Oh - it's been a while, guys/gals- more than 2 years! I'm slowly getting back into the groove of writing, so chapters will be churned out but over longer periods of time. I have part of the next chapter written up, so will try to update as soon as possible. As I wrote in the last chapter - this is the start of Book 2 - Enlightenment, so there will be mysteries and adventures faced by almost every member of Team 7!
One thing I'd like for all those reading to do - let me know in the comments that you're still here! Of course, I do this as a hobby so will finish this work regardless (even if it takes a while), but knowing that there are people waiting for the next chapters keeps me motivated to churn out chapters quicker!
There was a compelling reason why Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were etched into shinobi folklore forever. It was not because of their sheer power, nor due to their epic rivalry. It was not even because they had solely ended the trauma of the Warring Clans era and brought about peace in the world through the founding of Konohagukare.
Instead, it was because their story was that of an unlikely friendship in a time filled with despair, which of course had the auxiliary role of inspiring hope through mutual sacrifices and acts of benevolence on either side.
Or so the old lady in the Samuri healing house had recounted to Sakura, who was now silently drinking the tea the old lady insisted she have. She had been a very gracious host, providing her both with room and board, while also entertaining her with myriad legends about the shinobi world.
But calling her a little overexcitable would be more apt. For as soon as Sakura had shown a slight interest in the lore of the village (as a courtesy), the woman had burst into a series of ramblings about how Madara had helped her ancestors more than a century ago, when he had been passing through the region during his self-imposed exile. He had seemingly obliterated an oppressive serf who reigned over the village and left without asking the villagers anything in return.
The only words he spoke were about remembering the Uchiha in times of need, and this had been forged into a folk story which would be passed down for generations in the village.
Maybe that explained why Samuri was one of the most hospitable villages one could find in Kumo towards any Konoha nin, Sakura wondered, as she sipped the remnants of her tea. And the fact that it was on the border made it very useful indeed for reconnaissance missions.
It was at this point that the old lady's trembling hands gave way and a series of earthen pots fell on the ground with a resounding clang. Murmuring slight words of comfort Sakura rushed into the kitchen to help her.
Over the old lady's remonstrations she proceeded to help clean the soiled utensils with a wet cloth, but for some reason, the story she heard kept playing in her head. The point remained very simple - the woman's village had been saved from oppression by Madara Uchiha, and so it was only customary that she extend her hospitality to any visitor from Konoha.
'The enigma of Madara Uchiha,' sighed Sakura wearily as she wiped down a tumbler with a dry rag and set it by the kitchen mantle. 'Why do certain pockets of Kumo hold such fascination for him?'
Her hand involuntarily went to her pouch, which had several items of interest she had collected during a bar fight a couple of towns away, in the border areas.
One of them was a very ornate dagger bearing the Royal Coat of Arms of the Lightning Country. Sakura wasn't surprised at the fact that she had come across this seemingly invaluable treasure during her missions - after all, thieves and bandits abounded the shinobi world. Rather, it was the fact that the dagger contained a strange cipher, roughly translating to balance. She remembered the word from numerous scrolls Tsunade-sama would be absorbed in while Sakura would practise chakra control exercises or medical ninjutsu techniques. But the fact that it was emblazoned so blatantly on a Kumo artifact unsettled her for some reason.
Maybe it was because the same symbol was scrawled minutely on several books on Madara Uchiha at the Kaminari Den, some of which she had snuck out and read while researching the vulnerabilities of the dangerous Raitir disease that had hit Kumo last year.
An hour passed and it was time to turn in for the night, and Sakura set down the scrolls she was studying with a deep sigh. Her mind was already heavy with thoughts about what she had just heard from the old lady, but the Kumo-designed dagger had turned her worries back to the uneasy climate surrounding her home and the shinobi ecosystem.
Six months had passed, and for her, the world seemed more of a jumbled mess than ever. She could barely recognize Konoha, ever since Tsunade had to step aside as Hokage as she recuperated from her near death experience with the Akatsuki. Having stayed back in Kumo for an additional month, she had barely gotten to witness any of the turmoil that had followed her abdication of power. But its effects were apparent the moment she had set foot inside the village.
The shinobi were more militaristic, the powers of individual clans severely curtailed in the decision making processes, and the Anbu were afforded far more liberties with far less oversight, making them the source of fear and apprehension throughout the village. Martial tribunals had also become extremely common, and ordinary citizens (civilians and shinobi alike) were often captured and sentenced to rigorous punishments for even a hint of disloyalty to the village.
But most disturbingly, the distinctions between legitimate and shady deals had become more obscure, especially when it came to dealing with official village policy. The Council of Elders, now the paramount decision center of Konoha, seemed far more aloof from the day-to-day problems faced by the citizens, and would often impose a very centralized, top-down system of diktats on the populace.
