Kakashi hated this feeling, and it seemed he experienced it all to often. Losing a comrade, even one that not well known, was a terrible thing to experience. The pain of losing a treasured student was only magnified by the guilt of failing as a sensei, and to top it all off, he let the last of Obito's kin die despite receiving his friend's sharingan to protect his comrades. Kakashi looked back at his students with a regretful eye, focusing on the sullen face of Naruto and the scarecrow made a silent vow right then to protect the legacy of his sensei and prepare him for the challenges ahead. The copy ninja would protect and prepare his students with all his formidable power.

The enormous gates of Konoha came into view and Kakashi looked at his students for what seemed like the millionth time. Naruto had the same look on his face that he had for the whole trip. His head was slightly bowed and his lips were pushed together into a thin line. It was strange to see someone so bright and cheerful acting so withdrawn and pensive. Sakura looked like her world was crushed. He shoulders were slumped like the world collapsed onto her back and she had to carry it, and though she sniffled occasionally the girl didn't shed a tear the whole way back, and in some strange twisted way Kakashi was proud of her. They travelled in uncomfortable silence, and as the massive gates came closer Kakashi stalled to prolong their trip. Entering the gates would make it all too real for his students, and that was something he learned from personal experience. Slowly the downtrodden team entered the gates one man short, team seven entered the bright village of Konoha grieving for their fallen brother.


It was a spacious office. Fine oak walls, made from some of the finest trees grown by the Shodaime, were adorned with three pictures. Two were of his sensei and predecessors, and one was of his short-lived successor. There used to be a picture of a younger Sarutobi up there too, but he had it taken down shortly after retaking the office, looking at that picture made the Hokage feel his age. He almost removed the picture of the Yondaime as well because looking at it made the Sandaime wish he sacrificed himself for the sealing. Minato was one of the most talented shinobi that he had the privilege of seeing. His will of fire was slowly stoked into an inferno, and like too many great men it was snuffed out before its time.

The man hadn't reached his peak but his name was already whispered in the same sentence as legends like Hashirama and Madara, two of the strongest shinobi to ever exist. The noble man sacrificed his life and his son's future to save the village from the Kyuubi's wrath, and gazing upon the very boy that helped his father save the village the Sandaime Hokage felt the burden of his lofty position, though he could never show it. Puffing on his pipe Sarutobi Hiruzen allowed himself a moment of weakness and yearned to pass the title to another before crushing that thought as he exhaled smoke and took in the remnants of team seven, another tragedy that should've been avoided.

"Kakashi please explain your reason for continuing the mission after discovering the client lied about the difficulty."

The legendary jounin flinched at his leader's sharp gaze before answering, "Tazuna was a good man trying to save an entire country from a bleak future Hokage-sama. Wasn't it your own sensei who said, 'To abandon your duty is not courageous and below courage there is nothing.'"

Hiruzen acknowledged the point with a nod, "I would expect no less from a student of the Yondaime Hokage, but it seems you forgot your real duty Kakashi. You had green genin who had never seen real combat before. The purpose of C-rank missions is to gradually introduce live combat to genin starting at the level of common thieves. It was not responsible to baptize them in blood, the real duty you should have been paying attention to was your duty as a sensei, to guide and protect the students."

The Sandaime felt like he was kicking a depressed puppy though he knew that Kakashi needed to hear it. The jounin appeared to deflate at the rebuke, but it seemed like the man gathered himself quickly, "I knew that a jounin would be coming after the first failed attempt, but I was, am confident in my ability to protect my students. They are strong and their teamwork was solid. It was Naruto and Sasuke's combined effort that allowed me to defeat Zabuza the first time. Also, Sasuke did not die in combat, but I do not blame the medics. After Gato's death his shipping company fell apart and no boats left or entered Nami no Kuni so they were delayed and had to build a raft, he was another victim of circumstance."

