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Chapter Text

Crimson Bone
Chapter 1

   Like any other mornings within the Hokage's building, Tsunade Senjuu found herself with yet another busy schedule. With unsign documents piling like dirty stacked ramen bowls and a council meeting that required her presence, whether she liked it or not. Of course she detested meeting those old fools. The thought of wasting hours listening to their boring lectures made her want to reach her sake cabinet. 

   Rather, listening to Naruto Uzumaki's whine about bringing back that Uchiha bastard's ass might've been a better choice, she pondered. 

"Granny Tsunade!"

On second thought, both options were equally bad. Abort, abort! 

The mad sound of the door being slammed open perished whatever silent plea she had. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Shizune–even Tonton, the freaking pig–pitying her fate. 

"You moron, do you want to destroy my do—?" She could already feel a migrain coming. But instead of apologizing like he usually did, Naruto decided to test her thinning patience more.

"Where's Sakura-chan??" 

Tsunade blinked her hazel orbs a few times, surprised by the urgent tone of his. The mention of her prized pupil immediately distracted all her annoyance a second ago. "She's supposedly in Nami no Kuni right now, working on a special project she'd came up with. Since a month ago, or so."

The disappointment look on the Kyuubi's bearer was as clear as day after he'd learned where his best friend were. Although judging by how frantic he was, she could only assume there was something going on. But the question died before it could even escape her lips, as the door once again flew opened, and in Kakashi Hatake alongside Shikamaru Nara. 

A combination of both Kakashi and Shikamaru was already a bad sign. Adding Naruto in it was like the final touch of a disaster waiting to happen. 

She really needed that sake right now. 

"Please tell me you just need Sakura to check on Naruto's stomach because of overeating," she sarcastically begged. 

"Wha—"

"Shut up, Naruto," commanded Kakashi, before giving a brief polite nod to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, our sources had informed us of a very crucial news."

"Out with it," she ordered, as she straightened her position. Shizune had already ushered the other staffs out of the room and locked the door behind the three men.

"We've found Itachi Uchiha's whereabouts." Being frontal and lacking courtesy was truly a quality from someone like the infamous copy ninja. As Kakashi explained further the details, Tsunade felt herself not breathing. For years they had been digging some dirt they could find about the Akatsuki. Those sly criminals were nightmare to be located.

But now they'd sniffed some Uchiha's scent... 

"Shikamaru, form a team with Kiba and Neiji! Kakashi, your mission is to bring one Akatsuki's member alive, or at least gather as much as information you can get from any of them. Might as well bring Guy in this mission too, the more the merrier, right?"

The Hokage went to ignore the way the gray haired man's shoulders dropped dramatically and focused on somewhere else. She intentionally left someone out, and sure enough, said person instantly jumped in complain. 

"What about me, Granny?? You can't expect me to stay here and wait! Don't you know what that means if there's Itachi?"

Tsunade sighed, she exactly knew what it meant. That was probably why Naruto had asked about Sakura first, he must've had wanted to bring her along too. 

"We don't know for sure whether that asshole would be there, Naruto." It wasn't that Tsunade didn't trust the blond's capabilities in this high rank mission. However, anything about Naruto chasing Sasuke screamed trouble in her head. 

Deep down though, she knew she could never argue whenever Naruto felt really determined about something. Those eyes reminded her so much of her late little brother and her late lover.

"I don't care. I will take the slightest chance I could get! Please, Tsunade-baa-chan!"

A long five minutes went by. She had already made a verdict, but she also needed something strong to boost her morale. Or better yet, she could blame it on the alcohol if this decision went terribly wrong. 

She took her time retrieving the sake from her private cabinet and took generous gulps of it. She couldn't care less if the people in the room stared at her strangely. The loud sound of glass as she slammed it down her littered desk indicated her decision. 

"Fine, you can go."

"Yes!! Thank you, Gra—"

"And take Sai with you," she added. The Hokage couldn't help the feeling of satisfaction as she watched the rapid change of expressions Naruto had, from excitement to objected. 

"But—"

"Your mission with Sai is to collect Sakura from Nami no Kuni. Considering you will be facing some S rank criminals, a medic nin–moreover my own pupil–would be a great asset to have. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Naruto grumbled. 

"Good. Now off you go. Don't let me down and for the love of God, please don't rise more troubles for me. That means you, Naruto Uzumaki."

—

Sakura Haruno woke up by the feeling of sunlight hitting her closed eyes. She must've had forgotton to close the window last night, due to being exhausted after long hours of work. Reluctantly, she mustered her chakra to force sleepiness out of her state, making her a bit more focused. That was when she noticed the lack of a certain someone on the other side of her bed. Not long after, she heard some knocking on her door. 

"Excuse me, Sakura-san. It's Kahyō, are you awake?"

Groggily the medic nin answered, "yeah, just woke up. Come in, Kahyō-san."

Even after 2 years frequently visiting in Land of Waves, Sakura still couldn't fanthom how everyone in this village could rise so early in the morning. Here Kahyō was, seemingly fresh after shower and already dressed up to start yet another tiring day.

"Good morning, Sakura-san. I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning," the woman said apologetically. 

