The next morning with the house one person emptier now that Nawaki had moved out Sakura, Haku and Karin with their products left the house "Where are you off to" Tsunade quirked a brow when she saw those brats.
Verdant orbs flashed her way then to the person next to her "To speak with the merchants and give them the next batch of our products, then try to negotiate a new deal on Haku's behalf for the fish jerky he has" Sakura informed.
Shizune opened her mouth but Tsunade shook her head in warning "Not to mention we have friends we want to see today" Karin admitted because she really wanted to give Choji the souvenir she'd brought back for him.
And Sakura also had to talk to Choza to "On that note we must go" Haku reminded, wanting to have enough time to do things he wanted that day, Sakura relented and turned on her heel, leading the way down the streets first to Junichi's Stall.
Where she told him about the upgrades she'd made to the med kits so that he was well informed about what was in them "Just two more things can you get in contact with Kagura-san I'm ready to make a deal and I don't think we'll be going on a mission outside the village for awhile" Sakura said.
Junichi nodded in understanding "Fair enough, can do, but I want a thirty percent cut of these new batches" Junichi demanded, thankfully Sakura had already figured he would want more so easily relented to the request.
A minute later she and her friends were gone, above them were Shisui and Itachi "Seems they do need to take breaks sometime" Itachi chuckled to his best friend, though he was relieved to find that Team Thirteen wasn't pushing themselves.
"I do wonder about why they decided to take these couple of days off though but I don't want to seem like I'm trying to mother hen them again" Shisui pondered aloud, still feeling guilty over his previous actions that it kind of made him a little more reserved around those girls.
Down below Team Thirteen had made it to the second merchant they'd made a deal with and finally the weapons store "That should be it yet their not heading home" Itachi frowned a bit confused until Sakura stopped at a dried meats store.
He realized what was happening then "Their expanding aren't they woohoo go Sakura-chan, Karin-chan and Haku-chan" Shisui cheered for the genin quietly as the trio exited the store, Haku sporting a satisfied smile.
But it seemed that they weren't done quite yet as they made a sixth stop at another stall that sold scented salves for Karin-chan this time before finally after a deal had been made Karin seemed to concentrate then take the lead.
Until the group reached one of the Akimichi greenhouses "Shikamaru said you were back, did you have a good time in Iron with your Uncle" Choji waved as soon as he saw his friends enter the greenhouse.
His Father wasn't with him this time "Yeah we did actually, Great Grand Uncle had us training mostly but we learned a lot about the inner workings of the samurai and kenjutsu to, also here it's from all three of us" Sakura smiled brightly.
Choji grinned in excitement as he took the box tied with twine and untied it carefully to reveal "What is this, it looks edible" Choji inquired curiously, while resisting the urge to poke the lumps of whatever it was.
Next to Sakura, Haku bit back a smile "That's elk jerky, very tasty and we thought you'd appreciate it more than the others cause it's a specialty back in Tetsu no Kuni" Karin explained, at that Choji was quick to try a bite.
The taste of it had him humming in appreciation "Wow this is amazing I never even thought about what food would taste like in different lands but kami this is more than tasty it's positively delicious and it even melts like butter in my mouth" Choji rambled.
Forcing himself to simply not shove the rest in his mouth right then and there because this jerky was something to be savored "Glad you liked it Choji, we spent a lot of time trying to figure out what you'd like best" Haku admitted.
Ebony irises widened "Really, well thanks and I'll let my Dad know that you'll be coming back to work on Friday since this is Wednesday" Choji said, thanking his friends for the gift before speaking to Sakura who nodded in understanding.
With that it was off to find Ino who was at home that day "Look who's decided to grace our shop with her presence for the first time since she came home, welcome Sakura-chan do you remember me, I'm Aiko, Ino's mother" Aiko greeted.
Since she was manning the shop that day "I remember Mrs. Yamanaka and we've come for Ino, is she up in her room or busy training" Sakura questioned as she came to a full stop in front of the counter.
Aiko smiled "Up in her room Sakura-chan, I assume you brought her another souvenir" Aiko pointed and got a nod for her question at that she gestured the girl and her teammates on through and up the stairs.
Just as they were heading up the steps to Ino's room, the blonde came trailing towards them "Sakura, Karin, Haku I heard you were back from Choji but I didn't think you'd make your rounds so quickly" Ino bounced.
Practically tackling Sakura and Karin in a hug though didn't attempt to do the same to Haku "Should have known better with these two" Haku teased good-naturedly, earning him a mock glare of amused exasperation.
Ino giggled under her breath "Anyway this is for you from all of us Ino, this was the only thing that caught our eye that you might like" Karin held out the gift and when the box was opened it revealed ornate hair sticks with preserved cosmos flowers.
