It had been four months since Naruto Uzumaki had joined the dark organization known as akatsuki and nearly killed Neji Hyuuga who was still in a coma from blood loss and a punctured lung from his former comrade. The Third Hokage had been killed by orochimaru in his attack on the leaf village and Gaara had been bested by Kakashu Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha who barley made it out alive. Things just got worse for everyone in the village. Especially a certain pink haired kunoichi in training who had been in heartbreak since the events.
That day in Sakuras room some point in the late afternoon:
Sakura was sitting in her room weeping at a picture of team 7. She was repeating what Naruto said to her that day in the arena before he nearly plunged that piece of jagged metal into where her heart was located.
"I love you...no more..." she kept hearing his cold and emotionless voice say over and over. "I can't believe that he was actually that ruthless. Those eyes were so evil, but for the first time, I saw the agony he felt in them...and its all my fault! I can't believe that I did this. I did this to Naruto-kun..." she said quietly to herself hugging the photo close into her chest.
'Did I just call him Naruto-kun?! GAH!!! What's wrong with me?! I love Sasuke-kun don't I?! but this pain in my chest for Naruto issomething I usually feel for Sasuke. But it hurts even more
Said the inner Sakura
She stood up. 'I have to get kakashi sensei and Sasuke Kun! We have to find Naruto before it's too late! I can't loose him to those monsters! But lord third is dead due to orochimaru and Tsunade sama hasn't even instated as hokage yet?! What am I gonna do?!' She screamed in her head. She had never felt so helpless. "Sakura! You're sensei and friend are here to see you! They said they need to speak with you about that rouge shinobi boy!" Called sakuras mother from downstairs in the kitchen.
Sakura ran downstairs and looked at her masked sensei and raven haired teammate with a faked smile. "Hello Kakashi sensei, and Sasuke-kun! Can I help you?" Kakashi sighed and simply replied "Sakura, I have some news. Naruto has been spotted by several anbu in the south eastern part of the forest. We've been ordered to retrieve him but..." Sakura was worried. "But what, sensei?" Asked Sakura.
Sasuke crossed his arms and and shakenly answered "He slaughtered the anbu sakura. All of them. There were no survivors. The only reason we know this information because one was found brutally tortured alive. He said a boy with red eyes and deep whisker marks in an akasuki cloak did it. That anbu later died of his wounds while the boy headed towards the final valley..."
Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. Anbu were trained to deal with S ranked criminal shinobi. But Naruto, a genin, managed to kill them all? And he even mutilated one to near death just for fun? 'What have this village and I done to Naruto? Did I really drive him to do this? Did we all?' She thought to herself. "Sakura? Did you hear me?" Said kakashi to his young student.
"Sorry sensei I lost focus. Could you please repeat yourself?" Replied Sakura as she tried to take her mind off Naruto's current fate. "Sakura, Tsunade is giving us a one time chance. If we don't save Naruto before he reaches the border of the land of fire, he'll be classified as a rouge ninja for the rest of his life and may be hunted down until he's confirmed dead..." 'Execution?!' She thought. 'He may have killed anbu but couldn't Tsunade pardon him after he did so much for the leaf village? Did everything he had done for the village men so little to these bastards?!'
"I won't let Naruto go! He may be a bit of a loser but he's my best friend. He's the only true bond I have since my clan was wiped out. I won't let itachi take another family member from me!" Said Sasuke with determination and a fire in his sharinngan. Sakura didn't feel swooned by him this time, only gratitude for his determination to save the person who they truly needed in their lives, including her too.
"Rendezvous at the village gates in twenty minutes. We have one shot. Even I won't be late on time for once and that's a promise." Said Kakashi to the two cherished pupils in front of him showing his famous eye smile.
Eight miles southeast of the final valley
Sakura knew that, possibly, this was her one and only chance to make things right. She needed to save him from what she and the village turned him into. And to do that she needed to tell him what her heart said.
'Naruto...I know you loved me. I should've seen it in your eyes from the day we met. Like everyone else I caused you pain. But now I will save you like you did for me so many times. And maybe one day I can realize... what love really means.' Sakura thought as she jumped through the trees alongside her masked sensei and Uchiha teammate.
