Sakura found herself in a strange mix of emotions as the Uchiha's embrace enveloped her. She felt both grateful for this tender gesture from the man she loved and filled with anxiety about what the future held for them. She dreaded the possibility of losing him and was willing to reveal the darkest parts of her past to keep him by her side.
In a moment of vulnerability, she buried her face in the fabric of Madara's clothing, soaking in his scent, surrendering to this intoxicating sensation. The Uchiha responded to this gesture by gently stroking her pink hair, offering silent comfort.
"Don't worry," murmured Madara, his fingers continuing their soothing motion.
"I have every reason to worry," Sakura replied, her voice blending resolve and uncertainty.
"I'm aware," Madara admitted, laconic.
"How so?" she inquired, surprised.
"Let's just say some enlightened spirits have opened my eyes, and the teachings of the Rikudo Sennin were enough to convince me," declared the patriarch in a tone that immediately lifted the weight of worry from Sakura's shoulders. She no longer needed to keep her secret buried. Now, there was someone on this earth who shared it with her, someone who would stand by her side in her quest, someone who understood the value of her actions... and that was priceless to Sakura.
Was it the plan of the Rikudo Sennin to wait for Sakura to be born to send her back in time? Was it her destiny to return to this era? Was it her fate to love and guide this man? Was it for all these reasons that the Rikudo Sennin had helped by calming Madara?
When Sakura was abandoned by the creator of all things in the Valley of the End, she never imagined she would one day retrace her steps. Thus, she was deeply surprised to learn that he had conversed with Madara. A glimmer of hope arose within her, perhaps anticipating a possible meeting where her questions would find answers.
"I'm sorry," murmured Sakura, burying her face even deeper into Madara's kimono, while her fingers clenched tightly on the fabric.
"How was it?" Madara asked, also tempted to apologize, although Uchiha etiquette forbade such a display of weakness. Yet, he had reason to regret, having shattered much of the furniture in the room, the broken doors and windows bearing witness to his fury, the walls dotted with gaping cracks.
"The future?" Sakura replied, pulling away from the brunet's embrace.
"Yes."
"Rather dark," she admitted before withdrawing completely.
She suddenly noticed the bite of cold that filled the room. A quick glance revealed the debris littering the floor, the gaping openings letting in the wintry turmoil. Turning her back on Madara, she headed towards one of the main beams of the house.
At first glance, the engravings on the beam appeared purely decorative, but upon closer examination, they revealed a series of sealing jutsu. Sakura placed her hand on the wood, channeling a small amount of chakra. Moments later, a cloud of smoke formed, revealing a massive scroll of parchment.
Madara realized then that she still harbored many mysteries, especially upon seeing the gigantic scroll appear in her hands.
"Was it so terrifying that you would sacrifice all this?" he inquired as she placed the scroll on the main table. Opening it, he discovered one of the most imposing sealing jutsu formulas he had ever seen, perhaps even the largest.
"A fanatic planned to crush the moon onto the earth. Despite our victory in the Fourth Great Shinobi War, the cycle of hatred resumed," explained Sakura with a hint of resignation, while dark memories resurfaced. But she interrupted her thoughts upon hearing Madara's exclamation:
"The Fourth Great War?" he repeated, incredulous. "You mean the Shinobi world has only known conflict and wars? No one aspired to peace? Even in your future?"
Sakura was surprised by Madara's reaction, wondering what he could possibly be thinking. Did he believe that without his intervention to save him from death, the world would be perpetually plunged into peace? After a brief moment of hesitation, she added in a measured tone:
"We are currently embroiled in the First Great Shinobi War that the world has ever known. Before the Rikudo Sennin sent me back in time, I had already participated in the Fourth Great War, and we were preparing to face a new enemy. But explaining all this would be far too long," she concluded, lowering her eyes to the unfolded parchment before her.
"Tell me," Madara asked calmly, as Sakura placed her hand at the center of the sealing jutsu formula. She lifted her gaze to the man she loved and hesitated until he added, in a gentle voice: "Please."
"What exactly do you want to know?" Sakura yielded, as a new burst of smoke escaped from the parchment. Once the smoke cleared, a pile of carefully arranged boards, along with nails, appeared.
