A/N: It's here! Chapter 4 is here and finalized! Honestly, this was the most agonizing part of the story that didn't even happen in my Event Timeline, but since I'm making changes to the story I need to make sure things sound right. Shout outs and big thanks to my friend, who stuck through the entire on-the-fly process of this chapter, peer-reviewed, clarified, and gave me feedback! She really helped me pull through to the end! There's more interactions with Katsuyu, Tsunade, and Jiraiya so I hope all of you like this one! Please let me know how you're liking the story thus far! Feedback is strongly encouraged. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Chapter 4: Private Booth It's silent in the private booth after Katsuyu declared her statement. Tsunade and Jiraiya briefly exchanged glances with a mixture of tension and uneasiness. "What do you mean she's on a mission to change everything?" Amber eyes refocus onto the slug. "What's her real mission objective?" "It's as I've stated previously. Unfortunately, I can't give you specific details at the moment. Both of you will need to meet with Lady Sakura to hear the full truth." Jiraiya leans one elbow on the table's surface to peer into the slug's gray optical tentacles. "Then what details can you give us until then?" Katsuyu becomes silent for a couple of minutes, allowing the adults to mull over what just transpired. Haruno? The last person with that last name left months ago for a trade post to help direct supplies for the War. He's about what, sixteen years old? He can have a kid at his age but…something doesn’t add up. Jiraiya eyes the slug for a second then looks at his partner, who’s also in deep thought. When her amber eyes made contact with his, there's a sense of mutual understanding exchanged between them. How did this person gain approval from the Slugs to sign the Contract? When did they sign it? Tsunade looks down at the Contract in front of her to examine the new signature. The pigment is bright red much like her own, but the Seal above it is concerning. She can sense something powerful about it - almost ancient. Besides, the family name puzzles her. The Haruno's are a civilian merchant family that was one of the early settlers after Konoha opened its Gates to welcome outsiders. While the family members are charismatic and sociable business people, they aren't suited to become Shinobi. Many of their men and few of their women enlisted to become Shinobi before the Shinobi Academy was built; however, they didn't meet the standard requirements at the time. Since then, the family have been contributing their help and knowledge in establishing trade diplomacy amongst other merchants and Clans within the village, foreign trade negotiations, trade posts in other regions of the Fire Country, and helping map out trade routes not only for civilians and merchants to use but also for their Shinobi forces. How did a member of the Haruno family sign the Contact? Who exactly is this person anyway? The last person of the same name left for a trade post months ago and he didn't mention having a child with some woman. Then again, he probably isn't aware that his partner might have been pregnant. So is this 'Sakura' person a younger sister? Maybe a younger relative? The corner of Tsunade's red-painted lips dip down. When her eyes make contact with her partner, he slightly nods his head down to affirm their mutual understanding. There's something suspicious going on and Katsuyu is withholding the information. For now. *** Hashirama Forest The Katsuyu that's resting on Sakura's left palm perks up upon the new memories flooding into her mind. "Milady," She hastily calls out to gain her summoner's attention, "I've been summoned by Lady Tsunade. She's alone with Lord Jiraiya in a private booth A privacy seal was already in place by the time I arrived." Dazed green eyes widened at the news, "Did Master say why she summoned you?" "She states to have felt a shift in our bond. It's as if someone attacked her." Pink eyebrows knit together in wonder, "If it had to do with the bond, could it be because of the Seal that's added onto my signature?" "Perhaps. My copy showed them the Seal that's also apparent on her body, then summoned the Contract Scroll upon Lady Tsunade's demand." "Wait, the Seal also appeared on your other copies?" Bewilderment crosses her face. "It seems so. Lord Jiraiya appeared to be very intrigued by it." "That makes sense considering he's a Seal Master or will become a Seal Master." She shakes her head a little to refocus, "Anyway, why did Master demand to see the Contract?" "When I mentioned another summoner, she rebuked me in disbelief. She declared herself to be the only recent summoner who signed the Contract." The slug hums softly, vibrating her small form in Sakura's palm. "Both of them were surprised upon seeing your name and the Seal above it. They questioned me for more information; however, I only told them that the Seals are connected and that you're on a mission. They'll need to talk to you to receive more detail." The child rests a curled index finger against her chin, "I think I'd understand Master's reaction if I was in her position. The Slugs are particular with who they form a bond with, so hearing about a new titleholder is suspicious - especially depending on how recent Master signed it. "I wonder…was it the Seal that Master felt? After all, she formed a bond with you, right?" The little slug nods her head. "Maybe…well…I'm not sure." Sakura scrunches her nose while she tries to make sense of a new theory, "Okay. So you felt The Sage's chakra form the Seal on your body, causing you and the other Slugs to feel something was amiss, right?" "Yes. It's why I examined the Contract myself." "Then maybe Master felt something similar to that - hence, why she summoned you! The Seals are on our chests, so it's possible that she felt the after-effects?" Uncertainty is evident in her questioning tone at the end. "We won't know for sure unless we meet, but that's what I think." Katsuyu regards the younger summoner's theory, "That's a likely scenario." She pauses then adds, "I should also mention that Lady Tsunade seems to be familiar with your family name at this time because she asked if they're a civilian class." Nostalgia is reflected in Sakura's eyes and voice, "I remember my dad telling me he used to help direct supplies between trade posts and base camps during the Second and Third War. He wasn't strong enough to pass as a Shinobi, but he wanted to help in any way he could. Being the son from a civilian merchant family gave him that opportunity." Suddenly, a strong wave of trepidation washes over her small body, "Wait…my dad and my mom…" The slug observes her with worry at the sound of fear in her voice, "Milady?" Wide eyes filled with panic snap towards the gray optical tentacles. "WHAT AM I GOING TO DO ABOUT MY PARENTS?!" The little slug freezes at the sudden outburst and it took her a second to understand Sakura's dilemma. "That is a good question." A wretched groan rumbles loudly from the child's throat as her head droops downward, "What am I going to do, shannaro?" Her head snaps upward with a sharp gasp, "What if they don't end up together? What if they end up hating each other? What if they're already in a relationship but they're going to break up?" Her breathing starts to become erratic. "What if one of them dies?! Oh stars, what if both of them die?! Is that one of the changes The Sage meant before?!" Outer. Inner Sakura firmly calls out. Calm down. Katsuyu wraps her tail around Sakura's thumb in comfort, "Please calm down, Milady. I'm sure we can figure something out regarding your parents. For now, let's make a plan and take things one step at a time." She's right. We can worry about your parents later. Right now, we need to figure out what to do with Master and the old pervert. Inner consoles. The child takes a deep breath filling her lungs with air before exhaling loudly. "Okay. Okay, you're right. That's a worry for another date." Who knows? Maybe after Master and Jiraiya help us get the Third Hokage on our side, all three of them can help us figure out what to do about your parents. The Third Hokage? Wha -? An image from the desolate battlefield shows the reanimated Third Hokage as his parting words echo in her head, "If you land in the time I was the village leader, then convince my younger self about the truth so that you can have an ally." Sakura hums with contemplation. Hmm. You have a point, Inner. The Third Hokage was, er, is known to favor his former student…even if that includes the snake. She huffs at the mental image of the traitor. If I can get Master and Jiraya on our side, it'll be easier to convince the Third Hokage to believe me. Plus, having all three of them as my allies would make things easier, or so to speak. The issue is how are you to convince those two first? "Milady?" The child returns her attention to the small slug in her hand. "Is there anything else to report from the adult's side?" "No. My other copy is currently waiting for further orders from you." "I see." She scans the inside of her wooden dome as she racks her brain to come up with something until Inner provided an idea. A mischievous smile slowly creeps on Sakura's lips, "Alright. Here's the deal." *** Private Booth The Katsuyu that's sitting on the table twitches her tail upon receiving the new information. "I've received news from Lady Sakura." Both of the adults are pulled out of their thoughts and straighten up their posture. "You're with this 'Sakura' person now?" Tsunade raises a trimmed blonde eyebrow. "Yes. I was summoned hours before you called upon me." "Can we trust this person?" Jiraiya eyes the little creature. "Yes. She's a loyal kunoichi of Konoha." Amber and dark brown eyes widen in shock. Tsunade speaks first with clear disbelief, "A kunoichi? A Haruno became a kunoichi?" "Yes. Lady Sakura is a strong, loyal, intelligent, and formidable kunoichi who was taught only by the best." A sense of pride radiates from Katsuyu's small body. A smirk appears on the Toad Sage's face as he rubs his thumb and index finger along his jawline, "So she's a strong female, hmm?" He wasn't fast enough to dodge Tsunade's choice of weapon, wincing as the sake cup bounces off of the side of his head. He aims a pout at his partner while rubbing the rising bump. "Is that hard to believe?" Katsuyu tilts her optical tentacles to the right with curiosity clear in her tone. Jiraiya refocuses on the small animal again. "We know some of the Haruno family members within Konoha. None of them passed to become a Shinobi." "Lady Sakura was promoted to Jounin status." Tsunade scoffs incredulously, "Impossible! None of the Haruno's we know of passed to achieve Genin level!" "The Haruno's you know, perhaps. However, Lady Sakura is different from her family." The atmosphere becomes thick with tension. The blonde woman narrows her amber eyes, "How different do you mean?" "She's different from her family." Katsuyu calmly reiterates. After a pause, she adds, "If you have further questions regarding her private life, you'll need to speak with her in person." She's inwardly amused at their annoyed expressions. "When and where can we meet this person?" Jiraiya asks. "Lady Sakura hopes to meet with both of you today. Preferably, with only the four of us." "Four?" A white eyebrow arches upwards, "You're going to be present during the meeting?" "Yes. Lady Sakura believes both of you would be less suspicious if I'm present." Tsunade purses her lips to the side while Jiraiya's expression becomes stoic. *** Hashirama Forest Sakura looks down at the scene in front of her: there are two copies of Katsuyu with one on the right and the other on the left to mirror the adults' position in the private booth. Just then, the child's stomach rumbles loudly. A faint blush dusts across her chubby cheeks in embarrassment. Both slug copies giggle at the girl's expense. "May I suggest Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya bring food at the rendezvous point?" The slug copy on the right asks. An embarrassed giggle rises from the small child, "That would be nice. All I had was a ration pack a few hours ago." "I see. I’ll inform them to bring food as part of the deal." "Oh! Be sure to get the receipt then!" So you can pay them back? Sarcasm drips from Inner's gibe. "Receipts usually have the date stamped on them!" A proud smile settles on her expression when Katsuyu makes a noise akin to realization. "It's a subtle way for me to find out what period this is!" Inner claps her hands with praise, Clever! "That's very clever, Milady!" The prideful smiles widen on her childish features. *** Private Booth "Lady Sakura requests the both of you to bring food to the rendezvous point with the receipt. She will repay you in full and give the answers you seek." Katsuyu informs, which earned miffed snorts from the two adults. "Who the hell is she to request we bring her food?" Tsunade snarks. "You will know when you meet with her," Katsuyu responds nonchalantly. "You have yet to tell us where we're going to meet with her." Jiraiya reminds. "I will guide you there myself. Please ensure we're not being followed until we've reached the secured location." Tsunade can feel her temper rising at the audacity of this person. "Why not have her meet us instead? Is she that 'high-and-mighty' to demand we go to her first?" "Tsuna," Jiraiya drawls out her name nervously. "Please calm down, Princess." He flinches at the intense glare she's giving him. "I am calm, you stupid frog!" She snaps her attention back to the innocent slug, "Now you tell that little hussy to meet us instead! NOW! Have her get her own damn food!" *** Hashirama Forest "Hussy? HUSSY?! WHO THE HELL IS SHE CALLING A HUSSY?! SHANNARO!" Sakura roars, enraged. Both copies of Katsuyu try to placate their raging summoner. *** Private Booth "Lady Tsunade, please calm down!" The slug with the adults tries to pacify the tempered blonde woman. "Lady Sakura cannot be seen in public yet." Both adults freeze for a moment until Jiraiya breaks the silence, "What do you mean?" "She's in a precarious situation at the moment. It's best if I guide you to her to avoid a mishap." The adults make eye contact with each other and the little slug knows they're engaged in a silent conversation that only they understand. *** Hashirama Forest Maybe we should take their silence as an opportunity to explore our surroundings. We need to figure out where we are before we pick a location to meet up. Inner suggests, causing Sakura to sigh with agreement. "I guess it's time to leave the nest." She straps on her pouch diagonally across her chest with Kakashi's secured around her smaller waist in the back. Next, she grabs a fist-full of dirt to extinguish the small fire embers. After that, she slowly moves to stand up on her small, bare feet. Her body is still sore from the previous activities, but thankfully she's not injured. The feeling of a headrush overwhelms her mind - her body sways momentarily until she wills herself to stand her ground. Both of the slugs watch with worry as the summoner collects herself. Once she seems composed enough, the slugs slither towards her feet then up her bare legs. They slither over her Jounin shirt until they settle inside the jacket collar on either side of her neck. "Will you be alright?" The slug on the left asks. Sakura tiredly smiles with closed eyes, "Yes, I'll be okay. C'mon, we need to get moving." She claps her hands into the Snake hand sign, channeling the right amount of chakra to dismantle her wooden dome back into the ground. The change from dim to bright lighting blinded her the second the dome receded. A piercing headache pounds against the middle of her forehead; she can hear her heartbeat loudly in her ears. She shuts her eyes tight in an attempt to dull the pressure and tries to focus on her breathing. Both slugs send a soothing wave of chakra from either side of Sakura's neck to alleviate some of the aches and pains throughout her body. Stars know that she needs all the