Chapter 21

"Enough!"

Naruto's voice echoed, burning with rage, from the centre of his pyre of golden chakra. The air crackled with static as he took another step forward, yet his foot fell without the scarcest sound. His aura was like that of a carnivorous beast: primal, powerful. Dangerous.

The woman took yet another retreating step, her wide green eyes reflecting Naruto's golden light. She stumbled on a tree root, gasping softly as she fell back into the damp snow. Her hands shook as she reached for a kunai, gripping it tightly as her eyes flashed back and forth, searching for her teammates. One of them lay motionless on the forest floor, having been caught off guard by Shikamaru's Shadow techniques. The other was fighting all four shinobi from Konoha at once, an endless stream of curses pouring from his mouth.

Her eyes twitched back to the Jinchuuriki as he stood above her, his molten irises hardening as their gazes met. The Kou woman could feel herself burning under Naruto's eyes – a small blade of grass quivering before a raging inferno.

"Enough of this." Naruto repeated, but his voice was softer now. His eyebrows pinched together as he added, "Milo was just a kid."

The Kou swallowed loudly, testing Naruto's patience with surprising confidence. "He was not the first child to die before his time." She inched away from him before slowly standing, her eyes never leaving his. "History is bloodied by the deaths of many children who did not have hero's like you to avenge them."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that it's okay to go around killing kids because it's been happening for a long time? That's fucked up."

"No!" The woman cried, her beautiful face breaking into a frown. "I grieve for every death, Naruto Uzumaki. Every death since the beginning of man is the burden the living must bear."

Tilting his head to the side, Naruto examined the woman more closely. After a long pause, he finally said, "Man, you are crazy."

He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he controlled his raging chakra, pulling it in until it was a thin layer around his body. Eyes opening once more, he asked in a low voice, "What's your name?"

"Among my Clan, I am known as the Eternal Lotus. I am a goddess to my people."

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, you can't let that sort of stuff get to your head, you know."

The woman smiled softly. "I know." She replied. "I am no goddess. Together with my twin brother, I am the firstborn child of the founder of my Clan. My name is Lila."

"Lila," Naruto repeated, rolling his shoulders tensely. "Call off the attack and go back to your Clan. Tell your leader to leave the villages alone."

Lila smiled widely. "What gives you the right to give me orders, little boy?"

"Nothing." Naruto replied nonchalantly. "But, if you don't do as I say, to help me restore peace, I will have no choice but to fight you."

Raising her hand slowly, Lila beckoned to the Sage suggestively. But even as she did this, she retreated several more steps, creating greater distance between them. "I do not fear you, demon." She whispered.

With that, she took off running, the light gleaming on her hair as she vanished into the trees. Naruto sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Running away from me after intentionally pissing me off?" He muttered. "Okay, so here comes the trap then."

A sound like thunder broke the silence as Naruto vanished with speed, a blast of wind shaking the snow from the trees. He reappeared directly in front of Lila as she fled. Unable to stop in time, she slammed into his chest, crying out in pain as she stumbled back several steps and dropped to one knee.

"Damn," She grumbled. "Now I know what it feels like to run into a wall at full speed."

She reached up to wipe away the blood that was trickling from her nose. As she and Naruto both examined the blood on her hand, Lila muttered something under her breath. Then, with a triumphant smile, she slammed her palm into the snow.

Immediately, lines began to spread across the ground, forming a circle of sealing symbols around the Jinchuuriki. Naruto recognized them immediately, yet he seemed completely unfazed, even as his Jinchuuriki chakra flickered and then disappeared.

He glanced back at Lila as she stood up slowly, propping her hand on her hip as she examined her work.

"I see you've done some research." Naruto said, his deep voice rough in the stillness. "How did you find out the sealing jutsu for a Jinchuuriki?"

"Oh, there's tons of stuff like this floating around, if you know where to look." Lila responded with a wave of her hand. "Everyone has a weakness, Guardian of Konoha. You were foolish to forget that."

Naruto snorted. "Right. So, what's the plan now? You fight me while I can't use the Nine-tails' power?"

"Not quite." The woman stepped into the circle cautiously. "I'm going to possess you instead. You can't even move right now, can you?"

The Sage glanced down at his body, seeing glimmering chains that were visible only to him. He looked back at Lila, his expression still completely unconcerned. "You won't be able to." He promised.

"We shall see." Lila said.

