Obito-Sensei Chapter 101

Sacrifices

When she reached the top of the Fortress, Sakura was surprised at how simple the Cannon was to use. An electronic system that operated a set of cranks which aimed it; a series of switches that controlled the coordinates it would fire on; a dinky little CRT screen that confirmed the various factors necessary for the firing (such as elevation); and a large, unpainted button beside a safety lever. Idiot proof, or at least as close as you could get with a weapon of mass destruction.

'That's because it was operated by idiots.'

She chuckled to herself as she got to work, carefully calibrating the biggest gun in the world. Nagato's arrogance had ensured it was already charged. She didn't pay a single thought to the ongoing battle in the mountains. It was all a stupid waste of time: the real power to change the world was right here, not out there.

With a bit of trial and error, she aimed the Cannon, confirming its coordinates: itself. It didn't have a safety feature to prevent it from firing on its own position, to keep the payload from exploding the second it left the barrel. Why would it? It had been designed to destroy distant and helpless targets, not the important ones. As she worked, time passed without meaning or rhythm; she was alone in the universe but for the Cannon humming under her hands. A final pull of a lever and a flick of a switch, and it started to charge with a teeth-buzzing hum. It would take a couple minutes to finish, and then she'd be good to go.

'Alone, but not anymore.'

Sakura turned around, alerted by her instincts, and found Sasuke and Hinata behind her.

"Oh, hey!" she said, glad they were there. If they were all gathered in the same place, it would be easier for Obito to come and save them all at once. "Sasuke, Hinata! You're both alright!"
They shifted, sharing a glance, and Sakura's smile faded. Something was off: they were hesitating, fearful. Could they be rogue ninja in disguise? She hadn't sensed a Henge or anything like that, but the best ninja in the world were all gathered at the Summit.

"We're fine, Sakura. You're okay?" Hinata said, stepping forward while Sasuke stayed quiet. Sakura's suspicion grew.

'They're in disguise, or worse. You have to be careful.'

"I'm okay," she said, gesturing back at the Cannon. "I've got it all set up, so I'm really glad you guys are here. Hinata, where's Naruto?"

Hinata activated her Byakugan, and Sakura let out a breath. After killing Rasa, everything had seemed fine, but so close to the end, she couldn't shake a sense of overwhelming paranoia. If Hinata had a Byakugan, it was the real her. Everything was fine.

"He's coming, actually," Hinata said, keeping her Byakugan active. "Something is happening though. The Hokage and Obito-sensei are… fighting?"

"Oh, that's weird," Sakura said, the words passing over her without leaving an impression. "Well, I'm sure they'll work it out. What happened to Nagato?"

"I'm not sure," Hinata admitted. "But he must have been dealt with-"

"Sakura," Sasuke cut in. He looked cruel, his eyes full of fanatical energy. "Let us look at your shadow."

'What?!'

"What?" Sakura asked, a chill running down her spine. Her shadow: the only thing Sasuke could be looking for was Black Zetsu. What had happened to Itachi? "Why?"

"Black Zetsu wasn't in Itachi's shadow," Sasuke said, stalking forward. Hinata followed after him, more hesitantly, looking apologetic. "I think it left. I think it's in yours."

'That's ridiculous. They think so little of you? That you wouldn't notice? Does the shadow even exist? From the start, he's only had guesswork, looking for an excuse not to blame his brother.'

"Sasuke, that's ridiculous," Sakura said, trying to hold back the burning anger that was inexplicably spreading through her chest. Suspect her? After all she'd done? They wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her. Attacking the Summit had been her idea, and now Sasuke was here with such accusation in his eyes? "I would have noticed. I haven't had anything like what Itachi told you. There's no 'other me.'"

"Itachi didn't notice at first either," Sasuke said, pacing to the side. Hinata did the same: they were surrounding her. Sakura forced herself to stay calm. His Sharingan spiralled out, and then the Mangekyo pattern. He was looking at her like she was an enemy. "Just stay still, Sakura. We're just going to examine your shadow. We won't touch you."

"What did I do?" Sakura demanded. "What did I do that would make you compare me to Itachi?!" She looked back and forth between the two of them, her anger starting to carry her away.

