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Chapter III: Disposable Characters
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Images of the war replayed in my head as I stood frozen in the middle of the room, the cold sweat of the morning returning to perspire on my skin. Something deeper than fear was plaguing my being; it was despair. This can't be happening.
- "What do you mean, a contest?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his gaze further, his focus on Obito, who seemed oblivious to the meeting's intensity.
Obito's personality had changed significantly since the war. He no longer emulated Madara or spoke of honorable words for eternal peace. It was as if he didn't care about the world's happenings anymore.
- "The celebration of an annual event. A championship where chosen individuals from all the villages fight for their survival in one of the alternate dimensions accessible only through the Sharingan." Madara explained with a terrifying tone. He rose from his comfortable corner, walking to the window, and continued, "This peace is temporary. We've seen it before. It's necessary to recreate a war-like scenario to remind these poor souls what would happen if the agreement were to be broken. Don't you think, Fifth Hokage?"
All eyes turned to Tsunade, who sank into her seat, avoiding the situation. Madara's smile grew even bigger.
- "I think people remember quite well what war was like," Kakashi countered. He was so brave, even when facing Madara.
- "Do they, though?" Madara asked, seemingly bored. "Tell me, Copy Ninja, was this your first war?" He knew the answer, and Kakashi remained silent, his gaze once again on Obito. "I've lived through several. My faith in humans is not as naive as that of these Leaf fools. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands."
- "Of course, the selection of participants will be prepared beforehand," Orochimaru interjected. "We don't want to send the most powerful ninja from each village to die. That would upset the existing balance of power, if there is one. It will be a mix of mid and low-level shinobi and some criminals, perhaps even some powerful characters, to keep things interesting. But no chakra will be allowed. This should be a memorial exercise where blood and sweat are the only things the shinobi can fight with."
- "That's crazy," Gemma exclaimed in disbelief. "Did the Daimyo really approve of this?" He asked Tsunade, who nodded.
- "He's actually expecting it! The contest will be broadcast throughout the villages. We've developed the necessary technology, so we won't miss a thing. It will be quite a show," Orochimaru said delightedly.
Something inside me broke at that moment. This was it. The humiliation once again. The expected ending for the secondary characters. An executive decision to get rid of all disposable characters.
- "You've turned it into a game," I muttered in horror, realizing the depth of their cruelty. My breathing became erratic. "You're sending people to die, to kill each other, and you've turned it into a game. What the hell is wrong with all of you?" I shouted, unable to bear the inhumanity of it all. I could feel Kakashi positioning himself, ready to defend me if anything happened, or perhaps to restrain me.
- "Sakura, that's enough!" Tsunade cut me off abruptly.
- "Snap out of it, Tsunade-sama!" I didn't care that I was acting unprofessionally and potentially jeopardizing the deal at this point. "Are you really going to let them do this to our people? Haven't we suffered enough?"
- "I'm doing this for our people!" Tsunade shouted as she stood up and slammed her palms against the table. I fell silent, tears welling up in my eyes, but I couldn't let myself cry in front of them. She stared at me for a moment, then sighed and sat back down. "As I said, my hands are tied on this. I can't do anything about it."
Her words resonated inside me in a way they never had before. I couldn't accept it. There had to be something we could do. I looked around at the other high-ranking officials in the room, hoping to find support, but they were all in the same position as me, clenching their fists in anger and frustration. Kakashi seemed lost in thought, likely trying to find an alternative, but no one said anything.
My desperation reached its limits. Gathering what little dignity I had left, I stormed out of the room without looking back. I heard Shizune shouting my name as I left, but I couldn't stop myself, and I couldn't turn back. I ran as fast as I could out of the building and into the nearest dark alley I could find. Then, as if on cue, I let out all the anger and stress that had built up during those thirty minutes of the meeting. I vomited repeatedly until nothing was left in my stomach, and tears flowed from my eyes. I heard someone scream, and it took me a minute to realize that it was me.
After what felt like an eternity, my voice started to sound scratchy, and my throat hurt. I tried to get up, leaning against the wall, and focused my eyes to leave the alley.
That's when I saw it: a crow perched on the roof of one of the half-built houses at the end of the alley. My irritated eyes narrowed at the sight. This was no ordinary crow; it was a summon. And I knew whose it was. With what little strength I had left, I grabbed some of the rubble beneath me and threw it at the majestic bird. It took flight before the rocks could reach it and flew away. But I wasn't finished with it.
I followed the crow, running as fast as I could, until I reached my destination: a small isolated house in the village near the training grounds. I knew where I was. It was the temporary residence of the Uchiha brothers. I let myself in without hesitation, passing a surprised Sasuke, who followed me and tried to stop me by grabbing my arm.
