Please note here that I have no idea when the Nidaime had actually died, so I'm just going by my imagination here. Anyway, thanks to Dumti for his/her ideas for this chapter!

Warnings: Slight Konoha bashing. Dark fic. Violence. Blood. Gory scenes. Possible lemon

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me

Chapter Fourteen: Back to the Past

Konohagakure no sato (Future)
Fire Country

Three heads were currently huddled around a series of seals drawn in ink on the ground of some cavern in Fire Country, with a large number of lit candles around them, casting several shadows on the walls of the cavern.

"Are you certain that this will work, Shikamaru?" Haruno Sakura asked for what seemed to be the umpteenth time that night, as the only brunette among the three was busy checking and re-checking the numerous complicated-looking seals drawn with ink on the ground.

Nara Shikamaru almost groaned, being huddled on his hands and knees at some seal, with a brush in one hand, and a notebook in the other. The lazy genius finally looked up from his work, and half-glared at the pink haired kunoichi whilst Hyuuga Neji tried to hide an amused grin behind Sakura.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered before giving a half-glare, half exasperated look at his old friend's teammate. "Like what I've been saying for the past three months or so ever since we've first started setting this up, I'm only going by Sayo's sealing notes for this! And might I remind you that she is currently Konoha's only living seal expert after Jiraiya-sama had passed away, having attained her seal mastery at the tender age of 15? I studied seals under Jiraiya-sama alongside her, and I know her skill level in sealing. I'm not as skilled as her, but I'm still competent enough to perform forbidden seals. And time travel seals have a level of risk attached to it, so I'm not sure if it will work or not. And no, I have no idea just how far back that it will take us as well, assuming that the seal will work." Shikamaru interrupted, seeing Sakura about to open her mouth.

"Well, it is Sayo's notes," said Neji after a long silence. "So there is a high chance that it might work. But the question here is whether it will allow us to find Sayo in the first place."

"We have to," said Sakura with insistence, her bottom lip trembling with emotion. "I…can't lose her too. I've already lost Sasuke. I can't lose my last remaining teammate as well. We have to find her."

"Naturally, I want to find Sayo too, Sakura," said Neji patiently. "But once we've found her, then what? You heard what Tsunade-sama had said all those months ago when Sayo had collapsed the entire council meeting room on the heads of Danzo and those two elders. She has some unknown doujutsu. Then the photo that you'd found. She might be different from the Sayo that you knew once we've found her."

"We'll worry about it once we find her," said Sakura with insistence, and before Neji can say anything to that, a shout from Shikamaru caught their attention.

"Okay! We're all set here," said the usual lazy genius, tucking the brush behind his ear and scanning his eyes over the notebook in his hand that contained all of Sayo's sealing notes. "I did triple checking for every single seal drawn here, and I've already tried my best to follow accordingly to Sayo's sealing notes. So I guess that we're all set here." Shikamaru didn't sound too confident of himself for a moment, and Neji feared for his life for a second.

He knew, like how the other two with him knew, that seals can be extremely tricky and dangerous if not done correctly. If a seal is drawn wrong, it can turn the user inside out – that is how dangerous it can be. That is the reason why most ninjas never learnt anything about seals beyond the standard item sealing that all ninjas above chuunin rank learnt.

That is why there are so few seal masters in the world. Jiraiya of the Sannin is one of the most renowned, and after his death, he had passed all his teachings down to his sole remaining student, and Namikaze Sayo soon became Konoha's only living expert after her teacher's death.

"Well, let's take a gamble here then," said Sakura with a sigh, having heard that unconfident tinge in Shikamaru's voice as well. "Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Alright, get into the middle of that large sealing circle," he commanded, pointing to the largest seal circle in the middle of the cavern which is shaped like that of a six pointed star with several seal writings and kanji words written on it.

Sakura and Neji did so before watching Shikamaru get into the sealing circle as well before the lazy genius placed the notebook in between his lips, and he then formed a series of unfamiliar hand seals slowly – almost like he wasn't used to it, before Shikamaru then brought both of his hands together with a loud clap.

"Forbidden Art: Time Transportation." Shikamaru managed to mumble through the notebook currently in his mouth.

With a bright flash of light, the three then disappeared from the cavern.

