Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Way Of The Shinobi: Destruction ❯ Chapter III: Returning To The Beginning ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Way Of The Shinobi: Destruction

By Crimson Drop

Rated M for the angst and harsh content and possible lemon content, not for the younger audiences

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto World at all

Chapter III
Returning To The Beginning

12th Moon: Outside The Ruins Of Konoha

Pain, it is a mystery as to why one feels it, how anyone could bear it all their life with but a smile and a few cherished moments. But moments are fleeting and far too few to be able to rid oneself of the never ending circle of sorrow and heartbreak, that slowly eats away at the soul. Perhaps if she had been careful, had allowed herself to only seek to make herself stronger, the nostalgia and hidden anguish that this place brought her, wouldn’t have been as bad. Maybe then she would be able to forget the pain of knowing someone had left her, laying on a hard cold bench after having declared her love to him, or maybe not. There was one thing though, that she agreed with, bonds only hurt more in the end, they never heal you, they only cause more pain and distraction from the reality of the world.

Though, as she thought more, standing on top of what she had once known as Mount Hokage, she could understand why someone sought to make bonds. It was because, even in those few fleeting moments, one had felt happiness, true happiness uncaring of the darkness that plagued them. To anyone, in those moments, they could understand the why. Why someone would go through anything to achieve even just one friend, why a person would protect their village with their life, why, even for that matter, one would seek out love and companionship. Even through pain, even through hardship and death, one found that blissful few moments of happiness that so few could even truly name anymore. Though the question still remained, why was she still standing there, on top of the crumbled mountain gazing at the snow covered ruin that was once her precious home.

Even though she asked herself that still, she knew the answer, the same answer as to why she gave up seeing everyone again.

12th Moon: Three Days Previous, unknown

“Tsunade-sama,” the silver eyed man murmured with a bow, elbowing Sakura in the process to get her to follow suit.

Jade eyes flashed before she bowed down, her gaze still connected with a set of amber attached to the woman behind the desk before them. She could remember the last time she saw those agony filled orbs that called out to her, I’ve been through more then you’ll know or wish to know. But those eyes lied, for they hadn’t seen the torment that the pink haired assassin had been through, they hadn’t witnessed the horrible black space that showed all of one’s fears. In away those same eyes taunted her, they also set a deep longing burning in her chest, a longing for what she had lost. War was war, there was nothing one could do, and while she had been built to take on pain and loss like it was nothing, that same blackness had taken away that comfort.

No longer a shinobi, no longer Haruno Sakura who detested killing innocent people, instead she had become Hyourin the assassin in the shadows. Fear had been replaced with burning hatred, pain had been replaced with numbness, and while she was cold and hardened by the devil himself, weakness was still in her heart. The same weakness that allowed her to fear that darkness, that horrible black space and what it had shown her. No, no one could understand what she had been through, no one could ever find out, it was her burden to bear, and hers alone. No one can know, no one will know. Alone, always alone.

A knock sounded upon the door of the room, and four shinobi entered the room, all of them older then whence she last saw, aside from Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto whom she had just seen twenty minutes ago. She could only guess as to why Nara Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba was there, both looking worse for wear with thin hard expressions that she could not place. There was something about the situation that sent shivers up her spine, but she couldn’t exactly place what it was. There was just so much already wrong with everything before her, that it would be quite difficult to guess what it was that set her on edge.

“Ah, good of you to join us,” the blonde haired woman sitting behind the desk murmured softly, “now that you’re all here we can get down to business.”

“If I may, Hokage-sama,” Nara murmured, “but why exactly are we here?”

A sad smile crossed the woman’s lips before they thinned and a hard gaze entered her amber eyes, “Before us all is a well known assassin, one that works for one of Itachi’s top men, possibly having even met the man face to face numerous times. Under his jurisdiction, many innocents have suffered at the hands of the one known as Shadow Stalker, who has also killed off some of our numbers. Whether unknowingly or not, she has committed a crime against our organization and even if she has been saved from slavery, we cannot let these transgressions pass. One word, one order from her master, and the slave will more then likely destroy us all.”

