A Few Years Later


Sakura walked down the streets with her personal clipboard, looking through a few pieces of paper for review after making a few house calls. She was on her way to the small building she made her home as well as her hospital. It was only a few months after she arrived that Mito was able to get her such a place. Since then she has been able to teach others in a comfortable environment while having the ability to heal people right at home.

Things have become a bit more peaceful since she moved here apart from the war. The trauma she suffered still came back to her in her vulnerable moments, but it was not as horrible as the beginning. She had cried her eyes out for over three nights straight, the reality of it all setting in. Her family, friends, village and entire world was gone. And after beginning to understand what Hashirama had said about this being the past of a different world, it was all too much. For many months she would wake up crying and screaming, so loudly that Mito would often rush to her guest room just to comfort her.

The nightmares surrounding Kaguya did not go away, and everything that she had to deal with surrounding the war had a bigger effect on her than expected. After a while she realized she did not like going out at night, especially with a full moon. It was to the point that after she moved out into her little hospital, Mito stayed with her until she could sleep peacefully. The woman was kind to her and after talking for a while, the two began to build a great friendship. Though it was not said, Sakura believed Mito finally trusted her because of how much of an impact it made.

Mito trained Sakura to use new techniques while Sakura would have her train to heal people at the hospital. She and Hashirama have communicated much within the last couple years. He had told her it would be some time before they were to battle Madara, but that was two years ago. His messages have been taking longer and longer to arrive that she sometimes forgot about them. He hadn't sent anything in the last four months or so. It made her worry a little bit, wondering just how long she had.

Sakura was now around twenty years old. She had never thought much about her age until Miyo's constant questions became personal. The girl asked her when her birthday was and in honesty Sakura had almost forgotten. She had been seventeen when she got there. At this point the time difference didn't matter, she just added the years she had been there to her age and continued using her original birthday to make things easier.

"Sakura-sensei!" Miyo called while running down the road with a smile.

Miyo had been training with Sakura since she moved to the village, becoming her student and learning exactly the kind of things Sakura had learned. Well, she wasn't trained as harshly as Tsunade but it was pretty damn tough. She was even able to create a small crater in the ground with her fist now. Miyo had pretty good Chakra control and with the special Chakra she had to amplify her power, she was able to heal a badly injured patient within a few minutes... almost as well as Sakura. She was an amazing little girl.

At first the girl acted like Hinata, shy and timid but willing to learn. Somehow she broke out of her shell when around Sakura and sometimes would forget what the original subject had been about. She had only grown slightly taller and wore an outfit that had shorts and a skirt, that was honestly almost an exact replica of Sakura's old one but purple instead of pink, and a yukata style top with purple dyed bandages to wrap around her waist and hold it in place. Still no shoes to be seen on her feet. She also wore her hair down with a red ribbon in her hair, just like her sensei was now.

It was flattering to Sakura how she looked up to her. She herself wore a short red kimono style top with no sleeves, black capris and high heel boots. She also had gloves tucked on the side of her pink sash that kept the top closed. She had only grown a few centimeters, her chest filled out a bit more and her hair was now close to reaching her waist.

She wore her hair the way she used to with the ribbon Miyo gave her. She was now able to show her mark, though not without a price. Mito used it as a Chakra reserve, much like Tsunade but its original purpose was for Mito to keep the reserve for high level seals. It made so much sense given her abilities and where Tsunade's inspiration came from. Each person who gained it seems to be able to improve on it. Elder Honshi disapproved of an outsider taking on his family's ability so quickly and freely.

She still had a strained relationship with some of the elders for it but given everything happening the last few years it wasn't the biggest problem. She was an asset to them as a medic and they honestly could do nothing. Sakura didn't let this go to her head though. She wanted to fit in and help so Mito told her to ignore them and she herself would take the backlash. Though why she did still confused her.

"Uzashi-kun says you have a new message at Tori Tower," Miyo reported with a smile.