Slowly, she untied her wolf mask from where it hung around her neck, letting it fall with a heavy clang. She then undid the clasp of her cloak, tossing it aside as she prowled towards her captive. Naruto sighed and closed his eyes as she circled him, admiring him from all angles.

"I had heard that you had completely surpassed your father, the Yellow Flash," She began, practically purring with contentment. "But that isn't true. The Fourth would never fall for such a simple trap."

Naruto smirked, but remained silent. He tugged at his invisible chains, but gave up when they only tightened in response. He opened his eyes as Lila stopped her circling to stand before him, exposing her throat as she looked up at him.

Her green eyes sparkled, cheeks becoming faintly red. "A king among men. You are much more breathtaking in person than in the stories, Naruto Uzumaki." She whispered. "I shall greatly enjoy owning you for a while."

The blond sighed. "I told you, it's not going to work." His voice grew harsh as he added. "I won't let it. I have too much to do, so many things to fix in this world."

Lila frowned slightly as she stepped forward, rising onto her toes so that she could reach his ear.

"You are no longer for this world." She said, her voice a lowly humming lullaby. "You're just the same as me, Naruto. When humans become legends, heroes, gods, they lose their right to this world. I think you know what I'm talking about."

Naruto scoffed. "Crazy. Definitely crazy, you know."

But he did understand. Naruto had spent a great deal of time meditating over his place in the world after his encounter with the Kou in the Cloud Village. He knew that his past and his future were tainted by blood. He knew that he could no longer call himself a human being. Naruto was something more, and something less, than a human.

Naruto's heart began to race as anger and pain tore through his chest.

Smiling triumphantly, Lila reached up, placing her palm over the Jinchuuriki's forehead. "Soul Possession: Full Body Illusion." She said as chakra surged into her hand.

Naruto grit his teeth against a scream. He strained against the binding seal that was holding him, his skull feeling like it was about to explode. He could feel her - feel Lila - forcing herself into his mind. Naruto managed to open his eyes when he heard her laughing.

"I thought you said I wouldn't be able to do this?" She mocked, green eyes flashing.

The blond smiled in response, but the pain warped his expression into a fang-bearing snarl. "Don't speak too soon."

Lila raised an eyebrow curiously, but as she opened her mouth to respond, a new chakra caught her attention. It was blooming like a flower from deep within Naruto's chest, fighting against the tide of her jutsu until it reached her palm.

A chill ran down the woman's spine as a new and deadly presence appeared over her shoulder. She turned from Naruto's animalistic smile, knees trembling as she looked behind her.

Her gaze was met by two pairs of glowing, blood red eyes, which she recognized as the legendary Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan. Two tall, pale men stood there as silently as statues, their raven black hair and cloaks stark against the snowy landscape. The younger of the two reached over his shoulder slowly, drawing a sword that began to scream with lightning.

"I-Impossible." Lila stuttered, the colour draining from her face and neck as terror stalled her breath. "I-Ita-tachi…Itachi and S-Sasuke Uchiha? Here?" She shook her head slowly, unable to move as Itachi's hands appeared from the long sleeves of his cloak, forming a seal. "Impossible. This is a genjustsu. But you can't do genjutsu, Naruto. Not from what I've heard."

"Everyone has a weakness, Eternal Lotus." Sasuke growled, quoting her mockingly. "But some of us figure out ways to counter those weaknesses."

Lila turned to look at Naruto, but he had vanished – her hand gripping empty air. She turned back to the Uchiha's quickly, only to scream in horror as she realized that the world, too, had vanished. Instead, she was standing in an endless sea of warm blood, the bodies of children and women, as well as old and frail or young and strong men floating past her.

She screamed again as Itachi appeared beside her, floating above the crimson tide as his cloak constantly tore away into giant black birds, his hair fluttering in a long-forgotten wind.

"This is what you claim to mourn." Itachi said, his voice so gentle, it sounded as if he was speaking to a lover. "And yet, this is what you make it your business to create."

A sound like the frantic chirping of a thousand birds made Lila turn away from the elder brother, only to find herself face-to-face with the devilishly beautiful younger one. Sasuke smirked, glancing down at the gory waves that splashed around his thighs. "Shall we ad yours to the mixture?" He asked coldly.

"Wait, Sasuke."

Naruto's voice came through the crimson darkness like a beam of sunlight. Lila grappled for it desperately, trying to find a way out of the genjutsu. But it was far too strong. Instead of breaking the illusion, she found herself stumbling into another page of it. Panting heavily, she glanced around quickly before looking down at herself.