Sapphire orbs flashed dangerously red mixing in with the brilliant blue, “You cannot do this Tsunade-sama!” he cried out, “She’s one of us, has always been one of us!”

“Enough Naruto,” Tsunade hissed, amber darkening, “Haruno Sakura is no longer one of us, she hasn’t been for ten years now.” The room had suddenly become deathly quiet as all eyes aside from Naruto’s had turned towards the pink haired woman amongst them, “As such, she has to be put on trial for her actions, and until such a time as a decision should be made, she will be put in seclusion.”

“No!” A hard cold voice rang about the room as fiery jade eyes glanced about the small office before connecting with Tsunade’s own eyes, “I will not suffer the same fate again! You cannot lock me away, if you do that you’ll be no better then him.” Fists clenched and her hard words darkened as she continued, “More importantly, Tsunade, now that I am free of my prison, I have a mission I must do.”

“Ho? And what makes you think I’ll just let you walk out of this room and out of this base? If you were to figure out where you are then there is no telling who you’ll bring with you to destroy us all.”

“Sakura would never do that!” Naruto cried.

“Enough Naruto, no more words or I’ll force you to leave.” Tsunade hissed keeping her eyes upon jade.

“It’s alright Naruto,” Sakura murmured, her words losing their hard edge, “your leader is well within her rights to say what she says. For I am no longer Haruno Sakura, for that girl died ten years ago the moment she was sold into slavery. Now I am known as Hyourin, the Shadow Stalker, but I swear upon this Tsunade,” her voice rose quickly gaining momentum with her freedom so close at hand, “you can blind fold me if it helps, I only wish to do my task that long ago had been appointed to me. Set me upon the outskirts of our once beloved village Konoha, and I shall never seek you out.”

“Do you plan to kill more innocent lives?”

Snorting she glowered darkly, “Never again will I willingly be the hand that slay the lives of children and innocent people. I am free now, free to live my life once I finish my task.”

Frowning Tsunade crossed her arms, “You’ll never be truly free Sakura-”

“Hyourin,” Sakura corrected.

“Sakura,” Tsunade insisted before continuing on, “Until Itachi is dead the slaves of our world will never be truly free. It is his power that binds a slave to their master, and until he is gone all we can do is seal the mark so that it cannot harm you. But you’ll never be truly free.”

“A caged bird is never meant to fly in the sky with her brethren,” Sakura whispered but everyone heard none the less, “but still she’ll try to follow in their foot steps. Just like that caged bird, I’ll never be able to be truly free until the hand that feeds me is destroyed, but until that time I’ll follow the path lain down for me by my shishou. He was a great teacher,” a sad smile fell upon her lips, “a great friend in my solace before he died before me. I must complete the task set out before me by him.”

“Sakura-chan,” sapphire orbs sparkled with unshed tears as he watched his best friend stand before Tsunade pleading to carry on the will of a dead man. It was then he knew that she could never be alone again, he had found his purpose once more, and now he would not let that purpose go.

“Very well,” Tsunade sighed heavily before directing her gaze over the shinobi before her, pausing on an oddly determined Naruto before settling on Hyuuga Neji. He too had once been a caged bird, knowing the full implications of what Sakura had said, so he would be the one to set the little speckled sparrow upon her path. “Hyuuga Neji, please escort Haruno to her destination, give her all her equipment back so that we do not leave her defenseless.”

“Hai Tsunade-sama.” Turning he lead Sakura out of the room, the woman taking one look back at everything she was leaving behind before continuing on.

Konoha Ruins: Present

Snow glistened upon the ground, crunching under her feet as she moved about the ruble of her village. If she closed her eyes and imagined the spring that she could only hope would follow one day, she could see the moss that would cover the buildings and the small trees that had managed to grow over the past ten years. Already the sounds of birds would reach her ears and the wild life amongst the broken buildings would be hunting and playing about the village like her friends and herself had once done. That was all in the past though, and it would never be spring again unless she could finish the task she had been set out to do.

