It was official, Sakura decided as she stared through the window, heart beating furiously as she stared at the figure of the man who was supposed to be dead. Naruto and Sasuke were alive. Konoha had been founded years ago, by the very same men as in her original timeline, she'd heard enough conversations around the village to pick up that little tidbit. Senju Hashirama should've been dead and buried in the ground, but instead he was sitting across from her sister looking no older than his early thirties, if that. Her breath came in short pants, an odd wheeze sounding close by, and it didn't take her long to work out that it was coming from her own throat. She was panicking. Calm down, she told herself, concentrating on her breathing. So Senju Hashirama was alive. No big deal. No big deal at all. That could only be a good thing. He didn't need to be revived to stop his old friend from his idiocy.

It also meant the timeline she knew was well and truly bust. She was fighting blind. The thought had her panicking again, but a sharp slap of her cheeks had her grounding herself again. She'd been through worse, so she wouldn't panic over a tiny little detail like that. She just needed to accept the fact and do some damn research to ease her nerves. Throwing herself in a tizzy wouldn't solve anything. She was better than that. She'd lived through the unknown once before. She could do it again. Sakura pulled herself from the wall she'd slumped against, pulling herself back up to the window so she could peer through again. She'd been planning on slipping through and grabbing her sister before anyone was any the wiser, but with Senju Hashirama sitting there, her plans would have to change. Mainly because she apparently had her father's hair, and seeing as it was likely Obito, that also meant her hair style had an uncanny resemblance to another Uchiha's made all the more prominent by her hair's length. Not to mention her pale skin… black eyes… if she didn't have pink hair the game would've likely been over before it'd even began. As it was, she'd have to be careful. She couldn't get dragged into the mess that was the Uchiha Clan, especially not before the… Sakura trailed off in her thoughts. Would the Uchiha Massacre even occur? Especially with Hashirama alive and well…

Scowling, she tied her hair back, pulling her hair back out of her face so it didn't get in her way before she yanked her hood up, covering her face as best she could in its shade. That was one comparison she didn't need. She could worry about the possible events of the future later. She no longer knew what the future held, only that she needed to be strong to face it. Her last few weeks of training had brought her body up to scratch, but she knew she was barely scraping the surface of what she was capable of, especially with her new body.

She had the sharingan. That changed everything—

"Anija!" The shout pierced the stillness of the night, a white-haired figure bursting into the room she was staring at. Three damning red lines marred his face, one on either cheek, and a single one on his chin. It summed up the situation in an instant. Not only was Senju Hashirama alive, but his brother, Tobirama, was too. Wasn't that just dandy?

Her self-imposed mission to drag her sister home was becoming more complicated by the minute. She gritted her teeth. Was it that big of a deal if they were discovered? Being part of the Uchiha Clan would at least protect them from Danzo and his cronies. Were they even still a problem with his sensei alive and well? Biting her lip, she went to make her move, only to pause as another figure entered the room with an achingly familiar face. Sasuke's. But at the same time it wasn't… His face was slightly narrower, eyes just a tinsy bit wider, lips a little flatter, but the resemblance was there.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to gamble?" Tobirama huffed, glaring down at his brother in irritation. "Look at how much money you just lost… to a child no less."

Akira pouted.

Sakura bristled.

"Come on," the albino snarled, hauling his reluctant brother to his feet. "We're going home, dammit. I don't need Madara on my arse because of your troublemaking habits. You swore off gambling twenty years ago."

"But Tobi—"

Any protests he had were cut off, and Sakura tuned them out, instead focusing on her sister whom the Sasuke-look-alike was now talking to.

"I think it's time you went home, little one," he said, patting her on the head. Like a dog. "Come on. I don't think you'll want to walk back home alone with all that money you've just earned."

"Don't encourage the kid, Izuna," Tobirama hissed, and Sakura felt her annoyance at him diminish ever so slightly. Akira did need to stop before she got any worse. "Besides, it's probably her bedtime already. She can't be any older than four…"

"You were gambling against a four-year-old?" Izuna asked, a look Sakura knew to be incredibly judgemental appearing on his face. She'd used that same expression many a times. "And you lost?"

"What?" The First Hokage threw his hands up in the air. "She's good!"

"She's four!"

