By the time they reached the clearing, the forest was wrapped in twilight. The last threads of sunlight painted the sky in hues of rust and violet, the light filtering through branches in slanting gold lines. The air was still now, oppressively so: no birds, no crickets, just the whisper of wind against the leaves and the steady crunch of Naruto's boots as he stepped into the open space.

He knelt and gently lowered Sakura onto a patch of soft grass, its blades cool and damp beneath her. She stirred, her face twitching slightly, her lips parting in a faint soundless breath. One of her fingers curled instinctively, twitching as if reaching for a weapon, or for protection. Naruto slipped off his jacket and laid it gently over her, tucking it around her shoulders. He brushed her hair from her face with the back of his hand, checking again for signs of worsening injury.

Sasuke didn't move or help. He stood at the edge of the clearing, half-submerged in shadow. His back was to them, but one hand rose to the base of his neck, fingers pressing against the mark. The skin there felt inflamed, as if the curse had embedded itself deeper, breathing under his skin like something alive. The silence around him wasn't restful, it was restraint. A dam of shame, fury, and the dangerous yearning for that terrible, intoxicating power. His eyes narrowed against the darkness. That mark had given him power. Power he needed. Power he hated. Itachi's face flared behind his eyelids. That was the goal and the reason. He knew it wasn't good but it was what he craved to seek his revenge on Itachi. None of Team 7 could see it yet... but Sasuke was too far gone and blinded by revenge.

Sakura could tell she was unconscious, her body was somewhere far away, still and silent, but her mind was awake. A strange awareness wrapped around her, lucid and sharp. Around her was nothing. No trees, no stars, no wind. Just an infinite black void that stretched in all directions. It wasn't cold. It wasn't warm. It simply was...a stillness beyond silence. She floated there, weightless. Her limbs drifted gently through the airless space, as if underwater without the resistance. Her hair hung around her face like a soft pink halo, strands moving of their own accord. And yet, her mind was not at rest. Her heart pulsed with unease. Looking down, she realized she had her body: arms, legs, even the outfit she'd worn during the exam, still torn and bloodstained, soaked red, and dirt clung to her skin in smudges. But gravity had no hold on her here. She flexed her fingers. They moved, though sluggishly, as though submerged in something unseen.

"You should not fear power," The voice came from everywhere and nowhere all at once. It wasn't loud. It didn't echo. It resonated, like a whisper that bypassed her ears and rang directly inside her soul. She turned. Behind her, a single spark lit the darkness. It flickered once, then bloomed into a roaring flame. It didn't spread like normal fire. It hovered, almost commanded, and from its core emerged a silhouette; feminine, tall, and cloaked in heat plus fury. Sakura's breath caught, though she had no lungs here to fill. The figure stepped forward, and the flames peeled back like silk curtains revealing a woman; older, majestic, and familiar. An older version of herself, yet so much more. Her eyes glowed molten gold. Her hair flowed like fire caught in windless space. Every step she took ignited sparks beneath her feet. She radiated divine power. Sakura knew her. Sekhmet. Her body tensed, but not out of fear, rather out of awe. The goddess's presence wrapped around her like a second skin, and it carried with it the scent of ash, of scorched earth, of temples burned down in defiance and rebuilt with blood and conviction. "You hesitate," Sekhmet said, her voice velvet over steel, yet powerful and impactful. "You are afraid of him."

Sakura looked down again. Her hands trembled, stained with blood that had long since dried. Her knuckles were scraped, nails ragged. "...I don't want to be," she whispered. The words and her lips quivered like a cracked glass. "He was always supposed to be one of the people I could trust. Someone I wanted to protect..."

Sekhmet circled her slowly, the flames coiling around them like serpents, casting flickering shadows on Sakura's torn skin. "And yet he frightens you. Why?"

"Yes," she admitted. The word came out like a confession to herself. It broke something open in her chest; something small, quiet, and fragile. "Because I don't recognize him anymore."

Sekhmet's steps were silent, her golden gaze sharp as obsidian. "You cry for what once was. But what has fallen cannot be held together with wishes alone."