"It's no problem, I need to wake up early today too." That was a lie, her original plan was to sleep until right before her shift start. Well, no use being annoyed about that failed attempt now. "And please, Kahyō-san, you can just call me Sakura. It's kind of weird hearing that suffix by someone older than me."

The long curly haired woman laughed, "we're technically your employees, but if it's bothering you, alright, then. Is Sakura-chan fine to you?" Sakura nodded then smiled. 

"Much better, thanks Kahyō-san. So, is there something you wanted to tell me?"  She stood up from her bed, tyding the pillows and blanket as she listened to what the older woman had to say. 

"Ah, yes. A messenger dropped by just now, he was sent to tell you that you've been summoned by Takahiro-sama," Kahyō supplied.

That information caught her interest. Morio Takahiro was appointed as the Chief of Land of Waves. Usually, unless there was something really important to tell her, he would be fully packed with his endless duties in improving the village. In more than two years Sakura had been coming here on and off, she had barely seen the man. 

"That's new this year. Might we be expecting new inventions from Tazuna-san and Inari-kun?" the pink haired kunoichi implored. After finishing the bridge, Tazuna and his now teenage grandkid decided to branch their expertise not only in bridge making, but also as inventors. Last time she had met them, they were talking about making a tool to make farming more efficient. Sakura couldn't be more happier learning how much Nami no Kuni had changed since that incident with Gatō. 

Kahyō shook her head," I'm afraid I have no idea, Sakura-chan. The messenger just said to be there as soon as you can."

That didn't sound good. Whatever it was, Sakura hoped there was no trouble brewing. She was already busy enough as it was. Before that though...

"Where is Kenshin?"

"Oh! He woke up quite early this morning. Said wanting to make you some breakfast. He's down in the kitchen with Rahyō and Hakuhyō."

A warm smile crept up to her face. Somehow, the bad thoughts from barely a second ago vanished. After getting herself a quick shower whilst Kahyō cleaned up her room a little, they continued walking down together to the kitchen, sharing bits of ninja techniques along the way. As soon as she stepped into the modest room, she was immediately tackled by the delicious smell of omelette and tiny arms wrapping themselves to her thighs. 

"Kaa-san! Good morning!" a little child, no more than 3 years old, enthusiastically said. "I made breakfast for you, Kaa-san!"

Sakura kneeled down to the child's level and hugged him back for a good minute. She knew she was being watched by Kahyō, her brother Rahyō, and the older woman's son, Hakuhyō, but she didn't really care. She let go of the little boy only to pat tenderly at his silky raven hair. 

"Hmm it smells wonderful, Kenshin-kun! I bet it would be the most delicious breakfast I've ever had. Thank you so much, buddy. " She then pursued to kiss his chubby pale cheek lovingly. The boy, Kenshin, was giggling in delight. 

Warmth filled her chest. Even if she had to come back and forth from Konohagakure to the Land of Waves, it was all worth it. Sakura was sure there was no happier place and time than being with her precious son. 

"I love you, Kaa-san!"

"I love you more, my love."

–Continued

Chapter Text

  The loud noise coming from the Nami no Kuni's Chief office had sufficed enough hint on who really was summoning her. The question was, 

Why is he here? Sakura Haruno pondered as she let herself into the ruckus room.

"You don't understand! We need to get her no—"

"There you are, Sakura. My, you can really be as slow as a snai—"

"—Sakura-chan!!!"

Three things Sakura immediately took notice in her 3 seconds of survey. One, there was no supervisor in sight. A mission for Naruto Uzumaki and Sai without anyone watching over them? Her shishou must've been drunk while assigning these two this job. Two, whatever the mission was, Sakura could already sense bad news coming. Despite the negative feeling, her attention was focused elsewhere though. Because three, Naruto was rapidly going to choke the air out of her lungs with his crushing bear hug.

"N-Naruto," she gasped for oxygen, thankfully Sai came to her rescue as he pulled her blond best friend away. "Thank you, Sai."

The onyx haired man just shrugged in response. Naruto muttered an apology by her side, which she acknowledged with a nod and smile. Understandably, she knew why her best friend being too affectionate, they hadn't been spending time together for years. Even after team Kakashi was formed, their paths rarely interwhine with her busy with the hospital and medic projects, whilst he continued his own training journey and Akatsuki hunting with Jiraiya-sama. Admittedly, she missed Naruto too. However, there would be time for catching up later.

Sakura shushed her two comrades before proceeded in greeting the Chief. "It's great to see you here now, Haruno-san. This loud blond kept badgering me to make you arrive faster, as if I can magically transport you here. And I know you don't want any outsiders to know where you stay at, correct?" Morio Takahiro asked, visibly ignoring Naruto's grumble.

"Indeed, Takahiro-sama. I thank you for keeping that little info of mine secured," she genuinely responded. Years of concealing her emotions inside–and learning from the master, Sai–proved to be useful after all, seeing how calm she appeared to be. Imagine the horror if that little info of hers got exposed, it would be a major disaster.

Her secret had been kept hidden so well all these years, certainly she couldn't afford more people to find out.

Maybe later, but not now. I still have something that needed to be done. Something important to be answered. I have to meet that person first!

