Sakura's POV
It was finally the time I have been stressing over for who knows how long. Itachi's thirteenth birthday had been a week ago. For the past year I have observed him far more then I ever had before. He was demonstrating actions that I did not like towards his family and friends. I knew that Danzo had somehow already gotten to him but I couldn't bring up such a subject with him. So I brought it up with Hiruzen.
This time I held nothing back. He knew that last year I had accomplished many things and so my ability to see "future visions" had gotten stronger. Knowing that his friend was the one who started such a situation, he couldn't bring himself to believe it. In order to get his full cooperation, I asked him to observe Danzo's every move.
Kakashi being the most involved from the bunch was tasked with the mission to follow Danzo secretively. All I needed to know was when he met with Itachi, that would be the time to set our plan in motion.
The whole situation was actually better than last time. In the Anime/manga pretty much all of his family was in on the coup d'état. This time, I noticed the hostility coming full force from the elders and some of the other Uchiha families. Knowing that Itachi's family as well as Shisui's weren't in on the coup, I stressed for hours trying to come up with a plan together with the other four guys.
Laying in bed now, I couldn't help go over what's happened for the past year. Although our plan ended up with me not having to do much of anything, I still trained daily incase anything happened. My fighting styles had been completed and I had practiced them over and over. Hiruzen had even helped find flaws within them.
Inner's and my new ability had also seemed to grow a little. We could now talk to each other in a group of three at the same time as long as they held my hands. It was hard to enhance this skill since I could only practice it with five people. Ibiki had come to the office where we strategized often. He wasn't too scary once you spent hours together planning out a future disaster. Our strange group had actually gotten along quite well. They were all more opened and even though Kakashi was still a bit detached, I knew sooner or later he would get better.
Other then training daily for long hours, I did spend time with all the kids. How could I not, they were all so cute when they wanted to be. Naruto had really made me proud. He had finally stepped out of his comfort bubble and started acting more and more like the Naruto in the anime/manga.
Everyone else hadn't really changed much, they still acted the same if not a little different from the anime/manga. Our friendship had also gotten stronger between each other, and I was glad for it.
Another great accomplishment was finally getting to meet Lee's mother and grandmother. His mother was a very beautiful woman with raven colored long Hime style hair. It was as dark as Lee's. She didn't have the same eyes as him, so I thought he probably got them from his dad who sadly wasn't around anymore.
His grandmother had been really kind and although she was wise, she could be very funny when she wanted to be. She actually reminded me a lot of Chiyo.
"Sakura, the Hokage wishes to speak with you." Hayate stated by the window. I sat up from my bed quickly.
The Hokage almost never asked one of the three ANBU I knew to get me because they were all busy.
"Yeah...I'll be right there." I answered and watched him nod and poof away. I sat frozen on my bed, staring at the spot he had been on.
"It's time." Inner stated and I shook my daze away and pulled the covers off quickly before jumping off the bed. I hurried around to get showered, dressed and ready to go. My heart was pumping rapidly the whole time.
Scribbling a quick note to Madoka and Kioshi, I left it on my nightstand and quickly ran out the house. Even though I wasn't going to be doing anything physical during the massacre, I made sure to dress up in moveable clothes, just incase. I wore black three quarter pants and a purple tee shirt with black ninja sandals.
I arrived at the tower and felt four other chakra's inside.
"Sakura, I would like you to be here as Kakashi reports his findings." Hiruzen stated in all his seriousness. I nodded and stepped inside, only nodding a quiet greeting towards the others.
"Kakashi, you may begin." Hiruzen stated.
"At exactly 5:45 today Danzo entered the building for the Academy teaching exam. I attempted to follow inside as instructed for me to keep watch of him, however the building had been sealed off. Two ANBU members guarded the entrance. There was also more ANBU stationed inside." Kakashi informed.
"Those probably weren't ANBU... " I stated as I thought about his report.
"Are they root?" Hiruzen asked, I nodded up to him.
"That's right. He didn't disband that organization like you wanted him too, but...I didn't know that the location was so near..." I stated in worry. If he was so close to the Academy, that didn't help me feel reassured.
"You think the location is in that building?" Hayate asked. I shook my head and frowned.
"No, not exactly inside the building...It's more like underneath it. On the last time I crossed paths with Danzo I had a vision of dark chambers that looked as if they were underground." I explained and watched Hiruzen nod.
"Yes it makes sense. Kakashi, will you continue." He stated.
"When I couldn't get inside the building, I decided to wait for him outside and sense as much around me as I could. Besides the root members inside, I also felt two familiar chakra's beside Danzo's. It was unmistakably the two Uchiha's chakra's. Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha." Before he could continue I had cut him off.
"Shisui! Kakashi-san are you sure?!" I asked and waited until he nodded in affirmation.
"That's not right! Shisui's not supposed to help with the massacre! Wait a minute...he's not even supposed to be alive!" Inner screamed worriedly.
'But this isn't the same as the anime/manga anymore. Some things are bound to change...' I stated and then looked over to Hiruzen.
"Hokage-sama, if Shisui's there our previous plan won't work. He's a genjutsu specialist. In the vision I saw, he wasn't supposed to even be alive." I informed. Hiruzen looked shocked at first but that quickly changed into worry.
"He was killed? By who?" Asked Genma. I frowned at the floor and took a quick glance at Hiruzen before answering.
