Hello my lovely readers!
Well, I'm glad you appreciate my last chapter after all and that you are not mad at me for the non fight scene! By the way, sorry for the long wait, I hope I didn't worry you too much with my absence. And I really hope that no one sent Innocent blusher to a mental institution because of me! Ah ah ah! You see I just moved out of my apartment two weeks ago… So I was kind of busy… Anyway, now I have all my free time to write! So here is the chapter 13… Love you all and thanks for the reviews! (I don't own Naruto! :) )
Chapitre 13 – The awakening…
The forest was calm, the trees were swaying with the breeze that was blowing through their leaves and the night had just come. Nothing could disturb the surreal quiet of this place…
"Hn!"
SPLASH!
Sasuke, who had run 7 miles away from the pink haired girl, had immersed his head in the near by river… Why? Well, because the avenger was in great turmoil. The scene of his last encounter with the girl was replaying in his mind every time he closed his eyes.
…
"It's already too late…"
"Huh!"
"Chidori…"
And an explosion followed. As soon as the lightning technique was heard, it was too late to react for her. Not believing her eyes, she had tried to reach him, but Sasuke had made his decision. The chidori hit her, holding her in place for a second before throwing her through the trees. A reasoning cry was the only thing he remembered. Stunned by what he had done and the upcoming chakras that were coming from not too far away, the dark haired boy had run away from her.
…
"RAHHHH!" breathed the boy as he extracts himself out of the water.
'Why am I feeling like this…? I haven't had problems killing Karin, why do I have some with her? Man... I almost kiss… Rahhh!' thought the avenger in panic.
Angry to no end, Sasuke threw his fist on the ground, splinting it.
"SASUKE!" interrupted a loud voice.
"Hn… What again?" whispered exhaustingly the dark haired boy as he slowly stand up.
On Kakashi and Tsunade's side
"Kakashi! Over there." spoke Pakkun as he leapt down the trees toward the main road.
"What?" asked Tsunade as she followed the dog.
"Hoo boy!" said Kakashi as he saw his two teamates lying on the main road.
"Wake up." asked the man as he helps Sai to sit.
"…"
"Where's Sakura?" asked Tsunade when the boy tried to wake up.
"Huh!"
"She went after Sasuke, right? Which way did she go?" tried to help the grey haired man.
"Huh Oh! To the north… two o'clock… about… 1 km… Huh…" answered Sai as he collapsed again in the grey haired man's arms.
"You must have taught her how to make a powerful sleeping gaz…" spoke Kakashi as he put the boy down.
"Yeah! They'll be out for a while…" stated Tsunade with a smile on her face as she crossed her arms.
"You look happy…" said the sixth Hokage with suspicion.
"I'm just enjoying the fact that my apprentice is too powerful to handle." spoke the woman with pride.
"Tch…"
Taking Sai to a safer place, Kakashi and Tsunade took each of their comrades behind some bushes.
"Sorry gents, but I'm short on time." said the grey haired man as he looks at the boy and Yamato, "We need to go!"
"Wait, Kakashi! By the time we took, it'll be already too late to prevent Sakura from finding Sasuke…" started the Gondaime.
"She's right…" added the dog, "The Uchiha ran away."
"…"
"…"
"Right…"
"Let's see if I can wake them up." said Tsunade while approaching the unconscious men.
"Tsunade! TSUNADE!"
"Shizune?" "What are you doing here? I told you to stay with Naruto…" started the Gondaime before the anxious brown haired girl interrupted her.
"We have a problem. He took off after Sasuke!"
"WHAT?"
"Pakkun?" asked Kakashi.
"He's seven miles away from here, heading toward the east."
"So, what do we do?" asked Shizune worried, "Sakura or Naruto?"
"Naruto being the jinchuriki, we don't have many other choices. Let's go get him." stated the grey haired man with uneasiness in his voice.
"And Sakura?" asked again the brown haired girl.
"Sigh! Like we have a choice…" muttered angrily Tsunade before answering, "I'm sure she's alright… After all, she's not with the boy anymore…"
"I'll leave a clone to take care of Yamato and Sai." stated Kakashi while doing the right signs.
"But what if she's hurt?"
"Don't worry Shizune…" replied Tsunade while trying to comfort the girl.
"We'll catch up with her later. Come on!" added Kakashi before leaving through the forest canopy.
