The next morning dawned bright and early for Sakura as she woke up at 5 in the morning, normally she would try to go back to sleep for a couple more hours but as she was allowing her eyes to close an idea popped into her head.
What better way to get her sensei back with a prank that would really knock him out of the water, her lips curved upwards and she climbed out of her bed to get dressed in a new outfit once again that was extremely comfortable.
It was of a red kimono top with tight sleeves her now usual white armor tied around her chest with a coal black sash, pale pink ruffle skirt that had a slit up one side, and beneath long black pants with her usual weights, bandages and mesh, plus dark red sandals to match the rest of the outfit.
And then she was carefully creeping her way down the stairs to set up her prank, first she placed a timed genjutsu tag on the kitchen ceiling before setting up a series of mini pranks, like the spray of the sink being taped down, honey in a certain spot, and itching powder.
Right above where he always body flickered into the kitchen, she would activate it if her genjutsu failed and he wouldn't have any time to get away, all of this was followed by a little camera being set up and out of the way to take pictures quietly.
Once she was done it was nearing almost 6:30 in the morning so Sakura turned her attention on making breakfast, by 7 she already had the first guests sitting at the table "Morning Sakura-san" like usual Cee was an early riser.
Next to him was his partner "Quite is it just me or does it seem like you've been busy this morning" Darui's onyx eyes filled with amusement as he saw the tags on the ceiling and a few other things, he even spotted the camera.
Sakura's lips curved upwards and her peridot eyes glittered with mischief "Good Morning, Darui-kun, Cee-san, Sasuke" Sakura greeted especially the Uchiha who trudged carefully into the kitchen looking around warily.
Before frowning "I thought you were going to have the Dope and I cook and clean" Sasuke creased his brow in confusion, wasn't she mad at them anymore, apparently not when Sakura's grin widened even more.
"Maybe just today after breakfast you two can clean up, I decided it would be funner to get Kakashi-sensei back for being the most reckless one" the pinkette quipped stirring the batter for waffles that morning.
Ebony irises blinked at her in surprise before Sasuke shrugged and sat down just letting her cook for that morning and watching everything she did "Well I didn't expect everyone to get up so early" Hiretsuna pouted making her appearance.
For a split second she paused before edging around the tags and honey on the floor "Don't worry about it and yeah I would have slept longer but I promised to prank Sensei and he definitely won't be expecting it so bright and early in the morning" the fuscia haired princess snickered.
Cee pressed his lips together trying vainly not to crack up laughing "Has anyone checked on Kuri-chan since yesterday" Naruto flew into the kitchen in the next moment vanishing outside, five minutes later he came back looking sheepishly.
His sole female teammate flashed him a smile and by the time it was 7:20 breakfast was ready just on time to "Yo good morning Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun" Kakashi poofed into the kitchen in the same exact spot he always did.
And then he just stood there as Sakura made a hand sign setting off her specialty genjutsu, then sat in her chair to watch and wait "What did you do" Darui leaned forward curiously eyeing the frozen man, then it hit him.
"Genjutsu huh, what kind was it the hell viewing technique" Cee questioned glancing to Kakashi, who looked as if he was about to have some kind of nervous breakdown while he was stuck in the genjutsu, it was a shock that he was still in it actually.
Maybe he didn't realize "Nope one that I made, he should be coming out of it right about now" Sakura giggled just as Kakashi broke through the genjutsu, sweating and she made another hand sign that released the itching powder.
Kakashi panicked and tripped uncharacteristically right into the honey all the while that camera was going off "That was mean Sakura-chan" the silver haired nin sat up with a long suffering sigh and stood brushing his clothes off from what he thought was flour.
Before heading to the sink when he turned the tap on it seemed his torment wasn't over yet as he was hit in the face with a blast of water "Let that be a lesson why you don't send those two off recklessly anymore" the pinkette nodded satisfied with her prank had turned out.
"Hey Kakashi-sensei what did you see in the genjutsu" Naruto had to ask since he'd never seen his sensei so flustered like he currently was, Kakashi shot him a look, onyx eye wide, then the quickest they'd ever seen he snatched his plate from the counter and body flickered.
Obviously not wanting to be asked anymore questions, Sasuke lost it "Wow just what kind of genjutsu did you devise this time Sakura" Sasuke laughed doubling over and holding his stomach as that image was engraved in his mind for all time.
Sakura snickered quietly "Oh just one where he had to watch all his precious orange books be ripped to itty bitty pieces and burned then someone trying to remove his mask, I really thought he'd break out of it before that" Sakura explained.
"Is that a camera" Hiretsuna piped in eyeing the unassuming thing hidden in the highest spot though at a slight angle as Sakura stood to snatch the camera, Darui chuckled, while Cee, Naruto and Sasuke stared in horror.
Poor Kakashi if he ever did something to piss off his sole female student again either she'd invent an entirely new prank to get him or pull out pictures of the events from that morning "Vindictive aren't you brat" Tonbo chose that moment to reveal himself.