relief she can get. The pinkette finally regains her bearings once more and opens her eyes. She's greeted by the sight of dewdrops on the low-cut grass, various sized puddles scattered on the muddy ground, and tall lush trees standing 30 feet away from her position. Thick bushes are surrounding the base of the trees; she can see red berries growing in a patch of foliage. When Sakura turns around to further inspect her surroundings, she realizes her position is closer to a cluster of tall trees. The ground directly under her feet is charred like it was bunt. It spreads out in a circle about 5 feet in diameter from her position. She deeply inhales the scents around her - the freshness after a rainfall; the earthy smell from the ground; and the subtle sweetness of the pine trees. She directs her gaze to the sky to note the overlapping gray clouds with no chance of natural sunlight peeking through. She suspects the rain will pick up again and she'll to need find shelter once more. A chilling breeze passes her bare feet, causing her to shiver. She's inwardly grateful of wearing a long jacket, but she wishes she had pants and shoes that fit her current size. "Hmm…" She hums lightly as she expands her chakra threads outwards to map out her surroundings. "Okay, I seem to be in a forest?" She locates different animals littered around as well as vaguely senses other people's chakra signatures further out. "The best way to know your surroundings is to explore!" The Katsuyu on the left suggests. The pinkette lightly giggles with a roll of green eyes, "Yes, yes." *** Private Booth "Have you reached an agreement?" Katsuyu pipes up after observing the two adults for a while. They've been engaged in a silent exchange of eye contact and subtle body movements to convey their messages. After sharing a brief nod, Jiraiya speaks first as he faces the little slug. "We'll allow you to guide us to meet with Sakura." "As well as bring food?" Katsuyu asks. "She's quite famished." Tsunade releases a huff but says nothing. "Yes, including the bill. We expect her to answer all of our questions in return." Jiraiya narrows his eyes by a fraction. "Of course. Lady Sakura swears to deliver her end of the bargain as long as the two of you fulfill your end." The Toad Sage breaks into a smile as he picks up one of the menus. "Great! So, what shall we buy for her?" "May I see the menu?" He places the item down in front of the slug and watches as her optical tentacles move from left to right. "You're in luck. Lady Sakura also favors this bar." "She's a regular?" Tsunade inquires. "She's not a frequent customer, but she likes the food and drinks. Her favorite combination is peach sake paired with the chicken gyoza, the shrimp tempura, and grilled asparagus." She looks up to Jiraiya, "She'd like two orders of that and plenty of water, please." "Is one of the orders for you?" He jests while he opens the paper door just enough to peek through, breaking the privacy seal, and gains attention from one of the servers. He recites the order to the server, which will take about 20 minutes to complete for take-out, then closes the door once more with the seal reactivated. "I prefer consuming various plants, herbs, and berries than what you humans normally eat." She says matter-of-factly. "However, I do enjoy the Herbal Pills Lady Sakura makes for me. They're delicious!" "Herbal Pills?" Tsunade parrots with curiosity. "Yes! It was a project that Lady Sakura devised to carry herbal remedies used in teas for herself and her patients while traveling. She makes extras for me to try and they're usually delicious!" The blonde woman is dumbfounded. That's…ingenious! "She's a medic?" "One of the best medics." Pride swells within Katsuyu's body, reflecting the hard work her youngest summoner has accomplished. Skepticism arises within Tsunade at the new tidbit of information. Someone from the Haruno family managed to become a Shinobi and sign the Slug Contract. Now she's also a medic? Who the hell is this person? Jiraiya notices a shimmer in her amber eyes and silently sighs for what may happen at the meeting. *** Hashirama Forest Meanwhile, Sakura strolls along the path she chose as she observes her surroundings. It's peaceful yet strangely familiar to her. "I feel like I've been here before." She mumbles softly as she ducks under a fallen tree to continue onwards. "That's a good sign!" The slug on the right cheerfully exclaims. "Yeah. Like, I think…I think I used to come to this forest a long time ago…" Something in her peripheral vision catches her attention. When she looks slightly to the left, there's an imperfect stone pathway weaving around the bases of trees. She takes the chance to walk along the path while remaining observant. The stone pathway leads her down a small slope where she encounters a wall with a curtain of moss, vines, and foliage. A particular memory appears in her mind. --- A young girl with the same pink hair and green eyes runs through the tall trees, leaps over uprooted vines and logs, and hops over boulders in a rush to arrive at her intended destination. It was a happy accident for this child to find this place for the first time. She was on her way back to her home from a flower meadow of cosmos when she noticed a rocky wall covered in moss and vines. She didn't know what prompted her to follow along the wall - perhaps childish curiosity- but she stayed close to it as she went on a detour from her original path. The vines and moss thicken as well as have clusters of foliage drape along the walls. Soon, she's walking on an imperfect stone path that leads upward to a small slope. When the young girl eyed the wall again, however, she noticed there's a big gap in between two large draping foliage. She steps closer to the gap then pushes the vines to the side. She's greeted by a dim cave-like space with a near-flat floor and varying-sized rocks along the inner walls. She steps further inside and is pleased to know its ceiling is quite high. There's plenty of space for her to move around while standing up; the place seems bigger if she sits down on the floor. A giddy smile appears on her face as she imagines what this space will look like when she decorates it. "What should I name this place?" the girl's voice slightly echoes around her. "What was the word that mama used for the back garden?" She takes a second to remember what the word was, then gasps when it clicked in her mind. "Ah! I know!' --- A nostalgic smile appears on her childish face, "The Alcove." Both slugs on either side of her neck look to her in question, "Milady?" "I know where we are, Lady Katsuyu." She chuckles a bit, "It's been a long time since I've been here. I'm surprised this exists at the moment." She veers off the stone path a bit to find the gap in between the thick foliage lined up on the wall. Similar to her first discovery in her childhood, the space presented in front of her is almost the same. "Will this be the rendezvous point?" The slug on her left asks. "No, it's too small for the adults to fit. But I do know a better place with plenty of room." She steps out of the hidden space to continue her trek on the stone pathway, leading her in the familiar direction of where the flower meadow should be. Her nostalgic smile widens as her eyes sweep across the sea of lilac and pink cosmos flowers. "This is the place." "It's very beautiful, Milady, but are you sure? It's an open field." Sakura firmly nods her head, "Yeah. I'm sure." A/N: Hope y'all liked this chapter and how I depicted the conversations and reactions of each character. For those of you who've been following my story this far, I hope the different styled fonts and formats help separate who is speaking or what's going on. If not, please let me know if you'd like a Key at the top A/N to guide you through. Also, general feedback is strongly encouraged! Feel free to leave a comment here or send it to my Tumblr page (you can find it on the "ABOUT" page).
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A/N: Big shoutout and gratitude to my friend who peer reviewed and helped me edit this chapter! Really helped me pull through this long chapter. Hope ya'll enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Chapter 3: The small slug patiently rests in her summoner's arms as she continues to cry. She scans her summoner's body, noting a significant change such as the amount of chakra she has and her smaller form. Katsuyu recalls the events of the Fourth War; however, there are blank gaps in between certain instances that she needs to be aware of. One of them explaining the reason for the seal to appear on the underside of her true body. *** Before the Infinite Dream Technique was activated by Madara, Tsunade dismissed her back to her homeworld, The Damp Bone Forest, to prevent her from being a victim. Hours later, she felt a familiar surge of chakra pool on the underside of her body and began forming a seal. The slug suspected that something bad happened to both of her summoners, so she unraveled the Summoning Contract Scroll to check the status of their bond. A bond between a summoner and an animal is created if the former signs their name in blood with the latter's approval. The pigment will remain bright red as long as the bond and both parties are alive. If the summoner dies, then the animal will feel the bond sever and the signature will fade into black to signify the annulment. The animal also has the authority to sever the contract at any point in time for any reason, including abuse and/or misuse of the summon. So although Katsuyu can still feel the bond with Tsunade and Sakura, she wanted to confirm their status herself. She and the other Slugs, who also sensed something was amiss, were shocked to see an additional mark above Sakura's signature. Katsuyu almost teleported herself to the Human Realm to assess the situation, but hesitation took hold of her. She wasn't sure why at the time, but she couldn't bring herself to carry on with her action. She decided to wait until she's been summoned. She deeply hoped that either Tsunade or Sakura, or both, were alright. *** After what felt like an eternity, Sakura's sobs finally stopped. She swipes the remaining tears with the sleeve of her jacket and holds the slug at arm's length to get a better look at her. The white and blue-streaked creature remains mostly the same until Sakura notices black inked letters peaking just underneath Katsuyu's mouth. After throwing a handful of sticks into the fire, the child lifts the slug higher to get a better look at the markings. "So you have the mark too." Sakura casually states then sets the slug down on her lap. "Do you bear the same mark, Milady?" Katsuyu softly asks. The child nods with a thoughtful expression, "Yeah. There's…a lot I need to tell you, including about the mark. First, what's the last thing you remember from the war?" The small slug retells the events, from being summoned to create a Healing Area for the Shinobi Alliance until Tsunade dismissed her back into The Forest. "When I checked the Contract, the mark on my body appeared above your signature. The Slugs and I were deeply worried about you and Lady Tsunade." Her optical and sensory tentacles droop downwards to showcase her saddened mood. The child allows an appreciative smile to appear on her features, "I'm sorry for worrying you and the others." She heaves a heavy sigh as a frown takes its place on her face. "Lady Tsunade was right to send you back to your world. Madara activated the Infinite Dream Technique, which captured everyone in the God Tree's vines. Sasuke used Susano ‘O to shield us from its effect - we were the only humans left on the battlefield aside from Madara and the Reanimated Hokages. "Black Zetsu betrayed Madara and did something to him. I'm not entirely sure but the next thing we knew was that the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya, emerged from his body. She teleported Team 7 and Obito into a volcanic dimension. Naruto and Sasuke fought against her while Kakashi secured the rest of us from falling into lava. "Kaguya teleported us again to an ice dimension and then into a strange one - it was crazy! There wasn't enough time to fully process the experience." Sakura combs her short hair with her fingers in irritation. "Anyway, she sent Sasuke into a different dimension to separate us. Obito was the only one who could bring him back from that other place, so I helped him while Naruto distracted that crazy bitch!" Sakura clenches her fist at the memory, but then quickly apologizes after realizing she just cursed in front of her summon. "I've heard worse from Lady Tsunade." Katsuyu's little joke roused a giggle from her smaller summoner. "You're right. Master curses worse than a sailor!" Sakura's chest tightens at the prospect of her mentor and surrogate mother being trapped in the Tree's vines, dreaming away while her chakra is absorbed. She shakes her head to rid those depressing thoughts and continues with her explanation. "We managed to get Sasuke back and he rejoined the fight with Naruto. I healed whatever injury Kakashi had when we were reunited. Then we got teleported into a dimension with strong gravity pulling us down to the ground. It was hard to move, let alone breathe - even she was affected by it. "She…aimed her Ash Killing Bone projectiles to hit Naruto and Sasuke; Kakashi and Obito managed to cover them… Obito saved them but he got hit in the process. Naruto tried to save him, but there was no way to reverse the damage, so he…died." Katsuyu observes Sakura's facial expression: the corner of her lips tilt downward; eyes are glossed with somber; her pink eyebrows lowered and pulled closer together. There's spots of smeared dried mud on her cheeks and left temple; some clumps of mud cling onto the ends of her hair and clothing. "After Obito died, things got intense." Sakura's smaller body wilts, "Kaguya transformed into a large, evil rabbit creature. Somehow Kakashi obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan in both of his eyes and managed to summon his version of Susano 'O. He saved me from being grabbed by the rabbit, then he gave Team 7 its last mission." A prideful smile is displayed on her features for a moment while looking at her right knuckles, "It was a coordinated attack - Naruto and Sasuke managed to free the Nine Tailed Beasts from her control. Kakashi distracted Kaguya, creating an opening for the boys to use the Seals on their hands. I punched her head when she tried to escape and I broke off one of her horns." Her lips thin into a line, "Right before we thought it'd be over, Black Zetsu came back and cut off their arms that had the Seals. Then they both escaped through a black portal…" "Milady?" Katsuyu softly encourages when Sakura became silent for a long moment. The child sharply inhales through her nostrils while her eyes become glossy with tears, "Right, sorry." The slug shifts her tail to let it rest atop of her small hand in comfort, earning a grateful nod. "I caught the boys before they fell to the ground and made my way to Kakashi, who was barely awake because of exhaustion and the toll of using the Sharingan. I knew I had to relocate them someplace safer in that dimension. At least I knew the Tailed Beasts would protect us for the time being while I healed them. But then we all got teleported back to the battlefield by the Sage of Six Paths." "Hagoromo Otsutsuki." Green eyes blink at the slug quizzically. "I've met Lord Hagoromo and Lord Hamura centuries ago. I was one of the Slugs who trained them in the arts of healing." "Wow." Sakura exhales out. The slug giggles lightly at her stunned expression, "I was confused when I felt Lord Hagoromo's chakra create the seal on my body." "Right. Well," the child starts out nervously, "The Sage brought us and the Tailed Beasts back to our dimension because he also sensed something went wrong. I told him and the others what happened. Eventually, Kakashi and the boys woke up and we didn't know what else to do. I mean, we were the only ones left!" Anxiety rolls off of Sakura's body in waves