DISCLAIMER: This story is solely written for fanservicing. All known characters and plot lines belong to Masashi Kishimoto and the publishers of the Naruto series. I am merely a fan who wishes to write her alternate story to the Naruto manga. The title "In The Name of Life" is taken from Joe Hisaishi's soundtrack of the film 'Spirited Away', by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. This fanfic is not intended for lucrative purposes.
In The Name of Life
Chapter II
"Every parting gives a foretaste of death. Every reunion a hint of the resurrection." Arthur Schopenhauer
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
"Where am I?" her mind asked her.
Sakura felt a heavy weight on her chest. It was that feeling of fear that usually came when she knew that the situation was not right. Before her eyes closed, she was gathering bandages for the severely injured patients of the Medical Division. Medical Division for what, though? All she remembered was the feeling of being in deep trouble, of not having an escape. These thoughts were accompanied by a creepy laugh, white skin, a deformed body.
Zetsu.
There was a war. A war to protect Naruto.
And she was lying on the cold ground, immobile, helpless. Always so helpless...
Sakura meant to sit straight up at once, but there was a rope that constricted her neck from moving and almost choked her when she lifted her head up. She looked sideways and realized that a rope was tied to the ground on her left and right. Although she was in a dark place, her eyes could still make out whatever was tying her down to the ground. There was another rope constraining her torso, and more on her wrists and ankles. She could have easily snapped them off it if wasn't for the fact they blocked chakra. Sakura felt her own source of energy travel through the fibers of the ropes, taking away every bit of resources she had.
Whoever meant to kidnap her knew very well of her abilities.
Shit.
Once again, she was targeted as a victim. 'This is great', she thought sarcastically. The enemy realized her connections to Naruto and wanted to use her as bait. She was ready to die for her friend any day though. What the enemy did not know was that she always carried a poisoned pill with her, just in case she found herself in such a situation as this one.
Sakura had decided on her fate long before the war had started. When she realized how much she had taken Naruto for granted, she went to the Hokage's lab and designed a pill that would give her an immediate cardiac arrest. After the cardiac arrest, all of her systems would shut down and, in less than five seconds, she would be dead. It was a hard decision to make, but Sakura was ready to sacrifice her life for her best friends. She knew Naruto was the only one out of the three who deserved a better future, and if it meant her death, she was ready to take it.
However, this was not yet the right time or place to die.
Sakura examined her surroundings. She was inside a cold cave, and she seemed to be near a body of water as there was a constant drip, drip, drip, filling the otherwise silent atmosphere.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Sakura tried to move her wrists but to no end. There was no way she could get out of this one without thinking of her options thoroughly. She could always swallow a soldier pill and increase her strength, but with her neck and limbs restrained it was hard to reach the pills. She decided to lie still for a few moments in order to feel the flow of the chakra. Maybe she would be able to identify it as someone's and then wait until said person came and demand for her release. Although it sounded like a stupid idea, Sakura knew how to bargain for her freedom.
A low moan escaped from her lips as she painfully wiggled her constrained hands.
"Damn it..." she muttered, and decided to stay still for another five seconds.
Then, she suddenly heard another voice groaning in pain.
Sakura jolted her head to her left, the leather creating a bruise against her pale skin. She tried to make out her surroundings in the dark, but it was difficult considering that she was so limited with her movements. Her mind started wondering if that was Zetsu trying to fool her, just as he had when she first encountered him and on her last memory of the Medical Division.
The groaning continued. It became louder and louder. Sakura was about to hit a desperate point; she was a medic who was unable to take care of a vulnerable person at the moment. If this person –whom she concluded was a guy due to the voice–, were to suffer until his death, she would feel completely guilty for not helping.
She closed her eyes and took a long breath. Okay, keeping those leather straps on her wrists, ankles and neck was not an option. Naruto could not save her now; he was under strict protection. Plus, there was no way that someone was going to inform him that she was missing while he was supposed to be kept outside of this war. It was time that she worked that smart brain of hers and figured out a plan to escape. The man near her kept groaning in pain. He was starting to worry her more now.
The leather straps started to slowly get tighter and cut her limbs' circulation. This was not going well, she thought. If she could not find a solution soon enough, she would not be capable of moving around as much. Sakura decided to send chakra towards her ankles, wrists and neck, and gradually try to counter the chakra flow found in the straps. However, her efforts were met with more constriction. The leather straps were tightening more, and she was beginning to lose her breath. Her neck felt so constricted that she was not even able to make a sound.