'Naruto, you may turned into the thing you hate most but it isn't your fault. It's ours. All of ours. I was given this curse mark so I could serve orochimaru and seek vengeance for my clan. But justice is meant to be given and not taken which you did when you spared Hakus life. You showed me that. This mark on my shoulder may be my curse. But I swear I'll make it your salvation!' Thought the young Uchiha as they got closer and closer to Naruto's supposed location.
Suddenly they came upon two men in akatsuki cloaks sitting in a tree in front of them. One wore a swirled orange mask while one had yellow hair with his bangs over one eye and two bags on each side of his waist. Team 7 froze about 100 ft away.
"Well well well Deidera buddy, if it someone flat, a copycat, and an emo rat so the question is: Which one of us is up to bat?" Said the man in the mask.
The blonde man put his hand to his face and groaned in annoyance. "Tobi, I told you to to shut it with the poetry because you suck at it! When I said my art is great and you should find your own, I meant something your at least decent at!"
"Who're these two idiots?" Said Sasuke. "Itachi's little bro? How's it goin yo?" Said Tobi waving at him goofy like. "You suck at rapping too! Just shut up and grab the girl. I'll kill these two punks and you bring her to the demon fox host! If lord pains plan to unleash the jinchurikis true power is to work, she has to die by his hand." Said deidera both frustrated and serious at the same time.
"Sakura, Sasuke, get to Naruto and do what you can! I'll hold back the akastuki. No matter what happens to me, save Naruto!" Said kakashi as he raised his headband off his sharingan. The two akasuki members leaped into separate directions as kakashi engaged them in battle as Sasuke and Sakura continued to the last valley. Soon they landed upon the giant statue head of Harashima Senju. Across the waterfall on The statue head of Madara Uchiha stood a brunette haired boy in an akatsuki cloak.
"NARUTO!!!" Shouted Sasuke. But Sakura just looked at Naruto as he stood silent, with his back turned to them. Slowly he turned his head. And what Sakura and Sasuke saw left them in shock. Naruto's red slitted eyes were crying blood as if they were tears. He showed no emotion. But his eyes shifted to Sakura and he showed a cold yet evil smile. "Thank you Sasuke. The plan went perfectly. Now that the bitch standing next to you is here, I can kill her and achieve a power greater than that of even Lord Pain." Naruto said as if he was going to chuckle.
"You'd dare call the woman you love a bitch?! What happened to the Naruto we knew? The one who would smile at the little things? The one who's dream was to become the greatest hokage?"
Naruto went emotionless again. He looked up to the sky and said. "Dreams aren't reality. They are merely illusions of the mind a heart. Sooner or later we must all wake up. As for that smile, it was simply a mask. I no longer smile. Feel joy. Or happiness. All I...feel is..." Naruto suddenly vanished and appeared in front of Sasuke, holding a short and jagged metal blade in his hand. He raised the blade above him slowly and simply whispered into Sasukes ear "...pain and hatred." Suddenly Naruto brought down the blade, his two former friends flinched in pure fear and shut their eyes as there was a streak of blood.
The two of them opened there eyes to reveal a dark sewer like place. There was ankle high water and very dim light. "Sasuke is this a genjutsu? Or are we dead?" Asked Sakura. "I don't think it's either Sakura. It isn't anything like what itachi did to me and I wouldn't feel so cold if we were dead." Replied Sasuke. Suddenly they felt something. Fear. Pure and raw fear. Slowly they turned to see a giant cage that was behind them. Inside was a giant and monstrous like shadow. It opened its glowing red slitted eyes sand bared its giant and sharp k9s and jaws.
As it let out a low chuckle they looked up to the center of the cage gate. It had a spiral seal on it which was beginning to crack over a long amount of time. "Well it seems I have guests. Welcome to hell..." the creature smiled as it said. It's eyes shifted to Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha...The Avenger and a bearer of small resemblance of Madara Uchiha." The creatures eyes then slowly shifted to Sakura "Sakura Haruno?! Hah! I do believe i owe you a debt of gratitude. After all since you caused Naruto more pain than the village of the leaf ever could, I must say even I as the Demon Foxcouldn't have done a better job myself!Soon this seal will break, Naruto Uzumaki will fall, and I shall be free to destroy everything in my path. All thanks to you my hosts precious vixen..."