Sakura's breath trembled again. "I want to be strong enough to stand beside my comrades, no, my friends and not be a burden to them. Yet all I can do is be protected, I need to be stronger..." Her voice gained steel, rising from the trembling whisper. "Not just for him. For Naruto. For myself."

The goddess stopped directly in front of her, chin dipping in silent approval. "Then take my hand."

She extended her arm. Her skin was luminous and pale, wrapped in fire that moved like liquid gold. The flames licked the air, but they gave off no smoke. Only heat that was steady, alive, and patient. Sakura hesitated. Her hand hovered. The fire called to her, not with hunger, but with promise. She reached forward and touched it, and it touched back. The moment their skin met, the void erupted. Flames rushed up Sakura's arms in streams of scarlet and gold. A storm of visions exploded behind her eyes, Sekhmet standing amidst ruined cities, her body a weapon, her tears turning sand to sacred waters. Her roar splitting battlefields in half. Her hands, both destroyer and healer. Sakura gasped as her soul surged, her essence unspooling from deep within, like a key finally turning in the right lock. Astra's core, once separate, now merged. It was embedding itself within her. Then she saw herself, Sakura Haruno, standing where Sekhmet once stood. Astra gleamed in her hand. Her face was bloodied, but her gaze was forward, unflinching. She didn't look fearless, but she looked ready."I don't know if I can do this..." Sakura whispered.

"You can," Sekhmet answered. Her voice was a sacred thing now, a memory and a prophecy combined. "Because you must. Because your fear and temptation will no longer serve you... Only strength born from purpose will. I have seen it in you, Sakura. Do not worry, I will be your mentor through this new power and I will give it to you in only as much as you can handle."

The flames pulsed once, sensing Sakura's heartbeat. At this, Sakura began to put forward her hand to fully meet Sekhmet's. The fire burned brighter as Sakura's hand fully met Sekhmet's, but the fire didn't consume her, instead, it merged with her. The flames wrapped around her arms, coiling into her skin. It was not a weapon, nor a curse, but a blessing. Sakura's eyes widened as warmth surged through her, not the burning of power for power's sake, like Sasuke's curse mark, but clarity unlike ever before. The trembling ceased and along with it the doubt she once had dulled. For the first time, Sakura stood in her own mind and felt a true sense of self "Get up now child once out of this forest we begin your training."

Sakura nodded, not just with understanding, but with newfound knowledge. The flames around their joined hands pulsed once, and Sekhmet's eyes burned golden with pride, as for the first time in centuries, her legacy had found her reincarnate and it was someone worthy. Someone not afraid to feel fear and still rise above it. A true reincarnation of herself.

The void cracked. A sharp light split the darkness above them like a blade through shadow, and the weightless space around Sakura began to shatter like glass. The warmth remained in her bones, but the world around her was slipping away, no longer void, but a place of passage. Sekhmet's voice echoed one last time in her mind, low and sure. "Remember, you are no longer the girl who waits to be saved but do not show your power all at once. Patience my dear kunoichi."

Sakura's eyes opened slowly. Above her, the forest canopy swayed gently, stars twinkling in the narrow gaps between the leaves. Moonlight dripped through the branches in thin beams, cool and pale. The air was sharp with the scent of damp moss and blood-soaked earth, the chill of night brushing against her cheeks like a ghost's touch, but she didn't shiver. Her lashes fluttered as her vision cleared. The sky above was still cloaked in deep navy, but dawn threatened just beneath the horizon. She sat up with a soft grunt, the movement drawing dew from the grass beneath her. Her muscles no longer screamed with fatigue, and her joints, though sore, moved with unexpected ease.

Beside her, Naruto jolted upright, eyes wide and sleep still clinging to his voice. "Sakura-chan?!" he exclaimed, rubbing his face with both hands. "H-Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, voice low and hoarse like someone who had screamed without sound, but also steady, anchored. The words sat in her chest with a weight that felt new. Not heavy. Just... solid. She looked down at her hands. Scrapes marred her knuckles, and bruises bloomed in patches of violet and green, but they no longer trembled. Her chakra, once spiky and unpredictable, now pulsed in quiet rhythm, like the lull of a steady tide. It glowed faintly beneath her skin, soft and warm.

