A couple days later after breakfast, since it was a Sunday, and Kaguya Salubrity was closed on that one day only, found Sakura in the living room, preparing to make ointment, Kakashi and Obito watched from the couch as she dragged over a metal table.
Lined everything up on it, the herbs needed, boswellia resin, black cherry bark, mandrake root, turmeric root and chickweed, a large amount of beeswax, a hug pot to melt everything in, many empty and clean petri dishes, and a slightly larger portable fire pit than normal.
"You making that for the store" the Uchiha piped in suddenly, as the mortar and pestle was prepared, it would drive him crazy having to hand make everything, but Sakura seemed to love the work and happily made everything and much much more.
Sakura looked up from crushing the large amount of black cherry bark in a larger mortar than usual "Yes and No, half of what I make today will be coming with me to Stone, I plan on delivering their order myself and find out who keeps ordering twenty jars of it" she stated.
Kakashi raised a brow in response "Are you being serious, someone buys twenty jars of your ointment from the Hidden Stone Village" he prodded and his daughter nodded, the others were off on the odd D rank mission or C rank in Neji's.
He immediately started trying to think of anyone who would need that large amount of ointment "Whoever it is, is lucky Kushina-chan doesn't march straight to Stone and give them a piece of her mind" Sakura snickered quietly.
Tapping the black cherry bark into a container, moving on to mashing up the mandrake root "We wouldn't want that now" Obito looked horrified, he knew of the woman's temper after all having been whacked over his head a lot when he'd been younger by her fist.
"I bet it's Ohnoki, the Tsuchikage himself" Kakashi snapped his fingers in the next moment "He has ongoing back problems, and that ointment is for joint pains isn't it" he inquired, Sakura paused in her work.
Before answering "Yes, so that means the request is coming from Tsuchikage-san, such a important customer" she mumbled, things were going to be interesting on the mission for sure and her lavender orbs glinted with eagerness.
Obito shook his head in exasperation "Brat your something else for sure" he snorted leaning back on the couch keeping his eye pinned to the pinkette as she moved onto the turmeric root smashing up large quantities of it with her pestle.
"Maybe Obito-san, but at least I prove my worth all the time so no one doubts me" she quipped flashing him a quick smile, checking on the pot of beeswax that was over the portable fire pit and found it melting finally.
The silver haired nin crinkled his eye up at Sakura "No one could ever doubt you Sakura-chan, not after everything you've done for this village and others" Kakashi announced, not wanting her to think no one appreciated her efforts.
Earning him a dazzling smile "And I thank kami everyday for allowing me to live so that I may continue doing so for the good of the village" Sakura let out happily, her new hairpin firmly situated in her hair and crystal sealing necklace around her neck.
Both males shared a concerned look "Just promise you'll be careful on this new mission, Stone and Cloud Shinobi don't take to Leaf Shinobi or Mist Shinobi very well, Rin and I should know as we traveled around Earth and Lightning Country for sometime" the Uchiha warned suddenly.
"Don't worry, I know how to handle myself, it will be a little hard though keeping Kiba in line because he likes to shoot his mouth off sometimes" Sakura spoke while smashing up the last ingredient needed for the ointment, chickweed.
Now there was something that was village wide known "He's a bit like Naruto in that respect, but at least that knucklehead is slowly learning" Kakashi chuckled, remembering the latest mission the blonde had come back from eager to get away from the nobles as was Sasuke.
Sakura nodded sagely "And Kiba's an even bigger blabbermouth than Ino and Naruto combined as well, I tell him I like Neji and he goes around telling everyone, honestly" she huffed pouring the boswellia resin and the ingredients into the pot of melted beeswax.
It was kind of hard to imagine someone other than the Yamanaka Heiress being a blabbermouth, though neither Kakashi or Obito commented on that fact "So are you going to sit here all day" Obito prodded after a few minutes.
Watching as she stood and retrieved a book that Kiba had lent her about the living conditions of Stone and Cloud "Not all day, but it takes at least two hours for the herbs to mix with the beeswax" Sakura explained sitting down and lowering the heat on the fire pit.
"Hmm, well we won't bother you Sakura-chan, Obito and I might head out to get a little sparring in" Kakashi stood from the couch, one hand deep in his pocket already, as he was passing her, he pressed his other hand down on top of her head briefly and vanished into the hall.
Sakura lifted her head from the book "Be careful Tou-san, Obito-san" she waved at the Uchiha, as he left the living room himself after his teammate, then she focused her attention on the book again reading it to pass the time.
Forty minutes later, Kimimaro wandered into the house, pausing in the doorway of the living room when he spotted his sister reading, his green eyes softened with fondness for the pinkette, he really was loath to disturb her, but in order to get to his room, he had to go through the room.
So with a resigned sigh "Imouto-san I'm home" Kimimaro flared his chakra lightly to announce his presence before speaking, she lowered the book she was reading gave him a wide smile, checked on the pot stirred it gently, then relaxed in her chair again.
"Did the mission go well Kimi-nii" she looked him over closely for any bruising as he entered the front from padding across the carpet until he was stood behind the couch, Kimimaro paused in lowering the ladder to his room before answering.
A little nod "The cat was reluctant to come down from the tree, but we got him in the end" then he was climbing the ladder and disappearing through the hatch, her peals of laughter floating after him as she realized what kind of mission her beloved elder brother had been on.
Ten minutes later, Kimimaro was seated on the couch across from her, showered and ready to relax for awhile before something else demanded his attention "Don't worry Kimi-nii, Kurenai-sensei had Kiba, Shino and I do that mission many times ourselves" Sakura placated.
Kimimaro sighed softly in response "Are you making another poison/antidote combo for Kaguya Salubrity" he gestured to the pot, not having peeked into it to see what contents were mixing within, in fact now that he thought about it, maybe it wasn't poison at all.
"Nope, ointment for the store and our rather avid buyer from Stone, that Tou-san seems to believe might be Tsuchikage-san himself" she snorted lightly "Still don't understand why he needs that much ointment but business is business" she shrugged carefully.
Vivid green orbs widened "Such a high ranking customer, how will you find out" Kimimaro straightened on the couch as he asked his question, though of course he should have expected her answer when she flipped a page.
"I intend on delivering the ointment myself in a few days time, when we reach Stone for our diplomatic mission" Sakura admitted "I'm curious to find out if Tou-san is right" she smiled stirring the contents of the pot again.
He wasn't going to argue with her "Just be careful, we'll be in unfamiliar territory and Stone Shinobi will hate us" Kimimaro didn't want his sister getting hurt, she was to soft hearted sometimes and just one little insult could set her off like nothing else ever could.
