Author's note:
Un-beta'd and not re-read for spelling mistakes or grammar. It's all yours to tear down.
I am not aware of any of the newer Naruto episodes or chapters thus this story is firmly in the AU world and takes place before Orochimaru's death.
"I want to be strong!" she said. Her eyes shone with determination and pride "You have been a better shishou I could have ever wished for but..." her shoulders tensed and she looked at the floor, avoiding the hokage's eyes "But- I think," she swallowed and looked up again "I think I've learned everything I can from you but it's not enough!"
She put a step forward and raised her hands "I don't mean to be disrespectful, Tsunade-shishou but I want to be stronger! Stronger! More! Naruto and Sasuke..." she unconsciously clenched her fists "I want to be just as strong as them. No." she shook her head "I want to be better."
Tsunade stared at her student as she absently swirled the sake around in her little cup. The older woman's chin rested on the other hand and she appeared deep in thought while her pupil waited for a reaction.
It remained quiet for some time until Sakura very hesitantly said: "Shishou?" the blonde grunted and raised the sake cup, swallowing it down in one go. Sakura sighed and her shoulders hunched, realising her well prepared speech had done nothing to her shishou. Sakura was about to turn around and leave when finally...
"You have really learned everything I can teach you, Sakura." the pink haired kunoichi's eyes shot up to the hokage as she continued "I understand your desire to continue growing and learning even if you haven't fully mastered everything I have taught you."
Sakura protested "Shishou, I have-" Tsunade silenced her with a glance. "But-" she shot Sakura a warning glance "But, I understand your wish to keep up with your old team. Naruto is continuously improving under Jiraiya's tutelage and Sasuke... Well." Tsunade mentally noted how Sakura did not flinch or waver when mentioning her old crush. She was proud her student had moved on.
Tsunade refilled her sake cup. "I don't have the time to train you better and more than I already have but there is someone..." the hokage stared at the sake while Sakura eagerly stared at her shishou "someone who could train you beyond Sasuke and Naruto, if you truly have it in you."
"I want to try, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura said loudly. Tsunade gulped down the sake again and nodded seriously before refilling.
"Come closer, Sakura." the pink haired kunoichi obeyed without hesitating "The person I'm talking about..." Tsunade sighed and Sakura frowned, suddenly unsure if she really wanted what she had asked for.
"If you wish to go to her you will have to leave Konoha, I can give you a special wanderer status for it." Gold eyes met emerald and the seriousness of what Tsunade was proposing sunk in. Wanderer status was only given in very special cases such as long term undercover missions or extensive information gathering. The only person who Sakura knew to have such a status was Jiraiya...
"I cannot promise she'll accept you and if she does it will be hard work, nothing like you've experienced here before." Tsunade continued, Sakura gulped and nodded "You must do whatever she tells you to, no matter how absurd or useless it may seem, will you do that?" Sakura nodded again, filling the information away. Tsunade closed her eyes, sighed and nodded.
"You will leave tomorrow evening when we usually have our taijutsu training so I can show you where to go." Tsunade finally ended and filled another cup of sake. Sakura was left a little shocked at how fast everything had been decided.
"Tsunade-same," Sakura started but her mentor cut her off
"We'll talk more tomorrow, Sakura." the younger girl nodded, turned and headed for the door knowing she had been dismissed. Right before she pulled the handle Tsunade spoke up again "Sakura..." she hesitated "when you go to her, she will seem a little... Odd. Crazy, even."
Sakura looked a little shocked, nodded and left.
"Sakura," Tsunade spoke up as they both landed on a wide tree branch "Right now, you can still go back. Won't you miss your friends? Ino, Tenten, Naruto and all the others?" Sakura paused and looked out over the forest. She had never been there before.
"I will," she said "but I still want to be stronger even if I won't see all of them for a while."
"It might be longer than a while, Sakura," Tsunade said "I don't know how long it will take. If she'll be open to an apprentice at all. This is a wild guess on my part, Sakura and all I can do is hope she'll be better than the last time we met."
Sakura turned to her mentor "Who is she, really?"
"A missing nin of Konoha, sadly." Tsunade said "That's why you need to special wanderer status so you can associate with her. She has... Been through much and her bloodline limit is a stressful one." the blonde hesitated "I'm afraid one mission gone awry messed with her head, she has never been the same since."
"So she's crazy?" Sakura asked, pulling a face.
"A little bit, yes. I haven't quite figured out if she's just hiding behind a facade or if she has truly lost it." she looked at Sakura seriously "You must take her seriously, Sakura or find an appropriate balance. She may not be as clear headed as when she was young but she is still the strongest shinobi Konoha has ever seen."
Sakura gasped and nodded again.
"That's all I can tell you. You'll have to find a way to get through to her. She values hard work above raw talent or smarts so don't try to impress her."
Another nod.
"It will take you about three weeks to travel there. From this point on you travel South for a week until you come to a small fishing village called Sakana there you will travel by boat for three days to the wind country. From there on you head north west for eight days. You will enter a deserted country, forest as far as the eye can reach. There, you will have to search for her."
Sakura was shocked when hearing the amount of time it would take just getting there. "Search for her? How?" she stared at her teacher.
"There are little villages spread over the forest, you'll have to ask around for someone to guide you to the village of Kareha."
"I didn't think it would take so long to get there and I hardly brought anything." Sakura admitted. Her teacher smiled.
"Think of it as survival training. Good luck, Sakura." Tsunade grasped her pupil's shoulder and smiled "If there's anyone who could convince Kin to take on an apprentice it's you."
Sakura nodded yet again and whispered "Hai, shishou."
It was silent then, both of them looking at each other. Sakura could feel saltiness welling up in her eyes, she would miss her shishou and all her friends. She would miss Konoha. She smiled brightly "I'll make you proud, shishou and I hope I'll see you soon." she bowed respectfully and before Tsunade could notice the tears Sakura turned and was on her way South.
Tsunade sighed "I'm already proud, you silly girl." and she looked at Sakura's back as she moved through the trees.