Naruto leaned closer, concern etched into his brow. "You're sure?" he asked again, gentler this time.

Sakura met his gaze with calm eyes, and he flinched slightly, not from fear, but from the unfamiliar steadiness in her expression. "I'm sure," she said.

Behind them, leaves rustled as Sasuke shifted where he'd been leaning against a tree. He didn't speak, didn't move closer, but his gaze latched onto her like a hook...dark, calculating, almost... suspicious. She turned her head and returned the look. Her eyes were unreadable, soft, but no longer pleading, and not angry, but something inside her had shifted. A thread had snapped, and what remained was still and silent and unafraid. She did not look away first. Sasuke did.

She rose to her feet, slowly, pushing through the faint ache in her limbs. Her back cracked softly as she stretched her arms overhead. Her joints were sore but her core felt... centered, her breath pulling smooth and full into her lungs. Naruto scrambled to his feet. "You should still rest-"

"I've rested enough," she said, her tone not sharp, but resolute. There was no argument in it, only truth. "We still have a mission to finish." Her eyes lifted toward the break in the trees, where a dull haze of gold crept along the edges of the leaves. The sun was just beginning to rise. The early morning air was thick with moisture, clinging to her skin like a damp cloth. A single drop of dew slid down her temple. Every rustle in the trees, every chirp and snap of distant wildlife, rang clear in her ears. Her senses were sharpened, humming with alertness that was not frantic, but alive. The girl who once stood behind her teammates... now walked toward the edge of the clearing, slow but steady.

Inside her, Sekhmet stirred. She didn't speak, didn't rise, only watched. A silent guardian curled like a flame around Sakura's core. A second heartbeat that was hot and quiet and full of promise.

Behind her, Naruto yawned and rubbed the back of his head. "Ugh... I'm starving. Do we still have food?"

Sakura reached into her pouch and held out a food pill, small and round and bitter-smelling. "Here," she said gently.

Naruto blinked. "Wait... where'd you get that?"

"I took them off one of the Ame-nin... before we left." Her voice was even, but her lips curved slightly, the faintest trace of amusement flickering across her features.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, puzzled. "You did? When?"

She didn't answer, only adjusted the strap across her chest and turned back toward the trees. Sasuke was already up ahead, arms crossed, eyes unreadable. The air around him felt off, like tainted, as if stained by something invisible. Sakura could feel it now more clearly than ever. His chakra crackled faintly in the background, like lightning held barely in check. It raised the hairs along her arms. This was not the Sasuke she'd trained with, laughed with, or had undying love for. This one was coiled, sharper at the edges. Wrong.

"We need to move," he muttered. His voice was low and flat, almost mechanical. "Before someone finds us."

Naruto grunted, grabbing his gear. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get outta this cursed forest already."

Sakura walked forward, passing them both. Her steps left shallow indentations in the moist earth. She didn't hesitate when she said, "I memorized the map. I'll lead us from here." It wasn't a full lie. She had studied the layout, but it was more than memory guiding her now. The trees no longer felt like walls. Her mind was unusually clear. She felt the world around her. From the buzz of distant insects, the breath of morning wind before it stirred, the subtle twitch of chakra not far off. Even the stillness of the animals unnerved her. The forest was too quiet. Warning them. Still, she stepped forward, eyes narrowed on the path ahead. Her chakra coiled around her like smoke beneath skin, warm and waiting. The sun filtered through the trees in long, golden fingers, and dew shimmered on every leaf like stardust

Team 7 moved swiftly through the underbrush, each step measured and silent. The tower was close now, its silhouette carved sharply against the pale morning sky, casting long shadows that stretched like claws over the trees around them. "We're almost there," Sakura said quietly, her voice barely louder than a breath.

