"Oh good, you're back already," Sakura said as Naruto, Sasuke and Captain Yamato stepped into her office. "I have orders for you—"
"Sakura-chwan~:D~!"
Before Sakura could even finish her sentence, Naruto had already launched himself at her, his arms spread wide for a hug.
"Gllk!"
But unfortunately for Naruto, Sasuke caught him by the scruff of the neck just as he was about to bury his nose in her rosy cleavage, jerking him back as though he were a dog on a leash. A dog in heat, that is.
"Sakura-chan, you're okay!" Naruto said, beaming at her as tears of happiness streamed down his face and snot bubbles of relief inflated from his nostrils. "And you're awake too, ya know!"
Even Sasuke couldn't help the corners of his mouth from rising. His future wife and mother of the new Uchiha clan was not brain-dead, thank goodness… even though her bloodline was a little thin, she was still technically a descendant of his clan.
"It's good to see you back on your feet, Milady, but why have you recalled Team 7?" Captain Yamato said politely. "We're desperately needed on the northern front; our men are struggling to contain the A-B Combo…"
"I'm personally taking over the village's defence, so that won't be needed," Sakura said firmly, handing Captain Yamato a scroll containing the mission's details. "Captain, you remember the way to Lōran, don't you? I'm going to need you to take Naruto and a sealing specialist to the Land of Wind to retrieve the Ryūmyaku."
Captain Yamato unfurled the scroll, frowning slightly as he read its contents.
"Understood," he said, rolling up the scroll and storing it in his vest pouch. "It shall be done."
"What about that guy, ya know? Isn't he coming?" Naruto asked, pointing at Sasuke. "Oh right, before I forget, we met this weird ghost bloke about an hour ago, right? I wanted to ask…"
However, Sakura was no longer listening. She was staring at Sasuke in shock, looking past the fringe covering his left eye. He had a Rinnegan! One with tomoe in it!
"Sasuke, your eye!" she blurted out.
"Ever since that Sage of Six Paths geezer gave me this," Sasuke grumbled, raising his left hand to show her the moon crest burned into his palm, "I haven't been able to close this… Rinnegan. Now I know how Kakashi must feel all the time…"
Sakura searched her memories.
When exactly had the Sage of Six Paths given Naruto and Sasuke their power ups, again? Was it when Madara became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki? Did that mean he already had everything he needed to set his plan into motion?
However, and most importantly, Sakura thought to herself with a twinge of fear, this meant that those two now had the power to seal her up for ever…
Technically speaking, Sakura was only pseudo Six Paths-level. She possessed the Rinnegan Kekkei Mōra and had mastered all nature transformations as well as Sage Mode, but she could not form Truth-Seeking Balls, as her comprehension of chakra still fell short in several areas. Sasuke was also in the same boat, since he had the Rinnegan and Six Paths chakra, but not Six Paths senjutsu chakra.
In contrast, although he didn't possess any Kekkei Mōra, the current Naruto was a true Six Paths-level existence, because the Sage of Six Paths had directly given him what he had been missing… even though he had said he wouldn't show preferential treatment this time around. Using Six Paths Sage Mode, he could produce Truth-Seeking Balls and fly!
Sakura had no idea whether this elevation in his life level was temporary or permanent, but for now, Naruto ranked above her in the food chain. Instinctively, she felt compelled to keep Naruto and Sasuke apart.
Just in case the Sage of Six Paths had given them funny ideas.
"As for you, Sasuke-kun, you're going south, to the following coordinates," Sakura said, handing him a scroll. "There, you'll find a Gelel mine… you shouldn't encounter too much opposition, so dig up as much as you can in your Susano'o and return before tomorrow at nightfall… and that goes for you too, Naruto."
Sakura ducked under her desk and reappeared moments later with an armful of sealing scrolls, which she shoved into Sasuke's hands. She had initially planned on keeping Sasuke around to help her defend the village, but on a whim, she decided that sending him mining was a better use of his talents.
