45. Small note, not to alarm! But I've begun revising my older chapters for typos and stuff in this time. Feel free (but not obliged) to return to chapter 1 for a better and more fleshed out start.

Dear Banks (Guest),

Hello! Not sure if you caught my reply in the second chapter which I updated hours after your first review, but I hope your exclamation in chapter 12 was a positive one :') Thank you for leaving a review.


"If you need clay, you can always ask the Dokuran Traders. They have contacts in Iwa, so if you have even a specific mine that you got clay from, they can procure it for you. Unfortunately, because the Land of Wind is so dry, it's unlikely that you will find clay for your art locally."

Sakura is getting ready to say goodbye to the two newest additions to Suna's Puppet Corps and return back home.

It's nice to see the two ninjas they brought back integrating like they were never missing in the first place. After all, missing-nin is a societal title which on some level hurts her to think about.

She's no stranger to feeling lonely.

How funny. She has never been a bleeding heart, but it's just his blonde hair…

"Thanks, un," comes the response, his grey-blue eyes on her, cautious though grateful. Deidara's visual appearance has also tidied since last night. His sleep mussed hair is tied up and back, bangs pushed back by the Sand headband.

Her lips quirk, realising that his hair tie is merely the cloth salvaged off his Iwa headband.

Sasori is in another corner of the room, pulling something or other out of the cupboard. Sakura can't say she's surprised that they agreed to be housed together.

They're probably more comfortable that way, too.

The physical resemblance between Gaara and Sasori is uncanny, which in reflection is probably part of why Elder Chiyo is distant when it comes to Gaara. The old lady has already come by and gone. No hugs, which was perhaps predictable.

The Kazekage's word is their law and the Suna ninjas respect strength rather than morals. Sakura expects that the only thing that would make these two leave is cabin fever.

Which is why she extends her merchant line out to the artist. She smiles, "A life without art is not worth living," pretending to quote.

There's a real thawing in those eyes of a trapped animal before Deidara tosses his hair and agrees with her. "So poetic, un! But I agree with that. Some day you have to share with me your art, kusari-hime."

He's cycled through a couple of nicknames without settling and Sakura is happy to entertain him for the little time that they have left. After all, she settled the hospital with Lady Chiyo a while before and there is truly nothing to do for a while.

Jiraiya-sama and Naruto are off with Gaara, something to do with sealing and Bijuu; Sensei and Sasuke are at home, Tenzo and Sasori had some kind of conversation after which he was busy… And Itachi has already left with the two rings to meet up with Konan.

"I've already shown it to you," but she humours him, extending to her the chain with his name. The physical feeling is like holding fizzy candy in one hand. The bombmaker whistles, "This feels like my chakra. You could probably even detonate one of my pieces!"

Sasori has come over to have a look at the 'advanced shape manipulation' as he calls it. The puppetmaster is truly miffed that she does not lose chakra from their creation.

Deidara takes a little of the clay from his pocket – maybe a scrap piece and gives it to his hand mouth. Sakura waits patiently and is rewarded with a small bomb.

"Here," he extends the sphere to her chain. She arches an eyebrow. "If I channel chakra into this, we will not be blown sky-high, right?"

The blond snorts, "If you're so worried, make a containment chamber, surely you can do that, un. But don't worry, I barely chewed it, so not much chakra is in it anyway."

So she follows, and it's a small, self-contained bomb. "I'm not worried about burns, I can heal those, clay brother. But you all just moved in."

Sasori gives them both a look of incomprehension and Deidara whoops. "You don't have our kekkei genkai, but you can blow up my bombs, un! That's great, we can actually be siblings in art! Don't leave just yet, I'll make you a useable one."

"You chew the chakra in?" she asks, curious as to the non-standard anatomy.

"Yeah, from the palm tenketsu. Theoretically possible over any of the main meridians, but hands are just convenient. Can't eat or taste with them though."

One of his hand mouths chews at the clump of clay found even as he rummages about his other pockets to find more clay.

"You… chose where to grow the mouths?" Her line of questioning also interests Sasori who has stopped momentarily in his cleaning.

"Not really. But sorta, un. Village secret kinjutsu that I uh, took. I chose to grow the mouths, yeah."

She nods slowly, respecting that much of a disclosure. "But poisons ingested by your hand mouths won't hurt you?"

Sasori replies this one, "Fortunately or otherwise, depending on how you see it, the ones that target the bloodstream don't."

"Oh, so the chakra ones do," she follows, only for Deidara to grumble. "That was some nasty stuff you pulled off at the very start of our partnership, danna."

"I also gave you the antidote rather than kill you."

Deidara rolls his eyes before giving her the larger lump of clay. "You can keep this then. You can't charge the clay with chakra like I do, but you can detonate it with your chain thing, un. So have fun exploding things for me. It works on literally anything. Even explodes in water, un! Never met anyone who could explode my bombs so you can have it."


