Hopefully this fandom is still alive and kicking...
I anticipate this story getting quite dark in the middle chapters.
Enjoy the lighter content while you can...you've been warned :)
Consider this story AU, but still ninja, still war,
still most of the major plot points, though mixed around.
Age everyone up 4 years. So, here, Sakura is 20/21.
Think, The Last era for appearance reference.
And, as the summary indicates, this story will eventually,
most definitely,
become rated M ;)
If you're here for SasuSaku,
please have patience. I promise, this is a SasuSaku fic...
it's coming!
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Covenant
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Synopsis: Four years into the Fourth Shinobi War, Orochimaru offers to turn.
He all but requests Sakura by name to be the contact.
It is, quite clearly, a trap—least of all because he's supposed to be dead.
But what is a losing side to do except take the hand that's offered?
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Prologue
The physical torture was the easy part.
A body can acclimate to anything. The burning, the stabbing, the cutting. When it was done, always, she was permitted to heal herself. The torture was bearable. Painful, but bearable. And it always came to an end.
The betrayal hurt far more.
How he stood there by the door sometimes, watching as an interrogator carved pictures into her skin. How he held her arm down as they broke her fingers and healed them and broke them and healed them. How they encased her head in water until she passed out, then had him revive her to do it again. How he led her to the torture room without force and carried her back to his room when it was over. How he held her at night when her body shook from the shock. How he fit his hand around her neck as he slid into her and kissed her till she forgot she was a prisoner of war—and everyone was dead. How he trapped her with his devotion.
How he had turned her over to Madara.
There was no healing the trauma of this.
1. The Offer
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FOUR YEARS of war had left the world decimated.
There were no countries anymore. There were only two armies. You fought with Madara, or you fought against him. He didn't believe in neutrality.
The Allied army was organized by former hidden villages for efficiency only. The sections stationed themselves strategically across the map in their respective countries. The first battle four years ago had been enough to convince the Kages that full army battles were mutually assured destruction. And now that Madara had amassed power, it was unlikely the Allies could fight to a draw a second time in an all-out confrontation.
In hindsight, that Madara breaking the Reanimation Jutsu caused him to collapse on the brink of victory was short of a miracle for the Allies. The chaos within the enemy army in his and Tobi's absence gave the Allies time to regroup, withdraw, and settle in for the long haul.
It was now a war of attrition.
The Allies had the numbers without factoring in the Zetsus, but Madara's power was unmatched and unimaginable. His closest generals could wipe out whole companies. Numbers mattered so little against their skill. And though the Allies had the firepower to match most of the generals, it was dangerous for the strongest Allies to present themselves in battle. The Kage's presence typically called out Madara—and there was nothing to counter Madara. To fight against him on the battlefield was to throw paper at a paper shredder.
Madara rarely bothered to join the fight if no one of interest was involved, so the Allies leveraged that fact. Shikamaru proposed it was his ego, but Gaara suspected something else kept Madara from fighting frequently.
Leveraging whatever it was, however, left a sour taste in Sakura's mouth. It meant the strong stayed secluded in base while others were ordered to conduct missions without their protection. Sacrificial lambs for slaughter to avoid luring out the monster.
Like this boy staring up at her, his eyes looking nowhere and into her simultaneously. From his mouth came the sound of drowning. His lungs tried desperately to pull in air and expel the heavy, chakra-laced water that filled them instead. He spasmed. His face was an ashy blue, the whites of his eyes busted blood-veins red.
The jutsu took hold hours before he was teleported to her tent. She only needed to cast her hands across his chest for a second to know.
The boy was going to die. Painfully. In about—twelve minutes.
Sakura removed her hands. The jutsu on the boy was a nasty thing. Ingenious, really. Some kind of a slow-activation transmorph. It probably hit him days ago, and since nothing seemed wrong, he never checked into medical. Parts of the oxygen he breathed deposited in the lungs and slowly, slowly called to and combined with the hydrogen within his body to form trace amounts of water in the lungs. Trace amounts that continued depositing until, combined, he drowned.
