Beta: Cyndaquil123

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Sakura

She literally could not believe what she witnessed.

The Kazekage, in broad daylight, tried to kill their Hokage. Obviously, he was intercepted by ANBU. Then gold sand flooded the stadium, forcing Sakura to jump above it to get out of the way. She could see her fellow Genin had also avoided the attack, but she didn't have a lot of time to process that. In the distance she could hear several explosions go off and judging from how distant they sounded she concluded they must have gone off in a residential district.

Sakura barely had time to process that fact because then she saw that a flood of Sunagakure shinobi and kunoichi were viciously trying to kill the civilians in the stadium.

Beside her, Naruto landed and he shouted, "We're being invaded!"

"I can see that," she retorted hotly, sprinting up the side of the stadium to reach the peak. The two teammates climbed up and she gasped at what she saw.

Chaos. Utter chaos. Hundreds of Suna shinobi and kunoichi were flooding the streets.

"How—how did they get in?!" she asked in bewilderment. Naasica had mentioned the reports of increased activity in the forest by Suna, but it had been a couple dozen. There had been dozens of Suna shinobi and kunoichi permitted into Konoha, not hundreds!

How?!

"We can worry about that later," Naruto growled, "they're attacking the civilians. We need to go."

"Right. I—I'm going to find a perch."

Naruto hesitated to take a step away. "You—"

"I'll be fine on my own. Go, stay with Hinata," Sakura ordered, already sprinting away.

"If you die, I'm going to read your diary!"

"Fuck you!"

Sakura dashed through the madness, weaving and diving through the fights.

Thank goodness they didn't start halfway through the tournament. I'm still full energy, she thought, leaping up. I need to get to a higher position to snipe.

One of the best positions in the city would be the Hokage's tower, but it was so obviously going to get swarmed. Therefore, the next best spot would be on top of their heads. Sakura would be able to get a complete view of the village. The only thing hampering her would be her ability to fire shots from such a distance.

I can do this, she thought to herself as she scaled up the cliff. It took her another minute to reach a good spot. She quickly pulled out her bow, dropping to the dirt floor. She laid flat on her belly, turning her bow horizontally over the edge. She needed to remain as inconspicuous as possible. She'd test out a few shots to see how she felt about the distance. If she liked it, she would use the fūinjutsu seals Naruto made for her to cast a genjutsu around her. She'd be hard to pinpoint.

Couple shots then set up traps, Sakura thought, drawing back her first arrow.

The first shot soared straight through a Suna kunoichi's head from behind. To her surprise, none of her Suna companions even turned around to look in the direction of the attack. It was as if they hadn't noticed. Surely, Jōnin-level shinobi and kunoichi would realize they were being sniped?

Their lack of reaction made her frown. Weird. They're solely focused on fighting the people in front of them.

Indeed, from her viewpoint, it looked like they behaved more akin to rabid animals than level-headed shinobi. They were biting, clawing, and howling at the Konoha shinobi. There was a mad gleam Sakura could catch in some of their eyes, a hint of pure desperation. She was too far up to see much else, but it was clear that they were fighting like they had nothing else to lose.

What happened to them to make them fight like that?

"Oh my," came a soft voice that sent shivers down Sakura's spine. She whirled around, her eyes wide as she stared into pale brown eyes. There was a teenaged boy who was leaning over Sakura. He wore a black cloak that ended below his elbows, and underneath he wore dark pants and tunics. He had no visible weapons, only a single storage scroll attached to his left hip. He was unbelievably handsome.

Like, ridiculously handsome.

His face looked like it had been perfectly sculpted, it was inhumanly beautiful. His scarlet hair looked soft and despite the circumstances, Sakura had the briefest urge to touch it.

The boy who peered at her had no noticeable chakra. Sakura wasn't a sensor, but she knew how to tell a civilian from a Jōnin and the boy in front of her screamed civilian.

Well. Unless he was as dangerous as Naasica-sensei, Obito-sensei, or Kakashi-sensei. Those three were the only ones Sakura knew that could perfectly replicate a civilian level's chakra.

