"What!" Kanta exploded from his seat at the bar as he stared at Sakura in horror.

"Lady Sakura, you can't possibly let him come with you, you don't know him." Kanta protested.

"Kanta." Sakura stood and laid a hand on the man's arm. "You don't need to worry."

"Of course I do." Kanta argued with her.

"Do you always speak to a Lady with such disrespect?" Kumo had risen from his seat and joined them.

"Outside. Now." Sakura ordered them and marched out after them.

"Kanta, I know you are worried about me and I appreciate the sentiment but I can take care of myself." Sakura said firmly.

"Lady Sakura, please. I mean no disrespect, but he is a man, and a stranger." Kanta protested again.

"Kanta, I can't do this on my own and if I can help, I will try. Besides, you are a man, and you were a stranger once, now we are friends." Sakura smiled up at him.

"Sakura, I told you, I will ask Lord Hashirama if I can go with you and he is not the same as me, I am clearly more trustworthy." kanta reminded her.

"You help her?" Kumo scoffed in disgust interrupting them.

Kanta glared at the man and opened his mouth to say more but was silenced by Sakura.

"Kanta, trust me." She said and patted him on the arm turning to Kumo.

"I will contact you when I find out more information. As of right now I have no idea where I should even start to look for the god tree." Sakura admitted.

"I will return to Suna and check our own archives, if I find anything I will let you know. Thank you Lady Sakura." Kumo bowed.

Sakura bit her lip considering the man before her. "Kumo, you know I was friends with Gaara and visited him several times in Suna before the war."

Kumo smirked at her, "Yes."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the smirking man. "The first Kazekage was not named Kumo."

Kumo smiled at Sakura, "Clever girl." Kumo bowed deeply to her.

"Sabaku Reto, pleased to meet you dear." Reto took Sakura's hand and kissed her knuckles affectionately making her blush.

"Reto Sama, please." Sakura pulled her hand from his grasp.

Kanta seemed to choke momentarily before regaining his composure, bowing at the waist to the man.

"So you're Gaara's great grandfather?" Sakura asked him.

"Gaara's father's father was my brother, he has passed but not before he had Sasori's father, who lives in Suna, with me and the rest of our family. I am Gaara's great Uncle. You are more than welcome to visit us my dear. I'm sure you would be fascinated to see the change and to be part of not only one founding of a hidden village, but two." Reto winked at her playfully making her blush again.

"I would really like that." Sakura told him honestly. "I loved visiting Gaara in my time, the desert is a beautiful place."

Reto's eyes glittered, "I promise to make your visit a memorable one."

Reto bowed to her again, "Until then, keep me informed of any discoveries you may make and I will do the same, good luck my flower."

"Thank you Reto, safe travels." Sakura bowed blushing again as they parted ways.

Sakura stood still for a moment watching Reto walk away, the sunlight glinting off of his red hair, "So much like Sasori, one hid inside a puppet, this one a name." Sakura mumbled to herself.

"I'm sorry Lady Sakura, forgive me." Kanta broke into her thoughts.

"Hum? Ah, you're fine Kanta, I know you were just worried." She smiled up at him.

"Let's go, I still need to stop by the Uchiha compound, will you still stop by the Senju compound?" She asked him, happy with her meeting with Reto.

"Ah yes, if you don't mind." Kanta said.

"Not at all, I'll see you later, I want to get back home before dark, and this might take awhile. I hope to have a look at their library before I go." She smiled and waved to him, jumping to the rooftops and running toward the East.

Kanta followed her to the East but at a slightly slower pace, deep in thought. He didn't like the fact that Reto knew more about Sakura than he did, or that he was privileged enough to have dreams about her past. Kanta wondered what else the man had seen in his dreams that he hadn't told Sakura about.

Kanta walked up to the Senju gates a little after noon and headed straight for the main house to give his report.

Hashirama and his brother were in their sitting room discussing the candidates for Sakura's apprentice when Kanta was announced.

Kanta told them about Kumo and how he wasn't Kumo but Reto from Suna and how he would be named Kazekage next month and sought an alliance with Sakura's village that wasn't formed yet but that he said he knew would be forming in the next two months. Kanta admitted that he hadn't heard their entire conversation but he had relayed all that he had heard.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, you didn't hear their entire conversation Kanta, things can get construed and that can cause misunderstandings." Hashirama warned.

"We can speak to Sakura about it when we see her." Tobirama wasn't very concerned, not being one to believe in dreams.

Kanta was deflated, he had expected the lords to be more concerned for Sakura's wellbeing.

"Kanta." Hashirama spoke, "Perhaps you are letting your affections for the Lady cloud your judgement."

"Affections?" Tobirama looked from his brother to Kanta, his eyes narrowing in on the man.

"I care about her, she is special, she is…"Kanta trailed off.

"She is in love with someone she can never return to." Kanta blurted out.

"What?" Hashirama asked.

"Sakura is in love with a man from her time, she told me when I asked her why she had never married, and if she had someone, back home." Kanta told them.