There was something she needed to do, but if she tried to fight against these straps then it meant her death. Her mind was starting to blur as the groans of the strange man faded. She slowly felt her life going away, with the leather straps not only taking her breath, but also consuming her chakra and using it to their advantage. What a shit move, she thought.
Sakura's life was leaving her... slowly... slowly...
She woke up to the feeling of fresh air in her lungs. Her eyes flickered until they were widely open, but they were met with a dark cave made up of a rocky and damp infrastructure. For the second time, Sakura had to remember all of the events that led to her current situation, but she was not able to gather a memory of what happened after she passed out. Taking a leap of faith, she wiggled her hands with the expectations of the feel of leather. They were free.
Acting like she had been imprisoned for a decade, Sakura moved her arms in disbelief. She brought her hands up to eye level just to make sure that everything was in place, and that there was nothing suspicious. Her wrists were slightly bruised, but that was nothing to her. She could cure almost anything. Supporting her body with her hands, she tried to stand up.
"I don't recommend you do that," said a voice near her.
Sakura was surprised to see a young shinobi sitting a few meters away from her, contemplating every move she took. He looked a few years older than her, maybe in his twenties. His hair was blond, split in the middle and flaring out. She could not see his eye colour as it was still dark inside, but judging by his voice, he did not sound like an enemy.
"It seems that they only caught both of us."
She sat up straight and looked at him too. He wore the same hitai-ate as her, the one that said 'Shinobi.' His attire, though, proved that he was a shinobi from Kumogakure. After a few moments, Sakura decided to move closer to him as a sign of friendship. She crawled her body until it was at a good distance from his.
"My name is C."
"I'm... I'm Sakura."
"Heh, should've known by your hair. Pleasure to meet you, kunoichi from Konoha," he extended his hand and she did the same.
After shaking hands, Sakura decided that if there was anyone to trust in this cave, it was C. "You must be from Kumo."
"Correct. And you're Tsunade's apprentice," Sakura was surprised that he already knew who she was. "Yeah, I'm a sensor nin, a medic nin, and one of the Rainkage's escorts. He updated all of us with the information about every village's Kage and their entourage."
He seemed to be extremely capable for his age, and if a little arrogant...
"So... where are we?" She asked, feeling a little stupid for not being aware of their location.
C contemplated her for a few moments before speaking, "Do you remember anything before you woke up in here?"
Slowly, Sakura nodded her head and retold her latest experience: she was in the Medical Division when Zetsu (disguised as another medic ninja) kidnapped her. The next time she opened her eyes she was already inside this cave. C's story was similar to hers; he had also been abducted from his Sensor Division by a disguised Zetsu. Sakura, who had previously studied Zetsu's anatomy and justu style, shared her knowledge with her new ally. Yes, she had to consider C an ally because they had been kidnapped by the same guy and they were facing an unknown future.
Of course, if Sakura were to be tortured for information, she would take every single one of Tsunade's secrets to the grave. She was sure that C's level of loyalty towards his Kage was the same.
"We need to be extremely careful when dealing with Zetsu; he could be spying on us at this very moment," said Sakura while C gave her a worried look. They were both medics, and he was a sensor nin. They could somehow combine their abilities and come out of this one. However, chances were slim.
"I see that you two have woken up."
Another voice startled them. Sakura instinctively went for the kunai she kept in her pouch, but found it missing. That also meant that her soldier pills and suicide pill were no longer with her. She wouldn't be able to sacrifice herself with her own poison if they tortured her for information. The situation was getting worse by the second, and the owner of that voice only confirmed her fears.
She knew that voice; she had known it for a while. With panic taking over her system, Sakura prepared a quick plan of escaping without sharing too much information with C and their little spy.
Out of the shadows, a person –no, an animal, or was it a combination?—came to them. His skin resembled one of a snake, and the tail that stuck out of the end of his robe was proof of the macabre experiments he had performed on his own body. Yakushi Kabuto was more like a snake than a human.
"Sakura-san, long time no see."
At hearing his snake-like voice say her name, Sakura wished that she had never met Kabuto. He meant enigma, evil, a past that she did not want to think about while being helplessly trapped in a cave.
C looked at her with a confusing look. He was not aware of their acquaintance, but thankfully did not let down his guard when Kabuto took a few steps closer to them. His facial features had changed as well; his eyes resembled Orochimaru's –and that is when Sakura knew that she and C were in big, big trouble.