Pupil-less cerulean orbs widened and filled with tears "Geez make me cry why don't you" Ino sniffled, rubbing a sleeve over her eyes to get rid of her tears then carefully did up her long hair and pinned it in place with her new hair sticks.
"Knew they'd suit you Ino-chan" Sakura said, relieved that the blonde liked the souvenir, it had taken them a long time to settle on the hair sticks and it had been the last of it's kind so they had really been lucky at getting their hands on the hair sticks before the item had been bought.
The blonde let out a beautific smile in response "Oh don't bother going to see Shikamaru, he's busy training with his Dad today so I'll give him the souvenir if you explain what it is" Ino informed when Team Thirteen announced that they were going to leave.
At least they agreed with her as Haku handed over the neatly wrapped gift "It's a book on different strategies, we thought he might like it" Haku explained and then they were on their way back to the house.
Where Nawaki had promised to bring Naruto and Sasuke by after training and missions which wouldn't be for a few more hours "So I think we should have a sit down maybe and talk about future products we want to make" Karin suggested.
Once they were home and seated in the living room "You mean we aren't already sitting down" Sakura deadpanned with a straight face, Haku covered his mouth, eyes growing wide as Karin froze and her mouth dropped open.
Face turning red as she forgot to breathe for a moment then burst out laughing like a hyena, Sakura quickly followed her sister and even Haku let out a few chuckles "Can't believe you, cracking a joke like that" Karin sulked a few minutes later.
After she'd calmed down "Sorry, sorry, though you are right, we need to figure out what we're willing and able to make" Sakura placated by mentioning the subject Karin had brought up five minutes ago.
"True, I know that besides weapons and various kinds of dried meats that's all I have going for me, but you know I wouldn't be opposed to writing a short book about making jerky, your way Sakura if you don't mind letting people know some of your culinary secrets" Haku chimed in.
Quick as a flash Sakura scribbled that idea down "Not a half bad idea Haku, we could all write our own book series, mine could be about the recipes for different poisons that I've thought up but don't want to use for the poison sprays" Karin agreed.
Growing excited at the idea "Cool and I could do the same with some of Isha's recipes she came up with so that their being shared at long last, other than that Karin-chan you could expand to making different kinds of oils though it's a long process like extracts" Sakura offered.
"What about me Sakura, what else do you think I might possibly be good at making by hand with the help of shadow clones" Haku inquired hoping that Sakura's creative mind could come with other things for him to do.
She tapped a finger to her chin "Dried animal pelts, you can make all kinds of things out of dried skins" Sakura blurted, scratching that down to under Haku's name as he nodded and a couple new idea's for herself.
Of course Karin and Haku were curious about what else she intended on making so she had to show them, thus ending their discussion for the time being leaving them to relax until Nawaki showed up with Naruto and Sasuke on his heels.
"Heard you had a fun time in Iron, getting to learn kenjutsu from the Head Samurai" Sasuke commented as he took a seat in the lone armchair, just a tiny bit jealous because he wanted to learn how to wield a sword to.
But now Sakura, Karin and Haku were leagues ahead of him in that department "Describing that process as fun isn't how I would put it, it was painful actually, Mifune-dono is nice though" Haku huffed, rubbing his thighs in remembrance.
Karin bit back a smile "He just wasn't prepared for how the samurai train, they move really slowly, using muscles one doesn't normally use and yeah he was nice enough to accept and treat me like family even though I'm only adopted" Karin announced.
Clearly like Sakura she'd needed some semblance of family to ground herself "And we're not being hopeful in asking if you brought us back a souvenir right" Nawaki interjected, hazel eyes staring at her earnestly.
Thankfully he and his teammates weren't made to wait very long before each of them had a wrapped gift in their hands "Is this what I think it is" Naruto carefully shook his and listened closely to the sound the package made.
"Open it and find out Naruto" Sakura gestured to the blond and he ripped it open eagerly to see that she, Karin and Haku had picked out specialty instant ramen from the Land of Iron just for him because he was such a ramen lover.
Curious about his own souvenir now Sasuke peeled back the paper to see a book "Look at that Sasuke you were just complaining a few days ago that you wish you could learn kenjutsu and now you can once you get a sword" Nawaki sniggered.
Haku slanted a look at Sakura as the straw blonde opened his own souvenir "It's a better storage pouch and Sakura you should totally show them the sword Mifune-dono gave you, it belonged to her great grandfather" Haku suggested.
