#root sakura

[sea-owl]

I'm bored, let's do a ROOT Sakura au.

Like many others, Sakura was recruited into ROOT young. She was taught to surpress her emotions and follow only Danzo's orders. During her training, it became obvious that she was good at manipulation and fooling others into believing she's nothing more than a weak girl.

This manipulation ability led Danzo to decide that he would send Sakura to watch over Naruto and later Sasuke. Having her make sure to tie bonds of loyalty to her so tight they wouldn't even dream of turning against her. Danzon did give her strict instructions that she was mainly to observe, and she would start her web when the time came. Until he says so, she does not interact, and should either boy die, then she would let it happen.

With her mission assigned, Sakura is enrolled into the academy. She would spend most of her days pretending to be a student and then doing ROOT missions during her off time. She was often assigned Sai as a partner if the mission required one.

It was when she graduated from the Academy that Danzo instructed her to start spinning her web around the boys. The team placements were . . . pushed in a certain direction so Sakura was on the same team as her mission assignments.

It took some pushing and prodding to figure what buttons to push, what facial expression gets what reaction. But once Sakura found a flow it made her mission much easier. Sakura doesn't fully understand what endearing the boys to her would do beyond the fact they'll care about what she cares about. No really explained that part to her. Her best guess though is that their emotions would make it harder to betray her, a living thing, than a concept like Konoha.

She's tried to practice the same tactics with Sai while on their joint missions, but it never quite worked the same with him. Like her Sai successfully got rid of his emotions, and their relationship was different than the one Danzo wanted Sakura to build among team 7.

Sakura continues to play the weak girl, the one who needs to be protected. A girl they would never suspect already doing anbu missions. She's thankful Kakashi barely pays attention to her. It makes her double life so much easier to maintain.

There's just one thing Sakura didn't account for. Those bonds she was building with the boys were a two-way street.

Her first slip-up was in the Land of Waves. On that bridge, she followed Danzo's orders to stay out of the fights. If either boy dies, they die. So, what was this feeling clawing in her chest? Why did she want to rush in and kill that masked boy?

When she saw Sasuke lying of the ground, dozens of sebon sticking out of his body, the tears that she cried were no where near fake.

Her second slip up was in the Forest of Death. Sasuke and Naruto were half dead from Orochimaru's attack. Why was she nursing them? It's not like she needs to pass this exam. She actually has strict instructions to fail them so she doesn't gain much attention before the third exam. So why was she doing this? Is it because she wanted to? She liked seeing them get better? It doesn't make any sense. Her mission would be easier if she let their injuries take them out.

When the three Sound genin appeared, Sakura knew she had to put on a different show. While she has strict instructions to not interfere if the boys die she also knows Danzo would have her head if that traitor Orochimaru got a hold of the last Uchiha. That pesky team 10 watching from the side lines also means she can't go all out. Fine feral weak girl act it is.

Sakura's change became even more apparent during that month before the final exams. When she made sure to end that fight with Yamanaka in a tie she knew it would knock her out of the exams and allow her to focus on other missions while the boys trained.

"Ugly, you are unfocused lately."

Sakura felt her eye just barley twitch behind her mask. Damn Sai and that damn friendship making book of his. Sai may have been the closest relationship she had and some would barley call them friends, but there were days where she could punch him.

"You are a lot more expressive lately, too. I like it."

Sakura paused. Expressive? That can't be right.

Sakura's third and biggest slip was during the invasion from Sound and Sand. It was too easy to forget her mission, to easy to get lost the chaos happening around him. Sakura transformed from the Haruno genin to ROOT anbu member. She felt nothing when engaging in combat, no hesitation to end a life. She would do anything to make sure Sasuke and Naruto lived. No hesitation when team 7 attacked the Sand jinchuuriki. Not a second thought when she took that attack to protect Sasuke.

Sakura slipped, and now there were witnesses.

It wasn't a surprise when Kakashi eventually cornered her. "Sakura we need to talk."

"Kakashi-sensei-"

"I heard and read the reports from the invasion. What you did no ordinary genin fresh out of the academy is usually capable of."

"Sensei please."

"Sakura I need you to-"

"I can't!"

"Sakura!"

Sakura stuck out her tougne, the seal fully visible. All arguments die on Kakashi's lips. "I can't sensei."

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

Does anyone ever think about how creepy certain characters in Naruto are?

Mainly Rin, Minato, and Sakura.

Like. Most characters have some sort of background to them. Most of the Konoha 11 and their teachers have clans, Kurenai has her father. Even if they don’t like Anko, we see people like Orochimaru use their lack of support system. It has real world consequences.