She lowered her book again, before closing it all together, by now it had been an hour since she'd begun working on the ointment "I know Kimimaro-ni" her lavender orbs were intense "But that's what makes diplomatic missions difficult, to actively avoid pissing off those that dislike us" she said.
Glad that Sakura was taking their newest mission seriously, even if it hadn't even started yet, Kimimaro relaxed onto the couch once more "You think we'll be successful, I heard the Tsuchikage and Raikage are very difficult people" he questioned after a few minutes.
Lavender met vivid green "Hokage-sama and Mizukage-sama are very persuasive people, I have no doubt we'll be successful, though I know that even the strongest of shinobi aren't infallible" Sakura announced.
Kimimaro sighed, he wasn't even going to ask and settled back to watch his sister work, an hour later after he'd returned to the house, Sakura put down the book she'd been reading pulled out another very large pot and a jelly bag.
Picked up the pot with the ointment mixture in it, and poured the contents into the jelly bag "Is that how you make your ointment for the store" Kimimaro inquired as Sakura slid her hands into heat resistant gloves and lifted the jelly bag, then began squeezing it.
"Every single time, it's not hard really to be honest, just a pain to make twenty jars for one person, poor Kushina-chan is becoming frustrated" Sakura smiled, being careful with the hot contents of herb mixed beeswax.
Until there was nothing left to squeeze out of the jelly bag, which was thrown away in the trash, everything was meticulously cleaned and put away in her medical bag "I can imagine, I would probably be frustrated to" he admitted.
Watching her pour the mixture into the petri dishes, since she'd made such a large batch, it filled at least fifty petri dishes all of which were put in the fridge to cool "Me to, but patience is key in the business industry" she stated simply.
Cleaning the pots, turning off the portable fire pit, and putting everything away, her task done Sakura sat back in her chair for a few moments longer "Now that your done making the ointment what are you going to do now" Kimimaro spoke a couple seconds later.
Sakura leaned her head on her hand contemplating "Give Kubikiribocho a workout I suppose, it's been awhile since I've been given a mission that involves fighting" she mumbled, in fact she hadn't even gotten to test out her Aoi Bakuhatsu, Chizakura-doku combo.
Her brother lifted a brow "Then shall we go to the training grounds" he offered, the pinkette hopped up from her chair, grabbed her shinobi gear and scroll with her executioners blade in it and they left the house in search of an empty training grounds.
Easily finding one twenty minutes later, Sakura did a couple of stretches to warm up, then performed the easiest jutsu "Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu" she called after weaving the hand signs to her favorite mode of training.
In a few moments, thirteen clones were stood before her, proving that her chakra reserves had grown enough to be able to produce a few more clones than usual, Kimimaro stood off to the side watching as Sakura rolled her shoulders before unsealing Kubikiribocho.
"No holding back, use anything and everything against me" Sakura ordered her clones, settling into a defensive stance, at her words they attacked and she raised her blade to ward off the blow proving her clones could use chakra enhanced punches.
A feral smile formed on her lips as she twisted around Kubi and landed a particularly vicious kick to one of her clones, it went flying through the air and landed on the ground in a splash, in the next second, Sakura ducked behind her sword to avoid getting knocked unconscious.
Kubikiribocho was hefted into her arms with chakra enhanced strength and swung through the air, a blast of wind blew away a couple of the water clones from the force of her swing, the blade moving as an extension of Sakura herself, solidifying their bond as blade and mistress even more.
Her brother watched on in a stupor not really believing that she was able to wield that sword so easily, he doubted he would ever be able to, no matter how many times he saw his sister doing it, he was just glad she never used that sword in one of their training sessions.
Sakura was like a whirlwind, moving from one attack to the next, lavender eyes focused, and only using her sword to fight with or taijutsu, those were the modes of training for that day, working on her kenjutsu skills for the time being.
She took a deep breath, slamming Kubikiribocho hilt first into the ground, then cartwheeled to stand on his handle, lavender orbs glinting with excitement, she drove the heel of her sandal encased foot into the ground.
By now everyone was use to hearing such sounds, so no one paid the explosion or dust cloud much attention carrying on with their day as usual, while Sakura waged a mini war against her water clones to Kimimaro's amusement.
The pinkette fought every fight as if it was her last, probably something so ingrained into her by her former master that it was impossible to break free of such habits, he wished he could have met the man who had saved his sister from a life of being alone.
And the boy she had formerly loved, no matter how chaste she said it was, she'd spent five years of her life with him, in person and not as reanimations, "How long has she been training" Neji appeared at his side, breaking Kimimaro from his thoughts.
"Only about thirty minutes now, she gave them free reign to use anything against her" he focused his green eyes onto the pinkette once more, wincing slightly as she drove her fist right through one of her water clones.
Even Neji cringed just barely, "Perhaps she'll be amenable to another spar with me after this" the brunette sat down on the ground, his C rank mission had been lackluster to say the least, and he was in the mood for a good training session.
A moment later when Sakura was slashing through another clone with Kubikiribocho, Kimimaro joined him on the ground as they watched the girl train, it was awe-inspiring to say the least, and it made others want to improve and reach her level all the time.
Having her come to the village had seemed at first to be a bad idea, but then Sakura had integrated herself as a Leaf Shinobi, joined a team, fought alongside her teammates in the Chunin Exam, become a Chunin, started up a store, and many more things.
That people slowly became more accepting of her especially as they realized exactly how hard she worked in order to make this village her home, if asked why she defended the Leaf Village so viciously, Sakura would give a so thoroughly given answer that it would leave them floundering in response.
Neji's lips quirked upwards slightly at the thought, just as Sakura finished off the last of her water clones, the training grounds looking worse for wear as they always did whenever the pinkette decided to train.
"Sakura, spar with me, Clan Jutsu only" the brunette rose to his feet, dusted off his clothes and approached his girlfriend, like he'd thought, her eyes which were now emerald due to her happiness, Sakura nodded her head.
Set Kubikiribocho off to the side, Kimimaro watching the gargantuan sword and then settled into the familiar Jyuken stance "I won't go easy on you Neji" her emerald orbs glittered "Even if you are courting me" she said.
He chuckled "I'd expect no less from you Sakura" Neji responded shifting into his own stance, he waited patiently until her shikotsumyaku deactivated and the lavender reappeared, then launched forward "Eight Trigrams, Sixty Four Palms" he called.
And Sakura met him with her own jutsu "Eight Trigrams Air Palm" a blast of chakra shot from her hand and Neji twisted to the right to avoid being hit, not upset in the least his attack had been thwarted, he wasn't worried because Sakura could heal herself afterwards.
