Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"Is everyone here?" Jiraiya asked, his face grim. Everyone nodded. "You can start the meeting now," Kakashi said lazily, his lone eye roaming over the entire squad. "Okay. The Sandaime's time is almost up meaning we have to find a new Hokage," the white-haired Sannin said. "Almost up?" Shikamaru questioned. Jiraiya nodded. "He's too old to be Hokage. With the Yondaime gone, we have to find a new Hokage fast otherwise I don't know what Orochimaru will do next if he discovers that the city is at it's weakest," he explained. "Whose gonna be the next Hokage then?" TenTen asked. Jiraiya almost smiled dreamily before composing himself. "Tsunade Senju," he replied. Several murmurs were heard in the room. "Yeah, she became Hokage after the Sandaime following the Konoha Crush," Lee said excitedly. "All thanks to me," Naruto said as he grinned proudly. "I'm the one who- Ow! What was that for teme?!" he yelled at his teammate who had smacked the back of his head. "Hn," the Uchiha replied. "N-Naruto-kun, now's not the time for that," Hinata said as she spared the blonde a glance. Said blonde pouted sourly.

"We have to find Tsunade before the old man dies. The fate of Konoha is in our hands," Jiraiya said. "Yes. I'm sure you all know of the fight at the Hokage Tower six months ago. Luckily, none of the civilians know of it otherwise it would have caused a ruckus," Kakashi said. By the fight at the Hokage Tower, they meant the fight between Hiruzen and Orochimaru with a small army of Sound Shinobi. They had been able to seal the Tower off from the rest of the city before putting several layers of genjutsu around it, courtesy of Kurenai. The whole of the rookies with the exception of Hinata and Neji had been there, fighting off the Sound nin and also trying to protect the Hokage and prevent the fight from getting out of control. "If we have to find Lady Tsunade, then what's stopping us?" Neji asked casually. Jiraiya smiled sheepishly. "The problem is we don't know where she is," he replied. "Didn't you say you talked to her a few months ago?" Kiba asked, Akamaru barking in return to emphasize his master's words. "I did. I asked her to take her position as the Godaime Hokage but she refused," he retorted. "That again? So troublesome," Shikamaru sighed as he rolled his eyes, remembering how Jiraiya and Naruto had hunted her down to force her to accept her position as Hokage in their past life. "Everything is always troublesome to you," Ino said in a matter of fact tone. Chouji nodded in return, munching on potato crisps.

"Ever since then, she has been in hiding. "I've haven't heard or seen her. My sources say she disappeared into the thin," he said with a humourous smile at the last part. "What are we going to do to find her then?" Asuma asked, smoking on a cigar. "Kurenai, haven't you talked to Shizune these last few months?" Kakashi asked the red-eyed beauty. "No. Come to think of it, we stopped talking a long time ago," she replied. Jiraiya grunted. "Probably Tsunade's doing. She knows that we'll be searching for her," the Sannin said. "Can't you become Hokage instead?" Kiba asked. Jiraiya shook his head. "She'll make a great Hokage as you all know. Besides I don't have the time," he replied. "Coz you'll be busy peeping at the bathhouses," Ino said with an eye roll which earned her a glare from the white-haired Sannin. "Don't the toads have any information on how we can get her?" Naruto asked. "We do. But there's just one tiny problem," Jiraiya said. "What is it?" Sasuke spoke for the first time. "It's her apprentice. We have to find Tsunade's apprentice. The only problem is that we don't know who she is. The toads were not able to identify her," he replied. "Her?" Ino asked questioningly. "She's a female and for now that's all we know," he spoke. He stared at them hard. "Your mission is to find Tsunade's apprentice. If we find her then we have found Tsunade," Jiraiya said. "And how are we supposed to find her?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know. Just make sure you find her before the old man's time is up," he replied. Everyone groaned in annoyance. How were they supposed to find someone they had no clue about?

"Just so you know," he added almost quietly. "If Danzo gets his Root on her first, we're done for. We have to make sure that he doesn't ever find Tsunade's apprentice. If he ever does, we just have to get to her first," he said. Everyone nodded. "Sai said that he's been getting dreams on the past. He knows about her apprentice except he doesn't know who is she," Kakashi spoke. Majority of them looked down at the ground. For all they knew, Danzo was a crazy war veteran hellbent on wanting to rule Konoha. "He's planning to remove the Sandaime as we speak. And while he's waiting, he's planning on eliminatimg the Godaime Hokage in secret. We're yet to find the Rokudaime Hokage so we can't be too sure," Asuma breathed out. Jiraiya took out a scroll and wrote down their names below the details of the mission.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Ino Yamanaka.

Shikamaru Nara.

Chouji Akimichi.

Hinata Hyuuga.

Kiba Inuzuka.

Akamaru.

Shino Aburame.

Rock Lee.

TenTen.

Neji Hyuuga.

Kurenai Yuuhi.

Kakashi Hatake.

Asuma Sarutobi.

Maito Gai.

Jiraiya.

"This is our new mission. Find Tsunade's apprentice." He stamped the Hokage's seal on it.

"You know, sometimes I feel like we're leaving Sakura out when we have these meetings," Ino said as she pouted sadly. The three girls were walking to the locker rooms to change for a tiring gym class with Gai-sensei. "Yeah me too," TenTen said. Hinata nodded with a sad smile on her lips. "Even though she wasn't our friend in our past lives, she still matters as much as you guys. I just wish we could do something about it," the blonde said as she adjusted her backpack on her shoulders. She sighed before adding quietly. "I wish we could just tell her so that she doesn't feel left out. Do you see the look in her eyes when we just get up and go?" Ino said sadly. "S-She looks so sad like she wants to go but she knows she can't," the Hyuuga heiress replied in a small voice. "Remember that one time when we were at her house and Kakashi-sensei called us for an emergency meeting," TenTen said. "Don't even remind me. I can't bear to see her face like that," Ino said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"There's nothing we can do about it. She can't know about us otherwise Kakashi will have our head," the brown-haired girl said. "Let's hurry up and get there before Gai-sensei comes and makes us do his youth speech," Ino said as she picked up her pace. The other girls nodded.

"Man, I'm so tired," the Nara heir said as he yawned loudly. "You're always tired," Kiba said. They were currently in the boys' locker room changing into their gym uniform. Naruto took off his short-sleeved white shirt with the forest green Konoha logo on the breast pocket and put it, scratch that, threw it into his locker. He moved on to remove his black pants and threw them into his locker followed by his white socks and school shoes. The black tie had been abandoned somewhere in his room. He put on a pair of white shorts and an orange t-shirt with the Konoha logo on it. He wore a pair of black socks and white trainers. "Man, it feels to be good out of that suffocating uniform, dattebayo," he said as he stretched. "You never wear your tie and leave your shirt unbuttoned, sometimes forgetting to tie your shoelaces. How is that suffocating?" Sasuke asked as he put on a black t-shirt with the same design. "Like you're one to talk. You're no better than me," the blonde snorted. "Hn," the Uchiha all but replied.

"Lady Tsunade's apprentice? Mmmhh, sounds troublesome," the lazy genius said. "Everything including women is always troublesome to you," Kiba said with smirk. Shikamaru opted to change out of his uniform into white shorts and an army green t-shirt, ignoring the loudmouth. "But I don't get you. Girls always make my blood run. Especially Sakura," the dog-user said dreamily. Feeling a glare at the back of his head, Kiba snorted. "Don't glare at me like that Sasuke. I'm just joking," the brown-haired boy sighed. "Hn," Sasuke said as he walked out of the room. "Man, that glare gives me the creeps," Chouji said as he shivered sarcastically. "Just make sure he's not around when you talk about her. Last time I talked about how pretty she was, he literally put me under a genjutsu using his Mangekyo Sharingan," the Uzumaki blonde said with a slight shudder. He did not want a repeat of that. "Scared are we now?" Neji said with a faint smirk, tying his shoelaces. "I'm not scared of Sasuke!" he yelled. "But with Sakura included, he's even scarier than Madara," he replied with a pale face which earned him a few chuckles.

"Are you guys coming for our sleepover tonight?" Sakura asked as she pulled her short-sleeved white shirt over her head. She took a red t-shirt with the school logo and put it on before doning a pair of black shorts and trainers. The three girls shared a look. "We have a clan meeting in the evening," Ino lied as she removed her black flared skirt. "Oh, that's okay. We can do it next time," the pinkette replied. "Sorry Sakura," TenTen said as she removed her tie. "Don't worry about it," the said girl replied with a shrug. "Long hair is so annoying at times," Ino complained as she tied her hair into a messy bun. "Says the girl who wants to look sexy for Sasuke-kun," TenTen teased, halfway through wearing her maroon t-shirt. "You're so backward TenTen. She's going for Sai these days," Sakura piped in. "W-What?! That's absurd!" the blonde stammered, her face tinged red. "S-Sakura's just saying that coz she wants Sasuke all for herself," the Hyuuga heiress said with a smile which caused Sakura to bristle. "Hinata! That's my line," Ino said with a pout before her face broke into a wicked grin.

Though it's true. Sakura has been giving Sasuke the cow eyes since we were kids," she said casually. Sakura groaned loudly. "I'm getting out of here," she said as she closed her locker and went out of the room, ignoring the friends' laughter which followed her out.

"Greetings my youthful students! I hope you had a lovely day!" Gai said his usual manner. "It's still morning sensei," piped in a random someone who was ignored. "I have decided on the most youthful game which shall showcase the beauty of my wonderful students during this youthful spring time!" he said with a million watt smile. "Yosh! That is wonderful idea Gai-sensei!" Lee exclaimed with tears in his eyes.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"I can't believe I endured an entire lifetime with these two idiots," TenTen sighed tiredly causing Ino and Hinata to chuckle beside her. After a good two minutes, the"Gai-sensei!" and "Lee!" stopped. "What'll we be doing sensei?" a brown haired girl asked. Gai grinned almost scarily as he took ball from the ground beside him.

"Dodgeball."

Chapter Text

They had split into two teams, boys vs girls. Everyone else had been hit by the ninjas, leaving only them behind. What kind of ninja would ever miss throwing a ball at a civilian? It was like target practice and that kind of situation, in which the whole of Konoha 11 had managed to hit everyone leaving only them in the court. Well, almost everyone except Sakura. She had easily evaded and dodged all of the balls the boys had thrown, managing to hit a few of her own until it came down to Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji, Lee and Kiba. Chouji received a wicked hit from Ino and thus left the game. "Guess we'll be facing off with you guys then, as always," Ino said as she tossed a ball up and down in her hand. "Yeah and we're gonna win, dattebayo!" Naruto said with a thumbs up. Ino smirked in an all too familiar manner. "Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he cast a quick genjutsu over the court prompting every other student except them to fall into a deep slumber. Well, and Sakura as usual. Genjutsu never seemed to work on her. Kurenai had first tried to put her under a low-level genjutsu when she was fourteen. It didn't even work on her. They had tried to use some advanced genjutsu but it didn't seem to work on her. If she got caught under one, she would break out of it in less than a minute.

Shikamaru had thought that perhaps she was a ninja somehow in their past lives but after interrogating the girl in a typical Nara manner, he came to the conclusion that she was just like every other human in Konoha, a civilian. He had asked Sasuke and Hinata to use their doujutsu to check her chakra levels. They were of a civilian, very very low, just enough to keep her alive. She had never shown any reaction to the little powers they showed like their enhanced physical strength, ability to use weapons, sleeping in trees, crazy acrobatics or weird physical features like Kiba's triangle marks, Hinata, Neji and Ino's pupiless eyes, Naruto's whiskers, Lee's awesome taijutsu, his unnatural intelligence, Kurenai's red eyes, Kakashi's masked face and so on. One time, she caught him using his Shadow technique at Ino's house. He had caught her with his shadows, restricting any movement and asked Sasuke to use his Sharingan to wipe out her memory.

He was relieved when she showed no signs of remember what had happened the previous day. Whether or not she had caught one of them using ninjutsu or chakra-consuming techniques, he didn't know. As long she did not acknowledge their craziness, he was fine with that. He glanced around to make sure that everyone was fast asleep. 'Good,' he thought. "Be sure not to destroy the court!" Gai shouted from the bleachers. The two teams had a face off. Boys vs girls, who was going to make the first move? Naruto's hands twitched as he held the ball, eager to haul it into Ino's face but a glare from Sasuke stopped him. After a moment or so of silence, Shikamaru left out a long sigh and the battle began. Ino threw her ball first, aiming at Naruto who dodged and threw his own. It was a battle of balls as each one of them threw the balls with all their might. Even Shikamaru was participating, making sure to at least hit Ino before retiring. "Stand still you prick!" TenTen shouted as she threw a ball at Neji as though she was throwing a kunai at an enemy ninja. Neji dodged her balls one by one before activating the Eight Palm Trigrams Technique, quickly deflecting all of her balls and sending some back to her. The experience of a lifetime enabled the brunette to dodge each one of his balls as she had been his teammate. "Your strength never fails to impress me my youthful cherry blossom!" Lee praised Sakura who was hitting balls at him at an astounding speed. "Your-"

BAM!

She hit him square in the face which caused Shikamaru and Kiba to lose their guards and snicker, earning hits from Hinata and Ino. "Go forehead-girl!" Ino said as she threw a ball at Sasuke. "Yeah yeah, pig," Sakura said with a smile as she threw another ball at Neji. 'This match is taking too long. Time to wrap this up,' she thought as she threw a ball into with air. Naruto watched as Sakura jumped into the air. "Sha-"

"-nnaro!" The earth quacked and yielded under the force of the blow, massive chucks of earth uprooting and bulging out causing all of his clones to disappear in loud poofs. His only thought, as he stared at the wreckage in shock, was 'I'm never ever talking back to-'

"Sakura! You killed him!"

The blonde woke up with a start. He was lying on the cold floor and he felt his face throbbing painfully. He looked around to the entire group huddled around him with concerned looks. "Are you okay?" Sakura asked him as she brought down her face to him. Naruto turned a shade of red which rivaled that of Hinata. He was yet to get over his crush on Sakura. "I-I'm fine," he squeaked, hoping his voice did not betray the swirl of emotions he was feeling. She helped him get up and continued to inspect him for any injuries. "What happened?" Kiba asked. "You went all spacey before Sakura ball-smacked your face. Although you had already blacked out by the time the ball hit you," the brunette said with a grin at the last part. "I just remembered something and..." he trailed. He cast a look at Shikamaru who understood what he was trying to say. He had remembered something from their past. They were all going to meet later that night so Naruto could update others during that time. "Sorry Naruto, I guess I got carried away," the pinkette said with an apologetic smile. "No worries Sakura, I'm a-okay, dattebayo!" he said reassuringly as he grinned. "And that closes off our gym lesson!" Gai shouted from the bleachers with a million watt smile and a thumbs up.

School had ended a while ago and it was still a few hours before Sasuke had to go home. His parents knew that he usually arrived at least after 11pm. He had meetings with his group till that time. He had discovered that he had been reincarnated as this modern Tokyo kid when he was 12, along with the rest of his generation. He had been getting weird flashbacks of himself doing things he never knew were real like jumping from tree to tree without falling, facing half-human-half-monsters, having lightning in his hand, having red eyes, killing his beloved aniki (though he'd never admit it). The final stream had been when he remembered his fight with Naruto when they were 13 and the final one when they were 18. All of his memories, well most of them anyway except those after the Fourth Shinobi war and a few bits and pieces, came back and he knew that he had been reincarnation some centuries into the future. He was glad to know that he had retained most of his powers, as in powers that his twelve-year old body could handle. He was more than happy to discover that he didn't have the Curse seal's powers. The next day when he saw Naruto at the classroom during their middle school summer school, the two of them had stared at each other, not knowing what to say. But one thing he knew what that the blonde had also remembered. It was good to know that he wasn't the only with memories from a dangerous past life of blood, chakra and war. A few months later, he had reunited with most of the people he knew, more of the ones he had paid little attention to anyway.