as she continues on. "Then the Sage proposed to send someone back into the past to fix everything! Naruto and Sasuke got into an argument and Kakashi didn't stop them, but the Sage chose me instead. Me, of all people!" she rushes out in exasperation. "What were his reasons?" "He said that I have a higher chance to survive the trip in the portal that he and the others opened! Oh my stars, Lady Katsuyu, the pain was unbearable! I had to activate my 100 Healings Seal and…" Sakura's chest tightens as her anxiety levels increase. Her nasal passageway became congested while tears began to fall. Even if she gulps large amounts of air to fill her lungs, it felt like she couldn't breathe. She can feel her heart race and can hear it loudly in her ears. Get a grip, Outer. Inner Sakura chides. "I-I can't -!" Yes, you can. "But-!" Katsuyu sends a soothing wave of chakra from her tail that's atop of her summoner's hand. She knew she needed to comfort her summoner when she sensed the increase in her anxiety levels. Through contact, she can feel the child's heartbeat erratically. "Lady Sakura, can you feel my chakra?" Focus, Outer. Close your eyes and focus on feeling Lady Katsuyu's chakra. Sakura tightly shuts her eyes and tries to pinpoint the sensation of energy her summon is emitting. Breathe in. "Breathe out," Katsuyu instructs when her summoner took a deep breath in. The child releases a shaky breath. "Breathe in." Breathe Out. Sakura repeats the process a few more times with Inner and Katsuyu setting the pace. As she does so, she's beginning to calm down. The sensation of a soothing chakra washing over her becomes clearer. "I can feel Lady Katsuyu's chakra." She states. "What does it feel like?" "Warm." She giggles as she opens her eyes, "Ironic because most slugs are cold-blooded animals." "Yes, but I can regulate my body temperature using chakra if I desire." "That's because you're amazing," Sakura gives a cheeky grin. "Thank you for comforting me, Lady Katsuyu." And thank you, Inner. Of course! Inner gives her the peace sign and a toothy smile. "You're very welcome, Milady. Will you be alright to continue with your explanation?" Concern is still evident in her tone. Sakura nods her head, now feeling sure of herself. "I think the pain I felt was what the Sage meant. If I thought it was unbearable, then I doubt Sasuke and Kakashi would've survived. Naruto might've succeeded because of Kurama's healing abilities. However, I realized earlier today that my body is about the same as a toddler around the age of three or four." "Your physical body changed yet you have more chakra than I remember." Sakura pushes her bangs up to reveal her forehead, "The previous four Hokages bestowed upon me most of their chakra and their knowledge as gifts before I left. Lord Third figured the extra supply and information could come in handy with my long mission. The other three followed suit, resulting in an additional four chakra reserves to the ones I have." She holds out her right wrist to showcase the wooden accessory, "The First Hokage gifted me this bracelet that's imbued with his Sage Energy." She also tells her what her male teammates gave to her. If she concentrates to look deep within, she can visualize how her current chakra reserves are looking. Each of the Hokage reserves is filled with different colored energies to further distinguish themselves. She also notes how each of them is completely separate from her Main Reserve - she decides to only use them in extreme cases. Official Chakra Map Artist: Dreamy (aka Me) Digital Art Software: ibisPaint X Date Created: 2.14.21 "I've no doubt their gifts will help!" Katsuyu affirms, "What of the seal on our bodies then?" "The Sage placed a protective seal on my chest to ensure my memories, mind, body, and our contract remains intact. He said the mark will appear on your body too, but he didn't say about it also showing up on the Contract Scroll." Sakura gently holds the slug in both hands then flips her upside down to take a closer look at the seal on the underside of her body. Official Seal Artist: Dreamy (aka Me) Digital Art Software: ibisPaint X Date Created: 2.11.21 "We bear the same exact mark." She states as she corrects her summon right-side up. "Do the other Slugs also have it?" "No, I'm the only one. I suppose it's because you signed the Contract specifically with me." The child hums, "But the others remember me?" "Yes, our bond is still active. Although, I suspect the seal above your signature may have something to do with the other Slugs retaining their memories of you." "I guess that makes sense." Sakura shrugs her shoulders. "As far as I understand, Lord Hagoromo chose to send you into the past to change the outcome of the Fourth War. Do you know what time period you arrived at?" The child releases a disgruntled groan as her body wilts, "He didn't tell any of us because he feared Kaguya might follow. I understand it was to protect us, but I still wished he gave a clue." "Well, I can tell you that we're in a time when Lady Tsunade already signed her name in the Contract Scroll." Katsuyu placates in hopes to cheer up her young summoner. It seems to have worked because Sakura's gasps with a calculating look in her eyes. "Wait, do you remember how old Master was when she signed it?" A soft hum vibrates the slug's entire body as she reflects on her memories, "It was during the Second War that she developed her Yin Seal. She was older than you when you signed it, but younger than her age when the Third War began." Sakura did the math in her head, remembering her master's true age despite the Transformation Technique makes her appear younger, and her history lessons about the first three wars. "Master had to be in her mid-to-late 20's or early 30's when she signed it." Kakashi also mentioned in passing that he's known her for about two decades, Inner adds. He's 14 years older than us, making him 30 years old by the Fourth War. His gray hair makes him seem much older than that. Sakura snorts un-ladylike. Inner snickers, That and his experience as a shinobi. Sakura purses her lips then voices her thoughts aloud, "Okay, so we're not too far into the past if Master's signature is still in the Contract. Given her true age by the time of the Fourth War…Kakashi is 14 years older than my actual age…He was 12 when he was assigned to the Kannabi Bridge Mission…The Second War ended…The Third War began…" she mumbles to herself for a minute while calculating the numbers and events in her head. "Ah!" She snaps her fingers with a triumphant grin plastered on, "So that means we're either near the end of the Second War or the beginning of the Third War!" Katsuyu tilts her head slightly to the left, puzzled yet amazed at how her summoner came to that speculation Suddenly, a look of dreadful realization replaces her grin, "Wait. That means Master has hemophobia (the fear of blood)." "If she's already lost her fiancé, Dan Kato, which occurred in the Second War." The slug mournfully informs. She clearly remembers how her strong summoner fell into depression when she lost the man she deeply loved. That also means that Master retired from active duty and left the village with Shizune sometime after that. Gambling and drinking her sorrows across the lands. Inner's reminder further dampens Sakura's mood. "Whichever the scenario is, perhaps it's best if you wash away any remnants of blood off of your body before we find her," Katsuyu suggests. The child examines her fingernails in distaste; she agrees with the slug's suggestion. "On the bright side, I can stay with you for as long as you need me." Sakura nuzzles her cheek against the slug's head in gratitude. *** Outside of the Hokage Tower "Stars, I need a drink." Tsunade groans as she exits the Hokage Tower. Their village leader called an emergency meeting that morning to discuss what the Barrier Team detected last night. Presently, their team of Sensory-Types is still searching for the source of the powerful entity. They do, however, suspect the unknown entity is somewhere inside the village. Hunter scouts were given the order to do a perimeter check inside and out of the village just to be safe. There have also been reports from shinobi and civilians about the blackout affecting the entire village, from the slums to the wealthiest districts. Thankfully, there are backup generators littered in certain areas to keep them alighted amidst the darkness. As if the Second War wasn't stressful enough, there could be a threat within the village. "Something on your mind, princess?" She doesn't bother to face the owner of the voice because she already sensed his approach, "Care to share your thoughts?" "Humph! Buy me a drink first." She crosses her arms under her endowed breasts as she directs her gaze to the sky. Heavy, dark gray clouds still cover the blue sky without letting natural sunlight peak through. It's a light shower of rain at the moment, but she -and many others - wonder if the storm will pick up later tonight. It was surprising: gentle rain-showers came yesterday afternoon and quickly became a ferocious storm with a show of thunder and lightning. The damage conceived was a sight to behold when morning came. Trees were bent at an eerie angle; many thinner ones toppled over on homes and/or snagged on cable lines. The streets were flooded with almost three inches of water - the civilians were very unlucky given their lack of ability to rooftop-hop with chakra. The daring could, provided they're careful. "Of course! Shall we go to our usual spot?" the owner, Jiraiya, asks. She directs just enough chakra to the soles of her feet to walk on the watery path to their destination. He follows her lead in silence. They observe the passing people as they continue to their destination. At the very least, no one was severely injured during the storm. A few people came at the break of dawn for treatment - a few broken bones or a nasty open wound - but those were treated quickly. The bar's hostess greeted the duo from her position behind the bar. The legendary pair aren't the only ones who had the idea of drinking at noon because the bar was at about half its full capacity. Jiraiya leads them to a private booth near the back. It's the kind that has sliding doors to separate them from the rest of the noise. A server quickly takes their order and leaves them alone; their sliding doors remain open now with both occupants mulling over what was discussed in the meeting. After the server places their drinks and food on the table, Jiraiya closes the doors and places a paper silencing seal on one of the panels. After he activates it with a small pulse of his chakra, Tsunade speaks first. "What do you think of the situation?" "It's concerning." He doesn't miss a beat, "If the Barrier Team or the Scouts can't locate this "disturbance," we'd best prepare for the worst." "The hospital is already overworked with patients and training people for the new medical program." She gulps her sake in one shot then eats a gyoza. Jiraiya hums as he swirls the sake in his cup, "It's strange, to say the least." He continues upon seeing her arched eyebrow, "The disturbance didn't feel hostile." She scoffs then refills her cup, only to one-shot it the next second. "Did you sense any hostility last night?" He meets her eyes with a silent challenge. "Who's to say the disturbance won't become hostile soon?" she counters with a frown. "You may be right, but I wager it's a good thing." A smug smirk appears on his face at the glint in her eyes. "You're willing to make a bet on whether this "thing" is good or bad?" Why?" He shrugs one shoulder then downs his sake in one gulp, "I just have a gut feeling." Tsunade intertwines her fingers together in front of her lips as she rests her elbows on the table. She knows he's trying to bait her into a gamble, but on what premise? It'd be too easy for her to wager the disturbance as a bad thing. However, it's interesting to hear her former teammate say that this "thing" could be good - for who? She's not sure. Yet. They eat and drink in silence until the food is halfway gone. "…It was ominous." She settles. He nods his head, "That's what everyone else said in the meeting." Before she could say something else, her eyebrows pull together in confusion upon feeling a shift in her bond with her animal summon, Katsuyu of the Slug Contract. It's as if something heavy landed in the pit of her stomach. "What's wrong?" Worry is evident in Jiraiya's tone and expression. She doesn't respond because she doesn't know what is wrong. Instead, she bites the pad of her right thumb, weaving familiar hand signs, and slams her palm flat on the table. Black seals encircle her hand on the surface as smoke arises from the point of contact. She pulls her hand away and a small slug becomes visible through the dissipating smoke. The slug, about three inches high, lies flat on the surface as it wriggles its optical and sensory tentacles to observe their surroundings before focusing on their summoner. "Lady Tsunade, how may I be of service?" Its feminine voice asks. "I was hoping you could explain to me why I felt something strange with our bond." Amber eyes peer down at her summon. "How do you mean?" Jiraiya glances between the two with curiosity. "I felt something shift with our bond. It feels like someone punched me in the chest." "I see." The slug turns its optical tentacles to regard the second human, "Hello to you as well, Lord Jiraiya." "Right back at ya, Lady Katsuyu!" He raises a sake cup with cheer. "Katsuyu," Tsunade's amber eyes narrow in suspicion, "You wouldn’t be hiding something from me, hm?" "Of course not, Milady." Katsuyu lifts her head up, "I have something important both of you must be aware of." Both of them immediately noticed the strange black marking on the underside of the slug's body. "Is that a seal?" Jiraiya leans forward to take a better look at it. He's never seen anything like this in all of his years studying to become a Seal Master. Perhaps he could ask help from his former teacher or from a good acquaintance whose family were legendary masters of sealing. "Yes, it is, Milord." Katsuyu directs her optical tentacles to the paper seal on the door, "Good. You've secured the room." "What's going on, Katsuyu?" Tsunade impatiently snaps. It's not often her familiar stalls in relaying information and she doesn't like how the slug is doing it now. "I can only tell you so much. It's best if you talk to my other summoner." "What?!" Tsunade slams a fist in shock, "I'm the only summoner that signed the contract recently! Bring me the Contract!" Who else signed the Contract? The Slugs are very particular with who they form a bond with. Even she had to prove her worth to them before Katsuyu granted her the right to sign it. So how? When? Who? "Please, Lady Tsunade. I need you to be calm because this is very important. You two will be the first humans to know about this." Both adults stiffen at the heavy implication that Katsuyu is about to share highly important details with them. Tsunade massages her right temple for a second then looks at her summon with renewed calmness. Katsuyu regards her summoner for a second then slams her tail on the table's surface. A standard-sized scroll with a green barrel and red rims appears in a small plume of smoke. "Please look at the Contract, Milady." She nudges the item until it's closer to her summoner's hand. Tsunade unravels it and gasps at the signature in the column beside hers. Sakura Haruno "Haruno? Aren't they civilians?" She asks. "Yes, they are. However, please take another look at her signature." The woman does as instructed and sees the same Seal above the bright red signature. She rests the scroll on the table to allow Jiraiya to peer at it too. His surprise only shows in the action of raising both of his eyebrows to his hairline. "The Seal you see on my body and above Lady Sakura's signature are connected." Katsuyu begins. "She's on a mission that will change everything." A/N:. More Katsuyu! I pre-planned to use Katsuyu as Sakura's companion and as an anchor in some situations.
