Nine • The Reveal

Pink hair flowed with the wind as the air finally clears up the dirt. There was an enormous hole created on the ground and both Yasuda and Hikari layed there; spitting blood at the unexpected attack.

Sarada's mouth hung open in surprise. "Mom... Mom!"

Sakura turned to see her family; eyes softening immediately. She ran towards them and instantly pulled her daughter into her arms, embracing her while sighing in relief.

"I'm sorry, dear." She whispered. "I'll get you treated soon."

Tears welled up again in Sarada's eyes as mixed emotions attacked her chest. Sasuke watched the two of them with evident relief etched on his face. However, Sakura's presence bothered him a bit.

"Aren't you supposed to be healing?" He questioned as soon as she let go of Sarada.

Sakura's emerald eyes fell on him. "I'm fine," she said reassuring both her husband and daughter. "I'm glad that you're okay."

The ravenette nodded. "I'll have to finish this up. Heal Sarada in the mean time."

Sarada shook her head in disagreement upon hearing Sasuke's words. "No, Mom. Papa's enemies are strong. Consider helping him instead of me."

"Sarada..." His forehead creased. "I can do it myself."

"I know you can," she raised her head to meet his Sharingan. "But I want you to get all the help you need."

The sincerity in her eyes almost made him give in; however, Sasuke took the logical side and debated once again. "You need treatment as soon as possible. Your mom is here and she will do her job."

"I'm fine, Papa!" Sarada exclaimed. "I'm hurt, injured, and bleeding but I can wait. I'll stay alive! I won't die easily!"

"Sarada." The young female's comments were stopped when Sakura interjected. Both Sasuke and his daughter turned to look at her.

"Mom!" Sarada stared at the pinkette with meaningful eyes.

Sakura knew both parties' points and if she was to choose freely, she would absolutely take Sasuke's side. However, seeing that her husband's eye was bleeding already and he had a lot of wounds and blood stains on his body, she couldn't make up her mind.

"Mom, give me the medicines and I promise I'll stay alive. I'll gladly be healed once this is all over."

Sasuke sighed in disbelief. What a stubborn child he has. Meanwhile, the pinkette couldn't help but let a weak smile grace her lips as she grabbed a few medicine packs from her pockets.

"Okay. But for this battle, stay in the safe zone. You don't have much chakra left." Sakura calmly replied.

Sasuke didn't look too shocked at the conclusion of their debate. He gave a subtle nod to signify that he acknowledges Sakura's decision and grabbed her close, cautious of the enemy.

And as if on cue, Hikari and Yasuda stood up from their position. Yasuda was bleeding from the last attack and so was Hikari; however, she managed to hold on to her subordinate's shoulder until chakra flowed down.

"She's passing her chakra..." Sakura frowned at the sight.

With the help of his Sharingan, Sasuke saw how the flow of chakra system inside Hikari's body changed. Yasuda's wounds healed successfully just in a few moments, meanwhile Hikari continued to pant heavily.

"If you continue that, you might die," Sakura stated, referring to Hikari's bold move. "You're draining yourself."

"I don't care," Hikari could barely shook her head. Her complexion was paler than before and blood was dripping from her mouth. "As long as Yasuda can win this fight... and get those eyes... then I'll gladly offer my life."

Sakura took a brief side glance to Sasuke before clenching her fist. Hikari's lips curled up into a crooked smile. "I sensed you when you were nearby... but I didn't expect that punch."

Hikari fell down on her knees on the ground once she finished transfering her chakra to Yasuda. The latter, on the other hand, simply wiped the blood stain on his chin and stared intently at Sakura and Sasuke.

"You're here," Yasuda said, his eyes fixated on Sakura. "Kurui must have done a lousy job at the hospital."

"He used my own experiment against me." She remarked, recalling the fight at the hospital. "It's only natural that I know how to counter it."

"I'm not surprised. You were the Fifth Hokage's disciple." Yasuda acknowledged.

Sakura's frown deepened at his reply. It's been a long time since someone addressed her that way. She didn't had any issue with it, but it just shows that these enemies have actually collected data about them. Certainly, they've been planning this scheme for quite a while now.

"Enough talk." Sasuke pulled his sword and instantly launched at Yasuda, only to be countered by another weapon by Hiroshi, much to his surprise.

Sasuke drew back and frowned. Yasuda smirked at his subordinate's arrival.