And as part of the Chunin squad training to be ANBU members, she would come across several foreign people of different stripes moving into and out of the Hokage building, many more than she was accustomed to under Tsunade. Often they seemed like mercenaries from other villages, especially Kumo, with the Royal Coat emblazoned on their sleeves.
All such changes, of course, had coincided with the ascent of Danzo, the strict and unyielding Hokage acting in Tsunade's stead.
As one of his first acts, he had set up a draft recruitment of all able-bodied shinobi into the Konoha army. The Academy was no longer an institution where students were sent to hone their innate shinobi talent, but became more of a factory to churn out members of this draft army.
There was also a shift in the demeanor of these recruits - they lacked the spark of spontaneity and genius she had often seen in her generation and read about in the prior ones. Instead they were all more like Sai, robotic and lacking emotion.
Talking of Sai, Team 7 now included him as a member, alongside Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi (occasionally) and a jonin, Yamato. They had been selected to train as an advanced squad soon to be part of the ANBU. And surprisingly, all of them seemed to be venerated across the village. Danzo, seemingly keen on exploiting nativism and the past imagery of Konoha's legend, had promoted this team as the chosen protectors of the village.
On the face of it, there were some merits to this sweeping claim. The Sannin had been former members of this group, and Kakashi-sensei had been trained by the Yondaime Hokage-sama as part of this team. But Sakura had been wary of this designation, something she couldn't really express under the confines of the village (where she was sure that the ANBU were listening in or intercepting any communication she had).
Was Danzo sincere, or was there a sinister motive behind their team's sudden ascent? She wasn't sure, although there were some indications towards the latter.
Her alarm bells had rung ever since Danzo had organized a festival with much fanfare after their return, and proclaimed that the true moment the jinchuuriki (his epithet for Naruto) and the kunoichi (his reference to Sakura) had taken up the mantle of Team 7 was when they had stood up against their renegade former member, Sasuke Uchiha. Comparing it to a spiritual cleansing, he had earmarked the encounter in Kirigakure more than half a year ago as the catalyst which would lead to his execution, and make Konoha safer than ever.
As if it had occurred yesterday, she remembered how she had tilted her head in sorrow while slowly standing up to the rapturous applause, even as Kakashi and Naruto had placed comforting hands on her shoulders. The capture and impending execution of Sasuke Uchiha had evoked strong reactions, mostly positive, throughout Konoha and the shinobi world. But that was nothing compared to the intense sorrow she and Naruto had felt, something the blonde had made a point of bringing up during their sparring sessions later.
Six months ago was also the last time she, and indeed, the world, had heard anything about Sasuke Uchiha. The infamous nunekin, now a universally labeled terrorist in the Bingo Book, was simply said to be missing after a massive jailbreak in Kumo just before the execution and the Kage Summit.
Wanting to know more about Sasuke's whereabouts, she had done a lot of snooping on this topic, often using Tsunade's shortcuts to bypass security measures set up in the Hokage's office against accessing classified material.
She had gotten to know that Danzo had been furious at hearing about Sasuke's escape, and had fired an angry missive to the Raikage demanding the capture and extradition of the last Uchiha back to Konoha. The ultimatum to any disagreement was that Konoha would not be represented at the Kage Summit, and the Leaf would maintain a right to send out search parties to kill the Uchiha on sight, even on Kumo territory.
The Raikage, very uncharacteristically, had sent out a much calmer response, promising to set up an elite search team to eliminate the renegade Uchiha, and urging Danzo not to lose sight of the benefits of greater cooperation between the two villages. He even volunteered to delay the Five Kage Summit by half a year and relay it to the other Kages to give the team a chance to intensify their search operation.
"After all, our common enemy is terrorism, whatever be its form" was the refrain inscribed at the end of the response scroll.
Sakura felt conflicted - although a part of her was relieved that Sasuke had escaped his brutal fate, another part felt a familiar pang of betrayal. He had not returned, nor made any effort to contact the village.
Were they destined to be in a vicious cycle of hope and despair? Just as she had started to believe, deep in her heart, that Sasuke cared a little about the village, he had once again vanished. But this time felt so different. The Sasuke she had met not only actively saved her multiple times, but also seemed far more experienced and mature. There had to be a reason he had avoided contact post escape.
She had discussed this with Naruto, and the perceptive blond had instantly agreed. They had also talked about getting to the bottom of the mystery genjutsu they had faced at the swamps, which had almost killed Sakura. All of their answers, including their renegade team mate, seemed to remain in Kumo.
So they jumped at the first opportunity to leave the village on a recon mission. Kakashi-sensei had recommended they stay within the borders of the Land of Fire, but an urgent message from Jiraiya asking for Naruto had split Team 7 into two groups - Naruto and Kakashi heading over to the Wind Country, while Sakura and Sai kept their positions at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
"Are you still awake, my dear?"
