Just a few days later halfway through the third week in the Hidden Stone Village "It's done" Ay and Ohnoki declared signing both their names on the newly forged treaty between Stone and Cloud and leaning back afterwards.
It was just the two of them in the office for once "To think I was softened up by a child no less, but I've come to see the reason why she has a charm like no other" the Tsuchikage spoke, he still grumbled like usual, but he was at least a little kinder and more open to change.
"Like I said that brat is extremely special, she can get the unlikeliest of people to get along, now shall we find out where our shinobi have wandered off to" the Raikage stood stretching eager to get out of this office and relax for a bit.
They still had a week and a few days here after all, treaty negotiations had gone smoothly thanks to everyone's efforts, Ohnoki nodded floating from his chair and so he and Ay left his office behind for awhile.
And predictably found Stone/Cloud Shinobi on the training grounds, no surprise there to the Raikage, Sakura loved training, he doubted she even knew that everyone was watching her at the moment as she leaped from seal to seal utterly massacring her water clones.
Complete with brutality and force that it left all the men feeling just a tiny bit uncomfortable "That girl has issues obviously" Mu snorted coming to stand at his former student and the current Raikage's side keeping his eyes glued to the pinkette.
Just as she delivered what would be considered a bone crushing punch to her clone and it was sent flying through the air to land on the ground with a loud ~splash~ dispelled forcefully against it's will before Sakura turned and kicked out with her foot.
Graceful and deadly "Nah the Kid's always been like that" Darui shook his head in amusement, he wouldn't admit it though but Sakura did have issues, the exact reason why she was training still right now in order to become stronger.
The only blonde in their midst nodded "Sakura has been training oriented right from the get-go, from the first time I taught the tree climbing exercise to when I taught her the mystical palm" Cee looked down at his hands, perhaps it was time to teach her something new.
"You all seem to put a lot of pressure on that girl why is that, surely there are more capable shinobi in you're village other than a child" Kitsuchi was the one to ask a question the rest of them were wondering about.
Even Roshi and Han, who had returned to their villages after so long "Kid there seems to be a workaholic I doubt it's anything these guys do" Kurotsuchi rolled her eyes upwards and winced as the ground cracked as Sakura slammed her heel down.
Taking out another one of her clones, in response to her statement though Darui, Cee and Ay nodded silently in answer, the simple truth Sakura was a workaholic, she was working even while having time off, it was really annoying to be honest.
Another question came this time from Roshi "Do you as her Kage know that child possesses the Sharingan, I bet Leaf are pretty upset about having their precious kekkeigenkai in the hands of Cloud Shinobi" the red head outed the not so kept secret, she just didn't use it.
Prompting the Cloud Shinobi to freeze, Darui and Cee grimaced while Ay sported an extremely sour expression, but he did nod proving he did know that Sakura had the Sharingan "What of the Leaf then" Han was curious.
"Indeed I bet they were none to happy to find out Sakura-san had something that belongs to the Uchiha Clan, did she steal it" Akatsuchi wasn't accusing just curious like the rest of them, it was worrisome though.
The pinkette chose that moment to end her training session and bound towards the lot of them with a wide grin "Relax, Hokage-san and Fugaku-sama of the Hidden Leaf know I have it, I grew up friends of the Uchiha Heirs, Fugaku's youngest son is practically like a brother" Sakura quipped.
And it made them all frown "Why did they allow you to keep it though, I would have thought that, that old Danzo would have had you hunted down and had it sealed" Ohnoki obviously didn't know that the esteemed elder had been jailed.
Sakura's expression darkened "Shimura-san is rotting away in a jail cell at this current moment for trying to kill my family and myself, though not because of the Sharingan, but because he was conspiring with the very person who is trying to dominate the world, the Masked Man" she said.
Rage filled words, but they were spoke lightly in a polite tone, Cee and Darui nodded remembering that bloody awful incident "Apartment Complex Massacre" the younger dark skinned male there grimaced.
"Right Danzo and his root organization massacred the entire apartment complex I lived in when I was eight, except for myself, my little cousin Joki and one other as I learned, she moved just before the incident happened" Sakura stated simply.
Kitsuchi choked "Eight, you were eight how the hell did you even survive that" he looked beyond horrified "Come to think of it, what were you doing living in the Leaf Village" the Tsuchikage's son frowned in confusion.
Her expression lightened "My Dad taught me Fuinjutsu from a young age, so I make use of transportation seals, though I did have a moment of stupidity and instead of going straight to safety I jumped out the window" she showed off one of her kunai.
Attached to it a gem, with a familiar seal carved into it, Roshi and Han suddenly remembered the ones they'd been given, it made sense now, at the first sign of danger, the girl could use the seals to get them out of harms way, it was perfect.
"Bet that was scary huh Kid, but you said that you're cousin was there to, how did you get him away" the other teenage girl there spoke up feeling for the pink haired girl, clearly she'd been through a lot to get to this point.
She grimaced lightly in response "Unbelievably scary and I sent my cousin off with water clones before they realized we were even there, I was also pursued for a short few minutes before I managed to get to safety with an anbu I'd befriended" Sakura stuffed her weapon away.
"Let's not forget you're cat Hoyo, he's also alive today because those guys left him alone" the blonde chuckled and Sakura grinned widely thinking on her long brown haired orange eyed cat she'd left behind in Cloud at her house.
There was a tender light in her emerald eyes "Course Cee-san and I am forever grateful that nothing happened to him, I don't want to lose my cuddle buddy after all" she snickered hands behind her back.
"You never did answer the other part of Kitsuchi's question Sakura-san" the older teenage black haired boy piped in with the reminding getting the conversation back on track, because he to wanted to know why she'd been living in Leaf.
Her lips twisted upwards "Because of Naruto, he's kind of a knucklehead and like another brother to me, we were pretty close as children, so while we were going to individual academies, I was hopping between Cloud and Leaf at his demand and Sasuke's" Sakura rolled her eyes lightly.
"I bet with you're skills you've mastered all five elements, so tell us how many jutsu do you know because of that Sharingan of yours" Han asked what they were all thinking changing the topic of conversation to something else.