If that were the case, Sakura was screwed regardless.

She sat up, offering the incredibly gorgeous civilian a tentative smile. "Hi. What are you doing up here? It's not safe."

The boy pointedly looked down at the chaos below. "I would imagine it's a fair bit safer up here than down there."

True, Sakura agreed, assessing the boy. He was relaxed. He had no killing intent, nor did his chakra level strike her as dangerous. He snuck up on her, but that could easily be explained by Sakura's inability to pay attention to her surroundings. She still struggled with her bad habit of forgetting her environment while she sniped. She was reliant on Naruto and Hinata to be her lookouts.

But Naruto and Hinata couldn't afford to babysit her while their home was under attack, hence why she left to find her own spot. She was a sniper, not a brawler. Hinata and Naruto would be aptly suited in the front lines, while she did best at a distance. She had hoped Ino would pick the same spot, but it would make more sense if Ino went to the opposite side of the village for more coverage. Sakura didn't think she had enough chakra or strength to shoot her special arrows across the whole village. If Ino noticed her there—which she likely did because Sakura knew Ino was smart—she should go opposite of Sakura.

"Mind if I stay here with you?" the boy asked in a voice that made Sakura's heart skip a beat.

If he's a civilian it's my job to protect him, but if he's not—

Sakura almost snorted.

If he's not, then I'm fucked regardless. Someone on the level of Naasica-sensei is not someone I can defeat on my own.

"Sure," she said. "I need to set up some traps first, though. Stay put, okay?"

"As you wish," he demurred. "I'm Sasori, by the way."

"Sakura," answered Sakura with an easy smile. "Are you a resident?"

"No. Visiting for the tournament. I'm a traveling artist."

"Oh! I love art," Sakura said as she pulled out her prepared fūinjutsu seals to set up the traps. Some explosives, but most of them would serve as alerts and genjutsus.

Sasori had a terribly pretty smile. "Do you? What kind of art do you enjoy?"

"Sculpting," she answered. "I've recently gotten into clay sculpting and woodworking as a little hobby."

"Sculpting," Sasori repeated, his tone gentle and melodic. "A worthy pursuit of art."

"Thanks," said Sakura, a reflexive smile on her lips which instantly gave her an out-of-body moment.

Wow. I'm smiling and talking to a handsome boy while people are literally dying below me.

Six months ago that would have been... impossible.

But six months ago Chouji was alive and Sakura had never crawled through the pit.

She had wondered in the beginning how her teachers could laugh and joke about death. Now she understood. Violence was simply part of her life, like how the sky was blue. She was accustomed to it, and now it didn't matter. She could rip out someone's spine with her bare hands while she flirted with the pretty boy and that would be perfectly fine. Naasica-sensei would likely give her extra praise if she did that.

I'd probably scare him off if I did that, Sakura thought ruefully to herself as she finished setting up.

"Tell me what kind of art you do," she said as she got back into position. Sasori had scooted closer to her, his side grazing her own. She was acutely aware of how close he was, a thrill of adrenaline shot through her. She instinctively almost pulled out a knife against him, or moved to pin him down, but she refrained.

He wasn't hampering her shots, nor did she view him as a threat she could handle.

And... yeah she liked having the handsome boy sit closer to her.

Oh boy, here we go again. Crush number...

Sakura lost count. She went through crushes like Naasica-sensei went through whips. Her last crush had been simultaneously Shisui and Hinata. But neither of them had the voice like Sasori and he was actually touching her.

Ah, that sounds bad.

Sasori quietly said, "I also do some sculpting and woodworking. I enjoy creating puppets and dolls, but on occasion, I'll paint."

"Puppets and dolls like toys?"

"In some cases."

"You must be very good with your hands," she murmured absently as she sniped another three Suna shinobi. Then her brain processed what she had said, and her cheeks went red.

Sasori hadn't picked up on the innuendo, thankfully. Or at least he didn't react. How old was he anyway? He looked close to her age.