"You're back." He said. "Where's Kurui?"

Hiroshi panted, positioning his weapon defensively in front. "That guy gave me a hard time. But I managed to paralyze him for a bit."

"Has he returned to his senses yet?"

"After multiple attempts, I managed to actually cause him pain. So yes, he's on our side again but he's not going to be much of help right now."

Yasuda gave a curt nod. "You're badly injured too. Kurui gave you a good beating." He observed, briefly glancing at Hiroshi's bleeding wounds. "Move Hikari out of the battlefield first."

Hiroshi brought his weapon down and shot a glance at Sasuke and Sakura. Quickly, he carried their unconscious subordinate meters away from where Yasuda and the two Konoha shinobi were fighting. Hiroshi quickly went back to Yasuda's side right after.

"Sakura," Sasuke called quietly, giving her a side glance. "We don't have much time. We have something else to worry about."

The pink-headed woman supressed herself from showing evident emotions on her face and simply gave her focus to the opponents in front. Sakura cracked her knuckles, eyeing Yasuda and Hiroshi with keen vision.

In a blink, she was gone from Sasuke's side. Hiroshi's eyes widened upon realizing that she was right in front of them; outstretching her arm to land a punch. However, Yasuda beat her agility and started forming hand seals, creating a defensive rock wall in front.

Hiroshi smirked at his subordinate's quick response, but the celebration in his mind was short-lived as they watched Sakura effortlessly pummelled the rock wall into bits and pieces.

Yasuda and Hiroshi drew back the moment it happened while Sakura stood firmly with clenched fists while the falling debris hit the ground.

"You know, I'm quite astonished that Kurui managed to beat this woman." Hiroshi mumbled with amusement in his tone. "She's quite something."

"Focus, Hiroshi!" Yasuda reminded, just as when Sasuke teleported behind them.

Yasuda, as fast as he could, fled away from that spot while Hiroshi stayed on the same ground; hands trembling and eyes widening at the fact that he got stabbed from behind. Blood instantly dripped down even more when lightning flowed throughout the sword; electrifying Hiroshi thoroughly.

Sasuke pulls his sword just as when the opponent falls onto his knees. From a distance, Sarada watches the battle with trembling hands and a troubled heart. Even if she didn't want to see such a bloody sight, she constantly reminded herself that she is a shinobi - and this was inevitable.

Yasuda gritted his teeth when his comrade fell, knowing that the rest was up to him. He clasped his hands together and was supposed to perform more techniques until Sasuke teleported near him. Alarmed, Yasuda dodged Sasuke's sword attacks.

He performed a hand seal and the surface cracked, distracting Sasuke from his offensive attacks. Yasuda sighed internally in relief until he felt a presence behind him and he was right - Sakura was just planning to land another heavy punch.

"You bastard!"

This time, however, Yasuda also managed to escape Sakura's ridiculously strong attack and flee to the safer zone. He was sweating as he tried to think of a new strategy, but a scream echoed through his ears.

"Sarada!" Sakura's worried call follows right after.

Yasuda glanced at Sarada's direction and his lips automatically curled up into a smirk. The young Uchiha was on her knees, with one of her hands covering the side of her neck where the poisonous bomb is located.

"Sarada! What's happening?" Sakura and Sasuke both ran to their child but Yasuda's sinister laugh played behind.

"Defeat me or not, your child will still die!" He exclaimed. "In several minutes or so, Uchiha Sarada will die right in front of your eyes!"

Sakura's deep frown intensified upon hearing his statements. "What are you talking about?!" She asked, taking Sarada's hand away to examine her skin. Her mouth fell open in realization.

"He implanted a bomb inside Sarada's body. I think it's completely attaching to her skin now." Sasuke briefly explained, his eyes still bleeding from too much usage.

Sakura's fist trembled in anger as she launched towards Yasuda. In response, Yasuda created multiple rock walls one after another while he moved backwards. Sakura easily demolished them with her fist until there was no more left.

Sasuke was planning to help her, until he sensed someone else in the battlefield. His eyes widened when he saw Kurui (who had survived Hiroshi's paralysis) transporting himself behind Sakura, pointing a sword at her.

"Mom!" Sarada called before wincing once again in pain.

Sasuke drew his sword out and skillfully used his Rinnegan to teleport himself just behind Sakura, facing Kurui.