He made an awful gurgling sound again. He couldn't be older than 18. Maybe even 16. Years ago, it would have been enough to make her blood boil and reduce her to tears that night.
Sakura placed her hand on his. "Squeeze my hand twice if you can hear me."
He did. She peered down at him.
"The jutsu took effect hours ago. Maybe even yesterday. I'm unable to undo it and can't manage it long-term." There was the briefest pause as another pained sound escaped his mouth. It was clear he wanted to focus on her face but struggled to see where her eyes were. She considered apologizing to him like she used to apologize to the dying years ago. Instead, she said: "What I can do for you now is numb the pain or end it quickly. If you want pain reduction, squeeze once. If you want it to end, squeeze twice."
After some seconds, one squeeze. He gargled again.
Then a second squeeze.
"Shino."
A man stepped into the tent. "Here."
She glanced at him. He was the one to bring the boy in. Perhaps the boy was a scout under his command team.
"We need essence of lily," she said.
It was code. Shino stilled. Nodded. Then moved forward and took the boy's hand from hers. The three-stripe visor that hid his eyes lifted as he looked down into the boy's face.
"You did well, Maruna. I was honored to have you under my command. I will send word to your family."
Behind Shino, Sakura made the hand signs. It was a medical jutsu she created. It connected her to a person's body systems, depending on what specific forms she used. She grabbed hold of the boy's, Maruna's, central nervous system. It immediately fell into her consciousness, the weight of it bearing down on her psyche. Her own lungs struggled to pull in air as her body responded to his.
She focused on the system, the overwhelming mass threatening to overtake her. She detached the innate link her body wanted desperately to form with the new presence. It was a fast process. It had to be. Linking to the central nervous system of another was dangerous. Even more so when the link was to turn it off.
She felt the successful snap of a barrier between her mind and the link. The initial fear this jutsu always called on her eased away. She was Sakura, and he was Maruna, and she had the briefest of seconds to retain control of him and maintain herself.
Her hands held up before her chest, palms open towards the boy's body, closed into fists. "Stop," she commanded.
She undid the jutsu immediately, but it was never fast enough to avoid the feeling of death. For the tiniest fraction of a second, Sakura felt her body calling to link itself to the end.
The boy died instantly. Sakura held in the shudder.
Shino closed the boy's eyes. "There are other ways to do that."
"But this way is painless," she replied.
"For him. But he'll be gone either way." He gave her a pointed look before dropping the visor back into place. "And you will still be here."
It was not the first time Shino noted his doubt about her jutsu. It wouldn't be the last.
"Well, on my day to go, I hope someone offers me the quick and painless way out."
Shino's lip twitched in what was either a smile or a grimace. "Unfortunately for you, I don't see anyone extending that courtesy. Tsunade would spare no resource to bring you back from the brink of death. No one would dare just let you go, let alone facilitate it."
She chuckled. It was a morbid discussion over the body of a dead child outfitted in military gear. It certainly wasn't funny, nor was the picture he painted of her, quite possibly, extended and painful death. But, well, war had a way of jading those caught in it like that.
"And unfortunately for you," she quipped back, "Now that you've heard my dying wish, you're morally obligated to fulfill it when the time comes."
Shino placed a tag across the boy's…Maruna's chest, made a sign, and the body vanished from the table. Likely back to his command tent, where he could then transport it back to the family.
"I'd sooner face Madara tonight, chakra-depleted, than Naruto after having killed you."
Her eyebrows knitted. "He was going to die regardless. There was nothing I could do."
"I know. I didn't—mean it like that." He reached out to her, and she quickly grabbed his hand with both of hers. She pulled it up and placed it on her chest, below her neck.
"I know. I know." She let his heat seep into her a few more seconds before letting go.
Sakura turned to clean the tent. Shino made small talk for a bit, then made his exit to deal with the body. She checked her watch—almost time for the debrief. Enough time to walk across the small tent city to Kage Tent instead of teleporting.
She cast a look around the now disinfected space. She was running low on antiseptic. On bandages. On most herbs. The distinct lack-of was not new but always felt. The ultimate question of necessary choice hung heavy across the medic tents. And in response, the development rate of new and complex healing jutsu mushroomed. They were healing things never before possible—curing ailments at breathtaking speeds.
