The choice !

Known as Rikudô Sennin, this being was standing at the top of the waterfall in the Valley of the End with Haruno Sakura. The hermit's six black orbs slowly began to spin in a large circle around the two protagonists present. The necklace around his neck made of six Magatama began to glow softly. The same symbols on his kimono also began to glow, as did the top of his Gudôdama staff.

His eyes were currently closed and an extreme concentration could be read on his face. Gently, he touched the water in front of him with his staff. As soon as it came into contact with the water of the lake, the energy concentrated at the end of Gudôdama mixed with it and everything started to happen quickly. A maelstrom formed in the centre of their position before becoming as large as the lake in a few seconds. Sakura was initially frightened at the thought of being sucked in, but she didn't let the feeling affect her.

A slight hissing sound could be heard before it became intense, even painful to the ears. The unpleasant sound made Sakura look up from the ground to discover where it was coming from : the black orbs that had been spinning slowly around them at first, had started to accelerate until they were no longer visible to the naked eye. Their rapid movement gradually created a dome of translucent chakra, encompassing them both.

Sakura's eyes widened at the power of the Rikudô Sennin : the power of a God, able to change the course of things with his very thought.

The shores of the lake began to be sucked into the maelstrom, then it was the turn of the forests before seeing the mountains suffer the same fate, before finally it was the turn of the sky.

Only the stars remained in a sea of black as far as the eye could see, lit only by the glow of the dome. What started out as a maelstrom sucking in all around him turned into a whirlwind of chakra and Sakura didn't dare make a move, lest she do something stupid and end up in limbo.

Time stood still and no one could say how long they were here : minutes ? Hours ? Days ? Perhaps a lifetime ? There was no sign of time passing, no landmark.

The constantly rotating maelstrom slowed down, again and again, before finally stopping its movement. Then it began to rotate again, but this time in the opposite direction, and all that was now being sucked in began to be slowly expelled from the centre of the maelstrom. The water reappeared, the trees and mountains were back in their place, and the blackness of the space surrounded by stars was replaced by the colour of the sky.

Gradually the orbs slowed down until there was no longer a dome. The outburst of chakra beneath their feet quietly dissipated as everything slowly returned to normal.

With her senses alert, Sakura heard the unmistakable sound of a waterfall again, the chirping of birds lulling her ears, the feel of the wind gently caressing her skin sending a chill up her spine. Her gaze wandered around to see what had changed : the two half-destroyed statues of the Shinobi Gods were gone.

— "Welcome to the Sengoku Sakura Era," the old hermit said before letting out a deep sigh of relief. He had, after all, just accomplished what everyone else considered impossible to do : Time travel.

— "Otsutsuki-sama, Ho-how... it was... it was..."

Sakura stammered as she couldn't find the words to describe what she had just experienced. It all seemed both unreal and unbelievable, and as she looked around she couldn't find any residue to indicate that they had just crossed space and time.

— "This was what I call a wormhole, a shortcut through space-time. To represent it, you can represent space-time not in four dimensions, but in two, so that they are all at a definite point..."

The hermit paused when he saw the young woman's confused face. He tended to forget that mortals did not have his knowledge, so he thought for a moment to find a more simplified way of explaining what he had just done.

— "Visualise a sheet of paper. At the top of the paper you draw a point A which is the past, and then you draw a point B at the bottom which is the future. Then fold the paper. This process allows point A and point B to touch each other at a single point. And it is at this precise moment that a passage can be made to return to the past : a wormhole."

It was unthinkable, Sakura had seen it and experienced it, but she still had trouble quantifying the power needed to do this kind of feat.

— "If you're able to wield such power, to bend space and time to your will, why can't you go back ?"

— "To accomplish such an act on the scale of the universe, I had to exterminate all life existing in your time to convert it into chakra. Without that, I wouldn't have had the energy to perform this distortion of space and time."

Sakura's eyes widened and she felt the taste of bile in the back of her throat, she suddenly felt the urge to vomit. Her choice... her decision, had just killed millions of living beings.

— "If I were to take us in the opposite direction, I would have to use the life essence of all life in the past to go into the future. And as a result, we would arrive in a future completely devoid of life..."

— "Did they suffer ?" Sakura asked softly as her brain absorbed the information that going back was impossible.

— "No, because the moment I started the process, time froze without them being aware of it."

— "I understand Ôtsutsuki-sama, is today the day Madara and Hashirama are going to fight ?" Sakura questioned as she tried to keep her mind focused, not to think about the loss of her world. Or rather, its outright destruction.

— "No, I decided to bring you back a month early, so you'd have time to settle in and acclimate to your new time."