In a blink, Yasuda was thrown away; even destroying a long row of trees due to the pinkette's punch while Sasuke protected his wife by going against Kurui's sword.

Kurui, with widened eyes, watched as his blade broke at the impact from Sasuke's defensive attack. The Uchiha stared down at him before completely attacking him with a powerful Chidori, directly aiming for his chest.

Blood dripped to the ground as Kurui layed motionless on the surface. Sasuke panted right after, deactivating his Sharingan and placing a hand over his bleeding eye.

Sakura watched this and walked up behind him quietly, knowing that he saved her from Kurui's surprise assault. With her blood stained yet soft hands, she held one of his hands and flashed a weak smile.

"The other one's down, too. He's unconscious." Sakura stated, worry etched on her face. It's been quite a while since she saw Sasuke wincing over a bleeding eye.

Sasuke nodded. The two of them made their way to Sarada, who could only give them a tiny smile.

"I-It's done?" She asked in a light tone, trying to hide the pain from the bomb.

Sasuke kneeled in front of her and silently glanced at the wound across her neck; his heart once again clenching in pain and regret.

He wanted to apologize that he was late. Even if she was alive, if only he could have arrived earlier, they wouldn't even be able to torture her like this. He wanted to say sorry. But he didn't know how to start.

"Mom..." Sarada turned to Sakura, who only stared down at her with tired eyes. "Why are you so quiet?"

Sakura remained silent for a few seconds before trying to curl her lips up into a smile. "Sarada, you need to conserve energy so don't talk to much, alright?"

Sasuke saw how tears brimmed in his daughter's eyes. "O-Okay." She replied before horror was painted all over her face. "A-And how about the bomb?"

Sakura kneeled down beside her and placed a hand over her head. "I'll get it out, don't worry."

. . .

"Where is Orochimaru?"

"Woah, woah! He's in a different hideout," Suigetsu replied before his eyes fell to Sasuke's arms, where Sarada layed, half awake and bleeding. "Why-"

His question was cut when Sasuke strode past him. Suigetsu's face fell. He would usually reprimand Sasuke and tell him to greet his peers but it didn't seem like the most fitted time to do so.

"May I know where the laboratory is? We badly need to use it." The pinkette inquired as Sasuke continued to walk forward to the hideout.

Suigetsu scratched his head, sighing. "It's an emergency, huh? I'll show you. Come with me."

He was about to walk; however, Sakura stopped him with a question. "Is Karin here?"

Raising an eyebrow, he replied. "Shall I call her?"

. . .

The laboratory room wasn't as Sakura expected it to be. Since the hideout was owned by Orochimaru, she anticipated a lot of odd equipments and a handful of chemicals; however, when she entered the lab room, it was almost empty.

"I told you, the equipments we have in this hideout is being replaced recently, we don't have anything here." The red-headed woman's voice cleared the confusion inside Sakura's mind.

The pinkette sighed upon hearing Karin's reply. "But Sasuke-kun told me that this was the nearest hideout," she said, able to spot a small lab bed. "We're running out of time."

"The next hideout is a lot farther from here." Sasuke answered, holding Sarada in his arms gently. "Let's go-"

"No." Sakura stopped him. "Let's perform the operation here."

Karin, who was just beside Sakura, seemed to be taken aback from her declaration. "Here? Sakura, that's crazy. We don't have any equipments here."

Sakura turned her head to the Uzumaki. "We don't have to use a lot of tools. I can extract the bomb using a method I know."

"And the chances of survival are?"

Silence momentarily hung in the air before Sakura breathed out. "Fifty-fifty," her tone turned quiet.

"Half?" Karin's brows rose. She was genuinely concerned about Sarada's welfare, as she was with Sakura when she went into labor and she was her former comrade's daughter. She glanced at Sasuke, who only stared at his child.

Karin placed a hand over her hips and nodded. "That's enough. Your daughter trusts you, that's for sure."

Sakura nodded in determination before turning to her husband. "Sasuke-kun, please put Sarada on the bed."

. . .

Sasuke stood outside, his back leaning against the wall as he waited for the procedure to finish. He trusted Sakura - he knows she would get the job done - but he could probably never forget the blood that covered her daughter's clothes.

He was still lost in thought that he didn't notice Suigetsu walking near him. "Sasuke." He called, and the Uchiha's eyes flickered up to see his face.