Sasuke perked with interest so Sakura had no choice but to retrieve Shūryō-suru from her room "Here we are this is Shūryō-suru and the name translates into terminate" Sakura explained as she showed off her newest weapon that she was quite proud of.
Because Mifune had entrusted it into her care "I'm not usually the type of person to say such stuff like this but that's a gorgeous sword Sakura" Sasuke whistled, obviously admiring the sword as he reached out carefully.
And ran his thumb across the blade testing it's sharpness only to pull away with a hiss as he accidentally cut himself "Yeah it's really sharp" Karin warned a second to late even as she healed the light injury.
Thankfully Sasuke learned quickly and didn't try to touch the sword again "Is that all you brought home from your Great Grand Uncle" Naruto asked curiously as he stowed the ramen away in his storage pouch.
Eager to try it out later "Pretty much but that doesn't mean it's the only thing she's getting, in fact he was nice enough to commission all three of us armor along with a sword for Karin and I" Haku chimed in again.
Try as he might Sasuke couldn't hide the glint of jealousy that gleamed in his charcoal irises from Sakura who adopted a contemplative expression before grabbing Haku "Could you try I know you haven't gotten that far yet but I don't want Sasuke to turn back into the brat he was before" Sakura asked.
When she got done explaining what she want him to do once ensconced in her bedroom "Sure, I mean I do need the practice and if it breaks I can always make Sasuke a new one" Haku shrugged not surprised at Sakura's selflessness.
As he focused using Sakura's sword as a base for one made out of his kekkeigenkai until one sat in his hands, needless to say Sasuke was stunned speechless after she placed it in his hands "But why I could have asked my Father to take me to Nekobaa" Sasuke frowned.
"While that may be true Sasuke, consider it this way you'll need a weapon to practice with to gain kenjutsu experience should it break Haku can make you another until your ready for an iron forged sword that you can wield and not break" Karin shrugged.
Guessing at the reason Sakura had done that for Sasuke "Very true and I don't see many cons about the idea" Nawaki agreed, helping his teammate accept the gift for what it was, Sasuke relented after a couple minutes.
Then sealed the sword away in a scroll, he and his teammates stayed for another hour just chit-chatting with Team Thirteen before leaving them to cook lunch and eventually dinner before going to bed for the night.
And the next morning it was back to missions and training "Say Sakura think we could cut out an hour of training to visit the library, I'm curious about possibly learning a new elemental nature like fire" Karin requested.
Doing her regular stretches "You know I was just thinking of doing that myself, except I want to learn lightning" Sakura grinned widely bending down and touching her toes at the same time and remembering what they'd said about stretching Haku joined the girls during their stretches.
So that he didn't pull anything while training "Ugh I can't wait until Mifune-dono sends us our armor and swords so that we can practice our kenjutsu during training together" Haku commented after their training session was over.
Though it had been shortened by an hour, both kunoichi on his team happened to agree with him as they walked through the village to the library since they were finished with everything else for the day so they could do their own thing for a couple of hours.
"Right here we are, a book about learning a new chakra nature" Sakura pulled the book from the shelf and flipped it open so that she and Karin could read from it while Haku searched grabbed some books to learn a couple jutsu.
Karin quickly began taking notes "Okay I think we got all we need but I want to wait before trying to learn until we have our armor and swords so that we can focus on that kind of training for awhile" Karin admitted.
Putting her notes away and stretching her arms above her head after sitting hunched over for the last hour "Good idea, we want to be a well rounded team full of differing skills while still being able to work together" Haku nodded.
Carefully returning the books he'd been reading onto the shelves he pulled them off of, Sakura and Karin smiled at him kindly and together they left the library to head back home after a long day of working hard for their village.
Quite aware that they were being followed, Sakura shared an imperceptible look with Karin and Haku who were stood on either side of her before coming to a stop "Might as well come out we already know your there" Sakura called.
From the shadows of an alley stepped forth a man in all black wearing a blank mask "Danzo-sama is inviting Karin Uzumaki and Haku Yuki to join him as members of Root, you have three days to make your decision and refusing is not an answer" the man spoke in a monotonous voice.
Sakura gripped Karin and Haku's hands tightly "Go ahead and tell him that we refuse because we're not interested if Sakura's not invited as well" Karin scoffed, who the heck did this Danzo guy think he was anyway.
"Exactly so don't bother coming back in three days" Haku informed, very protective of his teammates at this point, the man said nothing merely stepped back into the alley and disappeared from their senses.
Leaving them to continue on their way, that night Sakura was extra thorough in setting traps to ensure their safety during the night "And tomorrow morning when we stop by the tower to get a mission we'll tell Hokage-sama about it" Sakura said.
