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Covenant
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Synopsis: Four years into the Fourth Shinobi War, Orochimaru offers to turn.
He all but requests Sakura by name to be the contact.
It is, quite clearly, a trap—least of all because he's supposed to be dead.
But what is a losing side to do except take the hand that's offered?
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5. The Continuation
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THE MOVEMENT to Sangosho was hard and fast.
The army moved in pieces, taking various routes to avoid detection. They converged on the southern outskirts of the village in the middle of the day, hours before Madara's forces planned to attack. The Kiri army was already in place, hiding in caves and brush.
Many Kiri shinobi and most of their rogues defected early to join Madara. More than any other of the major villages. Their Allied numbers now were mainly young, and their upper ranks slim. All their strength and skill were forced to fight; it left them without a proper command beyond the Mizukage. This fact brought Konoha and Kiri together frequently throughout the war.
Of all the villages, Konoha most risked calling out Madara if they sent their strongest into battle.
So, if it wasn't necessary, Konoha's top brass almost always remained in base. On the other hand, Kiri was willing to send every top fighter below the Kage to any battle. In return, Konoha provided them with command and most medical.
Shikamaru, who traveled from Lightning to serve as head of battlefield command, had already laid out the strategy and troop movements before Konoha's army arrived.
Three battalions of nearly 1,000 shinobi each would meet the enemy groups attacking the village. The last two battalions would cut off the flanking group, hopefully secure a swift victory, then move to back up the main army in town. Command would move on the periphery of the battle. A select company of gatherers and another of fighters were tasked with handling Hidan and Tobi, respectively.
The Unknown would be dealt with on real-time information.
Everyone else was charged with eliminating the main army, consisting primarily of Zetsu.
Zetsu were not particularly dangerous on their own but incredibly dangerous within an army. They were crafty and difficult to destroy. They liked to play dead until your back was turned. And scattered between them were real shinobi loyal to Madara, all of whom were highly skilled and lethal. They weren't on his generals' levels, but they weren't rookies. It was one of the more critical differences between Madara's army and the Allies: Although the Allies had more shinobi, Madara's rank-and-file troops were, on average, much more gifted and brutal than those within the Allied battalions.
With an elite guard, medical and linking remained a mile from the battlefield. They'd claimed an open field in the nearby forest that spanned 30 to 40 feet in most directions. It wouldn't be enough space in the thick of battle for every person wounded, but it was all they had. Ino, another from her clan, and Kiri's head of intelligence were building a platform to sit on a high tree branch facing the clearing. The guard fanned through the trees, layering genjutsu barriers and placing traps.
The sun sunk down to kiss the mountains, soon to disappear.
Sakura's skin vibrated with anticipation as she stationed her medics. Kiri managed to send an additional two, bringing their total to eight. The group stood before her.
"My name is Sakura Haruno. I'm in command of field medical today. I'll be summoning Lady Katsuyu when the battle starts and using a portion of her to create a healing ground here. Is everyone familiar with the technique?" It was a question directed to the four Kiri medics, two of whom looked young. There was a collective nod. "Good, then. Shizune's my second in command." Sakura motioned at the woman, who bowed to the group. "Under her, five of you will tend to shinobi ported back to us. She'll give orders while I'm focused on Katsuyu, so please cooperate with her. Does anyone have experience being a runner?"
Both Iyashi and Hakui stepped forward.
Sakura tapped her chin. She was reluctant to assign a Konoha medic as the runner. She knew the skills of Iyashi and Hakui intimately, unlike the four Kiri medics. She knew both were reliable in the heat of battle and were particularly adept with common injuries from large-scale fighting.
"It might make more sense if someone from Kiri ran," Sakura concluded. "They'll know where the marks are and who to direct the wounded to on base."
"It should be fine. I'm familiar with medical on Kiri base. I was stationed there early in the war," answered Iyashi.
She scanned the group, hoping a Kiri medic would step up late. Sighing when it didn't happen, she nodded. There was no helping it then.
"Very well. You'll be the runner. You," Sakura pointed to the most senior-looking Kiri medic, "take Iyashi on a practice run and show him the marks. Move any that need it."
The men bowed, walked to the edge of the clearing, touched the first marker, and disappeared.
The runner was to transport any shinobi requiring care that field medical couldn't provide during battle to Kiri base medical. He kept the patient stable during the journey and returned immediately for the next one. Kiri shinobi set up a series of hidden transport markers on their way to Sangosho as jumping points between the two medical units. The runner could port from field medical directly to base, but it was easier on the runner's chakra and the injured's body if they made the trip in pieces.
In addition to the runner's starting mark, field medical had a second marker right in the middle of its base. Shinobi on the battlefield were instructed to slap a tag with its coordinates on anyone needing medical, and they'd be instantly ported back to the clearing.
