The next morning they all met up outside Tanzaku Town for the last time "Heh well as fun as this has all been I must be getting back to my village, Bee, Cee, Darui, lets go" Ay smirked, then just like that he, his men and brother were gone in the direction of Kumogakure.
"You know I've been wondering this since we first met, but what exactly is in that scroll" Tsunade demanded to know the minute they started walking and she spotted the weapons scroll Sakura always gave to Naruto being pulled out and unrolled.
Sakura grinned "Just hold on a minute Tsunade-sama your about to find out and….here" Sakura giggled, unsealing her scythe, the familiar weight settled into her like an old friend before she deftly hooked it into its harness on her back.
Honey orbs widened while Shisui actually spluttered at the sight of it "Surely you jest Sakura-chan, there's no way you can wield a weapon like that" Shisui intoned dubiously not to sure why but he didn't like that she had such a dangerous weapon.
"Believe us Shisui-san, Sakura's more than capable of using it, quite effectively to" Sasuke chimed in, defending his teammate from his cousin, even as he admired the scythe for himself it was such a beautiful weapon.
Perhaps it was about time he got one for himself "I can't wait to see Kakashi-sensei again I feel like it's been far to long since we left Leaf" Naruto commented, excited to get back home and back to the new training regimen they'd only just started on before leaving.
And his teammates happened to agree with him "Not much longer, just a few days Gaki and we'll be back in Leaf" Jiraiya ruffled his hair, glad that nothing to bad or horrible had happened, besides Sakura getting poisoned, she had managed herself just fine.
"Does that mean we're really going to work at the hospital, is it truly as bad as you say it is Jiraiya-sama" Shizune asked only to have Jiraiya nod his head at her in answer indicating that yes it was that awful.
Like he promised though they were back three days later after a whole month of being gone "Sakura-san, Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, Master Jiraiya, welcome home" Izumo's familiar voice called out to them from the check in stand.
Emerald orbs brightened as Sakura rushed over to the man and his partner, greeting them enthusiastically "Thanks Izumo-san, it's good to be home, and nice to see you to Kotetsu-san" Sakura smiled widely.
Kotetsu chuckled at her happiness "Mission accomplished I see…good work Sakura, you two as well" Kotetsu praised, when he saw Tsunade and her apprentice stood beside Jiraiya as they awaited their turns to sign in.
"Well believe me it was not easy" Sasuke grimaced, remembering the hell they'd been through over the past month just searching for Tsunade, and dealing with Cloud Shinobi had made it that much harder.
Izumo smiled "Alright you lot are all signed in, Lord Hokage awaits you in his office" Izumo declared sending them off and knowing they were about to get a massive shock, things were different than when they'd left after all.
"Old man we're ba….." Naruto announced as soon as they stepped into the Hokage's office, only to pause and stare as he saw not Hiruzen but his own Father seated behind the desk "Dad what's going on" Naruto inquired.
Glancing around but not seeing old man Hokage anywhere "Everything's taken care of I assume, good I handled everything on my end to so here's the mission report, Tsunade can tell you the rest" Jiraiya snorted, setting a scroll down and disappearing out the window.
To Minato's slight annoyance "Couldn't just use the door like a normal person Jiraiya-sensei, any who welcome back you three, well done on the mission, you have a week off, and feel free to tell your friends where you live now, Danzo can't do anything to you anymore" Minato said.
Upon turning his attention on the Chunin before sending them off while leveling his gaze on Tsunade "I think we're just going to follow those brats, seeing as I don't have anywhere else to stay at the moment" Tsunade shrugged when she felt his stare boring into her.
"Very well, I'll send Tenzo your way in a bit, but soon I'd like to talk about how things are going to be at the hospital under your thumb Lady Tsunade" Minato sighed, he'd clearly been working hard the past month.
And he was ready to set plans in motion for the betterment of the village "Give us a few days Hokage-sama, there's also the matter of Shisui-san being alive" Shizune pointed at the Uchiha who she had saved from certain death over five years ago.
Minato nodded and sent a Chunin to fetch the trio who'd only just left "Yes Hokage-sama" Sakura was the one who returned, the dutiful shinobi while the boys went ahead to collect their serpents from Anko down at T&I.
