Morning dawned bright and early the next day, though Sakura did have a mini freak out when she saw a letter addressed to her sitting innocently on her pillow, she was slightly nervous about opening it actually until she did and found it benign.
~Sakura
You will meet your trainer for the month at the gates at 10 o'clock be sure to pack appropriately for the days ahead of you as you'll be leaving the village and traveling to Iron for that is what your trainer has decided.
I have written similar messages to your teammates on where to meet their trainers, my only regret is that I will not be able to see you off before you leave so know that I'm counting on you to grow stronger.
P.S. Nice touch with the traps in your house.
Fugaku Uchiha~
Sakura blinked then re-read the letter a second time just to make sure she wasn't seeing things when the words remained the same she scrambled up off her bed after peeking at her alarm clock and saw the time at being half past 8.
Giving her an hour and a half to pack "That sensei of ours" Karin groaned loudly from down the hall and Sakura snickered softly to herself as she emptied her beige backpack, dirty clothes from her last time in Iron tumbled out.
And after peering at herself in the mirror Sakura decided that it was time for a change so sent a clone off to acquire new clothing while she tossed her dirty clothes in the hamper before grabbing a storage scroll.
By the time she was done packing forty five minutes had passed and her clone had returned which meant now it was time for her to dress "Hey Sakura you going to come down any time…whoa" Karin knocked on her door.
Just as she got the one piece outfit on because it had taken her some time to figure out how to get into it "Yeah I figured it was time for a change" Sakura smiled, tying the black obi around her waist to complete her new look.
She was wearing a one piece dark green outfit with no sleeves but mesh gloves with red trimming that went all the way up to her elbow, red metal plated arm guards over the gloves, open toed boots in black that went all the way up to her knee's, a black obi and red cord around her waist.
Her sword in place on her right hip, her right thigh had her Kumo hitai-ate tied around it while her Leaf hitai-ate was tied loosely around her neck as for Sakura's hair she'd put it in twin tails, one rested over her left shoulder, the second trailed down her back.
"Karin, Sakura, breakfast is ready" Haku called from the bottom of the stairs, Sakura grabbed her prepared pack from her bed, Karin sighed but opened the door leading the way down the steps to the kitchen.
Where Omoi, Karui and Haku already sat at the table "Couldn't have given us any warning that you were going to change again could you Sakura" Karui deadpanned, not surprised that Sakura had changed what she wore.
Training for the final round was just as serious as being put on a genin team apparently in the pinkette's mind "Sorry, I only decided on changing my look after I woke up" Sakura apologized as she took a seat.
Less than a second later she had a plate full of food in front of her "Let me guess you got a letter from Fugaku-sensei to" Haku guessed, figuring that if he and Karin got one then Sakura would have gotten a letter to.
His answer was a silent nod "Do you know who he has you training with" Omoi questioned, pausing briefly to ask that before stuffing his face with breakfast again because Haku was as good of a cook as Sakura was.
"Nope all he told me was that my trainer would be taking me out of the village for this month where we'd be going to Iron to train" Sakura admitted, dreading having to tell her great grand uncle about the curse mark.
Even if it was considered safe Mifune wouldn't be happy "Well you won't be the only one away from the house, Fugaku-sensei told us we'd be staying in the compound and he didn't tell us who we'd be training under either" Karin blurted.
Sensing the unease in Sakura's chakra "Really, so we're gonna be here by ourselves the entire month that sucks ass" Karui sulked, wondering inwardly if they shouldn't just go stay in the hotel with Samui.
If that was going to be the case "As much as it sucks there's nothing we can do about it Karui-san, sorry" Haku apologized kindly, feeling a little bad about the situation but like he said there wasn't anything they could do about it.
"Haku's right Karui, and whining about it will do nothing, instead we can see Sakura off and then train ridiculously hard so we don't get left behind by her and Karin" Omoi consoled and pat Karui gently on the shoulder.
Prompting Karin to roll her eyes in exasperation "On that note I should get going, I was told to be at that gates by 10 o'clock" Sakura stood and deposited her dishes in the sink, then grabbed her pack and slid her arms into it so that it was situated comfortably on her back.
Then with Karin and Haku on either side of her, Karui and Omoi following behind she led the way from the house and down the streets to the village gates, arriving five minutes ahead of schedule "Leaving the village is expressly forbidden during the exams" the chunin on gate duty called.
Upon seeing the pack one of the genin sported "Unless they have permission in which the Kid does" a familiar Jonin's voice washed over the group, Sakura whipped around, taking Darui in with trepidation in her jade eyes.
