"Is that her?" Even though they were trying to be quiet the children's voice carried in the marketplace.
"Where? I want to see too."
"Ewww. Is that the woman everyone said was so beautiful?"
She continued her shopping unfazed. Over the years she had learned to ignore the words of children. They were merely curious and meant no harm.
"What do you mean was beautiful?"
The children jumped at the new voice in their midst. They didn't see or hear their teacher coming, much less realize school was out.
"Oh Sensei. We were…"
"I know. I heard everything. That woman never was beautiful."
Sakura stiffened; the words of adults were different from the words of children. Time and battle had not been kind to her. She thought she had fooled herself into thinking being alive and healthy was enough, so she was surprised when the tears welled up in her eyes.
"Look at her"
"What do you mean? We are looking at her."
"Don't be a smartass. Use those eyes you have and look at her. A ninja must learn to look past the surface"
"Wow"
"Do you see that?"
"It's unreal."
Sakura felt the intensified stares as tiny untrained eyes focused on her. Apparently a Hyuuga or Uchiha was among those drifting down the delinquent's path.
"What is it? I can't see it."
"That, is the reason that woman never was beautiful. It's chakra - powerful and unmatched chakra," A chorus of Ows could be heard as he accentuated his next words with a tap on their tiny little heads, "It's saved my life, your father's life, your mother's life and the lives of 3 Hokages. She's one of the reasons Konoha is here today. Do you know how many times she's saved this village?"
Their blank expressions spoke volumes.
The teacher's next words made her smile.
"Saying she was beautiful is totally untrue. That's making it a thing of the past. She is beautiful and always will be."
"Now that we have that little misunderstanding cleared up; it's painfully obvious that you idiots should not be skipping class. You have three minutes to return or else you will receive special punishment in addition to the history report and laps you have to do."
Her smile turned to laugher as Konohamaru proved he was Naruto's disciple and the Third's grandson, yelling sternly at he students before turning into a puff a smoke right before their eyes.
As she stopped to look at her reflection in the window of the Yamanaka flower shop, the voices of the two girls playing inside drifted out to her,
"The Sakura in Konoha blooms pink, white and blue.
If you see it then lucky for you.
She could use her chakra like Tsunade and reverse the effect of time and remove a few battle scars
The Sakura outta Konoha blooms gray, red, and black.
if you see it you'd better turn back."
But Tsunade had been taught a hard lesson that Sakura learned early on
Sakura oh Sakura, The prettiest flower
Where oh where do you get your power
Preserving your face means nothing without the ones you want to show your best side to
The ground in Konoha is true and firm
The sunshine in Konoha is bright and warm
The rain in Konoha comes sparingly,
but it's kept in will of fire for me
That's how the Sakura blooms so strong
That's why the blossoms will carry on