Full description: "First and foremost, you are my disciple. A kunoichi who will inherit the power of the Legendary Sannin. And . . . Sakura Haruno . . . you are also the disciple of the Fifth Hokage!"
After the disaster that was the mission to the Land of Waves, Sakura vows to herself that she will never be weak again - she swears that she will become a true teammate to Naruto and Sasuke, instead of dead weight.
This is her journey.

So I'm sure that you guys noticed that I deleted the earlier version of Spring. The reason is that I just wasn't really feeling that idea - so I adapted it into this. Basically, instead of starting at Shippuden, this story starts after the Land of Waves mission, like Strength within Myself and Pulling My Weight. Actually, reading Pulling My Weight for, like, the thirtieth time - or something like that - was what inspired me to rewrite this.

But as a warning, updates will likely be sporadic at best (and downright rare at worst) because the end of the school year is coming and that means finals and all that jazz - so teachers are starting to really crack down. I'm also writing other stories on different accounts, so not all of my time will be devoted to Spring. Just as a prior warning.

Also, the pairing is pretty much confirmed to be Itachi/Sakura/Shisui. Just so you guys know. There's just going to be a lot of chances for them to develop some pretty good chemistry in this story, especially Sakura and Shisui, and I'm already shipping them pretty heavily. As this chapter is sort of a peek into Sakura's future, let me know what you think of the pairing.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto. I do own my changes to the plot, though, and my attempts to fill the many, numerous plot-holes. Oh, and the changes to Sakura-chan are mine, too. So there, Kishimoto! Ha!

Warning(s): This story is AU. And it gets really AU towards the end (and this chapter is a sneak-peak at the end), so if you prefer canon-stories, this is not the story for you. Also, please no flames - I won't appreciate them. All other comments, though, are more than welcome.

Hope you enjoy!

Shannaro!

Spring

Preface

"And it's true that I'm a woman . . .
but I'm definitely not a weak woman."

-Tsunade Senju, Naruto Shippuden

"You bastard," she snarls, her emerald-green eyes glowing with all of her fury. Her chakra, coating her entire form from the moment she called it to the surface like a thick blanket, crackles audibly, somehow alike both thunder and lightning all at once, and her eyes become like polished diamonds set into a face of beauty that has been shaped and sculpted by hardships, responsibility, violence, and, now, pure, unadulterated rage. "You're playing with fire now, Uchiha, and I'm going to make you regret ever laying your Kami-damned eyes on my boys."

Even faced with the violent, oppressive rage of the kunoichi who had been awarded titles like the First Harukage and the Spring and the Queen of Shinobi, Madara Uchiha sneers. "What will you do now?" he asks, teeth flashing in the bloody-red light of the flames flickering around them, and he tightens his grip around the so-called 'traitorous' Uchiha boy's throat. "Will you cry? Weep? Beg me to spare him? You're pathetic . . . wench."

The Uchiha Madara slowly chokes the life out of, purposefully drawing it out as to torture the pink-haired kunoichi and Kage, Shisui of the Body-Flicker and Sakura's own right-hand man in her village, hisses in displeasure at Madara's words, and his scrabbling grip on Madara's hand around his throat turns almost bruising as he digs his blunt nails into the glove-covered flesh. His dark eyes swirl into the crimson of his base-level, three tomoe Sharingan before morphing into his Eternal Mangekyou form, and the force of his glare upon his attacker is alike the burning of flames, fierce and promising to burn if you draw too close or push too far - and Madara has. "Don't . . . you ever . . . call her . . . that," he hisses, despite his struggle to bring air into his lungs, and Madara chuckles in dark amusement.

"What are you going to do about it, boy?" he taunts, idly tightening his grip. "You're like her, too pathetic to even respond."

Scarlet blood trickles from Shisui's lips, and Sakura's viridian eyes narrow and flash dangerously.

"You're dead," she growls, her fist tightening ever so slightly - the only warning other than her rapidly growing fury.

Madara's eyes, still obsidian since he believes the duo to be so far below his ability level he doesn't even need his Sharingan, widen, but before he can laugh, he is hurtling backwards and has dissolved into thousands upon thousands of scraps of paper.

