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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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7. The Minutiae
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THE ROOM was not as shocked as Sakura had prepared herself for. Not a single gasp was made, nor set of eyes widened. Not even from Ino, who could make herself an actress over a cloudy afternoon. It was a bit disappointing.
Hadn't she just delivered the most sensational intelligence in the whole four years of war? Sasuke Uchiha was alive. Alive—and helping the Allies—through her, Sakura Haruno, of all people?
She surveyed the other four faces, confused. Tsunade was obviously vexed. Ino had seemed two inches from the edge since Sakura landed in the tent. Kakashi regarded her with quiet relief. Shikamaru looked legitimately bored now.
"Seriously, what's going on? Did you hear me or what?" Sakura asked. "I said Sasuke Uchiha is giving us information."
"She's truly your student, Kakashi," Shikamaru intoned.
The man smiled under his mask. "My favorite one, in fact."
"Alright. Enough." With a frown, she snatched the scroll off the table and rolled it back up. "Someone explain to me what the hell's happening."
"We just finished a meeting with contacts from other bases where Kakashi disclosed his belief that the third general was Sasuke Uchiha. He also thought you might be in contact with him despite your insistence that he not report other sources." Tsunade sent a chilly look her way, then slid it to Ino. "And then, we had an act of treason."
Kakashi motioned for Ino and Sakura to sit. Sakura led the frozen-faced Ino to their seats, and Ino grabbed Sakura's hand under the table once they were settled.
"Let's not fault Ino for caring about a friend. It's her most admirable trait, in my opinion!" said Kakashi, clearly trying to steer Tsunade's attention off the linker. "I'm not hurt and not mad in the slightest. Let's move back to the important matters. Sakura, tell us what's been happening during your gathering sessions."
Four stares fell on her. She was relieved that she'd worn the black turtleneck of the battle uniform to visit the cave this time. Tsunade's old outfit would've revealed the seal on her neck to everyone, and gleaning from the lack of comment on the issue, she was certain Kakashi had kept that secret.
Tactfully eying Shikamaru, Sakura asked, "Is it okay if he hears?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "It's fine, I'll leave." Which deciphered meant: I don't care about Sasuke, and I have better things to do than sit here listening to you all talk about him.
"You'll stay," declared Tsunade. "He can hear it. In fact—Sakura, you'll come with me to the Kage meeting next week and debrief with the other divisions. This kind of information needs to be coordinated across the army. For now though, what can you tell us?
"Yes, Hokage. This time, when I arrived—"
It was like a veil was lifted from her mind. Memories previously blocked whenever she left the cave were just…there, as ordinary memories. It really shouldn't be as fascinating as it was.
Barring the covenant, she rattled off everything else about her two trips to the enemy base absentmindedly while internally analyzing the change in her recollections.
She remembered the time she'd completely forgotten Water Man was present during the first meeting. She recalled how she couldn't tell Kakashi who'd truly hidden her in the bedroom when Tobi arrived, or who'd spent hours alone with her while she waited to port out. The knowledge of Sasuke and Water Man was never gone, but it'd been wholly inaccessible while the jutsu was in place.
As if all the memories of their presence were locked away in a forgotten corner of her mind—quickly unboxed and refiled in their rightful place as soon as the concealment terminated.
What kind of jutsu could repress and liberate whole segments of memory? A genjutsu? Except Sakura was nearly impervious to genjutsu; surely she wouldn't be affected to such an extent for so long. It seemed more likely some sort of tweak to a fuinjutsu.
Now that she could think about the subject—it was odd that Suna gatherer was able to report on two masked Akatsuki cloaked in a taboo-jutsu following around Orochimaru during the debrief.
Why hadn't the concealment erased those memories? Did the jutsu not work on third parties who learned of the information but never personally saw Sasuke or Water Man?
Although the one who brought the agreement claimed he got it directly from a masked Akatsuki man... She supposed that could've been Orochimaru disguising himself for security.
Ino interrupted, pulling her out of her musings. "You keep saying Water Man. Who is it?"
"Oh yeah, sorry. I'm not sure who he is, so that's how I've been thinking of him. I only know he's extremely proficient with Water Release. Probably a master. I've not noticed him use anything else, but I haven't seen him in much combat."
"Any special techniques?" asked Ino.
The man's command over water manipulation was high caliber, but that alone wouldn't provide clues to his identity unless the jutsu he used was rare enough to narrow the pool. Though realistically, her personal knowledge of Water Release was primarily confined to its best countermeasures.
She glanced at her teacher. If anyone knew a rare enough jutsu to pinpoint someone with, it'd be the Copy Ninja.
"I'm not even sure what techniques I'd be looking for. Do you know, Kakashi?"
"Hmm." He scratched his masked chin. "Can he liquefy his body?"
The precision of the question made her wonder if Kakashi had already guessed the man's identity before the discussion. "...Yes."
Kakashi nodded. "Hozuki, then. Suigetsu Hozuki, if I was a betting man."
"From Sasuke's...other team?" Sakura tried not to let the bitterness seep into her tone. "He was reported dead."
"Sasuke and Orochimaru were reported dead, too," he reminded her.
Seeming interested in the conversation at last, Shikamaru added, "Our intel said Hozuki was killed in the same event that killed Sasuke, right?"
"That's right," affirmed Kakashi.
