Chapter 21: Our Regrets

Elsewhere

'Kakashi has been busy lately.' Obito noted, reviewing all that Kabuto's spies have gathered for him. They were much more efficient and stealthy than any other agent the Akatsuki had been using as of late. Fighting with Danzo is going to take a lot of energy out of him.

It isn't only Kakashi though dealing with tough battles, but his students as well…

The chunin exams had started off with a 'bang' as Deidara had wanted. There had been thrill in his dark eyes at picturing the explosions of bodies that would become part of his art, the sounds of bones crunching, of mangled and lacerated pieces of skin falling on top of each other like jumbled puzzle pieces.

None of his plans came to fruition.

It hadn't even put a full stop to the rounds as they had expected, only delaying the rest of the first day of matches by a few hours or so. But there's a weariness now hanging in the air, cancelling everything still isn't off the table yet.

Even with Deidara's skill and intellect, Konoha's ninja had still been one step ahead of him in knowing how to turn the fight back in their favor. He returned back to their current hideout missing an arm, the smell of smoke and blood soaking his attire.

"Don't ask." He had growled at his quizzical look, saying nothing else on the matter.

It doesn't take much to get Deidara worked up and he still refuses to tell him the exact details of what went wrong, but whatever happened during this assignment has truly riled him in taking to perfecting his bombs even more than before.

Nightfall now brings with it humid air, rolling waves of fog only adding to the dampness of the cave. His stomach groans and twists, reminding him once more of how much food has been put on the back burner.

Eating can wait.

"Obito, you can't keep skipping meals! No ninja can function properly without getting enough rest or nutrition!" Rin scolded him, dragging him towards the nearest food stand selling bowls of meat and seafood combos despite his want to keep training until sundown.

The memory is still as clear to him now even years later.

Rin's smile, her caring nature…

But then the image of her dying resurfaces, grin becoming marred with the velvet red of her blood. Would she still scold him on his bad habits, collect seashells from coral pink to gray, enjoy the tartness of strawberries in the summer, and go on as they grew older become a renowned medical ninja if she had a second chance to live?

Would she fall in love with Kakashi all over again?

'It's time I finish things with Kakashi.'

"Can you really kill your old friend? I'm sure that isn't what Rin would've wanted to happen after her death." A voice asks behind him, rekindling the storm of his anger at hearing her name upon her lips.

Fū.

Her death in removing the Seven-Tails from her would bring him one step closer to his goal of making such dreams become real, however he needed to know first what all she knew.

"Did you meet with Naruto Uzumaki; the boy who holds the Nine-Tails?" Obito questions her again and at her becoming tight-lipped his sharingan bursts forward.

"I never wanted to be a jinchūruki, nobody wants to hold the title as your village's monster; weapon. I just wanted to go on as many exciting and daring missions as possible, hopefully meeting people from across every region along the way." Fū instead states, beaming despite knowing what is next.

"I'm tired of hearing you talk. If you have nothing left to say, I'll finish you off now." Obito scoffs.

The pain of the extraction is nothing like she's ever felt before, her whole body screams out as an intense burning tears into her stomach and yet still she remains frozen. Paralyzed.

'I never got to properly participate in the exams or make new friends! I promised Kegon and Yōrō that I would make a name for Taki, to become a chunin. Fū muses silently, squeezing her eyes shut to not dwell on what probably happened to the pair after they had been ambushed in the forests on their way to Konoha.

And then she thinks of Naruto, of their brief encounter during her exploring of a mountainside a few months ago and his word of caution.

"In the event you get captured, you won't have much time to talk so make every last word count knowing it will at least strike a bit of fear into them.'

Orange eyes flicker then to stare fully at Obito, cheery expression becoming cold before everything goes dark.

"I know how you die."

-X-

Naruto

"This man wants to kill you or at least dispose of you." Kurama growls.

"Sai is doing this on orders; he's a part of Root. So he must follow any command Danzo gives him." Naruto replies, trying to keep the heat of his rage in check.

"Don't make excuses for him! You're being too forgiving, too naïve." Kurama snaps back.

