145Thanks for taking the time out to reading my first Naruto Fan Fic
Naurto: Thread of Fate
Chapter 1 – Things Fall Apart
"It's a promise of a lifetime!"
Naruto pounded his fist into the training dummy outside the ninja academy's training area. His words to Sakura-chan rang in his ears with each punch he landed on the dummy and it only seemed to spike his anger. His blond mane was now falling in his face, sweat dripping down into his eyes and blurring his vision. He had been at it for several hours now, so long in fact that his hands had long gone numb to the pain of striking solid oak wood.
I will bring him back, Sakura-chan!"
His other fist went flying into another arm on the dummy, this time blood starting to drip from his knuckles. Naruto couldn't get those words out of his head no matter how hard he tried. He figured if he hit the dummy hard enough that the sound from the blows would drown out the voices in his head. Despite his best efforts, it seemed like the voices of his own self doubt only got louder with each blow.
". . I promise!"
This time, Naurto's hand hit the so hard, blood came gushing out of his hand. He ignored it and continued to strike the dummy. For the first time in his life, Naruto made a promise he didn't keep. The pain of his hand seemed a dull ache compared to his own self-doubt. Self doubt was a rare thing for Naruto because he was very much a mind-over matter individual. However, he had lost, and his loss not only affected him, but Sakura-chan as well.
In the last three weeks, she had not been the same. She wasn't her usual cheerful and sweet self. Sure, it wasn't unusual for her to scold him about being a goof off or being too loud, but sense he and the others who had been sent after Sasuke had returned, her whole personality seemed to change. She had taken to smiling a lot, yet it wasn't a Sakura-only smile. Naruto knew better. He was a master of smiling when he was upset, and he could tell right away the girl was hurting inside. He did give her credit for trying to hide her pain. He figured she didn't want anyone to worry. However, he noticed little things about her that some of the others in the village might have missed. She didn't have the same skip in her step when she he saw her. When she wasn't training with him and Kakashi-sensei, she kept her eyes down and they always looked so sad. She had also stopped scolding him about his behavior, which worried him the most.
Of course, it was all his fault, or at least that what he convinced himself. If he had just brought Sasuke back in the first place, she would still be smiling, she would still scold him and he would never have to see those sad eyes.
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! Leave it to me!"
Tears began to form in his eyes now, the voice sounding like it was coming from everywhere around him. Why wasn't he strong enough? Why couldn't he do what was needed? Why couldn't he bring back Sasuke?
"Dammit. ." Naruto said to himself. "Damn that Sasuke!" He emphasized his last words with another strike to the dummy, leaving blood stains in the shape of his fists. "Why did you have to make Sakura-chan cry!?"
As much as he tried to convince himself that it was his former teammate's fault, he still felt the guilt weighting him down. The tears were streaming down his face as images of his three friends were running through his mind
Sasuke, that idiot! He thought as another one of his blows nearly cracked the dummy. His fists were now soaked in blood and dripping down on the floor and the side of his arm. Why did he have to go and mess up a good thing? We were all happy and on our way to becoming great ninjas! Naruto tried to fight his tears back, but he couldn't. His breathing was becoming labored and he began to hit the dummy harder and faster. You had everything! You had the Sharingan, people liked you, you were a genius ninja, Sakura-chan cared about you. . .
Naurto stopped hitting the dummy and collapsed to his knees, the expression in his eyes a blank one and red. He had let the girl he loved down. It didn't matter to him that she didn't love him and that she cried over the man who left her and everything he knew behind, but it hurt that he couldn't keep his promise to her. At least that was one thing he could always count on.
He looked down at his hands, now bruised and bloody from his workout. "I'm not going to give up, Sasuke." He said to himself silently. "You're coming back because I promised Sakura-chan I would bring you back. I don't care if I have to beat you till you're senseless."
"You're not concentrating hard enough! Try again!"
Tsunade stood over Sakura as she scolded her for what seemed like the one hundredth time. She was breathing hard and her red dress was becoming dirty. She been training with The Fifth sense the early morning but she wasn't progressing. Not that she had made much progress sense starting her training under the great ninja. She had been proud of herself to having the courage to ask her if she would take her on an apprentice, but at the moment she was having second thoughts.