XXXXXX

Ichiraku Ramen
Konohagakure no sato

Hatake Sakumo slurped his bowl of ramen up slowly in the Ichiraku stand, ignoring the fact that the ramen stand owner and his girlfriend were both trying to catch a glimpse of his face, but failed.

He and his team have just returned to the village an hour ago, and he had also submitted his mission report to the Hokage, though he had omitted the fact that that Sayo girl had assisted his team with their mission. The White Fang then glanced at the scroll in his pocket.

During one of the breaks that he and his team had taken on their way back to the village, Sakumo had attempted the summoning scroll that Sayo had given him. And Sakumo had then realized that she most definitely wasn't kidding when she said that her summon wolves were kind of picky over who gets to summon them. To make a long story short, Sakumo didn't manage to make it through their test, but the wolf that had tested him – Tsuki or something – had kindly given him the wolf contract of one of their cousins – ordinary wolf summons, but also relatively powerful in their own right.

"Sakumo!" A loud and boisterous voice rang in his ears just then, and Sakumo glanced up only to see Jiraiya of the Sannin sitting down in the seat next to him, ordering a cup of tea from the ramen stand owner. "Glad to see that you're alright."

"Jiraiya." Sakumo nodded to Jiraiya, surprised to see the spymaster in the village on that day, as with the Third Great Shinobi War well underway, Jiraiya was often out of the village to collect information and intelligence on their enemies for the village.

"I've heard from Orochimaru and Danzo about your mission." Jiraiya explained as a cup of tea was placed in front of him, and Sakumo nodded. "Orochimaru told me that Sarutobi-sensei was burning incense to the gods, thanking them that he had listened to Danzo's insistence to have a medic-nin go along with your squad, or we'll be seeing your entire squad back in body bags. Though I think that Orochi is exaggerating as always."

Sakumo's lips twitched into a smile. He knew that Orochimaru and Jiraiya were best friends ever since they were in the Academy as small children, and have been genin teammates even after that. The two shared a healthy rivalry, and had a brother-like relationship similar to what he and Namikaze Minato had shared, even though the young man is five years Sakumo's junior.

"That reminds me. Jiraiya." Sakumo turned towards Jiraiya who is blowing gently onto the contents of his tea to cool it down. "Do you know anyone by the name of 'Sayo'?"

Jiraiya turned towards Sakumo with a raised brow. "Excuse me?" he questioned, confused, before lifting the cup to his lips.

"It wasn't in the report that I've submitted to Hokage-sama, but my squad ran into some problems during our mission. We received some unexpected help from some girl, but in exchange for her help, we are not to let Hokage-sama or the village know about her." Sakumo explained, and Jiraiya nodded, still with a quirked brow. "Before this Sayo left, she said something. She said, and I quote, 'when you see Jiraiya, tell him one thing. Tell him that Sayo-sensei sends her regards', end quote."

Jiraiya choked on his tea the moment that Sakumo had said 'Sayo-sensei', and he coughed and hacked at his chest, trying to make his tea go down the right way. Finally, the Sannin turned towards Sakumo with wide fish-like eyes, shock and disbelief written in them. "Sayo-sensei?" Jiraiya almost demanded, and this took Sakumo aback.

"Uh… Yeah?" Sakumo said uneasily. "What's wrong?"

Jiraiya didn't answer for several moments, still with disbelief written all over his face. Finally, the Toad Sannin found his voice. "Did this Sayo have red hair? Did she have eyes the colour of the sky? Is she a seal mistress? Does she summon wolves? And are those wolves silver wolves?" Jiraiya almost stumbled over his own words; he was speaking so fast that his words came out rather like a torrent.

"Uh… Yeah?"

Jiraiya's eyes went wider as Sakumo said that. "It can't be…" he muttered. "Sensei…"

"Do you know her, Jiraiya?" asked Sakumo in confusion. "Who is she?"

"If it is the same Sayo that I knew, Sakumo, then you should know of her too," said Jiraiya solemnly. "The legendary kunoichi who had evolved seal teaching to what it was today, and the founder of the ANBU corps in Konoha as well as the developer of the current ninja training system that nearly every village in the world uses today, and also the developer of the security system of Konoha that no shinobi has been able to penetrate even today." Jiraiya smiled a grim smile at Sakumo's gob-smacked expression. "The legendary kunoichi, Uchiha Sayo!"

