Several hours ago, a young woman with pink hair felt like she was going through the worst moment of her life. At her young age, everything seemed to crumble, as if a great void had swallowed her whole and left her trapped in a sea of despair. For Sakura, it was like being trapped in a dark pool of oil, unable to move, wishing simply to disappear.

However, amidst that overwhelming darkness, a small ray of light shone, completely transforming her life. It was a fresh start, a spark of hope that showed her a different path. Her savior arrived, offering his blood-stained hand, providing her with the opportunity to find happiness. He could have rejected her, turned around, and continued on his way, but he didn't.

No more beatings from her father, no more being treated like a servant by her family. The mere thought of her drunken father, fist raised and sharp tongue, made her body shudder. But now, with her new opportunity, maybe she could fulfill her dream of becoming a kunoichi. Just thinking about it made her mind jump for joy, imagining herself following in the footsteps of her friend Ino, her only true companion.

The only things she would miss from that place would be Ino and her older brother, Soku, who used to protect and care for her in their old home. Although he spent long periods away from home and was unaware of many of her abuses, he had always been a refuge for her.

Itachi had rented a room in an inn a decent distance from Konoha to avoid being caught and to rest before moving on. At that moment, he had gone out to buy food, leaving Sakura alone in the room. The absence of shouts, laughter, and taunts echoing felt strange to her. Although the room was not the most luxurious, to Sakura, with her emerald eyes, everything shimmered, as if she were in the palace of some noble king.

"You will train to become a kunoichi," Itachi's words echoed in her mind as he carried her on his back, fading into the darkness of the forest the night before, in search of a new inn to hide. She had seen his ninja headband in Konoha, the same one her brother Soku used when he left or returned from a mission, but now it had a horizontal line across the Konoha symbol.

Itachi's words surprised her greatly. She felt a bubbling joy in her chest at the thought of going against her father's beliefs and becoming like Ino, her brother, and her new self-proclaimed brother. She had to be the best, as they were giving her the opportunity.

It wasn't long before the door opened and Itachi entered calmly, without blood covering his body, dressed in black pants and a shirt, with a mesh underneath.

"Let's go, we need to leave now," Itachi said, gathering his things. They had to keep moving to avoid being tracked; an hour's rest was more than enough, and he also had to leave false clues to throw off the trackers.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, feeling a slight blush on her cheeks under Itachi's intense gaze. She tilted her head to avoid meeting his gaze, feeling her spirits fade as she realized he wouldn't train her at that moment.

"Suna," Itachi replied, observing every detail of Sakura's expression with his sharp black eyes.

He looked out the window, calculating the time they had left before the Konoha ANBU found their location. Then, he turned his attention back to Sakura. They had at least a day before they were discovered. Without saying a word, he took a seat in the chair next to the bed and indicated for Sakura to sit.

"I'll teach you something before we leave," he said.

Sakura remained motionless in her seat, obediently waiting for Itachi to speak. She didn't want to do anything that might upset him and cause him to abandon her to her fate. Her father always flew into a rage with her, no matter how much she tried to behave like a statue.

"Sakura, if you wish to be a ninja, you must learn what every shinobi should know," Itachi's serious tone made her tense, trying to sharpen her senses so as not to miss a single word of the information she was about to receive, "chakra."

She wanted to repeat the strange word she had never heard before, but fear made her bite her lip and wait for Itachi to continue explaining.

It was a pleasant surprise for Itachi to discover that Sakura absorbed his teaching like a sponge, assimilating every word with precision. It didn't take her as long as he expected to explain the essence of chakra and its importance. With plenty of time before the deadline to flee, he decided to take things a step further.

"We're going to assess your control..." He knew that for a girl her age, mastering chakra would be a considerable challenge, especially if she didn't come from a family of shinobi who had trained her from an early age, and even more so when she had just learned what chakra was. However, if he guided her, the situation could be different. Still, he carried with him the concern of how the leader would react; he already had enough burden with his family's guilt without adding this pink-haired girl to the list, "...take this leaf and keep it stuck to your forehead. I'll step out for a moment."