On Sasuke's side
"SASUKE!" yelled Naruto as he burst in the clearing, "WHERE IS SAKURA? TELL ME NOW!"
"Hello to you too." replied Sasuke as he stand up and stare at the blond haired boy with annoyance.
"… Where?"
"Don't know… Maybe back to the village or maybe dying in a ditch for all I care…" answered the boy nonchalantly as he clean his hands on his pants.
"Sasuke… Sakura is part of team 7… Just like us."
"In case you forgot, I'm ex-team 7."
"…"
"…"
A long silence installed itself among the two ninjas while the two young men were throwing dark glances to each other.
"Sasuke?" said Naruto, while breaking the silence.
"What?"
"Tobi told us the truth about Itachi! I don't know if I believe him or not, but either way, everything you've done…" answered the boy with uneasiness, "I understand why you did it!"
"…!"
"…"
"Naruto…" started Sasuke with an annoyed tone in his voice, "I told you once before… You never had parents or siblings… You never had anyone. SO SHUT UP, YOU OUTSIDER!"
At that, the blond haired boy stayed quiet, mainly because he was surprise by the anger in his friend voice, but also because he was starting to realize that something was wrong with the Uchiha. Something in Sasuke's acts and way of talking was disturbing Naruto in a way he couldn't described, just like his friend was devour by something inside of him. The Uchiha was losing it…
"Just now… just moments ago I finally got revenge for Itachi on one of his betrayers… One of the Leaf's top brass… His name was Danzo." stated proudly Sasuke, "It was a high unlike anything I've ever felt. Like I was finally cleansing the Uchiha name of the stigma that's dogged it for all these years. Like I was freeing the Uchiha from being associated with this corrupt shinobi world. In a sense, it's what the Leaf has always wanted. After rejecting my clan for generations, I'm finally going to wipe it from your memories… BY KILLING EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU. UNTIL THE LEAF IS CRUSHED FOREVER! ANY LINK TO THE UCHIHA WILL BE SEVERED AND OUR NAME WILL BE PURIFIED! THAT IS HOW I'LL REVIVE MY CLAN!"
As soon as he finished his sentence, the dark haired boy created a chidori and ran at Naruto with a devious smirk on his lips. Not letting himself get impresses by the Uchiha, the blond haired boy create a clone and prepared a rasengan of his own before running toward the other. While doing so, Naruto couldn't help but think about his friend.
'It's funny Sasuke… You and I could've easily been standing in each other's shoes right now.'
When the two finally collide, a big explosion erupted from the impact and as if it was in another dimension, the two friends started talking as if nothing of it had ever happened.
"You know why everyone hated me when I was a kid… because I have the nine-tails inside me. I hated all of them, too. I wanted to get revenge on them. One misstep and I might've been thinking the same horrible things as you. I thought I'd never have a real bond with anyone, not until I met people like you and Iruka-sensei. I knew you were always alone. I felt better knowing there was someone like me… I wanted to hang out with you. It just made me happy but I couldn't… I was jealous of how skilled you were, so I turned you into a rival. I wanted to be just like you. I started with nothing… but I finally made a connection. We went on missions as team 7, and I kept chasing you, wanting to be just as strong, just as cool." said honestly the blond haired boy with a genuine smile.
"…"
"I'm really glad I met you."
"Naruto…" finally replied the Uchiha, "It's too late, nothing you say now can change me! I'm going to kill you and every last person in your beloved village!"
"…"
"It's time to make your choice! Kill me and become a hero, or die at my hand and be another one of my victims." concluded cruelly the dark haired boy.
"I'm not going to be your victim or go down in history as the man who killed you! Neither!" answered Naruto.
At that precise moment, the huge explosion stopped and both were thrown away from each other while Naruto's clone catch the blond haired boy's real body to protect him while Zetsu appeared behind Sasuke and catch the dark haired boy.
"Kh!" yelped the Uchiha.
"Gotcha!" said Zetsu.
"… You… When did you…"
"I've been watching your back for quite a while now… Tobi ordered me to hang around and keep my presence hidden from you. We're in trouble no matter how you slice it." replied the plant guy.
'I'd better call him… I don't think we can get away alone.' thought anxiously Zetsu while putting the dark haired boy down.
"Now, I'm certain." started the blond haired boy before a weird swirl in the air just behind Sasuke caught his attention.