The main issue I had with this chapter in particular (and in the story in general) is whether or not I wanted Tsunade already have hemophobia or not, which means either have Dan already dead at this point or I'll kill him off at some point. I went with the former because I didn't include him in my Event Timeline. I didn't know how to incorporate him too, so I talked it over with my friend and came to that decision. The part where Tsunade felt a shift in her bond with the slug was a spur in the moment. I initially intended to have Katsuyu teleport herself to Tsunade to set up the next stage, but it felt tacky (?) when I typed it out. Rather anti-climatic, honestly. I also made the Chakra Map to visualize how her reserves are looking from within her. Canon Sakura meditated to increase her main reserve while simultaneously storing some in her 100 Healings Seal. Please let me know how you're liking these chapters! Your feedback will help me improve for the future chapters! A?N: Big shoutout and gratitude to my friend, who reviewed and helped me edit this chapter! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Chapter 2: Sakura awakes from her fitful slumber. Memories paired with the emotions endured were very vivid; she dimly remembers crying through most of the night. She remains lying on the soggy yet warm ground; the fire embers provide little light but the small vent opening allows some natural light to seep through. It’s still raining judging by the soft pelting of water against her dome. After minutes of staring absentmindedly at the ceiling, she slowly sits up with a low groan. Her body is still sore - she remembers the sudden burning sensation when she was in the portal and the impact of landing in her current position. She slowly inhales through her nostrils then exhales through the mouth. She rolls back the long sleeves of the tattered orange jacket so that she can grab and toss a couple of thin sticks to the pit; she lightly blows air at the embers to awaken the fire again. While she waits for the fire to rise, she looks at her hands. Her once long-fingered, calloused, and scared hands are replaced with short chubby fingers, though still calloused, and scarred. Dirt and blood are tucked underneath her nails; her palms have bits of dried mud caked on them. She started clenching and unclenching her hands, repeating the process a couple more times until she’s used to the stubby limbs. Sakura removes and then folds the jacket next to her to further assess her body. Her navy Jounin shirt is still missing the right sleeve, allowing her to see the dirt and acid burn scars still present on her pale yet short arm. The wooden bracelet the First Hokage gave to her is still around her right wrist, soaked in Sage Energy. Her left sleeve has patches of dried mud on it. Next, she extends her legs outwardly in front of her. The navy Jounin pants are too long for her new limbs so she removes them for further assessment. She also unclips her pouch from the waist belt. Her once long and toned legs are replaced with short and skinny limbs - she pinches her upper thighs then the calves to feel some muscle there. Her small feet are bare and dirty with mud and some dried blood darkening her toes. She looks left then right to see her black sandals a foot away from her. She already knows they’re not going to fit. Sakura feels the rest of her body with her hands to note her torso is smaller and shorter. Her chest bindings are loose underneath but leaves them alone for the time being. She can feel some ab muscles but mostly small amounts of chub on her sides. With curious determination, she slowly stands up on her small feet. Given how close to the ground she feels, she surmises she has the body of a child around three or four years of age. She clears her throat and says a few words aloud to hear her voice. Yup, definitely a high-pitch childish voice. So I became a child again...did the Sage intend this? Is that why my body felt like it was scorched by fire from the inside out? Sakura remembers activating her 100 Healings Seal in the middle of the pain. Perhaps that’s what the Sage meant by me surviving the journey. Still, maybe Naruto could’ve survived that because of Kurama’s healing abilities, but Sasuke and Kakashi might’ve suffered worse. The image of her leader's mask-less face pops into her mind, causing her to pout with a puppy-like whine. "I can't believe he was Sukea! That means Naruto and Sasuke also saw his face at the same time! Ugh!" Her lips tingle when she remembers Kakashi’s stunt. She can feel her cheeks blushing hot. “Stupid pervert!” She decides to refocus on the fire and throws more sticks given there’s better lighting. Now that she’s determined her current physical state, she needs to take stock of her inventory. She sits cross-legged on the ground then brings both pouches onto her lap. They’re identical in size and color but the weight of each is different. One is heavier than the other - she recalls Kakashi adding Naruto’s and Sasuke’s pouches inside. She opens the lighter pouch first to see a variety of items tucked in separate compartments. She removes all of the items and spreads them out in front of her on the ground. There are three scrolls for storage: an orange one for personal and hygienic items; a green one for medical and herbal items; and a purple one for poison vials and weapons. She carefully reads through all of them to recount how much of each item is left in their respective scrolls. Despite knowing that her packed clothes won’t fit her current body, she’s grateful to have stocked up on bathing essentials. She desperately needs a hot shower! She takes stock of her additional first-aid kit. Her assumptions of the supply count was correct given how low the contents are, but her mood brightens knowing the green scroll contains extras. A medic should always come prepared, no matter where and when they are! She grabs the small bottle containing the Soldier Pills she made, the small bag containing Food Pills, and the remaining ration packs to stuff them inside the kit. She leaves out one of the rations packs to eat after she completes her task. Unfortunately, her water canteen is empty because she drank it all during the War. Weaponry inventory isn't too bad with 6 smoke bombs, 9 kunai, 13 shuriken, 15 paper bombs, and 23 senbon needles. She has about 25 feet of coiled ninja wire left. The two three-pronged weapons with a paper seal on the hilt are sharp and slightly heavier than normal kunai. There's a faint trace of the Fourth Hokage's chakra flowing within the weapon. Her short chakra sword is still in good condition in its sheath. Lastly, her favorite black leather gloves are still in good condition. Sakura opens the second pouch Kakashi gave to her to see two additional smaller ones stuffed in. She empties the smaller ones and laughs at how different the contents are. Of course, Naruto would carry ramen flavor packs because ramen will always be part of his life! The frog-like wallet he always carried around looks like a saggy lump, but its face has a permanent little smile. She doesn’t check the amount of money that’s inside; instead, she gently places the froggy lump on top of her clothing pile. His arsenal isn't too bad; it added 6 kunai (most have a dull tip with sharp sides), 6 shuriken, and 7 smoke bombs to her stock. She's pleased to see he carried and used some of her special-made Soldier Pills along with her medical kit - the stars know how clumsy that goofball can be, with or without the Tailed Beasts chakra quickly healing him. What's surprising is the pocket-sized book she finds. "'The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi'? Huh." There's no summary on the back so she opened it to the first page. It's about a shinobi with the same name as her goofball enduring the hardships of conflict, war, and hatred throughout his travels. A bit of a dull synopsis but maybe the author left a message. She goes to the last page of the book and gasps to see a young version of Jiraiya. Now it makes sense why Naruto would have it. She closes the book and places it underneath the frog-like wallet and continues with the next set. Sasuke's arsenal added 6 smoke bombs, 10 paper bombs, 20 kunai, and 20 shuriken along with the sheathed sword that's lying beside her. She recalls him - before his betrayal- saying that the Uchiha Clan were skilled with multiple types of weaponry; hence why they often carry weapon storage scrolls. He's of no exception as evident by the beige and green scroll inked with seals. She's impressed by the sheer amount of each item listed. Maybe Tenten - a member of Team Gai and a skilled Weapon Mistress - would've been impressed too. Speaking of Tenten, memories of her other friends flash before her eyes. Sai, Captain Yamato, Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Lee, Choji, Kiba and Akamaru, Shino, Neji - She sniffs when the image of Neji dying appears. If only she got to him in time… Would saving him make a change in the outcome? She gasps at the sudden thought because she would've tried! She would've tried to save him so that Hinata and Naruto and Hiashi wouldn't have to suffer! What difference does that make if the outcome is still the same? Her eyes widen at the familiar voice in her head. No. You…I thought you… Miss me? Awe~ I miss ya too Outer. Inner…But I thought… Sakura closes her eyes and can see the silhouette of her other self, outlined in white against the black background. She looks exactly like her teenage self instead of her current physical form. She takes a deep breath then exhales after holding it in for 10 seconds. Her emerald-green eyes open to stare at the fire, at which she throws another stick. Why are you back? You're going to need me, Outer. With all of that knowledge gifted to you from the previous Hokages and the extra chakra reserves, you need a way to protect them from enemies. But The Sage of Six Paths placed a seal -! She gasps at the thought. She hastily pulls the hem of the shirt upwards to tuck it under her chin to get a better look at her chest. She's disheartened when she sees her flat chest underneath the loose bindings. Disregarding that issue, she removes them to see the seal the Sage etched into her skin. Official Seal Artist: Dreamy (me) Digital Art Software: ibisPaint X Date: 2.11.21 Sakura hums as she examines the seal as best as she could from her point of view. Her chubby fingers ghost over the Kanji characters that make up the lines of the seal and can feel an eminent warmth. Her index finger traces the centerpiece, feeling the same energy as the lettering. Seems like there's a rhombus theme going on! Inner snickers. Like, c'mon! The five on your forehead and the four on your chest? It's not like I had a say in the design! She argues. She heavily sighs then casts one last glance at the seal before shifting her attention to her body. Because she activated her Seal when she was in the time portal, all of the injuries she sustained were healed. She adjusts the shirt until she's covered. Anyway, why would you return? As I've said, you need me to keep your gifts safeguarded. Think of me as your second line of defense just in case. Inner crosses her arms. And… What? I could help you keep your thoughts between our timeline and this one straight so that you don't become confused. She pauses while Sakura contemplates the idea. Trust me, Outer, it's a lot of information that's too valuable to be known by the wrong people. …Yeah, you're right. But let's talk about that later. Let's finish checking our inventory before we get into that conversation. Maybe we should summon Lady Katsuyu too. She is our companion who knows the situation. Sakura hums in agreement with a pensive expression. Back to her task, she quickly notes that Sasuke also carried several vials. Considering that he trained under Orochimaru, a former student of Hiruzen Sarutobi, one of the Legendary Three, and a traitor of Konoha, she suspects they're vials of poison. She carefully sets them aside with a promise to study their components at a later date. With nothing else to see, she moves onto Kakashi's items in the pouch. As she expected of the infamous Scarecrow, his pack is well prepared. Granted, he used some of his arsenal during the war, but his pouch is still well equipped. His weaponry stock adds 6 chili powder bombs, 8 smoke bombs, 11 paper bombs, 25 kunai, 25 shuriken, 26 feet of coiled ninja wire, and 29 senbon needles. He also included his short sheathed chakra sword. He also carries the medical kit she gave to him before he was deployed, and she's pleased to see the visible signs of it being (marginally) used. Much like what she did previously, she places the bottle of standard Soldier Pills, the bag of Food Pills, and the remaining ration packs into the kit as well. His water canteen has about 1/3 of clean water left, so she sets it beside her canteen. There's an orange scroll, indicating that it contains his personal and hygienic items, and a dark blue one with white rims. She unravels the latter to discover camping gear stored within - a tent, extra sleeping bags, pillows, blankets; kitchenette items like utensils, pots and pans, and some seasonings; oil lamps with extra oil canisters and matches; a flint, and emergency flare sticks. "I could've used these if I knew earlier." She muses with a humored smile. Moving onwards, she places the metal headband with the Kanji characters for "Shinobi Alliance" beside Naruto's on the clothing pile. A shiver runs down her spine after remembering her headband fell into the lava pit when Kaguya teleported Team 7 into the volcanic dimension. The next set of items she finds causes a childish laugh to escape from her. "Of course he would, that pervert!" She's referring to the four very familiar books he always carried around: Icha Icha Paradise, Icha Icha Violence, Icha Icha Innocence, and Icha Icha Tactics. She's surprised he willingly - or stupidly - brought the autographed versions with him to war. She digresses in favor of quickly flipping through the page of the first book when two things fell out of the pages. She frantically grabs them before they either fall to the damp ground or into the fire pit. A breath of relief slips through her lips then curiously looks at the items. Her eyes widen at the sight of two pictures: one of Team Minato and one of Team Kakashi. She remembers seeing these same photos inside Kakashi's apartment in the rare times she went there; both of them were framed and beside his bed. She looks at the second photo with a wistful smile as memories of their naïve Genin days flicker in her mind. "I miss how simple life used to be before everything went downhill." She wistfully says aloud. Her eyes shift to the first photo and lingers upon seeing an adolescent version of the man that became her team instructor and commanding officer. I wonder…would I meet teenage Kakashi during this time? We need to find out how far into the past the Sage sent us first. Inner reminds. You're right. Sakura hums. I wish he could’ve told us what time period he sent us to, but I understand the logic for not doing so. It was to ensure Kaguya wouldn't be able to follow after us. But we still have to be careful. We don't know where the bitch teleported to after slicing off Naruto's and Sasuke's arms. A deep frown settles on her childish features. Do you think she spied on us while hiding nearby? It's possible. Inner runs a hand through her short hair with a sigh, If she did, she'd probably appear somewhere near us assuming she jumped at the same time we did. She probably hid away before you awoke. I doubt she'd leave me alive. She could've killed me in the time portal too. She could've been dropped off at a different time period than us. Sakura tries to rack her brain for different possibilities, but the laws and outcomes of Time-Travel are always a mystery. Most of it are hypotheticals and assumptions in the attempt to understand the concept. She's one of those people who think it's possible, just very challenging to achieve such a feat. Now that she witnessed and experienced going through a time-portal…well, she's delighted to know that it's possible but is afraid of the unknown aftermath. I think the Sage would've sensed his mother if she was spying on us. I mean, he is her son and has about the same prowess as her. He'd warn us if we were endangered. That's very likely. You're right in that we need to be careful from now on. For all we could know, she might be able to Time-Travel as well considering the amount of chakra needed. Both Inner and Outer frown at the possibility, but there's nothing they can do about it other than plan for their next move. Let's think of the bright side of things! If I landed in the time of Kakashi's childhood, then that means I could prevent his tragic life from happening. When Team 7 were Genins, Kakashi took them to Konoha's Cemetery to instill a lesson about their fallen brothers and sisters - how they were killed in action during missions, some of whom risk their lives for others. There's one particular grave that he led them to and told the story of what the befallen