Sakura pressed her lips together "Only three and one of them I can't control yet and the only jutsu I know are the ones I've practiced with, I haven't used my Sharingan to copy any jutsu, I refuse to actually" she admitted quietly.
"But why though you have a kekkeigenkai girl you should use it like it was meant to be used" Roshi was confused, why the hell wasn't she training with her Sharingan, beyond entering a beasts mindscape, he hadn't seen her do anything with it.
There it went the curling of the lip, as Darui and Cee turned their heads away, matching expressions of anger "For the protection of my friends and family that is the only time I will use my Sharingan unless it is needed for something else" Sakura said.
Reigning in her temper "Spoken like a true brat" Ay's hand came down and ruffled her hair roughly, it was unbound from the twin tails she put them in constantly, so when he was done the pink locks were messed up beyond repair.
"Raikage-sama" she hurriedly tried to fix her hair only to hit several snags so she had to pull out her brush that she always kept on as the Raikage chuckled at what he'd done "Anyway that's why I hardly use it" she coughed.
For a few minutes things were quiet and she thought they were going to drop all lines of questioning until Mu spoke up making things worse "Do you have you're mangekyou, that boy on you're team did die didn't he" the former Tsuchikage inquired roughly.
Ay, Cee and Darui froze "I do and Omoi's only alive today because of something I did, I tried to give up all my life energy for him and brought him back to life that single moment has changed my life in an irreversible way" Sakura sighed softly.
Tension was thick in the air until the current Tsuchikage decided to break it "You mentioned having three chakra natures, what are they" Ohnoki demanded to know, thinking she had fire, wind and earth.
Sakura didn't have a chance to answer as his granddaughter jumped in "Earth, Water and Lightning isn't that right Kid, but if I remember correctly, you're more in tune with you're water nature" Kurotsuchi grinned.
"Mhm Kurotsuchi-chan is right Tsuchikage-san, I know a few earth nature jutsu's, only one lightning nature jutsu because I just started learning, and probably over a dozen water nature jutsu's" she ticked off her fingers with a smile.
Glad that the conversation was moving to something else "What a surprise for being an Uchiha one would think that you would have Fire Nature or possibly Wind Nature chakra" Kitsuchi mused aloud.
Han and Roshi grimaced "I'm not an Uchiha, not a single one of them is related to me, at the time of my birth no female Uchiha was pregnant nor have any of them gone missing" Sakura announced in a polite tone.
"Got a question since when did you start calling her by a more relaxed suffix used between friends Sakura-san" Akatsuchi was confused, had he missed something, no he'd been there right alongside his partner.
Kurotsuchi grinned just a wide as the girl "After our spar Akatsuchi-san, she's almost as brutal as Yugito-sensei though" the pinkette shuddered in her minds eye she could see it now, Yugito aiming those….nope not going down that road right now, she hastily shook her head.
Ridding it of it's current dangerous thoughts "Then there's Bee-sama, poor Omoi and Karui have probably had to deal with his training sessions and bad raps since we've been here" Darui smirked in a totally unsympathetic way.
"Well at least Bee-san doesn't aim claws at them and tries to gut them every single time" Sakura winced rubbing her stomach "He just spins swords at them erratically and I like his raps" she huffed at the dark skinned male.
The only blonde snorted "Figures you'd like those distasteful lines he comes up with you know you really are the weirdest child I have ever met and that's excluding you're love of adventure" Cee rubbed his forehead.
Han and Roshi were decidedly amused "You're kind of like a walking contradiction, the things you do and say can switch to something completely different at the drop of a hat" the taller male with light brown hairs said lightly.
Earning an innocent smile "I like to be unpredictable, lets just say a certain knucklehead has rubbed off on me and at least this way no one can really read my movements" a twinkle of mischief appeared in those emerald eyes.
There she went again being contradictory "And would this knucklehead be a boyfriend perhaps" the only red head prodded wanting to know, if she was dating then he would be extremely surprised her adoptive father must have a lot of faith.
"Nope Naruto's like a brother to me, but I do have one a boyfriend I mean, however we don't let our relationship interfere with missions" there was a silly smile on Sakura's lips as she spoke, and a tender look in her eyes.
It was always about Omoi with her, she was always thinking about him no matter how far apart they were "Better not let that interfere with missions brats, I don't want you sulking if you two brats have a fight while on a mission" the Raikage grouched out roughly.
And got flashed a sweet smile "The only ones that fight or argue is Omoi and Karui that's because Karui has a temper that she hardly reigns in and Omoi over thinks things to the point of driving everyone insane" Sakura grinned cheekily and dodged the whack with a giggle.
Getting an irritated glower though there was a subtle undertone of amusement in those beetle black orbs that no one but she could see "How would you like to learn an earth jutsu native to this country" the offer came surprisingly from Mu.
Sakura turned to face the bandage wrapped man shock in her jade eyes, before she swiveled them to rest on Ohnoki, who shrugged "I'd love to Lord Second Tsuchikage Sir" she was visibly excited at the prospect of learning something new.
To absolutely no ones surprise really as the former Tsuchikage and pinkette started off towards the middle of the training grounds to get started on the training "Was she dropped on her head as a baby" the current Tsuchikage asked in moderately veiled concern.
"No she could have fallen though, on the first day when Mu-sama came to get her to heal you're back, he asked if she was afraid of heights, she said and I quote *Are you kidding I use to jump off high things for fun when I was little* whatever that means" his granddaughter butt in.
Darui and Cee covered their mouths as chuckles filtered the air "That would be because Jiraiya left her in the care of the toads on Mount Myoboku and from the time she was almost six, she lived there, jumping off toadstools and exploring every inch of that place" the blonde snorted.
Every eye was on him suddenly "Right, though one of the larger toads was always there to catch her" the dark skinned male that was his partner provided more of an explanation to Cee's statement, shaking his head in amusement.
It was then that Roshi and Han began to wonder, besides them how many people knew that Sakura was actually a time traveler and Hagoromo Otsutsuki's biological daughter, they didn't dare comment on it though, choosing to keep the secret for the time being.