"Root members. It was for his eyes..." I explained and watched Hiruzen's face scrunch up in sadness. Silence followed and being one who disliked that particular silence, I spoke up.
"So now that Shisui's involved, shouldn't we make a different plan?" I asked and watched as Ibiki stepped up.
"That's right. Sakura, I suggest you tell us again everything you can remember about the visions you've been having." Ibiki stated. I nodded and took a deep breath before I began.
I told them everything. From the smallest of details that Inner could pick out, to the obviously big ones. I left nothing out and the whole event lasted about thirty minutes to explain.
"So by the sounds of it, we have until it gets dark." Hayate stated once I was done.
"Yeah, but we still don't have a plan." Genma said and looked around for ideas. I sighed and rubbed my temples so my head would stop throbbing. Opening my eyes, I looked upon the scrolls on the Hokage's desk...
"That's it!" I shouted and ran over to Hiruzen's desk and grabbed a hold of one of his scrolls. I smiled widely and held it up for him to see.
"What is it?" He asked as he looked from the scroll in front of him to me.
"Fūinjutsu that's what! It's not easily detected and there are a million possibilities with using it." I said and watched as he understood what I was talking about but couldn't see how I wanted to use it.
"Are you perhaps thinking using that as the back up plan?" Ibiki asked me as they approached us near the desk. I nodded up to him and pulled my ever present pink book bag in front of me. I pulled out a scroll from within and inserted some chakra in it. It unfolded after it recognized my chakra and then a poof was soon heard. Flowers appeared looking as preserved as when I had placed them in it.
"Fūinjutsu can seal living beings. So, I was thinking what if we sealed as many Uchiha's as we could before Itachi and Shisui can get to them." I said and resealed the flowers.
"But how? And most importantly when?" Genma asked. I smiled up to him, I was way ahead of him as my ideas kept processing.
"To answer the when part, Hokage-sama can send them on a mission that doesn't require them to leave the Land of Fire. That way Danzo or Itachi and Shisui wont be suspicious. During their absence from the compound we can commence with the first part. We'll place a seal on them that connects directly to a scroll that is in our possession and just seal them up." I explained and watched as each one thought about the new quickly made up plan.
"How are we going to place a seal on them? They wont just allow us to go in freely and seal them up." Hayate asked. I shook my head and pointed up to him.
"That's where I come in. They may not allow you guys to enter and roam around freely, but I, on the other hand can." I stated and watched as they got a look of realization.
"That actually might work. Good work kid." Genma stated with a chuckle as he patted my head. I smiled but frowned as a thought crossed my mind.
"Ne Ibiki-san, does one have to be present to activate a scroll or a seal?" I asked since I wasn't a master at any of the two. He looked down at me.
"Some of them don't require the presence of the one activating it. For this plan we can activate it from here if one was skilled enough." He answered and we all looked up to Hiruzen. He was the only one who could pull it off from this group. He was after all a master at it.
"But if I do the activation, then who will stall Danzo?" He asked and we all stayed quiet. He was right. Most likely that man would want every thing to go according to plan. No doubt he would have root members near by.
"Someone else will have to do it." Ibiki stated. I frowned, and looked down at the floor.
'Who else could possibly pull it off? All the other members would be busy, wait! We could try something else!' Lifting my head to explain to them my idea, I noticed they were all looking at me.
"Eh? Did you say something?" I asked Hiruzen who merely chuckled.
"We think you should do it." He answered and my eyes widened at his comment.
"I think I'll probably mess up, but I do have another idea. I was thinking that having all the Uchiha's sealed into one scroll in the same location would probably be sensed. So what if we have the ANBU positioned in other locations across Konoha, and make it hard for them to figure out which one to track." I suggested and watched as Hiruzen nodded.
"But will the Uchiha actually be sealed in all the scrolls or just one?" Genma asked.
"I guess that's where I come in. I can be the one to really seal them up." I stated and watched as they nodded.
"Alright, it's six o'clock, sunset is at seven so we have around thirteen hours to get everything ready." Genma stated. We all nodded and spent the next hour perfecting the plan so that things wouldn't go wrong. Without being intentional, I ended up having to do a lot more dangerous things then the Hokage first intended to give me. I just had to make sure I did everything right, I couldn't mess up, not now.
At seven o'clock the ANBU left to get ready for tonight. If they were found, they couldn't be seen as ANBU, so I purpose they dress differently. Different outfits and masks, a completely new group of it's own.
I left with Ibiki right after the ANBU. He was going to "Teach" me in place of the Hokage, since he was going to be busy with paperwork, meetings and the usual as was the cover story. Ibiki was going to tell me more in-depth about Fūinjutsu and scrolls. Just enough so I could successfully pull this off.
We spent a whole hour together and Inner and I made sure to remember all that he instructed us on. Ibiki was actually a good teacher, perhaps a little strict but he got the lesson across quite well. During that time we made the scrolls and he showed me the seal I would be using. This would be my first time ever using any type of chakra technique. At school we had yet to seriously get into Ninjustu or Genjutsu. All we've really learned was hand signs and Taijutsu.
So after attempting a few tries with Ibiki as my instructor, I got it down fairly quickly. Thankfully I hadn't messed up so much that he would get mad, I really didn't want to see him angry.