- "Sakura?" he asked, taking in my appearance with a furrowed brow. He could see that I had been crying. I honestly could not bring myself to care.
- "Get out of my way!" I shouted, attempting to escape his grip. "I'm not here for you. I need to talk to your brother." My words struck a chord with him, deepening his confusion.
- "What do you need from Itachi?" he asked suspiciously.
- "I won't say it again, Sasuke. Get out of the way!" I shouted as I infused my heel with chakra, causing a crack to open beneath us. We momentarily lost our balance, but I managed to escape his grip and continued walking.
- "Sakura! I said wait!" he shouted in annoyance. He was about to catch up to me again when his gaze turned to the door. Itachi was standing there, looking calm and composed, which only infuriated me further.
- "Otouto, let her go," he ordered. "Sakura is right. We need to talk, alone."
Sasuke looked incredibly upset and confused. He probably didn't know that his brother and I were acquaintances and sometimes met at the cemetery. Ignoring him, since he had finally stopped trying to face me, I headed inside the house, waiting for Itachi to follow. He closed the door behind us and sealed the room with a jutsu to ensure our privacy. I glared at him with frustration.
- "You've been following me since this morning," I said, not bothering with questions.
- "I have," He admitted. "You said you had a meeting at the Hokage's tower, and I was curious."
While I found his actions annoying, his curiosity was understandable. My anger began to give way to fear, and I sank to the couch, my lower body hitting it.
- "You've heard what they're going to do," I said, reiterating the point.
- "I did. I knew something was up, but I seemed to have underestimated how far Madara was willing to go to make sure his goals were met." As he spoke, he took a seat on the couch, his demeanor remaining composed. It kind of my me feel better.
- "What are we going to do, Itachi?" I asked weakly as if I had found a new ally.
- "For now, we don't have enough information to do anything," he answered. He was just stating facts.
- "But we have to do something!" I cried out in desperation. "We can't let them send people to die in a game just to entertain the crowd. I don't care what they say! To hell with the reminder. It's not right!"
In my moment of despair, I hit the coffee table so hard it split in two. After a few minutes of tense silence, Itachi decided to share his thoughts.
- "I used to think that the lives of a few could be sacrificed for the greater good. That instead of thousands, a few could die," he reflected.
I knew his words reflected the thought process that had led him to the sacrifice his clan and massacre his family. I stared into his intense eyes, trembling.
- "Do you still think that now?"- I asked in fear.
- "I do," he admitted. My heart ached at his words. But then he added, "But not like that. This will not be a sacrifice; it will be a massacre."
- "How are we going to stop them?" I asked looking at him for answers.
- "I don't know." He admitted once again to then add, "And there's something else about what Orochimaru said that makes me uneasy."
- "What is it?" - Itachi was a genius. He had obviously picked up more things from that meeting than I had. He was able to read between the lines. My concern increased when he took a few minutes to formulate his words.
- "He said the participants would be carefully selected so as not to upset the balance of power. He also mentioned that different ranks of shinobi would be mixed in the execution of the contest."
- "I heard that." - I spat. - At first it seems random, but it really isn't. That snake spent too much time explaining the criteria and the whole purpose for it to be a balanced selection. - Itachi nodded at that. There was something in his look that encouraged me to delve deeper into that. But I was too distressed to think properly.
- "Do you remember what else he said about the balance of power?" he inquired, pushing me once more. Forced to recall Orochimaru's words, realization struck me out of the sudden.
- "He said that the tailed beasts have proven to be insufficient as weapons of deterrence against the greed of men." -´Itachi nodded again, his expression tuning even more serious.
- "Do you understand what that means, Sakura?" - He asked slowly.
Of course, I did. My heart pounded, and alarm bells rang loudly in my head. How could I have missed that. Madara's ultimate goal from the beginning had been to eliminate the tailed beasts. So far, only three villages harbored jinchurikis: Suna, Lightning, and the Leaf.
My voice quivered as I verbalized my deepest fear, the haunting nightmare that had plagued my dreams.
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- "Naruto," I said weakly, my voice trembling. "They are coming after him."
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…End of chapter III…
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Author's Note
Hello readers! It has taken me 3 chapters to realize that I haven't introduced the story. It's been forever since I haven't written.
If you're looking for a dark fic centered around Sakura, this is your place. Please forgive any plot holes you may find. The reason I started writing again is because I dreamed of this story for some reason. I think it's a combination of all the anime and movies I watch.
Also clarifying that there will be romance as well as mature content at some point but this will be a slow burn story. I might even think about sequels but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Final points is that English is not my native language and this is the first time I am writing in it. Please forgive me if there are some mistakes or some expressions are not used write ;).
I hope you like my story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other story that may be reflected in the plot.