Yuko's determined face, "Do you need something?"

Yuko stood firm, refusing to back down, "Tell me the truth about Sakura."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Yuko's eyebrows furrowed, "I know something's wrong with her! It's all over Naruto's face, and she was acting like she was going to disappear when she saw Ryuu and Yume! I can also tell your hiding something by the way all the higher ups are acting! I'm a loyal shinobi and soon the head of the Haruno clan! It's the first time I've asked for anything and I deserve an answer!"

Tsunade watched her as Yuko finished her bold speech and had a slight tint of desperation in her eyes. Tsunade sighed and glanced and the ground from her chair, "Fine, sit down."

Yuko's eyes widened with relief and quickly walked to the empty chair. She instinctively could tell she wouldn't like what she was going to hear but she would rather know than be naïve. Tsunade tapped her fingers and gave Yuko a serious look, "All five nations are going to war with the organization that destroyed our village and you need to know Sakura is involved with them."

Yuko's heart clenched, there was a possibility she would have to fight her sister and Sakura might kill her friends during the war. Yuko gave a small nod taking in the information.

"I'm not sure if we'll fight her but it's a strong possibility…When Naruto last ran into her and Sasuke, we captured one of her comrades who confirmed my suspicions of your clan."

Yuko gripped her hands together thinking about the clan murders, "You know who did it?"

Tsunade gave a small nod, "Before Naruto saw them, they had killed Danzo who was going to be Hokage if I didn't wake up. Danzo had been experimenting on your clan for over thirty years and hired the man who killed your mother when she was searching for the truth. He stopped after your father when Orochimaru stole his research files."

Rage bubbled in Yuko's stomach, she couldn't believe how close a man like that came to being the Hokage. In a twisted way she felt grateful to Sakura for ridding the world of such a bad man.

Tsunade ran a hand through her blonde hair, "Sakura knew this and was prepared to give anything to eliminate him to avenge your family. It seems those scrolls you found talk about an extremely powerful chakra that is sealed inside your clan before birth. The chakra can destroy and heal anything and Orochimaru experimented on Sakura trying to get it."

Yuko's face fell as her heart cried out for her sister. She couldn't believe how much her sister had been forced to go through while she was gone, "Is she okay?"

Tsunade gave a small sigh, "Sakura was the only one to really survive the experiment but it's lethal to use that chakra and according to her comrade she's been using it frequently for over a year and a half."

Yuko felt panic rising in her heart, "But you can save her right? I gave you those scrolls, there has to be a cure in there!"

Tsunade rubbed her forehead, "I'm doing my best to find a cure but it's while we're preparing for our biggest war yet and Sakura is knowingly shortening her life."

Yuko slammed her hands into the table; Tsunade was basically telling her that Sakura was slowly committing suicide. She clenched her jaw, there had to be something she could do. Yuko quickly stood, "Experiment on me!"

Tsunade widened her eyes with a look of disbelief, "What?!"

Yuko stood strong holding her hand against her heart, "Experiment on me and use me to research how to cure it! It's the easiest way right?"

Tsunade's jaw dropped, "I'm not going to attempt destroying one of my shinobi! I'll find the cure another way and even if you tried there's nobody with the knowledge of what to do or even try. You can't sacrifice yourself for your sister!"

Yuko frowned feeling total fury, "Then what am I suppose to do! There has to be something I can do!"

Tsunade stood in front of her with a serious face, "Train. Train so you're strong enough in the war to protect your teammates and live long enough to find her."

Yuko's eyes widened and she loosened her expression she turned to leave but tilted her head back, "Thank you…"

_the next day_

Sakura stood as Sasuke sat in a chair and she changed the bandages on his eyes, "Does it hurt anymore?"

Sasuke sat emotionless in his chair, "No"

Sakura letting her healing chakra flow onto his closed, still healing eyes, "I should be able to finish healing them tomorrow but it's best you keep the bandages on just in case."

