Chapter Five: "A Mother's Love Can Smother"

Sakura: "You know what? Give me back Kei. At least I can just punch him out of my face!"
—On The Very Thin Line Between Family and Enemies "Can I Still Punch a Mother If She Tries to Smother Me With Black Chakra Tentacles? Ew."

Sakura: If only she didn't hold all the family secrets I need to survive! I need to punch something. Kei! Come to Tokyo!

Naruto: Um…I don't think he's —

Leader of Kaguya Clan: May I come in his place? I promise to give you a fight to die for *smile sparkles*

Naruto and Sakura: Violence is bad! We'll go be corporate drones now!

Sasuke: What's a job?

Itachi: …Did I spoil him too much?

Uchiha Parents: Yes, sons! You can do it! Go destroy our enemies, I'm so proud! Don't worry over something trivial like money!

Naruto and Sakura: How come he's still rich in this lifetime?! NOT FAIR!

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3A.M. TOKYO — Uchiha Territory

SWISH! A man in a pair of brand name jogging pants swung a katana to let the blood fly off its blade. On the ground in front of him were a couple of masked men — headless.

From the shadows of the empty alleyway, a couple of masked men approached, but their eyes shone red. They knelt down before the man. "Sir! The enemy has been eliminated. We left one to escape our territory as a warning as commanded."

"Good." Sasuke's eyes faded from red to black and he looked like a normal man jogging, albeit one who could have been in the entertainment industry. "I'll return then. Is Itachi back yet?"

"Yes! He has brought the weapons from infamous master craftsman. He has chosen the best for you, Sasuke-sama."

"Very well." Sasuke held out his wrist and a seal revealed itself and glowed on his skin. With a swift motion, the second master of the Uchiha Clan put his katana inside the seal until it disappeared completely. Usually, he didn't care if he was seen with a sword since it was their territory anyway, but Mother was always concerned for his safety so put his weapons away inside the storage seal. To think the ancient shinobi relied on paper for storage — inefficient.

With a last glance at his subordinates, he ordered, "Tell Father, I finished clearing out this ward. The heads can be gifted back to the idiotic small clan with my regards. To dare challenge the Uchiha Clan, they must be disciplined." Then his body flickered as he teleported away.

"Yes, sir!" The subordinates still said as they also disappeared back into the shadows.

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"My baby boy! You're back home!" Makoto Uchiha quickly ran to hug her son. No matter how old he is, he will always be her baby.

"Mother." Itachi hugged her back then nodded at his father. "Father."

The Uchiha Head patted his back then asked, "It is late. How did your trip go?"

"I had to take a detour after the stop in Fukuoka. I noticed there were a high amount of shinobi patrolling the streets and an unusual spike in chakra, but I couldn't track it down due to the enemy's numbers and had to leave. Their movements suggested a patrol, but I had no chance to scour the city without alerting them. It was as if they were preparing for an invasion. Forgive me, I didn't get much intel, but I was still allowed to retrieve the master craftsman's forged weaponry. I left the best for you, Mother and Sasuke in the armory."

"Good, good. Hn. The Kaguya Clan is normally unrestrained and lecherous, yet they were on guard that much? I'll have people watch that side branch of theirs in Tokyo. You did well, my son."

"Itachi!" Suddenly, Sasuke showed up in the living room and bowed slightly as a greeting. "I heard you finally returned."

Itachi chuckled and flicked his forehead. Just like his Mother, he also couldn't see Sasuke as anymore than that little brother who begged to go training after school everyday. Fondness relaxed his stern face and he said, "Little brother, it's been a while."

Sasuke coughed and grimaced, "Next time you check on the branches outside of the city, take me with you." He was already 27 years old and his brother still acted like this! But deep down, he was happy. "I want to check on the lands. There's been a stupid attempt of an attack by some small nobody and I think we need to remind the other clans just who the Uchiha are."

