A/N: Thank you all for your reviews!

Now in this chapter, things are going to start getting serious. There won't be very much comedy in this one, though there's a fair few. Sakura gets a first glance at what war really is. You shall see in this chapter.

Read and Review, please!

Naruto-Heart of Honor: Ten

The Shinobi Army had packed up everything the very next morning and they were on the move. All nearly 500 hundred of them, including Sakura and her friends. She was happy to say the least, no one still didn't realize that she was a girl but she was somewhat confused and annoyed of how Kakashi was completely ignoring her. A few times, she tried to get his attention to ask him a few questions of what was going to happen but he always found some way to avoid her. Whenever she tried to walk up to him, he would turn away and go talk to another Shinobi Elite, therefore she could not keep it up. In fact, he wouldn't even look at her. She was highly annoyed by how he was acting, and even more confused. She didn't understand why he was acting like that but two can play at that game. So she refused to look at him or talk to him right back. And when he did look at her, if he ever did, she would just glare off to the side, showing that she was angry. Of course, she wasn't sure if it was working.

Sakura also took the chance to borrow a few medical books from some of medic ninja that was with them. She found the medical field a little fascinating and had always wanted to know at least a few medical jutsu. So she studied from the books and occasionally tested a few of them out on Naruto, since he was dumb enough to let her test on him anyway. It didn't always work but after talking with some of the medics, she began to learn a little about medical jutsu.

For nearly five days the Shinobi Army trudged on, or ran through the trees trying to get to the Northern Village. And it seemed that all of the Elites were on edge, even Maito Gai. Whenever one of the guys, mostly Naruto, goofed off, they were immediately reprimanded for it. The Elite, Ibiki Morino was the worst when it came to yelling. He was such a strict man and it was kind of scary to Sakura and everyone when he started up. So hardly anyone goofed around.

Over the next few days, Sakura was doing a lot of thinking. About everyone. She had learned from most of the boys that they had unique stories that actually brought them to the army in the first place. Naruto was there because of his father and he wanted to be the best Shinobi ever, just like his father. He bragged on how he knew some "ultimately awesome" jutsu and promised that he would show it to Sakura some time. Oh he did show one to her, and then got yelled at by a few of the Elites for having such a disgusting and disgraceful jutsu, while mopping up blood from their noses. The jutsu that he showed everyone was something he called The Sexy Jutsu. It was a transformation of him into a lustrous and beautiful blonde woman, who also happened to be naked. Sakura couldn't stop blushing after seeing Naruto turn into a naked girl but was thankful that she had not been the only one who was blushing as hot red as a tomato.
As for Shikamaru, he only joined the army because he was bored and was looking for adventure.
However, he wasn't succeeding very well. It pretty much went the way of everyone else when she asked. They all answered that they were looking for adventure, honor or was just defending their Country. But the most unique story was Sasuke's, which she already knew because he told her.
The other unique story was Rock Lee's. He told her and everyone else that he was actually adopted into the Maito Clan. Maito Gai had found Lee when he was just a very small boy, left in the street to starve. Because of Gai's large heart, he took pity on the boy and took him in. After that, they were the closest ever. Gai was not married, however and did not have his own children. Sakura wondered why and even tried to ask Lee why he wasn't married, but Lee just smiled and looked away. She also learned about some of the Elite's stories as well.

The Chunin, Iruka had lost his family when he was young to bandits and had been taken under the wing of the Hokage, himself. He was a well respected ninja and he even admitted to everyone that he was an Instructor at a Shinobi school.

Saturobi Asuma was actually related to the Hokage, as his nephew.

Morino Ibiki was in charge of the Interrogation, Retrieval and Torture Department when it came to enemies. His head, as he revealed, was completely covered in scars from his own tortured experience. So Sakura couldn't blame him for being so edgy around suspicious people, like her for one.

Gai was just a very excited person, who adored truth, beauty, youth and love. Now that Sakura actually thought about it, he seemed kind of…..well, in her opinion, he was one of the gayest people she had ever met. She liked him because he treated her with respect, probably because she was a beautiful person, and he was pretty nice to her.

