Disclaimer: Kishimoto Masashi is the owner of Naruto and its characters. I am not Kishimoto Masashi. Therefore, I do not own Naruto and its characters.

A/N: Inner Sakura's thoughts

Sakura's regular thoughts and others' thoughts

Sasuke Must Die!

Haruno Sakura ran through the dark and musty tunnel. Her heart was beating like a drum: loud and powerful. Her bright green eyes were desperate yet focused on finding something, anything that would lead her towards her goal. Her mind was yelling the name of her teammate, but it was also telling her:

"Sakura you are dreaming."

And it was true. Haruno Sakura was stuck in a dream thanks to her inner-self. It seemed her inner-self felt Sakura needed to remember the first time that Sasuke tried to kill her. And since Sakura did not possess a time-traveling jutsu, the best way to travel to the past was through a dream. But Sakura did not care that she was dreaming, and she could care less about her inner-self's agenda. All she cared about was seeing the face of her teammate again.

"Why Sakura? It doesn't matter how much you wish to see him or how much you want to change the past. You cannot change what happened, not even in your dreams."

An explosion sounded throughout the tunnel. Sakura, Naruto, and Yamato tried to keep their balance as it shook.

"Wha –What was that?" Naruto asked. Left, right, he had no idea where the source of the explosion came from.

"Over there", Sakura felt her mouth moved without her permission. Ever since the dream began, she tried to speak and move her body. She tried to do anything different from what had already happened and made this mission a failure, but it was useless.

"Sakura, just watch and see. Don't fight it anymore. Accept the past and move on. It's the purpose of this dream."

Sakura, Naruto, and Yamato felt Sai's chakra and followed it like bloodhounds. There was a light at the end of the tunnel they were running in. Sakura saw a dark shape standing in the middle of the light. Her dream-self tightened her fist and sped forward. Her desperate eyes suddenly became hateful by the betrayal her team had suffered by one of their own. Sakura tried to calm her dream-self, but nothing she said and did made a difference in what was occurring.

The Sakura in her dream reached Sai and yanked him by his collar. She wanted to call Sai many names that were befitting of what he had done, but when she spoke none of them came out.

"You! What the hell are you doing!" the voiced sounded like an echo. "How many times? How many times to you plan to stab us in the back before you're ha-"

Her ranting was interrupted by a voice as soft and fleeting as the wind. Sakura's dream-self unconsciously turned to where the voice was and froze. Her eyes widened with disbelief. She released her hold on Sai and spoke the name of her former teammate; the one who broke her heart:

"Sasuke."

Uchiha Sasuke looked back at her from the top of the crater with emotionlessly. She heard as someone stumbled next to her, but her eyes did not leave the Uchiha. He could disappear again if she did.

"Sasuke", Naruto said the name of the teammate he had been desperately searching for two and a half years; the one who was like a brother to him.

"And Naruto. You came as well. Does that mean that Kakashi is here?" Sasuke asked, but from his tone and expression it looked like it didn't matter to him.

"No, he is not here", Yamato walked to stand next to his team, "But I am here in his place. We are team Kakashi, and we are here to take you back to Konoha."

"How many times, Sakura? How many times have you wished Sasuke came back with you on that day? But instead of coming back, what did he do?" Sakura did not respond. Instead she remained quiet and allowed the dream to flow. The wheels of her brain were beginning to turn. She was taking in everything; she was seeing and hearing and connecting the dots.

"Team Kakashi, huh?" there was a hint of mockery in Sasuke's voice. Sai placed his sword in front of him. Anger for the traitor resurfaced within dream-Sakura.

"You traitor! I knew it!" She raised her fist at him while Naruto and Yamato looked at the young artist with confusion, but their ponderings were interrupted by their mission.

"So he is my replacement" Sasuke measured Sai with his eyes; he did not look impressed, "earlier he was talking nonsense about protecting the bonds between me and Naruto…quite the pansy he is. I am sure he is a perfect fit for this team."

Dream-Sakura looked at Sai for his reply. Had Sai really said all that to Sasuke? But for what reason? Could it be another trick? It had to be. He was sent to kill Sasuke, not to save him.

For her part, the real Sakura relished on what Sai had said. It was the moment where her view of the artist began to change. Even do to this day the artist still made her furious with his stupid nicknames and awkward questions; she had come to consider him a teammate and a friend.

"It is true. My initial mission was to assassinate Sasuke", Sai replied without taking his eyes from said Uchiha. "But that mission is no longer important to me. I want to begin thinking and acting for myself. It is because of Naruto that I might be able to remember how to feel. Something which I can't help but think was very important for me."

