allcreation7151229: Thanks a lot. It really means a lot to me. I have tried to develop Honour and Itachi slowly. I'm glad you are enjoying the fic and I hope you continue to like it as I keep writing.
You know, I'm really surprised I haven't gotten a flame yet. Sakura is not the most popular character in Naruto, and many explicitly hate her. Having her as the main character of a non-romance fic is always iffy.
I thank you all for your reviews, and as always, I will respond to any questions or statements directed at me.
I don't Naruto.
-RB-
Karak town was a small farming village, with one inn recently built and barely any people. Sakura stood out like a sore thumb amongst the farmers and craftsman, but she paid it no mind. She only wondered why Tsunade would be here of all places. Laying low from debt collectors was one thing, but this was basically off the radar.
Sakura figured that her old teacher could only be in the inn. She was excited to see her again. Shizune as well, since they had basically become sisters while Sakura had undergone her intense training. Although she wasn't excited at what she had to do to them. Sure enough, Tsunade was sitting in the lounge of the inn, getting drunk off of sake with Shizune watching over her with a worried expression. Sakura made a quick decision on how she was going to approach the Sannin. She walked up to the table, and tossed the letter in front of Tsunade.
"Senju Tsunade, right? Hokage-sama requires you back in the village," Sakura said with little tact. Naruto had inspired the woman to go back, but Sakura knew she had no such gift with words. If Tsunade refused to come back, Sakura was authorized to bring her back by any means necessary. Tsunade put down her sake cup and shot a glare at her.
"Who are you, gaki?" Sakura shrugged.
"Name's Haruno Sakura. The medic who will surpass you." Tsunade laughed at that, a mocking tone in her voice.
"Sure, kid. Let's see what the old monkey has to say," Tsunade said as she opened the letter. Sakura watched as the Sannin's face went from shock, to confusion, to shock again. She glanced at Sakura with a wary look on her face, before continuing the letter. Sakura wasn't sure what was in the letter, but she imagined that Sarutobi's death and Orochimaru's defeat were in there. Tsunade put the letter down, raising an eyebrow as she glanced over at Sakura.
"You were the leader of a team that defeated Orochimaru?" Sakura was grateful for the hitae-ate that she now wore over her forehead at all times. Tsunade would recognize the Strength of One Hundred seal in a second, and that would cause all kinds of mess.
"Sure. He wasn't that tough. Defeated Sasori of the Red Sands as well, by myself." Sakura wasn't normally one for bragging, but she knew she had to impress Tsunade with her skills to make her interested in returning, especially since she would be interested in having Sakura as a student once more.
"Sasori is the grandson of Chiyo of the Sand, right? I heard he is even better than his grandmother, which makes anyone who can defeat him kage level to be sure... if it's true. What does the pervert want with me?" Tsunade finished her sake but didn't order more, which Sakura viewed as a good thing. Shizune glanced between the two, more curious than anything.
"He wants you to return to the village to become head of the hospital. You will be tasked with training a new generation of medics to implement the program you wanted at one point. A medic on every team, to keep shinobi healthy and to minimize losses. He offers to pay your debts as well if you return, and you will not have to do field work if you don't want to." Sakura knew that the offer would tempt the woman, but it was up to her to make sure she took the bait.
"And if I choose to decline?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura shrugged.
"I will be forced to bring you in." Tsunade stared at her for a second to see if she was serious before laughing mockingly again.
"Brat, I was smearing shinobi against the ground in war before your parents were out of their diapers. What makes you think you have a chance against me?" Sakura shrugged. She wasn't foolish enough to think she could actually defeat Tsunade as it was if the Sannin decided to go all out, but only because she couldn't use her own seal. However, she did have a new secret weapon and she had a much larger variety of techniques to fall back on.
"I'm not completely certain I could defeat you, but I imagine I could definitely push you to your limits. Besides, you have a couple of glaring weaknesses as it is." Sakura casually picked at her nails, and Tsunade frowned.
"Which are?"
"Hemophobia means all I have to do is cut myself and you will freeze. And you have a partner who you have to protect, since she is part of that 'bring them in with any means necessary' clause that Hokage-sama gave me." Tsunade glanced at Shizune, and Sakura felt a level of sadness pass over her. She would never be as close to these women as she was in the original timeline, but if they lived, it would be worth it.
"You would stoop to targeting someone else to get to me?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura simply shrugged.
"We are shinobi. We don't fight fair." Tsunade stared at her for a few moments.