But... these three don’t have that. Rin and Sakura are meant to be ‘the normal ones’ on their teams, but we never see them interact with their families or friendssans their team (and Ino ig - again another powerful clan heir. Hmm...). Hell, both of them are way too obsessed with a member of a very powerful and also kind of hostile to the government (for good reason) clan who Danzou has been shown to want to manipulate. Rin almost doesn’t seem human in her mannerisms at times, and in the manga seems to copy Obito’s reactions a lot. Sakura quite literally has a split personality inside her head to show her ‘actual’ emotions to things, which is powerful enough to break out of the control of the heir to a clan famous for that exact jutsu. She is able to do that in the firts place. Rin is able to immediately perform an eye replacement with the eye from her dying best friend to her other friend/crush, and the eye still works fine. Not just fine - as good as it could given the circumstances. She’s able to switch off her emotions and do this literally as Obito is dying. Sakura just so happens to choose to become Tsunade’s apprentice, despite showing no previous interest in medical ninjutsu, after she, a person with a clear history of trying to make at least some changes within the shinobi system that gives Danzou easy acces to recruits for ROOT, becomes the Hokage. Despite being ‘civilians’, both girls have shown a total readiness to fight in hard situations - more than Naruto himself.

As for Minato, he knows many classified jutsus that only the second hokage was able to do, somehow is as good or better at sealing than a girl literally from a clan who specialized in it, had a connection to both Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Three Sanin through Jiraiya. His teammates are never mentioned. His friends are never mentioned. When his students die, both of them, his reaction is muted, almost barely there, and he doesn’t really seem to understand Kakashi’s grief at all. Even after that, he still puts Kakashi, at this point still a teenager, into ANBU Black Ops without much hesitance. He barely seems to care for his students at all. Despite Kushina’s offer that would have left Naruto with at least one living parent and would have gotten rid of the Kyuubi for good, to seal it back within herself and die, Minato still chooses the option - sealing himself - that leaves the Kyuubi still able to be used and Naruto without a support system aside from the Kage government.

And all throughout this, we never see their friends. We never see any of them having any support system aside from their teams. We never really see any of them with actual goals - Rin especially. Yeah, ‘Hokage was Minato’s goal!!’ and it just so happened the stars would perfectly align so this kid with no shown ninja background or connections was in the perfect position to be mentored by someone who turned down being Hokage and then... he became Hokage. It’s still really suspicious. You could argue the same is true for Tenten and Lee, but a) both have stated goals, even if they’re not really focused on, and b) neither of them have the other ‘creep’ factors (Rin’s mannerisms, Sakura’s second personality, Minato’s reactions) that set off alarm bells in my head.

Like idk. Maybe it’s just bad writing or drawing or animating, but... there’s something about it that makes me wonder. I’ve said before I think Sakura should have been a ROOT agent, but this is why I think within canon there’s actually a possibility all three of them were plants. Maybe not ROOT, but... seems a bit too weird for me to just brush off.

[anefoliande]

Root Sakura AU

If Sakura got the other half of the kyuubi (yin chakra nature AND the yin half of the kyuubi? It's meant to be) -> crazy healing factor > maybe even stronger healing factor with chakra control -> can regrow organs from a young age + universal donor :

Do you think her organs that are given away would have some side effect? Like Ginkaku and Kinkaku after eating parts of Kurama.

Or how much organs does someone have to get from Sakura to get some kind of kyuubi side effect?

Like, if Shisui jumps to his death but is saved anyway and most of his organs are replaced.

[fourthslegacy]

➳

He’d been watching her ever since his question fell from his lips. He’d asked, wondered, questioned how she could harm others so easily. It’d been another hard mission, they’d been forced to torture information out of someone and while Sasuke questioned it, she hadn’t. She’d stepped forward and slowly, brutally destroyed their hostage in every way she could. Mentally, physically, emotionally. His eyes hadn’t left her since they walked out of the compound, information in hand.

How could she answer him? But then she knew how. It wasn’t as if he could tell anyone anyways, she’d been given her orders. The Uchiha’s were planning an uprising. They had to be dealt with. Turning slowly she flashed him a slow, soft smile. “It’s easier to live in a world designed to inflict pain if you don’t have a soul with which to feel.” The words left her lips at the same time her kunai met with his throat. She saw the understanding, horror and pain flash across his face before it went slack. His body becoming limp and heavy in her arms.

She couldn’t help the wail that left her throat. She’d just killed her teammate, her friend, and though she knew it would never be returned her first love. Hot and sticky tears slid down her cheeks as she cradled his body for a moment before taking what was necessary to report back to the Elders. “I have no soul Sasuke. They took it a long time ago, I’ve simply become Konoha’s weapon.”