Ahead of them delighted laughter sounded from Sakura as she used the jutsu that Mu had just taught her for the first time, though she immediately went off course "I distinctly remember her not even so much as flinching when her nose got broken over a week ago" the Tsuchikage's son pointed out.
"Wouldn't be the first time that, that has happened, that girl all the time seems to be getting some kind of broken bone" Ay rolled his eyes watching as she dropped to the ground and landed harshly, though the girl was right back on her feet again.
Picking herself up as she'd always done because it had been expected of her "Has Sakura-san ever cried upon receiving an injury, she's rather soft for being a cloud ninja" the black haired teenage boy inquired gently.
"She also has a temper, when she talked to us, she gave us these, I tried to give this one back and she went off on me, it was kind of amusing actually if not a little scary" Roshi grimaced remembering that and showing off the gem he'd been given.
It looked like molten lava "Roshi wasn't the only one to receive one, however I get the feeling there is a deeper meaning behind these, though she hasn't told us" Han nodded still thinking the child was extremely amusing.
Darui and Cee narrowed their eyes, so the two men were Jinchuuriki that explained a lot, why Sakura would give that particular item away, she'd probably made them in preparation, though she probably also hadn't expected to meet them either.
A win/win situation for her really they still got the treaty and she was working closer and closer to her dream "Okay brat that's enough practicing for today don't want to use up all you're chakra after all" Mu and Sakura decided to return to the others nearly thirty minutes later.
Sakura wanted to tell him that she could merely gather some nature energy to replenish her chakra, but didn't as she finally worked up the courage to ask "Say Tsuchikage-san may I request a small favor of you" she fidgeted shyly contradicting her earlier personality.
"Yes child what do you want of me" Ohnoki narrowed his eyes in suspicion as did the others, but Darui had his suspicions as to what the pinkette was about to ask, he was proven right in those assumptions in the next moment.
As she opened her mouth and pulled out a black moonstone "Well it's not going to hinder anyone really, but I'd like to leave one of my gems here, carved into it is the transportation seal, so that I may come back sometime and visit" Sakura explained carefully.
Ohnoki blinked at her in surprise, then at the moonstone in her hand weighing the pros of having such a thing on hand "Why not gramps, that way kid could come back and heal you're back should it act up" Kurotsuchi threw her head back and laughed.
"That's true plus to visit you to Kurotsuchi-chan and Akatsuchi-san and well all of you really" the pink haired girl nodded along, though she hadn't had any ulterior motives, it was just something that was ingrained in her to use the seals.
The Tsuchikage's son frowned "How though Cloud is six days away and as I understand it you'd have to have massive chakra reserves which you don't" Kitsuchi pointed out wanting to hear what kind of answer she'd give.
Darui and Cee rolled their eyes upwards as she grinned widely "Good thing I'm a Toad Sage like my Dad huh Kitsuchi-san, I can gather nature energy and use sage chakra to transport long distances via transportation seal" Sakura announced.
"You…You're a sage like Jiraiya, for how long" the light brown eyed male spoke up, though it did sort of make sense that she became a sage considering who her birth father was, and if he remembered correctly the Sage of Six Paths had also been a toad sage.
Sakura nodded "Mhm and since I was five that was the condition for living on Mount Myoboku if I became a Toad Sage and signed on with the Toads, though I have my own personal summons separate from my Dad and Naruto, possibly Hidzuke to" she mused aloud in thought.
"Who is Hidzuke is that another boy you're crushing on" the only red head much like Cee was the only blonde in the group piped in, just how many boys did this girl know, it was kind of wrong if one thought about it.
Immediately she recoiled "Good heavens no Roshi-san, Hidzuke's my little brother, he's not even six yet, Omoi's the only one for me" Sakura shook her head hastily "What I meant by my earlier statement is that my little brother could possibly sign on with the Toads as well" she said.
"And why is that exactly Sakura-san, is it because he wants to be like his big sister" Akatsuchi laughed finding the conversation thus far amusing just like usual, he let out deep bellied chuckles that no one was bothered at.
Her lips pursed in consternation "One of the various reasons, he also has an aptitude for the Toad Summons, the first Chunin Exams, he got into one of my books in my room in Leaf and accidentally used chakra while performing the hand signs and summoned himself to Mount Myoboku" Sakura sighed.
"Sounds like the boy is a handful, at least you don't have any other siblings" the former Tsuchikage snorted, while Darui and Cee groaned "Wait you have another one" Mu frowned how the hell had she not gone insane.
The pinkette rubbed the back of her head "Try two siblings and four cousins, all younger than me hehehe I love them though, I'm sure their chomping at the bit cause I've been gone for so long" she laughed in a fond way as she spoke of her family.
"You'd think they would understand by now that being ninja sometimes means going on long missions, well not those two young ones Shikke and Shimetta right" Darui shook his head lightly leaning against a rock to relax.
While the blonde nodded "Right, however no matter the distance that is made, you always seem to handle them well" Cee chuckled lightly also thinking on the children that Sakura babysat constantly for their parents.
"I'm surprised you haven't tried to disappear to the Cloud Village yet to check on that brother of yours, because it's to far to send a clone" Ay lifted a brow in suspicion and her brows shot upwards in surprise.
Before she snorted lightly "Gamatori one of my summons, he brings me updates daily, though he always seems to find me when I'm alone for some reason" Sakura explained in amusement, this time she couldn't dodge the hand.
That slammed down on her head and Ay rolled his eyes not amused even if his lips were twitching, Ohnoki was the one to return them to the conversation at hand "You have permission to leave that here outside the gates I assume, I'm returning to my office" then the Tsuchikage was gone.
Pleased to have gotten permission Sakura vanished from the training grounds to complete her task of finding a spot to leave the gem and make sure no one could find it "So why gems and not tags with the sealing formula for the transportation jutsu written on them" Han asked.
Ay scoffed "You two can handle that question, I'm heading to the hotel to take a much needed break from paperwork, consider the next few days as a break, then we'll be returning to Cloud" the Raikage stated and turned on his heel to do as he said.
