After nine lovely days of team seven being on edge around the leaf village, Carver finally contacted Raiden. Carver quickly sputtered out directions on where team seven could meet him and on what day Sakura wouldn't notice him sneaking off. Team seven had a tiny window to get from the leaf village to the waterfall in order to make it on time. Naruto packed his mission bag and quickly dashed out of his apartment to get his teammates; sorrow hit Naruto's stomach seeing Kakashi's door.
Raiden and Sasuke walked out into the hall, the three men didn't say anything as they made their way out of the building where they saw Tsunade was waiting for them. Raiden sighed, forgetting it was frowned upon to randomly leave your village without telling your boss, he still wasn't used to village life.
"We are going!" Naruto said pointing at Tsunade. "We are going to get Sakura back and if you try to stop us, I swear I will quit and leave the village!" Naruto yelled being his overly dramatic self.
Tsunade stared at Naruto and then pulled her head back laughing.
"Huh?" Raiden tilted his head.
"Wha-What?" Naruto was taken back.
"All I was going to say was good luck." Tsunade smiled, shocking the new team seven. "If anyone can get her back, it is you three." Naruto just slowly nodded, "Just don't go getting yourselves killed, alright?"
"We won't!" Naruto smiled, happy Tsunade was on their side. "Before you know it, we will be back home with Sakura with us! Believe it!"
Team seven consisting of Naruto, Sasuke and Raiden were moving through a darkened path inside a thick overgrown forest. The olden path was difficult to see as they weaved their way through following Raiden who seemed to know where they were headed.
"Where are we going?" Sasuke finally asked annoyed by the hot muggy air, "I thought we were going to the Waterfall Village."
"No, people who are uninvited will be attacked on the spot."
"What!?" Naruto thought that was completely stupid!
"We are meeting Carver a few miles away from the village." Raiden informed.
"How do you know where we are going?" Sasuke asked,
"I know because the Nine and I would hang out in these parts." Raiden smiled at the memories. "Don't worry, we are almost there."
"Finally." Naruto breathed, tired of jumping over and under overgrown branches.
"And you're sure no one will spot us?"
"Yeah, no one wonders around here because of how bad the vegetation has grown out."
"And you and your team did because...?" Sasuke trailed off,
"It was a good workout." Raiden grinned.
"Why do we have to meet him way out here?" Naruto whined at Raiden.
"Well...if Sakura can't remember the Nine then the chances are, she doesn't remember hanging out around her. She won't know to look for Carver out here if she noticed he slipped away."
"I see." Naruto muttered to himself.
"How is Carver sneaking away?" Sasuke asked.
"Sakura is in a meeting with Kaguya, I don't know why or what for, but it gives us time to talk." Raiden recalled what Carver had told him, on the phone Carver sounded a little desperate and rushed which made Raiden want to reach him as quickly as possible.
"Do you think he figured out what happened to Sakura?" Naruto asked.
"I hope so." Raiden sighed.
The three men ran inside the twisted dark paths that made up the forest around the waterfall village, after a while they came into a small clearing with a pond. Raiden smiled, seeing Carver with his hands crossed over his chest and his face hard like stone.
"Carver!" Raiden breathed seeing his friend was alive!
"Hey guys." Carver smiled at his team.
"How are you?" Sasuke asked, but Carver shook his head.
"We don't have much time."
"Do you know what's going on?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah."
"Did Sakura..." Raiden took the lead getting right to the point, "...did Sakura wipe her memory?" Raiden was worried, had Kakashi's death been finally been her last straw? Could she not handle losing the man she loved?
"No." Carver answered,
"Why does your face look like that?" Sasuke asked seeing Carver's hard face.
"Because we are fucked." Carver said looking at his team.
"Wh-What?" Naruto nervously laughed, "Why do you say-"
"Because it was Kaguya." Carver's voice snapped,
"Kaguya?" Raiden shook his head.
"How-"
"How do you know?" Sasuke questioned.
"Dawn, she was headed to Sakura's house when she heard Sakura screaming. Before Dawn entered the place, she heard Kaguya telling Sakura it would all be fine." Carver explained, "Dawn and I didn't have long to talk, Sakura has been busy."
