"The truest expression of skill is not to slay your foe, but to train an army that can destroy him and all his works."
– Ebisu, Jounin of Konohagakure

-O-

Sakura blew gently on the cup clasped in her hands. The heat from the tea was soaking into her fingers, warming them despite the chill weather outside and the rain that still dripped from her hood and onto the floor of the tea shop. A curl of steam passed her nose on its way to the ceiling.

"Are you out in that horrible weather again today?" the waitress, a cheerful woman old enough to be Sakura's mother, asked as she cleaned the next table along. She was dressed in formal navy to match the blue and green ocean-themed tiles on the walls.

The tea had just cooled enough to start sipping at. Sakura drank a little before answering. "It's important to keep busy, right? I don't want to start moping around all over the place. Besides, my teacher doesn't notice little things like thunderstorms."

"That's not true," Kakashi said, all of a sudden lounging against the wall behind her. The waitress jumped when she noticed him. "Thunderstorms are very useful for hiding your trail when an enemy is tracking you, and give you a chance to replenish your supply of water."

"They're wet," Sakura countered, pointing at the small puddle that had formed under her chair. "Wet and miserable."

There was no puddle over where Kakashi stood, she noticed with a sigh. She couldn't see even a single droplet of water on his clothes. He arched his one visible eyebrow. "Take it as a reminder that powerful ninja get all sorts of perks."

Sakura gestured at her tea. "This is a nice brew. I'm not going to spoil it by hurrying."

"Just because you're going on a mission tomorrow doesn't mean you get today off with no consequences," Kakashi said. "I'll work you to the bone to make up for it once you're back."

"You can come along and make me train en route if it's that important to you," Sakura said. There was a moment's silence as they both realised she was only half-joking. It was going to be the first time she was on a mission with no jounin along.

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets and pulled out his book. "I've looked over the parameters. It's a nice mission for two chunin to get their feet wet; you and Sasuke will be fine."

"I'm just worried it will end up a bit dull, what with Naruto being busy," Sakura said with forced levity. "Sasuke's not exactly a sparkling conversationalist."

She snatched the book out of the air before it could upend her teacup. Kakashi nodded at the well-worn volume he'd just thrown at her with zero warning. "That will keep you entertained, I imagine."

"This isn't, ah, one of your usual books, is it?" Sakura asked, trying to be delicate about it. She liked this tea shop and didn't want things to be awkward next time she came in.

As per usual, Kakashi had the social graces of a man raised by wild beasts, or at least told to follow their example. "It's not porn, no. Just something interesting that I read once upon a time."

Sakura stuffed the book – The Eighth Sin of the Land of Grass – into her bag for later. Once it was sealed in a waterproof pocket she drained the rest of her tea and stood, ready to go. "Since you've interrupted me, I'm assuming you're happy to pay?"

As expected, Kakashi laughed and disappeared out the door faster than Sakura could follow. She put some cash down and followed him, her grumbling not quite hiding the beginnings of a smile.

-O-

"We don't talk anymore," Sakura said.

Sasuke grunted.

They were leaping through the treetops of Fire Country, heading to a small village whose name Sakura had already forgotten. An innkeeper had taken up a side job as a thief, pilfering from his guests' bags. His eye for trinkets was better than his eye for trouble, though – a minor noble wanted his signet ring back, along with a little revenge. Sakura had crafted an illusion that would be perfect for the latter job.

Any ideas she might have had about the glamorous life of a chunin were now gone. Scaring an innkeeper was pathetically easy with all the tools at their disposal, and confiscating a stolen item she could have done as a fresh graduate from the Academy.

"I mean it, Sasuke. When's the last time we sat down together for a meal, or even just shared a joke or told a story about training?"

Silence, apart from the whisper-still sound of leaf sliding against leaf.

"Is this about Naruto leaving? Or is it about Ino?" For all Sakura's attempts at getting information about her former friend, Ino's motives remained mysterious – and she'd gone out of her way to avoid meeting Sakura in person.

That last question had hit the mark, Sakura knew. Sasuke grunted again but the slight stiffness of his shoulders revealed how tense he was.

"If you don't speak to me, this won't go away," Sakura tried again.