Puffing on his pipe once more Sandaime took another good look at team seven. Naruto was a fighter to his core, it may take time but the boy would bounce back eventually, he had been doing it all his life. Sarutobi would smoke poison ivy if this did not drive the boy to get stronger. Sakura was trying her best to suppress her emotions like the Shinobi Code commanded, but he was the legendary professor, the Hokage of Konohagakure. No genin was able to conceal their emotions from his piercing gaze, not even young Naruto, though the boy still thought he could. Hiruzen could see the sadness rolling off her slender frame and it made his heart ache, no child should have to feel pain like that. After contemplating his options the Sandaime decided, "Team seven will have two weeks of paid leave, and then another two of rehabilitation duty which will consist of a smaller pension supplemented by D-rank missions performed by the three man squad. During the month I will look for a suitable replacement to add to your squad. Dismissed."


Sakura was never more relieved to leave the Hokage's office, she felt the grief rising even as she followed her sensei and the pinkette tried to crush it reminding herself for the hundredth time in the last ten minutes that shinobi have no emotions. No matter how hard she tried the hidden feelings were simmering in her chest and Sakura didn't know how much longer she could contain it. Her sensei called for a stop and Sakura complied trying to forget anything about Uchiha Sasuke for just one second. Their sensei put away his dirty orange book and faced his two students, "Sasuke's funeral is in one week so I'll give you guys the week off. You may train on you own or seek me out for advice if you want, but the day after the funeral I want you both to meet me at training ground five at nine a.m. dismissed."

Hearing about Sasuke's funeral was too much and Sakura left hurriedly when he was finished talking. The slow simmering turned into a full blown boil and Sakura couldn't keep her sadness contained, she needed to get home now. The pinkette took off running, and as she turned a corner she ran right into her sensei, though he didn't seem too fazed by it. He flipped his book closed and kneeled down so he was eye level with the girl and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I remember the first day we met Sakura. You didn't voice your dream, but from the way you looked at Sasuke it became quite apparent what it was. I know that you had a crush on him, and that's fine. I'm glad you have enough normality in your life to have a crush. However, if the sole reason you became a shinobi was to get close to Sasuke, then you should withdraw from the program." Sakura looked anywhere but her sensei's charcoal eye as tears leaked out of her jade ones. "You have a lot of potential Sakura, but you need to train and put effort in to bring it out and become the exceptional kunoichi I know you can be. The ninja world is not a fairytale and I don't want to see you get hurt or killed because you didn't take your training seriously. I'm not trying to discourage you and make you quit Sakura, I want to make sure you don't get hurt… I don't think I could lose another student. I know you can become great and I want to help you get there. Why don't you take this week to decide on the path you want to take and I will support you and do anything in my power to help you, no matter what your choice is."

The tears were streaming down Sakura's face and she was trying to control her sobs that threatened to escape and managed to gather a breath, "Yes sensei, I'll see you later." Not waiting for a reply Sakura rushed towards her house.

Sakura sighed in relief once the door closed. The pinkette couldn't remember the last time she was this happy to be home and just looked around her house trying to soak up the warm atmosphere. The red carpet was threadbare, her maroon couch was torn and tattered in places, the table was dinged and dented, and their chair was permanently stuck in the recline position. In some areas on the wall the paint was peeling and the floor was scratched beyond repair, but her and her mother lived here together so despite the worn and shabby look the house gave off a warm and comforting vibe to the distraught girl. Her mother must've been working because she would've glomped Sakura as soon as she walked in the door even if she was asleep in her room.

The woman may have only been a civilian, but when it came to her daughter she was deadlier than most shinobi. The teen went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator looking for a snack, but to her disappointment the selection was sparse. The milk expired yesterday and there was very little food. Finding a small bowl of rice and chicken in the back of the fridge Sakura warmed it up and devoured the food despite it being dry and plain. She finished the small meal and put her dishes in the sink before remembering why she ran home and retreated to her bedroom not bothering to hide her tears now that there was no audience, and once Sakura closed the door behind her she threw herself on the bed and cried herself to sleep."


