Chapter Six: "A Kunoichi's Honor, A Clan's Duty"

Sakura: "I Never Thought I'd Have To Act Love Sick To Get Away With — Ahem! Good Thing I Watch A Lot of Yaoi and Play Otome Games!"
—On Shitty Family and Making Older Generations Look Down On Her "If kunoichi had to seduce enemies to death, then why is tinder so bad? And why is tinder the only idea that makes sense so I seem normal? Society, I question you."

Naruto: Says the woman who thinks yaoi and otome games can produce realistic love scenarios.

Sakura *mocking*: Says the virgin who acts like a kid on a playground, picking fights. You a street brawler, right? All you do is pick fights. Where's your girlfriend?

Sasuke: Even in this era, you two are behind.

Sakura and Naruto: Wait. WHAT?! You have experience?! The walking slab of stone?

Sasuke *eye twitching*: Why not me?

Itachi: He's a workaholic.

Sasuke: Nii-san! SHUT UP!

Uchiha Parents: *Suddenly worried for their future generations — if they will exist*

Sakura and Naruto's Parents in Heaven: Are we cursed? Even in the second life, our kids are orphaned. Not fair. *Tries hard not to swear at uchiha clan in jealousy*

Naruto: Tch. Born rich with his family and a face ladies like — but you're still a virgin. Hehehe. You must suck down there!

Sakura: I'm outta here. You guys have fun comparing — hm? Wait, I saw this scenario in a yaoi! Then next scene is —

Naruto and Sasuke: SHUT UP SAKURA! *Jumps far away so they don't repeat past life kiss scene*

Sakura *holding doujinshi*: Hehehehe

Kakashi *takes out icha icha and joins in giggles*: Hehehehe

Jiraiya *takes out pen and giggles*: HEHEHEHE

*Naruto and Sasuke fear for future surrounded by perverts*

…

…

"LEAVE SAKURA ALONE!" Naruto roared as he crashed through the window. Blocking the flying glass from hitting his face with his arm, he grabbed Sakura's other arm and tore her away from her mother while she was caught off-guard. "I won't let you hurt her!" He went into a fighting stance in front of Sakura.

Sakura glanced at Naruto's protective stance as he stepped in front of her, his usual cheerful face distorted into a fierce glare like a tiger. She wanted to cry. Her own parents didn't care for her death, but this man she's only met for barely a couple of days did. So what if it could be for saving his life before? She knew how to tell if a person was near her out of obligation or for herself.

But her mother merely chuckled and said, "Oh? Now this is surprising. I have gotten lax if I couldn't even sense him. A boyfriend? Is that where you ran off to for a year? Hm. No. He looks too simple for you, wicked girl." Her mother raised her brow. She may not have cared for Sakura, but as a mother she still knew some things. "But he can hide his chakra well. Was he the one to reveal chakra to you? I assumed you understood by looking into your father, but I seem to be wrong. You are truly naive, aren't you?"

Naruto ignored her question and spoke up, "She's not naive! And stop talking down to her. You're the monster for trying to hurt your own daughter!" He glanced back at Sakura's broken expression and his eyes hardened. He knew how brave and strong Sakura was when she took down Kei without hesitation or doubt. But here she was — like a broken doll. What did her mother do to her exactly? Sakura told him she hit her, but there seemed to be more behind those words. Rage consumed his heart as tried to stay in control. If he revealed the demon chakra here, he didn't know who would notice. But it was hard.

Very hard.

"As you seem to be failing to control yourself, you must be a rookie as well. So who taught you? Maybe it is your father after all? No. Impossible. Hm?" Keiko seemed distracted before she blinked in realization then asked, "Dear, you are stupid, but this just takes the cake. How exactly did your father explain the power he placed in you?"

Sakura bit her lip and restrained her anger that couldn't overcome her innate fear. With disgust at herself, her lips trembled slightly as she spat out, "He…said it was a technology that could teleport things. I was merely holding something of a seal or coordinates to the item." She hated feeling this way, but it was hard to stop. Fucking trauma. She swore and swore, but the core problem remained. And the person she thought she could trust, that weak yet smart father of hers…was playing a long game? She trusted him so much, she even let him operate on her and now she felt as stupid as her mother called her.

Keiko laughed, knowing what Sakura was going through as she raised her this way. So she said mockingly, "Oh dear, did you really believe there was a technology that sealed relics? Sure there is that funny Star Battle movie with the teleporting, I suppose, but honestly if that technology existed then the world would enter a new era of technology already and us shinobi wouldn't have that advantage. But then, your father wanted you stupid."