And the little brat whipped around in surprise before narrowing her emerald orbs "If your here to rag on me more Tonbo-san just be warned I'll get you in the same way I got Kakashi-sensei" the rosette glowered.
Tonbo chuckled "Relax brat, Morino at T&I ordered Iwashi and I to keep an eye on you apparently the Snake Sannin is rather unhappy and he's decided that your his next target, from the warning note he got last night" the Chunin with his head wrapped in bandages said casually.
Her breath caught in her throat and Sakura felt sick to her stomach, that's the bastard who'd tried to take off with Sasuke during the survival rounds of the Chunin Exams "Right thanks for coming to tell me" Sakura sighed and slumped in her seat after stowing away her camera to finish eating.
Not long after that Kakashi appeared to return his dishes and silverware looking slightly red from the itching powder, before disappearing again without another word, then Naruto and Sasuke hopped up to put the kitchen back to rights.
Before heading out the backdoor to take Kuri out for her daily exercise "My parents should be here soon" Hiretsuna spoke up again as they headed up the stairs to collect all of her things that she'd been bought during her month long stay in the Leaf Village.
Sakura nodded and smiled "Yep so come on Hiretsuna-chan to the gates, that's where they said they'd meet you and for personal reasons I'm coming with you" the fuscia haired preteen announced gathering all the bags.
It was a struggle for sure until Darui decided to help out "Girls shouldn't have to carry their own things" the white haired male shrugged taking all the bags to Cee's amusement as they headed out the door and started down the streets to the gates.
Where as promised were Hiretsuna's parents, who thanked Sakura profusely for taking care of their daughter and then the Zankokuna's were gone headed down the path again "What are you going to do now Sakura-san" the blonde asked.
"Go see my family, yesterday my Mother said she had some news for me, by the way I'm going to be a big sister to twins" Sakura was practically giddy with excitement as they headed down the streets together on a straight path for the Haruno house.
Once within she found where everyone was gathered the kitchen, that was full to the brim with excitement, before she could even ask Eda attached himself to her "I'm going to be a big brother to twins, Mum's gonna have baby's like Sayuri-oba-chan" Eda chattered.
Viridian irises widened and shot in the direction of her aunt who smiled sheepishly "Figured that it was best not to say yesterday especially with all that happened, Kizashi caught me throwing up this morning so figured it out and he told those two" Mebuki shrugged.
Just happy that her family was still there and whole with no one missing "I heard it was thanks to you and your teammates that, that Gaara boy was taken down, you weren't injured were you" Sayuri chose that moment to speak looking her daughter over critically.
"No Mother, we weren't injured I promise, though I was extremely exhausted yesterday since I work at the hospital and had to help heal those that had been injured which is why I'm only just now coming to see you" Sakura hugged her mother.
Being extremely careful "Either way we're proud of you my little hime for defending this village with your life on the line, which is why we've decided that from this point on your free to do whatever you wish" Juhi cut in.
Sakura blinked in confusion "What your Father means Sakura-chan is that should anything happen to Musubime-kun the siblings you have on the way will be chosen as the next successor to the Feudal Lord Position, it means you don't have to be so tight lipped anymore about your status" Kizashi explained.
"Oh well that clears it all up and thanks I really do love this Country and village, now you said that there was news you had to tell us yesterday" the pinkette sighed in relief, though she wished her birth family didn't live so far away.
Juhi straightened but before he could explain Musubime burst out "We're moving here to the Leaf Village winter and spring only sure while summer and fall is at the palace in the Capital, that means we'll get to see each other lots for months at a time" Musubime exclaimed happily.
Her eyes lit up in excitement "Yeah it's great news but what about Sakura-chan, she shares with those two teammates of hers remember" Koeda piped in with a question that made them all think because she was certain Sakura didn't want to move out for any extended period of time.
"That's already been settled on, Ojo-sama will not have to move out of her shared house with Naruto-san or Sasuke-san on the condition you come visit them at their house here in the civilian section, which is right next to the one you bought" Kyogo announced.
Even Sakura was stunned at the news though she had wondered why the house next door had cleared out so quickly it was nice and her parents had offered the man who'd lived there previously quite a lot to move out.
She shook her head in amusement "If we're decided, we should get to work so these three can move in to their winter/spring home" Koron cleared her throat and just like that everyone scattered to the winds.
Darui eyed his betrothed as they walked leisurely back to the shared Team Seven house, before glancing over his shoulder at the two Chunin that were tailing them "Guess they were being serious about that huh" Cee lowered his voice.
His partner nodded "Obviously, a threat from Orochimaru is not to be taken lightly after all" Darui grimaced not wanting anything to happen to Sakura, but he would eventually have to go back to Cloud with his fellow Jonin and Raikage.