"I amend my statement a little bit, don't tell anyone just yet where you live alright, until I can reveal the truth about Shisui-san, also these three are going to be staying in the house with us so I'll be sending Tenzo to create more room for extra guests" Minato informed.
Sakura listening attentively "Roger that Dad, if you'll follow me Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, Shisui-san I will lead you to the house" the pinkette saluted, Minato's chuckle echoed in her ears as the four of them left his office.
Eight minutes later they were stood before the boulder "Uh-huh wasn't sure what I was expecting but this was not it" Tsunade eyed Sakura dubiously before looking around the training grounds they were on.
"Perhaps not Tsunade-sama, but if you'll give me a second, ah there we go" Sakura weaved the hand signs to unseal the rock enabling her to lift it, revealing the hole and tunnel that lead all the way to the house.
Tsunade felt as if her brows were about to launch off her forehead "Can't we simply go through the front door, Danzo's not a problem anymore, Hokage-sama said it himself remember" Shisui questioned.
Really not wanting to jump down in a hole "True but I'm so use to using alternate paths to get home that it's a habit" Sakura shrugged, gesturing to the hole, so with a sigh Shisui took the plunge and hopped down first.
Upon landing, lanterns lit up brightening the tunnel "Guess you only live once might as well make things exciting right" Shizune giggled, more than a little amused as she went next followed by Tsunade and lastly Sakura.
Who made a hand sign sealing the rock back in place unmovable by all except her, with that they began walking until they reached a seemingly dead-end, only to be surprised when the wall lowered revealing more tunnel.
And finally two minutes after that they exited the tunnel through a hatch that led them into a comfortable living room "Hey" Naruto waved from the couch, Shisha wrapped around his shoulders, who seemed much larger than expected just from being gone for a month.
"Noticed that to did you, according to Anko, our snakes mated, both mine, his and yours so yeah in a few days here their going to be laying their eggs" Sasuke informed when Sakura furrowed her brow at Shisha.
Viridian orbs widened and then Sakura promptly vanished up the stairs "Uh Sasuke-chan you have a green mamba around your shoulders" Shisui cringed, loathing snakes and he wasn't very happy to find that both his cousin and his teammates had a thing for the creatures.
"Just wait until you see Sakura's, here she comes now" Kakashi greeted from the chair, just glad that he hadn't had to tell his students that he'd been laid up in the hospital for a couple of weeks thanks to Itachi.
Though he had kind of been surprised that Sasuke hadn't been brought back courtesy his older brother but it was a relief, a second later Sakura returned carrying two black mamba's one of which was pregnant and ready to lay her eggs.
Shisui rubbed his arms, shivering imperceptibly in disgust "How can you stand them, as I understand it you hate Orochimaru right, well snakes personify Orochimaru so how can you be so calm with those things wrapped around your neck or shoulders" Tsunade scowled.
Glaring at the four serpents "It's true I am not fond of your former teammate Tsunade-sama but being prejudiced against creatures just because of him is something I can't do and I'm calm because I know neither Chishi or Chimei will bite me" Sakura declared.
Not an ounce of worry in her tone as she stroked the two black mamba's, having clearly missed them and they'd missed her to apparently as they affectionately coiled tighter around her shoulders, their tails entwined.
Shizune relaxed some upon seeing this "By the way I heard that we'll be having Tenzo add on some new rooms, so how about this Sakura-chan, you draw up blueprints for a design your all happy with and have Tenzo redo this entire house to your liking" Kakashi chimed in again.
Offering to allow the kids to come up with their own house design this time "Ooh I propose we have a sunroom solely dedicated to our snakes" Naruto exclaimed, bouncing in his spot on an opposite couch as the others finally sat.
Now that they had nothing to fear from Shisha, Kansen, Chishi or Chimei "That also means we'll have to seal all of our belongings up so that this house can be redone" Sasuke sighed, getting tired of packing his things constantly, it would be the third time now.
Sakura snickered "Last time Sasuke, I'm sure…so definitely a sunroom, with two different types of habitats for these four, we'll keep the weapons storage room the way it is, but probably expand the living room and kitchen by adding a dining room" Sakura listed.
