"So Kakuzu how long have you known Sakura" Hashirama asked, they had been traveling for two days already and it seemed to him and Tobirama the man was just wandering aimlessly in a random direction.
Kakuzu paused "Since she was 13, Hidan brought her in and I threw a kunai at her" he didn't elaborate much more, though he missed the look Tobirama and Hashirama shared with each other, it was suspicion.
"You tried to kill her on your first meeting" Tobirama had slowly come to care for the pinkette as family, and to find out, that someone Sakura trusted with every fiber of her being tried to kill her upon their first meeting, well he just couldn't wrap his head around that admission.
"Sand protected her then she proceeded to scold Hidan for laughing at me" Kakuzu shrugged, back then the pinkette had, had the sense to leave him be but for some reason he just kept interacting with her until it eventually led to where he was now.
Hashirama was curious "So I've heard rumors about this organization called Akatsuki, you wouldn't happen to know what it's all about would you" his eyes were narrowed, Hashirama wanted to see if Kakuzu would tell him the truth.
"It's an organization that I use to belong to, Hidan as well but thanks to Sakura, we had our names cleared and we got jobs that suited us to the extreme" Kakuzu smirked, he loved money and thanks to Sakura he was the Leaf Village's financial master.
Tobirama however wasn't satisfied with his explanation "And what did your organization do exactly, I am most curious to know all about your previous life Kakuzu" Tobirama smirked when Kakuzu's shoulders tensed.
Kakuzu grimaced "Our goal was to gather the tailed beasts, to end wars and bring about world peace" he sighed out, at least Sakura hadn't had a tailed beast back then but she had made friends with two of them.
Hashirama exploded "You mean to tell me that you were kidnapping tailed beast hosts and removing the beasts from their containers, that means you were killing them" he accused Kakuzu harshly missing his apologetic expression.
"Sakura wasn't a container back then, she only became the host to the 3 tailed right before she met you two" Kakuzu argued back "And we hadn't even really started before we met Sakura so it was all for nothing" he continued.
"I would never hurt that brat she was the first person to reach out to me and treat me with absolute respect" Kakuzu finished, he would still be one of the bad guys if it hadn't been for Sakura, he would give his life for that girl.
"That girl get's respect from everyone doesn't she" Tobirama groaned, what couldn't his great great niece do, it was ridiculous, but at least Sakura was on their side, Tobirama was loathe to admit if Sakura wasn't on the good side, then they would never win against her.
Kakuzu chuckled but didn't respond they were being approached "Zetsu, I've been looking for you" Kakuzu greeted, this man would help them find who they needed in the shortest amount of time possible, but because Zetsu mostly stayed outside the village it was difficult to find him.
"Does this have to do with Sakura-san" White Zetsu spoke softly "Does she need me to find someone" the white side asked kindly, both sides of Zetsu liked Sakura, she always brought them new seeds for their greenhouses and even stayed to help him out sometimes.
Hashirama blinked in confusion when Zetsu's black side spoke "Sakura hasn't come by for a long time tell her to visit soon" Black Zetsu ordered roughly, Kakuzu didn't mind it just proved that Sakura could get respect from even this person.
"Yes Zetsu, Sakura needs you to find this man" Kakuzu paused to hold up the bingo book that was opened to the page Sakura had stated in the mission scroll "His name is Gisei and he's been trying to kidnap Sakura's female students" Kakuzu explained.
Both sides of Zetsu frowned at that "How could someone be so foolish, I've seen what Sakura-san does to her enemies and it's not pretty" White Zetsu shivered, that woman was terrifying, she could be someones nightmare.
Black Zetsu didn't argue, instead Zetsu as a whole sunk partially into the ground and started searching for Gisei like Kakuzu had silently requested "What is he doing" Hashirama asked scratching his chin again.
"Zetsu's special ability is to merge with the surrounding plant life, he can find anyone for miles and miles around" Kakuzu explained watching Zetsu work, if Zetsu couldn't find Gisei then they were on their own and it would take a lot longer to search for the man.
"Water that's all I can see" Zetsu rose from the ground and then disappeared to Kakuzu's frustration, there was a lot of water but only a few places had water as their primary source, and that's where they'd be searching.
Kakuzu led the group towards the Land of Waves "So that wasn't exactly descriptive how are we going to find this fellow" Hashirama was severely confused, how did Kakuzu get anything from that but now Kakuzu was leading them in a direction.
"It's some underground base in either, Mist, Waterfall, the land of waves or Hot Water Village" Kakuzu summed up what he had gotten from Zetsu, he understood though that if you weren't used to Zetsu you would be seriously confused.
Tobirama nodded in understanding with that he and Hashirama followed Kakuzu towards the Land of Waves, when the sun was going down, Kakuzu made camp, he was used to camping out under the stars and Kakuzu had watched Sakura enough times to know what to do.
Hashirama was surprised "You've been watching Sakura-chan haven't you" he accused teasingly and Kakuzu coughed "Ah it's alright that girl does make in impressive meal" Hashirama sat down next to the fire that suddenly blazed to life.
Before Kakuzu could head into the forest towards a river to catch their dinner a rogue stumbled across them "Damn I thought since that pink haired woman travelled with you before that she would do so again and bring her females with her" he started mumbling to himself.
Tobirama grew angry, this man had followed them for being close with Sakura, and just before he jumped up to get rid of this nuisance a brown thread shot out of Kakuzu's body and with a cloak of familiar purple and silver chakra pierced straight through the man's heart.
Hashirama wanted to ask but it looked like to him that Kakuzu was confused as well but they wouldn't get anywhere by standing around like idiots "So do you have any idea what just happened because that was amazing" Hashirama thought that it was cool.
"Sakura gifted this weapon to me 6 years ago, I had forgotten about it because I rarely leave the village" Kakuzu stared in awe as the brown thread retracted on it's own, Sakura had told him the truth if anyone got to close it would act on its own, it was a truly frightening object.
Tobirama furrowed his brows in confusion "Where did she get such a weapon, it's nothing that I've ever seen and wasn't that her chakra wrapped around it, how come it did that" he asked, that thing could save lives everywhere.