"Then maybe the information we originally received was wrong? If they're both alive, maybe the base incident two years ago was a ruse."
"Doubtful. Their whole base was reported dead, not just those two," said Tsunade. "And we've no reports that Kabuto's back. I don't think Madara would lock down a whole country for two months as a ruse."
Two years ago, intelligence flooded in that all enemy bases within Fire were under total lockdown orders. Not a single gatherer could make contact with anyone willing or able to clarify what caused it. But the gatherer from Kiri, the man who'd brought Orochimaru's offer, acquired a single piece of intelligence:
Sasuke Uchiha and everyone in his base was dead. Most notably for Konoha: Kabuto Yakushi.
Madara's offensive came to a standstill for three months at the loss of two top generals. It briefly restarted for another three months after that, culminating in a massive clash of armies in Earth Country. For the first time, the Allies fought to a near stalemate in a large-scale battle.
And then—the war ground to a halt for a year and a half.
"Then, if they really died..." Ino's pointer finger skimmed across the table in an inkless drawing. "Is it possible that Madara's using Reanimation again to bring people back?"
"No way. Our intel is he doesn't trust that jutsu," argued Shikamaru.
The wooden chair creaked as the Hokage leaned back into it with a sigh. "Our intel must be wrong somewhere. Those facts can't all be right at the same time." Tsunade looked at Sakura. "You'll need to figure out what's going on. If Madara has found a way to truly revive people at will… Well, just investigate it while you're gathering. See if anyone will talk."
"Yes, Hokage."
Sasuke had plainly said they wouldn't be conversing, however; her success in discovering anything worthwhile was unlikely. At least from him. And probably, most definitely, not about his rumored resurrection. But maybe Suigetsu would talk. Or whoever Water Man was. He was a talker, after all.
"No matter how you think about it, Reanimation makes no sense. Suppose Madara did bring them back to life. Then why are they working against him?" asked Shikamaru.
"It can't be pleasant to come back from death." Ino's voice was monotoned and hushed. "Maybe they're mad."
"Orochimaru, Sasuke, and his nukenin follower mad because they're still alive? That wouldn't make sense either."
Ino drummed her fingers. "If it is possible to bring them back, though…you know, people. Anyone. For real. Don't you—think we should look into it?"
The table's attention shifted to Ino, whose sights were trained on the wood.
Sakura knew Ino said it because she wanted it; everyone who'd lost anyone wanted it in the muted solitude of unspoken introspection. And everyone still alive had lost someone to this endless nightmare.
Sakura also knew Ino was speaking it aloud because she wanted someone to remind her it was wrong. Because Ino had to know well that it was wrong, having seen its macabre reality firsthand four years ago.
But maybe she just needed to hear it from someone else.
That feeling was easily empathized with. The longing—a festering intrusive thought that suspended across the mind like a cobweb one couldn't reach.
"No, Ino. Reanimation is unnatural and nefarious. It's forbidden for a reason." Tsunade's voice wasn't harsh. "...When someone passes on, we must honor their time to go, even when it seems too early for those left behind. Bringing a loved one back from the dead is a great disrespect to the life they already lived, don't you think?"
Dipping her head so her bangs shielded her eyes, Ino nodded. "...Yes, Hokage. You're right."
Silence overtook the tent. It was a painful hush. One in which the dead materialized around them in an undesired and indomitable seance, crowding the space until there was no air left to breathe.
During the fighting, the planning, and the surviving, Sakura had no time to look the ghost over her shoulder in the eye. But if she stayed still too long—mute too long—there they were. Demanding attention. Sometimes smiling, sometimes mangled and rotten, or choking and bleeding.
Because all it took was a few seconds of silence and there all five of them were: Back on that battlefield they'd never escape, lifeless hands clawing up their ankles, the stench of rot enough to—
"We'll try to figure out how they've returned later. For now, we need to focus on what we do know." Tsunade slid her bottle across the table, offering it to Ino. The linker grasped its neck and brought it to her lips in a sure, swift motion. "Keep going with your debrief, Sakura," prompted the Hokage.
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Eventually, the Konoha army moved back to its home base.
It was a bittersweet return. One of group victory and individual loss. The constant contradiction of war.
Sakura returned to the perpetually understocked medical tents and resumed her work. There were still significant numbers of injured, some requiring more long-term treatment. That was Shizune's specialty, so she took over their care.
Sakura focused on mending the severe injuries. A constant stream of patients moved in and out of the medical cots, quick enough to occupy her mind throughout the days. Her thoughts remained steady so long as they clung on everyone around her. A day didn't contain enough minutes to handle her duties and think about Sasuke, or death, or how she hadn't heard from Naruto in over a month.
She thrived under these conditions.
At night, with no patient to study and no injury to heal, she took small doses of calming draughts to settle. She found that if she encased the masked chakra in her seal and squeezed it, a soothing warmth released across her chest. With these in conjunction, she managed to sleep most nights.
Two teams were dispatched to two separate coordinates in Fire Country to investigate the intelligence Sasuke gave the Allies. Ino was on one, Tenten on the other.
Konoha base felt dreadfully empty with both women gone at the same time. Besides these teams, most squads had been called back to base to regroup. Konoha Divison's numbers were slightly depleted from the battle, which required a personnel reshuffling.