did on their mission. She later realizes the befallen he spoke of was The White Fang of Konoha, Sakumo Hatake. His father. That was the most he ever shared about his personal life, even if he didn't directly say the name of the befallen. If her master, Tsunade, hadn't mentioned Kakashi's life, Sakura wouldn't have made the connection. If you somehow managed that, then maybe the outcome of his teammates would have different fates. Assuming you're in the right time period. Sakura glumly nods her head. Well, even if I'm not we can still make significant changes! A new sense of hope adds to her determination of succeeding this long -long- mission. Her stomach loudly grumbles, so she places the emptied bag onto the ground then grabs the ration pack and Kakashi's water canteen. The ration pack is bland and dry, yet it satisfies the hunger for the next few hours. She throws the wrapper into the fire pit along with a few more sticks to keep it burning. After taking a moment to overview her current inventory, she begins packing them away neatly. She combines all of the medical supplies into her green scroll except for her first-aid kit being available for quick access. She seals Sasuke's vials of poison into her purple scroll. She inserts both photos in-between the pages of Icha Icha Paradise then seals all four books, the Alliance metal headband, and Kakashi's short sword into his orange scroll. Next, she seals his orange scroll, Naruto's metal headband, the frog-like wallet, his pocket-sized book, Sasuke's sheathed sword, and her Jounin pants and sandals into her orange storage scroll. Sakura stores all of the color-coded scrolls, the first-aid kit, and both water canteens in her large pouch. She packs 6 chili bombs, 6 smoke bombs, 10 paper bombs, 20 kunai, 20 shuriken, 25 senbon needles, 25 feet of coiled ninja wire, and her black leather gloves into the separate compartments. All of the remaining weapons are packed into the second large pouch. Satisfied, she sets them aside. Now, she focuses on her current state of dress. She rolls up the left sleeve up to her wrist and does the same for the sleeve of Naruto's jacket before putting it on again. Her shirt reaches down to her mid-calf while the jacket nearly engulfs her entire form; the hem reaches to her ankles. She surmises that one of the pouches will act as a temporary belt. Instead of wearing his metal headband, she temporarily places it inside the jacket's pocket. "Okay! Time to summon Lady Katsuyu!" She bits hard on the pad of her right thumb with her canine incisors and performs the necessary hand signs with chakra gathering in her right hand. "Summoning Technique!" She slams her palm on the ground with black seal markings spread out in a circle. A small plume of smoke arises from the point of contact. When she removes her hand and the smoke dissipates, a white slug with three blue streaks that run vertically down the middle and sides of its body from its head to its tail is left in the center of the black circle. The slug, about a foot long, lifts its head upwards with its optical tentacles shifting their focus on its summoner. "Lady Sakura! I'm so relieved to see you're alright!" The slug exclaims with a feminine voice. The lone child smiles in return then wordlessly picks up the slug and firmly embraces her. "Milady?" Katsuyu calls out in concern, especially after feeling her summoner's body shake. She can hear her sniffling; the slug surmises that her summoner is crying so she waits patiently. "It'll be okay, Lady Sakura. I will help you in any way I can." Katsuyu consoles as she rests her head in the crook of her summoner's neck. Sakura chokes on a sob, "Thank you, Lady Katsuyu." A/N: I added Inner Sakura as an afterthought because I actually forgot about her. I pre-planned to use Katsuyu as Sakura's main voice of reason during times of doubt, someone for her to confide to when needed, a consultant. But then I realized there's gonna be times where Katsuyu isn't present in the scenarios, so I added Inner Sakura. Basically, Inner's role is like a record keeper of the timelines, a second line of defense, and to prevent Sakura from having a mental breakdown because of the sheer amount of information and memories she gained. As for Inner's appearance, she looks exactly like Teenage Sakura during the war, only outline in white against the black mindscape. She's going to be more present in the future, so look forward to read more! Weaponry Count:
A/N: Big shoutout and gratitude to my friend who helped me edit this chapter. She really helped me with the grammar, the sentence phrases, and so much more! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Chapter 1:
It’s surprisingly cold in the whirlpool of blue and white energies as Sakura continues to descend. She assumed that it would be warm, but she’s grateful nonetheless for wearing Naruto’s jacket. Sadness takes over her at the thought of the ball of sunshine, then to the conflicted Uchiha, and finally to the lazy, perverted teacher. Embarrassment rises next when she remembers the feeling of Kakashi’s lips pressed against hers. His naked lips stole her first kiss for star’s sake! She shakes her head from side-to-side in an attempt to refocus. It wasn’t very effective because the memory of his bare face flashes before her eyes. “Stupid, perverted Kakashi!” she whines aloud, feeling her cheeks heating up. At least that helps with feeling cold. She tentatively wets her lips with her tongue, tasting the slight iron from blood - likely her own - and somehow a subtle nicotine flavor. She wasn’t aware that Kakashi smoked at all! She surmised given the stress of the events leading to and during the War may warrant the craving. She guessed he picked up the habit around the time Asuma Sarutobi died. Her thoughts were interrupted when a sudden, hot intense pain engulfs her entire body inwards and outwards. A raspy scream escapes her lips and her eyes shut tight. It’s as if her skin is melting off; every muscle sharply contracts; her bones feel like they’re breaking and mending themselves without her chakra numbing the pain. Her head feels like someone took a heavy boulder and repeatedly hammered her temples and forehead. Is this what the Sage meant?! Another scream erupts yet she can barely hear it from the ringing in her ears. She needs to focus on activating her 100 Healings Seal, but it’s proven difficult because of the intense pain. Come on! She clenches her jaw, grinds her teeth in an attempt to endure the pain and focus. A sharp intake of breath through her nostrils aids her mind in grasping the stored chakra in her original Seal. She forces her hands to unfurl from a tight fist to form half of the Rat Sign. “Release!” She cries out. She faintly feels her Seal expand across her forehead, down to her neck then reaching to her fingers and toes. The feeling of the stored chakra wash over her body, raising a cool sensation to calm the heat. The energy significantly dulls the pain to the point she can relax her tensed body. Despite her eyes still being closed, she can see a light source shine brightly. Is this the exit of the portal? She kept her eyes closed in fear of becoming blind and forced herself to be patient. ************************** The source of the bright light patiently waits as Sakura’s body floats closer and closer. When she finally passes through, the light shines brighter with a pulse sounding like a heartbeat. ************************************************************************************************** In the Fire Country Rain pours heavily within parts of the Fire Country, including The Hidden Village in the Leaves, Konohagakure (Konoha, for short). Winds blew so strongly that trees bend and angle raindrops in the same direction. Thunderclaps with a show of lightning lighting up the dark sky. Sometimes, lightning will strike down to the earth, igniting a tall tree in flames with spraying splinters or create a burned crater in a patch of grass. Wild animals scampered to find shelter in caves or make burros in the ground. Canals are overflowed with rushing water, mud, and debris. Most people stayed indoors to avoid the cold and rain, but some people either have to endure the harsh weather or find a make-shift shelter. Konoha Such is the same within Konoha. Many shops and businesses decided to close down for the day because of the harsh weather except for a few grocery outlets and restaurants. Facilities like the Hokage Tower, the General Hospital and other clinics, the Shinobi Academy, the Jounin Headquarters, the ANBU Headquarters, Torture and Intelligence Division (T&I), the Barrier Division, and the Uchiha Police Station remain open in case of emergencies. Most, if not all, of the employees are a shinobi of different ranks with different calibers. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sits in his office at the Hokage Tower currently reading one of the many mission reports he received. The report detailed the events of a mission in a time of war - the Second Shinobi War between Konohagakure, Sunagakure (Suna), Amegakure (Ame), and Iwagakure (Iwa) for economic disparity and resources. He deeply sighs when the report states that half of the Ame battalion stationed themselves in a civilian village, who has no take on the war, near the Fire Country’s southwestern border. Konoha forces didn’t move to eradicate them yet because they don’t want or need unnecessary civilian bloodshed. They will wait until Ame enters their land to strike. However, Hiruzen pauses in his mullings when an ominous feeling washes over him. Expanding his chakra to detect if the source is nearby, he’s puzzled when no such thing is found. Not yet, at least. He scoots his chair back to stand in front of the middle window that’s behind his desk. The heavy rain reminded him of the Ame forces from the report, but that’s not the source of this unsettling feeling. Suddenly, a thick lightning bolt strikes in the direction of the famed Hashirama Forest, created and named in honor of the First Hokage, followed by a deafening roar of thunder that shakes the earth and, subsequently, the buildings. The windows rattled while some of the items on his desk and bookshelves toppled over or fell to the floor. The ceiling lights blew out, encasing his office - he suspects the whole Tower and other buildings - in darkness. His eyes narrow apprehensively. That ominous sense increased tenfold as a warning that something or someone is coming. General Hospital The hospital is quiet save for the sounds of chatter amongst staff members, patients, and machinery to monitor heartbeat and oxygen levels. In one of the offices dedicated to the Head Director sits two people engaging in a conversation. “Phew, this weather is crazy!” exclaimed Jiraiya, former student of Hiruzen Sarutobi, one of the Legendary Three, and Toad Sage. “How about we go home and enjoy a nice fireplace to warm us up?” “Whose place did you have in mind, pervert?” Tsunade, former student of Hiruzen Sarutobi, one of the Legendary Three, and the world’s best Medical Ninja, snorts with a flat tone. “I’d suggest my place, but your home is quite lovely too.” A suggestive smile accompanied with a wiggle of white eyebrows is directed to her. “Go die in a ditch.” Tsunade dismisses him while her eyes didn’t pause in reading one of her patient’s files. “If you’re not here to help with healing or for a checkup on injuries, get the hell out of here.” Jiraiya places his hands atop of each other on his chest with a pained look, “Oh, but I do have a wound, my slug mistress. I have a wounded heart that only the best medical ninja can heal.” He sharply tilts his head to the right to avoid being hit by Tsunade’s weapon of choice, a heavy stone paperweight. It lodges itself in the wall behind the man. “You know I was just teasing you, Tsuna.” He pacifies with his palms up. “I know you meant it. Stupid perverted frog.” She grumbles loud enough for him to hear. Tsunade massages her left temple with her forefingers to relieve the headache from dealing with the perverted man and hospital duties. Not to mention the medical program that the Council recently approved despite not having the ideal time allowance to properly train them. At the very least she’s grateful for the program to be up and running. The difficult part was finding ideal or potential candidates for the program while the challenging part was training them enough to patch up a solder or two, chakra-based methods or traditional medicine wise. The medic reaches for the now cooled tea resting on her desk - a sudden crack appears from the base of the cup to stretch upwards branching into two at the rim. She gasps in bewilderment. It’s a tell-tale sign of a bad omen and she’s not one to ignore such a thing for a stupid superstition. Amber eyes meet dark brown ones, both conveying a grim understanding. A particularly bright, white light flashes through the visible windows that temporarily blinded their visions; an explosive roar of thunder follows two seconds afterward. The roar was powerful enough to tremble the earth and topple stationed items over. The fluorescent lights blew out in her office; both adults suspect that the office and parts of the district are experiencing a blackout. “Hmm,” Jiraiya hums as he walks to one of the three windows in her office, “Want to make a bet that the lightning show had something to do with Hatake?” She scowls at him at the weak attempt to make a bet, “We both know that it wasn’t him.” He shrugs both of his shoulders without facing her, “You think it had something to with that powerful sense moments before we got a show?” “Yes.” Tsunade adjusted some of the items on her desk, including neatly stacking paperwork before she quickly stands up. “I need to check on the hospital. Make yourself useful instead of lounging in my office!” She leaves before he could respond. A heavy sigh escapes his lips, casts one last glance through the window then leaves. Barrier Team Within the Barrier Team’s lower level sits three people in a triangular position with a large sphere of water floating above them. All three wear robes similar to the Shinto priests but their hats bear the Leaf Symbol in the center, close to the base. One person sits in the middle of four pillars while the remaining two people sit at the ends of the pillars. On the upper level of the chamber is a lounging area complete with couches, dining tables, a kitchenette, and a large restroom. Five people are wearing the standard Jounin uniform with their upper right arms bearing the symbol of the Barrier Team; three of them are sitting at the dining table playing cards while the remaining two are busy in the kitchen. The three people sitting around the water sphere have their eyes closed for better concentration. They’re highly skilled Sensory-Types that can sense many chakra signatures whether it belongs to a civilian, a shinobi, or an animal. The sphere acts as a smaller version of the barrier surrounding the village, including underground and high in the sky. The primary purpose of the barrier and the team is to detect intruders and intercept them if necessary. The secondary purpose is to detect any incoming attacks like projectiles from enemy fire or meteorite-like projectiles falling from the sky. The latter being a rare occurrence but known enough to have happened previously. A minor additional function is to detect unusual or abnormalities in the weather such as the terrible thunderstorm and lightning show going on since the previous day. Konoha weather reporters and scientists were puzzled by the sudden arrival of such conditions when it was supposed to be sunny despite the cold winter months. Many brushed it off as a claim that the weather was always being unpredictable no matter how many calculations were made. Others were indifferent to the change. However, there are a few that believed these dark conditions are signs of an omen - it's yet to be decided if it’ll be good or bad. The three Sensors share the same belief that an omen is approaching fast. They can feel it with every lightning crackle in the air and roar of thunder. Suddenly! Their eyes snap open to look at the water sphere - the entire thing quivers in a multitude of ripples in all directions. “Pinpoint the exact location of the anomaly!” The person sitting in the middle orders as he raises his arms upwards, his palms facing the sphere’s surface. The other two follow his example, then all three direct some of their chakra into the sphere to pinpoint the source of that sudden yet powerful feeling. After exactly one minute of doing this, the one positioned to the left of the middle spoke, “What is with this strange power?” The person positioned on the opposite side shook her head, “It’s strange. It doesn’t feel hostile.” “It’s too early to disregard that.” the one in the middle states, “It may not feel hostile now, but its power is too strong.” “Shall we dispatch the Team?” the person on the right asks. “Have we located the source?” the person in the middle counters. A moment of silence and concentration passes before the one on the left sighs, “No. Whatever possesses this power is