But out of everyone in the entire camp, she wanted to know about Hatake Kakashi.

Kakashi was the most secretive person she had ever met. Sure, she had learned a little about him already but she wanted to know more. She wanted to find out the REAL Kakashi. He had already revealed to her that he was a person who respected love in a relationship, much like her. But what about his past? What exactly happened to him? And what about his family? She wanted to ask him but he was doing very well to avoiding her. So she decided to find another way of finding out.

And there was only one person she could think of that would know about Kakashi and wouldn't mind telling her about it.

"Maito-sensai." Sakura said as she approached the strange bowl cut Elite one night after they broke camp. She had been waiting a while for the Elite to finally be alone and with hardly no one around. She only caught up to him as he was making his way back to his tent. "Maito-sensai, can I speak to you about something?"

Gai frowned as he looked down at her before grinning as he gave her a thumbs up. "Zaku! Why, yes, young and beautiful boy! What is it you need to ask?" he asked in his strange and cheerful way. Sakura pulled a face as she stared up at him with dull look before deciding she wasn't going to say anything. She knew he was just being nice but talking in such a flowery way did get on her nerves. With a shrug, she rubbed her elbow as she looked sheepishly up at him. "I….um….well, I was just wondering something. Something…." She bit her lip as she glanced away then back at him. "Something about Hatake Kakashi."

"Hmm?" Gai asked now looking a little puzzled but interested. "What about him?" He was definitely interested in finding out why 'Zaku' was so interested about Kakashi. Of course, Inner Gai grinned as he came up with some thoughts. Some thoughts he knew that Kakashi would KILL him for. He nearly chuckled out loud as he rubbed his chin. Sakura frowned as she watched him dully, knowing he was thinking weird thoughts but she didn't dare to think about what he was thinking. She almost shuddered to think about it. "Well…..I was kind of wondering why he's the way he is? I mean, I know he's really strict and kind of mean sometimes but, I really…." She paused as she almost said that she saw a soft spot in Kakashi. She wasn't sure if Kakashi ever told Gai about their meeting a few weeks ago and he had showed her that he wasn't always such a omni. "I really believe that there's another side of him." She winced on how pathetic just she just made him sound.

Gai, however, just smiled as if he understood. He just folded his arms and slowly bobbed his head up and down. He knew something at least. "Ah, Kakashi, huh?" He asked before shrugging. "Well, I know the reason. Half of all of the Elites know the reason why Kakashi is the way he is. Has he ever told you about how he got the Sharingan? You know, his left eye; the red and black one?"

"Um, sort of. He said that his best friend gave it to him after he died. And that he had a first love who also died and all. Why? Is that it?" Sakura asked looking somewhat concerned.

The bowl haired Shinobi sighed as he looked away. "Well, that really did help a lot to make Kakashi the way he is. But that's not what started it. Tell me, do you know anything about the Hatake Clan?" He saw her shake her head and he then motioned for her to sit down the grass with him as he was already dropping down into a cross-legged position. He waited for her to join him before he began.
"The reason why Kakashi is the way he is, why he's so strict and serious all the time is because of his father, Hatake Sakumo. Many years ago, before when Kakashi even first became a Genin of the Shinobi Academy, which you are now, he was always looked up to Sakumo. He always dreamed that he would become the Shinobi that man had been. Sakumo was also quite a hero in the Fire Country. As Namikaze Minato-sama is known as Konoha's Golden Flash, Sakumo was known as Konoha's White Fang. Like a wolf, he could get past any enemy and strike with such speed, almost as if a wolf would bite you. He was one of the most powerful fighters in all of the Land of Fire, much like Minato-sama. However," the so cheerful Shinobi was no longer cheerful as he thought about it. "Sakumo was serving a terrible mission while Kakashi was in training to become Shinobi. It was a Ranked S mission, one of the highest and most important missions in one of the enemy lands. He led a group of Shinobi to rescue a Lord's daughter and something terrible happened. Sakumo's men were caught by the enemy and were used against Sakumo. He was to make a decision. The Lord's daughter, whose family was very wealthy and were paying a lot of money for her return or for his men's lives. The money the Lord's family was paying was covering a lot of expenses for Konoha during a time in need. So we absolutely needed the money they were giving to us." He sighed again and shook his head. "Sakumo had to make a decision or lose both the girl and his men. And he made it."