Sasuke did not respond. Sai resumed, "I do not know you, but there is a reason why Sakura and Naruto have been chasing after you with such passion."

"Not anymore, Sai. Naruto and Sakura will chase Sasuke with a different passion now. Isn't right, Sakura? " The real Sakura lamented the fact that her inner-self was right. "Just look at him. We should have realized that he had changed for the worse."

"In order to prevent their bonds with you from being broken, in order to keep them intact, they are doing everything they can. I still don't understand it well myself – the bond – but you Sasuke should know why."

"Sai, stop!" The real Sakura yelled, but nothing came out of her mouth. The words were lost in her mind. Never to be heard by others except by her and her inner-self, "Can't you see? He doesn't care. We are nothing to him except pests."

Dream-Sakura and Naruto looked at Sasuke with anticipation, anxiously waiting for his reply.

"I did, and that is why I severed them", Sasuke said as if what he had done was the most natural thing to do. Disbelief took over the team. Sasuke continued, "I have other bonds I carry now…fraternal bonds, born out of hatred. I don't want your bonds. They only give birth to hopes and dreams that are useless to someone like me."

"Those words hurt more than Sasori's piercing sword did, don't they? But what is your answer Sakura?"

"500 times"

Inner-Sakura was right on everything. But she was especially right on the fact that Sakura should have realized the darkness within Sasuke on that day. It would have been better if Sasuke died on that day. The village would have preserved its honor, and Naruto would have been saved from some of the grief Sasuke had caused him recently.

"It's ok, Sakura. When it came to Sasuke, we were not wise. Especially Naruto. Just look at him."

"If that is true, then", Naruto looked back at Sasuke with a mixture of stubbornness and anger, "why didn't you kill me back then! Is that what you call severing bonds?"

"The reason is simple", Sasuke replied with a serene voice that made all Sakuras wonder how he managed to not be affected by their reunion. " it isn't that I wasn't able. I just didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing me obtain power the way he wanted... by submitting to his plans."

"What do you mean?" Naruto's voice shook; he hated Sasuke's cryptic words. It was always the same with him, and it was making him impatient.

"There is no need for me to tell you, but I will. Back then, I decided to spare you on a whim." One moment Sasuke was standing on top of the crater, the next he was in front of Naruto.

"If I remember correctly, isn't your dream to become Hokage?" Sasuke whispered to a surprised Naruto. "You should have used all these years to train instead of looking for me."

"Sasuke", dream-Sakura said uncertain of what was Sasuke's intention. The real Sakura was becoming anxious. Her inner-self was right. Sakura needed to see it. She needed to remind herself that Sasuke had been lost a long time ago.

"And that is why you are going to end up losing your life. All at a whim of mine", Sasuke said softly before taking his sword from its sheath.

"Like there is a chance a person who can't save his friends can be Hokage", Naruto replied with defiance. His face set on facing whatever Sasuke did to him.

Sakura saw as Sasuke drove his weapon towards Naruto with murderous intent. She saw how Sai blocked the weapon with his sword. Sai said a couple of words that only made Sasuke attack them with his Chidori Nagashi, sending Naruto and Sai to the ground. Dream-Sakura looked with astonishment at the young Uchiha. Had Sasuke just attacked Naruto? What should she do know? A memory of herself flashed in her mind. It was the one where she promised to help Naruto bring back Sasuke the next time they saw him. Dream-Sakura set her eyes on Sasuke and raced forward; her fist tight and chakra enhanced.

"Yes, Sasuke. I should have known…."

Sasuke felt an attack come his way and turned to face Sakura. He sent chidori down his sword. "I should have known you were beyond returning the moment I saw your eyes."

Red sharingan eyes, void of any emotion locked on Sakura as their owner prepared to kill her.

"Remember those eyes the next time you doubt yourself, Sakura. Those eyes that lust for blood and are the bearers of death."

Sasuke's Sharingan was the last thing Sakura remembered seeing before everything turned black.

Sakura awoke to the rays of the morning sun caressing the side of her face. She moved her body, so she lay facing down and avoiding the sun. Two things came to her mind. First, she was not in her bed. She was on her bedroom floor. Secondly, her body was hurting like something had run over it.

One quick scanned down her body suggested it did not look better than it felt. She sighed painfully and wondered why she had not healed the wounds she received from her ANBU trials. Now her muscles were aching; she had some cuts oozing with pus, and her bruises were not purple; they were black. Not to mention her head was screaming for her to go back to sleep or at least a couple of pills that would make it numb.