At eight o'clock I made my regular walk towards the Academy like as if everything was normal. So far things had been going good. I would have to make sure Sasuke was also being kept occupied during the main event. Even though we were attempting to seal up all the Uchiha, we had to think realistically and know that not everyone may survive. I really didn't want to think of that part so I focused on getting other things ready.
'Inner, we can't make mistakes. Mikoto and all the other Uchiha's lives are on the line. We have to save them.' I thought as I entered the Academy.
"Yeah, I know. But...I'm worried...What will happen to Itachi and Shisui?" Inner asked.
'Knowing that Tobi has probably already made contact with Itachi if not both of them, I'd say they will leave to join Akatsuki. This time, Danzo was the only one to order them to do such a thing by himself. He took advantage of the Uchiha elder's coup,so he could set his own plan in action. If we could somehow get them to come back later, knowing that Danzo was the only one who tricked them, things would go so much better.' I answered as I slid the door open to the very familiar classroom.
As expected, I was one of the last to arrive, due to all that had happened this morning. But Iruka wasn't in yet, so everything was fine. I waved to the kids who greeted me and took my seat next to a brooding Sasuke. It was conveniently his turn for me to sit by and so that helped me observe him.
"Morning Sasuke, why are you brooding today? Does it have to do with Itachi?" I asked quietly so that only he heard. He seemed to find it annoying when people eavesdropped. So as to not make him angry, especially when I wanted answers, I tried my best so that only he heard.
"Hn, him and Shisui are always too busy to train me anymore." He grumpily stated. I smiled sadly at the brooding boy. Even at eight years old he was still worshiping his brother like some god. I found it cute when I was in the presence of an adoring Sasuke, but slightly annoying with the brooding one.
"Hm, well Itachi and Shisui are just that great at what they do. You should be grateful they have time to be home at all." I stated and watched as he glared at me with his much better Uchiha glare and then to his desk. I could feel the wavering feeling inside of him, perhaps he too had felt the change in the other two. Throughout the years we had gotten close, especially from the training days.
I still remember when Shisui had insisted that I stop being so polite to them and call them by name, just like I did with Sasuke. I hadn't really minded, so I dropped the honorific with not only them but most of the other kids. Ino, however kept insisting I call her "Ino-chan", so to please her I kept it. Naruto along with Tenten, Hinata, Ino, Shisui and Choji had decided to keep adding the -chan to my name, which I didn't mind. They were all so cute when they wanted to be. But lately, as they grew older, I could see their mischievous side growing as well. I was sure they would grow to be such a handful.
"Alright class get out your textbooks and read chapter eight. Oh and you better read it or you wont know anything on your quiz." Iruka stated and grinned when he heard the class erupt in groans of exasperation. Iruka too has grown to understand his fellow students quite well. He knew that he had to use incentives or else some of the students wouldn't do the work. He used either good incentives like a longer recess or bad ones like more work and shorter breaks. Having already learned what was usually taught using the books, I took these moments to think or do work from Hiruzen.
When I had absolutely nothing to do, I learned a few things from the kids and Iruka as I observed them. Iruka, as I have tested a few times, was very sensitive to chakra signals. The first time I tried to practice my chakra, Iruka had sprung from his desk in full alert, it had greatly surprised me. I had tested the capacity of his sensitivity by spiking my chakra in very small amounts. Each time I had noticed that he would sense it and look around for the source. I had carefully tested it out so I was sure that he didn't know it was me. Inner being so good at controlling our chakra, had me not worried of him tracking it down.
The students had also grown in skill. Almost all the kids had great shots with their kunai and shuriken. Their stamina and Taijutsu was coming along nicely. Even though we didn't spar yet, I was sure we soon would and they would be good at it.
The Kunoichi classes had also progressed into the cultures from the other countries, while still brushing up on our basics.
School had gone by just like any other day, except Iruka as a request from the Hokage, had asked us to write a paper on a ninja that we admired from the past. Ino had insisted that we all get together in the library so we can finish our paper. Knowing this was apart of the plan so Sasuke wouldn't get involved, I agreed right away. Sasuke had reluctantly agreed after some persistence of both Ino and I. So our group of six went to the library and I knew that for some of the others, it would take a long time for them to finish.
I picked Hiruzen, because I did admire him and also I knew a good deal about him to write a paper on. Naruto had surprisingly chosen the fourth Hokage, since he stated that he considered him a real hero.
Having finished faster than all the others, I said I would leave first so I could meet the Hokage. I was thanking the gods when Sasuke had practically presented to me the most perfect opportunity. Since they would all be at the library for a very long time, he asked me to tell his mother he would be home late. I had immediately agreed and before anyone else asked anything, I wished them luck and waved goodbye.
I walked away normally so they wouldn't think something was off, but as I rounded the first corner and once I was out of their view, I ran out the library. Wasting no time, I ran towards the Uchiha compound.
'Alright, time to place a seal on all the Uchiha's. At times like these, I wish I would know how to perform Naruto's shadow clone jutsu.' I said as I ran down the streets.
"You're gunna have to wait since he hasn't even learned that technique. Do you even think he'll learn it this time?" Inner asked. I shrugged and felt Genma's chakra approaching fast.