Not willing to go without having that issue addressed for very long apparently "Yeah I don't blame you Sakura" Karin shivered, goosebumps breaking out across her flesh prompting her to rub her arms.
Obviously a bit freaked out from the encounter "Me either, that was fairly creepy if I'm being honest, that guy gave me some pretty bad vibes" Haku grimaced, just glad that Sakura was a paranoid person by nature.
Which meant that now they had extra protection, a couple hours later though the three of them were crawling into their beds to get some sleep and upon arriving at the tower for a couple C rank missions informed the Hokage of their encounter.
"Pardon are you absolutely sure this man said Danzo was inviting you to Root" Hiruzen choked on the smoke from his pipe, Karin nodded without an ounce of hesitation in her "I see…I'll make sure to speak with my old friend about this" the Hokage assured.
Giving Team Thirteen their allotted missions for the day a little surprised they had trusted him enough to tell him what had happened as they left to carry out their duty and then do whatever it was they did after missions.
After that three days came and went making it a week that they'd been back in the village and just like a few days before hand they were approached once more "Danzo-sama's offer still stands for the aforementioned" the man intoned flatly.
Sakura whipped around quick as a flash "Apparently this Danzo guy doesn't listen read my lips bastard, N O that spells No, Karin and Haku aren't going to join his shady organization got that" Sakura hissed viciously.
Clearly pushed past her limit of tolerance because she'd been so on edge the past several days afraid that someone was going to come and try to steal her sister and Haku from the house right out from beneath her nose.
"Your making an enemy out of the wrong person Sakura Haruno, he was going to evaluate you to see if you were worthy enough for Root that was what he told me to tell you but I doubt that will happen now" the man informed.
Trying to intimidate her "Oh just piss off would you, we're not interested and if you or that guy tries anything we'll go to Hokage-sama again and tell him that he's threatening us" Karin warned gripping Sakura's hand tightly.
A sigh was her answer before the man vanished from sight and senses "Now even I'm getting worried that's not normal for someone to push others to join something that they've already declined on is it" Haku frowned.
Once in the safety of their house, Sakura shook her head "All I'll say is if you find yourself on your own be careful" Sakura stressed vehemently, kind of getting the feeling she knew why whoever Danzo was, was after Karin and Haku, it was because of their abilities.
Haku and Karin nodded sagely in understanding then helped cook dinner before going to bed for the night, the next morning was rather interesting for as soon as they arrived at the tower for missions they were met by Fugaku.
"Karin, Sakura, Haku, Lord Hokage told me about the issue your dealing with, if you feel as if your lives are in danger at any point come to the compound you will be protected there I assure you three, on that note something arrived for you from Iron" Fugaku announced.
Before gesturing to the three heavy looking boxes "Our armor and the swords" Sakura clapped excitedly as she snagged a box tagged with her name in neat kanji written on it and she could hardly wait to try the armor on.
She wasn't the only one excited as Karin scooped up the box with her name on it with a soft squeal while Haku lifted his and tucked it under his arm quietly then turned to the Hokage, who shook his head.
Fugaku stepped forward again "No missions, if you accept me I will become your official sensei starting today" the Uchiha Patriarch cleared his throat, hoping that they wouldn't reject him now that they all had a good rapport with one another.
Viridian irises focused on him immediately, assessing him "To me your already our sensei regardless of whether or not it was an official title before so we accept sensei" Karin commented casually after a moment.
"Good from now on call me Fugaku-sensei now lets go to the training grounds once your finished with your training I'll give you some more news" Fugaku ordered, taking charge easily because he knew they wouldn't defy him.
Obeying his commands came easily for Team Thirteen as they lined up and filed out of the Hokage's office on his heels without a word of complaint "Well since your our official sensei now you can instruct Sakura and Karin in their endeavors of learning new chakra natures" Haku said.
Green and red orbs rounded then turned to Fugaku a pleading glint within the depths of their eyes "Really now and what natures have you decided upon learning" Fugaku inquired, leading his students through the compound.
Showing them off to the clan so everyone knew Team Thirteen was off limits "Fire for Karin, Lightning for me Fugaku-sensei, we know the process having studied it the last couple of days but it will be nice to have someone directing us properly" Sakura explained.
"Easy enough to do since I won't have to explain to much" Fugaku stated, quite pleased he wouldn't have to do much to get them ready for the Chunin Exams that he'd nominated them for it's why Hiruzen had nudged him to ask Team Thirteen to accept him as their official sensei.
The minute they arrived on the set aside field he'd promised the genin all three of them disappeared behind a tree and fifteen minutes later emerged wearing their samurai forged armor along with the swords.
