A/N: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

"Lady Tsunade, there's someone here to see you."

"Who is it?"

"Someone I think you'd be very interested in meeting."

Tsunade turned in her chair to see her assistant Shizune escort a young woman into her office.

Tsunade looked at this new girl for a while, taking note of her slender figure and considerable bust. Her most striking features, though, were her blonde pigtails and whisker marks on her cheeks just below her blue eyes.

The girl nervously bowed and addressed Tsunade as soon as she entered. "H…Hello, Lady Hokage. I'm Natsumi Haruno, and-"

"Sakura Haruno's daughter Natsumi?" Tsunade asked abruptly.

"Um, yes. I do have a mother named Sakura. Do you know her?"

"Do you know much about her past?"

"I was told that she was a medic-nin in Konohagakure before becoming a doctor at home, but I don't know very much after that."

Tsunade smiled. "You mean she didn't tell you? She was my apprentice."

"What? The Hokage's apprentice? Mom told me some guy named Kakashi was her sensei!"

"Did someone say my name?"

Natsumi turned to see a tall man with silver hair walk into the Hokage's office. He kept the lower half of his face covered in a mask and had his left eye covered by a headband. His right eye had a few wrinkles around it, telling Natsumi that he wasn't young, but he wasn't too old. If anything, Natsumi was sure that he was middle-aged.

"Sorry I'm late, Lady Hokage, but I was-"

"Excuses can come later. Kakashi, I'd like you to meet Natsumi Haruno, Sakura's daughter."

Kakashi turned to the girl by his side and stared. "…well, she does have a look in her eyes that reminds me of Sakura."

"Is that a good thing?" Natsumi nervously asked, twiddling her toes.

"It's…not bad." Kakashi nervously replied.

Tsunade stared at the two for a minute, then finally broke the awkward silence. "So, Natsumi, what did you want with me?"

"Hm? Oh! I wanted to see if you could consider letting me be a shinobi her for a while."

"Well, we usually send kids who want to be shinobi to the academy to test their skills."

"Lady Hokage, I trained with my mother to be a shinobi. I know how to walk on water, walk up trees, create shadow clones-"

"All the same, we'll have an academy teacher examine your proficiency at these and other skills. I'm sorry, but if you want to be a shinobi you have to take this test. It's standard procedure for outsiders who want to join this village's shinobi army."

Natsumi looked down and uttered, "I understand."

"In the meantime, why don't we get you some place to live while you're here?"

Natsumi looked up and said, "Mom told me that I had a grandmother living here. Maybe I could-"

"I'm sorry, Natsumi, but your grandmother died of pneumonia three weeks ago."

"Oh. That stinks."

While Natsumi was briefly mourning her grandmother (whom she had never met), Kakashi said, "If I may, there is that one apartment where 'he' used to live in the Eastern District."

Natsumi looked up and said, "Wait, 'He' as in 'Naruto'? I know that place! I talked with the landlord and put all my luggage there already."

Tsunade looked at Natsumi and asked, "Why did you do that?"

"I don't know. I just got a feeling that I was going to be living in that apartment. Actually, I've been walking around here like I already know where everything is, even though this is my first time here. It's really spooky."

Tsunade subtly sharpened her gaze on the girl. "Yes, it is spooky. Well, Natsumi, go get yourself settled in. I'll arrange for our best Academy professor to evaluate your shinobi skills on Saturday. That'll give you three days to prepare. Okay?"

"That sounds fair. Thanks, Lady Hokage."

As Natsumi left the mansion with Shizune escorting her, Kakashi looked at Tsunade and said, "It's hard to believe that's now Naruto."

"I know. She acts much more respectful that the brat we all know and love, and yet they are the same person. Sakura must have been stricter with Natsumi about her manners. Also, she's gaining some of Naruto's memories, but still doesn't know about her past life. I guess this is what happens when the Rebirth Jutsu works the way it was intended."

"It would seem. Anyway, you said you had a special assignment for me."

"Yes. It's time a certain someone got back to work in the village."

(3 Days Later)

"All right, Natsumi. Show me what you've got."

"Yes, Iruka-sensei."