She continued with a sneer, "Your seal is made of chakra. You may as well call it magic. The force that lives in all of us, yet only few could access. Hm. Seals that could store an armory used to require scrolls and a great control of chakra. Your father ruined the balance by creating seals that could be permanently placed on a person's body to access or not access according to how it was installed. Of course, not everyone could afford it and the effects depend on the seal creator's power, but his theories changed the world. There are counter-protective measures, but the gist is simple. The paper turned to skin and people can be sneakier. No longer want this seal? Overwrite it. If you can. Some seals shouldn't belong on people. Yet your father tested one of the worst on you without knowing if you would live. A seal that sucks life itself if handled wrong was the only type that can store an item that could take away chakra or even drain life force and convert it. That it the power of limitless chakra. Not even the great Haruno Legend herself could compare with her seal. Such is human nature, love doesn't exist in the face of power. A seal that could house a legendary item's power isn't simple. I hoped by naming you after a legendary ancestor would also make you not so simple or I'd be bored, but I was wrong. You ended up as your father wished in the end."

Keiko went to stand up and face them with madness in her eyes, discarding the frail old woman act. "The bastard's experiments went wrong, of course. A legendary item wouldn't be easy to seal. Your seal is etched in your body in a way that the power of the treasure is now in your very veins. Taking it from you without damage would be risky, but I'm sure you won't die while I test things." She smiled coldly. "You didn't die so easily back then so you won't now. But don't worry, this time I'll give you mercy by granting a painless death and won't let you stay in pain for too long. Aren't I kind?"

Tension rose in the air as Naruto and Sakura stood in cold defiance against the wicked woman. Even shaking, Sakura bit her lip until it bled and glared at the woman who gave birth to her. "Fuck you."

Keiko's eyes gleamed in delight. "I see lessons are necessary once more." She raised her hand and —

"Keiko-san!" Just then, a nurse burst into the room and screamed, "Keiko-san! What happ — what is that?!" She screamed at the strange black chakra that loomed around the old woman among the broken glass. "K-k-Keiko-san?" The once sweet old woman looked like a monster. But the nurse, who spent many days taking care of her, refused to believe she meant her harm. So she didn't run away and proceeded to ask, "What happ —"

That was the worst mistake. As soon as she paused, a black tendril of chakra already pierced her heart and the nurse stared in shock. "Why —" She collapsed to the floor, not moving.

Sakura's eyes widened as she took in what her mother did. She understood mother attacking her, but to kill a civilian? "She was innocent!" She roared at the crazy woman.

"Ahahaha! How innocent are you? I thought your sudden understanding of chakra also came with knowledge, but I was wrong. You don't know how shinobi operate, do you?" She immediately saw through the door that another nurse stared at her in shock from afar and her chakra tendril got ready to launch an attack when it was blocked by a chair and the thing got stabbed instead.

Naruto hurried to yell out the door, "CALL THE POLICE! GET OUTTA HERE!" Screams resounded as residents and nurses hurried to run while peeking through the door at the murder scene. All they could see was a crazed old woman who had black tentacles waving around her and they quickened their pace.

Naruto stood to block the door while Sakura also stood just behind him. The nurse's dead body blocked the door so they didn't shut it — and they also needed an escape route just in case. With a deep voice, he said, "You killed her and she did nothing to you! You murderer!"

As Sakura stared at her mother than at the nurse's dead body, she was taken back to the night she punched Kei. She had been denying it until now, but she knew. A punch that could break earth could break a skull. It was in this moment that she finally had it hit home — she killed in cold blood just like her mother did with the nurse.

Sakura's ears thummed with a strange buzzing noise as she lost sense of her surroundings. Only her heartbeat was heard. She…killed…Even if it was to save herself and Naruto, it was still her first kill. Even if the shinobi world her mother lived in viewed it normally, she was raised as a 'civilian' as Keiko put it. Did father raise her to keep her safe? No, it was to raise her to be helpless. In a world of shinobi, the harsh reality would require knowledge she didn't have. Even if it was morally unacceptable, it was reality.

Then it really hit home. Her father raised her to die.

Father used to always say that he trusted her with everything. The land, the company, everything would be hers if she only wanted it. But to Sakura, she wanted to be normal so he never pressed her and only smiled gently without objection or explaining anything. He knew she wanted to have a happy family and be independent, but also never taught her life-saving things. If her mother weren't a cruel one, she might have really ended up as a powerless girl instead of running away and learning any skill to become strong enough to live without fear of her mother coming to snatch her to beat or worse. It wasn't a simple case of domestic violence, but a cat-and-mouse game they played where mother would send people and Sakura had to survive. But it wasn't until now did she realize that the only reason mother didn't aim for her death and only 'played' with her was simply for her father's plans. Their greed.