Sakura felt as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs. She had a feeling that she knew what it was. "He chose the girl?"

Gai shook his head as he lowered his head a little. "No. He chose his men. He did what he could to save his beloved companions and it cost the life of the Lord's daughter. In rage, the Lord refused to fund anymore expenses for Konoha, putting us in great debt. The Shinobi sent to rescue the girl lived but they had failed the mission, costing a lot of money. They were all angry at Sakumo for costing the mission, and he was dishonored. The Hatake Clan was dishonored by several of the peoples of Konoha."

"Oh. That's not fair. Sakumo was just trying to save his friends." Sakura said with a sad sigh.

Gai only smiled faintly as he looked at the pink haired youth. "That's what most thought so too. Even the Hokage, himself. He thought that Sakumo may have cost the mission but he was doing what he thought was right. To save his friends, his most trusted companions. No one else actually agreed though. They shamed him for costing the village so much money. He was disgraced, as was his family. So not wanting to bring any more shame on Kakashi, making him suffer because he had a shameful father, Sakumo took his own life." He paused while making a face. "On Kakashi's graduation date from the Ninja Academy. And Kakashi watched the entire thing. He saw Sakumo take his own life."

Sakura looked at him with horror, her hand over her mouth. She couldn't help but just stare wide eyed at him as she slowly shook her head. She now understood why he was the way he was. She could not blame him at all. She could even dream of what it was like for him, to watch his father commit suicide in front of him. She knew that if it was her father, she would probably would have gone all emo-like much like how Sai was, though she didn't know his story yet. And she was somewhat afraid of finding out. But her attention was on Kakashi's story. She felt so sorry for him now. It was no wonder that he was so strict and serious about stuff like this. But then again, she had seen the soft side of him.

"You're starting to like Kakashi, aren't you?" Gai suddenly asked, breaking into her thoughts.

Sakura frowned as she looked up at him in surprise before blushing at what he said. "Huh?! No! Um, well, I'm respecting him a little more. I just wanted to know why he was so mean, you know?" She asked rubbing the back of her neck.

Gai just tiled his head to the side as he raised eyebrow. "Really?" He watched her nod before he pushed himself to his feet. "Well, he likes you. I can tell. He might act like heartless bastard sometimes but he's really not that bad." He shrugged smiling at her when saw her head tilt to the side in a confused way. "It'll be very interesting to see what happens from here. Especially on who he's paired up with." He then chuckled as he walked away. Very confused, Sakura just sat there for a long time before she decided she didn't want to think right now. She had learned a very vital piece of information about Kakashi and she didn't like it too much, but she was more understanding about the cool attitude of the Jounin. And this, however, made her start to like him.

After that, and the Shinobi Army were on the move again, she did talk to Neji about it, telling him of what Gai said about Kakashi. Neji didn't seem too interested about the Commander's past but he did seem a little interested about what his Instructor had said about how things were starting to change for Kakashi. In fact, he was smiling a very mischievous and smug smile as he looked at the ground. It made Sakura wonder what was so amusing.

"Okay, Neji. If you would be so kind of telling me why you're smirking, I'd greatly appreciate it." Sakura said dryly as they walked side by side.

Neji just smirked at her as they moved quickly over the forest foliage. He glanced around to see if anyone else was listening but it didn't seem like it. Everyone was doing their own thing. Naruto was entertaining most of their friends with a story, and was even trying to act it out before getting lectured for being a little loud by Iruka. "I don't think you're going to like what I have to say, Zaku." The Hyuuga Prodigy said, lazily looking back at her.

Sakura frowned at him, narrowing her eyes. "Oh, come on, Neji. Quit talking so cryptic and tell me." She told him moodily.

