Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine…

Resentment means to feel bitter, indignant, aggrieved, or offended. You resent other people's greed, their dishonesty, their lack of integrity, what they are doing, what they did in the past, what they said, what they failed to do, what they should or shouldn't have done.

Eckhart Tolle

Naruto finally arrives to the area where he sensed a mass wave of chakra but what he doesn't expect to see is Sakura and Sasuke together, let alone his ex-teammate about to kill his pink haired friend. Luckily, his presence is enough to distract the raven haired man and in doing so his weapon misses Sakura. He is about to speak the taboo name once again when Sakura quickly takes action and rams the heel of her palm into Sasuke's chin making it bend in a very abnormal way and in doing so she gets enough leverage to wriggle out from underneath him.

She does an imitated version of a Leaf Hurricane to kick him back a few paces and she begins to form the last bit of chakra she has left into her hand as she speed walks in his direction and just when she is almost near, the med-nin feels a very sharp pain course throughout her body. When she looks down to the area where the pain is mostly centered towards she realizes that her abdominal wound is bleeding immensely. Her body pulses with pain and against her will she drops to one knee while clutching at her reopened injury. 'Dammit!'

Naruto rushes to her side – everything goes black.

X.X.X

'Hn. They make just about anyone ANBU nowadays.'

Sakura awoke from unconsciousness and bolted right up from the hospital bed that she was currently in. The sun was bright outside and the slight crack of the window let the fresh dewy smelling morning air seep into her room relaxing her senses and soothing her aching head.

She couldn't believe that she actually lost to Sasuke. An ugly feeling of disappointment seeped into her and her shoulders hunched over as her head dropped, her hands resting on her lap. She had trained for years with the best and was a high ranking shinobi amongst her peers. How could she make such a rookie mistake? Sasuke always did bring the worst out in her she supposed but there was nothing that the pinkette could do now about it. He was gone – good riddance right?

"Miss Sakura, you're awake!" A small and petite woman entered her room carrying a tray of breakfast. Sakura instantly recognized the girl as one of the interns from the hospital; the girl just started volunteering there only about two months back. As the intern makes her way towards her she sees that her posture is rigid and her eyes are darting every which way, avoiding her gaze completely. Sakura could tell when people were deceiving her and this girl was no exception. She was hiding something from her and she would drag it out of her if she had to.

"Hikari," Sakura raised a delicate pink eyebrow and gave her a questioning glance.

"How are you feeling? You still look awfully tired, perhaps you should get more-"

"Why isn't Lady Tsunade or Shizune attending me?"

Hikari instantly froze like a deer caught in headlights, and shut her eyes tight as if trying to will herself to magically disappear from the room she was currently in. She had wanted to avoid this question,"they are currently … indisposed."

"Indisposed you say?" Sakura wanted to hear more, she didn't have the patience to play guessing games.

"Yes…they asked for me to look after you while you regain some of your strength. Y-you're chakra levels w-were really low but Mr. Uzumaki brought you in just in time…"

"Spit it out girl, I know you're hiding something from me, orders from Lady Tsunade perhaps? I will find out sooner or later so don't waste my time."

The poor girl didn't know what to do. If she told Sakura the truth then Lady Tsunade would have her head on a stick later but if she didn't tell the pink headed shinobi the information that she wanted then her bones would probably be grinded into dust. She figured it didn't matter anyways, she was only an intern so let them fire her, it was better than dealing with all this new uprising shinobi drama.

"They are at the main Court House … currently in the middle of a trial …"

'A trial? I was never informed that this was taking place … who could possibly-'Sakura's eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets as she came to the conclusion of who exactly could be on trial. Hastily removing all IV drips from her arms she quickly jumped out of her bed and got dressed not even caring about the other person in the room. She made her way towards the room window and opening it, she jumped out and onto the roofs towards the court house.

X.X.X

"Everyone is present and accounted for correct?"

The hall is semi filled with people dressed in their respectful ninja attire, their images portraying the perfect poker faces. There is no need to have a huge audience for the Hokage as well as the Elders do not wish to cause an uproar with the civilians of the village. This was a matter that only those of importance would be able to resolve and only those who understood shinobi law could come to terms of what must be done.

Lady Tsunade walks up to her podium with the authority she was so highly praised for. Her head is held high and her eyes are aloof, the signature Hokage hat is placed on her crown and her robe is crisp as ever. The Elders of the village sit at her right and left hand sides their faces a mixture of bewilderment and shock. To the left hand side sit the Head Families of Konoha. Hyuga, Nara, Yamanaka, Aburame, Inuzuka, and Akimichi head clan members were all present, with them they brought other important dignitaries to witness what was about to occur.

To the right stood the best of the best. The Hokage's personal shinobi that she entrusted fully would get any job done. No questions asked. Their faces were covered with pale masks with red designs and the air around them practically screamed danger. Well, danger to those who seek to harm their Hokage or any of the other important people in the room.

