A/N: Hey again! I know…two chapters in one day. And I realize that this chapter is full of…..realllyy long paragraphs. Also, I appreciate all the people who read my story so far! On to the story!
By the way, Minato and Kushina will already have started to go out, and Kushina will have just gotten pregnant. Jiraiya will already have written the Tales of an Utterly Gutsy Ninja.
Chapter 2
Sakura awoke on the ground in the Forest of Death, in the early morning. It looked vaguely similar, except the trees had lost their height. She rubbed at her face, trying to rub away her weariness and headache, surprised to find it wet. She figured that she had cried when she left Itachi, almost on the verge of death. She experimentally tried to channel more chakra into her eyes. Feeling the burn, she tried to stop, but found that she couldn't as her vision slowly became clearer, and she became aware of the life force chakra surrounding her. She looked around, trying to channel even more chakra, seeing if she could activate the Mangekyo. There was a pain this time, like no other, as if her eyes were being seared. She gave a short soft cry of pain, before she walked up to the river that ran through the entire forest. She looked in her reflection, and to her surprise, saw an exact replica of Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan design, with a perfect pinwheel shape. Hearing as well as seeing someone come closer to the river, she immediately stopped the flow of chakra to her eyes. She took out a kunai from her kunai pouch on her hip, and got into her trademark taijustu stance. She looked at the person emerging from the dense bushes, seeing a bright blonde head, almost like Naruto's except much longer, and he had a flak jacket on. Upon closer inspection, she could see that there were no whiskers, and his eyes were narrower.
Before she could complete her inspection, he disappeared, only to appear right beside her. She knew his course of action however, due to his reputation, and already was swinging her right leg against him. Surprised, Minato Namikaze grabbed her leg and gazed into her eyes. He could see a Konoha headband upon her head, as if it were a headband. He immediately stopped his attack, curious as to why she struck back at him, even though she knew he was the Yellow Flash of Konoha. He kept his stance however, because he had never seen her around before, though he knew almost all the shinobi in Konoha. So, he discreetly made a clone, and knocked her out. She crumpled, almost hitting the ground before Minato grabbed her. He teleported back to Konoha, casting a simple genjutsu over himself, making her invisible. He walked up the Hokage tower, opting to use the window.
"Hokage-sama. May I speak to you privately?" It seemed as though he had interrupted a very important council meeting.
"Sure. We will adjourn this session until next week. Thank you." After the door had closed, he asked,
"What's wrong Minato –kun? I see that there is a genjutsu around you, so remove it."
"Hai, Hokage-sama. I found her in the Forest of Death, she does not look like she has been injured, just seems like her chakra is almost exhausted. She has the Konoha hiate-ate, though I've never seen her before. Is she a genin?"
"No, though pink hair like hers is a trait of the civilian Haruno clan…anyways, she looks too old to be a genin. She looks as though she is 17. Is that an ANBU tattoo on her shoulder?"
"What? Yes it is… how could she be in ANBU? As I said before, I've never seen her before in my life…"
"Hmm. Put her on the sofa right here. Thank you. Will you conceal yourself for me when she wakes up?"
"Of course Hokage-sama."
Very soon after that, Sakura Haruno opened her eyes, still emerald green, even after the procedure that Itachi had done. She woke up oblivious to her surroundings, yawning loudly, slowly opening her eyes, until they snapped open when she glanced at the Third Hokage. She scrambled up, making Minato begin to move, before the Hokage looked a Minato in the eye.
She quickly bowed, trying to mat down her hair, saying, "Ohaiyo, Hokage-sama."
"Hmm…Ohaiyo. Now who might you be, and why were you in the Forest of Death?"
"May I speak to you privately? I swear upon my vow as a loyal kunoichi of Konoha that I will not harm you, Hokage-sama. And also, I would appreciate it if you revealed yourself, shinobi." Sarutobi and Minato were astonished. Minato was so good at concealing himself that even with a Sharingan and Byakugan, it would be difficult to spot him.
"Minato-kun, please step out of my office and wait right outside of the door. I will come to get you after our conversation has ended. Understand?" Minato stepped out, and the Hokage activated a silencing jutsu.
"Now, Haruno-san, I request to know your name, as well as what you are doing here, and why Minato-kun has never seen you before. I am unaware of any shinobi or kunoichi who Minato-kun does not know, let alone a member of ANBU that I have never seen before." The Hokage questioned. Sakura thought for a moment. She knew that she would have to come up with a lie complex enough to be completely true, and yet she had a problem. How would she explain having an ANBU tattoo?
"Hokage-sama. My name is Sakura Haruno. I am on a long-term mission that the Second Hokage had entrusted to my parents, and I am here to fulfill the mission. As for the ANBU tattoo, it is a jutsu that was put upon my parents, who then used the jutsu onto me to signify my involvement in the mission, and to allow me to join ANBU as soon as my mission would be complete." Sakura guessed that this completely fabricated lie would satisfy the Hokage, at least for a while, until she got her bearings in this past world.
"Hmm. I have heard of no such mission, nor have I heard of such jutsu…" The Third Hokage thought for a moment, realizing that since the second Hokage named him the successor at his death, the second Hokage might not have thought to pass the secret mission onto him, the third Hokage. Though, he had his doubts about the story.
"What was the mission, Sakura-san?" the Hokage asked.
"The mission was to investigate Madara Uchiha, since the Second Hokage had suspicions that the man was still alive." Sakura replied. She kept a straight face and posture, not betraying lies to the Hokage.
"And your parents Sakura-san?" the Third Hokage questioned carefully. Sakura knew she had to be believable, so flinched a little before replying.
"They are dead, Hokage-sama." She responded quietly.