And still losing more people than ever seen in history.
Sakura moved through the tents. She waved to those who waved and nodded to those who passed. There was hope in the air, always hope. But it barely touched the shoulders of those within the base. Four years is enough to beat the hope out of a heart—but perhaps not enough to beat the hope out of an army. Maybe that happened in year five.
Someone filled the space to her left. "Debrief?"
"Aa," Sakura nodded. "Need a scan?"
"Maybe. It couldn't hurt, right?"
"Of course, you know I don't mind. When we get to Kage Tent I'll run a quick diagnostic."
"Thanks, Sakura." Tenten smiled, but it dropped quickly from her face.
Sakura reached out and took Tenten's hand, and the other woman didn't shake her off. Everyone knew that Sakura needed frequent physical touch to stay grounded. Most people found it comforting, anyway.
"Did Maruna make it?"
Sakura glanced at the other woman. Tenten hated death. Hated seeing it, hated thinking about it, hated that it had to happen.
"He didn't." Sakura paused. "Were you with Shino's squad today?"
Shino's team had been near the Kiri base, way out east. Tenten was typically assigned solo work on the Western front. She would have missed the distinct freeze of Tenten's shoulders if she wasn't looking.
"I heard from other scouts," she answered noncommittedly.
Sakura knew better than diving into it in the open like this. They were surrounded by hundreds of army members.
Instead, she nodded again: "Of course."
Information was King in war. A lost battle in minute one could be won in minute two with the right intelligence. Tenten was a gatherer. Her specialty was information. To press a gatherer for knowledge out in the open was akin to asking a Kage where they'd stationed Killer B and Naruto that month.
The women made it to Kage Tent in silence after that. Tenten lifted the flap and held it so Sakura could dip in. The inside was bright and warm, with chairs around a central table, the Hokage desk on the side, and fire lights hanging from the burlap ceiling. The table was large enough to fit twenty. An interesting jutsu placed upon the tent made the interior larger than it appeared to be from the outside—and only allowed those with knowledge of a specific meeting or permission to enter into it. Others would be unable to open the flap at all.
About thirty shinobi were already inside. Mainly those from Konoha Division, but a number from Suna Division and a few from Iwa. Two from Kiri. Sakura paused again. It was rare for so many delegates from other Allied Divisions to be present at the same last-minute debrief. Sakura peeked at Tenten, whose face remained blank.
Ino waved them over. Sakura and Tenten took their places beside her.
Ino leaned over to Sakura, throwing an arm around her, and in a whisper that was hardly a whisper asked, "What is this about, Forehead?"
Sakura shrugged, thinking the same question. She lifted her glowing green hands to Tenten's chest for a moment.
"I don't know. I've been in medical for the past 2 weeks. I'm out of the loop when I rotate over there. You're clear, Tenten." She looked to Ino. "You need a scan?"
Ino scoffed, flipping her ponytail off her shoulder. "I can do my own scans, thanks."
"Suit yourself," said Sakura. She rolled her eyes at the woman's antics.
"If you're handing them out, I'll take one, Haruno."
"Same."
Others in the tent spoke up, and she obliged. She walked around the room, scanning those who asked. Her scans were notoriously quick and accurate, and there was really no harm in checking one's health status in the middle of a war. If Maruna had the same sense, he probably wouldn't have drowned to death on her table today. New, stronger, more sly jutsu seemed to be created every day.
War accelerated both death and ingenuity.
Most of those in attendance had external injuries only. She healed them in seconds. But one, the man from Kiri, had an interesting mental jutsu lingering about his mind. Her green hands moved to the base of his skull. It was…unlike anything she had seen before. Her mind reeled, latching on to how the jutsu moved throughout the man's consciousness. Reducing it quickly to its parts. It had been cast without signage. It had been cast…yesterday. It was tinged with a chakra signature concealed when it was cast. She pushed to unlock what hand signs had formed it. Her mind raced to meet the challenge, the familiar joy of solving a riddle rising in her.