He was aware that the task he had assigned her would not be easy. If he wanted to ensure her survival, he would have to teach her beyond the basics taught in the academy. At her age, children were just beginning their training as shinobi, but now she would have to exert triple the effort or fall into the hands of Akatsuki.

Once alone, Sakura looked at the leaves Itachi had given her. She wasn't foolish; she had sensed that something was occupying the boy's mind. She doubted that her brother, at that age, had been given a leaf and asked to figure out how to adhere it to his forehead without using his hands; obviously, it would have to be with chakra. She knew what it was and what it looked like, but she had no idea how to use it.

She didn't want to, nor could she, disappoint Itachi, so one way or another, she had to stick that leaf to her forehead as soon as possible to not be a burden. She toyed with the leaf in her hand as she tried to figure out how to do it. At some point, she closed her eyes to concentrate better, and her breathing became steady. She didn't know how much time had passed when all her thoughts faded away, plunging her into the dense darkness of her mind.

She felt the gentle breeze brushing against her skin, the faint throb of her heart, and the trees swaying gently outside the window. Beads of sweat began to roll down her forehead, and, unbelievably, she was starting to feel exhausted.

"I brought food," Itachi said, entering the room.

Bam! The moment Itachi spoke, Sakura's eyes snapped open as if a blue spark had appeared in the darkness and jolted her completely. She had to take a deep breath before looking wide-eyed at Itachi.

"I did it, Itachi-nii, I did it!" she exclaimed, forgetting all shame and fear in front of the Uchiha. She was sure of what she had felt; it wasn't an illusion.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at seeing the girl jumping around, ignoring the fact that she had called him brother. Even, unlike her previous timid attitude, she now had a big smile and looked him straight in the eyes. Had she already managed to lift the leaf? Had she used some trick?

"I felt my chakra!" she shouted so loud that the neighbors could hear her.

Ever since he carried her on his back, he had only seen her smile once. It felt good to see her happy, especially after noticing the scratches and bruises of various colors and sizes that evidenced the torment she had endured in Konoha. He listened as she described the sensation she had experienced and nodded, satisfied with her great achievement. Honestly, he was surprised that she had found her chakra network; even some chunin struggled to do so.

"It seems we'll be leaving faster than I thought," Itachi murmured to himself. "Let's go eat."

The broad smile on Sakura's face disappeared once she realized how she had acted. Embarrassed, she sat back silently to eat. She hadn't realized she was so tired after seeing her chakra because, by the time she realized it, after eating, she had succumbed to sleep.

The next morning, Sakura woke to the sun's glow flooding the sky. She rubbed her eyes and scanned the room for the Sharingan user.

Finding herself alone in the room, with no one to obey, she sank into the room's silence, inevitably comparing it to her previous home. Quiet and peaceful, despite being as impersonal as the customers who passed through for short periods, it didn't seem like the lair of a monster about to engulf her for a simple mistake. Based on what she had seen the night before and what she had learned from asking fearfully about the meaning of the horizontal line on the ninja headband, she understood that Itachi was a rogue ninja; neither of them could return to the village. And in a way, she didn't want to.

With him, she felt protected, despite being among the "bad guys." He had never hit her, said hurtful words, or denied her food. To her, he wasn't a monster.

Carefully, she got up from the bed and, barefoot, made her way to the small table in the room, where she found a note.

"Sakura:

I've stepped out for a moment. Don't leave. I've left food for you in the vanity bag.

Itachi."

Clutching the paper against her chest, she bit her lip in an attempt to contain the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She couldn't deal with these warm feelings beginning to well up in her chest! A simple note, devoid of any emotion, had her so moved that she felt absurd.

Hastily, she filled her mouth with breakfast and, wasting no time, sat on the floor to continue her training. Since the day before, she had made great strides in sensing her chakra, but it wasn't enough; she wanted to impress Itachi, she craved his approval.

Every time she recalled Itachi's speech about chakra abilities, she couldn't help but be amazed. From the ability to manipulate objects to creating new ones, there were so many possibilities she wanted to explore. She was determined: she would be the most powerful kunoichi in history! She had to prove her worth to Itachi, who had given her a chance to show the world she wasn't the foolish girl everyone thought she was.