"Busy doing what?" Raiden furrowed his brows.
"Hunting the Reapers."
"That's a good thing...right?" Naruto wondered.
"I don't know." Carver sighed, "She is how I remember her to be...restless and I don't think she even understands why she wants the Reapers as bad as she does."
"Is Purgatory back?" Raiden asked not wanting to know the answer.
"No."
"No?" Raiden was reliefed but confused.
"Kaguya is the one not allowing Purgatory."
"Huh?" Naruto and Raiden said together.
"Yeah, Sakura doesn't understand why the Waterfall Village is the way it is and was going to revert the village back to Purgatory but Kaguya said no, she didn't give any detail on the matter at all."
"Any idea on why Kaguya would do this?" Sasuke questioned,
"My guess-" Carver said, "-she was tired of Sakura always being gone and inside the Leaf Village."
"That makes sense." Raiden rolled his eyes. "She is a crazy bitch."
"Yeah." Carver agreed,
"So what do we do now?" Naruto asked,
"Huh?" Carver said.
"How do we return Sakura to normal?" Raiden turned to his teammate.
"What?" Carver laughed, "There is no returning her to normal."
"What..." Naruto shook his head.
"We traveled all this way-" Raiden said, "-to get her back."
"You haven't been around her." Carver replied, "There is no piece of our friend hiding somewhere inside that monster, the Sakura we knew and loved is gone."
"How can you say that?!" Raiden felt disgusted by how easily Carver was giving up on her!
"This is Kaguya, she was the one who did that to her. She is old as fuck and can do shit we can only dream of. There is no doubt in my mind that Kaguya burned the Sakura we knew out of her leaving behind the war machine she created.
"So that's it?" Naruto tightened his gaze on Carver.
"There isn't much we can really do Naruto, Kaguya she-" Carver sighed,
"I don't give a fuck how strong Kaguya is!" Naruto spat. "She forced Sakura to forget who she was, she took the Sakura we love away! I am not going to stand by and allow this!"
"Naruto we can't-!" Carver tried to get through Naruto's thick skull. "Kaguya could have used some rare bullshit technique that we have no idea how to reverse, we don't even know if this is reversable or if we have the strength to break what has been done!"
"Could we maybe trigger her to remember who she is?" Sasuke wondered.
"I don't fucking know!" Carver groaned rubbing his face, "I have no idea what creepy voodoo shit Kaguya did."
"We could use Kakashi." Raiden said throwing out ideas.
"Kakashi?" Naruto asked,
"She loved him-" Raiden went on to explain, Sasuke felt an annoyed sting in his chest hearing that statement. "-we could maybe use him to remind her who she was."
"Do we even want to?" Carver sighed knowing he was going to get hell for this.
"Excuse me?!" Naruto stepped closer, yup...Carver was right.
"I am just saying..." Carver held his hands up, "...Sakura has been through a lot, and clearly Kakashi hit her harder than I think we could understand-"
"That doesn't give Kaguya the right to wipe her memory!" Raiden snapped.
"I agree!" Carver shouted back, "But think about it, Sakura doesn't remember falling in love with him, and she doesn't remember him dying in her arms as he fucking proposed. Maybe this is for the best-"
"Having a creature like Sakura the Reaper will bring nothing but sorrow and pain." Raiden shook his head, "It is only a matter of time before she raises Purgatory, then what are we going to do?!"
"I won't let her-" Carver started,
"You talk like you would be able to stop her!" Raiden snapped.
"Fine!" Naruto yelled, shutting the two up. "We will have Kaguya do it."
"Do what?"
"Break or reverse whatever she did to Sakura."
"Uh..." Carver trailed off looking at Raiden.
"I don't think that is a good plan..." Raiden muttered,
"Why?" Naruto asked,
"Because you don't know how crazy Kaguya truly is, there is no way she will ever let Sakura go. It doesn't matter if Sakura was the person you knew her to be or a fucking bloody war machine. It would be a pointless conversation with Kaguya."
"We won't know unless we go there and-"
"Trust me Naruto." Carver said, the blond shinobi huffed, turning and picked up his bag.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked moving in his way.