Heaving a quiet sigh she navigated through the rubble and downed buildings, trying to find her way to where she wished to go. Her white cloak flowed about her shoulders drifting in the breeze as she moved, showing her clothing underneath. A white blouse, a pair of black cargo pants, and black boots under her pants, everything about her was exotic. Her hair was back in it’s usual braid, hidden underneath the hood of her cloak that kept the wind from biting her sensitive ears. Black fingerless gloves covered her hands, one of them gripping the emerald hilt of her katana, given to her by her teacher and friend, the only one who had shown her an ounce of kindness in the past ten years.

Closing her eyes she tried to picture him, but instead she came to a halt and frowned, her grip upon her blade tightening as she whirled around, jade clashing with sapphire. Scowling she released the hilt and crossed her arms, waiting for the man before her to speak and say his piece. Why he had sought her out when others sought to lock her away, she had no idea, but she was not about to give in easily until she knew what he had come there for. Whatever idea he had in the head of his she had no idea, but if it involved trying to take her back, then he was shit out of luck and would have to go empty handed. In away she was similar to Sasuke in that regard but no other way could they ever be similar. Neither wished to go back to a place they had once called home, or in her case would have loved to have called home.

“What are you doing here?”

Giving a small grin, his orbs lit up, expelling the sadness she had seen lingering in his azure eyes, “You’re not the only one searching for true freedom Sakura.” Her arms went loose and her right hand reached up to her neck were her black ribbon lay over her slave mark.

“You too?”

Giving her a sad smile he looked up towards the light grey sky, “Hai, though we both had different masters, I’m sure that neither of us had it easy. We were alone weren’t we Sakura-chan? Demo, I won’t let you be alone again, and since I know I can’t drag you back, then I have decided to follow you and help you with your task. No one deserves to be alone.”

Startled she took a small step back before steeling her resolve, trying to keep her ice from cracking under his familiar gaze. Eyes, azure eyes just like her shishou, azure eyes that reached into her heart and dug out her sweet soul as if it had always been there and never shattered. If she could keep herself intact in front of his shining orbs then she could send him on his way before he got hurt or worse. She did not have an easy road to travel, and if she was unlucky enough, she’d run into Itachi or one of his companions. If that were to happen then everything would only get worse for Naruto, the holder of the kyuubi. Though she wondered how he had become a slave instead of being shipped over to the “emperor” himself, unless they hadn’t known that he was the holder of the nine tails. Again though, that would seem almost unlikely, but something kept eating away at her subconscious, maybe it was plausible that they had never known, or if they had, they would have wanted a powerful weapon for themselves. Poor Naruto.

“I cannot have you come with me,” she murmured, her resolve nearly faltering under his pleading eyes, if he kept looking at her like that, then she would be sure to break.

“You can’t stop me Sakura,” he whispered, on hand reaching out to her, “I lost you once, I cannot lose you again after just finding you.”

Shaking her head she took a step back, trying pitifully to keep the cracking wall of ice together, “No, you can’t, my journey is not meant for you, and what about Tsunade-sama? Isn’t she going to be angry with you for going off without her leave?”

“What makes you think I don’t have baa-chan’s approval?”

“Nani!?”

Giving her a small smile his azure eyes shifted to the sky before connecting with her dark jade ones, “She let me go...”

“Promise me you’ll look after her.” Tsunade murmured.

Sapphire eyes brightened as he reached towards the door, “Hai! It’s the promise of a lifetime, one that I’ll keep no matter what. She was alone like me, who knows what she had gone through, but I’ll be there with her so that she knows that she’s not alone anymore.”

“You still love her even after all this time?”

Gazing sadly at Tsunade he gave a small nod, “Even after all this time.”

“Made me promise to help you no matter what, and I said to her,” a grin formed as he locked his hands behind his head, “It’s the promise of a lifetime.”