Without wasting any more time, she folded her legs and sat on the floor. She closed her eyes and focused on feeling that almost watery but powerful current she had experienced the day before. Within the darkness of her mind, she could feel her body like a candle in the mist. Suddenly, a small bluish flame appeared in front of her, spreading out like the roots of a tree to form her body. It was like another organ, like the blood coursing through her veins, only this one was like a liquid fire.

Time passed without her realizing it; the only thing she could think about was her small mass of chakra that she was containing within her body. Tiny droplets of sweat began to roll down her forehead; she wanted to feel her chakra to the point where she didn't have to concentrate to perceive it flowing through her body.

Bored of simply feeling it, she attempted to see if she could manipulate it. With surprising success, she directed the chakra to specific areas of her body until she concentrated it in her chest and tried to compress it.

With a small furrow on her forehead, Sakura attempted to move her chakra. Slowly, she focused it on her chest with some resistance. She stifled a choked cry as her unstable chakra shot out of her body like an avalanche, knocking her to the ground in the process.

"What was that?" she muttered incredulously from the ground, eyes wide open.

The expansive wave that had emanated from her had swept through the room. For a matter of milliseconds, she believed she had felt and mentally visualized everything in the room without actually seeing it; the leaf on the table, the clothes under the bed, and even the layer of dust piling up on the distant shelves.

It wasn't as clear a vision as seeing with her eyes, rather it was like trying to see underwater. Fascinated and uncertain, she attempted to focus again, now with greater ease, and compress her chakra in her chest. However, the wave did not occur, to her disappointment.

She tried again and again, without success. Irritated and wanting to hit the ground, and bite whatever was closest, she got up and started pacing around the room. How could she replicate what had happened before? She tried to recreate everything she had done previously. She bit her lip in frustration, and could only growl in frustration.

She stopped her pacing, her eyes briefly lit up, and a wide smile spread across her face. How silly! If she couldn't suppress the chakra, why hadn't she thought of concentrating it in her chest and then expelling it from her body like a radar?

She closed her eyes impatiently and tried her idea. After so many attempts to concentrate her chakra in different points and try to focus it in one single point, now feeling it was like breathing. It didn't take long for her to visualize her chakra network. She concentrated every last drop in her chest and, feeling a strong tension, released it like the trigger of a gun, once again falling to the ground with a thud.

The same vision she had obtained before was burned into her mind, but this time with a barely perceptible clarity. Smiling nervously, she tried again and again until her small flame became tiny. She felt her body numb from the effort, much more than the day before.

Satisfied and barely, she collapsed onto the bed. She looked up at the wooden ceiling with a sense of accomplishment. She had learned something without Itachi's help, but... She turned her face to see the lonely leaf resting beside her. She picked it up and raised her hand to keep it in view. How could she stick that leaf to her forehead? Itachi would arrive soon, and she wanted to greet him with the leaf stuck to her forehead.

Her thought was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. From the threshold, Itachi entered with a neutral expression, scanning the room until his eyes settled on Sakura, lying on the bed with the leaf in her hand.

"Sakura," he greeted, closing the door and letting the hint of a smile slide.

"Itachi-nii," Sakura responded, frustrated to see him arrive earlier than she wished, although once again ignoring how she accidentally called him.

She glared at the leaf as if it were her worst enemy before straightening up to greet Itachi properly with respect.

"You couldn't handle the leaf," Itachi stated, noting with amusement the look she was giving the leaf.

Sakura puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment, looking away. She wanted to impress him, not have him laugh at her. Despite being only thirteen years old, her demeanor indicated that she was someone very strong to be in the ninja academy. She wanted to measure up to him! At just seven years old, she had to start working if she wanted to be like Itachi.

Defying her deepest-seated customs and feeling her cheeks completely flushed, Sakura stared directly into Itachi's onyx eyes with her large emerald ones. She took a deep breath before doing something she had never imagined doing in her life.

"Itachi-san, give me another piece of advice," Sakura said softly, her voice slightly trembling with the fear of daring to ask for something. Despite that, her eyes still burned with determination. She knew she had to get it.