"Can you give me the night to think it over?" She asked, and Sakura nodded. She knew the woman would try to skip town in the cover of night.
"Sure. If you try to run out on me, though, I have been authorized to bring a team next time, and there will be no offer." Sakura knew that Tsunade wasn't fond of the village, but she didn't hate it so much that she would go to any lengths to avoid returning.
-RB-
The other task Sakura had come here to complete was at the behest of Honour. She hadn't planned on coming out this way until after the Chunin Exams, but luck had sent her this way early, so she could get it out of the way. She searched the village until she found the house described to her by Honour. If what she knew about Hibena turned out to be true, she would need more than just a spinal surgery.
A knock on the door rang out as Sakura waited for the door to open. She heard humming coming from the back of the house, which stopped when Sakura knocked. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a near clone of Honour sitting in a wheelchair, looking at her with curiosity.
"Yes, can I help you?" She asked, and Sakura frowned. Who was this woman? Why were there two versions of her timeline's Higurashi Tenten in this timeline? Honour had some explaining to do when she saw her again.
"Hello, my name is Haruno Sakura. I am a medic, and I have been sent here to check up on you." Hibena gave her a strange look for a moment.
"Who sent you?" Sakura wondered just what had happened to Honour since she returned.
"A kunoichi who apologizes for the death of your father sent me." Hibena's eyebrows furrowed in anger, but she simply nodded and motioned Sakura to follow as she rolled away. Sakura entered the house and closed the door behind her. Hibena led her to a bedroom, where the woman shifted herself onto her bed.
"What are you here to do?" Hibena asked, and Sakura couldn't help but be wary of the fact that her eyes were the same color as Itachi's when they weren't active, which meant that she had the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan as well. She wondered just who Hibena was.
"I was asked to fix your back. According to the one who sent me here, despite what you think, that injury was not something you were born with. I've never fixed a spine that has been severed as long as yours has but I'm confident I can do it." Hibena stared at her for a few moments before shaking her head, muttering something about 'more secrets.'
"Very well, do what you must." Hibena turned over onto her stomach and undid her dress, scooting it down to her hips. Sakura took a moment to glare jealously at the woman's larger breasts, knowing she was cursed to be below average in that department forever. She then went to work, first analyzing the injury. It was the same spot that Tobi had stabbed Tenten in her timeline, which meant that this WAS Tenten. But how? She didn't have any memories, it seemed, for she didn't recognize Sakura.
"It seems you suffered a stab wound. This is years old, though, at least twenty." She would have to reopen the wound to heal it, and it would require a lot of chakra to reactivate the dead nerves in the lower part of her back and legs. Plus, she would have to go through physical therapy, which meant she would have to move to a city. The closest city WAS Konoha, and it would allow Sakura to keep an eye on the woman.
"I see. I don't have any memories before I was five. My sister told me that some sort of jutsu had erased my memories of my past life. According to her, we are both from the future, although I can't help but doubt that at times." So Honour was acting as Hibena's sister. Now the real question was, which one was Tenten? It was almost as if there were two of the Tenten she knew.
"So Honour is your sister?" Sakura asked as she took out her marker and marked the places where she would have to re-sever the nerves that had died or heal incorrectly.
"Well, sort of. According to her, the jutsu that sent us back in time and erased my memory actually cloned me. Or something. She went into a lot of something she called 'multiverse theory' and discussion of such with a guy named Uzumaki. Apparently, something went wrong with the jutsu and put two of the original woman who came back, AND de-aged us. Like I said, it isn't that believable." Sakura tried her best to not react to what Hibena was saying. She would have to ask Honor, because Hibena clearly didn't know.
"This is going to hurt. Do you want to be unconscious for it?" Sakura asked, and Hibena simply nodded her agreement. Sakura hit a nerve in her neck with chakra, knocking the woman out. She then proceeded to begin the operation.
-RB-
Hibena woke four hours later. Sakura was sitting in a chair next to her bed, sweating trailing down her face and arms. Clearly, the procedure had been stressful.
"Well, it was successful, to my knowledge. I need to run a few tests." Hibena nodded as Sakura pulled out a sewing needle. "Tell me if you feel this." She began to prick Hibena's toes, to which the woman responded with 'ow' each time. She used the needle to poke a few more areas, including her rear, as well as some more embarrassing tests for Hibena. Satisfied, Sakura stood and began packing her stuff.
"Thank you, but I don't think I will be able to walk anyway." Hibena gestured to her withered legs, and Sakura nodded.
