Two weeks later on the day Sakura's custom made jewelry arrived in the mail and Anko returned Shisha and Kansen to Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura came face to face with Danzo "For a genin you are suspiciously hard to find" Danzo glared.
Obviously pissed that he hadn't been able to catch up with her until just now "Not if you know where to look Danzo-sama" Sakura smiled saccharine sweet at the elder, glad that Kakashi had warned her and she'd had ample time to prepare herself for this meeting.
Behind her Naruto bit his cheek to keep from laughing while Sasuke snorted not giving a flying fuck that the man was an elder at all, Danzo sneered at them "Never mind all that, girl I want to know why Hiruzen placed you under anbu watch" Danzo demanded to know.
Sakura clasped her hands behind her back not cowering beneath his glare "Why don't you ask Hokage-sama because I didn't even know until you just said something, Danzo-sama" Sakura said with the straightest face possible.
Respectful despite the fact that she wanted to spit on his shoes, her answer however was not the one Danzo so dearly wanted to hear as he took a threatening step forward and all of a sudden her mind was fuzzy.
'Daughter focus there is a sharingan under those bandages on his face that he's activated to try and control you' Jashin's voice echoed from some inner place deep within her psyche, clearing her head and sharpening her senses enough to break free of the mind control Danzo was attempting.
The Elders uncovered eye widened a sliver in surprise when Sakura thwarted the effects of his stolen sharingan "Girl what you just did should have been impossible…come with me to root, I can make you into the perfect shinobi" Danzo ordered.
Clearly intending to not give her a choice in the matter as he reached forward and grabbed her arm with enough force to break it "Let go of her" thankfully Kakashi arrived in the nick of time, seeing the Copy Ninja, Sakura was released hastily before Danzo turned and disappeared down the street.
"What just happened there Sakura, what did you do" Sasuke rounded on his teammate who huddled into Naruto's side, she shook her head indicating the public place they were in was not a good place to discuss what happened.
So the lot of them returned to the apartment "Okay Sakura-chan talk, what did you do that was so impossible and what the heck is root" Naruto frowned once they were settled on the couches in the living room.
Adopted sister still velcroed to his side "It was Jashin-sama…he said that Danzo was using a sharingan to try and control me, so he helped me break free of the mind control" Sakura explained with a grimace.
Eyeing Sasuke warily whose face whitened in anger at the news "There's only one sharingan I know of that can manipulate people like that, Kotoamatsukami, the mangekyou belonged to one Shisui Uchiha or rather Shisui of Teleportation" Sasuke grit out through clenched teeth.
"Let's all just calm down yeah….with that Jashin dude helping Sakura-chan, that old elder guy will never be able to get Sakura-chan on his side so what are you worried about" Naruto chimed in not understanding the situation.
Until Kakashi spoke up "We're worried Naruto because if Danzo can't get Sakura…he'll go after you and Sasuke to get her that way, give her no choice but to do as he says in order to protect the both of you" Kakashi winced.
Seeing Sakura cringe while Sasuke went white from fear this time and Naruto flinched violently in response "Is there nothing we can do then" the Uchiha slammed a fist down on the living room table, wracking his brain for something but not coming up with anything.
Thank kami for Sakura who creased her brow, "Jashin-sama says that I could seal my chakra in something that you'd have to wear at all times, in the likelihood Danzo tries to mind control you two, the chakra would act in a defensive capacity to keep him from manipulating you" Sakura announced.
Having listened to all her god had told her in the span of a few minutes "Guess its a good thing you just got your custom made jewelry huh Sakura-chan, me and Sasuke can get our ears pierced and wear the other earrings until we get some of our own made" Naruto grinned.
Picking up the package from the table, opening it and spilling the contents gently out onto the table to reveal the pendant necklaces, earrings and rings "Kakashi should be included, just in case" Sasuke suggested.
Knowing he probably wouldn't pierce both of his ears as he grabbed up one of the silver earrings that had been made "Thank you Sasuke-kun" Kakashi chuckled, pleased he had such considerate students, while carefully picking up the remaining silver earring.
With the upside down triangle symbol, Sakura giggled as she snatched up the crimson earrings, already wearing one of the necklaces, the silver one with the black ring on her pinky finger and thankfully it wasn't horrendously gaudy like most rings were.
It was simple really "Okay who wants to get their ear pierced first" the rosette asked, holding out a needle, Naruto gulped then bravely offered himself up first since he was going to get both ears done, a slight sting or two later and both black earrings were snapped into his ears.
