Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura meet amidst political squabble and calculated betrayals in an era long after imperial bloodlines gave way to Kage rulers of the world. Caught in a war with deep roots, the three of them must rely on each other if they have any hope of unearthing mystery surrounding the elusive King of Crows, the man behind the uprising that changed the world forever.

Naruto returns to Konoha with one Uchiha Sasuke, but Sakura, feeling the force of her own inadequacies and desperate for the power to protect, instead takes the path intended for him. Where exactly it leads, though, is into the company of people so strange even her wildest dreams couldn't conjure them all. (eventual ItaSaku; rating may go up to Mature)

Sequel to "Suffer Through." Kakashi's fling with Sakura had been fleeting as a dream, but he is accustomed to the good in his life being cut short. That she lives and breathes is enough for him, at least until Sasuke's return to the village—which forces Lord Sixth to a state of grim introspection. (Kakashi-centric; canon-compliant Kakasaku)

Kakashi's failures as Team 7's sensei take hold, amplified over the years when he begins to see too much of himself in Sakura (and worsening when a hookup gone awry unveils just how needlessly he's been suffering under the weight of his many other shortcomings). (Kakashi-centric; canon-compliant Kakasaku; mature but not explicit)