spread throughout the village.” “We must keep trying.” the one in the middle states. “Guard!” One of the five from the upper level jumps down swiftly. He lands in a kneel and one arm resting on top of his thigh. “Check the status of the village. Send another to inform the Hokage that something powerful entered the village.” The kneeling guard looks up in shock, “We should dispatch the Team to apprehend the source!” “We can’t pinpoint its exact location yet. Tell Lord Hokage that we’ll continue investigating the cause of such powerful energy.” “Right away!” the guard bows his head before using a teleportation trick to carry out their tasks. Hashirama Forest A large streak of lightning strikes an opening in the Hashirama Forest, created and named after the First Hokage. If there were eyewitnesses anywhere near the vicinity of the strike, they’d be blind by the white light and deaf from the roar of thunder. Although the lightning strike was swift, it did leave something behind in its wake. At the impact site is a jagged patch of burned grass with a body lying in the very center of it. The owner of the body is lying face down, with short pink hair flared out, a tattered orange jacket covering its upper half with black pants and sandals at the bottom; a black sheathed sword lying on the left side and a large pouch lying on the right side of the body. The body, clothes, and items are immediately drenched because of the pouring rain. A small whimper erupts from the body. A twitch on the left hand follows; soon that hand curls its short chubby fingers around the sheathed sword. Eyes hidden underneath the lids shift side-to-side for a moment then slowly open to reveal emerald green eyes. They blink until their vision is cleared. A low groan emits from its throat as they force their heavy and sore body to slowly sit upright. Emerald green eyes shut tight again because of the shrill ringing in both ears. The owner of the body deeply inhales through chapped lips, holds their breath for five seconds, then releases a shaky exhale. The ringing begins to fade so the owner continues the same breathing exercise until the sound stops. Soon the ringing sound is replaced by the sound of wind howling and rain droplets pelting against the earth. The owner of those emerald green eyes open them to see darkness, but a quick flash of light followed by a thunderclap allows a picture to be seen. The owner of the body and the emerald green eyes finds themselves surrounded by tall trees. “Where…?” a second later, a gasp is heard. “Wait! Wha-!?” emerald eyes widen as they travel downwards yet all they see is darkness. The chubby fingers that curled around the sword numbly lets go to tentatively touch the owner’s face. Fingertips feel cold and wet cheeks. The other hand that the owner realized was holding onto the large pouch joins its other half to further inspect their face, then forehead, the back of the head, and down the torso. “I...I’m okay?” The owner tilts their head to the right side slightly, “Is that my voice?” It could be the loudness of the rain pelting on the trees and ground or it could be the howling wind or it could be their paranoia, but why does their voice sound high-pitched than normal? “Hello?” the owner calls out experimentally to not only hear their voice again but also hope that someone was listening nearby. Why? They’re not sure exactly. The owner calls out again, louder this time, and confirms that their voice sounds higher than their normal tone. It still sounds feminine, a girlish childish sound though not one they’ve heard in a long time. “Achoo!” the owner - a girl - sneezes followed by violent shivers all over her body. She sniffed a couple of times. Remembering the jacket on her person, numb chubby fingers hastily wrap the flaps of the tattered fabric more securely around her body. “Hello! Is anyone there?” She waits with emerald green eyes moving across the dark plain. When nothing happened, she expanded thin chakra threads around them to sense anyone near her - unfortunately, all she felt were animals of varying species (birds, fauna, rabbits, squirrels). Although she senses human chakra signatures, they’re too far away from her current position. “Achoo!” She sniffs again as a whimper escapes her lips. “I need shelter.” During the scan with the chakra threads, she mentally mapped her surroundings: she’s sitting in a small forest clearing with trees surrounding her for acres. There are shrubs and bushes and varying rocks scattered around; there is a large lake southwest of her position. A weary sigh passes through her lips. She checks on the status of her current chakra reserves, not including the additional ones, to find she has just enough to spare. “Guess I have no choice.” Ensuring once more she’s alone, she numbly weaves hand signs with chakra channeling through each step until she stops on the Snake Sign. “Wood Release: Wood Locking Dome!” the chakra from her hands travel to the ground in a circle around her; wooden pillars erupt in symmetric form that join together to create a dome. She no longer feels the cold rain and the wind biting through her clothes when the dome is complete except for a thin, rectangular opening on the side near the top. She needs fresh air to breathe in lest she suffers from oxygen deprivation. She also needed the opening to vent out the smoke from the campfire she’s about to make. Still holding the Snake hand sign, she channels chakra again to uproot four short logs of wood with many branches attached from the ground. She releases the sign and stops the chakra flow to gather her materials. First, she breaks off all of the branches to put them into a separate pile beside her. Second, she stacks the four logs in a pile a few feet away from her position. Third, she weaves another set of three hand seals, ending with the Snake sign again, before placing her palms flat on the ground in front of her. “Earth Release: Rock Trail!” a small trail of rocks emerges from the ground surrounding the logs in a raised circular ring. She grabs one of the sticks she broke off earlier and inserts one end of it into the ground. She performed another set of three hand seals, ending with the Tiger Sign. “Fire Release: Flame Stream.” Taking a deep breath as she curls her right forefingers inches away from her mouth, chakra coats her throat, tongue, teeth, and gums in a protective layer in time for a small stream of red-orange flames to be exhaled. The end of the stream balloons into a small ball that makes contact with the upright end of the stick. When she runs out of breath, the stream ceases and she’s left with a little torch. She quickly gathers some thinner sticks from her pile to light one end of them with the fire. Once they’re all lighted, she gathers the entire bundle to place it underneath the log pile through a small opening. It took a few seconds before the small fire latches itself onto one of the logs. Satisfied with the results, she releases the bundle and watches the fire grow. She’s provided light to her dome while providing much-needed warmth. As she stares into the fire, her mind begins to process her situation. Images flash before her eyes of a boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and whiskered cheeks; a boy with black hair, red and purple eyes, and a frown; and a man with white - no, gray hair, she self-corrects - dark gray eyes, and a mask. “Naruto. Sasuke. Kakashi.” her changed voice calls out the names, each following their respective images. Then a floodgate of more images rapidly flash causing a major headache and heartache. Emerald green eyes become clouded with fresh tears, spilling over her cheeks. Hiccups and whimpers tear from her throat with each image getting more painful than the last. “I…” She takes a sharp intake of breath through both her nostrils and mouth. “I...was...sent...to the...past...by...the...Sage…” she chokes out through a series of hiccups. “I’m...on a...mission…” Progress. She continues onwards. “My name...Sakura...Haruno…” she sniffs despite her nostrils becoming congested. “...I’m sixteen years old...a Chunin of...of…” “Never forget that you’re a kunoichi of Konoha.” The boy with sunny blonde hair, oceanic blue eyes, and fox whiskers appears in her mind with a wide smile. Chapped lips curl into a smile as more tears fall. “That’s right.” She releases a light, airy giggle. She traces a finger on the symbol that’s engraved in the metal headband she was gifted. “My name is Sakura Haruno, a Chunin-ranked kunoichi of Konoha. I’m sixteen years old, on a mission to change the past to save the future.” A/N: Takes place right after Sakura jumped through the portal. Also shout out and huge thanks to my friend for reviewing and editing.! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Prologue Omake:
The portal closes with a loud boom after Sakura falls through it. Now it’s only the three boys of Team 7, the spirit of The Sage of Six Paths, the four reanimated Hokages, the Tailed Beasts, and the spirits of the previous Kages. “Now what happens?” Naruto asks the Sage. The ground suddenly quakes violently, causing large cracks to appear and jagged boulders to erupt upwards. The three men nearly fall had they not concentrated some chakra to their feet for stability. The Tailed Beasts braces themselves to prevent from falling either to the ground or to each other. "What the hell happened?!" The blonde shouts just as the quaking stops. Kakashi scans the land to assess the damage and looks quizzically when white particles emit from their surroundings including from the God Tree. Curiously, he looked up at the sky to see a large black ball expand. He looks to the Sage for answers. "It appears that the changes have begun." His words gained their attention, "Soon, the events of this timeline will disappear permanently." "What happens to us then?" Sasuke asks. "You and the people trapped in the God Tree will disappear as well. Do not fret, you may still live in the time Sakura Haruno is." "That's not reassuring! What do you mean by that?" Naruto groans in frustration. "If Sakura Haruno made the necessary changes, then you and the people you know may exist albeit different from the current version." Naruto clutches the side of his head and whines, "I don't get it. Ugh, I'm too tired." Minato stands to his side with a sympathetic smile. "I assume the Tailed Beasts will disappear too?" Kakashi asks. "Don't worry about us!" The Eight-Tailed Beast, Gyuki, exclaims. "We'll still be around so we'll meet again for sure. Just, you know, under different circumstances. Maybe." "Ah! I'm going to miss you Kurama!" the blonde whiskered boy exclaims with teary eyes. The Nine-Tailed Beast scoffs distastefully, "Stupid brat." A humored smile appears on the Sage's face at the exchange. His double Rinnegan eyes note that the blackness reached the ledge of the crater where they're currently located. "There is not much time left. I will release the souls of the Kages and those in the Reanimated Technique." "I hope that your forbidden technique won't be used again, brother." Hashirama looks at his young brother, who sniffs to the side. "It's caused much conflict." "Who knows?" Tobirama comments nonchalantly. Inwardly, he has a suspicion that his most forbidden technique may be used again at some point. Well, not much he can do now so he'll let things go as they are. The Sage formed the Rat Seal and soon white beams of light engulf all of the spirits and reanimated beings. Naruto looks at his father when the light engulfs him. His blue eyes tear up and his lips quiver. "I guess this is goodbye...dad." A hopeful smile appears on the man's face, "For now, but I have a feeling that we'll be together again. The three of us as a family." Naruto sniffs, uses his arm to wipe the tears that spilled. "I can't wait!" Minato's physical form loses its color and crumbles into a pile of paper, yet his soul floats in his place, "Until next time, Naruto." The younger man beams a smile, "See you, dad." Minato briefly made eye contact with Kakashi then nodded at him. The latter returns the gesture with a smile very visible because of his exposed face. Soon, all the souls inside the light beams fades away into nothing. Now it was only the Tailed Beasts, the three members of Team 7, and the spirit of the Sage. The blackness already consumed the ground underneath the Beasts, who are now dissolving into white light particles, and continue to near them. "I guess this is it then." Naruto says with somber . "The end of this timeline," Kakashi adds. The blonde teammate looks at Sasuke, who bears a melancholic expression, then looks at Kakashi, who is looking up at the never ending blackness. He shifts his blue eyes downwards just as the blackness finally consumes the ground. Their bodies start to dissolve into white particles too. "I love you guys...Sasuke...Kakashi...Sakura." Even though the other two didn't say anything, their silence echoed the same sentiment. The Sage watches as the men dissolve completely in white particles until he's the only thing inside the blackness. He smiles one last time and fades away into nothingness. Summary: They were supposed to win the war. Naruto and Sasuke were supposed to seal the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya. They were supposed to release everyone from the Infinite Dream Technique. But Black Zetsu interfered before she could be sealed. Bloodied, exhausted, injured, and out of options, the Sage of Six Paths offered a once-in-a-lifetime offer: one member of Team 7 must time travel to prevent or change the outcome of the 4th War. The Sage chose Sakura to be the one. She accepted. Author's Note (A/N): I've been sitting on this Kakashi Hatake x Sakura Haruno (Naruto) fanfic idea since August of 2020. I wrote out an Event Timeline for this story to help me outline key highlights that will occur as the main characters grow from childhood to adulthood. A lot of changes will be made from my Timeline to the drafts as needed. 3/4/21: Shout out and huge thanks for my friend who reviewed this! She helped me catch most of the mistakes I had in the original post. Please let me know what you all think! Feed back is strongly encouraged! Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Prologue: The Sage of Six Paths sensed something was wrong. He feared for the worst and instructed the Reanimated and the Souls of all of the previous Kages to summon Team 7 back to their dimension. What was brought back shocked all witnesses. Large plumes of smoke appear on the outer rim of the summoning circle to reveal all nine of the Tailed Beasts, free from their hosts. One large cloud of smoke appears in the center of the summoning circle then vanishes to reveal Sakura standing up carrying her teammates: Kakashi is on her back causing her to hunch over slightly; Naruto is in the crook of her right arm; and Sasuke is in the crook of her left arm. All can see how battle-worn they are and can hear her heavy panting. “What? We’re...we’re back?” Sakura blinks then quickly scans her surroundings. Sure enough, it’s the same familiar battleground before Kaguya teleported Team 7 and Obito through multiple dimensions. She exhales loudly as she slowly lowers herself into a kneeling position then gently puts down Naruto and Sasuke on the ground; she carefully eases Kakashi onto the ground behind her. “Sakura Haruno,” She looks over her shoulder to meet an older man with the same features as Kaguya. She sprung up into a battle stance with a kunai in hand. The man raises one hand to appease her, “Fear not. I am not with my mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki.” “Then who the hell are you?” she sneers. “I am Hagoromo Otsutsuki, known as the Sage of Six Paths.” He sees a flash of recognition in her eyes as she slowly lowers her weapon but her stance is still rigid. “You’re the one who gave Naruto and Sasuke the sealing marks.” She states rather than questions. The blonde-haired teammate briefly mentioned he and the black-haired teammate received “gifts” of sorts from the Sage. Now she’s face-to-face with the legendary man. “Yes. It is the same marks my brother, Homura, and I used to seal our mother initially.” His Rinnegan eyes grimly look over to her teammates on the ground. “I sensed something was wrong and brought the souls of all of the previous Kages to summon everyone back to this realm.” He looks into her eyes, “What happened?” Sakura catches movement to see Minato, the 4th Hokage and Naruto’s father, run up to them with deep concern apparent on his face. “Naruto...is he…?” Her green eyes sweep across the other 3 reanimated Hokages then to the ground with a saddened look. “We almost had her.” Then she looks up angered, to stare into Hagoromo’s eyes. “It was the last mission. Obito...he died after saving Naruto from Kaguya’s Ash Killing Bones. Somehow, Kakashi got the Mangekyo Sharingan in both of his eyes to summon a complete Susano ‘O. He attacked Kaguya, then Naruto used a combined Rasengan with the other Tailed Beasts Chakra. “Naruto and Sasuke were just about to seal her and I punched a horn off of her head when she was about to escape. We all thought