Two days later Mifune approached Tsunade with a request "You want to take Sakura out on a patrol with you" Tsunade repeated incredulously, Mifune was being awfully accommodating towards Sakura she realized.
"Quite, now that Sakura-san is getting use to the sessions, I thought she might enjoy seeing more from our perspective, I'm not trying to make her a samurai, merely teach her what it's like for us" Mifune nodded.
Assuring the blonde before him that Sakura would remain a ninja "Why are you being so accommodating for her, last I heard Samurai and Ninja didn't get along" Tsunade inquired, truly curious about what this man was thinking.
Mifune smirked softly "It's true, however Sakura-san also saved an entire squadron of my men while she was here by healing them, she wasn't ordered, she offered, clearly seeing value where few do" Mifune admitted.
Honey orbs softened "That girl I swear, alright Mifune, take her out on patrol if you want, I know she'll be happy about such a thing, just be careful, Sakura gets in trouble easily" Tsunade warned, a grave expression on her face.
An hour later Sakura was decked out in the armor of the samurai "Naruto and Sasuke would be so jealous if they ever found out" Sakura giggled as she followed after Mifune who mostly did his patrols alone.
So it was just him and her that afternoon where usually she'd be training, Mifune smiled down at her in amusement "Ah young men, this sort of thing does interest them doesn't it, perhaps I'll let you keep that armor to tease them" Mifune chuckled.
Watching as her eyes lit up like a thousand fireworks had gone off in them "Really Mifune-dono that would be so cool, I mean it would be nice to have a physical remember of my time here yes but only if you want" Sakura very nearly squealed before reigning in her tone to become calmer.
Not surprising him as much as it first did at her maturity "Then that set is yours Sakura-san, no…I'll have a set custom made to your specifications" Mifune announced, raising a brow on the young girl at his side.
Who had been scanning their surroundings from they moment they started patrolling around the building "Cool all I ask is that the armor is dark red, that's my favorite color actually" Sakura admitted softly.
Behaving maturely again "Hmm I don't think a full set would quite suit you, the helmet you won't need I'm sure, but arm and shin guards, gloves would just get in the way, a chest plate and an armored skirt how does that sound" Mifune mused.
Going over what would suite the girl best, Sakura opened her mouth to say that everything was great when a chakra flickered on the edge of her senses, flaring in distress "Mifune-dono, there's someone out there in trouble" Sakura informed.
Pointing in the direction she felt the chakra "Yes I feel it as well, let us be cautious Sakura-san, Tsunade-san warned me that you get in trouble easily" Mifune nodded, not sure if he should just send her back at this point and continue on alone.
Sakura grimaced "Unfortunately Shishou is right, I can't tell you how many times I've been hurt or injured since I became a genin" Sakura flinched, sulking a little before perking up again as they hurried towards the distressed person.
When her eyes alighted upon him Sakura went pale 'Jashin-sama is this your doing' the rosette questioned her god who confirmed her suspicions 'Tsunade's going to have a conniption when she see's him' Sakura sighed inwardly.
'Relax yourself child, the Samurai is getting worried and Tsunade will accept it as the others did, I felt for all she was doing for you, it was time she earned a reward hence her former lover was returned' Jashin rolled his eyes.
Daughter of mortal flesh grumbled at him for a moment "What would you do in this sort of situation Sakura-san, it's clear he's injured but we can't be sure that he won't be an enemy that will attack you if we approach" Mifune questioned.
Eyeing the young girl who looked torn for a moment "I know him….not personally of course but more like I've heard a lot about him, this is just like when Hokage-sama was brought back to life" Sakura explained.
Not doubting Jashin an inch that this was truly Dan Kato "Is it really, then he'll recognize your headband if you take off your helmet" Mifune quirked a gray brow down at her and Sakura nodded assuredly.
So she deftly removed the helmet and they approached the blue haired man "Oh hello" Dan greeted kindly in spite of the hole in his stomach "Are you from Leaf, I see your headband" he asked when the pinkette kneeled at his side.