Who chose that moment to jump out at them and Sakura rammed headfirst into Ay's chest "Brat, Darui, Cee been looking for you for an hour now" Ay grumbled and Sakura straightened properly peering up at him in confusion.
"Yeah cause even though this is a hot village we hardly know where anything is" Atsui chimed in as he scanned the streets cautiously, even if they had a treaty one had to be extremely careful because there could be those that still oppose the alliance between Leaf and Cloud.
Next to him his sister nodded "So would you mind showing us around a bit it would be cool if you did" Samui eyed the lone Leaf Shinobi in their midst, a genin sure but she was a Leaf Kunoichi through and through.
Sakura shrugged lightly "Okay I can do that" she smiled brightly not minding in the least since it would be awhile before Naruto or Sasuke caught up with her and by then it would be time for their own training session.
It was partway through showing the two Cloud Jonin and Raikage her favorite training grounds when Shikamaru and who clearly had to be his Father walked onto the training field both sporting determined expressions.
They didn't speak until they were within range "Sakura Haruno correct, we don't have that other girl Koeda Haruno do we, pardon my interruption of whatever you were doing I am Shikaku Nara, this boys Father" Shikaku greeted/asked wanting to make sure he didn't have the wrong girl.
"Morning Shikamaru and yes I'm Sakura, Koeda's my cousin, now was there something you need Shikaku-san" Sakura questioned getting the feeling that she knew what was coming considering yesterday's events.
And how she wished she was wrong when her thoughts proved to be correct "Yesterday I noticed a side to you I never even knew you had, you are smart, practically on par with me with your ability to think up several back up plans" Shikamaru rambled.
Shikaku rolled his eyes "What my boy is trying to say is that he would like to date and marry you down the road are you amenable to that" the Nara Patriarch got out for his son who flushed red and turned away.
Everyone froze and Sakura winced "Err I'm very sorry Shikamaru, I'm spoken for already, it's nothing against you I promise" she tried to smile but it came out awkward, Shikamaru slumped his shoulders as he turned to face her.
"Nah it's alright Sakura, it's Sasuke isn't it, you two have been extremely close since you were six after all should have known that you two would end up together anyway" the Nara Heir waved his hands with a shrug.
Her eye twitched "It's not Sasuke, Shikamaru, we are friends, he's like a brother to me, it's not Naruto either or Kiba, or Shino, or Choji or any other boy you can think of" the pinkette ticked off her fingers.
Obviously Shikamaru was confused but he didn't ask anymore questions as he and his Father walked away their mission objective failed "Thought for sure you were going to accept him" Darui snorted lightly.
And Sakura whipped around "Never Darui-kun, all Shikamaru would ever be is a friend to me, now is there anywhere else you'd like to go Raikage-sama" Sakura looked to the Raikage, who shrugged then got comfortable leaning against a boulder.
Just as two more males sped onto the field a horse chasing after them "HELP Sakura-chan, Kuri's gone crazy on us" Naruto shrieked hiding behind his female teammate as the horse galloped towards them at high speed.
"It's the Dope's fault, he gave her a sugar cube we found and she wanted more but when he told her he didn't have anymore she broke out of her stall and chased us across the village" Sasuke panted using his teammate as a shield.
Sakura sighed and whacked both boys over the back of the head "Brainless, hold up there Kuri, do you want sweet chestnuts I some with your name on it" the fuscia haired preteen princess dug into her pouch and pulled out a handful of Kuri's favorite.
The horse slowed to a halt before her favorite human and snorted before digging in, incident completely forgotten for the most part "Hehehe thanks Sakura-chan, anyway I doubt she'd leave now unless you came with us so do you want to train" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.
"Good idea show us some of your hot skills" Atsui nodded eager to see how these three preteen's trained since they'd only been there one whole day and they still had a week to go on their visit before it was time to go home for the lot of them.
Sasuke shrugged when peridot orbs turned his way "Why are you looking to him" Samui was confused, and secretly put out because she'd hoped that the girl would accept that other boys request to date him so she could have Darui.
"Ah well Sakura's a heavy hitter and that look was asking whether she should hold back or go full force like she usually does, it doesn't matter, we'll all end up with bruises at the end anyway" Sasuke crinkled his nose up.
Causing her to let out peels of laughter in response, Ay couldn't help but chuckle "Alright get to training then" the Raikage barked out, the horse moved out of the way as if sensing those that were caring for her were about to do something.
Then the three preteens faced each other and attacked, it was like all out war and most surprising of all was when Sakura pulled out Nuibari to get in a bit of practice with him, until the three of them were finished.
Only an hour long session "Ow is it just me or have your punches gotten even harsher lately" Naruto whined looking over his bruise riddled arm, his entire body hurt like hell actually, Sasuke though looked a hair bit better than usual.
"It's not just you Dope, she has gotten even stronger, that's why I've been learning how to dodge most of her punches, anyway I think it's about time we up the weights again about three pounds this time to 13.5, we can get 12.5 pounds as well just in case" Sasuke admitted.