Leaving his two men to deal with the questions "Originally they were friendship gifts, because Sakura-san has such a hard time making friends with people" Cee was the one to inform them of why the girl used gems.
He stuck around only long enough to hear the answer "I'm going to stay with my Father, have fun" Kitsuchi disappeared from the group in the next moment headed for the Tsuchikage Tower, mulling over everything he'd learned so far.
"She befriended us pretty easily and those guys to which is weird a little girl shouldn't befriend fully grown men like it's nothing" Kurotsuchi was seriously confused, how the hell could that blonde say the girl had a hard time making friends, when she and Sakura were friends.
The dark skinned male with white hair shook his head "Not quite Kurotsuchi, the suffixes, if you two hadn't sparred I bet it would still be a polite suffix" Akatsuchi offered getting the feeling there was something they were missing.
"I think Akatsuchi is right, she exudes nervousness around us at all times, why is that" Roshi asked wanting to know before they all split up to wherever standing around on the training grounds was getting kind of boring now.
Mu shifted his gaze to the two Jonin from Cloud "Did something happen to her that made her not trust new people or is it because someone has come after her for the Sharingan she possesses" it was a liable explanation after all.
The taller Cloud Jonin shook his head "We only got the full version during the recent Chunin Exams, but when the treaty between Leaf and Cloud came into affect Shima and Fukasaku, on Mount Myoboku, two toads she loved with all her heart, nearly kicked her off the mountain" Darui explained.
All of them were horrified but no more questions were forthcoming after that, so the lot of them all split up to enjoy the rest of their time off for the next few days and create solid bonds with those from the Hidden Cloud, like they were doing with them of the Hidden Stone.
Meanwhile Sakura had reached the gates of the Stone Village "Hello you two good afternoon isn't it" she grinned appearing between the two guards of the gates, they both nodded politely watching as she signed out only to go less than four feet from the entrance of their village.
And start digging a hole to their surprise "What are you doing there Miss Cloud Shinobi, Tsuchikage-sama won't be happy that you're doing that" the one on the right immediately tried to stop her from doing anymore.
"Relax Guard-san, I've got permission from Tsuchikage-san to leave one of my gems here only the three of us know where it is K" Sakura flashed the two guards grins and settled the black moonstone in the earth, before covering it back up.
They were curious to say the least "Pardon me but what use is a gem going to be" the guard on the left inquired as the pinkette dusted her hands off and stood properly on her feet from her formerly kneeling position as she'd dug.
Before turning to face them "You two are familiar with the flying thunder god technique right" she asked, they nodded "On those gems is the formula for that technique, which would then allow me to come visit in the future after gaining permission to come here" she explained.
Signing back in, gave the duo a wave and then hurried off to find something to occupy her time, there was limited time left in the Stone Village and she wanted to see everything, by the time it was dinner Sakura felt thoroughly exhausted from her adventure around Stone.
Darui didn't ask where she'd been, neither did Cee or the Raikage, they simply ate dinner in the hotel cafeteria, took showers in the hotel rooms and dressed for bed before climbing into the beds they'd been using for near a month.
It was two days later that thick black clouds that blocked out the sun and made the village become bathed in darkness rolled over the Land of Earth and subsequently the Hidden Stone Village "Kind of creepy aren't they" Sakura didn't like the looks of those clouds at all.
"No kidding Kid, though looks like we're all gonna be stuck inside huh" Darui peered out the window of the hotel room they were sharing, he was just glad Sakura wasn't one of those girls who wore nothing but her unmentionables to bed.
While he wore a black tank and some sweats "Yeah" she held tightly to her custom made chakra powered lava lamp, it had been a constant presence during this time in the Stone Village and she slept with it every night.
Only hours later did the first sign of lightning come, followed by the loudest crack of thunder Sakura had ever heard and that's not counting the ones that happened during the day in Cloud, she jumped in fright.
And her chakra powered lava lamp went flying from her arms, Darui turned in the nick of time and caught it one handed "Watch it there Kid, don't want to go breaking this especially not tonight, when it will be even darker" he handed it back to her.
"Right that was close to the hotel though" Sakura clutched the lamp in her arms again eyes wide in shock it was understandable really this was the first real storm she'd ever witnessed in her entire life, it was probably going to be a little scary.
He turned to keep watching out the window just as the door to their hotel room burst open "Powers out in the hotel" Cee said "So that means no cafeteria for lunch" he grumbled clearly in a foul mood, he didn't do well with being cooped up.
"Which also means that one of us will have to go out and acquire food for lunch and dinner" the blonde continued looking between the three of them "And check on Raikage-sama" Cee finished in the next moment.
The white haired male opened his mouth and glanced to Sakura, she'd be quicker than the both of them and their food wouldn't get cold because of her heated storage scrolls "You alright with going out kid to get food and check on Raikage-sama" Darui lifted a brow.
"I could go, that storms pretty bad out there, even if it's not raining yet, she could get hit by lightning and you know with her primary nature being water it will hurt a lot more" the blonde immediately tried to dissuade her.
But the pinkette smiled widely "Don't worry Cee-san I'll be alright, besides unless it's a jutsu, lightning never strikes a person, unless I'm standing near an object that conducts electricity and it jumps from that object to me" Sakura rattled off rising from the bed.
Though her lava lamp stayed firmly clutched in her arms as she grabbed her wallet, put on a cloak and left the hotel room to their surprise, it always shocked them how smart the girl actually was to know a fact like that and say it off the top of her head without thinking about the answer.
Sakura wasn't paying attention in the least as she traipsed from the hotel, only focused on her task of getting lunch, dinner and checking on the Raikage, possibly tend to the Tsuchikage's back if need be, she hadn't done that for a couple of days actually, cause he'd been less tense lately.
As the treaty negotiations were finished there was little to worry about except for paperwork, her arms tightened around the lamp as a crack of thunder sounded in her ears, Sakura instantly picked up the pace a little to get to the Tsuchikage Tower.
"Brat what are you doing here" Ay turned at the sound of the knock and the Tsuchikage rumbled out permission for whoever it was to enter, only to pause at the sight of his Chunin, who'd done most excellently so far.
