The Root Base was well hidden. And ever since Tsunade had taken office, Danzo had kept his head down, paying lip service to her orders while rarely dealing with the outside world.
As a result, no one had even noticed that Naruto had killed him.
Naruto had Itachi and Sasuke recuperate at the base. Itachi needed to adjust to his right arm and recover, while Sasuke needed to rest after the earlier battle.
Naruto himself vanished and appeared beside Sakura.
After Obito was cut in half at the waist by Naruto, he immediately returned to his underground lair. With the right half of his body made of White Zetsu Cells, he had Tobi reconnect the two halves and slowly began to recover.
Zetsu, meanwhile, delivered Sakura, the false Three-Tails Jinchūriki, to Pain.
Pain, Zetsu, Konan, Kisame, and the Female Avatar immediately prepared to seal the Three-Tails' Chakra. They chose Amegakure as the site.
Sakura was still bound by branches, though her wounds had been treated to keep her from dying right away.
Her face was full of anguish. She was still lost in the pain of Sasuke abandoning her.
But just as Karin still loved Sasuke even after he stabbed and abandoned her in the original story, Sakura remained hopelessly devoted to him.
Though her heart was breaking, she still hoped Sasuke would come to save her, even if she knew the odds were slim.
She watched in horror as the grotesque Demonic Statue of the Outer Path burst from the ground. Just as a massive cloud of Chakra spewed from the statue and enveloped her, a figure appeared behind her and scattered it with a wave of his hand.
"Sasuke!"
Sakura cried out in delighted surprise. Gratitude and love for Sasuke surged through her—until the next words left her