"You've been practicing" their fists met and they struggled to overpower each other, Sakura swung her foot out, shooting chakra from her chakra point hitting a nerve without the aid of her byakugan.
Then smiled innocently "Course Neji, I'm not one to let my talents go to waste and I train daily in both of my clan techniques" she admitted, ducking low and thrusting her palm out to knock Neji off balance, then moved in jabbing her fingers into his wrist.
Neji winced and shook his hand but it was no use "Obviously Sakura" he wasn't willing to concede the spar yet despite having only one hand to work with now "Are you going to train with Kimimaro-san after this" Neji gestured to the white haired teen.
"Maybe, depends on if I feel I've trained enough, considering I practiced against my clones with Kubi" she didn't know when she had started using a nickname for her sword, but it was much easier sometimes to just use the nickname rather than his full name.
They struck out at each other with their dojutsu activated, closing chakra points until neither could go on "Evenly matched as always Sakura" Neji shook his head not to surprised, she'd soon surpass him no doubt.
Sakura flashed him a quick smile, healing herself and him, before flopping back "No more training for the day" she declared, then after a moment jumped to her feet and snagged her sword, sitting down once more with him in her lap.
Taking a rag and polishing him as usual, "You know I wonder if he would let me lift him" the brunette mused suddenly sitting on her other side, sandwiching the pinkette between himself and Kimimaro, being mindful of the sword.
"He let me lift him once, when Kabuto pulled that stunt" Kimimaro's vivid green eyes darkened in fury as he thought about the silver haired teen that had tried to kill his sister, he was certain that hadn't been Orochimaru's plan and that led to thinking that maybe Kabuto resented his sister.
She shifted her gaze onto Neji "Couldn't hurt to try, I'll heal you afterwards" Sakura stood embedding Kubikiribocho into the ground before moving back so that her boyfriend could try his hand at trying to raise the huge sword.
Neji grasped the handle in his hands and using all of his strength, barely managed to pull it from the ground, almost instantly the handle grew hot and he hastily placed the sword in the ground, then looked to his palms.
"Guess that's a no" he grimaced seeing the slight blisters, until Sakura made good on her promise and healed his hands, before they all sat down, Executioners Blade in her lap once more getting a thorough rub down.
It was something Sakura did every day, multiple times a day, something everyone had just accepted as one of her little quirks "Don't feel bad Neji-san, Otou-sama can't wield him either" Kimimaro commented.
Sakura smiled in remembrance taking very good care of her sword, thank kami no one had broken him yet, she rubbed the rag over the spot the small vial of her poison was hidden at, when she was done, Kubikiribocho gleamed in the sunlight.
To Kimimaro and Neji's amusement, then they were all headed back to the house "Just where have you been" Rin frowned, upon spotting the trio, she'd been home alone for the last thirty minutes.
"We've been out training, why has something happened" immediately Sakura panicked and jumped to the wrong conclusion that there was trouble afoot and she hadn't been there to help, everyone stared at her oddly.
And Rin hastily shook her head "Nothing like that, it's just I've never seen this house so empty, everyone out and about you know" she sighed and Sakura relaxed putting her sandals away and hanging her medical bag on the hook with her mission pack.
"It's because myself, Sakura, Kimimaro-san, Tayuya-san and Jugo-san are Chunin, we are being sent on more missions, Kakashi-san is former anbu, now jonin, as are yourself and Uchiha-san, Nohara-san, and Tenzo-san is nearly gone all the time from anbu" Neji listed.
Rin gaped at him then grudgingly nodded, it was the truth after all, Kimimaro smiled "I'm going to go lay out my outfit for tomorrow, since our mission to Stone and Cloud starts tomorrow" he moved passed the adult kunoichi, and into the living room before disappearing up to his room.
Neji did the same thing, though he didn't have a mission "By the way Rin-san, I made this for you" Sakura produced a notebook full recipes to some recipes she hadn't tried out yet for ointments or creams, handed it to the brunette and then vanished down the steps to her room.
Leaving the woman to gape once more and then finally sigh again as she realized she would never understand the girl, the rest of the day passed by in a blur, Sakura heading out after awhile to spend time with her friends in the village and let them know about the mission.
Dinner was made and eaten and the entire house went to bed, the pinkette earlier than usual so that she could wake up early she only did that for very important missions such as the one she, her brother, his teammates and her teammates were going on with Minato and Mei.
The next morning her alarm blared in her ears at exactly five in the morning, Sakura made sure she had everything needed, showered, dressed in her outfit, then climbed the stairs, first rousing her animals which were coming along on the mission.
Before starting on breakfast, only fifteen minutes had passed before Neji was at her side "Need any help" he asked, looking wide awake, hair wet and dressed in his gear, as was she, Sakura smiled and pointed to the potatoes.
It seemed that morning's breakfast would consist of hash browns, waffles, eggs and sausages, halfway through chopping up some fruit for the sauce, doubt filtered into her brain "You think I should take them" came the question.
Of course Neji knew who she meant "Just keep a closer eye on them, otherwise they'll be fine" he assured Sakura relaxed at his words added sugar, water and the chopped up fruit to a pot and set the stove to boil.
"Thanks and will do" she quipped scrambling the eggs as he popped the sausages into the oven, then pulled the waffles from the waffle iron and added more batter to it, while she put the eggs in a pan and started cooking the hash browns.
They moved seamlessly together, water was boiled for tea, by Neji and Sakura pulled out the glasses and tea bags, "Are you nervous" the brunette asked after several minutes of watching her fidget with her hands.
A frown worked its way onto her lips "Yes, this mission isn't normal, Hokage-sama and Mizukage-sama will be on it as well, what if something happens and I can't protect them" her brow creased as she shared her concerns with her boyfriend.
Who wanted nothing more than to get rid of all of her fears himself "Everything will be fine, and trust in your abilities and Hokage-sama's and Mizukage-san's as well as your teammates, your brothers teammates and brother himself" Neji assured once more.
Leaning his forehead against hers and letting his chakra flow into her to help her calm down, he knew she took missions like this very seriously and always worked herself into a panic "Sorry it's just after the disaster of the last A Rank Mission" Sakura relaxed.
Now he knew where her fear stemmed from "Do not worry Sakura, you are visiting two new villages not facing down Orochimaru and his twisted insanity" Neji fought down the chuckle, he'd be afraid to, after encountering two reanimations of former important people.