Itachi showed no surprise at seeing the determination on her face. He recognized in her the longing for power, a double-edged weapon he knew well.

"Sakura, before we proceed, I must teach you something very important," he began in a serious tone. Although Sakura's demeanor faltered slightly, she sat attentively, showing the same seriousness with which he spoke, which pleased him. He placed a hand on her shoulder to emphasize his words. "There is something crucial for surviving in the world of shinobi. Strength is not everything. It is necessary to cultivate the mind to be more cunning and clever than others, and above all, above all things, one must master the art of patience. Otherwise, control and direction are lost, just like with chakra. If one is not careful, the chakra networks that run through our bodies..."

"That's it!" she exclaimed, interrupting him and jumping off the bed with a huge smile. "Thank you, Itachi-nii!"

More confused than annoyed by being interrupted, or perhaps a little touched by Sakura's happiness, which somehow reminded him of his brother, Itachi waited for her to continue speaking.

"If I think of chakra as little threads, I can make them come out and connect to the leaf as if it were sewn into my skin," Sakura murmured, closing her eyes as she focused on the chakra channels and the leaf on her forehead. She gradually let that liquid blue flame come out of her body, focusing on her forehead. She imagined the entire process until, confident in what she had done, she released her hand. "Look, Itachi-nii, it's already on my forehead!"

If he weren't an expert in hiding his emotions, he would have shown surprise. Instead, he approached and ruffled her head.

"Not bad, Sakura. It seems we have a genius among us," and he wasn't referring to himself. Just as he had thought when he taught her the basics of chakra, she was intelligent not only in absorbing information but also in making deductions through her learning. Perhaps he had a highly chakra-sensitive girl before his eyes. "I think it's time for us to pack up."

Sakura nodded happily and went straight to her things, which weren't many, just a small backpack with some clothes Itachi had bought her along the way. She was so happy she would sing, if it weren't for the fact that she didn't know if Itachi would like it; at home, they detested her singing.

"Where is it?" Itachi wondered, searching through his belongings.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, turning to look at him when he finished. "Can't you find something?"

"I can't find my ninja headband and something I had with it," Itachi said, searching everywhere.

"I'll help you," she replied, holding her head up with pride.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her demeanor. Had she hidden it just to win his approval? He didn't believe it.

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This time, she felt a tingling sensation run through her skin as she released some of her chakra. She didn't fall, but she opened her eyes in amazement when she felt Itachi's immense chakra. It was so vast and dense that it could even be felt emanating from his body, unlike hers, which was just a small flame barely covering her chest. In addition to the chakra, she felt the bed, the dresser, the suitcases, and the shelves. She approached them carefully, feeling her body weakened like freshly cooked spaghetti.

"Is this it, Itachi-nii?" she asked, pointing to the shelves that were taller than her. Her legs wavered as she pointed, and for a second the world seemed to become turbulent, until she felt Itachi's firm arms around her.

"You shouldn't have used your chakra in vain," he said, squinting his eyes with annoyance at seeing her so weak.

He was upset, more with himself than with her. Due to his carelessness in not warning her not to use all her chakra, he had underestimated her reserves. Although he had noticed that they were much smaller than average, he didn't think that using chakra on the leaf would leave her like this. Moreover, why had she used chakra now when she didn't need it?

Sakura looked down sadly, seeing him upset. She didn't want this. Surely he would leave her now for being careless, although she really didn't know what she had done wrong. But once again, she had no right to ask, that's how it always was. Her eyes moistened, feeling a pang in her chest.

"I'm sorry, Itachi-san. I won't do it again," her voice came out broken by the monumental effort to hold back tears. She knew that crying in front of others was a sign of weakness, and it was always better to do it in solitude. "Don't leave me. I'll be good, I won't cry, I'll never cry if that's what you want. I'll do as you command, but don't leave me."

Itachi's gaze softened as he saw her like this. He sighed to himself. She was just a little girl who had been through a lot. He stroked her hair protectively.

