Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than humanity.
"Your yin seal stopped working," Karin said during a spar one morning.
Sakura's response was to huff. "Can't psych me out with something like that, Red."
"No, I'm serious!" She held up her hands, halting the training as Orochimaru looked on with interest. "Stand still, let me feel. Yep—you're still moving chakra up there, but it's all being pushed back out. Looks like your reserves are full."
It had been only half a year since Kabuto had given his rudimentary explanation of the seal, and nearing a full year since she'd left Konoha. Her progress had remained substantial, but to hear that she'd hit her first roadblock was an enormous disappointment.
"No matter," Orochimaru said, waving his hand as if to fan away a bad smell. "Our understanding of its properties are limited. Sakura-kun, meet me in the west laboratory this evening. There's a new avenue we should discuss."
Karin's eyes were wide as saucers in fear, and Sakura fought to keep her expression impassive. The warning she'd received months ago about finding herself the subject of one of Orochimaru's experiments rang her from deep within, but she had to be strong. All she did now she did for the friends she left behind, and she would be brave for their sakes.
"In this storage tank," her master said that night, "are the genetic components taken from the late Senjuu Hashirama. You will know him as the first Hokage, and you may not know him as the grandfather of the current one."
Sakura watched, curious and cautious as she shifted in her seat. How the hell did he manage to get his hands on something like that?
"We used them in numerous experiments in the past, but most were unfruitful, so we ceased human interaction and have been merely studying them for these last years. He was a remarkable man, you know. Recite to me what of his life they've taught you in Konoha."
"Um," she started, suddenly nervous to be put on the spot. She thought back, but history lessons weren't ever at the forefront of any class at the academy. "That he brought together a lot of the warring states and founded the village. And that kicked off the creation of the other hidden villages, too."
"Those are the basics, I suppose. Nothing of his techniques?"
"No," she answered.
He hummed his distaste. "They keep many things from you children, it seems. Perhaps to mold you into whatever warriors best fit their current philosophies? No matter. Among his abilities were an incredible reserve of chakra, a self-healing property that carried him through many should-be deaths, and a wood-style release of exceptional power.
"Lady Tsunade, being of Hashirama's blood, has access to these abilities, particularly that of mitotic regeneration—represented in her by that symbol on her forehead. She's created a jutsu of great interest to me that allows her to heal from any wound regardless of its severity, and prevents her from dying while active. It is obvious to me that you, with such exquisite control of your chakra, would greatly benefit from being given these cells."
There may have been a time, in the not-so-distant past, when Sakura would've seen something like that as cheating, or taking a shortcut—the easy way out. But her time spent with Orochimaru and Kabuto and Karin showed that through scientific endeavor, most anything was possible. Secrets of jutsu and the power to keep oneself alive by being crafty and clever were becoming invaluable in her mind, and this was no different.
In her heart it also felt a little something like destiny that things were soon to come full circle: empowered by the DNA of the first Hokage, someone who fought tirelessly for peace, would she be able to complete that man's dream instead?
Damn right we will.
The procedure to receive the cells was by injection, and simple enough. Already she sat in the lab chair, and Kabuto began strapping down her wrists and ankles, and if it were not for all of Orochimaru's gentleness with her for this past year, she would have felt anxious. But as always, he stood by and explained things carefully as he and Four-eyes readied the materials. Karin was there, as she always was these days, and was instructed to keep her bare arm outstretched in range of Sakura's mouth, in case emergency healing was needed. It had been Kabuto's suggestion, as he'd held the fear that if her body rejected the transfer, she may not be in the right headspace to enact self-healing.
Orochimaru approached her with the thick needle containing the cells, asking in his usual manner if he had her permission to proceed. She pressed her lips into a thin line, nervous despite this being so much her new normal, and nodded. The needle was cool against her bicep, and then the sting of it came as it punctured her skin. The liquid was warm and infused with a significant amount of chakra she could feel flowing through her.