Before Sakumo can say anything to that, some ANBU appeared behind them just then, and the two shinobis turned to face the ANBU messenger.

"My apologies. But we have a disturbance in the Senju Forest towards the southern side of Konoha. As Nidaime-sama isn't available currently, and Sandaime Hokage-sama is in a meeting with the war council, Hokage-sama had asked for Jiraiya-sama and Hatake-sempai to investigate the cause."

Jiraiya frowned before nodding. "Understood."

XXXXXX

Tsukigakure no sato
Moon Country

The wind blew strongly through the village of Tsukigakure, with several loose leaves flying about.

Uchiha Sayo who had just returned from the Earth Country to the Moon Country via her version of transportation (portal travelling), looked at the village from the rooftop of the house of the Tsukikage which is the building with the highest roof, second only to the Tsukikage Tower.

When they have first started building the village, Madara had insisted that he doesn't need a tower, and that he is alright with working from his own house, but the people wouldn't listen to a single thing that he had said, and as such, majority wins. And as such, the Tsukikage Tower was constructed, being located in one of the central points of the village.

Outposts were placed at each entrance of the village to look out for enemies, though they don't really need it, as no one can get to Tsukigakure unless they're one of their shinobis, or unless it is on the night of the new moon that is the only day that their village can be seen in Moon Country.

Sayo tightened her arms around herself, though whether it is due to the cold winds or the chill that she is feeling, she has no idea. The redhead looked towards the direction of Fire Country, and she narrowed her eyes. Neither she nor Madara have heard or came into contact with Konoha ever since their departure about thirty years ago, and her mission to Earth Country earlier to get a further insight into the situation revolving around the current war is the first time in about three decades when she had word of Konoha again.

And it brings back bad memories for her, especially on the night when Senju Hashirama had violated her.

It had already been thirty years or so, but Sayo still can't bring herself to forget it. And to make matters worse, she had photographic memory which explains how she can remember every single seal that she had ever seen or studied, and could draw them from memory alone without referring to her notes. And speaking about Konoha, Sayo wondered for a moment how Haru, Danzo, Orochimaru, Jiraiya as well as Tobirama are getting on, and if they are well.

Sayo shivered as a sudden cold wind blew past her, and she then turned to head back inside the warm interior of her house. Madara wasn't back yet, probably still hard at work in the Tsukikage Tower. One thing of difference in Tsukigakure is that the Tsukikage only handles the important stuff. The smaller decisions were made by the Moon Council that consists of the shinobi clan heads, the head doctor of the hospital, the Academy head teacher, the commander of MOON (the equivalent of ANBU in Konoha) that is Sayo herself, the head merchant of the village and the commander of the oinin (hunter-nin) division in MOON.

The MOON commander, the Oinin commander, the head jounin, and the trainer for new MOON recruits also did a routine check on all members of the council every four months. Usually, the head tactician of the village would be included in the list as well, but Sayo is handling both the positions of head tactician as well as MOON commander. The routine check is to prevent corruption from taking root in the village. Not that Sayo believe that it will happen, but you never know.

Sayo sighed as she headed towards the kitchen to brew a cup of hot tea for herself to warm herself up. The fresh aroma of the lavender scented tea reached her nostrils as she took a sip of the tea, walking towards the window of the kitchen to look at the garden, admiring the full moon in the sky.

There is always a full moon every night in the sky in Moon Country that gives them their name, apart for the new moon night that is the only day that their village could be seen and located in Moon Country. Sayo then sighed to herself when she thought of Seina who is currently lying comatose in the hospital after the village was completed, with no one knowing just when she would wake up as well, and Madara already had the best medics of the village working on it.

One thing that Sayo liked about the village is that unlike Konoha, Tsukigakure does not worship bloodline wielders like they are gods, and neither do they discriminate against those who are different. Everyone in the village knew about their 'immortality' situation, but no one cared, as to them, Madara and Sayo have been the ones to give them a second chance at life.

Sayo nearly jumped, and she almost dropped her cup of tea when she felt a pair of arms encircle around her waist from behind. She then turned only to relax when she realized that it's Madara. Had she really been engrossed in her thoughts that long?

"Hey," said Sayo with a smile, placing her cup onto the nearby kitchen counter next to where she is standing without stepping out of Madara's embrace. "You're late today."