"Needless to say, if you can't bring back what I asked for by then, the Hidden Leaf is doomed, so don't even bother coming back, okay?" Sakura said in a distant voice. "These missions are crucial to saving the village, so if you fail, you're better off saving yourselves and starting new lives abroad."
"Sakura-chan…" Naruto said tentatively, a strange look of worry in his eye. Through the Nine-Tails, he could feel the fear and agitation churning deep within Sakura, and most unnervingly of all, some of it seemed to be directed at him… almost as though she were scared of him. "Are… you feeling okay, ya know?"
As usual, Naruto was incredibly perceptive when Sakura least needed him to be. Why couldn't he be dense all the time?
"You should hurry, the clock is ticking," Sakura said softly. She pointed at the door. "See? Sasuke's already run off while we were talking."
Shikaku had already arranged for Karin to accompany Naruto and Captain Yamato deep behind enemy lines to the Land of Lōran, which bordered both the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind. It was bound to be a perilous journey, but Naruto was the only one who could see it through.
"There's something you're not telling me," Naruto said after a moment's hesitation. "Nine-Tails says he can sense that right now, you're feeling really guilty… ya know?"
"Ah, shit," Sakura swore, smiling weakly. "I was hoping you'd only find out when you reached your destination…"
There was indeed something Sakura hadn't told Naruto… the fact that this was a one-way trip for the rest of the support team; that is, for everyone but him.
"Do you still remember the first lesson Kakashi-sensei taught us, three and a half years ago?" Sakura asked. "Right after the Bell Test?"
How could Naruto possibly forget? He still lived by Kakashi's words to this day.
"In the Ninja World, those who break the rules are scum, that's true..." Naruto recited. "But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum!"
Sakura nodded.
"It's three days from the Hidden Leaf to the Hidden Sand if you run without stopping… that means six days total for a return trip," she explained. "It's a bit shorter to go where you're heading, but not by much… do you see where I'm going with this?"
The deadline Sakura had given him was tomorrow evening, by sunset: thirty-six hours, counting down from the present moment. There was no possible way they could reach their destination in time, let alone come back.
"You're… you're sending us away, ya know!?" Naruto spluttered. "To save us!? But we… I can fight… I'm stronger than ever—"
Sakura shook her head sadly.
"The Hokage Guard Platoon will use the Flying Thunder Formation Jutsu to send you to the Second Hokage on the western front, and with Karin's range-boosting sensory ninjutsu, he'll send you halfway to your destination in the Land of Rivers, to one of the Fourth Hokage's old kunai," Sakura explained. "Once you reach Old Lōran, you and your team will retrieve the Ryūmyaku that your father sealed twenty years ago… and from there, you will return to the village by yourself."
Naruto's mouth hung half open.
"Unfortunately, Senju Tobirama is still needed to hold the western front, so he won't be able to accompany you for long," Sakura said with a melancholy smile. "And you, Uzumaki Naruto, are the fastest man in the world… you alone are fast enough to return to the Hidden Leaf in time to save the village…"
There was no need to elaborate on the grim fates that awaited Captain Yamato and Karin, left behind enemy lines by themselves. Well, Karin was pretty good at hiding, so she would probably be fine.
"I won't ever leave a comrade behind!" Naruto shouted defiantly. "I'll carry Captain Yamato and Cousin Karin on my back if I have to, ya know! I'll complete the mission with everyone, and then we'll all have ramen together at Ichiraku's, believe it!"
Sakura pursed her lips. Were it anyone else, she would have thought they were full of hot air, but when Naruto was the one saying he could accomplish the impossible… she couldn't simply brush him off. Even if it sounded like crazy talk… she couldn't help but believe him.
And now that she thought about it, it had been silly of her to be scared of him; she couldn't understand why she'd suddenly felt that way earlier. Naruto was Naruto, and that was all she really needed from the man she'd chosen!
"Okay, then," Sakura finally said. "In that case, as Sixth Hokage, I order you to complete your mission AND bring everyone back safe and sound, got it?"
Naruto grinned. "Easy!"
With his new powers, anything was possible!