When Sakura awoke the moon was high in the sky and the stars were twinkling brightly. The kunoichi's eyes were puffy and swollen making it hard to see, and her throat was dry and scratchy so the girl went to the bathroom to freshen up. Once she could see Sakura went downstairs to get something to quench her thirst. The pinkette filled her glass with water and was surprised to see her mom sprawled on the couch snoring softly. Walking over to the sleeping woman Sakura looked down and wiped a stray bang from her mother's forehead, that was eerily similar to her own, and took in her bedraggled appearance. Stress lines creased her forehead and small bags were under her eyes giving her a raccoon like appearance. The woman's dress was wrinkled and her ankles were slightly swollen indicating she was standing most of the day. Her pink hair was greasy and stringy with split ends everywhere, and if Sakura could see her mother's blue eyes she was sure they would have none of the spark that was usually there.

Overall, Haruno Tomo looked like crap, even though she could put a majority of the women in the leaf village to shame most of the time despite working fifteen hours a day. It wasn't the first and certainly wouldn't be the last time Sakura felt guilty for her mother's hard life. She was a beautiful woman of twenty-eight years old, in the prime of her life. At fifteen she met the son of a wealthy merchant and was swept off her feet. After getting pregnant the man left her mother to preserve his wealth. He didn't want to support a child and woman because it would cut into the stipend he got from his family, so like a scumbag he abandoned her without a word, leaving the pregnant teenager on her own to care for a daughter.

Tomo refused to get an abortion like the rest of her family wanted, and Tomo was disowned by her clan and forced to support a child without finishing school. Now instead of hanging out with her friends and meeting handsome rich men, she worked six days a week at two different jobs. Sakura remembered the days in her childhood when she would constantly demand new clothes to stay in fashion, the newest CDs from the boybands who dominated her thoughts, and money to hang out with her friends like a selfish child. Haruno Tomo would never refuse her daughter if she could help it, even though she wouldn't have any money to spend on herself after paying the bills and buying groceries. The pinkette remembered how her mother would eat less so Sakura could have more, it was what inspired her to diet before it became a fad in the academy.

Feeling even worse about herself Sakura retreated to the comfort of the room feeling like a burden to everyone around her and eventually her mind replayed her earlier conversation with Kakashi. 'Kaka-sensei was right, I didn't take my training seriously. I just wanted Sasuke to rescue me, fall for my charms, and then marry me so we could live happily ever after with Naruto as our manservant. Instead I was just deadweight and let my team down. If I tried maybe I could've helped Naruto and Sasuke, maybe Sasuke would be alive.' Sakura broke off of the depressing what if thoughts remembering how Iruka used to say that some shinobi drove themselves crazy thinking what ifs and maybes. Did she really join the academy just to pursue Sasuke, was she really that selfish and foolish. 'Why did I want to become a ninja, why did I like Sasuke?" The questions continued to swirl in Sakura's head as she drifted off to sleep.

Flashback

It was a cold November day and a young Sakura shivered and huddled closer to her mother. Even though it rarely snowed in Hi no Kuni the winter months chilled people to the bones. Haruno Tomo was wearing an old green cotton sweater with patches that looked newer than others while her long pink hair cascaded down her back in a ponytail. Sakura loved her mother greatly and was incredible happy that she had her mother's pink hair. She had never seen another person with pink hair, not even her family that she only saw in photos. It was something special that linked mother and daughter.

Tomo let go of young Sakura's hand to look at something in a stand. Looking around Sakura saw a small red ball sitting abandoned near a trashcan. The girl ran excitedly to the ball, hoping she could keep it and add it to her meager toy collection. Her mom couldn't even say no because she found it. The girl picked up the ball and turned around, but she did not see her mother. The girl's sharp eyes began scanning the crowd, and after seeing a flash of pink the small child darted through the crowd. Sakura was so focused on her mother's hair that she didn't even notice the tree trunk like legs in her way so she plowed right into them and fell onto her butt. Looking up she saw a tall man with black hair and brown eyes wearing a blue headband with a plate on it. He looked down at Sakura and his eyes softened, "Are you alright little girl?"