The only one he had acquainted with in this life who hadn't shown signs of remembering was Sakura. He guessed that she was just a civilian of this timeline. Naruto had introduced them to Jiraiya and Kakashi who later introduced them to Asuma, Kurenai and Gai who had remembered way early before them and finally the Sandaime Hokage. The Yondaime had passed away still, on the day of Naruto's birth in a car accident along with his wife who had recently gave birth to his blonde best friend. They were running away from Orochimaru and had been setup thus losing their lives in the process. He grew up in the care of Kakashi and so he wasn't all that lonely. The day he had discovered that his brother had slaughtered their entire clan in their previous timeline through a dream, his parents heard him screaming his lungs out. The both of them and Itachi had rushed to his room and when he saw, he had broken down into tears. They weren't alive in their previous timeline, he had never gotten the privilege to live with his blood relatives at thirteen. He had bawled on his mother's shoulder and moved to pull both his father and brother into tight embrace. He was forever grateful for the second chance that Kami had given him to be with his family.

There were many other experiences he had had, some he was yet to discover and some he did not want to revisit. They had meetings every night since he was 15. Jiraiya had informed them that their enemies had also recovered their memories. The enemies being Danzo and Orochimaru among others. The Sand siblings had also contacted them to notify that they also recovered their memories. Naruto had been over the moon because Gaara had not forgotten their precious memories from before.

Memories, memories, memories...

He turned around the corner to bump into a familiar pinkette who was still clad in their uniform. Of all the people to meet on a day like this... "Oh Sasuke. I didn't see you," Sakura said with a smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear. 'Bleh, fangirl,' he thought with a bitter taste in his mouth. The old tuck-your-hair-behind-ear-to-look wasn't going to work on him. He didn't hate her, no. He despised her fangirl tendencies. Well, her seven-to-thirteen years old fangirl tendencies she had dropped when she became 14. But she showed that she still had a crush on him on occasions like when he went through Ino's conversations with the pinkette (he never told the blonde that he used his Sharingan to go through her memories and was sure as hell that she wouldn't appreciate that), blushing whenever talking to him, making him bentos for lunch, offering him her seat when there were no chairs in class, writing a love letter to him when she was fifteen, asking him (more like forcing him) for dates when he was in a cranky mood (those luncheons, as he had called them, did make him feel better), helping him with his homework when he had spent the entire night training or fighting off Root or Sound ninja and so on. He had a soft spot for the girl because she went out of her way to help him, sacrificing a lot of her precious time and feelings for him, putting her dream aside to become a doctor so that she could do his homework, making those damn good rice balls which were better than his mom's (he would never tell kaa-chan or Sakura that), making him smile with her quirks like being a messy ice cream eater or accidentally bending the metals bars on the school balcony (that was just scary) and, and...

There were many other things she had done for him, some he would never tell Naruto like doing his laundry for him when he was too tired to do so (only Itachi knew that but he doubted his aniki could keep his mouth shut whenever it came to teasing him with Naruto or their mother), sneaking tomatoes in his lunch box when his mother had refused to give him some (she thought he didn't know but he did, he was an Uchiha after all). Up to this day, he doesn't know how she was able to do all those stuff without him ever informing or telling her. It's like she knew him inside out, as though they had lived together at one point in life. But still! He hated fangirlism and he would not tolerate that.

"Are you going somewhere?" she asked innocently. "Hn," he replied. "I'll take that as a clan meeting then," she said. He raised an eyebrow at that. "Ino told me that you guys have a clan meeting in the evening," she confirmed his thoughts. She was quiet for awhile before turning up to look at him. "Are the clan meetings intense, like in the movies where you glare at each other or pull rank on each other?" she asked with barely concealed excitement. Her reply was silence. "You're not going to answer that, right?" she asked. His flat stare told her so. Sakura sighed before handing him the plastic bag she was holding. He raised an eyebrow at the gesture. "It's rice balls and miso soup with a lot of tomatoes in a bento. I made it for you," she chirped. He raised his eyebrow higher and she groaned out loud. "Could you at least use words for once?" she said with a pout. "Hn," he all but said. Rolling her eyes, she gestured for him to take it. "I'm not hung-"

grumble...

'Damn you,' he cursed at his betraying stomach. "You haven't eaten since morning. Mikoto-san will be worried if you end up collapsing on her doorstep just because you were too stubborn to take a meal. Now c'mon, take it," she encouraged him. Receiving nothing but a glare in return, she took his left hand (how does she know I'm left handed?), opened his palm and put the handles of the plastic bag in his hand and closed his hand around it. The gesture made him feel weird in his stomach. 'Must be the hunger,' he thought. "You don't have to do this for me," he said as he attempted to hand the plastic bag back to her but she pushed his hand back with far more strength than expected of her body. "I'm doing this for you because I care about you Sasuke. As a friend, not a fangirl," she said the last part bitterly. He expected the words 'as a friend, not a fangirl' to bring him see sense of peace but all he felt was hollowness at those words. 'Must be the hunger,' he said to himself. Rolling his eyes, he muttered a barely audible thanks before continuing his journey towards the loudmouth's house.

She stared at his retreating figure with a sad look. "Oh Sasuke, if only you knew," she whispered. It was like all those years ago, when he walked away from her, Team 7 and Konoha.

He arrived to find everyone present. They were huddled around the table with various scrolls scattered about. He muttered his greetings before taking his unofficial seat between Naruto and Kakashi. "I take that everyone is present?" Jiraiya asked. Everyone hummed an affirmative. "So we start off with what you've discovered this past week. Any thing new?" the Sannin asked. Naruto raised a hand. "I remembered a training session of sorts. Something or someone had hit the ground and the earth was uprooting and all, like an earthquake. My clones were being destroyed due to the force of it. My last thought was 'I'm never ever talking back to-.' That was all,' he narrated. "You said someone had hit the ground right? That sounds like Tsunade's signature moves," Kakashi said. Jiraiya nodded. "But it wasn't baa-chan. I just know it," the blonde said. "Could it be..." Ino trailed. "Tsunade's apprentice," Shikamaru finished with a sigh. "So I knew Tsunade's apprentice?" Naruto said with barely contained glee. "My guesses are that. Does anyone else have new information?" the white-haired ninja asked. He received silence as a reply.

"Well then, I guess it's my turn. I contacted the Toads to see if they had some information on Tsunade or her apprentice," he explained. "What'd you find?" Sasuke asked. "Got a brief evaluation of the apprentice's skills. Monstrous strength, medical ninja, immunity to genjutsu, good acrobatics, bad temper, intelligence which rivals the Nara. She can fight toe-to-toe with a highly developed Mangekyo Sharingan-" "Woah! Bet she can wipe your face with the floor teme," Naruto cut the Sannin which earned him a smack to the back of his head from said teme and the Sannin.

"As I was saying, she is also said to have gained the Strength of a Hundred Healings by now," he finished. "You mean the purple diamond on Lady Tsunade's forehead?" TenTen asked. "Yes, that," he replied. "Meaning she must have high chakra levels then," Neji said. "I'm guessing so," Jiraiya replied. "So that's means we have to find a girl with a purple diamond on her forehead and high chakra levels?" Naruto asked quizzically. "Don't be some dumb, you baka! You think she'd walk around like that knowing that we're searching for her?" Ino seethed with barely restrained anger. The blonde smiled sheepishly. "So troublesome," Shikamaru groaned. When everyone sent him a questioning glance, he decided to answer them. "She's immune to genjutsu meaning genjutsu is out of question even with the Sharingan. She has monstrous strength meaning you can only lay a finger on her with the guarantee that you can survive a death blow to the gut. She can fight toe-to-toe with the Mangekyo Sharingan, which most of us aren't able to do meaning she's quick on her toes. Being a medical ninja means precise chakra control and dodging, meaning she can dodge any attacks from any angle. She might be any easy target if you can avoid the chakra scalpel which can tear your muscles with drawing blood. Not to mention the 1000 ways a medic knows to kill a person. She's got the brains that most of you lack plus her temper. All in all, she's a drag," the Nara heir finished his evaluation with a sigh. "Good evaluation Shikamaru, your youthful mind never fails to amaze me!" Gai said with his signature pose.

"The only way we can catch her is if we are combined. We can't take her on separately," Asuma said. "Even if we find somehow encounter her, how do we even catch her?" TenTen asked. "We could try using the Mind Transfer Jutsu. I can get into her body long enough for you guys to catch her," Ino suggested. "I guess that might work," Kakashi drawled out as if considering it. "It always works," Ino huffed proudly as she flipped her ponytail which unceremoniously slapped Shikamaru's face. 'Troublesome woman,' he thought.

"I'll see if we can locate her whereabouts. Tsunade might be a drunkard but she's still smart. I'm guessing she'll be sending her apprentice on missions just to humor us, to show that we can't catch her apprentice," Jiraiya said. "I'll tell you whenever I can find information," he said, dismissing everyone.

"Oh, what's in there?" Naruto asked as he grabbed Sasuke's plastic bag, eager to open. He suddenly found his hands empty, back on the floor and staring into the famous Uchiha doujutsu. "That-is-mine," he gritted out through clenched teeth as he dangled the plastic bag dangerously in front of him. Naruto gulped as he nodded fearfully. "Don't forget to read about tomorrow's upcoming Biology pop quiz!" Naruto shouted after the Uchiha who had taken to jumping on the rooftops.

Chapter Text

"Shishou," Sakura greeted the busty blonde who was seated in a bar. She was already drunk but seemed somber at the same time. They were at a table at the far back, away from most of the noise and commotion. "Sakura," she drawled out lazily. "Good to see you again brat," she said with a drunk smile. "It's good to see you too Shishou," the pinkette replied with a smile. "Is there anything you need me to do for you?" she asked innocently. "Am I not allowed to see my own apprentice?" she said with a glare which made Sakura almost cower, almost but not quite. "Whenever you call me when you're drunk, it's either you need me to do an errand for you or buy more sake," she replied with a shrug. "Hmmm, I guess there's no use beating around the bush then. I have a mission for you," she said, immediately snapping out of her drunken stupor and going into what Sakura dubbed as the 'Hokage mode.' She was silently celebrating. She hadn't had a mission in six months and she was growing restless by the day. Being Sasuke and Naruto's babysitter didn't count as a mission. "It's a diplomatic mission with an Ame diplomat," she said. The pinkette was quiet as she listened to her master explain the mission.

"I'll probably be Hokage soon, with Jiraiya hot on my trail as he usually is. So before I go into office, I want to settle a few things with the other villages. The tension which is brewing between Konoha and Ame isn't good and the old man doesn't know how to deal with this. He's not as smart as he was anymore, age and stress seem to be taking toll on his body," she said as she sighed. "I want you to meet up with an Ame diplomat called Kurotsuchi. She's the granddaughter of the current Tsuchikage. You'll be discussing terms of a treaty between Ame and Konoha, mostly about trade and all. It might not seem like it yet but both our economies are slowly declining, especially Amegakure. Prices are going up, shortage of basic commodities and the likes. It's unfortunate that the government can't do anything about it, in as much as we're close to the capital, Tokyo. We're still the ancient Leaf Village so the workings of our city is different from the rest of Japan," she elaborated. "We're sort of like our mini country, if you know what I mean. So we have to connect with the other villages from the past to ensure that the city is still standing strong," she finished. Sakura nodded in understanding.

Konoha was located on the outskirts of Tokyo, surrounded by mountains and all which was why it seemed almost non-existent. The only difference was that the buildings and structures were know modern. Instead of the forest which covered the village, there were roads and railway lines which led to Tokyo, although there was still a bit of a forest around the city. Yes, it was large enough to be a city but not as bit as Tokyo or Kyoto. The other villages from the past were located at various points around the country, and like Konoha, they were on the outskirts of the major cities and almost non-existent. They weren't forgotten, it's just that they weren't given as much attention like other cities. They seemed to be self-sufficient on their own, one reporter had said when he was commenting on Konoha. "When do I have to meet her?" the kunoichi asked. "Tonight at a local bar near the outskirts of the city, just as to not gain too much attention," the blonde explained as she went back to drinking her sake. "Oh, I almost forgot," she said as she looked up to stare at the girl straight in the eye. "Expect Jiraiya's brats today. They're looking everywhere for you. So let's decide to humor them for a bit, you know what I mean?" she said as she dwindled her glass. Sakura nodded. She meant to say that she was going to meet Jiraiya's pupils and somewhat engage in a battle so that they could catch her. She, on the other side, was not to get at caught at all costs. It was sort of like a teaser, a game of cat and mouse with the mouse walking right into the cat's trap. They had to know that Tsunade knew that they were looking for her but she wasn't going to get caught anytime soon. "Consider it done," the medic said with a smirk.

"I forgot to read on the Biology pop quiz!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. "Keep it down Naruto otherwise I'm gonna lose my concentration!" Ino seethed at the blonde. "But I forgot to read and I'm gonna fail and Jiraiya is going to refuse to let me eat ramen for a week!" he continued to whine. "Naruto, I swear to Kami I am going to pound after this test," the Yamanaka sneered.

They were during a Biology pop quiz which they had forgotten all about. Naruto had reminded Sasuke the previous day but even he did not read on it. And now they were during the test, communicating through Ino's mind transfer ninjutsu about how they were going to pass the test. The test was hard, just like the one they took during their first Chunin Exams, except it was just Biology. No one wanted to go home with a bad report card. Even Kakashi and Jiraiya had warned them that if they failed their tests, they were going to seal their chakra for a week as punishment. No one said anything against that.

"We know Naruto, even Hana is going to kill me if I fail this test. I already failed the last one, I can't fail again so be quiet! You're not the only one who's going to get in trouble," Kiba said annoyedly. Despite all the protests coming from the rest of the group, Naruto continued to complain about how he was never, ever going to taste holy sweet ramen for a week because of the stupid Tsunade's apprentice whom they had spent the entire night discussing, not to mention that he did not immediately go to sleep after the meeting but instead played video games till sunrise. "Dobe, shut up. You're not helping," Sasuke said with a hint of anger. "Guys I have a plan!" TenTen said excitedly. "I hope it doesn't include threatening our Biology teacher with fuma shurikens to give us good marks," Neji said with a smirk. "No... Well, I did think of that but that's not my plan. We'll use mind transfer on the smartest person in class so we can copy them and pass," she said as if it was the most intelligent idea in the whole world. "Yosh, that is a great idea TenTen!" Lee exclaimed.

"Actually, that might work," Ino said thoughtfully. "It's a great idea TenTen," the meek Hinata piped in. "All those in favor of using the Mind Transfer Jutsu on Sakura, say ai," Shikamaru drawled out. "On Sakura? Why her?" Naruto asked. "Dobe, she's the most intelligent person in this class especially when it comes to Biology," Sasuke said as he rolled his eyes. "Oh," the blonde said sheepishly. "Ai." "Ai." "Ai." "Let's go for it." "Yosh, I agree!" "A-ai." "Hn." "Okay guys, I'm gonna perform the technique. Just make sure I don't fall off my chair," Ino said as she readied herself. "And display your underwear for the whole world to see," TenTen said with a snicker. "TenTen!"

Ino took a deep breath before forming the sign for the mind transfer jutsu. She faced Sakura who was seating three seats away from her. The pinkette was facing forward but the tenseness in her shoulders told the blonde that she was already deep in concentration. 'Okay, here I go. Mind Transfer Jutsu,' she thought and immediately slumped onto her desk, her mind entering Sakura's.

