"An... Akatsuki ring?"

She took it out of the box and inspected it closely. It had to be. It looked similar to Sasori's—same general shape and design, but with a slate blue colored stone with the kanji for 'sky' in the center. Sakura nearly dropped it when it began to glow a faint lavender.

'I need to get this to Tsunade-shishou right—'

'It was delivered to you, wasn't it? Keep it a while,' Inner goaded. 'Looking at it alone for a few seconds couldn't hurt, could it?'

'... A few seconds. That's it.'

She inspected the ring even closer. The metal was something she'd only seen once or twice in her entire shinobi career. It was the artificial type that acted as a chakra receiver. Sakura was certain that it had something to do with the sealing of the tailed beasts and should have been delivered to Tsunade the minute she realized what it was. Looking back into the box, she saw a folded note and a small scroll.

Haruno Sakura-sama,

Isn't it interesting to have received that ring? Such a curious, intriguing, inquisitive thing. Can you recognize to whom it belongs? Please, take a guess—I don't think you'll be wrong. Sasuke has gone, but that was his plan. But for me; I'm here to persuade as much as I can. Haven't you desired to be someone great? Here's you chance, I assure you, it's fate. And please disregard of how this note rhymes. Even I cannot explain his insanity this time.

Sakura didn't quite understand what this was telling her. What she could gather from this was that the Akatsuki ring belonged to Orochimaru, that vile snake, and that Sasuke was gone from his tutelage.

'Looks like your opportunity has finally come.'

'What opportunity? This is insuring that this is from an enemy and should be given to Tsunade-shishou. Now.'

'You'll regret it if you do.'

'Regret what?'

'Read the postscript.'

P.S.- The ring goes on your left pinky finger.

No, absolutely not. She wasn't about to do something without knowing the consequences. Who was she kidding? She wasn't about to do something so stupid like putting on something that once belonged to Orochimaru. Sakura set the ring down and picked up the scroll and opened it.

Why did it have to be a summoning scroll?

Sakura dropped the scroll like a hot plate and flipped over her couch as she whipped out a kunai. The smoke soon cleared, revealing a man she had no plan of seeing anytime soon.

"Kabuto," she sneered. He inclined his head.

"Sakura-sama," he replied, bowing deeply in respect. She gave him an uncertain stare and tightened the grip on her weapon. He straightened up not long after and offered a warm smile. "There's no need to point such an offensive thing at me. I mean you no harm."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

He reflected on her words. "No. I suppose I wouldn't believe me either. I'm here on one of Orochimaru-sama's last and greatest wishes. Will you allow me to shine light on the situation?" he questioned. Sakura gave him a dubious look before lowering her kunai.

"One wrong move and I'll activate the genjutsu trap in this apartment," she said. Kabuto nodded.

"Of course. Orochimaru-sama knew that one day, Uchiha Sasuke would turn on him and murder him. Inevitably. So he devised a plan. Once he was dead for good, he would entrust everything to a successor of his choosing. I had been the successor previously, but I denied the position. I couldn't see myself in that place of central power," he explained. She eyed him curiously.

"Place of central power?"

"Yes. Orochimaru-sama had a conquest to take over Otogakure and the large, unoccupied land beside it. He sought to create an actual hidden village, not the laboratory and various hideouts the rest of the world believed it to be. Since the other countries didn't care to keep an eye on us, he succeeded in doing so. Missing-nin, past criminals, and people who desired to start over flooded to Otogakure's gates. The village expanded for years and is actually about the same size as Konohagakure no Sato," he continued. Sakura slowly digested the information.

"Why hadn't it drawn attention? If the population flourished as much as it did, surely it would've drawn even the slightest suspicion."

Kabuto shook his head. "Like I said, the other nations didn't care about us or what we did. We showed no threat, therefore, we weren't regarded as important." he shrugged. "It worked in our favor so we didn't worry. But Hanzaki, leader of the Fuuma Clan, didn't accept Orochimaru-sama's leadership, calling him a corrupt, unjust person. Orochimaru-sama had already seduced his other clansmen with the promise of power, so he harbors a great resentment for someone like him. So, Orochimaru-sama offered him a proposition." He gestured toward the ring and then to her. "If he were to find a suitable leader, one that everyone approved of, the Fuuma Clan would be under their direct command. If not, Hanzaki could kill them. I did my research and it seemed that there was only one person that could make such an impact. You. If you accept the position, we'll leave immediately and I'll explain the whole situation to you on our way there. If you deny the position, I will leave and never bother you again."

The answer should have been so simple. The word no should have slipped from her lips like melted butter and she would've activated the genjutsu trap anyways. But she was still, her eyes darting from side to side as she considered her options.

'Do it.'

'...'

'Oho? No backlash? This must be serious. I'll put in the first vote. Go with him.'

'... I...'

"Could you give me some time to think?" she found herself whispering. Kabuto's eyebrows shot up as his jaw slackened. He didn't think she'd actually...

He held down a smile and pushed up his glasses. "I'll be back in tomorrow at this time for your answer. Until then, Sakura-sama."

And he was gone.

::

Shizune was starting to get worried. Sakura had spent most of the day lost in her own thoughts, not getting much of her paperwork done. She took to staring at nothing with unfocused eyes as she twirled a pen in her hand.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

She gave her senpai a weak smile. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just... there's a lot on my mind," she sighed. Her eyes lit up as Shizune placed a cup of tea and a plate of dango before her.

"To soothe your thoughts."

"Thank you so much, senpai!"

Sakura sank in her chair and took a bite of the sweet treat as Shizune left the office. Inner had been surprisingly quiet the duration of the day, shedding light on how dire her decision was. In the morning, she berated herself for asking for the time to think over her answer. When her thoughts trickled into the afternoon, she found herself believing that Kabuto's offer wasn't so bad after all. At night, she gathered her things from her office and proceeded to leave the hospital.

'Ah, you're listening to me? What a surprise. I thought you were above that.'

Sakura ignored her. In the lobby, she found Shizune filtering through a stack of papers at the front desk.

"I'm heading out, senpai," she said. The older woman raised her head and waved.

"Alright, Sakura-chan. Take care."

Sakura swallowed her guilt and walked out into the snow. Naruto was out somewhere on a mission, as were most of the people she knew. That was one of the downfalls of working at the hospital—not going on as many missions because of the obligations of being a doctor. She squeezed her eyes shut.

'I'm sorry, Naruto.'

'You don't sound sorry.'

She entered her apartment to see Kabuto standing patiently in her living room. He cast her a cursory stare.

"Your answer?"

Sakura took in a deep breath. "I accept."

::

EDITED 2.16.18