At that, Sasuke finally answered. "I don't have anything to say."

It should have been an insult – the curt, clipped tone and the callous words – but Sakura knew him better than that. It was an admission, and a shameful one at that. It was also bullshit. "Whatever you're holding back, it's eating you up inside, anyone can see that much."

"This stuff," Sasuke gestured between them, at the silence, "I'm no good at it. I don't know how to bridge the gap. That's normally Naruto's job, and he's not here. And I can't even be angry at him over that, because he left to keep the village safe where I've abandoned the team because–"

"Because what, Sasuke?" she asked, when it was clear he wouldn't continue without prompting. "Because of Itachi?"

The silence was an answer in its own right.

Sakura laughed, a warm sound that broke through the tension building in the still night air. "You're an idiot sometimes, you know that? We've talked about this before. You have your own goal, and so does Naruto, and I won't begrudge either of you doing what's needed."

"What about your plans?" Sasuke asked.

"I plan for both of you to still be alive in ten years' time. Seems to me that you learning from the fucking God of Shinobi, and Naruto studying at the feet of the Toad Sage, is a good start to that happening." Sakura perched on a branch and Sasuke stopped on the next tree along. "None of this is a game, Sasuke. If things go well, we'll have decades and decades to sit in nice little tea houses and have picnics in the grass and have fights and fall in love and whatever else we want. The important part is reaching that. If that means months or even, yes, years apart, then so fucking what."

"Well, so long as we're on the same page," Sasuke said, but there was a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "That's a lot of swearing for such a polite young girl, you know?"

"Up yours," Sakura said, but she was smiling too. "Let's go scare this innkeeper shitless and then head home."

Moments later, the evening was silent again, and the two ninja were shadows on the horizon.

-O-

The stream cut through the frozen earth, over sand and silt, coursing past tree roots and then rising up into a pillar of water almost as tall as the girl standing on the water's surface. Sakura had her hands locked in a Dog seal and a wary eye on the water structure beside her. It held steady, then wobbled for a few seconds, and finally collapsed all at once.

Massaging some feeling back into her cold fingers, Sakura huffed in annoyance. "And here I thought that I might learn more than one lightning technique before you switch elements. The taijutsu I can understand, because it supports the Chidori. Likewise for the genjutsu stuff you do from time to time. But how does this in particular make any sense?"

"There's a method to the lessons, you know," Kakashi said, standing on the bank. He flipped another page in his book.

Sometimes, Kakashi's mild manner was relaxing. Right now, though, it was pissing Sakura off. She would much rather be training indoors, but learning water techniques required a water source so here she was, freezing her ass off. "Right. You're following some grand master plan. And for some reason that means I need to learn water techniques right after training with lightning chakra until I had burns all over my arms–"

Kakashi held up a single finger to interrupt. A dead leaf served as an impromptu bookmark and he put the book away, giving Sakura his full attention. "Lightning and water make excellent companions. Water is versatile – you can attack and defend with it, evade pursuers or strike from ambush. In the War of Four Crowns, Kirigakure had the smallest army of any of the great villages, but their support decided the overall conflict due to their absolute control of the waterways and oceans. Lightning is the strongest offensive element, and if you're able to ensnare a target with a water technique, that acts as a bridge for lightning ninjutsu."

"Fine. Lightning and water, then. My point still stands. There isn't really a pattern to this. What's your plan?" Sakura folded her arms, ready for some stupid cryptic comment that would keep her distracted for a week while she puzzled it out. Instead, Kakashi sat down on a boulder and motioned for her to take a seat opposite.

He sighed. "It's been a few years since I was a chunin. Things that seem obvious to me aren't always so clear to you, but I forget that on occasion. You're my student – my only student – so I'll do my best to answer any questions you have."

Sakura let a spark dance between her fingers; it was a nervous habit she'd picked up while figuring out the last stage of the Chidori. There were few reasons Kakashi was ever serious, and she wasn't sure she'd like any of the answers he was offering. "What kind of a ninja do you see me becoming? All these different skills, what do they build up to?"