Because if Darui was there that meant he knew and so did Ay, Darui thinned his lips at her response to his appearance but handed over the scroll that Fugaku had given him that morning which held the permission from Hiruzen needed to take the kid out of the village.
It took a few minutes for the signature to be checked then with a wave he led Sakura out the gates away from the others "Raikage-sama knows" Sakura guessed when the gates faded from sight prompting those that had come to see her off to scatter.
Darui grimaced "Mm, but you should know he's not mad at you, Boss swore to strangle Orochimaru for what he's done to you" Darui assured, Sakura finally looked up at him allowing him to see the tears in her eyes.
She'd been terrified that the Raikage was disappointed in her "Not if I get to the bastard first, I swore I'd hunt him to the ends of this earth and make him pay, so did Sasuke" Sakura scoffed with a smile.
"Boss should be pleased, oh nearly forgot but what about that trading company of yours" Darui quirked a brow down at her, knowing Sakura it was probably chaffing her that she was leaving the village for a month.
Jade eyes flashed in his direction "Prepared stock ahead of schedule for the entirety of the Chunin Exams, Karin and Haku did the same so we could focus on hopefully being promoted to the next rank" Sakura grinned.
Darui chuckled before figuring that it was time "Alright we want to travel as speedily as possible so Kid climb on, I know you could probably keep up but I want you to suppress your chakra so any one sent after you only feels me" Darui stopped.
Kneeling down, explaining his reasoning for wanting to carry her "Just don't tell anyone Darui-san cause this is embarrassing, I was already getting teased for being carried bridle style by Fugaku-sensei when I passed out after entering the tower" Sakura pleaded.
Cheeks bright red as she wrapped her arms lightly around his neck while his hands cupped her lower thighs before standing "Got it Kid, comfortable, good we're off then" Darui smirked, making sure she was okay.
Before taking off, Sakura's grip tightened just as all sense of her chakra vanished, only feeling her physically situated upon his back reminded Darui that she was still there "Uh by the way does Mifune-dono know we're coming" Sakura inquired suddenly.
That was a valid question he supposed because he didn't even know himself if Mifune knew or not really "Not sure, when I take a break then you can send your summons on ahead to inform him of our visit" Darui admitted.
Sakura sighed softly and rested her chin lightly on Darui's shoulder, she was quiet for a long time after that as he ran, speed boosted by his chakra in order to traverse the lands quickly and reach their destination faster.
Until he had no choice but to stop and take a break "Here Darui-san, oh I thought of another question but how do you plan on training me" Sakura held out a food pill, wondering at her strategy for her fight against Sasuke.
Who would no doubt be harder to beat after summoning Amin with a message to send ahead to her great grand uncle, "Fugaku told me something interesting but I'm not gonna tell you just yet cause I'm still working out the details in my head Kid now up you go again" Darui grinned.
Tempted to ruffle her hair though he knew it would just make her whine like a kid before hefting her onto his back again, Sakura grasped his shoulders and held on tight as he took off like a bullet "Mean" Sakura huffed.
Folding her arms around his neck loosely once she'd regained her sense of balance "Pass down some jerky Kid, we're about to cross the border into Tetsu no Kuni" Darui requested hours later, needing something a little more substantial than a food pill for dinner.
And he could always count on Sakura to have some form of jerky on hand case and point, what looked like deer jerky was stuffed into his mouth "I can hold myself up while you eat" Sakura declared squeezing her thighs against his sides.
Darui shook his head but removed one hand and grabbed hold of the jerky before taking a bite, tearing it in two with his teeth "To be honest Cee wanted to come, but we both agreed that Boss would need his support medic to escort him to Leaf for the Final Round so I came" Darui said.
Meeting her eyes from over his shoulder as he walked slowly across the border from Fire to Iron, Sakura nodded in understanding while ripping into her own piece of jerky "Raikage-sama can be reckless sometimes" Sakura commented.
Her companion was hard pressed to disagree with her, a couple minutes later he finished off his piece of jerky reached back so that he was holding her up again then dashed forward, intent on reaching Samurai HQ that day no matter how late it was.
Just a little after midnight Darui slowed "Sakura-ojou, Darui-san, we've been awaiting your arrival" Okisuke greeted upon recognizing the two as they approached and the older ninja let Sakura down on her feet.
Clearly he'd carried her the whole way there "Nice to see you Okisuke-san" Sakura bowed politely as one befitting her station should do and got a bow in return before Okisuke led them inside, unfortunately Mifune had already gone to bed.
So Darui was led to the guest rooms and she hurried on down the halls after Urakaku to her private room so that they could get some shut eye, it was in the same condition that she'd left it in and Sakura gratefully curled up in the middle of the large bed, falling asleep within minutes.
