Nothing happened.

For all the build-up, Sakura had to keep herself from laughing. No red skies bleeding in over her vision, no painful genjutsu, nothing like what Itachi had sent her way. The most terrifying thing about the situation was more the realization that Danzo had just been collecting all those eyes in his arm.

"That's supposed to scare us?" She heard Naruto yell out, posturing as the boy always had to. "I've seen cats scarier than that, old man!"

Sakura outwardly frowned. Maybe nothing had happened yet, but underestimating Danzo was more than a bad move. Still...hearing Naruto taunt him like that was a bit humorous. She'd missed Naruto's relentless optimism in bad situations.

But all optimism faded as she saw a smirk appear on Danzo's face. Something that could make that man smile was almost certainly not good. As he did so, the shinobi at his side suddenly leapt forward into an offensive position, stopped only by Kakashi and the Hokage's guards rushing to meet them. Around her, Sakura saw everyone beginning to mobilize, weapons drawn, hands flying through signs. Even Danzo had begun to move his hands, but Sakura let herself react before he could finish whatever jutsu he was planning, launching herself forward with chakra-enhanced speed. Danzo was quick enough to grab her wrist before her kunai-strike could land, and that strange white arm turned out to be surprisingly stronger than it looked. Sakura felt herself struggling just to pull away.

"One." She heard Danzo say aloud, and for some reason, he let go.

Just in time, and perhaps due to it, as Gaara's sand came flying towards him. This forced Danzo to back away, and that was fine with Sakura. If they were pursuing, he was more likely to screw up. She threw her kunai towards Danzo's leg, only barely missing, but with a few hand signs she quickly followed up with water bullets. Danzo dodged left, right, avoiding her bullets, Gaara's sand, even several of Sai's birds that had made their way into the fray. The man was quick on his feet, she'd give him that, but months of Lee's training regiment had made her faster. Danzo didn't even have time to get off another jutsu before Sakura was on him again with another kunai, and this time she'd know what was coming. He'd block with that arm, and then she'd grab on and hold him down until Gaara's sand could take hold. Sure enough, he reached out and took hold of her wrist once again, and as Sakura moved in for the grapple, she heard him say something once again.

"Two."

The word confused her, but didn't stop her from grabbing on and holding tightly. Seconds later, Gaara's sand caught up, wrapping its way around Danzo until the man was completely covered. Sakura had seen Gaara used the technique before, and as she pushed herself away she couldn't help but wince as the sand suddenly crushed inwards with frightening pressure.

Sakura saw blood seeping through the sand. Could it have really been that easy?

She wasn't given much time to think. There was a battle raging around her, and several of Danzo's men began to come at her with swords drawn. Gaara's sand helped block some of the blows, but one shinobi pushed through, forcing Sakura to begin to block. She switched between blocking with her kunai and glancing away blows with her arm bracers, until a well-timed ink bird from Sai nailed her opponent in the face and gave her a minute to breathe.

And then Sakura turned around to face the battlefield, and then suddenly Danzo was on the other side of the room again, surrounded by his men, and the Kage around her had only just moved to their feet.

...what?

Sakura's body moved for her, and she lunged for Danzo once more, confused and desperate to figure out how Danzo had managed to escape Gaara's sand, and exactly as before, Danzo caught her arm and held her at bay.

"Welcome to Izanami." Danzo told her. "This is a jutsu that decides one's fate."

He hadn't done anything yet, Sakura's mind insisted, but he'd somehow gotten free of Gaara's killing blow, somehow manifested on the other side of the room. And then, just like it had before, she felt Gaara's sand rising behind her, rushing to try and trap Danzo once more. Just like before, it missed, and her body was moving again, throwing her kunai, sending out water bullets, just like…

Just like before.

Danzo grabbed her arm again, and Sakura reached forward to grab him. Gaara's sand rushed around the man's body, and Sakura pulled away just in time to see the sand crush Danzo's body with a sickening crunch.

Blood. An attack from behind. Blocking an enemy sword with kunai and bracers. Turning around and then…

There was Danzo again, on the other side of the room, his shinobi standing around him.

It clicked for Sakura then. It was literally the same sequence as before.

"Figured it out, have you?" Danzo asked as the shinobi around him moved into the fray once again. "Izanami traps its victims within a loop. All I need to do to activate it is ensure that the same event happens twice. Anchor points for the loop."

Grabbing her arm, Sakura realized. He'd done it twice, both when she'd struck with a kunai, both blocking with that same arm.

Well, didn't that just mean she could break the loop by not letting him grab her arm?