"Yes, you will be required to move to Konoha so I can put you through physical therapy. Even medical jutsu can't create muscle tissue that never existed in the first place." Hibena's eyes widened, and Sakura smiled at her. "Any moving expenses have been covered, do not worry. I will put in a D-rank mission to move you to Konoha as soon as I return to the village. Until then, these are painkillers. If your legs ache too badly, take one. That should keep you pain free for eight hours after."
"Do I get a choice in moving to Konoha?" Hibena asked. Sakura shrugged.
"Do you want to walk? You have a chance most in your position don't get. Don't waste it on pettiness." Sakura marched out the door, leaving Hibena alone with her thoughts.
-RB-
Fortunately for Sakura, she had enough time to recover her chakra before Tsunade tried to escape that night. A tracking seal was on the letter Sakura had given her, and Tsunade had kept it in her pocket when she tried to run. When Tsunade made it outside of town, Sakura decided to spring her trap. A cage of purple fire, similar to the Four Violet Flames Formation that the Sound Four used in the original timeline, appeared around Tsunade, separating her from Shizune. The younger woman went to touch the wall, but was stopped when Sakura grabbed her wrist.
"I wouldn't do that, Shizune-san. That barrier is powerful enough that Kage level shinobi can't escape from it, and it engulfs anyone who touches it in flames." Shizune pulled her arm back and glared.
"You plan on forcing Tsunade-sama back? I won't let you!" She dropped Tonton and released a bunch of senbon from a launcher on her wrist. Sakura casually deflected these with her metal-plated gloves. Shizune went through a few hand seals and breathed out a poison gas at Sakura, but Sakura simply walked through it toward Shizune.
"I am not here to fight you, Shizune, but I did tell her what would happen if she tried to escape." Tsunade was yelled at them through the barrier, but Sakura couldn't hear her. Shizune moved forward to engage in taijutsu, and Sakura sighed rather loudly before pushing chakra into Shizune's arms as she moved around the woman's attacks, causing Shizune's arms to drop limply. Shizune stared at her as Sakura shook her head. "Your legs are next, if you keep going." Shizune wisely retreated, kneeling next to Tonton.
Sakura suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, similar to a shadow clone. Tsunade turned to see Sakura standing there, waiting for her.
"So, gaki. You are going to fight me to bring me back?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura shrugged.
"I don't want to fight you. You must realize that running from me would make you a nukenin. Do you want to live that life? Not only would other villages be after your bounty, but organizations like Akatsuki would be after you as well. I know you are strong, but Akatsuki is all S class, and I guarantee you there are shinobi that could defeat you in there," Sakura explained. Tsunade seemed to stop for a moment before settling into a combat stance. Sakura sighed, but nodded.
"Hidden Mist Technique!" Sakura called, and a heavy mist covered the area. Tsunade tensed as her visibility shrank to almost nothing.
"Hiding away in the mist? Are you afraid?" Tsunade taunted, and Sakura laughed.
"What about 'we are shinobi, we don't play by the rules' do you not understand? I would have thought someone as experienced as you would have realized this by now." Tsunade barely dodged a barrage of kunai that came at her position. "In the end, it only matters who lives through the battle." Tsunade felt a hand on the storage seal scroll she carried everything in on her leg, and went to slap it. It was too late.
"Kai!" All of her possessions went flying into the area, tumbling along the ground. Tsunade didn't know what the girl hoped to accomplish here, but it seemed rather pointless. Suddenly, several clones rose up from the earth, and rushed her. Tsunade spent several minutes defeating. The girl was skilled in taijutsu, and the clones made her actually try a little bit.
"Enough of this. You said yourself that you weren't sure you could defeat me. Is death really worth bringing me back?" Tsunade called out.
"Well, I was hoping to impress you enough to make you teach me." Sakura's voice echoed over the arena. "I have perfect chakra control, and my chakra supply is almost as big as yours at this point, from what I've heard from Hokage-sama." Tsunade suddenly ducked under a fist, and the two exchanged a taijutsu combo that ended with neither side getting a hit in. Sakura jumped back and then jumped forward, causing Tsunade to jump back. When Sakura's foot impacted the earth, a massive crater erupted, causing Tsunade to stumble. She had to jump out of the way of the cracking earth as the crater widened to take up most of the arena.
"How do you know that technique?" Tsunade yelled.