In her arms was her lamp "Perhaps she was frightened" Mu had gotten in the habit of teasing the girl "Since she is afraid of the dark after all, not becoming of a shinobi really" he shook his head in mock disappointment and she gave him the stink eye.
"Wait you're afraid of the dark, how cute" Kitsuchi chuckled finding it absolutely hilarious to know that the girl did have normal fears, a sour expression formed on her lips at the continued teasing and she huffed lightly.
And turned to Ay "Cee-san and Darui-san were worried, the power is out at the hotel, so they shut the cafeteria down so I offered to come out and get lunch and dinner for everyone" she explained lightly holding tightly to her lamp.
"You could also check on my back as well" Ohnoki grumbled out, wanting to get healed one last time before the girl left and he had to deal with the constant pain on his own, he'd been very impressed at how skilled she actually was.
Sakura nodded quietly and stowed her mini lava lamp away for the moment and came forward "If you're getting dinner, just get that rice/curry dango and green tea combo from the tea shop, six sticks of the sweet" the Raikage ordered leaning back in the chair.
Kitsuchi frowned lightly "While you're out there and run across Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi, could you tell them to bring lunch for us here as well" he suggested sensing that the girl would be only out long enough to get food.
At his request she flashed him a light smile "There you go Tsuchikage-san I've done the best I can and until I start training under my mom I can't fully repair you're back" Sakura leaned away several minutes later and wiped her forehead free of sweat.
"I do believe you've done enough already, you should get going though before the storm gets even worse" the former Tsuchikage shooed the girl from the office, before she left though she pulled out her lamp and held it close as she exited the office.
Hurrying quickly down the darkened streets of the Stone Village and across bridges to reach the tea shop looking every which direction she could for Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi, where one was the other wasn't far behind.
Funnily enough she found them in the tea shop "Kid what the hell are you doing out in this storm and what the hell is that in you're arms" Kurotsuchi jumped up as Sakura made her appearance in the restaurant.
"Now, now Kurotsuchi, perhaps Sakura-san was sent out on an errand by her superiors, no doubt the storm has knocked out the power at the hotel, thus the cafeteria was closed" Akatsuchi was as calm as ever and found the situation funny as usual.
Sakura blinked at him in amusement "Right also you're Dad, said to bring lunch Kurotsuchi-chan for those in the office, I would have done it if I hadn't found you though" she announced before turning to the waiter and ordered take out.
For her two orders of sweet potato/vegetable curry and rice, with two canteens of green tea, for Darui, Cee and Ay five orders of regular curry and rice, along with five canteens of green teal along with eighteen sticks of dango, which she paid for right then and there.
Before sealing the food all away in one of her heated storage scrolls, then Sakura waved to Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi, who'd been waiting their turn to order lunch for the ones in the office and headed from the shop.
And all the way back to the hotel where Darui and Cee were waiting "You did good Kid and you even brought us dango" Darui grinned as they all sat in the hotel on the beds, he and Cee on his, while Sakura sat on hers, they ate carefully though so as not to make a mess.
"Indeed and yet you still don't get any for yourself, I know before you say it, lots of sugar makes you sick" Cee paused long enough to speak and take a sip of his canteen of green tea, before returning to eating his rice and curry.
Delicious no matter what village they were in "Mhm and Raikage-sama is doing well as are the others though I didn't see Roshi-san or Han-san" Sakura mused in thought scraping another bite onto her spoon before chewing with her mouth closed.
For the rest of the afternoon the three of them sat around in the hotel reading or cleaning their weapons as was the case of Darui, while Cee and Sakura read books they brought/bought until their Raikage returned to the hotel for dinner.
"Did you get what I asked six sticks of dango brat" Ay barked as they all sat together in the cafeteria power was still out in the hotel, the pinkette nodded and unsealed their dinner from the heated storage scroll, along with twelve more sticks of dango.
Six were split between Darui and Cee, while the rest went to Ay "Good still as obedient as ever, day after tomorrow we'll be leaving, even if this storm doesn't let up" the Raikage warned already chowing down on his supper.
Kind of sucked that the cafeteria couldn't prepare meals, but thankfully there were restaurants that littered the village "Got it Raikage-sama" she smiled lightly enjoying her vegetable/sweet potato curry, it was equal parts healthy and a little sweet, but just right to not be overpowering.
Afterwards the lot of them took showers and headed to bed, the next morning Sakura was sent out to acquire breakfast for them once again from the tea shop, rice/curry/tea and dango, she was kind of getting sick of it but she hurried back to the hotel with their orders and they all ate.
Before Ay headed off for the Tsuchikage Tower leaving his Shinobi behind in the hotel to sit and find something to do though they wouldn't dare venture out not with that storm as that day brought a change in the form of heavy rain.
It was even more annoying than the thunder and lightning and Sakura was getting very frustrated as she got sent out in it to get lunch and dinner "I really don't like the rain" she scowled up at the black clouds with a glare in her emerald eyes.
She was on her way back thankfully but like usual trouble had to catch up with her "So you are Sakura Otsutsuki the little brat that was born by that concubine Hagoromo took" a dangerous voice sounded from behind her.
Sakura whipped around only to be jabbed in the neck with a needle, the dark purple liquid that was in it, was injected into her blood, she only caught a glimpse of the culprit with wide and frightened jade eyes "Black Zetsu" she choked out sliding to the ground.
Holding her stomach, losing consciousness, the man/creature stared down at the pinkette a cold look in his gold eyes "No one to save you now" Black Zetsu merged with the ground and was gone, with no one the wiser as to what had happened.
They'd been on an empty side street after all and all occupants of the Stone Village were hiding out in their homes, lady luck was shining down on her though because who would happen upon her but Roshi and Han.
Nearly stumbled over her to be precise as it was so dark it was impossible to see more than two feet ahead of them "What the devil is this brat doing laying here in the middle of the street during a storm" Roshi frowned bending down to shake her awake.
"I wouldn't do that Roshi, somethings not right here, her breathing is labored, check her forehead" Han was immediately wary, and he looked around cautiously, Roshi's hand rested upon Sakura's forehead and the man recoiled.