"Hn. Next time, then. We shall observe the situation. It seems there might be more going on than a simple skirmish between clans this time." He relayed the situation in Fukuoka. "The Kaguyas are rumored to be obsessed about demons, but there is no proof. No one's really seen one in decades — at least not that we know. However there was a surge of foreign chakra for a split second in the direction of their base. The entire city is bought out and patrolled by them, however, so it is a challenge to inquire further."

Fugaku and Makoto simply observed their two sons slowly take over matters of the clan with satisfied smiles. After much discussion, the men decided on observing the situation longer and gained approval by their father. Then it was time to rest.

Makoto called out before she left for bed, "Itachi! How long will you stay home before you help out your friend's Akatsuki Start Up?"

"Just a couple of days. It is crunch time." Even though the Uchihas made their money in various businesses, Itachi wanted to help his friends while also gaining experience outside of the family businesses to help strengthen his right to be the next Clan Head. The competition is fierce with his cousins in the mix, but he always stood out on top regardless. Sasuke didn't even try to enter the succession battle and wanted to manage his own branch one day. Itachi didn't really care for being the Head, but if one of his cousins took over, he worried they'd give his family a hard time. Main branch or not, only the worthy deserved to be Head unlike the succession battles of ancient days where it went to the eldest automatically.

"Okay, I'll make breakfast so don't just run off to do extra work!" Makato scolded fondly then went to bed with Fugaku. Sasuke left as well and Itachi entered his childhood room. He moved out years ago, but the room was kept clean as always.

Just before he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but ponder about Fukuoka and for some reason thought of that figure with the pink hair. There was no basis for it, but he had a strange feeling about that woman in Fukuoka. She looked like a normal salary woman, but she felt familiar even though he was sure he had never seen her before. Deja vu?

He must be overworked. And with that, he finally got to rest.

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Back to Tokyo Nursing Home, Present Time:

After a moment of tensed silence, Keiko withdrew her chakra and Sakura took a step back in case. From the corner of her eye, Sakura noticed Naruto hid outside the wall just before the window, out of her mother's direct line of sight. Okay. She could do this. She wasn't alone.

Sakura took a deep breath then said, "Let's do this. You tell me about chakra and our family then I'll tell you where the treasure is."

"…Fine." Keiko sneered then began to tell the tale of their family. As one of many small clans hidden in Tokyo, she was tasked with seducing and entrapping the famous researcher Craig Hamilton, her past husband and Sakura's father. The reason Sakura was a Haruno was because Craig wanted to keep the shinobi line alive so didn't care about giving her the Hamilton name. Keiko was an only child and there were no other children. For some reason, her clan had been poisoned with infertility so her mother was the only one who could give birth before she died in childbirth. Such drama wasn't uncommon in subtle wars.

When Keiko married, they had a child and everything looked happy. But as Craig was rumored to have found the treasure despite having no way to access his chakra well due to a lab accident and could only manipulate it from other people, his ability to store chakra and cast jutsus was very limited. In the end, he developed the seal that changed the shinobi war forever that allowed what could normally happen on scrolls go on the body without leaving permanent marks or needing them. 'Dissolving seals that could replace the need for scrolls as long as you were human and could use chakra.' The man was obsessed.

Keiko told her tale with a cold voice, unattached by the memories and skipping over her strict and traumatizing childhood. Sakura could only imagine what they had to do to teach her seduction and killing. For the first time, she actually felt pity for her mother despite everything. "We wanted you to be strong so I hit you to train you to not expect happiness to come on a platter. I talked you down so the world didn't do it first and couldn't hurt you. I didn't teach you about chakra because your father thought it was dangerous being a shinobi. And if you, the chakra-less daughter, held the treasure — no one would guess it. It'd make no sense to give the treasure to someone like that and once given, it was near impossible to take back. Your father loved you, the world knew that, and thought he chose any of his other experiments to host it. But that's as far as anybody knew. No one knew for sure what the treasure looked like, only that he had it. And the experiments who tested his research were all desperate volunteers seeking power so it's very legal. There. Happy?"