Dragon…Hare…Dragon...
"That's enough, Miss Haruno," the man barked out, seeming to realize what was happening behind him. He moved away from her.
She had only been hovering on his skull for a few seconds. She gave him a slightly affronted look. He was the one who asked to be scanned in the first place.
"Do you not want that removed?"
"No. It isn't harmful and will be removed shortly." He scrutinized her. "My apologies for my suddenness. I—did not expect you to notice it that quickly...or start analyzing it."
Her eyebrow shot up. "It is my job to do these things. No matter, though."
Tsunade and Kakashi strode into the tent before the man could reply. Her eyes gave him another once-over before moving back to her place between Ino and Tenten. She really wanted to dissect that jutsu…
And just who was he? And what was he doing with it?
Her eyes moved back to the man. She racked her brain for a name. He had known hers…had they met? She hadn't been to a Kiri base in over a year. He did look—familiar, maybe?
"Welcome all. Thanks for being punctual." Tsunade threw Kakashi a pointed look, and he had the decency to look slightly apologetic. "This was, of course, a quickly called debrief. My special thanks to the Kiri and Iwa Divisions delegates for making the trip. We shall go ahead and get started. Consider this meeting Classed 5, and not to be spoken of with anyone outside this room unless cleared or within a future debrief."
Classed 5. Highly classified. Just what was going on? Sakura attended many highly classified debriefs, and yet, besides Ino, she did not recognize most of the people in this room as those who would typically be a part of them.
Tenten's presence was suddenly a question. She was, of course, Classed 5. However, she was Classed 5 by nature of her work—she was seldom a part of large debriefs, as she would have already passed along her information to the handler who would report at the debrief.
In Tenten's case, Ino.
Ino caught Sakura's puzzled gaze, mirroring her cluelessness.
"First, I've gathered you all here today specifically because you have verified, recent information on Orochimaru," said Tsunade.
Sakura's face betrayed her surprise. Orochimaru hadn't been seen in close to three years. Last she heard, he'd been killed by Sasuke.
She immediately grimaced and left thought.
"We know he's resurfaced. Does anyone have intel regarding an exact timeframe?"
Tenten stood. "A source confirmed that Orochimaru has been…around, for a year and a half."
"Over a year? If he's been around, why are we only hearing about it now?"
"It does sound unbelievable, Hokage. The source was unable to provide anything more than rumors on that front. Madara's army seems to think Orochimaru was under a heavy jutsu that lasted over a year. They say he—" she rolled her eyes slightly, "slept in the belly of a snake to recover. He was verified on the timeframe, however. He's been physically back for about eighteen months, but only recently…returned to the army, shall we say, in the last six."
Tsunade nodded approvingly. A woman from Suna stood. "Orochimaru travels with two other shinobi. Only Orochimaru walks about freely. The other two remain masked in Akatsuki gear, and it seems they've placed some kind of…taboo-jutsu on their names and qualities."
Some of the ninja around the table leaned forward, hooked.
"How does the jutsu work?"
"I'm not sure. When I pushed the source he froze and forgot the question. It made no difference how many times I asked or how I phrased it."
That piqued Sakura's interest. A genjutsu, perhaps? One that continued working no matter how far the caster was? One that activated on specific knowledge? How inventive…
Another Suna ninja stood. "It seems that while Orochimaru has been accepted back into Madara's good graces, he's not being posted to battle positions. He's currently housed in a lab nearest to Kiri."
"Any word on what particular assignments he's given?"
No one had an answer for Tsunade.
She paused. "Any signs that an interest in Reanimation has been revived along with him?"
Tenten stood after a second. "It's believed that Reanimation is deemed completely unreliable by Madara. The information provided that another reanimation broke the jutsu seems to be true. I have no direct intelligence, but he likely doesn't want to risk reanimating someone who might break the jutsu and work against him."
There was a collective release of breath. Reanimation was what pushed this war into what it was in the first place. Without it, the Allies would've crushed the Zetsu army within a year. As it was, that first battle, Madara and a slew of others had been reanimated by Kabuto and Orochimaru under orders from Tobi. The Allies contained everyone but Madara, who managed to break the jutsu and return fully.