Shino was stationed on base duty for the first time in months. He spent some of his time in the medical tents, helping the medics and chatting with patients. Most days, he and Sakura were each other's only familiar faces, and she imagined that's why he hung around more than he needed to.
They'd grown closer throughout the war. They stationed together for two years straight now on Konoha base—and he'd mostly grown out of that strange way of speaking.
Shino was a quiet, intelligent man with a deep respect for morals. He placed a high value on life, which Sakura especially appreciated in context. She knew he was working on cultivating a species of bug that could heal. If successful, the burden of responsibility on her and Katsuyu's shoulders might significantly lessen.
So when Kakashi arrived at medical sporting a stony expression she was now familiar with, she trusted Shino could watch over the patients in her tent.
"Just keep them stable with medicines. If someone starts declining, call for Tsunade," Sakura instructed.
Shino nodded from the bedside of a teenage girl who'd lost her right arm at the elbow. "Should I grab some things from my tent for overnight?"
"Probably not, I'll try to be quick. Thanks for helping."
Tsunade had made it clear that Sakura was to respond immediately to Sasuke's summons—no more waiting days to appear. And she was to remain as long as her sources asked. Keeping the three turncoats satisfied was a high-priority objective for the Allies since the agreement was made legitimate through their accurate intelligence.
They'd called her a number of times over the past month with various intel, none near as substantial as the first battle tip-off.
Ducking out, she followed Kakashi across the base to his office tent.
"Shouldn't we be porting over like Tsunade set up?"
Kakashi shrugged. "There were too many people in your tent, and I wanted to take a walk with my favorite student! It's a nice day out, isn't it?"
"You know, sensei... It loses its meaning if you say I'm your favorite all the time."
Glancing at her, he patted her head belatedly. "I've learned you come to regret the things you don't say often enough more than the things you said too much. Indulge your teacher a bit!"
Sakura smiled. "I think that saying is a bit different."
"That's the amended version."
They made it to his tent in comfortable silence after that.
It was, admittedly, a nice day. She was spending time with a man as close to a father as someone other than her father could be. The warm breeze of early April smelled of budding spring. Cotton candy clouds snailed through sky blue under a bright sun that tickled her skin.
She'd always loved this season. One of growth and life, and—
She realized with a start that she'd forgotten her birthday.
She was 21.
No one celebrated birthdays during the war. There was nothing to celebrate, really. Not if one thought about it. Because here she was, enjoying a beautiful spring morning, growing older by the hour, while Neji was still 18 on that muddy fall battlefield.
Where he'd always remain 18—in that place he'd never leave.
Every day she got a little bit older than him. A little further away from the boy who'd always been the most promising of the Konoha 11.
As Sakura Haruno from an unremarkable birth cemented herself in the army as needed, prodigy Neji of Konoha's prestigious Hyuuga clan became forgotten.
No, there were no birthday celebrations in war. Why celebrate the growing chasm between the lucky and the brave?
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Her feet slapped against stone when she arrived in the lab. That creepy metal, armlike contraption above an operating table greeted her. Walls still lined with ingredients and potions, and a pristine stone desk in the back.
It almost made her miss the bare-bones bedroom she'd unwillingly become accustomed to.
Orochimaru sat in the chair in the corner, a thick medical book across his lap, chakra open and calm. His presence caught her off-guard—he'd been absent since their first meeting. Usually she was summoned to Sasuke's room directly.
The Sannin regarded her with a smirk, eyes sweeping her appearance. Landing on her forehead where her seal was invisible in the transformation.
"Hello, Sakura Haruno."
"Don't call me that."
"What should I call you, then?"
"Don't call me anything. We don't need to exchange names."
Chuckling lightly, he turned back to his book. "You're actually quite alike, it seems."
She tried not to grimace at the sound of Orochimaru laughing. It felt unnatural, despite this Orochimaru looking quite natural in the action.
"What does that mean?"
"What, indeed?" he goaded.
He was baiting her. Her vision narrowed as she debated whether or not to humor him.
He was so—strange in this condition. Not many years older than herself by looks, his personality a stark contrast to the evil-faced mad scientist of memories. Tsunade commented in passing, years ago, that Orochimaru hadn't always been the man he became.
Would the Hokage recognize this character before her?
Perhaps this new Orochimaru could be cracked before Water Man. At the least, there was no harm in trying.
"That wave-masked man," she started. "The one who uses Water Release. Is it Suigetsu Hozuki?"
Orochimaru nodded without a beat. "Yes."
Huh? she thought, confused. That easy?
"...What was the point of hiding their identities in the first place if all of you admit it immediately when confronted?"
"Plans have changed," he answered smoothly.
"What are the new plans?"
He turned a page, a sly smile across his lips. "I suppose it would depend on who you ask, wouldn't it?"
Baiting. "And the old plans?"
"No use in talking about the past. No good can come from dredging up what's been cast away. That's certainly not the goal of this interrogation, is it? "
"I'd classify this as a conversation between allies." Pivoting with feigned ease, she strode to the wall, examining the vials' labels. "Interrogation implies two parties at odds. We all have the same aim within the agreement, don't we?"
"That would also depend on which of us you ask, medic."
She turned back to him with crossed arms. "I assumed you three had the same objective. You're all against Madara, right?"