"I thought I told you come back and rest." said Madara to Sasuke as he appeared completely.
"…"
"The nine-tails…" acknowledged the older Uchiha, "When we do fight you, it'll be in a more suitable place. For now, we retreat."
"Let me handle him. We've gotta capture the nine-tails sometime, right?" asked Zetsu has he created clones of himself.
"No Zetsu… I don't think you'll be able to capture Naruto. You're not really a front-line fighter; the nine-tails is too much. We'll leave that hunt to Sasuke… It should be entertaining. Plus, I'm worried about Kisame, go check up on him and rejoin with your blacker half on the way."
"Yes sir."
"There's something I need to say to Sasuke." interrupted Naruto in a serious tone.
"Come on, Sasuke." said Madara as he tried to help the said boy to stand up, completely ignoring the jinchuriki's request.
"Wait." spoke the dark haired boy.
"…"
"Sasuke… Do you remember what you told me back in the valley of the end? About top-class ninjas?" asked Naruto,
…
"It's said that when two top-class ninjas battle, they can instantly read each other's mind the moment their fists meet."
"…"
"We have no need for words… You're weak Naruto. So tell me… Did you see what was in my heart? How I really feel?"
…
"One direct clash later, I understand a lot more. We've become top-class ninjas, Sasuke. Both of us. So tell me… Did you see what was in my heart? How I really feel?" said the boy while pointing at his heart.
"…"
"Did you see what'll happen? If we fight again… We're both gonna die." continued Naruto.
"…"
"Our battle will be inevitable if you really do attack the Leaf. So keep your hatred, let it fester… And hit me with it full force. I'm the only one who can bear the full brunt of your hate! It's my job, no one else's. I'll bear the burden of your hatred… And we'll die together!" concluded the blond haired boy.
"What?" asked Sasuke in disbelief, "What the fuck is wrong with you! Why do you care about me so much!"
"Because, I'm your friend." answered honestly the boy.
"…"
"Sasuke… We'll never be able to understand one another through words alone. I knew that from the moment I met you. The only way you and I can communicate properly is with our fist! Remember what I said… We're both top-class ninjas now!" added Naruto as he shows his fist.
'Maybe if we can understand one another, I can change all that hate, like Iruka-sensei did for me…' thought the boy with renewed hope.
"I haven't given up yet!" stated the blond haired boy, "Still… I'm done ranting at you. Hell, I can barely string a sentence together… I shouldn't be lecturing anyone! Heheheh… If we really do take this all the way to the end, and we both die… We won't be Uchiha, jinchurikis or anything. There'll be no more burdens to bear. We'll come to understand one another in the next world!"
"I will never change! I don't want us to understand one another! And I'm not gonna die, you will." replied Sasuke with hate.
"..."
"Have it your way. I'll kill you first." added the dark haired boy.
"Heh… You still haven't accepted me as an equal!"
"Let's go Sasuke" said Madara to the young Uchiha as he put his right hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Madara… You and I need to talk…" replied the boy.
And then, they all disappeared in a swirl of wind, leaving a confident and hopeful Naruto behind.
"I'm ready when you are… Sasuke."
On Sakura's side
When the pink haired girl finally wakes up, the sun was long since gone. The crickets were singing happily through the field and few fireflies dotted the sky with their lights. A slow wind was caressing the grass, brushing the hair of the girl at the same time while the moon was shining over her fragile body.
"Urgh…" complained the girl.
'Where am I?'
As she leapt out of the debris of the tree in which she was trapped, Sakura started to wonder how she ended up there. The way her body was laying down in the remains of the tree reminded her of a rag doll that had been carelessly thrown in a trashbin. But the thoughts stopped there when a false move reminded her of her recent injuries. Crying in pain, Sakura try to steady herself on her knees and started to heal the burning flesh on her abdomen that was hurting her to no end, when the events that had lead to those injuries in the first place flooded her mind.
"Sa…suke…"
As she spoke his name, anger engulfed her.
"SASUKE!" yelled Sakura.
As she did so, she stopped her healing session and hit the ground with so much force that the ground splinted in a radius of one kilometre, sending trees everywhere and destroying the unreal surrounding of the forest.
"Arghh…" growled the girl in anger, 'How can I be so stupid? I was supposed to be ready… How could I let him kis…'
"Ahhh!" yelled again the pink haired girl while holding her hair in anger.