A soft, raspy voice followed by a creaking sound brought Sakura's wandering mind back to reality with a crash. Years of training under Tsunade had prepped her to be vigilant, and the chakra she sensed behind her host was extremely turbulent, if not malevolent.
Kunai concealed in hand, she turned around slowly, and answered her host with a small smile, "Yes, I am. Do you need any more assistance in the kitchen?"
"Oh good - I did not want to wake you! But this young man insisted, and I tried to tell him that it's late, but he was having none of it. He claims it's very urgent."
Before Sakura dared to muster the courage to think who it was, her senses already knew. That smell of clean cotton, coupled with the impatient flaring of chakra - it was way too familiar, especially having spent a couple of months with him before the swamp incident.
Almost involuntarily, she breathed out, "Sasuke".
"Sakura," came the calm voice from the darkness.
Her mouth parted in shock and surprise. Because the man in front of her had changed beyond her imagination.
He wasn't wearing high quality silk or fancy clothes, in fact they were quite shabby, like many wayfaring shinobi she had seen on her journeys. But for some reason, his appearance stood out even more than usual.
His face appeared more beautiful than ever, milk white skin with sharp features that oozed a suffocating and almost decadent beauty. His deep, shadowy eyelashes were even more pronounced in the candlelight, and even the unruly locks of hair shading his left eye did not seem out of place.
But her heart skipped a beat as she observed his right eye. The shadows of the night seemed to cover it, but her medical intuition immediately told her something was off. Sasuke was standing there, unmoving, but was seemingly staring straight ahead, in a gaze both without focus but full of determination.
Tentatively, she stepped forward, although she flinched as his right hand moved towards the chokuto. It seems that he had sensed her weapon already.
"What happened to your eye?"
To her surprise, his hand relaxed and it seemed that he had the faintest hint of a smirk as he replied,
"Tch, annoying. Nothing that you have to bother about."
Truthfully, Sasuke was actually happy that this was what Sakura wanted to talk about. For the purpose he had come, divulging something so insignificant seemed absolutely worth it.
But what Sasuke hadn't taken into account was that the Sakura in front of him had changed too. Gone was the idealistic, naive girl who had devoted herself to bring Sasuke back. Instead a far more calculating and merciless woman stood in front of him. No longer bound by a strong sense of principle and loyalty, she had become much more dangerous than he gave her credit for.
Sakura's jade eyes gleamed amidst the flickering of light all around. "I am not joking, Sasuke. It may not seem like it, but I have an order of "kill on sight" on you. So I will be asking the questions, and you will answer."
From the corner of her eyes, she could see the outlines of the well formed, advanced Fuuinjutsu trap set up by Sai. Known as the Tiger Vision Bullet, nobody, not even an S-ranked ninja could escape the room without the caster of the jutsu's permission. So Sasuke was essentially jailed within this room with no way of escape.
"Using tricks, I see." Sasuke murmured softly with an acknowledging nod in the direction where Sai was hidden, even as he spoke up more forcefully.
"I need something, Sakura."
"Answer my question, Sasuke."
To her surprise, he let go of the chokuto and put his hand in his pockets without hesitation and spoke casually.
"I'm blind."
Clang.
The kunai dropped on the ground, and Sakura trembled on hearing this shocking news. A million thoughts raced through her mind, conjuring up horrific images of Sasuke being tortured in Kumo.
Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she asked in a steely voice. "Is it only your right eye?"
"Aa."
Clenching her fist tightly, she strode forward, even as tears slowly fell on the floor as she walked. She grasped his lone arm, guided him carefully towards the bed, and parted the locks of hair covering his eyes. To her horror, she saw a badly disfigured eye which was clearly missing the eyeball and the surrounding muscles. The extraocular muscles had seemed to grow back, giving a sunken appearance to the once obsidian gaze. On the other hand, the left eye, which was shut till she had parted his hair, now stared back at her with an eerie purple hue emanating from a concentric circular pattern.
"Are you satisfied, Sakura?"
It was only then that she had realized that she had stared at him for long enough, and the hint of mockery was clear in his voice.
"Y - yes. Those bastards…" Sakura said with gritted teeth, unmistakably releasing some KI which filled the room like a dark mist. For some reason, seeing Sasuke in this state made her feel like vomiting, as if someone had cut off her own limb.
Of course the Raikage had taken the Sharingan, thereby fulfilling a long cherished dream of Kumogukare. And the fact that she had bound his eyes with chakra to prevent the activation of the Sharingan before the huge battle in the swamps of Kiri must have made it that much easier for the Raikage to get this prized possession without much resistance.
The very thought of her role in this tragedy made her rage alternate with a feeling of heavy nausea.
Suddenly a firm grip on her shoulder brought her back to the small bit of sanity left within her.