Sakura tried to deal with pain. She had intended to heal herself yesterday, as soon as she got home, but the minute she did get home her first instinct was to go to her bed and lie down. The rest was history. Her current bodily pain was payment for caving to last night's temptation.

Her next thought revolved around the nightmare she had. She refused to call it a dream, because dreams were suppose to be about rainbows and shurinkens. Not about psychopath crushes who threaten your life. It was decided. That nightmare without a doubt was on her top-ten list of worse nightmares-ever. Sakura smiled bitterly. Most girls would not call a dream that had Uchiha Sasuke in it a nightmare. Uchiha Sasuke….

Despite her inner-self's words, now that Sakura was awake, she could not help herself from wishing for the power to move in her nightmare and change everything. She wished for the strength or the courage to stand up to Sasuke and say anything that would make him come back with her.

"That is stupid", Sakura muttered angrily at herself. "Stupid fan-girl thoughts. As if that bastard would listen to me."

Sasuke had no qualms in killing her, as their recent reunion proved. One month ago, Sakura had offered - just like she did the day he left the village- to join Sasuke in his quest. And what did the bastard do? Apart from ordering Sakura to kill a not-so-innocent girl, he tried to kill her! It was true that all along Sakura had planned to kill Sasuke. She tried to gain his trust by telling him what he expected to hear from her, but what if she had been serious? What if she had meant what she said to him? Nothing said "welcome to Sasuke's Quest for Vengeance" like a chidori to the heart.

Sakura exhaled with fatigue. Inner-Sakura had been right in showing Sakura the dream for the latter could not allow herself to think of what would have been if Sasuke came back with Team Kakashi on that day. It only made the decision she and the rest of Konoha's Eleven more difficult than it had to be. At this stage, she had to remind herself that the past was in the past, and no one could change it did; no matter how much she or anyone else wished for it to change.

With that thought in mind, Sakura began to regain her confidence. She would have to thank Inner-Sakura sometime. That nightmare really did the trick. Sakura was ready.

"I will kill you, Sasuke. Just wait and see", Sakura looked at the two red circles marked on her calendar. Today was the day she found out. She was sure the injuries she had received from the previous day would not go to waste. "Just wait and see."

The glory the Uchiha clan had once held in Konoha was erased. Two Uchiha was all it took. First, Uchiha Itachi showed that one of the village's most precious clans was capable of murdering its own. It was Sasuke who finally convinced the villagers the Uchiha were power hungry demons that needed to be exterminated, for Sasuke had not just betrayed his village to join its enemies; he killed one of the village's elders: Danzo, a man who had given everything for his village and was practically a saint in the mind of the villagers.

"If only they knew the truth", Sakura muttered as she jumped from one roof to another. It hurt her body like hell since she did not have enough chakra to completely heal, but she had enough to teleport and that was only if an emergency came. It was the villagers' fault that shinobi could no longer enjoy Konoha's streets and had to resort to such measures. Angry villagers demanding information about whether or not Sasuke had been captured could not climb roofs as efficiently as the ninja. It was also a way to avoid looking at the posters of Danzo that were plastered all over the village's walls. Personally, Sakura had enough of the man to last her a life's time.

"What truth is that Sakura?" Sakura turned and was greeted by a beaten-looking Shikamaru. Sakura stopped on top of a roof.

"Nothing", Sakura lied as the black haired boy yawn. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

Shikamaru ignored Sakura's question and walked to the edge of the roof. Sakura followed him but immediately regretted it. The villagers were talking noisily about their favorite piece of gossip: the death of Danzo by the hand of Uchiha Sasuke.

"You would think they be over it by now. It has been more than a month", Sakura commented quietly.

"Despite the faults we know Danzo had, the villagers appreciated the old man", Shikamaru scratched his head and groaned as he found dry blood tangled in his hair. "It has been a pain on us. They show up at the Hokage's, demanding an army of ANBU to be send after Sasuke."

Sakura snorted. Villagers. They knew nothing about a ninja's business. "Do they know how small ANBU is, and there is already a team after the Akatsuki?"

Shikamaru shook his head and replied, "I doubt it, and they don't care. All they care about is avenging their hero's life and having the head of his murder."

Sakura grew quiet. What Shikamaru said triggered something in her mind. It sounded like the villagers were becoming obsessed with vengeance. Hmm, she wondered whom the villagers reminded her of.

"And to answer your question-" Shikamaru said loud enough for Sakura to be drawn away from her thoughts, "I am here for you."

"Me?" Sakura pointed a finger at herself. Why would Shikamaru want her? She hoped he was not hoping she would heal him. Surely he knew she did not have the amount of chakra necessary to heal.