"Sakura, that's not what-" Hinata started to say.

"Shut up, Hinata," Sakura said, both surprised and gratified at her viciousness. Hinata's eyes went wide. "You're just a hanger-on: you've always been. You're not the one who came up here; you were just following Sasuke like usual, right?" She laughed, turning back to Sasuke. "So, what? What the hell makes you think you can accuse me of something like that, Sasuke?!"

"It's just a guess," Sasuke admitted, looking angry. What, just because she'd spoken the truth about Hinata? "You were there when Itachi told me about the Shadow. If it left, it was probably soon after that. And you and Itachi shared a goal."

"Shared a goal?" Sakura demanded, and Sasuke nodded.

"You both wanted to collect the Bijuu. You mentioned it to the Amekage, and I told Itachi that," he said, clearly trying to stay calm. Sakura felt the same struggle; being doubted after coming this far made her angrier than she could have believed. "So I think the Shadow went to you. Sakura, since that day, you've been…"

"Did you have to kill Suigetsu?" she asked, and Sasuke went still. "You don't understand me, Sasuke. You never have. You've always had a clan, and a bloodline; you've been coddled from the day you could walk." She sneered. "But my parents barely cared about me; everything I have, I got it myself. I had to kill Haku. I cut his hands off so Tenten could cut him almost in half." She drew a line down her chest, from collarbone to hip. "Like this. If you think I've been acting strange, maybe you should think about that instead of some shadow your mass-murdering psycho of a brother probably made up so you'd forgive him."

Sasuke's mouth opened and closed: he was too stunned to speak, standing there and flopping on his feet like a fish that had never tasted air.

"Sakura, please," Hinata said, trying again. "We just want to examine it-"

"No!" Sakura declared, her chakra roaring around her. The Cannon shook, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to let either of you doubt me! Not today, and not ever again! I've got this all figured out! I'm going to use the Cannon to solve all of this-!"

She turned back towards the Cannon to explain how she could use it to fix everything, and her instincts screamed at her; Sasuke and Hinata had both leapt forward, trying to tackle her to the ground.

Sakura's mind ground to a halt.

Betrayed? Betrayed right at the finish line? Betrayed like Yahiko had betrayed Konan and Nagato, like Ino had attacked her from behind? The farther she'd gone, the more people had turned on her. Haku and Rain, Ino, her parents, and now one of her own team?

'What would you do if Naruto betrayed you?'

Konan had known; she'd somehow known that this was exactly what would happen. But this was Sasuke and Hinata, not Naruto. She'd been spared that, at least. And Naruto was everything to her, and she was everything to Naruto. If he'd gotten here, he could have talked some sense into Sasuke. They should have waited for him.

But instead, they'd acted.

Sakura spun, her body on autopilot, and struck out. As she did, she realized her instincts had been slightly off. Hinata and Sasuke had moved forward, but it wasn't a rush: there was still a couple feet between her and them. Hinata had raised one hand, the faint face of a lion forming around it as Sasuke moved in from the other side. They were attacking, but it was a slower, more cautious advance than the lighting-fast ambush her shinobi senses had warned her was coming.

That didn't stop her from lashing out with a Flowing Hail Blade formed between her hands and cutting Hinata's four-fingered hand off.

The hand fell to the roof with a soft plop, and Sakura, Hinata, and Sasuke all stared at it, speechless.

Hinata let out a whimper of pain. Sakura would have preferred she scream.

When Sasuke attacked, he didn't make a sound; he just charged with a murderous expression.

His chakra was what screamed; he came at her intending to kill her.

'He's been overcome with his delusions. He'll blame anyone to spare his brother, even you.'

Sakura remembered the feeling she'd had over a year ago, when Sasuke and Naruto had caught her before she'd left for Rain. How her hand had fallen to the sword Tenten had given her, the sword Gaara had stolen from her, how she'd wanted to lash out at them, cut down her own teammates for trying to interfere. Then, she'd relaxed.

Today, she embraced it.

Sakura fell back, lashing out at Sasuke thrice as Hinata collapsed, bleeding and clutching her truncated arm. Blood ran from Sasuke's eyes, and he dodged every attack without issue, preparing a Grand Fireball as Sakura landed and found her footing.