Sakura nodded glancing to her arms and legs for awhile now she'd feeling as if they needed an upgrade in weights "Wait weights and why so much, what are you wearing now, I bet something like five pounds on each arm and leg" Atsui laughed.
"Actually those three currently wear 11.5 pound weights so 46 pounds in total" Darui cut in eyeing Sakura with pride, through hard work and perseverance she had made it to this point in time and he wouldn't let anyone laugh at her.
Atsui reeled back at that "But how on earth are you wearing that much, 46 extra pounds is a lot" Samui frowned concerned these Leaf Genin were insane, why on earth were they putting themselves through extensive training sessions.
"Chakra enhanced strength Samui, though once she adjusts she slowly lessens the amount of chakra she adds to her arms and legs until she's walking around without the chakra enhanced strength" Cee explained.
Their Raikage threw his head back and laughed "Lead the way to the shop you use it would be nice to know for future reference anyway, then we can get lunch" Ay ordered, Sakura quickly finished healing her teammates then straightened.
"Mm I propose today as a Curry and Dango day, plus I have to make a stop at the hospital see if they need my help some more" Sakura brushed her clothes off and lead the way back into town, they made a pit stop at the house to put Kuri in her stall.
Before heading to the weapons gear store they frequented all the time "Damn brat we've been trying to catch up with you all day" inside were Kotetsu and Izumo, both of whom wanted to make sure for themselves that the girl was fine.
Sakura blinked at them in surprise "Ease up there Kotetsu, we wanted to make sure you were doing okay you know since you jumped into the fight like a crazy person" Izumo frowned speaking in a scolding done.
Peridot orbs narrowed and Darui knew what was coming "Let me tell you this right now Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san, I am fine, I did not get injured and if you rag on me about that I won't hesitate to put you in a genjutsu of my making" the pinkette warned.
Hand on her hip which was cocked out and an unimpressed look in her eyes both Chunin reeled back but then Kotetsu opened his mouth and she tensed waiting "Whatever brat just try not to do anything stupid like that again" the man groaned ruffling her hair as he left.
Izumo flashed her a small smile "Take care Sakura-san, we'll see you around" and then the brunet was headed after his partner leaving the three genin, four Jonin and the Raikage alone in the shop, Sakura sighed before squaring her shoulders.
And led the way straight to the section filled with weights, where they each got two different sets, 12.5 and 13.5 before heading to the Tea Shop for a slightly early lunch it was only 11:30 after all in the time they were waiting for their food, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura put their new weights on.
In the end they settled on the 13.5 "Feels a lot heavier than usual but I think it will help" Naruto commented as he stretched out his arms and legs trying to get use to the feel of the new weights, even though they'd slow him down for a week or so.
"Yeah definitely" Sakura was already mostly comfortable since she was enhancing her strength with chakra which she would lessen over the coming weeks until she was walking around with nothing but her own innate strength.
Sasuke smirked, they were going to be the powerhouse team of the century just then their orders came and the lot of them dug in, afterwards they paid and left a tip before it was off to the hospital, when they arrived it was like a mad house.
The pinkette cringed and took a deep breath "I'm going it's my duty to help" her eyes burned with determination and Ay knew she was going to be one of the best medical ninja this world had ever seen surpassing Tsunade Senju.
"Go on brat do your best in there" Ay nodded ushering her towards the doors of Leaf General's Hospital, Cee hesitated when they started heading towards the house again "You help out, what better way to promote unity than healing the injured" he ordered.
Cee hid his relief well "Raikage-sama" the blonde nodded his head vanishing after the young girl he'd technically taught though most of it Sakura had learned on her own, he was just there to point her in the right direction.
Ay snorted "By the way I wonder if we ever told her about the incident that happened on the roof, how Orochimaru actually brought two people back to life, living, breathing with blood rushing through their veins" Darui mused, when Naruto and Sasuke's expressions turned he knew they hadn't.
"Whoops yeah two of your former Hokage, the First and Second, no one's really sure how anyway, we got the story this morning before we showed up at yours" Atsui commented with a little shrug, it was up to the two boys to tell their teammate later.
Samui sighed "Not only that your Third Hokage was killed by Orochimaru as well" the blue eyed blonde female said lightly, apparently both Naruto and Sasuke knew this and cringed but there was nothing they could do.
Meanwhile in the hospital in the civilian ward since the most damaged section of the village had been the civilian and she was thanking whatever deity out there that the area her family lived in wasn't destroyed nor was her area but that was great.
It was as she was about to start helping the first person that a familiar person appeared "Cee-san what are you doing here" Sakura blinked in confusion hands already glowing a bright green color in preparation to heal.
"Uh ah..Raikage-sama ordered me to help out, no wonder you looked so exhausted last night" Cee grimaced medical ninjutsu at the ready and together they healed person after person until their chakra was low and they took a quick break to replenish their reserves.