"As I said before." Orochimaru closed the book and gave her his full attention. "I'm simply following Sasuke's orders." She made note of the fact that he knew she knew it was Sasuke. "I have no allegiance to either side beyond that. Madara, the Kage, the winner makes no difference to me. Neither group is particularly fond of me. Madara at least appreciates my work."
"So your objective is whatever Sasuke's is, then?"
"Perhaps. Though, not really. It's more the case that my objective aligns with his."
"Alright, sure. And what about Hozuki's objective?"
"Suigetsu isn't too fond of me, either. You'll have to ask him yourself if you're interested in his thoughts. I'm sure they're profound." He studied her for a moment. "You're much more forward with your gathering than in our first meeting. Grown some confidence in our time apart, have we?"
"There are many things the Allies would like to know," Sakura admitted.
Orochimaru had a glint in his eye like he was looking at a chess board.
"And what about you?" His voice was too innocent. "Are there things you'd like to know, Sakura Haruno?"
She could play. "Would you tell me if there were?"
"Probably." His fingers tapped on the book cover as he seemed to make a decision. "I'll answer two of your questions. Choose wisely."
One bubbled up in her mind without restraint. Why isn't Sasuke here? But she swallowed it immediately.
She'd known the second he'd forced her out of his room upon learning his identity that a wall was erected between them. Now that Sakura knew what was beneath the mask, Sasuke would undoubtedly remove himself from her presence as much as possible. Even when he'd summoned her over the past month for information, their meetings lasted less than five minutes. Sometimes there'd be nothing but a passage on a scroll waiting for her—a port tag out beside that.
So instead, she asked what she'd been ordered to investigate.
"Did Madara use Reanimation to bring you three back to life?"
His brow raised as if he hadn't been expecting that one. "No. Madara has turned away from Reanimation." He smirked. "Want to use your second question to know why?"
Inwardly, she felt relieved at the confirmation. Outwardly, she shrugged with insincerity.
"Our intelligence says a Reanimation broke free like Madara a couple of years ago and had to be subdued. You don't need to tell me."
His smirk grew, his demeanor hinting at the old Orochimaru. "Of course. The Allies have many eyes. What could they have possibly missed about that?"
She scanned his face—he was definitely baiting her again. He wanted her to use her second question on Reanimation so it'd be wasted, but all the Hokage wanted to know was whether or not it was being used. The Allies didn't care about the underlying reasoning, so neither should she.
"We have many more eyes than you know," said Sakura. "I need to return quickly to base, so if you've got information for me, please prepare it."
"Leaving so soon? Very well. I've been ordered to sit and wait here for you for some hours now, and I'm rather secluded on this base as it is. Having some conversation has been nice, Sakura Haruno."
She didn't bother telling him not to use her name again. He was plainly doing it on purpose.
Standing, he pulled a scroll from a drawer at the desk. "Do remind your handler that my dear superior expects immediate compliance with contact requests."
Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I'll relay the message."
"The alternative is that we begin sending requests directly to you and letting the expeditiousness pact in your covenant handle itself." Orochimaru unhurriedly unrolled the scroll. "Though, I understand you've requested that my superior refrain from using orders on you. He'd much prefer to continue sending these requests through your handler, as such."
She hated how he articulated superior as if it was some inside joke between them.
Orochimaru turned the parchment to her and presented its writing. It was Sasuke's neat script. The information lifted from the paper and settled in her mind.
"Thank you," she nodded.
There were four dates and locations, with brief tactics following each. Four planned attacks, one in each of the four countries besides Water.
So many battles in such a short time frame. Unlike anything before, even compared to the first two years of war. Without this intelligence, there would've been no way for the Allies to anticipate and respond to all these attacks.
It was invaluable intelligence.
And again, she was struck with the thought: This doesn't make any sense.
Sakura felt her chest constrict, the dreadful feeling of falling taking hold of her stomach as her mind careened. Are the Allies being played? Why would they provide this information to us? What are their motives? It makes no sense. Why is Sasuke doing this?
The seal hummed suddenly. A now-familiar warmth seeped across her body. The tightness that gripped her chest loosened, and she left the thoughts.
"Don't thank me. It isn't my information." Orochimaru held out a pen and a blank transportation tag to her. "No second question, then?"
As she scribbled out the coordinates back to base, she thought about the offer. She hadn't planned to ask a second question today—she wanted to save it. There'd likely be another question Tsunade would ask her to answer in the future.
Holding this favor would be the wiser choice.
But…did she really have to do everything for the sake of Tsunade? For the sake of the Allies?
Couldn't she know one thing for herself?
"What's this covenant seal?" she asked before she could talk herself out of it, gripping the completed port tag. The jutsu tugged at her navel.
The corners of Orochimaru's lips turned up before she was transported away. "Tsunade will know what it is. Show her the seal and tell her: There was someone to cast and someone to witness."
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Sakura received a letter from Naruto the next day. It was six pages long.