"It is a drag, really, but the Hokage asked me to get you" Shikamaru's scowl banished, and his eyes grew serious. "Sakura, the results of the trials are in."

It had been more than a month since the old Team Seven reunited, and it had been more than a month since Sakura and Naruto underwent intense training to become strong enough to earn the rank to kill Sasuke. But they were not the only ones who wanted the rank and the assignment, the other members of the Konoha Eleven also submitted themselves to training. They did not trust Naruto with the task of assassinating the Uchiha, and the trust they had in Sakura disappeared after the stunt she pulled to face Sasuke alone. Not to mention failing to kill Sasuke not once, but twice in one day!

The training they went through had been difficult, especially for Naruto and Sakura. Without Kakashi, they had no one to train them. Eventually, Naruto found a group who promised to teach him to control the power inside him: the kyuubi. Naruto did not say goodbye to Sakura when he left. It was like he had just disappeared. Sakura would have assumed the worse if it was not for Kakashi. It was depressing at first not having Naruto around. Sakura had failed – yet again - to realize how much she needed him. He was her teammate and best friend.

She added more fuel to her misery each time she thought of how everyone had found someone to train them, except for her. But Sakura was not one to wait and see if someone magically appeared in front of her. She took matters into her own hands and started to train by herself. Unfortunately, her progress was slow. Until one day she was approached by the Shizune.

Shizune was no Tsunade; a key to a door that held inside it tremendous power. Shizune was more like a guide on how to use her medical jutsu as attacks. Sakura had known that it was possible for medical jutsu to be used as a form of offense- Kabuto was a proof of that - but she never imagined that she would be using something meant to heal to injured or kill someone.

In less than a month, Sakura acquired simple, yet lethal skills, and she accidently developed a jutsu of her own. But despite her improvement, sometimes Sakura could not help but wondered if her training would be enough to get her what she wanted.

"And today we find out the fruits of our labor", Sakura said softly, thinking of Shizune.

"What was that?"

"Nothing", Sakura smiled and began to make some hand signals, "We should get going or else we are going to be late."

"I doubt it", Shikamaru muttered before he and Sakura disappeared in a whirl of leaves mix with Sakura petals.

Shikamaru was right. They were not late. When they arrived to the Hokage's office, almost everyone was present including a small group of supervisors that consisted of Iruka, Anko, and Shizune.

Like Sakura and Shikamaru, the rest of Kohoha's Eleven were bruised, dirty, some bandaged, but healthy, except for Sai. He was casually leaning against the wall in the corner, unharmed. He waved his hand at Sakura in a greeting. Sakura returned the greeting and walked over to where he was.

"Where is dickless?" Sai whispered to Sakura, but as it turned out, Sakura had been wondering the same thing. The moment she arrived she took note of the two people missing in the room. One of them was the Hokage, but it was expected for him to be late. But the other person's absence came as a surprised to everyone. Many like Sakura had assumed he had camped out outside the office with his ridiculous night cap on his head and an instant cup of ramen next to his sleeping bag.

Sakura shrugged, thinking of where the annoying idiot could possibly be and froze.

"No! He wouldn't run after Sasuke by himself. Would he?" Sakura's mind quickly gave her the answer. No, he would not. Naruto would not go after Sasuke without her or without Sasuke making the first move.

Sakura tried to placate her anxiety and help her nerves by trying to recite all the chemicals found in the human body, but the waiting was not helping at all. She respected the Hokage, but she could not keep herself from wondering how such an irresponsible person was chosen to become the village's leader. She supposed the same way Tsunade was chosen; talent surpassed values like punctuality. The bright side of this was that the standards Konoha held for the Hokage were so low that surely Naruto would be chosen some day.

It was not after twenty minutes that the Hokage arrived, and to everyone's chagrin, through the window.

"We do have a door, Hokage", Iruka reminded kakashi, restraining himself from scolding.

"Seeing as I was running a little bit late, I thought the window was much faster", Kakashi replied and turned to address the members of Konoha's Eleven plus Sai.

"First of all I would like to apologize to you all for been late, but you see-." Sakura frown. She bet her money that her former sensei was going to give his usual excuse: a hopeless old lady and her groceries. The nerve of the man! He was probably rereading his perverted books again.

"I had to take a certain someone to the infirmary" Kakashi looked expectantly at Sakura. Sakura instantly knew who that certain someone was.

"Naruto! Is he hurt?"

"He just said he was hurt...munch, munch", someone whispered.