"I am going to confront Kaguya." Naruto stated. "I am getting Sakura back."
"Naruto do not be stupid." Raiden said, "Kaguya will kill you, and it will never be traced to her or this village, the black ops or even Sakura will make sure of that."
"I don't care."
"Naruto." Sasuke said but Naruto cut him off and grabbed his arm.
"No!" He said ripping his arm away. "I am not losing her too."
"Naruto-"
"I hear you; I do." Naruto said looking at his team, "I hear you guys at night fighting over her, you talk about how it's been months since that day but it doesn't work that way. Sakura is ten times stronger than any of us and even I am not over what happened to Hinata. Fuck somedays I can barely get out of bed, seeing Hinata lying dead in the street still haunts me. Sakura watched Kakashi die, she held him as he took his last breath and until his heart stopped beating. He fucking proposed to her on his death bed! Nine months is not enough time to get through something so traumatic!"
"Naruto-"
"Kakashi used his last words not tell Sakura he loved her, but to ask me to do one thing: protect her. Kakashi trusted me and all of you to keep what he loved most in this world safe. I know for a fact he would march through those gates and do everything in his power to bring her back because even though it may be easier, only Sakura has the say of what should happen to her, Kaguya will not make those decisions for her!"
"Fine." Raided picked up his bag.
"Fine!?" Carver called quickly turning to him, "This is suicide! Kaguya will-"
"Then she will." Raiden stated looking at Carver, "Sakura has saved my dumb ass from a lot worse, to turn my back on her right now would be fucked up."
"Raiden-"
"I owe her my life." Raiden said with a laugh and a shrug, "Naruto is right, we should do everything we can, you know for a fact Sakura would run into the fire to safe us. I feel disgusted with myself for almost thinking about leaving Sakura in the hands of that twat." Raiden said with tears in his eyes. "I will die before I allow that bitch to win."
"We are going to die." Carver sighed,
"Yup." Sasuke agreed.
Team seven moved through the waterfall village as if they were walking on shards of glass. They were slow and steady trying to dodge everyone that walked near them. Carver pushed and pulled at Naruto as they moved through the darkened streets, it looked like the entire village was on lock down.
"Holy shit we made it." Raiden breathed as they walked down a hall.
"Don't count your eggs just yet." Carver breathed looking over his shoulder making sure the hallway was still empty. At the end of the hall rested dark oak double doors; Kaguya's office.
Naruto moved past Raiden as he wrapped his hand around the doorknobs throwing the door open without giving it a second thought! Carver almost cursed until he saw the room was not empty. Kaguya sat at her desk, her eyes on them standing in the doorway.
There was a still moment as team seven and Kaguya stared at one another.
"Carver, Raiden-" Kaguya blinked, "-Leaf shinobi. I wasn't aware there would be outside visitors today."
"You-" Naruto breathed, looking around not seeing one pink haired woman. "Where is Sakura?!" Naruto yelled stepping into the office.
"Hm?" Kaguya hummed.
"Sakura. Where is she and what have you done to her!?"
"I don't know what you're talking about in the slightest-"
"Don't fuck with me!" Naruto snapped, "I know what you did to her."
"Carver, care to explain why you have brought hostile intruders into my office?"
"You haven't seen hostile!" Naruto spat.
"Is there something I can help you with-"
"Yes, there fucking is, give Sakura her memory back!" Naruto yelled, his fist tightening as Kakashi's masked face and gravity defying hair flashed through his mind.
"If that is the only reason you have come here today, then you can go ahead and leave my village." Kaguya held her head high.
"I don't believe you fucking heard me correctly." Naruto glared into Kaguya's relaxed face. "I said give Sakura back her memories! Do you think I fear you?! I sealed you away once I can find a fucking way to do it again!" Naruto yelled. Kaguya and Naruto stared at each other as the rest of team seven looked at each other questionably.
"She will never get them back." Kaguya stood from her chair, Naruto's mouth opened slightly. Kaguay confirmed she had been the responsible.
"She-"
"Sakura was in a great deal of pain." Kaguya said, "I took the memories that pained her away."
"Yeah fucking right!" Raiden laughed, "You took the ones that made her want to not be around your psyco ass!"
