Okay, I would like to explain a couple of things.

One: A ninja does not need super human strength to punch another ninja into a nearby wall. It's not a hard thing for a ninja to do. Also, Sakura had already shown she had amazing strength before she became Tsunade's apprentice in the real series.

Two: Tsunade is not the only person who can teach medical ninjutsu, therefore Sakura could have easily learned from anybody in the Mist village.

Three: There is a jutsu in this chapter that we made up. We're not sure if it's possible but it fits in with our story. We didn't give it a name. It will be used more than once in this story.

Four: Sakura's parents were not Leaf ninja and therefore knew nothing of importance about the Leaf. I'm 99% sure they would've been allowed to leave without much hassle. If not, well they did in this story.

& Five: This is our story. It is made up. It will never happen in the series, obviously. We would very much like you to respect that fact. If you have a problem with it, please don't continue to read it and go find another story that fits your liking.

Please enjoy Chapter 3.

Sakura

Sakura's blood ran cold. What did he just…? In the split second that she lost it, she recomposed herself. She was not about to let this Leaf ninja get the best of her, even if he didn't know she was his target, yet.

She began to chew on the inside of her lip. It was a nasty habit of hers that she did when she got nervous.

"Are you sure you don't know anything else about her?" Sakura wanted to confirm he knew nothing about her appearance.

Minato stood with a thoughtful look on his face before he shook his head. "Nope. That's all I know."

Sakura nodded. "Okay, well I'm going to go ahead and head to my room. What time did you want to get started tomorrow?"

"Um, how about 9? That'll give the shops enough time to open."

"Sure." Sakura grinned. "I'll see you in the morning," she said as she was walking out of his room.

"Are you sure you don't want to start now? I mean, isn't tomorrow morning considered late for you?"

Sakura stopped and turned around till she was glaring at him. "Don't push your luck, I just may decide to wake you up at 4 o'clock to scout the entire frost country."

Minato rolled his eyes. "Oh please, I'm used to waking up at 4 o'clock."

Sakura scoffed. "Yea, I'm sure." And with that, she faced the door and stormed out of the room. The second his door closed she was already thinking about what to do with her new information.

I am his target? How could this information not be known? There's absolutely no way I could be a threat to the Leaf! This is absurd! How on earth are we suppose to look for myself? What the hell am I going to do…

Sakura found herself sitting on her bed with her head in hands. She took a deep breath.

Okay, Sakura, calm down. This is a simple situation. You aren't one of the best ninjas in the Mist for nothing. What to do.. What to do.. Somehow I need to make another 'Sakura'. There is one jutsu.. But it takes a very precise amount of chakra. She can't look like me so.. What should she look like? How about.. long, blonde hair, tall and slender.. And she can wear the extra clothes that I packed. Tonight I will send her out to make sure that some of villagers and shop owners see 'Sakura'. Unfortunately, she will have to have my green eyes. That's the drawback to this jutsu. Tomorrow, sometime between afternoon and evening, I'll send her out again and make sure Minato and I spot her somewhere outside of the village. After a couple of minutes I'll have her disappear. In a couple days, we'll see her again and fight her. The battle will last awhile and when he's too intent on killing her, I'll simply kill him.

Sakura sighed. See, Sakura? Easy solution to an easy problem. The hardest part is going to be creating this clone every time I need it. It takes a lot of chakra and I have to put the right amount to make her perfect and believable. But that's okay. You've done this plenty of times. Just this time your life depends on it.

Sakura stood up and walked over to look out of the window. She smiled to herself. At least this mission won't be as hard at the beginning. Minato is definitely going to be entertaining. I wonder why my village wants him dead.. Surely he's well liked and respected. But then again, the Leaf wants me dead.

Sakura began to think back to the debriefing just a few minutes ago. So I rival the famous Hokage in medical ninjutsu huh? She smirked. That's definitely a self-esteem booster. But I don't understand the knowing too much part.. My parents weren't ninja and therefore didn't know any village secrets. I had only been a genin for less than a week.. It doesn't make sense.

Before Sakura's thoughts could continue, she noticed Minato walking past on the street down below. I didn't even hear him open his door… But before she could ponder on that any longer her mind came up with a brilliant plan. This is the perfect time to send out 'Sakura'!

Already excited, Sakura hurried over and sat on her bed. She made a few quick hand signs, "Kage bunshin no jutsu." Sakura's exact clone appeared in front of her. Okay Sakura, now concentrate. She began to picture exactly what she wanted her clone to look like. Once she had it visualized in her head, she made another series of hand signs and began to concentrate. Chakra began to flow from Sakura into her clone at a slow steady pace. Long blonde hair… Tall… After a few minutes she opened her eyes to find the picture in her mind displayed right in front of her.

Sakura jumped up and smiled. "You're perfect!"