Sakura glanced up at the giant while wondering what to do. He seemed nice enough, but her mother always said not to talk to strangers. He laughed when she looked around shyly and Sakura caught a glimpse of what was in his hand. He had a large roll of ryou tucked in his fingers and it was more money than Sakura has ever seen, it had to be like a bajillion ryou, maybe more. Suddenly Tomo's musical voice reached Sakura's ears, "Sakura-chan you made me worried sick. How many times have I told you not to do that?" Not waiting for a response to her rhetorical question she bowed to the giant, "Thank you Shinobi-san."

Sakura gasped, so that was a ninja. Sakura had heard about the legendary warriors that protected their village. They could walk up walls, breathe fire, disappear, and do all sorts of super cool things. Sakura looked down at her red ball and back at the shinobi's hand stuffed with money and something in her mind clicked, if she became a ninja she could make tons of money and buy all the toys she wanted and buy toys for her mom too, even though she'd have to get Sakura's permission first.

The scene faded and the younger Sakura was in the park with Ino enjoying a nice day when their friendship was still strong, "No, no, no Sakura, if you twist them like that they'll come loose." Sakura laughed when Ino grabbed the daisy chain and showed her the proper way once more while scolding her, "Honestly Sakura, you're super smart and remember everything, but can't do something simple like this."

The pinkette stuck out her tongue and pulled down the skin under her eye, "Even you say I'm smart, so it must be your bad teaching. Ino gave Sakura a furious look before a devious smirk formed on her face and she tackled her friend to the ground and began viciously tickling her sides starting an epic tickle fight. Eventually they both gave up when they lost their breath and flopped into the soft grass looking up at the clouds like a Nara, "Hey Ino, do you thing I could sleep over tonight? Ino, are you even listening to me?" Sakura sat up when she heard a wistful moan and saw Ino was already sitting and looking dreamily at a black haired boy around their age wearing a navy blue shirt and white shorts, "Who are you looking at Ino?"

The blonde managed to break off her stare to give Sakura the 'are you stupid look?' "That's Uchiha Sasuke, he's the youngest son of the Uchiha clan head, and the cutest boy in the village. People also say he's a genius and will be the strongest ninja from our generation. He's pretty much the prince of Konoha and when I marry him I'll be the princess." Ino gave another sigh and her eyes glazed over as she went back into her dreamland leaving Sakura to ponder. If Sasuke was in a famous clan and the prince of Konoha and she was his girlfriend, the princess of Konoha, she can take care of mom. Sakura vowed to make Sasuke hers and hoped Ino wouldn't be too mad at her after.

Dream Sequence End

Sakura once again woke with a start except this time the sun was shining and when she looked at the clock it read eleven a.m. The pinkette groaned and shoved her head under her pillow as her weird dreams came back to her, and it looks like she was a gold digger. She was chasing after the dreamboat of Konoha for his money although somewhere along the way she lost sight of that and just pursued Sasuke because… Sakura really couldn't think of a reason, probably because she wanted to fit in and every girl was doing it at that point. The pinkette pushed those thoughts aside and decided it was time to stop dwelling on the past, start living in the present, and look towards the future.

She was hit by a strange urge and grabbed an elastic before putting her hair in a ponytail with the band at the nape of her neck and taking out one of her rarely used kunai Sakura sliced it off just above the elastic and held her locks of hair proudly in front of her as she stared hard at her reflection in the mirror, ready to change it, "I promise on my hair that I'll turn over a new leaf and become a proud kunoichi so I can give my mom a better life like she deserves." As the small rush of adrenaline died down Sakura couldn't help but laugh, "Ha, I sounded like Naruto there." Sakura threw her hair in the trash and stared at herself with confidence, she found her resolve.


Naruto shivered as he walked towards the hospital in the early morning and a cold breeze blew through the streets. The sun was just peaking over the Hokage Monument and it lit the village with a beautiful orange glow giving the city a surreal appearance. Today was the day he would receive Sasuke's eye in place of his blind one. Kakashi wished him luck the night before and said he would visit after surgery and tell Sakura he would be going under today. The blonde walked into the hospital with a purpose and approached the receptionist's desk and waited for her to finish sorting the patient's medication. She was a mousey looking woman with brown hair pulled back into a bun and dull brown eyes wearing the standard nurses uniform. Finishing her task she looked up and blinked owlishly at Naruto, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I have an appointment to see Yakushi-sensei."

