Somewhere near the desert, inside one of the highest buildings, with the highest view where you could overlook the whole city, Sakura was leaning against the window. She was looking outside, viewing the seemingly abandoned city. At first, it was truly abandoned, except for Nekobaa, Tamaki, and the cats who used to live here. But now a bunch of sound ninjas who had stayed loyal to Sakura started to stay in this city as well.

Needing a place to hide, especially since Itachi had faked his death, they also needed to keep getting information about what was happening with not only the Akatsuki but also the Leaf Village. Now that the news of Itachi's death had spread around, the movements of the Leaf Village were important for was curious about how the Head of the Leaf village would treat Sasuke now that his supposed protector was gone

With this in mind, remembering how a group of sound ninjas had told her that if she ever needed something, they would always be there for her, Sakura decided to send messengers to them asking if they were still interested in helping her. Sasuke was opposed to the idea, but Sakura was able to convince him that they needed a network of allies. They needed information, and this was the only way to get it. In contrast to Orochimaru and Sasuke's treatment of them as pawns, Sakura treated the sound ninjas with kindness. Now, even after Orochimaru's death, they remained very loyal to her.

Needing a place to hide for a while, they eventually agreed to return to Nekobaa. Sora-ku, the abandoned Sky City, would be their base of operations for the time being.

Nekobaa was shocked to see that Itachi was alive and well. Even more astonishing was the fact that these two brothers were standing in the same room without trying to kill each other. Overcome with emotion, she embraced the two brothers and thanked Sakura profusely for bringing them together.

Slowly, more and more sound ninjas began to move into the city. Seeing that the tallest building was also connected to the underground tunnel leading to Nekobaa, Sakura and the others decided to occupy this building and divide it evenly so that everyone had their own space. The top level of the building was used as an office, where only a few trusted sound ninjas were allowed to enter not only the building but also the office. They were also the only ninjas who knew that Itachi was alive.

For now, the fewer people who knew the truth, the better. It wasn't that Sakura didn't trust the others, but it was currently the safest option. They couldn't afford to let this secret out.

Sakura had managed to assign a role to each group. Group A was allowed to enter the office building, consisting of three members. Group B was responsible for observing and protecting the city. Group C was tasked with gathering resources, food, and drink. Group D was responsible for collecting information about the Leaf Village. Group E was tasked with collecting information about the Akatsuki, but not too close. If they noticed that it was becoming too dangerous, they needed to abandon the mission and hide in one of Orochimaru's abandoned hideouts.

Before she knew it, the city had started to show signs of life, albeit from the inside. From the outside perspective, it still looked like an abandoned city. This was one of her conditions. The ninjas were only allowed to occupy houses inside the city.

Sakura gazed at herself in the reflection of the window. She let out a sigh and leaned against the window, gazing out at the street. It had been a while since she could finally take it easy. Ever since she and Sasuke had returned from getting his eye drops, she had been relentlessly busy; moving to this city and everything else that followed.

Reflecting on her journey with Sasuke – staying at an abandoned building, waiting for his eye drops, and ultimately fighting against a monster that had drained almost all of her chakra – it was harder than she had expected. It had been a long journey, but one she hoped was worth it.

At least that was what Sakura was hoping. Sasuke had awakened a new Sharingan; the Mangekyo Sharingan. It was somewhat unsettling Sakura. Like how?

Itachi had told her, and from what she had seen when she was under Itachi's genjutsu, that you had to kill the person you love in order to awaken it. But Sasuke didn't kill Itachi. Sakura managed to prevent it from happening.

Before sending them on this journey, Itachi told her that he might know why Sasuke's eyes had been bothering him, but he wasn't one hundred percent sure. He kept muttering that his little brother was showing obvious symptoms, yet still wasn't sure. That was also one reason he asked Sakura to let Sasuke tag along – not only to reflect but also to see if he might need a different type of eye drops in case his hunch was wrong.

"Was he talking about the Mangekyo Sharingan?" Sakura thought to herself.

"Maybe because he thought he killed the one he loves?" was something Sakura had overheard Itachi mumbling, but she thought she might have misheard it. What was Itachi even talking about?

But that wasn't the only thing bothering her. From what she had seen in Itachi's memories, he had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan after seeing the death of his best friend, Shisui. He didn't kill Shisui, and yet he had still awakened it.

Thinking harder about this, Sakura remembered Itachi telling her that he had awakened his Sharingan after seeing his teammate's death at the age of eight. He also told her that Sasuke had awakened his Sharingan on the night Itachi slaughtered the whole clan.

Sakura denied this, telling him that Sasuke had actually awakened it when they were fighting Haku. Itachi explained to her that Sasuke might have repressed his memories because of the trauma, including the memory of him awakening his Sharingan.