It was an insanely fast mode of travel, adapted from the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique and the common body-flicker any chunin could perform. But it was logistically unworkable in most circumstances. Only two people at a time could jump from one point to the next, the route must be set in advance, and each jump drained a proportional amount of chakra. Any long-distance port would require two or three soldier pills to complete for a newer, average, or low-ranking shinobi. Field medical's runner, in particular, needed to take an unhealthy number of soldier pills throughout a battle to keep up with the number of jumps he'd have to make. Any shinobi teleported to the Healing Ground low on chakra would likely arrive unconscious from the drain.
And, any ninja with half a brain immediately destroyed unknown marks when found. If it wasn't yours, it could be the enemy's.
"Has everyone been in active combat before?" asked Sakura.
One of the young Kiri medics shook her head. Sakura inwardly groaned. The only thing worse than having only eight medics was having seven medics plus one inexperienced in war. The girl was probably 14, with thick glasses and nervous eyes. Even if Sakura wished to send the child away from the butchery they'd soon face, she had no authority to do so. Nor could she reassure the girl as medical commander that everything would be fine.
It was a war. They might die, even this far behind the frontline.
"Welcome to the fight. No one hopes to be here, but here we are. The two main things to remember are don't panic and don't freeze. Don't even think—just move. You can fall apart tomorrow, but the entire army needs you to keep it together today. Alright?"
"Yes, Haruno-sama," the girl whispered at the ground. Her voice held a telltale shake to it, and her hands fumbled with one another at her waist.
Hakui placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and sent a knowing smile to Sakura. It was normal to be afraid of war. Logical, even. The immediate result of war was death, and no one faced death for the first time without fear. Sakura understood it, Hakui understood it—every shinobi on the battlefield understood it, had felt it. But fear was unhelpful in the best of circumstances and deadly in the worst. It was normal to feel afraid, but it was imperative to move past it. And there was no practice but to be thrown into it.
Still, Sakura wasn't sure why Kiri had sent such a fresh medic to this battle. Tsunade wouldn't have. But it wasn't the time for those questions.
"Get with Shizune so she knows your specialties for when the injured start flying in. We've got seven active healers for five thousand troops. Six if you don't include me, since I won't be back here healing with you all. You're going to get drained. You're going to feel overwhelmed. You're going to be exhausted. It'll feel impossible in the moment, but I promise you that it isn't. All of you were handpicked by your Kage for your skills. You're more than capable of doing this." She'd never been one for pre-battle speeches. Naruto and Tsunade were amazing at them—even Ino wasn't half bad. But, well, field medical only had her, so she'd try. "Without us, the army can't fight—so as tired as you might get, you must power through. The Hokage will remotely control a portion of Katsuyu placed on you. So long as Katsuyu's there, the Hokage can keep you awake. But she can't replenish your chakra."
Sakura pointed over her shoulder. "There's a large stockpile of soldier pills beneath the Linker's platform. They're for the shinobi returning to the battlefield, but don't be afraid to take one yourself. As I said earlier, we can fall apart tomorrow, but today we keep going until we've healed our army. Everyone got it?" Another collective nod. "Good. If we come under attack, you know the rules. Everyone port out till it's cleared."
"I've been approved to fight by the Mizukage," said one of the older Kiri medics. "As is Ugai, the one showing the runner the route."
"That's fine. Everyone who isn't cleared must port out if the guards call for it."
Sakura dismissed the group to consult with Shizune.
The two men reappeared by the start marker.
Iyashi approached her. "Five and a half minutes without an injured party," he said.
Sakura nodded. "Not bad. As good as we're going to get, at least. Go work out the system you want to use with Shizune, I trust you'll know what works best for you better than I will."
As her medics got into position, Sakura hopped up on the Linker platform. Ino and her cousin Santa Yamanaka were settling down. The Kiri woman was looking east into the trees with a blank stare. Sakura sent a quirked brow to Ino, who shrugged in response, and nodded a greeting toward Santa. Kneeling down beside her friend, Sakura reached out for a hug. The embrace was warm and comforting. Ino smelled of lilac, even after the days-long run and sparse river-washing.
So much time had passed since a real battle. It almost felt surreal. Ino's hard clutch grounded her to the reality that it was truly starting again.
"Don't die," said Sakura.
There was a soft chuckle in her ear. "You'd never let me."
"Damn right."
"It…doesn't look like enough medics." Ino's voice was quiet.
"Katsuyu will cover the extra need. Don't worry."
The women pulled apart slightly, arms around each other and face to face.
"What are your orders if our base is compromised?" Sakura asked.
"Santa will fight... I'm to port out."
"Good. We need you."
Ino scowled. "It's cowardly."
"No, it's smart. Without you, the army has no cohesion, and no one else in your clan can handle these kinds of numbers independently yet."
Ino's mouth pursed as she fiddled with Sakura's hair like she was stalling for something. Then her expression seemed to harden in decision.
"I saw Shika earlier. He said Naruto and B are staying out of this."
"That's good too." But Sakura's stomach still knotted at his name and the fact she wouldn't see him. "We know their plan. We can win this without putting them on the line."
"Mhm, piece of cake." Ino grinned, and it nearly reached her eyes.
Santa sat down beside them. "We should start the mindlink now, Ino. It's almost time," he said. Ino nodded as Sakura stood and brushed her thighs off. "Good luck, Sakura. Keep us going."