"Genjutsu, taijutsu with an emphasis on speed, water techniques for mobility and utility, and at some point I want to teach you an earth technique or two. Every point on that list is designed to harmonise with the Chidori." Kakashi ticked each point off on his fingers. "Without a Sharingan, you'll need to distract or disable your opponent so you can get in close – genjutsu. The faster you are, the smaller the window needed – speed. Ambushing a foe or escaping from his allies – water breathing. Trapping a foe so you can kill him – the Syrup Trap jutsu. Defence against wide-area attacks – earth jutsu."

"You're making me into an assassin," Sakura said, shocked.

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm giving you the things that worked best for me. I can play the role of assassin at times, but killings are such a tiny fragment of ninja life. To be blunt, there aren't that many people that need stabbing at any given time, or at least few of them have rich enough foes. Unless the contract ends up on the Hokage's desk with a sack of gold, even the lowest scum is safe from us. But if you have a combat specialisation, you won't end up like so many of my comrades. They specialised in infiltration or espionage or another ninja skill, and were so much meat for the grinder when the demands of war put them on the frontline."

"And that's something you think is likely?"

"War is coming." Kakashi's voice was bleak as the wintry sky above. "All the signs point to it. Economic instability in the minor villages leads to mercenary gangs. Trade slows, so the ninja villages lose out on revenue and turn on each other to recoup their losses. Ninja stop coming back from missions – captured, dead or turned traitor. Everyone is fighting for a bigger share of the rapidly-shrinking spoils. The only thing missing is a provocation, or justification, and with so much hidden conflict, it doesn't take long to arrive. And then, open war."

There wasn't really anything Sakura could reply to that. War; it meant death for her friends, and so much suffering for the village as a whole. They'd been taught in the Academy that the last war led to food shortages and rationing, extra drills and missions, and those ninja who came back were shadows of their former selves.

"Of course, that's assuming things haven't changed," Kakashi said, smiling. The mood whiplash shocked Sakura out of her musings. "I'm not wrong very often, but it has happened on occasion. But as the saying goes, a good ninja sharpens her knife before the ink on the peace treaty has dried."

Well, that was a pretty clear message. "I do plan to be a good ninja," Sakura said.

"Then let's get back to training."

-O-

The Harunos weren't poor by any stretch of the imagination, but they'd never been exactly rolling in wealth. Sakura was still shocked when she got home after a routine patrol of the border between Fire and Wave, picked up her payment, and realised she was making more money than her parents put together.

Rather than discuss it, she left a wad of notes in an envelope on the kitchen table. It was gone when she got back from training. They weren't the kind of family that liked open displays of affection, but her father told her how much she'd grown. It still didn't make up for the guilt Sakura felt when she realised that in just under a year, her teammates had become the most important people in her life, and that her parents just couldn't compete.

Sasuke came round for dinner one evening, and everything felt off. Sakura's mother cooked a nice dinner and they all ate around the kitchen table, but Sasuke knew less-than-nothing of civilian affairs and her parents were politely confused by any discussion of ninja matters.

In the end, Sakura and Sasuke ate dessert outside and watched the stars while her parents withdrew to the living room.

"You have burn scars on your hands," Sakura mentioned after they'd finished eating.

Sasuke shrugged. "They're scalds from boiling water. Technically, burning and scalding leave slightly different marks behind. I thought I'd learned all about fire as a child, but Sarutobi has so many different training methods that I've never heard of before. It makes me feel young and foolish again."

A spark leapt between Sakura's outstretched hands. She stole a glance at Sasuke's face, but he was still staring at the sky. "All this elemental chakra stuff is slow and dull, but Kurenai's team haven't even started it yet. Are we that far ahead of the curve, or are they falling behind?"

"The Hyuga tend not to care about elemental techniques, and Hinata definitely won't, given her medical training," Sasuke said. "Shino and Kiba will both be learning clan techniques first, and with Shino's other commitments and Kiba trying to join ANBU I don't expect they'll have a lot of free time soon."

"Should you be telling me that about Kiba?" Sakura asked.

"ANBU membership isn't secret, and it wouldn't be possible to keep it hidden anyway in a ninja village. ANBU missions aren't to be discussed, though. I'm around for a lot of the training the Hokage does with them, and sometimes he gets me to help," Sasuke said, carefully not boasting.