"Try not to talk to much alright I promise your questions will be answered later for now we have to deal with that injury of yours" Sakura shushed him gently despite the shaking of his head when her hands glowed green.
And she pressed them to his death wound "It's no use not even Tsuna-chan could heal me back when I died, I don't know how I'm here now but this injury can't be healed" Dan sighed watching what he thought were valiant but useless efforts from his end.
He would soon die again and all he'd wanted was to see his lover one more time "You'll see her and that's a promise" Sakura vowed, concentrating a bit of her secondary chakra into her hands to help heal the injury since it was beyond her normal healing capabilities.
It was just like when Hayate almost died as the hole slowly started stitching together, sweat beaded on her brow as she worked, entirely focused on her task "Compassionate indeed, I see why the Raikage supports you and seems to have a soft spot for you as well" Mifune commented.
Standing back and keeping lookout, in a few years Sakura could surpass her mentor as the best medical ninja in the world if she was able to heal such deathly wounds at her current age "Pretty sure Raikage-sama thinks I'm a mouthy brat Mifune-dono" Sakura deadpanned.
Not breaking her concentration any prompting another chuckle from the Head Samurai "This is bad, your sweating and it's freezing out, you could get sick and die, please forget about me" Dan frowned seeing how hard she was focusing.
Her green eyes flashed with anger "Not on your life, I won't see Tsunade-shishou suffer anymore if I fail to save you here Dan-san" Sakura practically growled at him to Mifune's amusement and Dan quieted down.
She could feel the cold creeping in and numbing her fingers but she couldn't stop no matter what and five minutes later the wound was closed, Sakura sat back on her heels triumphantly "See, never underestimate a determined person" Sakura said.
Rising slowly and helping him stand as well "Indeed you seem to value life greatly Sakura-san" Mifune noted, as he concluded his patrol and they headed back towards the building so they could get out of the cold before Sakura got frost bite.
Dan tilted his head down to the young kunoichi wanting to hear her answer of why she had refused to give up on him "Of course I do Mifune-dono after losing my biological parents and adoptive parents until Hokage-sama came back I don't want to see anyone else suffer" Sakura said.
"That doesn't explain why you didn't give up when by all means you shouldn't have been able to heal that injury, Tsunade is the best medical ninja I know but not even she was about to heal like that when she was your age" Dan questioned.
Seeing that she hadn't explained her reasoning "My little brother Naruto Uzumaki…it's his nindo is to never quit or run when the going gets tough as for the second half, I'm sure you'll find out eventually" Sakura explained.
Like she thought however when they returned to Samurai HQ, Tsunade was stood by the door waiting for her and blew a gasket when she saw Dan "Tsunade-san this is your lover is he not" Mifune frowned.
When the man had to duck a punch and Sakura stood in front of Dan "Sakura what the hell is going on" Tsunade raged at her apprentice, extremely angry with the girl for not warning her that this could happen.
Sakura winced "Dan-san's back Shishou" Sakura announced carefully, Tsunade charged her then right as she thought Tsunade was going to bash her skull in with her fist the woman hefted her up into a bone crushing hug.
"Jashin, this is his doing right….please Sakura at least warn me next time he's going to bring back someone important to me or anyone else okay" Tsunade whispered in her apprentice's ear wanting to get absolute confirmation.
And the girl nodded "Yeah I was surprised to and he says next time he'll give me decent warning" Sakura assured, glad that her cranium hadn't suffered any abuse this time as Tsunade set her on her feet then launched herself at Dan.
Who caught her easily with a tender smile on his face as he dipped his head down, Sakura turned red then spun around to avoid seeing them greeting each other with their mouths "Um I think I'm going to send Ivory-chan with a message to Dad" Sakura informed.
Rushing off when the duo pretty much ignored her and soon Ivory was on her way "Sorry about earlier" Tsunade laughed awkwardly when Sakura returned, Dan resting in a room after his ordeal of being brought back to life and almost dying again.
"It's okay I'm sure if Mom was alive, Dad would have done the same thing and I'd probably be use to it by now hehe, anyway Hokage-sama should know soon so it's just a matter of waiting for Ivory to come back" Sakura assured.