She thrust her hands towards the ground, this time sending an earthen pillar through the floor beneath Danzo. He jumped, and this time Sakura pursued with more pillars, shooting them through the floor one after the other. The man was good at dodging, she had to admit, but it didn't seem like the loop was happening again.

And then the Kusakage was suddenly there, wielding two kama and slicing at her with fervor. It took all of Sakura's concentration just to block the blows, and even then she felt the sting of the kama's blade occasionally nipping at her hands. The blades looked to be enhanced with wind chakra, increasing the range in a way similar to how she'd seen Asuma Sarutobi enhance his own weapons. Gaara's sand wasn't coming to her defense, which meant she was on her own for a bit against a Kage, but the fight was too intense to let her dwell on the thought for long. She forced herself to lash out with a punch, trying to throw the man off his rhythm, but as she did so the man dropped his kunai and grabbed at her arm, much like…

...fuck.

Sakura twisted to free her arm, and as she did so she saw Danzo across the room from her again, surrounded by his men.

"Izanami is a technique meant to decide one's fate." Danzo repeated as the room erupted into battle once more. "So long as you refuse to acknowledge the results of this battle, you will be forever trapped within Izanami's loop. A fitting punishment for one such as you that continues to defy me."

"Fuck you!" Sakura cried out before launching forward once more. She pushed herself into the air, this time aiming a kick at Danzo's head. Maybe it was impossible, but if she had to go through this entire fight using nothing but her legs to break this loop, that was what she'd do. She pushed her chakra through her legs, summoning earthen pillars with a stomp and lashing out every time she got close enough to hit. She let herself spin, trying to nail Danzo with a rotating kick, but Danzo was suddenly gone, no, behind her. He grabbed at the arm she was using to balance herself, and she saw the man smirk once more before the world shifted and Danzo was across the room from her, surrounded by his men.

"You won't be able to change the outcome of this battle simply by acting differently. This is one of the Sharingan's ultimate genjutsu. None of this is real. The real you is comatose, unable to move or perceive the world around you until this jutsu runs its course. Or until one of my allies kills you."

It wasn't real, of course it wasn't real. Sakura could have hit herself. She'd been so caught up in the battle, but if this was a Sharingan genjutsu, of course it had immobilized her. She wasn't really moving here, she wasn't really using jutsu. All part of the illusion.

She clasped her hands around her necklace, concentrating, willing herself to push her chakra away from her head. She didn't know how to purge it like she had before, but she did know that her amulet had gotten hot, and then…

But nothing happened, and her chakra didn't leave her. The fight raged on around her, and Danzo remained where he was, as calm and arrogant as ever.

"I was worried, I will admit." Danzo explained, suddenly rushing forward in an attempt to strike. Sakura dodged, and now she was on the run as Danzo pursued her. "When I first heard that you'd escaped Itachi's Sharingan, I was skeptical. The Tsukuyomi isn't meant to be broken. I chalked it up to chance, or perhaps a skewed version of the truth."

Sakura ducked as Danzo fired a wind jutsu towards her, but that only gave Danzo an opportunity to grab at her arm once more, and the room returned to the start of the loop.

"I decided to see for myself if it was true after you escaped my trap in the chuunin exams." Danzo continued to speak, once again coming for Sakura. His speech was not interrupted by the battle, and every time the loop restarted, Danzo continued as if nothing had changed.

"I decided that if you were strong enough to escape my trap and reseal a Jinchuuriki, then perhaps you would be more valuable as an ally. I would use one of my most coveted techniques on you."

Danzo paused just long enough to pull back the bandages around his eye, and Sakura saw a Sharingan there as well.

"This belonged to a very powerful Uchiha. He unlocked a technique called the Kotoamatsukami, perhaps the strongest genjutsu I have ever seen wielded in my lifetime. It is so powerful that it cannot be used very often, unless you enhance your body as I have. Using it on a person allows you to enter their mind and give them false experiences, making them seem as though actions you force them to take are being done of their own free will. It's proven a very helpful jutsu in the past. The Suna council and the leaders of Grass and Valley fell under its influence quite easily."

He'd manipulated them into following his plans, Sakura realized. Manipulated them with this strange Sharingan technique. No wonder Suna had gotten the balls to try invading again after the last failure, no wonder it had been so easy to convince them to give a Bijuu sealing scroll over to Danzo's men.

"I had thought to try it on you." Danzo admitted. "So I came to you in your room, attempting to bring you under its sway. I had been hesitant before, with the rumors, but I had no choice then. If I did not bring you under my control, things would no doubt turn ugly. Imagine my surprise when I encountered...resistance."