The woman nodded and began typing and looking at the computer screen and without looking up said, "Name please."

Naruto sat there with a gaping mouth surprised someone in Konoha didn't know who he was on sight and found he actually liked the anonymity. Naruto gave the woman one of his best foxy grins and lit up the dim room, "The name's Uzumaki Naruto nee-chan."

The nurse smiled at his enthusiasm, "Well Naruto-kun, it appears you have an appointment for six forty-five. Go to the elevator and get off at the seventh floor and walk straight out. The waiting room is the last door on the left."

Naruto's grin never faded and he bounded towards the elevator while shouting over his shoulder, "Thanks nee-chan!"

The woman could only stare incredulously at the spot where Naruto just stood and let out a giggle many men would find cute despite her plain appearance, "What an adorable kid, so full of energy."

Naruto rode the elevator to the seventh floor and headed towards the waiting room before dropping into a chair and losing himself in thought… definitely not brooding. 'Here we go Sasuke, I hope you're watching over me up there so nothing goes wrong. I wonder what the villagers will say when they find out the demon has the sharingan. Shit when everybody finds out Sasuke died on our mission they'll just blame me, I'm gonna have to work twice as hard now.'

Naruto was so deep in thought he never noticed when a pretty redheaded nurse opened the door and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump animatedly, "Gah, oh sorry you scared me."

The nurse giggled and Naruto took the time to check her out. She was only half a foot taller than him and very beautiful. Red hair cascaded down her back stopping just below her shoulder blades. It was curly like the pretty sensei of team eight and it framed her slender face perfectly. She had almond shaped green eyes with puffy lips and a small button nose, and despite her stature she was very curvaceous, matching the proportions of his Sexy Jutsu perfectly. She held a chart under her bust before leaning forward slightly and Naruto tried to keep his eyes up, "Hello Uzumaki-san, my name is Aiko and we need to prep you for surgery so please follow me."

Naruto stripped down and changed into the hospital gown they provided then laid on the bed and allowed Aiko to put the I.V. into his arm before leaving. Now the genin was waiting for the doctor anxiously as he fiddled with the ties on his gown. Naruto was nervous as he sat there, this wasn't something he could face head on and get by on guts, he had no control over what happened and that scared the boy. Suddenly the door creaked open and the doctor stepped in followed by a teen several years older than Naruto and the blonde swallowed his fear preparing to get it over with. Both had the same silver hair and glasses, but the similarities ended there. The man's face was rounder and he had a friendly smile with cheery reddish brown eyes. The boy's face was more sharp and angular, and though he too had a smile it didn't quite reach his charcoal eyes or match the warmth of the elders. The man stopped at the foot of Naruto's bed and grabbed the clipboard hanging there before scanning it, "Hello Naruto-kun, it's good to see you again, in case you didn't remember my name is Yakushi Endo and this is my adopted son Kabuto, who is here to observe if that's okay with you."

Naruto fought down the pang of jealously after hearing the boy was adopted and nodded, the silver haired boy gave a slight bow, "Thank you for allowing me to observe Uzumaki-san."

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head, embarrassed that he hated the boy right after meeting him, "No, no, just Naruto is fine Kabuto."

Kabuto gave him a smile and pushed his glasses up his nose causing light to glint off of them, "Alright then Naruto-kun let's get started, I'll explain the procedure while I sedate you." The boy injected a syringe into his arm causing him to go numb before injecting something in the I.V. making Naruto feel loopy almost immediately, "My father will slow down the communications between you neurons and eyeball with a seal and then disconnect the eyeball from the nerve endings in the socket when they are done."

