Hiya! I'm back! Here's the new chapter of Memory Escape along with my dearest apologies of the chapter spam incident. Anyways enjoy~!
Now reviews!
*Guest-dere*- Thanks for the advice! Originally, I made her come back at the age of five years old but then I changed it to four years after I drew out the story and the thing about Ino being called a slut... Sorry about that, please excuse my potty mouth I sometimes let it slip whilst I'm writing. I didn't actually mean to paint that type of picture. Well no matter! That has been changed! The reason your review on chapter ten went on chapter nine is probably because of the chapter incident. Sorry, hehehe...
Yes I do realise that in canon Konohamaru's parents are in actuality ANBU but I wanted develop the Nakato clan a little more and I don't think people would be very happy if I added in (another) OC. Konohamaru's parents in canon don't appear at all and don't play any particular special role so all is well! I don't plan to make the Nakato clan a kekkai genkai clan but just a ninja clan (sort of like the Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara clans) with hidden techniques. The only excuse I can really say for Konohamaru not needing to worry about Kiri is that he can never be too safe. Unfortunately I haven't watched Boruto the Movie so I didn't know that fact.
Even though Sakura has perfect chakra control, I think I shouldn't make her too OP... I mean Naruto and Sasuke would get too jealous XD. Also, she needs to hide her skills so that no one can suspect her. I have seen wayyyyy... Too many fics were Sasuke is completely out of character... Confessing his love to Sakura? Too OOC, being a living ice block... My point exactly. Seriously, even Sasuke is human and some fanfiction writers are too bent on making him heartless. I wanted to make him human, not too cold and not too warm but just... Him... Maybe a little warmer because the Uchiha Massacre hasn't happened and he was close to Sakura as a child.
CherryblossomWarrior- Reading your review actually made my day. Thank you so much for spending your precious time on my story. My family's been away for a holiday for a while so I've been pretty lonely but this review makes up for it. Arigatōgozaimasu(◠△◠✿)
havanatitiana- I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Hopefully Sasuke isn't too OOC (◠△◠✿)
BizzyLizy-Completely sorry for any inconvenient, the filler chapter was a pain to insert. I'm glad you liked the last chapter, here's the next one (◠△◠✿)
Just a note,
I'm wondering whether I should end this story after Naruto goes to train with Jiraiya like how the anime ends then write a sequel on what happens during Shippuden or not end the story until I get up to the moment when Sakura was suppose to die. I'll let my reviewers decide.
STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY
The rosette groaned, feeling a heavy pain in her stomach. She lay back down, and gazed at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts. It seemed that the boys had dealt with Haku and Zabuza just fine albeit her sensei lay on the futon beside her unmoving. He was still unconscious, Sakura supposed the events of her previous life had repeated themselves whilst she was knocked out. It must have been bothersome for Naruto and Sasuke to protect both her body and the bridge builder at the same time.
Sakura sighed, she'd once again been a burden to her team members. She shook of the disheartening feeling and gazed blankly at the ceiling.
Inner Sakura had spoken to her in her mindscape, revealing information about the Nakato clan that surely couldn't have been written down anywhere else. It made sense if Mebuki did have an inner like her, the chakra spirit or beast that was released out of the once golden kunai would have taken her mother's life force if it was just pure chakra. It also would explain why Nakato clan members were hunted for their seals. There was no way anybody else could obtain a chakra beast, jinchūriki were live bodies and could fend off many ninja that tried to hunt them. The Nakato inners were much easier to get their hands on albeit the chakra spirit was much weaker than a tailed beast.
That would also mean if she revealed her clan origins to her team, it would be likely if she was hunted as well.
Sakura lifted a hand to her temple and rubbed it soothingly. It was obvious that the world separation subject had altered some things in her universe, she didn't think this clan would exist otherwise.
The rosette felt uneasiness grow in the pit of her stomach, in her current state, she wouldn't be able to help Naruto and Sasuke with their next run in with Haku and Zabuza. Her limbs were still heavy with exhaustion and it wouldn't be wise to use medical chakra after she only just recovered from chakra depletion. The closest thing to healing herself without exhausting her chakra was just to release a few chakra channels of stress and built-up tenseness, allowing her body to sink further into the futon in relaxation.