Sakura smiled at him. "Yeah, good luck. You two stay strong. Santa, if a fight comes, I'll need a partner…jump down to me."
"Roger."
Ino wrapped her fingers around Sakura's calf and squeezed. "Good luck, don't die. Please don't die."
She didn't promise anything before jumping back into the clearing.
Shizune had placed the other medics around the edges of the field. She stood near the central port location and would move new bodies from the marker to the healers. Sakura knew that when the injured started piling up too fast, though, the center of the Healing Ground would simply become Shizune's station.
One of the guards jumped to her side, head slightly bowed. "We're finished. Our location should be secured. I've set nine guards around the edges of the base. I'll call for evacuation if we're detected before enemies breach the clearing."
Sakura nodded in response, sweeping her eyes across the calm field. Even at the end of February, it was a beautiful spring evening in Water Country. The large island benefitted from the surrounding warm seas, so its cold season was mild and short. Although winter still gripped the mainland, the trees here were already thick with viridescent leaves. The sun had just dipped below the high mountains on the skyline, and the moon was two days from full. It smelled of grass, and forest, and dusk. The breeze was light, warm. Any other time, with fewer and different company, far away from these conditions, it might've been romantic.
"This is it again, I guess," she whispered.
The guard raised his head. "It never ended, Haruno. It just paused." By his voice, he was older. His ANBU mask was carved like an owl. He routinely commanded the elite guard for medical, yet Sakura still hadn't pinpointed his identity. "There is no 'again.' There's only a continuation."
The words weren't comforting themselves, but she found herself comforted nonetheless.
"Let us continue on, then," she said with a small smile his way.
"Let's. See you at the next battle." He jumped back into the forest.
Sakura turned to her colleague. "Ready, Shizune?"
"We're ready," she replied.
Shizune stood straight, eyes hard. The two older Kiri medics were laughing, posted to positions next to one another. Hakui sent a thumbs up to the young girl across the clearing, who was wringing her hands behind her back. Iyashi knelt with his head bowed by the transport tag, undoubtedly praying. The other young Kiri medic sat cross-legged, pushing his chakra slowly through his body in a circular fashion.
Sakura moved to a far edge of the clearing, out of the way of any clear space an injured body might need.
Ino's voice rang in her head the next second. This is Command. Flank group, hold position. Front groups, ready for attack. Medical is now deploying aid. We strike in five minutes. Tobi first, army second, contain Hidan until the end. Gatherers and fighters hold until we get eyes on the generals. Flare for Command if the third General appears.
This was it. A year and a half of reprieve, and the war was back.
Good luck and stay strong.
Sakura bit her thumb and slammed her hand to the ground.
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She sat closed-eyed in her summoning circle, focused on the under-4,000 portions of Katsuyu left on the battlefield, each attached to a shinobi. They'd already lost over 1,000 in three hours to death or incapacitation.
"We're falling too far behind! We need help," yelled Shizune.
Her remote healing could keep up with anything below a mortal wound or dismemberment. Even so, Sakura could hear the field behind her. It was packed. Overpacked. But it was a massive drain on her chakra to pump into portions of Katsuyu on the battlefield attached to people who weren't injured. She had to focus on supplying chakra only to those portions that were actually healing and maintaining Healing Ground under her. It required all of her concentration.
"Now, Sakura! Help!"
Sakura frowned and glanced at the Katsuyu on her lap. Her eyes swam as they adjusted to the moonlight.
"Tell Tsunade I need more help buffering the Healing Ground. Is she able to channel more chakra from her position?"
"She's too far away," Katsuyu responded. "If you give her an hour, she can be in a position that will allow her to."
"Please request she make the move. I'll handle it until then."
Sakura loosened her assiduous handle on Katsuyu's individual parts and released additional chakra from her seal, pumping into all of the summon at once. The ground beneath her pulsed with extra strength. The drain on her reserves was immediate. With maximal control over her chakra output, she could maintain Immense Network Healing and Healing Ground by herself for probably four days at this army's current size. She'd last perhaps one day funneling indiscriminately like this.
Only until Tsunade can buffer, she thought.
Sakura jumped back to Shizune. The field was overrun with the wounded, some forced to find space in the edges of the forest. The breeze now smelled of rust and sweat and panic.
"Where am I needed?"
"The increase to Healing Ground should start moving people out quickly, but Muhei needs cover. She can't keep up."
"Who is—"
"The young one." Shizune pointed to a back corner of the clearing, then turned and resumed her work.
The young Kiri medic with thick glasses was bent over a body, green hands quivering.
Sakura moved to her corner, hands flying across the people waiting for attention. She couldn't afford to waste chakra to make the healing painless—she just healed. Sealing stab wounds, mending ribs, repairing arteries, reattaching arms, pulling out poison. She attended to the severe injuries and left the minor ones for Healing Ground.
"Soldier pills and transport tags are under the platform," she repeatedly yelled to each new face.