"Wow, that's was so easy to do. Okay, now let's see some Biology answers," Ino thought as her mind possessed Sakura's body. She was about to check the answers when she felt a dark figure slowly rise into Sakura's subconscious. "Hmmm, what's that?" she asked as a figure began to take form. It formed into a Sakura who was clad in their uniform with a white outline, everything else black. On her forehead, there was written the kanji worder "Inner." "What in the world is this?" the blonde asked as the figure continued to grow in size until it towered over her. The figure stared down at her with hard eyes. Before the kunoichi could comprehend what was happening, she found the figure's giant fist flying towards her and hitting her entirely, knocking her out of Sakura's mind.

She woke up with a start. Her entire front was sore all over, as though she had been punched by Chouji using his clan's technique. She groaned out loud in pain. Gosh, it hurt that her eyes watered. "Ms Yamanaka, would you mind telling me why you're moaning in my class?" Mrs Shenji, their Biology, said disdainfully. She did not bother hiding her contempt towards the petite blonde. Everyone knew of the feud between the two females and they had no shame displaying it to the whole world. "I'm trying to concentrate! Now, if you would be so kind as to keep your mouth quiet so that I can concentrate on this stupid test," the Yamanaka replied with barely contained anger. The woman rolled her eyes, obviously dismissing her rude behavior as normal. Ino glared at the gesture, wanting somewhere to vent our her anger on literally getting punched out of Sakura's mind. She ignored her friends' puzzled looks.

"It didn't work," she grumbled. "What, how come?!" the jinchuriki asked disbelievingly. "I don't know, she literally punched me out of her mind!" she exclaimed almost hysterically. "Oh man, what're we going to do?" TenTen groaned out loud. Shikamaru chuckled in the background. "You knew it, didn't you?" Ino said to the lazy genius. "Who are you talking to?" TenTen asked. "Shikamaru! You knew it wouldn't work that's why you're laughing at me!" she shrieked. "I just wanted to see how it turned out is all," the brunette replied with a yawn. "I don't get what you guys are saying," Naruto said puzzledly. "Dobe, he means Sakura doesn't easily fall under genjutsus meaning her mental strength is stronger than yours. Maybe that's why I I couldn't enter her mind because of her mental strength," Sasuke explained. "I really saw another figure in her mind, seriously!" the blonde said. "Sakura always she had a split personality disorder when she was young so I guess you met her Inner Persona," Hinata chimed in. "I'm guessing so," Neji agreed.

They had resignedly copied from another student who had no mental barriers and at least a quarter of Sakura's intelligence in Biology. It was enough for them to get better marks than they were going to have had they both copied. Shikamaru had received a smack to the back of the head from Ino because he had let her try to use her jutsu on a person with a strong mental barrier which injured both her ego and body. At least, their chakra wouldn't be sealed for a week. And now they were meeting with Jiraiya because he had called for an immediate meeting soon after their lessons and the ninjas hurried there.

"We've got a trail on the apprentice," the white haired man said. A murmur resounded in the room. "My source says she has a missiom with a diplomat from another village, namely Ame," he explained. "Your mission is to catch her. But do not, at all costs, sabotage her mission with the Ame diplomat. We don't want to start crisis between the two cities," he said. "So we'll catch her after her mission is complete?" Naruto asked. The Sannin nodded. "They'll be meeting at Asuna's Pub around 10pm," Kakashi said. "Asuna's Pub, the one near the Uchiha district towards the outskirts of the city," Kurenai piped in. "We would've gone there but I think it's a bit of an overkill to send four jounins and Sannin for her apprentice. While I do recognize her abilities but I think she would destroy half of the city trying to get away from us," Kakashi drawled out.

"Think of it as a learning experience for you. You've never been on my tracking missions except Kurenai's team and even they haven't had a worthy mission since they came here. Also you'll be learning to track smartly. Try not to set the city on fire while you're at it," the Sannin said with a pointed look at Sasuke in which the Uchiha looked away. "Or have thousand Narutos running around the city," he said as he looked at the blonde and he blushed. "Or shuriken and kunai raining down on everyone," he finished with a glance at TenTen. "What he's trying to say is that keep in mind that there are civilians all over the city and they are not familiar with ninjutsu," Asuma said lastly. "We got it old man," Naruto said with a thumbs. "Shikamaru is the leader of this mission. I don't expect you to catch her on your first chance but it's worth a try."

Chapter Text

"Are you confident that you'll ensure that all the terms of this treaty are kept?" the dark-haired teenager asked. "Yes. We'll make sure that we keep the terms of this treaty, that is if you do the same," the pinkette said. They were currently seated at the back of Asuna's Pub, near the window in case they needed an escape route. The place was filled with drunkards and sluts of all sorts but it provided the perfect cover. Plus the noise made it hard for anyone to hear what they where saying. The genjutsu made it appear like two drunks having a drinking contest. "You can count on it. We'll be keeping the terms of this treaty. I'll go with this document to the Tsuchikage so he can sign it then come back for another meeting," Kurotsuchi said with a grin. "Thank you for attending this meeting," Sakura said with a low bow. "Same here. Thank your Hokage for me," the Ame ninja replied with a bow of her own. The medic nodded with a smile. "Er, you might wanna get going. I think your search party is looking for you," she said as she wringed her hands. "Thanks for the heads-up," the pinkette replied. The Tsuchikage's granddaughter replied with a nod before disappearing in a gush of wind.

She massaged her temples. The diplomatic meeting had been time consuming and nerve wrecking but all in all, it was a mission successful. And now for her other mission...

Sakura took out an orange mask with a swirl design she had asked Shizune to find for her. It had the exact same design as Madara's aka Tobi aka Obito. It also covered her mop of pink hair. It was exactly what she wanted and would be perfect for this mission. No one would guess her identity, despite the fact that Obito was the one who used this mask. It had two eyeholes revealing her viridian eyes. She had already been dressed for this very same reason. She was dressed in an all black ninja attire. Placing the mask on her face, she sensed their chakra signatures. They had been carefully concealed but a lifetime's worth of experience taught her to trace even the faintest chakra signature. She made sure to check that her hair had been covered, revealing only the top part of it. She applied a henge which dyed her hair jet black. She looked at the window to see her reflection. The medic looked like a female Obito without his usual Akatsuki robe. 'Time to get going,' she thought.

Removing the genjutsu she had placed around the table, she opened the window and jumped out. As soon as her feet touched the ground, a barricade of kunai and shuriken was sent flying towards her. She performed a quick Earth style mudwall jutsu, most of the metal projectiles being blocked. She took out her kunai and deflected the few that had escaped past her defense. Jumping over the mudwall, she raced towards the forest which would provide cover and allow her to use her signature moves at ease. Jumping on a tree branch, she dodged seven other kunai which were coming at her at alarming speeds. Turning to face forward, she saw her first two opponents who were standing on different tree branches. 'TenTen and Hinata,' she thought. 'Bad combination,' she added as an afterthought. Their fighting styles could blend well enough to try to injure but not enough to do catch her, which was what they were trying to do. They were probably a bait.

"You know what we want so why don't we skip introductions and get straight to the point?" TenTen as she shifted her weight to one leg. The black clad ninja stared at her unflinchingly. "We have the Apprentice now. We're yet to engage in battle so hold your horses," the brunette whispered into her earpiece as she glanced at the Hyuuga heiress who was staring at the Apprentice with a determined expression. They were both dressed in the attires they wore during the Fourth Shinobi War. The three stared at each other unmoving for a long time. A twig snapped and all hell broke loose.

The Apprentice lunged towards them in the blink of an eye and TenTen only had a few seconds to duck her head to avoid a kunai swipe that would sliced her neck off. The Apprentice sent a fist at her and she blocked by crossing her forearms. The force of the blow pushed her backwards with a grunt at the edge of the tree branch. She struggled to regain her balance. She saw her knee flying towards her and it connected with her stomach, knocking the breath out of her. The Apprentice had already moved to Hinata by the time she was falling off the tree. She landed smoothly on the ground. Thank Kami she hadn't used chakra otherwise she would've been out cold.

Sakura threw a fist at the Hyuuga which she dodged by moving her head briefly to the side. She threw another and it was blocked by the dark-haired girl's forearm. With her Byakugan activated, Hinata sent her palms flying but they were all dodged. She grit her teeth in anger when the Apprentice sidestepped at the last second, her palm connecting with the rough bark of the tree and its splinters pierced her delicate hands. They continued to trade blows, blocking and dodging, throwing their own in return as they moved from tree to tree. Punch, kick, duck, swipe, two punches, jump back. TenTen threw several metal projectiles now and again, looking for an opening and also hoping to distract her so that Hinata could land a blow on her.

Sakura narrowed her eyes through her orange mask. She had to end this battle as soon as possible, she thought as she threw several shuriken at Hinata which were only a distraction. She still had many more battles to come. Perfoming a quick Kawarimi, she moved behind the unsuspecting girl. Hinata, caught off guard, turned around to see a fist flying towards her.

"Lights out."

The punch connected with her face, rendering her unconscious for the rest of the night. TenTen ran to catch her before she connected with the ground. She caught the Hyuuga heiress and placed her on the ground, her face bruised from the blow. Eyes darting up sensing the descending chakra signature, she saw the Apprentice's fist coming down towards them. She only had a few moments to jump away with the kunoichi in her arms before the ground exploded, sending chunks of debris and trees flying everywhere courtesy of the black clad medic.

The shockwave sent the duo careening backwards. They were lucky that they weren't swallowed by the ground. TenTen's back connected with a tree, ultimately stopping her momentum. She slid down breathlessly onto the forest floor with the unconscious kunoichi still in her hold. "The Apprentice has moved past the Kunai and the Sun. Move to Phase Two," she whispered fiercely into her earpiece. She was starting to take deep breaths before Sakura knocked her out with a chop to the back of her head.

Quickly halting at the last moment, she avoided four kunai which had been thrown at her. She had taken to running by the ground. Looking up, the medic noticed Lee and Neji who were standing on the same tree branch dressed in the same attire as her previous contestants. "Tsunade's Apprentice," he greeted. She only stared at him. "Yosh, it is an honor to meet the apprentice of the Legendary Sannin Tsunade. I shall enjoy this moment as I capture you to lead us to our Hokage!" the green clad ninja exclaimed with a million watt smile and a thumbs up. 'Oh boy,' she thought with a sigh. Now this was a tag team she did not want to fight. Given their abilities, they posed a challenge to her.

Her eyes darted to Lee. She was going to take him out first. She took several explosive tags attached to kunai and hauled them towards the duo. They jumped away as they detonated and she threw two more in between them. They exploded and they jumped away from the explosion, creating distance between them as she had wanted. She dived towards Lee with a kick. He dodged and countered with a punch of his own. She caught his fist in her hand and punched his face before kicking him in his stomach with chakra induced strength. It wasn't enough to knock him out, just enough to disorient him. The bowl cut ninja was sent careening backwards and she followed closely behind him. As soon as his back collided with a tree, she was already upon him. She placed two fingers on his forehead and he slumped forward. The genjutsu had started to take effect.

One of Lee's weaknesses was genjutsu and she had used a simple but complex genjutsu on him. In his mind, he was still fighting her but he wasn't going to figure it out until someone released him from it. 'Now for Neji,' she thought as an idea popped in her mind.

Neji was rushing back to Lee. He hadn't known that the Apprentice had placed more explosive tags onto tree trunks. He saw them through his Byakugan. They were like a landmine, with the explosive tags being planted all over the place. He hadn't noticed one on the ground. He set had it off as soon as his foot made contact with it, also detonating the rest of the explosions. He had escaped by a hair's breath. It was an obvious attempt to separate the two and unfortunately she had been successful.

And now as he saw his comrade slumped against a tree, with his Byakugan activated, he saw a genjutsu had been placed on him. There was no use in trying to wake him up. He had to try to capture her by himself. He searched for her, his eyes darting all over the place but couldn't see her, not even the faintest of her chakra signature. That was impossible unless... "Kai," he muttered and he saw his environment shift. "You were pretty quick to detect the genjutsu," she said with a smirk in her voice. "So you can speak," he replied. She countered with a snort. "Let's see if you Hyuugas live up to your name. It's a shame I knocked out your heiress pretty quickly," she spoke with a hint of a teasing banter.

He replied by lunging towards her with his palm outstretched. She sidestepped at the last second and his palm connected with the air. They exchanged blows fluidly, almost as if with the same fighting style. He grunted in pain as one of her fists grazed his shoulder. That was definitely chakra clad. "You must be wondering why I can easily dodge all your attacks," she said as she swiped her leg and he stepped backwards to avoided being hit. "It's not everyday you get to train with a highly developed Mangekyo Sharingan," she spoke as she ducked under his palm. "After all, the Byakugan is washed out imitation of the Sharingan," she drawled out lazily. Neji saw red. That was the exact same thing Sasuke had told him and it grated on his nerves. His attacks now flew at her at an even faster pace but she dodged and blocked them easily.

My, my, Neji. I never knew you were this hotheaded," she teased him. He smirked under his breath. He had discovered her blind spot and so when she saw a second late to move to her left, as he had anticipated, he performed his clan's signature taijustu moves. "Eight Tiagrams Technique!" he spoke as his palms struck her.

"Sixteen Tiagrams!"

"Thirty Two Tiagrams!"

"Sixty Four Tiagrams!" he shouted as he placed the final blows on her battered figure. He struck her in her stomach, sending her colliding backwards into a tree which snapped in half. He smirked victoriously as he made his way towards her. He saw her form laying down unconscious on the ground which immediately poofed into a cloud of nothingness as he reached out to touch it. He blinked once. He blinked twice in disbelief.

He'd been played.

"The Apprentice has moved past the Green Beast and the Tenketsu. Proceed to Phase Three," he grumbled into his earpiece. Gosh, he'd been played!

'Sorry Neji. I know that was a blow to you pride,' Sakura apologized to an imaginary brooding Neji as she raced from tree to tree. She knew that facing him would come back to bite her in her rear. She still had more combatants to face so she had to conserve her chakra and energy as possible. Adding extra chakra to her clone so that it would receive his attacks for moments longer than normal had been worth it. She had already been winded due to fighting using taijustu so much.

She stopped and jumped down to the ground. "Come out now. You don't have to play hide and seek," she called out. Immediately, four figures jumped down to land a hundred metres in front of her. 'Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba and Akamaru,' she said inwardly. Her mind had already begun planning her escape. Taking out three explosive tags attached to kunai, she threw them at the group. 'Kiba and Akamaru will definitely be the first to attack followed by Chouji. Shikamaru will be in the background to capture me with Shadow Paralysis Jutsu,' she thought as she created two clones. Her clones ran towards the three ninja plus ninken as she retreated to the background.

Taking out three stink bombs out her kunai pouch, the clone threw them at the dog user. She had prepared them for this very reason. It would disrupt their olfactory receptors and render them unconscious within seconds. Shizune had specifically created them for her. It was unfortunate that Kiba thought they were ordinary smoke bombs because as soon as the two of them padded through the cloud, they dropped unconscious. The clone threw two more stink bombs at them from good measure.

Meanwhile, her other clone was engaged in taijustu with Chouji. Swapping positions with the original, the clone awaited to make its move as it searched for Shikamaru's chakra signature. The first clone had joined the original in fighting Chouji. "Spinning Boulder Jutsu!" the chubby ninja shouted as he transformed into a boulder and spun towards Sakura at a fast pace. Sakura cocked her chakra laden fist backwards as she raced towards the spinning boulder.

'SHANNARO!!!' she shouted in her mind as she punched the boulder backwards just as she had done with Chiyo all those years ago. The first clone came flying from behind with literally a tree in its hands and slammed it into Chouji. It had been ordered by the original to do so. The spinning Chouji flew into several trees, knocking them down before finally crashing into a giant boulder. He was out cold by the time he slid bonelessly to the forest floor.