"Her friend from the Artisan Village, Touga crafted it for her, and yes that was her chakra, she said that she poured her chakra into it and if anyone got to close to me while outside the village it would attack on its own" Kakuzu smirked of course Sakura found a way to protect him.
Hashirama and Tobirama shared a look of surprise, Sakura truly was gifted in everything and suddenly Hashirama wondered if the girl could learn every element out there, she was born from an immortal god so it shouldn't be that difficult.
"I've noticed that Sakura keeps secrets why do you think she does that" Hashirama asked, he wanted to learn more about the girl who had become family, she would hardly tell him anything and it was frustrating.
Kakuzu started chuckling "A ninja must have the element of surprise, what kind of ninja would you be if you gave away all your secrets" he chuckled out, Kakuzu wasn't honestly surprised, that girl could lie straight to your face and you wouldn't know about it unless she wanted you to.
Tobirama shrugged Kakuzu had a point, or maybe Sakura had a point and Kakuzu was just reciting something Sakura had said in the past "Has she ever lied to you" he asked and Kakuzu shook his head.
"That brat knows better and besides what point would there be in lying to me when I'd find out eventually" Kakuzu shrugged and then headed into the forest to catch their dinner, once the fish were cooked and eaten they went to bed.
'Kakuzu wake up' Sakura's voice filtered into his head through their mental connection and Kakuzu sat straight up, he blinked groggily before Kakuzu realized what was going on 'Finally your awake I've been waiting for 3 days' Sakura huffed through the connection.
Kakuzu took a moment before responding 'Forgive me but with these two chatter boxes it really is hard to send a thought' he shrugged Kakuzu wouldn't lie to Sakura either, it was just something they did with each other.
'Hahaha poor old man, anyways I got a letter from one of my contacts, something about an old underground base belonging to Orochimaru had become active lately but he was really skimpy on the details so any place that has water' Sakura explained her reason for waking him up.
Kakuzu rolled his eyes, just as Tobirama and Hashirama woke up 'Thanks for the tip and I'll make sure we are on the look out' Kakuzu sent back before breaking the connection as Hashirama immediately started talking.
"So Kakuzu what was Sakura like back when she was 13" Hashirama wanted to learn more and it was clear that Tobirama did to because his red eyes held curiosity with in their depths, she must have been quite the prodigy.
Kakuzu grimaced "So much fury and sadness were held with in her, she hated Orochimaru with a passion, Sakura was protective even back then and she would have done anything to protect us" he winced remembering that guy who had foolishly approached them that one time.
"Why did she have sadness inside of her" Tobirama was confused, the only time Sakura got upset was when something happened to one of her friends, then it clicked in his mind "Sasuke" he whispered and Kakuzu nodded.
"Yes, Sasuke was killed before her very eyes, I don't know much about it because Sakura remains tight lipped about some things" Kakuzu hated to admit it but if Sasuke hadn't been killed then the Akatsuki would have never met Sakura.
Hashirama flinched "So how did Hidan meet Sakura or do you not know that either" there was a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle that was Sakura Kamizuru, Kakuzu shook his head again and cleaned up the clearing so that they couldn't be tracked.
"Did someone say my name" Hidan had been passing by, he was just returning from a mission and Hidan had heard his name being uttered, he jumped back when Hashirama stared at him like he was a savior to all his problems.
"Yes we'd like to know how you met Sakura-chan" Hashirama wouldn't let Hidan leave without telling them something about Sakura's past "If you don't mind start from the beginning please" Hashirama sat back down Tobirama, Kakuzu and then Hidan followed him.
Hidan was baffled "I met Sakura when she was born, I'm her godfather, her birth mother Yukina Kamizuru was my bestfriend" Hidan explained, of course he left out a lot like how Yukina was treated for being friends with him and then doing the same as him and then getting pregnant.
Tobirama's interest was peaked so he decided to ask the next question "But didn't you meet Sakura when she was 13" Tobirama saw a lot of discrepancies in Hidan's story and thought he would let Hidan know that he wasn't believing it for a second.
"She was kidnapped by Itsumo and Retsu, you know those two idiots that challenged Sakura foolishly and Shikamaru ended up dead by Retsu's hand" Hidan sighed, it hadn't been that long ago that Sakura had ended Orochimaru, Itsumo and Retsu.
Hashirama cringed, he definitely remembered that "So when you met Sakura again did you know she was your godchild" Hashirama sulked when Hidan shook his head "What was she like back then" he wanted to get some form of information about Sakura.
"Don't be offended but she was a really good kid, though I liked to call her the fucking bitch" Hidan chuckled "Anyways, she helped me find my pendant by summoning Tomo, he was a wee little bug back then much like Sakura had been" he continued.
"Afterwards I treated her to tea and dango, while we ate, I told her all about Jashin, and then I left, a couple days later I got a letter from her and she became my apprentice and understudy to Jashinism, that's what it was called back then" Hidan grinned she had been so eager to learn.
Tobirama sighed "Don't tell me she went around copying you and your potty mouth, I've barely heard Sakura cuss so she must have had the sense not to right" he wanted to believe it but Tobirama didn't think he would be that lucky.
"Sakura had a bigger potty mouth than me though she was more reserved about it and often scolded me for calling her that name when I was introducing her to someone" Hidan sulked and then rubbed his side, Sakura had liked to jab her finger into his side on more than one occasion.
Kakuzu laughed deeply this time "Hidan is right, the brat would often smack him for being disobedient or when he started making fun of someone, for instance she jabbed Hidan in the side for laughing at me" Kakuzu remembered that moment clearly.
Kakuzu's admission caused the other two males to laugh and Hidan to sigh loudly but then he jumped up and with a wave he was gone, he needed to get back to his family "You know if I hadn't met Jashin myself I would never believe anything" Tobirama sighed this time.
"I know how you feel" Kakuzu could admit that he felt the same way, though they didn't waste anymore time and quickly started travelling again, a few hours later they stopped for lunch and Kakuzu took the time to send a message to Sakura.