About that time two people showed up and Sakura froze "Lord First and Second but how, I don't understand" the pinkette whispered under her breath wary and full of awe at the same time because she couldn't believe she was standing in their presence in the least.
Cee chuckled softly "Right we forgot to tell you huh, during the fight the Third had against Orochimaru towards the end a giant blast of chakra washed over us at the same time he reanimated those two and they were given life again somehow" the blonde explained.
In the next moment the duo turned in their direction and finally spotted the much younger duo "Cloud Shinobi" Tobirama grumbled grudgingly with a nod of his head, so things were still tense, of course it would be "And you are" he narrowed his soft red eyes on the girl.
Sakura's eyes widened at suddenly being addressed "Sakura Haruno, Nidaime-sama" Sakura gave a small curtsy in greeting plus was super respectful of this man, he was a legend right alongside his brother, who burst out exuberantly in the next moment.
"Looks like you were taking a break tell me Sakura-chan are you a medic in training are you learning the mystical palm" Hashirama laughed jovially and she was immediately reminded of her goofy blonde knuckle-headed friend.
But she did answer "Not learning, already learned Shodaime-sama with my medical license as well a couple months before I became a Genin actually" the fuscia haired preteen princess announced in a polite tone.
Tobirama's brows raised skyward in response and even Hashirama looked stunned "Oh I see you've met the newest member of our staff, Sakura-san, we discovered her talents you see" Herasu appeared not a moment to soon.
Her eye twitched in aggravation and Sakura grit her teeth Cee creased his brow "Actually Sakura-san discovered her own talents thank you very much Ma'am" he cleared his throat not wanting anymore misunderstandings to happen.
Emerald irises rounded "Don't worry about it, right now that doesn't matter as there's lots of injured to heal" Sakura exclaimed before rushing away not wanting to be around for the blowup, she wouldn't have said anything even if what Cee said was the truth.
Cee let out a long suffering sigh as Herasu threw him a glare before wandering away "Joy" the blonde rubbed his temples before healing himself of the headache that pounded in his skull, he went to turn when he was stopped by the revived Hokage.
"Pardon me, Anija is also a medical shinobi he would be beneficial to helping heal the injured as well" Tobirama announced, said brother looked like he wanted nothing more than to do the opposite but he sucked it up anyway.
"Lead the way then" Hashirama nodded following after the blonde, who led him straight to the girl from earlier, that really did have a talent for healing as she had the brightest glow he'd ever seen before he jumped right in to help heal.
By the time it was four, Sakura was utterly exhausted of chakra, while Cee still had a little left and Hashirama had what felt like way to much to them "Even if there's still lots to heal I feel accomplished and like I've improved" Sakura yawned.
This earned her a fond smile "Quite and Darui will no doubt be proud of you for all the hard work your putting in for this village and him" Cee praised practically carrying the girl as they walked to the lobby of the hospital.
Where Tobirama was waiting for them "What on earth happened" Tobirama frowned, creasing his brow at the same time, it was like they'd went through hell especially the girl, his brother chuckled in amusement.
"Used up a wee bit to much chakra that Sakura-chan, oh do you think your parents would mind if we joined you for dinner" Hashirama questioned as the four of them left the hospital and started down the streets in the general direction of her house.
Sakura raised her head managing to muster up a little more energy "I don't know if my parents will be joining me actually so I don't mind in the least ugh I hope those two brainiacs actually cooked tonight cause ramen is not going to cut it this time for dinner" she squeezed her eyes.
Cee bit back more chuckles at that as they finally reached the house "Sakura-chan your home, don't worry we cooked tonight, but yikes you looked tired who are these guys" Naruto was the first one to greet her as he was seated in the living room reading a book for once.
His teammate cracked a grin "Thanks Naruto and this is Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama, they asked if they could join us for dinner" the pinkette flopped down in her chair with a relieved sigh, even if she'd have to go back in tomorrow at least for now she was done.
Naruto eyed the two men before remembering from much earlier how two people had been revived "Oh I see and right I'll go make more, Teme went to take Kuri for her evening exercises, Kakashi-sensei's being weird still and Darui is at the hotel with the others" the blonde admitted.
"Are you an orphan Sakura-chan" Hashirama asked carefully when the boy wandered off into a side room that must be the kitchen or some other room and he wondered who Kuri was or who the boy had insulted with that awful nickname.
Peridot orbs flashed his way "I'm not, Naruto is and our other teammate Sasuke is as well, by the way Kuri is our horse, we saved her from a bunch of bandits and she followed us back here so we kept her" the fuscia haired preteen princess said.
Before taking a deep breath then jumped onto her feet "Where are you going" Tobirama raised a brow as she sported a determined expression, Sakura paused and turned around to face him then answered in that same polite tone from earlier.
