Light footsteps could barely be heard and they soon came to a halt, only to be replaced by a knock at the door.
Four knocks. One—up, at the right. Two—up, at the left. Three—up in the middle. Four—down. It was a secret code, but nobody would've noticed the distinctive sounds unless they knew the code.
"Come in, Sakura," the voice sounded young, much younger than the speaker really was.
The door opened to reveal a sixteen year old kunoichi, by the name of Haruno Sakura, also known as 'Forehead Girl', or Tsunade Number Two.
"You called me, Tsunade-shishō. There are over thirty wounded people at my medical camp; you must understand that I should return as soon as possible." Dark circles under her green eyes
"I have grave news to tell you, Sakura."
The pink-haired's green eyes squinted. There were rare moments in life when her teacher was entirely serious and sober. Shadows covered Tsunade's face, making her—for once—older.
"If this is about Zetsu, I already sent Shizune every—,"
"It isn't. But, if you brought this up, you should know that you are no longer needed on any Division of the Allied Shinobi Forces."
"What—"
"You have been declared dead at 16:23, killed by four white Zetsu."
Sakura backed down and she ran for the door.
Locked.
Panic overwhelmed her, was this a genjutsu; had she been so stupid to be caught in one without noticing?
"Sakura, sit down," a hidden fury underlined her teacher's voice, and fearfully she tiptoed her way to the chair and sat down. She closed her eyes, welcoming the darkness as if it helped her escape from the reality. But it didn't. She could hear and feel her teacher and that made her …
Did Tsunade want to …
Taking a deep breath, the pinkette asked the single question that occupied her thoughts. "Are you going to kill me?"
"No. Nobody knows you are here. I myself have made a copy of your body that the Sensor Division will find in a few hours."
"Then, what is it?" Fear was evident in her eyes, voice, everything—the way she played with the hem of her dress, how balls of sweat fell down on her forehead. She was terrified. "Why am I declared dead? …why are you playing with my life?"
"We had been mistaken about the power of Madara's forces. Everybody underestimated him and we are about to pay a great price. I am afraid that not even Naruto, as strong as he is now, can beat him. And even if he can, he won't have the opportunity."
"But Naruto—," Sakura started, revolted by the thought that Naruto, The Kyubi Jinchuriki, wouldn't be able to kill Madara.
"—is going after Sasuke first, and nobody knows if he will get out alive."
There was a pause, and different scenarios played through her head and all ended with chaos.
"The reason I have called you is because I am giving you the highest ranked mission I have ever given to anyone."
"What? Tsunade-sama, what do you mean? I can't accept it! I am a chūnin, you have plenty of ANBU and I'm not—"
"I'm not asking you to complete this mission. This is a command from your Hokage. It is not a mission in which power matters, but intelligence. I have chosen you because you are weak. I can't and will not watch as my one and only student dies. If there is anything I can do, this is it."
And the Hokage wiped out a scroll and put it on her desk.
Big kanji words were written on it and it took Sakura a while to realize that no, she wasn't misreading it, it really did say 'time-travel'.
"Hokage-sama, I don't understand," she sincerely said, traces of fear still etched on her face.
"You are going to sign this scroll, in blood. It will take you in the past—I have no idea when, it could even be before the ninja were created, though I hope it wouldn't. Once in the past, you have two missions. One: stop Madara. It would be best if you would be transported into his youth, so you could kill him easily. If not, make him enemies that could kill him."
"And the second mission…?" the pinkette asked.
"Change everything you can. If you don't change anything, a Haruno Sakura will stand in front of me, terrified, waiting to be sent back in time."
Her bottom lip quivered. For the umpteenth time, she felt the urge to run away from everything, but this time it was stronger, like a little voice in her hear was screaming (run, run, run, run), like her heart was beating run-run, run-run, but a coherent part of her brain told her she couldn't.
You have been declared dead.
That's right; there was no life for her anymore.
Sakura didn't doubt that Tsunade would rather kill her than have the pinkette die by someone else's hands.
And death sounded better than going back in time.
"I'm sorry, shishō, but I—…I can't. Surely you must have someone else!"
The Hokage didn't react as bad as Sakura would've expected. Tsunade took a deep breath; she knew that anger didn't solve anything with Sakura, whereas it solved everything with Naruto.
"Have you seen Naruto, Sakura? Have you looked into his eyes? Did you see that they're as blue as the sky on a spring day? He will die, and he will take Sasuke with him. Do you want to watch as his eyes close forever?"
She had always been the smart, weak girl. Naruto had always protected her.
A tear stumbled on Sakura's cheek. "No!"
"Then, by going back you will help him have a different and a happier future. Don't forget that it is because of that promise that Naruto still chases after Sasuke."
The pink-haired girl covered her eyes and she cried quietly, she didn't want to do this.
"I have faith in you, Sakura," Tsunade added and light brown eyes locked with green. Sakura had never seen such an ingenuous expression on her teacher' face and it made her want to cry. This is how Tsunade was before her brother's and her lover's death. This was the Tsunade that Shizune used to tell her stories about.
And this Tsunade was putting her last hope in Sakura.
"O—Okay," she croaked, her voice hoarse from crying. "I'll do it."
o o o
i n s i d e
o f
l i f e
written by exhaustion
Chapter one.
o o o
"I still have no idea of what should I do," Sakura said, sighing. "Will I be in my body?"
"Of course not," Tsunade scoffed. "The scroll says that you'll take the body of a person that dies the day in which you are transported. Whereas it gives you the advantage of anonymity, there is a chance that the body will not have chakra cells, or that you will be reborn as a criminal!"
"What if I can't find Madara?" the pink-haired girl asked.
"Make powerful friends, fake your death and make them promise they'll kill Madara or find someone who can. I have no hopes that you alone will murder him, Sakura. Also, I have no doubt that my younger self will kill anyone who shares the same abilities as mine."
But what was Sakura supposed to do without the little power she had?
Survive.
Frightened and hesitant, she bit her finger and scribbled her name on the scroll.
o o o
There will not be spoilers past Naruto Manga Chapter 545. Second chapter will be posted on 26th July.
If there are any grammar mistakes please point them out, and do express your opinion.