Hidden Leaf - Training Ground 7
"Don't talk to me like I'm weak, Sakura-chan! I know what I'm doing, ya know!"
Sakura winced internally at Naruto's outburst. There it is, she thought, pressing her lips together. Again.
He had said it so confidently earlier that he'd surpass Sasuke in no time. That he'd drag him back home no matter what it took. And maybe she shouldn't have said what she did. Maybe her words hadn't been as diplomatic as they could've been. But she wasn't wrong either.
Naruto had fought her to a stalemate, but barely. He was still improving, sure, but Sasuke… Sasuke had decimated her. Left her broken on the ground like she was nothing. Like all her training meant nothing. And that was after she'd thrown everything at him. Tsunade's teachings, poisons, perfect form. All of it. And Sasuke hadn't even tried.
How was Naruto going to catch up to that in a few weeks? A few months? An Year? Wouldn't Sasuke also improve in that time?
She didn't say any of that aloud. Of course not. But maybe her tone had slipped just enough for Naruto to hear something crueler than what she meant.
"I never said you were weak, Naruto!" she said instead, hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Don't put words in my mouth."
Naruto scowled. "Tch. Really? Funny, coming from the person who just said I wasn't strong enough to keep up. What, am I supposed to train for the rest of my life before I'm 'approved' by you?"
She stiffened at that, guilt prickling under her skin. That wasn't what she'd meant, not exactly.
I think I'm still sore from that loss.
"Yo."
They both froze and jumped to face a familiar figure who stood casually atop a tree branch, one hand raised lazily in greeting, the other tucked into his pocket.
"Kakashi-sensei!/Kakashi-sensei!"
The argument melted into silence as the Copy Ninja jumped, landing on the grassy earth and stepping forward, his lone visible eye watching them with quiet scrutiny.
Sakura exhaled slowly, tension bleeding out of her shoulders. For once in his life, her lazy sensei wasn't late but rather right on time.
"Well," he said, tone deceptively breezy, "I heard everything. Your spar. Your little... dispute. And I've read the mission report about Sasuke."
The shift in the air was immediate.
"That was uncalled for, Sakura," Kakashi said, his voice losing its casual lilt. "I don't doubt your intentions, but if you want to help bring Sasuke back, starting a fight with your own teammate over his capabilities is not the way."
Heat rushed into her face
"Naruto's progress isn't a joke, and neither is your teamwork. You don't get to demand trust if you don't give it."
Her pride bristled, her ego screamed. For a brief second, she felt that same raw defensiveness crawl up her throat, but she knew it was useless. She had gone too far. She hadn't meant to belittle Naruto, but in her frustration, in her own pain she had lashed out. Sasuke's rejection, the loss, the helplessness had all at once culminated into a large amount of vexation. The overwhelming fear that she might not be strong enough when the time finally came. She wanted reassurance, some sort of proof, anything to believe they could actually bring Sasuke home.
But that wasn't Naruto's fault.
"You're right," she said quietly. Her eyes flicked toward Naruto with blatant guilt. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I was being… unfair. I guess…" She rubbed the back of her hand over her wrist, fingers tightening. "I guess I needed to see more proof. That we can do this. That we can bring him back. And maybe... " Her shoulders hunched slightly. "... maybe I was still bitter about losing."
Naruto blinked at her. Then, like nothing had happened at all, his face split into a grin.
"Hey, I said something dumb earlier too, right?" He scratched the back of his head. "So I guess we're even now."
Sakura smiled weakly, something warm curling in her chest despite herself.
Kakashi-sensei's right. This isn't the time for division. It's the time to be stronger than ever.
Kakashi clapped his hands together, bringing the attention back to him.
"As proud as I am of how far the both of you have come, there's still room for improvement. A lot of it."
Sakura felt her jaw clench slightly, but she didn't argue.
"And honestly…" He paused, lifting a hand to rub the back of his head, "…I haven't been the best teacher."
"What?!" Naruto blurted out immediately, brows furrowing. "Come on, Kakashi-sensei! That's not true!"
"No need to sugarcoat it. I'm not being modest, I'm being honest. I let a lot happen without stepping in when I should've. I didn't give Sasuke enough guidance and I didn't give either of you the preparation you deserved. I left too much up to instinct - I let my past get in the way of being present for all of you, hoping it would sort itself out. And, well... it didn't."