Right, he could see the future. Very dangerous. He knew everything about how she fought, but the same went for her and him. Sakura lashed out again, manifesting a second blade, and Sasuke dodged through the storm of strikes, his Sharingan keeping him an inch ahead.

"Sakura!" he roared. "This isn't you!" He blew out the Fireball, covering the roof in flames as Hinata ran past him towards safety. Her severed hand was clutched to her chest.

"You asshole!" Sakura roared back, cutting the Fireball into so many pieces that it exploded in a wash of steam. There was a lot of steam: much of the snow around the Fortress had evaporated, though she didn't know how. "I can't even fight you on my own?! Everything I do has to be something else's fault?!" She intensified the speed of her attacks, carving the rooftop to pieces as Sasuke barely stayed ahead. "You've always been like this! Looking down on me, thinking I'm weak, that I need help! I don't need help, Sasuke! It's just like I told you before I left for Rain! That was my mission, but you still butted in! That's how pathetic you thought I was! I don't need help to beat you!"

More blood. Sasuke was really using everything to stay one step ahead of her, burning his eyes in a desperate attempt to show her up. Sakura laughed, the familiar feeling of being unstoppable rushing through her, and dropped one water blade, letting it vanish in a wash of chakra. She brought her hand to her core and began circulating chakra, forming a Rasengan. Seeing the future, Sasuke's hands began flickering with fire; he threw out a laser of flame, and Sakura caught it on the Rasengan with a grin.

"Suiton!" she laughed. "Uzushio Rasenzan!"

The Whirlpool Spiral Cutter exploded out, piercing right through Sasuke's jutsu faster than even he could see. He must have seen the future, Sakura thought, but his reaction time was still too slow. The burst of hypersonic water pierced right through his hand and whipped down through his leg. It cut off a slice of his thigh and sent him spinning to the ground with a cry of pain, bleeding everywhere.

Sasuke flipped over, preparing to fling himself back into the fight, and found Sakura's water blade leveled at his face, the edge revving loudly. He froze, and Sakura felt herself vibrate from her anger.

"See?" she hissed. "I beat Gaara, I beat Haku, I beat the fucking Kazekage, and you think I'm weak enough that you can just sneak up behind me? And for what? Some shadow? There is no shadow, Sasuke! It was just your brother! A worthless piece of shit the whole time! You and Obito have been chasing nothing!"

Sasuke trembled, fear and rage and despair flashing across his face. "Sakura," he begged, so pathetic that Sakura couldn't believe it. "Please, you have to believe me."

"Why?!" she demanded, not pulling the blade back. "Even if it were true, what difference would it make?!"

"Sakura?"

Sakura smiled at the quiet, familiar voice, turning towards the edge of the roof. She found Naruto standing there, miraculously unhurt and whole. His beautiful blue eyes were locked on her.

"Naruto," she said gratefully. "You got here right on time. Sasuke and Hinata are hurt."

"What…?" Naruto staggered forward, and Sakura's smile faded. Why was he looking at her like that?

"Sakura, what did you do?" he asked, sounding heartbroken.

"Naruto," Sasuke wheezed. "It's the-"

"Shut up, Sasuke!" Sakura revved her sword again, trying to wrap her head around the situation. She'd gotten so angry, but seeing Naruto looking at her like that made her want to throw up. What had happened? Had her anger ever led her wrong before?

'Calm down. Get to the Cannon. It's almost finished.'

That's right: the whine of the charging Cannon was evening out. Sakura backed towards it, her breath speeding up as Naruto approached. He looked between her, Sasuke, and Hinata, obviously completely unable to understand the situation.

"Seriously," he asked again. "What happened?"

"They attacked me," Sakura said. "They tried to jump me from behind-"

Naruto blinked. "Why?"

"They think Itachi's shadow is in mine," Sakura said, scoffing.

"Okay…" Naruto said slowly. Of course, he understood how ridiculous that was. Sakura relaxed. "Is it okay if I fix them up?"

"Of course!" she said brightly, relief coursing through her. "I'll finish up the Cannon while you do!"

"You're gonna fire it?" Naruto asked. "Already?"

"Yeah! I've got it all figured out!" Sakura said. Naruto had been the first one she'd gone to, the one who'd made this all possible. He'd get it.