Neji shrugged as he leaned a little closer. "Okay. But you're not going to like it." He said before glancing around again then back. "All right. After what you told me before, about after talking to Kakashi after the river incident, I've been keeping my eye on Kakashi and watching him closely. And almost every day, he's been watching you. His one eye is always on you. Whenever you train, whenever you eat, or whatever you're doing with me, Naruto or anything. He's even looking at you right now." He told her.

There was a blush on Sakura's face but she took a quick peek towards Kakashi was talking to Asuma as they were in the front of everyone. His face was tilted a little to the side, so that she could see his revealing eye, but it wasn't really on her. "What are you talking about? He's not looking at me." Sakura whispered to Neji.

"Oh yes he is. He might not be now, but he's been glancing over his shoulder at you." Neji said with a smirk. "He doesn't want you to catch him looking at you. Just watch for a minute and you will catch him. Just talk to me or just move your lips as if you are talking to me. He'll think you are distracted so you won't notice."

Sakura just frowned but then shrugged. "Okay, whatever." She kept her eyes on Kakashi but tilted her head towards Neji as if she was talking to him. "Um, well, I'm working on my jutsu. I have been practicing with you and Lee, which is kind of weird still. Lee is so weird, kind of like Gai-sensai." She said just random stuff while waiting to see if Neji was right or now. She heard him snicker but she still didn't take her eyes off of Kakashi. And that's when it did happen.

Kakashi looked her way.

His head actually tilted a little farther so he would look over his shoulder at the Genin behind him but she could have sworn that his eye was on her. And just actually make sure, she turned her head at the same time he did to lock eyes with him. The Commander froze for a few seconds, looking right into her emerald eyes before quickly looking away as if Asuma had said something to him, but the thing was, the Jounin was already conversing with Genma.

"Oh my." Sakura breathed out with a little panic. "He was looking at me."

Neji snorted as he folded his arms as he kept walking. "I told you. He's been doing that quite a bit lately. Every day." He told her. Sakura looked rather pale at the thought. She was obviously not on the same page as Neji though. "Oh! You don't think he's figured out about me, do you?" She asked with worry.

"….." Neji said now looking dully at her but he didn't blame her for thinking that. He actually expected her to think that, though that was not what he meant. "No. I don't think he has. He still thinks you're a boy, like everyone else. Except Shino that is." He turned his head looking towards the bug boy, smirking. "Why don't you come over here now, Shino?"

Sakura went very pale at hearing that and she nearly whirled her head around on her shoulders to look at Shino, who was standing a fair few feet away from them. He was actually a little farther than she expected and was alarmed to see him turn his head towards her and Neji. It was as if he actually heard Neji, when he had spoken so softly. But apparently he had because the bug boy just stared at them for a few seconds before walking over, ignoring the panicking squeaks in Sakura was making. "….y-you….." she squeaked. "You….yo-you knew too?!"

"My bugs did." Shino said in a very quite voice. "They only just told me a few weeks ago."

Neji shook his head as he tilted his head to the side, still smiling. "Exactly how did they know?" He asked, knowing that Sakura was shouting that question in her mind too. She was very pale and sweating with nervousness. Shino, on the other hand just reached up to his ear and a few beetles actually hopped right out onto his finger, freaking Sakura out a little. "These guys told me. They could sense the scent on Zaku and they enlightened me of what he was." He tilted his head towards the pink haired Genin, when she squeaked but he shook his head. "I have not told anyone. Relax."

"Wh-why didn't you…..tell us….or…." Sakura asked nervously.

Shino just shook his head as he walked beside them. He didn't look like he was going to answer for a moment but then he tilted his head towards her again. "My answer is probably the same as Neji's." He said quietly. "It's not my secret to tell and you probably have a reason why you are here. So I, like Neji, will not say anything but keep your secret to ourselves." He told her. Sakura felt herself smile with a little relief. She was feeling a little better that another person had figured out her secret and promised not to tell. So instead, she turned back to Neji. "Okay. Well, now that's settled. Why do you think that Kakashi's been staring at me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Shino suddenly said, making her look back at him. "He's been looking at you because he's attracted to you."