"And as wonderful as this argument is going to be," Tobirama began, "I'm afraid to say that Madara is on his way over, so I'd suggest we—"

"HASHIRAMAAAA!"

The voice had Sakura freezing, heart pounding in her ears as her brain finally registered what the white-haired Senju had been saying. Madara was on his way over. Uchiha Madara. Fury burnt through her, closely followed by fear. He wasn't supposed to be there. He couldn't be there. It was his fault. He'd been manipulated—wait, so maybe it wasn't entirely his fault, but he'd started the damn war. That was one fact that'd never change. He'd killed her friends, hollowed out her heart… But… she was in a completely different dimension. He wasn't the same as the bastard who'd sliced down the alliance. He just looked… exactly the same. She hated that she wasn't supposed to hate him. She hated everything his appearance brought rushing back to the forefront of her mind.

He was there in the room with her sister and he looked exactly how he had the last time she'd fought against him, well, sans the face on his chest – or so she assumed, because he actually had a shirt on.

"What the hell are you doing in this part of town so late?" Hands fisted in the collar of his shirt, pulling the man down to his level. "More importantly… Dinner was two hours ago… and where the hell were you? Huh?"

"Oh."

"Is that all you have to say?!"

"I ran into this adorable child," Hashirama mumbled, yanking Akira in front of him like a shield. "I was just helping her out!"

Sakura clamped down on her killing intent. She was almost radiating it in waves, but that was the last thing she wanted. It would draw too much attention to her. Who'd ever heard of a four-year-old child emitting killing intent? Instead, her eyes narrowed, staring at the face of her enemy, mouth dropping open when she spotted the flailing that ensued. She pinched herself, trying to ensure she wasn't daydreaming nor caught up in a weird genjutsu, because Madara – scourge of the Elemental Nations – was now cooing over her sister and attempting to be as nonthreatening as possible. He definitely wasn't the Madara she'd known…

A door slammed open next to her, and Sakura stiffened, dropping from her perch at the window and into the bushes with barely a sound.

"That little pink-haired brat took everything…"

Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"Boss won't be happy."

The sinking feeling in the pit of her gut only grew.

"We'll just have to get it back. The Founders won't be able to protect the brat forever."

Her toes curled. That was fighting talk. She bit her lip. But she wasn't supposed to fight. There were others to do that for her now. She swallowed, her throat dry. But who would want to help a girl like her?

"Come on, let's…" the masculine voice trailed off all of a sudden, and Sakura had a very real sense of foreboding. "Huh… How many pink-haired brats do you think there are?"

"I suppose that makes things simpler."

Sakura stood from the bushes, sighing internally as she prepared to face the men. She was strong. She didn't need anyone to save her anymore. Clearly her stealth skills needed some brushing up on if she'd been spotted… but she hadn't. Her eyes narrowed, staring past the group of men, hands curling into fists when she spotted Mio standing in the middle of the alleyway. She'd been followed. Sakura bit back a curse. Clearly it wasn't her stealth skills but her observational skills that needed brushing up on if her four year old sister could trail her without her noticing.

Her gaze flickered about the narrow street, searching for anything that could be of use to her in the fight she knew was about to go down. She was on her own—sand all around her—Kaguya—no point in screaming for help—there wasn't really anyone left to save her. She needed to protect Mio. There was no other option. She shook her head. A pile of disused bricks and a rusty old section of pipe looked to be her best options. Scowling, she hurried over, not making a single sound as she hefted a brick into her hand, tilting her head as she measured up its weight. It was definitely heavy enough, and she could manage basic chakra enhancement even with her meagre control. It'd be nothing like on Tsunade's level, but it'd be enough to get her through this fight.

Well, there was no time like the present, she mused, cocking her arm back for a calculated swing. Playtime was over. A grin curled at her lips, the old thrill of the fight rushing through her as her makeshift weapon sailed straight towards her target. Her hands were already moving of their own accord, grabbing the next ruined brick, throwing it at her next target with a burst of chakra to help it on its way.

Two down. Three to go.

Her footsteps were inaudible, her killing intent tightly under wraps as she ducked under the arm that'd been aiming for her face. Amateurs. She dropkicked the next one right in between the legs, smirking as his face turned a ghastly shade of white.

"You little brat!"