And Naruto becomes silent, dodging at bullets of ink as they rain down faster.

Man-made monsters.

Sai was just one of many, crafted into the person he was from those who held power they abused as they saw fit.

He knows Sai is a good person telling by his older counterpart's dialogue regarding him. When he becomes Hokage he puts Sai in charge of helping with the new generation of chunin exams, of spying for him on any suspicious individuals.

"Naruto, we can take him on two on one. I can paralyze him in a genjutsu while you finish him off with a rasengan." Sasuke voices, onyx eyes already beginning to swirl a deep red.

Sasuke intends to kill him.

Naruto swallows, mouth feeling dry.

Right now Sai is the enemy, he can't afford to back down...

"We can incapacitate him without needing to resort to murder. Don't you consider him as part of Team 7 even though he came in as a temporary member?" He questions. Surely Sasuke even with his terrible social skills and lack of desire to interact with others has gotten to know at least a tiny bit about Sai on a personal level over the years he was away from the village.

But Sasuke only snorts in response, ready to let out a stream of fire to turn his ink to ash. 'He was never a part of Team 7 Naruto. His goal all along has been to spy on you and me; he's at Danzo's beck and call whenever he wanted the latest information he gathered."

"Then we should turn our attention to Danzo, he's the one pulling all the strings!" Naruto retorts, unleashing a barrage of shadow clones to track down said man.

One immediately sees Danzo is already occupied with Kakashi, eyes widening at the sight of his bandaged arm now freely visible and littered with sharingan.

Sasuke notices it too and Naruto winces as his expression becomes even colder. The eyes of his dead clansmen are upon his arm, used by a man who helped in their deaths by burying truths and withholding secrets...

'When did he acquire all of those?' Naruto wonders, stomach roiling and just how modified Danzo's body truly is.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

Kakashi keeps his ground even as the wind hits him sharply from all directions like knives drawing blood; neither backing down as the lightning he forms in his hand takes the shape of a hound.

"You two shouldn't become distracted in the midst of a fight." Sai relates from above them and they move out of the way as he unleashes a cascade of ink birds, each exploding as they make contact with the ground.

"Fine; we won't kill him. However, I'll make it so he can't use those hands of his." Sasuke decides, not waiting for Naruto's response as he jumps into the rising smog. An artist's treasure is their hands, how they blend colors and designs to capture expressions or grand landscapes.

Hands, when broken and rendered useless must be the ultimate pain to an artisan...

'I'm not letting him talk me out of this.'

Sai may be strong, slicing through his humanoid beasts when their fists move to strike at him. However, he is a bit weaker when it comes to close range attacks.

And once his eyes cross with his genjutsu, it will be over for him.

He latches onto Sai's wrists as he lands upon his ink bird, eyes briefly widening in panic before dulling. Buried memories reemerge, of Shin's parting message to him in the woods before his death to keep suppressing his emotions to Danzo's imprinting his seal on his tongue...

"Remember this well Sai; with this mark no one will learn the secrets of Root. The second you dare to reveal anything is the moment your body becomes immobilized." Danzo warns, looking over his handiwork carefully. Sai won't let him down, one of his most prized pupils.

Shin was a weakness, glad the man is finally dead and pushed into the dark recesses of Sai's thoughts now.

"Understood." Sai murmurs back, keeping his voice impassive and neutral just as he's been taught. Never again will he speak of Root's unseen actions aloud as long as Danzo breathes.

The seal burns, taste of blood and ink on his tongue.

His statement is more than just the threat of his whole body becoming paralyzed.

Betrayal will cost him his life.

Sasuke twists at his hands, bones snapping under his pressure until he is abruptly pushed back from him by a torrent of spiky white hair that traps Sai in place.

Jiraiya.

The genjutsu breaks, but he can still see the fear within Sai's eyes staring at him differently now before he quickly starts to wince in pain.

Not all of his emotions were kept in check.

Sasuke peers back down at seeing Jiraiya's presence, beaming even with their current situation at hand. Naruto himself dispels the rasengan within his hands, eyes pinpointing on the haunting shade of violet Sai's hands become at being released from Sasuke's grip.