Dokuran Ensui has always been one of the harder-to-read partners in their merchant guild. It's not a bad thing that he has his wife who balances him out.

Sakura remembers like it was yesterday, the way the Lady Dokuran misunderstood her questioning and revealed their strong village loyalty.

The man offering her tea though, has mellowed in some way that Suna hasn't been known for. "Mmm, alright. I'll ask around, Haruno-sama," he says with the intent of committing.

She can't help the amused smile working its way onto her face, nor her cheeky, "So respectful you are now, Dokuran-sama."

The man demurs while pouring her more tea. "Whatever do you mean, my lady?"

"I already relinquished power so long ago, and now you finally start treating me like I'm not a child. The tea is good. Odd, for an arid country out the Land of Tea, a tea as sweet as honey."

"You have brought safety to my home, it's not much I can do."

Sakura shakes her head, "Oh, Sasori and Deidara will do that. And Deidara will protect you with that clay, which is why you should start asking now. Mostly because that will raise Iwa's haunches."

The man chokes on his tea. "Haruno-sama, are you…"

She shrugs, "You can choose to say, or not say. I'm simply complicating your life by telling you more than you need to know as a merchant. Or you can think of it this way. I already told Deidara that he can ask you to source his clay."

"I see…"

They drink tea in silence until there's a knock on the door. A servant tells Lord Dokuran that a convoy will be delayed by the sandstorm and he sighs.

"I suppose that means Lady Haruno you will be leaving immediately after?"

She hums an affirmative, then the merchant slides an envelope over to her, "For your help with the hospital infrastructure. I hope you don't think it will become routine, but clearly monetary compensation means little to you. This is the best I can do."

She opens it before him, though knowing it rude. "But whose best are you working for, Dokuran-sama?"

The man merely hides his smile by tugging his scarf up.

"Our collective, prosperous future. You said you were worried that Konoha would control you, so perhaps you might find some use for this information."

She scans the sheet with just a quick breakdown before asking again, "Is this verifiable?" He shrugs. "If it is something you are unaware of, so long after, then maybe it is truly worth looking into. A series of affairs that concern your proxy."

"But this tells me that Kumo gave her to me as a test. She did not give me any indication that she was a Konoha ninja. So why did they kill her?" her voice is tight.

"Perhaps they only wanted to be thorough, or perhaps they were working on severing the bond between you and Lord Nara. It seems obvious to me that such a ploy failed. My concern was unwarranted then. After all, he has not handled any of the transactions across the years, and you are the only one the other traders know."

"How wasteful Kumo is. And Lord Suzuraiden told you this?" she's trying to relax again, but it is difficult. To be told in one swoop that Kumo purposefully set up two of their own to die because they suspected Tenkawa-san to be a Konoha spy – and then to be told that those suspicions were true, not only that, but that Kumo knew Tenkawa-san had been Shikaku-sama's wife. They wanted to use that to hurt her.

"Of course not. That codger would never sell his own village's secrets. This is a side gig I've been pulling since, of course, I love my village. I found out through alternative sources. If it consoles you, my lady, they were not able to re-create your, ah, neural reconstruction technique."

"You are keeping tabs on their hospital, specifically? But why?" she's half-curious, but mostly fishing for information that Lord Dokuran is only happy to share.

"To be honest? I had a family member undercover in Kumo. Also, a long-term trauma patient at the end of their stint, and then killed. It was an unlucky pattern I caught, and I came across the files. The nervous damage comes from torture, then some form of a memory wipe."

"Electrical," Sakura breathes, eyes bright, "they're experimenting with memory alteration through electricity."

"That doesn't sound good. I had been suspicious that Konoha had some hand in it because you all have the Yamanaka, but from your understanding it should be not?"

She shakes her head, "No, Konoha and Kumo would not collaborate in such depth. Since the Hyuga Affair, Kumo has not dared."

Electroshock therapy. That never went well. It was popular for things like synaptic disorders, to reset neurons, mental illnesses, but many of the uses were debunked. A language to the brain, crafted in electrons?

"Thank you for the information, Dokuran-sama. I hope it becomes a routine. I could do with more, ah, medical theories."

"You ask much Haruno-sama, but I can be convinced. I will have a list of the hospital equipment sometime next month." There's something about the situation that feels like things are moving again – which is a pity.

Sakura had been looking forward to a break for once, though time barrels on. We have only just settled Akatsuki, and now there is this.

Maybe she should care a little bit less, and she decides that she will do just that – the experiments of Kumo are not of her concern until they are.

She doubts Lady Tsunade will be thrilled to hear of what their perpetual enemy is trying at.