"Ah, I see. So you came to me in order to complete the mission, I presume?" The Hokage wondered aloud.
"Yes. You see, Madara Uchiha is very much alive. He has created an immortality jutsu that keeps him alive. I believe that you already know that Orochimaru has been conducting experiments? Well, one type of experiment he has been conducting is to create the ultimate immortality jutsu, just to let you know." Sakura began.
"In addition, I have intel that leads me to believe that Madara Uchiha will try to use the time when Kushina Uzumaki gives birth in order to release the Kyuubi to attack Konoha, controlling the Kyuubi with his Sharingan. Due to the physical weakness of Kushina-san, the seal will also be weakened, therefore allowing the Kyuubi to be released." Sakura finished her "mission report". Hiruzen Sarutobi was astonished. The pink-haired-girl's information shocked him to the core. He immediately began to wonder how the girl knew that Kushina Uzumaki was pregnant; the only people who knew were Minato, Jiraiya, Kushina, and himself. Nor was it common knowledge that Kushina was the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. He nodded his head, believing that, due to all of the intelligence that she had gathered, that she really did get the mission from his predecessor.
"I see. Thank you, Sakura-chan." Sakura noted the change in honorific that the Hokage had spoken to her with. She sighed in relief. The Hokage believed her, which was step 1 of the plan. The next step was to prevent Minato from dying…as well as Kushina. Sakura realized that she wanted Naruto to have a childhood with both of his parents.
"You do have housing arrangements, do you not?" Sakura hesitated. She did not currently own a house in this Konoha, but she decided that she would rent an apartment.
"Well, Hokage-sama…My house was ransacked from the missing-nin that assaulted my parents, and right now I am searching for an apartment to rent." Sakura said lamely. The Third Hokage thought for a moment. She was still a suspicious character, but he did not want to endanger Kushina and her baby, as well as Minato. So, he went with the next best option. This option would allow her to be watched by the head of the Uchiha clan as well as the head of the Konoha Police Force.
"Hm. In that case, I will house you in the Uchiha Compound." What could Sakura say to that offer? She was in dire need of shelter, and she didn't want to be sleeping outside, not able to access showers or the wonders of plumbing. But, she didn't want to see the Uchiha clan,
Sarutobi Hiruzen released the silencing jutsu, and requested that Sakura open the door. She opened the door, and Minato's intelligent eyes brightly searched the room. Upon seeing the Third Hokage unharmed and writing a scroll, he straightened, and politely bowed to Sakura.
"Minato-kun. Take Sakura-chan down to the Uchiha Compound. Oh, and take this scroll with you." The Hokage finished writing the scroll, and handed it to Minato. Minato simply nodded, and walked to the door, looking back to make sure that Sakura would follow.
Silently, and awkwardly, they walked to the Uchiha Compound. She looked around discreetly, noticing the difference in this Konoha to her own. Honestly, she would know the way to the Uchiha Compound even blindfolded. But, she resorted to following Minato. From behind, he could be mistaken for Naruto. Sakura smiled. Naruto really was the spitting image of his father. Suddenly, a younger version of Kakashi appeared.
"Hello, Minato-sensei. Who's that pink-haired kunoichi behind you?" Kakashi said in his trademark bored tone.
"Hi yourself Kakashi-kun. I am escorting her to the Uchiha Compound." Minato smiled, trying to get Kakashi to show some form of emotion, but to no avail.
"Oh…the Uchiha Compound? I gotta go…help that old lady over there pick up that grocery bag…Bye sensei." Kakashi trailed off, strolling away with his pocket in his pants. Sakura noticed that he was acting like Obito Uchiha, his old teammate, and also that his headband covered his left eye. Obito must have passed away then, Sakura thought.
They continued to the compound until they reached the gate. Nodding to the Uchiha clansmen and women, Minato asked for Fugaku, the clan head, also father to Itachi and Sasuke. When one of the clanswomen finally pointed out where he was, Sakura and Minato strolled to the main house, knocking on the door. A little boy, looking to be 9, opened the door. Sakura immediately knew it was Itachi Uchiha, and froze. She did not know why Itachi was ordered to murder his clan, but she knew that it was probably for a very good reason, especially if the Hokage had also ordered it.
"Hello Minato-sama." Itachi politely bowed.
Back into the normal time period:
"Shit! Where's Itachi?" Sasuke growled. They, as in Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi had been pursuing Itachi for over 6 hours, searching for him. Every once in a while they would encounter a few drops of blood. They didn't know what to think about that, but they needed to get answers, now. They were also looking for Sakura, since she had disappeared.
"I see him! Against that tree, over there!" Naruto yelled. Itachi was slumped against the tree, still looking elegant and graceful. He was pale, and there was dried blood that trailed out of his mouth. Kakashi immediately searched for a pulse, finding a slow, weak pulse. Itachi, feeling someone touching his neck, grasped Kakashi's wrist. To Kakashi's surprise however, Itachi did not open his eyes and use his Mangekyo against him. Itachi suddenly had another coughing fit, having dark, black, blood trickling out of his mouth. Sasuke and Naruto looked on, horrified, when Itachi finally opened his eyes. They were empty sockets where his eyes used to be.
"Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun, otouto. Please. Bring me to Konoha and let me speak to the Hokage. I am dying, as you can see. I need-" Itachi coughed harder than ever before, barely sitting up against the tree before slumping.
"Fuck! Naruto, summon Gamabunta, and lets go to Konoha. QUICKLY!" Kakashi commanded. Searching for Itachi's pulse, and barely feeling anything, he sent a the smallest of tremors of electricity, trying to jump start Itachi's heart.
A/N:Hmm…..I guess this chapter came out alright….Thanks for the 3 reviews I have so far!
