"Be careful..."
"It's fine. Naruto may be Hokage, but he can still be an idiot."
Sasuke and Sakura snuck their way into the safe room of the Hokage's confidential building, the pink-haired girl making sure no one was roaming the hall outside before giving the door a nice quiet shut. She turned around after locking it behind her, watching her husband move towards the giant metal vault that contained what they were looking for.
"Sasuke-kun, what are you planning to do exactly?"
"Naruto is right about that one part." The raven-haired boy stared at the giant door and narrowed his eyes, his mind focusing on the time-travel scroll. "There's no way I can get into the past. Not when there's already a me there."
Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Then..."
"There's just something I have to confirm." He says, giving his eyes a shut as he held up his fingers to form a sign. Sakura watched as the vault slowly started to open, with almost no noise at all. Sometimes she wondered if there was really anything her husband couldn't do.
After the door was fully open, he started his way inside, taking a giant step over the bottom of the ledge into the safe. The pink-haired girl followed him closely from behind as he reached the center of the vault and picked up the big scroll Naruto had showed them earlier.
Sakura glanced at the parchment in her husband's hands, analyzing his expression of deep thought. "What is it?"
The raven-haired man opened the scroll, slowly unwinding it so that he could thoroughly investigate its contents.
"There's just something about it." He started as he scanned through the initial instructions of the technique. "I feel like I've seen a glimpse of it before."
After looking over the rest of the material, Sasuke paused as he came across a blurred portion of the writing, hidden at the very bottom of the instructions. It seemed to be a stamp with a cluster of words together into the shape of a rectangle, and in the middle..
"The Uchiha crest."
"What?" Sakura whispered in awe, quickly rushing closer beside her husband and grabbing the side of the scroll so she could see more clearly. It was faint, but it was definitely there. "Do the Uchiha's have something to do with this time-travel technique?"
"That's what I'm thinking." Sasuke says, brows furrowing as he tranced off into his mind. "Sakura. I'm going to try something."
".. Are you going to try and activate it?"
"Sarada already broke the seal for the initial entry. I don't believe it's possible to directly enter into the past. But if I'm correct.. this will work, to some extent."
Sakura watched as the raven-haired boy took a sharp bite of his thumb, revealing a fast trickle of blood down his skin before he slammed it onto the red circle in the scroll.
"Sasuke-"
The pink-haired girl jumped back as a white light sprung from the scroll, embodying the entire room accompanied by a strong wind. She held her arms back, hiding her eyes from the brightness of the energy.
In a few seconds, the light slowly dissipated, along with the presence of her husband.
--
Maybe she should run away.
That's it. If she found a way to destroy the bracelet, she'd be stuck in here forever. And that was perfect. If she was real careful, she could find ways to alter the past and everything would be okay again. Her father wouldn't be a maniac. Her mother wouldn't have almost gotten killed by his own hands. She'd make this past, a liveable present.
Ugh. What was she thinking? Now she was getting all these absurd ideas. Just look at how ridiculous that sounded. She didn't even know the full story yet and here she was making a plan as if she was going to change ninja history.
The Uchiha heiress stood, frozen, in the middle of a village that wasn't her own. Instead, the ground was completely covered by sand, which was accompanied by strong winds. She rubbed her eye when a few specks blew their way into her eyelid, which only made her start to tear again.
The time-travel had already taken her to a new point. She hasn't been to the sand village too often in the future world, but it was obvious she was there right now. In fact, she promised Boruto and Mitsuki that they would go on a personal adventure there one day, but it never really came around.
Oh, well.
It was evening here, and the sun was about to set. After taking a few moments to gaze at the pink tinged sky above, she began to walk. Slowly, but keen of her surroundings. She took note of how different it was from the Leaf Village. It didn't seem like a lot of people inhabited this place, but she knew they were probably all inside of their homes at this time.
After a few moments, Sarada paused in her tracks as she sensed a group of people coming up from behind her. Oh a whim, she hid behind the nearest house alleyway so she couldn't be seen.
Immediately, she saw three people walking past her. She recognized one of them as her mother, and the other two seemed to be Naruto and Kakashi. Her mom still looked the same as the last time-point that she'd seen her in, so it was either before or after when the last time-point incident happened.
