Grab some tissues before reading. Nuff said ;)

CHAPTER 16-Madara's Resolve

"S-Sasuke?" Sakura murmured in awe.

Danzo dropped his dagger on the floor.

"What would you do without me?" Sasuke said his smirk still in place. He looked at Danzo and gave a cold glare. "So you're still alive?"

"Sasuke," Danzo mused. "My, you've grown."

"And I thought Madara was behind it all," said Sasuke. "But in the end it was you."

"You don't seem surprised." Danzo noted.

"I knew it was you before I got here." replied Sasuke.

Flashback

Sasuke went to the location Kabuto had said. There were cars parked outside; the ANBU were inside. Sasuke snuck inside and caught a glimpse of large machines, experiment tables and blood. His heart felt like lead; what if Sakura was dead? He shook his head. Sakura wasn't an easy opponent.

He hid behind a machine and listened to the ANBU speak.

"He's dead," said Itachi. "The almighty Orochimaru is finally dead."

"Sakura is really unpredictable." said Suigetsu.

Sasuke's eyes widened and then he smirked. So Sakura had won. He now knew that Sakura was tracking her mother's real killer. But if Orochimaru was dead, where was she now? A small phone lying a few feet behind him caught his attention. He swiftly grabbed it and looked through the call log. His eyes widened when he saw the name 'Madara.'

He clenched his fists; it was Madara all along. He looked through the phone further more and saw that there was only one text; from Madara. Sasuke opened it and read it.

'The Lord is now at the old ANBU headquarters. Sakura is on her way to you lair. Finish her off.'

Sasuke was confused. If Madara was behind it all, who was this person who he referred to as 'The Lord?' Sasuke thought for a while. And then it hit him.

'No way . . . he's dead.' thought Sasuke. But he couldn't ignore what was in front of him. There was only one person in Konoha who had the honor of being called 'The Lord.' Sure enough, Danzo, his grandfather and the late wielder of the Kusanagi, was still alive.

"After seeing that text on Orochimaru's phone," continued Sasuke. "I came here as fast as I could."

The rays of the sun peeped in through the old and cracked windows, making the Kusanagi shine beautifully.

Danzo looked at the blade, "Ah Kusanagi, my old blade. I believe Madara gave it to you, correct? Let's see how good your word fighting skills are!" Danzo brought his kunai towards Sasuke but Sasuke easily deflected it.

The two were engaged in a furious sword fight. Sasuke was pretty good but Danzo was better. However, Sasuke didn't want to go down without a fight. Suddenly, he felt his senses become sharper and he was more alert in the fight. When their weapons clashed, he could see his eyes in the blade of Kusanagi; they were tinted with red.

Sasuke smirked to himself. 'So this is what's left of the famous Sharingan trait of the Uchihas.' Sasuke thought to himself. He could now predict every move of Danzo's and deflect it or use it to his advantage. Both were now going at an equal pace.

Danzo looked at Sasuke, "So you have awakened the dormant skills that have been passed down to us by the old Uchihas. Well done!"

Sasuke glared at him. He then looked back at Sakura, "Get out of here!"

Sakura shook her head as she stood up. She grabbed her own Katana and came to stand next to him, "You don't understand; he's planning on destroying the whole town at noon today!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. Then he sighed, "Well then I'll stop him. Go get the other's to safety, just in case."

"You'll die!" Sakura exclaimed.

Sasuke gave her a cocky smirk, "It's worth it."

Sakura knew that deep in her heart that he was right. Someone had to evacuate the citizens while one kept Danzo and bay. It was the only way to save the town.

But Sakura wasn't going to listen to her heart. All it did was betrayed her; it betrayed her and made her focus on revenge, it betrayed her and made her fall in love, it betrayed her and made her lose everything. Now she was going to be the one who was doing the betraying.

She grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt to pull him down for a kiss. It was short but was sweet and filled with love. She gave him a small smile, "You're not the boss of me, Uchiha."

Sasuke was shocked. But eventually, he gave in and sighed, "And to think I could convince you to listen to me."

Sakura and Sasuke both readied their katanas. Danzo laughed, "Two against one? That hardly seems fair!" Danzo snapped his fingers and Madara charged at Sakura with his kunai. Sakura dodged the attack and brought her katana down for a blow but Madara deflected it. Soon it was Sasuke against Danzo and Sakura against Madara.

...x...

Madara was beyond confused. At first, he felt good obeying his father's wishes and was happy for he was going to attain unimaginable power. But now as he fought his pupil, he didn't know what to do.

"Give up Sakura," said Madara. "I'll spare your life if you just let it go!"

Sakura shook her head, "I might as well go down fighting." Their blades clashed again and this time, Sakura was sure she saw pain in Madara's eyes.

Sakura's katana was knocked out of her hand. Madara took her katana and walked towards her, so that he stood above her.

"Why?" Madara asked. "Why are you protecting this town? It holds nothing but darkness. Why does it matter so much to you?"

Sakura smiled softly, "Because . . . no matter how dark it is, it is still my home, the place which I hold dear to my heart, the place that is filled with memories and cherished moments which I could never forget! It is because this place is family and family is forever!"

Madara was baffled. Suddenly, images appeared in his head; images of him and his brother, Fugaku, images of their family, images of his colleges, and images of his ANBU squad members.

He then saw images of Yuki and then of him and Sakura; back when Sakura was still ANBU in training. The times were tough but they had a wonderful time bonding and training.

It was then Madara finally made up his mind. He would remain loyal to his family to the very end. He smiled, not smirked, smiled as he readied the katana.

...x...

Sasuke was now breathing hard. What ticked him off was that Danzo looked perfectly fine; like they hadn't been fighting for each other's deaths. Sasuke readied Kusanagi and charged towards Danzo but Danzo simply deflected the attack and punched Sasuke in the stomach.