Many times had Sakura blushed, but all of those times, she had never gone as red as she was now. Her face practically matched the meaning of her name. She was as bright red as a cherry. Even her ears went red as she stared wide eyed at Shino and then noticed that Neji was slowly nodding as if he agreed. She went even redder before wiping her face to try and get rid of the blush. "Oh very funny!" She scowled at them. Both young men shook their heads as they were looking seriously at her. Neither one were laughing, nor smiling. They were trying to tell her that they weren't joking at all. "B-but….you have got to be kidding. Kakashi……and me…..! But he hates me!"

"Zaku, if you hadn't actually noticed, but you are beautiful. Everyone can see that, even if they can't figure out that you're not a boy. And as you know, I can see through objects. Since the night at the river, I've noticed that when Kakashi looks at you, his blood starts to heat up and his heart starts to thump harder. He likes you, all right?" Neji said in a quiet tone, yet there was a dull ring in there. Shino just slowly nodded in agreement. "And my beetles are very keen to pheromones. They've told me that he's attracted to you. And as you know, males and females have pheromones. Every time he looks at you, his have been jumping a little high."

Sakura still looked trouble. "But I'm…..I've been pretending to be….." She was saying.

Neji slowly nodded as if he knew what she was going to say. He agreed to it too. He knew he'd figured out why Kakashi has been avoiding her. "Yes. You've been pretending to be a boy. And Kakashi certainly thinks you are a boy. So he thinks he's turning gay because he's attracted to you. That's why he's been avoiding you." He almost laughed when Sakura went pale. "I'm glad you've caught on.

"Oh." Sakura sighed as she realized it all. She couldn't believe it. Hatake Kakashi was attracted to her. Now it all made sense. It made sense to her of why Kakashi had practically ran away from her that night or why he had handed her training over to Maito Gai. She knew now why he was avoiding her. Because he was trying not to fall for another male, even though she was not a boy. She might have been pretending to be a boy, but her girlish ways were still showing. And now, she was messing with Kakashi's head without realizing it. "Oh no. I'm going to have to tell him. That's totally not fair of me. I am messing Kakashi up."

Both Neji and Shino looked at her with mild surprise before frowning. They weren't entirely sure of what she was thinking but they knew if she told Kakashi the truth, of who and what she was, there would be serious trouble. "If you tell him, he might kill you, Zaku. He's going to get mad." The long haired Shinobi told her. Sakura only shook her head as she stared wide eyed at him. "Yeah, but I can't do this to him! I'm making him feel gay! That is sooooo wrong!" Sakura argued. She just shook her head, when the two kept shaking their heads and even started to open her mouth to argue but Neji quickly rose a hand to silence her. She frowned but then looked forward when she realized everyone had stopped. And after taking in the scenery before them, she knew why. She even froze, her eyes widening with horror.

Before the entire Shinobi Army, there as the village they had been trying to get to. Only it wasn't a village anymore. It was all in ruins. All of the buildings, all of the roads, everything was destroyed. The wood was burned and somewhat still smoking as if the fires had only just gone out. There were dead bodies all over the place; Shinobi and civilians alike. Some were smoking as if they had been on fire. But everything was gone. The village was destroyed.

"Oh my….." Sakura breathed uneasily as she just stood there with everyone. She couldn't believe what she was looking at. It was such a disaster that she had never dreamed about. Did….did Orochimaru's Army do this?

In the front of the Shinobi, Kakashi and the Elites looked around slowly with the same amount of horror that was on their men's faces. They had seen plenty of death and destruction before but this was pretty bad. For they could see children among the dead as well, along with women. It was nothing but chaos. Beside Kakashi, Iruka moved forward a little, looking around with pain. "Did….did Orochimaru do all of this? How….how could he do this?"

"He did it because he's a monster, Iruka." Kakashi spoke in deadly tone as he looked around. He breathed out a sigh as he shook his head. "Orochimaru destroys everything he wants to. We should have been expecting this. We all knew that this was going to happen." He told everyone.