Naruto grinned at her, relief softening the usual edges of his energy. "Finally. I'm so ready to be done with this forest. Datteba-" Smack. Sakura's hand slapped firmly over his mouth. Naruto froze, eyes wide. Sakura didn't glare, she simply raised her other hand and pressed a finger to her lips. Quiet. Behind them, Sasuke paused too, sharp eyes narrowing. The air had changed. Sakura's eyes fluttered shut. Her breathing slowed as she reached outward, not physically, but with her chakra. She let it extend from her body in waves, subtle pulses that brushed against the forest's stillness, yet that was the problem. Everything was too still. No birds, or rustling leaves and no distant animal movements. Even the insects had gone silent. Her eyes snapped open, green irises hard as emerald glass. She moved without hesitation, her arm whipping out, the kunai from her pouch slicing through the air in a clean, silent arc. Thunk. It embedded itself deep into the bark of a tree twenty feet ahead. Then, rustle, crack, three shapes dropped down like shadows peeled from the canopy.

A team of three stood before them, dressed in Suna forehead protectors. They landed in a tight triangle formation, confident and unhurried, as if they had been waiting for Team 7 to arrive. The one in the middle; a tall girl with wild, shoulder-length brown hair and dark slanted eyes...Took a single step forward. Twin swords were strapped to her back, hilts poking over either shoulder like the tips of devil horns. Her arms were folded, and her expression was calm, unreadable. Cold.

To her left stood a boy with a close buzzcut and a lean, compact frame. His knuckles were bandaged, and the faint crackling of chakra-enhanced strength pulsed from his hands like static. A cocky grin spread across his face.

To her right was the last one, a lanky boy with glasses, a messy topknot, and a handful of senbon glittering in one hand. The metal tips shimmered slightly with liquid sheen, poison. He spun one between his fingers and smirked lazily.

"Well, well," the boy with the buzzcut drawled, eyes raking over Sakura with a cocky grin, "aren't you pretty, despite being all beat up." He winked. Sakura didn't flinch, but Naruto's expression twisted into a scowl, fists clenching at his sides. Sasuke's eyes narrowed faintly beneath his dark bangs.

"Shut up, Naoya!" the Suna girl snapped, her jaw tight. Her fingers twitched toward the hilt of her sword. "Enough flirting. Give us the scroll and we won't hurt you... too bad."

Sakura met her gaze evenly. "Come and get them then," she replied, her voice like cold steel. With that, she dropped into a defensive stance, feet planted wide, knees slightly bent. Her fingers curled into fists, and the forest seemed to tense with her, the wind briefly dying. The silence shattered. In a blur of motion, the Suna shinobi lunged, their footsteps exploding off the dirt with a flurry of leaves and crushed twigs. They split cleanly, each targeting a member of Team 7 with practiced precision. The girl with the dual swords charged at Sakura, Naoya, the boy with the buzzcut charged at Naruto, and the boy with the senbon charged at Sasuke.

Sakura met the charging kunoichi head-on, her boots digging into the dirt for stability. 'I will do this myself. No help from Naruto or Sasuke,' she vowed, her eyes narrowing with steely resolve. The adrenaline pumping through her veins didn't drown her thoughts, it sharpened them. Her heart beat steady, like a war drum deep inside her chest. She showed no signs of fear. Only intense focus. Only unshakable confidence.

The Suna girl let out a sharp cry and drew both swords in a metallic flash, slashing down toward Sakura in a brutal X-formation. The steel gleamed in the filtered sunlight slicing through the trees. But Sakura vanished in a puff of smoke. Poof! The real Sakura reappeared behind her, chakra flaring just enough to give her speed and precision. She lashed out with a spinning kick, her heel slamming into the kunoichi's lower back, right at her kidney. There was a sharp grunt of pain as the Suna shinobi stumbled forward, arms flailing, breath hitching from the impact. The girl quickly twisted back around, eyes wide with surprise and pain. "You're more quick-witted than I thought," she spat, panting, brow glistening with sweat.