Shikamaru watched from the bush he was crouching behind as the Apprentice kneeled on the ground breathing hard, trying to catch her breath. He had watched her literally hit Chouji with a tree effortlessly. Now was his time to make his move. Forming the handsign as quickly as he could, his shadow raced towards the masked ninja. He felt a tug at his leg. The next thing he found himself dragged into the ground and only his head remained above the ground. "Troublesome," he muttered as he rolled his eyes. All of the jutsus to be used on him... He hadn't even felt her chakra signature, not even once. She was definitely something else. 'And troublesome too,' he added. "The Hound, the Gyoza and the Cloud have been defeated. Proceed to the final phase," he muttered into his earpiece, not even bothering whether they heard him or not. He had get out of this hole and wake his unconscious teammates then carry them back to their meeting place if they didn't. "Troublesome woman," he sighed miserably.

Chapter Text

Sakura stopped on a tree branch as she listened for any movement. She was currently facing the most unpredictable and fastest ninjas on the planet. Not to mention the Mind Transfer Jutsu which could be used on her at any time. While her goal wasn't to defeat them but escaping from them was another thing. She debated whether or not she should turn tail and flee, facing the wrath of her master's fist as soon as she arrived at their secret meeting place or face her three most important people and get her ass whooped and identity revealed. Neither seemed like an option as they both ended in her demise. But she had to pick and thus decided to do both of them, run away from them whilst making sure to engage in battle as sparse as possible.

Avoiding to close her eyes as she usually did when chakra sensing for she feared she would be attacked, she expanded her senses and soon enough, she had all their locations. Sasuke was a hundred meters east from where she was whilst Naruto was on her west with the same distance locking her in a position where she couldn’t move sideways as she would encounter one of them. Ino was a little bit farther north which made it difficult for her to go any direction as going back was not a choice unless she wanted to face her friends back there. Her mind went over a thousand escape plans.

Being the ever attention-seeking blonde she knew, Naruto was mostly likely to attack first with his Shadow Clones. Sasuke would be waiting for her in a trap they would’ve made and Ino would be in the background to use her clan’s signature jutsu at the precise moment. She took out several kunai and sent them flying in Naruto’s direction as she jumped down from the tree. The kunoichi heard the projectiles hit the tree with dull thud. She counted a second and heard the signature pops of a hundred clones being formed. In a matter of a few seconds, she had been surrounded by Naruto clones.

“Take the Apprentice!” the original shouted somewhere in between. “You got it boss!” the clones replied in unison. Sakura cracked her knuckles and her fists and legs flew everywhere at a fast pace. One by one, the clones quickly disappeared in loud poofs. Somewhere in a tree, the original Sakura watched as her clone took down Naruto’s clones. The original heard a tingle coming from her left and immediately, she jumped, several shuriken lodging on her previous position. Another round of shuriken came her way and she deflected them. They changed their directory and came back flying at her. She took threw two kunaj and managed to hit all the shuriken by hitting another shuriken after hitting the first.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she took in the sight of the person worth a lifetime of her love. The sight of Sasuke never failed to make butterflies prance around in her stomach, not to mention he was dressed in a jounin attire, something she had never gotten to see in her previous timeline. After all, she had all her memories from day one until her early thirties so she knew the Uchiha inside out and missed being intimate with him in any way possible. But right now was not the best moment to ogle at him, he was her enemy after all. The said Uchiha glared at her, his Sharinga spinning wildly at her. The two made eye contact and she did not flinch from staring straight into his Sharingan, no one could beat her with genjutsu.

"Uchiha," she greeted. "Hn," he replied. "Same reply as with every other Uchiha," she said as though tired. "Turn yourself over before I force you," he said. Those words alone brought back some lewd memories which had happened somewhere in her twenties she had buried in her heart a lifetime ago. "I'd like to see you try," she challenged him. The two had a face off before they disappeared in a blur only to reappear moments later, their kunai clashing. One of the rare moments she had used this level of speed was when she had fought Shin Uchiha. She could do this all day long. The two exchanged blows as they clashed with their kunai before switching to taijutsu. She had to take him out as soon as possible so she could escape, she thought as she ducked under a punch. Sasuke made sure to avoid getting hit by her as one blow could disarm him. She was the Slug Princess's apprentice after all.

Sasuke jumped away from her, forming the hand seals for a fire jutsu and blew out an ernomous fireball at her. She performed a quick but strong water jutsu which collided with his fire, creating a massive amount of steam which covered the whole area. Utilising this chance, she sped towards the Hokage Mountain as she did not bother to check if he followed, she just needed to get out of there. Physical and chakra exhaustion was increasingly taking toll on her body. She sensed her two boys following closely behind her, though they did not seem to be in a hurry which was a blessing. She did not need them tailing her like mad. She felt a pin prick at the back of her mind. Suddenly, she found herself facing Ino in her mindset. In a haste to break away from the jutsu, she threw a hard punch at the blonde, ultimately knocking her out of her mind before she did anything. All this happened in a span of five seconds.

She heard a dull thud and guessed that her blonde had fallen down from wherever she had been. She did a silent prayer of thanks as she felt the two chakra signatures following her come to a stop beside a third chakra signature, Ino's chakra signature.

"Glad to see that you made it back alive in one piece," Tsunade said with a wide smirk as her apprentice dropped unceremoniously into their cabin hidden in the Hokage Monument. "Shishou..." the girl said as she tried to catch her breath. "Tsunade-sama, why did you do that?" Shizune asked as she made her way to the battered girl. She helped her take off her orange mask. "You know, you could've used an Anbu mask or a more normal mask," the dark-haired woman deadpanned. "I like to be the mysterious type," the pinkette replied breathlessly. "She was slacking off and I needed to give Jiraiya some chase," the busty blonde replied Shizune's earlier question. Shizune nodded her head in sympathy as she began healing the pinkette.

Chapter Text

“Crap, I’m late!” Sakura exclaimed as she shot out of her bed and headed straight to her wardrobe. She hastily put on her school uniform and didn’t bother to check her appearance in the mirror. She grabbed her satchel and went out of her room within a matter of five minutes after waking up. She sped by her parents and bid them a quick goodbye before she rushed out of the door heading towards Konoha’s Ninja Academy. Funny how they gave their high school that name though there wasn’t any ninja training done at the school.

Seeing that her current pace wasn’t getting her anywhere, she turned into an all familiar alley and jumped up onto the rooftops, using a cloaking jutsu to cover herself. She arrived at the Academy in two minutes. She landed on the rooftop of her two-storey classroom block. She was in her second year in high school; as such she used the first floor. She jumped down the rooftop onto the lower corridor. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

A short reply told her to come in and she entered the classroom, mentally and physically bracing herself from the lecture she was about to receive from Mrs. Shenji, Ino’s arch-nemesis at school. By virtue of being Ino’s best friend, she was bound to receive Ino’s fair share of rebukes for the past week. “Haruno, could you please explain to me why you arrive five minutes just before the end second period of my lesson looking like you were dragged through the hell?” the woman asked, the mole on her face seemingly begin to enlarge as her temper began to rise.

“I,” she began as she looked around the classroom. All of her friends were in class and weren’t looking the least bit tired from last night’s events. She didn’t expect them to be, they weren’t the one who had to fight and evade 11 jounin level ninjas. Her eyes lingered a little on Sasuke by virtue of him being her love interest before turning back to the brown haired woman. “Well?” she asked with raised eyebrows as she planted her hands on her hips. ‘Here goes nothin’,’ she told herself.

“… I got lost on the way of the road of life,” she said as her eyes locked with Mrs. Shenji’s, firm with resolve.

The whole class was silent at her lame excuse. “You…got lost on the road of life?” the Biology teacher repeated her statement. She nodded vigorously. ‘This is so embarrassing,’ she thought as she earned a few not-so-discrete chuckles from the class. “Sit down,” the woman said as she rubbed her temples. Sakura let out a silent sigh of relief and made her way next to Ino’s seat. As soon as the bell rung marking the end of their Biology lesson, Mrs. Shenji walked out of the classroom as Sakura laid her head on her desk with a loud groan.



They had a free period at the moment. “You okay?” Ino’s concerned voice rang. She closed her eyes as she tried to diverge her focus away from how her muscles were aching. Even though Shizune had taken care of the injuries, which were pretty minor, her muscles complained from being overexerted too much. ‘I had been out of practice for too long,’ she thought with a whimper. “Sakura, are you okay?” Ino asked again.

She raised her head to see Ino, Hinata, TenTen, Lee and Naruto hovering around her. “What happened to you? Did you get mugged or something? Tell me the bastard who did it!” Naruto exclaimed, earning several annoyed glances, including one from Sakura. “Quiet down you baka before you start rumors you can’t finish,” Sakura scolded him with a glare. “Sorry, it’s just that you look so tired,” the blonde said.

“Yeah, you smell like smoke,” Ino commented. ‘Sasuke’s fireball jutsu,’ she replied inwardly. “You have several cuts on your arms and fingers,” TenTen said. ‘Handling kunai way too many kunai and the shuriken you threw at me last night, which Shizune and I both forgot to, heal,’ she replied again. “You also have minor bruises on your arms,” Lee commented. “That was from blocking yours, Hinata and Neji’s taijutsu,” she mumbled. “I can’t hear you, speak loudly Billboard Brow,” Ino said.

“Look you guys, I spent the whole night trekking the forest with my shishou last night. And considering how she likes to work me to death, not a very pleasant experience,” she groaned as her thigh cramped. She couldn’t use her medical jutsu at such at open space and decided to endure the cramp as she planned her escape. “You mean that flat-chested blonde granny who wears glasses at the hospital?” Naruto queried. “Don’t call her that and show her some respect you baka,” Sakura reprimanded him. ‘Some things never change, in this lifetime or another.’

“I need a fresh breath of air. I didn’t sleep the whole night looking for a bunch of herbs,” she said as she pushed her chair back and stood up. “I’ll be back in a sec,” she said as she walked away from them. “Hey Sasuke,” she waved as she passed by his desk at the front. She felt a hand gripping her wrist and was surprised to find Sasuke holding her wrist firming, stopping her from moving any further.

Her heart thudded in her chest and the cramp in her thigh was soon forgotten as the two looked at each other. Sasuke’s eyes roamed over her appearance twice before staring back at her questioningly. “Don’t worry, just a long trek in the forest last night with my shishou,” she explained with a reassuring smile. Sasuke stared in her eyes for a moment before letting her hand go and return back to glaring at the board. She immediately missed the warmth of his hand on her wrist. “Damn you Uchiha,” she muttered as she proceeded to walk out of the classroom, ignoring her girl friends’ knowing looks and the fluttering feeling in her stomach.



“Did you hear anything unusual in the forest last night?” Hinata asked as the four girls ate their lunch. “Aside from the occasional rumble of an earthquake and throwing stars coming out of nowhere, no” she replied as she munched on a piece of toast from Ino’s tray. “Is that were you got those cuts and bruises?” Ino asked nonchalantly but Sakura could see the tension in her shoulders. Her interrogation skills were still subpar at this age, a far cry from the woman she had been at this age in her past life.

“No, I fell out of a tree during one of those earthquakes and there wasn’t anything to cushion my fall. The cuts I got from playing with a rose bush before shishou yelled at me and pushed me towards it,” she replied calmly. “That woman is a maniac,” TenTen commented. ‘Just like Lady Tsunade was when Shizune hid her sake,’ she added in her mind. “Ah well, learn it, live it, love it. That’s what she always tells me,” Sakura said with a casual wave of her hand.



.

Chapter Text

"Good evening Mikoto-san," the kunoichi greeted politely. "Good evening Sakura," the dark haired woman smiled in return. "Is Itachi home?" she asked. "Yes, Fugaku mentioned that you would be coming in the evening," the Uchiha matriach explained. Sakura nodded as she was ushered inside. "Is Sasuke also home?" she asked again. "It's the usual, he's meeting up with Naruto until midnight," was the reply. Sakura let out a silent sigh of relief. The younger Uchiha wasn't aware of her meetings with his older brother and she didn't want him to find out.



"A jutsu retrieval mission in the school," Itachi stated once he finished reading the scroll. "Yes, Lady Tsunade said that the spy is in the school under the guise of a student in first year and is coming from Sound," she added. "I see, so how do we go about this?" the older Uchiha asked as he rolled the scroll. The two were currently seated in Itachi's room on the carpet. "You have more experience in tracking than I do, not to mention the Sharingan. I think it's best if you lead this mission," Sakura replied as she straightened her back, watching him intently and waiting for his orders. Itachi nodded once in understanding.



One thing that Sakura was grateful for was being the Hokage's apprentice, the Godaime Hokage to be precise. While her teacher was a drink and a terrible gambler but one thing she was good at was talks. If you refused to negotiate with her, her fist would follow suit. And no one wanted to face the wrath of the Slug Sannin with monstrous strength as such she had many allies all over, albeit begrudging allies.

Most of the shinobi had retrieved their memories but none of them had retrieved all of their memories. Even Tsunade and Sakura hadn't recovered theirs fully but they had more than most. Evidence of this assessment was that the Shinobi nations were not in ruins because if everyone were to recover a minimum of 30% of their memories, it would be the Shinobi Wars all over again so they were at least safe for now. It was Sakura's duty to make sure that if anyone were to ever recover at least a quarter of their past lives' memories, she had to make sure that she reduced them to at least 15%. She had inherited the job from Tobirama Senju before he took his last breath at the age of 104, when she was 13.

She wasn't alone in this job though. Kagami Uchiha, who was the same age as the Sandaime, Shisui Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, Shizune, Tsunade and herself were in the group. Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha, Mito Uzumaki, Fugaku Uchiha Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki and Sakumo Hatake had all been the group before they all passed away, with the exception of Fugaku who was still alive. The Konoha founders had made sure to pay a visit to every summoning world to wipe their memories, leaving only 5% of the summons' memories.

Kagami, Fugaku, Minato, Kushina and Sakumo had worked on wiping the memories of Kumo, Ame, Suna, Konoha and the Samurai. Whilst Kagami was still alive but he was old and rarely went out on missions. He gave the younger generation advice on how to carry out their missions as discreet as possible. In every group, there was always an Uchiha and an Uzumaki because of their visual prowess and fuinjutsu skills respectively. However, the current group had no Uzumaki which is why they had to recruit Karin Uzumaki as soon as yesterday. The only problem was that they didn't know where she was.

As she was seated in class, waiting for the exam to start, she allowed her mind to wander about her current mission. She was yet to receive a signal from Itachi who would notify her as soon as he identified the spy. Shisui was near the school perimeter but not inside the school. He would make sure to intercept the spy as soon as he left school premises. Itachi and herself were to try to capture the spy inside the school at all costs. She glanced impatiently at her watch. Where was the signal? Her examination was about to start and she didn't want to miss it.

She glanced at the window and saw a crow staring at her. It cocked its head to the left then right and back to left again and flapped its wings. 'Spy at the cafeteria. Come now,' she translated the code. She immediately stood up and made way her out of the classroom. She passed by Sasuke who was looking at the window intently. She looked the window as well. The crow was gone. Had he seen it? She shook her head and headed towards the bathrooms, focusing on the task at hand.



"Care to tell me why you want to talk to us just before an exam? FYI, I studied for this exam so need to tell me the answers."

"Ino, that's great. I wish I studied as well, I spent the entirety of last night doing push-ups. I felt challenged by Tsunade's Apprentice and decided to do push-ups, yosh!"

"C'mon Lee. You can't be serious, she's just a super strong Apprentice, not the goddess that you make her out to be."

"The weapon's mistress is just jealous that she was knocked out quickly *smirk*"

"You aren't any better Neji. She had you perform your most perfected clan taijutsu on a clone. WOOF!"

"You talk too much Kiba. Why is that? Because she defeated without even trying using a stink bomb."

"Ano, S-Shino..."

"What a drag *yawn*"

"*munch* *munch*"

"Choji, how is it possible that you're eating during an exam?"