"It doesn't make a difference, Sakura. The Sharingan couldn't have helped anyway."
Subconsciously, she failed to notice how she was caressing Sasuke's cheeks even as she fought back the tears.
"What hell did you have to go through? If only I were there…"
Sasuke did not reply, but he slowly sat up and moved Sakura's trembling hand with a sigh.
"I need that dagger in your possession, Sakura."
Sakura stiffened at the mention of the Kumo artifact she had in her abdomen pouch, while Sai suddenly emerged at the entrance with an arrow pointed at Sasuke's temple. Seeing this, she hurriedly motioned for the ANBU soldier to stand down. Sai complied, but the dangerous glint in his eyes showed a deep seated hatred towards the Uchiha in front of him.
"I cannot do that, Sasuke. But if you want, I can treat your injury - I'm sure Shizune-shishou will have some ninjutsu which can partially reverse your blindness…"
"Sakura…"
"Of course, we will need to stop by Konoha to collect the necessary herbs and get you under proper care, help regain your strength and …"
"SAKURA!"
Sasuke's yell immediately quelled her blabbering. A familiar sense of embarrassment swept through Sakura, and she felt the heat rise up to her face. She had gotten carried away with her involuntary nature as a medic and exposed her weak side, momentarily forgetting about the type of person in front of her.
Being witness to the gamut of emotions coming from the pink-haired girl, Sasuke's voice softened a little as he continued,
"It's not helping. For you must know what awaits me if I ever return to Konoha. Instead, I'd like you to think about handing me that dagger."
Sakura's eyes returned to their cold expression as she withdrew from Sasuke and pursed her lips with an expression of disappointment.
"Do you really think you are in a position to negotiate, Sasuke?" she asked, a mocking tone apparent in her voice.
Seemingly expecting such a response, Sasuke sighed as he took out a scroll and pushed it towards her.
"Take this. The Hokage will be pleased with this."
At that instant, a puff of smoke revealed a small flat dagger with a brown talisman hanging from its hilt. To Sakura's astonishment, there was a faint blue hue emanating from its blade.
Sai's face turned pale as he inched closer towards the bed to get a better look.
"Shichiseiken!"
Sakura covered her mouth in amazement. The Seven Star Blade, an artifact of antiquity, was one of the treasured tools of the Sage of Six Paths. Ever since the Gold and Silver brothers of Kumo had made use of it a hundred years ago, it had disappeared from the shinobi world. To think Sasuke was so casually giving up this treasure was almost unimaginable.
"Do we have a deal?"
Sasuke's voice cut through the pindrop silence which had formed around the room.
Sakura gulped, but maintained her composure.
"How do we know that this isn't a fake?"
Sasuke smirked, and with lightning quick movement closed the distance to Sakura's face. Sai could only flinch at the sudden movement, while she instinctively closed her eyes. But only a soft whisper was heard.
"You were there, Sakura. The cave by the Kaminari Den - surely the dobe and you had gotten the time to look at some of the treasures left behind by the Gold and Silver brothers."
The hot breath hitting the nape of her neck made Sakura shudder, partly in fear but also in anticipation for some reason. But that feeling disappeared as soon as it emerged as Sasuke withdrew back to his position.
"Ah, well, yes - we have a deal," Sakura stammered as she opened her eyes and looked for Sasuke, flustered. In the candlelight, however, she could only find the purple tomoe staring back at her with a slightly curious expression.
"Good. That only leaves the matter of whether you will let me leave."
It was at this moment that there was a flash, and Sasuke narrowly avoided a shuriken aimed for his temple.
"Ugly - can we take the Uchiha out now? " came a hiss from Sai. He looked like he was reaching the end of his patience. For some reason, Sakura was blatantly deviating from the protocol the team had decided to execute whenever faced with a nunekin, no less one as dangerous as Sasuke. And the weird interactions between the two were threatening to cause his confused emotions to boil over.
A silver mist was emanating from the former ROOT Anbu, and his face was contorted with an inexplicable rage. Sakura, sensing that negative emotions were taking over Sai, immediately stepped forward to calm him down.
"Sai - it's okay…" , but she stopped midway as she realized that the silver mist was transforming into a black, chakra-induced ink cloud that was shrouding him like a protective cloak. Having trained with him before, she knew that the Sumigasumi no jutsu was a highly defensive posture and the sole method to escape the Hidden Tiger Bullet fuuinjutsu after activation.
But what shocked her to the core was a sharp slicing sound heard from outside, followed by a weak gasp and thud. Her heart felt a sharp pang of pain, and she stumbled to the side to get a clear view of the scene outside the room.
A dozen masked men surrounded the entrance, and her nose crinkled as the stench of blood grew stronger from a freshly accumulated pool of liquid next to a frail old body, split almost vertically into two. One look at their demeanor told her that these were ROOT Anbu, but worse still, she could feel that Sai had been aware of their plan, and still showed no remorse as he blandly spoke,
"Come here, ugly - we have to deal with the Uchiha now."