'Maybe, I don't know with the way things are going now.' I answered before going into a small forest out of everyone's view. Genma appeared as soon as I stopped. This had been a rather frequent occurrence so we knew that the first thing we did was have direct contact between us. There would always be moments where ninja could listen in to anyone's conversation, whether on purpose or accidentally.
"Sasuke asked me to tell his mom that he would be home late. Tell Hokage-sama that I will commence with part one of the plan." I said and watched as he nodded and teleported away.
I continued on my way to the Uchiha's compound and almost tripped when I felt Itachi and Shisui still inside the compound.
"What the hell are they still doing here?!" Inner screamed in frustration. I shook my head silently not having an answer and proceeded on my way to the compound.
Slowing down to a jog, I patted down my clothes and hair. Taking a deep breath, I slowed my pace to a walking speed.
I knocked on the gate and waited for someone to approach.
"Oh...Sakura-chan...What's up?" Shisui asked. I took notice of the hesitant glance he gave to the side as well as the manner in which he spoke. Trying to make his situation less hurtful then it probably already was. I decided to act around him the same way I always did. Before I could answer I was beat by Itachi.
"What are you doing here? Where's Sasuke? " He asked very monotonously. It was sad to see both of them forcing themselves to be unattached to people. We had, had a great friendship. One that I had and still am treasuring. They were both nice and didn't feel the need to act so distant around me, but ever since Danzo started brainwashing them, their attitudes changed.
"Oh, he's in the library working on a paper for school. I came here to talk to Mikoto-san." I answered and watched as they looked at each other and had that silent conversation.
"So he'll be there for awhile?" Shisui asked. I nodded up to him and watched him smile. It wasn't the smile he usually gave out recently. It was the one he would show when things were much better. He crouched down to be at my level and reached out his hand. He ruffled my hair like he used to and grinned widely.
"Take care Sakura-chan! Make sure to study and train hard!" Shisui said. My eyes widened until I blinked them back to normal.
"It...sounds like he's saying goodbye..." Inner stated as she intertwined her fingers. I nodded slowly for both Shisui and Inner.
"I will...Are you two going on a mission?" I asked while tilting my head slightly.
"...Yeah...It might take a long time...But we'll be back! I promise Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed.
'...Do you think he means it?' I asked Inner as she began to sniffle inside my head. Knowing she wouldn't be able to answer me, I nodded up to Shisui.
"I know. You two always come back." I stated honestly and smiled up to both of them. Before I even had time to blink, I was being squished in a tight embrace. The sudden action had my heart racing, until I felt Shisui's subtle tremble.
'Could he be...crying?' I thought and heard louder sniffles and sobs from Inner herself.
"Promise me you'll take care of yourself Sakura-chan." Shisui stated just above a whisper. I sighed but hugged him in return.
"Shisui, you two are the ones who should be careful. I'll be fine. I'll make sure everything's going to be okay while you're on you're mission. I promise." I answered and felt him tighten his hold slightly before releasing. I looked up to him and noticed that he had not been crying...on the outside.
"That's good to hear!" He said and ruffled my hair one last time. I raised and eyebrow while swatting his hand away, knowing my hair was beyond messed up. He stood up and then gave one final grin.
"Well then we better get going!" Shisui said as he began to walk past me. I turned back in front where Itachi still stood. He reached out and fixed my hair like he usually did when Shisui used to mess it up.
"You should stop being so trustful...It would do you good to let others help you, instead of doing it all yourself...Don't end up like me." Itachi stated with a final gentle pat. I looked up to him surprised that he would be so open with his feelings right now. Looking up to him, I saw a scene that would probably send any love struck girl to the hospital right now. Itachi Uchiha was showing me one of the rarest things one could possibly ever see. The smile that he would reserve only for his family and probably Shisui.
"Oh my god...I'm in Love..." Inner stated in a love-struck manner, completely forgetting her tears from only moments ago. I couldn't even say anything and could only look at him owlishly as he walked over to Shisui.
They gave a final look before teleporting away. When I knew they were away, I couldn't help the sad look from surfacing. Closing my eyes tightly, I took this single moment, just for one second to regret. To regret not being able to do more, but also other negative feelings began to surface. I felt betrayed in way. Did they really not trust other people enough so we could help them. There could always be another way to resolve things. I breathed in some fresh air and listened to the wind rustled the tree leaves gently and as it swept past me, I allowed it to carry my negative feelings away.
Opening my eyes into a narrowed stare, I made my way inside the compound with a goal to accomplish.
Finding people was easy for me if I sensed them, but they didn't know that. I took that as an advantage and went around the compound trying to interact with all the Uchiha. I only had around two to three hours before I had to leave so I had to be smart with how I spent my time.
At four forty-five I had sealed about three whole families and most of the little kids. The adults had been the hardest but the children, they were too easy. All I had to do was say I was going to practice my cool ninja skills, and they followed me like little ducklings. I had a few more families to get to as well as Itachi's and Shisui's parents.
I had to sneak around most of the time and was so grateful that this certain seal did not require me to repeat the whole processes over and over. All I had to do was have direct contact with them and they would get the seal transferred onto them.
When it was five twenty-three, I had succeeded in placing a seal on everyone except Mikoto, Fugaku, and Sachiko. Walking over to the location where they were at, I found it to be a garden near Sachiko's house.