'Brat, we are headed to the Land of Waves you wouldn't happen to know anyone there would you, though I wouldn't be surprised if you did' he sent and waited for her response as Hashirama made stew out of the rabbit he had caught.
It took several minutes before Sakura finally responded 'Ask for Tazuna, the master bridge builder, tell him you know Sakura Kamizuru if he tries to give you three any trouble, and tell him I wouldn't have a problem giving him another lecture' Sakura snickered.
Kakuzu blinked and sent a chuckle back 'I don't want to know but thanks for the tip, we'll be sure to ask around' with that he cut off the connection to eat the stew that had just finished, once it was gone the clearing was once again cleared and they were on the move again.
Several hours later they were just reaching the village Sakura had mentioned, the three saw a huge bridge and headed there, well really it was more like Kakuzu leading them because they had never been here before.
A few minutes later Kakuzu spotted someone walking across the bridge "Excuse me, I'm looking for someone named Tazuna" he asked the person who freaked out and started shouting at him for him to leave and suddenly Kakuzu knew what Sakura had been talking about.
"I know Sakura Kamizuru I'm a friend of hers" Kakuzu tried again and the guy stopped shrieking, he turned sheepish "We need to talk to someone named Tazuna" Kakuzu explained their presence in the village.
"I'm terribly sorry for how I reacted, it's just that this village has been through a lot and every time a new bad guy shows up they always ask for Tazuna" the guy coughed in embarrassment but led them to a small home in the center of the village.
When the guy left Kakuzu stepped up and knocked on the door several minutes later a woman appeared "Yes, how can I help you gentleman on this fine evening" Tsunami asked, she was eyeing them warily because she had never seen them before.
"Relax Ma'am we know Sakura-chan adorable pink haired woman" Hashirama swooped in and Tsunami blushed, the brunette was quite handsome "She sent us here to look for someone who has been threatening her female students" Hashirama explained.
"Please come in and make yourselves at home, Sakura has helped us a lot, and poor dears are Tsukiko-chan and Yume-chan alright by the way my name is Tsunami so none of that Ma'am stuff" Tsunami chattered on as she led them through her home to the living room.
Tazuna jumped up in fright when he saw them "You are Tazuna correct" Tobirama sighed, Sakura had taught people to be wary that was for sure, Tazuna nodded "Sakura Kamizuru sent us here" Tobirama explained this time.
Tazuna breathed a sigh of relief "What could she possibly want from an old man like me, unless she thinks I've lied about something" he shared a look with Tsunami, Inari was off with some friends of his and wouldn't be back until the next day.
Kakuzu cleared his throat, he was tempted to send a message to Sakura but refrained "No such thing, someone has been threatening Sakura's female students and we've been sent on a mission to track him down and bring him back to the village" Kakuzu let out.
"Why didn't Sakura just come out to look for this guy herself, surely she would have already found him by now, and how long have you been looking for him so far" Tazuna was confused, Sakura was strong and well known in all villages especially his.
Hashirama took over "Sakura-chan is pregnant, and as her most trusted friends and family we have been sent to find him in her place" he admitted, Tsunami let out a loud squeal at hearing the news and she prepared to rush off to congratulate the woman.
"She wants the news to remain hidden for now, so don't tell anyone we told you" Hashirama winked at Tsunami and she fanned herself, Tobirama rolled his eyes, his older brother always acted like a fool in the presence of the ladies.
"Anija we need to start searching the village so no messing around" Tobirama reigned in his brother who pouted up at him childishly "The sooner we complete this mission the sooner we can go home" Tobirama harshly reminded him, Sakura was depending on the three of them.
Hashirama straightened at the implied words "Will we have the village's cooperation to search for this man that we are looking for" he took on a serious expression, they needed to search quickly before news got out that Gisei was being looked for.
Tazuna nodded, with that the three men set out, Kakuzu searched outside the village for any Hidden Underground base while Tobirama and Hashirama questioned people in the village, when they returned hours later none of them had found anything.
So they went to bed after eating the meal Tsunami had left out for them and then went to their assigned rooms, the next morning Kakuzu woke up and spent some time sending a detailed message to Sakura about their search from yesterday.
'Brat, we haven't found anything yet, but we've only been searching in this village for one day, I'll let you know when we do find something and I'll give you a report at the end of each day' Kakuzu sighed, Sakura was upset she must be experiencing some mood swings.
'Thanks Kakuzu, got to go, I'm watching Hibiki and Mamoru today and they decided to be little terrors' the connection cut off and Kakuzu chuckled, he wasn't sure how Sakura would handle those two plus two more and her own.
With that he stood and exited the room, that day Tobirama and Hashirama traded with Kakuzu while they searched and he questioned, and after the fifth no I've never seen this person response Kakuzu was about to give up.
Until he started questioning the next person "Oh yeah I've heard of Gisei, he was Gatou's younger brother, but he's been missing for years" the guy waved and continued walking when it was clear Kakuzu wasn't going to ask anymore questions.
The next several people said the same thing, and one person said something different "I heard rumors a long time ago when Gatou came here and tried to take over, that Gisei took off with a lot of money and that's why Gatou became like he was" she whispered quietly.
"Do you know where I might find this Gatou person" Kakuzu wanted to question the man and find out more, this was his best bet at finding where Gisei was hiding, though his line of questioning came to a screeching halt at the womans next answers.
"Sakura-san along with two others took him down a long time ago, he could be dead by now for all I know, you'd have to ask Zabuza Momochi" she flipped her hair and then pushed her cart, she was obviously done talking now.
Kakuzu ground his teeth in frustration, of course Sakura was involved she was involved in everything, he then sighed, this was proving to be a difficult and time consuming task, and he wasn't even half way done questioning people in the little village.
'Hey brat you wouldn't happen to know if Gatou was still alive would you' he sent the thought but after 15 minutes Kakuzu gave up on getting a response, Sakura was obviously busy with her cousin and half brother.
Kakuzu looped back to Tazuna's house and met Tobirama and Hashirama at the door "Did you find anything because we didn't" Hashirama was dragging his feet looking gloomy, this mission was proving to be difficult for even them.
