Summertime brought the stifling hot airs with it, and Sakura was infinitely grateful to not be stuck in a sweaty, hot classroom. It didn't matter that the summer holidays would be there soon enough for the academy – a chance for civilian children to unwind, and a chance for those with clan lineage to grow even further ahead of their peers. Of course, she had only realised that little snippet of information later on in life, once she had grown from the naively-in-love twelve year old genin she had once been. Things would have been far different if she'd grasped a hold of that information earlier on. How, Sakura wasn't exactly sure. Maybe she would have quit, seen the immense hurdle in front of her and balked at the prejudices and the way the system made it so very hard for civilian born shinobi to climb. Or maybe she would have become better, driven by her rivalry with Ino. She didn't know. She never would.

The constant hum of bugs, hovering in the air over water, or hidden behind dark green leaves made for a backdrop of noise for Sakura's trail of thoughts. None of them were particularly good, and she was in a terrible mood because of them. Her plans weren't working as they should have. None of them were.

Finding ROOT was not as simple as she had made it sound. Sure, it sounded easy in theory, but when the leader of ROOT was a paranoid old shinobi who had been running the gig behind the scenes for years… It was another matter entirely. To make matters worse, the Hokage was actually aware of a personalised force of ANBU dancing to Danzo's tune. And he did absolutely nothing. He could have found out where the bases were, taken them down and prevented any more kidnappings of civilian and clan children who lived on the fringes, and he could have branded the old man a traitor and protected the people who trusted in him to keep them safe. Or had him assassinated, quietly and quickly. As the student of the Hokage – one who didn't let old friends get away with treason – she had managed a glimpse of the files. Just a glimpse – nothing more. But even a glimpse was enough to see how far the madness had descended.

Incompetence.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was an incompetent, bumbling fool too lost in his desire to keep things peaceful, whether it be between nations or between a group of friends to see what his actions would bring. Or perhaps he too harboured some sort of dislike for the Uchiha?

Sakura could only speculate, but it made her even more furious than it had when she had first discovered it. Because his incompetence this time would hurt her. Hurt her clan. Though the guilty parties might be there, children and other innocents were too. Danzo would slaughter them all indiscriminately, given the right opportunity to do so. Sakura didn't care about whether she was in a different universe or not. Things were shaping up to be the same way. The way people interacted with them when they ventured beyond the safety of the clan compound. She could still remember the wary look in the eyes of the civilian manning the shop they had stopped in to collect The thought made her hands curl into fists, a snarl escaping her as she thought of what Danzo would do to her family.

There had always been that greedy glint in his gimlet eyes, and it on some level, Sakura had realised in hindsight, unnerved her. She had good instincts when it came to people – being raised the daughter of a merchant the first time around had led to that. Not that any of her old skills or memories were helping her then.

For one, she had no idea whereabouts any of the operatives were, nor did she know where they were based. Sure, being the Hokage's student she had been made aware that underground bases existed, but that was just about the extent of her knowledge. Never before had she wished to do as much of Tsunade's paperwork as she had.

For two, she hadn't the slightest clue of how to entice Danzo into perhaps keeping her around rather than flat out killing her. She would have to give off the impression she was useful, but also that she was thicker than she actually was. He could never see her coming.

She wasn't sure of how to begin and flopping around on the floor did nothing but make her stomach twist into that much tighter of a ball. She didn't know how to begin unravelling the underground empire Danzo had created, but she had to try. Sakura knew she wouldn't survive if her clan died. If Itachi ran off to join the Akatsuki. If Sasuke became a boy obsessed with vengeance.

She wanted them whole – as whole and healthy as hired killers could be – and she wanted them safe, even if only from snakes and rotten roots. Scowling at her thinking, she sent her chakra out, trying to sense for anything out of the ordinary. Maybe Danzo had his sneaky spies watching the compound?

But she hadn't found anything out o the ordinary just yet, and she was getting antsy about that fact. Because the clock was ticking, and she had precious little time to figure out how to divert the impending disaster looming over her head like an axe waiting to fall.

"Calm down," she reminded herself. It wasn't like she was out of time, nor was she becoming complacent. "Look underneath the underneath."

The wrinkle between her brows grew more prominent as she thought desperately. There were other ways to ensure the Uchiha's happy future, but Sakura wasn't certain of any of them working beyond her kill Danzo and all of his ROOT plan. Even how she was going to manage that was still up in the airs, because she had to focus on finding the bastard and all his dens first.

"Your face will get stuck like that, you know," her mother's voice only made her scowl that much harder. "What's the matter, Sakura-chan?"

She huffed then. "Nothing," she grumbled, looking away determinedly. "Just miss 'Tachi-nii."

"He's out on a mission," Mikoto told her then, leaning against the doorframe. "He'll be back before you know it, and then you'll be able to play with him." She leant forwards, smiling widely. "Who knows, with how your brother spoils you, he might even bring you back a souvenir."

Trying to conceal the blush which burned the tips of her ears was a lost cause. "Hn," she grunted, trying to channel the stoicism she saw her father using whenever confronted with his brother. She had yet to master it, going by her mother's cooing. Sometimes she hated being stuck in a body which still had baby fat clinging to it. The other part of her loved it, because even if she was that much more squishy and adorable it had given her Itachi and Sasuke, though not the versions she had once loved. They were new, and they were all hers. Hers to protect and cherish, and she would do just that, she promised herself.