Madara thought for a moment, observing the young woman who grabbed a board before heading to one of the windows. She placed the wooden board and drove in an iron nail... with disconcerting ease, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The strength of this woman continued to impress him.
"Tell me about your life journey," Madara requested, taking some boards himself to place them near Sakura.
Sakura let out a slight sigh as she thought back on her past life, deeming it uneventful. She grabbed another board to place it under the previous one.
"I was born in Konoha a few years after the Third Great Shinobi War. I lived most of my life in peacetime, coming from a civilian family," she began to recount as she drove another nail with her thumb.
"Civilians became Shinobi?" Madara exclaimed, completely surprised.
"The Shinobi educational system evolved over the years, as did the administrative and military council," Sakura replied as the sound of iron piercing wood echoed. "The heavy losses of the previous wars weakened the Shinobi clans, prompting the village to accept civilians into its ranks."
"I would tend to say that allowing a civilian to become a Shinobi is not a good idea," remarked Madara, returning to take some additional boards. "But from what you're saying, you yourself come from a civilian family and yet you are an accomplished Shinobi."
"Yes, and I still wonder how I managed to survive my first mission outside the village," admitted Sakura with a new sigh. She hated that young girl she had been: insignificant, childish, carefree. "We were at peace, a certain balance was established. I grew up in security and was a... militarily useless child."
"Looking at you today, it's hard for me to believe what you're describing," said Madara.
"Let's just say life shaped me... anyway, the image you saw on my bedside table, that's my team," Sakura continued, patching up a second window. "Let me introduce you to Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi. They were three of the most dear people to my heart."
A gentle smile lit up Sakura's face as she recalled their experiences, their shared moments, their training, everything they had been through together.
"Is it the Sasuke who hurt you?" asked Madara, knowing deep down that it was the case.
"Yes... I loved him when we were children... I loved him when we were teenagers, and I loved him when we were young adults. But in return, I received only contempt, insults, and a few attempts on my life," Sakura explained, realizing that the pain was mitigated by the fact that Sasuke did not love her back. "But I can understand that he had psychological issues, considering what he experienced in his childhood."
"Nonsense!" Madara exclaimed, wanting more than anything to eliminate this Sasuke for daring to harm Sakura. "Nothing justifies such actions! Even though we are soldiers, our clan has always been there to protect our own. Even though my clan was blind to the Senju clan, if there are still Uchiha from your time, they must certainly consider Konoha their home."
Sakura paused her activity and fixed her gaze on Madara. She pondered how to phrase her next sentence.
"At my time, the Uchiha clan was reduced to only two members: Sasuke and his brother Itachi," she finally said, letting the information seep into Madara's mind.
"How could my clan be reduced to only two members... two children, I presume?" Madara exclaimed, impatient to know the consequences of his actions on his own clan.
"Because you conspired and manipulated your own clan in the shadows, inciting them to rebel against Konoha," Sakura explained calmly. "You manipulated and persuaded a third party to attack the village with the Kyūbi, sowing suspicion and fear towards the Uchiha clan. A civil war was about to erupt as the Third Great Shinobi War had just ended... so... so..."
"So what?" Madara asked impatiently, eager to know what consequences his actions had on his own clan.
"So it was decided that your clan should disappear: it was thus decimated to leave only two brothers. Itachi was designated as a Nukenin for his acts, and his younger brother Sasuke. Sasuke had to live with the loss of his clan and the trauma of an illusion perpetuated by his brother's Tsukuyomi, forcing him to relive that fateful night over and over again," Sakura explained calmly and assuredly. As an apprentice of Tsunade Senju, she had access to almost all patient medical records. At that time, Tsunade was also Hokage, which allowed her to ask her for information about the Uchiha clan massacre.
"I understand," said Madara after a brief moment of reflection. He wondered why he had acted that way and thought that without Sakura to change him, he would probably have done everything she had just told him... out of vengeance, out of hatred. "I better understand how you know so much about the Sharingan. Having one of the two survivors of that massacre in your team and being in love with him led you to inquire about our clan and the abilities of our Dōjutsu."
"Yes, I needed to understand why Sasuke was so eager for revenge. Besides, Itachi and he, like you and your brother, were the only ones to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan. Sasuke even managed to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. So it's only natural that I know your skills," Sakura confessed, having witnessed the powers of this Dōjutsu many times.