Breathing hard but slowly calming down, the pink haired girl was about to continue her healing session when she realize something.
"The girl…"
With all the commotion and the things with Sasuke, she had totally forgotten about her. Judging by the time of the day, she was almost sure that she was half dead. Ignoring the physical pain and the turmoil her mind was in, Sakura started to run through the forest, kilometres away in the girl's direction.
"Hang on girl. I'm coming!"
The Hokages' side
"Naruto?" spoke Kakashi as he search in the foliage.
"NAAAAAARRRRRUUUUUTTTOOOOO?" yelled Shizune
"Where is he?" asked the Gondaime with her hands on her hips.
"Paakun? You sure he's near?" asked the grey haired man to the ninja dog.
"Of course I am!"
"NARUTO YOU PUNK! WHERE ARE YOU?" yelled Tsunade as her temper got the best of her.
"Geez! OLD BAA-CHAN DON'T YELL LIKE THAT! Everyone will know were there! Man… How did you get elected as Hokage if you don't even know the basics!" suddenly answered the blond haired boy as he emerged from the forest canopy.
"…"
"YOU JERK! GET OVER HERE!" yelled again Tsunade as she lunged herself at the boy before the brown haired girl tried to keep her at bay.
"AHHH!" shrieked the boy frightened as he hide behind Kakashi.
"Okay! Calm down… Naruto…"
Trying to calm the situation, Kakashi drag the boy in front of him and look at him with a serious tone while Tsunade, who got exasperated by Shizune, withdrew behind the said girl and cross her arms in a sign of exasperation and anger.
"Naruto… You were strictly ordered to go back to the village and you disobey a basic rule… What do you have to say?" asked the grey haired man in a negative tone.
"YEAH?" add the fifth Hokage suddenly interested.
"Well… Hummm… Ha ha ha!" laughed nervously the boy.
"Okay. That's it. Let me kill him!" said Tsunade as she almost threw Shizune on the ground while bypassing her.
"Tsunade, no!" replied the girl.
"Naruto…" warned Kakashi.
"OKAY! After I heard what Sakura was planning to do to Sasuke, I have try to protect her… She doesn't know what she's doing anymore. I had to stop her from doing something stupid. She's not strong enough to defeat him. Therefore, I went after her by focusing my chakra on Sasuke, but when I finally got there, she wasn't…"
"What happened with Sasuke?" asked the grey haired man.
"We… talked… then we got interrupted and then… They all went away."
"What do you mean 'they'? asked Tsunade, suddenly worried.
"That Madara guy and the plant guy…" answered honestly the boy.
"YOU IDIOT! YOU HAVE JUMPED IN THE LION DENT! DO YOU REALIZE HOW STUPID IT WAS? YOU COULD HAVE DESTROY THE WORLD!" yelled the Gondaime while throwing her hands in the air.
"Baa-chan… That's not it at all… Calm down!"
"No Naruto, you don't understand the time of playing around with Sasuke is over. We are in war and you are the main asset, if you fall to their hands you sign our death! Sasuke is an international criminal now… And if Sakura had come to kill him, then this is a good thing, but since she's no where to be found, I can only fear for the worst. Now come on, we need to find her."
"…"
"Pakkun?" asked Kakashi while the other two were discussing
"Something's up." stated the dog, suddenly anxious.
"What?"
"I don't know."
"I told him that the next time we would fight, we'll end up dead… That's all. I didn't try to get caught! I know better than that!" tried to explain the jinchuriki.
"Grow up!" stated the Gondaime.
"We are not going to solve anything if we stay hidden!" continued Naruto, "Besides, if Madara really had wished to captured me he would have done so during the Kages summit when he had me alone."
"WHAT?" shouted Tsunade.
"That's what we call being in trouble…" spoke Pakkun with a small smile before disappearing.
"Hmmmm…" growled Kakashi as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Kakashi… Weren't you suppose to keep an eye on him?" interrogated the Gondaime.
"Yes, but since I only have one eye, he may have pass unnoticed…"
"Don't play smart with me!" warned Tsunade.
And then the quarrel begins between the three of them, leaving a poor Shizune alone to try to separate them. After a few minutes and seeing that her efforts were in vain, the girl sat on the floor and looked at the bickering people in front of her when a small noise of cracking cut her attention. Searching for the source of it, the brown haired girl only had time to roll to her left before a huge crevice appeared where she once was.