Sakura's body trembled as she tried to control herself, but Tsunade's influence was too strong.
"Never repress anger within, Sakura, for it turns into hatred. Let it out then and there, and many issues can be solved easily." Tsunade's familiar voice echoed in her mind, and green light started glowing around her fists.
There would be consequences, loyalty to the village be damned, for killing the kind host who had happily taken her in, and previously helped her recuperate to good health.
But there was something more familiar about that style of slash that was bothering her. Could it be -?
She felt a familiar suffocating feeling from a few months ago, when she had found her father Kizashi severely injured by a sword wound in the days after her team had been proclaimed by Danzo as the hounds who would chase after Sasuke Uchiha.
The Anbu team investigating the incident had concluded that it was likely due to him being mistakenly embroiled in a fight between competing mercenary groups passing by the area near his office, and it had taken nearly all of Shizune's medical skill to prevent Kizashi from dying due to blood loss from the open wound.
The scene of the dead old woman had reinforced a deep fear within her - that it was an inside job, but she did not want to lose control and go berserk. Instead, through sheer willpower she was able to focus clearly on Sai again.
Only then did she realize that everything around her was quiet, exceedingly so, as if time had stopped. No, it was stranger than that - because it seemed that all the ROOT Anbu, including Sai, had a faint greenish hue around their unfocused eyes.
She flinched as a vice-like grip held her arm.
"Think about this carefully, Sakura. Are you really going to take them all by yourself?"
Sasuke's low voice jolted her back to her senses. She had almost done something unforgivable - attack a teammate. What face could she ever show Naruto or Kakashi-senpai if she stooped to that level, much like the incorrigible Sasuke beside her?
She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
"This is none of your business, Sasuke-kun. Seeing as you have put everyone under a genjutsu, you may leave. I will not follow you."
The curious expression on Sasuke's face accentuated into a smirk. Maybe it was because she wore her emotions on her sleeve, making her a really bad liar, or maybe it was because she had mistakenly reverted back to saying kun for the first time that night. Or maybe it was because he felt an odd but familiar comfort by being in physical contact with her.
"Unfortunately, my dear Sa-ku-ra," he said, emphasizing her name as his grip loosened a bit, "you are mistaken. It's not my genjutsu that knocked these shinobi out…"
He continued after a brief pause.
"Is this outburst really because oba-san is dead, and you couldn't stand her dying before you repaid her? Or perhaps the old bastard's technique shocked you?"
Sakura started trembling once again as she came to the realization that she was the cause for the unconscious shinobi. At that moment, Sasuke felt his Rinnegan explode with pain for some reason. He could feel in excruciating detail how Sakura's chakra and emotions fluctuated wildly, even as she hugged herself and shivered pitifully.
"What did you mean, Sasuke-kun? Whose technique is that?"
Sasuke silently took the Shichiseiken and pointed its tip at the shinobi behind Sai.
Torune Aburame, one of the heroes of the Allied forces of the ROOT Shinobi legion and Danzo's personal assassin.
"He used his tanto to cut up oba-san. This is a technique common to ROOT shinobi." he murmured, recalling how, in another life, Naruto had smuggled top secret manuals of ROOT to his room at his request while he was under house arrest.
But he was still not sure why Sakura in this life had responded with such an outburst of uncontrolled spirit energy. The attack, on par with many genjutsu masters he had met during his previous life, had been so sudden and sustained, almost subconscious, that his mind too would be overwhelmed if not for the Rinnegan.
He had to prod her with information if he was to find out the cause.
To his surprise, she suddenly pushed him lightly as she stumbled up. Jade eyes shining with determination, she looked down towards the ground as she clumsily bowed down in front of Sasuke. Of course, he could see that she was clearly struggling to maintain control over the wide-ranging genjutsu, but she tenaciously did not let go, as if she needed these final few minutes with Sasuke alone.
"Let me accompany you, please. I don't mind whatever status you have in the shinobi world, but the fact that you were able to stay hidden for so long after escaping prison is what I need right now."
Holding his left eye with a weary expression, Sasuke got up as if in deep contemplation while putting the Kumo dagger inside a storage scroll.
Sakura betraying the village, albeit indirectly, was a new occurrence in this world. Her desire for invisibility was also something that had not happened before. Sasuke realized that many happenings were out of place in this timeline, but he couldn't help being relieved that events were much more tangled than before, delaying the key events of what was to come.
Maybe having her by his side would mean that he would get enough time to carry out the devilish deal he had struck with the Raikage. It would also save him the trouble of keeping tabs on her safety regularly.
But he first had to make sure about something.
"Will you truly betray the Leaf?"