Already drawing rapidly in pencil and configuring the blueprints of the first floor so that everyone would be satisfied "Talented and I'm sure this place is going to be lovely when finished" Shizune praised, liking what had been done so far.
As Sakura moved on to drawing the second floor "How about we dedicate that floor to guests, kind of make it in a circular design" Kakashi suggested, wanting to add his own input into the designing process.
More drawing and the second floor was done with four guest rooms, each attached with bathrooms for their personal use and above that was a large attic for storage space if the guests wanted to put some things away if they stayed long enough anyway.
Branching off the sides were stairs that led up to another part of the house which was supported by pillars over the attic space, this was where the main rooms would be and they were mainly the same design that they already had.
Except there were more of them to accommodate the large amount of people that were going to be living in the house, with that Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi began sealing up their belongings with a mass amount of clones thanks to Naruto.
Halfway through Tenzo showed up with Minato on his heels "What on earth are all of you doing" Minato frowned when he appeared in an empty living room, it was completely bare which concerned him massively.
Until Tsunade decided to explain "Oh I see, understandable, this house was Kakashi's idea so all I have to do is wait a bit and then make whatever they've come up with" Tenzo understood immediately, hoping that this was the last time he'd have to work on this house.
With a chuckle Minato made a few shadow clones of his own to seal his own belongings up while the real him headed back to the office to work on more paperwork and an hour after he'd left the new house was made.
Tenzo was rather impressed by its design actually but with his task complete he saw no reason to stick around longer as the group got to work on unpacking and rearranging things in their new house which suited them perfectly.
"Please tell me we can have ramen tonight, I'm dying for ramen" Naruto groaned hours later as he flopped down on the new couch that had been bought to fill the now much larger living room so that everyone could have their own favorite place to sit.
Sakura rolled her eyes "Fine but I'm ordering sushi, do you want curry, how about anyone else, what do you all want" Sakura asked, looking to Sasuke first who nodded then the others who shrugged indicating they didn't care what they got as long as they got it soon.
Three clones were sent out at that to get one large variety order of sushi, three bowls of whatever was the favorite ramen of the day from Ichiraku while the last was given instructions to get about six orders of curry and rice with a large order of dango for whoever wanted it.
Once they were gone Sakura popped up and disappeared into the kitchen to set up the enlarged dining nook "How on earth does she have that much energy, even Naruto-chan's exhausted" Shisui grimaced not seeing how Sakura was still moving.
Naruto lifted his head from where it was pressed face down in the couch "Sakura-chan is tired, but she won't allow herself to be lazy, speaking of, we can't either Sasuke, so let's go help her" Naruto hopped up next.
Dragging Sasuke along with him "I'm going to bed as soon as we've eaten" Sasuke grumbled once the table was all set and he'd seated himself at the nook to await dinner, no one disagreed with him on that front.
And soon the clones were back with supper, one order of curry was wrapped and placed on the island for whenever Minato returned to the house and right after they'd all finished eating the lot of them climbed the stairs to their new rooms and went to bed.
The next morning however was vastly different as Sakura woke, performed her morning blood-letting ritual then skipped downstairs to make breakfast for everyone "Okay what's your trick, I know you were exhausted as we were yesterday so how" Shisui questioned.
When he padded into the kitchen and found her puttering about "No inactivity, laziness or boredom for me Shisui-san, there's still so much to be done and if I procrastinate it won't get done at all" Sakura quipped.
Pointing her spatula at him before flipping the pancakes, removing them from the pan once they were done to make more until she had at least three stacks of pancakes along with all the other edibles that she'd already made before he'd gotten up.
By the time the others had joined them in the kitchen there was a platter filled with sausage links, bacon, scrambled eggs, hash-browns with a side of rice, there was a pitcher of orange juice and tea, syrup, a dish of butter, a small bowl of sugar for tea and a pot of coffee for coffee drinkers.
Like Tsunade so obviously was when she reached for the coffee as they all sat and tucked in to the glorious homemade meal "Guess we got the luck of the draw by moving in here huh Lady Tsunade" Shizune commented.