Natsumi prepared to show off her skills to Iruka Umino, who was the Head Instructor at the Academy. He was fairly tall with a scar running across his face and a small beard on his chin. He wore the standard uniform of Konoha shinobi, but didn't seem at all intimidating, as Natsumi expected from a person of his status.

Natsumi proceeded to display her various skills to Iruka, ranging from producing Shadow Clones to effortless Transformation techniques. She also climbed trees, walked on water and utilized weapons with great proficiency.

Iruka looked at Natsumi and said, "Are you sure you haven't been in an academy before? Because those were some of the most impressive feats of talent I've ever seen from someone your age in a long time. I'll put in a recommendation to Lady Hokage to accept you as a Genin-level Shinobi."

Natsumi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei. I was afraid I wouldn't be on par with your other students."

"Well, you proved yourself wrong here. You should be proud to have the skills you have. Say, why don't I treat you to some ramen for a job well done?"

Natsumi jumped on him and hugged him tightly, happily saying, "Thank you so much! It's been soooo long since I've had ramen of any kind!"

Iruka laughed, saying, "Well, you haven't tasted ramen until you've had Ichiraku ramen. Let's go over there now."

"Anything you say, Iruka-sensei!"

(That night)

"Really? She loves ramen just as much as Naruto did?"

Iruka rubbed the back of his head and said, "Yeah. I guess some things never change, huh?"

Tsunade chuckled and said, "Yeah. Anyway, thanks for letting Natsumi pass."

"I didn't let her pass; she deserved to pass. It's obvious that Sakura was preparing her for this for a long time."

"Well, Sakura's the kind of girl who likes to take matters in her own hands. I wouldn't be surprised if she forced Natsumi to train from time to time."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Kakashi opened the door and said, "I'm sorry for interrupting, but I got the person you requested."

As the guest entered her office, Tsunade smiled and said, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It's good to be back, but why did you send for me?" The person asked.

"Because, there's a special job I'd like you to do."

(Two days later)

"How long are we going to wait?"

Natsumi was pacing at the base of the Hokage Monument while two boys she had just met, Hinajin Hyuga and Shikako Nara, watched.

Shikako had shaggy hair and wore a very casual outfit: a button-up short-sleeve shirt over a white undershirt with jeans and shinobi sandals. He seemed a little distant and always watched other people, as if they were only there to entertain him.

Hinajin had a shorter hairstyle that looked shaven from a distance. He wore a leather jacket and dark glasses (which concealed his Byakugan eyes) with black pants and black sandals on his feet. Unlike the other boy, who watched other people, this boy only had eyes for Natsumi.

"W…Well, Natsumi, th…they did tell us that our sensei would be a special person from out of town," Hinajin nervously said. "Maybe he or she is just taking a long time to get here."

"Oh, come on, Hinajin," Shikako said. "Do you really think they'd make us wait that long? Besides, we arrived early. The teacher's supposed to present him/herself at noon, and it's only 11:55."

Natsumi apologized, "I'm sorry, you guys, but I'm just not very patient when it comes to meeting people on time. I can't stand people who are late."

After five minutes, a rustling was heard in the bushes. Natsumi, Hinajin and Shikako looked to see Kakashi and Tsunade walk up to them.

"Well, I'm glad everyone's here," Kakashi said.

"Are you ready to meet your new sensei?" Tsunade eagerly asked.

"I don't care. Just as long as he/she's good," Shikako replied.

"I…I think I'm ready, Lady Hokage," Hinajin said.

"Of course I am! Is he someone cool, like you?" Natsumi asked.

"Why, yes. In fact, I think you'll like her," Tsunade said. She then turned around and said, "You can come out now."

A third person walked through the bushes and presented herself to the new team. While Shikako and Hinajin bowed in respect, Natsumi only stood in place, confusion taking over her expression. "What's going on here?"

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm your Genin Team leader, Sakura Haruno."

QUICK NOTES

Every canon character is 14 years older than their current canon age.

Shikako Nara is the son of Shikamaru Nara and Temari.

Hinajin Hyuga is the son of Hinata Hyuga and Kiba Inuzuka.