Next was Sasuke, he gestured to his right ear before closing his eyes, a second later he felt something being snapped into place, third was Kakashi who got his left ear done and finally Sakura herself who popped the crimson earrings into the newly made holes in her ear.
Then Sakura neatly sealed her chakra into the earrings "And with that, should that old elder guy try to use that sharingan on us we won't be affected right" the blonde asked just to make sure and got a nod from Sakura their resident Jashinist.
"Right on that note I bet you three are ready to see your house, because its all ready to be moved into, first however I need to draw a seal and the only place I can think of in here where a seal would be unnoticed is in Sakura-chan's room" the Copy Ninja informed.
Deciding now would be the best time to tell his genin that the house he'd picked out was ready for them at long last, Sakura inhaled then exhaled at the statement however "You guys are so ugh…fine, come on" Sakura sighed.
Hating to let anyone into her sacred space "Try not to worry your pretty head about things Sakura…once your in the new house you'll never have to let anyone into your bedroom over there I promise" Kakashi assured.
Understanding his kunoichi who was tolerant of most things they asked and a few minutes later the three of them were stood in Sakura's bedroom for the first time "I'm not sure what I was expecting really" Sasuke commented.
Seeing red everywhere, apparently Sakura hadn't been joking that red was her favorite color, Sakura rolled her eyes but cleared a space on her floor for Kakashi to draw the seal needed to transport them between houses.
"What now, how do we use the seal" Naruto asked when it was finished, Kakashi chuckled then showed the three of them the hand signs for the summoning jutsu, in a poof of smoke the four of them was stood in a large spacious foyer.
Behind them was a dark oak wood door, before them was an expansive hallway that Kakashi shepherded them down to reach another door that led into a comfortable living room, which was already filled with furniture.
There were three couches and two armchairs, a low living room table, and a bookcase in the corner of the room "Please tell me you didn't blow through all the money you got from Gato's stash Kakashi-sensei" Sakura seemed to realize something.
As she looked around their new living room "Unfortunately I still have quite a bit left over even after all this" Kakashi snorted, letting the kids look their fill of the room before leading them into the next which just so happened to be the kitchen.
Unlike the living room this room was extremely spacious, complete with a dining nook, the best part of it all was that the fridge and cabinets were already filled with food, with high tech kitchen gadgets installed, only the best apparently.
That wasn't all however, as they were shown to where the bathroom was located, then finally a room where they could store all their weapons and gear "This would be perfect for your praying wouldn't it Sakura" Sasuke noted.
Sensei chuckling in response "Lets not be to hasty, you have yet to see the second floor and your rooms after all" Kakashi reminded, opening yet another door, revealing a set of stairs leading upwards onto the next floor of their house, which was like a bloody maze.
Kakashi smirked at their excited expressions but he didn't let them get ahead of him "Do we get to pick our own rooms" the blonde knucklehead asked bouncing once they breached the top of the steps to reveal yet another spacious hallway.
"Actually I made rooms according to your likes and dislikes, not to worry, all except two are exactly the same, which is why I'd like to show Sakura-chan her room first" the Copy Ninja admitted directing Sakura forward by the shoulders.
Until they got to the end of the hallway, a cherry wood door stood before them and he gestured for her to open it, Sakura took a deep breath then flung the door open only to gasp in awe at the sight that greeted her eyes.
Like her room back at the apartment, this room was painted crimson as well, in the center of the room was a large canopy style bed, there was a changing screen with a mirror in one corner, while the other had a dresser/wardrobe to fill with her clothes.
But that wasn't what caught her attention, it was the three doors, one on either side of the room while the last was a foot away from her bed, the door on the right led to a bathroom, a personal bathroom at that.
And the second door led to a smaller connecting room "Ritual room" the pinkette dubbed instantly sliding the screen door shut before finally turning her attention on the final door, which led out onto a balcony that had a small table and lounging chair on it already.
It was Sasuke who noticed "Why are there tree's growing out of the roof, and where are we exactly anyway" the raven frowned, eyeing the tree's warily but it seemed like they were just part of the roof which was weird.
"Forest, on our team training grounds, the whole area belongs to me now since I bought it, you see until a couple weeks ago this house didn't exist, I had it made just for you three" Kakashi smirked, patting himself on the back at their wide eyed expressions.
They weren't finished looking through the house however as he led them to Naruto's room next, which was mostly the same minus the extra room, Sasuke's proved to be the same as well, there was a guest bathroom out in the hallway.