Sakura draws her fist back from where she had landed the blow, brushing away stray cherry blossom petals that still drift in the air from her Body-Flicker as her Cherry-Blossom Clone heals Shisui in a manner of seconds. Itachi Uchiha lands next to her silently, dressed in the same armor as Shisui - strips of malleable black metal formed into body-tight armor with a bone-white Haruno circle proudly emblazoned on the back with the Uchiha clan's uchiwa insignia in the center of the white circle. The prodigy turns to look at the pink-haired kunoichi he has followed since she and Shisui saved him, and his eyes soften from their usual icy emotionless front to a warmer blend of emotions, from devotion to concern to love to indignant anger on her behalf.

She laughs silently, and he tucks a small strand of hair behind her ear - not captured in her complex braid she wears for battles when she has enough forewarning. His fingers linger against her cheek, and she leans into the small contact as the two share a moment of deeply emotional eye-contact that leaves the others around them feeling awkward, like they're intruding on something private and sacred.

An army of ANBU from Sakura's village, Harugakure, drop down behind Sakura, Shisui, and Itachi and wait, hardly fidgeting as they gather their weapons in preparation for when the battle will begin anew.

Madara slowly begins to reform, scraps of paper floating idly on the wind.

The 5 Kage - the Hokage, the Raikage, the Mizukage, the Tsuchikage, and the Kazekage - leap down from their sand platforms to stand with Sakura, to show their support for her and her village, before the army of ANBU but remaining behind her and her two companions. Sakura is leading them into this battle, into this war now, and they have all put their trust in her and come out stronger than before. They will win.

Shisui staggers to his feet and walks up to stand with Sakura and Itachi.

Upon his approach, both turn to look at him and reach out, brushing their hands across his cheeks in a quick, innocent show of affection - a silent question of his well-being. All three release the barriers that hide them from the world and communicate through eye-contact, sharing an in-depth conversation as the physical contact remains. Finally, once they have finished checking that Shisui is all right, Sakura and Itachi turn back to face Madara's slowly reforming body, and Shisui grabs their hands, interlacing their fingers as they wait together.

Suddenly, Sakura turns to look at her right-hand and left-hand men, a wry smile quirking her lips upwards at the corners; the emblem of her namesake proudly emblazoned on her now-bare forehead breaks into a thousand petals, which then form twisting, thorny vines, glowing in vibrant violet, which stretch across her entire body. "You two aren't allowed to die . . ." she murmurs lowly, her words meant for only their eyes, "all right?"

Shisui grins. "Never!" he jokes, but there is a degree of seriousness to his voice that assures her of his sincerity - even while he's playing the jokester.

Itachi allows a slight smile to cross his face - both at Sakura's worry and at Shisui's inane goofiness - and inclines his head in both acceptance of her words and agreement with Shisui. "You are not allowed either," Itachi states slowly, seriously, and Shisui nods his vehement agreement.

Sakura smiles as her eyes start to glow a luminescent viridian. "I swear," she says, and despite her light-hearted smile, her boys can tell that she is not lying - she will not allow herself to die, because she has now made a promise. And she will keep that promise, just like all of her promises before.

'Well done, Sakura,' Tsunade thinks, smiling fondly as she watches the battle kimono-clad back of her student and precious child. The gleaming Haruno circle on the otherwise purely crimson silk seems almost like a beacon of hope now, a ray of light in this bloody war unlike any other - the kind of which Naruto could never hope to produce. 'You've surpassed me, and you've long since surpassed them. We're all watching your back, waiting to see how far you can go. Prove Madara wrong. Prove to him that my grandfather's strength was not lost to the generations, that the Senju are not weak, and that women should never be underestimated. We're all counting on you. Not Naruto. Not Sasuke. You. How far will you go?'

Madara opens his eyes, now glowing with his three-tomoe Sharingan that slowly shifts into his Rinnengan, and takes a step forward, his expression burning with rage - rage that cannot compare, though, to Sakura's.

The Harukage smirks, tightening her grip on Itachi and Shisui's hands. "Let's do this," she says, and they all charge into battle.

Whoo! I finished!

Okay, so I had been working on this for like an hour, but my internet just suddenly shuts off and I lose everything! So I had to rewrite basically the entire chapter, and it took me soooooo long to muster up the motivation to actually write it again.

But, here it is. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below, and don't forget to give your opinion on the whole Itachi/Sakura/Shisui pairing idea I had. I hope you guys like it, 'cause the more I write of this story, the more dead-set on that pairing I am.

(But don't worry, 'cause the end pairing in Pith is going to be up to you guys no matter what!)

Ja ne!

~thestrengthofacherryblossom