Enjoying her breakfast more thoroughly than usual "Sure seems that way, who taught you Sakura" Tsunade snorted, leveling her gaze on Sakura who was pacing herself and eating with manners, across from her Minato froze.
As Sakura grimaced in response "Myself really, nothing fancy of course, only simple recipes and the like but yeah" Sakura admitted quietly, it was still a touchy subject apparently and Tsunade quickly relented in her questioning about the girls past.
"Right, Shisui be on top of the Tower in two hours for an announcement about your return, there are a few other matters I need to discuss, one of which involves you Sasuke-san, Shisui-san you stay to" Minato informed when breakfast was finished and everyone was preparing to split up.
Sasuke paused looking confused but stayed seated when Minato laced his fingers together and stared straight at him, then shifted his gaze onto Shisui "I'm sure your well aware of the reason behind the massacre correct" the blonde Hokage finally spoke.
Once he was sure both Uchiha's were paying him extra attention "Reason..behind…the..massacre, what are you talking about Lord Hokage" Sasuke frowned deeply, already not liking where this conversation was heading.
Especially when Shisui sighed "Yes, Danzo…he drove them into a corner, my only regret is that Itachi-chan had to sacrifice himself to protect the village" Shisui winced when Sasuke's glare bore into the side of his head at the truth.
"Don't Sasuke…..there was nothing you could have done, but I assume the reason your bringing this all up now Minato-sensei, is because you want to bring Itachi back" Kakashi warned, stepping in because he felt as if the boy was about to blow.
But at his warning Sasuke forced himself to calm down "Basically yes, the only problem however is that he is vital to getting us information about Akatsuki's movements" Minato passed a hand through his spiky blonde locks.
Trying to figure out something "What if there was another person on the inside like Itachi…..on our way to Suna we met him, he told us about the possible kidnapping attempt on Naruto three weeks before it happened" Sasuke offered.
Not sure how well Hidan would like being a spy or if he would be able to properly do his job and get them information "Is this person reliable, can you truly trust him" the blonde questioned wanting Sasuke to be absolutely sure about this.
The boy opened his mouth to answer when Sakura appeared back in the kitchen "Everything alright" the pinkette asked, frowning when Sasuke swiveled in his chair and looked pleadingly at her for some reason.
Until he explained "You remember that guy who fake attacked us to tell us about Akatsuki's movements, Hidan right, do you think he'd take on the job of being a spy, because apparently Itachi…..killed our clan on Lord Thirds orders" Sasuke rambled.
Shooting a look at Minato who nodded, seeing no point in keeping this information away from his daughter who stared at Sasuke like he was stupid "Uhhh well…he did warn us I suppose but he also told me he hated Leaf Ninja so I doubt he'd spy for us" Sakura cringed.
Wondering what the hell was going through Sasuke's mind for him to ask that "There's no harm in asking him right Sakura-chan" Kakashi inquired, having an inkling why this Hidan person would have approached his kunoichi in the first place.
He had to be the other immortal that Sakura had repeatedly mentioned "Yeah" Sakura nodded her agreement 'I will speak with Hidan on your behalf my child' Jashin announced, presence vanishing from her mind.
Two hours later, after the announcement of Shisui's return had been made Jashin's presence settled within her mind 'Hidan was not pleased, given the amount of cursing he did, but he will spy for your village' Jashin informed.
Sakura thanked him profusely in response by performing one of the bloodiest blood-letting rituals ever, "Bask in thine blood oh mighty Jashin for I giveth freely of thine liquid of life" Sakura finished, light headed but calm now as his power washed over her.
Causing her to pass out, it was the first time actually and she didn't wake up until twenty minutes later, though she had to bathe thoroughly and change into clean clothes she felt better than ever as she headed down the stairs.
And found only Kakashi in the living room since Tsunade and Shizune had gone to work things out at the hospital "Jashin-sama says that Hidan will behave and be our spy so that Itachi-san can be brought home and not have to suffer anymore" Sakura intoned seriously.
