Play To Win [Rewrite] || Naruto Fanfic

Tender

Seventy-eight years.

Tsukiyomi lasted for seventy-eight years.

Perhaps because she was already attuned with the passing of long periods of times that she wasn't extremely disoriented at the end of it. Of course, they did not go through every single breathing moment of her life, skipping the times where nature calls and meal times. Mundane events like that were fast forwarded.

She initially wanted to skip her time in Suna, hinting that it wasn't so important. Itachi merely raised an eyebrow, gesturing at the scene of herself negotiating with Rasa. From a third person perspective, it was almost funny. A small dark-haired girl with serious eyes and a serious face, debating the fate of herself and the village with the Kazekage.

His eyes pinched when the ANBU appeared behind her, knocking out the small girl and grabbing her arm just before she could crash to the ground. The scene warped, the girls' shellshocked face soon dispelling as she looked up at the Kazekage with an emotion he knew all too well.

And it started, all over again, again and again.

He almost lost count, every rewind, ending, death. Sometimes weeks would pass and Tamako would find herself in a hidden basement of Suna, her Kekkei Genkai stretched the max as the Kazekage tested her without a single emotion betraying him. The little girl in front of him panted into the ground, sweat dripping to the ground.

"Is that all?" Rasa would say, arms crossed.

"No!" The girl shouted, hands clasped, fingers molding together sloppily. "I have more to show!"

Crystal formed at the end of her sentence, jagged and sharp. "See? I-i can offer more."

Many times, the Kazekage would outweigh the Village over her. Many times she was dragged away from the hidden training ground, off to be slaughtered and disposed of, sometimes indoctrinated into ANBU.

It was cruel.

Tamako watched her past self, feeling emotions she hadn't felt in years. The feeling of helplessness, one without power and standing. Clawing herself respect, trying to earn recognition. Oh, Rasa was just too cruel.

The silent treatment he gave her, his test to defeat Gaara, tricked her into graduating earlier. He took advantage of her, molded her to his liking. She played his fiddle, did his bidding.

She did not want to fail anymore.

As they flipped through her time at Suna, how she carefully molded and crafted an image for the Village to the way she displayed herself with her peers. The countless hours of training, the horrible burns she sustained, blistering and pooling. Bloody bandages soaking in alcohol, tubes of aloe discarded.

Then, she graduated.

She was young, aspirations lulled to become an un-achiever. Just good enough to stick around, but not so strong to become legendary like the Sannin, she wanted to be just enough. Her life was full of hardships, she wanted a smooth sailing and then—

Her Sensei... Itachi could not call him a Sensei. He was a notable Jounin, one with ANBU background. Strong, unrelenting, but not fit to teach. He imparted a cruel lesson to his Genin, perhaps he should thank that such a man existed. Without him, Tamako may have never found the resolve to ensure she would never become someone like him. To be better, to do good.

So they watched her story unravel. Together. Missions, Chunin Exams, Gaara.

Every seal, every plan, outline, even to the way she deceived Itachi. Tamako did not feel guilty as she watched her past self, weave lies into truths to gain his trust. It was to save the world, save the people she had grown to love.