"Sakura," he said softly, so she would notice that he wasn't upset. He took her in his arms and sat her on the bed, looking her in the eyes. "You haven't done anything wrong, so don't feel bad." He ran one of his fingers over Sakura's eye, picking up a small salty drop on his finger. "One of the things they teach wrongly, and I know from experience, is not to cry. Sakura, it's okay to cry. Never suppress your tears, or you'll end up breaking. Don't let them repress you. Emotions are good. Cry if you need to cry, get angry if you see something unfair, laugh at the good things, and fear for your life and the lives of others. That's being alive."

The pain in her chest gradually faded away with Itachi's caresses and gentle words. Although she didn't fully understand them, she engraved them with fire deep in her mind. She felt that this was bigger than she could imagine.

"A few moments ago, I was telling you something very important about ninjas," Itachi reminded her.

"Strength isn't everything, you have to feed the mind to be more deceptive and intelligent than the other, and above all, above all things, you have to learn the art of patience, or things lose control," she recited a little embarrassed, letting him know that she had indeed listened.

Itachi nodded, satisfied that despite what happened, she was still attentive to his teachings.

"That's right, patience is very important. We can't rush into danger without a plan, or that could be our death. That's why we need to be smart and bold. We need to know when the right time is to strike. Another thing, and the reason I got upset, is for not telling you this, Sakura: chakra is very important to us. With it, we fight, create, and heal. Even the tiniest thing contains chakra, but for most, it's a source that can be depleted. And when it's depleted, one can die."

Sakura's eyes widened at hearing that. She hadn't thought about it. Now she understood why her chakra seemed like a small flame that could extinguish at any moment.

"What you're feeling now is chakra exhaustion, but don't worry, coils refill," he reassured her

Now she understood things better, and above all, she had a greater understanding of the risks and limits of what she could do.

"Thank you, Itachi-nii, I'll be more careful," she said, mustering the courage to address him as her brother. "What else is in the bag besides your ninja headband?"

She had almost forgotten they were looking for that. Carefully, she turned to see the shelves he had pointed out. A bit curious, she went to the shelves and reached out her hand. If he had hidden it, he would have only been able to do it by standing on a chair. She was surprised to feel the small package in her hands.

"What is it?" she asked again, curious, stretching her neck from the bed. She still felt very tired.

"It's something important to me," he came closer to her once again. He wanted to ask her how she knew what he was looking for was there, but for now, he would settle for answering her. He put the ninja headband back and now took out a simple photo frame with a picture in the center.

It was a recent photo, where he smiled without half-smiles or shadows of one. To Sakura's amazement, beside him was a younger boy, perhaps of the same age... If only he had entered the ninja academy, they might have even been friends. He looked a lot like Itachi, and truth be told, she thought he was cute. She could feel herself blushing slightly as she looked at him.

"Who is he?"

"He's my silly little brother, Sasuke," Sakura, upon looking at him, was left breathless. He had a faint smile, his eyes turned soft and cheerful, like the ones reflected in the photo, plus he had an open smile on him.

Feeling her gaze on him, he looked at her, and then his features of happiness faded.

"Do you... like my brother?"

In a flash, she turned as red as a pomegranate.

"What?" she almost shouted.

"Oh, come on, tell me, or else I'll get jealous," a glint in his eyes indicated he was joking.

"Itachi-nii!" she squealed, embarrassed. "That would be very weird. If he's your brother, then he's my brother too... but... What happened to him? Why didn't he come with you?"

Instantly, Sakura regretted asking. For a fleeting moment, she sensed pain in Itachi's gaze.

Silly, silly, silly!

"I left him behind. He deserved a better life than this. This isn't something for him; his destiny lies elsewhere and not in this darkness I'm dragging you into," Itachi said, his gaze lost in the void.

Sakura assessed him for a moment before gathering all her courage and daring to open her heart to Itachi.

"It's okay, Itachi-nii. Something very important must have happened for you to leave him behind. If you thought it was for the best, then it was. As for me... I decided to come with you. I don't feel like you're leading me into darkness; I see the light with you. You pulled me out of a place I never want to see again."