"Arigato. I'll make sure to check it before the day ends but I have to get back to the hospital," she said, lifting a piece of paper to check another.

"Anything new?" she asked, skipping her way next to Sakura.

"Not at the moment, but I might have you do some house calls for me to catch up on the health logs," she told her, turning the corner. "Have you seen Mito-sama?"

"Iie. I had seen her with the Clan Leader this morning. That was the last time today," she replied.

"Of course," she mumbled.

Miyo skipped ahead, twirling every so often, to the hospital. Luckily it was not far from where they were. It was actually close to Mito and Honshi. Sakura followed, entering as quickly as she could when they arrived. She set her chart down on a side table before taking her sandals off.

Walking in there was a desk with a receptionist from time to time. It was usually Miyo but every once and a while she would put someone else in charge for training. To the right was a small waiting room and turning left as you walked in was the examination room. Across from it was a door that led to a separate part as an operating room. It was mostly used for training purposes though. Around the corner from the waiting room were stairs leading to a door that was Sakura's personal room.

Miyo closed the door shut before following her in. It was almost as if she was living there half the time; Sakura didn't mind it since Miyo was so helpful from time to time. She didn't make it far in the living area before allowing herself to fall to her knees and then into the pile of blankets she laid out for time like these.

"You're tired," Miyo giggled.

"Well unlike someone I know, I have been active most of the day. And I only had three hours of sleep last night," Sakura replied before laying face down, groaning into the pillow.

"I have been on my feet all day with chores too," Miyo complained, sitting at the small eating table.

"If you would do your chores in a timely manner it wouldn't be a problem." Her voice was muffled but she was heard. Miyo only shrugged, laying back.

"I heard something big is going to happen soon. Something massive... Do you know what it is?" Miyo asked, looking over to Sakura as best she could.

Sakura lifted herself gazing at Miyo who had a curious look. It was creepy and nerve wracking when she said things like that. She had a way of knowing things she should not. Others avoided her and spread rumors saying she could mindread. This came from the fact she never could use jutsu easily before training. Mind Reading was different from her predictions but it was close. But she also seemed to have supposed informants on subjects. No one could prove anything so Miyo was always watched to try to catch whatever was going on.

"Who did you hear it from?" The usual question.

"Just someone I know." The usual answer. "I am only curious. I mean your message is labeled urgent," Miyo said, putting her hands behind her head.

"What!?" Sakura jumped up as fast as she could and grabbed her sandals. "Miyo, you know you have to tell me if it is urgent right away!" she shouted as she had trouble putting her sandals on.

"Oops," Miyo said, getting up to follow Sakura out the door.

"Iie. You stay. These matters do not involve you," Sakura called back as she ran off to the tall tower.


There were only a few bird handlers there, cleaning cages and feeding the birds. Sakura looked around until she saw the bird that had her scroll. She grabbed the scroll from it before it flew over to one of the handlers. She immediately released the seal and opened it to read what Hashirama had said. It wasn't marked urgent like Miyo said but then again Miyo always knew better than anyone.

After looking it over she started to bite at her nail. So it was finally time for her to head back to the mainland. The battle that changed Madara had passed, which meant Izuna would be giving his Sharingan to his brother before he died sometime soon. She knew that Hashirama wanted the help from the Uzumaki to avoid so much loss on the Senju side but was not sure how she would ask.

Sure she had some trust but this was almost asking too much. Things were still rocky with them. She would be too nervous to ask the Clan Leader directly. They had discussed helping the Senju before but it was still a touchy subject. Uzumaki did not want to be involved with such things since they found their own sense of peace for some time. She rolled the scroll up and placed her hands on the rail, looking out over Uzushio.

"Uzumaki Sakura." She almost jumped when hearing his voice. Sakura turned to see the Clan Leader and Mito standing there.