"So you have noticed my new changes. I must say that this experiment has been a successful achievement in human transformation," moving his tail back and forth, Kabuto was trying to intimidate them with his new prowess.
It seemed like C had realized that she was emotionally paralyzed. Sakura felt like she had just been hit by one of her shishou's strongest kicks in her stomach. Kabuto had merged with Orochimaru. Orochimaru reminded her of Sasuke. Due to her inability to speak, C decided to voice their questions, "What are we here for? I know who you are, Yakushi Kabuto. You were Orochimaru's ally, but he's dead now. What do you want?"
"Hehehe, that's what a lot of people say. Orochimaru-sama may be dead, but his cells live in my body. As a medic nin, you would understand how foreign cells spread in one's body; that is what happened when I decided to implant some of my master's remains inside me. I am now developing skills that he could have never imagined. I am finishing his legacy. I am an improved Orochimaru."
Kabuto's perverse tone kept getting darker and darker as he continued with his explanation. He kept his eyes locked on Sakura, which made her even more panicked. Think, think, think! She told her brain, but it was not responding. Her stomach had been filled with a heavy rock that impaled her to the ground. Her body could not move. However, her soul just wanted to crawl inside her and disappear.
"Then what are we to you?" asked C menacingly.
"It's not what you do to Kabuto that matters, but what you do to help us win this war."
Sakura could not believe her heart could sink any lower. Out of an illusionary whirlwind, another person appeared beside Kabuto. His spiraling mask, his giant fan: it was Uchiha Madara. That was when Sakura knew that they were not only in big trouble, but that their lives were going to end soon. She wouldn't give up in planning some sort of escape, but if they were to torture her for information, she already knew how to stop her blood circulation willingly and die without uncovering any secrets. She could only hope it didn't come to that in the meantime.
"Hm, so you only brought two, Kabuto?" Madara crossed his arms as he walked around C and her, examining their static forms. C shared her frightened look; he was also aware of Madara's qualities as a ninja.
"Yes. According to Zetsu, they're both very well acquainted with their Kages and hold high positions in their respective village's medical unit."
"Ahh... perfect. They will work for our plan."
If it wasn't because Madara and Kabuto were in front of them, Sakura would have grabbed C's hand and dragged him away from the cave. She knew that they were in a critical situation; they could be tortured for information about the Eight and Nine Tails' whereabouts due to their villages of origin and connections.
"Your knowledge of the Shinobi Alliance will not be required for this task, young shinobi," started Kabuto, "Rather, we will need your medical abilities to help us with our little project."
"However, if you do not cooperate, we will not show mercy," Madara added.
For the first time, Sakura wished that she did not know anything about medicine.
Behind his mask, his eyes watched them intently as he continued, "The Edo Tensei no Jutsu is a resurrection technique that requires high medical attention in order to function properly. You will not have to save the resurrected, as they are already dead, but rather use your abilities to make the bodies physically stronger."
Edo Tensei? She had read about that technique once. It was originally created by the Second Hokage and further developed by Orochimaru. It brought people back from the dead in order to use their abilities in suicide missions without the risk of losing lives. Was this Kabuto and Madara's master plan? To bring strong shinobi back from the dead so that they could be manipulated into exterminating the living?
"I'd rather die before I help in your stupid plan!" The words had escaped her mouth before she could think of what to say.
With her declaration, Madara's eye sockets concentrated on her and she felt like she was under an x-ray scan. His gaze was so intense that it caught her heart in her throat. Sakura was sure that he was going to use an illusion on her.
"You do not have the choice of dying before contributing your medical abilities. Tsunade-sama would not be happy knowing that her precious apprentice was killed without showing her true talent in the science of the human body," argued Kabuto with his creepy voice. "The option of sacrificing yourselves for the honour of your villages is typical for a shinobi, but this is war. War takes desperate measures. If you are not willing to help—"
Kabuto stopped in the middle of his sentence as he quickly turned around. Once he was facing Sakura and C again, his expression had completely changed. He was sporting a sly smirk that only made her think the worst was about to happen.
Although she was waiting for them, Kabuto's next words still shocked her, "Ah, Sasuke-kun, you decide to join us now."
Behind the two shinobi, Sakura saw her old teammate walking towards them with a bandage wrapped around his eyes.
He knew that voice. There was no point in removing his bandages to confirm his suspicions. Besides, his eyes weren't entirely healed.
