"A wants to know every move the Akatsuki could possibly make," Shikamaru stated.

"Where did Itachi go?" Kakashi asked.

"He went off on his own to hopefully take down Kabuto."

"Is there anyone with him?"

"I heard Uchiha Sasuke was around that area. I believe he'd be tagging along."

"Alright, we know that a small army of White Zetsu's are headed-…"

He was cut off when Konohamaru ran in.

"There's someone headed this way! We think it may be Sakura-chan!"

Gaara, Shikamaru and Kakashi all looked at each other before they rushed out. Everyone gathered at the wall to watch the unidentified ninja make their way towards them, dragging a large tree behind them.

"It is Sakura-chan!" Konohamaru stated.

"No," Shikamaru gasped in despair.

He knew Ino, Choji, Temari, Hanabi and Shino had gone with her on a mission to gather any remaining ninja that had been lost in the rush of war. He could pick out their bodies on the tree as they got closer. He also saw that Sakura was bringing back more people.

"Help her!" Gaara shouted and many ninja ran toward them.

He, Kakashi and Shikamaru watched as the group of ninja froze before Sakura, staring at her in shock and fear. When they joined them, along with Neji, Hinata, Tenten, Lee, Kankuro and Kiba, they too froze.

They could now clearly make out the blood splattering her body, dried and chipped on her face but what drew them in were the mismatched eyes that neither were her sea green orbs. Staring back was pearl and onyx orbs.

"I'm sorry," Sakura murmured before she dropped to her knees and blacked out.

"Sakura!" Kakashi yelled and caught her before she face planted into the dirt.

He took off to find a medic.

"Get these bodies to Shizune to be prepared for a cremation," Shikamaru stated sadly.

"She took one of Hanabi-sama's eyes?" Neji grit out.

"No," Hinata cried as she caressed Hanabi's cold face.

Her tears fell fast and unrestrictedly.

"S-Sakura-chan wouldn't do t-that. She would n-never have even t-thought of it. Hanabi would have p-pleaded for her to do so."

"But why?" Neji asked.

"To aid me in looking over the c-clan."

Hinata had moved to stand between Shino and Hanabi, clutching to their clothes as she cried. Kiba and Akamaru were silently crying over Shino's body while Shikamaru stood by Temari, Ino and Choji.

Gaara and Kankuro stared at their older sister's body, both letting a couple of tears fall.

"I never thought I'd see the day where you'd let Death take you, sis," Kankuro stated. "You were too stubborn to die."

"We're here for you, Shikamaru," Lee stated as he placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.

He was looking up at the sky as he held back his tears, praying for them not to fall as well as for his friends.

"I've lost everything," he spoke, voice cracking. "My sensei, my best friends, Temari."

They all walked beside the tree as it was dragged into their town.


When Sakura came to, she opened her eyes slowly to stare at the roof of one of the many medical tents. Everything that had happened ran through her head at a million miles an hour.

"I see you're awake," a voice spoke, bringing her thoughts screeching to a halt.

Letting her eyes drift to the right, she spotted Hiashi standing a few feet away from her bed, giving him a good glimpse of his youngest daughter's eye. Beside him stood Hinata and Neji.

"We have some things we need to discuss."

As Sakura stared at him with her mismatched eyes, she still felt nothing, still numb from the emotional and mental trauma.

"I want you to remove Hanabi's eye and return it to her body. It belongs with her, not you."

"B-But Tou-san-…" Hinata tried to argue but he would have none of it.

"A Hyuga is the only one who can possess the Byakugan and it is an insult should an outsider wield such a gift. Not to mention you also hold the cursed Sharingan in your left eye."

A broken and dry laugh escaped Sakura's lips, causing a shiver to run up Hiashi's spine.

"How pathetic," Sakura stated. "The entire Shinobi society has come together during these dire times against our lost loved ones and the devil himself and yet still, you consider yourself different and higher than the rest of us."

"The Byakugan does not belong to you!"

