How would the Narutoverse change if Team 10 never stepped in during the Chunin Exams. Faced with the betrayal and abandonment of her best friend, Sakura's eyes open to the cruelty and bitterness of the world. Instead of pulling away, she instead dives in head first with her teammates, the only people she trusts, and she will stop at nothing to keep them with her.

Keep fighting, they say, eventually you will have won. But what is winning? As order in the Element Nations collapses, Team Seven asks just that. The desert cries out and on blood-soaked dunes their sandals leave imprints. Where do you draw the line when war puts morality into question at every turn? [AU]