"Believe it, ya know!"

"Has anyone seen Sakura?! My youthful cherry blossom is missing!"

"Shut up Lee! It's hard to keep up this jutsu with you shouting in my head!"

"Ano, maybe w-we should ask Sasuke why he called for a meeting during an e-exam?"

"Hn."

"Oi teme! Be more vocal!"

"There's an enemy shinobi in school."

"What?!"

"How?!"

"*yawn*"

"Didn't you sense the genjutsu cast on the entire school? Everyone is asleep except a few."

"Yeah, I sensed it too. I dispelled it on myself, ya know!"

"What a surprise, the dobe can actually dispel an illusion."

"Oi teme-"

"Now's not the time for that Naruto and Sasuke don't provoke him."

"Hn."

"Whatever."

"Everyone be on gaurd. Expect any-"

A figure crashed into the classroom, having barged in through the window. He was dressed in the boys' school uniform. Two figures dressed in black with white plain masks followed through different windows. None of the students moved as they were fast asleep except the Konoha shinobi who feigned sleep but were quite awake. The boy moved backwards, near he door where Sasuke's desk was.

"Give me the scroll," a feminine voice spoke.

"No," the boy snapped as he held the scroll tighter in his hand.

"We're not negotiating," another deep masculine voice said. They received silence in return. The Konoha 11 held their breaths as the killing intent heightened in the room.

"Idate Morino, a Konoha shinobi who defected to Sound, sent by Orochimaru to steal the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Tower. 18 years old," the masculine voice spoke. "I'm sure Ibiki would be disappointed to know that his little brother was a rogue nin, he had a personal grudge against Orochimaru in his past life," the female said. "I don't care what he thinks. All I've ever done was to try and please him but he didn't bat a single eyelash at me," Idate growled.

"We can easily overpower you, you know that. So what is it that you're hiding from us?" the man asked. Idate grinned. "He gave me a present, just like he did with that revenge-driven Uchiha bra-" The female figure, who was the shorter of the two, released a large wave of killing intent that Idate chocked. She took out a short katana from her waist. The man did the same. "Wouldn't you like to test that power somewhere quiet?" she asked. With that, the three disappeared in a blur.

They were silent for five minutes before Naruto decided to break the silence. "That was the Apprentice, wasn't it?" he asked. "Yes, her chakra signature said as much," Neji replied. "That was Idate Morino," TenTen stated. "The teme has a personal vendetta against him for asking out the Apprentice when we were genin," the blonde spoke, surpressing a chuckle as if he knew something that they didn't. "I had forgotten that the Apprentice was your teammate," Ino said. "Who was that guy with her?" Kiba asked

"I don't know, it was my first time sensing his chakra. It was a bit muddled, just like the Apprentice," Neji supplied. "Me as well" Hinata said. "Are we gonna go after them?" Choji asked as he looked at Shikamaru. "Ask Sasuke," he yawned. "He's the one who knew that there were enemy shinobi in school before anyone did," he explained before they asked for an explanation. The whole group looked at Sasuke who was sitting at the front, his back to them. "We'll go after them. We need information on the Apprentice and more on her partner," he spoke. "Plus we might revive a few memories," he added.

"Then it's decided. We're going after the Apprentice," Shikamaru spoke. "I can't wait to see my teammate fight bad guys, ya know!"

Chapter Text

"Konoha Twelve is following us," Itachi informed her as they followed Idate who was running towards the forest. "It's eleven since I'm not around," she corrected him. "Hmmm, still bitter that you can't be with them for the time being?" she could sense the smirk in her voice. "You have Shisui with you. I have no one except Lady Tsunade and Shizune," she retorted as she ignored the slight pang in her chest. "Aren't they important to you just as the rest of your team? Aren't we important to you?" he asked her. She let out a long sigh. "You are but it's just not the same," she replied as they both landed on the ground. "Hn." The duo both took out their katanas and watched as Idate took out two kunai. His Curse Mark had already spread around his body, a few minutes away from transforming. Both of them could also sense the Konoha Twelve who were hiding in the trees.

"Our aim is to watch. We are not to engage in any contact with the enemy or the Apprentice and her partner. She might be on a mission," Shikamaru spoke in his earpiece. "Roger!"

"Shisui, where are you?" Sakura spoke in her mouthpiece. "Just behind you Sakura, a little to the left in the trees. I have a clear view of Sasuke and Naruto if they're ever to try to do something stupid," came the reply. She nodded. She looked at Itachi who gave her a nod in return. At once, the two ninjas disappeared in a blur and appeared at Idate's side, coming from the left and right. The katanas came down on him but he deflected them with his kunai. He formed a single handsign in each hand and lightning formed in his hands, travelling from the kunai to the katanas. The Konoha shinobi jumped away from him. Itachi sent a fireball at him midair and Sakura sent a barricade of kunai. At that, Idate transformed, growing four wings, a tail and one horn. He covered himself using his wings and the kunai were useless against him but he did receive burns from the fireball. As soon as he uncovered himself, Sakura was already in front of him with her first cocked back. She punched his jaw and he flew backwards, rolling in the ground seven times before coming to a stop. He struggled to get up as he held his jaw. 'Damn her,' he thought.

"Is that all that you've got?!" he shouted in the clearing. He watched as the female sheethed her katana and cracked her knuckles whilst the male made no movement. "We were just beginning," she replied. In a blink, they disappeared and a katana came flying from above Idate. The transformed ninja grabbed the katana with his tail and tossed both the katana and the user to the sky. He jumped up after him and gave the upside down Uchiha a roundhouse kick. Itachi blocked the kick using his forearms. Twisting midair, he wrapped his legs around Idate's neck and threw him to the ground. The Morino crashed into the ground but was quick to get on his feet. He flashed to Sakura who had been standing at the sidelines. Holding his hands together, he brought them down in a hammering motion. Sakura, being the shorter one, crossed her arms on top of her head to protect herself from the attack. The attack made contact with her, creating a large crater around them. She dropped to her knees, her head dizzy and throbbing. Idate took hold of her neck and slammed her hard into the ground, creating another crater. She took hold of his hands, trying to pry then away from her throat.

"Naruto, do not engage with the enemy!" Shikamaru shouted in his earpiece. "But she's in danger, I have to help her!" he exclaimed as he made a move to go towards her. "She's my teammate," he added as he felt his anger start to grow, watching how Idate repeatedly slammed her into the ground. "She already has a team!" the Nara shot back. "Do not mess this up for her or anyone. Do not engage into contact," he said in a steel voice.

Idate formed a clone which headed towards Itachi who was running towards them. "Die bitch!" he howled. She tried to knead her chakra to overpower him but it was a fruitless attempt. 'N-No, I can't die... N-Not now,' she thought through her foggy mind. She was beginning to lose consciousness. Then she remembered.

***
"I can't m-move," she said as she struggled to move a piece of the ceiling which was on top of her. 'I'm trying to knead my chakra but the channels wont respond.' Her breaths were coming in short, weak gasps. 'Am I dying, is this the end?' she thought as darkness began to overcome her senses... "Sakura! Where are you?! Sakura!" She snapped her eyes open. 'It's Sasuke. He's looking for me,' she thought. A sliver of hope formed in her. "Sasuke," she tried to shout but her voice came out weak. She looked to the side, noticing the ring on her finger. The one Sasuke had made. 'If I can just channel chakra to my finger,' she thought as a small flicker of chakra travelled from her hand to her finger. "Sasuke," she repeated, desperately this time. Her eyes were closing. Suddenly, the ceiling had been removed on top of her and she could finally breathe. Sasuke's face came into view and she felt herself almost cry in relief.

He helped her to sit. "Ow," she said as he put his hand on her back and pushed chakra."Being in pain means you're regaining feeling," he said as he continued to push medical chakra. "Jiji... betrayed..." she tried to speak but he shushed her. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop Jiji" she apologized as she felt tears well in her eyes. Why couldn't she be strong? She was holding him back. "I was useless," she finished. "Don't you dare apologize to me when you're in this condition," he told her sternly. He had finished healing her. "How's that? Can you move?" he asked as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Yes," she replied. He took her hand in his and helped her stand up. "Okay, let's do this."
***

Her eyes snapped open. 'I won't die now,' she thought fiercely as she pushed more chakra in her hands. Both of their hands trembled as they tried to overpower each other. 'Shannaro!' she shouted in her mind as she finally removed his hands from her throat. Using all the force she could muster, she head-butted him, hard. Using his disoriented state to her advantage, she gave him an uppercut which sent him careening into the sky. Itachi appeared above him and blew a large fireball at him. Idate flapper his wings over himself, the wings taking the brunt of the burn. When he retracted them, Itachi was already in front, staring him dead in the eyes and cast him into a genjutsu. He landed unceremoniously on the ground as he fought Itachi in his mind. "His memories need to be wiped out," she said as soon as she arrived beside the Uchiha. He nodded and threw the unconscious ninja over his shoulder. He had transformed back to his human state. Soon enough, the duo disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

"That was amazing, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as soon as the Apprentice and her partner disappeared. "For a moment, I thought she was going to die," Ino said as she released a sigh of relief. They had regrouped in the clearing. "Don't go around underestimating my team," the male blonde spoke. The Yamanaka gave him an eye roll. "I didn't know Idate had a Curse Mark, he must've been given by Orochimaru," Shikamaru said thoughtfully. "From what I know, he was a spineless nobody who could run and was always seeking for his brother's attention," Sasuke replied. "Doesn't that remind you of someone?" Naruto snickered. The Uchiha let out an annoyed huff. "When they were fighting, Morino did something to the Apprentice's chakra. It was as though he had blocked them," Neji said with his Byakugan still activated. "Yeah, I smelled something weird coming from him, like a poison of sorts," Kiba said with his nose scrunched up, Akamaru let out a bark of agreement. "We'll discuss this later. We have an exam to finish."

They had bound Idate and locked him in a room. "What are we gonna do about him? We can't seal him without an Uzumaki," Shisui asked Itachi. "We have to search for Karin Uzumaki. She was Sasuke's teammate during the time he was with Team Taka. She also worked for Orochimaru ever since she was 13," the younger Uchiha said. "All the more reason we should look for her," Shisui sighed. "Where's Sakura?" he asked. "She went back to school, she was in the middle of an exam," came the reply. "But she just got back from a battle, her physical state says just as much," the curly-haired boy said. "She said that she will make a plan. She also said that she recovered a memory from her thirties," Itachi said. "Hmmm, then I guess we'll finally have a meeting after a long time," the older ninja said.

Sakura had arrived a few seconds just before Konoha Twelve made their way into the classroom. She had cast a henge, altering her physical appearance to look as though she hadn't been in a battle. She released the genjutsu and continued with her exam. The exam had been extended by an hour because all the students had been sleeping during that time. After school, she didn't have time to bid her friends goodbye. She was eager to get to her hideout as soon as yesterday. 'I need to tell them my memory,' she thought as she replayed the memory in her mind, Sasuke comforting her at her weakest, assuring her of her insecurities. Her chest constricted as the feeling of gratefulness was becoming heavy for her. She dashed out the school gate and headed towards the hospital.

She crashed into someone as she turned round the corner. She took a step back as she took in the sight of Sasuke. His face was in his usual blank expression. Her breath hitched as the memories came back full force. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked as raised an eyebrow. "I..." she trailed. Sasuke stared at her blankly. "Thank you!" she exclaimed as she bowed, refraining herself from hugging him tightly as though she could transfer all her feelings into her hug. "What for?" he asked. 'She's been acting weird a lot,' he thought with a slight frown. She gave him a full smile which showed her teeth. "For being there for me."

Chapter Text

"With summer around the corner, I think it's best if we start tracking Karin before things get out of control," Shisui commented as he sipped on his juice. "It's true, we have to act quickly. How's Idate?" Sakura asked as she flipped through the menu, wanting to order more food as they already had their drinks. "Hopefully with him being under the Tsukuyomi, he should be out for another two weeks but I don't know how long we can keep him with the Curse Mark," Itachi responded. "I think she's in Tokyo judging from her character in her past life. I don't know how much of her memories she has but I think she knows my relationship with Sasuke. If she didn't, she would've hunted him down long ago," the pinkette said as she set the menu on the table. They were in a small restaurant. "What is your relationship with Sasuke? Coz you said you had remembered a memory when we captured Idate, a memory about you and Sasuke but you turned beet red when we gave the chance to speak and passed out," the curly-haired boy said with a smirk. "It was from chakra exhaustion," she defended quickly. Shisui gave her an eye roll.

"I would also like to know your relationship with my brother. As far as I know, you were teammates but that's all," Itachi spoke. "Yeah, and I'm sure Uncle Fugaku would also like to know, though he doesn't show it," Shisui piped in. "Why don't you ask Lady Tsunade or Shizune?" the kunoichi asked as the waiter came and took their orders. "I don't want to be a recipient of the Godaime's fist. And Shizune isn't the type to gossip," the older boy replied. The medic sighed. She had never told them the extent of her relationship with Sasuke. Only Lady Tsunade and Shizune knew and they never talked about it. "It's complicated. I'm not sure if now's the right time to tell you," she told them. 'I'll never escape Shisui's teasing and Itachi would act weird around me if he knew I'm his sister-in-law, or was,' she said mentally. "Just give me a little more time and I'll tell you. What I can tell you though, is how we saved the world from Kaguya, the greatest villain during my teenage years," she said proudly. Shisui let out a groan. And so, she began to tell them of how Team 7 battled Kaguya for the umpteenth time.

"Finally, school is over!" Naruto said as he punched the air. The students of Konoha Ninja Academy filed out the gates with various expressions but one thought in mind: school was over. Well, at least for now. "Any plans this summer?" Ino asked Sakura who was standing beside her. The four girls were walking in front of the boys who seemed to be chatting animatedly if Naruto's loud gasps and shouts were anything to go by. "I have to go to Tokyo for the entire summer camp. I won't be able to join you guys," the pinkette replied as she stared at a random billboard. 'Billboard brow,' the name passed in her mind. In both the previous and current timeline, Ino had still given her the ugly nickname. "But we're supposed to spend the summer together. We made a promise," the blonde complained with a frown. "I have no choice," Sakura responded. "But we're friends. You aren't supposed to do this," Ino snapped angrily. "Well, if we're friends then why do you disappear for your stupid clan meetings and not ask me to join you?!" she shot back with a glare. It had been bugging her for years now and she needed to vent out her anger. She wanted to be with her friends when they planned whatever plan to protect Konoha or were given a stupid assignment by their teachers. But the look on their faces made her regret her words.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like," she apologized as Ino's eyes glistened with tears. Hinata's lips were trembling and TenTen had her mouth open as if to speak. The boys had stopped and were huddled around them. "I just..." she trailed as she looked down at the ground ashamedly. She was being a terrible friend but she couldn't help it. "I'm sorry guys. I want to come with you but it's something I can't avoid. It's an assignment from the hospital if I want to become a successful doctor. I have to accompany my shishou," she lied. She was actually going to search for Karin with Shisui and Itachi for the whole of summer. "We understand Sakura. We just wished for us to be together throughout summer but if that's the case, we understand," Lee spoke but she could hear the hurt in his tone. "When are you going?" TenTen asked, trying to keep her voice calm but failing to do so. "Tomorrow," came the response. "Tomorrow?! You can't go tomorrow Sakura! You should at least have a break or something," Naruto complained. "If you guys are really my friends, you should support me in whatever decision I take," she said firmly.