His return caused a vast number of defectors. People who thought there was no way to beat him joined him. Those rogues who remained out of the war suddenly had to pick a side or face annihilation. Madara's presence alone pushed the world into full-scale war. When he fought, it was like hell unleashed on earth. The past year and a half was a relief. The enemy attacks had lessened significantly since the loss of—
She left the thought. There had been no large-scale battles for over a year, but it was generally considered just the calm before a larger storm. Madara was still around. Attacks still occurred.
Everyone needs to regroup, sometimes. Even Madara.
The debrief dragged on. Various intel on Orochimaru was reported—significant, but nothing quite solid enough to be deemed worthwhile. He seemed unable to leave the base he was stationed. He returned in a younger body. His chakra functioned at a lower level than when he disappeared. He was resupplying—heavily. And dishing out high prices for the ingredients. He recalled several of his former experiments to restart his lab. The lab itself was deeply camouflaged beneath several layers of high-class jutsu that hadn't been seen for two years. The same camouflage jutsu was slowly popping up across enemy bases in Water Country, perhaps indicating that the other side was revamping for battle.
It suddenly hit her where she knew the man from Kiri.
He was a gatherer. And the woman next to him was his handler. She met them years ago at medical in Kiri. He was the one who reported on—
She left the thought again immediately. It's a bad day today, she thought with a sigh. For months, until now, she'd managed to lock those rogue thoughts away. Sakura zoned out of the meeting until the Kiri man stood in the middle of someone else's report.
"Not to hijack the meeting, Hokage, but I've got a jutsu placed on me to deliver a message, and it feels like my head will split if I don't get on with it."
So inventive, Sakura appraised.
"Go on then," Tsunade ordered.
"Release."
Black ink flew out of the man's mouth. He coughed once it was all released. Sakura watched in fascination as it flew towards the parchment in front of Tsunade. Others watched with the same interest. It was not just the typical gatherer jutsu, then. Her fingers itched to decipher it.
Tsunade looked across the words forming on the paper. She moved the document over to Kakashi as it finished without seeming to read it herself. A frown formed on his face as he scanned it.
Tsunade turned back to the gatherer. Sakura noticed that she still didn't know his name because no one was using names. Except to call Tsunade Hokage. Except when they used her name. Well, she wasn't a gatherer, so of course, different rules would apply to her.
To be honest, she wasn't even sure what she was doing in this debrief. She had no information to provide, she wasn't a gatherer nor a handler, and her current station was in base medical. Though, she was a bit thankful to be present, regardless. Two new jutsu had presented themselves that she could set on researching. Perhaps that was the reason for her summons?
"Anything on his allegiance or motive?"
"No. The source for that was not someone I had contact with before. He was—" he glanced to the Suna woman who spoke earlier, "Akatsuki masked and suppressing his chakra. Though my primary source didn't indicate that they believed the information to be false, I wasn't comfortable asking too many questions. He told me to deliver a message to the Hokage immediately, and I felt the jutsu placed on my mind. He said he was sent by Orochimaru. That's all. I contacted you immediately after."
"Nothing else?"
"No, Hokage. He teleported away after that."
"Very well. You did well. Good job. Does anyone else have information on Orochimaru's allegiance, verified or not?"
The room was quiet, but everyone buzzed with curiosity. Kakashi studied the paper seriously. He caught Sakura's eye. She cocked her brow at him and it seemed to puzzle him more. She could see something whirling in his mind.
"I'll be out with it then. Orochimaru is offering to turn."
The room froze at Tsunade's words. The room, minus the man from Kiri.
"If this offer is spoken outside this tent, you will be immediately imprisoned and dealt with. Consider this information to stake your life on. If word gets out that anyone outside of this meeting learns of this offer, every single one of you will be subjected to interrogation."
Tsunade said the threat and left it to hang there. Kakashi cast another wary glance towards Sakura.
Ino stood. "That's all well and good, Hokage. But such an offer…it seems—ludicrous. Orochimaru was vehemently opposed to Konoha and joined Tobi as soon as the war started. It makes no sense that he would turn. It would be too risky to accept such an offer."