"My apologies." Madara apologized, a slight smirk tugging at the ends of his lips. "We have some intelligence about the ongoing war between Konoha, Iwa, Suna and Kumo. I was in meetings all day with the council today."

Unlike most kages, Madara don't wear the kage robes. Instead, he wore the usual jounin uniform, only with a black cape with silver flame patterns adorning the ends of it, with the kanji words for 'Tsukikage' written on the back.

The cape had been something that Sayo had made for Madara herself when the village was first established as a present of some sort, and the man had loved that present so much that he was never seen going out without it on at all. Fortunately for him, Sayo had placed a seal on the cape to ensure that it would never get worn-out, and neither would the colour fade even with years of use.

"I ran into some Leaf-nins today." Sayo muttered, resting her forehead against Madara's chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. "It sure brings back some bad memories. I hate this."

"Me too." Madara uttered in her ear, licking at her earlobe. "But we still have to wait until we can come out into the open. We still have to wait."

"Yeah." Sayo whispered, still resting her forehead against Madara's chest.

Madara then tilted her chin upwards so that she is looking straight into his eyes, and Sayo's eyes widened a slight faction when Madara pressed his lips against hers, pushing her backwards so that her back hit the wall, wrapping one powerful arm around her waist, with the other tangled in her hair.

"You're sure passionate today." Sayo gasped as Madara plunged his tongue into her mouth and began kissing her passionately and forcefully, exploring the cavern of her mouth with his tongue, tugging her head backwards slightly to allow him to have more access to her throat.

"My apologies." Madara whispered against her lips as his kisses increased in intensity, attacking her throat next, sucking on the tender skin. "I need some stress release. Everything has been so hectic lately."

Sayo could have sighed when she heard the words 'stress release'.

Life for a ninja is pretty stressful, and most of them need stress relief. One of the most common routines for stress reliever is sex. Lots and lots of sex. That is probably the reason why most kunoichis became mothers so young these days, when back during the time of the shinobi clan wars, the youngest kunoichi to ever get pregnant was eighteen.

"Well, aren't you impatient today?" Sayo whispered with a smirk tugging at the ends of her lips as her arms trailed up Madara's body, and around his neck.

"You know you want it too." Madara smirked against her throat as one hand reached down and began tugging at the belt that held together the kimono that Sayo was wearing. They both then pulled apart before staring at each other for several moments before Madara led Sayo to their bedroom, and the door closed shut behind them.

XXXXXX

Senju Forest
Fire Country

"Itai!" Sakura almost groaned, holding onto her head that made her feel like her head is about to be split open. "Did the seal work?"

"Seems to be," said Neji with a slight groan, looking around him. He then frowned to himself. 'Strange… This is the forest around Konoha if I'm not wrong, but it seems a little different.'

"Heads up, guys," said Shikamaru suddenly. He then sighed. "We're about to have company."

"Huh?"

The next moment, both Sakura and Neji soon saw what he had meant when nearly three full squads of ANBU surrounded them, all with ferocious looking weapons in their hands. Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," he whined. "Fine, we understand already." He complained, raising both his hands so that the ANBUs could see that they're free of weapons, and Sakura and Neji followed suit. "We'll come with you peacefully."

It didn't seem to take the three too long before they're being marched into the village by the ANBU squads, with everyone watching with curiosity. Shikamaru who is the most observant of the three took in everything that he could see, even the heads on the Hokage monument, and he could have groaned when he saw only three heads on it instead of the usual five, realizing what is going on now.

"I know where we are now." Shikamaru whispered to Sakura and Neji. "I…kind of messed up the seal, I think. We're twenty years in the past."

XXXXXX

Interrogation and Torture Department
Konohagakure no sato

"Strange 'visitors'?" Senju Tobirama frowned as the current head of the T&I department escorted him through the hallways. "Couldn't you have handled it on your own? I handed over the mantle completely when I've decided to make Hizuren the Hokage."

That is true, in a way.