Sakura didn't know what to say. So she could only ask the next question, "How do you learn to use chakra? Were there training materials in our home?" She didn't remember any of this, but her father's labs were long locked down and she never cared to know before. She assumed it was just a regular lab like in any company.

Keiko raised a brow. "Curious, aren't you? Seduced by power? I don't blame you. My family is dead and Craig's family had only him before his parents died. So you're our heir. Of course, if you go to our home, you'll find documents for several banks and storage units. You'll find how to learn there. If you didn't just run away, you'd know this by now, silly girl."

Sakura was getting all the answers she wanted, but she still had a bad premonition. Why was her mother being so…amicable? She didn't even try to trick her yet? No way she would just tell her the truth without sneaking lies. "You didn't answer my first question. Why did you kill father?"

Keiko's brow scrunched. "I didn't love him, as you could tell, but that night…I just wanted the treasure, but your father would have rather died than hand it over. I didn't kill him, he killed himself and poured whatever chakra he had inside of the second half before breaking it completely as he died. The bastard would rather die!" Her face revealed a feral snarl before it returned to normal. "The treasure was long split in half, but the power was equally divided by then. The other half was hidden while this half was kept on his being. But to think he went that far…My poor daughter. Plagued by death and deceit. I never wanted him dead. Everything I wanted, everything I was forced to do, was for that treasure." Suddenly she gazed at Sakura with pity and tears fell from her eyes. "My family made me do terrible things. Terrible, terrible things. They are all dead now, but what of me? My whole life was centered on finding the power that could change the world." Her pitch rose and a strange smile spread on her face as she spoke. She looked at Sakura with tenderness as tears fell while she smiled like the madwoman she was.

Sakura's sense of survival flared and she stepped back again. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Whenever she pulled that look, it never ended well for her. There was always a favor to ask or trouble looming.

"Where is the treasure darling? It's your turn for answers."

Sakura blinked once then quickly adjusted to the question and said smoothly, "It is in one of his labs under security. Or at least it was when he told me. If he changed things, I don't know because … he died."

"That is unfortunate. The labs have been locked down for around a year now. It should be under his company's jurisdiction so they might have it…" Keiko pretended not to see her daughter step back and sobbed out, "I feel so emotional. And so much regret. Sakura."

Keiko quickly reverted back into the image of a frail elderly woman as she lost her smile and sobbed out again, "Now that you know our history, I only have a last request. Give your mother one last hug as a goodbye. I deserve that much, no?" Keiko's shoulders trembled as she cried. "You have no idea how much I have suffered. My clan made me who I am. Trained in seduction, killing and anything else to get her target, my life was brutal. Nothing compared to what I put you through, my daughter. Surely, you can empathize? I just want to pretend things could have been different between us. I want one last hug. Is that too much to ask for?" She sobbed and wrinkled face looked ten years older. Her white hair framed her sorrowful eyes that twinged with regret. "My only child. I am sorry."

Sakura's heart wavered even as her hatred kept her at bay. Was it true? They were both simply victims in this cruel world. If only her mother didn't do what she did…If her mother's family weren't cruel to her…Could things have been different? For all her self-talk, deep down, Sakura still yearned for the love of a family. It was always her dream, but she thought it had been stomped out. Coupled with the fact that her mother never apologized for anything, ever, her will faltered more. And so, with one last moment of pity before she'd leave and never return, Sakura went up to hug her mother.

Only to have her wrist snatched and pulled to be scrutinized as Sakura's leg hit the sharp edge of the drawers by the bed. "Ouch!"

Not even glancing, Keiko studied Sakura's wrist and finally smiled, her true colors showing. "Finally…I found it…"

Sweat dripped down Sakura's neck as she swore and tried to pull her wrist back, but to no avail. "Let go!"

Keiko ignored her cries and infused more chakra into her hold so it held as tight as iron. With her other hand, she ran a chipped nail down Sakura's wrist and finally a seal slowly started to reveal itself painted on her wrist and it glowed. "Your father created these seals, you know? In his fanatic search for the mythical treasure, he tested all sorts of seals that could be based on the human body and now I know why. The treasure is in you, my lying daughter."