And then she was next to the girl. Muhei. She hadn't moved at all in the time it took Sakura to heal and discharge eight shinobi. Her hands were no longer green, and she shook over a boy beyond saving—beyond this world, now. He wore the Allied headband across his forehead and a Kiri headband across his neck. Muhei's fingers grasped into the shirt on his lifeless chest.
"You have to move, medic!" Sakura screamed. "Get it together!" She placed a black tag on the boy's body, did a Tiger seal, and the corpse disappeared.
Muhei's eyes were huge when they turned to her. "Why did you do—"
"Don't think, just move!" Sakura shook the girl by her shoulders. She might feel bad about it later if they both lived. "More will die if you don't keep moving!"
But Muhei didn't move. She fell back onto her hands when Sakura released her, stunned and breathing erratically.
There was nothing to do about it. No more time to waste on a frozen medic. Sakura turned away from the girl and resumed work. She felt the Immense Healing Network sapping her, felt the Healing Ground vibrating with chakra beneath her.
The field was clearing. Iyashi appeared in the corner of her eye, grabbed someone, and disappeared again. Her life reduced to healing. Moving, healing, tagging the dead, moving, healing, tagging the dead, yelling directions to transport tags and soldier pills. Moving, moving, keep moving. Heal, yell, tag, move, heal, yell—
"Tsunade is positioned. She's increasing her input now," said Katsuyu.
Under Sakura's feet, the ground vibrated with new power. She stole a glance at the other young medic. He was moving but was clearly in over his head. Double the number of bodies encircled him than any of the other medics. With him and down a medic, she'd have to stay back here and help or field medical would drown.
Sakura put her head down and went back to work. Setting bones, moving, regrowing organs, moving, soothing chakra pathways, moving, tagging the dead. She couldn't think, couldn't look at the faces beneath her hands, wouldn't allow herself to identify anything past the ambiguous army outfits. Move, don't think, move, don't think—
The ground shook. Sakura paused, looking into the forest. The whole clearing seemed to hold the same breath. A pulse went through the crowd, then a fissure was snaking across the field and gaping open into the earth.
"Medical is compromised!" came a shout from the forest. Sounds of fighting cut through the trees.
Medical is compromised. No transporting to medical.
The wounded who could move started porting away. Some were caught in the cracked ground, falling into it, too injured to do anything. Sakura channeled additional chakra into the Healing Ground, hoping to help those who were still too hurt to leave.
Medical is compromised. No transporting to medical. Medical is down.
Sakura looked up and saw Ino and Shizune disappear. Hakui ran over and grabbed ahold of the Kiri girl at Sakura's back, who hadn't moved from where she'd fallen.
"Good luck, Sakura," Hakui yelled. Then they were both gone.
The two older Kiri medics jumped to her side.
"It's been an honor to work with you," one said as he clapped her on the shoulder. A goodbye. "Now let's clear these fuckers out." A battle cry.
The other, Ugai, pulled on thin, metal gloves. "I've been itching for a fight."
The ground shook again as the fight in the trees moved closer.
Santa was beside her the next second, twin blades in hand. His eyes were unfocused toward the sounds.
"There are five guards left in the forest battling three shinobi," he reported. "I count seventeen enemies closing in from the south. At least four have strong signatures. One is completely unreadable. I'm going to link the four of us and the five guards. The link is open for anyone to speak. I'll Call the battle for now."
The link opened in her mind and Sakura was suddenly aware of eight other people. She felt the deep fatigue from everyone. She pushed chakra into the Katsuyu on the five guards and Santa before quickly switching back to funneling to all of the army. Tsunade had possession of the two portions on the medics. Sakura could gain control of them relatively quickly, but even that would take more focus than she had to give.
This is Santa Yamanaka. It's nine on twen—eighteen. Good job. Guards, move back towards medical. We'll meet you. Their reinforcements are thirty seconds away from your current position.
The linker and three medics jumped into the treetops and moved to the battle.
"Tsunade is requesting an update," said the Katsuyu on her shoulder.
"Medical is preparing to fight," Sakura relayed.
"Does command need to route some of the main army for support?"
"No, hold for now."
"They're here," barked Santa. "Disrupt their movement, Haruno!"
Sakura fell from the tree fist-first into the earth beneath her, cratering the ground and dislodging a portion of the forest. Trees and roots upended from the dirt, spewing debris in the air. Two enemies were on her in seconds. She dodged back fluidly, catching one with a kunai to the neck when he stumbled on the newly-upturned rock. The other sent rock disks at her body almost faster than she could blink. She knocked them away with a chakra-laced fist until one coated in chakra sliced through her knuckles.
With a quick Body Replacement, she removed herself to the treetops.
Nine on fourteen. Kiri medics move left to cover Haruno.
Santa was blitzing through a group of three shinobi below.
Kiri is pinned down someone replied.
Haruno, cover. Twenty feet, four o'clock. One of those enemies is strong.
Her head swung in that direction. The two medics were bogged down under six opponents. She summoned chakra scalpels and threw them at the enemy shinobi, hitting one in the back with two and felling him immediately.