Tsunade couldn't help it as she hugged her apprentice again "Why did he do it Sakura, why did Jashin bring back Dan for me, when he could bring Kushina or even your biological parents back instead" the busty blonde questioned.
Sakura took a deep breath "Jashin-sama did it because of everything you've done for me so far, Dan-san was a reward for your hard work essentially" the rosette admitted in a quiet whisper hoping the woman didn't react violently.
"But I've hardly…..can you thank him for me, also ask if there's a way to reverse my age so that I can be with Dan" Tsunade requested, realizing it was better to not question a gods actions when they were benefiting from it.
Only thanks to Sakura "I'll ask him tonight while I sleep, he seems to have gone to Hidan for now who is performing another sacrifice ritual" Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes at Hidan's antics, she didn't know why he was so jealous just that he was.
Tsunade smirked "Well now that all the important questions have been asked I say it's time for a training session before it's dinner time since we didn't train this morning and you have a session with the samurai this evening as well" Tsunade declared.
Grabbing Sakura by the back of her thick dress that she'd switched over to wearing upon their arrival in the Land of Iron to drag her back out into the cold so they could train for a couple hours "Ow" Sakura cringed.
When they came back in, her whole body aching this time "Don't be a baby Sakura, I was taking it easy on you today" Tsunade snorted, unsympathetic of the girls whining as she limped after her towards the cafeteria.
Where Dan was already waiting "Sa..Sakura-san what happened" Dan gasped in horror at Sakura's beat up countenance, even her clothes looked worse for wear, greatly worrying him until Sakura leveled a glare at Tsunade.
"She's mean that's what happened, dragged me out in the snow and then beat me up for two hours, I'm sore now and she's mean because she won't let me heal myself" Sakura huffed teasingly and leaned back when Tsunade tried to whack her.
Honey orbs glittering with amusement "Brat careful or I'll ask Mifune to go extra hard on you tonight during the evening practice session" Tsunade quipped, she wouldn't really but Sakura probably already knew that.
Dan wasn't sure what to do as the two continued to trade barbs, insults and threats at one another despite his fussing "This is normal for them Dan-san, neither of them would act on anything they say towards the other" Mifune assured from his position halfway down the table.
Watching the argument with amusement, eventually the two kunoichi focused on eating before Sakura bounded off after Mifune for the evening session "Do you really think it's okay to argue with a little girl Tsunade-chan" Dan frowned.
Once they were in the shared room of his lover and her apprentice "Just for fun Dan, Sakura's a special brat and even if I was being serious she'd still be able to handle anything that's thrown at her and throw something back three times as hurtful" Tsunade scoffed.
Knowing her apprentice very well "I noticed that to when she healed me, is it some sort of kekkeigenkai Tsuna-chan" Dan questioned, glad that Sakura wasn't there at the moment so he could ask questions about her.
Tsunade frowned "Not exactly, I'm sure you'll find out when she's ready but for now just know she's special, really special" Tsunade stressed as she sat next to him on the bed to cuddle until Sakura returned from the evening session with the samurai.
"Erm Shishou if you want I can sleep in a different room" the pinkette offered when she came back to the couple getting frisky with one another, Tsunade jumped up as if she was on fire, face a beet red to Dan's amusement this time.
As Tsunade shook her head "Your staying here in this room Sakura" the busty blonde informed bluntly, unwilling to let Sakura out of her sights considering the last time she'd been her some bastard had strangled her to death.
Sakura eyed her mentor warily for a moment then zipped over to her bag, grabbed clean clothes then disappeared from the room again to take a bath like she'd gotten in the habit of "Is there a reason you won't let her have a separate room Tsuna-chan" Dan asked.
Having hoped that they could have the room to themselves "Last time Sakura was here in a room of her own someone tried to kill her and he was hired by the Tsuchikage, so I want to be here in case the bastard tries it again" Tsunade admitted.
