Chapter Eleven: "Invasions Are Messy Business"

Sakura: "This is why you gotta leave large-scale invasions to the professionals. Move over, bro. The Pink Menace is here! Now, I don't like to kill off people, but that was what sleeping pills are for! I charge $30,000 for a small scale invasion that involves kicking out the residents to move next door. If you expect me to take down a tyrant, I charge $50,000 on top of that, but I'll throw in a free villainous monologue!"

—Who Said It Was Easy To Be Evil? "This is what happens when nice girls go bad. Life iss a cruel boss to please so just please yourself! (System: Within Reason)."

System: Stop! You're not supposed to take over anything! And Orochimaru is gonna kill the hokage! Don't help him — No, wait, it was part of the original plot so maybe? Oh, but no, my host will become evil — HISSS. [SYSTEM OVERLOAD].

Sakura: No worries! I'm a fucking goddess so I'll provide healthcare to my evil minions! Besides, didn't the hokages all across this timeline order off a bunch of assassinations using kids? Even I knew Konoha had a bloody history. Ugh, but I can't let the village get invaded…my customers will get hurt…

System: Morals! Are there no morals in future Konoha?!

Naruto: You guys talking about Future Konoha? Oh! Are there messenger birds that can travel super fast like the fastest ninja? Ooh! Or are there moving artworks of Icha Icha Paradise painted?!

Sasuke: Dobe! Obviously there are advanced forms of shinobi arts and tamed animals to beat walking. Everyone in the future must be using highly sophisticated horses and using wind seals to —

Sakura: Damn. I wonder how they'd react at seeing a mega city for the first time. Or, ya know, a damn car. Now I understand why imagination is revered as the most important part of progress. Hey Naruto — Think cell phones, hentai movies and virtual reality. Sasuke — Imagine robots, neural hard drives to plant in your brain and flying cars.

Naruto and Sasuke: ? What's a car, robot, movie and phone? And what does a movie have to do with Icha Icha?

Sakura: *Evil Grin* Wellll, in the movies, you don't just look at drawings of —

System: Sakura! Don't you dare! Shut up! None of you are old enough in this chapter!

Sakura: Tch. Way to break the 4th wall. You're a Baby System. How do you know what goes on in those movies?

System: … Well, on to the chapter!

….

….

Gaara frowned at the sight of sannin. What was Orochimaru doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be with the Kazekage? It couldn't be time for the invasion. Uncertain of how to act, he simply nodded towards the sannin. "You…are that legendary sannin."

"Yes, I am. Now, what is a cute little suna genin doing here?" Orochimaru smiled, but his peeved tone was enough to send chills down his spine. Gaara may be powerful, but the snake sannin was another level in every aspect. And insane.

"I…I sensed something familiar. I must be mistaken —"

"How am I supposed to let you go and not the others, hmm, little sssuna? Have you thought about my feelings?" Orochimaru's neck extended until his head reached the front of Gaara's sweaty face. "Wouldn't that be sssstrange? What am I to do with you…Intruder?"

Gaara took a step back. He hated it, but the power behind the sannin was pressuring him. He means, if I leave now in one piece, it'd suggest he has something to do with my village. I was told he hates having his plans disrupted. Shit. "I…" By instinct, the boy felt the need to protect himself and sand slowly rose in the air, ready to block everything.

Before either of them could make a move, Sakura yelled, "Leave him alone! Your battle is with me, isn't it? Old man." She said the first thing she could to try to provoke the sannin to focus back on her, but surprisingly, Orochimaru…

Laughed. "Kekeke! Old man? Ha! Says the girl who looks like her grandmother! Keke! I like you. I'll keep you well maintained." His eyes shone as his head snapped back to his body and Sakura fought the urge to take out scissors to cut that laffy taffy neck.

"I think it's an honor to look like her. I heard she was a legendary beauty with tons of lovers." She flipped her hair back expecting Orochimaru to agree. After all, sweet young Orochimaru would definitely agree that his big sister was beautiful!

But instead, the man's face darkened with rage. "What. My sister had what? Now that I think about it…Who is your grandfather!" Instantly, he shoved his hand around her neck and held her high above the ground. "Who dares lay their hands on Elder Sister?"

"Gh!" Sakura kicked her feet and tried to pull at his hand, but he was stronger than her. It was like trying to pry apart pincers made of steel! Fuck. She forgot he was psycho yandere now! "C-Can't…talk…no air…!" Shit, if I die here, would that make it amazing I had completed no mission whatsoever? Or was it terrible that my little angelic bro was the one who would grow up to kill me? I was a failure as a parent!

System: [You mean sister.]

Same thing!

Naruto and Sasuke roared as they both instinctively coordinated to throw their kunai at the distracted Kabuto and run towards her, "Sakura!"

Before the boys could reach her, Orochimaru sent out a flurry of needles and the boys had to dodge. He loosened his grip on Sakura's neck and said, "Sorry, little Sakura. My anger got the best of me. Now…" He glared. "Who is your grandfather and is he still alive?"