She jumped down to join the taijutsu battle. Sakura's style was counter-defense—she parried, blocked, and dodged until the enemy got frustrated and tried to end it carelessly or tired out. In that second, Sakura attacked. It wasn't flashy, nor was it quick. But it was effective and she was a master. A cloud ninja came at her, his body laced with lightning. She covered her skin with a protective shield of chakra and deflected his blows. Kakashi's training made this shinobi's Lightning Release look amateur.
He thrust towards her with a whip of lightning, too slow on pulling it back, and she flipped around his arm to place a hand on his chest. Her hand glowed green as she located his heart. A chakra scalpel pushed from her palm the next moment.
The enemy dropped.
Ino's voice cut in—Tobi is out of action. Battalion two, move to help the flanking squad.
The good news caused Sakura to stumble in surprise. A blade ran through her right thigh, and two people in the link fell out a second later. Dead. Sakura ripped her leg from the sword, punching towards where it came from, knicking something that gasped in pain and moved away.
Keep your head in the battle! someone yelled. It sounded like the owl-masked ANBU.
JUMP! she ordered, swinging her fist into the earth again.
It cracked beneath her, disorganizing the enemies as they flew back and allowing her team to jump to safety. She counted six. Where was San—
Seven on five. Move to a group fo—
The link suddenly dropped.
"Yamanaka's down. We're going blind," Sakura said quickly. "I'll Call. Six on five. Move back towards the clearing."
The six Allied shinobi sprinted towards the field where Healing Ground was still in place. Sakura pressed a green hand to her thigh, sealing it, and checked her link to Immense Network Healing. Steady.
It was better for the army if Sakura didn't release Hundred Healings to fight. The connection to the mass healing might lose effectiveness if she switched to battle mode, plus medical was down. The army needed her to maintain Katsuyu at her current level, but she was disadvantaged in a brawl without her seal and funneling her chakra away.
So long as it wasn't necessary for her safety, however, she'd always choose the army's best interest over her own.
They stopped short of clearing the treeline.
"Hold. Any sensors to report?" Sakura asked.
"Four are moving towards us. One is flanking from the left. The flanker is fully concealed, no read," answered one of the guards.
Mist was rising through the forest.
"We'll have to fight them head-on. Try to draw them onto the Healing Ground. Katsuyu can make the ground acid where they land."
Then the four attackers were on them. It was clear the Kiri medics fought together frequently—they were seamless. And the three guards fought in a cell. It took no time for the attackers to single her out as the solo fighter. Soon she was dodging faster than she could think. The mist was so thick she couldn't make out the hand at the end of her arm. Kunai dug into her arms, ice cut through her chakra shield, and she couldn't see well enough to counter even if there was an opening.
In a flash of luck, Sakura feigned a dodge and grasped an enemy's arm by tanking a blow to her ribcage. She funneled chakra into her grasp, crushing the ulna and radius within, then flung the body onto the Healing Ground. The enemy shinobi landed on his feet in the clearing, clutching his arm. He took two steps toward the trees before collapsing with a scream onto a pool of acid.
Another attacker was on her before she could breathe. She jumped to the forest floor with a Body Replacement, hoping the mist was focused above, where the fighting was.
"Hey, kid."
She spun on her heel, throwing two kunai at the voice's location. They passed through water. A man in an Akatsuki mask solidified. Sakura fell into a defensive position, sizing him up as best she could—but he was completely concealed, chakra and all.
Might have to release my seal, after all, she thought with a glower.
"That wasn't very nice, you know."
His voice and his posture were oddly familiar. He stood casually, a kunai spinning around his right index finger. The handle of a large sword perched behind his head. Despite wearing the enemy's uniform, the man was clearly not here for a fight.
Her mind seemed to come upon a memory she'd completely forgotten over the past week. "We've met, right?"
"My heart! Here I was, coming to check on you, and you've gone and forgotten me. Ah well. Such is the curse of concealment."
"You work for Orochimaru," Sakura said.
"I work with him."
He made three hand signs and eight bodies dropped from the trees, their heads covered in individual domes of water. They struggled on the ground, drowning. The water was slowly icing over.
Sakura turned back to him with narrowed eyes. "Release the Allies."
He lifted his hand and pretended to inspect his nails through his black gloves. "I dunno. I was only ordered to check on your safety." He shrugged. "Those extras don't matter."
"Release them."
"Ehhh, but what's in it for me? No incentive, so no—"
Sakura attacked.
His ability to liquefy himself was one of the best counters to her fighting style she'd ever encountered. It was almost impossible to land a decisive hit on him. Thinking quickly, she started lacing her chakra into the water as her fists and feet passed through, hiding it within his body with her numbing technique. It accumulated in him until her fist passed through his chest for the tenth time and he laughed loudly. She left her hand in the middle of him, took hold of her chakra flowing within his body, and forced it to turn ice cold.
A shudder ran through the man. His chest solidified in shock around her fist as his body jerked away, suddenly impaled through a lung. He coughed wetly behind the mask, and Sakura knew nothing but blood was coming up. She was wrist-deep inside him. If she ripped her hand out, he'd have a gaping hole through his left chest cavity. He'd bleed out in minutes.
