Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the associated characters, locations, jutsu, etc. The only thing I own is the plot of the story. If there is any plagiarism of any form it was completely unintentional.
"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
"Dad..." She whispered as she saw her father laying down in the ground, blood tainting his clothes. She kneeled down beside him and grasped his shirt. "Dad! Dad, wake up!" She yelled as she frantically shook him, but to no avail as he was still motionless. She let go of him as a couple more tears left her eyes. She then rested her head on his chest and waited for any sign that his heart was still beating.
...
"Come on... Please."
...
"Please..."
...Thump...
"*Gasp* He's alive!" She exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. She carefully picked her father up and then ran out towards the hospital. Amid the chaos and destruction she could only focus on getting there, ignoring everything, and everyone around her. She burst through the glass doors, nearly shattering them while desperately calling out for help. But it was then when she realized, she was not the only one. All around her there were people lying on the ground, covered in bloody bandages. The few medics around were running around frantically, going from person to person trying to do everything they could. Even in all of this chaos, with so many lives resting on their hands, Sakura was astounded at their determination and soundness. Eventually one of them took her father away and laid him into a stretcher.
"We got another one, both arms and one leg are broken the other leg is completely crushed. Most likely some of his ribs are broken as well, which could mean that there is some damage to his internal organs. We need to get him to the operating room, NOW!" The medic said as she and one other quickly rolled him away, leaving Sakura alone. She slowly looked around and took in her surroundings. Until she recognized one big lump of white, long hair.
"Jiraiya-sama?" She called out to him. The man in question turned around looking puzzled for a second, until he seemed to recognize her.
"Ah, Miss Haruno. Perhaps you could help me, do you know if the Hokage is here?" He asked.
"I-I'm not sure, he is probably out there fighting back." When she said this Jiraiya let out a long sigh.
"Well then, we might as well do our part. These people are certainly doing theirs."
"Yes, they are." Sakura said with a final look before walking out of the hospital with Jiraiya.
This chakra... I know it. Jiraiya thought as he looked around. "Bijuu?" He said out-loud when he spotted the giant beasts. "Well two can play that game." He then bit his finger before slamming his palm on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A giant cloud of smoke engulfed him, that when settled revealed him standing atop a giant red toad.
"Jiraiya? Why do you bother me, I was busy. If you do that again I-"
"No time for that, Gamabunta. I need you to help me take care of this." Jiraiya said in a serious tone while pointing forward. Gamabunta followed his finger and saw the Nibi.
"A Bijuu? What the hell have you gotten yourself into." Gamabunta said while unsheathing his sword and then lunging towards the monster.
...
The Hokage made one final jump and landed several feet behind Orochimaru, his back turned to him.
"Orochimaru, stop this nonsense. I don't want to hurt you." He said solemnly, but the response he got was a mocking laugh.
"Always so passive, sensei. However I do think that in this case it will be you who gets hurt." Orochimar said with a wicked smile. Out of nowhere, 4 sound shinobi appeared and with a few hand seals they erected a giant, dark purple barrier.
"So be it then." Hiruzen said while forming a few seals of his own.
...
"Raikage-sama. Is that not Matatabi?" One of the Kumo shinobi said while pointing towards the flaming beast, that was now engaged in combat against Jiraiya and Gamabunta.
"So it seems." A responded in a suspiciously calm tone.
"But I thought Sas-" The shinobi tried to say but was immediately silenced by A.
"We cannot let anyone know it was him. So far we can pass it off as some sort of Genjutsu. We need to get him out of here." When he said this he let go off the other shinobi and ran towards the Bijuu.
...
"There are two so we have to make this quick." Jiraiya said while pulling out a small slip of paper out of his pack. "Get me close to the head." Gamabunta nodded and once again jumped towards the Bijuu. The beast dodged the sword strike, but then felt something atop its head.
"Seal!" Jiraiya yelled while slamming down the paper on the Bijuus head. The Nibi let out a growl of pain before slowly starting to recede. Jiraiya jumped back down in front of the now human figure that was still crying out in pain on the ground. He didn't look very old, heck he was probably around Naruto's age. Eventually the Jinchuriki stopped screaming, and slowly turned to look at Jiraiya with deep, blood red eyes.
"I-it can't be!" Jiraiya exclaimed. He was about to walk towards him when a thick cloud of smoke appeared out of nowhere. "Shit!" He cursed. He tried to reach out to the boy but by the time he moved, the cloud and the Jinchuriki were both gone. I could recognize those eyes anywhere. Sharingan. But I thought that the Uchiha were all dead.