After Hashirama's demise at Madara's hands, Tobirama had became the Nidaime Hokage, and the first thing that he did as Hokage is to declare that anyone else who even tried laying a hand on any Uchiha will be thrown into jail for at least ten years. Unlike Hashirama who much preferred using the 'soft methods' to handle things, Tobirama believes more in the harsher methods, another reason why Shimura Danzo and Orochimaru, two of Sayo's students, have so much respect for him, with another reason being that Sayo had told them both once that if anything ever happens to either of them, they can trust Tobirama. Uchiha Haruki, Sayo and Madara's nephew, had said the same thing as well.

Then about a decade ago during the Second Great Ninja War, give or take a few years, Tobirama had gone on a mission personally with Sarutobi Hizuren, Shimura Danzo, an Akimichi, and another unknown ninja. Complications had aroused, and Tobirama would have died when he had decided to play bait had it not been for the fact that Sayo had taught him a few seals that he had used on that fateful day to save his life. He had then handed over the mantle of Hokage to Hizuren whilst he became an advisor of sorts to his old student.

"My apologies, Tobirama-sama." Yamanaka Terue, the current Yamanaka clan head, and also the head of ANBU T&I apologized. "But our guards detected a disturbance in the Senju Forest, and they found those three there who came without so much as a fight. I would have asked Hokage-sama to come, but he's currently in a meeting with the war council. Thus, I have to call you in instead."

Tobirama sighed. "Fine. I understand the circumstances," he muttered. "I'll handle this. Be on your way."

"Yes sir," said Yamanaka Terue as they stopped in front of a metallic door with the plaque 'Interrogation Room Four' written on it. "I'll leave you to it." He then bowed and left.

Senju Tobirama sighed, and was about to open the door when an angry voice reached his ears through the door.

"What do you mean by 'you've messed up the seal, and now, we can't return', Shikamaru?" said a shrill angry female voice.

Tobirama raised an eyebrow in interest. 'Shikamaru?' he thought.

"Exactly what it sounds like, Sakura," grumbled a male voice. "And I did say that I'm not certain if the seal can work, didn't I? And it isn't a complete failure. We did end up going back, didn't we?"

"Yes, to twenty years in the past! Right in the middle of the Third Great Shinobi War!" said Sakura shrilly, and Tobirama raised a curious eyebrow. He knew that seals can do almost anything, even travelling back in time, as Sayo had told him once, only that those seals are classified under 'forbidden', as it carries a high risk level to the user. "Didn't you say that you'll send us back six years?"

"But more importantly, how do we get ourselves out of the mess that we are in?" Another male voice asked. "And is Sayo even here in the first place?"

'Sayo?' Tobirama thought.

He then chose to enter the room at this moment, and the three occupants in the room turned towards him immediately. Because they have surrendered peacefully, the ANBU have merely stripped them of their weapons and left them in this room without tying them up. Even Konoha has regulations when it comes to prisoners.

"Good evening," said Tobirama with a smile on his face, closing the door behind him.

"N-Nidaime-sama?" The pink haired girl uttered weakly, and Tobirama raised an eyebrow.

"While I would like to ask who you three are, I heard some parts of your conversation earlier," he said. "Is this 'Sayo' that you've mentioned…Uchiha Sayo?"

The eyes of all three lit up. "Do you know her?" asked the girl excitedly.

Tobirama raised an eyebrow. "I'll ask the questions here," he said briskly. "For starters, who are you, and how did you get here? I heard something about time travel earlier. Is that true?"

The three teens shifted on their feet uneasily, and Tobirama sighed. "Your names?" he asked.

"Haruno Sakura." Sakura muttered.

"Nara Shikamaru."

"Hyuuga Neji."

"As you probably already knew, I'm Senju Tobirama," said Tobirama. "You can just call me Tobirama or something. I don't like formalities all that much, and I'm no longer the Hokage anyway." The three teens nodded. "I've heard about time travel seals from a friend of mine." He explained. "She's a seal mistress, and the very first one in the shinobi world, one who had evolved sealing studies to what it was today. She told me once that time travel seals are one of her more focused seal studies back then, and no matter what method you use, when you travel through time, you have to give up something in exchange. Most of the time, it is your own identity of whoever you used to be in your original timeline. The same soul can't exist twice in the same plane after all. If the person who had attempted the time travel seal do not do that, they will then cease to exist."

Shikamaru nodded. "Sayo said the same thing once," he mumbled, and Tobirama frowned.