Their fight lasted less than 90 seconds.
"Release the Allies or I'll kill you." His body shook like a leaf. She lifted her arm, forcing his body to rest its weight on the injury. "Now."
With struggle, his fingers made the sign for release. Sakura looked over her shoulder. All five Allies were unconscious, but they'd been released. The three shinobi belonging to Madara had heads encased in ice.
She turned to the Akatsuki man, now audibly drowning from his punctured lung, and ripped her fist free. He crumpled to the ground, hands futilely trying to staunch the blood gushing from his chest.
For the briefest of seconds, Sakura thought, I could let him die.
"Best to rip the bandage," she sneered.
But then she kneeled, placed her portion of Katsuyu on him, and set about rebuilding his chest. No point in angering Orochimaru needlessly. Whatever their relationship was, no one was happy about a colleague dying. And this man had taken out her enemies—his allies. Or was she his ally?
"You're a fucking bitch," he finally said with a cough. He remained sprawled out on the ground, his breathing erratic.
"You should've released them when I asked the first time."
Satisfied that he was healed well enough if he was speaking, she plucked Katsuyu from him and went to check the unconscious shinobi.
"You didn't ask. You ordered. I don't respond well to orders. And by the way, you didn't beat me. I wasn't even fighting back."
"Right."
"My arms were crossed the whole time!"
"Uh huh."
"We'll have a real fight next time, I'll kick your ass."
"Sure."
"You're a fucking bitch," he repeated, giving a small laugh this time. "That caught me off guard though, I'll give you that. I can see what your appeal is, now. I didn't get it, you know. I nearly died just 'cause the snake pulled some shit, and it wasn't making sense at all. I mean, no offense, but you weren't all that. Sure you can heal and all—but damn! You really fight straight out. Hot as—"
"Can you shut up?" she growled. "You're going to alert people to our position."
The five shinobi were unlikely to wake up soon, but they were alive. They'd passed out amped up on soldier pills. Their bodies probably kicked into recovery mode as soon as they slipped into unconsciousness.
With the attack taken care of, she'd need to get field medical back up and running. But two medics down—three counting the Kiri girl—was bad news for the army. She tapped her foot and turned back to the man who, surprisingly, had in fact shut up.
"It's dangerous to attack your own side just to check on me. You could've blown both our covers. I'm more than capable of handling myself."
"These guys were nothing. I took out the two biggest threats before they even reached you all and neither side noticed."
"Well yeah, no one thinks to check if the Akatsuki guy is murdering his own people."
"Exactly! You get it."
Sakura rolled her eyes. "If anyone had noticed what you were doing—"
"But they didn't, so who cares? I was sent here to make sure you weren't killed. It was taking so long that I got bored, so I took care of it. A thank you would work too."
"I would've been fine. If it was necessary, I would've released my seal."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure." The man pushed himself up from the ground.
"Did Orochimaru send you?"
He chuckled, brushing the black robe off. "Something like that."
It was hard to make out his person in the dark when the trees above them blocked the moonlight. She squinted, hoping she'd be able to see if he moved to attack.
"Tell him I don't need a babysitter," she said. "I'm capable of defending myself. I don't need his minions checking on me in the middle of battle."
His chuckle grew louder. "Ain't no way in hell I'm telling that to that guy. You feel free to bring it up in your next meeting, though. Good luck."
"You scared of Orochimaru?" asked Sakura, smirking.
"Nah. Orochimaru isn't so scary anymore, you know?"
And Sakura would bet her life that the man was grinning at her behind the mask. He seemed eager for banter. A talker. Being one herself, she knew very well how to use them.
"Mm, I wouldn't know. I thought he was dead."
"Me too! Wish the creepy fucker would've stayed down, honestly."
"Is he the third general?"
"Nope. Orochimaru's confined to the lab."
"Is it you?" she questioned doubtfully.
The man laughed again. "Don't ask it like that. I could lead if I wanted. Too much work, though—I'm not cut out for that much responsibility. Too many rules, not enough perks."
She snorted. "Who is it, then?"
"Well, wouldn't it be the one who ordered me to be a babysitter?"
Sakura crossed her arms. That told her nothing, and he seemed keener on playing around than supplying anything meaningful. This three-minute-long conversation had already lasted two minutes and fifty-nine seconds too long.
"Riveting, this was. Now isn't it time for you to scurry back to whatever cave you crawled from? I need to get medical running again."
"Don't rush me off before the good news I'm supposed to deliver." The man paused dramatically. "Tobi's been knocked out, Hidan's pushed miles east off the battlefield, and the team dispatched to cut down the slug summon mysteriously failed! What a shame. All in all, the third general is bored of this forced training exercise and has decided to call it quits for now."
She stared at him, fitting the pieces together. "You mean…you're withdrawing?"
"Precisely. Good keeping up. He said you were smart, but I was worried there for a sec. Anyway, congrats on the win, kid! Send my regards to that big-breasted Hokage of yours." He made an obscene gesture with his hands on his own chest before waving. "See ya!"