Sakura's chest tightened. He sounded… tired. Sad, in a way that felt too close to something she couldn't quite name.
"But that's done now - its in the past. From now on, I'm not just your teacher - I'm your teammate. I'll train with you, I'll fight beside you. And of course," his eye curved just slightly, "I'll give you a pointer or two."
He stepped forward, gaze turning thoughtful.
"If there's one thing I've learned from everything I've read, everything I've heard, and everything I know about Sasuke, it is that he operates alone."
That hung in the air for a beat.
"But you believe he's still alive?" Sakura asked quietly, a little too quickly.
"I do," Kakashi said without hesitation.
Naruto's grin broke through like sunlight. "I knew it!"
Sakura let out a breath, not even realizing she'd been holding it.
"But I won't lie to you," Kakashi added. "His current strength… is well above our paygrade and that's not exaggeration - not even pessimism. It's reality. Frankly, based on the reports, on Gai's account, on everything I've seen I'm not even sure I could take him on alone."
"What?!"
"No way!"
Kakashi raised a hand to silence them before they got too loud.
"But that's not the point," he said. "This isn't about one-on-one fights. It never was. Sasuke may be powerful - but he's alone and we're a team - teams win battles individuals can't. That lesson I taught you all on your first day? It still matters. Even if the last team that faced him lost… we'll learn from that."
Kakashi folded his arms, his tone growing thoughtful.
"If I had to guess… Sasuke's gone after Itachi by now."
The name alone sent a chill down Sakura's spine. Of course. That was always the goal, wasn't it?
"Given how powerful he's become, the strength he showed in Sakura's mission, and what he did to Gai," Kakashi continued, "if he found him… I think it's safe to assume he's already killed him."
Naruto, so full of bluster a moment ago, went quiet.
"But now comes the real question. What next? What's Sasuke planning now that his goal - at least the one we knew - is complete?"
There was no answer.
"That doesn't mean it's over," Kakashi added. "If anything, it gives us an opening. I've seen what revenge does to shinobi - he'll also have to confront what's next, not just us. We can work with that. Whether it's talking… or fighting, we'll deal with it. But to do that, we need to be stronger. And I've got just the thing."
He paused.
"A new training method. One that'll help Naruto surpass me."
Sakura stared at him. "Wait… what?"
Naruto's jaw dropped. "Huh?! Surpass you?! Are you serious?!"
Kakashi gave a light shrug, almost smug. "Mmhm."
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's start now!"
"Patience Naruto. Good things come to those who wait—"
But before their sensei could complete his sentence, Naruto stepped forward, his face turning deadly serious, a look Sakura had only seen a handful of times. His blue, fierce, eyes burned with something greater than optimism.
"I'm never giving up on Sasuke," he said. "I don't care how strong he gets - I'm bringing him back, even if I have to fight him a hundred times - even if I have to break every bone in his body doing it. I'll drag him back to the Leaf because he's my friend. No matter what, I won't give up because that's my ninja way!"
He pointed a thumb to his headband.
"Believe it!"
Kakashi let out a breath that could've been a chuckle or just resignation. "That optimism of yours… It's going to be the death of me."
Sakura couldn't help the smile tugging at her lips. The sheer force of Naruto's will was infectious, and in that fire, she felt her own ignite.
Yes.
They would do it, they would bring Sasuke back together as a team. Whatever darkness had taken root in him, whatever poison Orochimaru had left behind, they would tear it out. With fists, with words, with anything they had. And when it was over, things would go back to the way they were.
Team 7 would be whole again. Sasuke would return. And maybe… maybe the boy she had loved all this time would finally look at her with something else. Something real.
Things were looking up.
_____________________________________________________________________
Hidden Leaf - Hokage Advisor Council Room
"You are saying you had made use of the Seventh Gate - yet you still failed to retrieve the boy?"
The words were calm, yet he could feel the judgment.
Gai sat on the opposite chair stiffly, his fists clenched against his knees. His usual grin was gone, his teeth not flashing, no declarations of youth to fill the space. This was not the time. He simply nodded once.
"Yes. I opened the Seventh Gate, and he still defeated me... easily."
A faint rustle of robes as Danzo leaned forward slightly, his fingers tapping once on the table.
"And you are certain it was Sasuke - the boy - not Orochimaru?"
"Yes, I am sure. That was Kakashi's student."
He swallowed hard. His throat still ached from the effort, though not half as much as his pride.