Only to wake hours later by the door opening then shutting "It is time to wake up Sakura-ojou, Mifune-dono is awaiting you in the canteen for breakfast" Urakaku shook the rosette gently knowing he didn't have to do much.
As she sat up seconds later, hair askew to his amusement but her eyes remained shut before stretching her arms high above her head then pried her eyes open "Morning Urakaku-san" Sakura croaked, obviously having slept hard.
Urakaku chuckled under his breath then held out the kataginu and hakama for Sakura to change into and left her room so that she could dress, four minutes later she emerged hair tamed and wearing the standard training uniform of the Samurai.
Together they walked to the mess hall where Darui was already eating breakfast, reminding her that she hadn't eaten much yesterday and vanished to get her own breakfast while Mifune waited patiently on the bench.
"Mifune-dono good morning" Sakura greeted, taking a seat next to the man, feeling more relieved in that moment than she had back in Konohagakure after the incident, Mifune smiled down at her and returned her greeting.
Charcoal orbs narrowed on her from across the table "While it is good to see you Sakura I would like to know what brought you here so suddenly" Mifune inquired, taking the initiative of starting a conversation.
Sakura swallowed nervously "Training for the Chunin Exams Final Round, Darui-san's idea but there was also an incident that I was involved in, you see one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, attacked a genin team during the survival round that my team happened to be with at the time" Sakura began.
Nerves causing her to freeze up for a moment until Darui nudged his foot into hers "And he tried to curse mark Fugaku-sensei's youngest son, I saw what he was trying to do and intervened and got curse marked myself" Sakura finished quickly.
A frown marred Mifune's face deeply in response "Re..Rest assured though Mifune-dono that the mark can't hurt me, I rid the seal of Orochimaru's chakra so basically all it will do now is enhance my abilities should I choose to use it in the words of an expert on the matter" Sakura rushed out.
His frown softened into a reluctant smile "I know, your sensei sent me a message explaining the situation a couple days ago, I'm glad you felt comfortable telling me on your own though and of course I will allow you to stay and train as well" Mifune admitted.
Watching her eyes as they flashed through various emotions, frustration, exasperation, relief and finally acceptance and Sakura reached out to him on autopilot seeking his affection before pausing and staring at her arms like she'd never seen them before.
Just as she was drawing back away from him he reached out and curled an arm loosely around her shoulders, Darui hid a smile behind his hand "Right eat your breakfast Kid then I'll tell you what I'm going to train you on" Darui reminded causing the girl to jump.
Because she'd been absorbed in her first hug from Mifune "Understood Darui-sensei" Sakura giggled with a salute, Mifune shook his head in amusement but remained seated while his visiting great grand niece ate her food.
Then turn completely in Darui's direction attaining a more serious air about herself "First, I'm sure Mifune-dono will no doubt want you to train with the samurai but during those sessions you'll wear these" Darui placed a scroll in front of his student for the month.
Unsealing it revealed the contents to be specially made weights for Sakura, courtesy of Cee, she took them and put them on one by one "Am I going to be wearing them all month" Sakura asked stretching a bit to adjust to the weights.
Darui nodded seriously "Of course, second I'm going to teach you how to combine and transform your water and lightning chakra natures into a different element, Gale Style, last I'm going to see if your capable of using a special lightning release jutsu that only I can teach you" Darui explained.
Fuschia brows furrowed at the last thing he said, verdant orbs bore into his charcoal irises before widening as she glanced at the tattoo on his shoulder "What is this special lightning release jutsu you speak of Darui-san" Mifune questioned.
Knowing that Sakura had already figured it out but he was left out of the loop "Raiton: Black Panther, it's black lightning that takes the shape of a panther, Lord Third Raikage passed down the technique solely to Darui-san since he was Lord A's student" Sakura recited.
"Straight from Sakura's mouth, geez Kid do you have to remember everything all the time…..I'm sorry Kid that was uncalled for, I know how much you struggled when you couldn't remember your past memories before you got them back" Darui groaned.
Only realizing how hurtful his statement could be after he said it when Sakura lowered her gaze in shame, suddenly she raised her head determination blazing in her eyes "I have nothing to be ashamed of and I swear I will master the technique" Sakura vowed fiercely.
His face broke out into a broad smirk in response "That's the Kid I know and I want you to promise me to never let anything or anyone keep you down alright" Darui clapped, proud of the girl for bouncing back so quickly.
Like she usually did even if it that time had been his fault "With that I suppose we should get training under way, since you did so well during the sessions last time, I'll move you on to actual sparring this time" Mifune interjected.