Sasuke gave a light tilt of his chin in response, he would usually be irritated by the wait but the immense power he could feel from Itachi's eyes felt so much more worth it. Sakura began wrapping the fresh bandages on Sasuke's eyes, she was glad Sasuke couldn't see at the moment. Her recovery from the last battle was a little slower than usual, her exhaustion was much more evident now that her time was closing in. After analyzing her body Sakura knew she had ten months to live. Sakura frowned as she tied Sasuke's bandages; it'd also be a lie to say that she'd never use the chakra again. Sakura fiddled with her Uchiha crest necklace as she told Sasuke he was done, she probably had a few months left with him.

Sasuke's sense of hearing had grown the past few days and he heard her fidgeting, "What's wrong?"

Sakura blinked and let go of her necklace, "What do you mean?"

Sasuke reached out for her and grabbed her wrist, "You seem distracted."

Sakura fought the urge to sigh; even when he was blind he could see through her. Sakura's eyes narrowed as she thought over her new relation to the tailed beasts she was so confused but she didn't want to mention it, "Madara declared war on all five nations."

Sasuke paused for a moment and continued holding onto her hand, "That's his problem. The war has nothing to do with us, we're not getting involved."

Sakura frowned, she knew her older sister would fight, "But you'll still end up fighting Naruto."

Sasuke's mind traced over the recent memories of Team 7's reunion, "And I'll kill him before he has the chance to defeat me."

Sakura's expression fell, she wasn't sure if she could believe that, "I'll be there to heal you."

Sasuke frowned, "You don't need to worry about me getting hurt."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, "And you don't need to lie yourself into thinking he's not strong. The only way you can win is if you accept that he's probably as strong as you."

Sasuke's frown deepened, "Since when did you acknowledge him?"

Sakura sighed and looked to the side of the room, "Since he defeated six Akatsuki by himself, and I can tell…when he grabbed me I could feel the immense power radiating off him, and it wasn't from the Kyuubi."

Sasuke was prepared to fight back but sulked at the memory of accidently trying to kill Sakura, "Why'd you forgive me so easily? I could've killed you."

Sakura sighed and gave a calm smile as she tightened her hand in his, "Because I know it wouldn't of happened if you knew it was me."

Sasuke let his head hang, "But-"

Sakura frowned and grabbed his other hand, "No buts! It was an accident and there's nothing more you can say about it."

Sasuke sat still for a while holding onto her hands and finally let his expression lighten. He pulled her in until she was sitting on his lap and he wrapped his arms around her. Sakura was slightly surprised but wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Sasuke lightly ran a hand through her hair, being temporarily blind made him notice how soft it was. He leaned his head against her and held her tight. He was so close to losing her and it was all his fault. He slowly inhaled the strawberry scent of her hair and ran a hand down her back, "Promise you'll never leave me."

Sakura's jade eyes widened and she lifted her head to see his expression, "Why do you think I'll leave you?"

Sasuke frowned as he slid his hand under her hair to feel the top of her scar, "Whenever you get lost in thought you get this look on your face like you're going to disappear."

Sakura's face tightened, she couldn't tell him she was dying but she yearned to say how badly she didn't want to leave his side. She clenched her jaw and put out her calmest voice, "I'll never leave you, I promise."

Sasuke's muscles relaxed, as he believed her fake sincere voice. He ran his hands up her shoulders and let them cup her cheeks. Sakura's eyes swirled with sadness as she began to think about how many chances she had left to be in his arms and kiss him. She clenched her jaw trying to push back the thought as he pulled her face in and kissed her. She kissed back trying to make the moment last longer and taking in every sensation to memory; if she had her way to would freeze time right there and never have to worry about leaving him. Unfortunately there was reality and when they ended the kiss and she rested in his arms she could only think of how she would never get the chance to see him again.

_two days later_

Naruto walked around with suspicion as stared at all the scenery. He was beyond excited to meet the other Jinchuriki remaining but couldn't help but be angry that he was denied training. Bee's friend, Motoi, was leading him to the spot where he'd face his darker self and take the first step into controlling the Kyuubi. Naruto was beyond eager to learn how to control the Nine Tails, he knew Akatsuki would go after him again and he wanted to be strong enough to protect his friends and destroy Akatsuki. Once he did that he could take back his teammates.

Naruto stood strong as a waterfall was before him and a place to sit to start his training. Upon Motoi's instructions he sat there and focused enough for his other self to be revealed. To say he was taken aback by his dark side was an understatement.