Alarms rang in her mind. Ugh, my psycho stalker senses are tingling! Even if I had a living grandfather, would he still stay alive after this? Obviously not! "He's already dead. I never really knew him as my grandmother was the only one I met. Sorry, I'm bad at family history." She sniffled and proceeded to cry like a soap opera. "My parents are dead and my grandmother is gone and now this perverted old man wants my body…ohh…this cruel world…"

"It. Is. Not. Like. That!" Orochimaru snarled and dropped the girl to the floor. "How perverted are you? It must be Icha Icha's fault. That damn Jiraiya is corrupting the youth! I knew I should have killed him!"

While he was distracted, she caught Gaara's eye in secret and winked. Mouthing her words, she said, 'Go. Now. Call. Help.'

Surprised, Gaara blinked at her than also caught Kabuto's eye watching them. He gulped and nodded at the silver-haired shinobi before leaving quietly. One of these three have the strange chakra…it must be the blonde or the pink one as it isn't the Uchiha for sure. The Kazekage is going to be angry if I ruined his plans. That stupid girl doesn't know she's helping her enemy. Gaara's dark thoughts overtook him as he ran away, but deep down he was astonished.

…She tried to help me. She wasn't afraid of me. Gaara shook his head. That didn't matter — it would soon be time for Konoha to fall and she will just be another target. Yes, a target…So why did his chest feel heavy?

While Gaara was having his puberty — erm, internal crisis, Naruto summoned his shadow clone army to surround and punch the sannin and when Orochimaru simply destroyed each one with single hits, Sasuke launched a large fireball from his mouth before using Sakura's newly made seal to amplify its power. Even the sannin was surprised at the exponential change. What would have been a simple fireball turned into a roaring blaze and the sannin had to evade.

While he leaped back, one of Naruto's shadown clones managed to grab onto Sakura's body and carry her away.

Sakura blinked in surprise. For the first time in her life, she was princess-carried!

System: [Focus! Orochimaru isn't going to bite Sasuke, he's going to kill him now!]

Sure enough, an enraged sannin was about to go beast mode on the teenage prodigy and Sakura immediately leaped out of Naruto's arms. She ran as she screamed, "HEY!"

Oh, right. The kunoichi shook her head and thought about her mission. Get Sasuke to get bitten and leave the village later. But if he got bitten and tasted dark power, he'd be cursed and she'd neglect her promise to him to treat him as family.

Between her mission or her feelings, what should she do? Failure in the mission would change the plot and if she ever got out of this world, the next one might become harder…or worse, she'd have to live as a nun! So the answer was obvious.

Fuck the system. She had a pseudo-brother to save. Her life was a living hell anyway, so what more could be done to her? The system needed her or it wouldn't have mentioned other worlds. There must be a lot of worlds to fix whether I fail or succeed. Heheh. As long as I save Konoha, then my mission will be complete overall. No matter what, I'll do as I like!

There was no help coming (unless that prick redhead called for help, but she saw the boy nod at the other white-haired pervert). The opponent was a legend and more powerful than the three of them combined. And he was her little brother in another past who happened to be a traumatized prodigy. How the fuck were they supposed to win?

Sakura Survival Living 101: Rule 25 or 34: If you can't beat 'em up, postpone and attack in secret later. Even if it means taking a small hit now to send a long due beat ass later!

So she did.

She screamed and the men all looked at her incredulously. "Orochimaru! You bratty old man! You wanted my body right? How about we make a deal?" In the original plot, Sasuke would run away later after getting bitten so that meant Orochimaru wouldn't mind his vessel staying and choosing to follow after. He gave an illussion of free will for some reason. She could use that info.

Instantly, the sannin cooled down and his face brightened. "So you have considered my offer. Finally."

Sasuke yelled, "Don't do it!"

Naruto tried to run after her to hold her down, "You can't listen to him, Sakura-chan!"

But Sakura dodged and jumped right in front of the sannin. She smiled like a innocent little girl who was to sacrifice her life for her friends. She cried a crocodile tear and pouted. "I'll let you place your mark on me if you let me stay at the village for a while longer. I can't go with you yet."

"Oh? And why shouldn't I just take you away now?"

Sakura suddenly stopped crying and stared into his eyes, "Don't you want to know what happened to my grandmother? Bite me, let me stay until I am ready to leave, then I will tell you all of what she told me. But force me away and I'm not afraid to die. I am a kunoichi!" With a (fake) brave face, she took out her secret seal and said, "Once triggered, I'll blow up this entire forest! Don't think I won't!"

The two glared at each other until the sannin smirked. "Such an interesting brain you have. So many ideas in hiding. Just like your grandmother." His neck extended… "You have a deal. But don't make me wait too long or I'll have to come. Well, provided Konoha still is one piece. I'm positive you'll come looking for me then."