Sakura sighed softly content to stand in his embrace, before they turned and finished up breakfast, by the time it was done, everyone was awake and eating, the dishes were cleaned and put away and four of the houses occupants grabbed their gear and left after receiving good lucks on their mission.
Kiba and Shino were already at the gates when Sakura, Kimimaro, Tayuya, Jugo and the pinkette three animals arrived and signed out so they'd be ready "First diplomatic mission" the Inuzuka repeated staring off into the distance.
Gut twisting into knots as nervousness took form and he began to pace, Shino was unnaturally quiet himself, merely nodding his head at his teammate and leaning against the arch until Sakura settled at his side, alert and silent.
Tayuya stared at the two teens as if she'd never seen them before "Give me a break" she grumbled realizing that they were taking this mission entirely to seriously, "You guys are getting worked up way to early" she huffed stomping a few feet away to the other side of the arch.
"Perhaps, but it's better to be prepared, why because anything could happen on an A Rank Mission" Shino said in a short tone, nerves frazzled unlike ever before, this was his first A ranked mission to be precise and he wasn't going to screw it up.
For that matter he wouldn't let anyone else mess it up either, Jugo smiled softly, holding Reitoko in his arms "We should all take example and not let our guards down" he reminded looking out the gate, Shino was right anything could happen on any mission to be honest.
Kimimaro nodded "Jugo's right Tayuya, keep your senses spread at all times" the white haired teen said quietly, settling into his spot as they waited, the six Chunin stood there for an hour, to Izumo and Kotetsu's amusement.
Until Minato, with Mei, Ao and Chojuro in tow showed up at the gates, the blonde blinked at them in shock, before realizing he hadn't told them what time to show up, there was no telling how long they'd been waiting "Right as you know this is an A Rank Mission" he cleared his throat.
Gaining nods from his six chunin, "We will be going on a month diplomatic mission to Stone and Cloud to in simple terms coerce Lord Tsuchikage and Lord Raikage into making peace treaties between, Leaf and Mist and eventually Sand" Minato went into more detail on the mission.
Each Chunin straightened and tensed, clearly taking this very seriously "Each of you have been selected as my escorts, no fighting with Stone or Cloud Shinobi, even if they insult you or our home, and cooperate with any demands they give you is that understood" he stared them down.
"Yes Hokage-sama" they all recited in unison, the blonde nodded in acceptance, sure that things were going to go his and Mei's way this time, his blue eyes narrowed on the pinkette, he wanted to see her in action on a diplomatic mission.
Mei cleared her throat delicately "If you are finished giving orders Minato-san, shall we get going, the day waits for no one" she pointed out, gesturing to the sky, it was nearly eight in the morning and they wanted to get some good traveling in before they inevitably had to stop.
"To right you are Mei-san, let's move out" Minato ordered, turning on his heel and leading the group of seven teenagers, one Kage and one jonin down the path in the direction of the Hidden Stone Village, with high hopes their plans would bear fruit.
And get everyone in the five great shinobi villages on better terms with other villages upon trekking for three miles, Chojuro slowed his pace until he was walking next to her "Hows Kubikiribocho" he inquired looking to the massive blade.
Then patted Hiramekarei that was attached to his back to assure himself that his own sword was still where it was supposed to be "Kubi's doing well, been giving him a lot of workouts lately" Sakura smiled brightly, copying his movement in the next moment.
As swordsmen or a swordswoman in her case, they were very obsessed with their swords, Chojuro didn't comment on the use of a nickname for the gargantuan blade and instead let conversation die down between them as they walked.
Through all of that morning and halfway through lunch, before Minato called for a stop, tasks were divided up and a pot of rabbit stew was soon boiling away over a fire pit, courtesy of Sakura, nerves had prevented most of them from eating much that morning.
So they were all a little hungrier than usual, "I just got to wonder" Ao mused quietly after they'd packed up and were once again on the move, drawing Minato and Mei's gazes "If she ever thinks for herself or is selfish" he continued his line of thought.
Mei frowned, before craning her neck around to spy the girl in question "Have you ever witnessed Sakura-san be selfish before Minato-san" she looked to the blonde as they continued their trek across the lands.
Who frowned himself at the question "No, Sakura-san only does things for the good of the village and we reap the benefits of her hard work and dedication" the words left a bad aftertaste in his mouth because really they'd been taking advantage of the girl all along.
It sickened him that Sakura knew it to, and did nothing to stop them from doing it, becoming a tool essentially the Leaf Village was her new master and she was it's precious weapon, it had taken her in and now she fought only for it.
Like she had for Zabuza, the world was cruel and he hoped to someday make things right for those that had been less fortunate in their lives, like Sakura or, his blue eyes trailed to the white haired teen Kimimaro, both used and then discarded in a way.
Being raised as killing machines for individuals with twisted minds, Orochimaru being much worse than Zabuza Momochi had ever been "It's really odd isn't it" Ao drew Minato from his spiraling thoughts.
"If you think about it not really, Sakura is a kind girl at heart and she loves with her entire being" the Mizukage muttered, letting the conversation drift away, as they walked for miles on end, none of the Chunin complaining about the grueling pace that had been set.
Keeping up rather easily "Perhaps" Minato grimaced, discarding his thoughts for another time, now wasn't the time to get distracted as he spread out his senses and made sure they weren't being followed, nothing for now.
Also keeping her senses spread out and at one hundred percent was Sakura, never lowering her guard "Hey what do you think this Stone Village is gonna be like" Jugo popped up at her side, breaking her concentration.
Sakura turned her lavender eyes onto the orange haired teenager, Morosa and Reitoko in his arms "No idea Jugo-san, I've never been there sadly" she sighed acting like not getting to visit other villages was such a grievance and she couldn't wait to rectify that mistake.
Jugo slumped his shoulders and peered over his shoulder, off in the distance he could barely spot Nagetsuke trailing after them "What about the Cloud Village then" he prodded wanting to at least get some information so he'd be prepared.
"From the book I read, it's supposed to be cold there" Sakura shrugged lightly, rolling her shoulders feeling tension building up in the muscle, she was still nervous, but all she could do was make sure everything went well.
A short couple feet away from them were Kimimaro and Tayuya "Still don't understand how she can act like this isn't the scariest thing the world" the light red haired teen rested her brown eyes on the pinkette, who wasn't letting up with her guard.
Having had it raised the entire time that they've been out of the village "Imouto-san is unique Tayuya-san, you should know this by now" Kimimaro stated simply, feeling exhausted and they'd barely begun their mission.
Tayuya ground her teeth in frustration until Kiba growled under his breath, irritated at the sound, tempers on very short leashes it seemed "Calm down Kiba" Shino slanted his own irritated glance at the Inuzuka.
