The only problem with Sakura's plan to revive Lady Tsunade was that even if Orochimaru decided to resurrect her with the Edo Tensei, with the addition of the first four Hokage, Jiraiya, Might Guy, Sasuke and herself, the odds of Naruto getting to fight Pain one-on-one were slim indeed. The Hidden Leaf's greatest powerhouses of the past eighty years were all assembled here, even though Jiraiya and Guy were still badly injured… so when exactly was Naruto supposed to get his time in the spotlight?
Sakura gnawed at her thumbnail as she anxiously ran through all the possibilities. There was no way Pain would be winning the battle against the Hidden Leaf, so it all came down to collateral damage…
Best-case scenario, Orochimaru and his army of zombies would successfully protect the Hidden Leaf, meaning nobody would have to be revived… but then the odds were that much greater that he would become the Sixth Hokage, and there was no telling what atrocities he might commit with that power.
Worst-case scenario, Orochimaru defeated Pain but failed to protect the village, and as a result, without Naruto's Talk-no-Jutsu, the casualties would permanently remain dead. Whatever remained of the Hidden Leaf would not withstand the Four Nations Coalition Army when they came for them next, spelling the end of the village as she knew it…
"Augh!" Sakura let out a frustrated cry, yanking at her pink hair. "I just don't know what to do!"
Even if she managed to catch him off‑guard, stealthily taking Orochimaru out of the equation with the power he now possessed would be nearly impossible. This wasn't the time to be risking an endless civil war against him and the Four Hokage, especially with Pain's arrival looming any day now.
Using the Kotoamatsukami to make Orochimaru stand down had crossed her mind, but the first thing she had noticed upon seeing him was that his brain chemistry was already being altered by that same genjutsu. When Itachi had used Shisui's eye on him, she could only guess, but trying to overwrite his command with her own could have unpredictable consequences. At the very least, Orochimaru wasn't actively trying to destroy the village, for the time being…
"Just give me a minute…" Naruto said, his eyes squeezed shut. "Nearly there… just a bit more…"
Meanwhile, while Sakura was agonising about the best way to save her home, Naruto was sitting nearby on a park bench in the lotus position. He wanted to show Sakura that he could enter Sage Mode just as she could now, but he was having trouble gathering nature energy in the village's environment compared to Mt Myōboku's.
"Is this going to take much longer?" Sasuke drawled.
The only reason he had even bothered to follow Naruto and Sakura to Senju Park, where Naruto claimed he would have an easier time absorbing nature energy, was that he wanted to see whether Sakura's claim, that a Sage Mode Naruto would surpass even his Mangekyō Sharingan self by a wide margin, held any truth. He could accept Sakura being stronger than him, since she was also an Uchiha… but that loser Naruto!?
Without warning, Naruto's eyes flew open, and Sakura and Sasuke saw that orange pigment now lined their contours like eyeliner. Though the enhancement was not as pronounced as Sakura's Sage Mode, which caused blue bands to cascade down from her forehead and wrap around her limbs and torso, it was still without a doubt a Perfect Sage Mode, with no signs of toad-like transformation such as warts or webbed hands, save for his horizontally slit pupils!
"Looks like you're the only one of us who isn't an Honoured Sage," Naruto gloated, shooting Sasuke a victorious look. "Who's the loser dunce now, ya know?"
"Don't bully Sasuke, Naruto!" Sakura said furiously. "You of all people should know what it feels like!"
Did that idiot Naruto have any idea how much cajoling it had taken on her part to soothe Sasuke's fragile ego when he realised he was gradually being left behind by those he considered his inferiors, back when they were all thirteen?
"Shut up, Sakura! I don't need you to protect me from that idiot!" Sasuke hissed, his eyes turning scarlet as he stared down Naruto. "Come on, you and me. Let's settle this, once and for all. Right here and now."
Naruto closed his eyes and blew a raspberry at him.
"You want to fight me? Seriously? You're going to embarrass yourself in front of Sakura, ya know?" he said incredulously. "In Sage Mode, I could wipe the floor with you blindfolded," he added, sneering. "But oh, wouldn't that actually be the opposite of giving you a handicap? Eyes closed might make it harder for you to pull your little hypnosis trick on me, ya know?"
Sasuke glowered at him, and sensing this, Naruto's smirk grew even more obnoxious.
"Want me to open my eyes?" Naruto taunted. "Give you a sporting chance, ya know? I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of Sakura-chan!"
"Do as you please!" Sasuke growled. "Just don't cry afterwards that I only beat you because you weren't looking!"
During their Ninja Academy days, Sasuke had never ceased belittling him and reducing him in front of the entire class… though Naruto had often been the one inviting a beating, challenging and provoking Sasuke despite knowing he had no chance of winning.
"This is hardly the time!" Sakura said helplessly, sensing the two boys' chakra ramping up to dangerous levels; this would be no playground fight or friendly sparring match. "Naruto, Sasuke! Are you even listening to me!?"
Although they had since come to recognise each other's strengths as members of Team 7, Sasuke's at times scornful or playful ribbing had never quite stopped, even though they had become something like friends and rivals… Now that he knew Sage Mode, Naruto had become almost drunk on power, and he was determined to make Sasuke acknowledge him in return… and most of all, he wanted to impress Sakura-chan and show her that Sasuke wasn't all that hot!
"Why don't we make this interesting, if you're so confident?" Sasuke called, extending two fingers skywards in the Seal of Confrontation. Naruto replied in kind. "Add some stakes to our duel?"
"Fine by me," Naruto snorted, settling into a fighting stance.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Whoever wins gets to date Sakura," he said loftily. "Whoever loses backs off… forever."
Naruto's confidence faltered. His heart trembled. Was he really willing to give up on love if he lost? No— what was he thinking!? He couldn't allow himself to consider losing before even exchanging a single move! He couldn't possibly lose… yet Sasuke had always won their duels before, hadn't he?
"I…"
"I'm not some prize that can be won in a duel!" Sakura shouted angrily. "Pick something else to bet on! Macho idiots! Chest-pounding gorillas, the both of you!"
Even so, Sakura felt oddly pleased that she was the object of a duel between two men. It was rather romantic, wasn't it?
"I–I accept!" Naruto stammered. "Don't you go back on your word when you lose, ya know!"
But barely had he pronounced those words than an alarm started blaring. His eyes flew open, and he looked up, sensing two powerful chakra signatures streaking through the sky. One of them dropped something, and almost in a daze, Naruto watched as the object tumbled down towards the village…
"Get down!" Sakura screamed. "Susano'o—"
Shadows lengthened and vanished as a blinding flash of light enveloped the world.