'Sakura' held out her arms and began to examine her body, "Wow, I'm hot!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at her clone. "Excuse me? I think we look just fine!"

'Sakura' rolled her eyes. "Yea, because that's why we've had so many boyfriends."

"You know how busy we are! We don't have time for a boyfriend." Sakura was offended. Is my own clone dissing me?

"Well, while you're making excuses, all of us are patiently waiting for you to finally find somebody to start a family with! We're 23. And if the freaking Leaf is after us, I don't expect to live much longer!"

Sakura glared at her clone. "You've said enough. I'm sending you out now."

'Sakura' shrugged. "Whatever." She said as she began walking to the hotel room door. "Maybe I'll do us both a favor and just seduce this Minato. He is extremely gorgeous, by the way."

"Sure, and irritating as hell. Now go, before I just disperse you!"

"Yea, yea." 'Sakura' said as she closed the door behind her.

Why are clones always so damn annoying…?

Naruto

What was her problem? Naruto's hand reached up to scratch the back of his head as he gazed around his room, deep in thought.

One minute he is debriefing her. The next, she goes pale and quickly leaves. He had barely noticed, to be honest. Her face composed back to normal in the split second that it had changed. Why would she react that way to a name?

He leaned back onto his rough bed the hotel provided. Naruto glanced up at his appearance in the hanging mirror by the side of his bed and laughed. He looked like he'd seen a massacre. He shook his head, returning to his feet and heading for the door.

He was overreacting like always. Ayumi must have heard the name before in her missions. After all, Sakura is a famous rogue. Not to mention, she rivals the Hokage. What village in their right mind would ignore that fact? He needed to stop stressing over little things. It could be dangerous. What he needed to do was relax.

He pushed open the door and left the hotel swiftly. What he needed to do was find a ramen shop.

The temperature dropped along with the time of day. He could see every star and every constellation. It's was...different, but beautiful. In Konoha, the city lights usually covered up the night sky. But now the ominous glow shinned brightly overhead. Instinctively, he put his finger up and began tracing them with his pointer finger. Each one had a different story. He remembered the-!

Slam. Naruto drew in sharp breath and pulled back from the wall he had just run into. Bringing his hand to his face, he quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed his stupidness. Sighing out of relief, he saw no one around. The streets were deserted. Naruto rubbed his nose where the pain was now a dull ache, hardly noticeable.

"Naruto, you dumbass," He mumbled angrily to himself and continued down the snow covered path deeper into the town.

Speaking of stupid, his mind reminded him, how stupid was it being thrown into a freaking wall by a Mist Nin? He groaned at the thought. Why did his brain remind him? He wanted to be Hokage and he couldn't even dodge a fist?

What was with that girl? One moment, she seemed slightly pleasant and the next he was off his feet, meters away covered in snow. She sure had a good arm he hated to admit. Dread loomed over him as he thought about the weeks he would have to work with her. It would be impossible, legitimately impossible. He just wouldn't be able to get along with her. Her temper wasn't even the worst of it. Besides her uncontrollable anger, she held this air about her that left him more confused then he came in with. She made him nervous. His heart always speeds up when looking at her and he couldn't think of better way to describe it. Oh, why did he have the feeling he would have to kill this girl before she killed him? Well, not literally of course. Naruto just knew he'd make a mistake, piss her off, and maybe end up in a ditch somewhere wondering what the hell happened.

He rolled his eyes and emptied all thoughts of his partner. He came out here to relax, not panic.

A delicious aroma enveloped him. His sixth sense picked up on it automatically. His eyes darted around him as his stomach rumbled with protest. The streets were dark but the smell had to be coming from somewhere.

"Ah, there you are!" He smiled seeing an open cafe not too far away from his current position.

It was like an open bar, similar to the one back in the Leaf. Wasting no more time, Naruto speed walked over to the hut. His mouth watered as his eyes scrolled down the menu hanging above. Jumping into an available seat in the middle of the single row of chairs, he faced a round man with beady eyes.

"Welcome to-" Naruto cut him off become he could finish.

"I'd like five bowls of your best ramen." He yelled the words out as if he couldn't contain them any longer.

The waiter's eyes widened. "Five b-bowls?" He stuttered, appalled by the quantity.

"You're right.." He said pretending to ponder the thought. "Make that six." Naruto smiled brightly.

"Y-yes, sir." He said turning back into the kitchen, his eyes wide as saucers.

A chuckle from beside him caught Naruto's attention. "I forgot how much Leaf shinobi could eat."

His eyes landed on a man a bar stool away from him. He had grayish hair and wore all white clothing with some silver accents through his attire. A Frost symbol was attached to his left arm, which was draped across the counter holding onto his mug. He had a friendly smile if it wasn't for the scar that ran over his nose. His eyes were tired and crinkled with age. His rugged appearance reminded him of the Third Hokage. Most ninjas don't survive long enough to reach old age. Naruto wondered how he appeared out of nowhere.