Looking back, it may have been that he never took her seriously at all. He let her do what she wanted even as his wife tried to make her miserable not because he loved her and he a was powerless scientist forced to marry a cruel woman…but because he never truly cared. He gave her things and made sure she lived, but he never her pushed her, never educated her and never told her his real secrets. His labs were for supposedly for producing medicine and he never forced her to study — she just liked to. Even chakra was a secret. She was an expendable item with an expiring date — but an important one that could have saved his life so she was treated with basic care than left aside. It was just ironic that the woman who wanted her family dead actually ended up saving her from father's true plans. By constantly testing Sakura to death until she became independent to killing father out of desperation and greed for the treasure, Sakura's life was saved.

Sakura thought over her mother's words and finally pieced together what happened that night. It just so happened that the cold, two-faced father would rather the power go to the daughter he viewed as expendable instead of the wife he used. As a last revenge for killing him, he made sure to transfer the power to the seal on Sakura's body. If he hadn't broken the item that retained the other half, Keiko could just kill Sakura and the power would return to the item instead — this was the original safety measure Keiko proposed if the seal went wrong. To think it was also used against Keiko. Of course, the power transfer sucked out father's life force and by holding onto Keiko somehow, much of hers as well. Karma.

With cold feet, Sakura finally realized the truth behind the inconsistencies over these years. The gut feelings she thought was just in her head. The times she scolded herself for being ungrateful over a life of 'luxury' despite the threats and fear. The times she doubted her once kind, but abused father.

All these years, she thought she knew them. But she was wrong.

She didn't have anybody anymore. No father and no mother. Life was a joke.

Sakura felt a squeeze on her hand and glanced at Naruto, finally realizing the wetness on her cheeks were from tears.

"Such a crybaby. I don't know how I gave birth to you." Her mother sneered. "Weak."

Naruto grew more and more angry the more he heard. He lost control of his chakra and a slight red film of energy enveloped his body. He could barely restrain himself as the chakra film grew around him and a small stub of a tail began to form before it stopped. The sun was starting to set through the window and its color melted with the red chakra so it looked like the man himself was covered in a slight shimmering blaze. He growled, "Sakura is not weak! You're just insane!"

"Oh! How rare! A little demon host!" Thanks to her husband's past research, Keiko recognized the chakra presence and look. A blazing energy that encased a man and those markings on his face are of the fox demon kind. "Which clan caught you, little fox?" She immediately tested him by sending out black chakra as they stabbed through the air.

Naruto refused to answer as he dodged and tried to punch her, but she kept evading with the smallest of movements. This was the difference between a street fighter and a true expert. "Tch!"

"You fight like a drunk sailor. A stupid street brawler. It seems I overestimated you as well. No clan would train such a tragedy. So you two aren't here from any clan's orders and are but wandering strays. Huh. I expected too much out of my daughter who failed to make connections when she could and just played with her friends all those years, but I see even you are a tool." She made a few more evasive actions before speeding up and instantly punched Naruto in three places without hesitation. BAM BAM BAM!

Naruto flung backwards and coughed out a bit of blood. But Keiko only laughed as she ran to him and ignored her traumatized daughter. It was for moments like these that she made sure to instill a childhood fear of her so Sakura would unconsciously find it hard to fight her. Keiko left nothing to chance. So with a smirk, she only had to threaten her with a glance then picked up Naruto by the throat. "Isn't that right? Little demon host. Now that I know all I that I cared to know, how would you like to die?"

Keiko didn't wait for an answer as she aimed at Sakura with black currents of chakra. Like a kraken, her chakra formed around her and stabbed as the girl dodged and she tightened her hand on the boy's weak throat. He looked injured here already so it was a perfect weak spot. Her eyes flashed as she focused on the painful expression on the man's face with great pleasure, not fearing any weak attacks from her civilian-raised daughter.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she dodged the tendrils and found a gap when her mother fell into her sadistic hobby of watching pain. With a burst of energy powering her steps, she didn't have time to think as she focused on Naruto's face.

Fuck her mother! A strange sense of protective emotions consumed her when she saw Naruto's face pale. Rage completely filled Sakura's vision as she gave into her instincts and brought her fist back. Then, just like at that terrible evening at the apartment lobby, she felt that strange current of power swirl within her body— and she slammed it against her mother's side, breaking away from those black tentacles of power with sheer brute force. "SHANARRROOOOOO!"