"Yet, that doesn't explain how you can resist the illusions of my ocular power," remarked Madara, intrigued.
Sakura raised a finger, pointing to the seal on her forehead.
"Fūinjutsu is extremely powerful when used correctly," explained Sakura after finishing blocking the second window. Madara had to settle for that answer for now. This woman was full of mysteries, and even Fūinjutsu alone couldn't explain her resistance. Even the great Mito Uzumaki didn't have such power. The brunette still considered this answer sufficient for the moment. He made a slight nod to encourage the pink-haired woman to continue her story.
"Next, in my team, there's Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi No Yoko," Sakura began before being interrupted by a remark from the Uchiha.
"Konoha entrusted another Uzumaki with being the host of this fox demon," noted Madara.
"It seems that members of their clan are the most capable of bearing such power," added Sakura.
"Is that why he wears such... flashy attire, like a firefly in the middle of the night?" asked Madara, and Sakura couldn't help but burst into laughter at the comparison. She had to admit that it felt good to laugh like this, easing the atmosphere of the house.
"It's true that he had a... particular fashion sense, but he was an outstanding friend and a skilled Shinobi," Sakura said softly. "I consider him the brother I never had. Our beginnings as ninja aspirants were not easy. Sasuke and Naruto were rivals, and I constantly wanted to strangle both of them for acting like immature kids, but well, I wasn't any better on my side. I was just a girl in love with a dark-haired boy, not really understanding what it meant to be a true Shinobi," Sakura added, picking up the door unhinged by Madara's shockwave. "Anyway... they were my family. Then we have our sensei, Hatake Kakashi No Sharingan, the man of a thousand techniques and the current Rokudaime Hokage."
"He doesn't look anything like an Uchiha," remarked Madara, frowning as he held the door to allow Sakura to properly reinstall it.
"Do you remember our conversation about eye transplants?" asked the young woman, and Madara nodded. "During a mission in the Third War, his teammate, on the brink of death, gave him his Sharingan."
"Hn!" Madara grunted, deeming it sacrilege for a non-Uchiha to possess such a Dōjutsu.
"Many Uchiha thought he didn't deserve such a privilege. Isn't that what you think, Madara-san?" she asked, a smirk on her lips, but not giving him time to answer. "He was nevertheless one of the greatest Shinobi of his time, even without using his Sharingan," continued the young woman, gently moving the door to check that it was properly reinstalled. "Anyway, much of my adolescence was governed by small missions and rushed training. Until the day Konoha was invaded by Oto No Kuni and Kaze No Kuni."
"Oto No Kuni?"
"A new village that had settled in the land of the rice fields and taken control of it," explained Sakura, forgetting that this village did not exist at that time. "We repelled this invasion, and it opened my eyes, especially when Sasuke deserted the village to seek more power..."
"More power?" repeated Madara, skeptical. "Currently, Konoha is reputed to be the most powerful village. Is that still the case in your time?"
"Yes."
"So why does this oaf desert the village to seek power if he's the most powerful of all?" asked Madara, not understanding the choice of the young Uchiha.
"In short, a man marked him with a Fūinjutsu that affects the subconscious of the host like a drug. Thus, the words of this man became the equivalent of the Rikudō," explained Sakura, who had had the opportunity to study Orochimaru's cursed seal. "As he grew up, Sasuke managed to get rid of it and kill its owner."
"Sharingan..."
"Yes, being an Uchiha, he was able to resist and overcome that curse," Sakura agreed as she sealed the last window of the room. "All of this to say that my first teammate deserted the village, and the second, Naruto, left with another ninja more willing to train him because of his Jinchūriki condition and because he had promised me to succeed in bringing Sasuke back to the village. So, I found myself without a team and had to find a master for myself as well. I was fortunate enough to receive teachings from the most powerful medical ninja."
"Sometimes, it only takes a trigger for our lives to change," observed Madara, remembering that a small event had been enough to completely transform his own life. "Did the Uzumaki keep his word?"
"In a way. But it took going through many equally painful events," admitted Sakura. "But that time was necessary for me to train relentlessly. Oh yes, I trained like never before, in many areas and for many years. My intelligence, my self-taught nature, as well as having a quality master, made me someone decent," she said, picking up the books and scrolls from the floor to place them on her desk. "Of course, I was far from being a Shinobi of your caliber, and I still am..."