"I found some information but unless the person is alive then it's just another dead end" Kakuzu shrugged and opened the door, lunch was waiting on the table for them, they quickly ate and then headed back out to gather more information.
When they came back Kakuzu wanted to hit something or someone mainly Gisei "Let's eat then head to bed, I don't think we are going to find anything else in this village, so we'll head to Mist" Kakuzu explained.
"Well I hope you find this person your looking for" Tsunami was glad Sakura had friends and family that were willing to do things like this for her, she blushed a second later when Hashirama waggled his eyebrows at her only to get smacked by Tobirama.
"Not the time to screw around anija, forgive him Tsunami-san, but he's an idiot" Tobirama usually didn't have to be around Hashirama that much nowadays but now he getting exhausted with trying to reign the man in.
Tsunami waved Tobirama's words off and then sat down to eat the dinner she had prepared, after that they went to bed and the next morning the three men were gone heading towards the Hidden Mist Village like they had said the day before.
While they were walking Kakuzu tried to contact Sakura again 'Sakura we are heading towards the Hidden Mist Village hopefully to gain more information' he sent and waited with baited breath several minutes later Sakura responded.
'Huh oh sorry Kakuzu but those little monsters didn't want to go to bed last night, as for Gatou being alive you'd have to ask Zabuza, Haku or Utakata or maybe Lady Mei and Ao for that information I'm sure you can figure out the rest' Sakura sent back with a mental yawn.
'Well at least you got that thought from yesterday' Kakuzu hadn't been sure, but it was nice to know that Sakura was leaving the mental connection jutsu on at all times, it didn't take any chakra once it was activated so it was safe for Sakura to use.
Just then Hashirama spoke up with words of horror "Oh my god, I can't believe we forgot this but we haven't sent Sakura a message not once since we left 5 days ago" he was in full blown panic mode and Kakuzu cringed.
'Go ahead and tell them Kakuzu' Sakura sent him another message when she heard the unspoken question, with that Sakura cut off the connection leaving Kakuzu to his thoughts and his two mission companions.
"Hashirama calm down, and stop your hysterical screeching, Sakura knows what's going on I've been sending her messages of what we've found so far" Kakuzu admitted and waited for the two to turn on him in confusion sure enough a look of confusion crossed Hashirama's face.
"We have a mental connection via a jutsu Sakura created, our neck tattoo's" Kakuzu removed his headband from his neck and showed off the white band littered with cherry blossoms and seals that made the jutsu work.
"We can send thoughts to one another" he finished and put his headband back on and waited for the questions Kakuzu was sure they would start asking him, and sure enough like before, Tobirama spoke up first.
"How long have you had that and how do you make it work, does Sakura have the same color tattoo and why would you two hide something like that" Tobirama rattled off, it was frustrating it was like Sakura had an endless supply of secrets each one got more extensive than the last.
Kakuzu thought for a minute "5 months, and you form signs that Sakura created and push chakra into the tattoo afterwards you call out the jutsu name, yes Sakura's tattoo has the same color" Kakuzu explained thoroughly.
"And Sakura wanted to hide it because if people knew all of her secrets then someone out here would try to figure out a way to create something dangerous with her jutsu's" Kakuzu sighed, it was getting exhausting explaining everything and now he knew how Sakura felt.
After that the three men fell silent as they continued towards the Hidden Mist Village, that night they ate dinner that Tobirama caught and then bedded down without a word, after nearly a week of travelling they just wanted to get home.
The next morning they ate breakfast then packed up, it took the three men two days to reach the Mist Village and 3 hours to explain their presence in the village before they were taken to the Mizukage Mei Terumi.
When Kakuzu asked the woman if Gatou was alive, he got a negative answer but Ao spoke up and told him that they had recorded information on the man from the time he was detained up until he was executed.
So the three men plus Ao spent the next two weeks going through old files looking for the documents that held Gatou's confessions every few days, the three would trade off searching around outside the village for a hidden base until they found the files.
Then Kakuzu who had more experience searching through records, spent a week reading the contents of the 40 plus scrolls, while Tobirama and Hashirama split up and again searched around outside the village.
After three weeks and more information than they had gotten since they had begun Kakuzu, Tobirama and Hashirama set forth heading to Waterfall Village, they weren't going to waste anytime questioning people inside they were going to search until they found Gisei.
Back in the Leaf Village in the month that Kakuzu, Tobirama and Hashirama had been gone Sakura had found a temporary sensei for her genin team in the form of Minato, all the paperwork had been finished so he had some time to spare each day for the genin.
Tsukiko didn't like this one bit, she felt hurt that Sakura-sensei wasn't training them anymore but everytime she tried to get information from one of the adults they claimed they were to busy, but really they didn't know what was going on with Sakura either.
So she decided to ask her boyfriend "Yukimaru do you know why Sakura-sensei won't train us anymore, have we done something that made her not want to be our sensei" Tsukiko was on the verge of tears and Yukimaru could tell.
"Sorry Tsukiko-chan, but I don't know why either" Yukimaru squeezed Tsukiko's hand reassuringly "I'm sure we'll find out soon though" he pressed a quick kiss to the back of her hand before hopping up Minato had arrived.
Yume didn't mind much, because really they were strong enough to train on their own "Stop lolligagging you two" she called out and started running in the past few weeks she had started Chisana's training on the request of Kanashima so now the bunny hopped a few laps with her.
Tsukiko sighed but started running laps with her teammates the chunin exams were 2 months and two weeks away, and Sakura had made them promise to train as hard as they could with Minato until they came about.
Sakura on the other hand was secretly setting up the triplets room, she had the door hidden behind a genjutsu, it was to prevent her family members who started showing up more often, from going into the room accidentally.
Shikamaru was excited as well, he was going to be a father to babies, that thought usually led to him passing out and Sakura having to throw water on him "Hey Shikamaru do you think I can go check on my team" that was another thing Shikamaru hardly let her out of the house now.