"And you talk too much," Sakura shot back, a smirk flickering across her lips. Her eyes sparkled, not with arrogance, but with calculation. Every move she made was deliberate, her stance firm and balanced, her body like a coil waiting to strike again. However, the kunoichi wasn't finished. With a growl, she launched forward again, slashing horizontally with one blade and thrusting the other like a spear. She was taller, rangier, and fast, but reckless. Anger muddled her footwork. Her chakra surged wild and uncontrolled. Sakura sidestepped with a pivot so clean it barely disturbed the forest floor. Her sandal twisted in the soft earth as she grabbed the girl's wrist mid-swing, fingers digging into tendons. The momentum of the wild lunge was her enemy's own undoing. With a tight exhale, Sakura turned and used the girl's weight against her, dragging her off-balance and swinging her body through the air.

CRACK. The Suna kunoichi slammed spine-first into the trunk of the tree they'd been hiding in moments before. The bark split and rained down in chips as her body hit it with a shuddering impact. The air whooshed out of her lungs in a strangled gasp, her swords clattering to the forest floor with a dull thud, but she didn't collapse. With a furious snarl, the girl dropped to her knees and rolled, narrowly avoiding Sakura's follow-up strike, a sharp downward hammer of chakra-laced force that left a dent in the ground where her fist landed. A gust of wind blew Sakura's pink hair back as the pressure of the strike shook the surrounding branches, sending startled birds flapping from the trees.

The Suna kunoichi sprang to her feet, eyes blazing, face red with both fury and embarrassment. Blood now trickled from her temple, and one of her arms hung stiff, already bruising from the throw. "You little-!" she barked, snatching a kunai from her thigh pouch and charging again, this time feinting left then spinning mid-strike to aim low at Sakura's legs. Sakura backflipped neatly, narrowly evading the blade, and landed in a crouch. Leaves fluttered around her like falling ash. The kunoichi pressed the assault, blade flashing in tight arcs. Sparks flared with every deflection as Sakura parried the blows with a kunai of her own, their arms blurring with speed. The clang of steel echoed through the trees, punctuated by ragged breaths and the hiss of chakra building just beneath the surface.

They moved like shadows among the trees, Sakura's movements clean, measured, and adaptive. The Suna kunoichi's style was aggressive and brutal, striking like a storm trying to break everything in its path, but Sakura was no longer someone who broke under pressure. She ducked under a wild slash, the blade slicing a strand of her hair as it whizzed past. Her fist shot upward in a brutal uppercut, catching the other girl beneath the ribs. The Suna nin doubled over with a wheeze but retaliated by kneeing Sakura in the thigh, forcing them both to stagger back, chests heaving, the taste of iron and sweat in their mouths. The fight had only just begun.

A few meters away, Sasuke was a shadow in the trees, his body still but tense, like a coiled serpent. His breath was silent, his gaze razor-sharp. The senbon-wielding Suna genin moved with confidence, lips curled in a smirk as he flicked his wrist.

Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip! Four poisoned senbon sliced through the air, whistling toward Sasuke like silver needles. But in the blink of an eye, his sharingan flared to life, pupils spinning crimson with purpose. The world slowed. He tilted his body just enough to let the senbon slip past him, one grazed the fabric of his sleeve with a faint hiss, slicing a single thread. "Tch. Is that all you can do, dodge?" the Suna genin sneered, his voice full of mockery. "Leaf shinobi are a joke." But before he could blink again, Sasuke dropped from the tree like a predator pouncing on prey. His landing was near soundless, a dull thud in the mossy underbrush.

The moment the boy's eyes met Sasuke's, he froze. Those glowing crimson irises bore into him, not with rage, but with cold calculation. Sasuke's face was unreadable, his silence more terrifying than any boast. Then he moved. Crack! Sasuke's fist exploded upward, slamming directly into the genin's gut with bone-rattling force. The boy's mouth flew open in a silent gasp, spittle flinging from his lips as the air was violently knocked from his lungs. His body doubled over, legs staggering backward through the damp leaves and soft mulch, boots skidding as he coughed and choked.

"Yo-you're an Uchiha..." he gasped, voice trembling, pupils shaking behind his round glasses. Fear now laced his features like sweat on his brow.