"Sakura is mine now, she will remain here as she raises Purgatory from the ground."
"What?!" Carver's eyes widened as he sucked in a breath. "I thought-"
"I simply only said no to Purgatory because I knew I would need to use it as a chip."
"To keep her here." Raiden figured it out.
"Yes." Kaguya nodded, "Such a shame you didn't work out." Kaguya said looking at Raiden, "You would have made an excellent soldier."
"How dare you." Naruto spat through his teeth. "How dare you take her away from this world you crazy bitch!" Naruto yelled. "Sakura has repeatability lost everything and after all the bullshit she has been dragged through she still stands and fights for others who can't defend themselves, she fights for other villages when your selfish ass wants to block out an entire world who needs you! She has given up a normal life for us so we can live our own lives peacefully."
"Yeah!" Raiden agreed, "How dare you take her away from this world!"
"How can you do that to her?" Naruto shook his head, "She doesn't deserve this, how could you take her memories like that, granted they may be painful, but they were still hers. How can you take away the structure of what makes her her?! How can you even look yourself in the mirror after knowing what you have done? You are forcing Sakura to live in a hellish existence!" Naruto turned and looked at Carver.
"Sakura is perfect the way she is-"
"A blood thirsty killer?!" Raiden stepped forward, "You can't even call what she is right now a person! You molded her into a war machine for your own amusement!"
"She is per-" Kaguya went on to repeat.
"No!" Naruto pulled his phone out, pulling up his pictures and shoved it into Kaguya's face. Kaguya saw snap shots of Sakura smiling with Hinata and TenTen, laughing inside the café like they all had done while she was recovering inside the leaf village. Tears pricked Naruto's eyes remembering all the sweet moments he made with her. Pictures of Kakashi and Sakura moved across the screen, "It's not fair!" Naruto blinked the hot tears back, "I will not allow you to take her, my home no longer feels like home anymore. I lost my friends, my sensei, my girlfriend I will be damned if you take her too!"
"Sakura-" Kaguya shook her head refusing to believe these pictures of Kakashi holding Sakura close as she smiled in the picture.
"She loved that man!" Carver stepped in, "She was engaged to him before he died, I know she was hurting but how could you take his memory from her, how could you hide those feeling she felt away inside a box?
"I don't care." Kaguya waved Naruto's phone away, "Sakura is stronger without all those petty little emotions."
"Are you kidding me!?" Naruto and Raiden yelled,
"Sakura is perfect-"
"No." Raiden shook his head, "You don't get to decide how she is; you don't get to pick and choose what memories she gets to keep at your convenience!"
"Sakura being perfect-" Naruto cut in, "-is when she walks into a room and lights it up, she makes you feel at home under her gaze. You never got to see just how amazing and warm she can be because your so selfish you would take all that away leaving a bullet shell of a person just so you could keep her all to yourself."
"Are you really so cold your willing to lock her in a cage of anger and pain so you can get her all to yourself?" Sasuke wondered,
"I grew up with Sakura we have roots that intertwine, and I know her in ways that you will never know just how you know her in different ways I will never know. I hate sharing her with the other villages, I hate when she leaves but in doing so, I still get a piece of her; she still comes back willingly. She stays in the leaf village by choice, I have her as a friend she is a part of my family. Can you tell yourself that?" Naruto glared.
"What the fuck?" A voice laughed turning everyone's head.
"Sakura!" Naruto smiled seeing her standing in the doorway as she gazed into the room full of people. Sakura looked from Sasuke to Naruto and then to Carver and Raiden as she moved into the room and stood beside Kaguya.
"Sakura-" Kaguya nodded,
"What are they-"
"These men were here just threatening me." Kaguya informed, Sakura turned her head to look at team seven.
"Really?"
"N-No!" Naruto stepped in.
"Well...kinda..." Raiden muttered.
"But Kaguya stole your memory!" Naruto defended. "That is why we-"
"Is this true?" Sakura asked turning to Kaguya ignoring team seven.
"Possibly." Kaguya nodded,
"Possibly my ass!" Naruto pointed,
"But that version of you Sakura I took away, you don't like Purgatory."
"What?" Carver frowned.