Kiba sighed and rubbed his face "Who knew this mission would wear down on even my nerves" he grumbled in aggravation gritting his teeth and forcing himself to relax letting silence settle around them all once more.
Finally after six more hours and utter but tense quiet, Minato pulled them to a stop, camp was set up, food was dished out and after bidding everyone goodnight, once patrol had been decided, they all went to bed.
The next two days repeated itself and Minato was relieved to see the entrance of the Hidden Stone Village, he shot warning glances at the six Chunin and they straightened themselves making sure nothing was out of place as they approached the guard.
"Halt state your business" who immediately made them stop, Kiba bit his cheek to prevent himself from growling in frustration, did that stupid guard not know that Minato was the Hokage, freaking making them wait unbelievable.
Minato cleared his throat "I am the Hokage, Minato Namikaze, this is Mei Terumi, the Mizukage, we are here on official business, it's time our villages made peace with one another and created treaties to ensure no more wars break out" he held out his I.D. for inspection.
Then moved to the side as Mei did the same "And these are our escorts Ao and Chojuro from Hidden Mist, my own personal escorts and Leaf Chunin" she gestured to the seven teenagers and hunter nin.
Each of them received contempt or suspicious filled looks as I.D's were checked and then they were led through the Hidden Stone Village to the Tsuchikage Tower "Now I see what Obito-san was talking about" Sakura murmured so quietly that Chojuro had to strain his ears to hear him.
"What do you mean Sakura-san" the teenager inquired keeping his voice at the same volume she was using, it being a lot easier for her to hear his question as she was using chakra to enhance her hearing as they walked through the village.
Her eyes rested on him for a brief second before she looked forward "That Stone Shinobi don't take to Leaf and Mist Shinobi very well" she said gripping the lapels of her backpack and glancing backwards to make sure Kubikiribocho was still there.
Shino, Kiba, Tayuya, Kimimaro and Jugo were all uncharacteristically quiet themselves, staring around warily and being careful not to stray to far from their group, until they finally reached the tower and were let into the Tsuchikage's office.
Ohnoki was sat behind his desk, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi, off to the side making sure he was actually doing his work and not skiving off, but when the Leaf and Mist Shinobi were assembled before him, he lowered his ink brush and glared.
"Just what business does the Hokage and Mizukage have here in my village" Ohnoki demanded to know, clearly not pleased at the sight of them, or that there were so many people in his office, that was one thing he didn't like as well.
Minato took the initiative once more "It has been to long since our villages have been allied, Tsuchikage-san" his blue eyes darkened "We have come to rectify that, I ask that you think over your options and consider a peace treaty between Leaf and Mist" the blonde stated.
"Indeed, times of war are over Tsuchikage, the very least we can try to keep up with what's going on now, enemies are moving against us and we must strengthen our villages to assure protection for our people, Kage to Kage" Mei nodded.
The little man as they all realized the Tsuchikage's short stature as he literally floated from his chair looking quite cross with the lot of them "You dare come into my village and make demands" he snapped angrily.
Situation going out of control "Not at all Tsuchikage-san merely a request, before other options are considered" Minato held up his hands smiling a closed eye smile and a shudder rolled down Sakura's spine, feeling the chakra rolling off of him in waves.
She wasn't the only one feeling it as Kiba inhaled sharply probably feeling as if he was being suffocated "Precisely, we just ask that you give it some thought and then we can convene in a meeting to figure talk about the futures of our villages" the Mizukage spoke again.
Disaster averted, Ohnoki sat down in his chair once more, "Fine, away with you for now, Kurotsuchi see to it that these people get set up in a hotel and watch them like a hawk" he ordered the ravenette standing behind him.
The female came forward and opened the door to the office "This way if you will" she stated simply gesturing into the hall, Minato, Mei and Ao were the first ones through, followed by Chojuro, Kimimaro, Tayuya, Shino, Jugo and Kiba.
Sakura was the last one left in the office "Tsuchikage-sama your order from Kaguya Salubrity" she placed the bag full of twenty jars of ointment down on his desk, bowed politely and followed the rest of out into the hall.
It had been a bold move of course, but the shock that followed proved it had been a smart one, her lavender eyes had seen the small winces he made every few moments, he was clearly in a lot pain from his old age.
"Please Sakura-san try to contain yourself" Ao snorted with a roll of his eye, Sakura flashed him an extremely innocent smile but he wasn't fooled, neither were the rest of them and when she realized that, she sulked for the rest of the trek to the hotel.
Upon arrival it was decided two to a room since there were ten of them, Sakura shared with Mei at the woman's request, while Ao chose to stay with the blonde Hokage, Shino and Kiba paired up, while Tayuya and Jugo took another, leaving the last to Kimimaro and Chojuro.
Once settled in Sakura disappeared into the bathroom changed into a much cleaner yukata "I'm going to go see the sights" she told Mei, who was lounging on the bed for now, the Mizukage waved her off and Sakura exited the room and hotel subsequently.
She breathed in the air that only came from Earth Country, then veered off to the right, no map in hand and letting her feet lead her forward "You know kid you have a lot of guts" Kurotsuchi popped up on her left.
"That's nothing new Kurotsuchi-san, however I was polite and merely said it was his order from the store" Sakura smiled kindly, ignoring the hateful looks she was getting just because of the headband she wore around her neck.
If they knew Leaf wasn't her original home, she doubted they'd be so quick to judge, but whatever "How did you figure it out anyway and why were you sent to deliver the order when it could have been sent like it always is" Kurotsuchi reeled off question after question.
Not that the pinkette minded it "Tsuchikage-sama kept wincing every so often and I made a calculated guess on my part, I wasn't sent, I came as one of Hokage-sama's escorts, besides I wanted to know who kept trying to buy all my stock of ointments" she laughed gently.
Kurotsuchi felt her brows raising high into her hairline catching onto the subtle declaration "What's your name anyway kid" she definitely didn't want to go around calling this girl kid for the duration of her stay in Stone, no matter how long it might be.
"Sakura Kaguya at your service Kurotsuchi-san, Owner of Kaguya Salubrity and Wielder of Kubikiribocho" she held out her hand as she made her introduction, waiting for the older girl to shake her hand as manners dictated.
Her eyes widened "B..but your Just A KID" Kurotsuchi accused after shaking the girls hand "Please tell me your joking" she pleaded not sure she'd be able to take much more, to be standing in front of the owner of Kaguya Salubrity was laughable.