Gai moved forward, his body entirely tensed up as he looked down at the fallen bodies of children. Everyone knew that was what was hitting him the hardest. Gai had a very strong bond with children and he hated to see any child get hurt, or worst. The other Shinobi, Elites and Genin, could see that there was a lot of pain in his eyes. "That...is there any survivors?"

Ibiki slowly shook his head as he looked around with a very grave look. "I doubt it. Orochimaru never does anything by the half. I can be you that every man, woman and child has been killed." He said darkly. Kakashi slowly shook his head as he let his eye scan the area before he turned around and faced the entire army. His eye was very dark with grief, but was a lot stronger than the others. "I still want to make sure. Everyone spread out and scan the area. Locate that may be alive and if there is any, alert a medic right away. Medics, jump right into healing any wounded immediately. There are plenty of soldier pills if you need any but if there are any survivors, we want to save them right away." He then motioned to everyone. "Move out now."

Immediately all of the Shinobi jumped forward and began running through the ruins, checking the dead bodies to see if they really were dead. But so far, no such luck. There didn't seem to be a single person alive in the village. Besides Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto just stared around the ruined village while everyone else was searching for survivors. There was a stabbing pang in the pink haired girl's heart though as she looked down to see a pair of dead eyes looking up at her; a pair of a child's eyes. She felt a sour taste in her mouth to see such a thing. 'Orochimaru truly is a monster.' She thought bitterly as she clenched her fists.

And then a hand gently laid on her shoulder, startling her out of her bitter thoughts.

Sakura looked up to see Kakashi actually acknowledging her existence for the first time in weeks. He must have seen the way she had been glaring off a few moments ago and knew what she was thinking. His one eye looked into hers with a little pain before he looked away again.

"Kakashi-sensai," Naruto suddenly spoke up, making both look over at him. Out of everyone, he looked the most worried as he frantically looked around. "If my father was suppose to be stationed here, where was he? I don't understand! Why wasn't he here?" He asked full of pain. Kakashi slowly shook his head as he looked around, trying to scan the area. He recognized some of the dead Shinobi, knowing that they were apart of Minato's troops. So Minato had to be there somewhere. But if so, he must have been dead. That brought a very stabbing pain to Sakura's heart to think the same thing that Kakashi was probably. She did not want the friendly man to be dead. She was already moving quickly forward as the thought even first came to her mind. She had caught a quick glance of the look of surprise on Kakashi and Naruto's faces but neither one followed after her.

Sakura was running through the ruins, searching frantically for any sign of the Shinobi who had been kind to her. She could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest and her blood was pumping in her veins. She had so many thoughts going through her mind. She refused to think that something bad had happened to Uzumaki-Namikaze Minato. She refused it. He HAD to be okay. Frantically, her eyes sped over the ruins, looking at the dead and ignoring some of her friends' cries to her. She just kept looking, throwing debris out of the way to look under. But so far, nothing.

And then, she saw the flash of gold.

The pink haired girl came to a screeching halt when she saw it and had to do a double take but she realized what it was. Her heart nearly stopped when she found him. She had almost missed seeing him because he was covered in blood but he was there. Lying on a makeshift cross, which brought him to his knees but it was clear that he was not on his knees by choice. The cross was holding him up, probably to help make him bleed to death.

Problem was, Minato looked dead already.

With a sharp gasp, Sakura was running over to him, her eyes filling with tears as she saw how bad of shape he was in. She was quickly at his side, throwing herself to her knees to be leveled with him. She felt a sob starting to rise out of her as she looked Minato over. He was so pale; deathly pale and his eyes were closed. His Shinobi outfit was drenched in his own blood, and his usually white sleeveless robe was stained reddish-brown. He had several gashes everywhere on his person, including on his cheek and forehead, where his forehead protector was missing. So it was clear that it had been taken. Maybe tossed somewhere in the debris of death.
"No!" Sakura gasped as she looked him over before shaking her head. She had tears spilling down her cheeks but she quickly brushed them away.
This was not the time for tears. She had to get him off the cross. She tried hard to start untying him but the knots in the rope were too tight and her hands were trembling terribly. "Pl-please, Minato-sama! Please don't be dead!" She begged as she fought with the rope but had trouble. After several minutes, she broke down in tears and collapsed against his bloody shoulder. She began to sob as she trembled against his body. "No! Please wake up!"