"I heard about your strength, and then asked the Sandiame about it. It was easy to figure out after that." Sakura rushed forward once more, and Tsunade slammed the earth with her fist. Earth shrapnel shot out toward Sakura, who weaved through the projectiles and came face to face with Tsunade. "Teach me." Tsunade scoffed and attacked with a barrage of punches. Sakura flawlessly weaved through them. "I just want you to teach me medical ninjutsu." Sakura jumped back, and grinned when Tsunade looked annoyed.
"You're good, girl. You figured out my strength technique, and you probably are better in taijutsu than I am. However, I haven't decided to return to Konoha, so you are wasting your breath. Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Tsunade slammed her hand onto the ground, and Sakura was forced to release the barrier around them in order to make room for Katsuyu. She wanted the contract; it wouldn't do to injure the summon.
"Now the real battle begins, Haruno Sakura!" Tsunade yelled.
"Right you are." A voice sounded from the side of the two fighters, and the both looked over to see a pair of figures in black cloaks with red clouds.
-RB-
Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He called for what seemed like the hundredth time. A puff of smoke appeared, and Gama the toad appeared. Naruto sighed slightly, patting the toad on the side. "Hello again, Gama. You can go." A puff of smoke allowed the toad to disappear, and Naruto frowned. He wanted to be able to summon Gamabunta without the fox's chakra, but it seemed that he didn't have enough chakra or chakra control to summon the toad boss.
"Keep trying, Naruto. Or do you want to switch and go back to working on the Rasengan?" Naruto shrugged at that. He had completed the second part of the Rasengan training, but the third part was kicking his butt. He had mastered the first part on the first day, thanks to him noticing Jiraiya's demonstration balloon morphing in a bunch of different ways. The second task had taken another day. Sakura had left on the third day, and it had been two days since, and he had yet to master the jutsu.
During the day he worked on the two jutsu, and in the evening, he worked on his secret project. He hoped to be finished with all three by the time the finals came around. Jiraiya explained to him that the real reason there was a month between the second and third exams was to allow foreign dignitaries time to come to Konoha to watch their country's genin fight. The Mizukage, Kazekage, and Raikage would all be present during the exams.
"I guess. At least with the Summoning, I feel like I'm making progress. Even with clones, I feel like training the Rasengan is going dreadfully slow." He could only make three clones when training the Rasengan, because of how much chakra the jutsu took if you failed it. His clones could only sustain half a dozen attempts before popping, but it certainly saved time.
"I took two months to learn the Rasengan after Minato showed it to me. Don't be discouraged. Minato himself took three years to create the jutsu, although creating a jutsu is much harder than just learning it," Jiraiya said as he peered through his binoculars at two pretty girls playing in the river near them. He giggled perversely and scribbled some notes into his notebook.
"Yeah, I guess. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three clones appeared in front of Naruto, and they began to work on keeping the Rasengan in the balloon.
-RB-
"Mikoto-sama!" Sakura rushed into the room. Kakashi and Sasuke were already there, and Mikoto smiled at Sakura tiredly as she held a small bundle in her arms. Sakura smiled as she approached the bed, Naruto shuffling into the room behind her. Mikoto offered the baby to Sakura, who took the bundle with reverence. This was a life that had never existed in her timeline.
"Her name is Satoko." Mikoto said softly as Sakura stared at the baby girl. Satoko yawned and shifted slightly, her onyx eyes opening to peer at the newcomer with curiousity. A tuft of grey hair spilled out from under the blanket. She was perfect, Sakura decided. She looked over at Sasuke, who had a soft smile on his face. She had never seen that expression on his face before. Sakura walked over to Sasuke, leaning against the wall next to him.
"She's beautiful, Mikoto-sama, Kakashi-sensei. Congratulations!" Sakura said, and Sasuke peered at his sister. She wondered if Itachi's reaction had been similar to Sasuke's, for he seemed delighted to have another sibling. Hopefully Sasuke would have the chance to be a better sibling to his sister than Itachi had been able to be.
Naruto came over and peered at Satoko with his classic fox-eyes.
"Oi, she looks just like you, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said. Sakura handed the baby to him, and he seized up, looking at the little girl with apprehension. She was sure he had never held a baby before.
"You have to hold her head, Naruto," Sakura explained, and Naruto's hand shifted to support her head. She glanced over at Kakashi, who was gazing at the scene with a combination of sadness and joy. If things had gone differently, the Yondiame and Kushina would have been here to greet his first child. Obito and Rin would have been here. Sakura knew that seeing Naruto, who looked so much like Minato, holding his child brought mixed emotions to her long time teacher.