"It's merely a token of our gratitude to what service you've given here, Haruno-san. Now, my list of work wouldn't finished by itself if you three are still here," hinted the old man with thick glasses.

For how much he'd kept her secret safe, Sakura vowed to check on the man's eyes, and if she could, repair them someday. "Yes, thank you once again, Takahiro-sama. We'll take our leave now."

—

With a bow, Sakura took her boys out of the Chief's building and on to the nearest secluded area that she was certain no one would pass by. "Okay, on with it. What are you two doing here? Did something happen back home? Is someone critically injured?"

In a beat, the image of her parents flashed before her eyes. As she clenched her fists, she braced herself to face whatever bad news Naruto and Sai had brought.

Except, what Naruto presented was the opposite of bad news.

"It's Sasuke, Sakura-chan! We might have found him!" Naruto exclaimed in high spirit. His beautiful electric eyes locked into hers with sparkling hope.

Sakura's heart perked at the mention of her childhood crush. The pinkette was too stunned that she spent a minute processing the unexpected information. "Wait, what do you mean by 'might'?"

That was when Sai inserted his self between her and Naruto, saying "what it means is that, we don't know for sure that the traitor would be there. Dickless only assume if we found the traitor's criminal older brother, he would also eventually be there."

Sakura literally felt her heart stop. Her clenched fist slackened with both eyes went wide. "Are you implying that the one we know exactly where he is now, is Itachi Uchiha?" she carefully asked, watching Sai as he analyzed her over, before nodding in affirmation.

Is this really happening? The question blinked rapidly inside her head. Could this be the path she had been looking for?

It was difficult to remain indifferent in the eyes of someone who was the epitome of indifferent, that she bit her tongue to stop herself from uttering something suspicious. If Sai had noticed anything in that sort, he didn't bring it up. To which Sakura was both thanked and alarmed for.

"Precisely. The place that criminal supposedly stays in is Nikkō no Mura, a hills surrounded little village. So, pack your bags and let's go, Sakura. We don't want Kakashi-san and the others wait more longer."

Nikkō no Mura... she remembered doing medical service there one time, it wasn't that far from Nami no Kuni too. The pinkette couldn't believe her luck! Plans were already formed in her head before Sai could even finish his line. Now she just had to play this carefully.

"Right. I'll go get my stuff as faster as I could. You guys stay here, okay?"

"Why can't we just follow you, Sakura-chan? We can help you pack," Naruto implored curiously. It took her one minute for her brain to rummage some decent answer. Sai's calculating eyes weren't helping either.

"Umm... It's–" Kahyō face appeared in that instant. "I actually stay at someone else's house, umm... that person hates having guests come over so I'd like to respect that wish of hers." It was a pathetic excuse, plus her stuttering made her want to punch the ground, but it worked. At least for Naruto, bless his heart.

Although, Sai was definitely a different matter. She was certain he already knew she was hiding something.

"Alright then, we'll wait for you, Sakura-chan."

—

   "Kaa-san, will you be gone for long again?"

Sakura had just shut tight her travelling bag when Kenshin entered their room. Her face instantly fell at the sight of her teary eyed son. "Oh baby..."

She gently scooped the little boy then placed him on her lap, before wiping the tears off his face. "I'm sorry, I know it's not fair for you, but–"

"You always say that!" The shout surprised her, for Kenshin rarely show excessive emotion. Although what startled her the most was the sudden appearance of two crimson eyes glaring at her.

"Kenshin-kun..." she murmured.

"No!" the boy stood up then, wheezing before screaming, "you always left me here alone! You weren't even here for my birthday! Why can't you just stay with me like Kahyō baa–san does with Rakuhyō nii-sa–" he was cut short as hard coughs hit him.

"Kenshin!" Sakura sprang into action, reaching her desk for a bottle of pills. Kenshin was already breathing heavily on the floor when she got the boy to drink his medication.

After what felt like a never-ending stifling moment of her life, Kenshin's labored breathing subsided. Her glowing green chakra-infused hand rub her son's back soothingly, while her other hand combed trough his raven bangs. She even hummed a song Mebuki used to sing to her when she was little, something she hadn't thought would do–so soon.

"...I'm sorry, mommy," Kenshin whispered between sobs. A pang of guilt struck her.

Truthfully, Sakura hated leaving her little boy again and again. More than anything, she wanted to be with Kenshin without having to rush back and forth between Konoha and Nami no Kuni. However, she was a sworn kunoichi of her beloved Leaf, she had duties there. And as of now, she couldn't let more people aware of Kenshin's existence. Moreover, after learning the kekkei genkai he possessed.

It would be far too dangerous had words gotten into some sickos' ears who wanted to obtain them.

And there was also this crucial matter about Kenshin's unnatural growth and unknown illness she had to figure out. This mission to find Uchiha Itachi might be the key answer to that.

"Tell you, what. I promise after this one mission, I'll take you somewhere with me. Maybe a little bit fun adventure, what'd you say?" She didn't know whether in the future  she would regret her promise or not, but the sparkle of happiness on Kenshin's eyes was worth it.

"Really, Kaa-san??" he jumped in excitement.