"That's not what the Sage of Six Paths said," retorted Madara, recalling the terms used by the latter.
"How so?"
"I quote: 'Sakura is one of the few people who can boast of approaching the power of my sons since the beginning of time,'" recited Madara word for word the creator's words. Sakura couldn't help but blush at such a compliment. "So don't underestimate yourself, Sakura-san, because to me, you're very talented."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," said Madara as Sakura picked up a surviving inkwell and a brush before heading towards a window. Then, the Uchiha remembered something else. "By the way! The Sage of Six Paths asked me to deliver a message to you."
"I'm listening."
"'The heavenly voice of the six paths will open thanks to the symbiosis of the two,'" recited Madara, having absolutely no idea of the meaning of this phrase. He hoped Sakura would enlighten him. "Any idea what he meant by that?"
"Not at all," admitted Sakura, reflecting on the meaning of this phrase. "The heavenly voice... what does he mean by that?"
"Well, it will come to you when the time is right... but please, continue your story," added Madara, pulling the young woman out of her thoughts.
"The years passed, and the beginnings of the Fourth Great Shinobi War approached. It was also around this time that Sasuke returned to the village," said Sakura before painting a Fūinjutsu formula on the wooden planks. "But his return was not without trouble, as Naruto and he faced each other once again in a tremendous battle."
Listening to Sakura's explanations, Madara eventually wondered if the two boys were not the reincarnations of Indra and Asura, just like him and Hashirama.
"I presume if you knew the Sage of Six Paths, he told you part of his story," said the brunette.
"The cycle of hatred?" repeated Sakura, seeking to clarify their remarks. A slight nod from Madara reassured her in her thoughts. "They are, just like you and Hashirama, the reincarnations of Indra and Asura Ōtsutsuki."
With this revelation, the missing pieces of the puzzle seemed to come together in Madara's mind. However, if they were the reincarnations, it meant...
"Sakura-san, there's something troubling me... actually, several things," he said.
"What is it?"
"You say that the Fourth Great War was about to begin. But... who against who?" Madara asked, intrigued.
"Fūin," Sakura replied, finishing her formula to better isolate the window. Tomorrow, she would ask the village for help to repair the damage to her house, but for now, this would suffice. However, Sakura didn't answer Madara's question, lost in her memories of the last war.
"Sakura-san?"
"The entire world... against you," she revealed, disclosing one of the most dangerous pieces of information she held. Madara was surprised by this revelation, far from imagining that he could have declared war on the entire world.
"Why?"
"For peace..."
"But I would have been a hundred and ten years old," remarked Madara, quickly calculating in his head. He would have been an old man. Upon making this observation, a detail came to his mind. If Naruto and Sasuke are the reincarnations of Indra and Asura, the previous host must first die to reincarnate. However, you said that I was against the entire world during the Fourth Great Shinobi War," he exposed, trying to understand the logic behind it all.
"Do you remember that creature before I intervened at the Valley of the End?" Sakura asked as she headed towards the last window.
"Yes."
"His name was Black Zetsu, and he was supposed to save you from death... except that... his intentions were much more sinister than mine in sparing your life," declared Sakura, her gaze fixed, as she sealed the scroll in front of her.
"But there's a 'but'... isn't there?" guessed Madara, hanging on Sakura's lips.
"Yes, to accomplish such a Genjutsu, certain conditions had to be met, thus releasing the mother of the Rikudô Sennin: her true goal," the young woman admitted, recalling the moment when Madara had been pierced by Zetsu, thereby releasing Kaguya Ôtsutsuki. "He manipulated everyone, including you, and you lost your life, allowing the return of this woman... Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, and myself managed to seal the mother of the Rikudô Sennin again, as it had been done in the past."
Madara remained silent, absorbing this revelation. He had never envisioned such an ending, being manipulated in this way.
"But to answer your question: you died of old age, and someone capable of bringing the dead back to life resurrected you during the war. I don't know if that was part of your plan at the time," Sakura replied, unaware of the true intentions of the Madara from her future; only Obito and Black Zetsu were aware.