"Yeah, I've heard you mention that name before," he said, and all three teens looked up. "There is only one Sayo that I knew of. I'm not sure if it is the same person you are talking about, but—"

"Is this her?" Sakura interrupted, pulling out a semi-crumpled photograph from within her pocket, and showing it to Tobirama who took it with a raised brow.

The photograph was slightly crumpled, and there were seven people in that photo that seems to be taken outside the Hokage Tower. Three were of the three teens currently in front of him. One seems to be his grandniece who is currently in the hospital tending to her fiancée after a medic-nin had kept Namikaze Dan's body in stasis in a special sealing scroll, transporting him back to Konoha in order for medic-nins to work their magic.

That had been another contribution by Sayo, and why Tobirama had insisted that the Academy learn about her despite her later status as one of Konoha's first 'traitors'. For obvious reasons, he can't possibly tell the public about the reason which led to Madara and Sayo leaving Konoha. Uchiha Haruki, Sayo and Madara's nephew, had actually cornered him a week after their departure, and he had no choice but to tell him everything that he knew, and boy! That was the first time that he had ever seen Uchiha Haruki so pissed off! The Uchiha clan head had then proved to be just as ruthless and hardened as his uncle, maybe even more, that not even the Hyuuga clan dared to piss the young clan head off.

Though Tobirama thinks that Danzo and Orochimaru might have known the reason to their teacher's departure, as he had heard from Tsunade that the two have nearly broken down the doors of the Uchiha clan compound after Sayo's departure, and nearly ten Uchihas landed in the hospital before Uchiha Haruki had stopped his clansmen, and had invited the two into his house.

The two have changed after that, both seemingly having a great grudge against Konoha, particularly Danzo, and even Orochimaru seemed to be silently angry at just about everything after that. They only ever spoke to Haruki, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and a few others after that, with him in the list. Though no one can deny that the two were excellent strategists, especially Orochimaru who had only been five at that time, both having learnt what they could from their teacher, the legendary tactician who had brought Konoha victory after victory during the wars.

The silver haired man in the photo seems almost like a grown-up version of Hatake Sakumo's seven-year-old son, Hatake Kakashi. And the last man in the picture was wearing a faceplate with dark brown hair, probably only a little younger than Kakashi in the picture.

And the last person in the photo was of a face that Tobirama remembered, and his breath was nearly caught in his throat. 'Sayo…'

"I see," said Tobirama as he handed the photo back to Sakura. "So she's a time traveler too."

"We came to find her," said Neji, exchanging looks with his friends. "Some things happened back home, and we wanted to listen to what Sayo have to say, and also to find her. She's…our friend, after all. The only one that had given us hope. That's why…"

"How do you know Sayo, Tobirama-sama?" asked Sakura curiously.

Tobirama sighed. "She's one of my best friends," he explained. "We fought together during the time of the shinobi clan wars, and she is also one of the founders of the village. Apparently, she has a case of amnesia as well. But some things happened about thirty years back, and she…left, alongside Madara-san, her husband."

All three teens blinked. "HUSBAND?"

"Yeah," said Tobirama with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I would normally not tell anyone things like that, but since you are her friends, I see no harm in telling you, but this information does not leaves this room." All three teens nodded. "The reason why Madara-san and Sayo left thirty years ago was because…" Tobirama struggled with his words. "…my brother…violated Sayo."

The eyes of all three teens widened in horror and shock.

Tobirama sighed. "If you really want to know more about Sayo, then I'll suggest that you talk to Shimura Danzo, the head of the ANBU Roots, an organization that both Sayo and Madara-san had founded, alongside the normal ANBU corps. He is her student, after all. I would have asked you to talk to Uchiha Haruki, their nephew, but he's dead. He died in the Second Great Ninja War. You can talk to Haru-kun's son to see if he knows anything though. I'll arrange with Hizuren to have you three enlisted as Konoha ninjas, but we need different names for Neji-kun and Shikamaru-kun, for obvious reasons. Sakura-san is alright, as I hadn't heard of a Haruno clan in Konoha."

Sakura nodded.

Her family had only moved to Konoha right after the Kyuubi attack, and even then, they were a clan of merchants; civilians. She is the first ninja in their family, and that is why her parents have been so hesitant in the beginning to allow her to be a ninja, especially after Pein's attack had almost decimated the entire village.