"Sure Sakura just be careful your only two months along but we can't take any chances" Shikamaru had gotten extremely protective over Sakura not that Sakura cared very much it just meant that Shikamaru didn't want anything to happen just like her.
Sakura pressed a reassuring kiss to Shikamaru's lips before heading for the front door, she had limited her use of chakra "I'll probably pick up some groceries for dinner tonight, and don't worry I'll have someone help me" Sakura giggled at Shikamaru's expression, then slipped out the door.
'Women are troublesome' Shikamaru sighed before going around the home and picking things up here and there, since Sakura was probably going to bring back whoever she got to help her, it was probably a wise idea to clean up a bit.
On the way to the training ground Sakura ran into Sasuke and Itachi who came to a stop to chat with her for a while "I've heard rumors that you've stopped being a sensei" Itachi was confused, Sakura had practically demanded Minato to let her be a sensei and then she just stops.
"Temporarily Itachi I'll be back in the game a little while after the chunin exams" Sakura smiled and pulled Sasuke into a side hug "And how have you and Fu been" the two had met while Fu had been on vacation.
"Ah Fu's been thinking of coming for another visit, now that the village is letting her out on missions and what not, she might be escorting a team of genin here" Sasuke explained, he was happy and content with his life and couldn't wait to marry Fu.
Sakura gave a happy sigh, everyone was pairing up and settling down "I just hope someone comes along for Itachi" Sakura snickered at the only remaining Uchiha, who sent her a playful glare, he had lightened up a lot over the last four years.
"Perhaps someday Sakura-san" Itachi gave her a small smile, he had all he needed for the time being and that was Sasuke "So why after the chunin exams" Itachi was suspicious though, Sakura just didn't give up something she wanted.
"You'll find out soon enough" Sakura giggled and then gave the two men a wave and continued on her way to the training grounds, where she found her genin deep in a training session, it appeared that Minato was teaching them the transportation jutsu.
Yukimaru was the first one to get it right, followed by Yume and then Tsukiko, Sakura was proud of her genin and knew that the team as a whole would be pass the chunin exams and become chunin, with that they'd have a little more freedom and go on missions without her.
Sakura got so distracted by her thoughts that she missed Tsukiko spotting her from her perch in the tree until the now 14 year old, she was a couple of months older than her teammates, ran up to her and started shouting.
"Sakura-sensei, have you come to train us today" Tsukiko was overjoyed, maybe Sakura-sensei hadn't been ignoring them and just needed a break for awhile, Tsukiko sighed a moment later when Sakura shook her head.
Minato saw this "Sakura, surely there wouldn't be any harm instructing them, I'll do all the work for you" he offered and Sakura smiled "See Tsukiko, Sakura hasn't forgotten you, she just needs to be careful for awhile" Minato shared a smile with Sakura.
"Ok you three, Minato-sama will show you and I'll tell him what I want you to practice" Sakura took a deep breath, she knew that Minato had wind and lightning which left Yukimaru, water was easy for her and she could also instruct him to practice snow as well.
"For Tsukiko, Wind Style: Smoke Dome" Sakura showed Minato the handsigns and he quickly demonstrated the jutsu so that Tsukiko could try her hand at practicing the new jutsu, if she was lucky it would be perfected by the chunin exams.
"Yume will learn a new lightning style jutsu, the jutsu is called Lightning Style: Static Wall" Sakura again had Minato show Yume the jutsu who turned and immediately began forming the hand signs to the jutsu.
Sakura sighed, and motioned for Yukimaru to follow her "Two jutsu's one I know you've seen me do multiple times, the snowfield jutsu, and another water style jutsu, I can't show you for a certain reason so you'll have to figure it out on your own" Saura patted Yukimaru on the head.
Then Sakura showed Yukimaru the hand signs to the water shield jutsu, once Yukimaru had tried both out he started practicing both his water and snow style jutsu's together, he would be one of the top genin in the chunin exams Sakura was sure of it.
After that Sakura gave Minato and the three genin a wave and slipped off to head into town to get groceries for tonight, in the market Akamaru crashed into her but Kiba quickly stopped her from hitting the ground "Akamaru apologize" Kiba ordered.
"Sorry Sakura-san" Akamaru bowed his massive head and Sakura reached out to scratch the canine behind his ear "How is Midori" he popped back up when Sakura stopped and immediately asked, afterall Akamaru had gotten attached to the wolf who had become his partner.
Sakura grinned "She's doing well, in fact she's as fit as a fiddle, which reminds me I need to get her hair trimmed" she rubbed Akamaru's nose before turning to Kiba who had been silently waiting for his companion and Sakura to be done talking.
"Would you mind helping me carry some groceries, I'll make extra for you, your mother, your girlfriend, and your sister along with all of your canine companions" Sakura smiled and then waited, Kiba could hardly resist when meat was involved.
Kiba paused before nodding eagerly "Make a steak and you've got yourself a deal Sakura, plus there's something I want to talk to you about" Kiba had noticed Sakura didn't smell the same anymore and it was bugging him.
Sakura sighed in relief then went around gathering ingredients along the way passed the meat section of the market, Sakura grabbed a large package of steaks "Promise me that you'll never tell Hidan I made you and your family steak' she suddenly turned and looked around warily.
Kiba blinked before nodding, if that's all it took for Sakura to cook him and his family a steak, then he would gladly promise to never tell Hidan that she had done so "Ok" Kiba agreed and Sakura let out another sigh of relief.
45 minutes later the two entered the Kamizuru compound Kiba was carrying half of the bags, and Akamaru even had a couple of bags in his mouth, while Sakura carried the five lightest bags there were, they were filled with vegetables.
"Did you try to buy out the market again" Shikamaru asked teasingly when the two entered the kitchen, to be honest they needed to restock, but it looked like Sakura had gotten more than what they needed for their kitchen.
Sakura blushed and she quickly whipped around to glare at Shikamaru "Do you have to embarrass me like that you lazy ass" Sakura huffed and stomped over to the cabinets to start putting things away, she left out their dinner ingredients however.