Sasuke fell to the ground. Danzo laughed evilly, "Look on the bright side, boy; you're going to die a noble death, just the way an Uchiha should."

Sasuke's only wish was that Sakura made it out safely.

Then, something unexpected happened. A katana chopped off Danzo's bandaged arm from behind. Danzo cried out in pain as the arm rolled away. The katana then found itself in Danzo's stomach. Danzo looked down in shock and then he fell to the ground. He wasn't moving anymore; he was now dead.

Sasuke thought it was Sakura who killed him but to his surprise, it was Madara. He was breathing hard as the katana fell out of his hands.

Behind him, Sakura shakily picked herself off of the ground. She looked at Madara with wide eyes, "You . . ."

"You were right Sakura," said Madara. "Family is forever. However, Danzo wasn't my family, even if he was my father. I did it for the sake of my family here in Konoha."

Sakura slowly started to smile. She tackled Madara with a hug. She cried onto his shirt while Madara chuckled and hugged her back, tightly.

"I'm sorry, my child." Madara whispered into her hair.

Sasuke pulled Sakura away from him, "Why should we trust you?"

Madara sighed, "You have a point. You can't trust me. But I'll tell you this; Konoha is now safe. Look." He pointed to Danzo's cut off arm. On the inside were electrical wires and machine gears.

"Danzo's left arm was injured severely so it had to be replaced with a mechanical one. When he was planning his attack on Konoha, he installed the bomb remote into his mechanical arm to prevent what happened with your mother. Now that it is chopped off, all we have to do is remove the bombs planted in Konoha."

Madara pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Sasuke, "This is the map of the places where the bombs are installed. It's best if you turn it over to the ANBU."

"You know we have to take you to custody right?" said Sasuke.

Madara chuckled, "Yes, I do. And I'm ready to accept any punishment willingly. Now let's get out of here."

The three of them started to leave but a dry but malicious chuckle made them look back.

Danzo stood up slowly and pulled the katana out of his stomach, "Madara, you scoundrel! You betrayed me."

"Give up, Danzo," said Sasuke. "Your plans have failed. You've lost the battle."

It doesn't matter; I'll finish you off right here and now!" Danzo yelled.

Though he was injured, he had lightening speed and came charging towards Sakura was caught off guard. Sakura closed her eyes but the pain never came.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Madara in front of her; he had taken the jab for her, right through his heart. Sakura gasped as Madara collapsed. She caught him in her arms.

Sasuke quickly pulled out Kusanagi and stabbed Danzo through his heart. Danzo looked at him with so much hate before he fell to the ground. His eyes never closed and a small amount of blood trickled down the side of his mouth.

Sasuke looked back to see Sakura cradling Madara's head in her lap. Madara didn't look too good; he was pale and chalky and his breathing was shallow.

"I'll call an ambulance." Sasuke said as he pulled out his phone.

Madara grabbed his hand and stopped him, "No. Don't waste your time on me. Go and defuse those bombs. Who knows? Maybe someone could set them off by accident."

Sakura shook her head. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, "We have to heal you, Madara-san. Please!"

Madara chuckled and reached out shakily to stroke her cheek, "My child, my time has come. I'm sorry for your mother's death. I'm sorry for all the lies that I've fed you."

Sakura didn't hold back. She sobbed onto Madara's chest; she was broken and scared. Here Madara was dying and he wouldn't let her help him.

"Sasuke," said Madara. "Please apologize to your father and the other presidents. Also, please apologize to my ANBU team; I have failed them."

"You did the right thing in the end," said Sasuke. "That's what matters."

"Oh and how could I forget," Madara said with a weak laugh. "I apologize to you, Sasuke."

"Apology accepted Madara." Sasuke said with a small smirk.

Madara weakly held Sakura's trembling hand with one hand and reached for Sasuke's with the other. He made their hands connect, "Sasuke, please take care of my Sakura. She's like my daughter and I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her."

Sasuke nodded as he gave Sakura's hand a squeeze, "I'll keep her safe, Madara. You have my word."

"Thank you," Madara murmured. He stroked Sakura's air gently. "Sakura dear?"

Sakura stood up straight to see Madara's face, "Yes?"

"Will you do your old man a favor?" He asked with a weak grin.

"Anything." Sakura said as she took Madara's hands into hers.

"Be a good girl, okay?" Madara said as a single tear slid down his cheek.

"Always." Sakura replied weakly as she used her thumb to brush away Madara's tears.

Madara coughed violently and then he looked at the ceiling, "One last thing, if you don't mind. Sakura . . . if you have a son, name him . . . after me. I'll say hi . . . to your mother for . . . you. Goodbye." Madara's eyes started to droop and he exhaled quietly. Uchiha Madara, the brave and compassionate man, died with honor by protecting his home.

Sakura kissed his forehead, "Thank you for everything."

There was a moment of silence to honor the man who had died protecting Konoha. Suddenly, the ANBU and the presidents burst into the room. Their eyes widened when they saw the scene in front of them.

"Sasuke," his father said in awe. "What . . . what is this?"

Sakura coughed violently and collapsed due to exhaustion. Sasuke caught her and carried her bridal style. He looked at the presidents and the ANBU, "I will explain everything. But first, we need to get Sakura to the hospital. She's in fatal condition."

Me: A moment of silence for Uchiha Madara

-All is silent. If you play the third Hokage's Funeral Scene music, it'll be most suiting-

Me: MADARA! WAHHH!

Suigetsu:-puts a blanket around me- It's okay, honey. Here have a tissue.

Me: -blows nose then starts crying again-

Itachi: -whispers- Please review.