The war was over. The threat was gone, sealed away. Her boys had duked it out and come to an understanding. Now they stood together – all of the old Team 7 – and looked out over the vast expanse of the god tree. Sasuke made ready to release the tailed beasts, and both made ready to fist bump to release everyone else.
Sakura could not stop staring at the pair, relief overwhelming her. She had healed their wounds, stabilized their vitals, and dosed them with soldier pills. They were not fully recovered by any means, but they were able to complete the final step in restoring the world to as close as it was before the madness of Madara and Kaguya. They were all going to be okay now.
With a start, she realized she was staring at Sasuke in particular.
He had not said anything else to her directly since he apologized. Questions hovered in the back of her mind and she did her best to ignore them. She looked away quickly when she felt the sting of tears in her eyes, not wanting anyone else to notice.
It was because of that sudden movement that Sakura saw what the others did not. There was a strange symbol partially carved into the stone only a few feet from them.
She could not put her finger on it, but something did not feel right. A sixth sense of some kind warned her that this was a threat.
She heard the exclamation of Naruto seeing the tailed beasts free. She wanted to see them bump fists and free those trapped by the tree, but she could not tear her eyes away from the sign, trying to sus out the reason for her unease.
As the fists of her boys reached for one another, the markings began to glow. There was no time for a warning, not time for anything but action. Instinctively, she threw herself forward, to get in between the growing light and her boys. The ground shook as the tree unraveled, but the others noticed the light and turned to look.
For a moment, they saw Sakura's back. They saw the light all around her like a halo around her outline.
As shouts of relief and victory filled the air, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto could only stare at where their female teammate was a moment ago.