"WATCH OUT GUYS!" yelled instinctively Shizune.
And at the same time, Kakashi and Tsunade jumped away, leaving a perplex Naruto alone in front of the crack that stopped mere inches away from him. Immediately, the blond haired boy took the opportunity to make fun of his friends.
"What are you so afraid of?" bragged the boy, "Does that little crack scared you little guys?"
"Shut up, you moron!" said Tsunade as she got up on her feets.
"Ha, ha, ha! Oh! I'm so afraid! That evil crevice will eat me alive!" continued the boy while running in circle and dancing.
"You had your fun? Are you done?" added the woman.
And as he was about to continue, a huge sound of exploding rocks was heard. In less than a second, the blond haired boy was thrown away by a giant tree. The force of the impact was so strong, that the boy landed 20 meters away from his initial spot, laying flat on his back, the tree on him. When everything stopped, Shizune ran at Naruto, slowly followed by Tsunade.
"NARUTO!" yelled the girl
"It seems like the crevice was faster then the real blow…" concluded Kakashi as he got up too.
"Are you okay?" asked the brown haired girl
"Huh!" mumbled the boy under the tree.
"I'll take that as a yes." said Tsunade as she pushed Shizune away, "Give me some space."
The blond haired woman took the tree in her hands and throws it away as if it was nothing.
"So… Feeling better?" asked Tsunade as she look at the pained boy.
"Ahhh…Uhhhh… Hmmmm…"
"Serves you right!" concluded the Gondaime.
"What happened exactly?" asked Shizune as she helps Naruto to get up.
"I don't know, but judging by the hole in the forest and the power used to make this tree fly, I suggest that my apprentice did that…" answered the fifth Hokage.
"Huh! What hole?" asked suddenly Naruto as he woke up.
"That hole…" replied Kakashi while pointing at a huge passage among the dense forest.
The scene was disturbing, the ground was split in two, creating a huge and deep crevice in the middle of the forest, the trees around were littered on the ground and a small cliff was half disappeared.
"God dammit!" whispered the boy in disbelief.
"Let's go." said the Gondaime.
Turning around, Tsunade walked through the unnatural passage created by a certain pink haired girl slowly followed by a subjugated Naruto, who was followed by Shizune and finally by the grey haired man. They walked through the passage for almost five minutes until they abruptly stopped. The blond haired boy, who was looking around and not paying attention, bumped in Tsunade.
"What's wrong?" asked the boy.
Not receiving any answer, he stepped aside a little and look at the scene. Devastated… That would be the best suited word to describe the scene.
"Hummm… I bet it wasn't there before…" concluded Naruto.
"Well, at least we know she's still alive." added Kakashi.
What was called a forest before was now a huge hole in the ground with rocks debris and pieces of trees everywhere in a radius of one kilometer. Quickly recovering from the sight, the group slowly resumes their journey to find the pink haired girl knowing full well that she wasn't that far away.
On Sakura's side
"Hnnnn…" groaned in pain the pink haired girl, "Damn, that hurt…"
Completely exhausted and in pain, Sakura stop running and fell to her knees. Trying to breath at a normal pace, Sakura look at her surrounding. She had been running for half an hour and still her mind hadn't rest. Anger, pain and sadness were all mixed up in one confused emotion. She had failed… Now all that was left for her to do was to save the girl. Trying to ignore the physical pain, Sakura got up and started to look for the said girl, leaving a puddle of blood in her wake.
"Where is she? She should be here." thought aloud the pink haired girl.
Looking around for an answer, Sakura spotted a trail of blood that was starting where the girl was supposed to be. Intrigued, the girl approached the trail and realizes that it was going behind some bushes not too far away. Following it, Sakura found the girl she had tried to save earlier, lying on the forest floor. She was glad to find that the red haired girl was still alive; barely breathing, but still alive.
"There you are!" spoke Sakura.
"You're al… alive… he didn't kill you?" asked in disbelief the red haired girl.
"No. I'm okay… And so are you now."
Not wasting any time, Sakura kneeled in front of the girl and healed her. Twenty minutes later, the girl was completely safe, still weak from the blood loss but safe. Glad she had given her the first aid, Sakura begin to bandage the girl's wound to move her, when the red haired girl stopped her.
"Are you sure you're okay? You have been crying the entire time."