Instantly, Keiko was forced to drop Naruto as immeasurable force crushed her organs and broke her bones. She coughed out blood, "Gh — !" The tile cracked as she slammed against it — if they weren't on the ground floor, she would have fallen through. With stunned eyes, she looked up at her shaking daughter whose bangs covered her eyes in shadow. "You! W-When!" Her body shook as she tried to heal what wounds she could, but she was not a medical ninja and for the first time, she showed fear. From a single punch, her daughter completely crushed her organs. Even with a reinforced body, it didn't do much to stop the blow — a blow that could collapse the building if it missed her and hit the ground. Few shinobi had such brute power, but how did it end up with Sakura? This wasn't a feature of the legendary treasure! In centuries, the last woman who had such strength through sheer chakra control was their ancestor. Yet Sakura achieved this with no training. No…Could it be? This talent either belonged to a prodigy or —

Keiko gave off a weak laugh. Those damn prophecies. If she was right, then she might have accidentally created a true monster. Limitless chakra in the hands of monstrous strength. Heh. That wouldn't be funny.

Sakura's hand shook as she stood above her mother, stunned. Her mother — cruel, calculating, strong — actually fell to her attack? She…she did this? "M-mother." Unbidden, tears fell from her eyes as unrestrained emotions poured out of her. Hatred. Guilt. Fear it was a trick. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. Could this be? Did she really do this?

The woman who only instilled fear into her as a child, the one who made her life hell and beat her whenever her mood was bad. The one who told her constantly how weak and useless she was no matter how often she ran from home. The one who viewed her family as tools and tore away all of Sakura's few happy memories with her father, the only reason she even came back home all those times she ran away, by revealing the truth. The unstoppable woman with powers she only found out about — was lying in a pool of blood on the ground and not getting up. Not even a shred of black chakra was left.

Sakura couldn't believe it, but she had to. She had the power to defeat that woman and she didn't know how to feel. All of her energy escaped her and she collapsed to her knees. She just suddenly felt tired. So tired. "Mother…" She clenched her fist and looked into her nightmare's eyes. Aside from giving basic living needs, this woman wasn't worthy of being called a mother. Even so, she paid her last respect and said, "If you have anything to say, do so. I'm the only one here."

And if Keiko kept messing with her, she'd just leave. A nurse died and the others who escaped would have called the cops. Besides, even though she wasn't a medical expert, Sakura could tell from a glance that the woman was on her death bed. At the very least, because of blood loss.

Keiko, who only managed to breathe through the sheer fact that she had a reinforced body, felt her limbs go cold and knew it was only a matter of time. She took probably the first and last proper look at the woman she gave birth to all those years ago. Sakura, who was born to die useful, was the one to kill her when so many only wished they could. She really underestimated her. So she gave a shaky chuckle. "Hateful thing, but I admit you are strong. Tch." She groaned in pain as the slightest of movement felt like she was being stabbed. Blood flowed down her lips. "You are the last of our clans now. Ironic. O-our creation — ngh! — destroyed us. How cliche."

Still. Even a despicable woman had something she wanted to protect. And if this were her enemy, she would have died with it, but technically, the girl was born from her blood and even to death, Keiko followed clan rules. "Sakura Haruno, you are the last of my clan so I am obliged to tell you. Since you defeated me, you have the right."

Sakura's brow scrunched as she prepared for another trick. To her, this woman was evil and evil, but she would underestimate the shinobi loyalty to their clans — and Keiko's own strict obsession with it.

Keiko felt her body grow weaker and gave off a tired smile. For power, she rose to the top, killed the head of her clan in a challenge and married that damn researcher. But she was still a Haruno kunoichi and their legacy wasn't small. Even if Keiko never had talent for medical jutsu and pursued poisons and dark elements, she couldn't let her clan's thousands of years worth of knowledge be forgotten. To her, power was just a matter of making it in life, but legacy was all she had in death. If she died not completing this duty to her descendant who earned the right, she feared she would be cast out in the afterlife by her clan. Clan laws were absolute. Forever and always. That was how she was raised, whether the clan started this way, she would never know.

So with a solemn face, she took off a white jade necklace — a simple circle. Then passed it to Sakura and said forcefully, "It was said that once upon a time, the Uchiha and Haruno were connected by the legendary ancestors. The Haruno took up medical arts and the Uchiha grew stronger. But the power to gain immeasurable strength like the slug sannin was lost. The last user of that power died before she could teach it and no one knows what happened. But all else was stored away as the legacy of the Harunos. It is this history and potential that your father married me for — as a legitimate shinobi clan woman and one whom he could control. This necklace holds the map and legacy to our clan knowledge. All of our power comes from knowledge. At least your brain came from my side. I know you hate me, but that is all the clan has since its fallen through the centuries. If you weren't strong enough to kill me, I would have died with it, but even I have a duty. And my last advice: become steel. You are too soft. Find the prophecy of the final war. It may explain some things. If you are reincarnated or an old soul — or not. I don't care."