"Sakura-chan!" I turned my head to the side where I heard my name being called. Mikoto sat in a rocking chair outside on the hallways with Sachiko.
"Hello Mikoto-san, Sachiko-san." I greeted and walked over towards them.
"What can we help you with Sakura-chan?" Sachiko asked. I smiled over to her and began to explain to them why I was here. They had offered me to stay for awhile and drink tea with them. Having to still place a seal on them, I agreed. Talking with people that had their personality always had advantages. Their cheerful attitudes always made them ready to talk about anything. I learned that Fugaku was currently at the markets but would soon be back, that meant I had to wait until he returned. During our conversations, I was thankfully able to make contact with them. Now all I need was Fugaku and everything would be set.
At five fifty-six we had stopped talking because I said I had to leave. It was true, however I had also felt Fugaku getting close to the house, so I had decided it was time to go.
Walking towards the gate, I could feel him suppressing his stress of the situation. Would they force him to join the coup? I hoped not, or else things would look worse in the eyes of Shisui and Itachi.
"Sakura, are you going home?" He asked as I walked towards him.
"Yeah, I just came to inform you that Sasuke would be in the library because he has a paper for school to write." I said and watched him nod. I noticed that his stare lingered on my neck for a few seconds longer than needed, and I wondered why. Mikoto and Sachiko also looked at my neck with a look of recognition, but I didn't think polite to ask. I'll just have to check what they keep looking at later.
"Ah, thank you for informing us. Do you need me to walk you home?" He asked politely.
"If you wouldn't mind just walking me to the gate. I wouldn't want you to trouble yourself when you just got home." I answered and watched as he nodded. I smiled and walked over to him.
'Alright...How do I make contact with him?' I thought as I came closer. We began to walk towards the gate, which was now in perfect view and I was looking around for anything that could possibly help. As I looked around, I didn't realize I was now on the rocky path and ended up tripping over a stupid rock. Once the shock wore off, I moved my hands to take the blunt of the fall but was held up by arms that had helped me.
"Thanks." I said and began to straighten up, taking this as my chance, I grabbed ahold of his hand so I could balance myself. I sighing a breath of relief, I smiled up to him.
"You should be more careful." He stated and I nodded and waved my goodbye.
"I'm glad things went relatively according to plan."Inner stated. I nodded and began to run when I was farther away from the compound.
'Yeah, now we just have to worry about everything else we have to do.' I said and continued to run past the forest that pretty much split the Uchiha's and the Aburame's compounds. I had found out about it when I had met Shino. We've been "Bug Buddies" as Inner calls us, ever since the firefly incident. We didn't meet often, but when we did, we had just as much fun as if we did with the others. Even though Shino was quiet and more reserved, he still kept up with a conversation.
Finally reaching the edge of the forest, I quickly made my way towards the Hokage's tower to tell them of my achievement.
"Sakura, I trust that you took care of it?" Hiruzen asked as he along with all the others waited for my response. Still catching my breath from the marathon I had just run, I responded with a nod.
"Yeah, part one is a success. Now we wait until the appointed time in our locations. Ne Hokage-sama, you never did tell me where I was going to be located at." I said and waited for his reply.
"You will be waiting in the forest between the Aburame and Uchiha's. That territory is neutral between the two, so anyone can cross it. Did you ask for permission from your parents to stay out late?" He asked and I nodded.
"Yeah, I wrote a note saying I would be training with you on my ability to stay alert without sleep." I answered and watched him breath out a puff of smoke. I frowned at the smell. I don't think I would ever get used to that smell.
"That was a good excuse. Now are you all set?" He asked and I looked at the others. Their outfits had been bland, consisting of only a black cloak with a hood and a different mask. It wasn't that of the ANBU or root, it was a new mask. I wonder if they had made it solely for this purpose or already had it ready for something else. Hopefully no one would quickly recognize it if it was used before. By what little I could see under the cloak at the top, it looked like their outfit underneath was also different.
"So if there aren't any more questions lets get into positions." Hiruzen stated and the three ANBU teleported away towards their respective locations.
"Hokage-sama, Ibiki-san, in case things would go wrong...do you have any advice as to what I should do?" I asked and waited for a response.
"You shouldn't be worried, the plan was made so the others wouldn't know where the actual sealing would be taking place. The others will also be raising their chakra at exactly the same time as you. The moment Itachi and Shisui get to the compound all four of you will be using your chakra." Hiruzen spoke up and I nodded.
"Alright, I'll go and get ready." I said and turned to walk out.
"Sakura, I want you to be careful, even if your not going to be fighting." Hiruzen stated. I nodded and waved goodbye.
I ran as quickly as I could to the forest I had came out of not so long ago. I had around forty minutes to get ready. Speeding up on my running and making sure no one saw me, I arrived in less then five minutes. I went as deep inside as the middle of the small forest. I kept on breathing in and out deeply. The foreboding feeling and butterflies didn't want to leave. After a few seconds, I was able to calm down and sit on the cool grass.
'Alright, if they don't help me come up with a back up plan, then we'll just have to make one ourselves. I have no doubt that something will go wrong, maybe not something big but still, I want to be ready.' I thought as I scattered the materials from my bag onto the ground.
"All we have with us is the scroll to seal the Uchiha's in, as well as a few of our regular storage scrolls. Do you have any ideas of what we should do?" Inner asked as I stared down at the things.