Feeling the heat as the poison that she'd been injected with worked it's way through her veins and through out her entire body "You don't think Ohnoki would have done this do you" the red head didn't put it past the man.
Han shook his head "Doubtful, you see how he interacts with her, gently as if she was a fragile little flower" light brown eyes were still peering around warily "We should get her to the office now, I think she's been poisoned" he picked Sakura up gently.
The girl didn't even stir as her head lolled back against his arm skin pale and cold, how long had she been laying there before they'd stumbled across her, there was no more conversation as the two men Sakura in arms made haste to the Tsuchikage Tower.
All out chaos happened when they burst into the office without waiting for permission to enter "Brat" Ay swung around "What the hell happened" he went to shake her awake like Roshi had tried to do, but she was pulled back out of range.
"Not a good idea, she's poisoned, if we try to move her around to much the poison will speed up and she'll only die" Roshi shook his head onyx eyes locked on the unmoving form of Ohnoki, who looked shocked, horrified and furious all in one go.
Erasing his suspicions of how it had been him who'd had the girl poisoned to his eternal relief "Kitsuchi go get those two from the hotel, that blonde one is a medic as well" Ohnoki rounded on his son and barked out an order.
"Understood Father, I'll get them here quickly" and then the man was gone from the office in a flurry, if they didn't hurry Sakura could possibly die on them because it was possible the poison running through her veins was artificial.
Things were bad and Sakura only grew colder "I'm not trying to order you around Raikage-san, but my armor is making her cold, not to mention she's soaked through" Han was definitely worried now, who the hell would be stupid enough to poison the girl.
Catching onto the subtle request Ay shrugged out of his robes and Sakura was quickly wrapped up to help her get warm again "Shouldn't we alert her parents, isn't her mother one of the best medical ninja in the world" the suggestion came from Mu.
"Yeah but it will take to long to get in contact with them" Kurotsuchi was pacing back and forth in the office, arms crossed over her chest and glaring around the office as hopelessness welled up on her, she'd never had to worry about anyone other than her village or her family before and Akatsuchi.
Who was watching her pace quietly and glancing over to Sakura every few minutes in concern "Kurotsuchi is right Lady Tsunade will never make it in time to heal her" Akatsuchi finally spoke returning to watching his partner/friend pace.
Cee, Darui and Kitsuchi chose that moment to burst into the office, panic in their gazes "There's a summoning tattoo on her arm, in case of emergencies we can summon her summons, Gamatori is the fastest one she can summon" Darui heard the last statement.
"That's right, I'll get started on trying to see if I can't figure out the poison" Cee knelt by the couch sweat was practically pouring off of the girl now, though she felt cold to the touch, proving whatever poison it was wasn't good.
Darui grabbed her arm gently showing off one of her four tattoo's, bit his thumb and drew a line of blood down the summoning seal tattoo, before going through the hand signs the particular toad he wanted to summon at the forefront of his thoughts.
And in a plume of smoke the blue toad with moss green eyes were before them "Gamatori rep…what's wrong with Sakura-chan" horror welled up in the toad almost instantly seeing his summoner in such a state.
"Now is not the time to ask questions Gamatori-san, we need you to deliver a message to Lady Tsunade and Tobirama, they need to come here right away, I know that Second Hokage dude has marked her with his seal" the younger dark skinned male spoke hastily.
Ohnoki floated forward and handed a message to the toad "Leave it to Gamatori then, I'm the fastest toad that Sakura-chan can summon, she places all of her faith in me to deliver her messages" he nodded and then he was gone in a plume of smoke.
For five minutes all of them sat in tense silence, before the office became even more crowded as Tobirama and Tsunade made their appearance, proving that it had been right to send the blue toad as their messenger to alert the Leaf of the danger that had befallen Sakura.
"Move out of my way" Tsunade snapped honey eyes furious, hands already glowing green as she checked her adopted daughter over, Cee didn't hesitate and flew back to stand next to his Kage, letting the woman work.
Eight minutes was all it took to figure out that the poison that had been injected into Sakura wasn't one that was easily taken care of "Son of a bitch I'm gonna murder the bastard who did this" the blonde woman roared in anger.
"Bl…Black Z…Zetsu Mom h..he was here" a hand grabbed a fistful of her green haori jacket and every eye landed on the now somewhat conscious Sakura, now she understood what Gamamaru meant about how the world was becoming more dangerous.
He was physically involving himself in trying to get rid of her to complete his plans in unleashing Kaguya Otsutsuki from the moon thus by reviving the ten tails "How we didn't detect any enemy chakra in the village at all" Ohnoki was furious.
Someone had invaded his village and tried to kill one of his guests that he'd invited there to create a treaty, "I..I didn't detect h..him either and h..he was right behind me, he..he's using some k..kind of jutsu th..that lets him m..merge with his su..surroundings and b..become undetectable" she gasped out.
No one asked how she knew that much about their mutual enemy "What do you need from the hospital to get rid of the poison" Kitsuchi was the one to ask, sensing that they didn't have time to prepare as they'd probably been to worried about the girl and came straight here.
Tsunade started ticking off a list of herbs until she came upon one herb that the Stone Village didn't have "We're sorry Lady Tsunade, but we don't have that herb" Kurotsuchi scowled even more as she realized that, that herb was going to mean life or death for Sakura.
So the Sannin rounded on Cee, who shook his head "I only have the regular herbs for fevers and pastes" the blonde grimaced feeling foolish, how the hell could he not have scurvy grass, what kind of medic was he.
"Hidden Sa..Sand has scurvy grass one of m..my gems is th..there I can send yo…you both" the pinkette interrupted again, it was probably going to cause them trouble, but this poison was nasty business and she wanted it out of her.
They all wondered just how many villages the girl had visited as Tobirama pressed his hand to Tsunade's shoulder and let Sakura press her hand to arm for a brief moment, before the both of them were gone to the Hidden Sand Village.
Causing pandemonium when they appeared next to Kankuro, who let out a shout until he learned the reason the duo were there and without even alerting Chiyo of their presence, went straight for the green houses and got scurvy grass.