Understanding dawned on him as they settled comfortably on the bed simply cuddling now, meanwhile Sakura was reciting the ritual that would allow her to enter Jashin's garden while she slept as she took a bath in the medicinal herbs Mifune supplied her with.
"At the end of this day Lord Jashin, I thank you for each gift you bestow upon me, for teaching me ancient ways, for experiences both good and bad that have made me stronger, for the people you have taught me through" Sakura chanted softly.
Without a kunai so she couldn't offer up any blood this time "For the pleasures in which I have partaken, as I sleep, I ask that I may enter your dark realm, so that I may be by your unholy presence, guide me Jashin unto yourself and may I be forever grasped in your mighty arms" the pinkette finished.
Feeling his presence settle within her after he'd been gone for a few hours 'What no blood this time child, I thought for sure you were getting to be as bad as Hidan' Jashin teased cruelly knowing that Sakura get huffy.
Case and point as she spluttered indignantly at him 'I'll have you know Jashin-sama that I can pray without spilling blood all the time' Sakura grumbled without any heat in her voice, because she knew he was just teasing her.
Jashin smirked and his presence faded knowing he'd be speaking with her that night in the garden as she finished up her bath and dressed in her sleeping clothes before heading back to the room "Have a nice bath did you Sakura" Tsunade chuckled.
Seeing that Sakura was back "Mhm on that note goodnight Shishou, Dan-san" Sakura yawned tiredly, it had been a long day after all as she crawled onto the bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin and quickly drifted off to sleep.
"Just like that huh, I thought kids were supposed to be full of energy and hate bed time" Dan chuckled his amusement, just a little surprised that Sakura had gone to sleep with little fuss even if she was a shinobi.
She was still a girl "Sakura's always been mature for her age and doesn't argue unless she feels it necessary to do so" Tsunade explained getting sleepy herself, and after pecking Dan on the cheek they snuggled down beneath the covers to get some shut eye for themselves.
During the time in which they slept Sakura wandered Jashin's garden until she found where the god had placed his throne before she could speak to him however Ivory pounced on her "Sakura-sama I bring a message from Minato-san" Ivory informed.
And Sakura listened closely "Thanks Ivory-chan, could you go check on Moyashi and Tsubomi for me since I had to leave them behind on the island" Sakura requested next, seeing that the wolf had energy to spare.
A moment later the white she-wolf was gone and she set her sights on Jashin who beckoned her over to him "There is something you wish to ask of me daughter" Jashin inquired once she was settled in his lap.
"Yes….Tsunade-shishou wishes to know if there is a ritual to reverse her age to be with Dan-san since she's thirty plus years older than him" Sakura said, comfortable for once while Jashin contemplated the question.
For several minutes there was peaceful silence as she gazed up at the crimson moon before Jashin answered "There is such a ritual, however I wonder if your mentor will be able to handle it" Jashin commented.
Sakura worried her lip in concern "To revert her age she would need to essentially steal the life from another human being and you'd need Hidan's help because you wouldn't be able to perform this ritual on your own, not only that but it doesn't always work" Jashin explained.
"So we'd probably have to repeat it in that case if she agrees" Sakura stated, having always understood there was a darker nature to her reacquired religion but she'd mostly stayed away from it until now.
Jashin nodded then spent the next couple hours teaching her a few things while assuring her he'd get in contact with Hidan about the ritual if Tsunade wanted to go ahead and go through with it before sending her off to sleep for the rest of the night.
Upon waking Tsunade focused her gaze on Sakura after sending Dan ahead to the cafeteria "Jashin-sama says there's a ritual….but it's a lot darker in nature than the sacrifice ritual" Sakura warned when honey orbs glinted with relief.
Only to narrow silently demanding an explanation "Basically you'd be taking another persons youth, aging them rapidly while your age decreases and we'd need Hidan's help since it's a two person ritual there's also a chance it could not work" Sakura explained.
Tsunade inhaled "I wouldn't feel guilty not one little bit if the person being aged was a bandit or thug or even a rogue but the question is, is when do we do it" Tsunade breathed, deciding to forge ahead anyway.