"I never said that, Sasuke-kun. I merely want to disappear under the radar for a few weeks till the Kage Summit. There are some things I need to investigate, without being under constant surveillance."
"Then you want to use me?"
"That's not it!"
"Hn. In that case, what do I get in return?"
"I will find a way to cure your blindness."
A deep rumble filled the room as Sasuke laughed, maybe for the first time in over half a year. Months of torture and misery had made him forget the innate kindness Sakura and the dobe possessed towards him. Irrespective of how low he sank, they were always willing to turn the world upside down for him.
Sakura, who was bewildered at this unfamiliar reaction, lost concentration for a moment, and in the process inadvertently let go of her genjutsu control.
Sai and the ROOT Anbu stirred slowly as they started coming back to their senses. But there was a purple flash of light as Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of Saukra, pointing the Shichiseiken at her throat and gesturing to her to enter a large black portal which had seemingly appeared out of thin air.
Understanding his intention to portray this as a hostage situation, Sakura's eyes sparkled with gratitude.
Sasuke's cold voice cut through the air, "I will hold you to your word, Sakura. Now get going. Any delay and heads will start to fly."
The fuuinjutsu tiger roared and there was a huge blast as it attacked the spot where Sasuke stood a second ago. But once the smoke evaporated, there remained no trace of him, nor of the pink haired nin. It seemed like they had vanished.
Sai yelled in anguish as the withdrawals from using such a large amount of chakra intensified, even though it only resulted in the Uchiha whisking his teammate away. For some inexplicable reason, he felt that Sasuke had outsmarted him again, despite Danzo's promise that nobody could escape the closed space of the fuuinjutsu.
But the other Anbu got up as if nothing had happened, and Torune summoned a group of huge killer bees to send over a wide-ranging message to nearby information cells of ROOT.
"The Uchiha target has been spotted and is at large. Eliminate on sight."
In the outskirts of Samuri, deep within the forests
Sasuke grimaced. Having lost the doujutsu in his right eye made it much more difficult to move quickly in the pitch black surroundings for hours, as he had to rely solely on muscle memory and his other senses. He even had to open his Rinnegan occasionally to make sure they were not being followed.
That was not the only problem. Although Sakura had willingly wanted to accompany him to avoid ROOT on an impulse, he could sense a deep unease in the atmosphere between them as they flashed through the trees.
Soon, soft rays of sunlight started to pierce the canopy, heralding dawn. Slowing down slightly, Sasuke pointed at a small clearing and signaled that they should stop for a bit.
"I can go on for a few more hours, Sasuke-kun."
"Ha - it's not that. We need to talk."
Sakura tilted her head in surprise. Stopping to chat was most unusual for the Sasuke she knew.
"Is this about the question you asked me before - whether I'm using you? I've already stressed that I'm not - in fact, I pledge to not reveal anything about you to anyone in Konoha. As long as it doesn't involve killing Konoha-affiliated nin, I am willing to do anything in exchange for escaping their surveillance."
'Tch, so annoying' he thought. Sakura was turning out to be as noisy as he had expected. But after months in solitary confinement the sound of another voice did not feel so bad. Moreover, she had to be informed of at least some of the new realities if she was going to accompany him back to his base.
"First, remove your hitai-ate. And take this," he said as he pulled out a white, embroidered headband and threw it in her direction, even as he put an identical one on his forehead.
A chill ran down Sakura's spine as she saw the cipher on the inscription of the cloth, which sparkled in the bright sunlight. Two characters, one representing the Blue Dragon and the other the Black Turtle. One depicting uncompromising offense, the other unyielding defense. A representation of a stalemate, or more aptly, balance. This was the Royal Coat of Arms of the Lightning Country, the same mark linked to Madara Uchiha, the mark on the dagger she had found, and the one displayed so prominently on Sasuke's hitai-ate.
Once more, resentment began to well up within her, as if the final nail had been thrust into the coffin of hope she and Naruto had kept up ever since he had left.
That Sasuke had betrayed Konoha wasn't a surprise, the fact that he had sealed it by joining a rival village was even more bitter.
The conversations with Naruto about strategies to bring Sasuke home flashed through her memories, as she clutched the white cloth in her hands and her jade eyes turned glassy. Sasuke seemed to notice this, and approached her tentatively with a sigh.
"Sakura, I -"
The iciness in her voice had returned. "Quit it, Sasuke - I have no more time for pleasantries. If I knew you were a lowly Kumo-nin now, I wouldn't have requested your help. I was stupid for not thinking to ask for your affiliation more explicitly."
Sasuke gave a small smirk, as he stepped forward calmly. "Are you saying you are happy under the Rokudaime Hokage, Sakura?"
"Don't go there, Sasuke," she replied, gritting her teeth. "My loyalty is to Konoha, and therefore to the Hokage."