"Hi, Satoko-chan! I'm Naruto! I'm gonna be your unofficial big brother. I'll be ten times the brother Sasuke will be, dattebayo!" Satoko just gazed up at the blond. Kakashi came over and took the child from Naruto, gazing at his daughter with fondness.
"I promise you, Uchiha Satoko, that you will have a better life than your parents and siblings," Kakashi whispered to the child, and Sakura was forced to wipe away a tear. She was glad Kakashi got the happiness he so deserved.
-RB-
"Again, Sasuke," Kakashi called. Sasuke heaved in breath after breath, going through the hand seals slowly. He willed lightning chakra to his hand, and aimed it at Kakashi.
"Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga!" Two hounds made of lightning shot out of Sasuke's hand at Kakashi, who absorbed them with his own lightning chakra. Sasuke collapsed to the ground, his chakra nearly exhausted.
"Well done. Let's take a break and then we can work more on fire jutsu." Kakashi tossed Sasuke a bottle of water, who broke it open and gulped half of it down greedily. Kakashi knelt next to his step-son, smiling at the boy. "You know, you're probably stronger than I was when I was your age, and I was a jounin. I had just created the Chidori, but it was unuseable due to my lack of ability to perceive things at the speed required for the jutsu." Sasuke looked up at Kakashi as the man took a reminiscient look on his face. "It was thanks to a clan member of yours that I got my Sharingan. He died saving me, and his last gift to me was his intact Sharingan, since I had lost my eye earlier in the mission."
"Wasn't his name Obito? I remember that my father was still incensed that you were allowed to have a Sharingan without being subject to clan laws, but Sandiame-sama shut him down on that pretty quick." Sasuke sat up as he finished his water. Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke and nodded.
"Yondiame-sama knew that the Uchiha had the clout to push for something. They also had the Hyuuga behind them, because if someone managed to get a Byakugan, then whatever law applied to me would apply to them as well." Kakashi sipped his water through his masked. "To avoid any political strife, I enlisted in ANBU, and spent the next two decades doing high class missions. ANBU are immune to clan politics."
"Have you ever considered becoming Hokage? You are probably the next strongest shinobi after Hokage-sama, although I'm not sure about Tsunade and Sakura." Kakashi frowned at that.
"No. As much as I'm sure certain people from my past would like it if I were Hokage, I would prefer to live life simply and as freely as a jounin can." Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke. "Ready to get back to it?" Sasuke nodded, and they began again.
-RB-
Sakura tumbled to the side, groaning at the damage she had taken thus far. The only worse pair that could have showed up was Pain and Konan. She was forced to jump away once more as the triple scythe came toward. She glanced over to see Tsunade fighting against Kakazu, seeming to be on the run as well. Sakura growled at this turn of events. Hidan was probably the worse person she could fight, simply because he had no trouble taking hits from her. The only way to defeat Hidan was to dismember him and keep him from somehow getting back together.
Sakura didn't have an jutsu like that. Earth and water didn't make for good dismemberment techniques. The only thing she could think of is explosive tags, but she only had so many of those, and she didn't want to waste them if it wouldn't get the job done. Hidan was a pain in the ass, but he had never been particularly skilled compared to his peers. She was sure he was recruited simply so he could be a meatshield for Kakazu. His taijutsu wasn't bad, and he had gotten a few good hits on Sakura, but she had avoided his scythe thus far.
"Stop running, you cunt!" Hidan yelled as he rushed forward, slashing repeatedly at her with his scythe. She did have to give him credit. That thing must have been heavy, but he swung it around like it was nothing. She retreated once more, cursing as his scythe nicked her arm, drawing a little bit of blood. She wanted to use the Strength of One Hundred seal, but with Tsunade present, she didn't dare.
"Fuck off!" She yelled as she went through seals. Her skin hardened into stone, which would ward off any glancing blows. She wondered what the Zombie duo was doing here. Itachi had let Jiraiya know that he and Honour would be the next to come after one of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Hidan cackled and ingested her blood, preparing to commit to the ritual.
You have to use my chakra here. Kurama said in her mind. She knew it was her only option here. She had trained to use his chakra, and could take the base form of his chakra without losing control now, mostly due to some rough seal work that her Naruto would have shaken his head at, but it still hurt like hell to use, and it left her weak for a few days afterwards. She generally considered it a last resort, only to be used if she was going to die. She unleashed a flurry of blows on Hidan, getting inside of his scythe range to drive him backwards. She heard bone crunch and joints crack as he was sent flying away, but knew he would come after her soon enough.