Shikamaru blinked while Kiba burst out laughing 'Ok mood swings have definitely set in, though Sakura has always been tempermental' he eyed his pink haired wife warily and decided to keep his mouth shut for the time being.
Kiba meanwhile had finally calmed down, and sat down at the kitchen table, what happened next caused Kiba to start another laughing fit, Sakura who had been going through her personal drawer of snacks turned to Shikamaru.
In her hand was a bag of homemade banana chips, but it was empty, there was only one person in the house who would eat her banana chips and that was Shikamaru "So dear husband of mine when were you going to tell me about this" Sakura scowled at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru gulped, Sakura rarely got into her snacks and he had been so lonely that night when Sakura had gotten sort of angry with him and stormed out of their home for telling Yukimaru about the birds and the bee's.
"Sakura, that bag has been empty for months" his shoulders slumped and he waited for the shout that was sure to follow "It happened so long ago, that I forgot about it until just now" Shikamaru admitted when Sakura advanced on him.
Shikamaru cringed, then he felt a feather light kiss "I'm not angry Shika, just tell me next time ok" Sakura truly couldn't be angry with Shikamaru, it was just impossible, sure she could pretend and lead him on but she never really got upset with him.
"So the next time I'm in town, I'll pick up some banana's for you and help you make some more" Shikamaru sighed in relief when Sakura smiled happily then turned back around to continue organizing things in the cabinets.
When she was done with that Sakura got started on cooking dinner, once it was finished she packed up 10 meals for Kiba, his family, girlfriend and their companions, Kiba disappeared soon after that to deliver the meals forgetting all about what he had wanted to ask Sakura.
It was only when she showed up with Shikamaru and Yukimaru along with Midori and Kanpecki to get their hair trimmed that Kiba finally remembered what it was that had been bugging him "Your scent has changed" he accused suspiciously.
Sakura whirled around, her emerald eyes wide and full of panic "Shhhhhhh" Sakura whispered and slapped her hand over Kiba's mouth "Just keep that information to yourself" Sakura had forgotten that the Inuzuka's could tell if someone was pregnant.
Kiba might not exactly realize what was going on with her yet, but Sakura bet that if an Inuzuka came along who had experience with pregnant woman, Sakura would be busted and everyone in the village would know before they got home.
"Gotcha though I don't understand what's going on, I promise to not tell anyone" Kiba's voice was equally as quiet "Though you might want to let me handle dealing with my sis" he pointed at the companions.
Sakura grinned "Thanks Kiba, just a trim for both of them" she patted his cheek kindly, then turned on her heel and stalked off with Shikamaru and Yukimaru in tow, when the dust that Sakura kicked up settled down Kiba groaned, he was horrible at keeping secrets.
Kiba took a deep breath then whistled for Midori and Kanpecki to follow and led the way to the clinic on the otherside of the Inuzuka compound, when he entered Hana exited the room she had currently been in doing paperwork.
"Sakura wants them to have a trim, she said that she was really busy so I thought I'd thank her for that meal she made us by handling this little problem for her" Kiba said all of this slowly so that Hana wouldn't pick up on the subtle lie.
Hana smiled and motioned for the two to follow her into another room "Tell Sakura the meal was delicious, when you take these two back" Hana started trimming Midori's toenails so that they would be neat and sharp.
"You got it sis" Kiba internally sighed in relief and watched Hana work on cleaning Midori's teeth so that there wasn't a speck of plaque left behind, after that her ears were cleaned and then Midori's hair was clipped until it was a short length again.
Next Kanpecki took his turn getting cleaned up soon he was finished as well and Kiba handed over the payment Sakura had given him before she disappeared "Alright Midori, Kanpecki let's go" Kiba whistled and led the two from the clinic and back to the Kamizuru compound.
"Sakura they are all finished later" Kiba didn't stick around just in case Sakura decided to get angry again and so before Sakura could thank him, Kiba disappeared by jumping on Akamaru and taking off at a high speed.
"Men" Sakura huffed and went back into her house with Midori and Kanpecki following her "Yukimaru is upstairs" she pointed and Kanpecki ran up the steps to Yukimaru's attic room, out of all the rooms in the house, his master just had to choose the highest one.
Before Kanpecki could reach Yukimaru's room the teen came running down the steps, his arms full of storage scrolls "Oh welcome home Kanpecki, do you feel better" Yukimaru paused and looked at his companion, he looked a lot nicer now.
"Yes, the hair was dragging me down and my teeth felt horrible, my ears were all itchy before but not now and my toenails aren't so long anymore" Kanpecki flashed Yukimaru his clean teeth causing the teen to laugh "What are you doing master" Kanpecki enquired.
"Oh well since Kaa-chan is pregnant with triplets we are moving downstairs so that when they come I can help out and Kaa-chan can get some rest when she needs it" Yukimaru explained and continued running down the steps.
Kanpecki turned and followed Yukimaru back down the steps and into a room that was right next to Sakura and Shikamaru's room and across from their room would be the triplets room, it was currently hidden though.
"Aren't you worried that when the Lady Alpha has her babies that you'll be ignored" Kanpecki was curious, sure Sakura never ignored any of the animal companions she had or him, but human babies were different and required a lot more attention than animal babies.
Yukimaru stopped in unsealing a scroll "Babies need a lot of care and attention and thanks to Kaa-chan, I know that even when her babies are born, I'll still be a part of the family" Yukimaru wasn't worried in the least.
Kanpecki sighed, his master just didn't get it "With Lady Alpha so busy with the new babies how will she have any time for you Master" Kanpecki stated bluntly and waited for whatever Yukimaru would say to that.
"Oh I know Kaa-chan won't have much time, but I'll hopefully be a chunin, plus I have Tsukiko and Yume and missions to keep me busy as well" Yukimaru unsealed his bed and scooted it over to a corner right next to the window.
"Not to mention Kanpecki, I've got training with Nancho-sama and Shitsumei-kun in the underground city of bats" Yukimaru had gotten accepted by Nancho and then had been introduced to Nancho's son.