There was no trace of blood on her clothes. Lila sighed in relief. She choked on that sigh as a sudden presence shook the illusionary world like an earthquake.

"I tried to warn you."

Lila glanced up eagerly, hungering for the sight of something real and familiar. But when she turned her gaze to Naruto, his light burned her eyes. She fell to her knees screaming, covering her eyes with her hands as they burned, smoke rising from them.

A voice appeared in her head then, colder than death and twice as dangerous. "How dare you try to look him in the eye." Sasuke hissed. "You have no right, filth."

Naruto sighed, his voice giving off warmth like a flame. "Sasuke, Itachi-nii-san, that's enough now. I'm free."

Suddenly, the pain was gone. Lila opened her eyes cautiously, seeing the glistening snow through her fingers. She lowered her hands from her face as she looked up at Naruto, staring at him as if he were the first thing she had ever seen.

And then, realization hit. Lila looked down at herself, eyes widening as they fell over the hilt of her own kunai, which was buried deep in her abdomen. She reached up shakily, gripping the hilt with one slender hand. She grimaced against the pain and the squelching of flesh as she pulled the weapon out, tainting the pure white snow with her blood.

"How?" She whispered hoarsely, squinting against the glow of Naruto's golden chakra.

The Sage frowned sadly. "Believe it or not, you did that to yourself when you were under the genjutsu."

"I see." Lila replied, leaning back slowly to return the blond's gaze. "You broke free."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "I made a clone before you guys showed up. I just called him back to break the sealing jutsu."

Lila nodded slowly, groaning in pain as she clamped her hand over the wound. "And the…the genjutsu?"

"Originally a gift from Itachi during the war." Naruto said simply. "And then Sasuke did me the honour of reinforcing it, so that if I was ever in a desperate situation, I would be able to release their chakra to disable my opponent."

Lila laughed shakily. "I don't believe this. I don't…believe this." She muttered. "There was no hope in this mission."

Naruto let his arms fall, shrugging awkwardly. "Well, if I hadn't made that clone I'd still be standing here like an idiot, waiting for my team to come and save me."

"Don't play with me." The woman hissed between clenched teeth. "You knew from the beginning that I couldn't beat you."

"Of course I knew," Naruto replied in a low voice, his eyebrows pinched together as if he was in pain. "But at the same time, I didn't know for sure. I'm not stupid enough to underestimate intelligent people. Just when you think you've got them cornered, they pull another trick."

A gurgling laugh crawled out of Lila's chest, her teeth stained with blood. "I'm flattered." She said. "But honestly, I've got nothing left."

Naruto looked at her for a moment, thinking quietly. Then, with a deep sigh, he released his Jinchuuriki chakra; the golden flames of energy sinking beneath his skin. As he looked back at Lila with his clear, sapphire eyes, she felt a new pain blooming in her chest.

Silence fell between them, the watchful eyes of the forest pressing against their senses. Somewhere, far off in the trees, they could hear the team from Konoha talking softly as they slowly approached. Lila coughed again, more blood spraying onto her pale lips.

"It seems my team was wiped out. The mission was a failure. What does this say about my Clan, my father?" She mused, her voice growing even fainter. "He probably doubted that it was possible to possess you. That's why he sent me, who was lesser in strength than both him and my brother, to find out."

Naruto sat down beside her, his cloak soaking up the blood which had spilt in the snow. He rubbed his hands slowly, chasing the stiffness from his fingers while adding warmth to them. After a moment of hesitation, Naruto reached over and carefully took Lila Kou's small hand in his own.

"You are not your father, or your Clan." He whispered in his deep, rough voice. "You should forgive them, Lila. I'm sorry that things turned out this way, you know."

Her eyebrows pulled together slightly, but the effort it took to frown proved too much for the dying woman. Her expression went slack again, but tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. "Will you forgive them, Guardian? Will you forgive me?"

"I will." Naruto replied firmly. "Hatred only breeds more hatred. I have no use for it."

Lila managed a small smile, her dark lashes brushing her porcelain cheeks as she closed her eyes. "I am glad." She whispered, her breath sighing out of her lungs.

Naruto closed his eyes, releasing a slow breath as his opponent released her final one.

"Goodbye, Lila."

He glanced up as Shikamaru and the Chunin appeared on the edge of the clearing. Shikamaru took in the scene quickly, his sharp brown eyes focusing on Naruto's hand, still holding on to Lila's. The Jinchuuriki met his gaze, shaking his head slightly before rising to his feet.