"All of a sudden we're a hero and everybody loves us, we even have a girlfriend but nobody ever showed us any respect before. It's disgusting how they only care now; just because we fought they think we're a different person. Even that girl thinks were so special because we saved the village."

Naruto growled at his dark self, "Don't talk about Hinata like that! She never thought bad of me, even as a kid!"

His dark side gave a sick smirk, "But you went around chasing after Sakura-chan right in front of her face all these years. You don't even need me to act badly."

Naruto's blue eyes widened as he was taken aback from the statement. Now that he though about all of Hinata's behavior the past years made sense now. He lowered his head and clenched his fists; he knew how painful it was to see Sakura so in love with Sasuke during his genin years. He looked back up at his dark self, "I'll make it up to her! I'll fall in love with her and love her so much that it'll make up for all the years I made her suffer!"

His dark side frowned and leaned over in a battle position, "She's just like everybody else. She'll find a way break you and hate you, everybody will just hate us again."

With that declaration both Naruto went full force at each other fighting for their beliefs and their right to live through them.

_far away in a cave_

Sakura slowly unwrapped Sasuke's bandages in anticipation, she knew he was eager to take them off. The lights in the cave were dim so his new eyes could adjust to being used. She took a deep breath and she held the bandages in her hand, "You can open your eyes now."

Sasuke shifted his eyes under his eyelids that were heavy from being closed so long. He fluttered his eyes talking in the stray amount of light. He blinked a few times before his vision cleared and he saw Sakura's curious face.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly at the new Sharingan design, it was intimidating, "Can you see?"

Sasuke blinked a few more times and smirked, "I can see everything."

Sakura gave a small smile, "Good, just don't go out in the sunlight for a few hours."

Sasuke nodded as he felt the immense power running through his eyes. He stood and looked around being able to see chakra through many walls. He walked around the room taking in the great detail his eyes could see. He turned back to Sakura and transported himself behind her.

Sakura blinked as she felt his body heat behind her. If Sasuke had done that to anybody else they'd be scared but Sakura merely tilted her head till she could see him in the corner of her eye. He seemed very satisfied with his new eyes.

Sasuke wrapped his hands around her waist as he felt an invincible feeling swell within him. He kissed her under her ear lobe, making her flinch a little in surprise. Sakura took a quick breath as she leaned more into him so she could look at him better. Once she had his face in perfect view he crushed his lips down on hers. She blinked in surprise as he eagerly waited for her to kiss back. Sasuke felt so powerful, like he could so anything.

Sakura took a quick breath between kisses; Sasuke just wouldn't stop. She stumbled a little as Sasuke walked her backwards till they fell on the bed. Sakura took a short breath as Sasuke ran his mouth over her collarbone, he was overly confident with power. Sakura took no mind to his weight on her when he kissed her but her eyes widened in alarm as he started tugging at her shirt. She tried to speak between kisses, "Sa…suke-kun…wait…Sasuke…kun"

Sasuke continued on being driven by his empowered state of mind. Sakura shifted her face away from him and used her strength to lift his chest up, "Sasuke-kun wait"

Sakura's voice finally registered in his mind as he stopped and looked down at her slightly nervous face. He took a few calming breaths and let his Sharingan fade and the invincibly powerful feeling die down. He returned to his normal state of mind and caught his breath in his throat, "Sorry…"

Sakura gave a relieved sigh that he was back to normal. He rolled to the side and sat on the bed as she sat up and fixed her shirt. Sakura looked at him and sensed his light embarrassment. She gave a small smile and leaned onto his shoulder, "You're fully recovered."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk and fight the urge to laugh at the small joke. She always knew what to say. He turned and lightly kissed her forehead, she was his everything. Sakura smiled lightly as they sat like that for a long time; the only thing she could do for him now was love him, he just couldn't know the truth.

_author's notes_

Sorry for the wait, just finished my first week of college class and I spend about 40hrs per week on my design project. Because I'm in college I have no idea what my updating status will be like but I'll do my best and reviews always encourage me! :) Tell me what you think, a lot more time skips because I didn't want it to drag on and I want to finish this in a few chapters so I can upload a new one I'm working on. Please Review!