She'd already accepted Sakura entirely in spite of her religion that wasn't all rainbow and sunshine "Mifune-dono said that he was giving me the night off from participating in the session so today's the best day" Sakura informed.
"Dan's our only issue…unless I told him we forgot something at one of the other places we'd been to and that it could take all day" Tsunade shrugged unable to come up with a decent lie and she hoped they didn't have to hide Sakura's heritage from Dan for to long.
With that decided on the two kunoichi headed down to breakfast and enacted their plan, Dan didn't seem to have a problem with it so once they were done eating hurried out into the snow with their cloaks on.
Walking for a mile before summoning Ivory "Guess it's our lucky day there's more people on the island" Tsunade smirked when a couple hours before lunch they arrived at their destination and felt several chakra signatures.
And they turned out to be cronies working for Orochimaru "Looky here seems we found some bastards trying to snoop where they don't belong" Sakura commented when they followed the signatures to her old house.
They were clearly trying to get in before they could retaliate Sakura had thrown her spiderweb netting over the three idiots capturing them 'Send Ivory to collect Hidan' Jashin ordered as the three men were dragged towards the temple by Tsunade.
Ivory was summoned yet again who disappeared through the portal to retrieve Hidan and Sakura hurried after her mentor "No one will be able to tell right, that I've reverted back to a younger age" Tsunade asked.
Once the men were chained up "I don't believe so, considering you have that diamond people will probably continue to assume that your the same age" Sakura admitted, doubting that even she'd be able to tell a difference.
An hour later while they were sitting down having lunch Ivory returned with a cursing Hidan in tow "For fucks sake bitch your going to get me caught by that fucker" Hidan snarled at Sakura once he was let into the sealed house.
Sakura rolled her eyes at his melodramatics "Quit your whining Hidan, your the only other Jashinist that I can rely on at this current moment in time and I'm sure you made a good excuse for your absence then you have nothing to worry about" Sakura scolded.
Hidan glowered at her murderously "Feel lucky that I can't kill you otherwise I would have already tried or maybe I'll go after her" Hidan sneered, in a fairly bad mood that afternoon probably because he'd been asked to help with the ritual.
Tsunade wasn't overly impressed "That is if you can, Shishou would punch you clear to the other side of the island before you laid a hand on her" Sakura snorted, unfortunately telling the truth as Hidan curled his lip.
But silenced himself for the time being while they finished up their lunch "Alright time to get back to the temple I suppose" Tsunade suggested, not allowing anything to stop her from going through with this ritual.
The two Jashinists followed her back to the temple where the first sacrifice was already prepared for them "Tch can't even set up properly can you" Hidan insulted under his breath when he saw that there was barely any blood.
"If you don't shut up I'll make you shut up Hidan, this is the set up for a proper ritual not one of your blood baths that you like to take while sacrificing someone" Sakura hissed back at him, while putting a collection bowl underneath their sacrifice.
Followed by cutting his wrists as he dangled by his feet instead of his hands from the shackles attached to the ceiling "Boring…..oommph" Hidan yawned utterly bored that the brat was all proper until she nailed him in the gut with her fist and sent him crashing into a wall.
Glaring at him as he stood up entirely unaffected from her punch "Lets get this over with, Shishou please sit in the symbol, Hidan and I will be in theses ones on either side of you" Sakura requested gesturing to the middle of the floor.
Quickly Tsunade did as asked, a malevolent chakra filled the air and the two Jashinists began chanting an unfamiliar prayer "May one life end and the other extend, woman this is the part where you get up and take the bowl and sit in the symbol again" Hidan informed.
So the busty blonde stood, her true age revealed as she grabbed the collection bowl that was filled with blood, the hardest part of these rituals was dealing with the red liquid on a constant basis but Tsunade steeled herself and sat back down.
Black chakra leaked into the air, creeping like a cloud along the ground and up once it reached her to pour into the bowl of blood, mixing together to make a black substance, when Sakura looked at her Tsunade knew what to do next.