'We need a safety place, somewhere we can put the scroll, just in case anything happened to keep us occupied...But where and what?' I thought as I closed my eyes and tried to think of any good ideas.
I could feel the breeze as well as hear the birds chirp from all directions. If I concentrated hard enough, I could even sense the very small amount of chakra from within everything around me, if only for a moment. My eyes snapped open with a possible idea in mind.
Nature and animals had chakra...and if I read correctly the books Hiruzen gave me as well as listened to the lessons in class, some of the trees in Konoha were made by Hashirama Senju. The first Hokage had the wood release secret technique: Nativity of world of trees.
'What if...' I started as I got up and approached a tree a few feet away that I found to be the one that held the most chakra.
"What if what?" Inner asked and I smiled as I looked up the tree.
'What if we make a tree our safety place! They have enough chakra to hide the scroll as well as the ability to, and they weren't even suspicious!' I answered as I began to go through the hand signs Ibiki taught me. Once done, a character appeared on the tree that soon disappeared.
"Yeah! Good idea!" Inner exclaimed as she began to clap. I smiled and nodded as I walked back to my things.
'Thanks.' I said and crouched down to the main scroll on the ground. Going through the other hand signs that I had used on the Uchiha's, I placed it on the scroll. I sighed as I stood back up and stretched out.
"So tell me if I've got everything right. Once we sense Itachi and Shisui enter the compound, we immediately stretch out our chakra towards the compound at the same time as the others. Once we activate the seals on everyone, they will be sealed into this scroll which will then be sealed within the tree?" Inner asked.
'Hmm, yup. That's right, but the tree will only be for a safety precaution.' I said as I finished my quick stretches.
"Alright. Now what do we do whi-!" Inner's question was cut off as we sensed a spike of chakra. Red flags were going off and I immediately closed my eyes and concentrated on my chakra.
"Crap! Their here!" Inner stated as she too closed her eyes and concentrated.
'Inner you expand it while I perform the necessary hand signs!' I instructed as I helped her expand the chakra for a while. When I felt her take over, I got ready and positioned my hands for the first sign.
I waited until I felt my chakra touch the first Uchiha with the compatible seal. After a few seconds of nervous waiting, I felt it. Not my seal but the spike of chakra's everywhere that suggested either a fight or anxiety. Focusing back to the task at hand, I waited as I felt the chakra keep expanding.
I was relieved when we made contact with the first one. As we felt the chakra practically engulf the Uchiha, I flew through the signs as quickly and accurate as possible. When the last sign was done I noticed the scroll had opened and the character from before expanded out into intricate inscriptions that glowed.
Knowing that the seal was working I refocused on my chakra like Inner.
'Let's hurry! Mikoto and the others should be fine for a second since they will probably be left for last!' I said as I controlled the chakra with Inner. I could almost mentally see what my chakra touched and that worried me. Everyone was hectically trying to run away. Since I only needed to perform the activation seal once, all we needed to do was engulf the others with our chakra. Inner and I were doing a good job as we twisted and turned our chakra towards any Uchiha that we felt. Unfortunately some of the ones who faced off with them did not make it.
"We're running out of chakra!" Inner shouted as we finished sealing up the children.
'Hold on, I'll release the chakra from our weights!' I said and bent down to touch my ankle weights. Feeling the rush off chakra was always good, and it helped us speed up our chakra expansion.
"They seemed to have noticed something is going on! Their planning on going faster!" Inner worriedly stated. I shook my head and tried to moderate my breathing.
'Calm down, only a few more to-!' I was cut off when an Uchiha came into contact only for a second before being killed before we were able to completely engulf him. Inner screamed and slipped on her concentration causing me to slip on mine.
Gasping for air, I looked around and kept sensing the chakra's spike like crazy. My moment of catching my breath was interrupted when I felt Fugaku's chakra spike along with Mikoto's.
"NO!" Shouting I closed my eyes and realease the chakra on both my remaining weights. Feeling the extra chakra flood inside me, I quickly expanded it as fast as I could.
'Inner please! We have to hurry or we won't make it!' I pleaded and felt my chakra practically wash over the whole compound so I could get to their location. Thankfully during the quick wave of chakra brushing past the houses rapidly. I was able to make contact with Sachiko since the chakra was engulfing everything completely and sealing her and a few other off quickly.
"O-okay...S-sorry, I'll get to it." Inner shakily stated. Feeling her control the chakra with me was encouraging, but at the moment I was too worried.
"Our chakra! We won't make it!" Inner shouted and I forcefully closed my eyes tighter.
'No, we have too!' I stated and expanded the chakra faster. We were almost there! Only a few more seconds before we reached them! I knew I wasn't only just racing against time; but against my chakra, Itachi and Shisui! Zoning out everything, I focused solely on their chakra's and mine.
"They've already reached the room!" Inner explained in a panicked rush. Frowning and ignoring the pain in my chest, I pushed the chakra faster.
I faltered the tiniest bit when I felt Fugaku's chakra waver. Idiotically I had stopped for such a precious second. Making up for it, I pushed even harder. When I had finally reached the room I stopped for nothing and blasted passed the two younger Uchiha's. As my chakra engulfed the two Uchiha's who sat on the floor, I was in conflict with my emotions. Happy that I had made it, but worried that Fugaku's wound would be fatal if not treated immediately.