Keiko's eyes fluttered slowly as she began to lose control of her limbs…With a last breath, she whispered, "Only the strong survive. Take your right. Whether the clan's legacy and honor dies with you is up to you now. I…did my duty…"

And that was how Keiko Haruno left this world. If Sakura never killed her, would she have revealed this? Would she have died with the Haruno's history? Only the heavens knew. But once more, fate turned and Sakura Haruno was left with the knowledge of her ancestors.

If one day she found that knowledge extremely familiar, she wouldn't know why.

For a moment, Sakura could only stare at Keiko's barely open eyes before she finally knelt down and closed her eyes with a swipe of her palm. With a solemn voice, she clenched the white circle jade with a hole in the middle and said, "Rest in peace."

Then both Sakura and Naruto glanced at the poor nurse with sad hearts and repeated the words before leaving through the window. Once they got in the car, they sped off with panicked hearts. Thankfully, the two were still in cosplay wigs and Naruto had a hoodie, but the staff knew Sakura's face. Sooner or later, if she wanted to live in the city and not turn into a fugitive, she needed to find a way to deal with this issue. So she said, "Naruto, take the car and head to the motel, but park in front of a different motel a few blocks away. I have a fake ID — don't ask — for both of us, but I can't leave my name like this. There's a way, I think, I can still live as myself so go into hiding, okay? I'll meet you there."

"What are you going to do? The staff saw you and there's a nurse dead. It's dangerous!" He didn't know how to break a woman out of prison, but he would find out.

"Don't worry." Sakura forced herself to remain calm. "I got this." Then she drove to a blindspot in the camera system off the streets of Tokyo that she researched when she was a runaway teen and said, "I'll walk from here and act scared. The nursing home didn't have cameras in the room my mother stayed in — I'm sure she would have kept destroying them without them realizing how and kept doing it until it became a boring maintenance repair issue out of sheer habit. Or the facility was vulnerable. Either way, there are only eye witnesses — however a man in a black hoodie with a brown hair breaking the window would have been caught on the camera outside. So I'll play with that. And since those Kaguya guys are hiding your disappearance for reasons, probably to capture you without hassle again, they won't suspect Naruto from Fukuoka." Speaking of Kaguya, she paused. "I don't sense chakra, do you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope."

"Good. Still have hope. Mother was raised as a shinobi and you fooled her until you burst in, so that means we are either lucky or just really talented. Either case, we can stay in hiding. If I'm not back in a day, find a new hotel and keep moving for a while. The ID's would be ok for jobs so after the savings are out, you should be okay. You have the info on bank savings and so forth? I already added you to my account via phone when you took over driving when we headed here so it's set.

Naruto knew she was smart, but damn, this woman never rested! She was already trying to trick the police on top of that. But seeing her gutsy appearance was a lot better than that broken expression so he was only glad and worried for her. "Okay, boss. You can count on me to live a life of luxury with your savings!" he joked.

And just like that, the two started laughing as all the tension from before finally snapped. It was a while before they calmed down. And Sakura added, "You'll need to leave the car at the motel near here, but if you follow the left path on the left side of the motel entrance, then cut through a ramen shop stationed at the first corner to the right, and exit out of a small alley, you'll see another alley hidden from view where the camera is always broken — kids, I swear — so switch hoodies to another color and pick a wig. There should be places to hide — or some homeless are burning stuff to stay warm for the night so bring an extra hoodie for them or dump the one you're wearing. Since it's just a black hoodie with no logo, it shouldn't be an issue. As for the stuff, just leave it. If I'm right, I can get through this ordeal and come back for the car. It is a rental after all. Plus crime is lower here so the stuff shouldn't be stolen easily."

Naruto tried to keep up then finally asked, "So, uh, how are you gonna do that?"

Sakura's eyes twinkled mischievously, "Why, I was visiting my mother when she attacked me and apparently an acquaintance I met one night at a bar tried to save me. But we freaked out and ran away, however I feared for your safety so left and called the police when you ditched me. As for how we know each other — we don't. Young people these days, so promiscuous."

Naruto raised a brow. Then he grinned. "It doesn't need to be fake, tinder right?" He shook his brow up and down suggestively before dodging a light punch. "Okay, sorry! Kidding!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and gave him a look. Naruto couldn't help but think of Keiko's words about her taste in men. Seemed mothers understood their daughter's tastes universally. Damn. Rejected again.