In all it took fifteen minutes before they were back to Hidden Stone, Sakura had lost consciousness in the mean time not only that but there was now a trashcan at her side proving that the poison was now unsettling her stomach.
"How long do you think it will take her to recover after this" Tobirama was admittedly worried, this was his great, great niece they were talking about, a girl who did her best for everyone and to make ends meet.
His great niece ground her teeth together in frustration, working quickly to concoct the antidote needed to get rid of the poison in her daughters system, when she got a hold of whoever Black Zetsu was he was going to rue the day he messed with her child, blood or not.
She did answer in the meantime "Few days at least, this is some nasty poison and she would have died in three days, I thank you for informing us right away to what happened" Tsunade glanced to Ay and Ohnoki.
"One question if she was unconscious how did you use her toad summons to send a message" clearly not everyone knew about the summoning seal tattoo Sakura had, otherwise this wouldn't come as such a shock.
Darui was the one to answer "Summoning Seal Tattoo on her arm there I did the hand signs and summoned Gamatori and the Tsuchikage wrote the message" he explained a thunderous expression on his face, they knew they should have never let her go out on her own.
But then it's possible himself and Cee would be poisoned to and they would have never known about the tattoo "Ingenious, the girl thinks like a high level Jonin, are you sure she's just a newly promoted Chunin" Mu spoke up in the resounding silence.
"Sakura-san has always been like that, coming up with inventive ways to live a dual life in Leaf and Cloud, just to make others happy, she's selfless to a fault, but don't let her fool you when she says she's selfish" Cee answered that time.
Roshi and Han were silent as well letting Tsunade work until she'd created a murky yellow antidote and roused Sakura gently from her unconscious state "Here brat you have to drink this, no matter how bitter it is" she shushed the pinkette and tipped the ceramic cup.
The girl didn't hesitate and swallowed the antidote all down even if there was a grimace of disgust on her lips "With that she'll be alright, right" the light brown eyed male that was easily as tall as Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi piped in.
"Yeah, though she needs to rest for a few more days, that means no traveling and no using chakra" burning honey eyes turned to Sakura who nodded quietly, looking utterly exhausted, that poison had wreaked havoc on her body for nearly three hours.
Of course she'd been tired "He..Here Raikage-sama y..yo..you're robes" she looked down ashamed of herself for causing trouble, there went her good reputation and now they'd seen what a troublemaker she was.
He took them quietly as they were held out to him other hand clenched into a fist "Just why is that Black Zetsu fellow after you now" the only red head in the office couldn't help but ask, it didn't make much sense, unless, his onyx eyes widened.
Fear was in her eyes "He knows, there's no point in keeping the secret anymore, I am Sakura, Hagoromo Otsutsuki's biological daughter sent forward through time from a thousand years ago via a time travel jutsu he and Gamamaru-sama devised" Sakura looked utterly broken.
As all the air in the office was sucked out and the tension thickened, Tobirama, Han and Roshi avoided glancing in her direction "Explains the Sharingan you possess, the Rinnegan is an upgrade of the Sharingan after all" Mu nodded taking in the information.
"Does Jiraiya know this, how sure are you that what you've been told isn't a lie" Tsunade was furious, to have such a secret kept from her again, wasn't she trusted, though considering her current reaction, she probably would have gone on a rampage before.
Sakura nodded quietly "It's not a lie, the Tailed Beasts all of them recognize me as well as Black Zetsu" she kept her head down as she spoke, not daring to glance at anyone for fear of seeing the disappointment in their gazes.
Until a hand appeared and grabbed her chin to jerk her head up gently "Brat raise your damn head, none of this is you're fault do you hear me, you've been put in a difficult situation, several actually, do not give up on that dream of yours I won't allow it" it was Ay.
The Raikage was staring at her with an angry glint in his eyes, more to the fact that she'd refused to look at any of them, rather than because of who she really is "Y..You're not mad that I kept something of that degree from you" Sakura looked shocked as a little light returned to her eyes.
"No damn it, you're secrets are you're own you're not obliged to tell anyone and yet you always seem to have more courage than anyone I've ever met before it's kind of shameful cause I'm the Raikage" his eyes softened.
His words broke the dam as tears started sliding down her cheeks, Ay looked worried until he heard the laughter everyone sighed in relief "Now I know why you're obsessed with those books on the Sage of Six Paths" Akatsuchi chose that moment to quip with a laugh of his own.
Making her laugh even harder, everything was going to be okay and it made her even more determined to get the world back on the right track "I promise Raikage-sama to do even better from now on and see my dream to completion" she vowed once she calmed down.
"Consider it done then brat, now enough with the crying I'm sure everyone is hungry" Ay rose to his full height having knelt to speak to the girl sitting on the couch, Sakura wiped her eyes dry leaving behind red marks.
Just as the sound of rumbling stomachs filled the office from everyone reminding her of the reason she'd been out in the first place "Guess Akatsuchi and I will go get some food for everyone, you two, to" the Tsuchikage's granddaughter gestured to Tsunade and Tobirama.
Walking out the door with Akatsuchi on her heels "I still can't believe you blurted that out for everyone, considering how you reacted the first time you learned" the white haired male with soft red eyes sat down on the couch next to the pinkette.
"Right I wanted to deny it with every fiber of my being until I actually talked to the chakra representation Hagoromo left behind" Sakura rubbed the back of her head a fond look in her emerald eyes proving she bore the man no ill will for shoving her a thousand years in the future.
Tsunade's lip curled upwards and frustration was plain to see in her honey eyes "Why did you not tell us sooner Sakura, we would have believed you" the pale blonde prodded wanting to hear what kind of answer she'd give.
Her skin paled "I was scared to learn that kind of thing was terrifying, pair that with having the Sharingan and those awful nightmares do you really blame me for not saying anything" the pink haired girl fidgeted uncomfortably.
"Probably not and why are you bringing those nightmares into question" Mu caught onto the subtle hint that promised to speak of more than what had already been revealed, Tsunade nodded herself understanding the reasoning.