— "Thank you Ôtsutsuki-sama."

— "Before we part, I would like to give you a present. No matter what choice you make regarding Madara, this gift will serve you well in the future."

The old sage rose from his sitting position before walking the short distance between them. He gently placed his hand on Sakura's forehead at her seal. In less than a second, Sakura could feel the hermit's chakra seeping into her helplessly. It was an intrusion, but she felt no aggression, it was almost comforting. Perhaps the Rikudô Sennin felt her pain and was trying to soothe her with his chakra ? Yet she understood once again that the man in front of her could kill her with the snap of a finger.

— "That's it."

As soon as the old man withdrew his hand, the feeling of warmth and comfort disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, the pain slowly returning to her soul.

— "What... what did you do to me ?" Sakura asked, feeling no difference in her body.

— "I just improved your frontal Fûinjutsu seal. For you see, I've been watching you for the past two years and this is my way of rewarding you for what you're trying to accomplish. Your seal now allows you to resist the Genjutsu made by the Sharingan at all times. You will still be affected by other Genjutsu that are produced in different ways, but no Uchiha will be able to put you into an illusion, including the Tsukuyomi that Madara knows."

Sakura was completely stunned by the hermit's gift. He had just made one of the greatest Dojutsu obsolete against her, at least on a Genjutsu level, with a simple movement of his hand.

— "By the way, I really enjoyed your conversation with Naruto Uzumaki about the way to be able to do regeneration. What you are planning to do is very dangerous. So I'll give you a hint : chakra is composed of physical energy provided by the body, while spiritual energy is created by the intellect. Manage to distinguish the two and you should be able to detect what is physical energy in people."

— "How can you do this ?"

— "Through meditation."

— "Will I be able to replicate what Naruto did in time ?"

Sakura hoped so, after all, the possibilities of such a healing method would be endless.

— "Not entirely, let's say that over a long period of time you'll be able to restore a blind man's sight without endangering him. You'll never be able to make an eye grow back with a snap of your finger like Naruto did. You'd have to master Senjutsu to do that, and few people can," the Rikudo explained as he slowly began to disappear.

— "Otsutsuki-sama... I... I'm scared...," she admitted as her body shook as she realized that the last person who had tied her to her former life was about to leave her in this unknown world.

— "Do you regret your choice, my child ?" Ôtsutsuki asked gently.

— "I don't know," the young woman confided in a weak voice.

How could she answer it right away ? Her mind had to absorb the irretrievable loss of an entire life. And she also had to assimilate the fact that she was now in another time that was totally unknown to her.

As if he had perceived the despair of her being, a comforting hand was placed on her shoulder and the Rikudô Sennin gave her a warm smile.

— "Don't forget my child, that no matter what your choice is I will not judge you. Know that I am already proud of what you are trying to accomplish."

The Rikudô Sennin's words were much appreciated by Sakura who felt a small rush of pride rise up inside her. Then he turned and walked in the opposite direction, slowly disappearing.

— "Otsutsuki-sama !" Sakura called out.

— "Yes ?" he asked, turning around one last time.

— "Will I see you again ?"

An enigmatic smile appeared on the Rikudo's face before he said :

— "Who knows..."

Then the creator of all things disappeared with the breeze.

— "Otsutsuki-sama !" Sakura cried in despair as she saw that she was now all alone with her things.

Sakura was a strong person with a lot of character. She had seen the horrors of war, seen people die, some of them close to her. However, she had not been prepared for what was overwhelming her heart : grief. She felt it contract as if a vice was pressing on him. Her breathing became faster and faster. Panic was overtaking her because of an overload of emotion, at the realisation of what she had just done : sacrifice.

Everything she had fought for was gone. Everything that had mattered to her had been destroyed by her actions, by her choice. The feeling of being responsible for the disappearance of those millions of living beings, plus the realization of loneliness made Sakura cringe.

The emotion that was building up inside her needed to escape, to get out. So her eyes began to fill with tears in silence. Then, without warning, the dam at her eyes broke. She fell to her knees and began to scream, pounding her fist on the floor.

— "Why did I do this ? Why did I do this !" Sakura screamed. "Naruto..."

Images of all her good times with the blond, ramen fan and future Hokage of Konoha, appeared in her mind. She remembered his bright smile, his boundless kindness, his golden hair. She told herself that she would never again have that feeling of being loved by someone like a sister.

— "Sasuke..."

Her thoughts then turned to the love of her life, the man she tried for so long to seduce. She would never again be able to hear the sound of his voice, to feel the thrill of his presence alone. She would never again see the man of her life for whom she would have done anything. All she had wanted all her life was to be his wife and to fill him with happiness. And as she thought about this, she felt an additional tear in her heart.