They look like they're going somewhere. Sarada thought, judging by the way they held their gazes in tact. On a whim, she decided to tail them. If anything, she was going to get to the bottom of everything.
"My family is dead." Sarada thought back to the words of her father, feeling a shiver go down her spine. .. What on earth happened?
In amidst of thought, her feet shuffled their way way closer to the three-man group, quickly darting behind each building she could get to as they continued to walk ahead.
It looks like they're going to the Kazekage's office. She thought, noticing the tall, circular building that had the wind letter on it.
Suddenly, she let out a little gasp as the silver-haired man stopped in his tracks before the rest of the group and gazed behind him, searching the dead town. Sarada quickly popped her head behind the building wall, cursing herself for getting sidetracked.
"Show yourself."
The Uchiha should've known that their sensei would be the first to notice someone tailing them. Slowly, but defiantly, she walked out from her hiding out onto the sandy road. She held her gaze with him, but looked over at both her mom and Uncle Naruto to acknowledge their presence.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "You are?"
"Sarada." The girl with the glasses said, feeling a bit weird that she had to introduce herself so many times, although it was necessary.
"Ehh, why are you following us?" Naruto jumped in, more confused rather than suspicious.
Frankly, she didn't know what would make a good answer. After all, she had no idea what was going on at this time-point. In this moment, she glanced over at the blonde and noticed that her father wasn't present with the two of them and their sensei. She wondered where he was.
"I want to help." She blurted out with no specific plan in the course of her actions. No doubt, they're probably on an important mission.
The three of them darted their eyes towards the leaf symbol on her headband, confirming her identity. They looked at eachother for a moment, as if they were deciding whether or not they should let her in.
"For what reason? How do we know you're not in alliance with our enemy?" Kakashi inquires again, still maintaining his suspicion.
"I want to protect the village." Sarada said, hoping he would buy her whole gimmick. Not that it wasn't true. "Konoha's my home, too. Let me help you."
The copy ninja continued to stare at her blankly, until the blonde gave him a harsh nudge on the side and displayed a wide grin. "Hey, hey! It should be okay. She looks like she'd be good help, besides, the more the better!"
Sakura and Kakashi gave him a blink of their eyes before theirsensei let out a sigh and reached his arm to scratch the back of his head in defeat.
"Okay, then." He replied, "Follow along."
--
"The Kazekage is missing." Kakashi says, reinstating the facts, although this was Sarada's first time hearing about this situation first-hand. They were currently in one of the meeting rooms of the Kazekage's building, going over the present situation.
"Team Gai will be assisting us, although they'll be going in a different direction." He continues, laying his hands out on the map in front of them while making finger gestures. "We have to be extremely careful. There's a high chance that the Akatsuki will be out there to stop us."
Akatsuki...
Sarada replayed the moment at the dinner table where her parents spoke about the Akatsuki. She knew that they were a criminal group, but she didn't have too much detail on them and their specific antics. But, maybe they had something to do with Itachi.
"Who're the Akatsuki?" She asked with no hesitation.
Naruto blinked and raised an eyebrow, turning himself around to whisper in Sakura's ear. "Hey hey, should we really let her come along? Who in Konoha doesn't know who the Akatsuki are nowadays?"
The pink-haired girl scowled, giving him a harsh elbow in the stomach. "Don't be rude. You're the one who approved of her coming!"
She returned her gaze back to the Uchiha heiress, who was waiting for an answer despite their blabbering.
"The Akatsuki are an enemy group to the hidden villages. They're made up of rogue ninjas and right now, they're aiming to capture all the Bijuu to create some sort of technique that can wipe out the entire world." The pink-haired girl said calmly. "That's why they've got Gaara right now, and the Shukaku."
The beasts. Sarada remembers learning about this before, back when she would spend her days reading about the balance of power between the hidden villages.
Could it be that Dad joined this enemy group? Is that why he looked so different and isn't here anymore in this time-point? The Uchiha heiress said to herself, evading to her own train of thought. The three of them noticed her change in expression and paused.
".. Do you know something, Sarada?" Sakura inquired, tilting her head a little to take a better look at their new companion. The Uchiha heiress responded with a slow shake of her head.
"No." She denied flatly.
"Okay, then." The silver-haired man interrupted, continuing on. "Well, we have a lead. Kankuro of the sand managed to pick up one of Sasori's clothing that stuck onto his puppets. Thankfully, that will give us a leeway to where Gaara is."