He jumped away.
"You hear that, Katsuyu?" Sakura paused. "...The first part, not that last bit."
"Yes. I already reported to—"
The enemy is withdrawing. All battalions pull back to the main base. Medical is clear. Resume tagging the mortally injured. Report to your command in base immediately for count.
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War was awful.
But the aftermath of war was even worse.
Running through counts to check the losses. Attaching the losses to names. Using those names to identify bodies. Shinobi paced through the battlefield graveyard, turning corpses over, praying their friends and family were only lost somewhere in the mass of army tents and not lost to the world completely. It was a sick, twisted feeling to turn over a body and feel a sense of relief that this person was dead instead of the person she hoped it wasn't.
The adrenaline of war numbed the reality of death. But when the ending of a battle descended, nothing was left to soften the impact. The refugee town no longer existed. In its place was a vast expanse of mud and bodies, soaking one another under the three-in-the-morning moon. It smelled of gore and rot—a smell one never became accustomed to. It would be unbearable by midday when everything lacked freshness and the rigor mortis set in.
Sakura searched for Ino immediately. She kept her eyes off the ground, blanking her mind to what she walked over. It was the only way to survive this part of war—where all that was left were the consequences. Block it out, erase it, push it away so it couldn't consume you. There was no other way to survive this sea of death.
She found Ino kneeling on the edge of the great pile of bodies, an empty look cast out across the field. Ino was still in a battle trance, her brain overloaded from the army-wide mindlink. Her eyes were wild, her typically impeccable appearance rumpled and frazzled. Her mouth seemed to move without sound, hands dug into the dirt by her thighs.
There was no good way to say someone died except to just say it.
So, even though Ino looked broken, Sakura kneeled down next to her and led with, "Santa died." Because it wouldn't hurt Ino any less tomorrow or the next day.
It would only prolong the mourning.
Ino turned and hugged her like she didn't even hear it. She didn't let go for five minutes, just mumbled words into Sakura's hair that didn't make sense. Sakura had to block this out, too; there was no room to process others' trauma in the midst of her own.
Shikamaru arrived and gently pulled his teammate away. Ino latched onto him instead. Sakura had experienced what the death of someone felt like through a mindlink. She wondered how Ino dealt with it at such a scale, battle after battle. It couldn't be sustainable.
"You did well, Sakura," Shikamaru quietly praised. "Our casualty rates were the lowest yet. There's no way we do that without you."
"Your plan made the difference. I just followed orders."
"I can only give my orders knowing you're there backing them up."
They shared a smile, one of old friends, as Shikamaru patted Ino's back. It was always Shikamaru who remained strong at the end. Somehow. And with every day she spent away from him, the more he looked like his father in their next meeting. He moved the three of them away from the battlefield into the trees. So they weren't standing over corpses.
Sakura placed green hands on Ino's shoulders and scanned her. The chakra channels in her head were damaged. Sakura could heal them, but Ino would need to lie down.
Later, she thought. "Do you need a scan, Shikamaru?"
"Please."
She moved her hands to Shikamaru's side. His chakra reserves were low, but he was unharmed.
"I've missed you," Sakura conveyed. "We all have."
They hadn't seen each other since Shikamaru was sent to Suna base last year.
Shikamaru sighed, running a hand through his tied hair. "Me too. I wish we weren't confined to meeting at times like this. It really isn't very…healthy." He patted Ino's back again.
"Mhm…" It was a bad topic to linger on. "You were ordered to Kumo?"
"A few months ago. When the detail team moved near there."
"How's Sai?" she asked tentatively. It wasn't the question to be asking now, after all this death. But these were the only questions on her mind in times like these. Where were her friends? Were they safe? Were they alive?
"He's good. I think he'll be permitted to return to Konoha base when he completes some last things. It should be soon, but with his orders, I rarely see him."
"How is…how is Naruto?"
"Loud. Obnoxious. Slow. Too strong for his own good. Hair's a mess. Shall I go on?"
Sakura laughed but it felt all wrong to be laughing. Then she was crying because there was so much death around them and none of her team was here and everyone would be so fucked up when this war ended.
If it ended.
But what if the war ended one day and every single one of them remained stuck, right here? On this mass grave where friends and family and strangers lay dead in every direction? Bodies of Allies and enemies all convoluted and tangled together until it was one steaming, decomposing pile of carnage. Miles and miles of corpses upon which they had to steal precious moments with loved ones because the separation policy would force them apart again until the next battle. Where shinobi were trained to feel excited marching towards death since risking death was the only place they were allowed to be near their dearest friends.
Shikamaru detached himself from Ino and pushed her back into Sakura. Sakura's tears seemed to snap Ino out of her shock.
"Oh, Sakura, no, stop that. We already look like shit. Why go and make it worse?" Ino landed a light slap on Sakura's arm, then wrapped her in a lilac hug. "We just won the first battle in over a year! We're alive, and we fucking won. Now is not the time for tears!"
Sakura nodded into Ino's chest, wiping her face on the woman's uniform.