"I never imagined my life would take this turn... losing my family, losing my clan, losing my village, and ending up like this," Madara murmured, sitting down on a chair, arms crossed.
"I understand how you feel," Sakura said, heading towards the fireplace in the room.
"How so?"
"I myself lost my family, my friends, in my quest to establish true peace. I saw my village completely destroyed by one man," Sakura explained, recalling that fateful day when Pain had devastated Konoha.
She remembered that glaring light, that powerful blast that had engulfed everything.
"How could he accomplish such a feat?" Madara inquired, intrigued, aware himself of possessing jutsu capable of causing such devastation.
"He wasn't alone... they... he...," Sakura began before a revelation crossed her mind. Her eyes widened, her mouth slightly agape, realizing the extent of her own words.
Giving in to the urgency of her thoughts, Sakura dropped the logs she was holding before rushing through the debris of her library. Luckily, the furniture was securely fixed to the wall, and most of the books were still in place.
She grabbed a specific volume among many others, recalling Pain's past: Leader of the Akatsuki, a pawn of Uchiha Madara, and above all, bearer of the Rinnegan, implanted by Madara himself in his childhood! Through this mystical eye, he had access to the Six Paths of the Rikudô Sennin's Deva!
Her knowledge of the past came flooding back, and Sakura remembered that Madara had claimed to have awakened the Rinnegan on his deathbed. But the Rinnegan was not just an evolution of the Sharingan, it was a symbiosis!
She opened the book to a unique compartment, finding a vial inside. She had hidden it there eight months ago, not really knowing what she would do with it. The vial was sealed with fuinjutsu techniques, keeping its contents in stasis, preserving its flesh from degradation and aging.
She lifted the flask, letting the light filter through: the flesh was still intact.
"What's happening?" Madara asked, sensing Sakura's excitement and urgency. "What is this?"
"This? This is the answer to Ôtsutsuki-sama's riddle!" Sakura exclaimed, gazing at the vial in her hands. "The celestial voice of the Six Paths... the Rinnegan of the Rikudô Sennin will be obtained through the symbiosis of the two."
As these thoughts swirled in Sakura's mind, she met Madara's gaze. She remembered the future Uchiha, the one whose heart beat with Hashirama's face, grafted in place of his own heart. This fusion had been made possible by tearing a piece of flesh from his rival during their battle at the Valley of the End. And it was through this graft that Madara had been able to undergo this transformation. A symbiosis of the two bodies had taken place! The cells of the two reincarnations of the Rikudô Sennin were amalgamated into one single being! And thanks to this union, the Rinnegan had bloomed!
"What does this vial contain?" the brunette asked, struggling to discern the contents of the glass container.
"Do you trust me?" Sakura asked, determined to take the unthinkable step. She was about to entrust the most formidable weapon to someone who could become the most formidable individual for the balance of the Elemental Nations.
Madara thought for a moment before replying:
"Yes."
"Raise the lock of hair in front of your right eye, Madara-san," the young woman requested, pouring her chakra onto the central kanji of the formula engraved on the vial. A slight vapor escaped from the glass before Sakura poured the small mass of flesh into her right palm.
It would be almost too simple. The reincarnations of Indra and Asura shared DNA from the same lineage. The mixing of the two DNAs would occur naturally, and knowing Madara's regeneration ability already, she knew she didn't need many cells to generate the Rinnegan.
"Madara-san..." Sakura murmured as her hand gently touched the brunette's right eye.
"Yes?"
"Promise me that you will never use what I'm about to give you to enslave the world," Sakura pleaded, desperate at the thought of the man she loved with all her being falling into darkness.
"Why this request?" Madara inquired, perplexed, wondering if she was referring to what had happened in his future.
"I don't want you to become the man I faced during the Fourth Great Shinobi War," Sakura murmured as a tear welled up on her cheek.
"Is that why you hated me at the beginning of our encounter?" Madara asked, more to confirm his suspicions than out of genuine curiosity. The young woman didn't verbally respond, but she nodded gently, adding:
"I hated that psychopathic individual who was willing to do anything to achieve his goals... and who, to accomplish them, didn't hesitate to sacrifice thousands of lives."
A heavy silence fell between them, one waiting with a hand resting on the other's face while the other contemplated the young woman's words.