"Yes, but don't worry. It is just exhaustion and a few cuts. Yesterday after the trials, the little weirdo stalked me all the way to my apartment, demanding to know his results. He passed out after two minutes."

"He passed out or you knocked him out?" Iruka from the front of the room asked.

Kakashi cleared him throat before saying, "What matters is that he will be fine after a good and long rest, but we should moved along with the meeting. There are many things I want to speak to you about, and unfortunately, I don't have the time or the energy to explain them to you in detail. This Hokage business is more work than I thought."

The room instantly went quiet as a wooden box appeared on his desk. He opened the box and took out one scroll.

"Hmm, well there are good news and bad news", Kakashi said as he quickly scanned the scroll with his visible eye. "Which one would you like to hear?"

"Good", Ino said.

"Bad", Kiba yelled and Akamaru barked in agreement.

Kakashi looked from Kiba to Ino, "Well, that is useful." He went back to look at the scroll. "I guess good news first."

Sakura held her breathing in and saw as Shizune closed her eyes in prayer.

"Good news, you all move from your current rank."

"Yeah!" Kiba raised one arm to the ceiling and looked at his partner, "Did you hear that Akamaru? We moved up a rank."

"Shut it, you idiot!" Ino scolded. "Didn't you hear he said there was bad news too", she turned to Kakashi and said, "Well, Lord Hokage, what is the bad news?"

Kakashi indicated with his hand to the scrolls inside the box, "These here are the certificates for you new ranks. The certificates are the same for many of you. But for four of you, they are different."

"Are you saying that only four made into ANBU?" Neji asked.

Kakashi shook his head, "No."

"Excuse me, Sensei, but can you be a little bit clearer", Sakura tried to sound as polite as possible, but her voice came out demanding.

"Alright, Sakura", his eye suddenly loss their bored expression and became serious. "Only three will be appointed to ANBU, and the rest will be Jonin."

"The rest will be Jonin?" Neji said thoughtfully, "then that means…"

"Will the following people step up to take their scrolls when I call their name", Kakashi said loudly.

Everyone present, except for Sai, straighten their posture. Kakashi took four scrolls from the top of the box. He looked to the young Shinobi in front of him and felt anxiety mix with pride. Anxiety for he knew the difficult path the young shinobi would have to travel to accomplish their mission. Pride for he had seen the shinobi in front of him grow before his eyes. He knew that they were Konoha's hope for a better future.

"Sai"

"What!" Kiba exclaimed, confusion written all over his face, "But wasn't he already ANBU?"

Sai moved from his place and took the scroll from Kakashi, "Congratulations, Sai. You can go back to your old rank." Sai looked down at his scroll and turned away without a word.

"Okay", Kakashi said slowly, "I expected more, but…next is Hyuga Neji", Neji allowed himself an all-knowing smile on his lips before he stepped forward.

"Congratulations" Kakashi said.

"Thank you", Neji took his scroll and went back to his placed between Ten Ten and Rock Lee, who was torn between cheering for or cursing his eternal rival.

"As expected of the Hyuga protégé. But it does not matter, Lee's eyes suddenly ignited with flames. "There are two spots left. Definitely mine and my precious Sakura's."

Kakashi's sweat dropped as he saw Guy's pupil, "He never changes."

"Well, the next one is..." Kakashi looked from Lee's hopeful face to Choji's gleeful one. The glee coming from the current chips he was munching on as a form of stress reliever. "Haruno Sakura."

Eight pair of incredulous eyes and one drowning in tears for the object of their affection turned to look at the pink-haired medic.

"…"

"Cha! We did it!" the voice within Sakura returned. "He, he, he, look at the faces of those fools. Whose weak know? Cha! We showed you all. Cha! ANBU here we come!

Weakly, Sakura walked over to where Kakashi was. His arm extended to hand her the scroll. As she grabbed it, Kakashi smiled behind his mask, "Good job, Sakura. You make me proud." Sakura's head shot up in surprise and wondered if her ears were playing tricks on her.

"Don't be so surprised, Sakura. You had potential all along."

"Thank you, Sensei", Sakura saw Shizune giving her a thumps up while Iruka smiled at her with pride. She looked at the paper in her hand, but the words in front of her did not make sense. She was too nervous, excited, scared, and happy. She was a mess of emotions, and the voice yelling inside of her was not helping at all.

"You may take your place Sakura", Kakashi whispered.

"Yes, sir!" Sakura replied.