"…?"
Sakura brought one of her hand to her eyes and tried to dry them.
"Oh… Hummm… Sorry, I was thinking about something." said Sakura as she wiped her last tear away, "Now stand still, I'll bandage your wounds and then will be ready to leave… Hummm... What's your name again?"
"Karin. And you're Sakura, right?"
"Yes."
And then, the silent went on until Sakura finished her task.
On the Hokages' side
"So, where is she?" asked Tsunade in an annoyed tone.
"Pakkun?" questioned Kakashi.
"Two kilometres that way…" answered the dog as he points the direction with its pawn, "The blood is still fresh…"
"WHAT? WHAT BLOOD?" yelled Naruto in utterly panicked
"Relax Naruto. Maybe she's just hurt and besides, she's a med-nin. She can heal herself." tried to reassure Shizune before the blond haired woman ruined everything.
"But that's a lot of blood…"
Worried, Naruto ran toward Tsunade to see what she was talking about. And there it was… Small puddles of blood were scattered all around the road. While some spot of blood in the form of her footprints were stamped on the path. Worried and angry to no end, Naruto ran in the direction the footprints were going. This was the straw that broke the camel's back…
"Naruto, wait…" said Shizune as she followed him.
"We need to find her…" added Kakashi as he too followed the boy.
On Sakura's side
"Here… It's all done." said the pink haired girl as she put her medical stuff away.
"Thank you…"
Sakura was about to stand up when pain ripped through her body. Her wounds had reopened and blood was seeping through them since god knows when.
'Great!' thought the pink haired girl with anger, "I forgot about those..."
"What's wrong?" asked Karin.
"Hummm… Nothing… Hold on a minute…" answered Sakura while trying to apply some chakra on her wound to heal it temporarily.
But after fighting Sasuke and healing his ex-teamate, this simple task seems too much for her to handle… She was chakra drained. So, instead, she lifted up what was left of her shirt a little and bandage the wounds to stop the bleeding. Once it was done, Sakura put back in place the shirt and tried to stand up again. When she was back on her two feet, she helped Karin to steady herself and place the girl on her back, piggyback style.
"Don't do anything suspect…" warned Sakura as she glanced back at Karin.
"Don't worry, I won't try to escape. I'm way too tired for that…" replied the girl in an annoyed tone.
"Good…" spoke the pink haired girl with a small smirk on her face.
"…"
"… I'll bring you back to my village… I can't leave you in the forest; you still need to get some healing treatments. I think they'll interrogate you, but I doubt you'll risk anything." explained Sakura with uneasiness.
Karin couldn't help but stare at the pink haired girl as she starts walking toward her village. This girl was amazing, even if she had never met her before; she knew she could thrust her. Even if Karin wasn't totally fond of Sakura, she had eyes to see, and she could tell that the girl was beautiful, talented and generous. She was the kind of girl that everyone would love to have as a friend. Compared to that girl, Karin couldn't hold a candle to her. Even if she was suppose to be her enemy, the pink haired girl had fought Sasuke, run with opens wounds and healed her with what was left of her chakra reserves. And Sasuke… Karin couldn't quite understand why the boy seems to hate a girl like her so much to the point he could actually kill her. She never knew what Sasuke's life was before she met him at Orochimaru's lab, but she knew that if it was Sakura and her friends that have been following them before, it wasn't to hurt him. Therefore, there was no reason for him to consider her an enemy. In fact, it seems like it was the other way around. Something in Sakura demeanour was proving her that there was something going on between them, something both positive and negative that seem to affect the girl a lot. Even if she was curious to find out what it was, Karin decided not to interfere and let her head fall onto the back of the pink haired girl. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Sensing that her patient have finally decided to rest, Sakura adjust her better on her back and started walking a little faster toward her village when a familiar voice caught her attention.
"SAKURA!"
"Naruto?" asked the girl in disbelief as she stopped dead in her track.
"Here you are…" said Kakashi with a smile as he landed not too far from her.
"We were so worried…" added Shizune with relief.
"Huh!"
"Sakura, I'm so disappointed in you…" started the Gondaime when Naruto interrupted her.
"WHAT WHERE YOU THINKING? ARE YOU STUPID OR WHAT?" yelled the boy.
"What?" asked a confused Sakura while carefully setting down the newly awaken Karin.