"It comes with experience. My, that's your fifth headshot in a row. You're very accurate."

"Thanks," she mumbled, more focused on sniping the enemies.

Why haven't any of them looked up at us? I'm sure Naruto did a good job with the genjutsu seals, but surely not so superb that none of them will look for someone sniping them? What the fuck?

Her thoughts must have shown on her face because Sasori said next, "You seem perturbed."

"They're acting odd," she said.

"Odd how?"

"None of them are looking for a sniper."

"Would you like them to?" he asked, a touch amused.

"No, just find it weird."

"Maybe they don't view you as enough of a threat?" he proposed. "Your fellow Konoha shinobi and kunoichi are... certainly destructive."

She couldn't disagree. They were pulling out ninjutsu techniques out the ass and creating some bombastic explosions. If she were in their shoes, would she prioritize the group of enemies in front of her throwing ninjutsu techniques at her, or the lone sniper?

From that perspective it made sense whom they would prioritize. Still, something about their movements felt strange. They moved well, and Sakura had missed a few of her arrows because of it, but there was a strange fluidity to them. As if they weren't wholly in control of their bodies, but rather they were controlled by some outside force pulling the strings.

And—actually—

"Dancing."

"Hm?"

"The way they move," she said, voicing her thoughts out loud. "They look more like dancers than fighters. It's inhumanly graceful."

She heard a soft chuckle from Sasori. "Inhumanly graceful?"

"Sorry," she said. "It might be hard to see as a civilian."

"Such a thing would be hard to see for most people. You have an exceptional eye."

Sakura smiled, the tips of her ears heating up again. "Thanks."

"You are most welcome, Sakura."

Wow. Good looking, nice voice, and compliments me. Hello, new crush.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Guren

Guren looked down at her watch, grinning to herself. Sasori would have started the assault by now.

It was good news. She knew her partner wouldn't fail. They had spent months prepping the Sunagakure shinobi for Owari's plan, after all. It was tedious and hard work, too! First they had to kill the Kazekage and turn him into a puppet. That was the hardest part. They couldn't get the stupid bastard alone, so they ended up needing to do an assassination. Thankfully, Sasori already had mind-slaved puppets in place. All he had to do was switch who was guarding the Kazekage.

They were let in, took him by surprise before he could even utter a word. He didn't die easily, but he didn't have a chance to draw attention to his murder.

While Sasori worked on turning him into a puppet, Guren went around the village and kidnapped what shinobi and kunoichi she could. She wasn't a fūinjutsu master like Owari and Sasori, but she knew enough to apply the mind-control seals.

Once the puppet of the Kazekage was in place, it was pathetically easy to lure in the Sunagakure shinobi one by one and take them over. They were already weakened from poverty and near destitution. By the time the Chūnin Exams tournament—their deadline—arrived they had successfully taken over 80% of the active shinobi and kunoichi. Sasori and Owari had spent the previous years creating a mountain of mind-control seals. All of them had been used up in their current mission.

From there, all Sasori had to do was command them to wait inside one of the numerous ROOT entrances to Konoha—provided by Owari. Using those entrances meant that the Akatsuki couldn't use them anymore, but that was fine.

The puppets would kill themselves fighting Konohagakure and Suna, like Kiri, would be destroyed.

The Akatsuki would have eliminated two out of the five great villages... all without revealing their hand.

All that was left for Guren to do was deal with the Suna jinchūriki.

Her watch chimed, and she heard the blood-curdling scream of the bijū that had taken over its sleeping jinchūriki.

Guren and Deidara exchanged smiles.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Naasica

Around me was a symphony of screams, explosions, and the crackle of bones shattering. I moved with grace, decapitating each enemy presented. I had to give Sasori props. Nearly all were controlled by his seals, but there were a fair few I could tell he was purposefully moving through his puppetry strings.

Obito had immediately gone to secure our home, while Kakashi moved to protect Minato. I danced alone—

Well.

Kisame joined me.