"We could see if Sasuke-chan wants to play?" she offered, and Sakura barely held back the smile at the thought.

"Hn. That would be acceptable," Sakura said, nodding then. Though she did wish Kagami could come over again soon. She missed the other girl – her new sister, even though if she wasn't by blood as it would have been before. Kagami was hers, though, in every way it mattered. Her little sister.

Sakura always had to resist the urge to puff out her chest whenever she thought of that. She had never been a big sister before, so she thought it was going to be a wonderful learning experience. It wasn't like she'd had one before, nor had she had any children. Her cheeks reddened at the thought, and she mused briefly over her romantic prospects then and there. But she didn't linger on that vein of thought for too long – she had better, more important things to be doing than musing over possible future relationships like the lovestruck teen she had once been.

A scowl crossed her face at the memory of that time, and she rolled over onto her front, wishing for a cooling system beyond sipping her toes in the river flowing behind the house. The Uchiha Main House was traditional right down to the tatami mats, and sadly no one had yet to install a compact air conditioner like the ones the Haruno Family had saved up for.

"Shall we go and get Sasuke-chan now? I might even let you both help in the kitchen a bit later if you behave," her mother offered, and Sakura perked up. Really, she would take any sort of distraction to get her mind off the fact she was getting nowhere as she was. And it was hardly like she could ask anyone for help, given her situation.

The Hokage's office was dark, the beige walls looking closer to a dark grey in the dimness of light. It had been only minutes since the sun had set and waiting as the shadows had lengthened was rather unsettling to say the least. It created an uneasy atmosphere, to say the least, and not one he had experienced too many times before. Similar to the time when he had been given the mission to guard his fellow agemates upon Kushina's birth. Though the mission he was given was even more unsettling.

"The latest shipment from Kurogane has recently come in," Sarutobi began, and he felt a slight unease curl up in his belly. Because Kurogane was one of their main weapons suppliers. "When completing the inventory, it was found that Konoha has received thirty-three boxes of supplies, as opposed to the thirty-five we usually receive. A request was then sent to Kurogane, and it was found that they have believed themselves to be delivering us fifty boxes of supplies, rather than the thirty-five we have received for a number of years. Our transcripts have been falsified – are being falsified, and we are lucky to have been able to catch onto this as quietly as we have done."

He sucked in a sharp breath then, eyes widening behind the ceramic face mask clipped in place. "Hokage-sama?" he murmured, silently wondering if he had heard that correctly, because it meant that someone had been playing them for fools for quite a while.

"I am sure you understand the importance of the mission I am about to assign you," his Hokage's voice was grave, his eyes narrowed. "This is a highly sensitive mission which is being assigned to you, and you alone. You are not to share the details of this briefing with anyone, nor are you allowed to bring anybody onboard – even your fellow ANBU – without discussing this with me prior to doing so."

He bowed his head. "Understood, Hokage-sama!"

"Then your mission is as follows: uncover who, or whom, is behind the missing shipments," Sarutobi finished, his voice laced with iron. "This is considered an S-Rank Mission, more so due to this being an internal threat, and I have no doubts you will complete it to the best of your abilities, ANBU Rat."

ANBU Rat lifted his head. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

"There have been numerous suspicious movements from certain parties within the village… and Danzo has brought me his worries about a certain clan within our walls," Sarutobi continued. "Not to mention they have the uncanny ability to adjust memories and their perception, as well as imitate handwriting…"

Dark eyes narrowed, and ANBU Rat felt himself frown behind his mask. "Hokage-sama, forgive me for asking, but I have I been selected for this mission because of my connections?" he asked, looking at the face of the Hokage, which presumably told him nothing. Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't survived to the age he had by being readable, that was for certain.

"You would be correct," he said then. "There is little doubt that Uchiha isn't involved, meaning he will be your best point of contact, should you need to venture into the Uchiha Compound for any reason. The case file is on my desk, ANBU Rat, and you will have the next ten minutes to read and memorise as much of the information as you can before this is stored away again."

"Understood, Hokage-sama. If you will permit me to approach?"

"Granted."

She had failed.

She had failed the test… so why wasn't she dead? It wasn't the Pure Lands she could remember a soft voice telling her so long ago – the last vestiges of the memories she had before the house. Before Number 5000.

Failure was unacceptable. Incomprehensible. She should be dead, Number 4999 knew that much. The one who watched over them was not so merciful as to let failures live.

Her eyes opened slowly, and she noted the liquid she appeared to be submerged in. She was in some sort of suspension, inside a tube. Her vision was compromised, and her body immovable for reasons she couldn't quite fathom, as confuddled by her new situation as it was. Unable to look anywhere else but forward, she stared at the approaching figure blandly.

He wore a white coat, and carried a clipboard, from what she could make out as the man stepped closer and closer. His shoes were too big, even if his hair was long, leading to their being a greater likelihood of him being of the male designation. Sensei Number 7 had taught her all about that, not that she thought she would ever use it again.

A pale hand rested against the transparent wall of her tube, pulling her attention to the subject before her – the long-haired male in the lab coat.

Number 4999 blinked.

Serpentine yellow eyes stared back.