She pressed her lips together "Like Gamamaru-sama I ca…can dream of the future th..though only dreams about people that are connected to Naruto and Sasuke, they are the keys to saving this world and the spirits of my half brothers Indra and Ashura are merged with their souls" Sakura breathed.
"We were there the first time Sakura-san ever had a dream it was about those three that you have claimed as family, Nagato, Yahiko and Konan, the one we know as the Masked Man, was hunting them for Nagato-san's rinnegan" Cee spoke in the ensuing silence.
The dark skinned male at his side nodded "That's when you're nightmares first began and I hate witnessing that, especially when you sit straight up in bed and nearly strangle yourself in you're sleep" Darui grimaced.
A haunted look formed in her eyes before she shoved it away eyes brighter than before "What part do the tailed beasts and Jinchuuriki have to play in you're dream" Kitsuchi inquired remembering her vow on how she'd protect them.
Her lips curved upwards "To help them overcome the hate they feel towards us, for locking them away in human sacrifices, and to help the Jinchuuriki" here her eyes shot to Roshi and Han "See that their is pride in befriending in such creatures a personal task and a request from Hagoromo" Sakura grinned.
"If you're going around befriending Jinchuuriki's and whatnot how many do you know" Ohnoki asked the question, there were only nine in total after all and they were scattered across the lands, he also remembered her proclamations of having Jinchuuriki as best friends.
Sakura smiled sheepishly "Well I've spoken to all of them but Isobu, the three tails, because he's not sealed inside of anyone, though trust me I haven't actively sought out any of them, they just kind of seek me out, like what those two did" she pointed to Roshi and Han.
"Geez it's raining you know, making us go out to get food" Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi chose that moment to enter the office without knocking, bearing the promised take out from the tea shop and started handing out the orders.
Though the slightly older girl must have forgotten that she didn't like dango because somehow there were two sticks on her plate "Here Tobirama" Sakura quickly handed over the dango to the male at her side.
"You should eat that, help you regain you're energy quicker plus you could use a little meat on you're bones, you're as thin as a rail kid" the teenage girl scolded happily munching away on her own dango.
While Sakura pulled out a cooled storage scroll and unsealed a bar of dark chocolate and broke off four pieces "Will that appease you Kurotsuchi-chan" she sent the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage an exasperated smile, though there was a twinkle of amusement in her jade orbs.
"Chocolate huh you don't really seem the type Sakura-san" Akatsuchi had to comment on the four moderately sized pieces, he doubted she'd be able to eat them all considering how much she rejected other sweets.
She shrugged lightly "It's dark chocolate, not very sweet with a bitter aftertaste, besides that and the honey from Mount Myoboku that comes from the Honey Pot Ants, that's about all the sweets I can handle, I haven't tried anything else, to much artificial flavoring" Sakura explained.
"Ants don't tell me you ate bugs like toads when you were little" Han felt utterly sick to his stomach even more so when the pinkette nodded with a smile "How did you ever survive" he grimaced behind his armor not that they knew.
Sakura laughed lightly "The bugs tasted much like food out here, take grub worms for instance, it tasted like chicken as I've found out, though I doubt I could ever eat it again, and you don't actually eat the ants, just pop their bottoms to get the honey" she said.
It was the same explanation she'd given Kankuro now that she was thinking on it, Cee and Darui nodding along "You've tried these honey pot ants then" Roshi turned his attention on the nodding duo, he hadn't expected them after all.
"Yeah we kind of grew up babysitting kid there on Mount Myoboku when Master Jiraiya was busy" Darui announced remembering childhood days gone by, it pulled a chuckle out of him, the sense of adventure, excitable children how he missed those days of simple times.
Back then they hadn't had to worry about anyone trying to actively kill Sakura, out here she was injured and put in dangerous situations on a daily basis "Those honey pot ants was some of the best honey I've ever tried, nothing like out here" Cee shrugged.
There seemed to be some sort of unanimous decision going on as the whole office nodded "Right then where can we get these honey pot ants, we'd like to try them" Mu demanded and Sakura paused in finishing off the last of her curry and rice.
Looking at him with wide eyes "Erm we'd have to summon Gamatori again, one of each of you right" she glanced to Ay, who shrugged going along with the plot to try an ant as Tsunade took Sakura's arm with the summoning seal tattoo.
Drew a line of blood and went through the hand signs to summon Gamatori "Sakura-chan you're alright" the little blue toad immediately perked up at the sight of her awake and doing okay, and leaped right into her lap.
She hugged the toad gently to her chest "There, there Gamatori-kun" Sakura smiled softly patting him carefully on the head "I've got a request to make, everyone here would like to try a honey pot ant, so we need thirteen honey pot ants from Mount Myoboku" Sakura pulled back.
Gamatori glanced around the office, took the scroll that was given to him "Roger that Sakura-chan, I'll be back in a jiffy just leave it to Gamatori" he saluted leaping to the floor and vanishing in a plume of smoke.
He was back fifteen minutes later only to hand off the scroll before returning to Mount Myoboku "Okay can I unseal it or not, you said no chakra after all" the pinkette glanced to Tsunade, who gestured for her to go ahead.
What she wasn't expecting was not only for their to be a bowl of honey pot ants but fried grub worms, grasshoppers and boiled scorpion meat, the smell hit her nose and Sakura's skin paled and her cheeks turned green.
The bowl of honey pot ants were snatched as the rest of the food that probably Shima had added thinking she still had a penchant for the purple haired toads food, was sealed back in the scroll "That was slightly gross" Ohnoki grimaced.
As they were each handed one honey pot ant, Sakura had stowed the pieces of her dark chocolate away to be eaten at another time, "Just the bottoms" she reminded demonstrating unknowingly just like usual the honey was delicious.
Enough to the point where the others looked disappointed they'd only asked for one, but they could tell Sakura was getting tired again as her eyes drooped and she finally fell asleep leaning against Tobirama.
That was their cue to leave and the sleeping girl was taken back to the hotel, along the way her lava lamp was found and collected as they all settled down for the rest of the day and subsequently the rest of the night as she slept without waking once.