His writing was messy as always, but he'd clearly made an effort to write slowly and legibly. It started—
Sakura, I love you and I miss you so much. I wish I could see you. I wish you were here. It's still so weird not having you around. I'll never get used to it. I can't wait for all of this to end. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for your birthday again. I know you hate celebrating, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I don't know what I would do without you. If you weren't here, you know...HERE...we wouldn't be able to celebrate, so I'm going to celebrate every year even if you won't! B and Hinata say Happy Birthday too. Tango also wants me to tell you he says Happy Birthday. He's a Kumo ninja on my guard. I told him that you don't know him so you won't care but he made me promise. He wants me to introduce him to you. You can do better though. He's weird and he always looks angry and he's like 30. That's like almost Kakashi's age. Man, I hope this doesn't get delivered too late. I'm sorry I haven't sent a letter in so long, the Raikage thought there was a spy in our guard last month so we got locked down. I missed you a lot so please write back quickly if you can. Anyway, last week
And although she was slammed with preparation for the upcoming attack in two days, she stopped everything to read it carefully. Her hands shook so bad she could barely keep track of what line she was on, so she softly laid the sheets down on her desk and smoothed them out.
He was safe. He'd been in some minor scuffles but hadn't been detected, thank God. He and B were moving to somewhere near Suna base soon.
Please come visit me. They won't let me go to you. I need to see you. Sometimes I have these dreams and when I wake up I think you might be gone. It's so hard not being able to see you. I miss you. Ask Tsunade, I'll ask Gaara. Gaara will say yes. And I have something I need to tell you. Don't tell, though. OH! Guess what? There's this super old guy who's a ninja here in Kumo who tells these crazy stories. His name is Rashii. But anyway, he's 85! Can you believe that? And he's still fighting! Who'd wanna live that long? Plus you can totally tell he's 85. He looks way worse than Tsunade looks when her seal turns off. I hope we aren't still fighting when we're that old. He says you get used to it, but
He wrote just like he spoke. Direct and genuine.
Her eyes welled, and soon heavy droplets were splashing across the words. She gasped as the ink of Ask Tsunade fuzzed into a water bubble that dripped off her chin. She leaned back and picked up the pages again, unwilling to let her emotion destroy her gift.
Someone stepped into the tent behind her.
"Tsunade's asking for an update with the medical preparation," said Shino. After a second, she felt him move towards her. A hand was suddenly on her shoulder, its steadiness clashing with her trembling. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine," she whispered, shifting the letter so he could see it over her shoulder. "I'm happy." Her tears were so thick they could choke her.
"How is he?"
"Alive. Good. I…good, I think."
"How is—did he mention Hinata?" Shino asked quickly, like he felt bad for the question. "I haven't heard from her in three weeks..."
Sakura smiled at him over her shoulder. "He did. He says she's great. She's been helping at medical on Kumo base. Naruto says they've had a slight baby boom." Sakura laughed, but it caught in her throat and came out like a sob. "The detail was on lockdown for a bit. I'm sure you'll get a letter from her later today."
The hand on her shoulder tightened while she felt his body relax. Then the warmth was gone and he was walking back to the tent's opening.
"I can keep Tsunade appeased for fifteen minutes before she comes in here for the report herself. I'll see if I can enlist Kakashi's help. We might be able to keep her at bay for longer."
"Thank you," she called after him.
Her eyes combed the next page like a desert might soak up water.
The Raikage says the Allies attacked a hideout of Madara's in Water Country and that we won. I asked him how we found out about the hideout and why we haven't started doing that sooner if we won. Don't you think it's weird? I think they're keeping something from me and B. I know you'd figure it out…I wish you were here. I hate that we're stuck here like prisoners. No one will tell me if you were at the fight or not but I know you were cuz I heard we didn't lose barely anyone and so I asked Gamakichi to check and he said that Katsuyu said you were there. I hope you're okay. Please be careful. B made up this dance
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The first two attacks were in Fire Country and Wind Country, almost simultaneously.
The enemy targeted small, unimportant towns again. Gaara ordered an investigation into it, convinced there was no way Madara would waste time and troops on locations without significance. Sakura agreed. The sites were home to thousands of refugees but held no apparent strategic importance and no one of name.
Tobi was noticeably absent, and of the two, the force sent to Fire was weaker.
Just a single general, Hidan, led enemy forces on her home country. And though both armies were slightly smaller this battle, the fight lasted even longer.
It was easy to slice down huge mobs of fighters who had little room between them to do much else but brawl. It was harder to take down small pockets of shinobi, each army spreading the other out across a vast area of battle.
Two generals attacked Wind Country.
A man named Kajura was second in command there. Sakura knew generally that the man had a kekkei genkai, but all intelligence indicated he was more suited to mercenary work than large-scale battles. Still, he was a formidable fighter and had good battlefield disruption. He was part of the faction of shinobi who joined the war late, realizing it was pick a side or die anyway. His aptitude for ruthlessness and alleged hatred of the Kazekage pushed him quickly up the ranks.
And Sasuke was first in command against Suna Division. The Kazekage warned his army before battle so it wouldn't cause panic. It took mere days for the news to spread through the rest of the Allied army.
Sasuke Uchiha had returned.
Reports revealed he entered the battlefield unmasked and without a uniform. Just black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt, no protective gear. The numbers after the fact showed he was as brutal as he had been two years ago, and there were whispers that he was doing things he'd never before been capable of doing.
Teleporting across fields. Placing entire squads in a single genjutsu. Some kind of gravitational jutsu that pulled everything within an area to him.
Suna Division had barely fought to a draw, with devastating losses. Konoha Division fared far better against Hidan's attack, yet not nearly as successful as they'd been in Sangosho. They lost proportionally large numbers.
When the battle came to an end, Shikamaru simply left. He was unreachable for almost two days—but he'd done as well as anyone could've asked him to do. He'd commanded an army without its head linker and without its head medic.