As she raised the bowl to her lips and began slowly drinking the concoction, eyes wide open when the malevolent chakra filled her entire being, what was fascinating was that while she drank, she could literally feel herself becoming younger.
The wrinkles fading from her old age while the captive aged rapidly just as the ritual entailed until she was a young woman again and the bowl was empty since she'd drank every last drop "It's done Tsunade-shishou" Sakura affirmed.
Once the other prisoners were dealt with by Hidan who was all to happy to get the hell of the island leaving them to wait until Ivory returned "Good I doubt I'll ever do it again, this was a one off" Tsunade grimaced.
Not guilty or anything but because she wanted to grow old and die with Dan this time around now that she had the chance to "Understood and look there's Ivory-chan…by the way I'm bringing Moyashi and Tsubomi this time" Sakura declared.
Gesturing to the felines that were waiting outside the temple doors for them "Fine, I know they won't get in the way and Dan would probably adore them" Tsunade relented as they headed back through the rift in the world that would lead them back to the Land of Iron.
It was dinner time when Ivory dropped them off so they trekked the last remaining mile to the building and joined everyone in the cafeteria "Welcome back Tsunade-chan, Sakura-chan" Dan greeted, relieved they were okay after having been gone all day to get something.
"Mm it's good to be back" Tsunade hummed as she greeted Dan with a kiss, Sakura squeaked in embarrassment before turning and focusing on eating supper so she didn't have to see anymore of their lovey-dovey stuff.
Mifune was very curious about the felines taking up roost on her shoulders "Care to tell me who they are Sakura-san I would have taken you for a canine person not a feline" Mifune asked trying not to sound insulting as he said it.
But he just hadn't imagined her having cats "Actually I'm more of a snake person, these two I found when we went searching for my birth village, they were in my old house, that's where we went to get them their names are Moyashi and Tsubomi" Sakura admitted.
"Snakes…..like Orochimaru-san is that your sensei back in the village" Dan inquired, goosebumps rose on Sakura's flesh at the idea of it and shuddered in disgust, Tsunade even flinched concerning him until she explained.
Dark green eyes widened in horror "And he was also responsible for the massacre of Sakura's birth village, Sakura gets her love of serpents however from Anko Mitarashi who is wholly loyal to Leaf despite being trained by Orochimaru" Tsunade explained.
Just glad Sakura hadn't snapped at Dan "I'm very sorry Sakura, I'm unaware of things that are going on in the world at this moment but I promise to learn so that I don't make that mistake again" Dan apologized.
"It's okay Dan-san" Sakura shrugged lightly, realizing that she couldn't get mad at the man for the misunderstanding and he smiled at her kindly, later on that night after placing a sound proofing seal and dividing the room with the divider wall.
Tsunade and Dan made love to one another, a week and two days passed by like a lightning strike after that "Needless to say Sakura-san you are going to be quite the warrior when you return to your village" Mifune commented.
As he saw the trio off "I'll make sure I keep up practice Mifune-dono with my scythe" Sakura promised him while patting the large scroll tied to the lapels of her pack, indicating that's where her weapon was.
Mifune chuckled then glanced to the side as Okisuke approached with a brown package wrapped in twine "Sakura-san what I promised wear it with pride because as of this moment you're an honorary samurai" Mifune declared.
Passing over the custom made armor "You just get everyone wrapped around your fingers don't you Sakura" Tsunade snorted in amusement as Sakura took the package carefully, probably hardly able to wait until she could put it on.
A few minutes later they waved farewell to Mifune and started walking "Are we heading back to the village now Tsuna-chan, I don't know what brought you out here but if we're leaving then we're going home right" Dan inquired.
Unfortunately Tsunade shook her head "Training trip Dan, today we've been gone from the village for a month and a half, we have a year and eleven and a half months to go" Tsunade informed.
Dan blinked at her in surprise "Very well then I'll accompany you" Dan nodded seriously, unwilling to leave Tsunade's side now that he was back, he didn't have a reason but he didn't really care as long as he got to be with Tsunade as they set forth from the Land of Iron.