As the loop started again, Sakura reached up to touch at her amulet. Whatever had saved her from Itachi's jutsu before, had it also saved her then? She hadn't even realized, hadn't felt a thing...of course Danzo wouldn't have just come to talk. He'd come to try and fucking brainwash her, and it was sheer luck he hadn't managed it.

"Whatever power lies in you, Sakura Haruno, is very strong against the Sharingan, it seems. However, it was not strong enough to save you from Izanami. Only your submission to fate will save you now. I will win this fight. I will win the battle for Konoha. You will either join me or die."

"How about neither?" Sakura insisted, throwing herself into the fray once more. There had to be something she could do, some way to break the sequence and thus break the genjutsu. If she couldn't release her chakra, if her amulet wouldn't save her, she had to save herself, and if she had to face this sequence again and again until she figured out the trick, that was what she'd do.

And Sakura faced it.

Again and again and again.

There was a strange sort of exhaustion threatening to come over her. While her body never tired, her mind was beginning to tire of the exchange. She'd tried ever jutsu she knew, tried going for other opponents, the Kage, the bodyguards, Danzo again, but every time someone grabbed her arm the sequence started over, and Danzo taunted her once more.

"Accept your fate. You will not win this fight."

He said that every time the sequence restarted, like a mantra, over and over again in her mind. Had Danzo only managed to trap herself within the jutsu, or was everyone else in the room also stuck in this loop? She stole a longer glance at Danzo's arm and realized that about ten of the eyes on his arm had closed shut. Enough for herself, her companions, the Kage that opposed him, maybe Naruto and Kakashi and Shikamaru as well...assuming that the illusion was correct.

Konoha was screwed if its leader and one of its strongest shinobi had been disabled by Danzo's Sharingan. Not only that, her allied villages wouldn't have leaders to organize them and mobilize them against what would no doubt be a soon to come attack. How much time had passed in the real world since the illusion had begun? Was Konoha already doomed?

She couldn't give up. She had to keep trying to find a way to break the jutsu. She couldn't accept this fate, couldn't just-

Sakura froze.

The answer that came to her was so simple, but maybe that was how it was supposed to be. Maybe it was really just as simple as that.

Sakura smiled.

"You want me to accept that I will lose this fight." Sakura confirmed. "Okay. I accept it."

She saw Danzo hesitate, and to her right she saw the Kusakage lunging for her again, scythes outstretched. Sakura smiled.

"Just because I lose this fight doesn't mean I lose against you. You can have this fight. And when I wake up from this stupid jutsu, then I'll get to win."

She closed her eyes and let the scythes hit her.

She would lose this fight.

Sakura gasped, and suddenly the world rushed in around her. She heard the clashing of metal around her and felt rushes of air as jutsu hit nearby. Her vision was fuzzy at first, bleeding in from the center out. Eventually she processed that there was somehow sand around her, tons and tons of sand. Lying on the ground next to her, she saw a prone Kakashi, Tsunade...everyone she'd theorized to have been hit by Danzo's jutsu, and all of them looked as though they were in a deep slumber.

And yet...Gaara was awake, standing above her and holding a sand barrier around them with fierce determination. Had Danzo somehow missed? Why would he have put everyone else under Izanami and not him? Unless Gaara had put together the loophole of the jutsu first…

"So, you're finally awake?"

Wait, that wasn't Gaara's voice.

There was something about it that just seemed wrong, like Gaara's voice had dropped a few octaves. For a moment, all Sakura could do was stare in confusion. Gaara looked back at her, and she realized there was a familiar glow of chakra around him, liked she'd seen before in the chuunin exams. But Gaara's eyes looked different, like the pupils had somehow changed.

"The phrase I'm looking for is, 'thank you for saving my worthless, pathetic life, Shukaku'."

That snapped Sakura to attention. "S-Shukaku?" She said, bewildered.

"Don't look so surprised. That idiot of a Sharingan wielder forgot the most important thing about facing my Jinchuuriki: don't fucking put him to sleep."

"Even with the new seal?"

"The seal brat put our chakra in harmony. Doesn't prevent me from being able to slip in if the host takes a nap. Now that one, on the other hand…" Gaara, no, Shukaku gestured at Naruto, laying down nearby and just as comatose as the others. "Whomever did that seal really wanted to make sure that Fox never came out. It's kind of unfortunate. As much as I hate to admit it, having the Fox wreaking havoc out there could have been useful." As he spoke, a shinobi threw himself at the barrier, only to be swatted away by sand. "It's also too bad that bastard fled the moment he realized I was still awake. The other leaders tried to take out the sleeping ones before they could wake up again but…" Shukaku grinned, looking equal parts cocky and maniacal. "There isn't a damn human alive that's going to get through my barrier."