"If you are able, it will help our villages if we can watch for build-ups. This movement from Kumo is odd when we consider how food-poor it is. Unless you have news of their agricultural development?"

The Dokuran clan head shakes his head. "As you know, Kumo has always imported a large percentage of food. They diversify of course, but everyone knows they cannot lockdown their city. Our lines bring about twenty per cent, and that makes the Suzuraiden very important. It's simply too difficult to farm in the erratic weather. Suna and Kumo, both."

As if to confirm that sentiment, it began to rain.

Leaving Ensui's home/office, she declines a shawl from him even as he jokes that no one carries umbrellas.

Sakura watches as the Suna civilians frantically push out clay jars, pots and pans all to collect as much rainwater as possible. Even the baker leaves his bread to be drenched, opting to collect water in his reed baskets rather than cover the loaves.

She uses her chains and makes her way back to their lodgings while thinking of the rain that will clear away the sandstorm.


It's worth it to think in terms of holding countries hostage mainly because she doesn't believe in peace. The peace in this world is not 'New-Peace', it is merely the absence of war. Even with the Jinchuuriki, they are not weapons on the scale of nuclear bombs.

Not to mention they cannot be used remotely.

Predictably, the Lady Hokage is not pleased to hear of the rumblings from Cloud. "This is your conjecture, I suppose. Someday, Sakura, I will stop asking how or why you think these things. Tell me, how dangerous do you suppose it can be?"

She shrugs, "Hokage-sama, I can only relay information heard. For all I do know, the information may be wrong. Still, it is dangerous as a prelude to war. We are talking of an attempt to alter memories so that the Yamanaka cannot trace them."

"And there are no other clans with such skills – so it only makes logical sense if they are trying to attack us. I accept your point."

Sakura bows out of politeness, "There's also something I want to ask you, regarding a long-term infiltration mission."

"Sure, brat. I'm not happy that you left Suna with Jiraiya and Kakashi, though things went well. If a long-term mission will keep you away, fine."

"Ah, I mean, one of the past," her tone apologetic, not that she can possibly regret her decision, "I have more information that I would need confirmation for."

Tsunade arches an eyebrow at her before waving her on, "You mean one of the experiments Kumo did, I'm guessing. A Konoha ninja in Kumo preceding the Hyuga Affair remained undercover long enough?"

Sakura draws out the envelope Dokuran-sama has given her and passes it along, summarising quickly. "One Nara Yoshino placed into Kumo as 'Tenkawa'."

"That's the woman you did a pioneering operation on, isn't she? If she's one of the Leaf, then her file was probably flagged years ago. Sakura," Lady Tsunade clicks her tongue, "That humanity in you, do not vest it in corpses."

The lack of a file given to her directly is enough of an answer – overwhelming in her culpability and also her own weakness.

Which is of course surprising. "If it soothes you any, I will endorse your electroshock therapy induced memory loss theory," comes her village leader's simple ultimatum.

The lady has finished with the envelope and slotted it away. Once more, Sakura realises that there are many things she has no oversight over.

"That is not necessary, Hokage-sama. But I would strongly recommend that we start taking precautions regarding such attempts to infiltrate the village."

The lady nods before dismissing her. "I'll get Jiraiya and Orochimaru on it. There is no cause for alarm now. Beyond simple wiping of the memory, they will take many years to be able to write in new memories capable of withstanding a Yamanaka check. They may never get there."

Sakura bows and leaves, holding her own speculations. It's just a little bit ironic. In about twenty years from the development of the internet, people got very far.

Maybe the thought process is wrong and ninjas are not human. She knows this to be untrue. So she's a little bit afraid that Kumo, rather than Akatsuki, might catch hold of Naruto.

She saw so many blondes there that it wouldn't even be a joke if he were taken.


Sakura swings by the hospital after being dismissed and is easily rostered on as a medic on duty.

Hospitals in all countries in all times tend to suffer from shortages of all kinds.

Be it funding or actual machinery, labour to support staff, some things don't seem to change. A steady rhythm follows from the mission debrief, her personal debrief to her own job.

Senpai is in-charge of her patients when she's not around, which is a common occurrence. She's the surgeon rather than the medical officer on duty.

The ward door senses her chakra and lets her in – one of those non-contact upgrades that Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya worked on.

Lord Orochimaru is in the ward when she enters. They're once more, experimenting on Lee to see if they can do something about his chakra.

"Orochimaru-san," she greets and then smiles, "Lee-san."

"Sakura," and "Sakura-san!" in return remind her of the things that she has done and will continue to do.

"You and Kabuto misdiagnosed him for a long time. This boy managed to open his gates under training with his sensei. But still, the replacement technique, the clone technique all elude him. Perhaps he is the first of his kind."