Kakashi gave a sigh as he looked at last scroll in his hand. He wanted to laugh as he read the name quietly in his head. Sakura was not the only one who made him proud today. But unlike Sakura, the owner of the name had not surprised him. That boy never gave up. Kakashi knew that everyone in the room had a guess to which person the last scroll belonged to. It was not necessary for him to announce it. Now, what he needed to do was figure out how he would deliver the news to the owner. Such news needed to be delivered by the right person after all.

Uzumaki Naruto felt a warm and soothing presence near him. He shifted in the bed he was laying on; trying to get closer to the presence, but the second he did his muscles began to ache. He tried to recall what happened to him but nothing came to his mind.

"Naruto, you idiot! Don't move. You are only hurting yourself." Naruto's heart skipped a beat. He knew that bossy and aggressive voice anywhere. Naruto opened his eyes. A pair of bright, green eyes looked back at him with a worried expression.

"Sakura", Naruto's voice sounded hoarse. Sakura walked to the counter that was beside Naruto's bed and poured him a glass of water. She then carefully raised it to his lips.

"Easy now", she said as the blonde drank deeply.

"Thanks", Naruto relaxed his head on his pillow, but stopped.

The memories from before his collapse were coming back to him. He remembered following Kakashi to his apartment and demanding the new Hokage to tell him results of his exam. The silvered-haired Hokage had taken one look at his beaten state before he disappeared from where he was and appeared behind Naruto. Everything went black after that.

"That sly Kakashi-sensei", Naruto muttered darkly before remembering his intent on following his former sensei. His stomach turned over at the thought. "Oh, no!" He looked outside. It was noon. It had been night time when he was knocked out. He had missed the meeting! No, he could go to Kakashi-sensei right now and find out. He had to find out. Naruto got up from his bed and began walking to the window.

"Hey, where do you think you are going", an angry Sakura grabbed Naruto's collar and tried to pulled him back to his bed.

"Let go of me, Sakura", Naruto struggled in the medic's grip. "I need to find out if I am ANBU!"

"You are hurt, moron. You won't make all the way to Kakashi-sensei's. You'll just collapse somewhere, and I'll have to go and pick you up." Sakura finally managed to drag back Naruto to his bed. She made him set on it with a warning that if he made any suspicious moves, he would be knocked down unconscious by her fist.

"But Sakura, I have to find out if I am ANBU. I need to know if I am going to kill Sasuke!"

Sakura stiffened, taken back with what he had just said. "Naruto, you really…"

But of course that was the reason why Naruto wanted to be ANBU. It was not about surpassing the others from their class and showing he was one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha. Those childless thoughts were in the past now. Only to be replaced by reality.

Sakura sat next to the blonde shinobi, surprising him in the process. He had expected Sakura to react angrily, especially since this was the first time they had seen each other since the day he left. But Sakura did not seem furious at all. She look…resigned? As Naruto stared at Sakura, he slowly became conscious of the warmth coming from her body. Suddenly, seeking Kakashi did not seem like an urge anymore.

"I have something for you, Naruto." Sakura said softly and took out a scroll from the pouch around her waist. "For some reason, Kakashi thought that it would be more meaningful if it came from me, which honestly I don't know why."

"What do you mean Sakura?" Naruto said boggled by Sakura's proximity and the emotions such proximity produced in him.

"Congratulations, Naruto", Sakura smiled brightly at Naruto and handed him the scroll. "You are ANBU."

Naruto's mouth fell opened. Then Sakura's words clicked in his mind. With shaken hands, he opened the scroll. As he did, Sakura continued talking. She did not want silence. The silence would just drive her crazy, so she continued with her blabbering.

"I mean, it is more fulfilling if it came from the Hokage himself and not from a medic without importance…"

"You are wrong!" Naruto snapped loudly. He turned to face Sakura. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and his expression was controlled which surprise Sakura. She had expected tears. This was an important moment for Naruto. He was one step closer to not just being Hokage, but he was one step closer to killing Sasuke.

"Naruto?"

For his part, Naruto decided to forget the fact that he was just about to say something very dumb to Sakura. Instead he looked back at the scroll, "So I made it, huh?" He gave a dried laugh. "Funny, I knew I would pass, but I still felt like this", he indicated at the scroll with his head, "would never happen. Stupid, huh?"

Sakura shook her head so fast that it made her dizzy, "It is not stupid, Naruto, and if you are stupid, than so am I." It was now Naruto's turn to be confused. Sakura gave him a smirk and took out her own scroll.

"Sakura!" Naruto's cerulean eyes grew wide. He forgot about his bodily pain for the second time and embraced Sakura, who allowed the embrace. Kami-samaknew she needed it. "You are ANBU! You and I - ", he stopped when thought occurred to him."But that means…"

"Yes, Naruto. You will not do this alone. I will be by your side and aid you when you face Uchiha", Naruto frowned when Sakura said Uchiha instead of Sasuke.