Jiraiya's grin seems to widen further at Sasuke's scowl, ignoring Naruto's complaining beside him they had this handled. The way Sasuke was going about things, Sai would've been unconscious and near death if Naruto had fully joined in.

'We need this kid alive if we're ever going to get answers on what Danzo has been planning this whole time.' Jiraiya recognizes, glancing between them before speaking.

"You two can't just leave me out of the fun!"

-X-

Kakashi

"Why do you think that you becoming Hokage will make Konoha a better place?" Kakashi questions him.

All he can see is that Danzo wants power for himself alone, to ensure no one questions his beliefs or ideals unless they want to become silenced permanently.

Danzo scoffs, he can't expect someone young like Kakashi to understand. He may belong to a generation who went through war as well, but he thinks with the same childlike ignorance that Hiruzen held as well.

"Konoha is plunging into darkness all because we've allowed our tailed beast to roam around freely and an Uchiha to become strong enough to create another uprising if the chance was given." He hisses.

The heat of the day beats down on his back, tiny drops of sweat marring his skin all over. Maybe in the not too far future he can enjoy a day like this properly while keeping watch over the village as Hokage, observe the blossoming of pink and white petals marking they were truly in spring to the greenery of fresh shrubs waking from frost seeking the sun.

'I'm not going to give up when I'm so close now.'

Tsunade is his last obstacle.

Injuring or poisoning her discreetly enough once the right opportunity arose will allow him to walk into her footsteps as Lord Sixth easily...

"Your sharingan will never be able to compete with my own, no matter how much training you have put in to master it." Danzo chuckles.

"Perhaps, but you haven't been able fully keep all those implanted eyes under control either. Your underhanded tactics are going to be your downfall." Kakashi replies smoothly.

Danzo grits at his teeth, growing silent. He truly is exhausting out his chakra faster than he wants; he needs to finish this fight soon.

'I have to use Izanagi, it's my best option now to prevent this from going on any longer!'

And just as Kakashi's blade pierces into his neck as he drops his arms down does his appearance fade, illusion casted.

He flickers into place behind him, every minute counting as he poises his kunai up ready to drive it into his heart until Kakashi turns to face him, spiral of his sharingan no longer the same.

'The Mangekyo!' Danzo frowns.

It truly meant the remaining members of the Uchiha clan were only get stronger, that they could create another revolution Konoha won't be able to handle this time around.

Everything spins faster and faster surrounding him, about to be tugged into the unknown...

He blasts himself back with a burst of wind before he can be sucked in by the Kamui, cursing in pain with he gazes down to see parts of both his feet crushed and bruised.

The first eye on his arm shuts, time continuing to march on.

Kakashi is already a shattered man, will any genjutsu really affect someone who has lost so much to the painful realities of war and the nightmares that followed?

Forcing him to relive his cruelest memories of finding his father's corpse after his suicide or witnessing himself kill and watch his old teammates die before him won't break Kakashi whose long since learned to abandon all emotions on the battlefield or a mission.

"You're taking too long to finish this sensei, Danzo shouldn't be giving you this much trouble." Sasuke's voice intrudes into the area and Danzo pauses, when had the Uchiha entered their fight?

And as much as he tries to fight it, a sick revulsion pours into him in realization. Fear chills his skin as it becomes an ashy gray, the icy reminder that everything he has worked so hard for may just soon begin to fall to pieces right before him.

Because it wasn't trapped Kakashi who had been trapped in a genjutsu...

'They knew my weaknesses from the get go.'

It can only be Naruto or Hinata who told them, the duo who could seemingly read the future. This whole time he has been fighting a losing battle, driving his chakra to the lowest point that teeters him towards death. A wrapping of chains encircle him, another user of fuinjutsu is in the area.

Sasuke directs his chidori at him, a lone spear stabbing through him making blood instantly form on his tongue. For a moment he thinks Sasuke is smirking at him, pleased to watch him squirm after how much he arrogantly boasted of his skills. He forces his eyes to focus in spite of the pain and growing blurriness, grimacing at seeing what expression Sasuke truly regards him with.