In her stomach was a roiling sickness, dizzying her in an instant. They'd warned that her body may combat such a direct transfer of someone else's genetic material, and that it may not be fatal—as long as they caught it in time and got to work before things grew out of hand. She became drenched in a cold sweat and squeezed shut her eyes against the rapid-onset headache, trying to repeat to herself over and over that such a reaction may well be normal—many things in science were like that, she'd learned. Just because liquids bubbled or boiled or hissed or hummed did not mean that things weren't working as intended.
When she opened her eyes, they were drawn to the doorway where Sasuke suddenly stood. Instinctively her heart fluttered, but something was not quite right. This person was tall and muscled, and decidedly an adult. All of the training in the world, even with puberty, would not have aged the love of her life so quickly, and when she looked closer she understood that it was not Sasuke at all, though the resemblance to him was still uncanny.
The man took a hard, booming step that echoed in her ears, and in that instant her heart was gripped by fear. Though she could not tear her eyes away from this stranger, she was at the same time keenly aware that everyone else in the room had disappeared. Karin's pale arm was not hovering before her, Orochimaru was no longer watching her, and Kabuto's incessant scribbling in his notebook ceased to exist. There was only Sakura and this person, looming so tall there across the room and radiating nothing but hatred.
He took another step towards her, but before she could cry out in fright, her world fell black.
Eventually she awoke in bed with Karin's arms wrapped tightly around her. Her heart beat frantically, and she crossed her own arms to tightly hold the other girl's hands. She took in a deep breath, Karin's sweetgrass scent filling her lungs and calming her flipping stomach, until finally she felt grounded again. She'd made it through the procedure alive, it seemed, and here in the arms of the only real friend she had, the memory of that strange man faded into the background of her mind as if it had been merely a dream.
She hoped, deep down, that was all it truly was.
Among the first of the changes Sakura noticed were her vast increase in both stamina and chakra. Within the week, Karin was pleased to report that the reserve that'd once been building behind her forehead had resumed. Orochimaru was equally pleased by this, and noted the changes in her ever-growing record.
The next change occurred during a spar, when—completely by accident—her arm became encased in wood when prepping to parry a swipe from Kabuto. Their master nearly leapt he was so excited, and the next few weeks were spent studying wood-style jutsu and all of the appropriate hand signs that corresponded with it (though it was mainly the Snake; go figure) and its many practical applications. It was nice, Sakura thought, to be guaranteed shelter no matter where she went, and the combative versatility was a welcome addition to her arsenal. She liked to sprout four arms from her back, and she really liked the intimidation factor that came with making them snakes instead of human arms. She could use them to strike and defend in nearly any direction, enveloping them in her chakra to boost their power and durability.
Further still were her healing abilities, and especially when it came to self-healing. Period cramps were a thing of the past, something she delighted in until Orochimaru got word of this and explained to her all of the ways her reproductive cycle could be manipulated through careful use of chakra control. As much as she appreciated being spoken to as an adult, the topic was an awkward one and she found herself wishing for her mother more deeply than she ever had.
The better she became, the more brutal the training grew. Though Orochimaru's attitude never changed, he'd begun to make her privy to some of his experiments and past deeds, all of which were nothing short of horrific. For all of the things he did not disclose, Karin was there to fill in the gaps. Sakura was not necessarily shocked to learn that the stories of bogeymen and ghouls from her childhood had originated from her master and his habit of kidnapping children, but around home he was always so calm and collected. It was a heavy reminder of that feeling, dulled by time, that she was in over her head. She'd earned his trust and respect, but knew she still had to be careful.
Her lessons had begun to include the ingestion of various poisons, intended to build up her immunity to them. Kabuto taught her the art of tracking the venom through her veins, pushing chakra to dilute its potency and render its effects useless while training her body to be accustomed to its side effects like nausea and sickening sweats. It would also be necessary, he'd say, for her best chances of surviving both the application of a curse mark and the trials she would face when granted an audience with the Great White Snake, if Orochimaru decided on those paths for her.