"Look at you, already a teacher and still so young," she teased.

He groaned and ran his hands over his face. "That reminds me. I have to figure out how to beat some info into Konohamaru's thick skull tomorrow. He's smart, but he has the attention span of–"

"–of Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke nodded, dejected. "Maybe I'll just offer him ramen if he does well."

Sakura tried to hide her amusement, but judging by the glare he sent her, Sasuke had caught it. "Come on, it's funny. You could always try asking Iruka how he kept Naruto in line. None of the teachers really managed it, but he came closest."

"Worst comes to worst, I'll do that," Sasuke agreed.

They sat and watched the stars some more until cold and boredom drove them back inside.

-O-

"Why are there only five 'strongest' ninja villages?" Kakashi asked, interrupting Sakura's morning run. She flinched as he suddenly appeared beside her, then slowed down until she was jogging. "The big five aren't equally strong, and some of the smaller villages aren't too far behind. So why group five villages together, and not four, or six, or ten?"

"I don't know," she said. His silence prompted her to give a longer answer. "I suppose for whatever reason those five villages – Leaf, Sand, Mist, Cloud, Stone – are different to all the smaller villages that are scattered in between."

Sakura still hated physical training, but she saw the necessity. She had come to an understanding with Kakashi by now. Whenever she was losing interest, he would break into an impromptu lecture on any subject he could think of, but in exchange she would have to complete her exercises afterwards with zero hesitation or cutting corners. The man had an endless array of topics to choose from, and he'd covered everything from field interrogations to the history of subsistence agriculture to on-site medical transplants with limited equipment. And now, apparently, politics.

"Different how?" Kakashi asked when it was clear that Sakura was done talking.

She thought for a moment. Whatever Kakashi was after, it was most likely non-obvious. "Those are the villages with the most ninja, so it could just be outright military power. But Konohagakure has over a thousand ninja while Sunagakure has less than eight hundred. I don't know about the other villages. Kirigakure probably has the least due to all the civil wars. Actually, why aren't we taught this in the Academy? It would be useful."

"The various ninja villages keep their numbers secret as much as possible, so you won't get an exact headcount for every major power. Well, until you're high enough rank to see the Hokage's security briefings." Kakashi never boasted but sometimes Sakura was given a stark reminder of just how much weight he could throw around if he wanted. "That said, yes, the Leaf could match Mist plus two or three smaller villages, with manpower to spare. The gap between Mist and the next biggest village is quite small, though."

"It would be silly to think that each of these villages having a Kage in charge is what makes them great, right?" Sakura asked. "Since it's probably the other way around. The leaders get that title by leading the greatest villages."

Kakashi nodded approvingly. "The First Hokage was the first to found a ninja village and create such a title. Or so it's said, anyway – in Iwagakure they claim the Tsuchikage created the village system, and in Kumogakure it's supposedly the Raikage who invented it. Sand and Mist have no such pretensions. The example of the first Kage was followed by around a dozen different villages, many of whom tried to create their own titles. There was briefly a Takikage, an Uzukage, a Kamikage, and many others. I say 'briefly' because these villages only lasted a few years before being usurped or destroyed and then refounded. Uzushiogakure rose again a decade later but in a more limited form, and its new leader didn't try to claim that rank again."

"Is that part of the answer, then? The most powerful villages are those that were able to withstand the three great ninja wars. They would have all those accumulated skills and techniques, refined over centuries… and controlled by either the clans or the Hokage." The last pieces slid into place. Sakura beamed as she delivered her answer with confidence. "The greatest villages are those which have hoarded wealth and power for the longest. A small village which has fewer ninja and less history will accumulate less, and so never catch up."

"There's one part you're missing," Kakashi warned, raising a finger. "We aren't nobles whose strength comes from the lands they own and the troops they can raise. Konohagakure has plenty of money, it's true, and her investments constantly add to that pile. But it's spent as fast as it grows, for the most part. No, Konohagakure is on top because of the secrets we've gathered."