Sakura hopped up a giddy look on her face as she padded after her Great Grand Uncle leaving Darui sitting there in the cafeteria to wait his turn at training Sakura so he decided to be productive and write out everything he planned to teach her.
It was a very effective method to relieving his current problem, boredom, until Sakura returned two hours later bright eyed and practically dancing around "How'd the spars go Kid" Darui prodded, eyeballing her in amusement.
"Great, I might not have won since everyone has leagues ahead of me in the swordsmanship department but I put up quite a fight against my opponent and blooded him twice" Sakura chattered.
Perhaps a bit to excitedly, behind her Mifune raised both of his brows high into his hairline and grew slightly wide-eyed at her hyper-ness "Ah the joys of child-rearing I forgot what it was like to have a child in the vicinity of myself, thank you for reminding me Sakura" Mifune chuckled.
The pinkette had the grace to blush and calm down significantly to his relief "Why don't you go ahead and get ready for our training session…feel lucky Mifune-dono, it took us in Cloud months for the kid to open up to us to that degree" Darui shooed Sakura off first.
Rising from his seat and stuffing the detailed lesson plan in his pouch "And I know it's taken months for her to open up to so many people back in Leaf because the only person she trusted at first was Karin" Darui continued.
Mifune met his gaze evenly "Can I ask how you know all this" Mifune inquired when Darui finally rounded the table, going slow in order to give Sakura time to dress in her ninja gear because Sakura wouldn't want anything to happen to her samurai training clothes.
"Letters, Cee and I made copies of every letter she sent us, if things got bad for her in Leaf we were going to go to Boss, present the letters to him as evidence of their mistreatment of the kids and pull them out" Darui admitted.
Extremely protective of the two kunoichi "It really was a tragedy learning of Mebuki's passing, she was like the spring itself, refreshing, and it's such a shame that Sakura is unable to bask in her mothers encompassing love" Mifune sighed.
Darui gave him a flat smile in return "Well I better go before the Kid gets impatient and starts training on her own" Darui said, giving Mifune a lazy wave as he left the cafeteria and headed to where he felt Sakura's chakra in the building.
A large training room and just as he suspected she was training, Shūryō-suru was in her hands and she was repeating the horizontal slice over and over with a look of such concentration on her face that he was loathe to disturb her.
But he had things to teach the kid so he whistled sharply once to get her attention "So what first Darui-sensei" Sakura turned immediately, sheathing her sword and giving him her full attention something he was use to.
"The paper test first, crinkle it with lightning nature chakra" Darui handed over a piece of paper that Sakura took between her fingers and focused chakra into, it was a slow process, leading him to believe that the one lightning release jutsu she knew had been a risk to use.
Just as he was about to scold her the paper crinkled in on itself "There I knew I could do it, I just had to concentrate a little harder cause of stupid nerves, I don't want to disappoint you" Sakura breathed in relief.
He pat her head gently in response "You could never disappoint me Kid, Cee or Boss either, or Mifune-dono I bet, we'll scold you but that just shows how much we care about you" Darui assured, sensing the Head Samurai watching from the shadows.
"Well since your all warmed up and managed to crinkle the paper, take a seat Kid, then I want you to focus on combining your water and lightning natures into a singular chakra" Darui instructed, knowing he didn't have to order her around to much.
Cause Sakura was a pretty obedient kid, proven when she sat without anymore prompting from him and put her hands together channeling the individual natures through her tenketsu, water through one, lightning through the other.
Then attempted to merge the two like Darui wanted her to do "Okay I think I've got it" Sakura announced half an hour later coming out of her meditative trance, Darui gestured for her to stand and she did so.
Followed by showing her the hand signs "Now Gale Style: Laser Beam" Darui aimed his palm at a target and shot a bright beam of light from it, destroying the target with a single hit from his gale style jutsu.
When his gaze returned to her Sakura knew it was her turn "Right, Gale Style: Laser Beam" Sakura sped through the hand signs having memorized them easily then did the same as Darui had by aiming her palm at a second target.
Nothing happened to her internal frustration "Try again Kid, remember to combine and transform the nature of those two chakra natures into gale style and keep it that way as you channel the chakra through your tenketsu for the jutsu's" Darui instructed again.
Sakura sighed but put her hands together until she felt that she'd done as he'd asked and while weaving the hand signs kept that chakra merged "Gale Style: Laser Beam" Sakura repeated thrusting her hand out.
Gaze intense as she concentration, light started shooting from her palm, a smile formed and she promptly failed as the light faded "Frustrated yet" Darui grinned seeing a fuschia brow twitch, Sakura stuck her tongue out at him in response.
Before trying again and again, every time she felt even a smidgen of excitement, she lost concentration over her combined chakra natures and the jutsu failed but Sakura wasn't the type to quit no matter what kind of complication she might be experiencing.