Kakashi snapped his book shut "Very good Sakura-chan, when do you suppose you'll be telling Minato-sensei about all this…..I'm not rushing you, but I think compared to when he first came back, he might be ready to hear the truth about yourself now" Kakashi asked.
She flopped down on the couch opposite him with a long suffering sigh "It's not just Dad we have to worry about, but Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san and Shisui-san now to, I don't want them accidentally walking in while I'm telling Dad after all and overhearing" Sakura admitted.
Ever cautious to a fault "Understandable, in that case, take him into your room, put up a sound-proofing seal then tell him, he'll listen, make arguments of course but ultimately end up believing you I think" Kakashi suggested.
"You know what I love that your my sensei, cause not once have you ever tried to put me down or discourage me, not even when I told you about what I am, so thank you Kakashi-sensei for always telling me to do my best, encouraging me and all that stuff" Sakura sniffled suddenly.
Tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, Kakashi's expression softened as he stared at his student with fondness in his gaze "Thank you Sakura-chan for being my student" Kakashi chuckled, ruffling her short hair before disappearing in a poof of smoke.
Glad that he was able to use the body flicker inside the house again and ten minutes later Minato was in his previous place "Kakashi told me there was something you wanted to tell me Sakura-chan" Minato quirked a pale brow on his daughter.
And she nodded shakily before gesturing at him to follow her, concerning him as she led him to her room "Dad I need to listen, not just as my dad but the Hokage to" Sakura requested once they were and behind a soundproofing seal.
"Alright in that case you have the floor Sakura" Minato waved at her to begin as he sat on the edge of her bed, casually glancing around her room since this was the first time she'd let anyone in there.
Sakura took a deep breath "What I'm about to say is unbelievable and there's only one way of proving it as undeniable truth but well basically I'm immortal…wait, I know it sounds crazy but when were on that mission to Wave, I did die and I came back" Sakura began.
Holding up her hand when Minato went to argue, "But it was while I was dead that I met someone who told me about what happened to my biological parents and birth village, it's why I dislike Orochimaru so much because it was his fault" Sakura continued.
"Right I met someone, he said his name was Jashin, the God of Slaughter and that he gave my biological mother the power to conceive me because Jashinism is extremely hard on the body which basically makes me an essence of his being" Sakura winced.
When Minato grew rigid at what she was saying "I haven't killed anyone, and Jashin said I'm allowed to pick targets, that's also how we know Hidan because he's also a Jashinist and immortal so he can hear Jashin's voice and why Danzo was after me, Jashin helped me throw off his mind control" Sakura finished hastily.
"You expect me to believe that your immortal and that you follow some god of slaughter named Jashin, Sakura that's a bit crazy…you said there was a way you can prove it" Minato frowned when she nodded.
She didn't look to happy though until suddenly Sakura perked up as if she'd been listening to someone "I could perform one of the rituals, that would allow you to feel his presence, hear his voice briefly but you'd have to trust me that I know what I'm doing" Sakura said.
Relieved that Jashin had suggested this, Minato nodded slowly not sure what he was agreeing to really at this point as Sakura waved her hand indicating he should follow her again and then they walked over to the sliding door.
And she opened it up to reveal the most horrific room he'd ever been in probably, there was a huge symbol on the floor that spanned the entire floor in the shape of an upside down triangle in a circle made completely out of blood that Sakura sat on.
A pretty dagger sat off to the side that Sakura grabbed up as he leaned against the wall "Oh mighty Jashin, god of this world, god of my flesh, god of my mind, god of my innermost will" the rosette prayed softly.
Pressing the tip of her dagger to her arm and dragging it down lightly creating a bleeding scratch, he wanted to grab her up right then but she was trusting him so Minato stayed put "Every part of this world is within your power, every part of me is within your power" Sakura chanted quietly.
Voice echoing despite how softly she was speaking and lightly cutting up her arms at the same time "You are within every part of me, of my own free will I acknowledge your power, of my own free will, I now present myself unto you" Sakura's chanting finished.
And she closed her eyes, then the most malevolent chakra he'd ever felt filled the air, 'Hello Minato, I assume your enjoying your life, don't waste it, I don't give chances like that to every human, Sakura's a special case however' and he heard a voice.