Itachi looked at her. She didn't seem like an eight-year-old; she seemed wiser and older, someone who knew what she was talking about. Although he didn't feel authoritative to judge her; they always told him the same thing.

"I'll tell you about it sometime," he said, getting up from where he was sitting. He finished packing his things and lifted Sakura in his arms. "We'd better go. They won't take long to search this area."

Sakura blushed deeply as she felt herself being carried by Itachi. That sensation, that careful and gentle way of holding her, left her breathless. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be in that position.

With some hesitation, she rested her head on Itachi's shoulder, fearing a possible negative reaction. However, seeing him remain impassive and continue walking with the backpacks on his other shoulder, Sakura relaxed, and a huge smile spread across her face.

"Sakura," Itachi's deep voice said, a voice that would have made anyone but the girl in his arms shiver, "how did you know I had my things stored?"

"Oh, right! It's just that while you were gone, I not only learned to sense my chakra, but it seems I've also learned to perceive what's happening around me through it. That's how I knew about your bag," Sakura replied, excited to share her greatest discovery and perhaps, if she was lucky, impress him. "The first time it happened by accident, some sort of... resonance, and I could feel everything around me... Itachi-nii..." she hesitated, but the boy's silence encouraged her to continue. "Why is my chakra so small compared to yours?"

"Your chakra reserve is very limited," he said, not intending to discourage her. "I think it's below the average for children your age."

Each word from Itachi pierced her like thousands of arrows in her small body.

"Then I'll strive to have more chakra," she said, trying to remain optimistic even though her eyes were beginning to feel heavy with fatigue.

"And you will succeed. You handle the chakra you have very well," he told her, with a barely perceptible smile. Now his green eyes shone like stars after receiving the compliment.

This is her new life, a fresh start, and perhaps things will be the opposite of what she had imagined at home initially. Itachi's gentle steps, along with his particular scent, made her eyelids heavier and heavier.

"I'll try my best, Itachi-nii. I'll show you that I'll be the strongest kunoichi in history. I'll be a legend, and then no one will hate me, and I'll be able to protect the people I love. Just wait and see. I'll be the one who, later on, protects you," she said with a big smile on her face. How innocent children think they can do good without considering each one's destiny... Soon she fell asleep on Itachi's shoulder.

She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself alone in the middle of the forest. Her heart skipped a beat as her mind raced a mile a minute, imagining a thousand and one scenarios, each worse than the last. However, the main idea was that Itachi had grown tired of her and left her alone.

She shook her head, feverishly denying that he would do such a thing. She trusted him; surely he had left her there to explore the area.

She tried to convince herself that he had only gone for a moment. As she moved from where she was sitting, leaning against a thick tree trunk, she noticed she had an extra piece of clothing: Itachi's jacket, smelling like him. She couldn't help but sigh with relief; he was definitely coming back.

"Itachi-nii is the best," she said happily as she stood up, ready to practice. She had to become very strong.

She remembered the moment he told her that the next step to improve wasn't sticking a leaf on her forehead, but climbing trees without using her hands. At first, she thought it was a joke, but she didn't have the courage to say anything to avoid upsetting him. However, when he finally showed her what he meant, she was so impressed that she was left speechless like a toad.

Since Itachi left her alone, she started practicing. Now she looked at the tree in front of her as if it were her worst enemy; she had scraped herself up. The bark was definitely different from the leaf. It took an hour until she could finally keep her feet vertically on the trunk.

Her joy was so great that she almost lost concentration. However, when she refocused, she took the next step, and the next, and the next. She was tired, exhausted, when she finally took the last step to the top. Her chakra was depleted to the limit she had set herself, and she fell heavily to the ground, letting out a groan. It would definitely hurt for a long while.

Suddenly, her skin prickled. The murmur of the trees and the wind had disappeared at some point during her training; not a sound could be heard. The forest was in complete silence.

Sakura looked around until a bush started rustling.

"Ni...!" she shouted, heading straight for the bush. When she was close, she froze in place, as if she had been caught in a paralyzing jutsu. "You're not..."

"You?" said a silver-haired boy with a mask on his mouth and a ninja headband covering one of his eyes.