"Kazumi! Someone's coming!" Inner shouted and almost faltered on the chakra again but I forcefully made her concentrate when I finished engulfing the two and sealed them up. When that was finished I was intending on doing one last sweep across the compound.
'I can't sense anyone coming...' I stated as I continued on with the search.
"They have their chakra well hidden and their approaching at in insane speed!" Inner explained. I suppose she would be able to track them, what with her great sensing ability.
'It's not one of ours...so who else could- Tobi!' I said and pulled back on my chakra. How could I forget him! He would have stayed around to make sure the job had been done...We need to move quickly.
Sensing what little was left of my chakra return, I flew through the hand signs and sealed the scroll into the tree.
'How long do we have?!' I asked as I finished sealing it up.
"I don't know!...A-about thirty seconds!" Inner replied. Finishing up the sealing process had me panting for air. I held the tree for support as my headache seemed to enhance with every sound I made. I was starting to see doubles now, which was hardly a good sign.
Realizing that I only had a few seconds, I pushed off the tree and took in three deep breaths. Once I was relatively stable, I moved to my pink bag and put everything back inside. As I pulled it on I heard the rustle of the leaves and bushes. I felt him standing behind me, and I was having a hard time breathing again. The chakra that flowed out of him was immense.
It lasted three seconds, and three second were enough to let Inner regulate my emotions. Pretending to be a naïve little girl, I turned to the right and pretended to look around. When he made a movement, thankfully not to kill me, I turned to him in shock.
"Oh my god! You scared me mister...You and that other guy really know how to surprise people." I stated as I half lied.
"Oh! Sorry about that!...Did someone come by earlier that scared you?" He asked and I nodded up to him.
'So he was going to act like the childish Tobi, huh...' I thought as I moved towards a bush.
"Yeah...he looked like he was in a rush. But he did ask me what I was doing here so late." I stated as I moved the bush around slowly.
"Oh? What did he look like? And what are you doing here, lost?" He asked as he got closer. I gulped inaudibly but smiled up to him when he was closer to me. Time to see if he believed my acting...
"I can't really tell you what he looked like since it's so dark...but I know he was wearing dark clothes...kinda like yours. His face was white and had lots of makeup." I answered in a very kid like manner.
"Makeup? So it wasn't a guy?" Tobi asked, I giggled and waved my hand around.
"No no, it was a guy!" I answered confidently and watched him tilt his head at my comment.
"How do you know it was a guy when you couldn't really see him?" He asked just as childishly.
"That's because he was this big!" I answered and made a gesture with my hands around me to portray a wider form.
"It wasn't a girl, because girls like mommy never get that big...unless she's pregnant like aunty, then I guess it could be a girl...but mommy said aunty couldn't move around so I don't think it was a girl anymore." I rambled off as I started to talk about complete nonsense.
"Okay okay! Tobi gets it!" He shouted and waved his hands around for me to stop. Giggling up at him I nodded and looked back around to the bushes.
"So kid, what are you doing here?" He asked and I could hear the slight change in tone that he used.
"Hmm, well I have this friend who likes bugs. The other day I accidentally scared the bugs he was trying to get. I felt bad so I decided to find some and give them to him...so far I can't seem to catch any. Their too fast..." I explained. Even though I wasn't lying, I still couldn't help to hold my breath and wait for his response.
"Hmm, I see..." He said and I pretended to keep trying to catch the fireflies. I was completely shocked out of my mind when he moved beside me in the blink of an eye. Inner and I tried our absolute hardest not to flinch or give any indications that we had sensed his sudden movement.
"Oh! Your fast mister! I didn't even hear you!" I commented as I turned to him. He scratched the back of his head and leaned his body to the side.
"Hehehe, really? Thanks!" He said and then brought his hand down towards me. Trying to desperately keep my façade up, I tilted my head and blinked up to him owlishly.
"What is it?" I asked and watched as he opened his hands slightly enough for me to see through his gloved fingers. A soft slow blinking light was seen inside his palm. Knowing that to be the incandescent light of the fireflies, I smiled widely up to him.
"Thanks! I would have never caught one! You're really amazing!" I praised and gently grabbed ahold of the firefly.
"It's no problem kid! But Tobi thinks you shouldn't be outside in the forests by yourself anymore." He stated and I laughed at him.
"Tobi? Is that your name? Why do you speak in a funny way?" I asked childishly. He laughed shyly and began to wiggle his body side to side.
"Tobi's name is Tobi! And Tobi likes the way he talks!" He stated and I giggled again. If he wasn't the leader of a killing organization, I think we would have been friends. Although even I don't know the future. Who's to say this time around he switches sides?...Probably not.
"I like Tobi-san's name too! It's cute! And the way you talk is funny!" I stated with a laugh. He started to spin around and I couldn't help find his actions so perfectly childish.
"Yay! You like Tobi's name too!" He exclaimed. I laughed along with him and couldn't help but feel like he was stalling or something, but perhaps I was just being paranoid.
"Ne Tobi-san, now that I have Mr. Firefly I think I should go home. I have school tomorrow." I said and watched him stop wiggling and began to wave his arm.
"Okay! Remember not to stay out late anymore!" He stated as I began to slowly walk away. When I finished waving goodbye, I began to walk away and only hoped that he would teleport away and I could get the scroll. I froze in my tracks as I was called out.