...
What is that? The Shukaku thought as he looked over at the disappearing figure of the Nibi. He then looked over at Gamabunta, and finally Jiraiya. Fūinjutsu?*
That is Jiraiya, another one of the Sannin. And judging by what happened to Sasuke I'd say we better retreat while we can. Shukaku heard Gaara speak in his head.
"As if I would let a mere human scare me away." Shukaku responded in a mocking voice.
And would you rather have a "mere human" seal you away... Again? Shukaku didn't say anything this time. A couple of seconds later the Ichibi was covered entirely by a sandstorm, and when it dissipated there was no trace of him.
...
"Jiraiya, it seems that the other bijuu has also escaped." Gamabunta said as he looked around.
"Well that's a relief. I only had one sealing tag to begin with." He said with a serious look.
"What was that stuff anyways?" Gamabunta asked curiously. "Oddly powerful for just a simple sealing tag."
"Oh, that's because it's not a simple sealing tag. It is a special formula developed by the Shodai Hokage. Much like his own jutsu this seal can suppress a Bijuu. The bad thing is that it takes a lot of time to make one tag, let alone more."
"Jiraiya-sama!" He heard someone calling. When he turned around he saw Sakura running towards him.
"I think I'll be going now." Gamabunta said, and without waiting for an answer he poofed away.
"Jiraiya-sama." Sakura said now standing in front of him, she bent down while panting trying to recover her breath.
"Easy there. No need for-" He stopped when he saw tears starting to hit the ground. "Sakura, what happened?"
"The Hokage. He... He..." Even though she didn't finish her sentence, Jiraiya was well aware of what she tried to say.
As soon as the attack had started it had ended. But it was not all well. Hundreds of people had died in the attack, thousands more were injured. Half of the village now lay in ruins, those who survived were left homeless, and leaderless. Days later, Sakura was standing next to her father's bed in the crowded hospital. Her mother was sitting on the other side of the bed grasping her husband's hand in her sleep. Sakura reached out to caress both their hands.
"I swear, dad. I'll get whoever did this." She said in a low voice.
"Now THAT, is a path you don't want to go down." She heard someone say, she gasped in surprise before turning around to look at the person.
"Jiraiya-san? What are you doing here?" She asked curiously.
"Well I just had a meeting with the council. The village is in a very vulnerable state, and since the Sandaime... passed away... there is a dire need for a new Hokage." He said with a slight hint of sadness in his voice.
"Why are you telling me all this?" She asked.
"Because I just thought of the perfect candidate, and I realized that you might want to come meet her."
"Nani! Why me?"
"You'll see." He said before turning around to walk away. He stopped by the door and gave her one last look. "I'll leave tomorrow at sunrise, with or without you." Having said that he left. The next morning Jiraiya and Sakura left Konoha, and after days later they came upon a very crowded and flashy street.
"Jiraiya-san, why are we here?" Sakura asked as she looked around in repulsion.
"If I'm not mistaken she should be around here." He said, not really answering her question.
"Who?"
"Ah, there she is." Jiraiya said while pointing at two women walking down the street. Well, one of them was walking. The older looking of the two had blond hair and a very voluptuous... personality, as she kept screaming at everyone around her while waving a bottle of sake around. With the other hand she was latching on to the younger woman. She had dark hair and a look of concern was drawn upon her face as she tried to calm the screaming blonde.
"Wadr yu loookin at?" She screamed drunkenly at another passerby.
"Tsunade-sama please, you can't go around screaming at everyone."
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya called out to the older woman, who by now Sakura deduced was Tsunade. The person in question turned her head towards them and her face changed from confusion, to amazement, to annoyance.
"Whad are YOU doin here?" She asked in a slightly better voice.
"I need to talk to you, preferably when you're sober."
"Jiraiya-sama? What's going on?" Shizune asked.
"It's the Sandaime, he's dead." When she heard this, Tsunade's bottle fell and shattered against the ground, filling the ground with small, shiny bits of glass and sake. She set both feet on the ground and, with a small stumble, let go of Shizune.
"And... what does that have to do with me?" She asked, the slurring completely gone from her voice.
"Konoha needs a new Hokage. And this girl right here," he said while grabbing Sakura and dragging her in front of him, "needs a master."
*Fūinjutsu: Sealing technique