"Typical of the Uchiha. Power without discipline. Bloodline before duty. Clan before the village. Hatake's student was always going to betray the Leaf - it was only a matter of time."
Gai said nothing. Not because he agreed, but because some part of him was still trying to understand, still trying to come to terms with the fact that even in nearly all his strength, all his hard work had been utterly made a mockery of.
Danzo did not linger on the insult. He leaned back slightly, reaching into the sleeve of his robes and produced a folder. The edges were slightly worn, the paper aged. With a quiet thunk, he placed it on the table between them, fingers pushing it forward until it rested beside Gai's hand.
Gai hesitated, then opened it.
He didn't need to read more than a few lines. He knew this report. Of course he knew.
"Are you capable of it?"
The Eighth Gate of Death. A suicide technique. The pinnacle of taijutsu.
His father had bought them time… and killed four legendary swordsmen before his body gave out. Gai stared at the page longer than necessary, not because he didn't understand, but because it felt like something sacred had been put on trial.
He closed the folder and looked up, wary.
"I... Yes."
"Good," he said. "Then you understand the purpose of this meeting."
Gai frowned. "Purpose?"
Danzo's voice grew just a fraction colder.
"Should Uchiha Sasuke choose to attack this village - to turn his power on the innocent, on our shinobi - can you guarantee that you would stop him?"
Silence.
It crashed into Gai like a hammer. He blinked once, stunned, not by the scenario itself, but by how quickly Danzo had moved the conversation from assessment to execution.
"You're asking me if... if... I'd kill him."
"I'm asking whether you are capable of fulfilling your duty," Danzo corrected, tone razor-sharp. "That boy holds power now that rivals Kage. He has abandoned his comrades, aligned himself with hostile forces, and defeated you - our strongest taijutsu user - in your highest state. He has made a mockery of Konoha's most wanted - the most dangerous since Madara Uchiha - based on our intelligence. As such, its is important for our top shinobi to understand the gravity of the situation. An Uchiha, a rogue one - one that may hold resentment for our village, is no laughing matter."
Gai's eyes lowered to the polished grain of the table.
Sasuke...
No, he couldn't see the boy as a threat. Based on what he had seen, young Sasuke hadn't fought like a tyrant, or a man obsessed with domination. He hadn't acted cruelly, hadn't sought blood for its own sake. He had tested himself, used their skirmish to gauge how far he had come. He'd treated even the Seventh Gate like it was data, not a threat. And once he was satisfied, he had vanished into the dark, as if it was an inconvenience to fight them
It was obvious to him, now more than ever, that his rival's students next step had been Itachi. As far as Gai was concerned, he believed that Sasuke would return once that path was complete because there was no malice in his actions, in their clash.
And besides…
Gai's jaw tightened, and his hands unconsciously gripped the arms of the chair.
There was Kakashi, his eternal rival, his closest friend, his brother-in-arms. Gai had seen what Sasuke's defection had done to him—the quiet, the guilt, the way Kakashi looked at his students as if somehow he had failed all of them.
To kill the boy Kakashi once called a reflection of himself?
Gai's body stirred, fury rising from his chest. The idea of being the one to sever that last thread… it filled him with heat. Rage.
The denial was on his lips—
"I ask again," Danzo said softly, almost kindly. "Should Uchiha Sasuke return as a threat to the Leaf… can you end him, Jonin Maito Gai?"
And then something shifted.
Of course Sasuke was a threat.
What was he thinking?
He had seen it with his own eyes. Power like that, untamed, disconnected from duty, unleashed on the Leaf... it would tear the village apart. The boy had already betrayed them. He had cast aside his comrades, his teachers, the Will of Fire. He had beaten Gai, the Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf without even trying. Who's to say what he would do next?
That kind of power couldn't be left unchecked.
Danzo was right. Konoha needed protection from a dangerous threat
He sat straighter.
"Yes."
Danzo inclined his head slightly.
Gai's voice came again, steady as stone.
"If I ever see Uchiha Sasuke... I will kill him on sight. By any means necessary."
His fist clenched under the table.
Because that was his duty. Because that was the right thing to do.
"Good. That is all I needed to hear."
Because, unbeknownst to him, his will was no longer his own.
_____________________________________________________________________
AN: Hope ya'll enjoyed that! We're done with the 'introduce OP Sasuke to the world' arc.