"Of course, I promise."

—

"As always, I can't thank you enough for taking care of Kenshin, Kahyō-san. And can I trouble you again his medicine like usual? I'll be back as soon as I can," Sakura said, after kissing her son's forehead in goodbye.

Kahyō smiled then patted Sakura's shoulder in motherly manner. "Kenshin-kun and you are already part of the family, it's my pleasure, Sakura-chan. And you can count on me on those pills," she assured. Kahyō and her brother used to be ninjas before moving to Nami no Kuni, which made Sakura confident in depending on them. "You have a safe journey okay, Sakura-chan?"

The kunoichi nodded then bid her goodbye before dashing away towards Nami no Kuni's rear gate.

Unaware of hidden nin watching them closely.

—

Naruto let out another restless sigh at the lack sight of his dear friend. "Where is she?? It's been 1 hour since she'd left us! Her belongings can't be that many, right?"

Sai–unbothered by Naruto's constant same question in the last 5 minute–came up with a different question. "I don't know if you'd notice, but don't you think she was acting a bit weird before, Dickless?"

"What do you mean 'weird'? And for the last time, can you please stop calling me by that name? I'll have you know, my–"

"I detected some unknown chakras!" announced the artist out of the sudden, then immediately bolted out to the direction of presumably an enemy. "Come on!"

"Wha–? Oi, Sai! Wait for me!" shouted the blond as he followed his teammate.

—

"Who's there?!" Kakashi demanded as he flew shuriken at a suspecting area. Shikamaru was instantly on his feet when a familiar figure made his entrance.

"Kakashi... and the guy from the Nara clan. Quite the combination, I must say. No Sakura nor Naruto this time?"

"Sasuke...!"

Uchiha Sasuke, without any emotion, unsheahted his Kusanagi. "Move. I have no time waste for Konoha nin like you."

-Continued

Chapter Text

   What welcomed Naruto Uzumaki and Sai as they arrived at the source of some unknown chakras was havoc. What seemingly a decent house had gotten half-destroyed, with its debris scattered around. A man was fighting 4 shinobis, while on his left, a woman was protecting two little children from another nin.

"They're from Sound," Sai noticed. "What're they doing in Land of Waves?"

"Who the heck cares? Let's go help those people!" Without waiting for Sai's response, Naruto swiftly jumped into action. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" 

The blond's sudden entrance caught the Sound ninjas off guard, adding extra advantages to Naruto–with his multiple clones–and Sai's next attacks. 

"Wha–?!"

"No time talking, dattebayo! We're here to help you fight these creeps!"

In a flash, the two Konohagakure nin–with the other two Land of Waves' ninjas–managed to beat all of the enemies. Leaving 1 Sound nin barely conscious, while the rest passed out on the ground. 

The bearded man pointed his sword at the last standing enemy's heart, "who ordered you to come here?" he demanded viciously. His demeanor was so intimidating and cold that reminded Naruto of Ibiki Morino-sensei. But more crueler.

"Who else there is that's in charge of us?" the Otogakure's ninja tauntingly asked back, earning a deservedly threatening glare from the older man, promising pain silently. Only one sick slimy person came to Naruto's conclusion.

"Orochimaru...!"

Laughter erupted from the man a centimeter away from being slash, "no, no. He's far frightening than Orochimaru-sama. More deceitful, more manipulative."

Little did they know, as the trio interrogated for more information, one sneaky Oto nin who had concealed his chakra popped out from his hiding spot before snatching the unguarded raven haired boy.

"Kenshin-kun!" cried the woman who was caught off guard while she was attending the other boy's wound. 

"Kahyō-baa!"

Hearing that dreadful scream alarmed the men. They left their prey on the ground and rushed to the frightened child's rescue. "I've got this!" exclaimed Naruto as he marched straight. Palms equipped with shurikens, readied to be thrown to disable the enemy who was perched on a tree trunk. His venture stopped mid-track though, when said enemy brought a kunai up to the boy's throat. 

"A single step and this boy shall taste death!"

As shinobis, the kind of threat like that wasn't something unusual. And for a shinobi like Naruto, who had defeated multiple S-rank criminals, and Sai who was an ex-Anbu, they could easily overturn the situation. However, something highly conspicuous took both of their breath away. 

On the terrified face of the captive boy, was a set of bloody red orbs with one tomoe in each of them. 

"The sharingan," gasped Sai.

"T-that's impossible! The only people who have that creepy eyes are Teme, Kakashi-sensei, and—"

"Silent you pathetic mutts! Don't think I won't harm this weak boy!" shouted the Oto nin, proving his word by drawing fresh blood on the boy's neck. 

No one was moving in that moment, until something triggered the sharingan eyed boy to bite the enemy's arm impulsively. Which led to him being released from said enemy's grip and losing balance. Things happened in a flash, with Sai successfully caught the boy by a mere inch from the ground while Naruto took down the Oto's nin with the help of his shadow clones. 

With all the Oto ninjas being subdued, the other two adults soon got ahold of the now unconscious boy. The older woman kneeled down, checking his condition. 

"Not good, we need to get him drink his medicine quickly!" informed the woman, turning around only to find her house in ruin. 