"Then we have no disagreements, for we feel the same," he replied, shrugging his shoulders and turning to take out a scroll. "I have a few disguises here, so you…"
Before he could finish -
Clang.
Kunai clashed with the chokuto, as Sakura jumped in fury towards the retreating back of her one-time comrade. But it seemed like he had been expecting it.
Sparks of lightning flew from his blade as it took the kunai strike head on.
Not letting up the pressure, Sakura grunted as she tried to overwhelm Sasuke's blade, green chakra pouring out to the kunai tip.
After a tense few minutes in this position, Sasuke spoke up,
"I know you can't be that stupid, Sakura. What did you expect me to do, as I was bound in chains? Agree to return to the same village that planned for my execution, so that they could stick a knife in me and end the Uchiha line once and for all?"
Sakura's grip loosened slowly as her eyes widened, and she finally withdrew her weapon and placed it in her pouch carefully. She could suddenly deduce what had truly happened behind the news of Sasuke's breaking out of prison.
Having studied Danzo's methods closely for months, she acutely understood the power of propaganda. In this case, Kumo was the only source for the information about the last Uchiha to the rest of the world. So even if the Raikage and his advisers had tortured Sasuke to give up his kekkei-genkai and forced him to work for their village as a price for his life, Kumo could mask this scheme by claiming a jailbreak. Access to Kumo's prisons was notoriously difficult, and she had heard of the insane strength Sasuke had shown in the Swamps of Kiri. This only made the Raikage's decision strategic and beneficial from Kumo's point of view.
It still bothered her that Sasuke had capitulated so easily. She had always believed that the Sasuke who had left the village would never agree to be the attack hound of another village.
"I guess you didn't have a choice, but thinking about Naruto-" she murmured, despondency and regret evident in her voice. It was clear that one of her long-standing aspirations had been finally crushed.
Sasuke sighed as he sheathed his blade. "I am not a Kumo-nin, Sakura. Surely you realize that could cause a serious diplomatic incident during the upcoming Kage Summit. Instead, I have agreed to aid the Lightning Country as an adviser to the Daimyo's palace."
Sakura's eyes lit up. A political post, of course, carries a far lesser cost than outright treason by becoming a shinobi in another Hidden Village. Like a stubborn mule, her hope began to rise again.
But she had to make sure. "Does that mean you will not take up arms for Kumo if we are ever at war?"
"That is correct. I have no ties with Kumo."
To his surprise, Sakura immediately snatched the clothes Sasuke had presented as a disguise and disappeared behind some shrubbery. In a few minutes, she returned, resplendent in white and grey, with her pink locks gleaming starkly in the sunlight.
Sasuke stared her up and down for a second, and nodded approvingly. He had not realized this during his last life amidst the haze of jealousy and revenge, but Sakura had grown to be an extremely beautiful and graceful woman. Her rugged shinobi features only accentuated that beauty, and this in turn kept her monster strength as one of the biggest surprises for her enemies.
His reverie was broken as Sakura's voice floated in the air. "Sasuke-kun, why did you let me accompany you? Aren't our aims divergent?"
Sasuke shook his head slightly, as he crouched slightly to pick up his belongings and unscrew a flask to take a swig of water.
"If you broaden your outlook a little, Sakura, you will find that we don't think that differently."
"What does that mean?"
"We both hate the systems governing this world."
Unsure where Sasuke was going with this, Sakura responded softly, "If you are talking about the Hokage and Konoha again, I absolutely deny that."
A hint of contempt appeared on Sasuke's lips. Finally he had the chance to broach the topic for which he had stopped. He knew he had to be delicate, but the point had to be made.
"Is that really what you think, Sakura? That the Kages have the best interests of their village on their mind? Has the Hokage poisoned your mind too?"
"No!" Sakura yelled, trembling slightly. "It's not true in every case - just like Konoha under Danzo. But those are exceptions - our system is strong enough to withstand it till when Naruto soon takes over and -"
"Oh - so the dobe will fix everything! Even if he has the most noble intentions- do you think the other villages will act with the same childish naivete?"
"You underestimate his ability to unite people, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke opened his Rinnegan in exasperation. He couldn't tell Sakura that many events were out of order in this timeline - Tsunade languishing in a coma, the Akatsuki moving far more deliberately since the confrontation in the Swamps of Kiri, and the hellish deal he had wrung out of the Raikage. What Madara and Black Zetsu were doing was even more opaque and unknowable.
Under these circumstances, he had formulated a contingency with a very narrow goal - to save three people, Sakura, the dobe and Kakashi, and he was thankful the Raikage had acquiesced to his two conditions for a deal while in solitary confinement.
But as he was unsure of the world's future, he could not tell Sakura the details. Instead, he had to lead her on with a tangential pretext. A pretext easily given by his past memories, where Naruto had indignantly recited an emergency plan where Danzo wanted to use him as Konoha's trump card in a potential Fourth Shinobi War.