Kabuto's voice was beginning to fade as Naruto looked at the bright fluorescent lights, "After that he will stimulate the nerve endings keeping them active while stimulating the receptors of the donor eye. When both are firing at similar rates he will insert the eye into the socket and encourage your neurons and the receptors to bond. The seal will begin weakening about six hours after surgery after the eyeball and nerves have a good connection and fade completely six to eight days after the surgery once the connections are stable." The last thing Naruto saw was Kabuto leaning over him with a reassuring smile as he strapped a facemask over Naruto's mouth, but the blonde still felt his confidence fading, "Count backwards from one hundred with deep breaths between every number."

Naruto could barely hear anything Kabuto said as blackness began overtaking his vision, but Uzumaki Naruto never gave up, "One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven, ninety-six, ninety…"


The sun shone into Naruto's eye when he opened it causing him to shut it once more and groan. He was groggy and had trouble moving his body but managed to reach his hand up and feel the bandages around his eye, 'The surgery was a success, okay Sasuke I'll honor your sacrifice and fulfill both of our dreams. Thank you for this eye, team seven is my family too and I'll protect them for the both of us.'

Naruto was broken from his thoughts by the lazy drawl of his sensei, "Hey Naruto, good to see you're up. The surgery was a success and in a weeks time you'll have a fully functioning sharingan."

Naruto rubbed his lone eye and focused in on the lanky form of his sensei, "Kakashi-sensei… what are you doing here?"

Kakashi walked up to Naruto and eye-smiled at his blonde student over his naughty orange book, "A sensei can't visit his one of his cute students if they're in the hospital?" Anime tears streamed down the left side of his face as he rubbed his left eye with his free hand, "Or is it you don't like your poor old sensei anymore and don't want him bothering you."

Naruto let out a weak chuckle as he stared at the masked face of his teacher, "No sensei that's not it, I was wondering why you were here when I was sleeping, I thought you couldn't visit people when they're unconscious… you weren't perving on the nurses were you?"

Kakashi gave a lazy laugh, "That's a good one Naruto, more like they perv on me, that's why I snuck in the window to check on you before visiting hours began and I got molested."

Naruto sweatdropped at his sensei's antics before sitting up straight, "I was serious yesterday Kaka-sensei, I'll train harder then I ever have in my whole life, so please teach me this month so I can protect my precious people."

Kakashi lowered his book revealing his penetrating stare which Naruto returned with his icy blue eye. Kakashi's eye scanned Naruto before he abruptly eye-smiled once more, "Ok, but I'm not just going to hand over jutsu. You have to work hard and do it the right way. First we'll improve your basic skillset, and I'll reward you with jutsu if you surpass my expectations. Be at training ground eleven at eight tomorrow morning since I'm assuming you'll be released tonight. Now get your rest because the drugs are still in your system, and sleep well tonight because I promise you'll need it."

Kakashi stood and left through the window but Naruto could've swore he heard something about proud father's, dismissing it as the drugs Naruto let his eyes droop and he succumbed to unconsciousness once more.


Naruto awoke two hours later to pink. Blinking his haze out of his eyes he got a clear view of his bubble-gum haired crush, "Eh, Sakura-chan you came to visit me. That makes me so happy."

It appeared Sakura wasn't paying attention because his voice caused the kunoichi to jump to her feet in surprise. She shook the thoughts from her head and gave Naruto a smile, "Of course I did, we're teammates after all."

Naruto returned her smile with a tentative one of his own before his eye widened, "Sakura-chan you cut her hair."

Sakura turned her head to give the blonde a better look, "Do you like it? I grew it out to impress Sasuke because I heard he liked long hair and be like my mother, so I cut it to show my commitment to becoming a serious kunoichi. Maybe once I reach my goal I'll grow it out again."

A light blush dusted Naruto's cheeks when Sakura modeled her hair before he burst out laughing, "Oh man that's great Sakura-chan. I completely forgot about that. I don't know if Sasuke liked long or short hair but I started that rumor, but Sakura-chan always looked good."

Sakura started laughing and her face began to turn red, "So all the girls grew their hair out for Sasuke, but it was really for your enjoyment."

Naruto started laughing harder, "Yeah I always liked long hair for some reason, that's actually what started my crush on you. You're hair was so pink and beautiful I couldn't stop myself from looking."