"I don't care!" Sakura screamed at him, the numbness giving way to anger. "I swore to keep Hanabi's eyes in order to watch over Hinata, the Hyuga clan and the rest of our loved ones! That no matter what, I would hold onto her eye! If anyone doesn't deserve the Byakugan, it's people like you!"

"I beg your pardon!"

"You people, who are too blind to see past your old ways and ego to realise that the Hyuga clan is no longer superior to the rest of us! They may have been when Shinobi relied on doujutsu's to have an advantage but not anymore! Now, with Hanabi's eye as well as Mikoto-sama's, I will keep my friends from dying or die trying!"

"Because that went so well last time," Hiashi spat sarcastically.

Her Sharingan eye blazed to life and the Byakugan activated with it as its counterpart due to her conflicting and raging emotions.

"There was nothing I could do. All but Ino was dead before I could help them."

"You claim there was nothing you could do, yet you could save yourself."

With that, Hiashi walked out.

Sakura blinked back tears as well as the activated bloodlines before facing the roof again, letting the tears fall down the sides of her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered brokenly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Neji stated. "Thank you for laying Hanabi-sama to rest. It was for the best. Later on today, when dusk is upon us, there will be a funeral pyre where the dead will be cremated."

Sakura nodded and Neji silently exited. Hinata moved to Sakura and placed her on top of Sakura's clenched one.

"Thank you, for accepting Hanabi's last wish. I know it killed you to do something that went strongly against your morals and also that you also had to be the one that laid them to rest. But at the same time, I am selfish for being glad it was you and not I who had to do it."

"I'm sorry about Shino and Hanabi. I wish it was me in their place."

"Don't say such things, Sakura-chan. Everyone would be angry with you if they heard you say that."

It was silent for a moment.

"Now only six of the original Rookie Nine remain…" Sakura choked back a sob and her words brought Hinata to tears.

"We will never forget them," Hinata sniffed.

"Never," Sakura agreed passionately.


Sakura stood before the many unlit pyres of loved ones. Each corpse was given their own pyre. She stood before Ino's, Shino's, Choji's, Hanabi's and Temari's pyre, looking up at their wrapped bodies. Mikoto's body was just behind them, in the centre of the pyres. Shikamaru, Hinata, Kiba, Gaara and some others all held torches to light them up.

"Wait," Sakura called.

Everyone that had gathered turned to her. They all witnessed as her Sharingan came to life, spinning rapidly before merging into the Mangekyou Sharingan. Some people whispered but all hushed when she took a deep breath.

"Amaterasu," Sakura breathed and watched as pink and purple flames shot out at each individual pyre. They easily caught fire and the dark, lightless town was drowned in purple and pink florescence colouring.

Sakura took a shuddering breath before she opened her mouth and let a mournful song fall from her lips. ( A/N: Its You Are My Love from Tsubasa Chronicles apparently.)

Ame ni nureta hoho wa
Namida no nioi ga shita
Yasashii manazashi no
Tabibito

Sakura's eyes welled with tears. Hinata stepped up beside Sakura and sung along with her. They held hands as they watched the flickering flames.

Shizuka ni hibiiteru
Natsukashii ongaku
Omoidasenai kioku
Samayou

Her tears fell as she sung the sorrow inside her soul. Kiba, Tenten, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru and Sai joined them, all holding hands. Tenten joined in with the song.

Yume wa tobitatsu no chiisana tsubasa de
Omoi no kienai basho made
Futari de
Tooi umi wo sora wo koete

Gaara and Kankuro joined their chain as Sakura finished off the song. Hinata couldn't continue before she was quietly sobbing and Tenten's voice was cracking so she stopped as well.

Kurai yoru no naka de
Watashi wo terashiteru
Yasashii manazashi no
Anata ni
Aitai...

As their song finished, no one said anything. The group cried as they watched the pyres burn.

"I-I don't know about your beliefs," Sakura spoke, voice hoarse as she addressed all the ninja. "But in Konoha, we believed in the Will of Fire," Sakura announced.