She was standing in the middle and she felt very small but she had to stand her ground. "I support Sakura in whatever decision she takes. She would never do something like this unless need arises," Neji spoke cooly. "Traitor," Kiba muttered. "So do I," Chouji spoke. "Why don't we all go for karaoke before Sakura leaves for Tokyo? It's not really far away if you think about it. Just a few hundred kilometers, maybe we can even visit her," Shikamaru said as he stifled a yawn. "That's a great idea. Let's go now, we must utilitize every second!" Ino exclaimed as she grabbed Sakura's hand and began dragging her towards the bus top. "She changed her attitude that quickly?" Kiba said as he scratched his head. "It's to be expected of Ino? Why you ask? Because that's the way she is," Shino said as he adjusted his glasses. "Troublesome woman," the Nara said tiredly.

"I think we should have a girls vs boys competition," Ino suggested as the whole group settled themselves on the large couches. The girls were on one couch and the boys on the other one. "Why is everything a competition to you?" Kiba muttered but Naruto and Lee enjoyed the idea. "Yosh! A great idea Ino! Let us show the power of youth in blissful karaoke competition!" he exclaimed as he punched the air excitedly. "Count me in!" the blonde mimicked the gesture. "Well, I guess I have no choice but to accept," Kiba said nonchalantly. "What do you say teme? Up for a challenge?" Naruto asked. "Tch. I don't do karaoke, it's for kids," the Uchiha replied with an eye roll. "But you won't see Sakura for the whole of summer. Don't you want to make some memories?" he whispered to his best friend. Sasuke's eyes trailed over to where Sakura was staring absentmindedly at the screen. As if sensing his eyes, she turned to look at him. They locked eyes for several moments before she turned away a slight blush on her cheeks. He turned back to the blonde who was staring at him amused. "Fine," he muttered, ignoring the fluttering feeling in his stomach.

It was decided that Chouji would be the judge. It was a battle of seven boys and four girls. "Is there a price or something?" Kiba asked. "The best performer gets to choose something for us to do as a group," Ino spoke with slight smirk. "Why do I have a feeling this is some sort of a trap?" Shikamaru asked himself. "Okay, us girls will go first. We get to perform two songs as a group then we go solo. Since you guys are many, you'll perform only one song then go solo, plus we dance" TenTen suggested. "That sounds g-good to me," Hinta spoke. "Okay, it's decided!" Ino exclaimed.

The girls were standing with their backs turned to the screen, facing the boys with a microphone each. "Aren't they supposed to looking at the screening?" Lee asked. The song started to play.

"La, la, la, la-la-la

La, la-la-la, la, la-la-la"

"A hopeless romantic all my life

Surrounded by couples all the time

I guess I should take it as a sign

(Oh why, oh why, oh why, oh why?)," Sakura sang in alto as she danced to the song.

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It reminded him of how he ignored Sakura's feelings for most of the time until she seemed to give up on him, though he was impressed by her voice. He didn't know she could sing.

"I'm feeling lonely (Lonely)

Oh, I wish I'd find a lover that could hold me (Hold me)

Now, I'm crying in my room

So skeptical of love (Say what you say, but I want it more)

But still, I want it more, more, more," Ino followed suit in alto-soprano.

"I gave a second chance to Cupid

But now, I'm left here feeling stupid

Oh, the way he makes me feel

That love isn't real

Cupid is so dumb," they sang together.

"Wow, Hinata's actually good at this," Naruto commented with an awestruck expression. He missed the glare Neji sent him. "I wouldn't expect any less from Ino," Chouji piped in proudly.

"I look for his arrows every day

I guess he got lost or flew away

Waiting around is a waste (Waste)

Been counting the days since November

Is loving as good as they say?" Hinata sang in a soprano.

"Go Hinata!" Kiba cheered. "Hey, that's not fair, cheering for your teammate," Naruto complained. The dog user stuck his tongue out.

"Now I'm so lonely (Lonely)

Oh, I wish I'd find a lover that could hold me (Hold me)

Now I'm crying in my room

So skeptical of love (Say what you say, but I want it more)

But still, I want it more, more, more," TenTen sang in opra-soprano.

"Woah, TenTen can sing that high?! Yosh, youthful indeed!" Lee gushed. Neji chuckled, planning to tease her about it later on.

"I gave a second chance to Cupid

But now, I'm left here feeling stupid

Oh, the way he makes me feel

That love isn't real

Cupid is so dumb," they sang in unison, dancing to the song.

"Sakura seems to be the best dancer," Shino spoke. "Hmm, I think Ino is best," Chouji spoke. "No, Hinata is best. And Shino, you're supposed to be rooting for Hinata, not Sakura," Kiba retorted. "TenTen is above them all," Lee exclaimed. "Why don't we wait until their performance is over?" Shikamaru suggested before an argument broke out.

"I'm so lonely, hold me tightly

Jjarithan geol wonhae who will really love me truly

Naege gidarimeun eopseo I can't wait

Deoneun mitji ana now I'm gonna make it mine

Love is a light, I'ma show my love is right

It's not a joke, so give it to me right now

No more chance to you

You know, hey, d-d-d-dumb boy," Sakura rapped, taking turns with TenTen.

"Is that Korean?" Kiba asked. Neji nodded, having been well-versed in most of the languages spoken in Asia.

"Hopeless girl is seeking

Someone who will share this feeling," Ino, Hinata and TenTen sang.

"I'm a fool

A fool for love, a fool for love," Sakura followed.

Her eyes glanced at Sasuke for a brief second before straying away but Shikamaru caught it. "Troublesome woman," he muttered as his mind began to imagine how she felt for having unreciprocated feelings.

"I gave a second chance to Cupid

But now, I'm left here feeling stupid

Oh, the way he makes me feel

That love isn't real

Cupid is so dumb

I gave a second chance to Cupid

(Hopeless girl is seeking someone)

But now, I'm left here feeling stupid

(Who will share this feeling)

Oh, the way he makes me feel

That love isn't real

(I'm a fool)

Cupid is so dumb

(A fool for love, a fool for love)," they finished.

Immediately, Lee, Kiba and Naruto began to clap their hands. "You rocked Hinata! Where did you learn how to do that?!" Naruto asked in unrestrained glee. The Hyuga heiress looked away with her face beet red. "Everyone hush. Now, for their second performance," Chouji spoke as he munched on his chips though his expression showed he was serious about it.

"BLACKPINK in your area, BLACKPINK in your area," Ino sang.

"Been a bad girl I know I am, and I'm so hot I need a fan

I don't want a boy, I need a man," Sakura sang as they started to dance.

Sasuke swallowed thickly as he looked around at his friends. The song had very, ahem, intimate dance moves if his memory served him well. He guessed that they all thought so judging by how they shifted in their seats.

"Click-Clack badda bing badda boom

Muneul bakchamyeon modu nal barabom

Guchi aesseo noryeok an haedo modeun namjadeureun kopiga pangpangpang

Pangpang parapara pangpangpang jigeum nal wihan chukbaereul jjanjjanjjan

Hands up! Nae sonen Bottle full o' henny

Nega malloman deutdeon gyaega naya Ino," the Yamanaka rapped her part.

"Chumchuneun bulbicheun nal gamssago done

Black to the pink eodiseodeun teukbyeolhae Oh Yes," Hinata followed.

"Chyeoda bodeun maldeun I wanna dance

Like ttaradaradanttan ttaradaradanttan ttudurupbau," Sakura sang as the girls danced to the song.

"Joha i bunwigiga joha

Joha nan jigeum nega joha

Jeongmal banhaesseo oneul bam neowa chumchugo sipeo," TenTen sang.

"BOOMBAYAH YAH YAH YAH BOOMBAYAH

YAH YAH YAH BOOMBAYAH YAH YAH YAH YAH

BOOM BOOM BA BOOM BOOM BA (Oppa!)

YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH!

YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH (Oppa!)

YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH

YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH BOOM BOOM BA BOOMBAYAH!" they sang together as they moved their bodies according to how they had seen the girls of BLACKPINK do.

"Man, Hinata's too innocent for this," Kiba complained but he couldn't tear his eyes away from them. "I agree," Neji said. "I think it's good," Shikamaru said with a yawn. Sasuke pursed his lips tightly. The images he was conjuring in his mind about a certain pinkette made him disgusted with himself but he was a teenager after all, with certain needs.

"BLACKPINK in your area," TenTen sang.

"Uh ije dallyeoyaji mwol eotteokhae nan cheol eopseo geop eopseo man

Middle finger up F U pay me 90's baby I pump up the jam

Dallyeobwa dallyeobwa oppaya Rambo

Oneureun neowa na jeolmeumeul Gamble

Gamhi nal makjima hoksina nuga nal magado I'm gonna go brrr Rambo," Sakura rapped.

"Ne soni nae heorireul gamssago done

Front to my back nae mommaeneun teukbyeolhae

Oh Yes," Hinata sang.

"Ne nunbicheun I know you wanna touch

Like Touch Touch Touch Touch ttudurupbau

Joha i bunwigiga joha

Joha nan jigeum nega joha

Jeongmal meosisseo oneul bam neowa chumchugo sipeo," Ino sang.

"BOOMBAYAH YAH YAH YAH BOOMBAYAH

YAH YAH YAH BOOMBAYAH YAH YAH YAH YAH

BOOM BOOM BA BOOM BOOM BA (Oppa!)

YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH

YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH (Oppa!)

YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH

YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH YAH BOOM BOOM BA BOOMBAYAH

Oneureun maen jeongsin ttawin beorigo

Haneureul neomeoseo olla gal geoya

Kkeucheul moreuge ppalli dalligo sipeo Let's go Let's go

Oneureun maen jeongsin ttawin beorigo

Haneureul neomeoseo olla gal geoya

Kkeucheul moreuge ppalli dalligo sipeo Let's go Let's go!" they finished the song with very big smiles whilst striking a pose.

However, the boys were staring at them with mixed expressions, not quite sure how they should feel themselves. "Urgh, I told you that this song was too much Ino," Sakura whispered to her best friend as they walked back to their seats. The blonde rolled her eyes in return. "Well, that was a very interesting performance," Chouji spoke as he cleared his throat. Shikamaru let out a long drawn yawn. "Indeed," Neji said.

"It's time for our performance," Naruto said as he stood up. The others stood up as well and they stood side by side as they took their microphones. The song started to play. Sakura immediately let out a groan. 'Why this song, of all songs?' she complained in her mind.

"They call me baepsae yokbwatji i sedae

Ppalli chase 'em hwangsae deoge nae garangin taengtaeng," Naruto sang.

"They call me baepsae yokbwatji i sedae

Ppalli chase 'em geumsujeoro taeeonan nae seonsaengnim," Kiba followed suit, the boys going through the choreography easily.

The girls were staring wide eyed at them, especially with their last dance which involved several hip thrusts. Hinata was on the verge of passing out. That dance was wrong on so many levels. All the girls were beet red with the exception of Ino.

"Alba gamyeon yeoljeongpei

Hakgyo gamyeon seonsaengnim sangsadeureun haengpae

Eolloneseon maennal myeot po sedae," Lee sang.

"Rul bakkwo Change Change

Hwangsaedeureun wonhae wonhae maintain

Geureogeneun an doeji Bang Bang igeon jeongsangi anya igeon jeongsangi anya," Naruto sang, being the most energized of the seven boys.

"Ah noryeoknoryeok taryeong jom geumandwo Ah ogeuradeureo nae du sonbaldo

Ah noryeok noryeok ah noryeok noryeok Ah noraguna ssaksuga," Sasuke sang, clearly surprised the girls judging by their shocked expressions. He chuckled inwardly.

"Yeoksi hwangsae

Noryeoktaryeong jom geumandwo Ah ogeuradeureo nae du sonbaldo

Ah noryeok noryeok Ah noryeok noryeok Ah noraguna ssaksuga," Neji sang in his microphone.

"Yeoksi hwangsaeya) Silmang an sikyeo

(Yeoksi hwangsaeya) Ireum gap hane

(Yeoksi hwangsaeya) Da haemeogeora

(Yeoksi hwangsaeya) Hwangsaeya," Shino and Shikamaru took turns singing.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that Shikamaru knew how to sing?" TenTen asked Ino. "In all honesty, it's my first time hearing him. You know how lazy he is about everything," she replied.

"They call me baepsae yokbwatji i sedae

Ppalli chase 'em hwangsae deoge nae garangin taengtaeng," Lee sang.

"They call me baebsae yokbwatji i sedae

Ppalli chase 'em geumsujeoro taeeonan nae seonsaengnim," Naruto part sang and part rapped.

"Nan baepsaedari neon hwangsaedari

Gyaenen malhaji 'nae darin baekman buljjari'

Nae ge jjarbeunde eojji gateun jongmok hani?

They say 'ttokgateun chowonimyeon gwaenchanjanhni' Never Never Never," Kiba rapped.

"Rul bakkwo change change

Hwangsaedeureun wonhae wonhae maintain

Geureogeneun an doeji Bang Bang igeon jeongsangi anya igeon jeongsangi anya," Naruto rapped.

"Ah noryeoknoryeok taryeong jom geumandwo Ah ogeuradeureo nae du sonbaldo

Ah noryeok noryeok ah noryeok noryeok Ah noraguna ssaksuga," Sasuke sang.

"Yeoksi hwangsae

Noryeoktaryeong jom geumandwo Ah ogeuradeureo nae du sonbaldo

Ah noryeok noryeok Ah noryeok noryeok Ah noraguna ssaksuga," Shikamaru sang, never loosing the beat and dancing his choreography easily, though a tad bit tiredly.

"Yeoksi hwangsaeya," Shino sang with a high that shocked everyone in the room.

"Nae tasirani neo nongdamiji gongpyeonghadani Oh are you crazy

Ige jeonguirani you mu be kiddin' me You mu be kiddin' me you you mu be kiddin' me," Neji sang.

"Ah noryeoknoryeok taryeong jom geumandwo Ah ogeuradeureo nae du sonbaldo

Ah noryeok noryeok ah noryeok noryeok Ah noraguna ssaksuga," Sasuke returned again.

"Yeoksi hwangsae," Shikamaru pitched in.

"Noryeoktaryeong jom geumandwo Ah ogeuradeureo nae du sonbaldo

Ah noryeok noryeok Ah noryeok noryeok Ah noraguna ssaksuga," Neji sang.

"(Urin baepsaeya) Silmang an sikyeo

(Urin baepsaeya) Ireumgabthane

(Urin baepsaeya) Gachi saljago

(Urin baepsaeya) Baepsaeya," Shikamaru sang, changing with Shino.

"They call me baepsae yokbwatji i sedae

Ppalli Chase 'em hwangsae deoge nae garangin taengtaeng," Kiba sang.

"They call me baebsae yokbwatji i sedae

Ppalli Chase 'em geumsujeoro taeeonan nae seonsaengnim," Lee finished.

They danced the last part of the song, ending with their backs to the girls. Immediately, the four females began to clap their hands. "That was awesome you guys! I never knew you could dance," Sakura gushed. "Maybe Naruto, Lee and Kiba but Sasuke? That was amazing," the pinkette practically beamed. And soon enough, they were being flooded with comments.

"I would have loved to stay around more but I gotta go and pack," Sakura said guiltily. They had ended their karaoke competition before either of them had a solo performance. It was late with the sun slowly setting. "It's okay Sakura. We'll get together when you come back," Lee said in a teary voice. As if a tap had been opened, all the girls burst out into tears and hugged Sakura tightly. "You guys," she said, taken aback as she also began to tear up. "Promise you'll come back in one piece otherwise I'm going after the granny," Naruto said as he joined the hug. Soon enough, they were all hugging with the exception of Sasuke who stood at the sidelines. He wasn't much of a physical contact person. "I guess I'll go now," Sakura said as she withdrew from them. "No, you are the one watching us go so we won't feel bad," Ino snapped as she grabbed Chouji and Shikamaru's hands, dragging them to the bus top.