The pinkette shook her head "I'm afraid I'm not lying, I know though that it's hard to believe, and I don't have anything on me to validate the truth, so you'll just have to take my word for it, for now Kurotsuchi-san, or ask Hokage-sama" Sakura let out.
Feeling like she'd lost a bet or something Kurotsuchi sulked for a few minutes "Whatever, so why aren't you with the rest of your little groupies" she prodded as they walked into the market part of the Hidden Stone Village.
Sakura's lavender eyes lit up in interest, definitely eager to see if things were different "To be honest, I'm not very good at sitting still and this is the first time I've ever been to the Hidden Stone Village, not gonna pass on the chance to take in the sights" she exclaimed.
Not sure what to think of this pink haired girl, Kurotsuchi trailed behind Sakura as she walked up to a stall, looking at everything it had to offer, eyes glittering with curiosity "Your kind of weird you know that" she said after several minutes and visiting different stalls.
"Maybe, though again that's kind of old news, I didn't originally come from the Leaf Village, and lived outside it and all village rules and regulations for five years" Sakura admitted, sorting through the bundles of herbs and holding each one up for inspection.
Kurotsuchi frowned and took the pinkette in once again "Huh you play the part of Leaf Shinobi well then bearing it's colors and symbol" she threw out there and the girl nodded, buying a few herbs from the stall they were at, before they moved on.
"Because Leaf took me in when the two people I'd known for half of my life died in a fight" her eyes became sad for a moment "It also gave me a part of me that I'd been missing since I was born" she rubbed her heart.
The connection was always active and she could feel Kimimaro at all times "You hurting Sakura" Kurotsuchi caught the action, hoping that wasn't the case, because she really didn't want to get in trouble or be accused of doing it.
Sakura shook her head "Ah no, just remembering what it was like before I went to the Leaf Village" her hand dropped uselessly to her side and was about to call it a day when a store drew her attention, Sakura turned in it's direction and tilted her head to the side at the sight of it.
Looking oddly adorable in her confusion "Yeah every reacts like that when they see it, it's a sweets store, Rock Rice Cakes, but the design of the shop is unique" Kurotsuchi grimaced, obviously Sakura had a thing for sweets, as she marched straight up to the shop.
With her orders in mind the ravenette followed after the girl entering just a couple seconds behind her "You know you might not be serviced right" the ravenette lifted a brow at Sakura, who's face was lit up with excitement.
It was a struggle to reign that emotion in at Kurotsuchi's words "I know, but I'm sure going to try" Sakura smiled lightly walking up to the counter, her request already at the tip of her tongue "I'd like a box of Rock Rice Cakes please" she softened her features.
Looking cute and innocent as she pulled out her wallet in hopes that her appearance would charm the woman to be amenable and forget that she was a Leaf Shinobi, Kurotsuchi stood back watching and planning on not interfering.
The woman behind the counter took one look at Sakura before squealing "Oh my goodness I don't think I've ever had such a cute customer before" she looked the pinkette over before freezing at the sight of the girls headband "Who's a Leaf Shinobi" was said in a flat tone seconds afterwards.
"Yes Ma'am" came the polite reply "I can leave if you'd like, I don't want to trouble anyone after all" Sakura smiled sweetly, making to turn and head for the door, mentally counting down the seconds before the woman called out to her.
With great struggle, "No, no it's alright Miss, it's not everyday I get adorable little pink haired girls in my shop, a box of Rock Rice Cakes right" she turned grabbing a box and filling it with the aforementioned sweet "200 ryo" she placed the box in a bag.
Sakura swung around on her heel, pulled out the ryo, grabbed up the bag, bowed "Thank you Ma'am, have a good day" came the response, then she and Kurotsuchi left the sweet's shop, no fighting, no shouting and a perfectly agreeable outcome to the encounter.
Kurotsuchi couldn't believe it "What are you, some kind of freaking genius, is that hair of yours even real" she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, never having seen that woman be so nice to someone who wasn't from the Stone Village.
"I'm a prodigy and I have to be a genius sort of to be successful at my store and yes, it's real and not dyed" Sakura grabbed a lock of her now back length hair, undecided on whether she wanted to cut it, despite Gaara's plea's for her not to.
The teenager at her side snorted "Your damn lucky though kid, that she didn't throw you straight out of her shop" Kurotsuchi pointed out and Sakura smiled, it made her wonder if the girl even had a temper.
"I know, well it was nice talking to you Kurotsuchi-san" she turned to face the older girl, bowed as she had several times already, then disappeared into the hotel, returning to the room she shared with Mei, had dinner in the cafeteria with the others, took another shower and went to bed early.
It was two, days, two freaking nerve-wracking days before Ohnoki gave in and decided to draw up a peace treaty with Mei and Minato, his fellow Kage's, however things weren't easy "We're having a bandit problem" he explained in a tone that said they better pay attention.
"You want someone to go and take care of them" Minato caught on easily to what the older male was saying, Ohnoki nodded "Sakura-san" he said her name and she came forward to stand at his side "Comply with anything Tsuchikage-san asks of you" he pressed his hand on her shoulder.
Ohnoki took in the small girl "Just her" he lifted his gaze to the blonde who nodded, the other teenagers shifted clearly uncomfortable under his gaze, but they didn't complain "Very well step up to my desk girl" he ordered.
She complied easily lavender orbs darkened and impossibly still "Kurotsuchi will join you on this mission, your job is to get rid of the bandits plaguing my village is that understood" he growled still not very happy he'd been driven into a corner.
"Yes Tsuchikage-sama" Sakura bowed low, proving she was obedient to a fault, Minato sighed once again feeling as if he was sending the girl to her death, he'd known of course she wouldn't argue with any demands placed upon her.
But still, "Kimimaro-san will go with them" he said suddenly adding the pinkette's brother into the equation, Sakura's expression lightened and Minato breathed a little easier, Ohnoki eyed him from his chair, and the trio left the office.
"Shall we get the treaty contract drawn up" Mei interrupted the staring session, the others being dismissed from the office, leaving the three Kage alone with each other as she and the blonde took seats at the only two chairs, Ohnoki nodded and a pile of documents was set on his desk.
Kiba kicked a rock as he sulked on the way back to the hotel "Unbelievable we're always being left behind by Sakura and now her brother" he ran his hand through his hair messing up the spiky brown locks to an irreparable state.
Shino pressed his lips together "Hokage-sama has faith in all of us, why because I'm sure we'll get to prove we are willing to accept the treaty between our village and this one, by helping Tsuchikage-san on some mission or another" he pointed out.
On his right, Jugo nodded "Shino-san is right Kiba-san, besides Sakura-san and Kimimaro are more suited to taking care of bandits, you just have to wait until something that your suited for comes along and then you can shine" the orange haired teen commented.