That made sense to Sakura. A distant aunt worked in a civilian laboratory, so she had a vague idea of Konohagakure's research budget. "We have more ninjutsu and genjutsu, and with our well-funded R&D department and vaults full of knowledge we're constantly learning more. Smaller villages can't keep up. They don't have the resources."

"Every village outside the big five is routinely plundered by the top villages," Kakashi corrected. "I'm not talking about a risky heist every few years that raids the secret vaults. It's much more thorough and reliable than that. I'll use Kusagakure as an example; half the jounin of Grass are selling out the other half, either due to politics or greed, and all that information is sloshing around and getting bought or stolen by all the major players. The civilians are all co-opted as well, and half of them have handlers that – whether they know it or not – are in the employ of Konohagakure.

"The larger villages try to do the same to each other but it's the ability to defend against this penetration in depth that marks the real powers. I could find out what Waterfall's leader had for breakfast yesterday if I cared to. It's still unclear outside Sunagakure if the Kazekage even eats, let alone what. Some information trickles through anyway, but it's a hundredfold harder to get than in a lesser power.

"Let's go back to Grass as our example. This next part is an A-rank secret, so no passing it on. I'm only mentioning it because a smart girl like you will figure it out soon anyway."

Sakura nodded and, when that wasn't enough, rolled her eyes and spoke. "I won't tell anyone about this until I get official authorisation."

"Most of Grass's spy network is co-opted into the web that Jiraiya spins wherever he travels. The consequences of that are crippling. We have detailed dossiers on every Grass ninja of chunin rank or higher, including known and suspected weaknesses." Kakashi's voice was clinical as he listed off each point in turn. "Konohagakure holds every advantage. We can bleed them just by selling this information to other villages, or even spreading it for free. Any plans they form to retaliate will instantly be uncovered by our spies. In a scenario where the Hokage is willing to burn a couple of highly-placed agents, we could probably torch Grass's treasury.

"And if things get to a point where we're in open conflict, that would be one-sided as well. I could list off half a dozen infiltration paths into the heart of Kusagakure right here and now if I cared to. I know six high-profile jounin and how to kill each of them, and that's without any time to brush up on the dossiers available in the Hokage Tower. If the Leaf went to war against Grass, it would be a slaughter. It's the same for each of the other minor villages."

Sakura wasn't sure what to think. It was a bleak picture that Kakashi had painted, but at least it seemed to be working. There hadn't been a war in Sakura's lifetime, apart from the near-perpetual civil war in Kirigakure, and most ninja lived to retirement age. Perhaps it wasn't the worst of all worlds. Still, she had some questions.

"Given all that, why bother doing any research of our own?" Sakura asked. "Why train, why not just insert spies and hire mercenaries or turn the smaller villages against each other?"

"The other great villages would cut us apart if that happened," Kakashi said. "But it's not the only reason. You're looking at this from an inter-village perspective, but internal politics are just as important. Invasion or treachery are the only real risks that a village like Konohagakure faces, which is why the traitor Orochimaru is hated so much. Even decades after he was forced to flee, there are still entire departments that can't be trusted. All it takes is one spy to have slipped our notice, and for all his flaws, Orochimaru is very good at recruiting and preparing infiltrators."

"What about–"

Kakashi clapped his hands together and interrupted her. "That's enough for one day. Let's get back to our exercise, shall we?"

Sighing, Sakura picked the pace. Her head was fit to burst with all the new things she'd learned.

-O-

"Found you," Sakura sang as she tapped Ino on the shoulder. Ino relaxed when she recognised Sakura.

"How come you're here?" she asked. "I thought Kakashi had booked one of the western fields for the day."

"I'm having a long lunch while he's doing some solo exercises, so I thought I'd treat myself to a nice meal," Sakura said. "But how come you know so much about where I am, and you're not coming to say hi? Have you been avoiding me?"

The question was sharp, but perhaps not as sharp as Ino deserved. The last time Sakura had seen her friend was during the Chunin Tournament – ever since, try as she might, she hadn't been able to find Ino anywhere.

"I've been really busy," Ino said weakly. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted. Well, we have time now!" Over Ino's protests, Sakura dragged her into the nearest restaurant. "Let's get lunch, my treat. I've been busy the last few weeks but it's paying off now, literally. There's only so many things I can spend all my mission payments on. I'm starting to understand why all the ninja clan compounds are so large and beautiful."