TenTen waved her goodbye as she took her leave with Neji, Hinata and Lee. Naruto gave her another hug before leaving with Shino and Kiba. Which left her with only Sasuke. "Aren't you going?" she asked as she turned to look at him. The wind blew a little, ruffling his hair a little and she thought he looked amazingly hot. Love shouldn't matter because of looks but she couldn't help but admire how he had been her husband in the previous timeline. Would it be the same in this timeline? "You're staring," he pointed out. Sakura turned away with a slight blush on her face. "I'm just appreciating beauty," she grumbled out. Sasuke let out an inaudible grunt. "Let's go," he said as he grabbed her hand and they began walking. "Where are we going?" she asked. The Uchiha was never bold as to take a girl's hand unless he was about to be violent and he was restraining himself. "Home," came the reply. Then it dawned on her. If they were to take this route, they would walk the same direction for the next twenty minutes before parting ways at an intersection. She felt stupid.

She looked down at their entwined hands. How she missed that. But then she removed her hand from his grasp. Sasuke made no motion at that. They walked in silence and soon enough, they were at the intersection. "I guess it's goodbye then," she said as she looked at the sun which almost down. "Hn," came the reply. She thought about what she was about to do. She was treading on hot mercury but she wouldn't see him for the entirety of summer so she might as well take her chance. She turned around to face to find him staring at her with an unreadable expression. Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around his midsection and gave him a slight squeeze. Then she withdrew. "See you next term," she said with a smile before turning and walking in her direction. She wanted to run but that would be stupid so she forced herself to walk as normally as possible.

"Hn," Sasuke spoke, ignoring how his heart thudded in his chest. Since when was Sakura ever able to get these kind of reactions out of him? That was very un-Uchiha like, he thought as he began walking towards his house, a small glare on his face.

Chapter Text

The busy streets of Tokyo never failed to amaze Sakura. Technology here was a far cry from the one in Konoha, more advanced at every level. It was almost like she was in Naruto's videogame. Plus the population, she was sure over half the total population in Japan was in Tokyo. She had read in a book somewhere that Tokyo was the world's most populated city and it truly was. She had arrived in the city a few hours ago after taking a ferry with her Uchiha teammates Shisui and Itachi. "If you keep staring at the skyscrapers like that, you'll walk into a lamp post," Shisui said as he placed a hand of her forehead, stopping her before she walked into a lamp post

The kunoichi smiled sheepishly as she walked around it whilst Shisui retracted his hand. "It's just so amazing how developed Tokyo. Back in our days, it was just a strip of land between Konoha and Suna," she breathed out as she adjusted her sling bag. "Just like how Suna is no longer a desert but an island with enough green to pass off as a playground." They had booked two rooms at an inn: one for Sakura and the other for the two males. After dropping off their luggage, they decided to walk around.

"So then, how are we going to find Karin again?" Shisui asked. They were nearing Inokashira Park. "I looked for her profile on Facebook and luckily, I found her. The internet really comes in handy these days. It said she lives in Tokyo around the Meiji Shrine," the kunoichi replied. "When are we going to start looking for her?" the Uchiha asked again. "After a meal, I guess. I'm starving," she said at the same time her stomach growled inaudibly. "If that's the case then I know just the place," Itachi spoke behind them.

"Why are we even doing this? Last time I checked, you didn't even win," Shikamaru sighed. "Of course I won. Isn't that right Chouji?" Ino spoke as she handed the said boy a packet of potato chips. "She won," the chubby boy sang as he eagerly opened the packet of Lays. "Still, isn't it a bit too far? I'm not sure if Sakura would appreciate-" "Shikamaru," the blonde gnashed out. "I am this far from punching the living daylights out of you," she said as she pressed her thumb and index finger together close to his face.

"You think I don't know that? As far I'm Sakura's best friend, I know she'll appreciate us. Too bad Team Eight and Team Guy couldn't make it," she said the last part with a sigh as she stared out the window. They were taking a bus to Tokyo. She was seated between Shikamaru and Chouji. Naruto and Sasuke were on the opposite seat with just the two of them. The Uzumaki was asleep with his head rested on the brooding Uchiha who had his eyes closed and arms akimbo. She didn't know whether he was asleep or not. "I'm actually surprised Sasuke came," the spiky-haired boy spoke.

"Is it that surprising?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow. "From what I remember of Sasuke, he was an emotionally detached person especially after the Uchiha Massacre. There were very rare moments where he displayed affection which is why Naruto was his only friend. He considered everyone else comrades but that's as far as it went. Even after the war, it was still hard for him to become attached to anyone. Seeing him want to visit someone who wasn't even in his previous timeline or doesn't remember him is surprising," Shikamaru explained. "It may be so but in this lifetime, he has opened up a bit. Sure, he isn't talkative like Naruto or Kiba and we're not really close but I can tell he's not as emotionally detached as he was back then," she replied with a wistful smile.

"If you say so," the Nara resigned.

For the next thirty minutes, the memory-sealing trio looked for the restaurant Itachi said was one of the best and cheapest in the city. However, it was all fruitless as they didn't find Taki's Teashop. "Are you sure that we're going the right direction?" Shisui asked for the umpteenth time. He took out his Samsung and checked the time, it was almost 3pm. He put back into his cargo pants as he huffed in annoyance. "Dear cousin, you know that I support you in whatever you do but I think we should just try another restaurant," the older boy ground out. "Just a few minutes and we're there," was the reply.

They were walking in a crowded marketplace. Shisui had almost lost Sakura but her yellow dress and blue jacket made it easy for him to find her. They rounded into another alley and in a matter of minutes, they were standing in front of the teashop. "We're here," Itachi breathed out. It was one of those rare moments that Shisui saw him smile at something which didn't include his family. They entered the teashop to find it crowded. It was larger on the inside with over three quarters of it occupied. They took a seat at a corner table after placing their orders at the counter.

"Seems nice so far," Shisui said as he looked around. Sakura nodded in agreement as she did the same. There weren't any shinobi in the teashop so far, save a single chakra signature at the back she had sensed. Perhaps it was another reincarnated shinobi just like her. "So Sakura, do you mind telling us the extent of your relationship with Sasuke? I know that you were teammates but that's all," the Uchiha said with a grin. "Let me guess, he was your crush. Or maybe a lover at one point in time. Or even unrequited love on your side. Were you friends with benefits?" he fired as her face burned.

"Shisui you-"

Her words died in her throat. She blinked once in wonder, she blinked twice in disbelief. She wasn't supposed to be here . She wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't supposed to be here! She was several years early. She was only supposed to be a childhood thought, an avenger's goal. Standing several tables away from her stood Sarada Uchiha. She looked to be around eight years old. Her hair was jet black and short, red glasses in place. The girl was dressed in a red dress with a black jacket and sandals. Everything about her screamed Uchiha from her posture to her stare and features. As if sensing eyes on her, the child raised her head and the two connected eyes. There was no recognition in her black eyes or spike of chakra whenever memories from the past life resurfaced, only the blank stare of a curios child. But there was no doubt about it, it was her daughter alright.

"Earth to Sakura Haruno!" The pinkette snapped out of her reverie as Shisui snapped his fingers in front of her. "Is everything okay? You seem unwell," Itachi spoke with a hint of concern in his usual monotone voice. She tried to speak but nothing came out. It didn't make sense. Why was she here? Who were her parents? Why was she born to a different family? "I-" she croaked out. "Hey, what's wrong?" Shisui asked as a frown marred his features. "She isn't supposed to be here," was the only thing that came out.

Her eyes remained fixated on the child. "Sarada!" Her name was called and the dark-haired girl turned to the sound of the voice. The chakra signature she had sensed earlier became prominent as Sarada's face lit up in joy and recognition. "Mama," she said with a smile as the older woman came into view furthering shattering Sakura's heart into pieces. Crouched in front of her daughter in a past life was none other than Karin Uzumaki. The woman looked older than her by at least a decade. She was dressed in black jeans and a lavender t-shirt. Her red hair was in the hairstyle she wore as an adult in their previous timeline, red glasses in place.

Sakura stood up, knocking her chair over and marched over to the duo. Itachi and Shisui were already on her tail. She stopped a few steps away from them. She took a deep breath. "Karin, is that you?" At that, the redhead looked up. She scrunched her features before recognition flashed in her eyes. "Sakura, as in Sakura Haruno of Team 7?" the woman said as she stood up. Her voice sounded mature as well. "I never thought I'd see you here. I thought you were in Konoha," she told her. "I do live in Konoha 'but I came here looking for you," the pinkette forced out. She was composing herself as much as she could. "For me? Why's that?" Karin said with a questioning gaze. She noticed her clutch Sarada's hand out of the corner of her eye.

"We should probably talk in private," she replied. "Really? Is that why you invited Sasuke and co as well?" Sakura raised an eyebrow in question. Karin motioned towards the door. At the entrance stood Naruto dressed in black jeans and an orange t-shirt with an arm slung over a very irate Sasuke who was dressed in similar jeans and a grey t-shirt. Had she been in a different setting, she would have found it funny. The duo was pushed forward and Team 10 walked in. Ino's eyes immediately lit up in happiness just as Sakura's widened in shock. What were they doing here? Why were they here?

Sakura found herself unable to speak. The situation had suddenly gone south in a few minutes. She felt a warm hand wrap around hers. She stared down to Shisui's hand entwined with her. She silently thanked him. The high schoolers made their way towards them. "Surprise surprise Sakura," Naruto sang just as Ino flung herself at her. "Sakura, do you know all the trouble I went just to be here? I had to drag Shikamaru and Chouji here, Naruto and Sasuke agreed easily though but you have to thank me with a girls only date this week before we go back," the blonde blabbered with the pinkette in her embrace.

"Ino, it's good to see you," Sakura spoke, pointedly ignoring Sasuke's heated gaze as she returned the hug. "Okay, can somebody tell me that's going on here because I can literally feel the tension all the way in Konoha?" the Yamanaka heiress said as she put a hand on her waist. The jean shorts and halter top she was wearing made her look more like a model instead of an interrogator. She turned her eyes to oldest woman in the group. "Karin, how nice to see you," she said with a clearly fake smile. "Ino, still a bitch as ever," the redhead replied with a smirk of her own. "Me? I'm not the one who had a child in high school," the blonde shot back as she pretended to study her nails. "You're still going on about that?"

"Wait, you two know each other?" Sakura asked in disbelief. How could they know each other? "We know each from way back than you can imagine," Ino said as she shared a look with Karin. She had almost forgotten that she was supposed to act like she hadn't been in the previous timeline or at least remembered them. "Cousin," the redhead said with a nod at Naruto. "Karin, how could you forget to tell me that you were in Tokyo? I sent you a message that I was going to be here!" the exuberant blonde exclaimed, shattering whatever tension had settle between the group. "I'm here aren't I?" she sighed with an eyeroll. "We have to catch up before I leave," he said as he walked over to her.

"Hey Sarada, long time no see," he greeted the girl with a grin as he crouched in front of her. "Uncle Naruto, how are you?" she replied with a smile. "I'm good as always, dattebayo. You're all grown up from the last time I saw you," he said cheekily. "That was two years ago," she replied with a huff. "Ever the smart one. I wonder where you got it from because Karin was just as bad s me in high school," he teased. "Don't embarrass me in front of my kid, you little twerp," came the warning. "Good to see though, the both of you," the blonde said warmly as he ruffled Sarada's head. Her admiration shined bright in her eyes.

'Some things never change,' Sakura thought with a smile as she watched the exchange. She looked at Sasuke who was looking at Sarada with a thoughtful expression. She hoped her didn't suddenly recover memories of his past. His chakra remained unchanged though. She released a sigh of relief as she looked back at Sarada. Sensing eyes on her, she looked up to see Sasuke staring at her with an unreadable expression. He looked at Sarada then back at her with a quizzical expression. His eyes seemed to say why does she look like you? The pinkette didn't know what he was thinking and she didn't want to find out. Having a panicked mind on a mission cost a lot.

"Why don't we all sit down and have the whilst we chat? My treat," Karin offered. That was new. Karin rarely offered anything but then again time changed people.

Chapter Text

Shisui had his fair share of weird and rare 'moments' in this life, or as he liked to call them 'weiraments'. One of them was when his memories as a toddler overcame his mind such that he acted as a three year old for five consecutive weeks during his first year in college. But it seemed that this was an even bigger 'weirament' he had ever encountered. The meal had gone rather uneventful as Karin cut it short since she had to go back to work and take Sarada to her babysitter. Sakura was nonetheless grateful for the interruption. With the work of a quick genjutsu, Itachi and Shisui wiped out her schoolmates' memories making it as though they never met in the first place.

And now as they huddled in Sakura's room, with the said girl pacing in the room impatiently, he couldn't help but wonder if she had it worse than him. She was gnawing on her thumb and had been doing so for the past five minutes and it was starting to grate on his nerves, if her eerie zombie march back to their residence was anything to go by. "Cut the act Sakura. Tell us what you know before we force it out of you, we're a team," Shisui spoke with a stern face. Sakura looked guiltily at him as she stopped pacing. "I'm sorry, I'm just surprised is all. It doesn't make sense why she should be here with Karin of all the people?" she said with a sigh as she joined the two Uchiha males on the floor.

"Do we need to remind you that we have no idea what you're talking about?" the curly haired boy pointed out. "Okay, I'm sorry. My heart tends to override my mind at times," she apologized. "That girl, the one who's Karin's daughter, she was Sasuke's daughter in my timeline. I used to spend a lot of time with her since Sasuke was away most of the time until her early teenage years when she became a genin," she explained. "But Karin wasn't her mother. She helped to deliver Sarada since Sasuke's wife gave birth during one of their travels but that's as far as their relationship went so I'm concerned why she has a different mother this time plus Sasuke had her when he was 21," she said as a frown marred her features.

She looked at the both of them, gauging their reactions. "Wait a sec, you mean Sasuke, the Sasuke Uchiha who was afraid of girls had a kid?!" Shisui exclaimed, baffled. Sakura nodded mutely. She looked at Itachi who had an eerily blank face. "Is everything alright?" she asked him. The Uchiha in question chuckled as he wiped a hand over his eyes. "I'm glad," he said with a soft smile gracing his face. "I never thought that Sasuke would have a child, let alone have someone who loved him enough to settle down with him," he said. Sakura's heart constricted in emotion. "Have a little faith in your brother," she said with a nervous chuckle. "Thank you for taking care of Sarada on behalf of Sasuke," he said as he bowed to the floor.

"Y-You don't have to bow. Plus Sasuke thanked me everytime so it's okay," she said with averted eyes. 'If only you knew,' she thought to herself. "Do you remember Sasuke's wife?" Shisui asked. 'No," she said as she schooled her face into a neutral expression. "But I do know that she was one of the strongest kunoichi of her time. She also loved Sasuke endlessly, she was devoted to him beyond imagination. At one point, I doubted that Sasuke actually loved her when he spent thirteen years without coming home but I later discovered that he kept in touch with her all those years, no matter how brief. Even though they weren't touchy feely but you could see it in their eyes," she told them. "Plus Sarada told me that her mom always 'glowed' in the morning whenever Sasuke was home, if you know what I mean," she added with a suggestive wink.

"Cut! We're not going to talk about my little cousin's sex life," Shisui exclaimed though she could tell he was enjoying it. "It seems you were pretty close to Sasuke's wife, weren't you?" Itachi said with a thoughtful look. "Duh, I was his teammate, the only female who could stand to be in his presence and not actually get scared by his mood swings," she said with an eye roll. "Sasuke had a really loyal teammate," Itachi thought out loud. "Yeah, I guess," she said as she looked away.

"Enough about Sasuke. We're here to recruit Karin. Plus an additional assignment of investigating why Sarada is with the wrong person and at the wrong time," Sakura said as she stood up. "I'm going to write a message to Fugaku-san about Sarada," she spoke and promptly left the room. "Is she aware that she left her phone in here?" Shisui asked. Itachi shook his head.