"You have to have total control over your chakra, Sakura" Tsunade explained. "A Medic-Nin cannot afford anything less. You are the first and last line of hope for any of your teammates if they are in injured."
"Yes, sensei." Sakura said to her. She began to concentrate all her chakra into her hand once again, willing it into the shape of a knife. The goal was to hold it almost effortlessly while doing other tasks, such as fighting or dodging the enemy. However, Tsunade gave the pink-haired girl no warning as she began to throw darts at her. Sakura sensed them and began to move out of the way of the oncoming projectiles. She was allowed to move from them, but not allowed to attack.
"Move faster! The enemy will not give you time to breathe!" The Hokage shouted at her before throwing a large number of kunai her way. Sakura did her best to move around them, making them all miss her, but they were starting to blur in her vision. The Hokage was fast, faster than she realized, but it should be expected; she is a legendary ninja after all.
The rain of kunai and darts did not stop coming at Sakura, and she was moving along as fast as she could. Her goal was to get to Tsunade without getting hit; easier said than done. She was moving around the room at a speed Sakura couldn't detect, so she was having a problem getting to her. However, she did her best, ducking and dodging like she had never done in her life.
"I've got to keep moving." She told herself. "I've got to get stronger so I can bring him back. ." Her mind went back to the day she opened up the door at the hospital to hear Naurto say that Sasuke got away. That moment was all that was needed to distract her and allow one of the kunai to hit her. She fell to the ground with a yelp as the blade sliced her across the side of her leg, and she reached for the wound. She sat there, crumpled on the ground, unable to look Tsunade in the eye.
The Fifth walked over to the sullen Sakura silently, looking her over briefly before reaching a hand out to her.
"You did much better than the last time. That's the closest you've come to me. But you have to clear you're mind if you wish to master this. You have to keep you're control at all times. A medic-nin is only as good as their concentration. Remember that." Tsunade told the girl. Sakura wanted to smile a bit, but she was too determined to be serious when she trained. She took The Fifth's hand and pulled herself up before dusting herself off. "Now once again."
"Hai!"
Sakura concentrated once more to bring the chakra blade to life and then she steeled her gaze at her teacher, preparing herself. She had a job to do, and she promised Naurto that she was going to help him. "He made a promise." She thought. "Naurto never makes promises unless he intends to keep them. And I'll be by his side to help him next time! Sasuke, I'm coming for you!"
"Do not stop this time!" Tsunade shouted at the young girl. Sakura did no intend to do so.
"So you've found me." The slithery-voice rasped at the dark-haired young man.
"Yes"
"And you realize why you sought me?"
"Because of power."
Sasuke did not struggle as he stood before Orochimaru. The two Sound Ninja guards held him, but he knew he could easily get rid of them. No, he had no reason to fear them, or Orochimaru in this case. Orochimaru stood up from his seat and walked towards him. Sasuke did not twitch of avert his eyes.
"You realize that I will give you nothing for free." The Sound Ninja master said to him, his predatory expression locked on the young boy.
"Then I'll work for you." Sasuke said simply. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow then laughed.
"Work for me! No one just works for me, Sasuke. They pledge their lives to me."
"Then I'll pledge my life to you," Sasuke told him. "In exchange for your power." Orochimaru touched the young man's chin, pulling his face level with his own.
"And how much power do you desire, Sasuke Uchiha?"
"Enough power to kill my brother," He said simply. "If you give me that power, I will be loyal only to you."
Orochimaru stood up slowly and then placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He smiled triumphantly, finally achieving the first of his goals! He snapped his fingers and the two guards released him. As they both slid into he shadows, another ninja appeared next to the ex-Legendary Leaf Ninja. He held out something to his master, and Orochimaru took it into his hand. It was a forehead protector with the insignia of the Hidden Village of Sound. He held it out over the young man's head and looked at it. He smiled once more before tying it into place around his head and stood back.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you belong to me now."