"Chiyo will be joining us, as well." He added, looking back at his team members for approval and was responded with a bunch of nods.
Maybe I'll see dad again. Sarada thought, thinking back to the possibility of encountering her father among the Akatsuki. Thank god she managed to get in on this mission. If there were any possible chances to confirm her curiosity, it was this.
"We'll set out the next morning." Kakashi announced once more. "They have rooms ready for us down the hall. Get plenty of rest everybody."
The three of them gave the silver-haired man another firm nod before scattering themselves out the door.
Sakura was the last to exit the room, slowing closing the door behind her before giving the Uchiha heiress a look. "Sarada. Do you want to share the room with me?"
The girl with the glasses turned around abruptly, her mother's offer managing to make her beam inside. She gave a small grin. If there was anything more comforting than what she's been feeling nowadays, it was being able to sleep by her mother's side. "Yeah, sure!"
"See you guys tomorrow, Sakura-chan, Sarada-chan!" The blonde said as the three of them reached the end of the hall, pausing to see eachother goodbye before the blue-eyed boy turned the opposite direction.
The two girls walked down the other side, their footsteps the only sound that was being made down the quietness of their area. Sarada looked at her mother from the corner of her eyes, hesitant to ask something, but she was curious. Finally, she mustered up the courage to speak.
"So where's your third member?" She asked, careful not to sound too stingy. She watched the pink-haired girl for a reaction, and caught sight of her expression quickly turning sullen.
"He's not with us."
I can see that. Sarada thought to herself, giving a little pout. Her mother was practically the queen of evading questions, and she knew it all too well.
"Where did he go?"
The Uchiha heiress searched her face for another answer, and this time her mother started biting her lip with visible pressure. She wondered if she was being rude, and quickly decided to retract. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy."
"He left the village three years ago." The pink-haired girl managed a reply, catching the Uchiha heiress off guard.
Sarada felt her hands clench together. Dad.. Left the village?
She felt her mind starting to blur again, trying to put two and two together, or rather what seemed like a million pieces. Right now, it seemed like the long journeys her father would constantly go on weren't the first few ones he started ever since she was born. Judging by her mother, he's definitely been gone for way longer. Was it really for the Akatsuki? If not, for what?
The two of them reached the front of their door, her mother slowly turning the knob on the wooden frame and allowing a small click before she pushed it open. Sarada followed from behind, her eyes pointed to the ground, drifting into her thoughts once more.
--
He stared at her with his bright crimson eyes, desperate to shed more blood.
She was running. Running, but her legs felt heavy. The streets of Konoha were dark and empty, the only two in town were her and her father.
Her father, who was already right at her back.
The streets were changing. In a split second, she was back at the edge of the bridge, her small neck tightly in his grasp of his warm calloused hands. The same hands that would hold her in deep hugs and caress the top of her head to sleep.
While he was busy grasping her neck, his other arm reached out and formed a blue light in his palm. And within a second, he held it up in the air before he let it go crashing in-
"No!" Sarada shot up from her sleep, taking fast staggered breaths in the wake of her nightmare. Her whole body was sweating, and her eyes darted around several areas of the room before landing on the pink-haired girl lying beside her.
Or, where she was supposed to be.
She took a moment to cool herself down before wiping the wetness of her forehead and uncovering herself from the thick blankets. She placed her feet onto the ground and started towards the door, leaving it half open as she exited the room.
The moonlight shone through the window, providing the only source of light inside the living room area. With its help, Sarada spotted her mother sitting on the tattered green couch in the corner, her arm providing support for her head as she leaned against it with her elbow on the arm of the couch.
".. Sakura?" The Uchiha heiress spoke her name softly, tiptoeing her way to her mother, who looked like she had been visibly crying.
"Sarada." The pink-haired girl blinked and quickly wiped her cheeks as her new company took the spot next to her. "Sorry.. Y-you don't have to see me like this."
"Is something bothering you?" The girl with the glasses moved the pillow from beside her mom and plopped herself down, facing the pink-haired woman from the side.
"It's nothing. I just get like this every now and then." Sakura forced a weak smile.
Truth is, Sarada already knew. She knew how to read her mother, and it wasn't just because she was an easy person to read. Her feelings and thoughts were almost transparent to her, in the future, and even now. After all, it wasn't her first time seeing her like this over the past couple of years with her father constantly being away from the family.