Pity.

Kakashi and Sasuke move in, staring to Naruto above in the trees whose already binded him and sealed the area. No, he won't allow himself to be captured. The cruel and dark ways of Root must be carried with him to his grave. All the unscrupulous methods they did would only be looked down upon by their fellow shinobi and civilian if they knew the truth. There are still too many rogue shinobi in this world as well, shinobi who will want Shisui's eye just as badly as he did.

Sanguine trail of his blood drips along his chest as he forces a grin up to them all, activating four black symbols.

"I'm taking my secrets with me."

-X-

Hinata

'I'm becoming too used to these scents.' Hinata muses.

Specks of dry blood rest underneath her nails beginning to gain a copper hue, scratches and bruises old and new skate all over her hands up to her shoulders.

"Everyone is safe?" She asks again, Naruto's boyish smile in return easing her still pounding heart. Jiraiya keeps his hold on Sai but flashes her a thumbs up as well when she glances his way.

Evacuation measures had been made, the stadiums and surrounding facilities have been fully dispersed with the next round of matches on hold most likely indefinitely at the high risk it will be to the safety of participants and visitors alike.

'Where is Danzo?' Hinata frowns, activating her byakugan scoping the area. There's no chakra to pick up on in the immediate vicinity though but their own.

Naruto senses where her thoughts have gone, grin fading as he shook his head.

And Hinata purses her lips, restraining a sigh. "So he commits suicide for us as well. It would've been helpful to know what exact business he conducted with the Akatsuki."

Sasuke arches a brow, overhearing pieces of their conversation stepping forward. "What do you mean 'for us as well', did your future selves mention this to you before?"

Naruto and Hinata glance to each other in response, seeming to weigh how to answer him.

Sakura huffs, forcing Sasuke to sit back down to finish healing at deep gashes he's kept well hidden until now. "Don't pressure them!"

But her verdant eyes hold curiosity as well when she glances back up at the duo, whatever they kept from them they knew would cause a rise in painful thoughts of what could've happened in another timeline...

'Sasuke's defection?' Sakura immediately thinks, focusing on Hinata for confirmation.

Lilac eyes soften then and quickly she calms her breathing at feeling her throat close up. The painful sensation of her heartbeat soon is thrumming in her ears, rising in tempo at the growing silence between them all.

She wets at her drying lips, nodding at one of them to speak; rip off the band-aid.

"To answer your question Sasuke, my older self mentioned that in the years where you were a missing nin you made many enemies for yourself. Danzo was just one of them." Naruto answers.

And Sakura feels Sasuke's muscles stiffen, tensing up all over again. Kakashi too sits up straighter, wincing when Hinata lightly tugs him back to not try to move so fast.

He's drained the most chakra out of all of them.

"...So he killed himself in that battle too?" Sasuke questions, mulling over a scenario of him crossing paths with the man in battle without Kakashi or Naruto as aides.

Hinata responds this time, keeping her tone steady. "Yes, he used the same seal hoping to take you with him because as Naruto's older counterpart put it...you were a highly dangerous criminal every nation was on alert for. Danzo if he hadn't lost would've executed you for treason."

Sakura winds and unwinds her fists, forcing all the shakiness and clamminess away. She peers back down to Sasuke, aloof facade in place. Obsidian avoids her emerald, not ready for her to look into his eyes and find the truth of how much this bothers him.

Hinata frowns, feeling much like a stranger whose accidentally walked into their private moment.

Sasuke isn't that person, only consumed with thoughts of revenge and murdering anyone who gets in his way.

But the reminder of what he could've been still stings, how it lingered in both her and Naruto's future selves thoughts enough for them to stage multiple interventions.

Naruto coughs, hating this awkward energy between them all. "I think our best course of action is to split up in taking all these Akatsuki on; they themselves travel in pairs for the most part from what information our future selves gave us."

Hinata nods her agreement, glad as much as he is for the change of topic.

"Who should take on who?" Sakura asks, ready to put all of Lady Tsunade's work into full use.