"She's never been married?"Hashirama asked in surprise.

"Women, people, she told me, don't marry as young as they do now, she said it was not unusual for her to be unwed at her age, in her time" Kanta said.

"But she is more than old enough to have been married and widowed by now." Tobirama added.

"She is actually twenty, old enough to be widowed twice." Kanta told them, remembering his own surprise.

"Really…" Tobirama rubbed his chin. "She looks so much younger."

Hashirama nodded his head in agreement.

"About Reto, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Remember Sakura Chan is a capable kunoichi." Hashirama said reassuringly.

Kanta didn't say it out loud but he thought, 'Then why did you send me after her when she refused a guard'?

"Of course Lord Senju, forgive me." Kanta bowed.

"I stopped here to give my report on the way back to Sakura's home. She has traveled ahead of me wanting to visit the Uchiha quickly allowing herself enough time to get home before nightfall. I'll be leaving now, unless there is anything else?" Kanta asked respectfully.

"Please tell Sakura we are still deciding who to send her for apprenticeship, but we will make our decision within the next few days." Hashirama told him and waved him out of the room.

Sakura approached the Uchiha compound gates slowly giving the guards enough time to sense her presence and see that she posed them no threat.

"Good afternoon Uchiha. I am here to visit Lord Madara and his brother Lord Izuna." Sakura inclined her head and smiled at the guards who were looking at her suspiciously.

"Name." The taller of the two guards demanded.

"Sakura." Sakura raised her eyebrow to him in annoyance.

"Wait here." He gruffed at her, but before he could move, Izuna strode through the gates a smile on his face.

"Sakura Chan! I thought I sensed your chakra signature." Izuna pulled her into a tight hug making her gasp for breath and wheeze into his chest with laughter.

The two guards stood still watching with open mouths.

Izuna turned to look at them, then turned back to Sakura. "Why didn't you show them your necklace?" He asked her.

"Oh. I forgot I was wearing it." She smiled sheepishly at him.

Izuna stepped back from their embrace and traced the outside of her collar, his finger moving softly against the inside of the collar and her skin until he found the delicate gold chain and pulled the necklace from the recesses of her top.

The Uchiha clan symbol glittered in the sunlight. Izuna smiled down at it fondly. "It looks beautiful on you Sakura."

"Thank you Izuna kun." Sakura smiled back at him, only slightly flustered at his touch and close proximity.

"Oh, it's you." Madara walked up to join them.

"Nice to see you too jackass." Sakura frowned at the long haired Uchiha.

Izuna laughed, "You can't greet one another like normal people can you?"

"Don't blame me for this Izuna kun, he started it." Sakura folded her arms across her chest and did her best 'Madara' impression, complete with a scowl.

Izuna burst out laughing again and she grinned.

"Is that supposed to me?" Madara glowered at her unimpressed.

"Of course it was." Sakura smiled at him and his lips twitched.

"Did you have lunch Sakura?" Izuna took her hand and tucked it into his side pulling her arm through his, like usual, leading her into their compound.

"I haven't yet, I came straight here after my meeting with Kumo, who's real name is Reto, the founder of Suna." Sakura said sweetly making both brother;s stop in their tracks.

"You almost killed the future Kazekage Madara." Sakura laughed.

Madara shrugged, "He deserved it, he tried to kill you."

"He wasn't trying to kill me, he wanted to make sure I was who he thought I was...and I was." She laughed at her own words.

"How did it go, you didn't go alone did you?" Izuna asked.

"It went well I think and no, Kanta went with me." Sakura smiled at Izuna's less than impressed expression.

"A lot of help he was, when you first met him…" Izuna muttered sarcastically.

"Izuna's right Sakura, the man wouldn't have been much help to you." Madara said but added for diplomacys sake, "It's good you didn't meet Reto alone though."

Sakura smiled at Madara recognizing his effort, he merely looked back at her, so she rolled her eyes.

"Let's have lunch at the house Izuna." Madara took a left at the end of the path and headed for the main house leaving Sakura and Izuna to follow.

Madara walked past the ornamental lawn to the back left of the house toward the gardens, stopping briefly to make their lunch request to one of the maids.

The Uchiha gardens were beautiful, not in the way the Senju gardens were beautiful, but beautiful in their simplicity. There weren't many flowers, but the flowers they had were placed to accent the natural surroundings as well as the artificial. Sakura sat down beside Madara at a raised natural flat rock which served as a table, smaller flat rocks surrounded it as chairs but growing out of the large crack in the center of the table rock was a beautifully trimmed Bonsai tree.

"How lovely." Sakura remarked once they had all been seated.

"Our mother planted and tended the Bonsai, now I do." Madara said quietly.

Sakura turned to look at him in surprise. "You do?"

Madara shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "It is...relaxing." He defended himself.

"I'm sorry, I meant not offense Madara, I was surprised. It seems I have a lot to learn about you." Sakura said playfully hoping he wasn't upset.

"I would like that." Madara said turning away from her when their eyes met and she blushed.