Still, though, her stomach was frequently upset and her joints ached in a sickly way most nights as she lie in her bed. Karin took pity on her, often sneaking across the halls in the dark of night to let Sakura take a bite from her arm before they drifted off to sleep, snuggled close in Sakura's small bed.
On her forehead appeared two blue circles, her yin seal manifested at last. Due to their lack of total understanding of the jutsu, the men first attributed its difference to Tsunade's seal to its imperfections.
"I don't think you'll be able to recreate Tsunade's Rebirth jutsu," Four-eyes said one afternoon, "unless..." He gave a glance to Orochimaru, who regarded him seriously as he bowed low. "Sir, I believe she may be able to perform the technique with the help of a curse seal."
"I concur," their master said heavily. "I've been waiting for such a day to come. Do you know what this means?"
Of course she did. It was the same reason why he'd marked Sasuke, and though Sakura hadn't fully understood at the time, Orochimaru had been up front with her about his intentions: he wanted an Uchiha body. That he had now deemed her worthy of such a thing should have her quaking in her sandals, but all she could feel was an intense pride beating in time with her heart.
That's damn right, her inner self gloated. I knew we had what it took.
The next few weeks were dedicated to the study of natural energies, something Sakura had never once heard of in her life. Orochimaru was done clicking his tongue in annoyance at her lack of education, resorting now to chuckling and muttering that an educational reform was growing higher on his list of priorities.
It was the start of the fourth week that he summoned her to his private chambers after their morning tea. The process of receiving a curse mark, he explained, would not be an easy one. Its survival rate was low, but the intensity of her training over the last year and a half would bolster her chances of survival. The Hashirama cells, too, were another encouraging factor.
"You've exceeded my expectations, child. Though you have no genetic jutsu I can use to my advantage, your chakra control is nothing short of masterful. One thing gives me pause, though: I can sense that inner voice within you."
She stared, not sure what to make of this. Of course she knew he was powerful, but to sense such a thing inside a person? Though she'd always viewed her inner self as little more than intrusive thoughts, she had never supposed it was something so real.
"Over these many months I've watched as it slowly comes out of you—usually in your anger, you know. If we could bring that part of your personality and set it alongside the true you, I think the results would be interesting indeed. I've a hypothesis that in tapping into your cursed state, this inner voice may become your dominant personality while the seal is active."
She gulped, wondering just how that would feel or why he thought it was possible. He went on to explain the essentials of the way his curse marks operated: they stemmed from a no-name clan whose bloodline technique involved that natural energy she'd been studying. It was a form of chakra that flowed around the world unseen except by those with incredible power, and typically could only be accumulated by sitting perfectly still. But of course, Orochimaru had endeavored long and hard to unearth the secrets of that clan, and was able to create a jutsu that stemmed from his own natural energy, bestowing power on the chosen subject.
And, of course, allowing him to inhabit the body when he so chose.
"The survival rate for the seal's application is low. You understand this?"
You already told us that. "Yes."
"I cannot save you if your body rejects it. Nor Karin."
We can save ourselves. At least her inner voice was confident as she stared into those snake eyes. "I know."
"Do I have permission to take your hand, Sakura-kun?"
She extended her arm, and gracefully he wrapped his fingers under her palm and around her wrist. He turned it so the underside faced him, and she felt as his chakra—that natural energy—flared to life around him, powerful and sickening. He opened his mouth, and though she knew the seal's application was done with a bite, the prospect suddenly seemed horrifying.
She flinched, and this was perhaps the worst move she could have made, for in the next instant his eyes flickered to hers and shot her through with a great dread. Never in all of her time here had she seen such a dangerous, deranged look about him, and she spied a dark liquid seep from one of the sharp edges of his teeth just before he sunk them deep into the soft flesh of her wrist.