"Shikamaru, I'll change your hair," said Sakura, standing up, and Tobirama handed her a kunai silently. "You still look too much like a Nara, that even if you say you aren't one, no one will believe you."

Shikamaru grumbled before loosening his hair out of his ponytail. "If you make me look like an idiot, I'll shave you bald, Sakura," he warned as Sakura began cutting his hair, as brunette locks began falling to the ground.

"Don't worry," said Sakura cheerfully as she began to work on his hair. Ten minutes later, she was done, and Sakura stepped back to admire her handiwork. "There! All done!"

Neji whistled in low appreciation as he eyed Shikamaru. "Damn! Sakura, you could be a hairstylist if you ever decide to quit being a ninja," he commented. Sakura had turned Shikamaru's hair in a type of Mohawk hairstyle which kind of suits Shikamaru.

"Sorry, I like being a medic-nin," said Sakura with a grin, returning the kunai to Tobirama.

"Names?" Tobirama coughed in amusement, watching Shikamaru finger his hair with some displeasure on his face.

Neji thought for a moment before answering. "Hibiki Neji," he said.

"Kaiga Shikamaru." Shikamaru grunted. "It was the alias that I'd used during an infiltration mission that I did in the past." He answered the unasked question.

"Hanesawa Sakura." Sakura answered. "It won't complicate matters afterwards once my clan comes to Konoha." She explained.

"Very well," said Tobirama with a nod. "I'll get some of the jounins to test your skill level later. As for Neji-kun, take this." He held out a black blindfold that he'd taken from his pocket, and Neji blinked. "Your eyes are obviously of the Byakugan, and you need to hide them somehow. You can still see with this blindfold on, as it had a seal on it to allow the user to do so. Sayo gave this to me a long time ago when I've injured my eyes on a mission, and I can't allow light to enter my eyes for a certain time."

Neji nodded before tying the blindfold around his eyes only to realize that Tobirama was speaking the truth. It was like he never had a blindfold around his eyes at all.

"Well then, welcome to Konoha, you three."

XXXXXX

Training Ground Seven
Konohagakure no sato

Shimura Danzo said nothing as he laid down a bouquet of white lilies before the memorial stone, his eyes tracing the name 'Uchiha Haruki' engraved somewhere on it. He then sighed, looking up at the skies. 'Sensei…where are you?' he thought.

"Shimura-sempai."

A voice interrupted his thoughts, and Danzo turned around only to see Orochimaru, dressed in white from head to toe rather like the Hyuugas as always, approaching him with a solemn look on his face, and carrying a bouquet of white lilies in his arms.

Danzo sighed. "You're here again, Orochimaru?" he stated more than questioned.

After Sayo's departure, it had been Uchiha Haruki who had taken Sayo's place to watch over the both of them, along with Jiraiya, acting like a sort of mentor to the three of them, as Haru had then been older by Danzo by at least seven years. And after his passing, Danzo had then taken his place to watch over the two younger ninjas, as he could also be considered their sibling disciple.

Orochimaru managed a small smile. "Hai," he said as he laid down the bouquet of lilies at the memorial stone and said a small prayer beneath his breath. "Seems like Jiraiya has been here before either of us." He noted, spying the sake cup lying at the foot of the memorial stone. "Haru-san, I've taken on an apprentice today. Her name is Mitarashi Anko. She's the dunce of the Academy class that she was in, and quite the troublemaker herself, but I see something in her. The teachers tried convincing me to take on some of the better students because of my status as one of the Sannin, but I refused." He smiled. "After all, it is much more interesting to teach a dunce than a supposed genius, isn't it? The same way that Sayo-sensei had taught us."

Danzo smiled before looking up into the skies, staring at the stars. He remembered how his teacher had loved looking at the stars. 'Sensei…where are you?'

XXXXXX

Uchiha Clan Compound
Konohagakure no sato

"This is my father's diary," said Uchiha Hisao, the current Uchiha clan head, and also Uchiha Haruki's son, handing the leather bound book to Sakura. "It might help you. When I was younger, my father always used to talk about his aunt and uncle a lot, and that they were his surrogate parents, as his own parents have passed away when he was a mere toddler. They both helped raised him, and he loves them like his own parents." He then smiled. "I remember them both a little, as I was very young when they have both disappeared."

"What do you know about them?" asked Neji.