Tch. Annoying. Always so annoying.
Either way, Sasuke was still wondering why Sakura stood in front of him speaking with Madara and Kabuto. That was quite an odd image, considering that his eyes could not physically witness it. He had the urge of taking off his bandages just to see it all, but the risk of ruining the aftercare of the surgery was high. There was no way he was going to treat his new eyes as carelessly as he had his old ones. He had a new target, and he was not willing to lose it.
Kabuto had acquired some of Orochimaru's strange behaviours when he had implanted the Sannin's cells in his body. Sasuke was no medic, but he was aware of the great potential Kabuto could have on the battlefield. He had to be cautious of him and Madara; after all, his plans did not include staying with them for that much longer. He was going to wait until his eyes were fully healed and march to Konoha.
"It seems like you would like to see our new guests. They will be staying with us for a while, so make them feel comfortable," sarcasm rolled off Kabuto's tongue as he spoke.
Once again, he took notice in the two other chakras of the room. One was definitely Haruno Sakura, and the other he recognized from the Five Kage Summit back in the Land of Iron. He was the Raikage's bodyguard. Useless. Why would Kabuto bring two useless shinobi to work under him, especially when both swore high allegiance to their respective villages?
He could only frown under the bandages as Sakura's chakra became unstable. She was scared, even more than before. His arrival to their group had caused a stirrup in her chakra flow, probably due to the memory of their last encounter. Well, if he hadn't been able to kill her back then, he could do it now with ease. That could bring Naruto to him immediately; he would not have to chase his ex-teammate. In addition, he would kill off two of Konoha's shinobi before arriving at the village.
"Now, now, Sasuke. You may want to eliminate these two, but they are essential in our plans," Madara spoke.
Sasuke was starting to get annoyed by all the talk. He needed Madara and Kabuto to check up on his eyes' progress. He was not going to wait any longer. Konoha had to be crushed. Naruto had to be crushed.
"As I was about to explain before Sasuke-kun interrupted us, your medical abilities will be needed before the two of you think of sacrificing yourselves," continued Kabuto, "The Edo Tensei is a very complex jutsu hat requires the highest knowledge of the human body and soul in order to execute properly." Sasuke wished he could just slice him in half; Kabuto's spiel was getting on his nerves.
"We do not know anything about that jutsu!" declared Sakura. It was the first time he'd clearly heard her voice since the events in the Land of Iron. Before he'd arrived to Kabuto and Madara's side, he had only heard a faint voice that echoed on the rock walls of the cave.
Just as he had guessed, she was scared to the bone. Sakura was probably defenceless in front of three merciless shinobi, and the Kumo ninja was most likely in the same conditions. Why take them in when they had nothing to offer? Let them die –let her die, it would make his revenge less troublesome. He would gladly slice their throats.
"You're lying, kunoichi," declared Madara, "We did our research before choosing the two of you for this assignment."
The shuffling of feet made it clear that Sakura had been caught in a lie. Her face was probably struggling with the many emotions she felt. That was what made her weak; she relied on her feelings like a civilian. When Sasuke almost bothered with his own emotions, he quickly erased them from his mind knowing that they would interfere with his ambitions. Sakura would have been a better –but never stronger— shinobi if she had left her emotions behind and focused on her career.
Always annoying.
"That is why we decided on recruiting the two best medics of Kumo and Konoha. You were both trained by highly skilled shinobi in the medical field, and share a close relationship with your respective Kages. Nonetheless, the information you two know will not be needed unless you do not cooperate," Madara was being serious. After spending some time with his ancestor, Sasuke could pick up the differences in his tone of voice. He was currently taking this conversation seriously.
Why would he need two more medics when he had Kabuto, who could complete his task alone? Bringing Sakura and the Kumo nin was unnecessary.
"The power of the Edo Tensei is too strong. There needs to be a collective effort in order to make the most perfect resurrections of the strongest shinobi of the world. I have gathered DNA from the very best who have made it to the pure world. They will be under my command. If you try to kill me in the process of working in the bodies, they will not go back to their dead states; the only person who can stop the Edo Tensei is me, willingly. You two don't stand a chance against that."
Another shuffling of feet caught his attention. Then, he heard the Kumo nin make gagging sounds, struggling to catch his breath. Sasuke guessed that he tried to make a surprise attack but failed miserably. Next, he heard Madara's voice, "Oh, don't think of running away. You are facing the owner of a Sharingan and a Rinnegan. I can enter your mind, torture you until you give me information, and then simply throw you aside like a mongrel."