Before Kakashi showed off the remaining rooms, a guest room, while the last one was made specifically for their snakes and just when the genin thought that was everything they were shown the attic which was a glorified storage space just for them.
None of them really knew what to say as they traipsed down the stairs to the living room and sat on the brand new furniture "There's just no way that we could ever repay you Kakashi-sensei, so why would you…." Sakura began.
Only to have Kakashi place a hand over her mouth "Why would I do this you ask….because I don't want to lose you three to anything, because I know bad things are coming in the future so making sure your safe is one of the things I can do at the very least" Kakashi declared.
Meeting each of their eyes as he spoke "Guess that just means we have to train extra hard from now on you know" Naruto announced, knowing better than to crack a joke at this moment in time the conversation was to serious for that.
Sasuke and Sakura thankfully agreed with him "So what's the plan for after this" Sasuke questioned as the tension in the room faded some to a more relaxed atmosphere, he glanced to Sakura as he said this.
Who pursed her lips "Start moving stuff I guess, we'll leave the old furniture, bring most of our books, most of our clothes and leave the food stored in the kitchen, but we'll clear out the storage closet in the hallway completely" Sakura listed.
"You have two days….once your finished however training will resume is that understood" Kakashi informed, body flickering and leaving his students alone to do their own thing for the next couple of days.
At his departure Sasuke rolled his eyes "Dramatic much" Sasuke snorted, standing up from the new couch that was a lot more comfortable than the one back at the apartment he liked to sprawl out on all the time.
Naruto sniggered "Hey I just had a thought, what if I made a whole bunch of clones that would help a lot wouldn't it….in fact why don't I just teach you the shadow clone jutsu that way you two can use it to you know" Naruto exclaimed.
Pleased at the offer Sasuke and Sakura spent the next three hours learning the shadow clone jutsu only getting it down well after lunch "Not to shabby I suppose though I wish I could make a couple more clones than that" Sasuke commented, once he'd made four shadow clones.
"Eh try not to be to picky Sasuke…..just be glad we're able to utilize the jutsu for ourselves at the very least" Sakura giggled, more than happy with her three clones, though she could make more if she wanted, as they headed for the summoning seal that would take them back to their apartment.
In a poof of smoke they were crowded in her bedroom again and Sakura instantly set one of her clones to work by having her remove all the traps in the room, another was given orders to pack ninety percent of the clothes and take them back to the house.
And the third was made to get the toiletries from the bathroom that belonged to her, the original Sakura however redid the seals on her door, adjusting it so that Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi could access the room now.
"Heading back already, geez you move fast" Sasuke snorted lightly when he saw Sakura standing on the seal again, Chishi snug around her neck, his terrarium and everything else sealed into a scroll with the enclosing seal on it.
Sakura nodded, shooting him a smile before she was gone in a poof of smoke followed by one of her clones "Sheesh Sakura-chan's always in a hurry to do things" Naruto shook his head, then focused his efforts on moving things.
By the time he and Sasuke were done, Sakura had already moved on to drawing seals in their new house, especially on every door that led to outside, not even the windows were spared this time "Aren't you going overboard" the Uchiha raised a brow at his teammate.
"You heard Kakashi-sensei Sasuke, same as I did, Naruto to….which means being extra cautious or going overboard, we can't allow anyone to even guess at the possibility we're no longer living in our apartment" the pinkette intoned firmly.
There was to be no arguing over the matter apparently "What about Anko-sensei, she likes to randomly pop up, she'll notice right away that somethings different" their blonde teammate said, as crazy as the woman was, Anko wasn't someone they could easily deceive.
Thankfully his teammates understood what he was saying "I'm sure Kakashi will be back at some point, we'll ask him what to do in the event that it happens" Sasuke sighed, not wanting to lie to the woman either.
An hour or so later Sakura was finished drawing up seals inside the house "Outside to Sakura-chan" Naruto frowned when she exited the house through the front door and started drawing perimeter seals all around the area.
Even some seals that he had no clue of what they were or what they did "Precisely, to mask our presence that way no one senses our chakra out here and comes investigate" Sakura nodded, adding traps and the like while she made her rounds.
To Naruto and Sasuke's horror the perimeter seals went all the way to the little lake out back, all the way around it and then some just to be extra, extra cautious, only then did Sakura put her brush and chakra ink away.
Sufficiently satisfied with her work "Come on you two, I don't feel like cooking after all that work so lets get Ichiraku, and afterwards we can stop by that store to get some more custom made jewelry for you two" the rosette suggested.