Seconds later it faded and Minato watched as Sakura's cuts healed all on their own, that chakra flaring before receding from his senses "Sakura do you have any idea of what you've stumbled onto" Minato asked, now able to believe what she'd been telling him.
"More trouble than I asked for" Sakura quipped in the most deadpan voice ever, he looked at her, she looked at him and then they both dissolved into laughter "No really though, Jashin does apologize but his power comes at a great price" Sakura grumbled after a moment.
Once they'd calmed down and stopped laughing, Minato lifted a brow signaling for her to continue "Like people who are sensitive will react negatively to his chakra so that's another reason we had this place guarded out the wazoo cause I was getting harassed all the time" Sakura sighed.
His gaze softened "It seems to be calming down though, still this is more than I expected when I took the office back, did…does Lord Third know about all this as well" Minato inquired, hoping that the elderly Hokage hadn't revealed anything.
"Yes he knew but he kept it off my permanent record, it's also why I was watched by anbu for a week and the cause of Danzo being after me, well there you have it though, the truth" Sakura explained.
Feeling much better "I'll go ahead and keep this under wraps until your ready to let others know but thank you for being honest with me Sakura-chan, one last question who all knows" Minato assured, asking one more question.
Sakura smiled "Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Sasuke, Lord Third, Anko-sensei, the Raikage's brother Bee-san and now you" the pinkette admitted as they left her ritual room and bedroom all together, no more questions were asked as they reached the living room and found others back.
Tsunade looked at Minato in confusion "I just finished speaking with your clone about the changes I'm going to be making at the hospital and one other thing, I suppose you'll find out when you assimilate the clones knowledge won't you though Minato" Tsunade smirked.
As she figured out what was going on "Hey Sakura want to go with me to buy something" Sasuke requested suddenly, still wanting his own scythe and seeing as she wasn't busy knew that she was just the person to help him pick out one of his own.
Shisui sulked when the duo disappeared "You know I think I'll go lounge in my room for a bit" the Uchiha decided in the next moment, casually heading for the stairs, only to make a beeline straight for Sakura's room.
He really should have known better though because the moment he touched the doorknob he felt the excruciating pain of being shocked until he let go of the doorknob "Ah what happened to you Shisui-san" Shizune asked.
When the man came back downstairs seconds after he said he was going to his room "I was curious about Sakura's room, I thought with Minato's handling of Danzo she'd be a little laxer but no she still has her room protected, hence…" Shisui ranted waving his hand at himself.
"That's why you never go snooping Shisui, a lady's room is their most sacred space away from men, of course Sakura wouldn't want any idiot male going into her bedroom" Tsunade barked out a laugh, not surprised that the girl had kept her room the same way as before.
With a sigh Shisui threw himself down on the couch he'd been sitting on before to wait for Sakura and Sasuke to return "Sakura-chan can I see what your room looks like, pretty please" Shisui pouted at Sakura when she got back from whatever Sasuke needed her help with.
Sakura froze then turned and looked him dead in the eye "No I have no intention of allowing anyone else into my room, earlier with Dad was a special case" Sakura refused outright, knowing there had to be an ulterior motive for Shisui to ask.
"Better not, Sakura-chan's hardly ever let anyone into her room, I think once and never again for me and Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei to, even way back in the orphanage she was touchy about people going into her room" Naruto chimed in.
Coming back from the sunroom after checking on Shisha "Your not cute at all Sakura, girls are supposed to be obsessed with guys, their appearances and cute stuff" Shisui huffed, wondering what made Sakura so different.
As she scoffed and rolled her eyes at his description of females "Just remember Shisui-san, I am a kunoichi, not some frivolous girl who focuses on obsessing over things like boys, makeup and clothes" Sakura scowled.
"Technically you are obsessed with clothes…shutting up" Sasuke piped in stupidly and got a death glare, he knew that she wasn't annoyed with him however and soon Sakura had headed upstairs to her room.
Only to come back down awhile later to make dinner for everyone, supper was a quieter affair than usual what with all of them still rather exhausted from the events of the day before and soon after they went to bed until the entire house was asleep.