Shizune was an extremely talented healer, but she was only a lieutenant, and wasn't best suited for the role of field medical commander that she'd been burdened with.
Sakura was ordered to stay out of both battles. She didn't help Suna, as she wasn't permitted to enter any fight where Sasuke was present per the rule enacted near the beginning of the war. And the strategists—Shikamaru notably in disagreement—deemed the attack in Fire Country small enough not to warrant the Katsuyu summon.
She didn't mind summoning Katsuyu for even minor skirmishes. It was decided over her that she and Tsunade would only use their seals' chakra for larger battles, however, lest they waste their reserves and run empty on the eve of an army-wide clash.
So instead, Sakura and Tsunade ran base medical for Suna and Konoha.
They spread out the medic tents and called all shinobi left on base with any medical training to help. The badly wounded would be moved inside the tents. The less injured would stay on the open ground around the teleport point until the next available medic could tend to them. Two runners from the conflict in Wind and two from the one in Fire brought patients back from both battlefields, whether severely wounded or not, to alleviate the burden of field medical.
The dead were tagged and transported to a location outside the base to be dealt with when the battle ended.
Sakura was useful in this role. She was the ranking medic in the army below Tsunade and had quickly grown into leadership. But she wasn't utilized best in this role.
As the easily healed piled up around her and the other medics at the same rate as the mortally wounded, she desperately wished she was on the battlefield helping. If she commanded field medical, no shinobi with relatively minor war injuries would be incapacitated in base medical.
This method was inefficient and costly.
In the long run, she was confident that hoarding all the power in Allied bases was unsustainable against Madara's new blitz-like tactics. Even in the first two years of the war, five battles had never occurred in such quick succession. The Allies would fast exhaust their troops without effective counters to the skill of Madara's loyal fighters.
Something was different. Something had changed over the year-and-a-half reprieve. Madara seemed keen on ending this war soon—or at least keen on something happening soon.
But there was no time to ponder Madara's plans. Anything Sakura might've reasoned out if she gave it enough brainpower was pushed aside. Anything beyond healing and maintaining medical had to wait.
There was no time for nonessential research, auxiliary interests, or purposeless thought exercises. Those things Sakura had regained an interest in during the break: deciphering and creating jutsu, studying different releases, analyzing various human psyches. Testing out the person she might've become if this war hadn't fallen upon her—a true intellectual. All of that was torn out in the blink of an eye; swept away in a single stroke of battle.
There was no time for Sakura to be that person. Sakura had to be a medic.
Medic Sakura healed like a mad woman. She broke new jutsus and repaired bodies without bothering to analyze their novelty. The itch that rose on the edge of her thoughts—So innovative—was shoved away into nonexistence.
She was ordered to heal. So she did nothing but heal.
Handling base medical for two separate battles was exhausting. There was nowhere near the number of bodies they'd dealt with in Water Country, but there was also no Katsuyu maintaining patients' stability. Shinobi fell back into critical condition as soon as she moved to a different tent. Not enough medics were left on base to keep up with the demand.
Even Tsunade was pulled away from partial battle command duty to dedicate herself to medical. They slapped yellow teleport tags on those who could return and black ones on those who never would.
And the mangled and screaming bodies just kept coming.
.
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The second Kage meeting, near what was once Takigakure, was tense.
They were grouped in a backroom of an old hotel that smelled of disuse. The Kage had a far more secure secret meeting room they'd typically use for such discussions, but that place was too small to host the Kage and this meeting's permitted plus-ones.
The circular table the five Kage were seated at was a dusty oak, a gaudy flower arrangement piled high in the middle. Tsunade had promptly tossed it out the square window adorned with solid, dark green blackout curtains. Only one section of three ceiling lights worked, casting an odd shadow across the occupants.
It felt more like a room used for back-alley handshakes or devious agreements than one arranged for the heads of an army.
Gaara sat stone-faced while his sister stood behind him with composed fury.
"How could he possibly be an ally when he slaughtered hundreds of our shinobi? You told us last week that he flipped. You either lied, you're being played, or you're stupid." Temari said it so bluntly that it almost sounded casual.
Sakura, who stood beside Kakashi behind a seated Tsunade, placed a hand on the Hokage's shoulder. She couldn't see her mentor's face, but she knew it couldn't be good after that remark.
"Let's not resort to name-calling," Kakashi chided, undoubtedly speaking up before Tsunade on purpose. "We must keep cool heads. Battle and death bring out strong emotions, but we can't let them override discussions between allies. Suna Division suffered greatly. No one will deny that, and I'm sorry for your losses. But we—"
"There is no but we, Kakashi. Your student caused this death. Your teammate caused this war. This failure is on—"
"That's enough, Temari," Gaara snapped. Temari's mouth shut into a thin line, her face betraying none of the emotion her words hinted at. "My apologies, Kakashi and Hokage. The recent losses have been hard on my people and my sister. I hope you understand."
Sakura placed her other hand on Kakashi's arm and squeezed. He caught her eye and nodded. Konoha was the only division with three members present; Sakura was there solely for her position as contact to Orochimaru's agreement. She wasn't to speak unless it pertained to information from her three sources.
"We've all lost something in this war. There's a common enemy, and it's not anyone in this room," the Mizukage appealed.