"This time for sure" Sakura muttered under her breath when she'd been practicing for two hours, combined her lightning and water nature chakra's into a singular one and weaved the hand signs determinedly "Gale Style: Laser Beam" Sakura intoned seriously.
Holding out her hand, a pale blue beam shot from her palm and slammed into the target, that was the extent of it though as it dissipated upon impact leaving behind a small scorch mark "It's a start, now lets go get lunch" Darui praised.
Or at least that was his intention until Sakura slumped forward and he caught her before she hit the floor, Mifune padded out from behind the support beam "Explain" Mifune requested, wondering if he shouldn't just take Sakura in to his custody completely.
Since it didn't look like being a shinobi was the best thing for the girl "When Sakura over-extends herself she faints, don't worry to much, she'll come round here in a moment" Darui informed, having seen this happen way to much back in Cloud.
When Sakura got serious about things passing out was pretty much a regular thing for her and he was also right about how she'd be waking up in a moment case and point her eyes fluttered open a second after "Ugh I did it again" Sakura groaned.
Pressing a glowing green hand to her head "Yep, so now's the perfect time to take a break, have lunch and rest for a bit" Darui declared, setting Sakura on her feet once the medical chakra faded from her hands.
As they walked to the mess hall with Mifune on their heels Sakura worried her lip "Say Darui…do you think if I finish my training ahead of schedule that you could take me to visit a grave somewhere" Sakura asked carefully.
Feeling nostalgic all of a sudden "If you accomplish all the goals I have in mind sure Kid, where were you thinking, your parents or something" Darui shrugged, seeing no point in refusing since Sakura didn't get many chances to leave the village.
"No, my parents are buried in Konoha, I kinda wanted to visit Isha's grave" Sakura shook her head, telling him who she wanted to visit afterwards for a second Darui looked confused as to who she was talking about.
Until it hit him "Isha's that Uzumaki woman who took you in when you lost your memories, sure, as long as you remember the way" Darui relented now completely unable to refuse the Kid when she nodded.
Mifune who'd been about to ask thought better of it since he had gotten his answer anyway, merely shuffled along after the pair until they reached the canteen "Bit hungry is she" Mifune commented.
When Sakura got a miniature mountain of all different kinds of food the cooks made then sat and proceeded to begin devouring the food "A side effect of using large amounts of chakra, she'll covert all the calories back into chakra to use for more training later" Darui said.
Half an hour later Sakura was done eating and had vanished off to her private room, taking advantage of her break to rest there and read most likely or come up with various strategies to use against her opponent during the match.
In the meantime Mifune had returned to his office to take care of any paperwork he'd received while watching over Sakura's training session as for Darui he wandered to pass the time and around 3o'clock figured it was time to get back to training.
So he asked Okisuke to fetch the rosette for him because he didn't feel comfortable intruding in her private quarters "Is it time Darui-sensei" Sakura appeared in a flurry of cherry blossoms five minutes later.
Amusing him some "Quite, I'm now going to show you the black lightning technique that was passed down to me by Lord Third, grab your cloak first, we're going outside to do this" Darui nodded.
Chuckling as she vanished in a whirl of pink petals and was back a minute later, white cloak clipped around her shoulders so he led her outside a safe distance away from Samurai HQ so far away that it couldn't even be seen in the distance to be honest.
"Alright I'm ready to see it Darui-sensei and I will do my best to learn this technique" Sakura announced, making another promise, earning a grin from Darui who weaved hand signs, focusing his chakra.
A ball of black lightning formed in his hand "Raiton: Black Panther" Darui called out, Sakura watching in awe as lightning in the form of a panther pranced around taking out the targets he'd set up ahead of time.
It was then that Sakura realized why Darui was Ay's right hand man "One thing before you attempt this Sakura, should you manage to learn the technique, you'll get one of these" Darui tapped his shoulder where the kanji for lightning was tattooed.
Jade orbs widened "I understand" Sakura nodded after a moment knowing how special the black lightning was to Hidden Cloud, it would be a tattoo she'd be extremely proud of if she got the jutsu down.
Darui nodded then gestured for her to try her hand and for the next couple of hours Sakura produced no results "Frustrating" Sakura grumbled, though she also knew that she wouldn't get it right off the bat.
That's why training was so important "Remember that feeling Sakura and your ironclad determination and you'll get it I'm sure" Darui pat the pinkette gently on the head as they headed back in finished training for the day.
She was quiet during dinner, probably trying to think up reasons for what she might be doing wrong then Urakaku escorted her off for a bath once she was finished eating and afterwards Darui assumed she went to bed so he did the same for the night.
