The Path of a Shinobi (Reader x various)

As One's Friend

They were out of our sight and seeing as there was no trace of them, Sai popped out from behind the building.

"Sai, what are you doing here?" Asked Naruto.

"I'm a clone. I'm going to tell you what Sakura really wanted to say earlier but couldn't."

"Finally, we're going to know now," I said in exasperation as we were now about to find out the truth.

"Sakura didn't come here to confess her love to you. The Hidden Leaf Ninja have come to a consensus and I'm here to inform you."

"Aha! I knew there was something up. But what's the consensus about?" I asked.

"The Hidden Leaf will deal with Sasuke. Every one of  your comrades is committed to that and will act accordingly," revealed Sai.

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise and Naruto leapt forward and grabbed ahold of Sai's shoulders.

"Did Sakura really agree to that?! Sakura loves Sasuke so much! And yet....how could she?!"

"Hey, calm down..." I gently pulled Naruto away from Sai, but he turned to face me and placed his hands on my shoulders and began to shake me next.

"Calm down?! How can you sound so calm and okay about this?!" He exclaimed, but I grabbed both of his hands and removed them from my shoulder, but I kept his hands in mine.

"I'm a lot more rational than you are. That's why. Let's just hear out what else Sai has to say." I nodded at Sai and allowed him to continue.

"After the Akatsuki's attack on the village, the Hidden Leaf Village can no longer recognize Sasuke as one of their own. Not after he supported the Akatsuki. Sakura isn't a fool. She understands the difficulty of this situation. That's why we came here in person to try and explain this to you."

"Then why didn't she just tell me the truth?!" Naruto let go of my hands and turned around to face Sai once again.

"It's not that simple," spoke Kakashi Sensei. "She understood how hurt you would be."

"By telling you that she's given up on Sasuke and declaring her love for you, she was freeing you from that promise you made."

"Oh that promise," I recalled. Naruto had told me about it after the whole incident with retrieving Sasuke and I from the Sound Four.

"She didn't want us to tell you the truth but as a friend, I believe you had a right to know."

"Tell us Sai, is she planning on going after Sasuke?" I asked.

"Yes...this is an assumption but I believe she plans to kill him."

"What?!" We all shouted, finding this to be very unexpected and surprising.

"No way. She wouldn't do something like that. She's crazy about Sasuke," muttered Naruto as he stared at the snow on the ground.

"It's because she loves him so much that she can't bear to watch him turn even more evil than he is now. She wants to save him from that path, even if means killing him with her own two hands."

"But Sai...I'm not sure if she'll be able to pull it off. She has her strengths and all, but I don't know about this. He tried killing Naruto before, who's to say he won't do the same to Sakura," I spoke and had this uneasy feeling in my stomach. It's best to go after her and the others before something happens.

"Then it's best if one of us were to go catch up to them," said Kakashi Sensei.

Naruto placed his hand over his head as he tried to process every word that was being said and he looked up at me with saddened eyes. I could see the turmoil in his eyes and he slowly shook his head. He wanted all of this to stop.

We heard the snow crunch and to our right, the three sand siblings had appeared.

They had explained to us what had ensued at the Five Kage Summit with Danzo and with Sasuke.

All this new information left Naruto in even greater turmoil and he couldn't utter a single word. Everything was crumbling and he was feeling the intense pressure of the situation. It looked like he could break down at any moment, but he remained strong.

"Naruto, this is a battle to protect the Eight tails, Nine Tails, and Eleven Tails. And the shinobi world. As the Kazekage, I would give my life to protect you both. If Sasuke Uchiha confronts the Allied Shinobi Forces as s member of the Akatsuki, I will show no mercy," ended Gaara.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut and and I placed a hand on his shoulders.

"Naruto...I know you want to save Sasuke, but he's in the Akatsuki. They're the ones who have been after us for years! They're the ones who have caused us so much suffering! If he went after the Eight Tails then that means we're next on his list. Who knows when he'll start searching for us! It's either us or him."

Although I knew this wasn't helping him, it was the truth and he had to face reality that Sasuke isn't the same person who use to go on missions with us. But rather, he's attacking and tried stealing the Eight Tails.

Naruto slowly removed my hand from his shoulder and stepped away from me.

"(Y/n)...if push comes to shove, w-would you really... kill Sasuke?" He asked me and I closed my eyes for a second as I took in a deep breath.

"If it's to protect you all then possibly."

"But (Y/n)-" I lifted my hand up in front of his face to silence him.

" I know what you're going to say, that he's our friend, but...I care about you and everyone else. I get why Sasuke is like this but not everyone can be saved you know. Or wants to be saved."

Everyone remained silent as they stared at the uneasy atmosphere that was building up between Naruto and I but Temari cleared her throat and stirred away from the topic.

"We've said everything we needed to say. We're going back to our village now," announced Temari.

But before they left, Gaara walked up to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, you once said that you wanted to become the Hokage. I'm the Kazekage now. If you are prepared to bear the burden of being a Kage, then do what is right as Sasuke's friend."

Naruto kept his eyes glued to the ground as he lifted his arm up and lightly pushed Gaara's arm away from him. Gaara turned his back towards him and followed after Temari and Kankuro who then departed, leaving us to decide on our next course of action.