"…..Ugh…"

Sakura's head snapped up when she heard the low and weak groan escape from Minato's throat. She looked wide eyed up at him only to see that pools of faded blue were now peering through the heavy eyelids. And they were on her. She could now fell a light breath against her cheek and could see that his chest was slowly falling and rising. But he was alive! Sakura quickly rose up onto her knees and looked into his eyes with shock and disbelief. She couldn't believe it. He was alive!

"Mas-Master Minato!" Sakura gasped as she clutched onto his bloodied robes. "You're alive!"

Minato groaned in pain and his face twisted with agony. His head tilted back until it touched the back of the cross but then it dropped down again. He did not have very much strength at all. Sakura quickly drew back her hands with a sharp gasp. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She yelped before she quickly took out her kunai and began sawing away at the rope. "Hold on! I'll get you down!" She told him as she began to work.

"……" Minato groaned again before weakly opening one eye and looking at her. It took him a long moment to finally recognize her but when he did, his lips curved upward. "…..Sak-Sakura-kun……so it is you……I….I thought I was dreaming……" He whispered way too quietly.

Sakura only glanced at him before she had one arm free and then she began working on the other. She made him place his free arm on her shoulder as she tried to keep him upward. Finally, he was freed and she gently set him down on the ground before quickly looking at the wounds on his body. The gashes were pretty bad though. They were so deep that Sakura could see the muscles within. "Oh! You really need a medic right now! Hold on and I'll…." She was saying as she stood up.

But Minato quickly lashed out and caught her wrist, as he breathed in painfully. "It's…too late for me, Sakura-kun." He whispered painfully. "But….it's not….t-too late for the Hokage….." He winced again.

Sakura gave him a very serious look as she bent down beside him and shook her head. "Do not tell me it's too late for you, Minato-sama." She said fiercely before she tried to recall everything she had read from the medical books. She was not going to lose this man. He had been too kind to her as it was and now it was time to pay him back by saving his life. She pulled open his jacket so she could get a good look at his bare chest. It didn't look any better but she had to try and help him. So after she quickly recalled her medical studies before she began trying to collect her chakra into her hands like she learned from the books and some of the medics. Taking a deep breath, she tried her hardest to start pushing some of it into the gash her hand was covering. She had to concentrate really hard on the worst looking gash, which was in the center of Minato's chest. Sakura gritted her teeth tightly as she worked as hard as she could on it.

All the while, Minato was wincing and groaning in pain for her even touching it. But he was also watching her as she tried to work on him, even though through his heavy eyes. He lift his head a little higher when he noticed the forehead protector around her forehead. "…hmm." He hummed sounding a little pleasant. "……you….kept your promise……"

When he spoke, it almost made Sakura lose her concentration but she quickly went back to concentrating on the gash. "I'm sorry, Master?" She asked in a whisper. Minato weakly reached up and touched the metal of her forehead protector with one finger, looking at his reflection in it. "You…..kept your pro-promise. You…became a Shinobi…….I knew you could do it……" He told her before dropping his hand down back down to his side, his eyes closing again. That scared Sakura a little but she still could see him breathing. She just kept on concentrating on trying to heal the gash. At first, it was not working. She almost came to tears when she saw it not working. But remembering Kakashi's words from several months ago, before she even became Shinobi, she knew she needed determination. So she began to gather all of the determination that she had and kept on trying. And to her relief, the gash started to close up.

"DAD!!"

Sakura really did lose concentration that time. She nearly jumped as she spun away from Minato, only to see Naruto racing towards them, his face very pale and his eyes had gone very wide. Behind him was Kakashi with several of the Elites but they were all racing towards her after Naruto. They realized exactly who Sakura was right by. By the looks of it, Naruto would have kept running and would have run into Sakura, if Iruka hadn't moved forward and caught his arm, holding him back.

The blonde tried to break loose but he wouldn't let go. "Lemme go! That's my dad! Let me see him!" Naruto demanded.