Naruto shrugged and smiled. Whatever. He had to admit, he liked the woman, but he wasn't sure it was that kind of like. She was beginning to feel like a brother at this point, with the running for their lives thing and all. There was something familiar about her. "I believe in you. Just…can you say that I was at least good if they ask? A man's got a reputation to protect — eek! Sorry! Sorry!" He dodged again and laughed.

Sakura sighed, but she finally lost the last of her tension. A lot happened today, but the show wasn't over. Time for her acting skills!

Before she left, Naruto asked, "How did you know about all that stuff about alleys and ya know?"

Sakura shrugged. "I was a bad teen. Damn, kids those days." She smiled and then soon pretended the world was ending as she shook all over and cried. Letting the blood on her clothes and wounds do the talking for her, she jumped out of the car and ran crazily while calling the police as she was sure the staff reported it and they should be at the facility by now. They only drove ten minutes away, but with Naruto's face hidden by the large hoodie and the wig's bangs, it was hard for cameras to catch his identity at all. Good thing she had a cosplay hobby. As for the original hoodie, surely the man knows to get rid of it. She trusted he knew what to do.

Trust. Who knew she would ever say that again?

Huddling in a close by park with a grievous expression, she called the police saying her mother went crazy and tried to kill her. She always knew she needed help so she just wanted to visit and see if she could get better, but then her mother snapped and killed the nurse. She didn't know how — it was so fast! Maybe she was drugged. She thought she saw black tentacles!

Once she was done, she waited with a scared expression, but calculated in her mind. The staff would have seen the strange black tendrils and mentioned it, plus the hallway camera would have caught that she and the strange man were being attacked first and they only defended. The open door to the room made sure the camera had a good view though some details were hidden by their backs by positioning. Like the moment Sakura kneeled down — she was sure they wouldn't see the necklace or their expressions. Only Sakura falling to her knees and the man being choked by an old woman with strange tendrils. The staff were panicked so they would spout whatever through shock so the realistic minds of the police would be hard pressed to believe in chakra and Sakura's story would match the rest of the crazy stories.

That's why Sakura made sure to act nice and polite at the reception when she first came in. If her true emotions leaked and she looked with hatred, she'd be more of a suspect. If her mother didn't kill the nurse and make a show of killing Naruto and attacking her, her old woman act might have won. But the killer was dead and all that was left were ghost stories told by panicked victims and staff. Sakura could only guess how the police would react and secretly smiled.

Of course, if shinobi were involved the better. Since it was a secret world then there were secret means. If she had…visitors…then she'll know who was targeting the Harunos. And while that was fucking frightening, it was a great opportunity. She doubted the police force wouldn't get shinobi involved. There's no way the incident today wouldn't draw attention. She was sure more 'supernatural' incidents involving shinobi battles were not uncommon.

So she also looked forward to it. Which of her parent's dear friends would visit the infamous daughter 'civilian with no chakra'? And be shocked at the video of punching her mother? Due to the camera still being afar and the black tendrils snapping at everything, it could be gathered that the tendrils caused the floor cracks and Sakura was just lucky because Keiko grew weak with her drained power and feeble body. But the doubt would remain. So true shinobi would visit and she'd have more to work with than just documents and it was hell of a lot better than Naruto's funny idea of popping at a dojo to find people.

The question now was — how could she use them?

After a while, the first cops arrived on scene and they saw the car parked a couple of blocks away. Of course, they questioned then asked about the guy. Sakura only kept acting scared and frail, saying she wanted to fall in love one day and met this guy off tinder (fuck she actually used his idea, damn it!) but then thought about her mother and so she really thought it was ok to visit. The guy was gonna help her and said he was cool, but he…ran away! Or in exact words, she said, "That man said he'd love me! And he saved me from my mother, but…I guess he was scared…Waaaaah! Why? My mother has mental issues and she killed somebody but…but…he said he's marry me maybe!" She acted shocked to the core and disgusted (at what she was spouting), which was true, and cried and cried. Acting like a dumbass who lost her one night stand turned boyfriend after her mother attacked them. She even held onto a cop's arm and the blushing man tried to calm her.

But she peeked at his partner who only glanced down at her coldly. He neither seemed surprised nor caring and she could feel some sort of energy hover around as if trying to sense something.

Ah! He was trying to sense her chakra! She never realized how it felt until now. If she knew that novices couldn't even sense a probe and that her level of attention to chakra waves was unparalleled, she would have been surprised.

Sure enough, the man's face twitched when he found nothing and he said, "We'll need to question you at the station." It wasn't a suggestion.