Only to return to training the next day and the next, each day Sakura improved, especially on combining her natures to use Gale Style and before they knew it a whole week had passed "Last try Kid" Darui announced.
After checking the time on their seventh day of training "Okay, Raiton: Black Panther" Sakura called out and just when she thought she was failing again, black streaks shot out of her hand, so while not complete Sakura had managed to produce some black lightning.
"You saw right, I managed something" Sakura lunged at him eyes wide, hoping that her mind hadn't just been playing tricks on her and that she'd actually used the jutsu somewhat, she clearly needed his confirmation on the matter.
His lips curved upwards into a smile "You did now just keep at it alright Kid, oh and tomorrow we're taking a break cause I don't want you overworking yourself, you can send a letter back home find out what's going on there if you want but no training" Darui declared.
Leading his budding protege back to Samurai HQ, if A were still alive he would be surprised that he'd found someone to teach the coveted black lightning to and like his son he'd be intrigued by Sakura to no end "If you say so Darui-san" Sakura shrugged.
To happy to really complain about a day off, apparently that meant spars with other samurai to "Well you are her sensei for the month" Mifune mused, agreeing with Darui that Sakura could use a break the following day.
So like told Sakura took the next day off from all training and after breakfast pulled out a bunch of paper "Where'd you get that dress I don't recall ever seeing one quite like that back in Cloud, is it strictly from Leaf" Darui asked.
Taking in the thick pink dress Sakura was wearing as she scribbled on the paper "Hmm, oh, no I made this dress myself when I realized I hadn't brought any casual clothes to wear on a mission" Sakura informed.
Mifune's brows raised "Are you also intending on selling that for your trading company which I noticed you haven't done anything for since you got here or sold anything, did you not bring anything to sell" Mifune questioned.
Green orbs flashed his way "Mhm, in fact a merchant named Kagura is traveling around selling dresses like this, for the other bit, I did, but I feel weird not having Karin and Haku here" Sakura admitted.
His gaze softened "Tell me something have you done anymore tracing of your family, I know your father had many on his side of the family, scattered all over in fact, most notably in Mist and Suna I believe" Mifune inquired.
"What you mean I've got more family out there that I don't know about" Sakura's head flung up eyes wide in surprise indicating to him she hadn't known, Mifune frowned deeply then left the cafeteria on the search for something.
Darui watched him go with a raised eyebrow before eyeing Sakura who hunched her shoulders looking gutted about the newest revelation "Cheer up Kid, once you're a Chunin, you'll be able to request your own missions and go visit places, especially your extended family" Darui said.
Sakura shot him a waning smile "That's not even whats bothering me really, I know my Mom and Dad were amazing wonderful people, what I don't understand is why they wouldn't tell me about anyone else in our family" Sakura sighed.
"Probably because the connections could be dangerous for you or them to know about, no one wants to have their family members held hostage" Mifune chimed in, making his return with a rolled up scroll in his hands.
It looked positively ancient if Sakura was being honest "Dangerous what's that suppose to mean, and why would the Kid be kidnapped for being related to them" Darui frowned, wondering if this was a good idea.
Mifune sighed then placed the ancient scroll down in front of Sakura and she carefully unrolled it "Haruno Family Registry….." Sakura read out, scanning the names, one stood out and she shot Mifune another wide eyed horrified look.
Then she seemed to make some kind of decision and rolled the scroll back up "I'm old enough to understand the need for secrecy, so I'm not going to reach out to anyone else that could potentially be used against me or me against them" Sakura declared.
Handing him the scroll back "Who was on that list Kid, that caused you to react like that" Darui prodded when Mifune disappeared on them again to put the scroll back where he'd found it most likely if he wasn't wrong.
She grimaced, looked every which way that was possible and leaned forward over the table "The Kazekage, I'm distantly related to the current Kazekage" Sakura whispered, Darui choked on his spit at the admission.
"Okay that is pretty bad" Darui grimaced looking faintly uncomfortable, just imagining what could happen if that information ever got out, Sakura would have people after her because the Kazekage was such a bastard.
With that Sakura returned to writing her letters and afterwards summoned Amin "Hello there and who might you be" Itachi quirked a brow at the weasel that showed up next to him in a poof of smoke indicating he was a summons.
"I am Amin, Sakura-sama's personal summons, she has sent me to deliver a few letters" Amin greeted, holding out the letter scrolls clutched in his paws, Itachi glanced behind him where Haku was sprawled out on the ground.
Chest heaving from exertion as he attempted to keep up with his rigorous training "Take a break for a few minutes Haku-san, Sakura-san has seen fit to send you a letter so read it and respond then it will be right back to training" Itachi informed.