Sakura turned, fist grazing her face as she jerked her head to the side, narrowly avoiding the punch. Her arms and legs were there in seconds, wrapping around the limb like little snakes, applying more and more pressure until she heard the sound of a small crunch and a yelp of pain. The man fell, and Sakura wasted no time in using his head as a springboard, launching herself towards the last man standing. It was rather amusing how she'd taken them down in a matter of minutes, but then again, she did have a whole other life's worth of experience and skill drilled into her bones. The men wouldn't have lasted even a second against her, had she been at full strength… but she wasn't. She was stuck in the body of a titchy little four year old. Grinning, she slammed her fist into the face of the last man standing. Admittedly, she probably ought to have gone for the throat or used her elbow and saved her knuckles the pain of colliding with the man's nose… but the crunch of bone was certainly satisfying… not to mention she needed him conscious too.

She sat on his chest as he lay on the ground, pulling on the collar of his shirt until he was looking her in the eye. Sakura wasn't wearing her smiling face. Sharp black eyes were all she knew he could see, her killing intent focused like a razor blade to the neck. "Come near me or my family again, and you'll find yourself in this situation again… only next time your head won't be intact." She smiled brightly, finally looking something like the child she was supposed to be, aside from the blood on her face and the sickening sweet tone to her voice. "Understand?"

The man nodded jerkily, and she wasted no time in climbing off him, freezing as she felt the eyes drilling into the back of her head. A headful of moderately spiky pink hair slammed into her chest, small arms wrapping around her, her sister's form trembling and Sakura had the sudden urge to go and beat up all the five idiots sprawled over the ground again.

"Saku-nee? Mio-nee?"

Sakura had another sense of foreboding. If Akira was there, then she didn't need three guesses as to whose eyes were burning into the back. Never had she ever been more grateful the fighting hadn't dislodged her hood from where it was – safely pulled over her head. Oops. Well, there went her anonymity. Well, at least it might be noticed if she mysteriously vanished… It wasn't like she'd expected to blend in. Besides, she was meant to be strong for her sisters. They needed to know they could rely on her. What better way to show them her strength or get noted down as a potential academy student if seen?

Footsteps echoed off the walls, and then there was another bundle of pink hair attached to her side. "Mio, what's wrong?" Akira lifted her head, staring intently at their shaking sister. "What's the matter?"

Sakura shook her head, finger moving almost on instinct as they prodded her sister smack bang in the centre of her forehead. "Idiot," she mumbled with no real bite to the word. "Your actions have consequences. Those were the men you just gambled against."

Akira blinked, rubbing at her forehead. "What?"

"They wanted to get their money back from you, sis," she said, prodding at her forehead again. "They saw Mio and knew she was related to you," Sakura continued, ignoring the lip that curled and the eyes which filled with tears.

"My fault?"

Sakura sighed. "Not entirely, Mio followed me, and it was her decision to. Now hurry up and get back home," she grumbled, folding her arms. "It's already dark."

A hand on her collar stopped her in her tracks, and she stiffened, turning to face the man stopping her from following after her sisters. She scowled, eyeing up the shock of white hair and the red eyes that gazed at her curiously.

"How old are you?"

There was no point in avoiding the question. "Four."

"Nearly five," Akira chimed in, leaning over her shoulder, recovering some of the bounce in her step. "We're triplets."

Tobirama tilted his head, staring down at her with those analytical eyes. He nodded to himself, apparently finding whatever it was he'd been looking for, before rustling around in his little pouch of supplies. A brown envelope appeared in a puff of smoke, and Sakura's eyes narrowed even further, ignoring the poignant cough from behind the man.

"Seriously?" That familiar daunting voice rang out. "A toddler beats up a bunch of grownups, and your first reaction is to hand her an academy admission form? What the hell is wrong with you, Senju?"

So that's what it was… She took the envelope, blinking as she was lifted off the ground, looking around only to find her sisters in similar situations. Apparently they were being given a lift home… though Sakura made sure they were dropped off at the end of their street. She didn't need them to know where she lived.

She grabbed each of her sisters by the hand, pulling them towards the safety of the back entrance to their home, ignoring Izuna's soft exclamation behind them.

"I guess pink hair is becoming a lot more common around these parts then…"