"Do you miss him?"
She watched her mother curl her lips inwards, and she could tell that she was already trying not to break down again.
"It's been so long, Sarada." She started, trying hard to keep her voice steady even though it already started to shake. "He's just not the same person anymore. You look in his eyes and..".
Sarada watched her mother's expression and noted how she was unable to finish her words. But she didn't need her to finish. She knew exactly what she meant. And it broke her heart knowing that her mom spent years knowing it before she did.
"You really love him don't you." Sarada whispered.
"I do." The pink-haired girl gasped for a deep breath of air. "But I really don't know how to reach out to him anymore."
The two of them sat in silence for a few seconds, allowing the quietness to engulf the room before her mother started speaking again.
".. Did you know him, Sarada?"
"Uh," The Uchiha heiress jumped, remembering to keep up her act. "No.. But you three were well known. Sasuke, right?"
Her heart rested as she saw her mother slowly nodding, accepting her response. Giving a small sigh of relief and another pause, she started again, this time in a more serious manner.
"Sakura, can I ask you something?"
The pink-haired girl looked beside her to the Uchiha, giving her a small nod in approval. "Yeah."
"Why did he leave?"
Sakura continued to hold her gaze at her, taking a large gulp before slowly shaking her head in disarray.
"Orochimaru and the sound ninja convinced him to go away." She spoke, slowly and quietly. "He wanted to get stronger. To defeat Itachi, a member of the Akatsuki."
Orochimaru..
He's the creepy dude I've met before, when I first met dad. Sarada thought, thinking back to the time where they were in his lair. Mom did tell me that he wasn't a good person before. I guess Dad wasn't part of the Akatsuki. But it still didn't make sense.
And of course, Itachi. She needed to know more about that name.
"Can I ask you one more thing?" Sarada said, earning another nod from her mom before firing again.
"Who's Itachi?"
"One of the criminals in Akatsuki.. He's the one who tried to take the Kyuubi the first time."
"But what did he do to Sasuke?"
Sakura immediately stiffened. Sarada continued to stare at her before her mother finally looked her back in the eye.
"He's the one who massacred the entire Uchiha clan."
Massacre? Sarada felt her entire body freeze. Just- what?
She always thought maybe her relatives didn't live in a single village around her. Or maybe they just lost contact with her parents. Maybe something cliche like her father's side didn't approve of her mother. Never in a million years did she think they all perished in a bloodbath.
"Why did he do that?" Sarada whispered, feeling her own voice starting to shake.
Her mother didn't respond but instead closed her eyes and shook her head, letting herself absorb the air of the new atmosphere. "I don't know. But it's changed Sasuke-kun in ways that I don't even know can be fixed."
Suddenly, she had a glimpse of understanding why her father became the way he was when he tried to kill her. Grandma and Grandpa Uchiha.. everybody's lives were taken so abruptly away from him. He's been holding onto all of his hatred all this time, almost his entire life. Did he ever confide in anyone? His teammates, Naruto and Sakura? Kakashi?
But what did Itachi have do with the Uchiha's? What did he have against them? How did Dad ever come to terms with himself...
She felt like all of the information was just jumbled together. She had difficulty placing everything into a clear timeline.
"How did.." Sarada started, still in shock. "How did he get away?"
"Itachi left him as a survivor." The pink-haired girl said. "He and his sibling are the only ones left."
Sarada blinked. She knew her father had a brother, but he refused to talk about him everytime she asked. It was a taboo subject, despite hearing the villagers whisper about Sasuke's sibling not being around anymore. She eventually just assumed he had died a long time ago as a child. "Itachi left Sasuke's sibling alive, too?"
"Huh?" Sakura says in confusion before grabbing a piece of tissue from the side of the couch to begin wiping her face.
"Sarada, Sasuke and Itachi are brothers."
The Uchiha heiress gaped at her mother with her mouth wide open, and a mix of feelings rushed through her at the same time.
Itachi killed the clan..
.. And he's dad's brother?
Uncle Itachi? Sarada spoke in her head.
If that was true, then Itachi is definitely still alive in this time-point. Hell, he could even be alive back in her world and she had no idea.
Whatever it was, she needed to see him.