"Kitchen to help Naruto make more food, even if his culinary skills have gotten better lately I won't dump a whole bunch on him at once, he gets nervous and messes up" Sakura explained lightly before vanishing through the doorway that led into the kitchen.
Cee on her heels, which prompted Hashirama and Tobirama to follow as well into a nicely homely kitchen "Are you telling me you share a house with two boys that's improper" the mahogany haired male frowned in the next moment as it clicked in his mind what was going on.
A slender pink brow was raised in his direction before Sakura nodded "We see each other as family, the Teme and I would never do anything to Sakura-chan, she'd bash our heads together if we tried" the younger blonde in the kitchen shuddered.
Just as they were joined by another male and Tobirama straightened eyeing the crest "Of course she'd bash our heads together or throttle us, maybe even try to bury us alive in a crater Dope" the Uchiha, the first one he'd seen so far since his return snorted.
Sakura bit down on her lip but it proved to be to much as she let out peels of laughter "And don't you forget it Sasuke" the pinkette grinned widely regaining a bit more energy as they launched into their usual antics.
"What I'd be more afraid of is those genjutsu's you can create" Kakashi appeared still sulking obviously from that morning and Sakura snorted like her teammate had earlier unsympathetic, he had deserved it after all.
Kakashi sighed and sat down in one of the empty chairs, Sasuke finally noticed their extra company before going to fetch more chairs "You know Sakura-chan I just got to wonder why are you so different than normal nobles" the silver haired nin prodded.
Making his student cough "Feudal Lord's Daughter, Kakashi-sensei and there's a difference, plus if I had to say why I'm different I couldn't tell you only that I wanted to become a shinobi and fight to protect the country that I thought I would someday lead if anything happened to Musubime-ni" Sakura said.
Silver brows creased "Her parents told her that she was free to do whatever she wished this morning, that means she won't ever have to lead" Darui announced his presence appearing in the kitchen, on a straight path to the girl that he was betrothed to.
Then gave her a hug, Sakura smiled up at him just as brightly as she always did "Princess of Fire Country" the snow haired male spluttered in the next moment as he realized that the lone girl in the kitchen was above him in every way.
In response Sakura flashed him a very small smile "Yeah I originally wanted to become a medical ninja and I have but then I found more people to care about and made some really great friends, the only time I ever regretted becoming one was when I found out my Mother was pregnant and then she gave me news this morning" the pinkette announced.
Darui chuckled "They moved into the house next door for the rest of Winter and all the way through Spring, Summer's and Fall's they'll spend at the Capital, that gives Sakura over seven months with her family here in the Leaf Village" the dark skinned male explained.
For those that were confused "Wait a minute Musubime is going to be living here partially and your going to have siblings wow that's awesome Sakura-chan" Naruto bounced around in excitement, it would be like having more family for himself as well.
Considering Sakura was family to him in an abstract way "Not only that but two new cousins as well since Mebuki-san is also pregnant with twins like Madam Sayuri" Cee added and Sasuke choked in response.
All eyes turned to him and he held up a hand signaling he was okay "Looks like it's going to be busy for you several months down the road huh Sakura" the ebony haired preteen smirked making a mental vow to protect her newest siblings and cousins.
Kakashi chuckled and leaned back in his chair to watch as his genin finished making more food for them to eat "Is Raikage-sama coming" Sakura was of the mind to ask when they sat down and started eating.
Her betrothed shook his head "Not this time, Boss, Samui and Atsui ate earlier at four, by the way you aren't going to try and train tonight are you" Darui asked, he didn't like the thought she would try to push herself past her limits.
Thankfully she hastily shook her head "Got plenty of training in this morning Darui-kun so no worries, besides I don't think I'd manage to stay standing on my feet anyway" the pinkette hummed tiredly looking exhausted again.
Soon enough all food had been eaten "We thank you for allowing us to dine with you" Tobirama tilted his head in acknowledgment at the young girl as he rose to his feet and made a mental promise to watch how she trained so he could get a feel for her.
"Yes thank you Sakura-chan we'll see you around" Hashirama was a lot more exuberant than his serious younger brother before they hurried out the door, it wasn't much longer than that, that the kitchen was cleaned from top to bottom like usual before everyone in the house went to bed.
Before they all knew it morning had come again "It looks like you feel better this morning Sakura" Sasuke greeted her in the kitchen that morning and jumped in to help make breakfast unlike how it usually was.
All that earned him a smile "Feel better, I was thinking we could all take Kuri out for training together on the training grounds so I can get some practice in with my bow and arrows as much as I love the Uchiha Clan training grounds, there's just to much going on right now" Sakura suggested.
Sasuke tilted his head to the side in agreement "Was going to ask that myself if you hadn't of said anything Sakura-chan" Naruto popped up at their side in the next moment helping to make breakfast as well and soon enough it was done.