Suigetsu didn't fail to see all of his wounds; not that he was confused to see why he was still not treated. Of course, his daughter's well being mattered the most right now. So he promptly lifted his hand, a pack of medicine on his palm. "You might need this."

Sasuke stared down at them for a few seconds before taking them from Suigetsu's grasp. The latter showed him a timid smile, leaning against the walls as well beside his former comrade. "Your daughter's going to be fine."

Back in the laboratory, Sarada was squirming as she layed on the bed; with sweat trickling down her temples and eyes closed. Karin's frown deepened as she watched Sakura hastily beginning to release her chakra.

"Hey, what's the plan? Do we give her some sleeping pills while you do the procedure?" Karin questioned.

Sakura shook her head. "No, that's risky. We don't have any cardio monitor here and she lost a lot of blood from earlier."

"Then, you plan to open her up like this?" The red head asked, confused.

"We won't be opening her," Sakura firmly replied, her emerald eyes clashing against Karin's red ones. "See that spot where the bomb was planted? There's an open bruise. I'm planning to extract the poison from that cut. So please, hold her down."

Karin was slightly surprised by her plan, nonetheless it did seem effective. These are the times when Sakura's mind is in its most impressive calculating state.

The red head grasp both Sarada's hands and glanced at Sakura. The pinkette breathed in, "Please endure the pain, Sarada. This will be quick."

She leaned down, her hands glowing in a bright green color as she directed it at Sarada's neck - where the poisonous bomb is located. Slowly, her chakra molded around that area and a dark purple substance suddenly lifted out of the bruise. As if on cue, Sarada's scream echoed through the whole room.

To see Sarada in such a pitiful state made Sakura even more remorseful than she was before. However, she momentarily set aside Sarada's painful screams and finished extracting the poison, until the very last drop.

Finally, relief washed down on both Sakura and Karin upon finishing the procedure. The poison was then transferred to a small liquid container.

Sarada fell unconscious on the bed right after. Sakura immediately began to heal her wounds. Sighing, Karin placed two fingers over the child's wrist, feeling the beat of her pulse.

"Your daughter is fine." The Uzumaki stated, despite knowing that Sakura was aware of that fact.

The pinkette, with tears on the corner of her eyes, nodded quietly. "I know," she whispered. "I was just terrified to lose her."

. . .

Sarada's eyelids twitched twice before fully opening them and adjusting to the light. Rubbing her eyes, she noticed the different surroundings despite her blurred vision. She then found her eyeglasses just beside the pillow she used.

Putting them on, she observed the room better this time. It was poorly lit, but not to an extent that it scared her or made her paranoid. Although, she did wonder why she's here.

"Where..." She spoke softly, only to realize that her throat ached and her voice was coarse. As if on cue, everything that previously happened dropped down on her like cold water; making her freeze on her position.

Just reminiscing it made her hands tremble. It truly was a traumatic experience for her. She could have died, but then... she was saved.

"Mom..." she muttered. "Papa..."

Her thoughts were all disturbed when the door was pushed open, revealing a man that seemed quite familiar in Sarada's eyes, but she couldn't point out where she met him.

"Hey, you're awake," he stated, walking to the room with his hands full of snacks. His footsteps resonated throughout the silent room as he made his way to her side. "Eat, you'll feel better."

Sarada glanced at the snacks before looking back at the man. "Thank you," she said in a low whisper, enduring the pain on her throat.

"Your mom is resting, by the way. I should tell her you're awake." He continued casually, until he realized that she was giving him a look of discomfort. He scratched his head. "I'm Suigetsu, by the way." 

The Uchiha stared intently at him, until finally, she recalled when she first met him. "Oh, I see... we met once before."

Suigetsu nodded. "Uh, yeah, we did." He awkwardly agreed, remembering his mistake of telling her that she was the child of Karin. "I hope we don't have any hard feelings, though!"

"Huh?" Sarada's eyebrows rose.

"Nothing, nothing." Suigetsu shook his head and gestured to the snacks. "You should eat."

The female cleared her throat. "Is my mom okay?"

Leaning against the wall, he shrugged. "She didn't have plenty of wounds when she first came here. But I can say that she was really worried."

"Worried?"

"Yeah. You came here in Sasuke's arms with a bleeding neck and clothes covered in blood, who wouldn't be-" Suigetsu stopped mid-sentence, realizing that he allowed his big loud mouth was on it again. "Shouldn't have said that."