'What if he doesn't?"

He would!

"Everyone important is here," she explained. Naruto bent over Sasuke, stopping his bleeding, and moved onto Hinata as she continued. "All the Kage, some of the minor villages, everyone. The Cannon itself can't be kept safe: I know that was the initial plan, but we proved that wouldn't work. Someone is always gonna be willing to risk everything to try and steal it. So we just need to kill everyone."

"Everyone?" Naruto said quietly. Sakura was so glad he wasn't surprised; maybe he'd already come to the same conclusion.

"Well, everyone except us. Obito can pull us out before the Cannon fires, and Nagato will probably be fine with the Rinnegan," Sakura explained. "But all the Kage will die, and a lot of the Jinchuriki! So it'll just be us, Obito, Fuu, and your mom and dad left. Then we can grab the Rinnegan, and even without the Cannon no one will be able to mess with us. I mean, the village's will be decapitated, they'll probably turn on each other. Shinobi are made for war, you know? So we'll be as safe as can be. It's not like anyone will know it was us!"

Naruto stayed quiet, finishing up Hinata and turning back to her. Sakura was glad about that too: she couldn't believe she'd cut off Hinata's hand, but there hadn't been any other choice at the time. Naruto would probably be able to reattach her hand, since he was such an amazing medic. There wasn't any permanent damage done. And anyway, the Yakushi Shiki would have gone off if Hinata had bled out. She wouldn't have died. It had been fine.

'Activate it.'

Not quite yet: she had to make sure Naruto was on board first.

'Activate it!'

"Sakura," Naruto asked, stepping towards her. She cocked her head curiously, the Cannon whining behind her. "Would you really do that?"

"Of course I'd do it," she said, not sure if it was a rhetorical question. "I mean, wouldn't you, Naruto? All these people have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they don't deserve to live. You must know that things can end peacefully here, right? We've got to kill everyone that could threaten us, and with the Cannon it would be easy. I mean, with the Rinnegan and the rest of the villages out of the way, we'll basically be the gods Nagato wished he was. We could go where we want and do whatever we want. There'd be nothing and no one to hold us back. Doesn't that sound amazing?"

Naruto swallowed, and Sakura continued, the words spilling out of her. She barely recognized the sound of her own voice.

"Everyone is so caught up about killing. Like it matters! But I killed Haku, and it was fine. Ending someone's life isn't a big deal, no matter how much people cry about it. It's easy! And most people don't even care! I mean, how many people have we killed, in Waterfall, in Konoha, in the Land of Frost? How many of those people do we really give a second thought, even though we didn't know their names? Gaara was an asshole, but he was right about how simple it was. When we do this, make it obvious what we want, how powerful the people who are on our side are, even if people find out, they'll just accept it! The same way they accepted wars before, the Shinobi System before, slavery, genocide, empires, all the things in history that everyone rails against but let happen anyway or can't stop in the first place: it'll just be the new status quo!"

She stepped forward, away from the Cannon, despite feeling a twinge of pain run the length of her body at separating herself from the weapon. "Isn't that wonderful? We'd basically rule the world. Don't you wanna rule the world with me, Naruto?"

Naruto paused, started to speak.

'Activate it!'

"Sakura," he said, looking like he was going to start crying. Sakura couldn't believe it: she'd never imagined Naruto looking so weak. "I don't think I want that."

"What?" she stepped back towards the Cannon, her heart burning and hammering in her chest. Things were making less and less sense; moments were becoming disconnected. The world seemed to progress in fits and starts from second to second. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't want that. My dad's trying to do the same thing right now, and I don't agree with him either. I don't want you to be the kind of person that could kill that many people. That's not…" Naruto swallowed. "That's not the kind of girl I fell in love with."

Sakura's heart stopped, but her head started pounding. The urge to fire the Cannon was overwhelming; nothing else in the world besides her, Naruto, and the Cannon existed.

At least, until Karin crested the top of the Fortress, looking panicked and waving golden chakra chains around her. She looked around, a faint "What?" escaping her lips.

Sakura's head snapped towards her, and then back towards Naruto. Her hand settled on the safety lever. Karin advanced, but Sakura ignored her. She didn't matter: she was barely real.