The jounin on the futon beside her shifted but otherwise remained asleep.
Sometimes Sakura wished that she had automatic chakra regeneration like Sasuke's Indra Chakra or an unlimited amount of chakra like Naruto's Kyūbi but she was only just Sakura Haruno with her only specialty of medical ninjutsu.
The door creaked open as light flooded into the room, Sakura feigned sleep as the person walked in. From their chakra signature, she could tell it was Sasuke with Naruto following close behind. The door softly shut behind them as they walked over to their sensei's futon.
"Are you awake, sensei?"
"Aa," The older man gave a groggy response as he shifted in the bed.
So Kakashi-sensei had been awake afterall.
Sakura couldn't see through the darkness under her heavy eyelids but she presumed the silver-haired jounin was deep in thought, "What's wrong sensei dattebayo?"
"Oh.. About what I was talking about before," The covers of the futon shifted ever so slightly, "Pursuing ninja are suppose to eliminate the corpse on the spot,"
Sakura sighed internally, she might have been able to stop Haku and Zabuza if she'd been conscious at the time. She debated whether it would've been a good idea or not, if the two wanted ninja were caught, Naruto would've never gained appreciation he desperately needed but this time around if she was too weak to help her team things may very well turn out differently. Her hand balled up into a fist as she clenched the sheets.
"The boy with the mask took away Zabuza instead of eliminating him," Sasuke said with horror and realisation.
"Also, the weapon that the boy used to kill Zabuza is questionable," Kakashi stated.
"A long needle, a senbon..." Sasuke paused before murmuring in a lower voice, "Could it be...?"
Another two people walked into the room, however, one didn't even try to mute their footsteps. Sakura presumed it was Tazuna and his daughter, Tsunami, "What are you guys talking about?" He asked loudly.
"Lower your voice, my favorite little genin needs her rest," The rosette blushed but she found no reason to continue her act. She groaned and flipped over, alerting everyone that she was awake.
Groggily, the rosette pushed herself up and ran her hand through her disheveled bubblegum locks. The jounin shot her a quick side glance before continuing, "Zabuza is still alive,"
"WHAT?!"
"W-What.." The blonde stuttered nervously, "What does that mean? Dattebayo?! You confirmed he was dead!"
Kakashi let out a breathy sigh, "I did confirm it,"
Sasuke gave him a questioning look.
"But he was most likely merely in a near-death state," His face hardened grimly, "The weapon that the pursuing ninja used has a low fatality rate unless it hits a critical spot,"
"Senbon... Right?" Both the jounin and her raven haired teammate glanced at her curiously. Internally, she berated herself for letting information slip. She wasn't suppose to know anything, afterall she was unconscious during the fight.
Luckily, Sakura wasn't too bad at lying, "I read something in one of the scrolls Ino kept in her room, it mainly had information about medical procedures, one of the main reasons I read through it."
Kakashi gave her a brisk nod, urging her to continue, "Senbon are mostly used in acupuncture healing and such. The pursuing ninja you were talking about has knowledge on the structure of the human body, it'd only be sensible that it'd be easy for them to put someone in a near-death state," Sakura pointed.
"The boy didn't kill Zabuza, he helped him," The albino informed.
Tazuna twitched and fidgeted with his two pointer fingers nervously, much like the Hyuga heiress back in Konoha, "Maybe you're thinking too much,"
"It's our job to," Sasuke cut in.
Kakashi nodded in confirmation, "Ninja must be prepared for the worst before it's too late,"
From the corner of her eye, she could see the grin spreading across Naruto's face. Sakura faintly smiled, she'd forgotten how reckless the blonde had been as a genin. Back in her timeline, he'd adopted a more cautious approach to fights and battles.
Kakashi turned to her, slightly cringing from the pain in his abdomen, "I'll inform you about what happened while you were unconscious," He gave a side glance to Naruto and Sasuke, "I'm going to make you two go through some training,"
Sakura ignored the numb feeling washing over her legs as she hoisted herself up, Naruto was beside her almost instantly, worrying about his friend's well-being. She gave a sheepish smile and leaned her weight on the blonde's shoulder.