"Traumatic event?" Sakura whispered. Was it related to experiencing a loss, a traumatic event? This only confused her more. Sasuke hadn't experienced any of that when he fought Itachi.

Thinking about this was starting to give Sakura a headache. Nothing made sense anymore. The Uchiha clan was one confusing and complicated clan. Who made the rules on how to awaken the Sharingan in the first place? Itachi told her that somewhere in the village there was a stone written on how to awaken it, but who even created it? Was no one smart enough to question it, or think deeper about it? She still hadn't found an answer, but so far, from what she had heard from Itachi and Sasuke on how they had awakened it, the stone theory made no sense.

"Are you okay?"

Sakura shook her thoughts out of her head and noticed Itachi had walked into the office.

"Y-yeah, just thinking about some stuff," Sakura quickly answered and sat down on the couch. Itachi closed the door and leaned against the window where she used to stand.

"It's incredible what you've done to this city," Itachi complimented with a smile.

"It wasn't just me," Sakura replied. "The others, even Karin, helped. And you, Itachi, as well. I mean, I was following your guidance, so technically, this was your doing."

"Don't sell yourself so short," Itachi said with a gentle smile. "I only gave you guidance, and you acted. And really well, too."

Hearing such a compliment, Sakura couldn't help but blush. When was the last time she had received such praise?

She quickly composed herself when Sasuke, Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo entered the room together. Karin and Suigetsu were, as usual, bickering with each other. Sasuke and Jugo remained silent and slowly took a seat for themselves. Seeing everyone staring at them, Karin and Suigetsu stopped their bickering and took a seat as well. Now, everyone was looking at Itachi, who was standing in the middle of the room. It was finally time for him to share everything he knew. Taking a deep breath, he began;

"The leader of the Akatsuki is called Pain," Itachi said. "No one has seen him in person, and his whereabouts are unknown." He paused for a moment before continuing.

"The goal is to obtain enough money to support our organization," Itachi explained. "Which was successful, as the hidden villagers increasingly hired the Akatsuki to fight in wars and perform assassinations that the village themselves were unwilling to get involved in during times of peace. The Akatsuki was willing to accept any mission, even mundane ones. Orochimaru was also once part of our organization, but after he attempted to steal my body and failed, he was forced to defect."

"And then he went after Sasuke," Sakura murmured, gazing at Sasuke, who remained silent.

"The second goal was to capture the tailed beasts and seal them away."

"Tail Beasts?" Suigetsu wondered aloud.

"Oh, I know! They're basically chakras in physical form, like the nine-tailed demon fox. They're called chakra beasts. They're sealed inside people and everyone calls them the ultimate chakra weapons," Karin spoke.

"Shut up! They're not weapons!" Sakura yelled, thinking about Naruto being one of them.

"But it's true that most people see them as such," Itachi replied. "They view them as monsters... The first Hokage originally had several under his control. But with each great ninja war, Hashirama began sharing them as a sign of their treaties. First with the five great nations, then with other nations, as a way to stabilize the balance of power."

'Meaning they were bargaining chips,' Sakura thought to herself.

"The Akatsuki wanted to harness the power of the tailed beasts to create powerful jutsu, using it to wipe out one side in a conflict, then frighten the other side and the world to stop the fighting. If and when conflict was renewed, the jutsu would be deployed again, creating small periods of peace in an endless cycle of hatred."

"How many are there?" Jugo asked.

"There are nine tailed-beasts in existence," Itachi answered hesitantly, "Akatsuki already has seven of them."

"Naruto, being the ninth one, hasn't been caught yet," Sakura mumbled with a sigh of relief, but something else was bothering her. "What happens to them when the tailed beasts are extracted from them? What aren't you telling us?"

"They die," Karin replied for Itachi, seeing he was hesitant to answer that. A chill shivered through Sakura's spine after hearing Karin's reply. She was hoping Itachi would correct Karin, but seeing he was staying quiet, she knew it was the truth.

"How many have you captured?" Sakura couldn't help but feel anger building up inside her.

"One," Itachi replied. "The Four-Tails was mine and Kisame's target. As well as the Nine-Ta-."

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"Naruto was also my target," Itachi continued. "I purposefully chose him to buy some time to protect him and the village. I had also warned the Third Hokage about Naruto being a target."

"And Gaara of the Sand Village?" Sakura continued questioning him.

"He had the One-Tail sealed inside him," Itachi answered. "Deidara and Sasori's target, and they had succeeded."

"But wait, he's still alive, right?" Suigetsu asked. "So there's still a chance for them to be alive, right?

"No...one of the Sound Ninja had informed me that a medical ninja, Chiyo, had died during their mission to rescue Gaara. I wanted to inform her that I succeeded in killing Sasori, but she died before knowing that..." Sakura replied, her voice laced with sadness.