Tayuya's brows lifted in surprise "Jugo's right" she nodded after a moment, this whole situation was a little messed up but they were all willing to put in the effort to make the treaty work between Leaf, Mist, Stone and Cloud.
Chojuro nodded himself "Exactly, I for one have no doubts Mizukage-sama will be able to make Tsuchikage-san agree to all of her terms and conditions for the treaty" he announced, behind him Ao rolled his gray eye.
"As if there were any doubts in the first place, Mizukage-sama is a very persuasive woman and always gets what she wants" he snorted as they all finally reached the hotel and entered it, to find things to keep themselves occupied for a few hours.
In that time it took them to reach the hotel, Sakura, Kurotsuchi and Kimimaro had left the Hidden Stone Village and were well on their way to the hideout the bandits had taken up residence in "Do you know how many there are Kurotsuchi-san" Sakura inquired checking her weapon pouch.
"Mm I'd guess there was about thirty of them, but could be more, why think this is going to be to hard" Kurotsuchi narrowed her onyx eyes on the girl, who she'd spent more time with than the others that she'd come with.
Kimimaro frowned but didn't comment, it was easy to see why their Hokage was always sending his sister on diplomatic missions, she was a natural peace maker "I wouldn't worry" he finally let out a few minutes later.
Sakura smiled brightly "Kimi-nii" she clapped with a giggle "This is so exciting, haven't had a good fight for awhile" she rubbed her hands together and spread out her senses in hopes of finding the bandits.
Now she was even more surprised "Come to think of it, what's your ranks" the ravenette realized she didn't know what rank the six teens from the Leaf Village were and she looked between the siblings, now that she knew they were siblings.
"Chunin, I've only been one a couple months, while imouto-san has been for eight and a half" the white haired teen explained keeping his little sister in his sights as she skipped ahead of them, obviously having pinpointed their targets location with her sensor skills.
Though hearing his voice, she craned her neck around to meet his gaze "Me, Neji and Shikamaru" she quipped, head facing forward once more until they came upon the hideout and immediately suppressed her chakra.
Kurotsuchi and Kimimaro did the same "So what's the plan to lure them out and take them down" she inquired as Sakura focused her lavender eyes on the run down building, it had been an old outpost that was no longer in use.
Her lips curved upwards and Kimimaro wanted to sigh "Really Imouto-san, of all the tactics you can use" he shook his head and got an amused giggle, Kurotsuchi was understandable lost to their sibling dynamics.
As Sakura pulled back her fist "You might want to jump Kurotsuchi-san" she warned flooding her limb with chakra, then snapped her whole arm to the ground, knuckles brushing the earth before ~KABOOM~ it exploded under the punch.
She jumped back in the next moment avoiding the hail of broken up earth, activated her shikotsumyaku pulled a bone from her shoulder "Dance of the Camellia" and the first bandit was dead by her hand five seconds later.
The other female of their little trio choked on air "W..WHAT THE HELL" Kurotsuchi screeched, using her own jutsu to ward off a bandit who got to close, then with a sweep of her leg, knocked the man flat on his face breaking his nose.
"I know your shocked Kurotsuchi-san, but please forgive my sister and her need for showboating" Kimimaro quipped in a semi amused tone, as he ducked under the swing of someones sword, and using his own kekkeigenkai, jabbed his sword in the man's shoulder.
Causing him to retreat "Kimi-nii" came the pouting "I haven't had a good fight for awhile, not since that bastard Kabuto anyway" Sakura huffed at him, emerald eyes glittering with glee as she reared back her fist and with another chakra enhanced punch, sent another bandit flying.
Horror was all she could feel as it was all out chaos during the fight, Kurotsuchi struggling to keep up with the two Leaf Shinobi, "How the hell are you able to keep going this long" she breathed, using her kunai.
Not an easily answered question "We've been trained from very young ages, around six or seven for both of us" Kimimaro responded, leaving a lot of things out, such as who they were trained by or why at such a young age.
"Aoi Bakuhatsu" Sakura set off her exploding tag poison combo, finally having a chance to test these things out in a real fight, Kimimaro paused in his fight and got knocked backwards onto his back, before throwing the bandit off of him.
Three others went down in quick succession, gasping for air, their faces reddening and physically crying "What was that" Kurotsuchi was getting hysterical as she saw the blue cloud and stayed very, very far away from it.
Kimimaro sighed "That is a poison Sakura made from scratch, to use in conjunction with a mild exploding tag also made from her own hands, she calls it Aoi Bakuhatsu, because of the blue cloud it makes from the powder in the bag" he reeled off.
Sending a wave of bones at his opponent "Precisely Kimi-nii, they should consider themselves lucky I haven't used Chizakura-doku on them yet" Sakura cackled from her position, wishing she had wind nature chakra so she didn't have to wait for the cloud to disperse.
Her eyes gleamed with an inner light just as an idea came to her, she pulled a regular exploding tag from her storage pouch, hastily attached it to a kunai and threw it before setting it off, the poison blew in opposite directions before fading into nothing.
Kurotsuchi let out the breath she'd been holding "Chizakura-doku" she was wary as she asked not sure if she wanted to know what if was the girl was talking about, Sakura was crazy and spying the white haired teen, so was her brother.
"Yes, another poison imouto-san crafted with the aid of components from three unknown artificial poisons, it is a light pink and not a poison anyone really wants to get mixed up with" Kimimaro announced, coming to her aide "Digital shrapnel" he called using his kekkeigenkai.
At the drop of a hat, Sakura switched to using Hyuga Clan Jutsu "Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin" she shot chakra from her chakra points and spun rapidly, when her jutsu ended she moved smoothly into the next jutsu "Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms" Sakura fought on.
Until finally all thirty bandits were dead, Kurotsuchi flopped onto the ground exhausted "I'm pathetic not being able to keep up with you two" she groaned not wanting to move another inch after that rather enlightening battle.
Kimimaro and Sakura stared down at the ravenette before the white haired teen let out a few chuckles and the pink haired teenager wrapped her arms around her stomach and cracked up laughing, she fell backwards onto her back.
Their laughter came to an abrupt end when eight more bandits came running into the area, Kurotsuchi leaped onto her feet "Don't worry Kurotsuchi-san, let us handle them" Kimimaro pressed his hand to her shoulder lightly, then took his spot at his sister's side.
This time, Kubikiribocho came unsealed, lavender eyes glinting with a deadly gleam "Four each Kimi-nii, fair enough right" Sakura craned her neck up to meet her brothers eyes, he nodded and they leaped forward into the second fight.
