Sakura went through the seven (eight? nine?) stages of grief in quick succession when she realized the weird guys in cloaks were most likely Akatsuki. The next five minutes were a fun game of multitasking as she tried to both questions the absentminded bartender and stave of her panic attack at the same time. She had more success with the latter. She realized the man would give her nothing, which meant the next logical step would be to stop at the inn and see if she could tell which Akatsuki members it had been. Unfortunately, she was waylaid by Shisui dropping down from the rooftops and pulling her into an alleyway, a move that nearly made her take his head off. She thought she saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye as she was pulled away and rechecked her masked chakra.

"I think I have some ba-" he began before she slapped a hand over his mouth. His eyes were darting around and she could tell he had seen what she had.

"If it's that members of Akatsuki are apparently after Tsunade as well, I already know." Shisui gaped at her before sheepishly scratching at the back of his head.

He leaned in closer, peeking around the corner. "I guess I should have expected you to be good at espionage." He glanced back and gave her a thumbs up before scouting again.

"I'm passable," she said, "But the Fourth Shinobi War involved more open attacks than hidden espionage, so that's what I became really good at."

Shisui started and turned to her, forgoing stealth in his shock. "Fourth?" Sakura winced, realizing that she hadn't explained much of what happened outside of Konoha. She shrugged her shoulders, probably not the best response, but the quickest and quietest ones.

She felt a massive chakra signature and made the hand signal for camp at the shell-shocked Uchiha. He was right next to her, and once again she was forced to marvel at his speed.

She didn't feel a pursuit, nor did she hear anything that might suggest they had been spotted, and she let herself hope. She still took the most winding path back to camp as she could and Shisui followed her lead. He was tense when they ran back to the forest and he split off from her about halfway back. They were going to have a long conversation tonight, she could tell.

Getting back to the tree where her clone was provided her with no difficulty, and she decided to be open about going on ahead to the village. If they knew Tsunade wasn't there, Naruto and Sasuke probably wouldn't investigate for themselves, and that meant no chance of them running into Akatsuki members. Sakura didn't know if this Akatsuki wanted to hunt the tailed-beasts but she wasn't going to take any chances.

She dismissed her clone before hopping to the tree and met Kakashi's raised eyebrow with a shake of her head. Naruto and Sasuke rounded on her immediately but she raised her hands in fake surrender before the yelling would start. "She's not there."

"Excuse me?" The following conversation went about as well as could be expected, but Kakashi had the decency to pretend to be on her side when she started tapping out "enemy" in code on the tree branch. He ordered everyone back to camp to plan their next move but lingered a moment with Sakura.

"Enemy?"

"Two Akatsuki members in town asking after Tsunade. Identities unknown. Shisui might know more," she reported. Kakashi tensed for a second before nodding and running back to camp. When they got there, it was to Sasuke and Naruto wrestling a bit away from the still lit campfire, apparently having gotten into an argument in the ten seconds the group was separated. Kakashi tasked them with hunting for food and whatnot before covertly but quickly ducking into Sakura's tent, where Shisui was already waiting.

"My barkeep only knew about the cloaks," she started, "Do you have any idea what members are hunting her?"

"An idea has to why now would be good as well," Kakashi commented lightly. At odds with his tone was the fact that his porn book was gone and his posture looked ready.

Shisui wasted no time. "One apparently had blond hair and an abrasive tongue, and the other had red hair and a creepy stair.

Kakashi cursed. Sakura knew Kakashi cursed because she heard him do it, saw his hand clench, but she couldn't really tell what he said. In fact, she didn't even know what Shisui said. She heard a rhythmic clicking in her head, and she couldn't help but think that in the right light her tent almost looked like a cave.

The thing about Sasori, more than any of her other opponents, was that he was really the first ninja to kill her. She could think of some unfunny joke about kunoichi and their first times, but every time she thought of Sasori she thought of the sword going through her chest. She thought of him lunging forward. She thought of Sasori "letting" Chiyo kill him after the poison master saved her life.

Sasori was her first real opponent, the first time she really fought back against the world. It was one of the most intense fights of her life, even to this day. No one involved was a reincarnated god or had a bloodline limit that transcended reality or some bullshit. It had been three ninjas in a cave (or two, or two hundred, depending on what was counted) fighting to the death. She still remembers Sasori saying she would be a fine puppet. She was horrified.

Then, in no time at all, she made herself Chiyo's puppet. Ninja had no right to be scared. Ninja had no right to own themselves in a fight.

And Sakura had never said it, not really, but Sasori acknowledging her by the end of it all was one of the worst things he could have done. Now she was a real kunoichi, a real threat, and hiding would do as much good for her as it did for Tsunade. The best ninjas are the ones who are never allowed to be invisible, and the day she walked out of that cave and Sasori didn't was the day people saw her.

Now, all these years later, after being stabbed more times than she could count, she could admire Sasori. He killed his kage, and she wishes she could have done the same. He was his own master by the end of his life, something Sakura had never achieved. She was always serving Konoha, and when it died she served its ghost. Sakura was incapable of controlling her own strings.