They made small talk while they browsed the menu and ordered. Once the food arrived, though, Sakura didn't see any point in wasting time.

"So what have you been up to the last few months?" she asked. This would be more of an interrogation than a conversation, but a veneer of civility would have to be maintained anyway. Outright rudeness wouldn't bring success and might make it harder for Sakura to get answers down the line.

Ino blinked, set down her knife and fork, and took a sip of water. "I've been busy with all sorts of duties. Are you interested in anything in particular?"

Vagueness was a solid counter to Sakura's opening, and it would be hard to press Ino for sensitive details. With one exception. "I was wondering what you were up to with my teammate when the two of you sneak away together, actually."

"Jealous?" Ino countered, smirking.

Sakura snorted. "I won't bother pretending to take that seriously. Sasuke is my friend and my teammate, and I'd know if you two were an 'item'." She made air quotes around the word.

"That's such a crude way of phrasing it," Ino said, but it wasn't a denial.

"So if you're not fooling around together, what are you up to?"

Ino shrugged. "Why not ask him about it?"

"I did," Sakura said. "He sent me to you."

"I'm not teaching him anything dangerous, if that's what you're worried about," Ino said. Sakura knew Sasuke would do something dangerous if he thought it would make him stronger, but he wasn't a complete idiot. While Sasuke might agree to something risky if a jounin suggested it, that didn't mean he'd listen to his former classmates. "But if you want to hear more details, and he's said he's fine with it, then sure. We can talk. I have nothing to hide."

"So what exactly have you been teaching him?" Sakura pressed.

Ino rolled her eyes. "People skills, mostly."

With a suppressed sigh, Sakura ignored the insult. "That's strange, because it doesn't seem to be paying off for him."

"From a small acorn, a mighty oak can grow," Ino said with confidence. That bravado didn't extend to her eyes. Sakura knew she was being fobbed off, and that Ino didn't expect her to buy it.

She took another bite of her lunch, which was marinated pork belly served with rice. "I guess that answers my questions."

"It does?" Ino asked, shocked. Sakura let the opening slide and turned the conversation around to the topic of clothes.

"I'm thinking of updating my non-ninja wardrobe a little. I want something with space to hide a couple of knives, and ideally some wide sleeves to hide a hand seal in."

As expected, Ino couldn't resist giving her opinion, and the rest of the meal passed in flash. It was only after Sakura had paid and they were getting ready to leave that she placed her hand on Ino's elbow, holding her back. "You might be pretending you're not worried about what I'll find, but I know that's a lie."

"How come?" Ino asked, off-balance.

Sakura smiled sweetly. "Why else have you been hiding from me?"

At first Sakura had thought she'd done something wrong, or that Ino had abandoned her as soon as she got new friends. But neither of those made sense; even if Ino were trying to break off their friendship as completely as possible, she would have done so in a socially acceptable way. As ninja, their paths were bound to cross often in the future, and they moved in the same circles. This wasn't an attempt to end things, it was a headlong retreat with a paper-thin veneer of respectability painted on.

Ino had something she was trying to keep secret, and Sakura was a threat to that.

"I haven't been hiding, we've just both been busy. I mean, you learned the chidori and now you're moving onto another lightning technique already. That's an insane workload." Ino wouldn't meet Sakura's eyes as she spoke.

"Not that I'm in the habit of sharing my techniques," Sakura said. "But I'm not learning any more lightning techniques for now. Kakashi's given me water elemental training instead."

Ino's eyes widened and Sakura saw… shock? fear? It didn't make any sense; why would Ino panic over Sakura's training schedule?

"This has been lovely but I have to go," Ino said, and before Sakura could get another word out she leapt to a rooftop overhead.

Sakura noticed with satisfaction that Ino was significantly slower than her. Still, she let her friend leave. There were plans to be made, and plots to weave, after all.

-O-

"Focus," Kakashi said, and Sakura concentrated on the pool of water around her. He was striding over it, an unfamiliar working at his feet. The Syrup Trap technique was doing absolutely nothing to hold him in place. Try as she might, Sakura couldn't get the gloopy mess to interfere with his variation of water walking.