Even though seeing Shukaku puppet Gaara's body was a bit unnerving, Sakura couldn't help but grin back. "As weird as this is, I'm glad you're with us."

"Don't get used to it, brat. I just refuse to let my host die to a goddamn genjutsu. It would be insulting."

Sakura wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Having any ally awake was something worthwhile. Beyond the barrier of sand, Sakura could see all of the Kages' bodyguards brawling, some attempting to breach the sand barrier, some attempting to defend it. The enemy Kages, however, were nowhere in sight, and neither was Danzo.

"Shit." Sakura let herself curse aloud. She could attempt to pursue Danzo, but that would mean leaving her entrapped companions behind. She needed to find a way to wake them, but how?

There were two ways to break a Sharingan genjutsu, this much she knew from experience.

One, and perhaps the better method if possible, would be somehow conveying to the person the loophole she used to break through Izanami. The second method would be to try draining their chakra until the enemy chakra was cycled out. That was like what had happened facing Itachi, though Sakura had no idea how she'd done it, but there were ways for people to drain other people's chakra. But that method would likely mean that the awakened person would be unable to defend themselves well, being suddenly devoid of chakra. A double-edged sword.

But Lee made it alright without jutsu. Any shinobi could wield a kunai or a blade. If the second method was what it took, Sakura would have to take it.

However...there was another idea she could try first.

"Shukaku, can you continue to guard them? I'm going to see if I can get help. I might know a way to help wake them up."

"So long as you do it quick. I don't like moving around in this pathetic body."

"Well, if you can reach Gaara, tell him that he needs to accept that he'll lose the battle he's in. He needs to give up."

"...right. That sounds stupid, but I guess that's humanity in a nutshell."

It was as good as Sakura was going to get. She prepared to make a run for it, looking about for an opponent before she suddenly saw movement next to her.

Shikamaru was getting up.

She smiled. Of course the neighborhood genius would be able to figure out the loophole too. Sakura instantly made her way to his side, helping him sit up as he came to.

"...that's it, I quit being a shinobi. Forever."

"What? You can't quit now!" Sakura insisted. "We're literally in the middle of a civil war!"

"Yeah, well, I'm out. Every time I put in an effort to fix something, it goes to the worst possible shit imaginable. This is such a damn drag."

He was thinking of Sasuke, Sakura realized, the last major high-ranked mission he'd been on. Shikamaru had been leading that mission, and...it had failed. Of course Shikamaru would be taking this hard. As of right now, things looked...dire.

"Think of it this way. He wouldn't have sprang this on us if you hadn't driven him into the tightest corner he'd ever been in."

"Great. I'll be remembered as the shinobi that almost took Danzo down."

"We still have a chance, Shikamaru. We just need to wake everyone else up and rally everyone together. Danzo can't stand a chance against all of us and he knows it, that's why he risked trying to put us all in that freaky genjutsu."

"Right, and do you really think Naruto 'Never Fucking Gives Up' Uzumaki is going to be able to accept defeat anytime soon?" Shikamaru frowned as he looked over to his sleeping teammate. "Maybe some of the others will put it together after a while, but who knows how long that will be?"

"So help me find someone who can help them figure it out." Sakura countered. "All we need to do is send them a message, right?"

"Right...oh."

"We need Yamanakas."

"...but that requires going out there."

"Yes, yes it does."

Shikamaru groaned, but he didn't protest as Sakura hauled him to his feet. Two people attempting to find a Yamanaka in this chaos would be better than one, and if she was going to leave the safety of Shukaku's shield, she'd prefer someone at her back.

They waited until there was an opening, and then the two of them ran.

They were pursued, at first, but one of Onoki's bodyguards gave chase and distracted their pursuer long enough for them to get a lead. Unfortunately, the lead didn't help with the other problem: the village was in complete and utter chaos. Shinobi of all sorts were locked in various battles, and Sakura could tell just from a glance that nobody was really certain who was on what side. Sometimes Konoha shinobi assisted and sometimes they turned enemy, and because of that it looked as though nobody was really certain which village they should be fighting either. Kunai, shuriken, and jutsu were being thrown about like candy, and the only consolation Sakura had was that she couldn't see any civilians around in the crossfire. Kakashi had mentioned planning an emergency evacuation if things went south, and she was grateful that that plan, at least, seemed to have held together.