Tears gathered in her eyes as her icy cage broke but they did not fall, instead a small smile appeared upon her pale lips and she gave a small unnoticeable nod before turning away. Not moving she waited as Naruto came to her side, her heart beating once again with every step he took. From the corner of her eye she watched him before clenching her fists and looking up at the sky as it darkened and snow began to drift towards the ground. If the snow hadn’t been there for nearly ten years she would have called the sight beautiful, but now she longed for spring to appear, for soft cherry blossom petals to fall to the ground. A spring festival would take place and there would be singing and dancing, but even now that seemed almost like a dream.

“Naruto,” she whispered, but he heard her all the same, “the task that was appointed to me...” she paused before carrying on, “We’re going to destroy Itachi, but in order to do that, we must find his weakness.”

“Weakness?”

“Hai, we’re going to find out who Itachi really is, instead of that man who sits upon his hand made throne telling the world who he is not. Our journey will not be easy, we will come across those who have met Itachi, those that fear him, those that worship him, and those that wish him dead. Most will try to attack us, and take away our lives, but we cannot falter Naruto. This journey will be dangerous, and there is a chance that we’ll meet Uchiha Sasuke again as well, for I know that he is not yet dead. So tread lightly, follow me, and above all that,” she looked at him tiredly, “be careful, because I don’t think my heart could take another hit.”

Seriousness washed over him as he nodded, “You too, Sakura-chan, you be careful too, because I know that if anything were to happen to you, I would lose myself.”

Nodding, she took a step forward, “Then our journey begins here, before the Uchiha district.”

12th Moon: Emperor’s Palace

Twisting a scroll around in his hands, he looked up, obsidian eyes dark and penetrating, trying to find the reason of his anger. Of course he didn’t have to look far to remember why he was angered so much, it was that damn Tsunade and her pet dog, Hatake Kakashi. Able to suppress his damn mark, it was unforgivable, but he was sure that once he had what he wanted within his grasp his anger would dissipate. Damn them all, though, for having hidden so well, for they knew he wouldn’t be able to find him, and while their numbers are small, with his favored disciple on their side, they would be nearly unstoppable.

Smirking he turned his gaze towards the scroll in his hands, clenching it in his fists, nearly unstoppable yet, he still had more powerful favors on his side. Sure one of his best had trained her, but he was stronger then she could ever hope to be, no matter how much she wished otherwise. It was possible, if she had his little weak brother with her, but he had already taken care of that problem, and they would stay separate forever. Even that kyuubi brat could never hope to achieve power like he had. Hn, but maybe if they were to be united against him, that could cause a problem, his little assassin with his desired monster, even his own creation. Hell would surly be brought to earth then, and when the fires rained down upon them, they would finally see, finally know the truth.

Useless, they were all useless. Throwing down the scroll he stood up, his black satin cloak flowing about him as he moved, the picture of a blue dragon upon the back of it. Lightning surrounded the dragon covering every part but the ruby eye that stared one’s soul down. That was him in every way, like the blood thirsty dragon ever seeking power, ever becoming stronger, day by day he is plagued by uselessness. What good was having power, if there was no one strong enough to oppose him, what good was power if there was no one to make him stronger.

“Highness.”

Turning his head a little to the side he spotted out one of his advisors, “Hn?”

Bowing low before the emperor, the man shook, his cropped brown hair falling into his blank eyes as he spoke, “There has been a disturbance in the eastern village, apparently Mitsukake-sama has lost his pet.”

“Ho? Well now, that could be a problem, couldn’t it?” Smirking he raised a hand and told the man to leave before approaching one of the many windows in the vast hall. His dark obsidian eyes flashed as he peered into the distance, his mind on the little cherry blossom whom he had confronted only days previous. It appears that his pale pink haired pet had failed him, and had found herself released from Ryouma’s binds, and yet, he knew that she was still tied to him.

“Hatake Kakashi, how is it that you’ve managed to foil my plans again?”