Tsunade eyed the woman. Bless Ino, Sakura thought. The woman had no filter, and no sense to not speak her mind. Of course, Sakura largely agreed with what Ino said; she'd just never openly say it like that.
"I'm inclined to agree. I was hoping we'd have some intel on his motives. That we don't is, well, as you said, risky. What do others think of the offer?"
Several people quickly jumped up to agree with Ino. It was risky. It made no sense. It was probably a trap.
An Iwa ninja stood. "Forgive me, Hokage. But—the war…" A pause. "We're losing. We've been losing for years."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the man but made no move to disagree. Sakura stilled a quiver. Ino actually reached under the table to grab onto her hand. This was a topic no one spoke of—no one dared to even think. To think was to admit that—yes, it's true. They were losing.
"We don't know how to kill Madara. The war remains unwinnable so long as that eludes us. If someone wants to turn, especially if it's Orochimaru, it's an offer we can't refuse to at least look into. Regardless of the risks. If anyone knows how to do it, it would be Orochimaru."
He sat, and his words crept into the audience. One, then two, then many more stood and agreed with him. It was a chance of a lifetime. An offer that couldn't be refused. If it didn't pan out, it would barely change the long-term outcome.
Tsunade leveled her gaze at Ino. "Any response?"
"I'll support whatever is best for the army. I maintain that it's risky and without reason and probably a trap, but it's true that we…have long been at a standstill. If the Hokage deems the opportunity too good to ignore, then we should enact checks to protect against the potential fallout."
"And the rest of you? All agreed?"
There was a collective nod.
"Very well. Remember my warning about this information. I will send every single one of you to Ibiki's layer if I hear even a whisper of this. Everyone is dismissed. Konoha shinobi, stay."
The room cleared out until a dozen Konoha ninja remained.
"Only kunoichi are required. The rest are dismissed."
Kakashi looked absolutely pale. Sakura gave him a worried once-over. The men filed out.
Tsunade had slumped back in her chair, pulling a bottle out of nowhere. "Everyone not Classed 7 is dismissed."
Tenten gave a small smile and goodbye as she left along with two others. Only Ino and Sakura remained before Kakashi and Tsunade. He looked like he might get sick.
"Do you need a scan, Kakashi?" Sakura asked.
"No, no…"
Tsunade tossed the parchment across the table. Ino grabbed it hungrily, and Sakura moved to read it over her shoulder.
Information will be provided in exchange for full pardons,
across all records, at the conclusion of the war.
No country shall claim ownership over the ninja involved.
No country shall require servitude of the ninja involved.
The contact must be from Konoha. It must be a kunoichi.
She must be at least Classed 7. She must be versed in healing.
In addition to contacting, she will be required to heal the ninja when requested.
She must have graduated Academy with the Nine Tails.
She and Ino made eye contact. It was suspiciously specific. Sakura looked up to Kakashi, and an understanding bloomed in her. Only 2 people in all the Allied army matched those requests. Orochimaru wanted her or he wanted Ino or he wanted no one at all.
"That's that. The last line really stands out, doesn't it?" Tsunade took a swig of whatever she conjured earlier. "There are at least a dozen others who could fit the mold for this request without it."
"It's clearly a trap," Kakashi intoned.
"Clearly," Tsunade agreed. "The specifications make it obvious. But that Iwa twit was right. What choice do we have?" She scowled, debrief demeanor completely fallen to the wayside. Everyone in this tent knew this was the real Tsunade, so it hardly mattered.
Both her teachers' gazes fell on Sakura. She sat straighter. It was not a hard puzzle to piece together, this request. It wanted someone specific, but it wouldn't spell it out. And they had to guess right. She was thinking…it's probably me.
"It...makes the most sense for me to go," Sakura admitted quickly, so her voice wouldn't falter.
"No. We need Sakura in medical. There is no replacing her, and we all know it. However, someone in the Yamanaka clan can certainly be quickly trained up to take over my position. I should go."