we’d finish her off but…” She grits her teeth and clenches her fist tighter, “The damn Black Zetsu interfered. I didn’t see it happen but all I saw was Naruto and Sasuke’s arms get cut off and then the damn bitch fled through a portal!” Hot tears stream down her face, “The bitch fled and we have no idea where she is now! Kakashi is unconscious! Both Naruto and Sasuke passed out from blood loss and exhaustion!” She roughly ran a sweaty and bloodied hand through her hair in frustration. “We failed! We lost the damn bloody war!” Those not under the Infinite Dream Technique have a somber sympathetic expression. This war has taken a greater toll on Team 7 more than anyone else involved. Their chance of success was lost. Almost. The First Hokage approaches the crying woman and places a comforting hand on her shoulder. Wet green eyes meet reanimated yet strangely warm brown eyes. “We haven’t lost hope yet. There must be something we can do before Kaguya returns.” She wanted to scream at him that it’s hopeless. What can they do at this point when everyone else is either dead or trapped in the dream world. For one reason or another, she did neither. She closes her eyes while taking a deep breath holding it for a couple of seconds before shakily exhaling and opening her eyes. “Thank you, Lord First.” The man nods and squeezes her shoulder before releasing her. A low groan catches their attention. They look to the three men lying on the ground and see that Kakashi is moving to sit up. Sakura immediately kneels beside him and checks for any more injuries she may have missed. “Did we win?” He asks, looking at her face. Pale skin marred with dirt, dried sweat, shallow cuts, and blood. Once bright eyes are now tired..and sad. “Sakura?” She presses her lips together in a thin line as she shakes her head from side-to-side. “She got away.” she pauses then sniffs, “Naruto and Sasuke lost their arms that had the seals because of Black Zetsu.” He’s beyond shock. The last thing he remembered seeing was his three former students cornering Kaguya before blacking out from exhaustion. When he looks down, he finally notices the two unconscious boys. He can see the small rise and fall of their chests so at least they’re alive. “Kakashi.” He looks up to see the reanimated Fourth Hokage stand beside his sleeping son. “Minato...I’m sorry.” For what? For failing his son, Naruto, as a child, Genin, and now when they were supposed to have won the war? For what happened in the past with Team Minato? “I’m just glad you four are back.” Kakashi nods in agreement though the outcome could have been more ideal. He looks at their surroundings and sees the freed Nine Tailed Beasts somber and uncertain now. Not to mention the souls of the deceased Kages positioned around the outer ring of the summoning circle and finally, the floating elder. He’s wary of the man given his similarity to the goddess they’ve been fighting for who knows how long. “So what do we do now?” He asks a dreaded question. “There are only four of us alive in the entire world I guess.” “You seem to be forgetting us, human.” The Five-Tailed Beast, Kokuo, states. “Right. Sorry.” He’s not. “Four humans, nine freed tailed beasts, four reanimated Hokages, and about twenty spirits. Am I missing someone?” “Kakashi…” Sakura calls out with worry. He briefly glances at her before closing his eyes and sighs. “Sorry.” “It’s okay. I get it. Nearly had a breakdown myself.” she mumbled the last part to herself but he heard it. “But you’re right to ask: What is there we can do now? It’s only a matter of time before she comes back.” The Third Hokage, Hiruzen, steps forward closer to them, “We’ve tried to free some of the others trapped in those cocoons, but the shells would only regenerate as if nothing happened.” “So we’re alone then…” she sighs out then looks at her boys. She stopped the bleeding and healed whatever other damages they endured but they’re too exhausted. She looks at Kakashi, who’s looking at the ground in a daze. He’s exhausted as well as mourning Obito’s real death this time. She checked his chakra levels and they’re dangerously low; the same can be said for her main reserve so she had to rely on the 100 Healing Seal. “We can devise a plan for our next attack in the time that we have now,” The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, says, gaining attention from everyone. “The Reanimation Technique will be in effect for as long we allow ourselves to stay.” His reanimated red eyes look towards Minato’s armless form. “Even if with the Reanimation, you could still lose the ability to regenerate if you’re hit with one of Kaguya’s truth-seeking orbs.” Kakashi tiredly reminds them, “it’s over if any of us gets hit with the Ash Killing Bones. Plus we only have one medic.” he looks at Sakura. “She can’t heal us continuously. Kaguya will likely take you out first.” “No, she won’t.” A raspy voice states. “Naruto!” Sakura crawls to his right side then checks the condition of his residual limb. “We can still beat Kaguya.” He coughs a little then gets to sit up with Sakura’s assistance. “I’ll kill her before she kills you.” “Bold words coming from you.” Sakura gives a tiny smile while cupping his cheek. His blue eyes still manage to hold determination despite being exhausted and drained. “Damn straight.” He chuckles before coughing a bit. She pats his back gently, wishing she had water but she ran out hours ago. He smiles at her before looking at the Sage, “Hey Gramps, still got any tricks up your sleeves?” Minato balks at his son’s rude behavior. “Manners Naruto.” Though he can’t help but smile when his son, his proud son, beams him a cheeky smile. “There is a way to undo this mess.” The Sage’s words catch everyone’s interest. “Then tell us! How can we set things right?” Naruto demands. “It is a risky and long method but if done correctly, then there will be different results.” He eyes Team 7, “It involves one person time-traveling into the past and changing history as you know it.” “Is that even possible?” Tobirama quickly asks. The concept of time-traveling is a floating hypothetical he’s heard during his lifetime and thought it could be possible if given the right circumstances to allow it to happen. He created the Flying Thunder God Technique that the user manipulates space to cross distances in a short amount of time. “Yes, though it requires much more chakra that an ordinary person does not possess. I will need all of the Kages and the Tailed Beasts to help make certain changes and open a portal to allow someone to enter.” “One person? Who…?” Minato asks, looking at the four living humans left. “I’ll go.” Everyone looks to Sasuke, who is sitting up. “I’ll go back to the past.” “No way! You’d screw up the whole world!” Naruto shouts, leaning over. He would’ve fell on his face had Sakura not been there to hold him back. “I should go! I can save my parents before they die!” Minato winces in guilt. “It is admirable that the two of you volunteer but unfortunately, neither of you are fit for this particular mission.” The Sage admits. “What? What do you mean we’re not fit?!” Naruto demands. “Calm down! You’ll reopen your wounds.” Sakura placates by placing a hand against his chest. “But…!” He trails off upon seeing her determined face. He pouts, “Fine.” She couldn’t help but smile at his childish behavior - it’s refreshing. She ruffles his blonde spikes, earning a smile from him. “If not me or the Dope, then send Kakashi,” Sasuke calls out. “He’s fit enough to not screw it up.” He ignores, or is oblivious of, the frowns he received from the witnesses. Sakura doesn’t even turn to look at him when he says that. It’s as if he doesn’t consider her at all. “As I am aware of Kakashi Hatake’s capabilities, I cannot send him back to the past.” The Sage looks at Sakura, who’s watching in bewilderment. “I am sending Sakura Haruno to complete this mission.” “But…!? Wait, why?” Naruto quickly turns to his female teammate, “Not that you’re not fit or anything - you’ve saved us multiple times and all and -” “Why are you sending her? Sasuke interjects. “She has the capabilities to complete the mission. Out of you three men, she has the highest chances of surviving the journey from the portal because she is a healer.” His Rinnegan eyes focus more on the girl, “You are not from a prestigious clan nor of memorable skills or blood limits. You are a civilian with parents frequently traveling.” “How did - ?” “A civilian person without strong clan ties will be easier to send. The Uchiha's, the Uzumaki’s, and the Hatake’s will grow suspicious if I send any of one of them. They are less likely to survive the journey through the portal as well.” “What about the Tailed Beasts?” she asks, gesturing her arms around them in the Beast’s directions. “We’d get noticed immediately upon arrival. We can’t risk getting caught before we take action.” The Two-Tailed Beast, Matabi, purrs out. “Furthermore, there comes a heavy price you as the traveler must be aware of. Two of the same person cannot co-exist in one timeline for it will create a paradox that will endanger everything. For me to send the current you back to a time long before your birth, I must erase your existence in this timeline.” Chapped lips part in disbelief. Erase my existence? “Wait, I’m sorry, but how can I even exist if you erase my being in this timeline? How far back are you sending me?” This is insane! Time-Travel is a topic with too many clauses in the logic behind it. Not to mention the consequences if she’ll make any changes - hell, her mere existence in the past will cause a ripple effect. “I cannot tell you the date I will send you back in case my mother follows you. I will place a seal onto you to protect your body, mind, memories, and your summon contract with Lady Katsuyu. As I have stated, I will need help to make certain changes in the past to prevent as many paradoxes as possible. Erasing your existence from the moment you were born to now must be one of those changes. Doing so will grant you free reign to move as you see fit.” Well, shit. Sakura thinks about the opportunity if she takes this. She can stop the war from happening, or at the very least change the outcome of the war. She can stop the Pain’s Invasion in Konoha. She could stop Sasuke from leaving the village. She might stop the Uchiha Massacre from happening. She could give her teammates, including Kakashi, the family deserve. However, all of that depends on how far back she’ll be sent to the past. Kakashi observes Sakura mulling over the opportunity while Naruto and Sasuke argue about the mission. He’d rather go to correct the wrongs he’s made and prevent the losses he’s endured. However, the Sage’s words repeat in his head. If the journey through the portal causes damage to their bodies, Sakura does have the highest chance of surviving because she can heal herself with chakra or traditional methods. With her civilian background, she can blend in with the crowd without clans noticing her. He muses that people will still notice her pink hair no matter what. She’s an intelligent girl - no, a young woman. Scoring the highest on exams and knowing so much about medical practices and history and, more importantly, their history. He may have lived longer than her but even he doesn’t remember everything that happened up to this point. She can change everything far better than what he or Naruto or Sasuke could do. “Sakura…” “I’ll do it.” Her bold statement stopped the boys’ argument and gained everyone’s attention. “I’ll do it, so do what needs to be done.” she ignored Naruto and Kakashi calling her name in fear that they might want to talk her out of it. “All I ask is to give me a few minutes to say goodbye.” Hagoromo nods with a prideful smile, “It will take some time to open the portal. Step forward to receive the protective seal.” “Wait just a moment.” She stills then looks to her left to see the reanimated Hiruzen approach her. “I’d like to give you two important things that I know will help you on this mission.” She gasps, “Lord Third, I...you don’t have to…” she trails off when he raises a hand to silence her. “Please allow this old fool to do something right for once.” He offers a soft smile at her. She bites in the inside of her cheek while reluctantly nodding her acceptance. “Whatever gifts she will receive will also be protected with the seal.” The Sage assures, “However, you must ensure that they do not fall into the wrong hands.” “I understand.” The old man smiles at her like a proud grandfather congratulating his granddaughter for accomplishing something great. “You’ve become a fine shinobi. I was right to place you on Team 7. “ She’s uncertain why she chuckled at that statement but she did and gave a little smile, “I’m kinda glad you did, Lord Third.” He nods somberly then gently takes one of her hands in his cold, old ones. He places his free hand on her forehead, “I’ll give you most of my chakra and the knowledge of all the techniques I know.” His palm glowed bright blue that she had to close her eyes before she went blind. She can feel his chakra transferring to her as a separate reserve to her existing ones. It’s much larger than her original reserve but smaller than her 100 Healing Seal. Her mind is flooded with information about all sorts of techniques she may have heard or read about it. She opens her eyes a bit dizzy by the sudden amount. “Oh wow...talk about a headache.” her giggles mixed with his chuckles. “My apologies.” He watches as a second purple rhombus appears to the right side at an angle of her original seal. “The second thing I’ll give you depends on when you’ll appear in the past. If you land in the time I was the village leader, then convince my younger self about the truth so that you can have an ally. There is a crystal ball I use and you now know the technique of how to use it. Much like the Yamanaka Clan Mind Transfer Technique, the crystal ball will show you the memories you have. I don’t doubt that it will be useful.” “Thank you, Lord Third.” she hugs him to which he gratefully returns. They separate and he walks back to his original place on the summoning circle. “Sarutobi has the right idea of giving you additional chakra and knowledge.” She’s startled when Tobirama approaches her. She can feel his power just from being near him even if he is reanimated. She feels so much smaller when his reanimated red eyes peer down at her, “You’ve proven to be a capable kunoichi of Konoha; therefore, I will give you my chakra and knowledge as well.” Her jaw drops as her eyes widen. It’s one thing to receive such gifts from the Third, but to receive the same thing from the Second, the grand uncle to her mentor, Tsunade, is overwhelming! Hashirama bounds next to his young brother with a bright smile, “I will too! I’ve witnessed your strength stronger than Tsuna herself!” He barks laughter that makes her body vibrate. “It’s also an honor to meet another Wood Release User that’s not related to me!” Sakura blushes at the compliment; she’s still in shock to make a word. “Man! Sakura’s getting all the praise and attention!” Naruto groans loudly to snap her out of her stupor, “And she gets more power from the previous Hokages? So not fair!” She scoffs incredulously, “Hey, I didn’t ask for it! They just offered and who am I to refuse the Hokages?” She crosses her arms with an angry pout, “Besides, you have Kurama and you’re the reincarnation of one of the Sage’s sons! The same thing can be said for Sasuke being a damn Uchiha!” The dark-haired teammate grunts with a glare in her direction. The blonde teammate nervously chuckles while scratching the back of his head. “I was just teasing Sakura.” She rolls her eyes, “You call it unfair when I’m the only one from Team 7 who’s clanless with no talent or blood limit to be passed down. Even the Hatake’s have something and Kakashi got the Sharingan.” The said Jounin leader sighs, “Now you’ve done it.” He mumbles towards Naruto. “I didn’t mean anything by it! I swear Sakura! It was just a little joke.” “Naruto, it’s best if you just apologize," Minato advises nervously. He can sense her temper from his position. “I’m really sorry Sakura!" He held up a single-handed prayer gesture. “He has no tact.” Sakura snorts in amusement at Tobirama’s blunt comment. “Come.” He raises his left hand and looks at her with an expectant expression. At her nod, she gently places his hand on her forehead, glowing with blue energy. She closes her eyes again and can feel another separate reserve being added. Additional information about techniques - some of which were the same as what Hiruzen gave her but most are new to her - and theories about chakra and elemental energies were added to her mind. “I’m giving you the location of my lab and library as well. The traps and locks will deactivate upon infusing my chakra to yours.” Tobirama informs as images of his private facilities are shown in her mind. She staggers a little when he removes his hand. She regains her footing then opens her eyes once more. Both the First and the Second watch as a third purple rhombus appears to the left side at an angle of her original seal, opposite to