"I am the one who stopped Purgatory?" Sakura asked in disbelief,
"Yes."
"Why lie to me?"
"You needed time to adjust." Kaguya smiled, "But you have now, if you wish to burn this village to the ground and restate it then by all means, have at it."
"No!" Naruto stepped forward moving towards Kaguya but a blur got in the way. Sakura moved to stand in front of Kaguya, with the wave of her hand she back handed Naruto.
"Naruto!" Raiden moved to him who fell to his ass looking at Sakura with a wide shocked expression. Sakura narrowed her eyes onto her former teammate.
"Why are you here." She breathed as anger laced each strand.
"They are your friends." Kaguya said,
"What?" Sakura laughed,
"It is true." Kaguya nodded, "The version I took away of you likes the Leaf Village, you visit there quite offen. Even two of your best soldiers joined the village after being stationed there by you."
"Your fucking with me." Sakura laughed turning to look at Carver and Raiden, a few things were now clicking in her head.
"I am not, you even got engaged." Kaguya went on.
"Engaged?" Sakura felt amused by these jokes. "What sad fuck would-"
"Kakashi Hatake." As Kaguya said his name teams seven turned to Sakura to watch her reaction to his name. To their dismay she didn't even so much as flinch at the sound of the man she once loved.
"What?!" Sakura chuckled at the idea of her dating a sad sap like her failed sensei. "No fucking way would I-"
"It is true!" Naruto stood, "You loved Kakashi and he loved you-"
"I call bullshit on all of this." Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Sakura-" Kaguya called sounding calm and confidant. "-all of this is true." Sakura looked from Naruto to Kaguya.
"Seriously?"
"Yes." Kaguya nodded.
"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, "Kakashi...he died a few months ago and you were in a lot of pain...but that doesn't give Kaguya the right to take those memories from you!"
"Hm." Sakura nodded, "Well then by all means Kaguya, keep those memories-"
"Sakura!" Naruto's heart dropped.
"No-" Carver shook his head.
"I would leave if I were you Leaf shinobi." A sickening smile crossed Sakura's pretty face. "It'll be a bloodbath here by morning and I know you don't have the stomach for it."
"I am not leaving-" Naruto stood.
"Save the heartwarming bullshit speech for someone who cares." Sakura cut in sounding annoyed. "If you don't leave, then I will be the one to force you out."
"Sakura, this isn't you-"
"How do you know?" Sakura wondered with a tilt of her head, "You weren't very present while I was inside the Leaf Village."
"I know and I am so sorry we weren't there but-" Naruto was cut off by Sakura who flew forward punching him in the stomach, all the air inside his lungs came rushing out as he held his gut falling to the floor gasping for breath.
"That is enough-" Sasuke stepped forward, Sakura reached down on her leg pulling a kunai from her pouch and sent it slicing through the air. Raiden couldn't catch it before plunging into Sasuke's arm.
"I am not one to lecture." Sakura smiled seeing the blood dripping from his arm. Raiden moved to defend Sasuke but Sakura was already two steps ahead, she flipped around slamming him into a wall. Carver ducked her first hit but failed at the second, she broke his nose with delight and sent him face first into the office door, it crumbled into pieces as he went through it. Kaguya sat back watching with satisfaction as Sakura took down her own team and friends.
"What-" Naruto breathed pulling himself up blood painted his face from his busted lip, "-Sakura, this isn't you. You're not this monster-"
"No." Sakura darkly smiled kneeling beside him, "I am much...much worse." The wicked smile and wild animal eyes made Naruto feel something he wasn't used to...fear...Sakura slid her fingers through his bright blond hair and took a tight fist full, she yanked his face until he was inches from hers. "If you don't leave my village, I swear I will get to yours before you and I will burn it until there is nothing but ashes in its place."
"Sakura..." Naruto breathed as he felt his swollen face throb, "...it's ok I'm here."
"That is why you should be afraid." Sakura grinned,
"Sakura, I promise I will find a way to fix-"
"I am not broken." Sakura smiled, leaning closer to him and whispered in his ear, "When I crawl into your village in the middle of the night, I am going to string your little leaf friends up by their necks, then I am going to make your Hokage and your precious Iruka sensei into human scarecrows. I will place them specially just for you at the crumbling gates of what was once your village so they can greet you when you get home. You can't fix something that isn't broken Naruto, I like what I am."