Perking Naruto up "Ugh Ichiraku…..next time can we get food from the tea shop" the raven groaned, Sakura giggled maniacally at him but nodded again as they headed back in and used the summoning seal to return to the apartment.
"I still don't know how you haven't become a ramen addict like me yet given the amount of times we eat out" the blonde knucklehead sniggered, locking the door behind him since he was behind his teammates and with that they were off to the ramen stand.
Once they were finished eating however it was off to the jewelry store "Back again I see, and look you even got your custom made order" the same woman as before was stood behind the counter when they approached.
Sakura smiling kindly at her "Yeah…the design was so well liked that these two wanted to get some of their own made and I'd like to order a bit more myself" Sakura admitted, flipping her hair back to show off the crimson upside down triangle earrings.
"Really now, well boys, what would you like made" the woman turned her attention on the two boys first, considering that Sakura had nudged them forward, Naruto the braver of the duo explained what he wanted first.
"I'd like three sets of earrings in dark yellow, dark orange and traditional silver with the same design of the upside down triangle" Naruto explained, forking over the total stated and leaving the address of the apartment.
Next was Sasuke "Same thing just in dark blue, black and red" Sasuke was less descriptive which was the norm for him but the woman behind the counter didn't let his off putting attitude bother her any as she totaled up the amount for him as well.
Leaving Sakura who requested three more pendant necklaces to be made in off white, dark pink and dark green, and three more sets of earrings and rings of course with the same design and colors "Alright is that all…you'll have your orders in a couple weeks" the woman asked, giving them a time frame.
With that the trio left the jewelry store once more and hurried home, where they stayed in their new house for the rest of the day lazing about since they'd gotten everything done a day earlier than expected so they had the time to be lazy if they wanted.
A day later they met Kakashi on their team training grounds, but before he could start them on a new training regimen another team wandered onto their field "Morning Kakashi, I was hoping you'd indulge me by having our students spar against one another" Asuma greeted/asked.
Kakashi turned to face his fellow jonin at that "Hmm are they prepared for it though, you see my students aren't the types to hold back, it limits their abilities and I don't think your students could handle a full frontal attack from my students" Kakashi questioned.
Narrowing his visible iris on Ino who still hadn't apologized to Sakura "Jashin-sama help us all, Kakashi-sensei's started a round of mine is bigger than yours" Sakura groaned out loud when Asuma shot back something about his own students.
Shikamaru was looking suitably horrified as the ridiculous fight dragged on for several minutes, Choji however simple had his head to and froing between the two Jonin as they tried to outdo one another and Ino kept her head down mostly.
"Oi girly habit sensei, we're wasting valuable training time, so lets just do as Asuma-sensei wants, spar with those three and be done with it" Sasuke called out, saying the one thing guaranteed to get Kakashi's attention.
The silver haired man whipped around, then began quickly advancing on the Uchiha who replaced himself with Naruto "Hey you stupid teme what was that for" Naruto cried out when he took the whack on the head meant for Sasuke.
"Just because you got away this time doesn't mean I've forgotten what you said Sasuke-kun and once this spar against Team Ten is done I'm going to be pushing you extra hard" Kakashi smiled creepily at the Uchiha.
He wasn't the only who felt the KI, Naruto and Sakura shuddered in sync with Sasuke "I want to fight that stupid forehead" Ino chimed in suddenly, still obviously not having changed any in the past two weeks.
Asuma shook his head "No, you'll spar against Naruto, unless you can properly apologize to Sakura for your actions two weeks ago then I'm afraid I can't let you spar with her" Asuma informed.
Ignoring Ino when she stomped her foot childishly and muttered insults under her breath towards the girl in question no doubt "Then I'll spar against Sakura" Shikamaru stepped forward, leaving Choji to spar with Sasuke.
"Do your best Shikamaru" Choji waved as he followed after his partner for the morning to a short distance away from the others, then took up a stance, knowing he was probably going to be taken down rather quickly.
Not to far from them were Sakura and Shikamaru who stared intensely at one another "Ready…..begin, keep it to taijutsu mostly and some jutsu's" Kakashi brought his hand down starting the spars.
Shikamaru flashed through the hand signs to his signature jutsu "Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu" the Nara heir called out, extending his shadow to capture Sakura and restrain her movement thus hopefully ending the spar.
Unfortunately he completely underestimated her, because the moment she was captured Sakura focused chakra into her foot, destroying it, followed by launching herself at him, clearly having improved since graduating.
Because he had to dodge the fist that was thrust out at him, paling when he saw how the ground cracked as it took the punch meant for him, Sakura didn't give him time to plan out his next move however as she continued to come after him.