— "Ino..."

Her best friend, the one who was the first to believe in her, to help her become the cherry blossom she was today. She had just lost someone who understood her with a single glance, who knew when to take her out of her work to take her mind off of things.

— "Sensei..."

Even though he was always late, she already missed his lame excuses. He who so often managed to make her laugh when he was with Maito Gai. He who had taught her so much during his life while protecting her.

— "Master..."

Her master who had been a model, a teacher and a confidante. She remembered their evenings drinking sake together after a hard day of work. She who was like a second mother to Sakura.

— "Mother... Father..."

She could never again feel the gentle embrace of a mother or father. The feeling of security in their arms, she would never again feel the love of her parents with a hug. She cried for a long time, asking herself over and over : why ?

She screamed so loudly and for so long that her voice broke. There was nothing feminine or delicate about it any more, it was just screams of agony. All she wanted was to get all that pain out of her heart, to no avail.

The constant use of chakra forced Sakura to move to the edge of the shore before sitting against a tree with her arms crossed over her knees.

She had no taste for anything, worse, she didn't even want to live. All she wanted was to find her friends, her family, all the people she loved, and she thought that maybe they were all waiting for her on the other side.

Was it all worth it if she was all alone ? Did world peace deserve such suffering ?

— "It would be so quick..."

Her own sentence was like an electric shock to Sakura as she realized the thoughts she was having. So she slapped herself hard in the face to get her thoughts back in place.

— "No Sakura ! You're better than that ! You're not going to end your life here ! Think of all you've sacrificed for this chance ! Don't make their sacrifice in vain !" the Kuinochi encouraged herself before wiping the tears from her eyes in rage.

She untied her red scarf that served as a ninja headband. It was a gift from her mother for her success in becoming a Leaf Chunin. She grabbed a kunai from her back weapon pocket to cut away the metal symbol on it. She watched the symbol for a few moments before sealing it.

She reattached her red scarf to her head and was now Sakura Haruno, affiliated with no Shinobi village.

— "I have one month !" she exclaimed into the wind to give herself the strength to accomplish what she had come for.

So it was a determined Sakura who took off with her chakra. Her search into the future led her north, to Ta No Kuni, the land of rice fields. It was a territory on the border of Hi No Kuni that had no military force in the Sengoku era, or at least no Shinobi. Moreover, the border of this country was only thirty minutes away from the Valley of the End.

She had a month to be ready.

3 days later.

It had been three days since Sakura had been in the past. Her eyes were reddened from crying over the loss of her loved ones. Much of her time was spent finding a suitable place to build her house. She wanted to be near a village without being too close to it, and after the third day she found the perfect spot. It was high up with a view down into the valley and from here you could see all the rice fields below the mountain. There was a village only a kilometre away from her position. It must have contained about fifty people at the most. So it was with a heavy heart that Sakura headed there.

The village was quite basic, workers could be seen in the distance planting rice, wearing rudimentary linen clothes, straw hats to protect them from the sun, and saddlebags containing plants. Children were running down one of the streets playing tag, and one could even make out a house that was just finishing being built.

However, in her bright red cotton outfit, plus the large scroll of parchment on her back, Sakura did not go unnoticed. The first to see her was a boy who was running to see his mother.

— "Look Mum, there's someone over there," he said, pointing.

— "Go and get your father quickly, darling."

The woman's face showed concern. After all, very few people came to this area of Ta No Kuni, especially dressed like this. Her walk described an important person who had received an education, her clothes probably cost a fortune to make because of the red colour. But what surprised the woman the most was the colour of her hair. It was the first time in forty-two years of life that she had seen someone with hair like that : pink.

So it was with fear in her belly that she walked towards the stranger, perhaps this person was coming to kill them all. She made sure that her emotions did not show too much on her face before approaching her.

— "Hello stranger, what brings you to this remote valley ?"

— "Hello ma'am, my name is Sakura Haruno and I'm currently looking for a home."

The stranger's name confirmed the peasant's doubts : she must be a noblewoman to have a family name.

— "Why come to our village ? No offense, but you look like nobility from the way you're dressed, so you'd probably be more comfortable going to the city further north."

As she asked this question, the mother saw that the young woman's eyes were reddened, filled with sadness and pain.

— "I'm looking for asylum, madam, that's why I came to this region. I was hoping you could offer me a chance to start my life over."

Despite her grief, Sakura did her best to appear friendly, but the sadness was still too fresh.

— "There shouldn't be any problems, my husband should be here any minute... I'm Hitomi," the lady introduced herself and felt a weight lift off her chest as she realized that this woman meant them no harm.