"But Sakura, I told you I promised Sasuke-"

"We promised to bring Sasuke back, Naruto", Sakura interjected. Naruto lowered his head in shame. Of course, he remembered the promise of a life time. But what was Sakura playing at? She was there when he told Sasuke that the next time they met, it would be a fight where both would die. He even repeated this to Sakura before he disappeared to train with Yamato and Killer Bee. His question was answered a moment after.

"And we will finally fulfill our promise. We will bring Uchiha back, except we will hunt and kill him first."

Kakashi watched from the window as the sun was coming out of its slumber and prayed for it to go back to where it was coming from. He wanted the moon to continue ruling over the sky because when sun came out, the mission he had dreaded for days would begin. A part of him felt like he needed to be in the mission. Sasuke had been his pupil after all, and it had been Kakashi who taught him the Chidori. But another part felt relieved. He was relieved that he would not be the one to kill him. It was selfish and perhaps cowardly of him to have such feelings, but Kakashi had accepted them as part of what made him human.

"How long are we going to wait, Lord Hokage?" An impatient Hyuga made Kakashi come back to reality. He, Neji, and Iruka were in the Hokage's tower waiting for the other three members of ANBU Team Ten to arrive. They were two hours late.

"Lord Hokage", it felt strange to Iruka to call Kakashi by that title, but he did it anyway, "should we send someone else to fetch them. Clearly, Sai was not enough."

"I will go". Neji volunteered himself.

"There is no need, Neji. I feel their chakras coming closer", Kakashi informed them. Neji tried to control his impatience by making sure his ninjato and other ANBU gear were properly in place. He hated the uniform since he was unconsumed to tight clothing. But that was a trivial matter that he would have to deal with later. It seemed the only thing missing from his ANBU attire was his porcelain mask. He had yet to receive one. He was about to ask the Hokage for one when three figures appeared right next to him.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sai were dressed in ANBU attire, except for the mask, and they all wore annoyed expressions; although Sai tried to hide it by smiling, but Neji could tell the artist was annoyed by how tight it was.

Kakashi took one look at them and shook his head, "Why are you late?"

Both Naruto and Sakura open their mouths to speak, but Sai beat them to it, "I found them surrounded by sake bottles, sleeping in the hospital bed. Together", he emphasized the last word slowly. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Sakura hit Sai on the top of his head.

"Nothing happened. You idiot!" Sakura snapped.

"Yeah!" Naruto growled angrily. "Sakura and I would not do that before our marriage", he added, earning from Sakura a nice punch to his cheek. Sakura composed herself and bowed, hiding her blush with the bangs of her short hair, "My deepest apologies, Kakashi-sensei. We didn't mean to be late."

Kakashi sweat dropped as he saw Naruto taking out breath mints from his ANBU pouch, throwing it in his mouth, and checking if he still smelled like sake.

"May I remind you that you two are still underage", both Sakura and Naruto lowered their heads in shame. They knew it was wrong when they stole the bottle from Tsunade's room, but the agony the young shinobi felt after their conversation was too much to bear. They needed a way to escape from it. It was then that Sakura suggested the sake bottle they found in Tsunade's room.

"I once read in a book that people drink to celebrate or to try to forget their misfortunes. It also says good friends drink together. I suppose I am not there yet." Sai's smile remained tight as he said the last part.

"Sai, we already told you we did not mean to drink" Sakura said irritated by the artist. To her side, Neji's eyebrow twitched with annoyance.

"Yeah!" Naruto added "How were we supposed to know that when we went to visit Granny Tsunade, there would be a bottle of Sake next to her bed?"

That was the last draw for Neji, "Enough! If I must listen to these meaningless things, I would rather be transferred to another team."

Naruto look at Neji like he had just noticed he was there. "Neji, you are ANBU?"

"That won't be necessary, Neji. And yes, Naruto, he is ANBU like you", Kakashi said lazily. "In fact, he is your team leader."

"WHAT! Naruto and Sakura yelled in unison.

"No offense, Neji", Sakura said before turning back to Kakashi, "But Kakashi-sensei, wouldn't Sai be a better choice? He has been in it for years."

Kakashi shook his head, "No. Like Naruto, would be the wrong choice." Naruto looked back at Kakashi with an offended expression. "Don't look at me like that Naruto. I am telling you the truth, and I am your superior."

