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“Carry Sakura, and run… as far… and as fast… as you can…”

“Sasuke—”

“If it’s just for a while, I’ll be able to hold them in place…”

“No! Let me figure something out, give me a second—“

“Naruto!”

He flinched, his hold in Sakura tightening ever so slightly, “We don’t have time. Never again will I bear witness to my loved ones' deaths…”

Naruto saw a flash from the past, of when they were still a genin, of when Sasuke was still young and weak. They have survived that encounter with death, but Naruto was sure… this one won’t have an ending as happy as that. He felt his eyes burn from the incoming tears. No, Naruto doesn’t want Sasuke to die, not him, not his brother. The only reason he had even lasted this long was because he had both of his teammates! When Kakashi died, when Konoha fell, when the love of his life sacrificed herself so he could get away —   he was able to survive that because he had them and now—!

“…Sasu..ke…kun…?”

Naruto froze as fear took hold of his heart. Sakura! What will he do when she awakes, and Sasuke isn’t there?!

Naruto placed his frantic eye on the frozen Sasuke, who calmly moved towards them, and his mouth clenched at the pure sadness and heartbreak in Sasuke’s expression. The last surviving Uchiha offered a rare smile that Naruto only ever saw being directed at Sakura. 

A sob escaped Sakura’s mouth, her arms reaching for Sasuke as she mourned him and his incoming death, for Sasuke will die should he leave the safety of their cave to fight their pursuers, drained from chakra as they were from fighting for so long. 

“…no… please, no…”

Sakura’s broken plea echoed quietly in the small room, and once again, Naruto cursed Orochimaru’s past. Sasuke seemed to ponder something before he ultimately decided that it must be done. He poked Sakura on the forehead. The action felt like lightning had struck her, and Sakura released a wail full of suffering. Naruto gulped as Sasuke turned on him, doing the same poke on his forehead.

“I won’t let any more of my loved ones die.”

“I can heal you! Just give me time—”

But alas, time is what they lack. Sakura’s forehead had only half of a diamond mark, the continuous fighting against the enemies in addition to healing herself and her teammates draining her past what she should be able to do.

“… I am the shadow Hokage. I protect the village and my home from the shadows that threaten it.”

“The village is gone—”

“But you are not. So long as Naruto’s alive, the village is alive. So long as you’re alive, my home still stands—”

“—don’t do this to me!”

Sasuke’s Sharingan whirled to life and he put the vulnerable Sakura in a genjutsu strong enough to keep her occupied for a while.

“Sasuke!”

“We don’t have time.”

He kept to himself that he doesn’t want his last memory of her to be her tears. At least like this, he can pretend she’s in peace. After committing Sakura’s sleeping face to memory, he turned and readied for battle.... and... a dark and selfish part of Sasuke wanted to be certain that she remembers him. Surely their painful departure will haunt her. Surely... surely she’ll love him until the day she dies.

Sakura lived like the dead for three days after she woke up, as quiet as the desert at night. She returned to her usual self eventually, although not entirely. Naruto had to pretend that she does not cry at night, that her smile isn't any less bright and more strained, and that sometimes, her mind wouldn't wander as she stared at her ring with a blank look on her face. Naruto had to be extra vigilant during those times, as Sakura has developed the unintentional habit of ignoring her surroundings when she falls on a pit. But he doesn’t complain, he doesn’t stop smiling and acting goofy. He was always on the move, all in an attempt to make her smile. He understands what she’s going through, and he was always appreciative when his team acted as they usually do when he had been in Sakura’s place. So, he will do the same. 

Sasuke held them off for a week, and then Sakura and Naruto were back to fighting and running. After a month of continuous movement and battle, Sakura fell.

There was too much blood, her Byakugou is gone, and there was too much blood.

“Why did you take that for me?!”

“Come… now… Naruto…” every word is painful, every syllable a struggle to pass, but she doesn’t stop despite his begging.

“Don’t… send me… away with… that look… smile… please… your happiness… bring me joy…”

How could she ask him of this? How could he smile when his best friend is bleeding through a hole in her stomach —he shakily lifted the corner of his lips and somewhere behind his mind, he thought how tragic this might look. His blond hair is red, covered by the splatter of her blood, and his arms are full of her. The pink in her hair so distinct is brown with dirt, face pale with death, and oh God the blood.

“Just… just hold on… I’ll think of something—just, just endure for a bit, please? Sakura… please…”

Sakura’s smile is pained, she doesn’t want to leave him. It will be painful, he will suffer, she doesn’t want to leave him. But she can feel herself slipping, and she’s becoming desperate. The tears in her eyes fell endlessly, and she cursed herself for being weak. She doesn’t want to go like this, she doesn’t want to die, not yet, not like this—she wants to see his face, his ridiculous face— 

She reached for him, placing her hand on his tanned and scarred face, “I love you… Naruto…”

Sakura’s mouth lifted to a fragile smile. Naruto wept a heart-wrenching sob as he watched Sakura’s life flicker… and die.

“…Sakura?”

“SAKURA!”

For hours, he screamed her name into the heavens like a symphony, like he might be able to bring her back to life if he just reached the crescendo. He doesn’t know for how long he called for her, only that he cried her name until his throat became hoarse from misuse until his voice is no more until the ember in his heart became doused with the cold water of reality that she is no longer alive. He was alone.

“Sakura…”

I’ll offer you a requiem to accompany you on your journey to the afterlife.

He killed methodically, without thought or reason. His family, the one he just recently fixed, is now gone. His village, under new management, his friends departed. His brother and his best friend are dead, trailing after Kakashi and their mentors. His father figure—I’m sorry Iruka…

And Hinata, his Hinata.

(I love you more than I love life itself.)

He doesn’t know how everything became like this… no. No, not quite. Naruto knows. 

A new clan emerged somewhere in Oto and took charge. They killed the snake Sannin first. They had claimed they were his past experiments gone wrong that escaped, and they were on a warpath. Orochimaru’s death, their vengeance, is the first wave of their attack. They were swift, and they were dirty. They used every means necessary to kill the shinobi who were after them. Poisoning their food, kidnapping their family, and using hostages… soon, the Shinobi world plummeted into war once more. This time, they are headed to the line of defeat, because, unlike Kaguya, the new clan grew in number. Every day, they developed different strengths and skills. The Shinobi forces had trouble keeping up with the enemies as it seemed their skills continually shifted and changed. Not to mention, they were human. Not the undead, and not a Goddess. Human. Which means they can pose as other humans.

They infiltrated the villages and destroyed them from the inside. In the end, the shinobi alliance had difficulty differentiating friend and foe, and it broke their ranks.

Naruto woke up in a small room surrounded by strangers, in a body too small and weak to be his own, with an unbearable urge to cry.

“…your happiness… brings me joy…”

Naruto surprised those who saw through his birth because instead of crying, the red-headed babe had released a peal of laughter so joyous it brought tears to their eyes.