Just as Cee and Darui padded into the kitchen followed by Kakashi on their heels, he looked around warily before sitting in a chair, Sakura bit her cheek harshly, she must have made some kind of noise because Darui shot her a concerned look.
That she waved off with a smile everyone else completely oblivious "Looks great, I think you three outdid yourselves this morning" Cee complimented knowing they'd be going to the training grounds after breakfast and the entire kitchen had been cleaned.
"Precisely I must say I'm kind of glad I gave my permission for this to happen as well, is that a new outfit again" Darui looked over his betrothed, like seriously how many outfits did she buy exactly, not that he was complaining.
Everyone turned their head to spy Sakura, who was dressed in pale red sleeveless dress with a slit all the way to her thigh, underneath she wore off white shorts on her arms were mesh in off white and pale red mesh for her legs along with knee length one inch heeled boots in black.
With her hair being tied in an extremely low ponytail, leaving most of her hair unbound for the most part with her white chest armor tied around her waist and a black jacket to finish the look "I got a lot of different outfits Darui-kun" Sakura said.
The others shook their heads in amusement before finishing up eating, then as per the usual the entire kitchen was cleaned top to bottom and Kakashi left his genin to their own devices "Right then I'll bring Kuri to our usual training grounds" Sasuke offered.
"Meet you there then Teme come on Sakura-chan I'd like to at least warm up before he arrives with Kuri" Naruto popped up looking excited, bouncing around like usual until he realized that he was wearing much heavier weights than usual and nearly face planted.
If it weren't for Sakura reaching out and righting him he would have probably broken his nose "Have fun with your training session, I'm heading straight to the hospital to get in some more work there" Cee stood wanting to make things easier on the girl.
Sakura gave him a surprised look, before a smile curved her lips upwards "And I'm gonna stick with the Boss today" the dark skinned male waved and with that the two Cloud Shinobi were off down the streets of the Leaf Village.
Leaving Naruto and Sakura to trek to their usual training grounds, lo and behold who would be there training but Tobirama and Hashirama "Sakura-chan what are you doing here so early in the morning" Hashirama frowned.
"Obviously their here to train Anija, though why do you need those weapons" Tobirama pointed to the bow and quiver the lone girl carried, Sakura looked to her custom made weapons and thought up an answer that would satisfy the second Hokage.
"Because I like to be versatile that way an enemy will never know what I'm gonna use next until I use it and by then it might be to late for them Nidaime-sama" the pinkette said in such a serious tone it kind of shocked him a little.
Then Tobirama cleared his throat and turned back to his own spar with his brother just as the only Uchiha he'd seen so far still appeared and trotting behind him was a horse "Here we are all saddled up and ready to go Sakura" the raven haired preteen announced.
Naruto was quick to hop on and take the reins in hand, while Sakura climbed on after him before rising to her feet, this caused the former revived Hokage's to pause in their spar again and stare at her in shock.
Sakura took a deep breath and drew an arrow then glanced to Naruto who urged Kuri forward until they were galloping around the training grounds when the first wooden target appeared she loosed her arrow which hit dead center.
Followed by a shuriken from Naruto, it missed by a couple of inches and they went around like that for thirty minutes until slowing Kuri to a halt "Good work today I think you've gotten better lately Naruto" Sakura praised as she carefully jumped to the ground.
Patting Kuri's neck and giving her some sweet chestnuts she always had on hand "Thanks Sakura-chan but I'm sure that's only because we've been getting in a lot of training lately" Naruto flashed her his usual whiskered grin.
"Maybe, but you still did a pretty good job Dope now are you both ready for a real fight" Sasuke joined them in the next moment having watched mainly, his turn would probably be the next day, before settling into a defensive stance.
This prompted his teammates to do the same while Kuri wandered off to the side and laid down beneath a tree, once again the two former Hokage stopped their own spar to watch as the three preteens began their usual training session.
Which honestly stunned them speechless as the ground exploded, with jutsu's from all five elements being thrown into the mix, not only that but weapons never missed on the girl's part until all three genin were done and flopped down sporting bruises and scratches, possibly even a broken bone.
Hashirama and Tobirama were silent and then Sakura hopped up on her feet to begin healing her teammates of their injuries, then did the same for herself, only then did they approach "Is that normal for you three, to go all out against each other" Hashirama questioned.
In which all three preteens nodded in unrehearsed sync "But why, surely you don't need to be so brutal on one another" Tobirama grimaced, and he wondered if this was something their sensei had taught them, though it was a little disturbing seeing a girl get that brutal.
"We have to otherwise we'll never improve, by pushing each other past our limits in a no holds bar spar, though Sakura does hold back a little on us otherwise we'd end up with way more broken bones than usual" Sasuke explained.
Sakura nodded "Plus it is pretty normal for us, we've been doing that since we were ten, plus wearing weights and all that we are now currently up to 13.5 pounds on each arm and leg which totals 54 pounds all together" Sakura ticked off her fingers.