"That's right. So if we're done with the drama, let's talk strategy," suggested the Raikage. "So far the information provided has proven credible—" Temari scoffed. "—Regardless of your personal opinions on the matter. The next two attacks are planned on Lightning and Earth Countries. They're exactly a week apart from each other. There's nothing to suggest these attacks won't happen. Only one general is coming for Kumo Division, but there will be two on Iwa. Are you prepared, Tsuchikage?"
"Reasonably so. I plan to join the battle," Onoki replied.
"Against our wishes," said Akatsuchi.
"And against our previous consensus," agreed the Mizukage. "We all decided it was too risky for any Kage to join the smaller battles, Tsuchikage."
"Madara hasn't entered the battlefield in over two years. If he really wanted us, he'd just attack our bases. I'll not sit in a tent any longer watching my shinobi die, Mei." The old man crossed his arms.
"Just because he hasn't come out doesn't mean he won't," said the Kazekage. "The last time one of us showed up in a fight, he wiped out over sixty percent of those on the battlefield."
"Let the man fight if that's what he wants." The Raikage shrugged. "They're his troops. His risk, his decision."
"His advisors don't agree with the decision, so it isn't such a black-and-white matter." The Mizukage leaned back and turned to Tsunade. "We've come to a split then. What say you, Tsunade?"
The Hokage's fingers drummed on the table. Sakura knew Tsunade held a deep animosity for the Kage agreement to remain out of the more minor battles, despite having voted for it when it was implemented.
Stilling her hand, Tsunade sighed. "We had this discussion years ago. It's as the Mizukage says, we already came to a consensus. We can't abandon policy simply because we've come to dislike it. No material change in the problem warrants us changing course now."
The Tsuchikage grunted his displeasure.
"You're outvoted, Tsuchikage. You'll remain off the battlefield as per the Kage agreement. Will Iwa need any assistance for the upcoming battle, then?" asked Gaara.
"Without me, maybe. Suna faced two generals—is there any additional information you can report?"
The Kazekage and Temari shared a look.
"It was a hard fight," Gaara admitted. "Sasuke Uchiha seems to have gotten stronger in his absence, but his chakra reserves are used quickly by the new jutsu we've already reported on. It's…likely that we would've suffered an even worse loss if he hadn't left the battle as early as he did."
"How long did he last?" asked Darui.
"Six hours of near all-out offensive."
The room was quiet. Some eyed Sakura. She trained her face to indifference.
All of these people knew who Sasuke was to her before he became her Source. It was no secret that Team Seven remained bullheadedly protective against all slander of their nukenin teammate, even when he'd been firmly sided with the enemy.
"Any success in injuring him?" asked Tsunade.
Sakura kept her face as still as a mask, even as her heart twisted treacherously.
"None. The reports indicated he left due to chakra depletion. Our sensors noticed his chakra seemed to drop dangerously low quite suddenly. Some shinobi attempted to subdue him at that point, but he was able to trap them in a genjutsu before he got away. They awoke thinking they'd died."
"We aren't sure which generals will be where. The Uchiha might not attack Earth Country. He might come for Lightning since we've got some history," the Raikage said bitterly. He looked to Sakura. "Is it something you can find out? If and where he'll be deployed?"
Sakura shook her head. "Our meetings occur when one of the contacts calls for me. Because of where I meet them for the information, it would be dangerous for me to try to initiate a meeting."
"Understood. Regardless, Kumo Division is prepared to deal with a general and two to three thousand troops, even if the Uchiha scum comes."
"He's not—" She bit her tongue to silence herself, but the damage had already begun.
Every single person in the room turned on her, deadly quiet.
She had wanted to say, He's not scum. He's the one providing us with this information. He's the only reason we've not been crushed in these battles.
Peeking at Kakashi, she silently pleaded with him to back her up. Everyone here but Kakashi had grown tired of her and Naruto's relentless defense of their teammate. No one would hear the words if they came from her mouth.
He must've known what she wanted to say—Sakura knew the look that bloomed in his eye a moment later. The one he got whenever he decided to do something for her, which was few and far between these past years.
Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder and met the table's faces. "I understand it's difficult to forget the past under these circumstances, Raikage. Especially when outwardly, it looks like Sasuke is continuing on a path against us. Let's remember, however, that he's providing real and crucial intelligence to our army. Of course, he must continue playing his part to Madara, or we'll lose our source as he loses his life. While he plays his part against us particularly well, he's still indispensable to the Allies."
"He's a terrorist," replied Temari.
"If he didn't attack our armies when ordered, it'd be apparent to Madara that something was going on," countered Kakashi.
"He was a terrorist long before this last battle."
"That's in the past."
Temari chuckled scornfully. "You say we must approach these matters with cool heads, Kakashi. Yet, you and Sakura are unusually quick to speak on behalf of the Uchiha who abandoned you both."
"Temari, please." Gaara sighed. "Leave it."
"Yes, let's," agreed the Mizukage. "And at least in part, Kakashi is right. For now, the young Uchiha has proved useful. On that note, we should make an agreement not to kill him. We'll put out a Classed order that he's to be captured alive and hidden immediately, so if one of our armies takes him down, we can release him back to Madara before it's noticed."
Tsunade raised her hand. "Seconded."
"Agreed. Put out the order once we return," said Onoki.