"What does that have to do with the One-Tail still being alive?" Karin questioned her.

"You must know, you're somewhat of a medical ninja as well, right, Karin?" Sakura looked at her, anger rising as she corrected Karin for calling Gaara "One-Tail" instead of his name.

"You don't mean—" Karin was interrupted by Sasuke, who had finally decided to join the conversation.

"What do you mean, Sakura? Are you saying he was brought back from the dead? Because that's impossible. Right?"

"Lady Ts- I mean, Tsunade once told me that there was a way to bring someone back from the dead," Sakura answered. "An old lady, Chiyo from the Sand Village, had developed such a jutsu, but it became forbidden after knowing the consequences and out of humane motives."

"Chiyo must have used that jutsu and given her life up for Gaara," Sakura continued. "That's the only thing I could think of. And no, I don't know how to perform such a forbidden jutsu."

Having had enough of the conversation, Sasuke got up and exited the room. With this, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin also left, leaving Sakura alone with Itachi.

xxxxxx

"How is Sasuke?"

Sasuke had completely sealed himself off from everyone. He was just in his room, lost in thought. Whenever Sakura had some free time, she would visit him to see how he was doing, but so far, he hadn't said a single word to her. He would only give her short answers or nods. At least he wasn't completely ignoring her. She had noticed that he wanted to tell her something, but he wasn't ready... not yet.

She had noticed that he often wandered his thoughts a lot - during their journey, and even more so ever since they'd met Kina and Reishi, and even now. But a little less than before. However, she had noticed that he had been staring at her a lot. Not that he would ever admit it.

The only reason he was still in the office listening to Itachi's information about Akatsuki was because Sakura had asked him to at least listen. After that, he could go back to his room whenever he felt like it.

"Still keeping everything to himself," she said.

"You're still thinking about that little boy, aren't you?"

"I can't help it...it's too bad Kina had chosen to stay there," Sakura mumbled, thinking about them. Reishi had sacrificed himself and managed to seal Roen back into the Kodon Shrine, saving Kina.

A celebration was held three days after Roen's defeat, and Kina was hailed as a hero by the whole village, who believed he was the one who had sealed Roen back into the Kodon Shrine to stop his murderous older brother. That's the story Jiryu Sendo told.

Sasuke and Sakura respected Reishi's wish and did exactly what he wanted. Sasuke tortured Jiryu with his newly awakened Mangekyou Sharingan, altering his memories. It took a toll on Sasuke. He couldn't move for a whole day, and the blindness after effect came back for a few hours.

Kina, however, doubted everything, unable to remember anything about what actually happened. He didn't think for a second that his brother was a murderer.

As Sasuke and Sakura were about to set sail, Sasuke asked Kina to come with him. Sakura was taken aback; she hadn't expected this. Sasuke offered to train Kina during their time together until he could look after himself, but Kina declined. He chose to continue his life in the Howling Wolf Village he would have had with Reishi. He wanted to make sure no one would ever try to break Roen from the Shrine again.

Sasuke asked if that was something Reishi would have wanted from him. Kina replied that it probably wasn't, but he was sure that his older brother would forgive him. They encouraged him to get stronger, in case Roen ever returned or failed, at least so that he could see Reishi again.

"It took me by surprise when you told me that Sasuke actually asked that little boy to join him," Itachi said.

"Imagine me standing there, hearing him ask that," Sakura laughed.

They stopped smiling when they noticed a messenger bird had stopped by the office window. Sakura stood up and took the piece of paper from the bird's foot. With a sigh, Sakura sank back into the couch.

"Still nothing about that Tobi guy," Sakura muttered, frustrated. "You're sure you can't recall anything about him, Itachi?"

"Sadly, no. Only that he hated the Leaf and the Uchiha. He introduced me to Pain and the Akatsuki, and that he was Madara... but I might be wrong about that as well," Itachi replied.

"Just who is that guy?" Sakura exclaimed, frustrated. "And what does he want from Sasuke?!" she added, her voice rising.

Thinking back on their way back from their journey, Sasuke and Sakura had an unexpected visit from a guy who had silently appeared out of nowhere in their rented room.

XXXX FlashbackXXXX

"Don't bother, that won't work on me," Tobi said when he saw Sakura drawing her katana.

"Who are you?" Sakura shouted.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked calmly. "Don't worry about this guy, Sakura. He was the one who helped me and the others when we were surrounded by Naruto and his group."

"He was the one who distracted Naruto?" Sakura muttered, confused.

"I'm here to talk about Itachi," Tobi said. "I had a hard time finding you since you fought against Itachi. I wanted to tell you something—it's about Itachi Uchiha. You think you know everything about your brother, but you actually—"

"We already know the truth about Itachi," Sakura interrupted. "Itachi himself told me."