It was Chouji, along with several other Akimichis, that they found first. The Akimichi expansion technique made them rather easy to find, and from there Chouji easily pointed in the direction of his Yamanaka teammate. Ino was fighting back to back with Tenten, applying poisons to the kunoichi's weapons before they were thrown at the enemy's around them. Sakura could also see Hinata's team in the distance, and nearby Lee and Neji were doing their best to keep the heat off of the more stationary fighters.

Perfect.

Not just that Ino was there, but Shino as well. If her first plan failed, Shino's kikaichu could drain an opponent of chakra fairly quickly. If neither of those plans worked, then she was stuck anyway, but if she brought all of the Rookie Nine and Lee's team, she'd be able to at least have a relatively solid team to try and…

Stop a war.

She didn't let herself dwell. Her plan hadn't failed yet.

A few shouts and directions later and Sakura was on her way back with eight more shinobi in tow. It was much easier to navigate through a battlefield when you had ten talented shinobi working together, especially with two Byakugan users able to call out when someone was headed their way. Lee had taken off his weights and sped around the group faster than Sakura could even keep track, kicking down enemies before they knew what hit them.

(Sakura missed it, she realized, having her old classmates working together, backing each other up, and she knew it wouldn't be the last time she'd wonder if leaving Konoha had really been the best idea.)

When they arrived back in the council-room, Sakura was surprised to note that the fighting had stopped inside. The enemy had moved on, perhaps having given up with a dedicated Bijuu protecting the sleeping Kage. She wouldn't complain about the break. Sakura dragged Ino to Naruto's side to begin with.

"You were experimenting with trying to communicate with the Kyuubi, right? Do you think you could try to connect with Naruto instead?"

"Maybe?" Ino replied, already looking nervous at the prospect. "But what if I get stuck in that jutsu too?"

"You already know how to break it. You just have to give up and let the jutsu win."

"You're really sure this will work?"

Sakura wasn't, but she certainly wasn't going to make this more difficult for Ino by admitting this. "Ino, are you not the beautiful and talented Yamanaka heir? Are you not the master of minds? The strongest kunoichi of our year?"

It didn't completely encourage Ino, but it was enough to bring a smile to the girl's face. "I'm not going to forget you said that, Billboard-Brow. I do this, I'm the strongest kunoichi of our year, and you cannot take it back."

Ino made a single hand sign, the sign for the Mind-Transfer jutsu, and aimed it at the sleeping Naruto. Sakura caught her as she slumped over, and for an agonizing minute, all she could do was wait.

Then, to Sakura's relief, both Ino and Naruto began to stir at once. It had worked.

From there, they moved to each trapped shinobi, and Ino hit them with her jutsu one by one. Each awakened within minutes, and several of them looked sheepish at not having put together the loophole sooner.

It was Onoki that seemed the most pleased with the situation. Though his joints cracked as he stood, he looked more than ready for battle.

"Sakura, my girl, you remember what I told you all those weeks ago? The Uchiha are as fallible as any shinobi, and that includes the power of the Sharingan. Leave it to my student to prove me right."

Sakura felt a small flush of pride at Onoki's compliment. "I didn't do anything special, sensei. Danzo just left one hell of a loophole."

"One we should have figured out sooner." Tsunade admitted with a growl. "When I get my hands on that bastard, I'm going to squish him like a damned grape."

"Get in line, Granny." Naruto was alive with chakra as he stood up, and Sakura recognized that he was channeling a similar aura from his Bijuu that Gaara was now channeling from Shukaku. "The old man's mine."

"To be honest, I feel like there's going to be quite a big line if we all want our way." Shibuki added. "Might I suggest first regaining control of the village?"

"The enemy leaders are under a different genjutsu of Danzo's. If you can...maybe try not to kill them?" Sakura suggested, wincing as she did so. "If we take Danzo down, it might break his hold over them."

"Sakura makes a good point. That puts us at two priorities." Onoki agreed. "My fellow Kage, we should focusing on rallying our shinobi and subduing our enemy."

"The rest of you, find Danzo." Tsunade ordered. "If you feel like you can safely engage, take him down. Kakashi, I'm putting you in charge."

Kakashi lifted his headband up, revealing his Sharingan eye. "That jutsu won't work on us twice. It'll be a different fight this time."

That was something Sakura could agree on. Danzo's trick had been just that...a trick. And now that she was about to have a dozen people on her side, all of whom knew the secret to breaking out of that particular genjutsu, Danzo didn't stand a chance.

She cracked her knuckles as they prepared to move out. No more tricks. No more nonsense.

Danzo was going down now.