Madara ardently desired to bring about peace, and he was willing to do anything to achieve it, he already knew that. But his mind turned to his recent encounter with the Rikudô Sennin, as well as his destiny, his family, and above all, the feelings he had for the woman in front of him. She was waiting for a promise from him, a promise to never become the man she had described.
He gently took the hand resting on his face to remove it. Then, softly caressing Sakura's skin with his thumb, he drew closer to her.
"I don't know how I was in your future, Sakura-san, but I know that, compared to him, I have something he never considered possessing," he murmured, getting even closer.
His obsidian eyes met Sakura's emerald ones, who blushed under the intensity of their proximity.
"What is it?" Sakura murmured, her heart pounding and her breath quickening as Madara's face drew closer to hers.
"You," Madara whispered before tenderly capturing Sakura's lips in a sweet kiss.
This kiss was both tender, passionate, intense, and incredibly meaningful for the two lovers. Sakura had kissed Naruto to save him from death when his Bijû was extracted, she had also exchanged kisses with Ino when they were young and carefree. But never had she felt such passion, such love in kissing a man. She literally felt herself melting under Madara's touch.
The kiss lasted a few precious seconds before breaking, giving way to a second, slightly bolder one.
Never had Madara been so gentle with a woman. Yet, never had he felt such fulfillment in kissing a woman in the past. It had always remained empty, hollow, uninteresting... but here, with Sakura, he felt his entire being awaken, vibrating with passion and desire.
In this whirlwind of sensations, Madara understood what his mother meant when she told him that he would know when he found the woman who would bring him happiness. In that moment, he was convinced that he was in love with Sakura Haruno, and he would do anything to make her his companion.
He placed his left hand on Sakura's cheek, deepening their exchange even further, their lips gently parting. This kiss, both simple and passionate, conveyed a multitude of emotions, and Sakura couldn't help but let out a soft moan of pleasure.
And as all good things come to an end, Madara finally broke their embrace, their hearts pounding in their chests, their breaths panting. As she opened her eyes, Sakura gazed into the eyes of the Uchiha, willingly drowning in them.
"Unfortunately, I cannot promise you such a thing, Sakura-san," Madara began in a deep, grave voice. "What we are doing right now is, in a way, a form of world submission. But I can at least offer you this: I want you by my side to establish true peace."
Sakura felt both relief and concern. She feared that Madara would commit irreparable acts in the future, much like her own future self. But at the same time, she had faith in the Rikudô Sennin. And above all, she had faith in his heart.
Almost reverting to adolescence, she blushed under the intensity of their kiss, Madara's deep voice, and their closeness.
"Furthermore... unlike my other self in your future... we have your knowledge of destiny," Madara remarked as he gently moved away from Sakura. "And that, that is our most powerful weapon to carry out our project."
"Close your right eye," Sakura requested, regaining her composure.
Madara complied, closing his right eye while holding a strand of hair. He then felt Sakura's gentle hand brushing his face. As she closed her eyes to concentrate, he saw her hands glowing with green chakra.
She began to analyze the DNA structure of Hashirama Senju's flesh and thought about how to integrate it with Madara's. Sakura realized that it was much simpler than she had envisioned.
As she progressed in her genetic modification process, the mass of flesh in her hand decreased until it disappeared completely.
As Naruto had explained, regeneration relied on the body's formula, and both bodies were, in a way, the children of the Rikudô Sennin. Their fusion thus occurred naturally, and gradually, Madara's jet-black eye faded away. A gray-purple hue slowly emerged, while concentric lines gradually appeared, giving way to the legendary Rinnegan!
Suddenly, Madara's eyes widened, overwhelmed by a flood of information flooding his mind. Strange memories surged into his head, unknown knowledge mingled with his own! New abilities, never heard of before, suddenly seemed innate to him, and above all... his understanding of the world evolved.
For nearly thirty seconds, Sakura had withdrawn her hand, observing Madara, who seemed completely stunned. She then took a small mirror, which she presented to him. He gazed at his reflection, particularly focusing on this new pupil in his right eye.
"You now possess the legendary Rinnegan."
[Thank you so much for your support and your comments, it means a lot to me. Some might have understood, but every detail matters. I'm trying to make the fiction as logical and thorough as possible. So don't worry, I'll take you far and blow your mind... ^^]