Giving the teenager a small reprieve, immediately there was a change in Haku who sat up no longer looking as if he'd been put through the wringer and snapped up the letter Amin held out for him gently with an eagerness to his actions.
Unrolled it quickly and read it slowly, absorbing the words within, a fond smile forming on his lips as he finished, before returning the favor "Back to training Itachi-san, Sakura's training hard so I must do the same to remain on equal footing with her" Haku stood.
More determined now when Amin poofed off, Itachi nodded then activated his sharingan, while Amin interrupted Karin's training session "Uwah Amin what are you doing here, is Sakura alright" Karin turned on the weasel summons.
Before remembering that Shisui was in the middle of demonstrating a jutsu for her and looked back in the nick of time only to have to duck, she went down, covering Amin bodily as flames shot overhead.
"You okay" Shisui peered down at his student for the next week until he traded with Itachi, Karin lifted her head and grimaced at him "Try not to make the mistake of getting distracted again alright" Shisui chuckled.
And she nodded readily, carefully standing "Now what brings you here Amin" Karin dusted her clothes off before addressing her sister's summon again who held out a scroll for her and waited as she read it calmly.
Shisui sneakily read the letter himself from over Karin's shoulder and couldn't help but smile at what Sakura had written to the redhead "By the way I hadn't realized Sakura-chan had summons, since when" Shisui commented.
Wanting to know "C turned A rank mission in the Land of Waves, she crawled into the den and entered their world accidentally while hiding from one of Gato's thugs" Karin answered, writing her own letter back to Sakura.
Amin nodded his head agreeing to everything Karin said and accepted the letter from Karin to Sakura before vanishing in another puff of smoke leaving the redhead to continue her training underneath Shisui.
Back in Iron, Sakura gratefully received the letters from her teammates "Also for your trouble" Sakura smiled, unsealing a basket of bird eggs for Amin to share with his den mates, he clutched it and was gone in another poof of smoke.
Leaving Sakura to read her letters from Haku and Karin "So what are they learning under their respective trainers" Darui questioned curious to know how the other members of Team Thirteen were being trained.
Sakura quirked a fuschia brow at him "I didn't ask, in fact I requested it that way so none of us know what the other can do until we fight in the Final Round so all they told me was that they were training hard" Sakura explained.
Darui sighed and remained seated when Sakura disappeared from the mess hall to explore the vast building they were temporarily living in for the month since he and Mifune had forbidden her from training at all that day.
But he knew the kid wasn't the type to stay sitting still, she always had to be moving and exploring was her only way of not being utterly lazy, Sakura was back a few hours later for lunch "Hey I might go explore outside if that's alright" Sakura told/asked Mifune.
"I don't see a problem with it, there should be no danger but I will ask that you wear a communicator just in case" Mifune relented, pleased that Sakura was wanting to learn her surroundings well.
Five minutes later, hidden by her cloak Sakura had a communicator fitted around her neck that she could use to get in contact with Okisuke if anything happened while she was outside "Alright I'm off" Sakura waved.
Escaping out the door into the blistering cold, Okisuke watching her go, torn over the matter of letting her go off on her own "Don't worry Okisuke-san, if something does happen, Sakura's a smart kid, she won't do anything reckless" Darui assured.
Glad that someone was taking looking after the kid seriously "Very well I will trust in your judgement that she'll alert me of anything that might happen" Okisuke nodded, but he still took up post by the door.
So that he'd be able to react quickly, meanwhile Sakura was leisurely trudging through the snow, watching with fascination as snow flakes landed on her held out arm and evaporated from the chakra that she'd wrapped thinly around her body to keep warm.
Happy that her control over her chakra had improved in leaps and bounds since going to Leaf, what she didn't do however was go to far away from the building because she really didn't want to stumble headfirst into trouble like she so often did.
Which meant that Sakura had to content herself with just exploring the immediate area, following the trails in the snow that indicated a patrol of samurai had passed through recently, it was interesting to be honest.
And Sakura wasn't sure how long she'd been at it really because the sun was hidden by thick clouds "Maybe I should go back in now" Sakura mused to herself, turning back around and following the trail back to the doors.
Until she was stopped by someone grabbing her shoulder "I said wait" an unfamiliar voice grumbled, spinning the girl to face him, emerald orbs widened at the sight that greeted her, ivory hair, purple eyes, bare skin.
Quickly she un-clipped her cloak "Thanks but won't you get cold" the young man took the offering gratefully and wrapped himself up in the cloak that was nice and warm while the young girl stared at him wide eyed.