She placed a tentative finger on the surface and felt the strength of the bond. A quick twist of her chakra released it again. The technique was working, but Kakashi was disrupting it somehow.

"Ready?" she asked. Kakashi nodded and took another step, this one slower. He was taunting her now.

With a flare of chakra, Sakura reversed the changes she'd made, and the surface of the pool grew slick beneath her fingers. She'd timed it perfectly – Kakashi was mid-step, and as a result his weight was off-centre. He leaned into the skid as he was suddenly standing on a mirror-smooth pond and his leg went flying out from under him.

It was too much to hope that the surprise would knock him over, but getting any sort of reaction out of Kakashi was like pulling teeth. Sakura counted it as a win. She grinned as she stood up again, but her declaration of victory was transformed into an undignified yelp when Kakashi tapped a finger against the pool and that same frictionless effect targeted the bottoms of her own feet. It was like standing on slippery ice and Sakura fell gracelessly into the water.

"Very good," Kakashi said, the corner of his eye creasing. It was the most approval he ever gave during training, and Sakura had grown to crave it beyond anything else. "Another few months like this and you'll have outgrown your dear old teacher."

She knew it was a joke, that he was just trying to motivate her and make sure she knew she was progressing, but Sakura still had to fight back a pleased flush of pink on her cheeks. "If that ever does happen, I'll get you up to scratch," she promised with a smile.

Whatever Kakashi was about to say in reply was interrupted when a pair of jounin came tearing through the trees.

The first one she immediately recognised as Guy, the odd man who sometimes challenged Kakashi to training competitions. Depending on her teacher's mercurial moods he would either accept the contest or fob Guy off with an overly-contrived excuse. Kakashi claiming to have sprained a finger from turning too many pages of his book too fast was her personal favourite. The other ninja was, if anything, even better-known around the village, although this was Sakura's first time seeing the legendary Tsunade up close.

Words couldn't do her justice. Tsunade was beautiful, but that was the least attention-grabbing thing about her. She casually shouldered Guy aside on the last sprint before putting on a burst of speed that tore apart the dirt beneath her feet. Two heartbeats later he arrived at her side and they both nodded a greeting to Kakashi. He took a moment to acknowledge them and Sakura wondered, not for the first time, what kind of strange games Konohagakure's jounin played amongst themselves.

Tsunade wasn't even out of breath. Her arms were muscled, but no more than any ninja who kept to the fitness programs specified in the regulations. There were dozens of rumours about where her legendary strength came from – everything from secret potions and medical treatments to the channeled might of a demon had been whispered about behind her back – but Sakura still strained to catch sight of any details that might give away the power's source.

"Before we start, can you stop your apprentice from gawping?" Tsunade asked. Her words were harsh but her tone was mild and carefree.

Kakashi nodded. "Sakura, you can stare for five more seconds, then we've got business to attend to. Training's over for the day."

Sakura flushed and looked away. She gathered her things, but when Guy and Kakashi began arguing in low voices she pricked her ears and lingered a little. Some of the words were audible, but she couldn't tell the two speakers apart.

"–thinks he can take them both, he's a fool!"

"Strong ancestors do not a strong ninja make. Look at what happened to the Uchiha Clan. But he's got the skills to back up his boasting, if we help–"

Tsunade cut in with a scowl. "Help by digging him a grave before he leaves? He's in it for the glory, any fool can see that, and for the hat."

"One of the requirements for that cursed thing is to still be breathing!"

After that, the conversation calmed a little and Sakura couldn't hear any more. She made her way home, stopping off at her favourite tea house to while away an hour or two. Kakashi's first book recommendation had been good, but this most recent one was stunning. Red Mist As The Sun Sets took place in Kirigakure and was a dramatisation of the rise to power of the first Mizukage. Sakura stayed reading longer than she intended, and so she had to hurry to get back in time for supper.

As she ran down one of the many busy side streets in the market district, though, Sakura spotted a familiar face. Naruto was wandering through Konohagakure, bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hi, Sakura!" he shouted when he spotted her. He dropped his pack and waved with both hands, grinning. "I'm back!"