His dark eyes were cold and there something oddly familiar about his face, but it wasn't that familiar. He was in his forties and she didn't know him, but something about that face looked odd. Which was already weird since most of Japan was pale with black hair. She must be tired so she just nodded while trembling.

His partner scolded him and said to her, "There, there. You're safe now. We'll come back for your stuff later. That man was attacked so he should be here. Do you really have no other information?"

"He only said his name was Taka Yamamoto. That he was from Osaka and traveling on business. He was into rock music so he loved hoodies and tried that look, but, I'm sorry. I'm distracted. I just can't believe this happened!" She cried again. If she were told a fake name, then it wasn't her fault, tee hee!

The man, also dark haired with a familiar look, sighed. He was in his late thirties and pitied the frail girl. Then he remembered she had pink hair in her ID. Pink was definitely a dyed hair, but why was she wearing a wig? He could see some strands.

Sakura noticed the look and immediately scratched at her head. "This stupid wig! Ugh, I just wanted to go to visit mother and have a good chat — she's normally so nice — and then go to Akihabara with my boyfriend, but his happened." She cried again. "That poor nurse! Is—Is she okay?"

Sakura acted like she didn't know the nurse was dead and put pressure on the man who didn't want to reveal everything as it wasn't allowed yet. So he sighed at her explanation and comforted her, "It's been a long day. I'm sure we'll find your…boyfriend." He didn't know how to tell her the guy was probably looking for a quick one night stand and thought he got lucky. So the cop could only say that. Young people these days were too loose, he thought.

The more the men talked with her, the more they were convinced she was a naive woman who fell for men too easily. But they also pitied her a bit — that old woman was notorious in the shinobi world so they only imagined the clueless, naive Haruno girl didn't know she was raised as a tool. Maybe it was lucky things ended this way. Too bad about the treasure.

So at the station, the pair reported in secret to their other boss and soon that man reported to the family heads. As a Haruno that was once tied to their clan, they couldn't ignore the incident. Although they have drifted apart, the legend of the three sannin still wasn't forgotten. No one could find the all the records of those days thousands of years ago, but the tale of the two Uchiha brothers, Sasuke and Itachi and the Sakura Haruno who helped restore the clan to glory while doing legendary feats wasn't forgotten.

It was also notorious that the weak, civilian-raised Haruno girl was the opposite of the legend she was named after. As for the rest, that was traditional history and many sought to name their children after the legends, so it wasn't a big deal. But it didn't change the fact that this Sakura Haruno was the last of her clan and the Uchiha and Haruno legacy was in their history books. The scandals of the fallen Haruno family were always a pain for the Uchiha. Thankfully, there was only one woman to deal with now. The last Haruno.

….

…

Uchiha Territory:

Deep within a certain mansion, a man dressed as officer bowed before reporting, "Keiko Haruno is dead. She went mad and tried to kill her daughter and killed a nurse. The daughter was saved by her lover and then managed to defend herself by sheer luck. As Keiko has lost most of her power by the incident with the legendary item, it is deemed she had no more strength outside of their few chakra tendrils jutsu to protect her and she died from overuse of chakra as well as the punch to her deteriorating body. The woman is now in custody while the boy ran off."

The subordinate had looked into the video himself already and didn't notice anything unusual about Naruto's skin either as the sun was already beginning to set so the red light hid the red chakra. "The woman was visiting her mother after planning a weekend trip with a man she met off tinder and even was in cosplay. Her cosplay things were in the car. Seemed there's a convention where she planned to sell things so she packed clothes and more anime goods. If her mother weren't sick in the head, she would have stayed, but young ones don't have that call to duty. Although I can't blame her with Keiko's reputation of abuse. It is a miracle she visited at all." Even the family relationships were studied. Hence also why the clan never tried to contact Keiko or Sakura even as Harunos. At some point, the clan's original values strayed and now the Uchiha were just burdened with the task of keeping face so they wanted to avoid the fallen Harunos who lost their integrity — especially after Keiko took over as head. After her fall, the Harunos were exterminated by multiple enemies and Keiko was left with her ignorant daughter, protected by the resources of her husband. Even so, unless they did something drastic, the Uchiha still had to show face to the Haruno. The legends of their ancestors' deeds were that powerful and famous. And those powers weren't seen in ages.

The subordinate looked up at the man and bowed again. "Report finished."