"I really feel like there's something that she's not telling us, particularly about 'Sasuke's devoted wife'," he said with air quotes. "Give her time, she'll come clean soon," Itachi sighed.

Sakura was walking in the streets. It was pretty late given the few pedestrians walking. However, her mind was occupied. She was going to have to come clean about her relationship with Sasuke but she just didn't want to. She felt she wasn't ready to meet her in-laws yet. In her past timeline, she always wondered how well Sasuke's family would receive her as his wife but now that she had the chance, she was running away like a coward. 'I'll tell them after this mission,' she thought with finality. They at least deserved to know.

In a brief moment, the world around her shifted and she was falling off a cliff. Wind slashed at every part of her exposed skin which was surprisingly bare with no clothes. 'Pft, this is way too easy,' she thought as she dispelled the genjutsu. Whereas the genjutsu lasted for a few minutes but it was only a few seconds in reality. She was back in Tokyo however she was in a dark alley. In front of her stood a single figure wearing a dark cloak with a hood which covered the face but left the mouth and cheeks exposed. Immediately, she tensed, preparing herself to fight if need arose. "Who are you?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "Sakura Haruno," the figure spoke, ignoring her question.

"What do you want from me? You better speak now before I make you," she warned. Sensing no intention to reply, she flashed in front of himt, aiming a kick at the head. The figure didn't move and her foot connected with it, sending the person into the dumpsters at the end of the alley. She wasted no time to close the distance between them and hauled him off the ground by his collar. Using one hand, she ripped away the hood revealing a face she didn't recognize. What she noticed were the green pupilless eyes staring back at her. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

"Whatever you're doing, stop before the Commission comes," he spoke in a monotone voice. "The Commission? What's that?" she asked. She had never heard of a 'commission' before. "If you want to save your life, avoid the government at all costs," he said. 'What gibberish is he talking?' she thought to herself. "Don't poke your nose where it doesn't belong," he said again before his eyes lost their color and went limp in her arms.

She dropped him to the ground unceremoniously before checking his body for any credentials. There were none. She checked his body for any injuries and did a medical exam. Everything about him was normal except for the earring he was wearing on his left ear. On it was the kanji for the Allied Shinobi Forces which was crossed twice in the middle. That was interesting enough. Sealing his body in a scroll, she made her way back to her motel.

"Is that all he said?" Shisui asked. "As far as I can remember, yes," she replied easily. "Could anyone be aware of our other assignments?" she thought out loud. "Maybe, though I am surprised how anyone would come to know of it unless one of us told them," Itachi pointed out. "I guess so," she replied. "Did you talk to Fugaku?" Shisui asked. She shook her head no. "Let's wait a few days and come up with something solid before we send the information, what we have at the moment are guesses," the older boy spoke. "What about Karin?" Itachi asked.

"I'm going to visit her workplace tomorrow. I managed to place a tracker on Sarada before they left and she works at a pharmacy downtown," she told them as she rubbed her tired eyes. "Feeling sleepy?" Shisui asked. "A lot more than you think. I'm exhausted mentally more than physically. Tomorrow I'll be good as new," she said with a yawn. "Good night," she sighed as she ushered them out of her room. "Don't let the bed bugs bite," the curly haired boy teased. "They'll meet the wrath of my fist if they try," came the reply as she closed the door.

She had a much needed beauty sleep waiting for her.

The next morning, she got up later than usual by half an hour but it was still early. If she wanted to talk to Karin alone then she had to be early. It wasn't like she was going to agree on the first try. Dressed in a blue skirt and a maroon sweater with a cream shirt inside coupled with white sandals, she made her to the redhead's workplace. Her hair was down in the usual hairstyle except she was wearing a maroon ribbon. Ino always insisted that she show her forehead instead of covering it.

She arrived to find the older girl talking to a client who wanted tablets for high blood pressure. "I'm telling you, I can't give you those without a prescription from your doctor," Karin said with barely concealed impatience. "I don't need a doctor to tell me that my so-called wife is giving me BP. Now give me before I call your manager," the old man said with wispy grey hair, a receding hairline and toothless gums. "You're talking to the manager," she replied boredly. The man tsk'ed before limping away all the while muttering how troublesome women were in general. 'Wouldn't be too surprised if he turned out to be Shikamaru's grandfather,' she thought with an inward smile as she went to the redhead.

"Hello Karin," she greeted. "If it isn't Mrs. Uchiha, can't say that though in this timeline," she said as she studied her nails as if they were the most interesting thing. Annoyance was written in capital letters on the pinkette's face but she held her tongue. "I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk," she forced out. "As soon you can see, I'm occupied with my job now why you just hurry along before I force you myself," she said, her red eyes menacing. Immediately, the two females' chakra lashed out at each other, killing intent heavy in the room.

'I can easily kill her but I won't, for the sake of the mission and Sarada,' Sakura thought as she forced her chakra to withdraw. "Look, I'm still trying to figure out how you became Sarada's mother but that's not what I'm here for. I have an offer for you, in return we'll provide you with everything you need," she spoke diplomatically. "I don't want any handouts. I'm fine the way I am," Karin replied curtly. "It's not a handout. But we need your help, your fuinjutsu skills specifically," she told her. "What point of I'm not interested don't you understand?" the redhead shot back. "Please, I know you're not really happy to see me right now and I understand you entirely but please just think it through. I'll be back tomorrow if you're ready to hear me out," she said as she placed a piece of paper on the table with her name and number on it.

"Maybe if you didn't place a tracker on my daughter I'd actually listen to you," she scoffed in return. "Sorry about that. I didn't have any other option to find you," the medic replied. "There's this thing called the internet, try using it baka," the Uzumaki as she turned her head away in contempt. Sakura sighed and was just about to leave when her friends walked into the restaurant. "Sakura!" Both Naruto and Ino exclaimed at the sight of her. "Hey guys," she waved with a forced smile. 'Just what I needed,' she thought miserably.

Chapter Text

"Sakura-chaaaaan~" Naruto sang as he enveloped the pinkette in a bone crushing hug. "Back off you dummy! You're gonna squeeze her to death," Ino screeched as she pried him off her. "Thank you," Sakura wheezed out in relief. "Just our luck! We came to Tokyo to surprise you but decided to visit Karin first. And we meet you at the most unexpected places. Guess we won't have to hunt you down," Naruto practically beamed at her. She had forgotten that Itachi and Shisui had wiped out the memories of their last encounter. Karin sent them a confused look but remained quiet. "What are you doing here anyways?" Ino asked her.

"I wanted to have breakfast before exploring the city," she lied, silently praying that Karin wouldn't rat her out. "That's great. We were thinking of doing the same thing," the blonde said. He snapped his fingers as if remembering something. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you. Karin here, who happens to be the owner of this restaurant," he said as he gestured towards the redhead who rolled her eyes. "She's actually my cousin," he said with a grin. "Nice to meet you Karin," the pinkette spoke politely through gritted teeth. "Nice to meet you too. And who might you be?" the Uzumaki woman's victorious expression grated on Sakura's nerves. "I'm Sakura Haruno, a friend of these two blonde idiots," she said with a forced smile.

"Best friends actually. I'm her guy best friend and Miss Idol here is her girl best friend," Naruto spoke wisely. "I see," Karin said as she adjusted her glasses. "We wanna hang out with Sarada today. Can we pick her up after school?" Naruto asked her, his eyes pleading at her. "You know that I don't want her to stay outside for too long especially after that incident," the redhead said with a frown. That caught Sakura's attention. What incident were they talking about? Perhaps she could understand why Sarada was born at the wrong time with the wrong person.

"Please, just this once. Even Sasuke will be there!" the Uzumaki exclaimed. "What does Sasuke have to do with any of this?" the question was out of Sakura's mouth before she could stop herself. Karin's face burned with embarrassment as Naruto rounded on her immediately. "Karin has a gigantic crush on Sasuke since middle school, even though she's ten years his senior," the reincarnated jinchuriki exclaimed. "It's kinda cute but I ship Sasuke with Sakura. They're my OTP," Ino said as she studied her nails. "No way! Me too, though I'd also ship Sasuke with you for the fun of it," Naruto cheered.

Sakura stared smugly at Karin only to find her looking back at her with a defeated expression. Immediately, guilt filled her. She knew how the redhead felt about Sasuke in their past lives and how accepting she was of Sarada and her relationship with Sasuke. Sakura didn't think she could've done the same if Karin had gotten together with Sasuke instead of her. "Karin can like whoever she wants, no need to be so judgemental. Plus you're hurting her feelings by matching Sasuke with someone else," the pinkette defended. The redhead looked at her in wonder, her mouth slightly agape. She sent her a reassuring smile in return.

"Awwww Sakura, now you're making me feel guilty," Naruto pouted. "You should be. It's not nice to trample on someone's feelings like that. Now apologize, you too Ino," she said as she crossed her arms with a hard face. The two obliged, Ino somewhat begrudgingly.
"So can we pick Sarada after school?" Naruto asked again, sapphire eyes glassy and trying very hard to look adorable but failing miserably. "Okay, just make to come back here when I close at 6," the Uzumaki woman sighed in exasperation, a pointed look directed at Ino. The Yamanaka girl rolled her eyes at that. "We won't go shopping, just ice cream and stuff," she pouted as she met Karin's hard gaze with her own. "Fine, don't set the city on fire."

.

Shisui had received a text from Sakura saying she was going out with Naruto and Ino to hang out with Sarada. They would also pick Sasuke, Shikamaru and Chouji along the way. They would have to talk to Karin and explain why they needed her since she didn't see eye to eye with Karin at the moment. She would be back by supper.

The curly haired Uchiha pocketed his phone with a sigh. He had zero experience with this Karin except that she was Sasuke's teammate at one point and had a crush on him since their teenage years. She was also an Uzumaki and one heck of a sensor. That's all he knew about her. He looked at Itachi who had a thoughtful expression on his face as he read Sakura's message in their group.

"I had been hoping that Sakura would be the one to do it but it seems the duty falls to us," the loudmouth ninja between the two of them spoke. "It seems so," Itachi agreed quietly.

"Anything particular that we must know about her?" he asked as they began walking to her workplace. "I don't remember much of my last years before I died hence I cannot say that I know anything about her except what Sakura told us," the long haired Uchiha replied. Even though he had left Sasuke in the hands of the Sandaime, who had done a terrible job of taking care of his younger brother and Naruto too, he had not looked after his brother as he ought to. He should've known what type of people his brother had been teammates with. He barely knew what Sakura was like in their past lives except what was written in the Bingo Books. It had been after she defeated Sasori that her name had appeared.

The closest person he knew was Naruto and his knowledge was limited. He felt like a failure of an older brother.

"Don't beat up yourself over it cousin. We all made mistakes in our past lives, what we can make sure to do is to fix them in this life," Shisui spoke without looking at him. Itachi looked at the sky, noting the blueness of it slightly darker than he was used to. Perhaps it were his eyes, he had been having problems with his eyes since he was 13.

"I can't help it Shisui. I regret everything I did in my past life," the younger shinobi told him.

"You know, it's one of those days that I'm really grateful that none of us remembered how we died. Because if I discover that I died by your hand, well, I ought to revenge myself," Shisui joked but Itachi didn't find the humour in it.

.

The man always prided himself on being one of the most genius, if not THE genius, nin of his time. He hummed a low tune as he mixed his potions, it would only be a matter of time before he recreated Mitsuki.
He knew he had been reincarnated some centuries into the future hence when he recovered the memories of his most important jutsu the previous night, he had been ecstatic. He knew he was described for greatness, he knew he was destined for immortality. Yes, the one thing that no man had ever managed to accomplish. Though he was several Sharingan short, (he couldn't create Shin now), he knew enough that he could create the Sharingan on his own. He would need to send one of his underlings, Kabuto specifically, to harvest some Uchiha DNA.

Though, the entire city of Konoha would be alerted before he was even within a mile distance from the damned city. But it wasn't as if seal work was that hard. Though he was short of an Uzumaki (he silently cursed Karin for being born early), he would make sure that he would accomplish immortality.

The Uchiha were scattered all abroad, he could stumble upon a few strays he could experiment upon.
Orochimaru checked the digital watch on his wrist. His guest would be arriving in a few minutes.

He allowed a smile to stretch on his pale face.

Apparently, someone had gotten wind of his (awesome!) abilities and needed help in creating humans with enhanced physical abilities. In return, he would gain access to the history records of what happened during his past life. Perhaps he could trigger his memories to come back all at once.

Golden eyes roamed over his laboratory. He was grateful for the new technology, it made his work easier. He locked his experimentation room and went to another room where he would meet with his guest. He had sent Kabuto on an intel gathering mission in Iwa. He just needed to get the brat out of sight for a few days so that he could meet his guest uninterrupted. The boy had a tendency of running his mount at inappropriate times.

At exactly 2349, the man entered the room. Just as he had said he would. He was dressed in a black suit with slicked back grey hair. Everything about him was pristine and practically screamed money. The Snake Sannin felt giddy with anticipation as the man took a seat in front of him. His features were plain but the eye color caught his attention. He could make out blue, red, green, yellow and purple reflecting in his eyes, like the colors of a rainbow. Was it a special doujutsu? Perhaps he could-

"I can read your mind clearly. Help yourself by forgetting such trivial pursuits. You can't come within an inch of me unless I permit you," his voice was flat but deep. "Of course Furumira-sama, my apologies," he said with a smile.

"Would you like a drink-"

"Show me if you truly live up to your fame. I have a meeting in the next half an hour," his voice cut through.

"Of course."

He took the man to one of his rooms he never showed anyone except himself. He had many rooms like that but he could afford showing the man this one. It was more friendly to people with lesser wills.

Several female bodies were pinned on the walls by their arms with nails. They were naked. There were other bodies on stretchers. To their left, five tanks filled with water with children of different ages inside. Two were females, looking barely past a year. The remaining three were male and looked around five years old.

Furumira looked around the room with a blank expression.

"I heard that you want humans with superhuman abilities. I have harvested reproduction cells from males and females alike with no history of special abilities and have fused them to create a child. I have altered the DNA to have enhanced strength, speed and sight. I have also increased their brain activity to make them very intelligent and added resistance to their skin such that they cannot be injured. With a special serum of my own mixed with chakra, they cannot die."

The Snake Sannin felt the man look at him appraisingly and he brimmed with pride. He was a step closer to attaining immortality. "How long does this process take?" Furumira asked as he looked at the golden watch on his wrist. "Close to six months to have a fully grown child. A year at most to have a teenager," he replied as he ushered him out of the room.
They went back to the first room.

"What do you hope to attain with the information that I will provide you? Information of what happened in the past, the blank period in the history of Japan that no one knows except a select few," Furumira questioned him, rainbow colored eyes looking at him in curiosity. Orochimaru allowed a full minute of silence for a dramatic effect before he replied.

"Immortality. It seems that I was not able to achieve that in another life. As I have been given the another chance to do so, I want to utilize every moment to achieve my goal," he spoke as he nursed his drink.
"I guess just the same as you were back then."
Orochimaru looked at him in confusion. Did he know that he had been reincarnated?

Furumira snapped his fingers and five figures appeared in the room. His eyes were now a dull black. The man stood up to stand beside the men who looked exactly like him except with different eye colors.

"We target people exactly like you who want to tip the balance of the world. You never seem to stop coming back, do you?"

Before Orochimaru could react, he found the men activating unknown seals around the room. "You bastard!" Orochimaru hissed as he stood up, knocking the table in their directions as he attempted to run away. Damn it! He hadn't even gotten a quarter of his power yet. He couldn't fight them, he could only run.
However, he felt himself being drawn towards the men. He fought against the seals but they were too powerful. In a matter of seconds, all that remained of him was a tiny golden scroll with snake eyes.

"Burn everything down," Furumira spoke as he pocketed the scroll and left the room.