"Sa-Sakura..." Naruto's eyes were wide as he investigated hers, searching for the woman he gotten so close to, for the woman Kakashi loved. He saw nothing but death and a thirsty killer. Naruto felt scared as he backed away out of her grip, he watched Sakura stand licking the deadly smirk on her lips. Naruto turned his team who were bruised and bloody.
"Sakura..." Carver breathed, "...please-"
"Carver-" Sakura countered, "-please, give me a reason to slit your throat. Give me a reason to kill you and your team. I spent hours, days, even weeks-" Sakura locked her wild gaze onto Naruto, "-wondering how satisfying it would feel, feeling your warm blood trailing down my arm hearing you scream as I slice you into pieces!"
"We belong to the Leaf Village." Raiden said as if that could protect them from the Reaper of Reapers.
"I know." Sakura grinned, "That will be the cherry on top, they will try to come here to get revenge for their murdered shinobi and in return I get to wipe them off the map!" Sakura laughed; Naruto stepped back hearing the wicked sound inside what use to be his friends voice, hearing her used to bring him a sense of peace but now, he was staring at the face of an evil creature he couldn't recognize.
Carver grabbed Naruto's shirt pulling him from the room, Sasuke and Raiden followed quickly as they ran from Kaguya's office as Sakura's dry laugh echoed the halls.
Team seven fell to the ground after running from the waterfall village. Naruto gasped for air with wide eyes staring at the dirt path beneath him. Her eyes, that wicked smile and that laugh...it all imprinted in his mind replaying repeatedly.
"What the fuck was that!?" Sasuke yelled catching his breath as he held his arm.
"That was..." Carver sighed, setting his bag down to get his first aid kit. "...the Reaper of Reapers."
"That...that thing is not Sakura!" Sasuke yelled as he cringed at the pain Sakura's kunai inflicted.
"Not the one you know." Raiden said taking the gauze Carver held out for Sasuke.
"That was..." Sasuke breathed recalling the look on her face as she looked pleased when she hurt him. "...I don't have words."
"Yeah...most people don't..."
"How...what..." Sasuke was in shock seeing the person Carver and Raiden tried to describe inside their stories.
"Just breathe." Carver said as Raiden patched Sasuke's arm the best he could.
"She kicked our asses without a fucking care in the world!" Sasuke yelled at Raiden.
"Yeah..." Carver sighed holding his broken nose.
"Why the fuck would Kaguya want to bring that thing back!?" Sasuke went on.
"I don't know." Raiden muttered, glancing at Naruto feeling worried as he saw tears falling down his face...Naruto was right he lost his friends, sensei, girlfriend and now Sakura wasn't Sakura anymore...as Raiden wrapped Sasuke's bleeding arm his stomach felt sour and vomit wished to exit his body.
They didn't have the Nine here this time to get control on Sakura. She liked what she was turned into by Kaguya, she enjoyed spilling blood and the rioting she viewed it as a normal Thursday. "How are we going to fix her?" Raiden looked over his shoulder to Carver and Naruto.
"I..." Carver sighed as he closed his eyes. They stood a mile from the waterfall village, he rubbed the back of his head feeling a little blood. Sakura had thrown him against the wall, he could possibly have a concussion.
"I don't think we can..." Everyone turned, shocked to hear those words coming out of Naruto's mouth.
"Naruto-"
"You saw her face." Sasuke cut Raiden off, "You saw how thrilled she was when she was beating us to a pulp!"
"What are we going to do then?" Raiden asked,
"We need to get home." Sasuke said, "We need to get back to the village and prepare for when she makes her way to us."
The four members of team seven looked around at each other, Purgatory was going to rise again, Sakura made that clear. It was only a matter of time before all that collected chaos spilt out of the waterfall village infecting the surrounding area.
Naruto looked to his feet as Carver pulled him up to look at his face. Naruto had a hard ball in his stomach as he felt he would soon learn the answer to his question he pondered not so long ago.
If Naruto had to go up against Sakura, who would win?