Sakura makes a sound of incomprehension, before extending her chains forward, "Lee-san, how do opening your gates feel to you?"

She allows him to just talk, about the spring, about the days of hardship, about the pain which comes after. Sakura smiles as he talks about his sensei who believes and for a moment she tries to convince herself that she is wrong.

That there is still, more hope.

But there is none to the sight of her chains. His chakra pathways are coarse and fresh, as if someone tore through him to make him channel chakra. The eight points are pulsing as they were many years ago, maybe denser now, but chakra is not circulating per se. His body is healing from his training, but as it does so, the pathways are closing up again.

As predicted.

Outside the ward, she affirms to the Snake that, "I will stand by my original diagnosis. Opening the gates is not something he can do often. What you should ask is, can he do a replacement or make a clone while his gates are open."

Orochimaru looks at her very seriously before telling her that the diagnostic tests he just ran show that Lee has a functioning chakra system. "Perhaps it is his years of not moulding chakra, or perhaps it is a mental block. But that the gates are open show true promise. If we can fix him, there are countless other ninjas who can return to the force."

He is desperate for some reason that he has not explained. The boy is an experiment to him, she is certain that this is the attitude of a scientist who will risk everything for the breakthrough.

Senpai, she dares to say, stumbles across them in the hallway. And then he is between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Sakura compromises, "Orochimaru-sama, I will try. But not with Lee-san who has a future without his full system. If you are certain Tsunade-sama will let you risk it, and senpai thinks there is a chance, then I will co-operate. Failing which, I will teach you what I did. Nevertheless, my professional opinion is that it will not work."

Professional. She says it like a guard, a wall that can protect them. Still, it is a ninja village. The Lady Hokage's word is the law.

Sakura is beginning to become a little illusioned into that romantic notion of protecting home. A silly one, since this is not her home. It is not even the place that her precious people are safe.


"Kouhai," there's the soft chide in Kabuto's voice that she cannot avoid, "You know how dangerous he is. You mustn't push him too hard."

"I know, senpai. All the same, I cannot let him push us around. Why will you not tell him that you disagree with his diagnosis?"

Her senior only sighs. "I see I will not be able to convince you. Nevermind then. Welcome home, kouhai."

She shakes her head, "There is no need to convince me. I'm home, after all. Still, there are some developments in Kumo that concern me. Particularly in terms of electroshock therapy as a possible method to tamper with memories. Have you heard of any such?"

Sakura knows that senpai and Orochimaru-san specialise in bioengineering and genetic tampering rather than neurophysiology. Still, they are her best shot at figuring out the deal with memory games.

If she is misreading the situation, then Kumo is preparing something else entirely.

"To do a brain wipe and re-programming? I think people have done so more effectively with hypnosis and genjutsu though. Using electricity would probably fry too many neurons to be worth it. One can hardly say that ultimate loyalty is the most desired trait in a tool."

Ultimate loyalty?

They sort through the files of the patients discharged in the two months she's been in Suna, discuss a couple of challenging cases in theory, do one round with patients in the long-term rooms, then walk the wards.

In the long-term rooms, there's a particular patient who catches her eye – a lung degenerative disease coupled with calcium imbalance leading to a blood disorder.

A patient cared for and researched upon by both her senpai and Orochimaru-san, still, without a cure.

She's a general surgeon, not a pulmonary specialist. There's time for Sakura to learn where Yuurei died. "Senpai, tell me more about Kaguya Kimimaro. Has Tsunade-sama taken a look at him already?"

"Kimimaro-kun? It's difficult because his bloodline complicates how our medicines last and interact in his system. Tsunade-sama's preliminary diagnosis was that he needed to rein in his calcium level first to prevent…"

There are many more things to be done. But her first dedication has always been to healing. First the body then the mind.

Another day, she has to tell Shikaku-sama what she has done. Which is an awkward thought, considering he may well know – why didn't he tell me?


Another chapter.

It's surprising that we've been able to write so much in a few days, I hope you all enjoy it. With these chapters, much of it is catch up time to fill in what has been happening even as Sakura went to Suna.

As I've been reading back, something I appreciate more is that Sakura here isn't obsessed in checkpoints and what is going on. In many cases, knowing the future is a torture as you race from one point to another in fear, in order to prevent the evil fate from coming to pass.

I like the thought that every character, even if not written into the story, has an impact. That's how the real world is.

However, no logical person will ever imagine that a rabbit goddess is going to descend on the world.

So here's our Sakura concerned that Kumo is up to something funny. Truthfully, Kumo is tangential to canon plot; they are important now.

We're racing towards one future. See you next chapter! Following linearly from this chapter, look forward to Shikaku, Shikamaru. Other things not confirmed.

Yours,

Kayo

(And review! I love hearing from you all :)