"I'll put out the order, but if the boy comes at me personally another time, I can't promise I won't kill him," the Raikage declared. "Now back to the battles. Tsuchikage, will Iwa need reinforcements or not? We need to wrap up this meeting."
"Kurotsuchi can likely handle it on the fighting front, but Iwa's lacking in medics."
"Suna and Konoha shared base medical. Iwa and Kumo should consider the same," said Tsunade. "The distance might be an issue, but I'm sure a middling location can be secured beforehand. Konoha will send some ANBU to help defend the temporary base, if needed."
"We can leave C to field medical with a skeleton crew and reinforce our base medical for both battles," offered the Raikage.
"Our problem is field medical. We recently lost our top medic. Do you think you could spare C to Iwa, and we'll send him back before the attack in Lightning?"
The Raikage shook his head, and an argument ensued. Both men had valid points. The Raikage didn't want to risk his army's top medic—one of the Allied army's top medics—in back-to-back battles. The Tsuchikage had no medic on Iwa base that could command field medical, and his army was as good as dead without one.
Sakura's stomach twisted in something that felt close to shame.
It must be what Tsunade felt before every battle that she wasn't permitted to join.
She leaned down into her mentor's ear. "If you'll allow it, I will go to Iwa's battle, Hokage. My reserves are still strong. It shouldn't be a problem."
Tsunade turned to her, the two men at the other end of the table holding all the attention. "How is base medical handling the influx of shinobi from Suna?"
Shizune was in charge of base medical while Tsunade and Sakura were gone. There'd been no negative reports in the two days they'd been away.
"Things are fine. You'll have to cover my shifts, but I can return as soon as the battle ends and the battle base closes up."
The Hokage looked thoughtful; she motioned for Kakashi to bend down into the conversation.
"What do you think?" she asked him.
"Iwa's in trouble without a medical commander. You should change your position and allow the Tsuchikage to fight, or they'll need Sakura to keep the losses low."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Which would you choose, then?"
Sakura noticed this about her two teachers: Tsunade was always testing Kakashi. Could he make the hard decisions? Could he weigh the price of a life? Was it more important to protect someone important or to protect something important?
As the next Hokage, Kakashi must always choose the whole over its parts. Sakura knew that Tsunade would choose to send her student over agreeing to send a Kage to fight.
"I will defer to your wisdom, Hokage," Kakashi conceded.
Tsunade shook her head. "You know what I think about that trait of yours, Kakashi. Very well. Thank you for stepping up, Sakura. Your reliability brings me great pride as your mentor." Her voice quieted, "And remember that your safety comes before Iwa's fall. Though I'm confident Iwa will prevail, don't let yourself get trapped there. Understood?"
Her mentor was ordering her to abandon Iwa if things turned for the worse.
Sakura swallowed, throat suddenly dry. "Yes, Hokage."
Without another word, Tsunade turned back to the table. The voices of the two arguing men had risen in volume since the Konoha delegation's sidebar.
"Hey! Shut up and listen!" Tsunade bellowed. Eight silent gazes fell on her. "Sakura Haruno has volunteered to command field medical for Iwa base."
"Thank you, Haruno. And thank you, Hokage. At least some in this army know something about cooperation," the Tsuchikage snided.
The Raikage stood from his seat. "That's it! If you have something to say—"
"Enough!" Gaara slammed his hand onto the table. "The matter is settled. Both bases should return to prepare immediately for the attack. And cool your heads in the interim—it's unbecoming of Kage to argue amongst one another in the middle of a war. I shouldn't have to tell the two of you that."
Rising from his chair, Gaara moved towards the door. As the other delegations stood to follow his lead, he stopped next to Sakura.
"Come visit Suna base soon," he said with practiced ease. Her eyebrow quirked, and he lowered his voice. "There's someone in medical I'd like you to check on."
Words of a letter, script messy and hard to read, suddenly floated through Sakura's mind. I'll ask Gaara. Gaara will say yes. She felt her heartbeat pick up—was he offering to let her see Naruto?
"In medical, huh?"
"Yes, although it's also nice to have you visit just to visit. You could come by when there's nothing in medical, too."
He smiled, then turned to follow his sister out the exit. It seemed Temari was still prickly enough over Sasuke that she wouldn't speak to Sakura before leaving, which was unusual. They'd been on friendly terms for years, and the woman seldom missed an opportunity to ask about Shikamaru. The rest of the group was also trickling out; the Mizukage and Chojuro waved at her as they left.
Kakashi and Tsunade were giving their brief goodbyes. It'd be the first time she'd be in a battle where they weren't in command in nearly three years. The realization sent a cold shiver down her spine.
As if he could hear the trajectory of her thoughts, Kakashi's warm hand was suddenly on the crown of her head. "Good luck. You'll be fine."
"She doesn't need luck. She's capable," said Tsunade.
The Hokage didn't reach out. She wouldn't in this crowd of peers. Her words were callous, but to Sakura, they rang supportive. Sakura knew Tsunade well enough to know the woman often spoke the worst when she felt the most emotion.
"Thank you, sensei and shishou." Sakura ducked in a small bow to hide her pink cheeks.
"Come, Haruno," the Tsuchikage called from the doorway. "We'll need to get back soon so you can familiarize yourself with our medics."
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Thanks so much to tatutu and bigfeelings for the support :D
and all the guests who left comments as well, I love reading them!
It definitely keeps me motivated to keep writing.