Sakura Season Epilogue

“No matter how much you target the Leaf Village, there will be a new Hokage who will inherit my will, and become the pillar to protect the House of the Leaf!”
- The Third Hokage


Epilogue

From the Personal Diary of Haruno Sakura 21 May, 112th Year of the Leaf

     We’ve been on the run now for weeks. We couldn’t go to the Village of the Sand, as we’ve been labeled official criminals and enemies of the Fire Country.  Temari brought us that warning. Also, she bore the horrible news that war had begun on the northern borders of the Wind Country.  After staying with us for a day, Shikamaru gave her the toad Kurenai was in. Kurenai would soon need to come out of stasis or she would die. Temari promised to get her to the Sand’s hospital under the highest secrecy, but it doesn’t look good for my teacher and friend. I’m still so worried.

        A few days later we learned more as we showed ourselves and collected more civilians that had fled Konoha. The group included my mother and father.  They told us that Danzo was now in control of what was Konoha, and though he was ordering the rebuilding of what had been destroyed in the battle, there were trials of treason and executions every day. He was somehow taking credit for his ANBU Root driving the Akatsuki and the traitorous infestation away.  It seems likely to us that he cut a deal with Akatsuki for this position, maybe even Madara himself. Konoha itself has been renamed as the capital city Himachi, and the Daimyo’s castle is being rebuilt there. Danzo has proclaimed it no longer necessary for the higher evolved practitioners of the ninja arts to keep themselves hidden from the eyes of the world.

        Himachi does not answer to the leadership of the fire country, and a series of assassinations and political maneuverings there have turned the Daimyo there into nothing more than a puppet regime that now answers to Danzo’s iron will. Even the fire temple, which is being relocated to this new capital, will be kept close by and managed accordingly. For all intents and purposes, the Fire country as a whole is now run by Danzo.

         The Hidden villages of Rain and Mist have also been dissolved, and their nations have also have come to be controlled by militants. We were aware of these events taking place even while Konoha still stood, but could do nothing to prevent it as it was not the Fire nation’s policy to interfere. If only we had realized their connection.

         As for the War, the Fire nation has sent both troops and ninja in support of the Wind country as per the contract alliance that was made between the Sand and Konoha. But we doubt Danzo intends to honor that contract for long. We anticipate him actually siding with the Rain in attempt to establish another unified militant regime. So does Gaara, according to Temari. However, the Wind country leaders and the Daimyo don’t seem to recognize the danger.

         Today we had a meeting in the Wave country, hidden out of view in a building loaned to us by some old friends of the original Team 7 I was a part of. When we crossed the long bridge into the country, Naruto beamed at me when he saw the name.  

        “The Great Naruto Bridge.” The sign at one end read.

          I couldn’t help but give him a joyful laugh, and I think Kakashi-sensei even smiled.

         We’ve turned to Kakashi-sensei for leadership. We’re only about two hundred ninja strong, with a few dependents and civilians in our care. We’d lost so many in the previous battle, and there had barely been time to breath. I was grateful that everyone we took our first Chuunin exam with had made it, for those were the friends Naruto and I were closest to. Yet there were other friends, young and old, that we wouldn’t be seeing again. Even the Hokage had . . .

          Still, we’ve placed our faith in Kakashi to somehow lead us to victory over our enemies – to win back our home and restore peace. And we’ve placed our faith in Naruto.

          I watched him as he listened intently today to everything that was being said. Attacking and taking out Danzo was discussed. Assisting the Sand in their war was discussed. Splitting up and infiltrating various lands, going to ground until another day was discussed.

         But Naruto was the one to provide the course that Kakashi chose, and the one everyone rallied behind.  It came in the middle of the heated argument, and Kakashi-sensei was having trouble keeping the assembly in order. Suddenly Naruto, who had been quiet the entire time, stood up.

         “There’s no doubt about it,” Naruto said loudly and with enough authority that all the bickering silenced as we all stopped to listen. “The code that old pervert left to us is clear to me now, and I know where the real Pain is. That is our target. Find the real Pain, and the invasion of the Wind Country will halt. Find Pain, and Madara will show himself once he’s defeated.”

         “So what are you saying?” Someone, maybe Shikamaru asked.

         “I’m saying we attack the Hidden Rain, and we’ll take out Pain,” Naruto said.

        “Impossible!” Someone shouted, but Kakashi-sensei held up his hand.

        “Naruto is right,” he said. “We’re running low on supplies, and eventually we will be found. We need to strike at the heart of this matter, and that means Pain and Madara. Then we can worry about reclaiming the village, with the help of our allies if necessary.”

          There were murmurs of agreement, and even those with the most stubborn opinions seemed to be considering the option carefully. I realized I should speak too. I stood up next to Naruto.

          “I know what many of you are thinking. I want our home back too. But, Danzo is only a puppet of these two. Something to forward their plans, and in his greed for power he thinks he has destroyed us. He is not the immediate threat.” I said.

         Then I glanced at Naruto with my next words.  “We should also consider that there are others working with their own agendas - friends who need to be convinced to rejoin our cause.”

          “You don’t mean?” Neji’s voice yelled from the crowd.

          “I do,” I said feeling Naruto give me a knowing nod. “If we’re going to win the day we are going to need his power.”

          “But he’s a trai . . .” someone else began angrily.

          “He works for only himself!” I said even more loudly, refusing to be interrupted. “He does not care for the objectives of our enemies. I saw that in him when I fought him last.”

         There was silence. It was broken at last by Naruto’s voice.

         “It looks bad right now, even impossible. People always told me, when I was young, that it would be impossible for a screw up like me to become a ninja.” Naruto gave us all a small chuckle. Standing next to him, I was scared I might swoon, but my legs held steady.

         “But I guess I’ve done alright,” he continued. “And those with the will of fire, handed down from generation to generation in Konoha, can accomplish even the impossible. I believe that, and I believe in my comrades. I believe in Sasuke too. So I’m asking for a little trust, and we will win by our will!”

          A drum roll of murmurs grew in intensity until Kakashi sensei added to Naruto’s stirring speech with a loud war cry. Then, every voice in the cabin cheered as one. It was both a cry for war and a cry for the belief in the coming victory. I saw Kakashi nod at Naruto as he concluded the meeting. Now we had our plan. Recruit Sasuke back to our cause, destroy Pain, and root out Madara. We would use this insignificant village as our base, and eventually we knew we would overcome all.

         I sit here on a hilltop watching the sun go down as I write this. The nights are defiantly getting warmer as spring moves toward summer, and the last sakura blossoms are catching the rays of the setting sun as they drift away. He sits behind me as he holds me, and I am secure here in his arms as he joins me in gazing down at the sleepy village and the bridge that bears his name. He teases me about being so detailed in my writing, and he wants me to put all kinds of flattering things about him. In fact he keeps trying to . . .

        I will write that he is an extremely good kisser.

         I don’t know exactly what the future has in store for us, but here in this moment I know we will always have each other. Sakura season, my season, has ended, but I can feel a new season of change for us all brewing in the warm summer air.