Air expelled from her lungs and Kurotsuchi stood back letting the two siblings tackle the newly arrived bandits, Sakura hacking through one with her gargantuan sword, moving onto the next with ease, and she realized the girl was versatile.
It was as she was onto her third bandit it that it happened, he pulled a shinobi trick, proving he wasn't just a simple bandit, and with a chakra powered kunai, made a deep scratch in the middle of Kubikiribocho.
Pink liquid exploded on him as the vial inside the sword was broken, getting in one of the various cuts that littered the man, Sakura spun around him, and took out the fourth and set down her blade as Kimimaro finished off his own four bandits.
He was eyeing the pink liquid warily "Imouto-san please tell me you didn't" Kimimaro lifted his vivid emerald green eyes and locked with darkened lavender "You put that poison in your sword" he grimaced and she nodded.
Sakura was grim faced as she watched the shinobi turned bandit writhe on the ground "Long while back, when we were still in Sand during the Chunin Exams" came the explanation, Kurotsuchi watching in horror.
"That the Chizakura-doku you were talking about earlier" she asked standing next to the pinkette now as the minutes ticked down, Sakura bit her lip, eyed her injured sword with a frown and nodded once more.
He was barely conscious now "J..Just pu..put me o..ou..out o..of my mis..misery" the man gasped through the burning he felt, this was like a personal hell, as the poison pumped itself through his entire body.
Kimimaro did the honors, with a bone to the heart "Our mission is finished, we should return to the village" he pointed out, the three of them turned, after sealing the bodies in a scroll to be thrown away later and headed back to the Stone Village.
Ohnoki, Mei and Minato were still deep in negotiations when the trio entered the office, the Tsuchikage looked shocked to see them back so soon only after it having been less than two hours that he'd assigned them on the mission.
"Are the bandits taken care of" he directed his gaze onto Kurotsuchi, who looked a little shaken and exhausted "What did you do with them" Ohnoki narrowed his eyes on the Leaf shinobi, Sakura looked to her Hokage and he nodded.
"I sealed them in this scroll Tsuchikage-sama" she set it down on his desk, the scroll was promptly picked up and thrown in the trash "Do you need us for anything else" Sakura inquired with a polite bow.
The Tsuchikage was eyeing her oddly, before his gaze shifted to Minato, who looked as if he'd expected her question "No, now get out of here you stinkin brats" he ordered, Sakura scrambled for the door after bowing again, Kimimaro on her heels, doing the same as his sister.
Minato couldn't help but chuckle quietly "One of a kind that Sakura-san" he shook his head before becoming serious once more redoubling his efforts in getting this peace treaty well underway, it would awhile, but they'd get it, they had to after all.
Now that they were alone "I can't believe he scratched up Kubi that deep" Sakura was holding her ginormous blade before her, looking the scratch over and pouting, some people had no respect for such blades and it pissed her off.
"You should expect it to happen a lot more Imouto-san, especially with this mission we're on" Kimimaro ruffled her hair lightly eyeing it's length, then let his arm drop to his side as they walked to the hotel.
Sakura sulked even more at his words "I know, but I definitely will never like it, and now I have to replace the vial of poison and give Kubi my blood, that's if he takes it this time" she frowned running her finger across the wound on her sword.
Kimimaro lifted a white brow, but Sakura ignored it as they entered the hotel and went into their separate rooms, it was ten minutes later that Kiba and Shino sensed their teammates return and entered the room she shared with the Mizukage "So how did the mission go" Kiba sulked.
Her head snapped up and she blinked rapidly "Ignore him, why he's just sore about getting left out of the mission from Tsuchikage-san" Shino pushed his sunglasses up his nose as he and the Inuzuka settled on the bed on either side of her.
"It went well until one of the bandits did more than your average bandit and pulled a shinobi move" Sakura huffed, reaching into her storage belt for the belt of poison she kept on hand, and pulled a vial of that pink poison out, along with a much smaller on and a dropper.
Both boys looked to Kubikiribocho which was propped up against the wall, and saw the deep wound "Kami, did they try to break him" Kiba winced, knowing how obsessed Sakura was with her sword, even he knew it was never a good idea to harm the blade.
Shino winced as anger radiated off of his female teammate "You know how to tend to it" he turned his head in her direction and Sakura sighed, putting some of the light pink poison into the smaller vial, before the two other items were put away.
"Of course, though I might have to use more blood than usual, depending on if Kubi takes my blood this time, he's been a little obstinate lately" she rolled her lavender eyes as she pulled the sword over to her and placed him in her lap, wound facing her.
Kiba bit his cheek hesitating "What if Shino and I helped, mixed our blood with yours, would he accept it then, he's as much of a teammate as you are" he shrugged when Sakura gave him a shocked look.
Before looking to Shino "If it helps, why because Kubikiribocho has saved our lives just as much as you have" he nodded in acceptance, in truth he was extremely curious about the gargantuan sword always had been to be honest.
Her eyes lit up and she pulled out a kunai "I think it might work, he won't know who's blood he's being given" Sakura grinned, slicing her palm and holding it over the scratch on Kubikiribocho, like she'd suspected, he refused her blood and it just pooled in the wound.
The Inuzuka was next he made a deep cut "We're happy to help Sakura" Kiba gave her a cheeky smile, placing his hand on the sword, feeling it absorbing his blood until half of the scratch was healed "Man that was so weird" he shook his hand feeling odd.
Shino went last "Is there a reason you put a vial of Chizakura-doku in the scratch of your sword" he asked, cutting his palm and putting it over the remaining wound, feeling Kubikiribocho pull his blood in to heal himself.
"Yes, to give anyone trying to harm Kubi a nasty surprise, the man who did this, clearly wasn't expecting poison to burst out of Kubikiribocho like it did, but it was very effective to say the least" she snickered.
Kiba and Shino suppressed their shudders, reminding themselves that their teammate was a very special girl and this was something she considered normal "Well at least it works right" the Inuzuka pointed out.
"Exactly, why because of the various experiments Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san conducted" Shino leaned back on his newly healed hand, Kiba receiving the same treatment since they'd aided in the fixing of Kubikiribocho.
Sakura smiled widely "Innocent but deadly" she quipped, leaning her sword against the wall for a moment, then took up the rag and sword polish, placed Kubi in her lap once more and gave him a thorough rub down.
Hours later, after eating a late dinner, Mei and Minato wandered into the hotel and they all went to bed the two Kage rather tired from arguing over details in the treaty they were trying to draw up between their villages and Hidden Stone.