"But how could Sai be a bad choice, sensei?" Sakura asked confused. "He is emotionally challenged but-"

"Actually", Neji interrupted, "his disability to feel and express emotions is a necessary skill for all ANBU, especially for the category of ANBU we are in. We cannot spare the lives of those who we are assigned to kill. We cannot feel pity for them. We cannot feel anything at all."

"Then why is Sai not captain?"

"It is easy, Sakura", Kakashi took over, "and Sai knows this." All eyes turned to the artist. There was no smile on his face. His was neutral. "Sai had been assigned to assassinate Sasuke, yet he didn't. Why?"

Naruto responded, "Because he was trying to protect the bonds between Sasuke and me. But Kakashi-sensei, those bonds are broken."

"I know", Kakashi replied. "I was there remember that last time. But I also know you will not spare Sasuke because of this." Four scrolls appeared on Kakashi's hand. "Take one and read them."

The four ANBU did and what they read horrified them. It was a report on Sasuke. It contained complains against him from various villages, a list of places where he had been sighted with the Akatsuki, a few firsthand accounts of people who had encountered him and lived to tell about it, and a list of his activities since he joined Akatsuki.

"This is…how could he have done this", Sakura's whispered as she read the last contents of the scroll.

"The Shinobi send after him have been killed, and small villages burned to ashes by his Chidori. It is rare for him to leave any survivors. If he does, it is not because he allows it."

Kakashi led that sink before continuing.

"The elders of this village have decided to add Sasuke to the bingo books as you read in the initial report. They are doing it because of Danzo's death. Our allies have done the same. He is now an international criminal."

Neji crossed his arms, "the shinobi world that once regarded him with high hopes and admiration now wants him dead."

Kakashi nodded, "And they are justified. Sasuke's actions justify theirs."

The whole time that Kakashi had been talking Sakura had been remembering her dream. The red sharingan staring with serenity and indifference at the fate they were going to bestow upon those they met.

"Did you look at your victims with those eyes?" Sakura wondered. She looked at Naruto. His face was controlled, but his hands were not. The knuckles of his hands were turning white by the fist he was making. It looked like it was taking all his self-control to prevent him from leaving now and hunting Sasuke down.

"Naruto", Kakashi directed his voice at the blonde ANBU, "I do not doubt you. I know you will carry out your mission. You warned Sasuke that if he came after Konoha you would kill him."

"Where is he?" Naruto asked quietly for some inexplicable reason knowing the answer to his question.

Kakashi went back to his desk and stood behind a medium wooden box. He opened it revealing four different animal masks.

"Four hours ago, I received an urgent message from the shinobi patrolling our borders. They sighted the Akatsuki closing in. I have not received a report ever since. I have sent another team of ANBU to the location."

"What do you want as to do, Lord Hokage", Neji asked picking the mask that would become his new identity.

"I want ANBU Team Ten to hunt its prey!"

"I want ANBU Team Ten to hunt its prey!" the voice echoed loud enough to awaken Asuka.

"Lord Hokage?" Asuka breathed weakly, opening her eyes. What she saw shocked her. She was drifting down a tunnel of lights. She could hear the voice of the Hokage, but the more she drifted down the tunnel, the more distant it became. Asuka tried to call out, but the effort made her cough out blood. She tried to look down at her body, but it only brought dizziness to her head.

"Where are we?" The children asked sleepily against her cold chest.

Asuka was not given a chance to respond, for at that moment a different voice sounded throughout the tunnel, and what it said chill her to the bone.

"…make sure you kill all of them", the voice ordered. "Make sure you kill everyone in Konoha."

Both children stiffened against her chest.

"Asuka?" the children look up to Asuka, fear dominating their voice.

Two things were clear to Asuka at that moment. One, the voice they heard was close. Two, she had no doubt in her mind that she and the children were closely approaching it. And when they did, she would not be strong enough to stop the disaster that would ensue.

"Sasuke, Itachi. I am sorry."

The moon shines clearly in the sky as two groups of shinobi are ready to fight. Old teammates reunite with weapons in hand. No more pleadings. No more warnings. The moon is covered in a leaf shinobi's blood.

Next time in Hidden-Leaf Revelations: Welcome Home

A/N: After three weeks of intense editing, the chapters have been revised. It was not fun, but I did it because the readers need a good read. If the story seems confusing after editing, then please know it is suppose to. It is the second chapter. Please review and let me know if the characters are connecting with you. I hope they are not coming out 2D. Furthermore, future chapters may not be this long. Check out my profile for more info on this story and its playlist.

A special thanks to:

Hypnotic Flames

Libith

Maxium

Silver Lone Wolf

TeenageNeko

You readers keep me going