Naruto: The Divine Tree's Chessboard

At seven, she tricked him into crossing a broken bridge, then carried him back to the hospital from a pool of blood. She left behind a tangerine and disappeared. At twelve, he checked her injuries and asked, “Can you hold on until the exams are over?” She thought he only cared about the mission. Later, he defected and cut off all ties. She pursued him for three years. When the Ten-Tails exploded from within, she seized his hand as her flesh and blood came apart. They emerged one behind the other, and no one knew what had happened. Only the trembling that lingered at her fingertips, and the extra beat in his chest. At the Five Kage Summit, she stood masked against the entire shinobi world. He came up behind her without hesitation, his sword already turned toward the threat before her. One look from her, and he betrayed the whole world. On their wedding day, she wore her combat gear beneath her wedding clothes. No one knew she had branded half a divine soul into his right hand. The terms of the pact were: “This mark cannot be undone unless I die.” Later, imprisoned in the divine realm, her mind was crushed. She knelt in a pure white desert, unable to speak. Sasuke’s right hand burned. The pact was telling him she was on the brink of death. For the first time, beyond the path and plans already laid out for him, he felt a burning need to go to her. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Madara’s bone spike pierced him. She poured all her divine power into him, then fell before his eyes. All his life, Uchiha Sasuke had sought only power and answers. But in that moment, as he caught her falling body, he made a decision that had nothing to do with any of his goals.