"You heard me… How could you act so foolish and self-centered?"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" yelled Sakura as she lost her calm at his insinuations.
"YOU WENT AFTER SASUKE TO KILL HIM!" accused the boy.
"YEAH! SO WHAT?" yelled again the girl, "I've tried to make you change your mind but you didn't listen."
"OH YEAH! GOOD THING I DIDN'T LISTEN TO YOUR BULLSHIT!"
"…"
"I'm the only one who can fight him now." stated Naruto.
"Look who's talking now… And you dare tell me that I am self-centered?"
"I already told you, I'm the only one who knows how he felt, I'm the only one who can make him change his mind. You have tried to fight him and look what happen, he almost kill you. You are irresponsible Sakura and I truly don't understand you!" continued the boy.
"Naruto… Sasuke needs to be killed, he is a danger to us all." tried to explain the girl while staying calm.
"Oh! And where's the girl who was head over heals for him? I don't recognize you anymore. You lie to me, you give up on our team and you betray your comrades for your own personal plans. You disgust me Sakura…"
"…"
"Naruto…" warned Kakashi, surprised by his ex-student behaviour.
"Naruto that's enough!" ordered Tsunade in an aggressive tone.
"Rahhh! How could you do this to me?" asked the boy letting the anger escape him.
"I haven't done anything to hurt you or anybody else. I may have lie to you but it was only to protect you. It wasn't clever, I confess… But that doesn't give you the right to insult me like that. Besides, I don't understand why you're so mad at me, I haven't been able to kill him. You should be happy!" spoke the pink haired girl.
"I'm mad because you have put yourself in danger for nothing! You aren't strong enough to fight him. You could have been killed!"
"I beg you pardon? Are you saying I'm useless?" asked Sakura in disbelief and anger.
"…"
"ANSWER ME!" yelled the girl in fury, leaving everyone around them speechless.
"If I left you home it was for a good reason." answered coldly Naruto.
"Oh! Finally some truth! So that's what it was… You think I'm not good enough for nothing! You think I'm weak and useless, always getting in the way, huh!"
"…"
"I should have known it… It has always been like that… You and Sasuke… The only two worth enough of Kakashi's time… The two that never need a pathetic girl like me… Then you should be happy now… I WON'T BOTHER YOU ANYMORE!" yelled the girl as she turned away.
"…"
"…"
Suddenly feeling guilty for his last statement, Naruto tried to stop the girl before she left completely.
"Sakura… That's not what I meant …" said the boy as he grabs her left wrist.
BANG!
The blond haired boy have been hit so hard in the face that he flew past the rest of the group and landed in some trees.
"SAKURA!" yelled Tsunade, "Shizune, go see if he is alright."
The brown haired girl ran as fast as she could toward the boy while Kakashi, trying to prevent the girl from advancing on the hardly breathing boy, jumped in front of her and tries to talk with her, but in vain.
"Sakura…"
"YOU DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY ANYTHING! YOU'RE AS WORST AS THEM! YOU NEVER BELIEVED IN ME!" blamed the girl while pointing her finger in an accusing manner at the grey haired man while fury emanated from her entire shaking body.
"…?"
At this point Sakura begin to cry while Kakashi kept staring at her speechless. Though the anger hadn't completely recess, the pink haired girl was showing a vulnerable side of her and she hated it.
"Sobs… You were right when you told me that you have been a bad sensei to me… Sobs"
"Sakura!" said again the man while trying to touch her.
"I HATE YOU!" yelled back Sakura while pushing him away.
Surprised, Kakashi got blown away by the force of the push and landed on Tsunade, bringing both of them on the ground. Once Kakashi and Tsunade regain their balance, Sakura was no where to be seen.
On Sasuke's side
"What's on your mind?" asked Madara, curious.
"I want Itachi's eyes." said coldly the dark haired boy as the two of them kept on walking toward the hide-out.
"…"
"…"
"I knew you'd warm to the idea eventually." spoke the man in a proud tone.
"…"
"You've been much too quick to bring out susano'o I could tell your vision's been getting blurry… Good timing, huh?" asked the older Uchiha.
"I want them transplanted, asap." command Sasuke.
"Still, this is kind of sudden… What changed your mind?" asked again Madara.
"I want to destroy Naruto with my full powers! That's the only way to reject everything he stands for!" answered the young Uchiha, "Nothing more, nothing less."