Resting his hands upon the railing he turned his gaze towards the vast town about him, everything screamed power, everything cried money. The middle of all five countries, the same countries that had fallen to his power and he now governed over. No one could resist his power, and yet Hatake, one of his subordinate’s slaves had managed to completely suppress his slave mark and help others with their own. Him and that damned sannin Tsunade had managed to turn his own slaves away from his power, even if the connection was still there, there was no pain for them, no way for him to find them.

Growling low in his throat he slammed a fist against the sill of the window, his eyes flashing red, before he settled down. He couldn’t afford to let his anger rule him, not yet, not when he was close to finishing what he had to do. Somehow though, that damn woman and her copy ninja had managed to set him back a couple of steps so that he had to form new plans. It was infuriating how they had almost completely overruled his own work, it shouldn’t have been that way, it shouldn’t have been possible.

“Temper, temper aniki, we wouldn’t want to think you’re losing your touch now,” a menacing voice from behind whispered out to the obsidian eyed man. “But I have to wonder,” the same voice hissed in the darkness, “what is it that has you set on pins and needles? Could it be that what you sought has escaped from under your fingers?”

“Enough,” he growled before calming, his voice coming across as soothing yet warning, “don’t try to cross me again otouto, you won’t like what I have planned if you do.”

A snarl bound of the walls as the other voice faded away, “I’m amazed at your patience, but remember, I’m coming for you, and when I finally get there...”

“I look forward to it,” he answered but it was too late, the voice had already vanished, but it mattered little, for he would get what he wanted soon enough. All his pawns were moving into place, and while he had to find a couple of miss placed pawns, he knew that soon they would fall under his jurisdiction.

Konoha: Uchiha Ruins

Crumbled walls marked the foundation a tattered banner flapping in the breeze the Uchiha crest nearly invisible upon it’s faded fabric. Apparently the war wasn’t the reason for the downed walls, nor the darkened shade of the cobble, barely covered by snow. A breeze flew by, ushering the snow away from the ground showing old splatters from what only one could guess was old blood. Two pairs of eyes observed their surroundings with disdain and anger knowing the reason behind the darkened marks and the tattered walk way. The light tap of their steps echoed about the empty path as they made their way to the main house, the same building that Uchiha Sasuke had once resided in.

Two pairs of fists clenched but neither expelled the furry that rose in them the closer they got to his home, knowing that their path there could only get worse. There was less ruin the further they got in, but the broken old buildings showed their age with the hanging doors that barely stood on their hinges, and the broken soot covered windows that showed nothing of the inside. The place was almost crawling with the echoes of the past, shouting out the tragedy that had taken place amongst their walls and walk ways. If they hadn’t been strong shinobi they would have felt the shiver that ran down their spines, and the spike of fear that coursed through their veins.

Eerie was the word one would have used, nearly frightening in ways that none would never know but the only two survivors of the Uchiha clan. That was the reason that they were both there now, that was what they had come for, the reason behind the massacre, the hidden truth behind the sharingan. More importantly what Itachi had kept from his family, had kept from his brother, there had to be something within the depths of the Uchiha home. If not in Itachi’s home, then the temple that resided on the grounds, but either way, his history was already etched into the walls of the district. All she needed was a little jitsu she had created, and the wall would speak their secrets, would show her what she was looking for, if in fact what she was looking for was still there.

“To think he had lived here even after the massacre of his family.” Naruto murmured quietly, his voice barely audible to Sakura.

“Especially knowing exactly what happened and who had done it,” Sakura answered back, her tone just as low and soft, “but I suppose it was the only way to stay close and remember. Revenge, it was all he wanted, and this place was a constant reminder to him.”

Snorting Naruto shrugged, “A constant pain in the ass more then anything. Reminder or not, I doubt Itachi or Orochimaru would have let him forget such a thing as Itachi’s betrayal of his own clan.”

Letting a frown cross her lips she stopped, “We’re here.”

Before them was a tall house, the darkened windows and broken door frame more then enough of a sign that nothing had been alright. Closing her eyes Sakura performed a couple of complicated hand signs before opening her eyes and peering up at the dark building. Muttering under her breathe she waited as everything became blurry, and her sight took in the changing surroundings before they became clear again. Before her stood a proud and honorable building, the sky clear and cloudless, a brilliant ray of light shining down upon the sparkling clean windows. Letting her hands rest at her side she took a step forward, then another, before she had entered the building.