"That pills must've gotten obliterated as the house crumbled down. What we need is to get Sakura-san back."

The mention of his teammate's name broke whatever thoughts he was having in that moment. "Wait, you guys know Sakura-chan?"

Both man and woman seemed hesitant to answer that Sai had to step in, "we're shinobis from Konoha," he pointed out, gesturing his head protector. "what's more, Sakura is part of our team. We're friends, you can trust us."

"Best friends!" corrected Naruto. 

After a quiet discussion, the woman finally yielded. "My name's Kahyō, and this is my brother Rahyō. It's a long story but we were indebted to Sakura-chan, that's why we swore to help her with whatever she needed."

Naruto nodded, "I see. That's not surprising, considering this is my Sakura-chan. So, do you guys know where she stays at? We're kinda looking for her too."

Kahyō bit her lower lip, looking as if she was in great pressure, Sai mentally wrote a note of this. She sighed, "she lives with us."

It was Sai who then asked in a more firm tone, "where's she now?"

"She just left not long before these bastards appeared and ambushed us. Saying she has an extremely important mission that needs to be done," answered Rahyō, lightly squeezed his sister's shoulder in supporting manner. 

Thinking they had the answers they needed and an idea where Sakura might be, Sai turned to Naruto, "For whatever reason, Sakura must've already gone to Kakashi-senpai's meeting point without us. There's no point in staying here, let's go." Actually, he'd really like to find out more about the sharingan boy, but his current mission remained a priority. 

"Wait!" Kahyō cried as she stood up, "I'll come with you! Please, only Sakura-chan can cure this boy!"

Just when Naruto was about to welcome the woman on board, Sai interjected swiftly, "Ma'am, as much as we'd love to help you, we're in the middle of a crucial mission. Any hurdles that could potentially mess this up cannot be afforded."

The older woman gritted her teeth, "if you're worrying about us being an obstacle, there's no need to. Before coming here, both me and my brother were Kirigakure's nin. I know perfectly well how to defend myself and the boy."

That did convinced Sai a bit, but he couldn't settle for 'a bit' if it was his mission's success at its stake. "My answer still remain the same, we–"

"Sakura nee-san would be sad if she didn't knew Kenshin-kun is very sick," came a voice from behind them. 

"Rakuhyō?" the little boy said. Limply walked then hid behind his mother's leg. 

"And why is that?" Sai asked tiredly, they really didn't have time for this. 

Unbeknownst to the Konoha's nin though, is that the kid's reply was indefinitely the most shocking thing they'd ever heard, even after learning the existence of another sharingan bearer. 

"Because he's her son, obviously!"

Clearly it wasn't obvious to either Naruto and Sai, as they immediately froze right on the spot. 

—

  The electrifying sensation of a freshly conjured lightening was highly notable on that particular part of the forest. It was hard not to, considering two sharingan users had each done exactly that. 

"Give up, Sasuke. You're clearly in a disadvantage state," Kakashi Hatake insisted, holding his wounded arm, courtesy of his former student's kusanagi. 

It was true. Before Sasuke Uchiha even had to point his katana to his ex-comrades, his condition was already poor. His chakra was low and the gory wounds all over his body was easy not to miss. Despite those flaws though, the avenger still managed to keep up with both Kakashi and Shikamaru until now. "Fool. I haven't even use the full capacity of my power yet," he said confidently with a smirk. 

Shikamaru Nara, on the other side was forcing his brain to come up with some useful strategy whilst also trying to get the Uchiha let his defense down. Which was proving to be extremely troublesome to do. Damn it, he really envied Neji and Guy-sensei that they'd got to skip this mission due to being already committed to another. 

Well, there is no use in crying over spilt milk, he figured. "You're not going kill your own teammate."

The duckbutt-style haired man turned to face the supposedly genius–in their class. "Who said I won't?" 

"Well, until now, whenever you encountered your teammates, you had only injured them," Shikamaru answered carefully, trying not to pull the wrong string. 

Unfortunately the taunt displeased Sasuke right away, "should I demonstrate your suggestion now?" 

Wrong string! Come on, you can do better than that, Nara!

"Will you? Even if it was Sakura, had she been here?" he attempted a second time–hopefully not the last. 

Surprisingly, the mention of the healer's name did broke Sasuke's barrier a little. His tense posture slightly relaxed and his expression slightly soften. 

Bingo! Just a bit more... Shikamaru was certain with this Sakura talk, the Uchiha would lower his defense further and thus giving them the opportunity to strike—

"I knew it! Teme, you freaking piece of shit!" 

—or not. Damn it, Naruto! 

Sure enough, the blond appeared just in the worst time plausible. Shikamaru had to resist smacking his own head to the tree behind his back. To no one's surprise, Sasuke regained his defense back up, maybe even sturdier than before. Great, just great.

"Dobe, I should've known you would show your stupid face eventually," greeted Sasuke. He had his stance readied, as well as his kusanagi, albeit seemingly glancing around. Could he be looking for–

"Looking for Sakura-chan, teme? After what you did, you don't have the right to go near my Sakura-chan!" the increasingly heated tone Naruto used came off as strange to the shadow user's ears. For all he'd known, no matter what disaster the Uchiha had made, Naruto would always turn a blind eye to it and defend him. So what made him so mad at his precious best friend like this? 