Had this man already been here? Naruto thought to himself. Was I too distracted by the ramen to notice? He thought again, his eyes narrowing at the thought he had messed up, again.

The Frost Nin smiled slightly, not revealing his teeth. He pulled his left arm from the table and turned to where his full body was facing Naruto.

"I'm Akane, head ninja of the Frost Village." He told Naruto offering his hand to shake.

Without a second thought, Naruto grasped the man's hand. "Minato of the Hidden Leaf."

The man's eyes widened a faction of an inch then he smiled slightly. "Say, you kinda look like the Hokage."

Naruto almost choked on his own salvia. Him? Look like Granny Tsunade? Was he senile or something?

The old ninja continued. "Yea, the one will yellowish hair, right? Naki...no...Nazi...Namikaze! Yea that's his name I think." The Frost Nin said.

"Uh...no. He hasn't been our Hokage for many years now." Naruto told the man slowly, trying to appear surprised.

Most individuals don't notice the resemblance to his father. Weird. Maybe he could play it off.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. It's been awhile since I last visited the Leaf. It's so far away and all. Who is your new Hokage?" He asked completely fine with his mistake.

"Tsunade.." Naruto told the man, wondering if the man would forget the second he told him.

"Huh. Never heard of her." He trailed off deep in thought as the first round of Naruto's ramen arrived.

"Thanks!" He told the waiter before digging into the bowl.

While eating, he realized he was in no danger. The Frost Nin was old and must've had a sharper mind when his father was still living. He sighed delighted, for the almost threat being false, but mostly because he hasn't had real food in two days.

Throwing the empty bowl to the side, he raised his eyebrow at the waiter as the frightened cook ran back into the kitchen to get rounds two and three. He rushed back in and placed the steaming bowls in front of him. Smiling, Naruto picked his chop sticks back up and bowls two and three soon met their fate.

"Ahhhhh.." He sighed leaning back, his stomach full.

"That will be five hundred ryo." The waiter said coming back around to face the Leaf jounin.

Pulling out the correct amount of money, he handed the waiter the money for the ramen. Naruto leaned back in the stool as far as he could without falling off. He stared at his accomplishment: a stack of leaning empty bowls.

"Didn't think you could do it at first." The same Frost Nin confessed. "But you had me convinced after the fourth bowl."

"Pssh. That was nothing. I'm watching what I'm eating." Naruto told the Frost ninja and glanced at the cook who stood staring at him with wide eyes.

"Isn't that something..." The Frost shinobi muttered, followed by a loud hearty laugh. Between laughs he managed to ask Naruto a question. "Tell me Minato.. What's a Leaf shinobi doing all the way up here?"

Naruto smiled at the man. "Just passing through."

"On your way to Lightning Country?" He asked his eyes more focused.

"No, Intel gathering. That's all." He told the Frost Nin trying not to spill too much.

"With the Mist nin?" He inquired.

Surprise flickered through him. "How did you know?"

"Well, for one, she arrived here before you did. I noticed her waiting for something. I didn't say anything though. She didn't seem to notice me. And two, I am the head of protecting this village so I watch who comes in and out of our borders. We may not have a Kage, but we're pretty efficient without one." He told Naruto, coughing when he finished.

Naruto laughed. "Should've expected as much."

The head Frost Nin appeared like he was about to say something but then he rose to his feet. "Sorry. Forgot I had to be somewhere." He nodded his head towards Naruto's direction. "Pleasure to meet you Minato, if you need any help with your mission, feel free to seek me out." He turned to leave.

"Wait." Naruto called out to him, halting him. "Why are you helping us? This isn't your mission."

The Frost Nin smiled slightly. "My family line was saved by the Leaf village in the 3rd Ninja War. If it wasn't for the Leaf taking us in, we would of stayed here and been right in the middle of a battle zone. Whose knows if my ancestors would have survived..?" With that he disappeared outside, his white uniform blending him in with the snow.

"Huh.." Naruto mumbled standing to his feet, his mind still contemplating what the Frost had shinobi told him.

He left the shop and glanced at the snow where the old man had disappeared. No footprints. God that Frost Nin was good.

His stomach full and his eyelids starting to droop, he changed his course for the hotel. It would be an early start in the morning for the search of the infamous Sakura Haruno. Who knows where she could be hiding? She could look no different than a civilian for all he knew.

He pulled his red cloak closer around his body as the wind blew, throwing up ice wind in his face. The village lights were almost all out as the town began to sleep. He shuffled faster towards the hotel, fatigue hitting him like a rock.