"Ne, Tobi wants to know what your name is!" He screamed it out from his place. I closed my eyes and winced inaudibly.
'Why must he ask me that?!' I thought as I turned around excitedly. I gasped and feigned a shocked expression.
"That's right! How could I forget?! Ne Tobi-san, my name is Sakura!" I shouted out. I had decided to just tell him my name since he would probably know it later anyway.
"Sakura? Tobi likes your name too Sakura-chan!" He said and waved from his spot. I copied his action and began to jog away slowly, like how I thought any civilian child might.
A few seconds passed and I was cursing my luck when I sensed him still there.
'Come on already, leave!' I thought as I continued to jog. After three minutes of non stop slow jogging and sensing for him, I finally felt him leave. I continued to jog for one minute until I sensed him approaching the Konoha gates.
"Sasuke!" Inner shouted. I shook my head and stopped focusing on Tobi's chakra.
"What?" I asked and waited for her to answer me.
"I just felt his chakra spike!" She answered and I began to worry as I sensed around for his chakra. I found it at the compounds and luckily he didn't seem injured, just in distress. As he looked around and spoke with the others...Would he want to kill them this time or bring them back?
"There's nothing we can do but hope that he stays uninjured." I said and started to sprint towards the tree I had the scroll hidden in. I had to force my head to stop throbbing and my vision to stop blurring by thinking of what I still had to do.
Getting to the tree I had left the scroll in, I unsealed the Fūinjutsu I had placed on it with the last chakra I had. Now the nauseous feelings came in full force.
"We have to get to the hospital...Hopefully Kakashi and the others would also be there with Sasuke like instructed." I said and began to make my way towards the hospital, the only thing driving me forward was the will to keep Mikoto and the others safe.
After some long agonizing minutes of running through the fairly empty streets, I made it to the hospital where Inner sensed all the others located in.
As I entered, I noticed the others were waiting in the lobby along with Reiko, the doctor that attended to me before.
"Sakura! You're all pale!" Reiko stated as she rushed over to me. I smiled as she pulled me up into a stretcher one of the nurses had near by.
"I think I'm just exhausted...Hokage-sama I got as many as I could but some of them still..." Not being able to finish my own sentence I looked over to Reiko again.
"Reiko-san, please heal the Uchiha's first." I stated and watched as she frowned and looked at the Hokage. Hiruzen stared at Reiko and seemed to share a silent agreement.
"Just sleep Sakura." She instructed, but didn't promise anything. Having no more strength to keep functioning correctly, I closed my eyes and succumbed to the unconsciousness.
~A Few Hours Later~
The first time I woke up, it was to a chaotic scene. Nurses came and went in all directions and I could barely see straight. I felt uncomfortable and my breath felt like it was blocked and stuffy. Not being able to blink my eyes open and listen to the frantic voices and beeping of the machines any longer, I fell asleep again.
The second time I woke up, everything was much quieter. The only thing I could hear was the soft wind blowing on the curtains as well as a beeping sound coming from above. Feeling much better than before I slowly lifted my hand and felt around for what made me feel so uncomfortable. Once my fingers made contact with cold plastic I knew that they had placed an oxygen mask on me. Carefully I pulled it down and attempted to breath the fresh air that came from the slightly opened window.
Seeing that I could breath much better than with the mask on, I pulled it off completely. I sat up on the uncomfortable bed and just looked out the window. My head didn't hurt, so that was good, I could now think without it bothering me.
Thinking back on what happened, I had been extremely lucky. I barely had any chakra and I had been worn out. There would have been no way for me to have protected myself. Sighing for what seemed like the millionth time, I massaged my neck. All of this stress would not be good for me. Touching the cool metal of my necklace, I had travelled my fingers down to the crystals that were always present.
'Today had been really close...Hopefully when the morning comes, I can get whatever information I could get from Hiruzen...' I said as I closed my eyes. Feeling the crystals on my necklace always calmed me. It helped me find a sense of comfort from what they represented.
My eyes shot open when I felt not three but five crystals on the chain. Looking down towards them, I saw a blue crystal, as well as a black one.
'How did?...That's right...back then...' I thought as I remembered Shisui's embrace and Itachi's gentle pat of my head. I sat still on the bed and only until Inner pointed it out did I realize that I had been crying. The tears came out slow but still gave me a great deal of shock. With the tears came the regret, this moment was the one I was dreading. The first plan had been set to keep Itachi here and possibly get Danzo in prison, but ever since Shisui joined the picture, that ruined the first plan. The only consolation I could get out of this situation was the fact that most of the innocent Uchiha weren't killed and that this time Itachi wouldn't be alone. But even then, the pain that came with knowing I should have tried harder wouldn't stop.
I hadn't realized how attached I had become to people here. Would this new revelation be something that fuels my strength...or my weakness?
Thinking logically about it, I knew I was getting too attached to the people here; but my love for my real family still kept me going to find a way back. Family and friends meant the world to me. I don't know what I will do if I ever find a way back. Would I leave everyone here to fight for their future...or stay and help out? The thought of such questions just fueled my tears as they flowed down. All I could do was clutch onto my crystals and hope, hope for answers, for a better future, and for the safety of my two worlds.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!
💗💗Love and kisses😘😘