Kanpecki couldn't argue with that "And Kaa-chan has lathed me with so much attention that it's time for someone else to have that much attention on them" Yukimaru grinned and tossed Kanpecki a treat the last one in the bag to be precise.
"You truly are one of a kind Master Yukimaru" Kanpecki bit off a piece of his treat and set it aside, he would share it with Ankaishoku later because the fox loved his treats "I'm glad that you came along" Kanpecki had been told the story of his birth.
Everyone had thought he was the runt of the litter, and if Yukimaru hadn't been there, he would probably be somewhere far away and not be treated so kindly in fact, Kanpecki had heard that Kakashi had wanted him but Sakura had turned him down.
However one of his runt sisters had gone to Kakashi, she was truly a runt and really was just a watch dog for Kakashi while the silver haired man was away on some kind of mission, though Kakashi often brought her by so that Kanpecki could bond with her for a little while.
"You know Kanpecki, I'm glad Kaa-chan took me in as well" Yukimaru tapped his foot, something was missing in his new room but he wasn't sure what "Hey Kanpecki what do you think is missing" Yukimaru looked to his companion for an opinion.
Kanpecki looked around at the full room and then at the walls "The walls could use a little art maybe Lady Alpha wouldn't mind letting you paint this room" Kanpecki tilted his head to the side before picking up the treat and trotting from the room.
Ankaishoku eyed Kanpecki warily when the canine/wolf approached him, Kanpecki set the treat down "I brought you some of my treat" he explained and pushed the treat forward with his nose until it was within Ankaishoku's reach.
The fox took one look at it and promptly gobbled it down, when Ankaishoku was done he licked his lips "Much thanks Kanpecki" that was as thankful as Ankaishoku was going to get and Kanpecki knew it so task complete he went back to the animal room.
Meanwhile Yukimaru was talking to Sakura to hopefully convince her to let him paint the room he was now occupying "It just doesn't feel right" Yukimaru stated lamely and Sakura laughed and led him down the hall to a closet.
"I was wondering when you would ask to paint your room, so I've got you green, magenta, black, yellow and water blue paint along with a camellia and bee stencil" Sakura held up a bag and then motioned to the paint.
Yukimaru pumped his arm in excitement "Thanks Kaa-chan, this is so awesome-sauce" he let out happily, causing Shikamaru who was passing by to chuckle, he was leaving on a six day mission, Gaara wanted a letter delivered to his village.
The thing was Gaara didn't want to use a messenger bird so Shikamaru had offered to go and the matter was settled, Sakura who had been happy about Shikamaru getting involved had given him plenty of love in their bedroom the night before.
The two shared a few kisses before Shikamaru left, the sooner he got there the sooner he could get back to Sakura "Later Kaa-chan" Yukimaru grabbed up the paint and bags, then slipped off to decorate his new room to his liking.
Yukimaru only got half way finished before he got to tired and finally he trudged from his room, it was to stinky in there for the time being, and into Sakura's room, Yukimaru knew that Sakura didn't like sleeping alone.
With Kakuzu, Tobirama and Hashirama, they had made it to waterfall village and were currently resting in a little cottage they had found hidden deep within the forest, Kakuzu though was wary about staying there, he had heard of a cottage conjuring nightmares.
Hashirama was trying to assure Kakuzu that no such cottage existed "This is just an old cottage that nobody uses anymore" he waved off Kakuzu's concerns and headed into a bedroom, sadly there were only two rooms in this cottage so Kakuzu would be taking the couch.
A few hours later after he had laid down Sakura sent him a message 'Kakuzu where are you' it was more like a loud shout, it became apparent that Sakura was having the dreaded mood swings that came with being pregnant.
'In a cottage outside waterfall village, it was hidden in the forest' he sent back with a yawn, until Sakura screeched back at him, then he became wide awake 'What is it' Kakuzu asked, he had feeling he already knew what Sakura was going to say.
'Kakuzu you need to listen to me very closely, that cottage was a gift from Yamato-san, when Shikamaru and I spent our honey moon there we hid it underneath an undetectable genjutsu' Sakura's message was full of fear.
'You need to get Tobirama and Hashirama out of there, don't let them fall asleep if they do, it will be impossible to wake them without me the genjutsu is one that causes it's victim to have nightmares' Sakura finished and Kakuzu groaned out loud.
Kakuzu sighed 'Those two idiots have most likely already fallen asleep, just tell me the hand signs to break the jutsu and I'll try to get them right' Kakuzu wanted to bash their heads together, it wouldn't kill them because the two were immortal.
Sakura sent him a sigh before a list of hand signs, they were just as complicated as her mental connection jutsu the connection cut off as Kakuzu memorized them and then headed down the hall to the room, Tobirama was still awake but Hashirama was thrashing around on the bed.
"You tried to warn us and we didn't listen" Tobirama wanted to bang his head on a wall when Kakuzu nodded and bent over his brother to try and lift the genjutsu that had been placed on him, after Kakuzu's seventh try Hashirama woke up with a groan.
His head was pounding it was like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it "Let's get out of here" Hashirama didn't want to spend another minute in this creepy cottage, he should have listened to Kakuzu but he hadn't and now he was reaping his mistakes.
With that they left Sakura's cottage and headed out to sleep under the stars, the next morning they searched everywhere they could think of that might possibly be hiding a hidden base, but after two weeks they found nothing.
Kakuzu knew Sakura was getting frustrated, they had stopped for the night, all of them were getting frustrated as well and there was only one more village left to check out, Hidan's old village, the Hidden Village of Hot Water.
Back with Sakura, Yukimaru's 14th birthday was approaching but all she could think about was keeping her pregnancy hidden and stressing out over Kakuzu, Hashirama and Tobirama she needed them to find Gisei.
Thankfully Yukimaru was there to calm her down "Kaa-chan, I'm sure Kakuzu-san is alright, he sends you messages regularly doesn't he" Yukimari enquired and Sakura nodded, she took a deep breath and cleared her mind of her current worries.
"So what would like done for your birthday this year" Sakura would concentrate on giving Yukimaru one of the best parties he had ever had, Sakura waited for Yukimaru's answer and she didn't have to wait long.