Without waiting for her reply, the sannin bit her and Sasuke's cursed mark transmitted to her. Immediately pain flooded her body as Orochimaru laughed and started to walk away.

"Keke. Little Sakura. I know you'll live. You must if you have her spirit. Now…see you soon dear." And with that, the sannin left with Kabuto in tow as her team ran to her side.

Naruto tried to find what was wrong, but all he could do was stare at the growing black mark on her neck. Sasuke could only tremble in rage. Helpless.

This fucker! Was he insane? He's willing to risk my life just because I put on a brave face? Shitty egotistical ninja of the stupid dark ages. You're right! Once I recover, I'm going to stick a fucking pole up your — She screamed in pain as currents of chakra ravaged her body, "Ahhhh!"

And the System blared alarms in her head: [Host! The seal isn't compatible! Body is rejecting foreign chakra. Requesting emergency —]

Don't bother. A dark voice from within her rose. A voice she hadn't heard in ages since her youth. It was the voice of her only friend back then. Her imaginary friend and alter ego. Stupid chakra, stupid ninja. What will of fire? No one has a will of fire that matches ours. Isn't that rght, Sakura?

Before she blacked out, Sakura's last thought was:

Yes…Inner Me…

Let me deal with this mess. When we see Orochimaru, that little brat, I'll discipline him for us. You are too nice, Me.

A surge of strength flooded her veins and the system couldn't understand where the energy came from. It wasn't from her chakra channels. What was that voice? Was it still its host?

And for a brief second, the system froze. It felt…eyes…on her. An unseeable force was threatening invisible entity. Impossible!

Then suddenly, a foreign voice entered the System's consciousness. A deeper version of its host's voice said, "Don't interfere."

And for the first time the System felt fear. […Impossible!]

….

…

In the meantime, two Akatsuki members have a heart to heart while hidden away in the darkness of the forest undetected. They watched as the girl collapsed, but then calmed down in record time. It was improbable. A genin forced to endure the cursed mark went from screaming in pain to peaceful slumber instantly. If it weren't for her chest rising with each breath, they'd assume she was dead. Instantaneous pain relief maybe? It was a feat for such a young girl.

Itachi knew about Orochimaru's obsession with the Uchiha power, but he'd never thought he'd see the day when the man would give it up for a simple kunoichi. If that weren't enough surprise, even Kisame acted strange. Of course, Itachi couldn't talk.

Kisame looked down at the solemn face of Itachi and said, "We need to talk. Somehow the two of us recognize the girl named Sakura, but the Sakura I know is from years ago. It should be impossible to see her clone here and now. To top it off, Orochimaru swore to have seen such a lookalike in his youth as well. We're all different ages so this is a mystery. Now your turn to talk, partner." His giant figure loomed over the silent man, but he knew nothing could intimidate any secrets from the Uchiha so he continued, "On good faith of our partnership, how do you know Sakura? I saw your reactions to her presence."

Itachi gazed up into Kisame's eyes and sighed. "It's a long story. A story that will have to be told on our way back to base. We've lingered too long here and Orochimaru will start his chaotic plans. I'm not sure which it is this time, but nothing goes right with him. It'll be hard to keep quiet during the chaos if we stay. I also need time to sort the information."

"Aren't you worried about your bro? I know you wanted to see your brother again, but there's no time, huh." Itachi could have hid it better, but the man liked to torment his brother. However, he never killed him.

"He'll be fine or he's not an Uchiha. He can handle an invasion. We'll return soon. This Sakura Haruno knows something. I can feel it." Itachi thought back to the teenager who tried to protect him as a child. It was a brief time, but nothing could take away her influence in his memories. He whispered, "You, Orochimaru and I all have one common secret it seems — the girl named Sakura Haruno. But there is one problem. Even if time travel existed, the one I met when I was a young boy shouldn't exist. Because…"

He looked towards the sky. "I saw her die as she turned to ashes."

…

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AUTHOR NOTE:

Heya! Sorry it's late. Got swamped with work and school etc. Trying to get classes done faster.

Hope you enjoy this latest chapter! And as always, please leave a review and eat mochi!

Inner sakura finally comes into play and Itachi will be back no worries. There's still an exam and invasion to face. And willl Gaara grow a conscience?!

FYI, it's been ages since I watched this arc, so forgive the off details.

Now then, good luck and stay safe everyone! One of my family got sick, but she's the healthiest and fittest of us all so I know she'll pull through. She has to.

Sorry, that was a downer. Anyway, please stay safe. Idk, heard vaccines will come next year I think. Let's be strong like Sakura and tame the inner Sasukes in our hearts hahaha

Much love,

WitchySkies

P.S. Not to worry anyone sorry.

P.S.S. College is a battlefield.

P.S..S.s.s..sSSS. I wanna eat crepes in Tokyo. So I hope I dream that. If only I could control my dreams in depth and imagine a reverse harem…*cough*

What would you rather dream of if you could enter sleep mode like a VR game with feeling in high def?

Loves! Ciao ciao!