For Sakura she was wearing all blood red armor, an armored skirt, chest plate, shoulder and arm guards a pink sash tied around her waist to hold Shūryō suru in place on her hip near waist length hair tied up in a topknot, a red forehead protector tied around her head as her hair framed her face.
Karin was in all dark purple armor a white hilt sword tied at her waist with a red sash to hold the weapon in place "According to Mifune-dono this swords name is Fusawashi which translates into the name Worthy" Karin explained.
Unsheathing the sword to reveal the blade of her sword a deep purple color, last was Haku in all deep ocean blue armor, his sword had a dark blue hilt while the blade was the same ice color of his kekkeigenkai.
"And it's name is Jizen or Benevolent" Haku informed taking several minutes to stretch before he, Sakura and Karin practiced kenjutsu the way they were taught for the next couple of hours until they were nice and warmed up.
Thirty minutes was spent on taijutsu before Sakura and Karin sat "Basically what you want to do is change the nature of your chakra for Sakura concentrate on this piece of paper until it crinkles, Karin use a leaf and focus until it begins to burn" Fugaku instructed.
Wondering if he should impart any warning on them about how dangerous this could possibly be for them if they messed up they could end up either electrocuted or burned "And be careful don't want to get burned or shocked do you" Fugaku warned anyway.
Deciding to take the initiative on that, ten minutes into the new training "What on earth are they wearing" Shisui showed up with Itachi on his heels only to see all of Team Thirteen wearing something unfamiliar.
"Ah the armor must have come from Iron that Mifune-san commissioned for them, along with the swords he promised Karin-san and Haku-san but I notice they aren't practicing or have they already and we just missed it" Itachi was up to date thankfully.
Instantly recognizing the familiar armor style Samurai preferred "Missed it by forty minutes Itachi" Fugaku said, gaze flashing Haku's way for a moment only to find him hard at work wielding his rare bloodline limit.
Large mirrors made out of ice surrounded the fifteen year old only to merge into one like it was liquid, Shisui paled lightly when Haku flitted in and out of the mirrors gaining speed and unleashing a barrage of throwing needles at a water clone that stood in the middle.
An hour and a half later all three of them were done by then Itachi and Shisui had wandered off "Now that your finished there are some things that are imperative I speak about with you" Fugaku reminded as he beckoned his genin towards him.
Until they were gathered round "First, due to a certain event coming up soon and because we have yet to train any staff for the Clinic, that will be put off for another couple of months, second every three weeks we'll have a team dinner and third I nominated you for the Chunin Exams" Fugaku declared.
Handing over the entrance forms that they needed to fill out and sign "Just know I'm not pressuring you to take the exams, it's your decision whether your ready or not, plus you have three weeks to decide and also I won't always be available like this" Fugaku assured.
When panic filled their eyes though at his reassurance Sakura and Karin calmed "We'll be sure to think long and hard about this Fugaku-sensei" Sakura promised, needing now more than ever in that moment to spend some time with her plants.
"Go on then just show up here every other day or so other than that I don't care what you do" Fugaku waved his hand shooing the trio off so they could decide to participate in what he'd signed them up for.
Immediately Team Thirteen scurried off after carefully removing the armor and sealing it plus the swords away in scrolls "We really do have bad luck ugh" Karin bemoaned their fate the moment they were in the greenhouse.
"Come on it's not that bad is it Karin, plus think about it if you manage to get promoted being a rookie during our first try" Haku suggested, glad that Zabuza had kept him up to date with everything in the ninja world.
Karin sighed "Don't let it get you down to much Karin-chan I'm conflicted to but like Fugaku-sensei said we have three weeks so lets take our time so that all three of us are absolutely assured of our decision to enter the exam together" Sakura chimed in.
Feeling a bit better now that she was surrounded by nature "Suppose your both right, seriously though the Chunin Exams on top of the crap we're going through from that Danzo guy threatening us this is not good" Karin winced.
"At least we have a safe place to go now when we didn't before, though it doesn't feel like Lord Hokage is doing anything to prevent Danzo from doing this to us since that guy still approached us yesterday" Haku frowned.
Wondering if the Hokage was completely trustworthy "While I don't hate him or anything I don't completely trust Hokage-sama either, me and Karin think he's going to try and prevent us from going back to Kumogakure when our time here is up" Sakura whispered.
Remembering his promise to Itachi, Haku said nothing about how Sakura was right that the Hokage was doing all he could to convince the two kunoichi to stay in Konohagakure even against their will probably.
Eventually Sakura finished tending all the plants in the greenhouse, picking some that were ready and with that it was off to the house for lunch where they spent the rest of the day indoors relaxing before going to bed for the night hours later.