If it means killing, she will.

Naruto hums thoughtfully before pointing in the direction of back towards Konoha's main park and market square. "We should discuss it with the rest of the Konoha 11. We're going to need everyone's help after all in stopping this from leading up to war."

The matter can wait until tomorrow when they've all better rested, sending out 3 clones to spread the news to the others. The sun is low in the sky as evening sets in, thin streams of gold and magenta brushed against the clouds. At dusk the winds pick up from the north, cool enough for Hinata to shuffle herself to Naruto stay warm.

It's only then can she feel the nervous pounding of his heart too, this uncertainty over what will happen next.

They're missing something, an unknowing on what the enemy is planning from all these changes.

-X-

Elsewhere

"You're not going to be missed when you die. No real family or a lover to come home too." Kabuto taunts.

Anko should've known better to try and take him on, especially not without her prized student with her. For weeks she's been pursing him from base to base, about to uncover everything. Orochimaru's seal remains upon her neck, the fastest option that will finally bring his master back and put an end to whatever Konoha has been planning.

They're finally going to clash now in this cemetery of bones, moonlight resting upon moss and fauna that clings to what remains of these beast's heads and torsos.

"Where's Sasuke? Did he give up on you too after realizing how weak you are?" Kabuto questions.

After all, she's lost so many friends and teammates on missions gone wrong because feelings got in the way.

An unladylike snort escapes her in response, lips twisting into a wild smirk. "Sorry I'm not like you so desperate to bring a dead man back to life. I left Orochimaru of my own accord while you've gone so far now with these body modifications to damn well look half-snake, half-human! You don't know Sasuke at all and neither did Orochimaru. Humans aren't just dolls you can toss away once you're done playing with them. I made sure to teach Sasuke that."

Kabuto hasn't seemed to have heard her though, eyes much too eerie and sharp observing her marked neck.

"Really now? Because from my viewpoint you've only been holding Sasuke back from reaching his full potential, weighing him down with unnecessary emotions. I don't think he'll even care if you died, his mind is focused on finding Itachi, getting stronger, and nothing else."

And he knows despite Anko's cool gaze that he's stricken a nerve, even as his sensei she probably barely passes into his thoughts when he's alone.

Itachi does consume Sasuke's thoughts often true, even if isn't about revenge anymore.

But that doesn't mean he no longer cares about who else is in his life, from Team 7 to his old classmates.

"I know you used that trail of dead bodies to lead me here, I won't let you try to manipulate Sasuke again or use this seal to sacrifice more of the living for the dead." She snaps, readying herself as snakes from their sleeves jut out and bite at each other's necks.

As much she hates it, this may be a losing fight for her...

Because everything about Kabuto has improved from his speed to his strength, it feels like she is fighting both Kabuto and Orochimaru at once with all the DNA he has extracted from their former mentor.

A white snake bursts forth from the ground, ensnaring and biting into the side of her stomach and it's then that her body collapses into a series of snakes slithering into the dark corners of the forest.

'She won't get far with an injury like that, even with her built up immunity to poison. I made sure to add much more potent combinations to these snakes that will effect all her organs soon enough.' Kabuto determines, watching her shadow fade behind the bones of one creature's rib cage. Anko will be his human messenger, the perfect delivery that will get Sasuke no doubt to finally come to them.

-X-

Sasuke & Sakura

"Anko-sensei is late!" Sakura pouts, the dango she bought for her beginning to crumple.

Sasuke merely shrugs, he's used to Anko's lateness at times in a similar vein to Kakashi-sensei. But instead of being at the memorial stone, he typically finds her at one of the tea shops or bakeries. Sakura's eyes have gone misty as the hours wore on and he briefly wonders if what Naruto and Hinata said earlier is still bothering her...

Has it changed her opinion of him? Her feelings towards him?

'Well, she hasn't looked at me the same since she came back from searching for Tsunade with Naruto and Hinata.'

He's seen the love letters from her fellow colleagues every once in a while, buried into one of the many pockets of her lab coat. Burning them hadn't taken away the images of suitors following her, of Sakura deciding he is a monster after all at knowing how close he would've given into power for the sake of revenge.