"Take that back," Sakura demanded, feeling empty. Naruto shook his head, and Karin drew closer. "Take that back right now, or I'll fire it without telling Obito first."

"Sakura, think about what you're doing," Naruto begged, stepping closer. Sakura's hand tightened around the lever, her chakra gathering in her free hand, sheathing it in liquid. "We came here to save people; the Cannon was just a means to an end, a threat: we weren't actually going to kill everyone." He licked his lips. "Doesn't this sound… a little like what happened with Itachi?"

The Flowing Hail Blade came out, but Naruto didn't move to defend himself. He just took another step forward, his hands up, helpless, pleading.

"Why don't you believe in me?" Sakura begged. "Why does everything I accomplish have to be someone else's fault?!" The world was going red, the sound of her raging heart drowning out everything else.

"Sakura, that's not-!" Naruto said, and Sakura struck out.

She struck out, fully intending to strike Naruto, collar to hip, just like Haku had been, but Karin's chains were unbelievably fast: they burst out, tangled into Sakura's hail blade, and trapped it in place a foot from Naruto.

So Sakura lashed out with her other hand, manipulating the water blade as only she could through another tangle of Karin's chains, and cut the Uzumaki open from belly to chin.

She went down with an agonized scream, and Naruto let out a shout of disbelief. Sakura spun, ready to attack him again, and froze. Sasuke and Hinata were moving as well: the rooftop was converging on her. She should have lashed out and cut them all down, coated the Fortress in their blood and turned back to the Cannon. That was all there was left to do.

But instead, she froze. Time froze. Everything ground to a stop.

What had she just done?

Had she really just tried to kill Naruto?

…

…

…

She had. It was just like the Land of Frost: the attack on Kushiro, the room full of civilians. Her body had moved on its own.

She hadn't even hesitated. She'd been ready to kill him in a single blow.

'Focus! You're so close!'

Sakura did focus. But she didn't focus on the situation. Not on Naruto, Sasuke, or Hinata as they pushed through clear amber towards her, terror plain on their faces. How could she ever have made them look like that? How could she ever be forgiven for doing that?

Instead, she focused on the voice in her head.

It had always been there, for as long as she could remember. A little her that had been braver, more ambitious, sometimes crueler. It had quieted in Rain, no longer needed, and come back with force after the attack on Amegakure.

But it had been different after that. Sakura had understood that, because she had been different after Amegakure. It made sense. Now, she questioned everything she'd ever heard, ever thought, ever done, her friends bleeding bodies forcing her into the past.

'You're running away from your responsibilities. It's your fault Haku is dead, and if you don't do what needs to be done so many more deaths will burden you. Are you that weak, that people need to console you like this? Hurt him like he's hurt you. She just couldn't endure what you could. They think so little of you? So close to the end, so close, so close-'

'Activate it!'

Oh no, Sakura thought with frightening clarity as the world started moving again.

Sasuke had been right.

Just as fast as her thoughts, her shadow sprang to life.

It wrapped around arms and legs, encasing her in ethereal chakra that was harder than steel. Her body began to move on its own: she pulled the safety lever for the Cannon, and a k'chunk sound broke the stasis on everything.

"Sakura!" Naruto screamed, rushing forward. She reached back towards the Cannon, her fingers brushing the firing button. One centimeter from oblivion, a blink of an eye from all-encompassing destruction. Her other arm lashed out on its own accord, her Flowing Water Blade shattering the sound barrier. Once more, the jutsu she'd invented was set to kill Naruto where he stood.

NO!

"Naruto…" she tried to say. Her body was paralyzed, but Sakura moved nonetheless.

She was a prisoner, enslaved inside herself. It was like a Yamanaka's mind-stealing jutsu, but a million times worse. The Shadow needed her body; that's why it was controlling her, why it had gone to such lengths to get her here.

But she'd been here before. She had a single moment of defiance.

Just one jerk of her arm.

Just one heartbeat.

Just one way out.

The Shadow surrounding her writhed, and she felt its fear.

Sakura took control of the attack, and threw it away from Naruto.

"I…" she managed, but that was it.

Sakura sent the Ryusuiken straight through her own heart.