"Milo is dead." Naruto declared in a muted tone. "My clone is on his way here with the body."

The Sage glanced down at his cloak, which hung heavily with the weight of blood. He pinched his eyes shut. "Let's get back to the village." He said. "I can't shake off the feeling that this isn't over yet."

Naruto started walking towards them slowly, his mind elsewhere as he stumbled on the loose earth. "You should all report to the hospital as soon as we get back." He muttered. "I'll go straight to Granny's office and file the mission report."

"Hey, Naruto, let me do that." Shikamaru said quickly. "Your injuries are a lot worse than mine."

As Shikamaru predicted, Naruto opened his mouth to remind the strategist that he healed more quickly than most, but the words never came. Instead, his eyes popped open, the irises suddenly gold instead of blue.

"What is it?" Yua asked. "Naruto-sama, what happened?"

Naruto shook his head slowly. "My clone." He whispered. "The clone I left back at the house. It just vanished, but I didn't order it to."

And then he was moving, his blood-soaked cloak flapping noisily behind him. His breath rattled out of his chest, hot and laboured, as rage rippled over his skin like a fine sheen of sweat.

"Not an ambush," He growled. "A diversion."

And then he vanished. Lightning flashed from somewhere above the thick clouds. The sky rumbled angrily, the rolls of thunder sounding eerily similar to the roaring of the Nine-tailed fox. The first thunderstorm of the season was forming over Konoha.

It was early evening by the time Sakura stooped down in front of the doorway, pulling on her boots. Sasuke leaned against the wall near the kitchen, watching her pink hair swinging.

"Seriously though Sasuke," Sakura said, her voice strained as she pulled on her stubborn shoes. "If there's something bothering you, just talk to Naruto about it. I've known you idiots long enough to know that you're probably both worrying about the exact same things."

Sasuke shrugged. "Maybe. If I have time, I'll bring it up."

Sakura laughed as she straightened up, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Liar, you aren't going to say anything."

"He's busy." Sasuke replied defensively.

"Yeah, whatever." The kunoichi replied as she opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. She glanced up at the sky. "Oh, it looks like it's going to rain. I'd better get going."

She turned and waved to Sasuke as she made her way down the path, glancing over at Naruto's meditating clone before she passed through the archway barrier and disappeared down the road. Sasuke sighed. His dark eyes wandered over to the clone, raking over the familiar form longingly.

"Hurry up and come home, idiot-blond." He grumbled as he turned, pulling the door shut behind him.

A sudden pop caught his attention.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder quickly, his eyes immediately drawn to the puff of chakra smoke that had taken the clone's place. Frowning, he stepped back onto the porch, his sharingan activated as he slowly swept his gaze over the silent landscape. When nothing out of the ordinary caught his attention, Sasuke inhaled deeply, attempting to ease the tension in his shoulders.

Without releasing his sharingan, Sasuke backed into the house, shutting the door and locking it. As he walked into the kitchen, he examined Naruto's barriers with his senses. They were all intact, and the chakra's of the ANBU guards were flowing normally.

But even so, Sasuke stood rooted to the spot, his instincts making his body hum with adrenaline. Why had Naruto's clone suddenly vanished? Was he in trouble?

"Naruto." Sasuke whispered to the silent room.

And then the floor exploded, sharp pieces of the polished hardwood and chunks of earth flying through the windows and destroying most of the kitchen. Sasuke stood on the ceiling, covering his face with his arms. He could hear the voices of the ANBU over the din as they raced towards the house.

That was when he sensed their attackers.

"Look out!" He screamed. But his voice didn't carry over the sound of a second explosion.

Sasuke was thrown backwards as the entire front garden, and half the house, were demolished in the blast. He crashed through the wall into the bedroom, landing hard in a heap of debris. Within seconds, three of the ANBU were surrounding him, once of them helping him to his feet while the others stood guard.

"Uchiha-sama!" The masked guard exclaimed. "Are you alright? What on earth is happening?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Sasuke said through clenched teeth. He looked through the crumbling wall to the garden, where the bodies of the ANBU and their attackers could be seen among the debris. "Are you the only ones left?"

"Yes, sir." The ninja replied. "The enemy were all equipped with suicide bombs, sir. They exploded as soon as our men made contact with them."

Cold dread settled into Sasuke's stomach. "Kou."