Sakura was roughly torn out of her cave by Kakashi shaking her shoulders. "You know Deidara and Sasori?"

"Know them?" She laughed, feeling off, feeling like a cross between a murder victim and an evil mastermind at the same time. "I killed one of them."

That was, of course, when Naruto was thrown into the side of her tent.

Sakura, who now realized that she was entirely remiss in not warding her tent against her allies, did her best to tear a rip in the fabric to let Shisui escape. She practically leaped across Kakashi's lap to do so, which was unfortunate considering he was trying to shove Naruto out of the tent at the same time. In the midst of all this, Shisui flashed out of the hurricane, right into the trap of Sasuke's waiting arms.

Shisui gave a yelp but recognized his own cousin quickly enough to not make an offensive move. Sakura found herself in a tangle of limbs with Kakashi and Naruto, possibly creating the least graceful moments in all of their lives. They all tried to subdue each other, but the lack of actual malice meant most of their practiced moves were off-limits. Elsewhere, Shisui had managed to tackle Sasuke to the ground and was now fending off his younger cousin's ire.

Kakashi and Sakura eventually substituted themselves out for the two logs around the campfire, only to find Naruto already there - apparently it had been a clone, albeit a sturdy one. He grabbed the two of them by their collars and started the shake, ranting the whole time, the same as Sasuke. Neither of them were very happy that their teammates had been keeping secrets and that there was a hidden ANBU agent trailing them.

Sasuke used a minor fire jutsu to escape the sheepish Shisui and glared at his two team members. "What the hell is going on here, and why does a civilian know before I do?"

"And me!" Naruto added. Sakura glanced to Kakashi hoping to get a signal as to how he wanted to place this considering he probably knew the two of them best, but he had already dragged out a porn book. Nonchalance, then?

Shisui was making some covert hand signals, but the sign language used by ANBU was constantly changing over time, which meant it also heavily differed over universe. She could only guess at a few, most likely "lying" and "team," before Sasuke slapped his hands down roughly. Shisui allowed the abuse and sent a beseeching look to Kakashi, who discreetly noticed and then obviously ignored it. Sakura snorted against her will and Shisui's wounded sound before disengaging her color from Naruto's hold.

"So," she started, before realizing she wasn't really going anywhere. The thing was, by the time Sakura had gotten good at lying and killing (gotten good at being a ninja, basically) both Sasuke and Naruto had been dead. She couldn't recall ever having to go on a mission with the two of them and then lie and manipulate as a team leader. That was pure ANBU, pure ROOT, and she didn't know if she was capable of toying with her original teammates.

Because Sakura could fight gods and monsters and herself all damn day but she was never really going to be anything more than a weak little genin when it came to her teammates. Always on the sidelines, always letting them take charge. And here and now, with her palm more callouses than skin, she didn't know if she could touch them, much less hurt them. "So," she said, and she didn't say anything else.

Shisui was beside her in an instant, trying to comfort her, some remnant of his relationship with the other Sakura. She moved away, but she could never be as quick as Shisui, and she still felt the phantom touch on her shoulder. Kakashi also managed to disentangle himself from Naruto and only clasped his book with one hand. He was preparing for something, but she couldn't tell what. She hoped it wouldn't involve launching more weaponry at her; with Akatsuki involved, Sakura had to begin storing and conserving as much of her meager chakra supplies as she could.

Shisui, hands grasped into her fists after Sakura stepped away, put on a charming smile. "Looks like the mission parameters changed, little cousin, and it's going to be me, Kakashi, and the Tsunade expert from here on out."

Sasuke growled at Shisui but Kakashi stopped him with one look. "Shisui's right, things have changed, and I'm sending both of you back to Konoha."

Naruto was visibly hurt by all this. "But Tsunade's my family! And if it's dangerous, Sakura won't be able to protect herself," he cried. With things at camp heating up, Sakura did another chakra pulse, but still detected nothing in the forest around her. However, once again, she underestimated her older and alive teammates, and Naruto caught her in her act.

"What are you checking for, Sakura-chan?"

"And don't give me some 'it's classified' bullshit, sensei, Sakura's a civilian and I'm a jounin!" Sasuke bit out. Despite his apparent rage, Sasuke also started scanning the area around camp.

Sakura was stuck at an impasse. The question remained: could she take on two members of the Akatsuki - both stronger than their known iterations - with only Shisui and Kakashi as backup? The two of them were powerful, yes, and they would have a medic on their side, but Sasori had an immortal body and Deidara had a bomb for a body. The safest bet would be to include Sasuke and Naruto in the fight, but that meant she either didn't fight or she would be forced to reveal her battle prowess, something not easily explain to her teammates that saw her get booted from the genin corps.

Not to mention, if the Akatsuki had found Tsunade, who probably still had a crippling fear of blood, and Shizune, who was a poison's expert and not a fighter, they would have to defend the two of them.

Sakura needed time to think, pages to scribble on, and probably the ability to see into the future. This was Tsunade, her shishou, and Sakura couldn't fail her. Not again, and especially not here.