Meanwhile Ino was doing her best to defeat Naruto, only thing she had no idea where he was among the sea of shadow clones he'd created to distract her while he prepared to cast his genjutsu for the first time against a real opponent.
Choji had already lost to Sasuke at this point as he'd been bound in ninja wire, over where Shikamaru and Sakura were sparring, Shikamaru decided to throw down a smoke bomb in hopes of gaining distance in order to come up with a plan to stop Sakura.
Again his actions were thwarted when Sakura simply sailed straight the smoke at him, or that's what he thought anyway but what had really happened during those few precious seconds she'd been hidden from view.
Sakura had performed two consecutive jutsu's in a row, the first one had been the shadow clone jutsu she'd only learned a day ago, the second jutsu allowed her to escape underground where she became undetectable.
The trap was set and now all she had to do was wait until her clone had Shikamaru where she needed him, striking a like a viper when he was stood in her previous spot "Doton: Head Hunter Jutsu" Sakura called out.
Hands emerging from the earth and grabbing onto Shikamaru's ankles to drag him underground while she stood over him victoriously, clone popping out of existence in a puff of smoke "Gotcha Shikamaru" Sakura grinned, proud for winning her spar.
All that was left was Naruto who made his own move on Ino at long last and efficiently caught her in his black dream genjutsu, Ino slumped to the ground effectively taken down as her hands and feet were tied just in case she released herself before he was ready.
Upon seeing his students get defeated within twenty minutes Asuma was so shocked he even dropped the cigarette he was toking on from his mouth "I…I see what you mean now Kakashi, you have brilliant students" Asuma said after a moment of imitating a fish.
Fellow Jonin nodding in agreement "Exactly, what did you think that I would be incompetent about training my students….haha I know how I use to be Asuma, but things changed and I decided to take this gig as a sensei to them seriously" Kakashi scoffed.
When Asuma nodded "Still very impressive, especially your kunoichi, I've never seen anyone be able to keep Shikamaru on his toes like that, considering how tactical Shikamaru is" Asuma commented.
Watching as Sakura heaved Shikamaru out of the hole she'd dragged him into with nothing but brute strength if he wasn't wrong and clasp fingers with the Nara heir making the sign of reconciliation with one another.
"That's the thing about Sakura-chan, she can be equally as tactical, all of them really, I can only imagine what that spar would have been like if it had been three against three" Kakashi announced, just imagining the destruction that would have ensued.
Asuma felt a tingle go down his spine at Kakashi's ominous tone of voice, with that he decided it was high time to leave so Asuma rounded up his students one of which wasn't to happy that she'd lost and quickly left.
Kakashi sighed in relief "Right on to our real training, I've come up with a new regimen for you three" the Copy Ninja informed, gesturing them to follow him until they reached the obstacle course he'd spent two days creating.
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura eyed it with a large amount of trepidation in their gazes "Exploding seals litter the ground, traps filled with weapons are hidden in the tree's, each obstacle will test and push you past your limits" Kakashi explained.
"Today however for that little comment earlier, Sasuke will be the only one going through it, while you two get to work on a new elemental jutsu or the mystical palm if you so choose" Kakashi declared.
Reminding Sasuke of the warning before the spars "Yay me…well I'm a goner, wish me luck Naruto, Sakura" Sasuke cheered with fake enthusiasm, wishing he hadn't opened his mouth earlier, now all he could do was accept the punishment in its entirety.
"Err good luck, try not to die alright" Naruto waved, sending Sasuke off with a un-discernible expression on his face as Sasuke trudged towards the starting point of the obstacle course, going extra slow waiting for Sakura.
Who tried not to laugh "Right good luck Sasuke, you can do it" Sakura grinned, Sasuke rolled his eyes but got started on the obstacle course, almost immediately an explosion was heard, though they didn't have a chance to check on their teammate.
As their attention was stolen away by Kakashi who taught them two more elemental jutsu's "Honestly, you three are such cheaters" Kakashi huffed seeing his students employing the use of shadow clones to accelerate and even split their training between the various jutsu's they knew.
Though he supposed he had nothing to complain about since the kids were actually working hard on what he taught them so with that in mind Kakashi got comfortable in a tree to read his book while listening to the sound of explosions going off every now and then.
Until it was time to dismiss them, poor Sasuke looked extra crispy when he went to fetch the boy from where he'd gotten stuck in the obstacle course and Sasuke was all to happy to flee on the heels of his teammates as they headed off to get healed if they were injured.