“Nii-san!” a young boy raced down a set of stairs and towards a door way leading into the living area, his wide onyx eyes pleading and filled with life.

“To think he was such a happy child.” She whispered.

“Sakura-chan,” wide azure eyes came into her line of vision and she gave a small smile as she answered his unspoken question.

“We’ve sort of gone back in time, while we can see everything that is happening, they can’t see us. That is to say, all this is only an echo of a distant and happy past.”

“So we can’t change anything?”

“Iie. Instead we can only watch as the events that happen, come to pass, there is nothing that we can do, nothing we can touch to change anything. Believe me, if I could change something I would, maybe then everything in our present wouldn’t have come to pass, or maybe it would have turned out worse then if some things hadn’t happened. I have come to understand that some things happen for a reason and are not meant to be meddled with.”

“But Sakura-chan, how are you able to see all of this?” he asked spreading out his arms to indicate the brightly lit hall and its surroundings.

“Every place has a distant echo, just as this place does, some are less violent, others more so, the past of this building and the surrounding buildings shadow a sorrowful ending. This is how I intend to find out what Sasuke had seen and why he sought to destroy his brother like he had. More importantly, I seek to find out why exactly Itachi sought to end things in such a way.”

Suddenly a body came barreling out of the doorway, a shoulder bag upon his shoulder as he raced towards the front door, right through Naruto. Brilliant Sapphire widened dramatically and Sakura had to swallow her laughter down before she let her emotions get the better of her. Sweat began to collect upon her brow, but she didn’t bother to sweep it away as she formed more hand seals. Naruto’s eyes could not follow their movements but he watched as the scene began to speed a head, darkness beginning to settle in before her hands stopped. Looking around Sakura nodded and made her way out the door, letting her gaze wander back towards Naruto.

“Ready to see the past Naruto?”

Swallowing he took a step towards her, “I must,” determination flowed through him as he took another step, “for our future, and for Sasuke.”

12th Moon: Unknown

Onyx eyes stared coldly up at the sky three figures surrounding him, but he made no movement to acknowledge their presence aside from the occasional grunt. Something was stirring deep inside him, but there wasn’t anything he could find that could relate to the strange and unusual feeling aside from the fact that it was burning his insides. Could it be that something he had lost was trying to find its way back, or was it more then that? Not that it really mattered one way or another, he only had one purpose to fulfill at the moment, no matter what, but time was on his side. Itachi was losing ground, he only had to wait but a little longer to finally put his plans into action, but what worried him was what Itachi had murmured earlier.

Something powerful had slipped through his brother’s fingers that much he knew, but what was it? What had his brother’s mind spinning with doubt and anger, something had gone wrong. Snorting he let out a small huff of laughter surprising those around him, red eyes coming into his line of sight, her strangely cut red hair falling over the side of her face as she moved. Glasses sparkled upon her face as she tried to assess what was going on in his head and failing to do so. It made him want to laugh even more, but he was a Uchiha and they didn’t show their emotions to the world. They would never be free to do so, not until that bastard was destroyed.

“Are you alright?” the woman before him asked seductively making him want to roll his eyes.

“Just leave him alone bitch, he doesn’t need you hanging off him all times of the day.” another of his companions sneered, his silver blue eyes flashing mischievously.

“I was not hanging off him, you bastard, merely seeing if he wanted to move on.”

Snorting the silver blue eyed male smirked at her, his pointed teeth causing his looks to darken, “Whatever you say Karin.”

Standing up, the onyx eye male took a step forward, “Jugo, Suigetsu, Karin, let’s go.”

Three sets of eyes landed on him as he began to walk away, and they hurried to catch up, Suigetsu grudgingly following him.

Soon Itachi, onyx eyes glanced towards an advanced looking city before he turned away from it, soon you’ll be the one at my mercy.