— "It is a pleasure to meet you."

— "I understand you are seeking asylum, is everything alright Haruno-sama ?" Hitomi asked, not forgetting to add the formulas of respect that her father had taught her.

— "Let's just say I've seen better days Hitomi-san, and please, no -sama with me, we're equals."

The surprise could clearly be read on Hitomi's face as she had never met a noblewoman as humble as this young woman. It was her husband who snapped her out of her shock.

— "Hitomi, is everything all right ?"

— "Yes... this woman is seeking asylum and would like to move to the area."

— "Let me introduce myself, I'm Sakura Haruno, a doctor and I would like the opportunity to move to the area."

The head of the family was a little taken aback by the beauty of the young woman. She was exotic and looking into her eyes he had only one desire, to protect her.

— "There shouldn't be any problem...you say you're a doctor ?"

Sakura nodded.

— "Well, I'd like to say you're welcome to join us, if there's anything we can do to help."

— "I was wondering if you had any builders in your village. For you see, a friend of mine has drawn up plans to build a new house. Of course, I will pay for the construction."

Every time Saruka made a request she bowed very slightly. It was really surprising to see a person of nobility bowing respectfully to people who were just common peasants.

— "Yes, we have some builders among us. I will go and tell them, if you will follow me." The village headman turned to the gathering of people who had formed around them. "Everyone get back to work, I'll make an announcement tonight to introduce our new resident !"

And so Sakura began her new life.

27 days later.

It had been almost a month since Sakura had moved to the outskirts of a small village in Ta No Kuni. Her house was built in three weeks with the help of the villagers who were all very kind to her. Hitomi was the one who tried the most to get close to her by trying more than once to make her smile. She did smile at times, but you could tell that something precious had been taken away from her.

The builders were very surprised, even impressed with the construction plans. It was extremely detailed and far beyond anything they had seen or done in the past.

Sakura tried to fit in and offered her services as a village doctor. This was greatly appreciated by the people, and one day she gained the respect of the entire village. For they saw her using what many thought was a myth : the ninja arts. Indeed, for many it was a story and a legend that some human beings were able to do magic, to create fire, to manipulate water or to heal people.

One day, as she was walking through the village, a cry of pain echoed through the streets. With her warrior instincts still present, Sakura reacted quickly and ran towards the voice. The village hunter seemed to have cut three fingers while handling a cleaver to cut up the deer he had just brought in.

People were running to him because of the cries of pain.

— "Put your hand on the table !" Sakura ordered in a commanding voice as she walked towards him. "Do you have any alcohol !?"

— "Ahh... yes, the bottle on the top shelf... arhg..."

The hunter was in pain and a steady stream of blood was pouring out of his wound. Sakura grabbed the bottle and quickly uncorked it before putting her nostrils over it. One inhale and she identified that the alcohol was of poor quality, but it would do.

— "This is going to hurt."

Even though Sakura warned the man, he couldn't help but scream louder as she spilled some of the contents onto his fingers. She grabbed his hand and placed the severed ring finger on it. A soft green light appeared and it shocked everyone present. Even the hunter forgot that he was in pain when he saw it.

The bone fixed itself where it had been cut, the tendons repositioned themselves, the blood vessels also returned to their original place before the wound closed. Only a long red line proved that the finger had been previously cut. Sakura ignored the whispers and gasps behind her before grabbing the second severed finger to repeat the process. Then came the turn of the last finger, which she replaced with ease.

— "Sit !" Sakura ordered the hunter after she had finished her re-implantation work. He didn't try to argue with the woman's order, she had just saved him the use of his hand. "Bend your fingers gently and tell me if you still feel pain other than the scar."

— "No, I don't feel any pain..."

— "Is there any discomfort when you bend your fingers ?"

— "No... it's a miracle what you did there... how ?"

Sakura didn't answer, instead she rolled up her right sleeve where a seal was placed. In a puff of smoke, a clean bandage appeared in her hand and this caused more whispers behind her. She applied the said bandage to the man's hand with efficiency and speed.

— "You will stop work for the next three days as you have lost a lot of blood. You should also eat a piece of fruit or two before you get up. In addition, for the next few days I recommend that you eat meat at all your meals to compensate for your blood loss, fish would be ideal. I will also come tonight to bring you a balm for your scars as well as a decoction for the hemorrhage you suffered."

— "Thank you very much Haruno-sama..."

— "No -sama with me, I just did my job."

Thanks to this event, Sakura gained the respect of this small village of Ta No Kuni.