All was silent as they listened to her words.

"The Will of Fire, that was said to burn brightly in each and every one of us Konoha ninja. The Fire that gave us the strength we needed to protect our loved ones and overcome our enemy. We have believed in this fire from generations upon generations ago, from when Konoha was first established. But seeing you all here, paying your respects to our lost loved ones made me realise we were wrong."

Some of the Konoha ninja looked appalled and offended by her comment.

"The Will of Fire doesn't burn inside just the Konoha ninja. It burns inside all of us fighting for our loved ones," she spoke, looking over everyone that stood by. "And I don't know about you, but I don't believe my friends are gone. I can't. No, they've become one with their flame and they spread warmth inside me in these dark and cold times. Their fire has added fuel to mine and now burns brighter than it ever has and when that times comes when my body goes down in battle, I will be burned as well to release my fire to add fuel to all your own and give you more strength to carry on in my place. Let the Will of Fire burn forever in us so long as we serve to protect those dearest to us!" Sakura called.

The Konoha ninja cheered and slowly, every other ninja joined in.

"Two very brave people gave me their eyes to watch over you all and I plan to do just that. Everything is so morally wrong, having to kill our loved ones in order for them to be laid to rest permanently but thanks to them, hopefully, I have the ability to help end it all. With the Sharingan and Byakugan combined, I'll do my best to end it all."


Sakura trained with Kakashi and Neji, training both her Sharingan and Byakugan. Kakashi taught her all the jutsu's he knew so she knew over a thousand like him. Neji taught her the Heavenly spin as well as how to cover her blind spot though they found that she didn't have one. After a long sparring session, Kakashi paused, panting from the long extended use of his Sharingan.

"How's your eye holding up?" He asked. "Does it strain you as mine does?"

"No. I believe the Byakugan is countering its affect, as well as my perfect control over my chakra."

"Do you know what else your Mangekyou can do?"

"No…"

"Then let's find out, shall we?"


A couple of weeks later…

Sakura used the Mangekyou to create a portal to a place a couple of miles away from Itachi's location. Because he had the Mangekyou, as well as Sasuke, she could pinpoint their exact location. Not wanting to scare them, she'd appear a couple miles away from them.

Stepping through, she found herself surrounded by White Zetsu's. Seems as if she popped up in their base.

Good thing she hadn't taken off her mask. She wouldn't want them to know about her eyes.

"Sorry boys, but you're in my way."

With that, purple pink flames shot out at them, engulfing the whole area. While all the Zetsu's were burnt to crisps, Sakura walked through the fire with ease.

It didn't take long for her to find Sasuke and Itachi battling Kabuto.

"Well, hello there Sakura-chan," Kabuto greeted as Sakura stepped forth.

Itachi let his eyes rest on her for a split second before he turned his gaze back to Kabuto who refused to meet his eyes, well aware of Mangekyou's powers. Sasuke shot Sakura an annoyed look.

"What are you doing here? How did you find us?"

Sakura ignored him as she turned to Kabuto who was smirking at her, not knowing that she possessed the same weapon as Itachi.

Instead, Sakura removed her mask with both eyes deactivated. Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at them. Upon her forehead, rested three violet tomoe that represented the Sharingan and Byakugan's togetherness.

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura held Kabuto's gaze before a bitter smile surfaced upon her lips. Her black eye bled red as she activated both eyes. Then…

"Mangekyou Sharingan. Tsukiyomi."


So that was a sad chapter. I was tempted to cry as I wrote it. If you read it while listening to the song, it WILL make you cry.

I tried to make it as sad as I could and I'm trying to turn Sakura into a hero instead of a monster.

At this point in time, I don't know who Sakura should be with, Itachi or Sasuke so I'll leave the pairing tool alone for the moment. I actually haven't even seen an episode past Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato return from failing to bring Sasuke back that first time at the Tenshi bridge.

The reason being, I don't want to see Itachi die. So my mate tells me what's happening and I go from there so if things aren't right, sorry.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Dii