Naruto clamped his mouth shut after realizing what he said, for some reason he kept saying the first things that came to his mind and his body was tingly and numb at the same time. He blinked a couple times and realized that his eyes felt funny too. Naruto was so embarrassed and wondering why he was feeling strange that he missed Sakura's blush in response. She squirmed feeling uncomfortable, happy, and embarrassed at the same time. The emotions were swirling inside her and she didn't realize what she was doing until Naruto gasped for breath and she saw her fist in his stomach before guilt overpowered her swirling emotions, "Oh my god I'm so sorry Naruto, I didn't even know what I was doing and you just had surgery. I'm a terrible friend."

Naruto's heart lightened when she said she was his friend and enjoyed watching her worry and fuss over him as she fluffed his pillows. The pain in his stomach was fading as it heated up and he felt happy. "I remember one time after me and teme sparred I asked him why he didn't date any of the girls after him and he said it was because the girls were all frivolous children that spent more time on their hair than becoming a competent kunoichi."

Glad that the subject changed Sakura filled up Naruto's glass and sat in the chair by his bed and smiled sadly, "That sounds like something Sasuke would say. He was always so cold and we all thought he was just being cool… I had no idea how much pain he was in. I'm just glad that we made him a little happier and pulled him out of his loneliness."

Naruto matched her sad smile with a content one, much like Sasuke team seven helped pull him out of the darkness of being alone as well. He looked back at the pinkette to see a confused expression on her face and he realized the last time he smiled like that was at Ichiraku Ramen with Iruka-sensei and Sakura has probably never seen it before. Naruto was a master of smiles, he would smile in defiance of his loneliness to stick it to the villagers, or smile when he was sad or angry to keep people from worrying about him. When he was small he learned that the best defense is a smile and most of them were just that, defenses. Only the Hokage, Iruka, Ayame, Teuchi, and now Sakura saw that smile. Looking at the emerald eyed beauty Naruto had to ask, "Sakura… we're gonna get super strong together right. I'll be able to kick everyone's asses and knock them around with awesome jutsu and you can… what do you wanna do Sakura-chan?"

Sakura paused at the abrupt question, surprised that Naruto asked the very subject she was pondering while waiting for him to wake up. Putting on a contemplative expression-her eyebrows furrowed together and she stuck her tongue out of the right side of her mouth while her nose scrunched up cutely-the girl began to think out loud, "I don't know, I went to the library to look up the different specializations for a bit before I came here. I don't have enough natural chakra or stamina to be a ninjutsu or taijutsu master. I'd have to pick something like assassination, genjutsu, interrogation, medicine, or recon. I don't want to work assassinations or interrogate people, and I don't have the natural skills that most shinobi have when they go into recon. I've really been debating between genjutsu and medical jutsu. I

think genjutsu is a useful skill but specialists are rare because it's really complicated and doesn't leave a lot of time to improve in other areas so most remain chuunin. The one that keeps popping up is medicine though. If I took my training seriously and joined the medical program then I might've been able to save Sasuke in Nami, and I never want to be helpless like that again so I'm going to be a medical ninja to take care of my team and friends." Sakura was surprised, she had no idea what she wanted to do then blurted out she was going to be a medical ninja. Where was all this confidence coming from? Just five minutes ago she was sure she was a pathetic kunoichi, too weak and far behind with a minute chakra supply and no real techniques. Her only redeeming quality was her chakra control, 'Medical ninja… it just sounds right.'

Sakura almost had to shut her eyes when Naruto smiled, "Then I'll become Hokage and you'll be my chief medic. We're going to be so awesome Konoha isn't going to know what hit it. We'll get strong together Sakura-chan, 'ttebayo."

Sakura felt her lips tugging up at the corners and her cheeks were heating up. His enthusiasm was contagious and it was hard not to get infected by his cheerfulness. Sakura uppercut the air and put her left hand over her right elbow, "Cha, we're gonna kick some ass." She was still brandishing her fist as she turned towards Naruto, "Besides, somebody has to keep you in line."