Mist Village located in the South Black Sea was known for its ruthless shinobi ways. Tradition demanded annual fights to the death for every promotion in rank for years. That ensured that only the strong served the village, for they could not afford any weak links. The newest Kage had purged that rule in just the last year, the losers now had the choice of surrender or death, although the ruthless nature of past generations had practically programmed them to choose death. Sakura and the rest of the famous mist team didn't have the luxury since the new rule was so recent. They acquired their rank through the deaths of their opponents. And although they carried the weight of their regrets with them, they were hardened to the point where they would do anything for their village. They would need that steel of heart if they wanted to save their people.

Black smoke swirled in the air above Mist Island as town houses burned to the ground, the ashes of the civilians' hard work still smoldering. A roar louder than thunder broke through the screams of terror, sending the surrounding ocean's wildlife into the deep dark abyss. The shinobi turned to see their worst nightmare in action, the Four Tails, one of the cruelest tailed beasts, destroying their beloved village, they worked so hard to protect.

"The screams of her people brought Sakura to her knees, a hand on her stomach as she tried to keep her body from throwing up whatever contents it had consumed last. Chojuro and Hideki shared a look of torment as they watched their birthplace and their comrade brought to their knees. Amay stumbled to the back bench of the boat for fear that if she were on her feet a moment longer she'd fall overboard.

"I….I….we need to evacuate whoever we c-can. The screams mean there are st-still people…innocents alive." Sakura stuttered through her sentence, trying her best to compose herself

"H-hai!" Hideki said swallowing "I'll cover the north side of the island. Sakura the south. Chojuro and Amay can you distract Son Goku long enough for us to evacuate the civilians and put out the fires?"

"Hai, we'll distract it, just hurry." Chojuro put his hand on his brother's shoulder, a short farewell in case of the worst, before disappearing with Amay who gave her teammates a solemn nod, her eyes saying everything her words couldn't.

Hideki and Sakura faced each other, Hideki pulled her into a bone crushing hug and she whispered "No one gets left behind." He understood what she meant. Those were the same words she had said to him when they were told only one of them could be promoted in last year's anbu test.

Sakura's heart was pounding, every part of her body throbbing with pain. She had evacuated most of the south side to the escape ships several miles away but still, people remained in Son Goku's path.

She looked around for any children, wanting to save them first. Catching a glimpse of a face in one of the two story building windows. She settled on her next destination. Ignoring the immense pain in her legs she ran up the side of the building, until she was at the smoky window where she had seen a face moments ago. She punched the window with a chakra laced fist, smashing it into miniscule pieces.

The small round face appeared again, it belonged to a young mist girl, wearing her pajamas. Seeing the crying girl tugged at Sakura's heart strings. The child was probably just falling to sleep when Son Goku began terrorizing the village. Sakura picked the small girl up, she couldn't have weighed more than 70 lbs.

"Where are your parents sweet heart?" Sakura asked looking around the half demolished house, seeing no sign of the girl's family

The sleepy, confused girl looked up at her "They left to find my big brother, they told me to hide, Sakura-Sama!"

Sakura only hesitated for a second, but the house was bound to fall at any moment and the girl said no one was here so she cradled the girl's head in her arms and jumped back out the window she climbed through.

Sakura landed with grace before she transported the small girl to one of the ships where her parents had to be if they weren't on the island.

The only place that remained unchecked was the South Temple. Although it was one of Mist Island's most treasured sites, it was made of stone so it would last longer than the burning wood houses in the middle of town.

"SAKURA!" Hideki yelled, finally finding his comrade "North island is evacuated, what about this side?"

"Everybody is gone except for the temple monks."

"Amay got word from them, they managed to escape along with the librarians." He said breathlessly, the smoke was filling their lungs, the longer they stayed, the harder it was for them to breathe

"The library…." Sakura trailed off "All of our village's scrolls and treasured will be ruined!"

"We don't have time Sakura-Chan! Chojuro and Amay are tiring, they won't be able to hold off the beast any longer!" Hideki said "Our Kage is safe, and our people are on the evacuation ships, we have to go now."

Sakura looked in the direction of the beloved temple, that had stood for generations, and back at the ships, waiting for them so they could sail out of Son Goku's wrath. Sakura's fist clenched but she silently nodded

Hideki grabbed her hand and transported them to the main ship, where their Kage was on board. Seconds later, Amay and Chojuro appeared. "We have about thirty second to get going, the restraints won't hold the beast for long."