Mad Dog

Haruno Sakura looked at the book in her hands, The Third Hokage's Will of Fire, and felt somewhat speechless. If she had been asked to write it, the actual contents would probably have been far more compelling than this hollow drivel.

In summary, it came down to four words: loyalty to the Hokage, love for the village.

Tossing the Will of Fire aside, Sakura stretched. She had been sitting in the classroom for most of the day; it was time to get up and move around.

Sakura closed her eyes and emptied her mind, preparing to train later.

The other students had gone to the field to practice Shuriken throwing. She could vaguely hear Iruka roaring at Naruto.

Something about a Shuriken Scattering Technique...

Something about a self-created super-advanced ninjutsu...

Something about not making up all sorts of ridiculous techniques...

The wind, carrying the earthy scent of mud after rain, drifted through the classroom window and stirred the girl's hair. Sakura suddenly felt a chill as a shadow fell over her eyes.

Sakura instinctively opened her emerald eyes, and a face that could only be described as despairing and lifeless appeared before her.

"Sasuke?"

Sakura could not help but feel surprised as she looked at the boy before her.

Why was Sasuke here?

Shouldn't he be...

"Haruno Sakura."

The words that came from Second Pillar's mouth were almost entirely devoid of emotion.

"Huh? What is it?"

"I want to fight you."

Second Pillar's gaze was hollow. Overnight, every member of his family had died.

His stern father, his gentle mother, and...

And that scum, Uchiha Itachi!

Weak as I was, I did not even deserve to be killed...

All for that ridiculous reason...

To test his own capacity, he had killed so many innocent people!

The warmth of those past family moments shattered in Second Pillar's heart like an illusory bubble.

That happiness which had seemed so beautiful, so warm, so within reach, had been cut apart by Uchiha Itachi's blade!

I am too weak, too weak. Not only am I no match for Uchiha Itachi.

Even Haruno Sakura at the academy had always firmly kept him beneath her.

"No."

"I have things to do next, so I don't have time to fight you. Besides, since you have the time, you should go home first and take care of..."

Sakura spoke as she packed up her things.

So many Uchiha had just died. Sasuke should have gone back to deal with the bodies of his clansmen and their funeral arrangements, not come here to pick some inexplicable fight with her.

Bang!

The boy slammed his palm down hard on Sakura's desk. The enormous crash interrupted Haruno Sakura.

"Do you look down on me too?!"

Second Pillar's face was nearly twisted as he glared viciously and hysterically at the girl before him.

The moment he heard the words "go home," Second Pillar completely exploded.

Go home?

Where did he have a home?

How could he still have a home?!

Sakura frowned slightly as she looked at Second Pillar, suppressing her displeasure as she spoke.

"Sasuke, I think you should..."

A sharp gust from a fist scattered her pink bangs. If Sakura had not dodged quickly, that punch would have landed squarely on her face!

Get stronger, get stronger, get stronger!

At this moment, Second Pillar attacked Haruno Sakura like a wild beast.

To kill Uchiha Itachi, he had to keep getting stronger. And Haruno Sakura, who had always been more outstanding than him, was the first obstacle in his way!

Haruno Sakura dodged Second Pillar's attacks, which could now only be described as utterly chaotic, and frowned at the boy before her.

"Sasuke, if you don't stop, I won't go easy on you."

However, those words only enraged the already crazed Second Pillar further.

What did she mean by, "I won't go easy on you"?

Could it be that she had been holding back against me until now?

Extreme emotions filled Second Pillar's heart. At this moment, he had only one thought.

Defeat her, defeat her!

Looking at the crazed Second Pillar, the displeasure in Haruno Sakura's heart inexplicably subsided. She only found him pitiful.

Like an abandoned dog.

Only, this dog could not accept reality and was going mad.

Sakura retreated step by step while Second Pillar advanced step by step.

A hard, cold sensation came from behind her. Sakura had backed herself into a corner.

Bang

A slightly muffled sound echoed through the classroom.

Second Pillar's eyes widened slightly as he stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

She had caught his fist with one hand.

Sakura held Second Pillar's fist in one hand. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free.

"Did you see it clearly?"

"The gap between us."

Sakura's calm words entered Second Pillar's ears, driving him even further into madness.

No matter how he pulled and struggled, he could not free his hand from Sakura's grasp. Sakura was like a stone statue; no matter how much strength Second Pillar used, he could not move her an inch.

When she saw him trying to attack her with his other hand, Sakura slowly pressed down on the hand holding Sasuke's fist.

Second Pillar's body was forced down by Sakura's single hand.

"Aaaahhh!!!"

Second Pillar roared furiously. What had he seen? Was that pity in her eyes?

Since when did he need anyone's pity?!

"Taking out the resentment in your heart on others is an extremely disappointing thing to do."

"Sasuke, especially when I'm your classmate."

Emerald Eyes calmly watched the boy before her as he continued trying to resist.

"And..."

Sakura instinctively stopped herself here.

She should not know about this.

"And you saw it too. You can't beat me."

"I accept your challenge, but I won't accept you acting like a mad dog."

"Go back, Sasuke."

Sakura released Second Pillar. At some point, tears had begun streaming down Sasuke's face. He stood there silently, without saying a word.

Sakura glanced at him and said nothing more, simply walking past him.

"Haruno Sakura..."

The boy's voice came out choked with sobs.

"I will win..."

Hokage's Office

Hiruzen Sarutobi smoked as he calmly watched the scene inside the Crystal Ball. Thinking of Uchiha Itachi's request before he left, he could not help but feel a headache coming on.

Every Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyo was insane...

Uchiha Madara had been like that, and so had Uchiha Itachi...

Only at this moment did he understand why his teacher, Tobirama Senju, had been unwilling to let the Uchiha go to war, instead assigning them the duties of the Konoha Military Police Force.

The stronger the Sharingan became, the more stubborn and extreme its wielder's mind became. The Mangekyo was even more so.

Extreme methods, extreme emotions...

If the Uchiha had gone to the battlefield in large numbers, so many extreme ninja would have been a disaster.