"Mom you look so pretty!" Hanami complimented me as she played in my medium-length hair. She stood behind my head acting like a hairdresser in the vanity mirror. She had her hair out of her usual pigtail and into a low-bum. She wore short white kimono with her signature blue hair clip on the side.

"Thank you Hanami-chan. Do you guys think I should cut my hair again? It's getting a bit long..."

"No way!" exclaimed Arashi, he's been talking a bit more since he's a little older now. "I like it long, it reminds me of granny's red hair.." Arashi sat in my lap as he also played with a lock of my hair. He and his brother had on the same attire with some black undergarments underneath.

"Yeah," Shinachiku chimed in. "It does remind me of granny. Plus, it's been a long time since we've seen this length."

"Maybe I won't cut it...for now, but I'm not growing it to granny's length! It's too long for me.." I giggled. "Besides, Arashi-chan's hair is the closest to granny's. Maybe he should grow it out."

"Uh uh I like my short hair!" he declared.

"Now go on and get out of here and go to your aunt Ino! You guys are distracting me too much, I need to get ready." I teased.

"Ok ok, we just wanted to keep you company before it was time." Shinachiku laughed,

"And I love you guys for that, give me a kiss before you go." I stooped down and gave access to my cheek. Each child took their turn to kiss my cheek and left to find Ino.

Today is the day. Today, I become the head director of medicine of all five nations. It was decided that I would take over from Lady Tsunade after my performance in Shimura Village but personally, I didn't feel that I was ready to take the title until now. Not only did I not feel ready but I also wanted to take some time to bond with my children. I had the job before everything spired almost four years ago, in this timeline at least, and it was time-consuming. I haven't spent some one-on-one time with my kids in years so that little break was...nice. After my performance in Shimura, I went on to do similar jobs in other villages like the sand and the cloud. I even hosted a summit with all of our medical leaders just last year. After all that, I finally decided to take the position. When I told Tsunade, she almost knocked the roof off the Hokage tower out of excitement. I remember she told me,

"Took you long enough! I almost gave the position to somebody else!

"Were you really?"

"...No. But if you didn't accept soon I was going to force it on you!"

I chuckled at the memory. She and Shizune were so elated and deep down, so was I. After a push or a kick in the ass, by Shina, I just had to accept. I'm just glad the position was still open.

A knock from the other side of the door ripped me from my thoughts. "Miss Uzumaki, you have about thirty minutes before the ceremony so please finish up getting yourself ready!"

"Thank you, Tachibana-san." Tachibana Suki was relatively new and young. I have known her, and her brother, Rai, since they were little. about time they both became genin, I had just turned nineteen as a full-blown jonin. she was training as medical personnel and by some luck, was assigned to me as my own assistant.

A knock at the door followed by a familiar voice knocked me from my thoughts once again. "Sakura-san, may Shizune and I come in?"

"Of course, come on in." I got up from my seat and slid out any wrinkles in the process.

Lady Tsunade, Shizune following close behind, let herself in as I checked myself in the mirror for the third time today. "Sakura-san, you look beautiful!" Shizune exclaimed as she hugged me. "How are you feeling about today, nervous? excited?"

"Shizune-san, you're asking too many questions, let the girl speak." Lady Tsunade said looking amused.

"Thank you, Shizune-san. I feel...good? I don't know how else to describe it but...I feel like I have no worries. I feel relaxed."

"Good," Tsunade chimed in. "It means you're exactly where you're supposed to be."

I turned to face her. "You think so? "

"I would think, it did take you a long time to take the job in the first place. I think that deep down, you know you're ready for this kind of responsibility."

"Yeah...I guess so."

The room went silent as I unconsciously slipped back into my thoughts until Lady Tsunade spoke again.

"Shizune-san, do you mind if Sakura-san and I spoke in private?"

"No problem, I'll see you guys out there, ok?" Once the door clicked, Tsunade turned to me with a more serious expression.

"Sakura, tell me, how do you really feel about the position? You feel like you've earned it?"

"Of course! You know this is my passion, to help those in need. The whole reason why I didn't take this position right away, not just because of the kids but because...I felt like I wasn't in the right state of mind. Even after everything in Shimura village, I still felt something was...off. At that time, I realized that I wasn't mentally there. The success in Shimura gave me great confidence but...you know there's always that one voice in the back of your mind that messes it all up? For the past three years, I've been getting back into the groove of things and finally becoming the doctor I was...hell, I nay even have surpassed her, but his death is always going to haunt me. The way he died is always going to haunt me. I catch myself thinking about how it could ended up a different way, how I could have saved him..." I sighed heavily and looked her straight in the eye. "I know I can't go back, I get it. However, I just needed some time to actually realize that for myself."

"And now?"

And now...

I gave her a warm but confident smile. "Now, I can handle anything."

She smirked. "That's my girl." She gave me a familiar pat on the head and left. "I'll see you in a few minutes, ok?"

My eyes lingered on the door for a few more seconds before turning my attention to my reflection in the body mirror. "Well, you made it Sakura, show them how much you've grown from back then."

I checked myself one last time before walking out of my room and down the hall. The crowd of people can be heard throughout the building, but as I got closer, I started to drown them out until it was just me in complete silence. I could hear my heart thumping in my chest getting louder and louder. It's no turning back now, this is the moment to prove to everyone and to myself that I am indeed ready to take on this responsibility. I put my hands over my chest and close my eyes.

"I hope you're proud of me, Naruto..."

I took a deep breath and whipped my eyes before heading out of the room.

"And finally, Introducing our new director of medicine, taking over from her teacher, the current Hokakage of Konoha, Lady Tsunade-sama, Uzumaki-Haruno Sakura!"

.

.

.

.

.

I was met with a roaring crowd from my people, including Shimura village, cheering me on. I bowed to each Kage and stood in front of everyone. My friends, my family, and so many more chanted and clapped for me, and to be honest, I was barely holding it together. I tried to hold back my tears as I spoke to the people.

"I...I am honored to be in charge of bringing people relief through medicine and I am very thank full to you, my teacher, my friends, and my family for this opportunity. As you all know, I lost my husband, former Hokakge Uzumaki Naruto, a few years ago. It...rocked my world, to be honest, and I didn't think I would be the same. I closed off myself from my own village when they needed me, as well as my children. But, I manage to pick myself up off the ground and slowly but surely get back to where I was before that tragedy took place. To the people of Shimura, I am thankful for putting your trust in me all those years ago. That is something I'll never forget because not only did it help me with conquering my own demons, it helped me see that I can come back do what I was put on this earth to do. It helped revitalize my passion to help all those in need." I smiled and blinked my tears away and then gestured to Tsunade.

"To my former teacher, I want to thank you for, first off, putting up with my stubbornness. I know that I got under your skin when you asked me all those years ago but I'm so thankful you never gave up on me. You and Shizune-san have believed in me and my abilities since day one and for that, I will always be in debt to you."

I then took a moment to breathe and at that moment, my eyes landed on my children. "And to my children, Uzumaki Shinachiku, Hanami, and Arashi, you three are the loves of my life and I...could not have picked up the pieces if it weren't for your patience, encouragement, love. As the director, I promise to do everything I can to help heal the sick and shut in. Thank you." I finished and bowed 90 degrees. This time I allowed the tears to stream down my face. My eyes met my oldest and I couldn't help but smile. I could see he was crying too. He mouthed 'I love you' before turning back to his siblings.

I promise to do everything I can...

I promise.