Did they win, though? Is this what winning looked like? The mutilated heaps of bodies across this battlefield were just as numerous and lifeless as the mutilated heaps of bodies on the battlefields where the Allies had lost. This winning field could be a replica of the field her nightmares always trapped her on. Was this really winning?
When did winning start to feel like winning?
What if they won the war but never left this battlefield?
.
.
1,457.
It was a low casualty rate, in context. Just under 30 percent. When the war started—that first battle, the casualty rate was nearly 70 percent. But it was still one thousand four hundred and fifty-seven people dead. In five hours. Almost 300 people an hour, dead. Almost 5 people a minute, dead.
If she thought about it too much, it sent her stomach skittering into sickness. But Ino was alive. Shikamaru was alive. Tenten was alive. Shizune was alive. Shino was alive. None of her circle ordered to the battle were lost. And though it felt sacrilegious to thank God for that when so many other lives paid the price, she couldn't help but do so.
Another 700 were extensively wounded. They'd be pulled from combat for rehabilitation or forever. But they weren't dead. A small consolation.
Sakura was worked to the bone over the next three days. She lived off soldier pills and caffeine. Her crash would come hard, and she expected it to last for days.
She healed. She healed, and healed, and when she finished that, she healed more. Shizune, Iyashi, Hakui, and the two older Kiri medics kept rounds on overtime with her. The two younger medics were sent back to base. Sakura wondered if she'd ever see Muhei again. She wondered if the girl had been too scarred, too fast. Wondered who the dead boy was that froze her, and why the Mizukage had sent the child in the first place. But then she stopped wondering. For now, she had a job to do, and she had to keep moving. No thinking, just moving.
Tsunade arrived after three days to relieve them. The reunion was quick because there was work to do, but no less heartfelt. The Hokage praised her thoroughly, noting that Sakura's level of control and the size of her summon had improved beyond belief, even beyond the Hokage's own ability. Sakura basked in the acclaim. Kakashi arrived after that, bear-hugging Sakura for a full eight minutes.
She knew the toll it took on Kakashi to send her and the rest of Konoha Division into battle without him. How he probably prepared himself for her death every time she stepped out of base. They stood by themselves outside the medical tent. It was early enough in the morning that dew still clung to everything.
"I'm so proud of you," he repeated. "You're my favorite student, did you know that?"
She smiled. "I'm just the only one around, sensei."
"My students will always be my students, no matter the distance or time."
She giggled, her heart immensely lighter with both her teachers nearby.
See, war was strange like that once acclimated to it. And a body can acclimate to anything. It was all unbearable loss, unimaginable horror one minute; then, the mind simply boxed it all away into nothing. Then friends were there, embracing and smiling, and it almost felt like the world during battle never existed. It almost ghosted away the consequences of war.
Kakashi pressed something into her hand silently. A piece of paper.
Report to the lab.
The seal in her neck throbbed with the order. Sakura had nearly forgotten it existed. She hadn't thought of it at all in the past week.
"I—didn't want to give that to you," admitted Kakashi. "But… Well, this battle was a huge success. Tsunade ordered you to go immediately."
He meant that Orochimaru's first intelligence had given the Allies their most decisive win of the whole war. Appeasing him for more information was now a top priority. If Orochimaru wanted Sakura to report, the Hokage would order Sakura to go. And Kakashi would not stand in the way of that order, even for her.
Sakura was so amped up on soldier pills and happy to see Kakashi that she didn't have much room to feel any way about that. It was true, after all. The Allies won because of Orochimaru's tip-off. If Orochimaru wanted to provide more information, Sakura had a duty to the Allies to retrieve it. Tsunade wasn't ordering anything that Sakura disagreed with
"But you've been going non-stop since the battle. If you need time to rest, please—"
"It's okay, sensei," she cut him off. "Don't worry. I'll go. I'm good to go."
He gave her a hard look. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Another tip like this could seriously change the tide of this war. This is what we've been waiting for."
Kakashi searched her eyes as he placed a hand on her head. "You're truly my favorite student, Sakura. If it were anyone else... But I know that you're more than capable if you tell me you can do it."
Sakura grabbed him into another hug. She felt like everything was okay for the briefest of instants. Her teachers acknowledged her work, the army had won a battle, and none of her friends had died.
None of them had died.
Tomorrow might be different. Underneath her four-day soldier pill haze, she might still be stuck on that battlefield. After the excitement of victory that vibrated through the camp disappeared, and she slept off the exhaustion sure to claim her, she might wake up again in that ever-expanding field of dead bodies. The dead might pile on top of her, herself just a body on the field, dead, the armies trampling over her and falling onto her and there was no washing this blood off, no distance far enough to escape it. She may stand on that mountain and look down and find it made of limbs and eyes, and then—she's fighting but it's every person she couldn't heal fast enough, every person she couldn't save, she screams but it's swallowed into the scream of an army being swallowed into the ground, the earth angry at how desecrated its become, and the battlefield is all around her and inside her and—
She might never leave it. But right now, Kakashi was solid and warm against her and no one she loved had died.
And that was enough for today.
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