"You didn't have to turn them into ash! Geez, I can handle telling these guys I'm not interested in any relationship at this time." Sakura scowls, feeling her ire rise at Sasuke's flat look.

"Well, I just saved you the trouble of doing that now; haven't I? I'm sure you didn't even remember any one of their names." He replies.

"You didn't have to stay here and wait with me for her to report back what she gained from her reconnaissance; I can just fill you and Naruto in tomorrow morning. Aren't your parents worried?" Sasuke instead asks, pushing the memory away.

"They know where I am, besides Mom said you were looking a bit anemic." Sakura replies easily, grin rising upon her lips at his brief perplexed look.

Sasuke isn't the know-it-all Naruto thinks he is; at least not when it comes to field of medicine.

"It just means she thinks you're looking a bit paler than normal and I agree, you haven't been getting enough sleep." Sakura explains.

Sasuke is quick to counter back that neither has she, the research she collected with Tsunade and her medical team as a whole often meant studying into the early hours of the morning. Somewhere between all that too was making sure to still do their daily rounds across each unit of the hospital.

"Lady Tsunade and I are in the midst of trying a new infusion medication that seems to be working well for our heart disease patients. It seems in at least 10 of the patients we've tested so far to be improving blockages to their arteries and in turn improving body circulation and breathing. It's helped their bodies in not having to work so hard to just walk around their room or in the hallways before having to stop to take a breath." Sakura notes.

'I don't deserve to live little brother...'

As long as Itachi thinks this way, he will never take such a drug.

A sharp bang outside startles them both, Sasuke the first to stand at seeing the familiar outline trekking in his backyard up towards them.

Anko is finally here.

But at sliding the door open does he realize something is terribly off about her, sweat marring her face. His heart plummets, everything much too painfully similar to how he witnessed or came upon his clansmen's bodies before death took them.

"Hey kid, apologies on being late! Went for a moonlight stroll you could say."

Sakura is up at his side quickly, jade eyes sharpening at the growing dark spot to Anko's side staining her clothes crimson. They all know this smell rising up...

Blood.

"What happened?! Were you ambushed by one of the Akatsuki?" Sakura questions, moving straight into action guiding her inside.. Anko tries and utterly fails to wave off their concern as Sakura grabs for a roll of gauze, extent of her injury now fully visible in the light making Sasuke's gut twist.

Two puncture bites from a snake.

Anko's breathing becomes erratic, skin paling with each second that passes. He manages to hear Sakura shout out directions at him to get her first aid kit and call the hospital to deploy an emergency room personnel to help with transfer immediately.

"Hold on for us Anko-sensei; help is on the way!" Sakura states, though Sasuke can hear the crack in her voice, the stream of curses under her breath at knowing her blood pressure will keep falling if they can't get this bleeding and spreading infection under control.

This isn't a normal bite,

'No, I didn't want this to happen...' Anko thinks at seeing anger flare in Sasuke's eyes; exactly as Kabuto wanted. Sakura tells her to stay quiet to reserve her energy as new footsteps soon pound into the room. A mix of voices and faces blurring together follows, of pink hair speaking to a taller figure with almond colored hair giving him a quick update.

Sakura guides them in getting oxygen on and placing her on the stretcher, sending her a weak smile Anko manages to return.

She hasn't yet seen Sasuke's expression morph behind her, sharingan whirling into a new form.

"Who did this to you?" He mouths just before she is taken away.

-x-

I've always wondered at least while writing The Time Strangers and this story, would you or people in general enjoy Boruto more if it was more of a slice of life show than an action shounen like focusing on just the families? Boruto has the misfortune of being a sequel, which is hard for any movie or TV show to accomplish without being hated on!

I personally think I would like if there were episodes like Boruto had to do a family tree project so he goes to Naruto and Hinata who then take him and Himawari on a trip to where the Uzumaki ruins/Land of Whirlpool are. (Yeah, random ideas like that just float to me in the night or when I'm stuck in traffic lol). Anyways, a new target has just been made!

Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!