He gave me a roguish grin. "Care for a partner, Oni-hime?"

"I would love one," I purred as he stepped in sync with one another.

We both moved to keep Sasori in our line of sight. He made it easy by sitting atop one of the heads with Sakura. Should any shinobi—Konoha or other—notice his strings, Kisame and I would be forced to... accidentally catch them in our crossfire. I doubted he would get caught. Sasori was an excellent puppet master, and Konoha had no puppet masters anywhere close to his caliber. Even those with the Byakugan gaze would be hard pressed to spot the exceedingly thin chakra strings that Sasori used.

The Suna enemies fought without any regard to their own life. Their command was simple—kill anyone not of Suna, no matter the cost. They were inane animals, howling in bloodlust as they mercilessly tore at the flesh of their enemies. Some were worthy opponents. I actually had to put in an effort against their Jōnin.

Blood spurted as arteries were slashes. Guts spilled over the pavements. Head rolled. Fires bloomed to life. There was only the massacre of men and women desperate and enslaved. What a shame the world was that terrible of a place to make such a thing possible. Those poor, poor people.

It took three hours for Konoha to decimate the invading Suna shinobi.

It took half an hour to uncover the last of ROOT's hidden tunnels that they used.

And it took another three hours for the body count to be complete, and for everyone to realize that Suna had sacrificed their entire force in a useless attempt to destroy Konoha.

Suna was no more.

What a lovely day.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

Sasori

The puppeteer withdrew his compulsion seal from Sakura's back as soon as the last of his fleshy puppets fell. The Genin hadn't noticed when he applied it to her, and he doubted she'd notice it gone. He would have liked to leave it in, but he knew that she lived with a budding fūinjutsu prodigy—Naruto—and he was reluctant for the jinchūriki to get a preview of his work.

Inhumanly graceful, huh?

He could only accept that as a compliment. His compulsion only made her lower her guard around him so he could observe her. It did nothing to make her like him, or his work. Although judging from the subtle blush on her cheeks, he figured he had no issues in that department.

He was surprised that Naasica hadn't sent her out on a honeypot already. If she was so easily bewitched by a pretty face, she'd be a liability to her village.

Or maybe...

"I'm sure you'll find a lovely muse at the tournament."

Sasori did not smile on his own. He had to consciously move his doll-like face in order to do so. Had he been in a body made of flesh, he would have smiled out of reflex.

Guren was Sasori's partner; the two were amicable at best. They were professional and polite, but neither could call the other close. Guren was obsessed with Owari, Konan, and the Akatsuki, while Sasori was more interested in his artwork. He had to admit his passion had been dwindling in the past few years. He wouldn't go so far as to call it depression, but it was evident there was something he lacked. He couldn't help but think briefly about his parents, about the family he used to so desperately crave.

Affection.

A muse...

For the first time in years, Sasori felt the curdling embers of his imagination coming to life.

She was young, which meant she was a blank canvas. Naasica had already molded her into someone dangerous, but she was still too open.

Too vulnerable.

Looks like his pretty face could be put to good use. Was that the true reason Naasica had not sent her out on a honeypot, and why she had ordered him to use his perfect doll when in Konoha?

What a treat. I'll have to make sure to thank Owari.

Sakura sat up from her position, stretching her arms up. She popped her neck then looked over at Sasori with an easy smile. "Doing okay?"

Sasori granted her a practiced smile. "I am now."

He could clearly see how easily she was affected by his smile.

Crushes were fleeting, though. If she was to be his to claim, he could not allow her to hold a flimsy opinion of him.

The spymaster's smile stretched a touch wide and he leaned closer to the girl to begin his manipulations.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

I've got writer's block for this story like nobody's business. Releasing what I have now since I know holding on to it any longer won't do me any good.

Hopefully I can find something to spark my muse! We're almost done with Part Two, so all that's left is Part Three (Shippuden).

Answer: Sasori / Kisame.

Question: How would you destroy a village from Naruto - any village? What would be your master plan?

Reviews are love!