A crunching sound made its over to his ears. It was distant but the way the footsteps fell caught his attention. Sidestepping, Naruto moved into an alleyway pressing his back up against the wall as best he could. The katana hidden beneath layers of his clothing prevented from his back from fully touching the brick, but it was the best he could do.

As the crunching noise drew nearer, he realized the noise was in fact footsteps in the snow. The owner of which walked loudly, but not as loud as a normal civilian. It hit him that this person must be a ninja trying to conceal their identity.

Naruto kept his mind calm and clear. It could very well be Akane or another Frost Nin on his nightly rounds.

A shadow passed as the person walked right by the ally way. Poking his head out just enough to see, he had to bite back a sharp intake of breath. This was no civilian, he had been right. But it was also no Frost ninja.

It was a girl, tall one at that. She had her long blonde hair drawn back into ponytail with her bangs cut straight across covering her eyes. She wore a simple purple top with black pants. He thought her harmless at first but a few details stuck out in her appearance. And a few details could change the course of any decision.

Strapped around her waist were two small scrolls. The buckle holding them in was the quick access type, which meant if she had to, she could remove the scroll within seconds of her choosing. Another detail he almost missed pointed itself out to him when her leg moved forward as she kept walking. There was a difference in the way her pant leg fell on her thigh. It gave him the impression she had a concealed weapon beneath her layer of clothing. That always meant bad news, he sighed.

The last detail he noticed was very simple really. She wore no jacket even though it felt like fifty below out here. Even a civilian who planned on going to the Frost would pack accordingly. That showed she was not from around here, crossing her out from being a Frost Nin or traveling civilian.

Could it be possible? Was this Sakura Haruno, the ex-ninja of the Hidden Leaf that he was ordered to assassinate? The one who rivaled his Hokage with medical ninjutsu and progressing strength? If that was true, she would already know Naruto was in the alleyway. He didn't cover his signature or even attempt to. A ninja of that amount of skill would have seen his failed attempt at hiding.

"Crap.." Naruto cursed himself quietly.

He glanced back out from the alleyway. She was gone. Almost like she was never there to begin with, just like a figment of his imagination.

He pulled himself out of the dark corner and followed the footprints left in the snow clear as daylight. It was like she was inviting him to follow her.. The tracks stopped abruptly as if the owner just vanished. He turned his head right to left looking for a way the girl could have possibly gone.

He jerked his head to the top of a roof nearby at the sound of a shingle falling off onto the snow.

"Wait!" Naruto called out after the shadow figure that turned back and disappeared onto the houses.

Wasting no time, he jumped off his feet and onto the house. The snow gave away slightly at his weight but before it could crumble, he was already pushing off and taking flight after the shadow. The girl or what he assumed the shadow was, moved quickly from house to house. Never once did she stumble or falter. Naruto tried to keep up, he honestly did. But he just wasn't accustomed to the Frost Village's environment. With one faulty step on a snow covered roof, the snow gave way and so did his feet. He slid off the building and threw his arms up over his face to cover the impact at the last second. Naruto felt his body suspended in air for a second before he landed in a deep pile of snow with a thud. Bits of snow flew up on the air and rained down on him as he glared at the roof. He looked like a damn snow globe!

With a frustrated yell he clawed his way out of the snow and pulled himself back onto the roof. The girl was gone, again. But just when he thought it wasn't his lucky day, Naruto noticed the footprints still in tack on the snow. Smiling at the thought of finally catching the mysterious girl, he took off again following the trail.

House by house, he kept going. His eyes darted around in all directions looking for any side of the girl, but to no avail. She couldn't have gone far, he kept telling himself. He pushed himself harder, straining his vision to see farther. Snow. Houses. Trees. That was it. No girl.

After awhile, he slowed down to a halt on top of a two story house. He gazed to his left for the longest time trying to end the mini battle in his head. He swore he had seen that same house on the left three times already. Or maybe it was just the way the houses in this village were built. They were all similar to one another.

He wiped his brow; sweat starting to form along his face. How far did this girl go without stopping? Naruto glanced down at the tracks he had been following and a random suggestion popped into his brain. Lifting his foot up he placed it into the footprint in the snow.

Humiliation and annoyance hit him like a ton of bricks. His foot was a perfect fit to the tracks. Naruto lifted his head into the air and howled with anger. He had been following himself for the past three hours.

You should tell us what you thought about this chapter in a review! :)

However, if all you have to say is negative, please click the back button. We do not appreciate unnecessary rudeness.

I would like to reiterate, that Sakura's clone jutsu (where she makes her clone look like whatever she wants) is made up. So please consider that if you were going to complain about it.

Thank you for reading. We hope you are already anticipating the next chapter! :)

Be sure to check out NewYear's Tragedy. She is writing this story along with me and she's written some fabulous stories on her own.