Sasuke hummed as he considered the variables. The Haruno woman was the only one who could know about the treasure, but would she? It wasn't a secret how they treated their only kin. Both the father and mother raised her as a civilian and she had history running away so he didn't have hope. But he was curious. She lived in Fukuoka for a year and finally came back to visit? If he recalled, Itachi mentioned Fukuoka was overrun by Kaguya members on surveillance. They were still patrolling the entire city so they never found what they sought. The timing was quite funny. And the rumor of a born demon host that hadn't been born in a long time gave him reason for concern. Things have changed since the days of the first Hokage. Tokyo was the capital now and Konoha was but a past that was forgotten. The world of shinobi was made into a dream and they operated in secret while putting out films of drama and over-the-top effects. The best hiding place was in the open, after all. Everything was 'for a movie.' And using scrolls were getting obsolete as new ways of using chakra formed. The prophecies didn't help either.

The Kaguya were searching for a demon host — born. In ancient times, demons and gods were only summoned normally, but none were born as human as far as they knew. No one's seen a full formed demon in ages. Let alone a god. But as time passed, there were more and more cases of children with unparalleled talent or unnatural learning abilities who, through later discoveries and prophecies as well as connections concerning the other worlds, were found to be reborn as divine or hellish AKA born hosts of gods and demons. They were different from a prodigal human as the spirits would recognize their souls. And even more rare was the reincarnated one whose fate was tied. Those born as reincarnations or hosts had special abilities or even genius talent in learning. It was rare, but each birth was unusual. Finding them had increased importance due the the prophecies involving the last war. A most bitter war that would turn over humanity and not just the shinobi world.

What a pain.

So news of a demon host found would make everyone curious about the Kaguya in Fukuoka — and Sakura Haruno just left there. No way they would leave a Haruno unsupervised, but the demon host took all of their attention and they never realized. Hmm. This may all be a coincidence. After all, they supervised the teen Sakura's actions as a mere rebellion against parents, but she had her talents. For a woman without chakra raised as a civilian, she gained a pitiful reputation but also a honorable one for putting up with her mother. Keiko Haruno was as deceitful and merciless as kunoichi came and her poisons were sought after. Once, she even dared put an entire town under paralysis if they didn't give her metal ores for her use. It was blamed on staff at the water facility. Another time, Keiko had a hand in certain wars. Again blamed on other enemies. If the Uchiha weren't working with the Hatake, they would have trouble spying on her. Yet her daughter kept rebelling. Even to this day. The tinder incident was funny, but the irony of that evil woman being defeated by a chakra-less woman she looked down on was funnier.

He wanted to meet this Haruno once. Then he could decide if he needed to kill her or not.

Sasuke rubbed his chin. He was tired of the Uchiha name being tainted by the fallen Harunos. Whatever glory they once had was ruined somehow through the centuries as with all clans tainted by greed. They dishonored their ancestor, but claimed to be loyal. Hypocrites. It was the Uchiha's strict adherence to clan laws and their ancestors' philosophies that kept them in line and so shall it be for the next thousands of years.

He, Sasuke Uchiha, would make sure of it. He had no desire to be the head, Itachi was suited for that, but everything else was under his domain.

He didn't know why, but he had a gut instinct that something was coming. The Haruno woman, Keiko's death, the Kaguya's actions and the rumors of a born demon host were all too coincidental to ignore. It was happening at the same time and the prophecies of the elders didn't help. They already viewed him as a chosen one, he didn't need more madness.

But after years of protecting their territory, Sasuke's instincts rarely proved him wrong. Something big was going to happen. That was why he was manic about raising security and strengthening their defenses. He liked to prevent skirmishes when possible and agreed with his brother on preventing buds from blooming. Or in this case —

He needed to cut the buds of war before they bloomed. If the prophecies had their way, a great war was on the horizon. And he'll do anything to make sure that didn't happen.

Should he just get rid of the Haruno once and for all? Then that was one step the Uchiha clan can take to escape that cursed legend. He didn't need the rebirth of the legends. Because if they were revived, then it signaled the end of civilization as he knew it.

….

…

….

AUTHOR NOTE:

HEYA! Finally updated! So things are getting together whooo! Things are hectic here, but still writing when can. Also love your reviews and thanks! I'm getting excited too!

Honestly wish I could just place my imagination on paper so it shows visuals, but that's impossible. So one day maybe I'll do illustrations? IDK. I'm dying as it is with writing so it will be a looooong while before I do that LOLLLL

As always, thanks for reading and if you like it or got anything to improve or say or cheer or dance to, please review!

Loves and kisses (in a rush) and be safe!

— WitchySkies

P.S. Matrix 4 is coming out — when did they even film? Damn! That's fast!

PSS seriously, stay safe and be well. Have a ichiraku ramen. I appreciate you. YOSH!