Today was the day that everything would be decided : the day that Madara and Hashirama would face each other. But for now, Sakura sat on a chair inside her living room while reading a book on the anatomy of the human heart. The unmistakable sound of rain pelting the house could be heard as she made occasional notes on a scroll beside her.

— "Which part of the heart will be affected ?" Sakura murmured to herself as she thought about Madara's fight. Because after all, depending on where the blade would be lodged, the surgery would probably have to be done there. Will it be the vena cava ? The aorta ? One of the ventricles ? Will she have to stop his heart in order to stop the blood loss while it is being treated ?

These were the kinds of questions Sakura was asking herself in the early afternoon.

Her reading was interrupted by a small tremor from the ground, as if a small earthquake had been triggered for a second before a distant thud was heard. It was the sound of a loud explosion that could be mistaken for thunder.

— "The battle of the Shinobi Gods has finally begun."

Sakura returned to her reading, after all she knew where and when to find Madara. Besides, her bag was already packed so she could join him when the time came.

The bangs blended well with the sound of the rain. To the people of the village it was simply a thunderstorm and the flashes of light just confirmed their theory that it was lightning. It lasted all afternoon with moments of calm, before picking up again. And it was finally late in the afternoon that Sakura decided to move despite the fact that she still didn't know what decision to make.

During the ride, her thoughts focused on what Madara Uchiha would become and what he would do in the future.

She reached the top of the waterfall and hid behind a large rock that towered over it completely. She continued to hide her presence and her chakra as she had been doing for the past ten minutes before looking down.

Madara was dying in his own blood unable to move, his armor was shattered in several places and a piece at the top of the breastplate was completely gone. Hashirama Senju was standing a meter away from his former friend, his back to him.

— "I had such high hopes for you Madara," Hashirama said with anger and hatred.

The man he had once called a friend had attacked his home, his people. So it was with pain that Hashirama left, knowing that Madara would succumb to his wounds before long.

Sakura waited, she didn't have to act right away, Zetsu hadn't appeared yet and it was hard to make out anything at the moment. Visibility was reduced due to the rain and the falling night.

— "Pathetic," Madara said to himself.

He was one of the greatest Shinobi in history, he was dying and there was nothing he could do about it. He had tried to stand up, but that sword that had pierced him through and through had done so much damage. He could no longer give order to a large part of his body and felt himself slowly leaving.

A presence was felt beside him and Madara turned his still open eye in the direction of the newcomer. It was a creature unlike anything he had ever seen and he wondered if he was going to be eaten by this thing ? Then suddenly, another spike of chakra was felt. Except this one was completely different from the first being.

Madara barely blinked when a woman appeared at the creature's side in an attack position, her arm cocked back. The woman's fist was so charged with chakra that it was visible to the naked eye. The chakra-laden blow hit Zetsu in the face before he could even react. Sakura felt an immense pleasure come over her as she felt the bones of her enemy's skull shatter under her fingers. The impact was so violent that a shockwave was created and Madara didn't feel the rain falling on his body for two seconds.

The monster's body was violently thrown against the cliff which was about ten meters away and the impact created a crater inside it. The Uchiha tilted his head slightly to the side to observe what happened next. The black thing didn't seem to have a chance. He shouldn't have expected a surprise attack and that first punch would have killed almost anyone.

As Sakura charged Black Zetsu to finish him off, she thought back to everything that monster had already done and what he was going to do. About his plan to bring Kaguya Ôtsutsuki back. All the death caused by his fault. And it was with undisguised rage mixed with hatred built up for too long that Sakura struck.

— "Shannaro !"

The second blow was fatal, she had put so much chakra into this gesture that the cliff broke in two for nearly two hundred meters and an even more violent shockwave was felt on impact.

Black Zetsu was no longer... destroyed by Sakura.

— "Who is she ?" Madara asked in a whisper.

His eye was slightly wide at the titanic strength of this woman. She had just broken a cliff in half, which was no small feat. Why had she just killed this being ? Madara didn't have time to ask himself more questions as the woman turned around.

She walked slowly in his direction, her fists clenched as she considered what to do. Was she going to lead him ? Or would her hatred for this man be too strong and she would kill him ?

Sakura stood beside Madara Uchiha who was unable to move. He felt vulnerable in front of this dangerous woman, who had just killed a being with extreme violence. Her green eyes were looking at him, her gaze was hard, cold, filled with hatred and rage towards him. If a look could kill, Madara would probably be dead right now.

Her thoughts were so filled with hatred that she unconsciously charged her right fist with chakra. She thought of all the things this man had done, all the things he would do, all the deaths he would cause in the future. And at that very moment, Sakura had a brief thought.

*It would be so easy...*