Earning disbelieving stares until she rolled up her jacket sleeve, removed the mesh and bandages to present the weight, then returned everything to their proper place "I see your still as crazy as ever brats" Genma walked onto the training grounds in the next moment.
Making everyone turn to eye him "Whatever like your not just as weird as we are" Naruto stuck his tongue out, Genma rolled his hazel eyes before his attention was taken away by the horse "That's Kuri, she's ours" he admitted.
Genma snorted lightly, looking the lone girl on the training field over before nodding "Good at least you're not injured, by the way what possessed you to jump in the fight like that yesterday it was just crazy" the brunet scolded.
Sakura just sighed then put her hands on her hips "I am fine, I didn't get injured, neither were they who might I add didn't have a plan, if it weren't for me, they would have been and the Leaf would have sustained a lot more damage" she let loose.
Naruto and Sasuke cringed "Either way you're a girl brat, a girl, a delicate little flower that needs to be protected" Genma prodded missing the widening eyes of the two boys on Sakura's team, while Sakura herself just gaped at him.
Then to Tobirama and Hashirama's surprise became outright hostile "Okay Genma-san you need to understand one thing about me I Am Not A Delicate Little Flower, I am a kunoichi that can and will kick ass, I don't need to be protected" Sakura growled furiously.
"Yeah that's been a point of irritation for her for a long while, Kakashi-sensei would always tell her that as well, it's best if you don't ever say that around Sakura-chan again" Naruto gulped edging away from his teammate.
Who was full blown angry "Just telling the truth, look at how your first mission turned out, she nearly died" the brunet pointed out bluntly while chewing on his senbon needle wanting to drive his own point home.
At that Sakura ground her teeth "That's not because I couldn't protect myself I just wasn't fast enough to keep up and avoid being pelted with senbon needles, he had bloody mirrors that he could use to transport himself at high speeds" the pinkette snapped.
Before stomping away clearly done with the conversation "Right I'm just going to take Kuri back to the house, brush her and stuff" Sasuke winced eyeing the little cracks that had been left behind when Sakura had stormed off.
Meanwhile Sakura had gone to visit her entire family from her parents and older brother to her aunt, uncle and cousins, she also ate lunch with them before loping to the hospital until four in the evening then with Cee went home to the others to eat dinner.
"If anything she looks worse than yesterday" Kakashi noted wondering what had happened, both Cloud Shinobi shrugged so he glanced to his male students who tried to sneak off but when his lone onyx eye landed on them.
They sighed and sat once more "Genma Shiranui pulled that crap about how she was a delicate flower and needed to stay back and be protected, it's no doubt been eating at her all day" the ebony haired preteen admitted.
Darui's brows shot upwards "Man that is so drab, I want to talk to her but I know she's probably already asleep, guess I'll have to do it in the morning" the dark skinned male groaned, it was a reoccurring point of frustration for her.
"Just where the hell does that fellow get off calling her delicate, she could probably break every bone in his body if he gives her even half a chance to land a solid chakra enhanced punch on him" the older blonde snorted.
Naruto nodded his head eagerly in agreement "Night Teme" and then they were off to bed for the rest of the night and like usual Sakura was the first to wake in the morning and get started on breakfast, it was something Darui had been counting on.
As he followed her quietly into the kitchen "You shouldn't let that Shiranui guy get you down Sakura, even if he doesn't know, we do, your strong and you'll only continue to get stronger from this point on" Darui spoke smoothly.
Sakura jumped a foot in the air and whirled in fright "Darui-kun you startled me I didn't even sense you and yeah but still I thought after seeing me train all those times he would already know but apparently I was wrong" Sakura scowled.
Clearly what had been said was still eating at her and Darui bit back a frown of his own before rising to his feet then he was stood behind her "Never put yourself down, never" he leaned over her onyx orbs burning straight into her emerald.
Her cheeks turned scarlet in response at his proximity and burned an even darker color when his lips pressed to her forehead for the third time "R..Right" she murmured breathlessly and then Darui was seated again and she was trying to finish up breakfast.
Only she kept messing up and Darui chuckled at her every once in awhile until she managed to calm down and cook without screwing up the recipe, by the time everyone else in the house was awake her cheeks were back to their normal pale color.
The rest of the week passed by in a blur and on Saturday it was the Third Hokage's Funeral, everyone in the village was required to attend, after that the Cloud Shinobi and Ay returned to their own village, Sakura waved them off tearfully.
But threw herself into missions with her teammates until two weeks had passed and then on the Elder's command, she, Naruto and Sasuke were called into the empty Hokage's office where a man was waiting for them.
"Listen up Gaki, brats, we're going on a mission to find Tsunade Senju, she's going to be your next Hokage, I am Jiraiya the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, go home pack, and meet me at the gates in twenty minutes" Jiraiya greeted, ordered then vanished in a plume of smoke, leaving behind three stunned preteens to do as he asked.