Her Destiny

The Three Way Alliance

Sakura's mouth popped open.

"Nagato?"

Several around the room frowned. "You know of me?" Nagato asked, taken by surprise.

"You are Jiraiya-sama's student. You and Konan and Yahiko. Kami, Nagato, he thinks that you can bring about peace. You're the inspiration behind his first book," Sakura said, her tongue having problems forming words.

Nagato's eyes widened beneath is fringe. "What?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I assume that after Yahiko 'died', you went a bit mad."

Konan made a subtle cutting gesture, behind him, out of range of his sight, aimed toward Sakura, a desperate attempt to warn the other woman not to go there.

Nagato frowned. "Yahiko did die. I had to use my doujutsu to bring him back. The body modifications were necessary to keep him linked, in case something came up."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So who's hair brained idea was it to force peace by using the tailed beasts?"

Nagato had the sense to look a bit sheepish. "That was me. Haha. No worries, Sakura-san, I don't feel that way anymore. I am more interested in seeing if your way works."

Yahiko, because she now knew that it was in fact the real man standing with them, face palmed.

Several of the former Akatsuki members were staring in muted shock.

"Wait a fucking minute!" Hidan said, the first to break the awkward silence.

"You're telling me that we went through all of that shit, just for you to decide that it wasn't necessary?"

Konan sighed, but it was Zetsu that answered.

"He wasn't really the one in charge until a few months ago. There was a part of me that was being possessed by Kaguya Otsutsuki's youngest son, one that no one knew about. He attempted to control Madara first, but Obito killed him and foiled the plan. The next option was the Akatsuki, so I was taken control of by this. . . thing. . . and it was only recently that I was able to get free of his influence for long enough to warn Nagato-sama."

Sakura looked to the three Ame nin. "Is this true?"

The three looked a bit sheepish. "Yeeaaaahhhh. There was a bit of a battle outside the village because of it. We won, but Nagato only just got over the last of the effects. His health has been worse since he brought me back," Yahiko explained.

Sakura nodded. "Do you still wish to see Danzo?"

Deadly looks passed over the three. "Oh yes. We definitely do. Is that still set for a year from now? Konan really wants to give the old bag a death by a million paper cuts," Yahiko muttered.

Sakura chuckled. "That would be something to see, wouldn't it, Shika?"

The Nara sneered at the thought of the hateful old man. "I think he should have to be tortured like he did to me. Peeling strips out of him and then healing it seems like a good option to me."

Several of the people in the room that hadn't known what had happened to the Nara visibly blanched and recoiled at the thought.

"What the fuck?" Hidan asked.

"You Konoha nin are really something else," Zetsu muttered.

"Danzo thinks of himself as a Konoha nin, he's managed to taint the other elders, but none of us consider him to be a part of the village. He is not the normal Konoha nin."