"Can I have another cake shaped like a camellia flower" Yukimaru mumbled, it was the same thing he asked for every year and Sakura always made sure it happened by making the cake herself, not that it was to difficult to create.
"Anything else Yukimaru" Sakura smiled fondly at the teen, no matter what Yukimaru would always be special to her because he was the one who taught her how to be a mother and no matter how rough the months to come were Yukimaru would still be her number one.
Yukimaru pondered over his thoughts for awhile, but he couldn't think of anything, and then it came to him, Yukimaru had been wanting a weapon designed by him of course but it would be a weapon that nobody would be wise about.
"Just two things Kaa-chan, do you think just you and I can go to the artisans village" Yukimaru hunched his shoulders and waited for the rejection that was sure to come with his request "I know that it's a bad idea" he sighed.
Sakura really wanted to say no but she couldn't just because it was Yukimaru "Maybe we can ask Uncle Hidan to come with us" Yukimaru really wanted this and he was willing to throw every idea he had out there.
"We can use Shitsumei-kun, and because no one outside the village knows about me making a contract with the bats we can leave the village and be back before anyone realizes that we were gone" Yukimaru stared at Sakura and hoped this suggestion took.
"Alright you know how I can't say no when you look at me with those eyes of yours" Sakura pulled Yukimaru in for a hug and pressed a kiss to the top of his hair "Let's go talk to Hidan and then ask Minato" Sakura stood carefully.
"Wait you still have my cut hair don't you, I want to turn it into a weapon like you did with your hair" Yukimaru grinned and grabbed the scroll that held his hair when Sakura pointed at it "Now we can go" he smiled cheekily.
"Cheeky Monkey" Sakura sighed but let Yukimaru lead her from the house and down the street to Hidan's home, Suzumebachi was outside reading from a book and teaching Mimi who was distracted by Hibiki the lynx really had been the perfect companion for the boy.
When the two approached Suzumebachi greeted them with a wide smile "Is Uncle Hidan home" Yukimaru was bouncing on the balls of his feet when Suzumebachi jerked her thumb at the house, he quickly ran in without wasting anymore time.
Once Yukimaru convinced Hidan to join them on their mini quest, all three of them went to visit Minato who chuckled and laughed before finally agreeing to let them go "So long as your back as soon as possible" Minato didn't want anything to happen to Sakura.
"So are we using Tomo" Hidan was a little confused when Yukimaru shook his head "Surely we aren't walking, we'd never make it there and back within just a day" Hidan quirked his brow at Yukimaru when the boy snickered.
"Uncle Hidan, we are going to wait till nighttime, Shitsumei-kun doesn't like daylight because he's a bat, I'm sure he'll let us hitch a ride" Yukimaru wasn't exactly sure but he was willing to try because he really wanted to explain his idea to Raiga and get his own custom made weapon.
Hidan blinked before asking his question "Since when did you have a bat summons and how come I was left out of the loop again" Hidan was put out ever since Sakura had grown up, he had missed out on a lot, Hidan remembered the old days when it had just been him and Sakura.
So they waited until sundown when it was pitch black out Yukimaru ran through the summoning jutsu handsigns before slamming his palm down on the ground "Master Yukimaru what have you called me for" Nancho appeared before his eyes causing Yukimaru to sigh.
"Well I was actually trying to summon Shitsumei-kun but would you mind giving us a lift to the artisans village" Yukimaru wasn't use to giving anyone other than Kanpecki a command so his order came out more like a request and extremely hesitant.
Nancho eyed his summoner before leaning down, Yukimaru was still just a child, but at least the boy was polite "If it pleases you master" Nancho allowed the humans to climb on before stretching out his wings and taking off with a flew flutters.
It was over 40 minutes later that Nancho started slowing down, down below was the artisan's village, finally Nancho landed and let of his human occupants before disappearing in a puff of smoke, Nancho was sure he'd be summoned again soon.
Yukimaru barely waited for Sakura and Hidan as he ran into the village, there was still some time before Raiga closed the shop up and he wanted to explain his idea before it was to late, Sakura was smiling fondly as Yukimaru raced through the little village.
Hidan was just a few steps behind Sakura and he thought she looked a little different she glowed much more than before, before he could ask they entered the shop and saw Touga instructing Raiga on forging a weapon.
"Sakura-san, it's been a long time since you've graced this shop with your presence" Touga happened to look up and spotted his long time friend and contractor "What can I do for you today" Touga would take care of her orders, he always did not that she knew.
"I've got some orders" Yukimaru knew just what to say, he had watched his mom do this for most of his life and Yukimaru was sure he could handle explaining what he wanted done, Touga turned to him in surprise but motioned for Yukimaru to begin.
"Well the first thing is a hair whip like Kaa-chan" Yukimaru quickly sliced through his hair, it was needed to make sure his hair whip was long, Sakura smiled fondly at Yukimaru and made a vow to help him fix his hair later.
Yukimaru handed over the scroll and newly cut hair before moving onto the second thing "A pale green and magenta ribbon to go around my arm here, I want it to move like an extension of myself, kind of like a snake and I need to be able to push chakra into it" Yukimaru explained.
Touga grinned, Sakura's son was just like her "Is that all" Raiga was confused, usually Sakura had many orders, but her son was a little bit different sure he was just as descriptive but apparently he didn't have money to waste like Sakura did.
"You two go wait outside, since it's Yukimaru's birthday in two weeks, I've gotta add my own gift in there" Sakura grinned when Yukimaru pouted but followed Hidan out of the shop "Pale green and magenta mesh clothes" Sakura quickly rattled off.
The payment was handed over and Sakura left the shop "Let's go home, it will be two weeks" Sakura ordered and Yukimaru quickly formed the hand signs needed, this time Shitsumei appeared, he agreed and soon all three were flying back to their home.
Two more weeks went by until one morning Sakura got a message from Kakuzu, Gisei had been found and all of his followers had been wiped out, they were coming home, Sakura was so excited she could barely contain herself, finally the threat was over and she could live in peace.