He slipped his eyes shut, reaching out with his senses the way Naruto had taught him. "But why are they here now?" Sasuke wondered as he searched for their enemies. "They must know that Naruto is out of the village, so why would they attack the house today? Unless…"

"Dammit." Sasuke said as his eyelashes lifted, revealing eyes as red as freshly drawn blood. "They came for me."

Sasuke felt a chill run down his spine as several bodies passed through Naruto's barrier, which had weakened alarmingly when the wall around the garden was destroyed. Sasuke raced over the debris, ignoring the cuts on his bare feet as he pulled open the closet door. Leaving the rest of his gear, Sasuke reached for his sword.

He turned just in time to deflect the first kunai. He exhaled slowly as he straightened up, his strong, proud gaze falling over the three surviving ANBU. Their nervous eyes hardened as they watched him release his sword from its sheath, the sharp ringing of metal-on-metal powerful in the enclosed space.

Sasuke nodded to them slowly.

And then the enemy came. There were men jumping down through the broken roof, forcing their way through the windows and running through the gaping holes in the walls. Sadness pinched Sasuke's chest as he looked at the ruined house. It was the first home he had known since he was a child. It was the place where he had fallen in love.

"Ruined."

The sound of screaming lightning filled the air as Sasuke's blade became impregnated with chidori. His eyes widened alarmingly as he stared at the Kou, wordlessly daring them to attack him. Three of the Kou, the teeth of their metal wolves flashing in the blue lightning, took his dare. They rushed him all at once, roaring with naïve confidence. Sasuke smirked, raising his blade as all three of them looked him in the eye. For a moment, they became utterly still, caught in a genjutsu. But then they were writhing in terror, their eyes mad with the hell that only they could see. They almost seemed relieved when Sasuke decapitated them with a single sweep of his blade.

Sasuke looked up in time to see one of the ANBU fall on the debris. He raised his short-sword to defend himself, muscles tensing at the anticipated blow.

"Stay down." Sasuke called, his calm, cold voice carrying powerfully above the noise.

He inhaled deeply, holding his hand in front of his mouth to direct the giant fireball which erupted from his lungs. The Kou screamed as the flames decimated their ranks and set the ruined house ablaze.

"Get out!" Sasuke called to the ANBU, gesturing at the giant hole in the wall which led into the ruined kitchen and out into the garden.

The Leaf ninja nodded, grabbing their fallen comrade and running out of the burning, crumbling house.

But Sasuke remained, standing in the wreckage of his life, with flames and smoke and lightning rising around him. His gleaming red eyes glowed in the firelight as he stood in the path of his opponents: the personification of nightmares and fallen angels lost in hell.

Beautiful.

Terrifying.

Sasuke roared with anger as he rushed forward, his blade flashing with crimson as he carved through his enemies. He was, however, seriously outnumbered. It wasn't long before his advance came to a halt and he found himself surrounded. Sasuke had no idea how so many of them had managed to get into the village, but he continued to fight desperately.

"Just hold on." He told himself as he grit teeth. "I can't lose to this filth. I am an Uchiha. The last Uchiha. I absolutely cannot die while Naruto is away."

Naruto.

The thought of his Guardian made new strength pour into Sasuke's veins. But he was still far from what he was at full strength, and this small surge of adrenaline only bought him a few more seconds. Like a candle reaching the end of its wick, Sasuke's chakra flickered and went out. He blinked in shock as his Sharingan faded, the strength draining from his limbs.

The Kou continued their attack, and Sasuke was unable to react in time to stop several cold blades from sinking into his flesh.

Sasuke was vaguely aware that he was screaming in pain as he sank into darkness. Endless darkness.

The retreating ANBU reacted to the sound of Sasuke's pained scream. They turned back immediately, rushing over the rubble to his aid. "Sasuke-sama!" They screamed. "Wake up!"

With a chuckle, one of the Kou stepped towards Sasuke, forming a series of hand signs as he did. His pale green eyes danced with laughter as he grabbed Sasuke by the arm, the pair of them vanishing into thin air. Almost immediately afterwards, the remaining shinobi fell to the ground as limply as a group of ragdolls.

The ANBU stumbled to a stop, looking around in utter disbelief. Less than five minutes had passed since the first explosion, and yet the house looked like it had been in the middle of a war zone. And, more importantly, both Sasuke and the Kou were gone.