He was probably choking the Kumo nin, who was surely running out of breath under Madara's grip. Sakura gasped; she was probably paralyzed in her place like always. Sasuke hadn't moved from his spot, but he could imagine Kabuto walking towards her and wrapping her with his snake-like tail based on the sounds of footsteps and swaying robes.
"You will use your medical abilities to create the strongest army of dead shinobi that ever existed," said Kabuto, "And if you do not help, Madara and I are very much willing to open up your brains and investigate every type of information regarding the Alliance's side. Also, we could easily infiltrate your village's refuges and kill off all the civilians."
Kabuto's sadistic tone showed that he was enjoying the fantasy of not only exploring the minds of two very skilled medical shinobi, but also of attacking the civilians and finding new bodies to experiment on. Of course, when Madara's Eye of the Moon plan happened, Kabuto would have a wide range of hypnotized civilians to use for his lab research. Sasuke did not care, as long as he got to eliminate those who caused him pain and hatred. He did not care if he died after exterminating Konoha. Naruto was definitely going to fall alongside his village and Sakura, and they could burn in hell for destroying his family.
"So," continued Madara, "whether you are willing or not, we will use you."
Sasuke felt the ground slightly shift as another chakra appeared in the cave. It was Zetsu, who now stood beside him.
"This must be fun for you to watch. Your old teammate, kidnapped by your allies. Oh, but then again, you cannot see now, isn't that right?"
Sasuke promised himself he'd burn every living cell of this excuse for a ninja once his eyes were completely healed. Due to his temporary blindness, Sasuke guessed that Zetsu had left his side and joined Madara and Kabuto in restraining their two hostages.
"You will deal with highly skilled shinobi who have reincarnated; therefore, I can control them against you two if orders are not followed," Kabuto threatened, and by the tone of his voice, a vicious grin was making its way on his lips.
It seemed like Sakura and the Kumo shinobi had been taken away to one of the cave's cells since there was no trace of their chakra. He also noticed that Zetsu had taken them there due to his absence. He found this meeting useless; Kabuto and Madara were just making their plans more difficult by forcing the two shinobi into working for them. He could have easily killed Sakura off at that moment.
A few minutes after Sakura and the Kumo nin had left, Zetsu came back and spoke with Kabuto.
"I was not able to steal the Byakugan. The boy had the curse mark. In order to get it, we need to find someone from the main branch," he explained before sinking back to the ground.
"There is no rush. This war will last for a while," said Kabuto in return. "Besides, I have a backup, just in case."
"Also, the Kyūbi Jinchūriki is currently encountering the Raikage and Hokage. It seems that he wants to join our little game."
Sasuke's blood started boiling. Naruto was already fighting out there, the idiot. He probably thought he could defeat all of Madara's army, yet he hadn't even encountered the reincarnated shinobi. He could not help but wonder if Naruto's stupidity had any limits; he was exposing himself for an easy death.
Unless he had gained another new power? Either way, it did not matter. Sasuke was going to crush Naruto's skull into dust, regardless of how much training he'd been given. Only one of them could come out victorious, and that was going to be Sasuke. He was going to destroy everything that Naruto cared about.
"Konoha is still mine," he stated blankly as he felt Madara pass by his side.
They both walked back into the darkness of the cave, but it made no difference to Sasuke; he was already used to darkness.
"Ah, yes, of course. You will still get to avenge your brother, but be patient. This war has to go according to our plans."
Sasuke did not give a fuck about their plan so long as he could crush what took away his happiness.
I love this chapter because it's the first Sasuke-Sakura-kind-of-interaction! It's such a challenge writing a Sasuke that sticks to the manga. He's such a difficult character, dammit! I still have fun writing him; once I get a hang of it, it becomes much easier.
But if you find that I am steering away from Sasuke's characteristics, please leave a review and tell me so! I want to listen to my readers :) Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Could you pick up any of the foreshadowing I've written in here? (heheheeee) And whose point of view is the next chapter going to be on?
The fic is under a different pairing now because Sasusaku is the main pairing, but Naruhina will get almost the same amount of attention. You'll see what I mean xD
Thanks again to the amazing Unique-girl YAYZ for acting as a beta. It always helps to have another pair of eyes.
If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate in sending me a PM or a review! I'm currently on vacation, which means that my free time has increased and my sleepless nights have returned lol.
Sincerely,
MSM