"What the heck are you even talking about, you idiot? And why should I get your permission to go near Sakura or anyone in that matter?" Sasuke retorted back, seemingly noticed something off with Naruto as well. 

Sai and a woman carrying a sleeping child appeared next. Now suddenly the place was crowded, how troublesome. 

"She's not here!" the woman screamed in panic. Sai tried to calm the woman down, but it was Kakashi who asked the question, despite the situation they were currently in. 

"Who is not here?"

"Sakura," Sasuke guessed to himself, but loud enough for everyone to hear. That somehow infuriated Naruto even more. 

"Of course you'd know it's Sakura-chan the woman's talking about," he remarked with a growl. 

To make matters worse, Naruto's rage only brought forth Sasuke's own fury. "I'm fed up with your nonsense. Speak another bullshit and I promise I will cut your throat." 

The tense atmosphere was thick around them. Shikamaru had already imagined the worse case scenario where another chaos broke between the duo, but it was then cut short due to a harsh cough coming from the child. Seriously, who is this woman and her child? 

"We don't have time for this! He needs to get treated as soon as possible!" 

While everyone's attention temporarily switched to the pitiful coughing boy, Sasuke, thinking he had enough of wasting his precious time, silently put away his sword to its sheath. Only Shikamaru noticed, suspecting he would disappear at any second now, if no one could get ahold of him. That meant mission fail, to which Shikamaru refused to accept. As the Uchiha took one step back, the Nara clan successor was willing to force his badly injured leg to move, when Naruto issued out the most absurd thing he'd heard in awhile. And that was saying something, considering he had the displeasure of listening to Ino's endless ridiculous gossips every day. 

"Don't you have even the slightest bit of worry for your own kid, Teme??"

What. 

In. 

The. 

World.

All attempt of fleeing left in abandonment in the back of Sasuke's head, as he glared kunai at Naruto and conveyed the exact question both Shikamaru and Kakashi had in their minds, "what?"

"You heard me! He," Naruto pointed to the wheezing boy, "is your son! And you dare leaving him in that condition??" he fired back, talking as if Sasuke was too dumb to not realize the very obvious thing. Well, except for the clear hint of ebony hair and fairly pale skin, he could play off as an Uchiha. But these features weren't that rare to begin with, Shikamaru could name at least 3 clans that had the same features. 

Now his eyes though... Those distinct mint colored eyes was not commmon. In fact, only one person came into mind who had the precise copy. Thus, adding what Naruto had ranted earlier around that same person. 

Revelation struck him like full-chakra chidori. 

Sasuke, who without doubt had the same conclusion, could only stare wide-eyed at the boy–presumemably Sakura's–in disbelief. It was truly a sight to see the ever stoic Uchiha showing human's expression other than bitter and resentful. But now wasn't the time to be swayed, because Sasuke had practically left himself vulnerable without any defense. In a beat, Shikamaru used Kageshibari no Jutsu to immobilize his prey. 

"Shi–"

Fortunately, Kakashi saw everything evolved and was quick to aid Shikamaru by knocking Sasuke out with a hard blow on the right spot. Just before he blacked out, the copy nin swore his ex-student murmured the pink kunoichi's name.

"So, mission successful?" Shikamaru asked as he tied Sasuke up. 

Kakashi sighed, he was only in his late 20s at the time, but he felt more ancient somehow. "Yes and no. I think... this new relevation will draw more potential obscure occurrence in the future."

It was Shikamaru's turn then to sigh, "how troublesome."

—To be continued... 

Chapter Text

[A month ago]

One year. 

That was how long Sakura Haruno had been away from her son. It wasn't like she had a choice in it, though. With the attack from Pein and the Akatsuki, rebuilding Konoha, assisting the Hokage, also the nonstop mountains of work from being a medic nin, her schedule was so packed that she didn't even have the time to take care of herself. Ino–bless the pig–had to practically tore her from the hospital, where she had spent a month holed inside. Then proceeded to force onigiris into her system, saying she couldn't live with only beef jerky and military ration pills. But still, the guilt and pain she'd underwent as days turned to months passed without knowing what could happen to Kenshin was eating her alive. 

As a way to cope and ignore the way inner Sakura kept screaming at her for being a 'bad mother', Sakura occupied herself in what she loved to do most, studying. Specifically, she was researching about the strange illness her son had. 

Kenshin was born premature, with complication that if it hadn't for Sakura's endurance and medic ability, he wouldn't had made it to this world. Knowing the high risk of developmental problems for premature babies, Sakura had prepared herself to face whatever may come. However, contrast to delayed development, her baby was growing miraculously fast. Too fast, in fact, that she began to worry for its abnormality. 

When she had left the 3 months old Kenshin in Kahyō's care due to an urgency back in Konoha, Sakura hadn't expect to see her baby, 3 months later, steadily walking towards her.

The oddity didn't stop there, Kenshin kept growing in rapid pace to which Sakura roughly calculated to be twice faster than normal growth. Not only that, his coughing appeared almost constantly, no matter how many times she had tried to cure it. She even created a pill, especially made for her dear son, so he could ease the pain himself, if she had not been there in Nami no Kuni.