Ino's eyes were hard. Tsunade weighed her words. Sakura did not want to throw her friend into it, though. She had an opportunity to save Ino from this, just like Ino was trying to save her.
"I am better suited for this mission. It's a solo mission. Ino is highly powerful in teams and large groups but is at a distinct disadvantage alone. Her specialization requires someone to protect her to be most effective. She wouldn't be able to utilize her strengths in this situation. I'm trained mostly in solo combat and can tank a high level of damage. If it comes to it. And—I have no bloodline or family jutsu that Orochimaru might be interested in experimenting with."
Ino turned to her, clearly angry. "You are not going, Sakura! You cannot! It's a trap, Kakashi." She turned her force on him. "You cannot agree to send her."
He said nothing.
Tsunade sighed. "Don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be, Ino."
"It should be difficult. This is ridiculous. The army can't afford to lose Sakura, especially when you're incapable of being a battle medic at this point in the war. Who else in the army can heal a battlefield? You've been unwilling to train anyone else up to handle the Katsuyu summon, and no one's created anything remotely similar in effectiveness. The fact you're even asking her right now is absolutely ridiculous!"
The air sizzled. Tsunade rubbed a spot above her brow. Had there always been this tension between these two?
Certainly not.
"I know what you're doing here." Ino's voice dipped into a sneer. "You've brought her in with me only to encourage her to volunteer. You never intended this to be a discussion. You hoped to not choose and placed the choice on Sakura herself. You're choosing to be a coward."
Sakura held her breath. That was...almost treasonous.
"Enough. You've never been so insubordinate, Yamanaka. I'll forgive it in context, but the ability to remove emotion from reasoning is essential to your approved Classed and required of Konoha's linker. This is inappropriate. And," Tsunade leveled a glare at Ino, "if you question my ability to battle or lead, we can arrange for it to be tested between us. Do not insult me in such a manner again."
Ino shook with rage. Sakura placed a hand on her shoulder. Tsunade looked run down, but Sakura had no question that the woman was still the best one-on-one fighter in this room. Though, perhaps not by miles, anymore. The war had dragged on and on, and she was not the woman she once was. She was sharper. More logical. Less emotional. A hardened leader and—a nasty drunk.
"It's okay, Ino. I will go."
"You cannot."
Sakura gave her friend a smile. "It's not up to you. And I'm asking to be sent regardless."
"Well, guess what?" Ino turned her nose up in a distinctly disgusted look that Sakura knew was only a defense mechanism. "I'm asking to go as well. I believe I should be sent."
Tsunade looked at the two women, then at Kakashi. "Well?"
Sakura knew it was her. She knew. Ino seemed to know it, too. Orochimaru was asking for Sakura. Tsunade knew it and was putting on the charade of choice. Did Kakashi know? He stared at Sakura. He was to be the next Hokage. He had to make the hard decisions. He must tell Sakura to accept the mission.
"You'll have to decide, Tsunade."
Sakura smiled softly at him. He couldn't do it. As a leader, he should, but with Sakura, he couldn't. It was something that might kill him one day, but something she loved him for right now. The war had not killed everything good in four years. There still remained loyalty and love, and that's what mattered.
It made no real difference in the end, though.
Tsunade sighed. "You'll have to work on that, Kakashi. Very well. Sakura, it's your mission. I am—sorry." And it looked like she really meant it. Tsunade was so distant in recent years it was hard to get much emotion from her at all. But she looked like she really meant it. Ino still gave a loud scoff. "If I could send anyone else, anyone, I would. Ino is right. We need you desperately. But…I have full faith in you to survive. No doubt in it at all. That is the only reason I'm agreeing to send you. If I thought Ino could survive if things turn to hell, I wouldn't risk you."
"I accept the mission."
Ino was burning beside her. She gripped her hand with a strength that rivaled Sakura's.
"This is a mistake," Ino said. "You're going to regret this, Tsunade."
No one contradicted her words. Sakura was...probably being sent to die.
"Enough, Yamanaka. Kakashi will be the handler. Ino can get you prepped on being a gatherer." A spy. "And...be careful. If I lose another person, I think it'll be the end of me."
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