The waterfall was shining under the warm sky. It seemed to Sakura like it was raining diamonds. She felt the humid sparkles on her face and licked the fresh water from her lips. The feeling was breathtaking. She had not felt this calm and peaceful for so long, it was bliss from heavens.

Sakura smiled to herself and felt whole. Like everything was finally in its place. Like the pieces of the puzzle were all set, except this one piece that was still missing.

She sighed and turned her gaze towards the lake that was hidden beneath the clouds of vapor.

"I am finally strong." she whispered to herself. Her voice was faint under the loud music of the crashing waterfall.

She observed every last detail of the waterfall when she reached with her turquoise eyes the top of the waterfall where huge cherry trees were dancing in the breeze. Their pink petals fell like snow, after being drifted by the massive flow of the waterfall.

She smiled to her beautiful creation and, grabbing her stuff, made her way back home… .

________________

It's been three years since Sakura left her master and Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves Tsunade.

Tsunade was sitting by her desk observing the village. Not much had changed.

The sky was covered with thick dark clouds, which threatened to destroy a wonderful afternoon. She heard voices coming from outside her office but didn't pay attention.

The last few days she was having dreams of her student. Strange ones. She was always in danger and was fighting ninjas from non existing villages and she always lost. One dream made her wake up in the middle of the night with tears in her eyes. She had seen Sakura being a Jinchuuriki. The girl with the pink hair was lying on the ground and screaming. Her body was in spasms and her breathing was unsteady. She was being eaten from the inside by the monster that was living in her. Tsunade was standing there watching and crying Sakura's name, unable to move. The transformed face of her beloved Sakura was stuck in her head since the minute she had woken up.

Tsunade felt a stab in her chest and lost her rhythm of breathing for a moment.

"Argh, what is the meaning of this?" she wondered massaging her ribs where her heart was.

A loud thunder echoed from far beyond the clouds.

"I must have a drink."

Tsunade grabbed her long dark green cloak and left her office.

________________

"Oh Tsunade-sama, what are you doing here? You'll catch a cold and then who will run this village?" complained Shizune. She was standing behind Tsunade holding a huge red umbrella and Tonton in her other arm.

Tsunade was feeling dizzy, like a thunder had stricken her. She couldn't feel her hands or her legs anymore. The rain was so heavy, Tsunade was feeling like being beaten by a rope again and again.

The cries of Shizune faded as Tsunade made her way towards the gate of Konoha. The ninja guards were surprised by her sudden appearance, especially under this heavy rain. But she didn't care. All she cared about right now was to find out what had happened to Sakura. These nightmares of hers had not appeared out of nothing. It was a sign. And Tsunade had to find out. She loved Sakura. She was like a daughter to her, like a younger sister. She was all she had precious, after losing a brother and a lover. If something had happened to her, Tsunade would do anything to fix it. She was even willing to give her life for Sakura.

The guards, followed by a terrified Shizune, tried to stop Tsunade. She seemed like sleepwalking, but she could not hear anything they said. Only mumbles behind the sound of the rain. She loved the chill and the numbness of her limbs.

Her hand raised on its own signaling the guards and Shizune to stop, as she slowly disappeared in the woods outside Konoha.

Shizune was feeling her heart beating faster than usual. Something must have happened, she thought. She had seen Tsunade drinking again, but she never had behaved like this before.

"Call Jiraya, NOW!" she ordered one of the guards. He immediately signaled his hands in a quick gesture and disappeared behind a small fog. The other guard came closer to Shizune. His dark blue eyes were worried.

"What is wrong, Shizune-sama? What happened?" he asked.

"I do not know, but I will find out. She can't just walk away from me like that. Keep an eye on her, please."

The ninja nodded and with a leap disappeared from her view.

Tonton moved in her lap and squeaked lightly.

"Oh, I wish I knew." she said to him.

_______________

The guard ninja who had left to find Jiraya came back to the gate of Konoha followed by another ninja. He was tall and hidden beneath a dark red cloak. The hood was covering his half face, but Shizune knew exactly who this was. The way he jumped and landed in front of her was unique.

"Where is Jiraya-sama?" Shizune demanded from the two ninjas. Her voice was shaking.

"I don't know where the heck he is, probably in some other village with nice hot springs picking up on girls. But I wanna know where granny-Tsunade is." The loud voice of Naruto echoed under the hood.

Shizune could see a smile on his face.

"Long time no see, Naruto-san!" she said.

"What's up with granny-Tsunade?"

"I don't know. You two go and find her and Naruto, please bring her back to her minds. You may be the only one who can."

Naruto put a hand on her shoulder making her shiver for a second.

He smiled broadly to her.

"I will!"

The ninja and Naruto disappeared in the woods with a tremendous speed.

Shizune sighed and went towards the Hokage Tower.

_______________

Tsunade was running as fast as she could. She got rid of her high heels and her cloak which were getting in her way. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears and her limbs had finally gotten warm after running. The raindrops were becoming heavier every minute that passed.

"Sakura, where are you?"

The trees were moving by her fast, like the world was turning faster. The air was becoming cold and the breeze had transformed into a strong wind.

The weather has gone mad, Tsunade thought.

Sakura was all over her mind. Random memories had awaken, like when she had come for the first time in her office requesting her help to become a strong ninja. The little girl she was back then was another person to the young woman who had left her three years ago.

"I want to see the world, meet new people, and become stronger. This is what I want to do." she had said to her as they were walking in the training field, where Sakura used to train with her former teammates, Naruto and Sasuke.

"Oh Sakura!" Tsunade shouted to herself feeling a tense warmth growing in her eyes.

Suddenly, a faint sound echoed from her right.

Tsunade halted and kneeling on a gigantic branch of a tree tried to distinguish who was there behind the bushes.