Unfortunately, even after she scoured the whole Konoha library, the hospital records and the Hokage's archive—which she had been given access to. The perk of being Tsunade's favorite—,her research was proved to be futile as it always ended up with the same two hypothetical answers. 

Hereditary illness
or
an unidentified illness that hadn't been registered.

Clearly it would need more time and datas to identify something new, which Sakura couldn't afford to, as time was precious for Kenshin's sake. She had also checked with her parents, and found that she had no hereditary illness. 

'So that leaves the possibility of his father having it,' the kunoichi had concluded, before banging her forehead to her desk. Hard. 

You see, let alone knowing who the father was, she didn't even knew she was conceiving a baby until her quick chakra pregnancy scan came up positive. It was a very shocking relevation, for she—a hundred percent—believed she was still a virgin. 

Between her rigorous trainings and studying under Tsunade, also the many solo missions she'd commissioned, the 15 years old couldn't even imagine dating someone. There was also the fact that she was infatuated with Uchiha Sasuke at that age—which she wasn't now.

Which meant, the only horrifying logical explanation was that she'd been forced, without her knowing or consent. 

She'd tried to remember who, how and where, but her memory seemed to be wiped out from that particular moment. Asking someone to perform a genjutsu to probe her brain would be an ideal method, however, she figured it would caused more troubles—to herself and other people—had she told anyone about it.  

With zero result from her research, Sakura had felt terribly upset at herself for being so useless. All the way to the Land of Waves, she had let inner Sakura berating her. 'How can I find someone who's literally could be anyone? It's impossible!'

Except, it wasn't. 

Sakura hadn't knew, that the moment she opened the door to finally meet her son after one year, she would immediately found out who the father actually was. 

Because, a very emotional little boy with a new pair of sharingan for eyes was waiting for her at the other side of the door. 

—

"Where's Sakura-chan??"

Kakashi Hatake wished he knew where his dear ex-pupil too. With all the confusion that was happening, he missed the way Sakura would be the logical one in this situation. "First of all, may I know who you are, Miss?"

"My name's Kahyō, but nevermind who I am, this child needs to be treated by Sakura-chan as soon as possible! He's critically ill!" the woman—probably two or three years older than him—answered in a rush, as she held close the little boy on her chests. 

"And this little boy is?" 

"Didn't you hear me, Kakashi-sensei?? He's Sasuke-teme's—"

"Presumably—" Sai interjected between Naruto's words. It was subtle, but there was a hint of bitterness in the painter's tone. 

"—and Sakura-chan's son!" 

The copy-nin pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a massive headache coming. "As much as I'd love to find out more, we'll discuss about who the boy's parents later. Right now, I have an inkling on where Sakura is."

"On her way to Itachi Uchiha." Came Shikamaru Nara's answer, already figuring out their next moves. At least he had this intelligent boy in his team, thank God. 

Kakashi nodded, "we still don't know her reason for going after Itachi alone, clearly it's highly dangerous. So this is what we should do. Naruto, you and Shikamaru will take this woman and the child to Hokage-sama. If there's anyone who could do the same as Sakura, it's Tsunade-sama. Oh, and of course," he glanced at Sasuke Uchiha's unconscious form—getting securely tied by Shikamaru—on the ground, before continuing, "take care of Sasuke, will you? Don't let him get away again. Me and Sai are going to chase after our Sakura, hopefully she still hasn't encounter Itachi."

Kakashi's throat felt clogged. It was hard enough before, finding out that Sakura had almost died in the hand of Sasori. The image of Sakura battling another Akatsuki—especially the notorious Itachi—alone brought forth an immensely uneasy feeling in his chest. He'd wanted nothing more than to sprint toward Sakura, but as the team leader, he was responsible for everyone in his team.

'It's okay... Sakura is smart enough not to make any reckless decision,' he tried to calm himself. 

"But, Kakashi-sensei! I have to go save Sakura-chan too! I can't go back to Konoha without knowing she's alright!" Naruto objected, clearly not on board with the plan. Just as Kakashi was about to remind his blond student that he was the one in charge, so nothing Naruto would say could change his mind, Sai unexpectedly came forward, sharing his thoughts. 

"You've finally got your precious traitor back, Dickless. Isn't this what you've always wanted to achieve? Let me and Kakashi-senpai take care of Sakura."

"What the heck are you talking about? Sakura-chan is also precious to me, I would never abandon her!" Naruto retorted back, clearly offended with Sai's implication.

"Like how you did in these two years?" Sai pointed out, deadpan. 

And that was Kakashi's cue to break the unnecessary argument. He stepped in right before the nine-tailed beast bearer could open his loud mouth. "Alright, children. We have no time for this. Time's ticking and the more we waste a second, the more dangerous it would be for Sakura and this child," he said as he gestured to the wheezing boy, who he soon realized looked paler than before. Damn, they really needed to make a haste move. 

"Kaka—"

"No, Naruto," he sternly shorten Naruto's incoming protest. "My command is absolute. Either you do as I said, or I'll cross you out from this mission, earning you a penalty."