Sasuke said nothing. In a flash, he twisted into a spin-hook kick, his movement so fast the wind cracked beside him. His heel connected squarely with the side of the boy's head, a dull, sickening thud echoed as the Suna shinobi was launched sideways, crashing into a moss-covered boulder. The stone cracked slightly, dust puffing around the impact. The boy's body slumped to the forest floor in a heap, half-conscious and groaning, blood trickling from a cut above his brow. Sasuke lowered his leg, exhaling softly through his nose. "And you're annoying," he said coolly, his voice sharp and dismissive, like a blade sliding back into its sheath.

He stepped forward into a ready stance, muscles taut, eyes glowing. The forest around him buzzed faintly with chakra. He didn't even flinch when a squirrel darted out of the brush, startled by the noise. His attention was locked on the boy now pushing himself up on shaking limbs. "Get up," Sasuke muttered under his breath, voice cold. "I'm not done yet."

Naoya and Naruto squared off, tension crackling between them like static before a lightning storm. The air was thick with the musk of damp earth and ozone-charged chakra. Naoya bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, the forest floor crunching beneath his sandals, his muscles coiled and loose like a predator ready to strike. A sudden snap of chakra ignited around his fists, blue light flared around his knuckles, hissing like fire licking ice. "One hit, and it's lights out for you, my friend," he taunted, his teeth flashing in a cocky grin. "But don't worry...Your pretty teammate will be in good hands here."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, his grin evaporating. A muscle ticked in his jaw. "You're seriously asking for it," he growled, rolling his shoulders as a faint, golden aura of chakra shimmered around him.

Naoya surged forward BOOM! The earth kicked up behind him as he launched with frightening speed. His chakra-infused punch sliced through the air, the pressure alone blowing back Naruto's bangs. Naruto leaned away just in time, feeling the heat of Naoya's fist graze his cheek. "Fast," Naruto muttered.

Naoya followed up instantly with a hard right, but Naruto dipped low, feeling the wind shear past his ears, and backflipped. Mid-flip, he flung out a hand. Poof! A clone appeared beside him mid-air, only to get obliterated by Naoya's spinning backhand, CRACK! Smoke exploded in the space where the clone had been.

"C'mon!" Naoya barked, laughing, his voice hoarse with adrenaline. "That all you got?!"

"Not even close, dattebayo!" Naruto snarled. Two more shadow clones popped into existence, chakra shimmering around them like heat waves. The trio sprinted toward Naoya in a zig-zag formation, their sandals tearing into the dirt. Leaves and mud were kicked up with each step. Naoya's eyes flicked left, right, he dropped low, spun, and elbowed the first clone straight through the gut... Yet another puff of smoke. The second clone got in close and slammed a fist into Naoya's ribs, forcing a grunt from the Suna shinobi. "Damn it! Just a distraction!" Naoya hissed, clutching his side. The real Naruto came in hard and low, skidding beneath Naoya's guard, his palms slamming to the ground as he swept a leg outward. Naoya's balance broke, his arms pinwheeled for half a second before Naruto launched upward, twisting mid-air like a gymnast. WHAM! A thunderous kick collided with Naoya's chest, sending shockwaves through his sternum. The impact rattled birds from nearby branches. Naoya's body rocketed backward, slamming into a thick tree trunk. Bark splintered on contact, and a low crack echoed through the forest as the tree shivered. "Gah!" Naoya groaned, slumped against the bark, his breath ragged. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, warm and coppery. His arm trembled as he wiped it away, spitting crimson onto the roots below. "You're not bad," he muttered, chuckling despite the pain. His smirk returned, twisted now with blood. "Guess I'll stop holding back."

Naruto landed in a crouch, hand braced on the forest floor, the scent of moss thick in his nose. He stood slowly, eyes gleaming with determination, his chest rising and falling steadily. "Good," he said, voice low, full of grit. "Cause I haven't even started yet." The chakra around him shimmered with renewed ferocity, licking off his skin like the beginning of a firestorm.

🌸 Author's Note 🌸

Thank you, as always, for walking beside me through this journey. The next part is on its way and will dive even deeper... because Sekhmet's training? Hasn't even begun.

With gratitude in my heart,                                                                                                                                               
avisulov

Word Count: 4644

EDITED 6/18/25