"There is a koi pond beyond those rocks there Sakura," Izuna pointed to an artistic display of different colored rocks beside their sitting area, "I will show you after lunch." He offered.

"I would love to see it." Sakura smiled at the brothers as they watched her admire her surroundings.

A young Uchiha girl came with their tea and set the table for them casting curious, ill concealed glances at Sakura as she served the tea. Sakura smiled kindly at the girl catching her eye, the girl bobbed her head politely and left soon after. Sakura laughed, she was in a good mood, the garden was beautiful and the weather was pleasant. She even seemed to forget her and Madara's most recent shouting match as she looked at her peaceful surroundings.

"I wish I could make something like this for my home, but I wouldn't even know where to start much less how to do such a thing." She laughed again at her own lack of creativity.

Madara enjoyed her laughter, he was once again getting used to her presence and found himself relaxing with her and their surroundings.

"I would be happy to assist you should you choose to create your own garden Sakura. It is a small hobby of mine." Izuna told her smiling fondly at her. "In fact, I designed the koi pond we will be showing you after lunch." Izuna added proudly.

"Really? That's amazing Izuna kun, I'm impressed." She said honestly, "I would be terrible at such a thing."

"I have so much to do with setting up my new home, researching and finding out where a god tree is, destroying the god tree,"She paused. "It is a little overwhelming when I say it out loud like that, and the hospital, and two apprentices." She added.

"Yes, neutral ground." Madara agreed, hoping she would see he was being compliant and putting forth an effort, as Izuna called it.

"It is a good agreement for both clans, but I must confess I do not like the idea of you being around so many Senju, they can't be trusted Sakura, be careful." Izuna said seriously.

He should have known that Senju probably wanted one of thier's trained by her as well. Sakura confirmed his thought when she spoke again.

"Yes, the Senju would like me to take on an apprentice from their clan when they heard I was taking on an Uchiha apprentice, it is part of the agreement we struck, like the one I made with your clan and yes, I am looking for a god tree."

"You're looking for a god tree? Is that why you want to look in our library for information on this god tree?" Madara asked her."

Sakura sighed, now was as good a time as any she supposed and braced herself to tell them who she was and why she was looking for the god tree...she folded her hands on the table in front of her and began her story. She told them everything. She told them about the war, her village, her friends and family, the five nation alliance, well almost everything. She didn't tell them Madara's part in the war.

She told them everything that had happened after she had left them at their compound the first day, her meeting with Hashirama by the river, about Kanta following her, Izuna and Madara both snorted when she told them how she had used a clone to lure him out…

Their eyes widened and their fists clenched when she told them about the inn and how Kanta had been surprised by her 'Flying Pig of Justice' towel, promising to show them the next time they visited her.

She told them the parts they had missed when she had met Kumo and why it was significant. She told them about Gaara, Naruto and Sasori, Lady Chiyo and her team...her Sensei's her Hokage, a Senju, and her other best friend, an Uchiha. Sakura didn't go in depth about her feelings toward Sasuke, it wasn't relevant to the story. If Madara or Izuna noticed her hesitancy and pauses as she told them, they didn't mention it.

They were very interested in her war but more interested in her conversation with the goddess Kaguya and the reasons behind her current determination to find the god tree.

"You can't return home?" Izuna spoke at last after a long silence.

Sakura had finished her tale when their food had arrived but no one spoke, no one moved to take their dishes, no one had moved at all.

"No." Sakura said quietly. It was getting easier to hold back the tears now, but she couldn't stem the desperation that filled her voice and made her choke out the word.

"Poor girl." Izuna's eyes went soft as they looked at her in sympathy.

"This war of yours, it...that is what you are trying to prevent? By destroying this god tree?" Madara needed confirmation, it had been a lot to take in all at once.

"Yes, among other things, it is all connected in some way, each event is an action or reaction to a previous event. To stop many horrible things from happening, "She paused and closed her eyes at this, the pain etched in the corners of her tightly pressed lids, "I need to start at the beginning, the god tree."

"You told the same to the Senju?" Madara asked her, watching her body language, her eyes, her mouth.

"I did, which is why I am here now, telling you, it is only fair." She looked him in the eye so he could see she told the truth.

"Our clan, there were only two left? In your time? How is that possible!" Izuna was horrified at the idea.

"One Izuna kun, there was one left, and he was, "Sakura swallowed, "Badly injured when I was thrown back, sent here, I don't know if he is alive or not."

"Why do this, why take on such an impossible task?" Madara said, almost to himself.

"You have nothing to gain from this." He didn't say it condescending or without feeling, he was curious.

"You're doing it for them, for the ones you love, your people...even though...even though you know you'll never see them again…" Madara was impressed and moved.

She was so selfless. She had been thrown back into a era she knew very little about, she was alone with nothing and had immediately set out to try to find her way home, to get back and help the ones she had been taken from.

He had never met anyone like her before. She was a strong woman, but more so...she was a strong person, and he realized why he didn't treat her like the others, why he tolerated her mouth and her harassment...he respected her.