"Hn - even if Naruto is well suited for the post, do you think he will be allowed anywhere near the Hokage's seat under Danzo's watch?"
Sakura bit her lip in consternation. If Tsunade-sama was still the Hokage, Naruto's accession was almost guaranteed, particularly considering his rapid increase in power under Jiraiya-sama.
But Danzo had seemed to regard him as more of a weapon rather than a human being, and together with the increasingly powerful Council of Elders, had put a stigma on Team 7 of being duty bound in their loyalty to the Hokage.
The key phrase being loyal to the Hokage. She was very sure that with such careful wording, Danzo would never allow one of Team 7 to assume the role of Hokage itself.
In fact, she had long harbored suspicions that Sai and Yamato were placed into the team solely to keep Danzo and ROOT updated on Naruto's powers and his interactions with Kakashi and herself.
"You seem to be well informed about the internal politics of Konoha, Sasuke-kun."
"Aa."
"Speak plainly, Sasuke-kun. There has to be a reason you let me follow you and divulged so much."
Sasuke grimaced, and looked towards the side as he spoke. "I need your cooperation, Sakura. I intend on eliminating all the Kages."
A gentle breeze hit Sakura's face, and she shuddered with a mixture of trepidation and horror at what she had just heard. It was a calm statement, but for some reason she felt drained of all her energy.
"B-but that would mean war, and innocent people will die. You won't be any different from the murderous thugs of the Akatsuki."
From the corner of her eyes, she suddenly saw a purple flash, and in an instant, she found herself pinned down in front of an oak tree.
Purple tomoes circling around a spotted pattern was all she could see, and she felt herself getting drowsy. Feeling herself collapsing into nothingness, she screamed as she tried to take the tree's support, but to her surprise, it was no longer there. Falling face-first, all she could hear was a faint dripping sound of water before she lost consciousness.
"Huuk."
Sakura groaned as she finally came back to her senses. To her surprise, she was comfortably lying down on a blanket on the back of a moving cart. As she tried to sit up, a firm hand on her forehead held her down.
"Rest a little more. We will be at my base soon."
As she looked up, she could see Sasuke's Rinnegan scan her multiple times, even as he looked slightly worried. He seemed to be exhausted and shivering slightly, having covered her with his cloak on her for extra warmth.
"How long have I been out?"
"About a day."
"What happened to me, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke frowned as his Rinnegan and damaged right eye looked on in an unfocused manner towards the path behind them.
"I'm not sure, Sakura. It seems like a powerful occult involving spirit energy has been placed on you. It's effect is strongest when you are under high stress."
Sakura pursed her lips, mulling over whether she should tell Sasuke about the genjutsu from the Kiri swamps that she and Naruto had discussed before. However, his new affiliation with Kumo, one of the very suspects they were investigating, made her stay silent. But what he said next sent chills down her spine.
"But the thing that confuses me is that only two people in Oto - Orochimaru and myself, knew how to use this jutsu. And I don't think you've had an encounter with Orochimaru recently."
Sakura suddenly gripped Sasuke's hand, fear and panic apparent in her jade eyes.
Sighing deeply, he shook his head and said in a soft voice. "I did not put the jutsu on you, Sakura. I promise."
"Of course I know that, dummy. I'm not accusing you in the least. But there might be a piece of information essential here - Orochimaru was murdered in the days before the incident at the Kiri swamps."
Sasuke's Rinnegan widened in shock. This was the last thing he had expected to hear.
His mind raced with processing a multitude of possibilities. Orochimaru's death meant his research lab in Oto was now completely up for plunder. More importantly, it seemed like it was found out by a dangerous person/people who had a role in Orochimaru's murder themselves. And from the particular vicious jutsu he had seen employed on Sakura, they were also targeting her and the dobe with the intention of slow, painful elimination.
"Good sir, we have almost arrived at Enrai. Would you like me to drop you and your ill wife off at the medical ward?"
The sound of the cart owner's voice brought Sasuke and Sakura back to Earth from their respective reveries. Ears tinged red in embarrassment, Sakura immediately withdrew her hand into the covers and averted her eyes in the opposite direction.
Sasuke, who had to make up the story of helping his ill wife to convince the passing horse cart owner to take two burdensome passengers, was secretly pleased at her reaction, although with his eyes closed and stoic demeanor nobody could really tell.
Clearing his throat lightly, he spoke out in an authoritative tone.
"That won't be necessary. Just take us to the mayor's abode."
The cart owner's eyes widened. The mayor of Enrai was said to be the third brother of the Daimyo himself, and anyone from the royal family was elevated almost to the status of a deity in the Lightning Country. Truly, it was his lucky day - the plain looking couple he had picked up turned out to be one of the highest VIPs of the land!