"I'm going too,"
Kakashi shook his head, "You need all the rest you can get for when we meet up with Zabuza again,"
Sakura frowned, "There's no point in letting me join the fight if I can't do anything to help,"
The jounin hesitated before sighing and withdrawing. The rosette missed the slight crinkle in his mask as she turned away to join Sasuke who had already left the house. His genin were growing up fast. He lowered back into futon, watching the faint silhouettes of his students leaving Tazuna's house and into a nearby forest.
Tazuna's daughter crouched beside him, "Kakashi-san," She paused, "How are you going to prepare before it's too late? You can't move for a while..."
He just chuckled, "Do you have crutches?"
Tsunami blinked before hoisting herself up. A loud bang of a slamming door sounded, Kakashi raised an eyebrow as a small boy came storming in, "Stupid ninjas, they're going to die," He mumbled.
"Inari! Where were you?" Tazuna exclaimed as the boy known as 'Inari inched closer to Tazuna.
Inari clenched his fists tightly, "Did those ninja escort you home? Ojī-Chan?"
Tazuna blinked questionably.
"Kaa-chan, they're going to die," Inari paused, "There's no way a person can win by going against Gatō,"
"Inari!" Tsunami hushed, "Don't say things like that!"
The boy paid no heed to his mother's words, ignoring the stares from his mother, grandpa and guest, "Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked.
"Ocean," He replied shortly as he gazed back at his grandpa, "I'll go watch the ocean,"
The tension in the room was thick, Tazuna gazed around to Kakashi, "Sorry about that,"
OoOoOoOoOoO
"We will now begin the training," The albino limped lamely to his students.
"Roger!" Naruto praised enthusiastically, Sakura rolled her eyes but smiled.
"But before that," Kakashi raised a finger, "Let me once again talk about chakra, the base for the ability as a ninja,"
Sasuke sniffed imperiously, "At a time like this?"
The rosette elbowed him in the side and gave him a short glare which the raven-haired adolescence gladly returned. The jounin cleared his throat, gaining his students' attention once again.
"Chakra is energy that a ninja needs to utilize a technique," He paused, "That energy comes from the body energy that is collected from every cell in the body and from the spirit energy that comes from training and experience"
"In other words," Naruto cut in, "It's the blue stuff that came out from Sakura's body when she did that jutsu to run fast at the two ninja,"
Kakashi sighed, "Iruka-Sensei was blessed with a brilliant student, I see," He retorted sarcastically.
The blonde scratched the back of head sheepishly, passing a blinding grin to his teammates, "Aw, shucks... Arigatō Kakashi-Sensei!"
"Idiot," Sasuke mumbled as he shook his head.
The rosette lifted a hand to her face, her teammates watched the blonde in dissatisfaction with his answer. Sakura hand fell limply to her side as she stepped forward.
"Listen up Naruto," She cut into his mirth, "When I used my chakra to dash, it wasn't a jutsu. Chakra dashing is a technique that requires near perfect chakra control and a good sense of chakra manipulation. Although chakra dashing shouldn't be used too recklessly unless you want chakra depletion," Sakura didn't point out the fact that she'd fallen from using the technique.
Naruto nodded in anticipation, "Oo... I see!"
"Anyway..." Kakashi rolled his eyes, "You guys aren't able to use your chakra completely,"
"And how do we...?" The Uchiha trailed off.
"Molding chakra means to extract energy from both the body and the spirit, then mixing them up in your body, and the amount of energy will differ from the type of technique you wish to execute," Kakashi turned to Sakura.
"For example..." He flared up his chakra in his feet, "Chakra dashing is a low level technique although it does require heavy concentration and near perfect chakra control like Sakura said. Chakra dashing doesn't use up a huge amount of chakra but shouldn't be used a number of times,"
"Other techniques will differ in the amount of chakra used to execute it," Kakashi included, "All techniques require one that is able to form a seal," He quickly added.
"What's with that?" Naruto interrupted loudly, "You can just learn that with your body even if you don't understand the hard stuff dattebayo!"