Onyx eyes trace the faces of the individuals before him and he resists the urge to scowl. This wasn't the plan. Sasuke was only supposed to go into Konoha to retrieve Naruto and prove himself best and then be on his way but unfortunately the tables had turned and now he was currently bound my chakra restraints awaiting for his trial to commence. How could he have possibly lost to Naruto? There was no explanation logical enough for him to comprehend exactly how and when he made a mistake. His vision blurs a little from trying to recall what happened during his fight with the dobe and as he tries to think too hard about it, a small headache slowly creeps up on him and he has this reflex to pinch the bridge of his nose to alleviate it.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Tsunade's voice is loud and authoritive as it vibrates all across the room."Let us begin."

X.X.X

It was said that Sakura was Lady Tsunade's exact image. Their medical prowess was known far and wide but their temper was mostly known to locals. Sakura took great pride in being compared to her mentor but she was not full of narcissism when many said that she actually passed her shishou. All the years she spent training under her had taught her many things and because she was under her wing, she was able to learn about civil issues, government issues, nation wide issues. Sakura had become a well rounded woman with political affairs and because of this she knew exactly what was going on.

She was furious.

How could Lady Tsunade keep her away from something so grand scaled? Surely she didn't believe that after all these years she wouldn't be able to handle what was to come, right? The pink haired kunoichi lands in front of a pair of grand doors with two guards standing amongst it.

"Let me in," she growls.

"I'm afraid we cannot let you pass," the ninja guard replies.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Sakura flicks a pair of senbon to each of their bodies with practiced ease and they immediately collapse to the floor, their bodies turn to jelly and they cannot move. She quickly steps over them and pinches the back of their necks so that they fall into unconsciousness while she places another hand to the massive double doors. She instantly feels a surge of chakra spread throughout the entryway as it tries to push her back so the med-nin quickly gathers some chakra to her hand and pushes right back.

X.X.X

"And is it true that you have attacked Konoha shinobi?" Elder Homura asks.

"Not without cause," Sasuke replies.

"Have you ever kill-" the man is suddenly interrupted when a strong surge of chakra pulses around the room and the double doors of the court hall bang open.

Sasuke hears the tap tap tap of heels but doesn't bother to look in the direction. He sees how everyone's attention darts behind him and the way they almost tense and stiffen at the presence. His eyes shift over to see Kakashi placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder as if he was keeping him in place from jumping out of his seat in hysteria. Their breaths hitch when the mysterious figure comes to a stop right next to him and from his peripheral vision he is surprised to see non other than Sakura by his side.

She gives a curt bow in respect for the people before her but as he looks over her body with curiosity, he sees that her fists are clenched. Her appearance on the outside was all a ruse, he assumed that she was thoroughly pissed off.

"Ah, I was wondering whether or not you would be joining us, Haruno," Homura sarcastically says.

"I'd have been here sooner if I knew this was happening," she retorts.

The Elder raises an eyebrow in question, "are you here to judge?"

Sakura's eyes slowly slide over to the right where she sees Neji with his arms crossed over his chest. She imagines that behind his mask he is scowling at her for being there because he knows that the elders will eat her alive. They will make accusations against her and try to make it seem as though she is judging for herself only. He knows that they will try to throw her past at her face and she will undoubtedly lose her temper. Viridian eyes go over to the other stands and azure orbs are staring at her. She knows that he is all but begging her to keep her cool and she knows what she must do.

"Yes."

X.X.X

Three entire hours.

Three long, agonizing hours she spent in that damn Court Room defending herself. They asked her about her feelings towards Sasuke, they asked if she and Naruto had actually planned all that happened (which was the most stupidest question she had ever heard of) they asked Sasuke about Orochimaru and Itachi and Sakura was more than surprised to hear the events of what occurred between them. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

The pink haired kunoichi sits on a stool at the closest bar that she could find as she gulps down yet another cup of sake. She had every intention of drowning herself in alcohol that night because from now on things were going to change. Emerald eyes glare at the empty porcelain cups before her. Never in a million years did she think that this day would come.

She was so angry but she supposed that it was for the best. Her best friend deserved happiness for everything that he has ever done for her. For all the times he came to her recue, for his patience, his strength, his encouragement, his will and determination. But she also didn't forget about what happened. Sasuke had left them, had tried to kill them, he betrayed them and replaced them. She was resentful and just thinking about him left a bitter taste in her mouth and no amount of sake could wash that away.

"Sakura?"

A sigh escapes her lips at the mention of her name as a tan hand closes around her own. She looks up to find Naruto staring at her. God she hated to look him in the eyes sometimes. "Don't expect me to be nice," she says.

"I know. Thank you," he replies and leaves her alone again.

And why was he thanking her?

Her right hand clenches around the sake cup and it shatters into pieces in a split second. He thanks her because it was her vote and testimony that allowed Sasuke Uchiha to live and be kept in Konoha. Things were going to change.

X.X.X

A/N: dun dun DUN! And so it begins! Now shit is really going to start. I'm not too happy about this chapter but I hope you guys liked it. Please leave me some feedback and again I just wanna thank everyone who is still keeping up with this story. You guys are amazing.

xoxo review!