Hiruzen’s. She smiles pity at him, “It’s a shame that not all of your ideas were finalized.” He smirks, “I trust that you’ll finish what I started then.” “You’re giving me too much credit!” He nods his head still with a smirk before he goes back to his original position on the summoning circle. She looked up at Hashirama’s smiling face and couldn’t help but smile back. “May I?” He raises his left hand first. She nods and closes her eyes again just as he slips his hand underneath her bangs, resting it against her skin. Blue energy emits from the hand and causes her pink bangs to float upwards. Another separate reserve is added to her arsenal as well as many techniques, including many Wood Release skills that even Yamato had either trouble with or didn’t know about. By the time he removes his hand, a fourth purple rhombus appears at an angle below the one created by Tobirama. He held his hand out with the palm facing upwards and she watches as a wooden bracelet is woven in the center. When it’s complete, it has a glossy polish. He holds it in between his thumb and forefingers then uses his free hand to gently grasp her right hand. “This bracelet is infused with my Sage Energy. Use it well.” He slips on the bracelet on her wrist and it shrinks until it fits without sliding off. She can remove it as long as she tucks her thumb and pink underneath the rest of her fingers. “I’ve never used Sage Energy before.” She shyly admits. “Thank you, Lord First.” She bows her head in gratitude. “There’s always a first time for everything!” He proudly exclaims. He gives her one last encouraging smile before taking position on the summoning circle. Minato approaches her with an easy-going smile, “I guess I’m the last one then.” “You don’t have to, Lord Fourth. Three is already enough.” she shrugs her shoulder trying to play it off. “That may be so,” he eyes her forehead and chuckles a bit, “But it seems that I need to fill in the spot.” She tilts her head to the side in confusion. “Um, how are you...well, without arms…?” “Forgive me for this but bear with it for a moment.” Before she could rebuttal, she freezes when he invades her personal space and presses his lips on her forehead. “Forgive me for this but bear with it for a moment.” Before she could rebuttal, she freezes when he invades her personal space and presses his lips on her forehead. Naruto gasps and screeches, “DAD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SAKURA!?” He starts to march over there but Kakashi loops his arms under the blonde's shoulders. “Calm down, Naruto! It’s the only way he can do the transfer.” “I don’t care! He’s kissing Sakura!” Naruto continues to thrash in Kakashi’s hold but to no avail. Kurama snickers at his host, “Seems like your dad beat you, brat.” He laughs as Naruto continues to struggle and fume. Sasuke closes his eyes in distaste with no comment. Inwardly, he’s furious that he’s not the one being sent to the past. He could change everything! He wouldn’t have to lose his family, his brother! Things would’ve been different for him. Is that why the Sage didn’t entrust him with the mission, among other things? His selfishness to get what he lost and more? “DAD!” Sasuke reopens his eyes to glare at Naruto, “Shut up, dobe.” “Screw you Sasuke!” Sakura ignored the background noise to focus on the sensation of another large reserve being added to her arsenal. She now has a total of seven reserves, six added to her original and four to her totaled three. Eight if she counts the Sage Energy inside the wooden bracelet. Not to mention the amount of information he’s passing into her mind. She even learned the concept of forming the Rasengan! She hopes to experiment with it when she can. Minato steps back and sees the fifth purple rhombus forming between Hiruzen’s and Hashirama’s seal. He’s bemused at the completed seal looking like a five-petaled flower in the center of her forehead. “The last gift is inside my pouch. If you could please get two of the three-pronged kunai with a paper tag wrapped around the hilt.” A rosy hue tinges her cheeks as she excuses herself to do as he instructed. She notices that the items are slightly heavier than the standard-issue kunai and can feel the stored energy humming inside it. “You use these for the Flying Thunder God Technique.” She briefly recalls him throwing several of these items across the battlefield. “Yes. You know the technique originated from Lord Second and I simplified the formula.” “Why are you giving these to me?” “I believe they can help you in a pinch. You might even be the next Konoha Flash!” he chuckles at his joke before donning a serious expression, “If you meet my younger self, try to convince him to be your ally with this.” He juts his chin at the items in her hand. Despite being uncertain of how to gain either him or Hiruzen’s trust as an ally, she nods in understanding. “Thank you, Lord Fourth.” He smiles once more, “You should say goodbye to your team.” She returns the smile then bounds to her three male teammates. He watches them interact amused and sad at the same time. He prays to whatever good deity out there that she’ll succeed and be safe in her journey. Kakashi releases Naruto as she gets closer to them. The latter immediately checks her forehead with concentration. He snickers and pokes her forehead, “You have a flower in the center of your forehead, Sakura!” She swats his hand away with an angry pout and rosy hues staining her cheeks, “Shut up!” Kakashi steps forward then leans forward just enough to see the seals, “He’s right. It’s very fitting for you.” his visible eyes crinkle in what they assume is a smile. Sakura self-consciously touches her seals with downcast eyes. The white-haired man ruffles the top of her hair, “It suits you, Sakura. A flower for a flower child." She scoffs while swatting his hand away. He and Naruto laugh at the terrible joke; she couldn’t help but join in too. Official Seal Artist: Dreamy (aka Me) Digital Art Software: ibisPaint X on phone Date Created: 2.11.21 A/N: Start from the top rhombus - her original Seal- and go clockwise: Hiruzen, Minato, Hashirama, and Tobirama. Her laughter fades and looks at all three of them with glossy eyes, “I wish I could take one of you guys with me. I don’t think I can do this all on my own.” Naruto clasped his left hand on her right shoulder, “You’re never alone, Sakura. Team 7 will always be with you, no matter what. I promise you that!” She stares at his optimist smile and returns the favor. She believes him with all of her heart. “Plus you have Katsuyu to help you,” Kakashi adds. He unclasps the pouch from the back of his waist then opens the latch to inspect what’s left inside of it. There are still plenty of weapons inside such as standard-issued kunai, senbon needles, paper bombs, ninja wire, and some soldier pills. He reaches into the pockets of his vest to place a couple of storage scrolls inside, next to his three prized possessions. He also removes his metal headband that bears the Kanji character for “Shinobi Alliance” to place it inside the pouch. “Kakashi?” Naruto asks in confusion upon his actions. “Naruto, Sasuke, give me your pouches so that I can add them to mine.” He instructs. “Eh? What for?” Naruto asks. “Just do as I say.” he holds out his left hand expectedly. The blonde unclasps his and gives it to him, who puts the entire pack inside the large pouch. He looks at Sasuke, who tosses his pouch at him. The team leader inserts the second smaller pouch inside then closes the latch. “Here. A shinobi should always be armed.” He holds the entire pouch out to her. “Kakashi…” He gives her duo eye crinkles at her soft tone. She sniffs a little as she takes the pouch from him, then clutches it tightly to her chest. “Thank you.” “Ah!” Naruto exclaims upon realization. A smile appears on his whiskered face as he hastily removes his tattered orange jacket from his person; he holds it open for her. “You’re giving me your jacket?” She’s surprised yet touched at the gesture. She knows how special the jacket is to him because it was given to him by Jiraiya, the late Toad Sage. “Mh-mh! That way you have something to remember me by!” “As if I could ever forget you, knucklehead,” She giggles as she slips on the jacket. He helps adjust the shoulders so that it rests easily on her smaller form. He felt some male pride upon seeing his long-time crush wearing a piece of his clothing. She’s smaller than him that the jacket dwarfs her despite the tattered sleeves and hem cutting a few inches off of the original length. He manages to untie his metal headband that bears the Konoha insignia and ties it around her neck. “Never forget that you’re a kunoichi of Konoha.” Tears that gathered in her eyes finally fell down her cheeks. She pulls him into a one-armed hug, mumbling her gratitude in his shoulder. He returns the gesture as tight as he could, smiling in victory that he did something right. Kakashi chuckles at the touching sight with endearment. He curiously peers at Sasuke when he approaches the duo as they separate. Sakura didn’t bother wiping away the tears from her face as she looked nervously at her former long-term crush. “Sasuke…?” One black eye and one Rinnegan stare at her for a brief moment before he raises his right arm out with his sheathed sword in hand. “Take it.” Her lips part open in shock. This boy - now a young man - is giving her his sword, the same one he used in an attempt to kill her. She hesitantly reaches out only to pause in hesitation. She looks into his heterochromia eyes for...what? Betrayal? Deceitfulness? His expression never wavered as she stared at him, not even when she firmly grasped the sheath. He releases his hold and she lets the sword hang by her side. “I’m sorry.” She stiffens upon hearing those two words. The words she’s been longing to hear for so long from the person who’s caused her so much heartache. “Sorry for what?” she asks slowly with narrow eyes. His bi-colored eyes soften just enough to emphasize the meaning of his words, “ ...For everything.” Kakashi and Naruto watch the scene with smiles of their own. She bites the corner of her lips as more tears fall on her cheeks, “It took you four years to apologize to me.” She sniffs, “About time, you idiot!” “And I thought my habit of being late was bad.” Kakashi prides himself on making Sakura chuckle and Naruto laugh; he managed to glimpse a smirk from Sasuke. “Sakura Haruno,” The group looks to the Sage, “We must make haste. The portal will open shortly after I place the protective seal onto you.” She walks forward in time to stand in front of him. The Sage weaves hand signs fast before she could make them out then hovers his right hand above her chest. A white light shines in between the space and Sakura feels warmth washes over her entire body. As the light dims, she feels something is being etched into the skin between her breasts. It’s oddly not painful but more of a needle poking her skin multiple times type of sensation. The Sage retreats his hand when the light fades into nothing. She places her fingers where she felt the mark is etched into her skin, feeling a rough outline through the shirt. She looks up at the Sage, expecting him to say something. “The seal is set. Lady Katsuyu will also bear the mark on her body when you summon her after you arrive. I will begin preparing the portal.” He nods at her before floating near the middle of the summoning circle. He claps his hands together as he and the other Kages concentrate their chakra in the very center. Sparks of energy snap until one white sphere the size of a soccer ball appears and gradually expands. Sakura sighs as she turns to face her team. This will be the last time she’ll see her team, her boys as she knows them. She blinks away the tears that begin to gloss over her eyes. “This is it.” Her voice wavers, overwhelmed with emotions. Naruto embraces her again then says in her ear, “We believe in you so trust in yourself.” She returns his embrace with the arm holding on to Sasuke’s sword. The blonde teammate drags the Uchiha into the group hug; Kakashi amusingly joins in on the group hug. They separate after one last tight squeeze. She smiles longingly at them but rests her eyes on their leader. “I don’t suppose I can ask to see your full face? I mean, I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again.” she half-jokes with a sad double meaning. Kakashi ignores the looks the boys are giving him in favor of looking at her for a second. He notes the energy sphere is much larger now and continues to expand. Soon, she’ll go through and that’ll be the last time Sakura Haruno, the apprentice of Tsunade Senju, one of the best medic ninjas any nation could ask for, will be known. He hooks his index finger inside the hem and tugs it down. All three gape at his full-face now revealed to them after so many years. Her eyes shift to take in his facial features to commit into her memory. A straight nose, high cheekbones, smooth fair skin, a strong jawline, and a defined tanned line just under his eyes and across his nose bridge. Two things that stuck out to her are his lips - neither too plump or too thin- and the mole resting near the left corner of his lips. Sakura, never taking her eyes from his face, shifts the sword from her left hand to her right with the pouch in between her chest and arm, cups the left side of his face. Her thumb caresses his cheek gently. She laughs, “I win the bet! You two owe me so much money!” She gasps when she feels and sees Kakashi smiled amusingly. The man has deep dimples on both corners of his lips! Her eyes squint at the smile and the beauty mole for a second before widening in recognition. “You’re Su--!” She couldn’t finish that sentence because something soft yet a little chapped captures her lips. Her eyes bulge out slightly upon realizing who these lips belong to. Naruto screams in horror while Sasuke’s eyes widen with parted lips. “WH-WH-WH-WHAT A-ARE YOU-YOU…!” The former stammers out with modification. Kakashi finally pulls back with a smirk on full display. He chuckles when her face lights up bright red with a shocked expression. “Let’s keep that a secret, okay?” He winks at her playfully. “GET AWAY FROM SAKURA YOU DAMN PERVERTED TEACHER!” The man easily dodges to the side when the blonde lunges at him. Minato, who watched that exchange, blinks at his former student. The same student who used to be always aloof, cold, distant, followed the rules. The same student who endured many losses in his youth. The same student he thought of as a younger brother. The reanimated man shakes his head with amusement, “Kakashi, you little dog.” Sakura touched her lips, still in shock. Her former teacher, the second most perverted teacher who worships porn, just kissed her. He stole her first kiss! He stole her first kiss on the lips for star's sake! If it’s possible, her blush just got more heated. She doesn't know whether to be mortified by the notion her 14-year superior just stole her first kiss at the sweet age of 16, or be happy she got her first kiss at all before the end - or is it considered the beginning given her approaching task? “LOOK AT HER! YOU MADE HER SPEECHLESS!” She finally snaps out of her daze because of Naruto’s yelling. Her eyes briefly look at Kakashi only to look away just as quickly. Oh man, she can’t look at him the same again! “YOU DAMN PERVERT!” “Oh, calm down Naruto.” A sudden glint in his visible eyes appears, “Unless you want a kiss too before our approaching end?” The blonde stiffens then backs away to hide behind Sasuke, “Get away from me!” “What about you, Sasuke?” he only received a dark glare in return. Kakashi shrugs nonchalantly yet he’s highly entertained. A loud ripping sound echoes in the quiet battlefield, drawing the team’s attention to the center. The energy sphere has grown into an opening the size of a Beast Energy Ball in the ground; white and blue energies spin in a never-ending spiral like a whirlpool in water. “It is time, Sakura Haruno.” The Sage calmly states, looking back at her. The medic swallows a lump caught in her throat then takes the first step. Her slow pace gains speed until she’s running closer to the portal. She ignores the fresh set of tears slipping down her cheeks. She ignores the urge to look back because she’ll likely stay with her team. She jumps at the edge of the portal. The energy pulls her down into the whirlpool of energy. Still, she doesn't look back. She dares not to look back. Although she smiles when she hears Naruto cheering after her. I swear to fix everything. Don’t wait for me because I’ve become a ghost of the person that once existed. A/N: 3/4/21 I've made the proper changes that were necessary. I hope I got them all and I'm so sorry for the previous version! Stars, it was a mess. I should've re-read this before I posted this, but what's done is done.
I hope all of you still like story! I strongly encourage you to comment and/or send in your reviews to let me know what you think of this chapter as well as the upcoming ones! |
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September 2021
AuthorHi there! My name is Kristine and welcome to my website! |