"Ow! That hurt, you shitty bitch!" Hidan yelled as he tumbled to a halt, standing somewhat slowly as his wounds healed. Sakura braced herself and opened the gate that held Kurama's chakra back, only a crack. Her skin began to burn slightly as her wounds healed. Her canine's elongated and her nails grew longer. Her eyes turned a blood red and the iris changed into a slit. She darted forward at Hidan, who threw his scythe at her. She jumped off to the side, flipping several times, before shooting forward once more. She arrived at Hidan before he could pull his scythe back, and pulled her fist back.
"Stand up from this! SHANNARO!" Her fist connected with Hidan's head so hard that it popped off his shoulders, going tumbling into the tree away from them.
"Fuck, you fucking cunt! That really hurt, you stupid bitch!" Hidan's body collapsed, and Sakura turned to Kakazu, who had retreated fairly far back from Tsunade. Tsunade's Strength of One Hundred seal was active, and she looked like she was going on the offense.
"Hidan, you useless idiot! You lost to a genin!" Kakazu appeared next to Hidan's body.
"Shut up, you useless fuck! She's a god-damned jinchuuriki! You lost to a washed up old hag!" Hidan's head yelled as Kakazu picked it up.
"We have to retreat for now. We finished the mission anyway. Have a parting gift! Katon: Zukokku!" One of Kakazu's mask shot fire out out at Tsunade, who jumped out of the way. Sakura heard a pained scream. Kakazu took the head and body, and disappeared. Sakura sighed and released the Kyuubi's chakra.
"SHIZUNE!" Sakura spun to see Tsunade crouched over Shizune. Sakura ran over to her, crouching to get a damage assessment. Half of Shizune's body was covered in 3rd degree burns, and she was barely breathing. Tsunade was frozen at the glistening mixture of puss and blood oozing out of the cracks in the burns, and Sakura smacked her across the face. Tsunade stumbled backwards, and stared up at Sakura.
"If we don't do something now, Shizune will die! Do you want your lover's neice's death on your conscience because you froze at the sight of blood? Hurry up!" Tsunade nodded, and they proceeded to get to work.
Burns were the worst type of injury to heal. They healed the slowest naturally and never left the person the same. Sakura had treated a lot of burn victims during the war and the pursuit afterward (one didn't fight Uchiha and not come away with burns), so she knew that this would be a long, drawn out process. There was no hospital nearby, so they could only make due with field medicine. Sakura let Tsunade take over the procedure, seeing as Sakura wasn't supposed to be as experienced.
"You have water?" Tsunade grunted, and Sakura pulled out a canteen of purified water from a sealing scroll. They doused the wounds in the water and began to clean off the dead skin and tissue. Sakura began using an IV jutsu to supply Shizune with electrolytes and then injected Shizune with antibiotics.
Tsunade, meanwhile, began to used regeneration to regrow parts of Shizune's skin. Due to Sakura's IV jutsu, which also function as an anasthetic, Shizune felt very little of this process, although she still groaned a little bit. Skin regeneration was some of the most chakra intensive, and Tsunade began to breathe in ragged breaths after several minutes. Shizune was still only about halfway through the procedure.
"Let me take over. Keep the IV up," Sakura told her, and Tsunade nodded, popping a soldier pill and starting her own IV. Sakura let her chakra flow into Shizune. She didn't have as much as Tsunade did at this point, but fortunately for her, the hardest part was over. She continued to regenerate the woman's skin, and noticed as some parts finished, that they were red and splotchy. Not as bad as healing the normal way, but she would never be called a beauty again. Sakura felt awful. It was her fault that Akatsuki had come here.
Finally, Shizune opened an eye, smiling slightly at Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama..." She whispered, and Tsunade wiped away the tears as she smiled back at her apprentice and long-time companion.
"You're going to be alright, Shizune. Thanks to Sakura here." Tsunade turned to Sakura, putting a hand on her shoulder as Sakura sat back, trembling from lack of chakra. "I will take you as my apprentice. You saved Shizune's life. Let's go back to Konoha."
-END-
I was going to add more but I figured this was a good enough stopping point.
There will be at least one more chapter before the finals, maybe two.
Read and Review please.
Next Time
"Your time travel jutsu wasn't a time travel jutsu then." Sakura nodded, amazed at her family's strength and history.
"It seemed that we jumped timelines rather than go back in time. And that's not even the weirdest part." Jiraiya leaned in, interested. "I think I may have a bloodline."