Sarada managed to flash a weak smile. "And my papa? How is he?"

"Your dad's okay. He's not really the type of person you'd worry about, anyway," Suigetsu shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Does he have any severe wounds?" Sarada asked again.

"Well, your dad looked quite beaten when he came here but your mom treated him after getting the bomb off you."

Upon hearing that, Sarada's hand automatically reached to her neck, a sigh of relief and gratitude escaping her lips.

"How long was I out, Suigetsu-san?"

He pulled himself apart from the concrete wall and sat on the floor. "I'm not sure, but it's already two-thirty in the morning. You actually healed pretty fast."

"Where's my parents? Can I see them?"

"Look kid, you've been asking me a lot of questions-"

"Can I see them?"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "As I've said, your mom's resting. And your dad went out for a bit. He said he was going to check those rogue ninjas you came across earlier."

Sarada kept silent. She had nothing more to ask. As long as her parents were okay, she was relieved.

However, a thought came to her head and bugged her again.

"Um, Suigetsu-san, can I ask you a few things?" She asked in a polite tone.

"You've been doing that since I came here."

Sarada took the chance and looked at him. "How long have you known my papa?"

Suigetsu's brows rose upon hearing the inquiry, but still replied. "Well... we've been subordinates."

Sarada felt her heart hammering against her chest. Yasuda and Kurui's voices echoed inside her mind again.

Uchiha Sasuke is a criminal.

He had killed more than your fingers could count.

Uchiha Sasuke is a rogue ninja.

He became an international criminal, killing even those who are innocent.

And he, not once but twice, tried to kill your mother.

Those voices sent a terrifying fear and sense of doubt inside her heart. She refused to believe those criminals. Everything they said were only blatant lies.

But how come Sakura never told her anything about Sasuke during his teens? How come she never tells her what they've been through? Sakura had always cut her stories - Sarada knew that; she wasn't gullible and especially not stupid.

Slowly, her faith was shaking.

"Sarada? Sarada, are you okay?"

She regained her composure shortly after seeing Suigetsu's confused and concerned gaze. She smiled fakely, determined to know the truth once and for all. "Really? I'd be happy to know more."

Suigetsu looked at her with slight confusion. "You mean, you didn't know about that?"

"Oh, well, I knew that Papa had different companions other than my mom and the Seventh Hokage, but I never got their names and how they met." Sarada continued to lie.

"Sasuke isn't really the type of person to sit down and talk, anyway." He replied curtly. "Well, during our time as comrades, there was the Akatsuki, Madara, and of course, the Konoha pests!" Suigetsu laughed at the last part.

"Excuse me?" Sarada frowned.

"Oh!" Suigetsu cleared his throat. "That was a joke! You know how your father and I were against Konoha back in those days."

What? Sarada gulped. "Oh, yeah. Yeah. And how did you guys meet again?"

"Well, Sasuke was very different from before compared to who he is today." Suigetsu vaguely replied, adding more frustration to Sarada. "In terms of power and especially personality. I'd say that he's still the cold guy I spent time with but the person he is today is probably because of the change you guys brought him. When I was with him, I'd say it was his darkest times."

Suigetsu glanced at Sarada, only to see that her face was blank. He believed that she knew his father's past; after all, she seemed matured and old enough.

"He was ruthless. His intent to secure his goal to eliminate his brother was stuck into his mind. What's more, your mom and the Seventh Hokage, as your father's original comrades and friends, kept pursuing him in hopes to bring him back to the village. Sasuke was very hard to read so no one could tell what he felt about it, probably except Orochimaru."

At that moment, Sarada's head hung low. "So... you guys were really in the bad side... that time, am I correct?"

Suigetsu noticed the change of atmosphere around the girl. "Well, that was in the past. You know about it-"

"Yeah," she cut him off. "I suddenly feel sick. Please leave me for now."

"Oh, uh, okay." Suigetsu immediately stood up and dusted himself. "Your mom's room is three doors away from yours." He said before disappearing.

Sarada layed on the bed, tears dripping down to her pillow continuously as she gripped onto her bed sheets tightly. Numerous emotions overwhelmed her system. She was mad. Deceived. Disappointed.

So it was true.

He was a criminal.

Now everything made sense.

. . .

A/N;

Suigetsu is the real antagonist guys believe me