The creature roared and they were blown away only to realize they were in the final valley again. "What the fuck was that?!" Sakura said gasping to catch her breath. "My god...the fear. I've never felt raw power or rage like that before..." said Sasuke as he looked up to see Naruto smiling evil "Now you see the darkest part of my soul. Why everyone fears and rejects me. This is what I truly am. I am the embodiment hate. I am pure rage! I...AM..." but he was cut off by Sasuke who said gritting his teeth "Our FRIEND!"
Naruto's eyes went wide. Then he looked sad. As if he was regretting his choices. Real tears and not blood tears began to roll down his face. Sakura felt hope and began to speak to him "It's not too late Naruto. You can still be hokage. You can still be saved , you be with Kakashi and Sasuke-kun, the rookie 9 too and..."
"But never...NEVER...with you Sakura!!!" He said as his rage rose in his face. Red Chakra began to form around his body in the shape of a fox. Soon it it grew one tail. Then two. Then three. The wind whirled and stung like needles to the flesh as streaks of red chakra slashed the air. "Naruto!" Sakura pleaded "I need to tell you the truth! I realize that I was wrong about who my heart belongs too! I swear from this day on it will always and no matter what belong to-" but one of the three tails went wild and hit Sakura, sending her crashing into a tree leaving her to slowly begin too loose conciseness along with four broken ribs and a concussion.
"Sasuke! Let's finish this battle...and all the battles up to this point!" Shouted Naruto who began to form a round and dark sphere in his right hand. 'This is it! One of us will fall Naruto! But I swear I won't kill you!' yelled Sasuke in his mind as he slipped into the first state of his curse mark. He began to do his hand signs summoned his cursed mark black chidori. They then looked at each other across the river. The Sahringan looked back at the eyes of the nine tails. Naruto and Sasuke jumped at each other, Naruto's torn akatsuki cloak and three tails rippled in the wind, as Sasukes chidori streaked across the air.
"Narutoooooo!!!!
"Saskueeeee!!!"
The two justus in their hands collided as they met mid way across the waterfall
Chidori!
Bijuu Bomb!
And then with a flash of light, it was over. Naruto stood in the rain over an unconscious Sasuke who had a bloody left hand and forearm. Naruto looked down emotionlessly but suddenly felt agony in his right arm. He fell onto his knees and grasped the arm only to feel warm blood. He would need to escape soon because His former sensei would come for him. Although Deidera and Tobi were formidable, kakashi had far more tricks. 'Before I go, I must sever the final attachments to my heart. I must know true pain to feel true rage.' The fallen hero thought as he painfully stood up.
He pulled out of his torn akatsuki robe the last weapon he had. His fathers three pronged kunai which he found hidden in the hokages office the night he stole the forbidden scroll to finish the academy test. He had kept it this whole time. Holding onto the only thing he had to connect him to his true father. ''Dad I don't even know your name or even what you look like. But I will achieve the peace you and mom fought for. Even if it means Thousands will burn. This! This is my true shinobi way!' The fallen Uzumaki declared in his head.
He slowly limped over to where Sakura laid unconscious. He looked down at her. Seeing the rain slowly rinse off her beautiful and pale, yet now bruised and slightly cut skin. He slowly raised his fathers kunai in his left hand since his right was too bloody and pained to use. Suddenly Sakura said unconsciously and softly "Naruto...I...love you..." Naruto froze. 'What is this? I thought I couldn't feel pity anymore. No this isn't pity... it's.. love... DAMN IT ALL!!!'
He then left something for Sakura in a box beside her unconscious body that he saved for years. If it weren't for the fact that he needed a new one all those years ago due to a serious knife wound all those years ago as a six year old. Today was supposed to be the anniversary he met her after all which is why he planned to kill her specifically on this day. 'I won't fail to unleash my power. But I will do it in my own way. Many will die to accomplish it. Maybe even thousands. But not those three. Not...her... and I'll never look back again.Sakura-chan...I love you. Happy anniversary...' were his final thoughts before he disappeared into the forest and across the land of fires border. "Lord Pain. I didn't kill her. But I didn't fail. I have found a new path to power. I must find the scroll of the seal."
As he reached dark room he lived in within the akatsuki hideout he collapsed from the pain and blood loss from his arm. He wouldn't be seen again for the next two years...
Chapter 2 END