Understandably, his ex-student was visibly looking frustrated with the threat Kakashi just laid upon, but in the end, gave in with an exasperated huff. He shifted his attention back to Sai, before giving the black haired man a punch—that definitely would leave a bruise—on the shoulder, "you better bring her back safe, y'hear me? Else I'd kick your ass, dattebayo!" 

The only response Sai gave was his trademark fake smile, making Naruto looking even more annoyed. 

Once again, Kakashi had found himself in a difficult role. Seriously, he'd wondered why his life had been more complicated ever since the third Hokage appointed him as a teacher. It was like God was playing with his already tragic life by bestowing him a team that was literally a magnet to troubles. 

A never ending circle of troubles. 

He only wished his patience would be payed nicely later. Maybe with that limited edition Icha Icha book he had been eyeing in the bookstore... 

Before that though, he had a pink kunoichi needed to be rescued first. 

—

She hated every aspect of this whole ordeal. From the damp location to the cloaked man standing not too far away from her. 

"Leave, kunoichi. You don't have any business here."

It was ironic, really. Here Sakura was, in front of the S-rank criminal Uchiha. Admittedly, she had done research on him when she had tried to find a way to bring her teammate back. The one who massacred his entire family, leaving one traumatized little brother to survive countless unthinkable nightmares by himself. Making Sasuke chose the dark path under that despicable Orochimaru, only in hope to kill this exact man. Making Naruto went on a never ending wild-goose chase.

Presumably the father of her son. The one who, supposedly, forced her.

Kenshin was the best thing that could ever been gifted to her, but that still couldn't make her hate Itachi Uchiha any less. She hated him, oh she hated him so much.

And now she had to somehow get this heartless man to help her discover what illness Kenshin had. An improbability that might need some miracle to change it. 

Freaking fantastic. 

"I think I do have a business with you, Itachi-san," came her unwavering reply. Sakura wasn't that naive to not know the wide power gap between hers and Itachi's, she knew what he capabled of. Nevertheless, she understood that there was no other way for this and her time was limited, she had to do whatever it'd take! 

Itachi gave little to no reaction, but she still believed he was the one. There was only two Uchihas left in this world and albeit knowing what other missteps Sasuke could've had done, she trusted him enough that he would never do something so vile as to violate her.

'But why would Itachi-san even touch you? His sick idea to provoke Sasuke-kun?' inner Sakura asked. She didn't get the chance to think about that regard though, as a familiar type of cough echoed throughout the dim cave, affirming her theory.

"You've... been sick all these time, haven't you, Itachi-san?"

His sudden movement was like a flash of lightning. One second she was standing 5 meters away from him, the next second she was pushed to the sharp stony wall, with Itachi strangling her neck.

'Damn it!' She hadn't expect him to be triggered by mentioning his sickness! 

"I didn't realize I was having a doctor appointment." Came Itachi's calm yet apathetic voice, right beside her ear. On impulse, Sakura swung a chakra infused punch to his face. It missed by a fraction of seconds, crushing the cave wall instead. Her next instinct was to distance herself, unfortunately her speed was no match for Itachi. In a haste moment, Itachi managed to bind both her wrists with a single grip, whilst his other hand held a very sharp kunai up to Sakura's throat. His lithe body was pressed against hers, preventing her from making movements. "Tell me what you know, kunoichi," he demanded coldly. Promising an inevitable pain had she denied. 

"I read your hospital files," she answered. It wasn't entirely a lie, she had once read through his datas in the most secured safe in the hospital. Obviously there wasn't any indication of his secret illness. But Itachi didn't need to know that. 

"Lie. Look at me."

Did this man thought she was stupid to not know that the moment she locked eyes with him, he would without doubt put her in a genjutsu? It would be the end of her if she had subdued.

"I'm telling the truth!" Unfortunately, the tightened of his grip and the blood that started to flow down to her chest indicated the opposite reaction from what she had wanted to achieve. "I-I'm an aspiring medic student! It's my goal to learn health cases that had yet been studied. I'm willing to cure you!"

'–and also cure my son!' she added to herself. Sakura knew she had to tell the man about Kenshin eventually, but knowing full well what Itachi was capable of—that was, killing his entire clan, including his own family—, made her hesitant about her options. 

For a moment, he let go the kunai from her scarred skin and loosen his grip around her wrists. Thinking she had somehow managed to convince the Uchiha, a glimpse of hope bloomed inside of her. But, just as how fast it appeared, it quickly shattered, as Itachi conjured a ball of black fire with his bare hand. "You leave me no choice, kunoichi."

Flashes of memory when she had promised Kenshin to take him on an adventure came surfaced in a spur of a moment. His hopeful eyes, his beaming smile. 

She could not die here! 

She still needed to cure Kenshin!

She could not leave her son alone!

She had promised! 
 
It was foolish of her to think she could deceive Itachi with her lies. He would never believe anything she said. That being said, there was only one way...

"Wait for me, Kenshin," she had muttered, before letting her eyes getting sucked into two crimson orbs. Melting her consciousness, then drowning her into a bottomless sea of darkness. 

—To be continued...