Before shaking her had "No, I've got my chakra, I'm Sakura and you are" Sakura admitted, introducing herself, while making no sudden moves because she knew nothing about this guy or what he was capable of.
"Mangetsu…Mangetsu Hozuki, funny thing that, because I distinctly remember being dead before this, if it weren't for the fact that I could literally feel myself freezing to death, I'd think this was some kind of genjutsu" Mangetsu explained.
Sakura gave him an uncomfortable smile "Just my luck, can't do anything normal, come on Mangetsu-san I'm heading back in and you should come with me" Sakura sighed, tempted to slap her forehead for constantly getting herself in situations like this.
He lifted an ivory brow in confusion but did as requested "Sounds like I'm not the first person to come back to life" Mangetsu commented, hearing her muttering under her breath about how his return was just as abnormal as the first person who'd come back.
"Your the second and we're still no closer to figuring out why people are returning to life, before I forget I have to inform someone that I have you with me" Sakura admitted, then frowned as she remembered her promise.
Mangetsu shrugged in answer and listened to the conversation Sakura had over the communicator he only just realized she had "What did I tell ya Kid, you're a trouble magnet" seconds later in a poof of smoke a Kumogakure shinobi was stood in front of them.
"Call it the unluckiness of Team Thirteen, I'm cursed either way apparently" Sakura scowled, Darui held up his hands in a placating manner, her scowl softened because it was unfair of her to take her frustration out on Darui.
Who glanced at Mangetsu "For the record I'm the one who approached the girl and I wouldn't hurt someone who could help me out of this frigidness that I woke up in a few hours ago" Mangetsu assured.
Darui rubbed his face with a heavy hand "Compassion that knows no bounds, come on Sakura, you to" Darui sighed, unable to be angry when it wasn't Sakura's fault and held up his arm for the pinkette to latch on.
Relieved that he was still going to be helped Mangetsu stepped forward and let the Kumo-jonin press a hand down on his shoulder then in a puff of smoke they were inside the building and he was warm for the first time in hours.
With that he quickly removed the cloak from his shoulders and handed it back to Sakura "Is the situation under your control" Mifune inquired, eyeing Darui who took a seat on the bench and resumed eating dinner.
"Yeah, wasn't much of a situation though more a case of being displaced and in need of help, there was no danger" Darui assured, keeping an eye on Sakura who showed Mangetsu around the mess hall while getting her own tray of food.
Four minutes later the two returned to the table and Sakura settled on the bench near her great grand uncle "So how am I going to get back to my village, I assume you'll be escorting me right" Mangetsu questioned.
After taking a couple of minutes to enjoy his piping hot food as it warmed him from the inside out "Err I don't know if we'll be able to Mangetsu-san, seeing as I'm in the middle of training for the Chunin Exams" Sakura explained.
Looking to Darui worriedly "Leaf and Mist aren't allies, nor is Cloud, so I'm afraid that might be out of my hands Kid" Darui said, eyeballing the Mist-nin who chewed his food slowly, taking in what they were saying.
It was apparent Mangetsu understood that they couldn't help him further than they already had when he nodded in understanding "Yagura's not going to like it but eh whatever I'll just go back to Leaf with the girl" Mangetsu shrugged a second later.
"The Fourth Mizukage was killed, Mist has a new Kage, Mei Terumi, there was a rebellion in Kirigakure some time ago and she got picked as Kiri's new Mizukage afterwards" Sakura informed, up to date on things.
Prompting a groan from Darui "Zabuza managed it then, his coup d'etat on Yagura" Mangetsu perked up, wondering if Mist's internal strife was calming down with a new Kage in power, that still didn't mean he wanted to go back right yet.
Sakura shook her head "No, I don't know what I told you was the extent of what I do know about Hidden Mist, as for Zabuza he was taken out a few months ago by a Leaf Shinobi, it was his choice to die" Sakura said.
Mangetsu pressed his lips into a thin smile upon hearing that another of his fellow shinobi though he'd been a rogue had died "How do you know Zabuza anyway Kid" Darui frowned, trying to figure the pinkette out even now.
Panic filled her eyes "Uhhh….I can't give out the exact details, Hokage-sama told us that it was classified information, but I met him during a mission" Sakura finally said after thinking of a way to answer.
Then shoveled the rest of her food into her mouth with manners and disappeared from the table "Such a complicated child she is" Mifune chuckled lightly at her rapid departure, Darui nodded his head reluctantly.
Eventually they headed off to bed themselves, when it was clear Sakura wasn't going to present herself again as the hours ticked down and it grew dark outside, Mangetsu was glad he was being shown such kindness as he got comfortable on the bed in the guest room and went to sleep for the night.