"Only as much as everyone in the village does, I'm afraid." Hisao admitted. "But unlike in the village, they are very much respected and loved in the Uchiha clan. Sayo-sama is the legendary kunoichi with a reputation that even precedes that of the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages. She is the first seal mistress in the shinobi world, and had helped advanced seal studies to what it was today. Everything that Jiraiya-sama and Minato-san knew about seals, it is from Sayo-sama, as Jiraiya-sama learnt what he could about seals from her. Tobirama-sama actually gave Jiraiya-sama a book on seals that Sayo-sama had left behind with him. She is also the founder of the ANBU corps, and is also responsible for what the village is today. She is also the developer of the security system that Konoha uses which no shinobi had been able to penetrate even today, and also the developer of the current ninja training system that nearly every ninja village in the world uses now."

"She is really that great?" Sakura muttered.

"Yeah," said Hisao with a nod. "That's why the Uchiha clan had such great respect for her and Madara-sama. But unfortunately…" He sighed. "We can't say the same for the village. I can't even count how many times that my clansmen had gotten into fights with other ninjas, particularly those from the Hyuuga—" He almost spat the name out. "—just because those shits for brains have the gall to insult them. They didn't even stop to think that Konoha won't be at where they are today if it wasn't because for Sayo-sama and Madara-sama!"

Sakura, Neji and Shikamaru exchanged looks.

"I believe that Sayo is still alive," said Sakura an hour later as they walked through Konoha's streets, all three sensing an ANBU squad trailing them from the rooftops, and thus, were careful to not raise their voices.

"Yeah, I think so too," said Shikamaru with a nod. "Do you remember what Sayo had said once about Uchiha Madara? That he is an immortal because of his Eternal Mangekyou? If that is so, then I believe that Sayo probably had the same thing too."

Neji nodded. "I think so too."

"Hey!" A voice caused all three to turn only to see a brunette woman around the age of eighteen or so approaching them, wearing the standard jounin uniform. Three young men followed her. "Are you the ninjas that Tobirama-sama had mentioned?" All three nodded dumbly. The woman then smiled. "Good. We're supposed to test your rank. Follow me. I'm Sasaki. Sasaki Yoshino. Nice to meet you."

"Damn! You guys are sure strong!" Yamanaka Inoichi was complaining an hour later as he nursed his bruised cheek in Ichiraku Ramen, with his male teammates nursing an injury of some sort as well. "Tobirama-sama sure wasn't kidding when he said that you guys are strong. Remind me not to underestimate a blind person as well."

Neji smirked at that when he heard it.

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Inoichi!" Yoshino scolded as she pulled on Shikaku's bandages a little tighter than necessary, causing him some unnecessary pain. "Oh! Sorry, Shikaku!" She then closed the first-aid box beside her with a light clap. "Retsu will dump you if she heard what a wimp you are." She joked, and Inoichi blushed.

"Oh, come on! Everyone knew that she has the hots for you, and vice-versa!" Akimichi Chouza laughed.

"But you're sure strong though," said Yoshino, turning towards Shikamaru. "Your name isn't just for show. You really seemed to have a natural affinity with the shadows, not like that of the Nara clan."

"Uh… Thanks?" Shikamaru offered hesitantly. Was she trying to flirt with him?

"Hey." Shikamaru looked up. Yoshino was staring at him with stars for eyes, and he almost cringed. "Are you free this Saturday?"

Shikamaru almost groaned.

This just has to be someone's idea of a JOKE! Behind Shikamaru, Sakura and Neji were both trying to stifle their laughter, and failing miserably. Nara Shikaku, Shikamaru's would-be father was glaring daggers at him, trying to drive a hole through his head with sheer willpower alone.

Shikamaru sighed, eyeing his mother who had stars for eyes. Talk about troublesome. How could things have ended up with his MOTHER falling for him of all things?

Upcoming Stories:

Ruler of Hueco Mundo (Naruto)

It isn't something that is widely known, but only among the inhabitants of Hueco Mundo, the Hollows. Hueco Mundo had a ruler. Three of them, in fact. And when Aizen Sousuke's plans for Hueco Mundo and the world reach their ears, they are not pleased. Be careful, Aizen. You've just pissed off the three strongest Hollows in all of Hueco Mundo. FemNaru