"Naruto," Sakura said sharply as she turned back to Minato and placed her hands back onto the gash. "Minato-sama is not in good shape right now. I need to concentrate so shut up." She told him. She could feel his burning gaze into her back but she ignored him. She only glanced over her shoulder when Kakashi joined her side, looking Minato over, whose eyes were closed. She felt her body tense but she decided to shake it off. She needed to save Minato, not pay any attention to the silver haired man beside her.

"Master." Kakashi sighed as looked the Shinobi over. Then he looked at Sakura with a frown. "Zaku, how are you healing him? I didn't know you knew any medical jutsu."

One of the medics moved forward, shaking his head. It was one of the few that had actually took the time to teach her some medical jutsu. "He's been borrowing a few of the medic books, Hatake-sama. He had asked me if it would be all right if he did a little night reading and so I let him take a few of my books." He shrugged. "Zaku actually became very interested in the medical field and I have been showing him some techniques." He told the Elite. Sakura only nodded as she went back to concentrating very hard on trying to get the worst of the gashes all sealed up. "I just want to help out as much as I can, Kakashi……um, sensai." She added quickly before she breathed out easily when the gash was finished. She immediately began working on the next.

"He is still alive, right?" Ibiki asked as he moved forward.

Sakura just nodded as she quickly wiped sweat off her brow before going back to concentrating on sealing up the next one. "I found him on that cross over there," She motioned to the cross standing not too far from them. "I thought he was dead at first but then he started moving. He woke up for a minute and talked to me but he was really weak. He tried to tell me to not even bother because it was too late for him but I AM NOT going to give up on him." She said through gritted teeth.

Beside her, Kakashi looked at her with mild surprise before his face softened. He was definitely starting to understand this "young man" a lot more than he used to. But it still made him a little uneasy that this was a boy, or at least he thought it was.

"Kak-Kakashi……" Minato spoke.

Kakashi's head jerked and he looked down to see that Minato's eyes were open again, but just barely. He ignored the alarmed cry from Naruto who was still being held back by Iruka. He just moved a little closer, reaching down and touching his former sensai's shoulder. "Minato-senpai." The Shinobi Elite said, almost in relief but there was still a lot of concern in his tone. "Who did this to you?"

Minato faintly chuckled which turned into a painful cough and he winced. "Do….do you really….need to ask, Ka-kashi?" He asked weakly before his eyes flickered over to his son and he faintly smiled. "It's…..okay, Naruto. I think I'll be okay now. Thanks to….." he paused to look at Sakura, who met his eyes. "….Thanks to Zaku, here." He frowned as he looked back up at Kakashi. "Kakashi, as you…might have guessed, this village was destroyed by Orochimaru and his men. They were bored, as Orochimaru told me as he had his giant snake." He winced again at the throbbing pain in his side. "They're heading for Konoha now. They've decided that they wanted to attack the Hokage-sama when he wasn't expecting it. You mustn't worry too much about me. You and the army must get to the Hokage before Orochimaru does. Protect him and Konoha's people as much as you can."

"Don't be a baka, master." Kakashi said before motioning to the other medics. "We're not going to leave you here to die." He turned to the medics as they moved forward. "We will be emptying one of the carts to carry Namikaze-sama. He's coming with us."

The medics bowed to him and immediately jumped to work, except the one who had claimed to teach Sakura. He actually moved forward and bent down on Minato's other side to help her heal the Shinobi. Kakashi looked at Sakura, before reaching up and patting her on the shoulder. "Good job, Zaku. You did real well." Then he stood up and turned to the others, giving the orders to empty one of the supply carts and make a carrier out of it for Minato, who immediately they began to jump to it. Then the silver white haired Elite turned to Naruto, who was still staring at his father with worry. "He'll be fine, Naruto. Zaku's just saved his life." He patted the blonde on the shoulder than went back to searching for more survivors.

Sakura turned a little to look up at her blonde friend, who slowly met her eyes. They stared at one another for a long moment before they smiled at one another. Naruto slowly nodded as he gave her a thankful smile. "Thanks, Zaku." He said before going over and kneeling by his side.