The albino's lone eye glared briefly, "You are not able to use your Chakra effectively, even if you're able to mold a large amount of Chakra... If you cannot control the balance, your technique will only be half as effective or not executed at all,"
Naruto stiffened as the jounin continued, "Wasting energy will create a weakness of not being able to fight for a long time,"
The blonde glanced at his two teammates, worried how his skills might affect them, "So what should I do?" He nervously chuckled in an attempt to hide his anxiety.
Sakura looked over to Sasuke. This was when they'd learn chakra control, the only difference was that Kakashi had already seen her perfect chakra control in action when she fought with the demon brothers. The rosette couldn't help but worry what kind of training he'd put her in instead.
"You're going to learn how to control it with your body, you must go through rigorous training where you put your life on the line," Sakura rolled her eyes, her sensei was exaggerating yet Sasuke and Naruto looked more frightened (In Sasuke's case, serious) than she'd ever seen them in this timeline.
"So... What are we going to do?" The rosette asked.
She waited for it...
Kakashi lifted a finger over his mask, "Climb a tree,"
His three students faceplanted.
"That's right! But it's no ordinary tree climbing. You're going to climb without using your hands,"
Sasuke gave his sensei a strange look, "And how do we do that?" He asked skeptically.
The jounin gave a disheveled sigh, most likely at how long it had taken to just explain chakra, "Just watch,"
He clasped his hand over his index and middle finger, forming the ram seal. He hobbled over to the tree, lifting one foot onto the rough bark and slowly limping up the trunk of the tree. He watched as looks of amazement (Naruto), skepticism (Sasuke) and plain boredom (Sakura) etched on his student's faces. He had expected the latter's reaction, she had afterall performed a chakra dash.
"He's climbing..." Naruto started.
"Vertically with just his legs..." Sasuke's left eye twitched.
Kakashi hung beneath a horizontal branch, ignoring the fact that his crutches had no chakra system but still evaded the laws of gravity, "This is how," He called out.
"Gather your chakra at the bottom of your feet and make it attach to the tree trunk, something like this is possible if you use chakra,"
"I don't get it!" The blonde yelled irritably, "How can we become strong by just doing that dattebayo!?"
"Now we get to the main topic," Sakura could tell by the tone in his voice that her sensei was clearly getting impatient, "The main purpose of this training is to accumulate the right amount of molded chakra in the right location. This is difficult even for a well-trained ninja,"
"The amount of chakra used for this tree climbing exercise is quite subtle and the most difficult place to concentrate chakra is said to be behind the feet. In other words, if you're able to master this you can learn any kind of technique," Kakashi continued before adding, "In theory, that is,"
Naruto shuffled his feet anxiously, Sakura shifted her attention. It was clear that the blonde wanted to start the exercise already.
"The second purpose..." The albino held up two fingers, "... Is to maintain that molded chakra. Most of the time, ninja mold their chakra during battle. In that situation..." The rosette blanked out, she'd remembered the first time and knew that she didn't need to listen a second. She only blinked back to reality when two kunai were flung in front of Sasuke and Naruto, the third kunai clearly missing from in front of her.
"Sasuke, Naruto... Use that knife to mark where you are able to climb up to with your current ability. Then try and make a new mark above that mark. You guys aren't good enough to climb by walking, so run to give yourself a boost and get used to it,"
"Got it?" He called. Naruto and Sasuke nodded. The albino turned to Sakura.
"I've already seen your abilities with chakra control when you were fighting the demon brothers. I'll give you a different exercise to master,"
The rosette nodded as Kakashi hobbled down the tree next to her. He placed a hand under his chin before looking down at her.
"Let's try..." He paused, "Water walking,"
Sakura gulped, with the limited abilities she had now, she wasn't sure if she could stay completely dry.
Yeah... Sorry everyone. This chapter is a little uneventful. Just to be clear, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke met Inari when they left Tazuna's house a little before Kakashi did. I'm deciding whether I should split up the next chapter and end the Land of the Waves arc on chapter sixteen or not split it and end on chapter fifteen. I'm going to skip the rest of training which means that no one is going to see Sakura fail at water walking XD. Anyways...
Ja Ne!
-LucidClockwork