So could she trust Naruto and Sasuke to fight in her place, or could she trust them to keep her secret? That was the choice she had, really, and she didn't want to make it without confirming with Kakashi and Shisui. Except now she couldn't because all three of them had underestimated Naruto and Sasuke and fallen for their stupid trap. Amateur to the last, Rat.

She tried to speak again over the yelling. "How about-"

"Great idea Sakura, let's let the two boys pack!" Shisui grabbed both her and Kakashi and sprinted to the treeline, managing to carry the both of them without a hitch. Wasn't just speed, then.

Naruto and Sasuke both tried climbing the tree after them (well, Naruto actually just performed at eight-feet vertical leap) but Kakashi silenced them with a stern "That's an order!"

Sakura hurriedly carved some silencing seals into the bark before the conversation began and turned around to see her two partners doing the same. She giggled, nervously, but truer than her laugh had been before. Shisui also noticed and chuckled, but Kakashi merely put away his kunai and his porn. At least he was taking her seriously.

"You think we need to other two to face Akatsuki," he stated without preamble.

Sakura nodded and started fidgeting with her fingerless gloves. "The way I see it, Akatsuki's been hired to hunt her down now of all times because for the past two weeks I've been publicly gathering information on her. Being visible about it helped my case with the Hokage, but now I see it probably means Orochimaru knows." She couldn't help the mountain of guilt rising in her at the thought of leading Akatsuki to her shishou.

Shisui cracked his knuckles as he thought over what she said. "It's probable," he said, "Considering everyone knows Tsunade's the best medic out of the Sannin. Orochimaru's more of a scientist."

"So if Tsunade came back, he would lose his position," she concluded, daydreaming about ripping out the man's tongue and choking him with it.

"And," Kakashi drawled, "They know that the girl who is onto Danzo's conspiracy is now hunting down the one woman capable of taking down the head of the hospital. They know you're onto them-"

"So their orders are probably to kill both Tsunade and me." Silence fell over their group as they considered Danzo's angle.

"He couldn't possibly want you all dead - Naruto is the Hokage's son!"

And then Sakura had a terrible thought, a terrifying thought. Because Danzo wanted to be Hokage - he always wanted to be Hokage. And Minato loved his son - he always loved his son. And if Minato's son died on a mission with an Uchiha child and one of the most powerful and trustworthy ninja Konoha had to offer, the entire village would be thrown into chaos. Danzo and Orochimaru could make a perfect opening.

So Danzo could very well want them all dead, and now Sakura's managed to set Akatsuki on her best friend's tail the second time in her second world.

She didn't want to tell Shisui and Kakashi the true extent of Danzo's machinations a few days ago, but things were changing at a clip none of them could match. She wouldn't leave them blind, not with the trust they've given her.

"You're wrong, Shisui," she said, and her voice was strong but her hands were shaking. She was shaking apart. "Danzo would do anything for a chance at power-"

"And the ultimate power in Konoha is the Hokage's seat. Killing Naruto would only help destablize the Fourth." Kakashi's voice was low. He looked at her, a glance, and a nod was all he needed to know that Danzo was the Hokage that had gotten Sakura killed. Which meant his plans went far beyond a hospital. Which meant the three enough wouldn't be enough to stop him, even if they did get Tsunade.

The tree started shaking and Sakura looked down to see Naruto leaping up the branches. "Two chakra sources - coming in five minutes!" he shouted. Sasuke was already staring westward with his Sharingan out, looking for the danger.

The four of them lept from the tree and Kakashi immediately set Naruto to make traps around them. Shisui braced to run in the opposite direction, ready to be a hidden weapon, before Sakura caught him.

"Sasori and Deidara are a puppet master and a bomb expert, respectively. Sasori has command over three hundred puppets by now, and he does have a puppet for a body. He's functionally immortal until his heart is pierced." The tension in the camp was rising drastically as the clock ran down. "Deidara's tricky as hell and can make powerful bombs at will. His left eye makes him immune to genjutsu, even the Sharingan, and he can make his body a bomb as a last resort. Sasori killed the Third Kazekage and uses his body as a puppet. In my world, Deidara was able to kill the Fifth."

Everyone in camp turned to stare at her in shock and Kakashi made the fastest recovery, giving a firm nod and sending Shisui off. Sasuke and Naruto were less accepting.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said. He floundered for a minute, a minute they didn't have, before shaking his head. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura knew what he was asking and neither she nor Kakashi knew what to answer with. In the pause, Sasuke fell into a fighting stance.

"I am Sakura," she finally said. "But there are some things you don't know about me."

"Like how you have intel on Akatsuki members, know my cousin, and the fact that you're talking about a different 'world?'" Sasuke scoffed but his gaze was sharp. Now even Sakura could feel the chakra signatures of the approaching mercenaries.

Kakashi put away his book and removed his eye patch, adopted eye spinning away. Sakura briefly wondered about the Obito of this world before locking the thought in a box.

"She's on our side," Kakashi finally said, "And we're going to need all the help we can get."