"I see that you've survived the attack, not like you deserve it," Tobi said in a serious tone. "Who in their right mind would interrupt a faded battle between two brothers?"

"So, you've observed the battle. Now, get to the point," Sasuke demanded.

"Where is Itachi?" Tobi asked.

"He's dead," Sasuke replied immediately.

"My, my, you still killed him? Even though your little friend stopped the battle? It seems that your effort was useless. Why did you even bother?" Tobi asked.

"Because Sasuke deserved to know the truth from Itachi's own mouth, and after that Sasuke could make his own decision without being manipulated," Sakura replied.

"After Itachi told me the truth, like a coward, he was on his knees and waited for me to finish him off," Sasuke said, his voice laced with bitterness.

"So he truly is dead, huh... What's your next move then? And where is his body?" Tobi asked.

"I'm keeping his body somewhere safe, in case I want to take his eyes for myself," Sasuke said, looking down at the ground.

"What's next? I don't know yet..." Sasuke trailed off.

Sasuke confronted Tobi about his true identity, revealing that he knew him as Madara Uchiha.

Itachi had encountered Tobi, who had infiltrated the Leaf Village, seeking to destroy it as well as the Uchiha clan, which had shunned him. Itachi had made a deal with him: if he helped Itachi wipe out their clan, Tobi would leave the Leaf Village alone.

Sasuke knew that Tobi was the true culprit because he controlled the Nine-Tails, which ultimately led to the downfall of the Uchiha clan. However, Tobi denied any involvement, claiming innocence. Itachi had revealed this only to prevent Sasuke from trusting Tobi.

"Why don't you join me? The Akatsuki?" Tobi asked.

"Hmph, I'll pass," Sasuke replied, starting to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, looking confused.

"Another inn," Sasuke answered as soon as he opened the door and glanced back at Tobi. "I suddenly don't feel like staying here."

"Hmph, how boring. I'll hear from you if you change your mind," Tobi said, and then disappeared.

xxxxx end flashback xxxx

"I had a feeling he would try to do something after my death, but I still don't understand his true motive," Itachi said.

"After all the Akatsuki members are defeated, what will you do? For the time being, you are dead in everyone's eyes. Even if we reveal the truth that you're still alive? You'll still be branded as the traitor of the Leaf, the murderer of your own clan," Sakura looked at Itachi, who remained silent.

"Nobody would believe the truth behind your actions," Sakura continued. "It might even cause chaos, so I guess I understand why you don't want the truth to come out. But what about Sasuke? Do you still wish for him to return to the Leaf? Even after knowing the truth?"

Itachi paused before answering. "That would be up to him...I don't want to make decisions for him anymore."

"He's a stubborn one, so I doubt he would go back," Itachi added. "Besides, I doubt Danzo and the others would like that. Without my protection, I don't know what they would do to him."

"And you? What would you do? Remain dead and continue protecting the Leaf, or live your own life?" Sakura asked.

Before Itachi could respond, a new messenger bird arrived. Sakura stood up from her seat and read the piece of paper, her expression growing increasingly suspicious. Itachi noticed her silence and turned to her.

"You haven't answered the question, do you still wish to protect the village?" Sakura asked, her voice firm, as she clenched the note in her hand.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked, his tone concerned.

XXXXXX

"Sasuke?" Sakura called out to him as soon as she entered his room. She noticed Sasuke was outside on the balcony, gazing up at the stars.

"Are you okay?" she asked, slowly joining him on the balcony and sitting down beside him. She noticed he was lost in thought, and she wanted to make an announcement, but waited for him to return from his reverie. It seemed like he wanted to tell her something, but was struggling to gather his thoughts.

"When I look at the full moon, it takes me back to that night," Sasuke began, still gazing up at the sky.

"Memories I've been trying to forget," he continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "I fought back, and I managed to hit him with one of my kunai. Right before I collapsed, that moment...he was crying. I thought I had imagined it. And then I forgot about it."

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she recalled Itachi's memories. She had a bad feeling about where Sasuke was headed with this.

"Itachi gave everything up to protect the village. I didn't ask him to sacrifice himself for peace. And now, knowing the truth, there's no way I can just pretend like nothing happened and do what he wanted me to do; protect the Leaf Village."

"Sasuke... where are you going with this?" Sakura asked, her voice trembling with concern.

"I'll never forgive those three elders. I want the destruction of the Leaf Village. I want the elders dead," Sasuke stated, his eyes blazing with intensity.

With this sudden declaration, Sakura's throat constricted, and she felt like she couldn't breathe, as if the air was toxic. She slowly got up and began pacing back and forth, trying to gather herself after hearing Sasuke's shocking statement.

"Sasuke..." she called out to him, stopping in front of him and looking him dead in the eye.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

~to be continued~