After more gazing, Keiko smiled happily. "It seems retrievable. I only have to kill you. What a cruel man your father is. And what a great actor!" Her cold eyes locked onto Sakura's. "It really is the last time we'll hug, dear."

Sakura hissed and struggled to move, but her emotions were driving her mad — fear, hatred, shock. "No! Dad may have been cold, but he never tried to hurt me like you had. He even saved me from starving!" Tears ran down her face unbidden as she tried to fight against her mother, but her emotions ran wild and she couldn't really control her chakra well. Since she wasn't trained as a shinobi, she didn't really know how to do it consciously and it was all by instinct so losing control of herself made her weak. "You're wrong! He wouldn't hurt me like that! He said he just needed me to hold it and when he got it back, we would be okay. The seal is open access so he can retrieve it without harming me. You're the one who abused the both of us!" she shouted with barely restrained grief. Was everything a lie?

"Me? Abuse him? That cold fucker? I merely lash out, but he feels nothing. Literally. Dear, he's a researcher who conducts human experiments. So what if he revolutionized seals and changed the shinobi way of war forever? He's but a cold bastard!" Keiko laughed like a hyena as she looked down at her simple daughter with disdain. "The treasure was split in half, the one you have has everything. The one I had is but an empty vessel. Your father made it so by breaking it and all power transferred to the other half. But that usually wouldn't work. You don't think I didn't understand my own husband? The only way that would work was if the other half wasn't a mere object, but a living vessel. I wasn't sure but now I am."

Her mother continued as she stroked her wrist. "You are the vessel, poor Sakura. With the amount of human experimentation he did, it could have been any of his better experimental hosts, but in the end, he chose you. I guess my blood in you made you worthy of housing the treasure. No matter. Let me test out your theory." Keiko squeezed Sakura's wrist and dug her nails in until blood ran down. Once the seal fully glowed on her skin, Keiko took her hand and black chakra emitted. Placing it on top, she began to forcefully transfer but it didn't work. Then she looked deep into Sakura's green eyes and said, "It seems I must really kill you or at least have you dying. This seal isn't open access. It will kill the host if forcibly removed and it will drain the host of all it's chakra and life. Your father was a cold bastard. Not even his so-called precious daughter was safe from him."

Keiko continued, "The treasure holds the power to take chakra by force. Even life itself can be converted. In essence, in the right hands, it is limitless chakra just like the gods. Your father was crippled — he had a block to his chakra via his nerves and no power to change that. No matter what he did. You were his last and only hope. The transfer between chakra of a father and a daughter is much easier than any stranger. The materials are half the same and harmonious transfer is high. His portrayed love was to trick those who watched. When all thought the treasure was destroyed, the eyes stopped watching, but I never did. Sakura, you think we didn't know you went acting like a monkey all over Tokyo with your friends in your school days? Please. You knew nothing about us. About the world. You are still a child and always will be. I must save you from this harsh world." Insanity loomed in her eyes and Sakura couldn't help but tremble at her mother. The only one who could make her afraid with but a look just like when she was a child.

"Dear, did you really think your father wanted you alive without reason?"

"Like I said, the world of the shinobi is a hard one. You wouldn't survive anyway so just die here and finally be of use."

"My child, I love you. This is only for your protection. Living is overrated."

Just as Keiko was about to take her chakra and stab her daughter's heart, Naruto broke through the window and screamed,

"Leave Sakura alone!"

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AUTHOR NOTE:

Hey! In a rush so typed this up, but finally got this chapter out! I hope it's alright and please leave a review and lmk what you think! Things are gonna get running!

As always, giving free hug loves and drink mocha frappes with mochi!

Have fun and don't get caught by crazy shinobi! Thanks for reading!

Mwah!

WitchySkies

P.S. Be careful who you hug lol
P.S.S. Akatsuki is now a start up LOLOL