She quickly bowed, feeling quite uncomfortable. Ashina was easier to deal with than the others but he did still have a very strict demeanor and belief. She straightened up as they approached closer. Though she did not want to speak up about it now, it was odd for Mito to come in place of Honshi. She had been doing that more often lately without an explanation.

"I predict that message is from the Senju Clan?" he questioned, shocking her.

"H-hai. They have asked for our assistance in the battle against the Uchiha," she spoke.

"I am well aware. Mito-chan has informed me," he nodded.

"How so?" she asked with knitted brows.

"I received a message along with your own. I had read mine this morning when it arrived," she said, holding up a scroll. She could see Mito giving a sly smile, mocking her. Oh the urge to retort and bicker with her.

"I have given it much thought throughout the day and had a unit set to leave in a few hours," he told her, crossing his arms. "I have gathered Wada's men to assist with Kechi's own. I will not offer more than these Shinobi. He was persistent with you joining, so I shall grant you leave as the medic. Do not fail this."

"Understood," she nodded. She worried that Wada and Kechi may not be enough. They were really the only ones with a large arsenal of jutsu that did not concern sealing but most of their attacks needed combinations. All it would take is for the Uchiha to figure that out for the team would be at risk. This was not what she expected.


Sakura looked out over the water, tapping her fingers on the side of the boat. As soon as she had gotten her armor on and made her way to the shore, they departed. She was ready as she could be for this. Even though she had only learned a few jutsu from Mito over the last couple years, it wasn't her thing. Instead she was able to amplify her medic jutsu even more and with training them medics in Uzushio she had been able to create a few more new techniques.

Every second they grew close to the Land of Fire, the more worrisome she became. What if she was not strong enough to do anything, to help anyone? She had always been the weak one in Team Seven and in the end she still had been. From what she could tell, Shinobi in the past were much more powerful than in the future. Almost like they became complacent. It was no wonder Clans like the Hyuuga were strict in their traditions.

"Sakura-chan, you are putting a hole in the rail," Mito said, startling her.

"Oh," she said, seeing the hole she made from tapping her finger.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with worry.

"I just... I am a bit anxious that's all," she said with both arms on the side.

"No need to worry," Mito commented, repeating the motion. "Sakura-chan, since I found out we would be returning to the Land of Fire, something has been bothering me. I know the answer but maybe there is something you can tell me about your mark."

"My mark?"

"When I created this reserving seal for my fuinjutsu, I had not expected any other to take on the task as even Uzumaki are not all the same with their ability. You are not of our clan and have already achieved great control. A teacher you refuse to explain who had used it for medical purposes instead has always been suspicious. I want your honesty," Mito turned to her.

Sakura had thought this had been dealt with long ago but knew it may come up again. She was unsure if she could tell her much about Tsunade without messing things up. Mito cornered her here, where things could not interrupt this talk and now she began to believe Mito may have been getting close to retrieve information like this. She would not put it past the elders to ask for it either.

"I myself have been trying to imitate you. It is an impressive technique. I only wish to be strong for them and you are the means to it. Do not take offense, you have become like a sister to me. They do not understand this and it is the only thing I will dare challenge them on."

"Shisho… she had developed it to increase healing as I told you. It…," Sakura began while thinking of her words carefully. "Was capable of amplifying the users ability. You only think of it for your fuinjutsu but it has more possibilities. My shisho and I share great strength because of it, and I myself have been able to improve what she has done."

"Can you… show me what you can truly do?"

After a minute of silence the two heard a shriek behind them. As they turned, Uzashi stood there with a troubled look while holding Miyo by the hair. She had the Uzumaki battle armor on as the rest, with a sword strapped to her back. She was angry at first with Uzashi pulling her hair but paled and was now scared when the two women looked down at her.

"I'm in trouble..."

"You have no idea," Mito said, crossing her arms.


Author's Note: Alright so this is pretty much the last warm up chapter before the real stuff begins. I will be trying to get things update as quickly as possible, since things are going to get pretty exciting.