The sky rumbled dangerously as rain began to fall, dousing the fires that were quickly turning the ruined house to ash. The three remaining guards stood together like statues, unmoving even as ANBU reinforcements and shinobi attracted by the ruckus appeared.

The sensory-type ANBU nudged his comrades into awareness as two familiar figures approached; one with the mask of a grinning cat and the hilt of a sword sticking out above his shoulder, and the other with long, thick brown hair and gleaming opal eyes.

"What happened here? What on earth caused this devastation?" Neji asked, his deep voice shaking slightly. "Where is Sasuke Uchiha? Was he the instigator? When Naruto sees this, he'll -"

Neji stopped speaking abruptly. Behind him, an eerie silence had fallen. Above him, the sky boomed with thunder.

Turning slowly, Neji's pale eyes fell over a familiar figure. "Oh god," He whispered. "Naruto."

The Jinchuuriki had appeared under the wooden archway, which served as a location for his Teleportation Jutsu. His expression was as open and empty as his eyes as he took in the scene quietly. Finally, he began walking forward, his eyes never leaving the charred skeleton of his house.

"Where is he?" He suddenly asked in a harsh, ringing voice. "Where is Sasuke?"

Neji and Sai glanced over at the three ANBU. Naruto slowly looked over, his wide eyes burning with rage. "What the fuck happened?" He asked, fighting to control himself as his voice trembled violently.

"W-we were attacked out of nowhere, sir." One of the ninja began, the terror obvious in his voice. "Well, not from nowhere, they came up from the ground, and then house just exploded! By the time we realized what was going on, most of the guards were already dead."

Another of the three masked shinobi nodded. "Uchiha-sama said it was the Kou. It was amazing, sir. He saved the three of us, and managed to kill most of them but – but they took him sir. They vanished."

Naruto didn't respond. His mind went blank as he walked up what was left of the pathway, stepped up onto the broken porch and turned the door handle. The front door stood intact, still securely locked, yet it hadn't protected anything.

"Just like me." Naruto thought.

He fell to his knees, his eyes blind as a scream that sounded like the cry of a dying animal tore out of his throat.

"Everything. Everything I love, taken from me. Sasuke. My Sasuke. My moon."

"SASUKE!"

Naruto screamed. And as he screamed, his chakra exploded out of him, roaring with such ferocity that it rivalled the cry of the thunder. The Demon Fox added his voice to Naruto's, their mingling scream louder than thunder, louder than bombs, loud with the rawness of the pain it revealed. The Jinchuuriki's chakra grew so dense and bright that it hid him from view, shivering like a leaf in hurricane winds: constantly on the verge of being torn apart. Destroyed completely. The assembled ninja crouched down, covering their eyes against the blinding gold light.

The sky lit up with lightning, fierce bolts flashing across the sky. As the next roll of thunder reached their ears, darkness had fallen over Konoha. Naruto had disappeared.

Neji turned his pale eyes to the churning clouds as the wind rose, bringing with it a sudden chill. Another rumble shook the earth, but this time, it wasn't thunder. It was the distant screaming of some giant power, the cry of a shattering mountain. The ANBU Captain shook his head. "Sai," He began in a hoarse voice. "Inform the Hokage at once and find out what's to be done about all this."

"Y-Yes, sir." Sai stammered, his eyes stinging.

"The rest of you," Neji continued, raising his voice, "Start searching through the wreckage for survivors or anything salvageable. Get a couple of trackers, I want to know exactly what happened -"

He stopped abruptly when Sai reached over to grip his arm. Neji glance up questioningly, but the artist wasn't looking at him. He followed Sai's gaze towards the road, his breath stalling in his chest as he caught sight of who was standing there.

"Sakura." Sai said, breaking protocol as he pulled off his mask, rushing towards his old teammate over the broken earth.

"Why?" Sakura whispered, looking around at the ANBU with wounded eyes. "Why didn't you save Sasuke? Why didn't you stop them? Why…why is it always Naruto who has to get hurt?"

The shinobi lowered their heads, feeling thoroughly ashamed, even if they had only just arrived at the scene. Sai finally reached the lovely kunoichi, and she turned with a scream of unfiltered sadness to grip the front of his grey vest. A heavy stillness fell then, disturbed only by Sakura's tears and the rumbling of the storm.

The clouds hid both the moon and its guiding star. It was going to be a very dark night.

I finished this chapter two weeks ago but I didn't upload it because I knew you guys would be mad at me. I'M SORRY! Please don't be upset, there are more chapters to come!